"Billy Elliot" Dances into the Hearts of Broadway Fans

It's one of the hottest Broadway tickets, sold out for months. But one day I get an email inviting me to a special performance of the show for loyal theatre-goers. So, of course, I get on it right away and manage to get three tickets in the nosebleed section of the 1,435 seat Imperial Theatre. The best I can do. In a theatre as large as the Imperial, the air in that section is pretty thin, but hey do I want to see Billy now or wait months for a new block of tickets since it's pretty much sold out until next summer. It's such a plum acquisition that I even allow Jade to miss half a day of school.

For the few people who don't know, Billy Eliot is based on the much loved 2000 film. The music is by Sir Elton John with book and lyrics by Lee Hall who also wrote the film's screenplay. Set in a mining community in northern England in the 1980's during the miner's strike, a very depressing time for Britain's mining industry, it is the intertwining stories of the miners' plight which affects virtually everyone in the community and Billy's personal journey. It's also a story of brotherhood and community spirit, ignorance and acceptance.

The opening is very dramatic with news footage on the history of the mines, a precursory message of what is soon to come, the mining strike. The sets are very dark, depicting the depression of the time, but there is comedy relief and magnificent dream sequences that keep it from being too somber.

The show is very memorable although, I hate to say this, with the exception of the two songs I've heard on The Matinee "Express Yourself" and "Electricity", the Elton John score did not make me want to pay $30 on the spot for the soundtrack. And I'm a big Elton John fan with Aida being one of my favorite scores, as well as Lion King and much of his rock music, especially "Tiny Dancer", "Blessed" and "Sacrifice". I will buy it and probably grow to like it, but I did not leave the theatre singing. But all and all, a wonderful show that I think, even in today's economic climate, will have staying power. Our little friend, Heather Burns, who was a guest on The Matinee this past summer, was adorable as one of the little ballet girls who reminded me of baby chicks. Unfortunately, Trent Kowalik, who was also a guest on The Matinee and who had played Billy on the West End, was not the Billy of the Day. Fortunately, though, Kiril Kulish was, and he was marvelous. I also have to mention Frank Dolce who plays Billy's friend, Michael, who loves to dress in his mother's clothes. He was a scene stealer in the "Express Yourself" number and whenever else he was on stage. And British actress Carole Shelley as the grandmother was hilarious.

The musical opened on the West End in 2005 and won four out of the nine Oliviers it was nominated for including Best New Musical. I'm sure it will be nominated for many Tony Awards and from the buzz I've been hearing, has a good chance of winning Best Musical with the only possible competitors being Shrek which I have yet to see and, although it is closing in two weeks, 13 The Musical which Jade and I loved so much we saw it twice.

I must mention that if you can't manage a ticket to see Billy Elliot either on the West End or Broadway, you're sure to enjoy the movie which remains one of my all time favorites.

Happy New Year to all my Tameside friends.

Magic

If you wish to be mesmerised then take a trip to The Palace Theatre to see Mary Poppins.
From the first strains of the overture to the final curtain call I sat wide eyed and open mouthed. The sets were out of this world, and the cast lead by Lisa O'Hare as Mary Poppins. A faultless performance delivered with a sparkle in her eye and a spring in her step. Daniel Crossley is excellent as Bert, and Charlie Callaghan as Michael was extremely good. The Effects are outstanding with the closing sequence truly wonderful.
This show has to be up there amongst the top shows of the year.So if you haven't already booked your ticket get to it. The show runs till March but there are only a few tickets available between now and mid Jan. That's how popular it is.

The Wizard of Oz - The Lowry - Pele Productions

The Wizard of Oz is at the Lowry this Christmas. Lorna Luft (Judy Garlands Daughter) stars as the wicked witch. And she is perfect in the role. She is just the right level of evilness and even the most hardened theatre goer will find themselves sinking in to the seat. Friend of the show Joe Standerline is perfect as the Tin Man and the special effects are stunning. Regular listeners and readers will know I love anything that has Flying, Trapdoors and Special effects in it. And I was not disappointed. The Jitter-Bug scene (originally cut from the film) is superb and you will be humming it all the way home if your anything like me. Katie Schofield plays Dorothy, She was discovered in a search for Dorothy style competition and for a first professional appearance played it very well. Her acting was excellent. All in all, a good family show that kids and adults, even if they won't admit it, Will enjoy. Get your boo's and Hisses ready for the wicked witch and head down to the Lowry this Christmas.

Joseph --- The Return

Yes Joseph and his Amazing Coloured Coat returned to The Palace just 7 months after its initial triumph, Craig Chambers is still leading the cast, and a damn fine job he is doing too. Concidering the Show has now been on the road for the best part of a year the energy and pure joy is still there. Most of the original Tour Company too are here, with only a couple of main changes. To my delight the Narrator has reverted to the more traditional female performer,Tara Bethan is wonderful in the role with a great voice, mind you being Welsh helps,and pretty to boot. Anthony Hansen moves up the cast to take over as Pharoh with Robert Gwyn makng his Touring debut as baby brother Benjamin.
I found this second visit every bit as enjoyable as the first, this time perhaps having a slightly Camp edge to it, A great show, and for the sheer fun of it, still Sir Andrew & Tim at their best.
Its on till Saturday So grab a ticket while you can ,if you can, sit back and enjoy. It's worth it.

"In the Heights" at the Top of My List

It's been a while since I've blogged and I'm way behind in reporting on Broadway shows I've seen but it's because I've been seeing so many that I don't have time to blog. I have to say that everything I've seen, I've liked. And one I really liked is "In the Heights" which Jade and I saw a couple of weeks ago. This is the wonderful musical that won it's creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Musical. And he stars in it too. Jade and I met him at the Drama Bookshop a couple of months ago interviewing Charles Strouse, the composer of Annie and Bye Bye Birdie. Lin-Manuel was really enthusiastic and so sweet and genuine. As Jade and I neared our seats we saw an open stage with a magnificent setting of an uptown Latino neighborhood in New York City at night (check out the photo I took of the set on the Matinee Gallery). Little store fronts and apartment buildings and in the background the imposing George Washington Bridge. I thought to myself, this is going to be great. And it was. The sun rises and the street comes alive. Enter Usnavi played by Lin-Manuel and there he is with that same enthusiasm and high energy. It's so cute the way he jubilantly bops across the stage rapping about his neighborhood in the shadow of the George Washington Bridge called Washington Heights. While telling the personal stories of several characters and the obstacles they meet as immigrants trying to find the American dream, the backbone of the story is the camaraderie of the neighborhood and how they help each other forge through those obstacles to realize that they really have found their "home" and are an integral part of New York's vibrant tapestry. It's got it's soulful, sentimental scenes but for the most part, it's energetic and upbeat. The dancing is so much fun to watch thanks to the talents of the ensemble cast and the wonderful choreography of Andy Blankenbuehler which won him a Tony this year. And the awesome score with it's clever lyrics and extraordinary orchestrations runs the gamut of musical genres from hip hop/rap to different rhythms of Latin music to traditional Broadway sounds so there's something for everyone to relate to. The wonderful thing about this show, although it takes place on a Latino street, is that it could be the story of any ethnic group living in New York or any city. I think that's the reason that it's doing so well while other shows are closing one after the other. It's very genuine and relatable. And not only did it win for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Choreography, it won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations thanks to the talents of the brilliant Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman.

A little sidebar. I saw Alex Lacamoire on the panel discussing Carol de Giere's wonderful book "Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz from Godspell to Wicked". Unfortunately he left before I could speak to him. I emailed Carol de Giere who had agreed to be a guest on The Matinee and she offered to give Alex my email address. Within a day he emailed back and asked how he could help. Of course, I emailed him back and as a postscript, I mentioned I was going to see "In the Heights" that coming weekend. I knew he was the music director but did not know he was the conductor (to be honest, I'm not so sure what the difference is). He emailed back inviting us to stop at the stage door to say hello. Jade and I had left for the city already because we were going to meet Bernadette Peters in the afternoon so I didn't see the email. After a fun but tiring day, we got to the Richard Rodgers Theatre for the evening performance. After the fabulous show, Lin-Manuel introduced the conductor and up popped Alex with his signature dark curls bouncing playfully. I told Jade it was Alex and she asked if we could go to the stage door to see if we could meet him. Of course I wanted to as well. I asked someone if Alex was backstage and the next thing I know, he peeked out the door. I told him who I was and he invited us in. He was very, very amicable and gracious. And that smile and those curls, adorable! (There's a picture of Jade and Alex in The Matinee Gallery as well). He agreed to do the show and will be on with us next week. He was supposed to be on this past week but he got stuck at an early meeting. He was so apologetic. I told him not to worry about it (we can all appreciate how busy he must be), and we made another appointment for the show. So listen in this coming Sunday, 11/19/08 to hear James, special guest host the X-Factor's Scott Bruton and me chat to Alex.

Never has there been a tale of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo...

This was the first production by The Royal Shakespeare Company which I had seen, and I know that they are the Shakespeare ‘experts,’ but I didn’t know what to expect as there have been that many interpretations of Romeo and Juliet in its 511 year history. What did we get? A very “The Godfather” inspired performance.

The stage opened to all the cast on stage wearing typical 1930’s Italian costumes –peasants, widows, noblemen and typical workers of the time. There was also a traditional Italian Tarantella band on stage that provided eerie music at heightened points of tension throughout the play, ranging from a re-working of ‘The Godfather Waltz’ to a typical Tarantella dance.

The chorus’ opening speech setting the tale of the ‘star crossed lovers’ was well done in the way that the ‘voice’ stepped out from the crowd to make their speech. The setting throughout was quite plain, but also very clever. There were only black panels on stage and black chairs, but the lighting (of only blues, reds and whites,) changed at the protagonists’ click of fingers. (The set did change however for the final scene in the Capulet’s vault, as Mafioso type characters (who I realised eventually represented ghosts,) revolved the panels to form a tomb.)

Not using microphones, the cast did a very good job of projecting over the hoards of rowdy school kids in the auditorium, who found that laughing at important moments and wolf whistling at kisses quite hilarious. The cast themselves were quite diverse too. To say it was set in 1930’s Verona, there were many different voices of Scotch, Welsh, English and one Juliet’s mother could easily have passed at the part of Eva Peron.

Speaking of Evita, Juliet’s shadow cast on the back wall of the stage when stood on her bed (doubling as her balcony,) was very Peron-esque from the Balcony of the Casa Rosada. –Just a nice little point there!

Some of the choreographed fight sequencing was almost certainly West End Story inspired, primarily due to the fact that flick-knives were used. A nice effect was the use of a ‘Flash, Bang, Wallop!’ type camera effect, which blinded at least the first 10 rows of the audience.

Personally, for me, the best part of the show was the Tarantella band. Being half Italian, this music I was quite familiar with on recordings and such, but to actually hear one live, adding to the tension of one of Shakespeare’s finest plays was fantastic. They added a haunting undertone to the play, stepping out ‘from the blackness’ with their music commenting on the action.

In comparison to the production of Othello last month, there were many. RSC obviously do Shakespeare ‘the best,’ there is no comparison. Their performance was practically faultless, and they all kept their characters –something which those in Othello did not do. It was also evident that the cast knew their characters well as they all added their own little quirks to them.

A very good performance indeed!
S.L.

Broadway's Spring Awakening is Being Put to Bed

Spring Awakening's last Broadway performance will be on January 18, 2009. Why? Is it a victim of our economic times? Sadly, I think it is. It won the 2007 Tony for Best Musical plus 7 other Tony's. A blockbuster, a juggernaut. Well, it should be. In my opinion it's the best thing on Broadway. In fact, it's one of the best shows I've ever seen with a brilliant score by Duncan Sheik and lyrics and book by Steven Sater based on the first play of German playwright Frank Wedekind. Written and staged in 1891, it was banned as scandalous. It's an adult musical about children. Children left in the dark about their changing bodies and raging hormones. It's about ignorance and denial and their often dire ramifications. The staging is ingenious, taking teens coming of age in 1891 Germany, wearing clothing of the times, settings of the times, but modernizing it with bursts of lights and rock music as these frustrated children on the brink of adulthood express their teenage angst. It's emotionally charged with the joys and sorrows of sexual discovery and the consequence of ignorance thanks to unapproachable parents, teachers and clergy. The opening song sets the tone with the beautiful 15 year old Wendla singing "Mama who bore me, Mama who gave me, No way to handle things, Who made me so sad". Wendla who is so full of life and curious and asks questions that need to be answered but are glossed over by her puritanical mother. When it is later found she is pregnant, she has no idea how it happened.
This is musical theatre for theatre lovers who don't love musicals. The story is sensitive, profound, breathtakingly emotional and, in my opinion, a must-see.

The good news is, although it will soon close on Broadway, it will continue to touch audiences across the United States with it's American tour, and around the world with productions soon to open in London, Vienna, Toronto, Helsinki and Seoul. And I read in Playbill News that a film version is likely.

Spring Awakening is set to begin performances at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith on January 23, 2009 with an official run from February 3rd to February 28th.

Slava's Snow Show - I wouldn't like to be a cleaner

Ok how do you describe Slava's Snow Show... Beats me, its a special effects extravaganzer mixed with a clown show, Now as bizarre as that might sound it really captures your attention all the way through, there are lots of laughs and some great visuals. However as much you sit there thinking. This can't work, it does. The big finale special effect is STUNNING, the power from the wind machines can be felt right at the back of the auditorium and the amount of "Snow" that covers you is just phenomenal. And then to top that the auditoriom is filled with giant inflatable balls that the audience thrill in batting around. I have really done a bad job explaining this show but I defy anyone to explain it.. It's just superb. GO AND SEE IT. It's a once in a lifetime experience.

Seven Brothers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Milly gets more than she bargained for when she marries Adam Pontipee.
6 brother in law's, and they all live in the same log cabin.

My idea of heaven;
but she sets about finding them all wives.
With songs like Bless your Beautiful Hide, Goin' Courtin' and Wonderful Wonderful Day you know your gonna be traditionally entertained. With a large cast Lead by Steven Houghton Who's list of TV credits starts with London's Burning and takes in Bugs ,Holby City and Doctors,As his leading lady we have Susan McFadden, Grease is the Word winner and star of Grease in the West End as Sandy, both handle their roles very well, Yes another good show to add to the ever growing list to come to Manchester.

Essex comes to Manchester

Yes David Essex returned to the Palace on Monday with his own show "All the Fun of the Fair",a year after his hit tour with Aspects of Love.

This show as you can probably guess is set around a traveling fair,where recently widowed Levi Lee (David Essex)struggles with his wife's tragic death, the advances of longtime family friend and newly divorced Rosa,not to mention his teenage son's tangled love life, all this and the prospect of another lean winter means Levi is gonna have to keep his wits about him.

Directed by Nikoli Foster who directed Aspects for Essex and joined by David Burrows who was also in the cast. He plays Harvey the father of Jack's forbidden love interest Alice. Debuting as Jack is local lad Paul-Ryan Carberry from Salford where he studied at Pendleton Collage.
In My opinion a fine debut it was too.
Now the music we all know, the hits and more of the man himself. What pleasantly surprised me was how easily the songs lent themselves to being adapted for a theatre production. Unlike so many Jukebox musicals where the story has to fit the music here the music and the story went together hand in hand. I think with just a slight reworking this show could turn into a real long term winner even without Mr Essex in the lead role.I liked it and if it comes back to our fair city I will go and see it again.

The Boyfreind

Firstly apologies to all. I am now three shows behind.

Thinks"Aries you're a bad girl"

Last Tuesday I ventured out in the bitter cold to the Studio at the Lowry to see Salford Music and Performing Arts Service Youth Musical Theatre Company Perform Sandy Wilson's "The Boyfriend"
A 15 strong cast all from 11 different schools and colleges across Salford and beyond, who's average age is fifteen yes fifteen.
To most of us this musical is best remembered as a Ken Russel directed piece of cinema starring former cloth's horse (that's a model to you) Twiggy.
Set in a ladies finishing school it tells of love imaginary, love found and lost then found again.
Considering that all these performers are not from a specialist school for the performing arts and they rehearse in the evening and weekends after there regular school duties. this was well put together, a little shaky in one or two spots,but you cant hold that against them. What they lacked in finesse they more than made up for in enthusiasm.
Now one or two faces shone out from the rest, Henny Fox as Polly Browne Joe Carter as Bobby van Husen, keep an eye out for this boy he's got something good going for him and its not just his boyish good looks, and a young lady with a voice like a nightingale,Jess Hamp who plays the girl's teacher Madame Dubonnet. The music was provided by an accomplished five piece consisting of Piano ,Drums,Bass and two violins
Not resting on there past triumphs the company are looking for new members on Wednesday 5th November at Swinton High School between 5.30 and 7.00 pm if you fancy treading the boards, and think you have what it takes to be a performer then get yourself along,Richard Milton the head of MAPAS would be delighted to see you.
Just one thing you have to be between 12 & 19 to be a part of the cast, oh and live in the Salford area.

Beauty and the Beast plus Technology

Beauty and the Beast at the Palace theatre in Manchester is a stunning recreation of the Disney classic. The costumes are supurb, escpecially that of Luminere with his flaming candle hands, Now regular readers will know I am not a huge fan of special effects (shut it Aries) but the effects in this are very well done and not overdone. Middle Aged Mary was able to watch the show without her hands clamped firmly over her ears incase some stray bang should make her jump. There was also a stunning effect when the beast changed in to the prince and the effect of the little boy as a tea cup is very clever. The show started with video projected on the gauze curtain which slowly melted in to live action, A great way of getting kids in this TVcentric world into live theatre. This show had Flying, Special Effects, Magic and great tunes so obviously I didnt like it....AHEM. It was FAB. (just dont tell anyone I said that)

Thumbs Up for The Battery's Down

The internet television show I raved about on Sunday's Matinee is called The Battery's Down (www.thebatterysdown.com). It was created, written, directed, and choreographed by a young actor named Jake Wilson who also stars in it. It chronicles his day-to-day life and the trials and tribulations met with while trying to break into a career in musical theatre in New York City. One episode is funnier than the other. And the musical production numbers are wonderful parodies and/or pastiches of legitimate Broadway shows featuring many Broadway stars playing either themselves or hilariously exaggerated characters. I am totally hooked and you know me, when I love something passionately I want to share it with the world. Have a listen. The seed's been planted, it's beginning to bud. I think we're witnessing a new species of flower that will bloom into magnificence. A million thumbs up to The Battery's Down.

Ballerina Who Loves B-Boy a Beaut!

For an amazing, astonishing, astoundingly awesome evening of jovial joyous jubilance, then the blithesome Ballerina Who Loves B-Boy is your ticket. Done with no lyrics, no dialogue ala ballet, it's a wonderful visual experience. Yes, it's flawed, the story's kind of syrupy, almost corny, but, oh the dancing is sick (that's a really, really good thing in the US). Did I love the music? No, not that I don't like hip hop music, but this was like "canned elevator" hip hop music. The beautiful ballerina's turnout was poor, and her fouettes sloppy (but then again, as a former ballet dancer, I guess I might be nitpicking, although my 12 year old daughter who is an accomplished ballet dancer noted it as well). To her credit, her arms were gorgeous and her extension and control excellent. The truth is, it was more of a display of break-dancing, locking, krumping and popping than ballet and I was gasping at the incredible moves of this Korean Extreme Crew.

The story is of So-Yeon (Yoo Eun Hye), a ballerina whose classical training is frequently interrupted by the noise from the street below. She and one of her classmates step out to watch. This leads to a showdown of dancing genres as both ballet and street dancers try to outdo each other. But it's not long before So-Yeon falls for the lead B-boy (Joung Young Kwang) and we eventually find her frustratingly trying to master the B-boys' moves. I don't think I'm ruining anything by telling you that she does master the moves, shows up in hip hop regalia, dances with her B-Boy and off they walk hand-in-hand. That said, the dancing is worth the price of admission. And what I thought was a very good marketing move, the audience was encouraged to take as many pictures as we wanted. You can see some of my photos in The Matinee's Gallery.

Fresh from three sold out years in Seoul and a hit run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, it's currently playing through October at off-Broadway's 37 Arts Theatre. (They're apparently on a world tour, so look out for them.)

Bewictched by Eastwick

A Hell Of A Musical.
That's the official promotion line.
A Devil of a show to review.
That's my official line.

Marti Pellow is not only a very nice likable chap,but he is one hell of a musical performer.
In a role that he was born to play, that of the devilishly charming Daryl Van Horne, Pellow crackles with the pure joy of a child in a sweet shop. Returning to Manchester after his debut in Chicago helped by a new power to his not insubstantial vocal abilities, he leads this wonderful if undiscovered show about the awakening of three middle America suburban single women and their discovery that they can do things their way, without a man to steer them.
Eastwick also sees the return of a couple of fine performers. Namely Rachel Izen, last seen here in Hot Flush as Jessica and Poppy Tierney alongside David Essex as Guilletta Trapani in Aspects of Love. Both were well chosen for their role, with perhaps Rachel coming more into her own as Felicia Gabriel, the repressed leader of the town and matriarch of the oldest family of the said town.
A show with all the charisma of classic musical theatre and the fire and joy of new theatre, well worth catching on its 8 yes 8 month tour of the United kingdom culminating in a 12 day run in Mr Pellow's home town at the end of April next year.
Definitely one I would advise you to see. A joy to watch and some damn catchy tunes too.

A Song for the Lovers

As part of the Lowry's Studio Season Monkeywood Theatre Company present there newly revised production till Saturday. Set in a Conservative Club in Manchester,is there such a place, suppose there must be. The action revolves around two step sisters and there inability to really communicate. It takes Davy, a youth of low intelligence, to fill in the blanks; clever Davy may not be, but sensitive to the plight of Catie he is.
It shows that even when we think we know what is happening in the lives of those close to us, sometimes it takes a stranger to point it out.
Both well written and acted "A Song for the Lovers" is worth paying a visit to see.
Not to doom laden but with an edge to make the grey cells tick over.
Well done to all
Director Jo Fisher
Writer and Actor Sarah McDonald Hughes
Actors Francesca Waite & Martin Gibbons

Grease vs Grease

Being a reality show junkie, I had watched "Grease, You're the One that I Want" and was first on line for tickets when the show opened on Broadway last summer. We loved the winners Max Crumm and Laura Osnes. Max was such a down to earth cutie and Laura's voice was gorgeous. But we also loved some of the runners-up including Ashley Spencer and Derek Keeling. So we were thrilled to hear that the original cast was being replaced by these two runners-up. I was given the chance to meet the cast and of course jumped on it. I even let my daughter miss her dance classes that evening because I knew meeting Ashley and Derek would be a thrill for her. So off we went to Sardi's, a New York restaurant which is located in the heart of the theatre district. Known for the hundreds of caricatures of show business celebrities that adorn its walls, Sardi's opened at its current location on March 5, 1927. That's even before Madame Aries was born. Six members of the cast walked in including Ashley and Derek who play Sandy and Danny. To our surprise, one of our favorite American Idol contestants was among them. Ace Young, a season five finalist, and that year's heartthrob is the new Kenickie. We also met Janine Divita (Rizzo), Will Blum (Roger) and Kirsten Wyatt (Frenchie), the only one we had seen in previews. Each one of them was warm and personable. I chatted at length to Will Blum and Ace Young, both of whom were adorable and very forthcoming. Will told me there had been some changes made along with the cast changes so I left knowing I had to see it again. Last Wednesday was a school holiday and a perfect day to catch the matinee. We arrived at the theatre fifteen minutes before show time to find Dominic Fortuna who plays Vince Fontaine on stage warming up the audience. This was a new and fun addition which really got the audience fired up, always a good thing. The overture starts, the lockers open and out come the T-Birds singing the title song "Grease" and then the Pink Ladies. Oh, I love this show. It's a party, a celebration of life. And as much as we loved it the first time, we enjoyed it even more this time. Maybe it was because we had met the cast. They were all great and the changes in the staging really worked. I especially thought Ashley Spencer was wonderful as Sandy. I had seen her as Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray and was very impressed with her comedic timing and presence. And Ace Young, what can I say. Smashing. He sang well, he moved well, he played the tough guy well, and well, he could have played the lead. Not to say Derek wasn't great in the part of Danny. He was very good and definitely looked like "Danny". Ace really has stage appeal and the "it" factor and I smell a great future for him. He did tell me that there was film in his future and he does have a CD out and a single "Addicted" on the charts, plus he was nominated for a Grammy for co-writing "It's Not Over" for fellow American Idol finalist, Chris Daughtry. Janine Divita was wonderful as Rizzo, a part totally unlike the real person, as was Will Blum as Roger. Kirsten Wyatt was the same scene stealer she was the first time we saw her, very perky and adorable in the role, very much like her real personality. After the show the fun continued when we met the cast as they left the theatre. They all remembered us and treated us like old friends. Ace hugged and kissed us and was as playful as he had been at Sardi's, including bopping me on the head with a playbill when I said out loud while he was taking a picture with another fan "isn't it a pity he's so ugly".


The first time we saw this production of Grease we loved it, but the second time is a charm. This edition of Grease is a winner. The cast is fabulous, the changes successful, and of course there's the wonderful score. Jade and I had a blast and I didn't think about my waning bank account for the rest of the day.

Rent - Filmed Live on Broadway Turns Up the Heat

I want to shout it from the rooftop of that dilapidated building the struggling friends of Rent lived in, THIS IS AN AMAZING THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE. Do you think I liked it? Like isn't strong enough. I LOVED IT. I so want to see it again but I can't. For some reason Sony's Hot Ticket Division decided to screen it on an extremely limited basis, only four screenings over four days. And only in the USA and Canada. Maybe they were just testing the waters since this was the first endeavor of this kind. I emailed Sony to ask why and to plead for another go-round, not only here but in the UK and beyond. I want to share this experience with all my friends around the world. Maybe they'll put out a DVD which would be fabulous, but you have to see it on a big screen with an audience sharing the experience. It's as close as you could possibly get to seeing the live thing. For me, the added dimension of seeing the sweat and tears on the actors faces had my adrenaline pumping big time. I was even able to read the tattoo on Roger's hand (an homage to his dead girlfriend, April). Rent touched every emotion. I was laughing, crying, empathizing, sympathizing, applauding every song until my hands burned. Both of the friends who accompanied me called this week to thank me for inviting them to join me. They loved it as much as I did. I'll let you know if the Sony people get back to my people (that would be me). God bless Jonathan Larson, the genius behind Rent who suddenly died the day before it opened off-Broadway at the age of 35. It's such a pity he never got to see how this touching masterpiece captured the hearts of so many people.

Othello

Frantic Assembly's production of 'Othello' at the Quays Theatre in The Lowry, was certainly not what I expected.

As you are seated, much like 'The Phantom of the Opera,' you are cast directly into the action with the stage curtains already open, and the scene set out before you -a pub with a snooker table and a slot machine- not something I'd expect from a Shakespeare production...

Neither was I expecting the 5 minute dance routine which opened the show, and introduced the themes of the play. The play was very true to Shakespeare's script, (all Shakespearean language, set in a modern setting, with the inclusion of some modern hand gesticulations and vulgar vocabulary.) However, this worked well in my opinion, as did the occasional dance routines during the play, including a Square Dance with baseball caps and bats.

The play kept all Shakespeare's themes, and even the war in the original script was here, but against two gangs rather than two fleets, -which made for some odd ''the master has come ashore," lines.

All in all, the choreography, the set and the special effects (Othello's suicide,) were all very well put together. The dialect was a bit too much at times, and didn't really suit the Shakespearean words with a Yorkshire accent, but it didn't take away from the enjoyability of the show.

A good effect was a pool table which doubled for Othello and Desdemona's marital bed, which the cast incorporated into the show often, by delviering soliloquies on top of it, and dancing around it, dragging it along. The set was very simple, but the bar walls sometimes pulled back to reveal the street outside, and also the 'pub' toilets, which was very effective.

All in all, a very good production with the strangest programmes I've ever seen --it was the actual script to the show! Good or not? -Well, you could at least tell when they'd messed their lines up!

S.L.

Cant Stop Smiling at Cant Smile without You

Cant Smile Withou You is the new Barry Manilow musical appearing at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. If you like a bit of cheese and easy going fun then this is for you. All of the best Manilow hits are featured, including Copacabana..I'm sure thats been used in a musical before. Chesney Hawkes really stands out in this show. Prior to this performance I have only seen him in panto and of course in the charts many years ago. Many shows that have "Names" in the cast tend to just use the "Name" to get people in to the show and not because they are right for the role. Not in this case. One of the nice things about this show is the band featured in the plot actually played instruments and when not required on stage were playing with the rest of the onstage orchestra. The story is of a band that go to seek fame and fortune in America and the trials and tribulations of love, showbusiness and friendship. Lots of laughs and groans to be had.

The ExTra Factor

Well! Celebs everywhere, a girl almost went dizzy. T'was my own fault, I turned to fast. Seriously , I did, well all those stars Colleene Nolan, Lisa Riley,An them two from 't nicker factory on Corrie, and that was just in the audience. All out for the first night of a touring production on a short engagement in our fair city. Yes The Xtra Factor came to the Opera house. Written by Dave Simpson, and Directed by Steven Leatherland. The guys how brought you "The Naked Truth"Stars of the show included Anthony Costa (Blue) Russ Spencer(Scooch) The Very Delish.... Anthony Kavanagh (Grease is the word finalist) Not forgetting the fabulous Kevin Kennedy Better known to us lesser mortals as Curly Watts. Oh and three girls, A Pop Idol, the none related one from Eternal, and a Hollyoaks star. A Good ensemble who, on the whole, work well. Mr Costa is a gem as a slightly geekish mummies boy,who may or may not get the girl, Kavanagh is perfect as the skally with a secret. What was that? Oh the plot? Its set in a TV Studio and the house where the six finalists of a reality show are lodged. It follows there last two weeks on the show with all the ups downs and side swipes that can happen in shows like this. The songs are a vehicle to show them in true Pop Idol , X factor stylee More a play with music than a musical.That said it ain't so bad. Kevin Kennedy as the wisecracking recovering alcoholic is for me the real star.Hopefully we will be seeing more of his talents SOON PLEASE. Feel good factor? A 7 1/2. singing 9. If its coming to a theatre close to you make the effort you might get a surprise. All N All a tongue in cheek look at the world of reality TV.

Willow Wood's 'Fifth Enchanted Evening.'

As the name suggests, this indeed was Willow Wood's 'Fifth Enchanted Evening.' Organised by Mike Styan, a member of a few local amateur operatic societies, this event was held especially for the wonderful work done by all at the Willow Wood Hospice.

The evening was held at Ashton Town Hall, and featured a variety of performers from the local societies, singing all the well-known songs from the musicals, ranging from The Phantom of the Opera, to Fiddler on the Roof, to Grease and Chess.

Overall, the night was very well executed with a definite 'In Concert' feel (the performers plus a piano,) and a definite range of voices singing the standards. I think special recognition should go to Vincent (I forget his surname,) but his deep Bass voice gave a wonderful rendition of 'Ol' Man River' and 'If I Were A Rich Man.'

However, the performance of the night was easily a rendition of 'O Mio Babbino Caro,' which shook the chandeliers on the roof, even though the Phantom's 'Music of the Night' did not. The evening was hosted by Graham Norton who's been on the amateur circuit for many years, and he did a good job of entertaining the audience who must have had an average age of 60, and I was easily the youngest person in the audience by at least 40 years (asides from my girlfriend, who is 17.)

Anyway, the performances were all very well polished, with only two slip ups noticed by myself -which were only wrong lryics (the same verse of The Music of the Night was sung twice, and the lyrics to Hey! Big Spender, were all mixed up,) but my 'musically trained' girlfriend (she plays the violin!) noticed quite a few intonation problems. Still, nothing major and nothing which didn't take away from the enjoyability factor of the show.

Overall, a very pleasant evening, all for a good cause! -There was even a raffle at the interval, with prizes of £15 worth of Timpson vouchers! ---If you need your shoes repairing, or your keys cutting -you know where to go!

Virginia Woolf's Waves

At The Lowry tonight I was surprised by the play "Waves".
An adaptation by Katie Mitchell of the Virginia Woolf Novel"The Waves". Using a combination of live film and sound effects, the eight strong cast take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions Following a group of friends from 1893 to 1933. Not one for the everyday,this thought provoking piece of theatre took me about ten minutes to settle into, its all there the repressed sexuality, the oppressed feminism, the inner child.
If you like your theatre light and frothy DO NOT GO TO SEE THIS PLAY. however if you enjoy challenging theatre book now.This National Theatre Company are touring with this next stop is Bath taking in Dublin ,The Hague and Luxembourg before a short run on Broadway.
I wish them well.

The Broadway Concierge and Ticket Center

Broadway veterans Bebe Neuwirth and Tom Wopat were among the stars on hand to launch a great new service for theatre lovers which opened yesterday in the Times Square Information Center located at 1560 Broadway, between 46th and 47th Street. The Broadway Concierge and Ticket Center is the only place in New York where you can get tickets to just about every Broadway and many off-Broadway shows. It's the official one-stop shopping source for Broadway tickets and information.
The Broadway Concierge & Ticket Center offers a wide variety of services, including general Broadway information in six languages, show recommendations, ticket purchase (regular and premium priced tickets), restaurant reservations, hotel reservations, car services, attraction reservations, added-value experiences for individuals and groups, parking information, free neighborhood maps, as well as special events and giveaways. It's open Monday to Saturday 9am - 7pm and Sunday 10am to 6pm.

Miracle in the Studio

I was in for a bit of a shock on our second visit to the Lowry Studio. Miracle is the story of Will Hung, Ex rent boy and porn star who has an amazing gift, and no I'm not talking about his endowment. He can cure any disease, yes a true miracle..only catch is you have to sleep with him. Not a problem for his adoring Hungians (fans) but imagine, You have an incurable disease and you are straight. What levels will you go to, to ensure you continue to live. And what if you are a Catholic priest. Miracle explores sex and sexuality and morals and morality on a very uncomfortable level. The performance was superb, The casting EXCELLENT. The story compelling. I must confess I am finding it very difficult to review as the performance left me literally speechless for most of the journey home. I still feel uncomfortable comprehending the dilemma left at the end of the show and without wanting to "give it away", It really leaves you with the ultimate of moral questions with no easy answers. To try and explain how draining it was for the audience I have to mention the fabulous cast at the curtain call. Usually you will see a see of smiling but tired faces...Not in this case. All the cast looked like they needed to go in to counselling themselves to recover from the emotional whirlwind this show leaves you in.
A special mention must go to Ste Myott who portrayed Will Hung so expertly.
If you can cope with a show that will make you uncomfortable, think and question morality on more levels than you could ever imagine then this is the show for you. A word of warning..This brilliant show will leave even the most open minded person questioning what is right and wrong and believe me there is no answer to the dilemma you are left with....
Last word well there are three ... A MUST SEE

Musical Madness with Our House

Our House is very reminiscent of the film Sliding Doors. It explores the consequences of choices you make and how one simple choice can change the whole of your life. Surprisingly this heavy moral backbone to the show does not detract from the fun of the show helped by the amazing energy on stage by all of the cast, the old adage of "I was tired just watching" is certainly true here. The staging was superb and Paul Kieve's costume effects were stunning. A simple but very clever concept of changing the colours of the doors and costume of the main character to show which of the consequences you are watching was pulled off brilliantly with the changes from one to the other raising applause from the audience on a number of occassions.
The casting was spot on, Steve Brookstein as Joe's Dad was totally believable and Gwyneth Strong as Kath Casey was spot on. The lead role of Joe Casey was played by Chris Carswell who was making his professional debut in Our House, and if his performance in this show is anything to go by, the start of a promising career.
Our House is a massive feel good musical with good humour, innovative dance and stunning special effects. I didn't want to leave when it finished...

Applause to Charles Strouse, A Musical Genius

It's not often you meet someone of Charles Strouse's caliber. He's a true genius and I so admire genius. And a really, really nice man. If you're wondering who he is. Well, I'm sure you've heard his music. Have you seen Annie, or Bye Bye Birdie or Applause? They all won Tony Awards for Best Score? And he was nominated for four other scores. Then there are the scores he wrote for movies such as "Bonnie and Clyde", "The Night They Raided Minsky's", "All Dogs Go to Heaven" and "Ishtar" (okay that one bombed but not because of the music). Well I had the good fortune to spend an hour in his company a couple of weeks ago and I can't stop thinking about what a wonderful hour that was. He was so personable and very humble and very real. (I could go for a guy like him even if he is 80 years old. Not that he'd have me, and I'm already taken anyway. And so is he. In fact his wife of many years was there and she was lovely.) The adorable and brilliant Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator, composer, lyricist, and star of this year's Tony Award winner for Best Musical, sat with him in the front of the room asking him questions about his childhood, his first girlfriend, his first song, and his first break. Mr. Strouse shared anecdotes about the shows and movies he worked on and the people he worked with, both the actors and the creative teams. There was a piano in the room so he was able to play some of his songs including "It's A Hard Knock Life" from Annie and "I Got a Lot of Living to Do" from Bye Bye Birdie. Ironically, Lin-Manuel Miranda had played Conrad Birdie in his first school play in sixth grade, and he sang the song complete with the Birdie snarl. Charles Strouse introduced us to lyricist Susan Birkenhead with whom he is writing a new musical adaptation of the movie "The Night They Raided Minski's" (this is inside information guys). Afterwards we were able to chat and take pictures with both Charles Strouse and Lin-Manuel Miranda. I was even able to chat a bit with Lin-Manuel Miranda's parents. It's easy to see where he gets his adorableness from. They were both lovely. And Charles Strouse, Buddy to his friends, was so open and sweet to both me and my daughter Jade who he seemed to be very taken with. It was a glorious night, one I won't soon forget.

In bed with Lord Arthur

This was our first visit to The Studio at the Lowry, the performance space was reminiscent of my college drama studio, compared to the other performance spaces at the Lowry you would describe it as intimate and I think that worked for Theatre North's production of Lord Arthurs Bed by Martin Lewton. The play is set in modern day in the apartment of Donald & Jim, a modern couple in a post civil partnership era. Between them they tell the audience the fascinating true story of Ernest Boulton, Frederick Park and Lord Arthur Clinton MP and the interesting and often graphic story of cross dressing and "un-natural acts" in the late 1860s. However for me the really clever part of the play was the portrayal of the relationship between Donald & Jim, often uncomfortable to watch this performance would be very close to home for a lot of couples. The play also touched on the very real effects of homophobia in a politically correct world, where looks and snigger's have replaced the in your face abuse. The characters Donald & Jim were played superbly by Paul Kendrick and Paul Spruce and were entirely believable as a gay couple, something that is often done completely wrong. Donald is comfortable with his sexuality but Jim has issues with his Mum, work and ultimately his own identity and his "Catholic Guilt". With all this you may be surprised to find that I would describe this as an uplifting show, however on leaving this show I was left with the feeling that love will get you through anything and also a greater understanding of struggles that gay people still face in this so called equal society.

Avenue Q is so Q-ute!

I took my husband Jerry to see Avenue Q yesterday for our wedding anniversary. The whole day was my treat. We took the Long Island Railroad into Manhattan, a 35 minute ride from Rockville Centre. Then walked to 51st street where I had made reservations at Ruth Christ's Steakhouse, one of Jerry's favorite restaurants. After dinner we walked over to 45th street to the Golden Theatre. I hadn't told Jerry what we were seeing so when we got to the theatre he said to me "are we seeing a puppet show?" I jokingly told him "yes it is a puppet show, but you'll love it because it has puppet nudity in it." The Tony Award winning Best Musical (2004) just celebrated it's 5th anniversary. I was glad to see it was a full house, a good sign, since Broadway shows are not doing well in our depressed economy. The set is in view as you enter the theatre. It is a tenement, a rundown building on Avenue Q.

The overture begins and a puppeteer in gray clothing comes out carrying a very colorful puppet, Princeton, the newly graduated student who is looking for affordable housing and a purpose in life. Gradually we are introduced to the other residents of Avenue Q, some puppets, some human, including the building superintendent, Gary Coleman (yes, the child star from "Different Strokes" but played by a woman). So there are human characters, puppets and puppeteers acting and singing and making the puppets come alive. Some of the puppets are supposed to be human, some monsters. It all sounds very confusing but it works.

Avenue Q is sweet, charming, touching, hilariously funny and definitely not for kids. And guess what? There is puppet nudity as well as salty language and adult content. They touch on everything from racism, sexual orientation, pornography, Schadenfreude (pleasure in someone else's pain), to first love, coming out, purpose in life and idealistic desires to make a difference in the world. The score is great with funny yet touching lyrics ("It Sucks to Be Me", "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist", "There's a Fine, Fine Line"), the characters are all very endearing and the cast wonderfully talented.

I don't want to give too much away because it is some of the surprises that made it really fun but I will tell you my favorite character is Christmas Eve, a Japanese immigrant with two master degrees in social work who can't seem to book a client. So if you're looking for some good laughs and a purpose in life, take the Q train downtown to Avenue Q and stay a while.

Pal Joey Un"Zipped"

With the success of the revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific, it's exciting to look forward to a revival of another Richard Rodgers musical Pal Joey opening in previews on Broadway November 14th, with the official opening slated for December 11th at Roundabout Theatre's Studio 54. This one, in collaboration with lyricist Lorenz Hart, includes Broadway songbook classics "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", "I Could Write a Book", "The Lady is a Tramp" and "My Funny Valentine". The original Broadway production of Pal Joey with book written by John O'hara opened on Christmas Day 1940 and starred Gene Kelly as Joey Evans, a brash scheming song and dance man with dreams of owning his own nightclub. A 1962 Broadway revival, which was actually more successful than the original, starred Bob Fosse as Joey, with Frank Sinatra playing the lead in the 1952 film. The 2008 revival will star Christian Hoff winner of a Best Featured Actor in a Musical Tony Award for his role of Tommy DeVito in Jersey Boys. Also in the cast is "friend of The Matinee" Stockard Channing playing former burlesque stripper Vera Simpson, a rich widow the conniving Joey takes up with in hopes of convincing her to finance his dream of owning a night club of his own "Chez Joey". The role of Vera Simpson was played by Vivienne Segal in the original staging and Viveca Lindfors opposite Fosse in the 1962 revival, with Rita Hayworth in the role in the 1952 film. Stockard Channing, for your information, played Rizzo in the movie Grease and was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Six Degrees of Separation. Stage and film veteran Martha Plimpton, last seen on Broadway in Top Girls for which she was nominated for a Tony, and 35 films including The Goonies, Parenthood and Mosquito Coast, will star as Gladys Bumps, a chorus girl with a dislike for Joey. The role was played by June Havoc (Gypsy Rose Lee's real life sister "Baby June") in 1940 and Barbara Nichols in the film. The Gladys Bumps character was a minor one but has been tweaked to be more prominent by playwright Richard Greenberg's adaptation, including Gladys singing the song "Zip" which has traditionally been Vera's song.

A great show, great music, great songs to bewitch us all. Another feather in the heavy plumage of Roundabout's Artistic Director, Todd Haimes' hat. Kudos to his brilliance and vision.

The Long Awaited West Side Story Revival

It was announced this week that the long awaited revival of West Side Story will begin previews on February 23, 2009 with the official opening planned for March 19, 2009 after an out of town engagement between December 16, 2008 and January 17, 2009 at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. where the musical made its world premiere in 1957.

This is the second revival endeavor in the past two years for nonagenarian Arthur Laurents who was nominated this past year for a Tony for his direction of Gypsy.

Mr. Laurents has stated, “This show will be radically different from any other production of West Side Story ever done. The musical theatre and cultural conventions of 1957 made it next to impossible for the characters to have authenticity. Every member of both gangs was always a potential killer even then. Now they actually will be. Only Tony and Maria try to live in a different world." The fact that he can still speak so eloquently for a man of 90 is impressive, but to still have a vision and the spunk to want to take on such a daunting task of reincarnating this musical classic is very inspirational.

Laurents, for those few who don't know, wrote the books for both West Side Story and Gypsy. West Side Story's score was created by Leonard Bernstein (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) in his Broadway debut. The show was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins whose original Tony-winning choreography will be recreated by Tony Award nominee, Joey McKneely (The Boy From Oz). This production with an onstage cast of 37 and 30 musicians in the orchestra pit, will introduce the unprecedented element of selectively weaving Spanish throughout the book and music.

The show takes Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to the upper west side of New York City and the turbulence between rival street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds, the Jets and the Sharks in the 1950's. Two star-crossed lovers, Tony and Maria, find themselves caught in the middle of the rivalry. The Spanish dialogue will not only make the production more contemporary, but will emphasize the conflict and misunderstanding between the Sharks and the Jets.

The Bernstein/Sondheim score is considered to be one of Broadway's finest and features such classics of American musical theatre as "Tonight", "Somewhere", "America,"and "I Feel Pretty".

This is one to look forward to, even just to see what Arthur Laurents has up his sleeve and how well he can deliver. One good thing about West Side Story opening in the 2008-2009 Tony season, it won't have to go up against In the Heights (which won the 2007-2008 Tony award for Best Musical) with its very optimistic Latino perspective which could have had the potential of creating a whole new type of rivalry.

Happy Talk About South Pacific

The first ever Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific opened on Broadway this year and it swept the Tony Awards winning Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actor in a Musical and five other Tony's. But I have yet to see it. It garnered mostly rave reviews with perhaps the most important being that of Ben Brantley, chief theatre critic of the New York Times who said, "I know we're not supposed to expect perfection in this imperfect world, but I'm darned if I can find one serious flaw in this production." Hm, the next available tickets are for October 21st. But will Brazilian opera singer Paul Szot, who won the Tony for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Emile DeBecque, and Kelli O'Hara as Nellie Forbush still be in it? Who doesn't love a Rodgers and Hammerstein score. "Bali Ha'i", "Some Enchanted Evening", "Happy Talk", "There is Nothing Like a Dame", "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair", and "Younger than Springtime" have become worldwide standards. I adored all of the Rodgers and Hammerstein scores as a child and knew every word to every song and still do. So why didn't I buy tickets as soon as I heard it was being revived? In case you didn't know South Pacific is based on two short stories by James Michener from his 1948 Pulitzer Prize winning book "Tales of the South Pacific".

The original Broadway production production opened in 1949 and closed in 1954 after 1,925 performances. It was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and won them all in 1950, making it the only show (play or musical) to win best musical, best direction and all four acting awards, Ezio Pinza as Emile DeBecque, Mary Martin as Nellie Forbush, Myron McCormick as Luther Billis and Juanita Hall as Bloody Mary with direction by Josh Logan who co-wrote the book with Oscar Hammerstein. (Mary Martin also starred in the original West End production which ran between 1951 and 1953.) It was a critical and box office hit and spawned many successful stage revivals as well as the 1958 film adaptation and a 2001 made-for-television movie.

The 1958 film starred Rossano Brazzi and Mitzi Gaynor as Emile DeBecque and Nellie Forbush. Juanita Hall reprised her Tony Award winning performance as Bloody Mary. She also sang on the cast album but ironically her singing was dubbed in the movie. In fact, the only principal cast members whose own singing voices were used in the film were that of Mitzi Gaynor and Ray Walston who played Luther Billis.

In 2001 an Australian made-for-television movie was made starring Harry Connick Jr. as Lt. Cable and Glenn Close as Nellie Forbush. It was criticized for many reasons including changing the order of the songs, cutting out "Happy Talk" and casting Glenn Close who was felt by many to be too old to play the role of someone who describes herself in song as "immature and incurably green" in the song "I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy".

I've seen both movies and the television film was okay but not nearly as good as the original 1958 film. Even though I'm a big Harry Connick Jr. fan, I just couldn't understand why they would remake the already wonderful film. Hopefully with Harry and Glenn in the movie, it turned viewers unfamiliar with Rodgers and Hammerstein on to the wonders of their music. Other than that, why bother?

If you listened to this week's Matinee show, you'll have heard my 13 year old niece, Mimi who's visiting from Tokyo, talk about how much she loved the show. Geeze, she came all that way from Japan and got to see it. How'd that happen? Really, I'm happy for her. She loves musical theatre as much as I do but I just have to see this show. As I've said here many a time, so many shows, so little time and money.

9 to 5 and More Dolly News

If you listened to last Sunday's Matinee show, you'll have heard me report that 9 to 5: The Musical with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton will open in previews on Broadway in March of 2009 and then officially open on April 23rd. It'll star Megan Hilty as Doralee which was played by Dolly in the 1980 movie, Stephanie J. Block playing Judy, the Jane Fonda role, and Allison Janney in the Lily Tomlin role of Violet. It will be housed in the Marquis Theatre located in the Marriott Marquis Hotel right across from Duffy Square on Broadway. Hilty and Block played Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, in Wicked. Allison Janney played CJ Cregg, the president's press secretary on tv's "The West Wing" and she has been seen in "Juno" as Juno's stepmother and as Prudy Pingleton in the movie "Hairspray". Mark Kudisch will play their lying, egotistical, sexist boss, Franklin Hart Jr., the part so sleazily played by Dabney Coleman in the movie. Kudisch most recently starred on Broadway in Roundabout Theatre's revival of The Apple Tree with his ex-fiance, Kristen Chenoweth. He also played a kinky lawyer in the HBO television series "Sex in the City". 9 to 5: The Musical will be directed by Wicked director, Joe Mantello, and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler who won the Tony this year for Best Choreography for In the Heights. With Dolly's music, the great cast and all the connections to Wicked, how could this miss?

Madame Aries, James and I also discussed another stage musical Dolly is writing based on her life, and some big names are hot to star as Dolly including Reese Witherspoon and Kristen Chenoweth. Dolly has been quoted as citing both as possibilities, however, she is a huge fan of Scarlett Johansson and thinks she would be perfect for the role. If you want my opinion, Chenoweth would be the best for the stage role. She has the right stature, the right vibe and the chops. I could see Johansson or Witherspoon in a movie version, with my preference being Witherspoon. I have to add that I am a fan of all three, in fact they are three of my favorite actresses.

And one more little Dolly tidbit: Dolly has ranked fifth in a nationwide British survey of single lesbians as the hottest female celebrity over 50. Helen Mirren, Susan Sarandon, Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn came in ahead of her. Joan Collins came in sixth. I can't believe Madame Aries didn't make the list. On the male side, single gay men chose Piers Brosnan as number one, followed by Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson and Sean Connery. The poll was taken by the LGBT dating site gay-PARSHIP.

Meryl Streep Stars in Mamma Mia......But Can She Sing?

I took Jade to see Mamma Mia the movie yesterday. We were anxious to see it because the Broadway production was one of our favorite musicals ever. Would the movie deliver? We waited on line for the 2:00 show. The mother and daughter ahead of us got tickets. We were next. SOLD OUT! A good sign for the movie but where did that leave us. I purchased tickets for the 4:45 show and we went around the block to get Italian ices then walked home. We left our home again at 4:00 because, although we already had our tickets, we wanted good seats. Good thing we did. Sold out again. But would the movie be as good as the show. I had purposely avoided reading any critiques because I wanted to form my own untainted opinion.

The movie takes place on a beautiful Greek island where Donna, played by Meryl Streep, has raised her daughter, Sophie, alone while running a small, rundown hotel. It opens with Sophie singing I have a Dream while mailing letters to her three possible fathers inviting them to her wedding. Her two best friends arrive on the island and she tells them she has found her mother's diary and invited three men, one of which might possibly be her father, to her wedding without her mother's knowledge. They sing Honey, Honey. It all seems so corny. It just isn't translating well. Yet! Enter Meryl Streep greeting her two best friends, once her backup singers in the musical trio Donna and the Dynamos, at the ferry. Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Walters) arrive and the fun begins. These three can do no wrong and as for Meryl Streep, well it's another Oscar-worthy performance and very different from anything you've ever seen her do. The Dancing Queen scene with the three of them and all the women on the island is worth the price of admission. Then the "dads" arrive and more fun. Sam (Pierce Brosnan) and Harry (Colin Firth) meet at the boat slip and find they've missed the last ferry until tomorrow. Then we meet Bill (Stellan Skarsgard) who is one of the possible dads and he just happens to have a boat. Serendipity. Mind you, they did not know each other before this. Their counter scene singing Voulez-vous with all the men on the island is another side-splitting scene well worthy of attention.

I won't give the rest of the story away but I will tell you Benny Andersson of ABBA, who wrote the music with Bjorn Ulvaeus, also of ABBA, and Stig Anderson, makes a cameo appearance as a piano player in one of the musical numbers. And I have to mention the indigenous inhabitants of the island who pop up as backup singers in almost every musical number. As for the singing of these fine actors who are not known for their vocal talent, I will rate them for you. Mind you, this is my opinion. Pierce Brosnan, I love you Pierce but, ugh, keep your day job. Stellan Skarsgard, not bad. Colin Firth has a pleasant voice. Julie Walters and Christine Baranski are both so funny who cares whether they can sing. Amanda Seyfried who plays Sophie is very appealing and has a lovely voice. And then there's Meryl Streep. Can she sing? You bet she can. She was wonderful. Not amazing but very, very good.

So for 108 minutes of pure light-hearted fun, don't miss Mamma Mia. You're sure to leave the theatre with an ABBA song in your heart.

A Wicked New Production of Godspell Finds It's Home on Broadway

The eagerly awaited revival of Godspell has found a home on Broadway. The Stephen Schwartz/John-Michael Tebelak musical Godspell will play the Barrymore Theatre, replacing David Mamet's comedy November which ended its limited engagement July 13. The first preview date has been announced as September 29th with an official opening October 23rd. Tony Award nominee Gavin Creel will play the Jesus role. Additional casting is expected shortly. Creel has been seen on Broadway in Thoroughly Modern Millie for which he was nominated for a Tony for Best Actor in a Musical and La Cage aux Folles. He was last seen as Bert in Mary Poppins on the West End replacing Gavin Lee who went on to originate the role on Broadway.

Godspell was conceived and directed by 22 year old John-Michael Tebelak as his Masters Thesis project at Carnegie Mellon University in 1970. Tebelak had had thoughts of someday becoming an Episcopal minister and he based the play on the Gospel According to St. Matthew and originally interpolated pop songs and Episcopal hymns set to music written by cast members. Stephen Schwartz was commissioned to write the music and lyrics that we know today when the show which had been very well received at Carnegie Mellon moved to off-off-Broadway theatre Cafe la Mama and was seen by producers who became interested in giving the show a commercial production. It opened at the off-Broadway Cherry Lane Theatre in 1971 and later moved to the larger Promenade Theatre where it became one of the longest-running off-Broadway musicals. It moved to Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre in June 1976 and ended its run in September 1977.

Stephen Schwartz, composer and lyricist wrote some very memorable songs including "Day by Day", "All Good Gifts" and "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord". He had previously written the music and lyrics for Pippin (although it did not open until 1972), and most recently the music for Wicked. A brilliant composer, obviously one of America's best.

Tebelak co-wrote the screenplay for the 1973 movie with David Greene. He wrote and staged liturgical drama for the famed St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in New York City. He sadly died in 1985 of a heart attack at the age of 36.

The Broadway Musical, They're Dropping Like Flies

Food prices are up, milk, flour, staple goods. Gas prices are exorbitant. Everything is more expensive than even a year ago. Oh sure, prices go up on a regular basis, but not at this rate. Unfortunately, the arts are affected too and so Broadway had a tough season. Yes, the biggest shows are still going strong, Wicked, Lion King, Mamma Mia, even Little Mermaid. But ticket sales are down for many shows and desperate measures are being taken to try to break even, but many just can't make it. Although entertaining, they need to be blockbusters, juggernauts, to survive these days. The first to close was Cry Baby which shut its doors on June 22nd. A Catered Affair is closing July 27th and A Chorus Line is closing August 18th. All these shows had relatively short runs. They were good. I saw them all. But they just were not good enough. It was curtains for Curtains which closed its doors on June 29th after playing 511 performances and 26 previews. And I had previously reported on The Matinee that Rent would be closing after a respectable 11 year run. It just ran it's course. Also closing this week is November the critically acclaimed comedy starring Nathan Lane. Lane had previously announced that he would leave the show on July 13th, but the production itself had not confirmed that it would close upon his departure.

Other shows are taking desperate measures to try and keep afloat. Case in point, Grease stars Max Crumm and Laura Osnes who won the roles of Danny and Sandy on the television reality show, "Grease, You're the One That I Want", are leaving the show and being replaced by two of the runners up on the show, Ashley Spencer (who I saw playing Amber in Hairspray) and Derrick Keeling who came in 3rd on the show. Both Ashley and Derrick look more the part and I think they'll do a fine job. I must admit I did vote for Crumm and Osnes, however, they got very mediocre reviews. I thought the show was very good and they were both decent, but I admit I was starstruck after seeing and following them on the television show. Grease also recently added Taylor Hicks, season 5 "American Idol" winner, to play Teen Angel. Looks like they're pulling out all the stops to stay on the Great White Way.

But for every show that is leaving Broadway, two or three are waiting in the wings to take a stab at being the next Broadway juggernaut. Stay tuned to The Matinee to hear what is in the offing. It's all very exciting albeit precarious.

Evita Comes to the Opera House in Manchester

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Evita makes a stop along its UK tour route at the Opera House tonight until Sunday, July 5th starring West End actress Louise Dearman in the role of Evita Peron, Seamus Cullen, a finalist from the hit BBC TV programme "Any Dream Will Do" as Che Guevara, and Mark Heenehan as Juan Peron.

The story of Evita, told entirely through song and dance, follows the life of Argentina's infamous Eva Peron. It begins in 1934 and follows Eva as a young girl from her small hometown to Buenos Aires where she uses her female wiles to climb the ladder of success, first as a model, then an actress, and finally as the wife of General Juan Peron. When Peron is elected president, Eva becomes the most powerful woman in South America.

Originally conceived as a concept album, Evita was destined from the beginning for the stage. It opened in the West End in 1978 and was so successful that a year later when it opened on Broadway, it was nearly sold out before it began. Patti Lupone who just won her second Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical, won her first for her role as Eva Peron in 1980. In her acceptance speech, she described her role as Mama Rose in Gypsy as "the performance of her life", but her role as Eva Peron was a career defining role and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from Evita became her signature song. In 1996 a film version starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas was nominated for five Academy Awards winning only one for Best Original Song "You Must Love Me" which was composed especially for the movie.

..........and the winner is

The Tony Award Ceremony was spectacular. It always is, but this year they really outdid themselves. My dear friend, Whoopi Goldberg, was a wonderful host and a good sport. As for the awards themselves, there really were no big surprises. The musical with the most nominations won for best musical, the play with the most nominations won for best play, the musical revival with the most nominations won for best musical revival, and the revival of a play with the most nominations won for best revival of a play. Patti Lupone won for Best Actress in a Musical, duh. In the Heights nominated for 13 Tonys won 4 including Best Musical. August: Osage County won 5 of the 7 categories it was nominated for including Best Play. South Pacific took 7 of 11 nominations including Best Revival of a Musical. And the British production of Boeing, Boeing won 2 of the 6 categories it was nominated for including Best Revival of a Play.

These winning plays win more than just the Tonys. They win larger audiences. Larger audiences mean longer runs. Longer runs mean bigger ticket sales. It's a win win situation. The after-parties were barely over before winners started reporting boosts in ticket sales. With all the wonderful choices on Broadway, this year has been a particularly weak year for ticket sales. I read that 18 of the 37 shows currently on Broadway play to houses that sell 70% or fewer seats for each performance. So sad when you think about all the blood, sweat and tears it takes to get a show on the Great White Way. The Tony Awards really help because they whet the appetite of audiences. For me, after seeing numbers from all 11 musicals, I want to see them all. I've said it before and I'll say it again, "so many shows, so little time and money".

The Tonys Are Coming, The Tonys Are Coming

Did I mention the Tonys are coming? Are you as excited as I am? The Tonys is the most spectacular award show of them all. It outshines the Oscars, Emmys (American's television awards) and Grammys in my opinion. The reason being, it showcases the musicals up for best musical with well chosen bits from each of the nominees. But this year there is more. This year the 62nd annual Tony Awards will showcase 13 shows. All of the 11 eligible musicals will perform this coming Sunday night in the gala hosted by my "good friend" Whoopi Goldberg. The extravaganza will be aired live from New York's famous Radio City Music Hall on CBS-TV here in America with a live red carpet preshow which will be webcast at TonyAwards.com at 11:30 p.m. (UK time).


Cry-Baby, In the Heights, Passing Strange, and Xanadu are competing for the Best Musical award; and Gypsy, Grease, South Pacific, and Sunday in the Park With George are all nominated for Best Revival of a Musical. We'll see musical numbers from all of these but the 3 other eligible musicals, A Catered Affair, Young Frankenstein and Little Mermaid, which were not nominated will also present performances. I'm so pleased about this because I saw A Catered Affair and Young Frankenstein and really enjoyed them both, especially Young Frankenstein. And as if this wasn't enough, we'll also be treated to performances by the long-running musical Rent which is scheduled to close in September after 12 years on Broadway and Lion King which celebrated 10 years on Broadway this past November.

Listen up this Sunday, June 15, to "The Matinee" for more information from me, "the fabulous Suko" (a legend in her own mind) about the 62nd annual Tony Award show.

Megan Mullaley Disses Suko

That cheeky Megan Mullaley decided not to show up the other night when I went to see Young Frankenstein. Do you think someone gave her a heads up telling her I was coming to see the show? Oh Ja-ames. Don't you know it's for the good of the show. Oh well, not to worry because the show didn't need her anyhow. It had enough wonderment to go it without her. And, in fact, her understudy for the part of Herr Frankenstein's fiance Elizabeth, Heather Ayers, looked and sounded so much like her that I just pretended it was her. The rest of the original cast was there, Roger Bart as Frederich Frankenstein, er that's Frunkensteen, Sutton Foster as Inga, Shuler Hensley as the monster, Andrea Martin as Frau Blucher (nei-ei-eigh), and Christopher Fitzgerald as Igor, er that's Eyegor. We, my husband, daughter and myself, were thoroughly entertained. There were some great special effects, and hilarious lines taken directly from the movie. And the music is very good, maybe not great, but really good, with several memorable songs, "Life, Life", "Transylvania Mania", "Together Again", "Listen to Your Heart", "Surprise", "Deep Love" and Irving Berlin's "Puttin' on the Ritz" done only as a monster could do it. Andrea Martin and Christopher Fitzgerald are nominated for Tony's for featured actors in a musical. They were both outstanding, but the whole cast was great, even the fake Megan Mullaley. Why it didn't get more Tony nominations, I don't know. I think the critics underrated it. One could only wonder if the original price of seats on the weekends ($450 for the best 100 seats, $375 for the next 120) left the critics expecting even more than they got. But the audience loved it. Madame Aries would have been roaring with laughter. My daughter put it up there with Wicked, Lion King and Hairspray. Just be warned if you ever have a chance to see it, the language is quite explicit and the sexual innuendos run rampant, both of which made me cringe sitting next to my 12 year old daughter but she had begged us to take her to see it and to be honest, I'm glad we did. So if this big green monster ever crosses the pond, it's definitely one to see.

I'm B-a-a-a-a-ack! But a Monster is Lurking in My Future

I'm back from my long weekend way off-off-off-off-Broadway in Pennsylvania where we celebrated my daughter and her Chinese cousins' tenth "gotcha day". A fun time was had by all and it was so wonderful to see how those beautiful Chinese babies blossomed into even more beautiful all-American girls. Meanwhile, I'm getting antsy since I haven't seen any musical theatre in weeks, but next Tuesday we have tickets for Young Frankenstein and I'm so psyched. It stars two of Broadway's most popular actors, Sutton Foster and Roger Bart. It also stars Megan Mullaley, who you might know as Karen from Will and Grace, and Andrea Martin from SCTV and many other television and movie appearances including "Hedwig and the Angry Inch". I once met her at the Bronx Zoo. She was there by herself, a fellow animal lover, and we exchanged some small talk and went our separate ways, but I was impressed with her earthiness. By the way, she is nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in her role as Frau Blucher, as is Christopher Fitzgerald who plays Igor for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

Although Young Frankenstein was overlooked for a Tony for Best Musical, everyone I know who has seen it loved it. I think many people were turned off by the original ticket prices of $450 for the best 100 seats and $375 for the next 120 seats. I paid $65.00 (about 35 pounds) for our tickets which is a real bargain for Broadway. So next week my family and I will be "puttin' on the ritz" and heading back to Broadway where we long to be. Well, at least I do.

Marti Pellow

Launching the UK tour of the hit musical Witches of Eastwick over the weekend at swish eatery Nagressco, were Michael Harrison, Kenneth Wax & Paul Elliott in arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh, Starring Marti Pellow. The actual show runs from 13 to 18 October with matinees on Friday and Saturday at the Palace Theatre. For those who know nothing of the plot three recently single middle American women from the bible belt conjer up there ideal man. He appears in the form of Darryl van Horne then the fun begins. From being needy to being in power, its a journey of discovery for all three women. With a great score by John Dempsey & Dana P Rowe the Macintosh hit machine & Mr Pellow, Manchester can look forward to another sure fire hit.
Marti was in excellent form throughout the presentation, always smiling and joking, even through the two hours plus round of interviews. His enthusiasm for the roll is obvious listen to the interview James and I did with him over the next couple of weeks.
The full tour runs into from October 2008 into 2009 so plenty of opportunity to see this show.

Eurobeat

A musical based on the Eurovision? How would that work? Sounds unlikely but it does.
It's all there the costumes, the dance routines, the corny songs,the presenters being over the top.Audience participation,its all there.
I would warn you this is NOT, I repeat, NOT a show for the prudish, the innuendos fly thick and fast, its all good fun though, and I defy you not to come away humming at least one of the tunes on display. If you get the chance grab a ticket or two and get to the Lyric Theatre @ the Lowry. Shows on till Saturday including a matinee show on the final day.
Don't forget if you are a Eurovision Fan The Semi Finals Start tonight at 8pm. With another on Thursday and final on Saturday night.

Broadway's 2008 Tony Nominees

This year the 62nd annual American Theatre Wing's Antoinette Perry (Tony) Awards will take place on June 15th in New York's Radio City Music Hall hosted by my good friend (in my own mind) Whoopi Goldberg. Since The American Theatre Wing has not extended me a ticket, I must observe from afar, although not as far as most of you. Alas, I am a loyal Broadway afficionado and am happy to be in this position, wherever it may be. The following musicals and plays have received nominations and I will put them in order of the number of nominations received:

In the Heights 13
South Pacific 11
Sunday in the Park with George 9
August: Osage County 7
Gypsy 7
Passing Strange 7
Boeing Boeing 6
MacBeth 6
The 39 Steps 6
Les Liaisons Dangereuses 5
Cry Baby 4
Rock and Roll 4
The Seafarer 4
Xanadu 4
A Catered Affair 3
The Homecoming 3
Young Frankenstein 2
The Little Mermaid 2
Come Back Little Sheba 1
Cyrano de Bergerac 1
Grease 1
Is He Dead? 1
Mauritius 1
November 1
Thurgood 1
Top Girls 1

I've seen Cry Baby, A Catered Affair and Grease, and have tickets for Young Frankenstein. I really know how to pick 'em. But I like what I like and rarely go by critic's reviews. I think critics look at different things, maybe more technical things, than the general public. I prefer to go by recommendations from friends and gut feelings and my instincts for me are usually good.

For a complete listing of the nominees and everything else you ever wanted to know about the Tony Awards, go to TonyAwards.com where on Tony night you can watch Broadway and Hollywood celebrities walk the red carpet. Their arrivals will be webcast live from the sidewalk of West 50th Street beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET (11:30 p.m. UK time).

......And Why is it Called "The Country Girl"?

I went with my husband last week to see The Country Girl starring Morgan Freeman ("Driving Miss Daisy", "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Power of One", Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for "Million Dollar Baby"), Frances McDormand (Academy Award for Best Actress for "Fargo") and Peter Gallagher ("While You Were Sleeping", "American Beauty", "Titanic") and directed by Mike Nichols ("The Birdcage", "Charlie Wilson's War" and Academy Award for Best Director of "The Graduate", Tony Award for Spamalot, as well as Barefoot in the Park and The Odd Couple). With this superb cast and director, how could it miss? The critics didn't like it. Felt it lacked passion. Come on guys. Morgan Freeman? He could just stand there and I'd be entertained. So what if he missed a few lines. Who cares that he called the character Larry by the actor's real name, Lucas, and in the last scene forgot to zip up. He was playing an alcoholic after all. (I'm sorry Mr. Freeman if I have embarrassed you. It is not my intent). He has such a presence. He's very tall and in wonderful shape for a man of 70. He changes clothes several times in the play so we see him in his undershirt and boxers and wow, ugly he ain't. And McDormand and Gallagher are no slouches either.

My husband and I both liked the play which is a drama about a has-been actor, Frank Elgin, who lost his dream and his sense of self many years earlier to alcohol after a personal tragedy and has been given the chance by director Bernie Dodd, played amusingly by the stunning Peter Gallagher, to star in a new play much to the resistance of the producer and playwright who feel he is too big a risk. Frank's wife, Georgie, played subduedly by Frances McDormand refers to herself in an amusing, self-effacing way as the country girl. There is a psychological mystery in play here when we hear Frank and Georgie's opposing perceptions of what their life together has been. And Dodd perceives Georgie as an obstacle, albeit an enticing one. In this role Freeman plays a lost and uncertain man which is against type for him because he rarely, if ever, embodies uncertainty. He usually plays very stoic, all-knowing characters, even playing God in "Bruce Almighty" and again in "Evan Almighty". The critics are right in that it is not a passionate play, and if anything Freeman does underplay it, but the touching scenes between Frank and Georgie show us that although she has thought of leaving him because Frank's self-doubt has cost them both so much, there seems to be a loving bond and a need to stay with him to protect him from himself. The question is who needs who more, Frank or his country girl?

A Catered Affair - An Affair to Remember

I took my 12 year old daughter to see Harvey Fierstein's latest musical A Catered Affair which opened on Broadway on April 17th. I had asked her which show she would like to see and she chose A Catered Affair because she loves Harvey Fierstein. I really wanted to see it and I was surprised that she chose it over Legally Blonde and Xanadu. Lucky for me, I loved it. It was so poignant and addressed the many family issues that surface when a family plans a wedding. First of all, financial. Should the family spend their life savings on an affair that will be over in four hours or invest it in a new business which will keep on making money for the family? And the guest list. Immediate family only? What comprises immediate family? What we get from this is that you can't make everyone happy.

It's the Bronx, 1953. The daughter, used to taking a backseat to her brother who has recently been killed in Korea, has planned a small town hall wedding with immediate family. The mother wants her daughter to have a big lavish wedding, something she did not have because she was a bride "without a waistline", and she feels it is something to remember and hold onto once you've become an oppressed wife as she has. The father wants to use their savings to buy a share in a taxi medallion to insure their future.

It's not an extravaganza like Hairspray or Wicked. The music is not that memorable, although there were three songs that I really liked because of their message, "Don't Ever Stop Saying I Love You", "I Stayed" and "Immediate Family". The sets are minimal but effective, just a gray building which comes alive with scenes cleverly projected on it in sepia tones, and movable kitchen, living room and bedroom sets. What I loved about it was that it dealt with a real family with real problems that almost anyone could relate to. And the acting was superb with Faith Prince as the mother, Aggie, Tom Wopat as the dad, Tom, and Harvey as the "confirmed bachelor" Uncle Winston living with them on their couch until he realizes he is not considered immediate family and leaves to "keep house" with his long time companion, Keith.

Unfortunately, my daughter was bored and restless through the whole 90 minute play, and in fact I think annoyed the young man she was sitting behind who kept looking back at her. I kept whispering to her to sit still but I knew early on that this was not a show for kids. The highlight for Jade took place before the show when we ran into Harvey Fierstein on the street. He was deep in conversation and totally ignored us. What a cheek! Haar-vee, it's me, Suko, from The Matinee. It's a liberty!