skynyc

Mama Rose is one of those roles I've "collected" for 40 years. I'll travel to see someone interesting's take on the role. So sorry to not have seen Angela Lansbury do it...(ever my favorite.) There hasn't been one that I wasn't intrigued by...(but if you've been reading my posts here, I'm a pretty easy audience.). I have enjoyed all the recent Broadway divas, and usually their standbys as well...) A couple real notables: Joanne Worley at in Pittsburgh, (I think) with Lenny Wolpe as her Herbie...and I just saw him in Drood at Goodspeed. Beth Leavel at MUNY (her husband Adam Heller was her Herbie.) Karen Mason and Sally Mayes. And I've seen two Black Roses: Leslie Uggams and E Faye Butler in Chicago. I will see Audra, but haven't decided whether to sell a kidney or rob a Brinks truck to get there.

Don't get me wrong, I love a "hot" musical, and see a lot of them as well. (I'm lucky to live 20 blocks from the theater district.) But I like to recommend things that I love that seem to be under the radar.

I've seen a lot of good plays this year. I loved Mother Play and Stereophonic (I think Tony winner.) I thought Appropriate was great. Went back to Purlie twice. Awed by Mary Jane. Jaja's African Hair Braiding and The Shark is Broken were both very entertaining. Laughed at Oh, Mary and Ibsen's Ghost. Primary Trust and Swing State both impressed and Philadelphia, Here I Come broke my heart. But All of Me which I saw last night at the Signature Pershing Theater Center was one of my favorite evenings of theater in a long time. Two disabled people meet, and communicate via text-to-speech technology. It wasn't on my radar at all until heartily recommended by a friend who is a much harsher critic than I. Now I am passing along a hearty recommendation. It's a very contemporary look at class, dating, parenting, and disability. I don't want to give too much away, but my fears of stereotypical characters and heavy dramatics were not realized. I was so impressed by the performances of the entire cast. (I only knew Madison Ferris from when she played the wheelchair-bound Laura in The Glass Menagerie with Sally Field (a production which I did NOT enjoy) and Kyra Sedgwick who has been on TV forever.) The production is tight and design fully depicts the differences of the two households. I bought my ticket for $37 on TDF three hours before the curtain, and we had amazing seats. Clearly not enough people are hearing about this play...(granted, because there's a LOT of good stuff on stage in NYC right now.) So I am bringing it to your attention.

I went to a one-night reading of Mame with Charles Busch as Mame and Marion Seldes as Vera some years ago. It was a benefit for the Actor's Fund. It was quite a fun evening...the two of them left no carpet unchewed. One of the big problems...they would have to tweak the characterization of Mame's butler Ito. But they're rewriting many of the classics now to address issues that just won't fly with a contemporary audience...and many times they're real improvements. Honestly...I'd love to see Sutton Foster do it. At 49, she's older than Angela Lansbury was when she created it.

I saw this last night, and there are some great things about it. It's very faithful to the book. (Didn't see the movie.) The score is stronger in the first act...but pretty deadly for a chunk of the second act. None of the ballads are very good. Jakob (Grant Gustin - TV's The Flash) has a song about stars that comes near the end of Act 1, that is too long and his singing is fine for the bigger numbers, but I don't think he was able to pull off the ballad, or the love duet in the second act. (However, he is pretty spectacular to look at.) Marlena (Isabelle MacCalla) has a ballad in the second act, which felt endless. The score is by "Pigpen Theatre Co." which according to the program consists of 7 fellows who have written and performed some off-Broadway and regional works. This collective didn't to my mind provide enough of a connective spirit for the score, but some of the bigger numbers were very strong, and there's some stunning choral arrangements for the cast. The ensemble is strong. Paul Alexander Nolan is truly a menacing villain, August. He is dangerous and mercurial, and not entirely two-dimensional, (...which he is in the book.) The show is pretty impressive viewing...there are some good circus acts, one in particular: a wounded horse imagining his younger days. The second act is muddled, and could be trimmed quite a lot...my companion didn't follow what happened in the big climax. (And there must have been some incident at the end of Act 1, because the intermission was longer than 25 minutes with a lot of folks running up and down the side aisle to the stage access door.) Part Lion King, part recent circus-themed revival of Pippin, part The Notebook (the reminiscent framing device seems to be very popular now), it's an engaging, if predictable story. It was worth the terrific discounted $100 seats we had, but I am glad we didn't pay more.

This Encores production of the homage to the music of Jelly Roll Morton is pretty spectacular. The cast is superb, and I could write a sonnet to each. LOL. Nicholas Christopher is terrific as Jelly...so hard to tread that line of the anti-hero...mistreating everyone around him, and still make him likable. (Especially after Gregory Hines' Tony winning original which is still pretty iconic in my head.) Billy Porter is the best I've seen him lately as the Chimney Man. Leslie Uggams at age 80 is in great voice and looks like a million bucks. Joaquina Kalukangu sings the hell out of Anita. Like in Paradise Square two years ago, she holds her long notes that folks just don't wait for her to stop to start applauding. (which I hate, by the way.) And the highlight for me was the three original Hunnies: Allison Williams, Mamie Duncan Gibbs, and Stephanie Pope. And the dancing is the best on Broadway this season...(and it's not on Broadway.) The tapping is spectacular. I don't know how they managed to put this together in their short rehearsal time, but I recommend it highly.

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Annie was also my first show...came to NY to visit older sister and somehow our dad finagled amazing tickets. Dorothy Louden had just won the Tony...and I was the same age as Andrea, but what I remember most clearly about that night is the scenery...the way things flew and two treadmills...and Laurie Beechman standing center stage singing NYC (while the treadmills moved frozen cast members in New York poses behind her.) That voice, and that anthem to the city. I fell in love with both. Was fortunate to see her in Joseph and Cats before her too-early passing. Saw several musicals after that, but my first Play was Amadeus, after my first year of college, again while visiting sis. And it was amazing to me see Frank-N-Furter on stage. LOL.

I've heard buzz that Hell's Kitchen is being slated to go into the Shubert Theater, where Some Like It Hot is closing on 12/30. Didn't move fast enough to get a ticket at the Public, where the Newman, at about 300 seats would be the place to see it. Hamilton there was pretty extraordinary...everyone knew it was something special. (And yes, I'm going to closing performance of SLIH. LOL)

Curious if your "yawns" are for this set of revivals, or revivals in general. This year's options are classic and contemporary, and the casts - and known material - are drawing audiences...which is good for NY. Are there any revivals you'd particularly like to see? I've been chomping at the bit for City of Angels to come back...with modern technology, the Color vs. B/W could be pretty impressive.

Yes, he told me he'd probably be back in NY this November, but didn't know if he'd be escorting. Last time I saw him, I asked him if there was a video he could share to tide me over, and he laughed and said he used to have an Only Fans page... sorry to have missed that.

I will look for his Honcho spread...I also have a lousy VCR tape of him on the Robin Byrd show somewhere. He told me he was the guy who showed the other guys about tying up their dicks so they'd stay hard on camera. It's astonishing to realize how long ago this was....LOL

We clearly have the same type. Other then "Dan" I had a great time with these guys too. Jason lived down the street from me for awhile. That was fun!

Oh, the days of hiring from the back of Next Magazine, or in LA, Frontiers. I met up a couple times with a beautiful blonde surfer boy name Tod Canon in LA. So sweet and sexy. He was a couple years older than I, and not my usual type, smooth and blonde. But he had a gorgeous thick piece that he really knew how to use. And his bedroom talk was incredible. I wanted to date him so badly. I think in a scrapbook somewhere I have the Frontiers ad.

I remember Joey well...he danced at Splash fairly often. On several occasions he had a little too much to drink and didn't want to drive home, so he came to my place. Crashed on my couch, and once in my bed. Sadly nothing ever happened...he was very straight, and "didn't want to fuck up our friendship".

Love this...who was Seymour opposite Ellen? I saw Hunter and Jake, and Jeremy when he did it a year ago...also Groff, Conrad Ricamora, and Skylar Astin...and yes, I probably go see Corbin Bleu. It's a great production of a terrific show.

Jason Markus was a regular for years...third Thursday of the month. LOL Sadly, I have no pics to share. Lately, I did have great time with Cutlerx...need to practice more.

I mostly concur. I thought that there were moments that were really funny, but for the most part, it was just schtick. There was a scene with the narrator (I saw Neil Patrick Harris) interacting with a kid in the audience during one of the "This is not funny" moments. And it wasn't...although the audience was beside themselves. When the one performer stepped onto the table, and was knocked out and hung there upside-down until the end of the act, I really laughed, because I didn't see it coming, but too much of it was too obvious. I did LOVE the fact that they brought the stage crew out for the curtain call, because those folks were REALLY busting their asses. I have a true fondness for Peter Pan, it was my third broadway show with Sandy Duncan, so I am glad to have seen it, but it should have been in one act. The Cottage, playing now at the Hayes with Eric McCormick is a decent farce, but again...could have been shortened to one act.

Bumping this as I’m wondering same thing. 6year old pics seem like a red flag.

I'm excited to be in contact with LiveNation to use this venue for a school event. I'm being given a tour in October.

There's a small, but awesome show of J.C. Leyendecker's original art at the New York Historical Society. The original creator of the Arrow Collar man. His models are always checking each other out, even when there are women in the image. And the gift shop is full of his images on stuff...it's practically a boutique on Christopher St. LOL

Yes, Benjamin Nicholas, exactly! Not for the big shows like Sweeney, Hamilton, etc., but the digital lotteries are pretty amazing...you often get sensational seats...sometimes too close (first row), for minimal money. Of course no guarantee, but I've been pretty lucky. And TodayTix will often have good sales...including "no fee" days.

Watched last night as I was attending a wedding on Sunday night...(what gay couple plans their wedding for TONY night?)...and agree. Theater is a live medium so winging it comes naturally to many of these folks, so the script less format worked pretty well. I agree the Shucked number was a mess...didn't sell the show at all, which is too bad because it's lots of fun. Loved that they did the anagram song from Kimberly Akimbo...and missed Annaleigh in the Sweeney presentation. Glad we got to see Lea rock it on Don't Rain on My Parade. Thought Henderson would win Best Actor...which would have been fine, but glad Sean Hayes got it as well. One of those categories I would have had a terrible time voting. Broadway needed the bump...hopefully it will help, but until ticket prices come down, it's going to be too luxe for many. (Especially those who don't know all the discount tricks.)

I saw it last week...taken by a reviewer friend, as I didn't want to pay. LOL It's a pretty powerful piece. The 100 minutes flew by, and the outcome is pretty devastating. The women in the audience around us were particularly engaged...a play about sexual assault is never a gentle experience. the outcome was predictable...they'd set it up from the get go...but still a complicated situation. She gives a real tour-de-force. The entire body/spirit/demeanor alteration is pretty extraordinary and I don't know how she does it 8 times a week.

In the early 90s, I ran a children's bookstore in Beverly Hills, and these two polite boys with accents would come in fairly often, always a little better dressed that the average customer. They were there with a woman thy called Lizzie. And then one day they came in with a man who I couldn't quite place...until he spoke...and it was Barry Humphries. He was funny and polite, and he could read my face when I recognized him...and he said "hello, Possum." He was in several times in that year, and was always a delight. A special memory. Safe journeys to him, and condolences to his familly.