Broadway Bares 21: Masterpiece: A Preview

 TODAY'S BLOG MAY NOT BE WORK SAFE! 

The Tonys are over, the summer is heating up, and so is the fun - for a good cause.  It is hard to believe that it is already time for Broadway Bares XXI: Masterpiece!  It is THIS Sunday, June 19th at Roseland Ballroom, for two shows only: 9:30PM and midnight.

Here are Jerry Mitchell (founder of Broadway Bares), Josh Rhodes (director of Broadway Bares XXI: Masterpiece), Joshua Buscher and Reed Kelly (dancers) discussing this year’s show with Advocate Magazine.



Can't make it?  Want to make a private contribution?  Go to www.broadwaycares.com/stripathon.  Choose a dancer or team and make a donation.

Here are the Masterpice posters, the art that inspired each one, and the dancers in the posters:

Brandon Rubendall as the David

Robyn Hurder Alves as Girl with Ball

Alfie Parker as Icarus

Jessica Press as Mona Lisa

Nick Cunningham as Blue Boy

Reed Kelly as The Son of Man

And finally, some more publicity photos for the event:


Comments? Leave one here, email me or Tweet me!
Jeff
2.292

Broadway Space's 30 Under 30: They Found The Fountain of Youth!

I always enjoy two things when I Broadway web-surf: sites that are unabashedly "fans of Broadway" all by themselves and "Best of " lists.  And they move right to the head of my "sites I watch every week" list if they are newsy, informed and not just "stage door/rush policy/what does the curtain of X show look like" adoration/complaint forums.  One such site that has all three great qualities - fans, best ofs, informative/no complaints - is the ever-improving Broadway Space.com.

Recently, they posted their 2nd Annual "30 Under 30" list of Broadway folk, under the age of 30, who have met with success and hold some influence in the Broadway community.  What a terrific idea and how inspiring to read about young folks making a positive contribution to society, rather than the mass media's continued intrigue with Lindsay Lohan and the like.  And also, how inspiring to young people currently on the climb, in college, at audition after audition.  These folks are the future of Broadway and American entertainment.

Both of the Addams' kids (far left) made the list!

Adam Riegler and Krysta Rodriguez

In looking over the list, I think it is great to have included several actors that aren't even in their 20's: Bye Bye Birdie's Allie Trimm (always a delight, and a certain big future), Adam Riegler (talk about an old soul in a kid's body, this Addams Family star could be the next Nathan Lane), Matthew Gumley (another kid who doesn't mug and be cute, but actually ACTS, and was terrific in Elf: The Musical), and the soon to be 20 Spider-Man star, Jennifer Damiano, who is the very definition of grace under pressure.

Allie Trimm, far left, made Bye Bye Birdie and

she was awesomely sweet in 13.

What a year for list-maker John Gallagher, Jr.

From Johnny to Jerusalem ain't a bad trip

And there are certainly several on the list who are currently trodding the boards who have over the recent years maintained a presence on the Great White Way, all deserving of such recognition - Nick Adams (shocking to find that this is his first year on the list), Allison Pill (another terrific actress with a long, storied career in front of her, I hope), Daniel Radcliffe (his turns in Equus and How to Succeed prove that the sky's the limit on Broadway for this guy...let's hope he stays around), John Gallagher, Jr. (a force to be reckoned with since Spring Awakening, his turns in American Idiot, Rabbit Hole, and one assumes Jerusalem prove this guy belongs on the stage doing as wide a variety of things as possible), and Joshua Henry (what a year for this guy - from American Idiot to a Tony-worthy performance in The Scottsboro Boys and back to American Idiot).

Michael Arden:  Where the heck have you been?

But one has to question the criteria for making this list for many of its "30".  Yes, they have all been on the Broadway stage.  But at what point aren't you still a Broadway presence?  When the last show you were in closed 3 or more seasons ago?  Or do you make the list simply because you look good with your shirt off? are "fierce"? Or is it because you are about to depart Broadway and be seen in an upcoming film.  And I'm sorry, going to the West End to create roles does not make you a Broadway star - get on West End's "30 Under 30" list then.  Please don't get me wrong - I have written veritable love letters about Jonathan Groff, Michael Arden and Megan Hilty to name a few.  And I truly have nothing but respect for them as people and actors.  But Spring Awakening left us more than a year ago, and Groff left that even longer ago; Hair came and went while he made movies and did Glee, and Deathtrap was a London thing.  All of that is great for his career, but does not make him an influence on Broadway.  Michael Arden hasn't been on Broadway in a hit show, yet, and hasn't been on that stage since 2007 with The Times They Are A-Changin'.  Touring with La Streisand and doing Aspects of Love at the Chocolate Factory are high profile, but again, no Broadway influence there (BTW, love the Pizza Hut Commercial, Michael).  And Ms. Hilty, who actually made the list because it came out a few days before her birthday, has not been on Broadway since 9 to 5: The Musical.  And before you write, the only reason, and it is slim one, indeed, that I left Lea Michele off this list is because she at least made an appearance on the Tony Awards.

How about these three: Kyle Dean Massey,

Meghann Fahy and Adam Chanler-Berat?

Van Hughes has paid his dues!

So who would I replace these people with?  How about Charlie Williams with 2 Broadway shows, an assistant choreographer credit and time contributed to numerous Broadway charities - Broadway Bares, the Broadway Beauty Pageant, and various walk-a-thons to name a few?  How about Jeremy Gumbs the youngest member of The Scottsboro Boys, and one of the growing number of under-20's actors who didn't go to the Annie school of acting?  And how could they have missed Kyle Dean Massey, who spent a year in next to normal, is a perennial Fiyero in Wicked, and is about to headline the new off-Broadway musical Lucky Guy, not to mention his work for Broadway Cares, the It Gets Better campaign and others?  Or his co-star Adam Chanler-Berat, who was a part of next to normal from day one to the end, and now starring in the hottest off-Broadway ticket Peter and the Starcatchers?  Van Hughes, who went from stand by to star in American Idiot, via several high profile shows?

And since I am suggesting some guidelines - since your list comes out in March, let's say you can make next year's list if you do anything of consequence on Broadway and in the Broadway community, let me suggest your first "30 Under 30" for this year, Rose Hemingway.  That girl is going places.  And if he's under 30 (I think he is) Andrew Rannells, a star on the rise if there ever was one.  Oh, and I think it's great that you included Reeve Carney on this year's list - he is terrific as Peter Parker/Spider-Man - but how about his alternate, Matthew James Thomas?  He's just as good, maybe even better...

Spider-Men: List-maker Reeve Carney (left) and

Should-be List-maker Matthew James Thomas (right)

do the PR thing with Barbara Walters

Maybe next year, Rose Hemingway! (Mary Faber,

who might also be under 30, should be on the list for sure)

This is your year, Daniel Radcliffe!

Broadway Space, keep doing what you are doing!  But maybe some tighter guidelines for what could be an influential list are in order.  I'm afraid looking fierce and having great abs isn't the criteria that earns you any respect.  That's what gets you on my blog.  :-)


Anyone else they left off the list?  Comments?  Leave one here, email me at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet me!
Jeff
2.216

LEGEND: Bob Fosse

Timing is everything , they say, and I swear I was working on this blog for awhile before the announcement came that there is going to be a new biopic about my all-time favorite director/choreographer, Bob Fosse!  Ah well, at least now I am relevant rather than living in the past, right?  This is the second in an occasional series.

Bob Fosse made an impact on Broadway, film and television, long before there were terms like "king/queen of all media."  I'm pretty sure that had he lived to see today, he'd have his fingers in all the social networks and the creation of online indie films.  There are many books about the man that go into great depth about his career, his self-destructive life, his womanizing, his love affair with Ann Reinking, his worship of his true love, Gwen Verdon.  I have info about my favorite at the bottom of this blog.  As this is primarily a theatre blog, I'll just talk about his stage career, though I'd be remiss not to mention that great year, 1973, when he became the first person to win the Tony, Emmy and Oscar in the same year.  He is also the only person to win all three awards in the "Best Director" category.  (He won for Pippin (Tony), Liza with a "Z" (Emmy) and Cabaret (Oscar).)

Most people tend to go from Broadway to Hollywood, but Fosse was never really "most people."  Instead he had a decent film career going, dancing and choreographing.  But, when he began to bald (or so the story goes) his opportunities for film roles diminished significantly, so he moved east.  On Broadway, he appeared as a soloist in a revue called Dance Me a Song, and later understudied the title role in the first revival of Pal Joey.  From then on, pretty much, it was behind the scenes, with a career that grew from choreographer to director to conception to master of all things in a production.  He returned to the stage as a performer, this time taking the lead in the next revival of Pal Joey.

An improbable trio of friends: Reinking, Fosse, Verdon

His first choreography credit on Broadway was The Pajama Game, for which he won his first Tony Award.  The rest of his Broadway career reads like a primer of classic musicals.  He staged the dances and directed some 14 productions, earning 20 Tony nominations in a variety of categories, including best choreography and direction, but also Best Actor (Pal Joey) and Best Book (Chicago and Big Deal).

Here are some highlights of Fosse on Broadway:

• 1955: Damn Yankees  Tony Award; first show with muse, Gwen Verdon, who also won a Tony for the role of Lola.
• 1956: Bells Are Ringing, Tony nomination
• 1957: New Girl in Town, again with Verdon, Tony nomination
• 1959: Redhead, Verdon starred and it was his first directorial credit on Broadway, Tony Award, Best Choreography.
• 1961: How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, "Musical Staging" credit. ("Coffee Break", "A Secretary is Not a Toy")
• 1962: Little Me, direction (Tony nomination) and choreography (Tony Award)

Sweet Charity: Verdon, Allen, Reinking

• 1966: Sweet Charity, his Verdon masterpiece, first "Conceived by" credit, direction (Tony nomination) and choreography (Tony Award)
• 1972: Pippin, probably his "masterpiece", he introduced the world to the TV commercial for Broadway - at least the ones that got people to come see the show, direction (Tony Award) and choreography (Tony Award)

Pippin: Clips from the commercial, and

Fosse protege, Ben Vereen

• 1975: Chicago, at the time ahead of its time, eclipsed by A Chorus Line, nominated for book, direction and choreography Tonys, no wins, the final leading role for Gwen Verdon.
• 1978: Dancin', a revue of nothing but dancin', featuring his new muse and lover/partner Ann Reinking, direction (Tony nomination) and choreography (Tony Award)

Dancin' starring Ann Reinking

• 1986: Sweet Charity revival, first with Debbie Allen, then Ann Reinking.  Introduced the world to one Bebe Neuwirth, who won the Best Supporting Actress Tony for her role in the show.  It also won Best Revival.
• 1986: Big Deal, his final show.  A big flop, except that the choreography was AMAZING.  Still he was nominated for Best Book, Direction and Choreography.  He won his final Tony for the choreography.

Top: The Master at work

Bottom: How to do his signature moves

Of course, a true legend also influences the future of his art form.  And Fosse's influence is felt everywhere there is dancing and a stage.  Heck, he is a line in The Birdcage ("Fosse, Fosse, Fosse!," says Robin Williams).  And his moves are seen regularly in the dance numbers on Glee.  But the carriers of the Fosse torch, the Broadway dancers, make sure his life's work and influence is carried on to the next generation.  Two of his biggest successes came well after his death.

Fosse a revue of his works was painstakingly recreated by none other than his two muses, Reinking and Verdon.  The show would eventually star Reinking, Neuwirth and Ben Vereen, and star many of today's best Broadway dancers.  He would be pleased most by that, I think.  The show would run 1,093 performances, earn 10 Tony nominations and win 3, including Best Musical of 1999.

Chicago the show that most of All That Jazz is the background of wore the man out, physically and emotionally.  And for years he was bitter about how the show was beaten across the board by A Chorus Line.  He even was pretty public in his sense of betrayal toward his dancers who went on to be replacements in that show.  Today, it is so easy to see that the show was really ahead of its time, which probably explains why it is the longest running revival ever, at nearly 6,000 performances and showing no signs of stopping.  Choreographed "in the style of Fosse" by Ms. Reinking, his bowler hats, crooked joints and flexed jazz hands are being introduced to what is now two more generations of future Broadway gypsies.  One can only imagine the thrill he would have felt knowing that his baby, Chicago, would be this big this long!

Though the film version, one of the highest grossing musical films of all time, did not recreate his dances or staging, Rob Marshall, director/choreographer of the piece admits that Fosse's presence is felt in every move and every frame.  Even original star Chita Rivera makes a cameo.

When he died in 1987, the world lost a major talent.  He lived hard, he worked hard and he wrung every bit of living out of his life.  Sad as it is, it seems somehow fitting that he passed away just as the National Tour of Sweet Charity was opening, literally.  And how poetic that he collapsed into the arms of his wife, muse and love, Gwen Verdon.

 

My favorite book on the subject is All His Jazz: The Life and Death of Bob Fosse, by Martin Gottfried.  It was published by Bantam Books in 1990.

Comments?  Suggestions for another Broadway Legend?  Leave one here, email me at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet me!

Jeff

2.148

Gotta Dance! The 2010 Astaire Award Winners

It is so easy to get swept up in Tony-mania this time of year.  But there are some terrific awards given out each year that don't nearly get enough recognition.  One of those is the Astaire Awards, given for outstanding dancing and choreography on Broadway and on film.

Named for Fred and Adele Astaire, the brother-sister dance team that starred on Broadway in 10 musicals from 1917 - 1931.  Fred, of course, went on to considerable acclaim in film with dance partner Ginger Rogers.

This year marked the 28th annual presentation of the awards.  The honorees are:

Best Male Dancer:  Charlie Neshyba-Hodges (Come Fly Away)

Best Female Dancer: Nicole Chantal de Weever and the Fela! Female Ensemble (Hettie Vyrine Barnhill, Lauren de Veaux, Elasea Douglas, Rujeko Dumbutshena, Catherine Foster, Shaneeka Harrell, Chanon Judson, Shakira Marshall, Afi McClendon, Jill Vallery, Iris Wilson, Aimee Graham Wodobode) (Fela!)

Best Choreographer: Bill T. Jones (Fela!)

Among the other stage nominees were the male ensemble of Memphis, John Selya and Keith Roberts, Neshyba-Hodges' Come Fly Away co-stars.  Other female nominees included Karine Plantadit, Laura Mead and Holley Farmer, all of Come Fly Away, and Savannah Wise for her work in Ragtime.  Jones bested fellow nominees: Twyla Tharp (Come Fly Away), Sergio Trujillo (Memphis), Marcia Milgrom Dodge (Ragtime) and Steven Hoggett (American Idiot).

In the film categories, honorees were:

Best Choreographer (Fictional Film):  Marguerite Derricks for Fame
Best Direction (Documentary Film):  Adam Del Deo and James D. Stern for Every Little Step

Derricks has choreographed on Broadway; her work on film was chosen over that of Rob Marshall (Nine).

Several months ago, I reviewed Every Little Step, which you can see here.  The film tells the story of the making of the original stage show A Chorus Line, as well as the most recent Broadway revival.  If you haven't seen this film yet, it is definitely important and a very good, balanced nicely between the backstage drama and the workings of New York shows.

Congratulations to all of the honorees and nominees!  Having seen most of these performances, I can't imagine a tighter competition.


Comments?  Leave one here or email me at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com
Jeff