WHY HE'S MR. APRIL: Hello! Starring in two of Broadway's smash hit musicals within a year is a huge achievement, and Andrew Rannells has done just that. First, he played Bob Gaudio in Jersey Boys and now he is Elder Price in the the biggest, funniest hit Broadway has seen since the producers, The Book of Mormon. Already a nominee for a few awards, I hope the Tony nominating committee sees fit to put Mr. Rannells on their list for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical. A tough field, he already faces stiff competition from his co-star, Josh Gad. Either way, Andrew Rannells has had a dream year in his career, with what may just be his star-making role. Here's hoping he continues to light up the stage with his energy, passion, skill, and killer smile.
INFO:
Currently appearing in: The Book of Mormon as perfect, by-the-rules Elder Price, who learns the hard way that being so good doesn't give you the keys to the Kingdom. Saddled with an impossibly uncouth, un-Mormon companion and an assignment in war-torn, AIDS ravaged Uganda, Price learns that, in fact, there is more of a price to pay on the road to salvation than mere "perfection."
Birthdate: 1975... which makes him 35 or 36...
Other Credits: Broadway: Link Larkin in Hairspray; Bob Gaudio in Jersey Boys.Regional/Touring/Toronto: Give It Up! (Lysistrata Jones), Bob Gaudio in Jersey Boys. Other: Broadway Bares 2005; Voice Artist for several animated series and films.
Since we are now talking the 5 BEST musicals of a whole decade, I figure each of them deserves their own blog. And so that brings me to my 5th most favorite new musical that opened between the 2000-2001 and 2009-2010 seasons.
5. Hairspray-
Book: Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan Music: Marc Shaiman Lyrics: Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
Statistically Speaking: Began Previews: July 18, 2002 Opening Night: August 15, 2002 Closing Night: January 4, 2009 31 Previews, 2642 Performances at the Neil Simon Theatre
Hairspray On Tour
13 Tony nominations, 8 wins: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical (Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan), Best Score (Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman), Best Actor (Harvey Fierstein), Best Actress (Marissa Jaret Winokur), Best Supporting Actor (Dick Latessa), Best Costume Design of a Musical (William Ivey Long), Best Direction of a Musical (Jack O'Brien). Nominees were Jerry Mitchell (Choreography), David Rockwell (Scenic Design of a Musical), Harold Wheeler (Orchestrations), Kevin Posner (Lighting Design of a Musical), and Corey Reynolds (Best Supporting Actor).
Winner of 2 Theatre World Awards: Jackie Hoffman and Marissa Jaret Winokur
"The Nicest Kids in Town":
The Original Broadway Cast
Over the years**, there were:
4 Corny Collins (originally Clarke Thorell) including Lance Bass and Jonathan Dokuchitz.
9 Amber Van Tussels (originally Laura Bell Bundy) including Haylie Duff, Brynn O'Malley and Aubrey O'Day.
9 Velma Van Tussels (originally Linda Hart) including Barbara Walsh, Michele Pawk and Karen Mason.
3 Seaweed J. Stubbs (originally Corey Reynolds) including Tevin Campbell and Chester Gregory II.
3 Motormouth Maybelles (originally Mary Bond Davis) including Jenifer Lewis and Darlene Love.
6 Link Larkins (originally Matthew Morrison) including Ashley Parker Angel and Aaron Tveit.
7 Penny Pingletons (originally Kerry Butler) including Diana DeGarmo, Jennifer Gambatese and Caissie Levy.
8Wilbur Turnblads (originally Dick Latessa) including Jm J. Bullock, Jerry Mathers and Jere Burns.
7 Edna Turnblads (originally Harvey Fierstein) including Bruce Vilanch, Paul Vogt, Michael McKean and George Wendt.
5 Tracy Turnblads (originally Marissa Jaret Winokur) including Shannon Durig, Kathy Brier and Carly Jibson.
** - NOT including return engagements, understudies, swings or stand-bys.
Ashley Parker Angel as
Link Larkin
Lance Bass, who played Corny Collins
Diana DeGarmo and Tevin Campbell
as Penny and Seaweed
The original cast included the following actors who have gone on to some acclaim since their stint in Hairspray:Eric Anthony, Shoshana Bean, Adam Fleming, Jennifer Gambatese, John Hill, and Jackie Hoffman.
Among the replacements, these now known names made their Broadway debuts: Alli Mauzey, Jerry Mathers, Alexa Vega, Tracy Jai Edwards, Daniel Robinson, Lance Bass, and Leslie Kritzer.
The Original Turnblads: Harvey Fierstein (Edna),
Dick Latessa (Wilbur) and Marissa Jaret Winokur (Tracy)
My Favorite Songs/Moments in Hairspray:
"Good Morning, Baltimore": One of the best opening numbers ever. From the "rats on the streets" to the bar stool for the town flasher, to the inordinate amounts of "hairspray," this number is a visual feast and one catchy tune!
"The Nicest Kids in Town": The sassiest, funniest and most spot on sarcasm, parody and irony in a Broadway song, maybe ever. Plus the dancing/staging and infectious tune...
"I Can Hear the Bells": The clever conceit of characters frozen in time worked perfectly, as did the fantasy wedding, and my favorite part, Penny Pingleton walking around in "reality", playing with her gum, oblivious to it all.
Forbidden Love:
Penny (Kerry Butler) + Seaweed (Corey Reynolds)
Tracy (Marissa Jaret Winokur) + Link (Matthew Morrison)
"The Madison": I love a dance number for the sake of a dance number. Jerry Mitchell's brilliant all-stage dance number seamlessly changed perspective so much so that it seemed like a surprise every time some one spoke during the scene.
"Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now": A tribute to the generation gap, the song is hilarious and the staging, with fold out walls and "singing" posters put it wonderfully over the top.
"Run and Tell That": Who will ever forget the line "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice"?
The "patter" during "Timeless to Me": Sure it was a comic plant of a breaking of character, but it made the silliness sillier and the characters more real as we glimpsed the actor beneath.
"You Can't Stop the Beat": The show opens with a bang and ends with an explosion. An exciting, beautifully staged finale that left the cast breathless and the audience panting for more.
The Replacements: Aaron Tveit (top, right) as Link,
Bruce Vilanch (below, center) as Edna and Kathy Brier as Tracy
Why this show is one of my favorites: It is funny, clever, theatrical and the perfect mix of old-fashioned and modern. The presentation and lavish production values scream old school, but the subversive point of view and edgy humor made it a modern wonder. And it is a show with a message; it doesn't hit you over the head with it, but rather revels in presenting all sides and still making you see what is right. You'd have to be cold as a stone not to feel something after the anthem "I Know Where I've Been," and even colder not to find the odd-ball family that the Turnblads are still charming and utterly identifiable.
Christopher Sieber as Edna
Drew Lachey as Corny Collins
Life After Broadway: And ever since it closed, there have been high profile tours and resident productions. The most recent include one with Christopher Sieber as Edna, and one with Drew Lachey as Corny Collins. The show was a huge hit in London, winning its Best Musical prize. And of course, there was the hit film, starring John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Nikki Blonsky, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer and some kid named Zak Efron.
Artwork for the movie version
Comments? Leave one here or email me at jkstheatrescene. Or send me a question at http://www.formspring.me/ and look me up as "jkstheatrescene" or "Jeff Kyler." Go ahead! Follow me! Jeff
One of the things I love about a Broadway musical is a thrilling overture and/or big opening number. They can really get a show going. Another thing I love about a Broadway musical is the "star entrance." You have to know what I mean! That moment designed to garner applause for the guy or gal you are there to see. Usually, it is the star, sometimes it is the character, but no matter, you know you are supposed to applaud. Of course, in a way it is even more noticeable when said star is out and the understudy is on (generally speaking).
Here are some of my absolute favorite star entrances:
Shrek: The Musical: For a show that I really didn't care for, it had TWO such entrances... one, I think more for the character than the actor, and one just then opposite. No offense to Brian D'Arcy James, but when Shrek comes bursting out of his outhouse and we see the green guy for the first time all grown up, it gets applause. On the other hand, we get to see grown up Princess Fiona after a pause in the song, when a teenaged Fiona circles around the back of her tower, and a full grown Sutton Foster comes around the other side. The music vamps until the applause dies down.
RENT: Whoever gets to play Maureen gets a hell of an entrance in RENT. The character is mentioned, discussed and sung about well before we ever see her, and she comes in, on a "motorcycle" no less at the crescendo of a huge production number! Pretty cool, and it was as cool when Idina Menzel was a nobody, and for every "Maureen" after.
Grand Hotel: The Musical: Talk about your "Grand" entrances. The entire main cast is introduced as they enter the hotel through the revolving door by the narrator/Doctor. To make it even more interesting, the Doctor himself makes a spectacular entrance. During a series of three angry crescendos from the orchestra, the Doctor storms through the door, limps angrily to his chair stage right, sits down and gives himself an injection of morphine! (Below, from the 1990 Tony Awards, Kathleen Turner does the introductions, plus "We'll Take a Glass Together," one of the greatest musical numbers ever.)
Xanadu: A show of extremes had star entrances at both ends of the spectrum, and really gave the whole cast a great way to take the stage. First, Sonny (Cheyenne Jackson) just meanders on stage and begins drawing his muse mural. The audience is silent, watching him, until he is ready to address the audience! Then, during the opening number, "I'm Alive," the mural comes to life, via a cool projection and a well-placed trap door/elevator, which brings up groups of muses, ending with Kira (Kerry Butler).
Hello, Dolly!: Sure, we've seen Dolly Levi for almost every scene up to this point, but she (Carol Channing) gets to make one hell of an entrance during the title number, when she arrives at the top of the stairs at Harmonia Gardens in the amazing red dress.
Promises, Promises: Star Sean Hayes gets an interesting entrance, one that thankfully gets applause (both times I saw it, anyway). The overture starts, and the scrim is back lit to reveal Mr. Hayes working at his desk center stage, while executives and secretaries dance around and all over him. He never misses a beat, stapling and stamping and adding and eating lunch to every punctuating beat of that show's awesome overture.
The Addams Family: Say what you want about the show, but between the awesome overture and the grand entrance of the titular family, this show starts off with a one two snap! First you get the strains of the famous theme song, followed by a jazzy and intense overture, which culminates in the grand drape parting to reveal the Addams' in pose. The crowd goes wild!
Hairspray: This one has the most subtle of star entrances, first with Tracy (Marissa Jaret Winokur) "lying" in bed. The angle is so jarring and funny, you don't even realize the leading lady has made her entrance! Then, when Edna (Harvey Fierstein) takes the stage, it is from a trucked in piece of scenery, with her standing behind an ironing board, holding up a piece of laundry in front of her face until it is dropped at just the right moment to reveal our star.
And here is the entrance that got me into this whole Broadway thing in the first place:
Mame: I'll never forget it... the backdrop of the Brooklyn Bridge/Manhattan skyline circa the roaring 20's goes up to reveal a nearly empty stage, save for some exotically dressed people all in poses. The scenery slides in (not a stage hand in sight!) and Mame's fabulous apartment takes shape. The jazzy horns that begin "It's Today" start, including a long bugle vamp. Mame (Angela Lansbury) comes into view at the top of an enormous spiral staricase, blowing a bugle. APPL:AUSE! Then, "playing" the bugle, she slides down the spiral bannister! (I'm sure it was stage magic, but it was really something to a 17 year old at his first Broadway show in 1983. I mean, scenery without people moving it??? Angela who?
Do you have a favorite star entrance? Tell me about it here or email me at jkstheatrescener@yahoo.com. Jeff
