Cooper

Thanks @foxy for that great review. I share your views. I also saw "The Boys In The Band". It's playing at the Booth Theatre and is in it's 1st week of previews. It has a limited run of 15 weeks and, actually, is the 1st time the play has been on Broadway. Some 50 years ago it was an Off Broadway production. The play is 100 minutes with no intermission. I liked that it was an all gay cast. A "band" of 9 very talented and handsome actors. Some names you'll recognize while others are new to Broadway. The play takes place in Michael's (Jim Parsons) NYC apartment (very red). He's hosting a 30th birthday party for his friend Harold (Zachary Quinto) and has invited several of his gay friends. While preparing for the party Michael receives a call from his straight and married college roommate, Alan (Brian Hutchison), who needs to speak with him. He is invited over. After a few too many drinks, the band of boys turns into the mean girls. Nothing is held back. As @foxy mentioned, this play takes place in the late 1960's. At the time it was a revolutionary show that opened gay life to the public. Yes, it's dated but it does show how far we've come in 50 years. One of the disturbing lines was, "Show me a happy homosexual and I'll show you a gay corpse". After a night of heavy drinking and beating up on their friends, they all look forward to seeing each other again. For comic relief there's a prostitute cowboy played by the very handsome actor Charlie Carver. He's hired for $20 to be Harold's birthday gift. He's portrayed as a dumb blonde who says all the wrong thing. It's great seeing Broadway currently hosting 2 excellent gay themed plays: Angels in America and The Boys In The Band.

The full pairings are below: Adam Rippon with Jenna Johnson Arike Ogunbowale with Gleb Savchenko Chris Mazdzer with Witney Carson Jamie Anderson with Artem Chigvintsev Jennie Finch Daigle with Keo Motsepe Johnny Damon with Emma Slater Josh Norman with Sharna Burgess Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with Lindsay Arnold Mirai Nagasu with Alan Bersten Tonya Harding with Sasha Farber

Leading in Tony nominations were “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” & “Mean Girls”. Each receiving 12. I’ll have to re-think seeing Mean Girls. Did the critics miss something?

Here is the list of 2018 Tony nominations: Best Play: “The Children” “Farinelli and The King” “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two” “Junk” “Latin History for Morons” Best Musical: “The Band’s Visit” “Frozen” “Mean Girls” “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” Best Revival of a Play: “Angels in America” “Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh” “Lobby Hero” “Travesties” Best Revival of a Musical: “My Fair Lady” “Once On This Island” “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel” Best Book of a Musical: “The Band’s Visit,” Itamar Moses “Frozen,” Jennifer Lee “Mean Girls,” Tina Fey “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical,” Kyle Jarrow Best Original Score: “Angels in America” “The Band’s Visit” “Frozen” “Mean Girls” “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Andrew Garfield, “Angels in America” Tom Hollander, “Travesties” Jamie Parker, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two” Mark Rylance, “Farinelli and The King” Denzel Washington, “Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh” Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play: Glenda Jackson, “Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women” Condola Rashad, “Saint Joan” Lauren Ridloff, “Children of a Lesser God” Amy Schumer, “Meteor Shower” Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Harry Hadden-Paton, “My Fair Lady” Joshua Henry, “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel” Tony Shalhoub, “The Band’s Visit” Ethan Slater, “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Lauren Ambrose, “My Fair Lady” Hailey Kilgore, “Once On This Island” LaChanze, “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” Katrina Lenk, “The Band’s Visit” Taylor Louderman, “Mean Girls” Jessie Mueller, “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel” Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play” Anthony Boyle, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two” Michael Cera, “Lobby Hero” Brian Tyree Henry, “Lobby Hero” Nathan Lane, “Angels in America” David Morse, “Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh” Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Susan Brown, “Angels in America” Noma Dumezweni, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two” Deborah Findlay, “The Children” Denise Gough, “Angels in America” Laurie Metcalf, “Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women” Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Norbert Leo Butz, “My Fair Lady” Alexander Gemignani, “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel” Grey Henson, “Mean Girls” Gavin Lee, “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” Ari’el Stachel, “The Band’s Visit” Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Ariana DeBose, “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” Renée Fleming, “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel” Lindsay Mendez, “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel” Ashley Park, “Mean Girls” Diana Rigg, “My Fair Lady” Best Scenic Design of a Play: Miriam Buether, “Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women” Jonathan Fensom, “Farinelli and The King” Christine Jones, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two” Santo Loquasto, “Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh” Ian MacNeil and Edward Pierce, “Angels in America” Best Scenic Design of a Musical: Dane Laffrey, “Once On This Island” Scott Pask, “The Band’s Visit” Scott Pask, Finn Ross & Adam Young, “Mean Girls” Michael Yeargan, “My Fair Lady” David Zinn, “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” Best Costume Design of a Play: Jonathan Fensom, “Farinelli and The King” Nicky Gillibrand, “Angels in America” Katrina Lindsay, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two” Ann Roth, “Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women” Ann Roth, “Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh” Best Costume Design of a Musical: Gregg Barnes, “Mean Girls” Clint Ramos, “Once On This Island” Ann Roth, “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel” David Zinn, “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” Catherine Zuber, “My Fair Lady” Best Lighting Design of a Play: Neil Austin, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two” Paule Constable, “Angels in America” Jules Fisher + Peggy Eisenhauer, “Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh” Paul Russell, “Farinelli and The King” Ben Stanton, “Junk” Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Kevin Adams, “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” Jules Fisher + Peggy Eisenhauer, “Once On This Island” Donald Holder, “My Fair Lady” Brian MacDevitt, “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel” Tyler Micoleau, “The Band’s Visit” Best Sound Design of a Play: Adam Cork, “Travesties” Ian Dickinson for Autograph, “Angels in America” Gareth Fry, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two” Tom Gibbons, “1984” Dan Moses Schreier, “Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh” Best Sound Design of a Musical: Kai Harada, “The Band’s Visit” Peter Hylenski, “Once On This Island” Scott Lehrer, “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel” Brian Ronan, “Mean Girls” Walter Trarbach and Mike Dobson, “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” Best Direction of a Play: Marianne Elliott, “Angels in America” Joe Mantello, “Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women” Patrick Marber, “Travesties” John Tiffany, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two” George C. Wolfe, “Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh” Best Direction of a Musical: Michael Arden, “Once On This Island” David Cromer, “The Band’s Visit” Tina Landau, “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” Casey Nicholaw, “Mean Girls” Bartlett Sher, “My Fair Lady” Best Choreography: Christopher Gattelli, “My Fair Lady” Christopher Gattelli, “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” Steven Hoggett, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two” Casey Nicholaw, “Mean Girls” Justin Peck, “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel” Best Orchestrations: John Clancy, “Mean Girls” Tom Kitt, “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” Annmarie Milazzo & Michael Starobin, “Once On This Island” Jamshied Sharifi, “The Band’s Visit” Jonathan Tunick, “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel” Recipients of Awards and Honors in Non-competitive Categories Special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre: Chita Rivera Andrew Lloyd Webber Special Tony Awards: John Leguizamo Bruce Springsteen

This week on DOOL concludes with 3 in the hospital, 3 locked in some secret room, 2 possibly to be charged by the Salem PD, 1 getting kidnapped at gun point, 2 relationships on the rocks, some silly story about the face of Bella Magazine (yawn), Lukas is clueless but not drinking, Eve is mad @ Brady, & Jennifer/Eric just had sex (again). Did I leave anything out? Oh, yes, this is sweeps week.

Bette Midler returning to Broadway this summer Bette Midler will return to Broadway, playing another six weeks in the title role of “Hello, Dolly!” before the revival closes this summer. Scott Rudin, the show’s lead producer, said early Friday he would close the show on Aug. 25, about 17 months after performances began. The show opened to strong reviews and won four Tony Awards, including for best musical revival and for Ms. Midler’s performance. Ms. Midler, who played the title role until January, will return on July 17. She will succeed Bernadette Peters, who has been playing the role since Ms. Midler departed the cast; Ms. Peters’s final performance will be July 15. David Hyde Pierce and Gavin Creel will also rejoin the cast as Horace Vandergelder and Cornelius Hackl. Mr. Creel had also won a Tony Award for his performance. A touring production of the revival is scheduled to start in October in Cleveland, starring Betty Buckley.

Saw this play on Wednesday. A matinee & evening performance. The newly renovated Lyric Theatre is huge. The Theatre is decorated just for this production. You get the feeling it’s going to be playing there for a very long time. The sold out performance was fill with Potter fans & they were just wild about Harry. If you’re not familiar with the books or movies, you might be lost trying to figure out what’s taking place & why. If you’re planning on seeing both Plays in 1 day, there’s enough time for a relaxing dinner between shows. Although the info says each Play is 2 1/2 hrs, it was longer than that & Exiting the theater is a long wait.

From Theatermania: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child The two-part play will officially open at the Lyric Theatre on Sunday, April 22. A scene from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child officially opens on Sunday, April 22, at the Lyric Theatre. Based on an original story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play written by Thorne and directed by Tiffany. The production is one play presented in two parts. Both parts are intended to be seen in order on the same day (matinee and evening) or on two consecutive evenings. The production received its world premiere in July 2016 at the Palace Theatre in London, where it continues to play to sold-out houses. The production features seven of the original West End production's stars reprising their roles: Jamie Parker (Harry Potter), Noma Dumezweni (Hermione Granger), Paul Thornley (Ron Weasley), Poppy Miller (Ginny Potter), Sam Clemmett (Albus Potter), Alex Price (Draco Malfoy), and Anthony Boyle (Scorpius Malfoy).

I, too, am looking forward to this production. I have a ticket for this week. Hope we’ll both be left “spellbound”

CAST for The Boys in the Band Donald Matt Bomer Harold Zachary Quinto Michael Jim Parsons Larry Andrew Rannells Emory Robin De Jesus Alan Brian Hutchison Cowboy Charlie Carver Bernard Michael Benjamin Washington Hank Tuc Watkins CREATIVE for The Boys in the Band Written by Mart Crowley Director Joe Mantello

Previews for “The Boys In The Band” begin on April 30th @ The Booth Theatre on 45th St. I’m looking forward to seeing it.

In this video, Chris Evans wants you to “hate his character but not him as an actor”. The cast discusses their roles & what they hope you’ll take away from this play. Following Lobby Hero I joined some theater going friends at Hardware Bar. We had an excellent discussion about this play & its relevancy today. We all agreed that this is one amazing cast. Easy ticket to get at TKTS.

@MisterMike: At the bottom of each page you’ll find a link to the “Terms & Rules”. In them you’ll find your answer: “Please do not post reviews on the Message Center. The work product of the Web Site that sponsors this message center is reviews of interest to Gay and Bisexual men. The reviews are subjected to a much closer scrutiny than the Message Center postings. The determination of whether a post is a review may require a judgment call. The judgment is final and not subject to review.”

@purplekow, Would you recall any of the original cast members still in the show? I wasn’t watching when it 1st aired, however, these names have been around for awhile: Doug & Julie, Marlena & John, Victor & Maggie, Kayla & Steve. Others have just faded away.

Lobby Hero was written in 1999. It's was 1st performed in 2001 and is still relevant today. Ben Brantley wrote, "As to the ethical quandaries and quagmires in which these people are mired, they feel even more pointedly and sadly relevant than they did when “Lobby Hero” was first performed at Playwrights Horizons 17 years ago. References to sexual harassment, abuses of power in the workplace and racial profiling scarcely seemed to raise an eyebrow when I first saw the show in 2001; they evoke audible, anxious murmurs in the audience of 2018." And, the cast agrees:

Some additional information on Lobby Hero:

Lobby Hero, written by Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester By The Sea) and directed by Trip Cullman, with Michael Cera as Security Guard Jeff, Chris Evans as Officer Bill, Brian Tyree Henry as Supervisor William, and Bel Powley as Officer Dawn. It's now playing on Broadway. Before seeing this play, I had heard very little about it and, yes, I was pleasantly surprised after seeing it. The play takes place in a Manhattan apartment building's lobby. There's a lot of talk that goes on in that lobby during the graveyard shift. The cast is made up of Jeff, a young security guard (not a doorman), with big ambitions, his boss, "Security Captain" William, who's hard on Jeff but does like him and even trusts him with some disturbing facts about his brother. Also in the cast are 2 NYPD officers. Bill, on the force for 7 years, and Dawn, a rookie female officer. Dawn, who has once slept with her partner and has a love interest in him, learns some not so professional things about her unpredictable partner which makes working together most difficult. All meet up in the lobby for revealing conversations. The plot deals with choices. It's a struggle between loyalty & doing what's right. It's an excellent script and truly captured my attention. A wonderful cast which made this amazing play even better. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

@WilliamM. Part 1 sets the stage for Part 2. I agree with you that seeing Pt 2 is better than not seeing it at all. Since you’ve already seen the play & are very familiar with the plot, I doubt you’ll be confused. Go & enjoy! Looking forward to reading your review.

@foxy, I totally agree about the “physical stuff” in this play. Not only did Nathan Lane’s character perform a strenuous work-out, esp during his painful fit in the hospital bed, but so did Andrew Garfield & his 2 wet-dreams involving the angel. That struggle with the angel & her wing puppeteers was exhausting just to watched. You couldn’t help but notice that during the 3 curtain calls that Garfield was exhausted. And, then, he had to deliver the Broadway Cares Appeal for AIDS. A truly amazing production. Seems gay theamed revivals are making a come-back on Broadway. I already purchased my tickets to see Boys in the Band which opens in previews 4/30.

I have now seen Parts 1 & 2 of the award winning Broadway production of Angels in America. It's playing at the Neil Simon Theatre on 52nd St. Last time this play was on Broadway was back in 1993. It's now celebrating its 25th Anniversary. On Tuesday, May 1st, the nominations for Tony Awards will be announced. We certainly can expect many nominations for the incredible production of Angels in America. The 72nd Annual Tony Awards Show will be televised on Sunday, June 10th. When I first heard that this production was 2 shows lasting some 7 1/2 hours, I thought this better be good, and, yes, it was better than good. The leading actors, Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane headed up a most amazing and talented cast. Most cast members play multiple parts... Each scene was done to perfection. I thought the camouflaged stage hands crawling around like cats was a nice touch. And, the creator of the puppets from War Horse also did the angel wing movements in this production. What a memorable scene that was. An award winning masterpiece by Tony Kushner that covers the aids crisis of the 1980's. An emotional journey for many of us who lived though those times.

And, climbing those stairs to the bedroom went Sonny & Leo. Lots of kissing going on. I enjoyed the heartfelt bedroom talk between Will & Paul. Well written.

Wish I could have been in the audience for this live production. So much energy & enthusiasm. They went wild when Alice Cooper entered. Unfortunately, the TV cameras can’t capture it all. Hope to see more live TV Broadway show productions. Very relevant to have this performed on Easter Sunday. Always used to watch Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz on Easter.

Just set my DVR for Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert is broadcast nationally April 1 at 8pm EST, 7pm CST, and 8pm PST on NBC. The all-star cast includes John Legend as Jesus, Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdelene, Alice Cooper as King Herod, Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas, Ben Daniels as Pilate, Norm Lewis as Caiaphas, Jin Ha as Annas, Jason Tam as Peter, and Erik Gronwall as Simon.

@Avalon, I know this is a soap opera but are you also getting tired of the story line dealing with Abigail’s 3 personalities? As Stefan O. keeps asking “Who are you now?” It will be interesting to see how they spin Abigail's latest testimony blaming Gabby for Andrés death.... Let’s get back to Paul & Will making out in bed. ;-)

Saw Babette’s Feast. It helped that I read a synopsis before going. Not sure how long it will be running. Sadly, when I saw it the theater was practically empty. http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/news/story.asp?ID=YU2RQ6