skynyc

Just finished Less is Lost, the sequel to Less. I liked it even better because it was like running into an old friend. The writing is lovely, and the humor is wonderful. Laughed out loud a couple times. And it's fun to "get to know" the narrator a little better this time.

I also loved...the ladies' "Tea Party" has been favorite listening from the original Lansbury recording for as long as I can remember. This was kind of the ultimate experience for Encores...a fully-costumed, mostly-lost musical. Ripe for viewing for fans of the classic musical.

Recently, a provider with whom I was texting said I could pay in advance via PayPal and there would be a $50 discount. Since this happened about two hours before we met, I said I'd already been to the ATM and I'd just pay the originally agreed upon amount. As I was leaving my apartment to go to his hotel, I got a text saying he needed to push me back a half-hour. When I got to his hotel (for the later time) I texted him that I was there. Sat (like Adelaide from Guys and Dolls) getting the fish-eye from the hotel clerk for ten minutes before I texted him again. Got an "OMG...didn't see you were here, I'll be down in 5 minutes." When he didn't send room, I should have left immediately. But I waited 10 more minutes before leaving. Texted that I was gone and got a "So sorry to miss you, I fell asleep, I was just on my way down" whiny reply. SO GLAD I DIDN'T PAY AHEAD!!!

Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest show began previews tonight at the Imperial and It's a hot mess of fun. There's something for everyone, and the eye candy is extraordinary. In the Fairy Tale land of Belle-ville, "Beauty is our Duty" sing the stunning chorus of gorgeous men and women. Double entendres fill the lyrics and there's one number that looks like it came off the stage of the Gaiety. Six shirtless men, ordered by the queen to give her twenty and they do. All six do 20 push-ups before a robust dance number...the lights just accentuating their sweaty gleam. "Hunk's Song" and "Man's Man" made me almost feel like I was at a Village People concert. The cast is having fun. The beautiful step sisters played by Sami Gayle (from Blue Bloods and Baby June in Patti's Gypsy) and Morgan Higgins chew the scenery as "an imbecile and one half as smart". Carolee Carmello as the Stepmother is rocking the stage with her nemesis the Queen, played by Grace McLean (Woodrow Wilson in Suffs). The song "I Know You" is a highlight. The Godmother here is a throwaway, she has an interesting number "Beauty Has a Price", which is carefully staged with eerie, almost floating mannequins. Jordan Dobson is cute as the "not-cute" Prince Sebastian...a reluctant replacement in the kingdom's eyes after the death of his perfect older brother, Charming. His ballad "Only You, Lonely You" will be sung at auditions by tenors for decades. Linedy Genao is terrific as Cinderella, too pretty to pull off being the only girl in the kingdom not obsessed with her looks. She sings well, and though her songs are all two verses too long, they allow her to shine. She will be a teen favorite overnight, a la Christy Altomare in Anastasia. The book is cute...but predictable. The score is typical ALW, most songs have too many verses to try to get you to remember them, and many have the classic orchestral swell to say..."this is the emotional part". The sets and costumes are really great...you see where your ticket money is going. Folks will love or hate this, probably based on their generation. It borders on vulgar a couple times, one sister offering to give the prince a "happy ending", etc. It will be interesting to see how this plays in the press and reviews. Spoiler alert, not too bad though since he's listed in the program: Prince Charming returns and he's straight out of casting from a 1960s Hercules movie. Cameron Loyal can sing the part, has a body of death and has been costumed in pants that verge on obscene. If his dance belt ever slips, the ladies in the front row are going to be surprised. There's another predictable twist here, but one spoiler is enough. It was fun to be at the first preview...I'm sure a pre-show martini didn't hurt. At the end of the performance Carmello thanked the audience for being there for their first show...and called to the front all those making their Broadway debuts...and it was truly half the cast. Oh, and I spotted ALW at the back as I ran up the aisle to beat the bathroom rush at intermission. The Deets...for some reason, our row in the orchestra was much cheaper than the one in front and behind, so we only paid $99 plus fees. I am actually going to see if I can get these seats again for a return visit. The show ran 2:40, but started at 8:14. The little girl and her mom next to us loved it. She was about 8, and at the end, when Cinderella and Sebastian kissed, started clapping and cheering. The Princess thing still runs strong.

A dear, sorely missed friend of mine always swore that he picked up Don Johnson from the same corner on Santa Monica Blvd a couple times, always at the end of the month. This was in the early 70s. He said Don was a decent escort, but clearly gay for pay. Don was clearly very attuned to the gay life of that era...didn't I read somewhere he was Sal Mineo's roommate at the time Sal was killed?

I saw this production for the third time last night. My comments on Beanie were submitted last Spring. I saw Julie Benko, who was the understudy for Beanie and interim Fanny between her and Lea Michelle, last summer. She was great. Made the production work. Had the voice to really deliver the songs and had the humor down. (She still performs every Thursday night.) But Lea Michelle. Wow. I wasn't a Gleek, and know there's been a lot of back and forth about her bad behavior in the past. I'd seen her in Ragtime, Les Mis, and Spring Awakening (several times, she was excellent.) But here, she blew me away. There's a Yiddish line in the show about the star being "heimish" described as being "familiar" with the audience. Well, Ms. Michelle has "heimish" down. The entire August Wilson theater was in her pocket from the second she said "Hello Gorgeous." I knew from the few times I watched Glee that she could sing (but I was watching for Darrin Criss, so didn't pay much attention to LM). Here she made every song work beautifully. She caught every bit of humor, and added more. And amazingly, she made every bit look like it was being done for the first time. No indication she'd already done it that afternoon. There was a spontaneity to her performance that imbued every scene. Her chemistry with Ramin Karimloo was red-hot, (I was getting jealous.) And her scenes with Jared Grimes were poignant and real. (And despite the tour-de-force around him now, he still stands out, giving the deservedly Tony-nominated performance that he gave when he was the only thing to watch.) As is often noted, Funny Girl is a flawed show, it worked (soared, in fact) due to Ms. Streisand's performance decades ago. It soars again with Ms. Michelle. Tovah Feldshuh who is playing Fanny's mother is also wonderful. At 74, she makes great sense as Mrs. Brice, a little over-the-top at times, but totally in control, as Rose Brice would probably have been. Had this production opened with Lea Michelle, she would have won the Tony, and if I was on the Tony committee, I'd be trying to finagle a way to give her some recognition in order to have her on the telecast this year...that would get folks to tune in. There are probably close to 100 folks who still have jobs thanks to her, and will have until she leaves the show. I have seen a lot of theater in my life, and this is probably in my top ten lead performances of all time. Up there with Angela Lansbury in Sweeney, Nathan Lane in Guys and Dolls, Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Death of a Salesman. Full disclosure, I went with my friend Tim who knows LM, and we sat in her house seats, and there were numerous times during Fanny's "on-stage" bits where she sang right to Tim. It was a special night.

There was a reunion celebration of the original cast of Pippin last night at 54 Below that was a real treat. Hosted by Walter Willisen, who was the original standby for Pippin, the event featured the original Pippin, John Rubinstein. Four of the original dancers, including Pamela Sousa and Candy Brown, the two ladies who danced with Ben Vereen in the TV commercial...which was the first live action TV commercial for a Broadway show. We learned that it saved the show which was dying at the box office. (The other two players present were Gene Foote and Cheryl Clark.) Also present was Joy Franz who was the second replacement for Jill Clayburgh as Catherine, (the first was Betty Buckley). Leland Palmer, who was a big Broadway dancer at the time, played Fastrada, and she left New York after Pippin to move to California and have a family, although she made some TV and movie appearances including Audrey in All that Jazz. Ads promised a video from her, and it was terrific, but the second show last night was lucky enough that Ms. Palmer appeared in person. The rest of the cast was as surprised and thrilled as the audience. One of the poignant moments was a reminiscence by Will McMillan who was the standby for the child role, Theo, who shared that he never got to go on, but talked about all the things he learned as a 10 year old in a big Broadway hit. The songs for Ben Vereen's character, The Leading Player, were ably handled by Aaron Lee Battle. It was fun to hear these songs sung by voices who knew them so well, and marvelous to hear the stories. My single regret is that neither Rubinstein or Franz told anecdotes of their time in the show. The Deets: There are two more sold-out shows tonight, the 7:00 one is being live-streamed for about $30. I bought my ticket for $75 back in August when the event was announced. Most 54 Below shows run about 75 minutes, this was closer to 95. Here's the ad:

Not that I was necessarily hesitant, but I read quite a lot and have several books going at once, and when I'd read a couple pages, if they didn't catch my mood of the moment, I'd save it for later. When I finally was in the mood for Arthur Less, I devoured him in three days. LOL.

Thank you!

They're touting this as a "NEW" musical, with a completely different book by David Thompson, who adapted Chicago's script for the Encores/now long-running Broadway production, and wrote the books for Scottsboro Boys, Thou Shalt Not, and Steel Pier; and Sharon Washington who was in Scotsboro Boys, and has written a play called Feeding the Dragon. Additional lyrics are being provided by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Directed by Susan Strohman. They've just announced the leads: Colton Ryan...(who was just leading the tour of Moulin Rouge, I think,) and Anna Uzele, who was in the recent revival of Once on this Island, and played Catherine Parr (survived) in SIX. They're pulling songs from numerous Kander/Ebb sources...and mention new songs as well. Should be interesting.

This has been on my reading pile for 2 years, I'd pick it up and read a few pages, and then put it down again. Finally, committed (because someone sent me a galley copy of the sequel...which came out last Fall) and greatly enjoyed it. Beautiful writing, and interesting recognizable character, who isn't totally likable, which I love. The surrounding characters are so great, and I have had so many of the same experiences...not travel, but just interactions. I sent my copy this morning to one friend and ordered one from Amazon to be sent to another.

Another recently announced transfer, this will move to the Jacobs theater with previews starting in February, opening in April, and closing August. I'm fortunate to live near the theater district and can walk to box offices to save the fees, but a friend who loves Ben Platt almost got tickets on line clicking on the first listing when putting "Parade Broadway" as the search. Called me to query about the high fees, and of course she was on a secondary site. Telecharge's fees are bad enough, but buying through BroadwayWorld or ticketnetwork is just a scam. I enjoyed this difficult piece, but don't need to see it again.

Lots of buzz that this production will move to the Circle in the Square on Broadway for a limited run. Haven't heard timing...hard to think they'd want to run against an already pretty crowded field of revivals. I did greatly enjoy it, and Parsons' accent got better during the run. LOL.

Turn off your phone.

I hired him a dozen or more times 6-8 years ago. He was my go-to when my regular wasn't available...and they were friends, so we always talked about each other. The above description about him being fun and charming and naughty is perfect. He's also great in bed. A power top...and he always seemed to prefer that to oral. Size is intimidating at first, but he knows how to handle it. Just typing this makes me want to call him again...but it's been ages and while I know he'd remember me, the thought makes me nervous. LOL.

Loved it, so smartly and carefully curated, with some video of old NY trains, etc to allow you see what Hopper was seeing. A remarkable retrospective that showed so many stages of his life as an artist. Wish they could have gotten Nighthawks from the CAI, but the sketches were a nice peek. Fun to see his sketchbooks, (and fun to have a dozen young art students with their sketchbooks sketching Hopper's work.) Will definitely merit a return visit.

Looking forward to seeing this in two weeks on Broadway. Was fortunate to see it three times at the Atlantic in Chelsea. Needless to say, loved it.

I am also not a huge fan of Ben, but he was perfect for this role. (And age appropriate.) Sang it well, and although his "Come Up To My Office" wasn't as over the top as the original, it still skeeved me out. The director's choice to leave him sitting in his "cell" for the curtain call was very powerful. He was brought some water, paced a bit, etc. It was unsettling as the audience chatted and caught up, came and went, to have that reminder of his captivity right in front of us. Michael Arden has really become a director to watch.

I saw the final dress of this new musical on Monday night. I thoroughly enjoyed it and think it will be a big hit. Very faithful to the original movie, with modern sensibilities that work. Sweet Sue is a fabulous Black Bandleader/singer, with an Ella vibe and lots of sass. Sugar is also Black...(Catherine Hicks who was the original Catherine of Aragon in Six on Broadway,) and nicely developed from the character made so famous by Marilyn Monroe. Christian Borle is Josephine (the Tony Curtis part) and is wonderful, doing some of his funny schtick. The real stand-out for me was J Harrison Gee as Daphne. He was a sensational Lola in Kinky Boots near the end of the run, and here he stole the show. Has a second act anthem which is comparable to I Am What I Am from La Cage, and may just win Mr. Gee a Tony. Score is by Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman and it's their best effort since Hairspray. The book is full of very funny quips and takes. (No programs...not sure who wrote it.). Directed by Casey Nicholaw who knows what people like in a rollicking escape of a musical. Sets and costumes are great period 1933. (Fun for theatergoers, one understudy was on in the ensemble, and a couple of her costumes weren't ready...so she went on in cobbled together "trying to be appropriate" rehearsal clothes in two numbers.) Worthy of it's own discussion/topic, but there are a lot of important shows on playing right now which have gotten rave reviews and accolades: Death of a Salesman, Cost of Living, The Piano Lesson, Raisin in the Sun, Top Dog/Underdog. But looking at weekly grosses and ticket offers, folks aren't going to them in the numbers expected. Broadway has gotten so expensive, I have to wonder that if one is only going a couple times a year, they're not looking to be "edified", they're looking to be entertained. Well, I do think Some Like It Hot needs a little trim...running almost three hours (with a very long intermission), but this theater-goer was VERY entertained. I actually have tickets for two more upcoming performances...one purchased on TDF...where there is still some availability for $57...and one purchased with a discount code which expired on 10/31. I will keep you posted if there are changes.

https://rentmen.eu/damondavisfornow/#platinum Any info?

Jim Parsons from The Big Bang Theory on TV and Boys in the Band and Harvey on Broadway is now starring as Albie Burn in the musical A Man of No Importance. Based on the 1994 film with Albert Finney, the musical has a book by Terrence McNally and music by Ahrens/Flaherty. I have always liked the musical better than the movie as the focus was a little tighter and kinder. This new production is classic John Doyle. Very sparse set, many performers doubling as musicians, and intimate in tone. Despite the fact that Parsons' brogue isn't consistent, the piece was very affecting for me. The ensemble which includes Mare Winningham, Thom Sesma, Mary Beth Peil, Bill Youmans, and the adorable AJ Shively, is OUTSTANDING. The music is perfect for the piece with classic Irish music overtones, and lyrics that paint definite a picture of the the time/setting. Originally played by Roger Rees, the part of Albie doesn't require a terrific singer, which is good because Parsons isn't one. He still manages to convey the confusion and anxiety of being gay in Dublin in the early 60s. I recommend seeing this rarely produced quiet piece, especially for the exquisite ensemble work (and Shively's rendition of The Streetlights of Dublin). The Deets: I am a CSC member, so my ticket was $89. ($50 for the membership, $39 for the ticket.) I had great seats near the top of the thrust. Show runs about 95 minutes without an intermission. Opens on 10/30 and just extended into mid-December.

I'm not sure what folks use, but I've had some luck on SeatGeek. I also occasionally check the Shoppin' section on All That Chat, a Broadway gossip board. I've scored a couple times there.

I subscribed to the whole season expecting that to be the case...and was surprised that they allowed subscribers to get additional tickets...up to a total of eight. I ended up buying a pair to two performances, expecting to want to see it twice, but know several folks who bought eight with the intention to sell the extras. Keep an eye on the secondary ticket market. Also, if it gets good reviews, I suspect it will transfer to Broadway for a limited run. With a January closing at NYTW, there's plenty of time to open before the Tonys...where it can compete with more Sondheim: Into the Woods and Sweeney.

I found the Times review to be much too effusive. Thought, I wish I'd seen that play. The Guardian review is pretty accurate, and the Post review most reflects my feelings. There's a too-long opening monologue, (which cause real confusion for me when we see this actor again later.) I really found the second half to be moving, but it felt a bit of a slog to get there, which I blame mostly on the opening scene. (It's 1:40 with no intermission.) In fact, when discussing it after, I teared up while talking about the last scene. I understand the accolades, the voices are real, and performances strong. Wish I'd known more going in, which isn't always the case. The portrayals by the "differently-abled" performers are great, and not gimmicky. I do recommend for avid theater-goers. I got this on TDF so paid only $45, and ended up with very decent seats. I myself am fascinated by the recent spate of Pulitzers and am trying to catch them to compare what was considered ground-breaking at that time. (Skin of Our Teeth last year at LCT, Fat Ham at the Public, currently Strange Loop, and just previewing Top Dog/Underdog and Death of a Salesman.)

I saw this play (both parts) three times in NY, and had a ticket to the closing pair...which was cancelled when the Pandemic started three days before. (Remember when we thought it would be only a couple weeks/a month maybe?) I found it moving and sexy and a strong overview of the era of my life. I shared it with both some older folks who'd mentored me, and some young folks to better know where I am coming from. Tempted to go see in LA, but my schedule this Fall is rough.