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Elli sits down with a group of actors in NYC who do Background (Extra) work in Film & TV
as well as Principal (speaking) roles. Learn what it’s like to be ‘on set’ in NYC.
Courtesy Barbara Rosenfeld
THE BAND WAGON is an energetic celebration of the music and lyrics of Messrs. Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz. Based on the 1953 MGM film THE BAND WAGON, Mr. Douglas Carter Beane uses the original screenplay by Ms. Betty Comden and Mr. Adolph Green to provide a workmanlike pastiche of scenes in which to launch the songs; many of which had originally been created for the 1931 Broadway review of the same name. And what a lovely score there is, with fun numbers like “I Love Louisa,” the wistful “I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plan,” and the intense “Dancing in the Dark” to name but a few. All are played with the flair and obvious pleasure that has come to be a hallmark of the Encores! Orchestra which is led for THE BAND WAGON by Mr. Todd Ellison. Indeed there is such a wealth of beloved songs that the couple behind me had a lovely time quietly singing along with the music onstage and I had not the heart to turn around and ask them to stop.
The plot is simple: Hollywood Screen Idol Tony Hunter is slipping at the box office and in hopes of revitalizing his career Tony has accepted the invitation of British Thespian Jeffrey Cordova to star in a new Broadway show. Tony arrives in New York only to learn to his reluctant surprise that the show is going to be a musical that Jeffrey will direct – his first musical to be precise. Adding more to Tony’s hesitation is the fact that his former friends Lily and Lester Martin – who aren’t exactly thrilled to be working with Tony again – are supposed to supply the book and score to this new production. Toss in Paul Byrd, a self-important choreographer, and his girlfriend Garielle Gerard, a former member of the Tony Hunter fan club and you know that there are going to be complications, hijinks, tantrums and spur-of-the-moment decisions of such significance before they make it to Broadway, that I wondered why they didn’t simply resort to Judy and Mickey’s barn – actually someone DOES ask that same question in the show.
The cast works very hard to flesh out the cinematic shadows they are saddled with. Mr. Brian Stokes Mitchell gives a pleasantly light performance as Tony Hunter that is in keeping with the “aw shucks” 1950’s ambiance. In fact he’s a somewhat more entertaining but slightly flawed “Father Knows Best” figure; trying to marshal his troupe to a successful first night and at the same time renew his career and inspiration. But there was very little Tony Hunter for Mr. Mitchell to work with so I took Mr. Mitchell at his word that this was his role and just enjoyed watching him try to make the best of it. Song and dance-wise he was simply delightful.
The Great British Dramatic Actor Jeffrey Cordova is a theatrical babe in the woods who is such a good sport and so eager to take up the latest half-baked idea that he would be absolutely impossible to believe as a character had not Mr. Tony Sheldon had so much fun playing him with a wink and a nudge. Jeffery is unreal, but Mr. Sheldon makes him amusingly good company.
Complementing Jeffrey Cordova is his devoted right-hand man Hal Meadows. Hal is down to earth and often keeps Jeffrey from running off the rails. As the show proceeds Hal is often the one who is there to keep things moving forward for everybody. Mr. Don Stephenson plays Hal with wonderful understatement often providing an ideal counterpoint to the more volatile “creative” people.
Speaking of volatile, Mr. Michael Berresse is the egocentric choreographer Paul Byrd. Byrd is something of the heavy of the piece – determined to have an advanced ballet produced in the show at all costs (Boo! Hiss!). Thankfully Mr. Berresse remembers that this is a MOVIE version of Broadway and NOT “A Chorus Line” and if he does not quite twirl a moustache and mutter “Curses,” he does exude a villainous single-mindedness to his plot to inflict his interminable ballet upon the public, even at the expense of the show.
It is surprising that Paul Byrd has a girlfriend as talented and idealistic as Gabrielle Gerard who clearly seems to overshadow him. There is something of a blushing “Gee Whiz” demeanor in Gabrielle that Ms. Laura Osnes makes believable. Here is a sweet and likable young lady who has something of a full story to tell us. Better still Ms. Osnes makes us root for her.
Lester Martin is another incompletely drawn character; he is there to sit at the piano and push his music while worrying about losing his wife Lily to Tony Martin. Somehow Mr. Michael McKean brings him sweetly to life and makes us care for this man who knows that his wife had settled for him after Tony left for Hollywood.
Indeed I too was in love with Ms. Tracey Ullman’s Lily Martin. Lily is not glamorous nor does she have any major dance number, but she is the most three dimensional and sympathetic of all the people trying to bring this musical to a successful Broadway opening. Here we have a successful woman who was deeply in love and only married her best friend Lester because she could not have Tony. She has to work out her feelings for both men while trying to keep the show from closing out of town. Watching Ms. Ullman’s superb portrayal of Lily, I thought, “What an amazing musical there might have been had Lily Martin been the focus of THE BAND WAGON – not Tony Hunter.”
The rest of the ensemble do their best to be believable city people and show folk, not even cracking a smile during the most ludicrous of Paul Byrd’s dance excesses.
The problem with adapting a well-known and beloved film into another form is that the original is a ghostly presence that haunts whatever new version is created. In the case of THE BAND WAGON an exorcism would have been a good idea. Mr. Douglas Carter Beane’s book does not want to risk alienating the audience who remembers the original – like the musical duo I mentioned before – but at the same time he often forgets that the speedy development of the plot points that might work in a movie may come across as incomplete onstage. Interactions that can mean a lot in close-up need more fleshing out when on a big stage. Matters that should be detailed are merely relayed to the audience in a second hand way, sometimes with minimal exposition: Who really cares about Tony Hunter and his bad movie making decisions?
Director and Choreographer Kathleen Marshal has to make the most of the uneven script but she cannot get beyond some of the moments that are staged for the sole purpose of setting a song that has no logical place in the script. She tries to interest us in these musical numbers that are often part of the Broadway bound show in a show but beloved as some of these scenes are in the movie (like “Triplets” and “Louisiana Hayride”) it might have been better just to assemble them as some sort of independent entre-act rather than waste time in a painful attempt to make them integral. Again, I have to hearken back to Mr. Beane’s adaptation. I understand that this BAND WAGON is based on Hollywood’s take on Broadway, but the creaky conventionalities (commercial entertainment versus ART, the comeback of the has-been, etc…) and the hackneyed theme of the Lester and Lily Martin’s plot for the Broadway Bound show are either a spoof or a lousy script.
Even when there are departures that seem promising, everything is firmly buried in what Mr. Beane assumes are the Hollywood conventions of the day. Mr. Beane claims the script was a tribute to Ms. Comden’s and Mr. Green’s work as a writing team. As an admirer of the duo, I had this sinking feeling that they’d have demanded a rewrite Happily when the musical numbers get going they are a lot of fun to hear and watch. Ms. Kathleen Marshal does know how to make performers move and some of the staging is memorable such as for the song “I Love Louisa.”
Mr. Derek McLane’s excellent sets and Mr. Peter Kaczorowski’s lighting followed and highlighted the action smoothly, while Mr. William Ivey Long’s costumes were very much of the 1950’s and he allowed himself a sly joke of dressing some performers in the show within the show as recognizable characters from other musicals of the era. But little point: Ms. Osnes please tuck in ALL of your hair for “Triplets” – it just spoils the point when the three babies sing about how they are all alike when one of them is sporting long flowing curls down past her shoulders. Then too in “Triplets”, Mr. Brian Ronan’s sound design is either muffling some of the lyrics or amplifying the performers’ mumbling of them – and not only in that number.
I feel like a grump writing down all these criticisms – especially as the audience seemed to be having a whale of a time. And I enjoyed THE BAND WAGON too for what it was: a pleasant diversion that entertained in spite of its story – not because of it.
Book by Douglas Carter Beane
From the screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Music by Arthur Schwartz
Lyrics by Howard Dietz
Based on the classic MGM film
Produced by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures
Featuring The Encores! Orchestra
Guest Music Director Todd Ellison
Directed and Choreographed by Kathleen Marshall
Starring Brian Stokes Mitchell, Tracey Ullman, Michael McKean, Tony Sheldon, Laura OsnesWith Michael Berresse, Don Stephenson, Lawrence Alexander, John Carroll, Joyce Chittick, Jason DePinto, Ericka Hunter, Dionna Thomas Littleton, Gavin Lodge, Erica Mansfield, Brittany Marcin, Paul McGill, Kaitlin Mesh, Jermaine R. Rembert, Brandon Rubendall, Jennifer Savelli, Eric Sciotto, Samantha Zack
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions. I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com
When the house lights dimmed in the Lyric Theatre on 42nd Street and the audience hushed expectantly, no strains of Bernstein rose from the orchestra pit – instead we heard the stately notes of the “Star Spangled Banner.” Ours was doubtless not the first performance where everyone looked at one another in confusion, but soon enough all rose from their seats, hand over heart, and began to join in singing the National Anthem – first unsure of themselves but finishing the first stanza in full. It was only then that the curtain – itself a large US flag – rose and the show began.
A cynical scheme to make sure no one could hate this show?
No, we are traveling back to 1944 and wartime when New York was truly part of the Home Front and all theater performances started off with this tribute to our embattled country before taking the audience away from the grim realities of battle news, casualties, blackouts and rationing.
Happily there is no rationing or actor shortage in this revival of ON THE TOWN. Nicely cast, cleverly staged and lushly orchestrated, the new production is an enthusiastic valentine to a bygone New York City: a glorious eyeful and earful that goes far to please the audience.
The premise of ON THE TOWN is simple: Ozzie, Chip and Gabey are three US Sailors who have 24 hours leave in New York City before they ship out. As they ride the subway from the Navy yard, Gabey sees a picture of the latest month’s “Miss Turnstiles” and longs for the exotic young lady who has been so honored by the New York City Board of Transportation: Miss Ivy Smith. The three young men agree to split up and use clues from the Miss Turnstiles poster to locate her. As they search, Chip meets the delightfully direct ex-cabbie Hildy Esterhazy and Ozzie encounters a soul-mate in the volatile anthropologist Claire de Loone. But poor Gabey must endure many more obstacles before he can meet the Ivy Smith of his dreams.
Jay Armstrong Johnson, Tony Yazbeck and Clyde Alves
These three young men and three young ladies may be the lead roles, but the starring spot is reserved for the setting of ON THE TOWN itself; the big, confusing, often tawdry New York City that even in wartime offers a magic wonderland that beats the organized, rational happiness of Disneyland hollow.
To populate such vibrant metropolis, the company has to be large by necessity and many performers play multiple roles: exiting as one citizen of the fair city and reentering the scene as another different character, each one with his or her own story to tell, be they sailor, cop, schoolgirl, commuter, lover or employee of Mr. Godolphin. Such careful delineations are certainly due to the efforts of the director and the choreographer, but a long and hearty ovation surely must go to these actors who never devolve into walking stage properties.
One of these many-faceted players is the very talented Mr. Stephen DeRosa. He plays a motley series of individuals and the spectator is hard put to recognize the tired shipyard worker, wise guy bill poster, harried professor, hackneyed club hosts, etc., as one and the same person even though Mr. DeRosa often adds his own funny touch that makes the most of each individual.
Mr. Phillip Boykin is another skillful actor who adds to the multitude, with his warm booming voice and the ability to go from the sleepy worker who memorably opens the show to the campily shrill announcer for the Miss Turnstiles contest and finishes off as a gritty Coney Island carny.
Megan Fairchild and Jackie Hoffman
If other actors are giving us a remarkable parade of the New York public, Ms. Jackie Hoffman gleefully rounds up her various personalities to show how many people can be a singular pain in the neck. Whether she is a crotchety Old Lady who objects to our heroes or becomes each of the various club singers who must moan the most inconveniently depressing of songs, Ms. Hoffman is hell bent on demonstrating how ruining everyone else’s fun can be a grand activity, especially when she is playing the chief obstacle between Gabey’s and Ivy’s meeting: the dipsomaniacally mercenary singing teacher Maude P. Dilly.
Though Mr. Michael Rupert only inhabits one role –Judge Pitkin W. Bridgework – he makes the most of this slowly building gag who is Claire’s relentlessly understanding fiancé. For the good Judge, realism is not worthy of a hearing.
Just as gratifying in her small, but vital part is Ms. Allison Guinn as the definitive drip and third wheel, Lucy Schmeeler.
So what of our sailor’s and their ladies?
Jay Armstrong Johnson and Alysha Umphress
The cutely handsome Mr. Jay Armstrong Johnson definitely gets a merit badge for his performance as the boy-scoutish Chip, who wants to see the big city but is there for his pals. One can easily see why Hildy is determined to get this Sailor away from his guidebook. Not that sensible Chip can resist Hildy for long, and who can blame him? The marvelously named Ms. Alysha Umphress provides a deliciously voluptuous and direct young lady who knows what she likes and is happy to let us all in on the secret. Vocally Ms. Umphress belts her numbers with a wonderfully knowing air that makes her singing “I Can Cook Too” one of the highlights of the evening.
In direct contrast to Hildy is Claire de Loone: she also knows what she wants, but is trying to make do with what she believes would be better for her – such as her fiancé Judge Pitkin W. Bridgework. But deep down Claire knows that better isn’t always best. She is a healthy mademoiselle who tries desperately to maintain a cool, intellectual facade only to give way to vigorous explosions of enthusiasm as she amusingly explains in the whimsical song “Carried Away.” Unfortunately Ms. Elizabeth Stanley never quite strikes the balance between a vessel of simmering passions about to hilariously blow her top or a cartoonish basket case who is dangerously close to putting her carefully manicure index finger to her rosy lips and going Bliblbliblblibl… Still, when avoiding the outright caricature, Ms. Stanley’s Claire can be quite a girl.
Ozzie might get carried away too, but the excellent Mr. Clyde Alves keeps it all in fun and avoids psychiatric undertones. Here is a likeable fellow who might get a bit full of himself but his reaction to the overwhelming Claire shows that he has a thing or two to learn.
Tony Yazbeck
As a farm boy from the Midwest, one might think the innocent Gabey would have a LOT to learn, but in spite of all his friend’s advice, Mr. Tony Yazbeck’s sweet and boyish Gabey does better relying on himself. From the moment he falls for Miss Turnstiles’ poster, Gabey has everybody rooting for this heart-struck young man. A one dimensional character would be hard put to convey the helpless loneliness of “Lonely Town” or the jubilation of “Lucky to Be Me,” let alone bring the audience along in Gabey’s nightmarish fantasy search of “Imaginary Coney Island.” Yet, Mr. Yazbeck makes it all feel real.
Megan Fairchild and the cast of On The Town
Happily for Gabey, Ms. Megan Fairchild’s Ivy Smith is just what he needs – a nice and pretty girl who is far from the exotic creature that was conjured up by the Miss Turnstiles campaign. Ms. Fairchild can soar in a fantasy ballet and do a Miss Turnstiles strut, but her Ivy is a likeable down-to-earth person who is more than a little bewildered by everyone else’s expectations for her and she proves a droll foil for Ms. Hoffman’s conniving Maude P. Dilly.
Such a big cast could easily engulf a less carefully thought out stage, but Mr. Beowulf Boritt provides a mix of sets, curtains, moving panels and projections that is well worth seeing on its own merit. Under the expert lighting of Mr. Jason Lyons, streets rush by, clubs spring up, subways hurry through a fantastic city that can seamlessly expand to handle the show’s biggest dances and contract to focus on the most intimate moments. This is ON THE TOWN’s native environment and everyone and everything involved seem to belong here and take sheer joy in the energy and motion of the show – even the Status of Liberty’s torch, which would have been blacked out during the war years, beams approvingly over the goings on.
If Messrs. Borrit and Lyons provide the world of 1944 New York, then the costumes, hair and makeup designs of Mr. Jess Goldstein, Ms. Leah Louks and Mr. Joe Dulude II do a fine job of filling the streets with believable 1944 New Yorkers, strikingly imaginary people for the dream ballets, eye-catching carnies and lots and lots of handsome sailors.
On the whole the direction is quite good with Mr. John Rando effectively keeping the development of the characters and their situations flowing smoothly and enjoyably. Unfortunately Mr. Rando does not always know where the fine line lies between the believably funny or the flatly cartoonish. There are, of course, downright caricatures like Judge Pitkin W. Bridgework and Maude P. Dilly where any degree of actuality would ruin the fun, but I somehow wondered if Director Rando had something to do with poor Claire de Loon’s operatic excess. Also Hildy’s speedy moderation of her initial “Duh Bronx” accent with its “Youse” and “Dese” inflections to a more pleasing enunciation show how much this was just a sloppy and unnecessary gimmick to establish character.
But I thought Mr. Rando’s staging had one misstep which went beyond funny-papers “haha” to downright crude: When the Announcer of the Miss Turnstiles competition struggles to relieve the unwilling Ivy of her crown at the end of the month, he looks like he is ripping it off her hair.
It is unfortunate that such lapses are there for both the actors and the audience to endure, but they are happily outnumbered by Mr. Rando’s better choices, Adding to the plusses, Conductor James Moore, the orchestra and the singers clearly appreciate Mr. Leonard Bernstein’s music and (Assisted by Mr. Kai Harada’s subtle sound designs) give it a glorious sound. Ms. Betty Comden and Mr. Adolph Green provided the lyrics as well as a fun book and, along with Mr. Bernstein, convey their own youthful enthusiasm for New York and life and optimism about the future. The songs are gems and more than a few are classic hits starting with the unforgettable “New York, New York (a helluva town).” From the blissful “Lucky to Be Me,” to the endearingly raunchy “I Can Cook Too,” to the sweeping ballet pieces, and the heartfelt “Some Other Time” it is clear that even in their twenties Ms. Comden and Messrs. Bernstein and Green could cover emotional and dramatic ground with a skill that seems harder and harder to find in modern musicals.
ON THE TOWN is a show that was inspired and in part developed by the legendary Mr. Jerome Robbins. Choreographer Joshua Bergasse understands this heritage, giving us a city where dance inhabits every onstage motion without any air of “art for culture’s sake”; it is often funny, frequently beautiful and more than one moment brings a lump to the throat.
With all the people and sets that must pass on and off the stage in such a smooth and continuous progression, it would be ungrateful not to offer up an extra round of applause to the Production Stage Manager Bonnie L. Becker. I bet her backstage work with its split second timings of cast and properties would be another fascinating performance to behold.
At any rate what is offered on stage is a true jewel of Musical Theater. It may not be a flawless pearl, but ON THE TOWN is still to be valued and delighted in.
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Leaving the theater I was left with an interesting question; how many people below a certain age would now see ON THE TOWN as anything but three goofy sailors who have left their ship for a day?
When ON THE TOWN opened in 1944, the musical had dramatic undertones that were felt by everyone whether onstage or in the audience: At the end of their 24 hour leave, these three sailors who had already undergone combat would be shipped off once more to a possibly dangerous destination from which they may never return. Additionally, the three girls were discovering themselves in a world changed by war and no one knew what the outcome would be even at home. Even after 1945, further unrests in the world and the possibility of the draft must have lent the show’s final moments poignancy that I fear many of today’s younger people must miss – living as we now do in a compartmentalized world where the US can be fighting wars that have far less affect back at home than they once might have had. Who would have the nerve these days to talk of a home front or ask anyone to make sacrifices for our nation’s good?
I began my review by mentioning how the show attempted to evoke 1944 by the singing of the National Anthem. Perhaps the sense of those uncertain times could have been enhanced by the addition of one more lighting effect to the dazzling array of projections: a discreet image of World War II news sliding across the Times Square News Ticker.
One more notion: Although it might ruin a desired measure of surprise for the show, I think it would be a little more respectful to both the audience and the National Anthem if everyone had fair warning that the “Star Spangled Banner” was imminent before they got to their seats. It just isn’t something one ought to spring on people.
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About the reviewer:
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York.
Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com
On May 14, 2014 www.BroadwayKingdom.com had the extreme honor to sit down with a living legend – the inspirational HAL LINDEN – Barney Miller!!! Mr. Linden was a fountain of information with stories, anecdotes and behind-the-scenes info on one of the most prolific careers of any star – ever! Please, sit back and enjoy one of our longest and best video interviews! I am proud to present a conversation with HAL LINDEN! Enjoy!
“Hal Linden Live in Concert” at the legendary Café Carlyle at 35 East 76th St. NY, 10075 Tuesday, May 20th through Saturday, May 24th.
**All shows are at 8:45pm with two shows on Saturday, May 24th at 8:45pm and 10:45pm
**For ticket info please visit: http://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/the-carlyle-new-york/location/things-to-do/events-at-the-carlyle
**Also please visit www.hallinden.net
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Originally opened in 1955, Café Carlyle is New York City’s bastion of classic cabaret entertainment, a place where audiences experience exceptional performers at close range in an exceedingly elegant setting. Since composer Richard Rodgers moved in as The Carlyle’s first tenant, music has been an essential part of The Carlyle experience. Other talents who have made the Café Carlyle their musical home include Woody Allen, who regularly appears to play with the Eddy Davis New Orleans jazz band, and, for three decades, Café Carlyle was synonymous with the legendary Bobby Short, who thrilled sell-out crowds for 36 years. His spirit lives on through the music at Café Carlyle.
Please join us for
NEW YORK, NY | LOS ANGELES, CA – Monday, May 5, 2014 – In honor of the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, two of the largest Pride events in the world— LA PRIDE and NYC PRIDE—have joined forces to announce the participation of one of the biggest names in Hollywood in this year’s LGBT Pride celebrations, Demi Lovato. On June 8th, the multi-platinum selling recording artist will join the LA PRIDE Parade as Grand Marshal and her participation will include a special performance. On June 29, Lovato will head east to headline perform at NYC Pride’s legendary Dance on the Pier on Pier 26 in Tribeca.
“It’s such an honor to be a part of both LA and NYC PRIDE celebrations this year,” says Lovato. “I have been an active advocate of the LGBT community and am wholly committed to supporting individuality and being comfortable in one’s own skin. I am thrilled to be a part of both events as they are a wonderful celebration of independence and self-confidence.”
One of the most exhilarating aspects of LA PRIDE’s weekend celebration is that of its annual parade, which brings out hundreds of thousand of participants, spectators and marchers to the streets of West Hollywood. A focal point in the flamboyantly colorful parade, the Grand Marshal represents a person whom has used their celebrity to be an outspoken supporter of the LGBT community.
“Demi Lovato is an amazing role model for today’s youth, both LGBT and non-LGBT, for her activism in the area of equality, positive messaging on body image, and level of openness with her struggles. As a community, we’re fortunate to have an ally like Demi,” said Patti DiLuigi, Co-President of Christopher Street West, producers of LA PRIDE.
Dance on the Pier is NYC Pride’s largest fundraising and community support initiative. The event’s production committee awards over $45,000 in grants to LGBT and LGBT-friendly nonprofits and community organizations each year. The event also supplies NYC Pride with critical operating revenue and pulls in countless visitors, driving attendance to NYC Pride’s other official events as well as various unofficial Pride events throughout the city. The historic event has played host to world-renowned performers, including Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston and most recently Cher.
“We are thrilled to welcome Demi to our stages for this historic celebration. Now in its 28th year, the Dance on the Pier continues a proud tradition of partnering with all-star talent to create a high-quality event that raises funds to support local LGBT non-profits and New York City’s annual Pride festivities,” says Chris Frederick, Managing Director of NYC Pride.
LA PRIDE runs June 6 to 8. Visit lapride.org for more information on LA PRIDE’s Parade and other annual events, including the thrilling Festival, featuring entertainment from Jennifer Hudson, Azealia Banks, The Bangles, Mary Lambert and Betty Who.
NYC Pride runs June 21 to 29. For tickets to Dance on the Pier, visit nycpride.showclix.com. For information on NYC Pride and their full roster of annual Pride events, visit nycpride.org/events.
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About DEMI LOVATO
Demi Lovato is a singer, songwriter, and television star with a fan base that includes over 20 million die-hard Twitter followers and 30 million fans on Facebook. She is a platinum-selling recording artist whose latest album, Demi, hit #1 on iTunes in 50 countries. The lead single—”Heart Attack”— earned Platinum status just 10 weeks after launch. Demi is currently on the road for the NEON LIGHTS TOUR which was named after the third single and “Top 5” radio hit off of her album, Demi. In addition to her musical accomplishments, in 2014, her book, STAYING STRONG: 365 DAYS A YEAR became a New York Times best-seller, she returned to television as a judge and mentor on “The X-Factor” and starred in Fox’s hit series “Glee.” She is an outspoken advocate for young people everywhere. She has become a role model by talking openly about her personal experiences and speaking out against bullying among other issues. She serves as an official Ambassador for We Day and the organization Free the Children. She has recently launched The Lovato Treatment Scholarship Program, which helps people struggling with mental health and/or addiction issues cover the cost of treatment.
About LA PRIDE / CSW
In it’s 44th year, Christopher Street West (CSW) is proud to produce LA PRIDE, a series of events celebrating the accomplishments of the TLGB community and shedding light on its continued march for equality. A year after the modern Transgender, Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual liberation movement was launched by the mob-led rebellion at the Stonewall Inn on New York’s Christopher Street in June 1969, activists in Los Angeles’ community came together to honor the rebellion with the world’s first PRIDE Parade in Hollywood, CA. Today, the organization continues to promote equality and diversity amongst the TLGB community and its allies with a three-day event held in West Hollywood, CA. The non-profit organization is comprised of an all-volunteer board of directors and professional consultants committed to the goals of human rights, education and outreach.
About NYC PRIDE
NYC Pride strives to empower individuals, groups, and our community as a whole, through the commemoration of our history—in particular the Stonewall Riots of 1969. New York City’s Pride events provide an opportunity to join together to celebrate our lives, take joy in all that we have done, and honor all those who have helped make our progress possible. The events provide a safe and affirming space in New York City while educating those both inside and outside our own community. In creating these Pride events, we reaffirm the self-worth of all Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people and all those who join in the ongoing struggle for our civil rights.
February 9, 2014
A wealthy, well-connected celebrity decides to share “Her Inspiring Life Story” with the world. This is the basis for Patrick Dennis’ classic camp novel LITTLE ME which in turn formed the book for the rollicking vaudeville of a musical with the same title. In bringing LITTLE ME to New York City Center, Encores! has spared nothing in their new concert production: great performers, superb choreography and excellent staging, all of which set off this tuneful and happily silly show to the best advantage.
Mr. Neil Simon was clearly mining comic gold when he adapted LITTLE ME for the stage and Mr. Jack Viertel’s concert version does not tarnish the show one whit. Miss Belle Poitrine has decided to dictate her memoirs to the fascinated author Patrick Dennis and give the world “the Truth” of her start as a dewy, well-proportioned lass from the wrong side of the tracks who, due to heartbreak, rose to prominent wealth, culture and social position on the right side of the tracks. She relates all the people who have helped her along through hardship, war, disaster, Hollywood and Monte Carlo beginning with her one true love and all the other men who happened along the way, bankers, performers, producers, princes and so on…
The company truly romps through the show, most of them even being without the scriptbooks that Encores! had everyone carry onstage as a constant reminder to one and all that this is a “show in concert. Only one script is ever seen and it generates one of the best laughs of the evening.
There are performers who understand the virtue of facing farce with an absolute straight face and Ms. Judy Kaye is certainly adept at this high comic art. She sails serenely through the most outrageous narratives never tipping her hand at the absurdity of a situation (and boy can they be fantastic). As a result, Ms. Kaye creates an unforgettable contemporary Belle Poitrine: a woman with an outrageous – but heroic – past and who clearly not content to rest on her massive pile of laurels. In doing so, Ms. Kaye wins the adoration of the audience and gets some of the best laughs of the evening.
Neck and neck with Ms. Kaye in capturing the admiration of the audience is the young Belle Poitrine (neé Schlumpfert) who bravely climbs her way out of highly emphasized poverty. Ms. Rachel York’s Belle is sincerity personified whether she is taking poise lessons in a hotel room with a rich banker or personally comforting a prince who has the pressures of the kingdom on his frail shoulders. Additionally, Ms. York shows each step of her character’s evolution rising from naïve innocence to sophistication maintaining a blatant nobility and intrusive purity that makes her presence onstage all the funnier and likeable. Musically as well Ms. York can do no wrong and when she and Ms. Kaye join forces in the number “Little Me” they wreak considerable pleasure.
If there is anyone who can truly blight the irrepressible Belle’s life it is Mrs. Eggleston, a wealthy snob of the first rank and the mother of Belle’s one true love. While Mrs. Eggleston’s oedipal control of her son is not complex, Ms. Harriet Harris’ starchily droll demeanor makes her the perfect cartoon villainess to root against.
If Belle cannot achieve her heart’s desire there are many, MANY other men who desire her, starting with Tony Yazbeck who plays the devoted and world-wise George Musgrove. The handsome urbane George may not be the man who can assure “happily ever after” for poor Belle, but the charming Mr. Yazbeck makes it a close thing. His rendition of “I’ve Got Your Number” is both a seductive call and a wink at the real Belle that George can see and still love.
Ah, but then there are a LOT of other men in Belle’s life: The stingy banker Amos Pinchley whom Belle converts to generosity; Monsieur Val Du Val, France’s rude answer to Maurice Chevalier, Deliveryman and Hollywood Director Otto Schnitzler and Princes AND soldiers and, and, and… All of whom are portrayed by Mr. Christian Borle.
This is the gimmick.
And a worthy gimmick it is too, for the dynamic Mr. Borle never holds back on the fun, allowing full lunacy of expression whether he is a man toggling through on-and-off amnesia, a Prince calling on his loving subjects with some rather unfortunate news or the innocent nearsighted doughboy Fred Poitrine who rapidly weds and widows Belle. Not only does Mr. Borle play his goofy roster of characters to the hilt, but he also carries their numbers quite admirably (“Real Live Girl” is a joy) – especially in the role of the ridiculously wealthy, hyper-educated true love of Belle’s life, Noble Eggleston. As Noble, Mr. Borle has gotten the deadpan demeanor down beautifully, whether he is explaining the difference between a gift and charity to young Belle (charity is better) or training a rapidly sinking linerful of people how to swim before the ship goes under. There is no doubt that Noble is something of a wet smack (even before the boat sank) but he is Belle’s drip and he loves her – which makes him kind of endearing. We know he will always be forced to leave, but Noble somehow manages return to Belle. It is commendable when an actor can carry off a constantly varying array of portrayals, but it is really something when he must also perform one consistent role that has to thread its way in between his other characters at the same time. If Mr. Borle does not deliver absolute perfection in such a complicated tangle of personas, he does pretty darned well.
Following Mr. Borle through his ever changing personalities is the worthy Mr. Robert Creighton who capably does his share to shift from role to role, matching the scenes as he ranges from the stingy banker’s craven son to a preacher in World War I to a prince’s aide-de-camp and so on.
Naturally there are a whole host of others who make up Belle’s life: Her mother Momma Schlumpfert, who, in Ms. Gealen Gilliland’s skilled hands, can make even the oldest profession seem naughtily respectable, the Buchsbaum brothers Bernie (Mr. Lee Wilkof) and Bennie (Mr. Lewis J. Stadlen) who memorably launch Belle into show business, Belle’s fascinated ghostwriter Patrick Dennis, played with amusing understatement by Mr. David Garrison and a delightful crew of talented ladies and gentlemen who range from the rag-tag denizens and highfalutin upper crust of Venezuela, Illinois to the various friends who flock around Belle at the close of her recollections.
With the changes in characters and the loosely linked scenes LITTLE ME is strongly reminiscent of the old Broadway review, Director John Rando firmly keeps the narrative focused and the action flowing, yet there is an improvised feel that is well in keeping with the tongue-in-cheek nature of the show.
Dance-wise too there is a sort of “why not?” atmosphere that matches well with the show’s air of intense parody. Choreographer Joshua Bergasse covered a wide range of dance styles and never wastes a movement. He and the cast were clearly having a ball with the material and their enjoyment is happily infectious. Mr. Bergasse’s arrangement of the vaudeville number “Dimples” sung by Belle with her union-suit clad “police” backup was one of those hilariously outrageous moments of theater that will always be stuck in my memory.
This of course leads us to the songs with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh and music by Cy Coleman. How can one fault such an enjoyable score with numbers like “Be a Performer!” and the standard “I’ve Got Your Number,” especially when the music is performed by the Encores! Orchestra conducted by Mr. Rob Berman? Under his baton, Mr. Ralph Burns’ orchestrations sweep over the audience with real energy. Mr. Berman is definitely into “Little Me” and the musicians and singers certainly benefit from his enthusiasm.
The look of the show keeps in with Encores! tendency towards lavish simplicity. Mr. John Lee Beatty is certainly a master at using the outline of a house to indicate a hometown setting or placing a set of tables and some small backdrops to create a busy nightclub scene. His scenic designs for LITTLE ME certainly always highlight the action and never draw the focus away from it even when Mr. Beatty slips in his own small visual wisecracks (such as the Buchsbaum Brothers nameplates “BENNIE”, “& BERNIE”). With all the praise I have been lavishing on LITTLE ME it is downright curmudgeonly to mention a fault now, but I really think that Mr. Beatty ought to remember that the people in the upper gallery cannot fully see the back of the stage; so even if his wonderful gag backdrops get a large laugh from the lower two levels of the theatre, there is an entire third level of spectators that he excludes from the jokes because of he did not consider the sight lines. If this happened once or twice, I might have overlook such a problem, but such joke screens set off each major scene and leave the upper seats feeling somewhat gypped.
Still it is impossible to be resentful when we also have Mr. Ken Billington’s atmospheric lighting and Sound Designer Scott Lehrer efforts adding their own running gag to the evening by visually and audibly expressing – with some frequency – what true love means to Belle and Noble.
Mr. Paul Tazewell adds his own measure of deviltry in his costumes for LITTLE ME. They may echo the periods in which each scene is set, but they are never museum pieces – unless they need to be. Young Belle’s costumes alone are a skillful sartorial map of her advancement in the world and slyly remind us all to what her rise is attributed to.
It is a shame that this past Sunday evening was the final performance because as done at Encores! LITTLE ME clearly deserves further exposure. It is a solid, entertaining show that reminds us how wonderful it is to simply have a good time at the theater and walk out afterwards with a broad grin and a strong desire to buy the show’s album.
About the reviewer:
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York.
Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com
Book by Neil Simon
Lyrics by Carolyn Leigh
Music by Cy Coleman
Based on the novel Little Me: The Intimate Memoirs of that Great Star of Stage, Screen
and Television/Belle Poitrine, by Patrick Dennis
Directed by John Rando
Choreography by Joshua Bergasse
Starring Christian Borle, Robert Creighton, David Garrison, Harriet Harris, Judy Kaye, Lewis J. Stadlen, Lee Wilkof, Tony Yazbeck, and Rachel York
With Cameron Adams, Stanley Bahorek, Meggie Cansler, Gaelen Gilliland, Arlo Hill, Reed Kelly, Justin Keyes, Eloise Kropp, Josh Lamon, Jenny Laroche, Samantha Massell, Skye Mattox, Paul McGill, Jason Mills, Vivian Nixon, Lindsay O’Neil, Manuel Stark, Clay Thomson, Kathy Voytko, and Amos Wolff
January 11, 2014
MURDER FOR TWO is a cutely tongue-in-cheek musical parody of the classic murder mystery. Marcus, an up-and-coming police officer with a dark past is called to the scene of the crime. A well-known author has been killed and Marcus must deal with the throng of the victim’s loving relatives and friends all of whom have some sinister revelation and all of whom are portrayed by a second actor.
Therein lays the gimmick; the two man play with the cast of thousands!
This is a very self-referential operation that could easily collapse into an uncomfortable mess of rushing actors and weird impersonations – a party piece that goes on too long and wrongly. Happily the authors of MURDER FOR TWO, Messrs. Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair know how to charge the show with enough irreverence that even apparent weaknesses contribute to the fun and the sometimes groaning laughter of the evening.
The prime driving forces that keep this sustained sketch romping merrily along are the stars Brett Ryback and Jeff Blumentkrantz.
As Marcus, the eager young hero, Mr. Ryback exudes a rampant gee-whiz enthusiasm that makes one wonder if there is a barn somewhere for this attractive young lawman to put on a show in. Of course, his barn is the very home in which this murder most foul has occurred. Mr. Ryback understands that charm and smugness have to be applied with care and he usually knows when to turn them off. Whenever he forgets to, there is always the wonderfully capricious Mr. Jeff Blumenkrantz, who can bring him to total exasperation with a shift of characterization. Indeed, Mr. Jeff Blumenkrantz not only hurls himself into all the other roles, from matron to fireman to small choir boy with a change of prop, voice or demeanor, but he also knows how to deploy each recognizable persona as a comic weapon, whether he is annoying Marcus as a garrulous doctor or refusing to shift into the appropriate suspect at Marcus’ bidding.
Additionally, both Messrs. Blumenkrantz and Ryback perform their songs with flair and abandon. This is considerable achievement when one considers that the two gentlemen form the orchestra as well, using the music as accompaniment, a dramatic device and a way to push each other’s buttons.
Our duo do not, however, take tickets or usher in the audience, though I am sure they would be more than a match for those tasks as well, but even in their current range of duties, they practically crowd the stage with characters to the delight of the audience.
The score of MURDER FOR TWO is pleasant enough. With music by Mr. Joe Kinosian and lyrics by Mr. Kellen Blair, there are enjoyable and funny pieces, but as is often the case these days, very little in the way of memorable tunes to take out of the theater. Then again that seems part and parcel of MURDER FOR TWO’s amusingly tossed-off atmosphere.
If the actors take honors for their diverting performances, it is due to Director Scott Schwartz that the show moves along in a rollicking way. This is a piece that might wilt under too much critical examination and Mr. Schwartz makes sure that the audience is not left alone for a moment to indulge in such a fatal activity. He ensures that the comedy is always there and that the one-upmanship between the two actors keeps us grinning even when things are at their silliest.
While the set might appear to be a bare stage with only the essentials, Mr. Beowulf Boritt has created an ingenious design that, through his props and Mr. Jason Lyons’ creative lighting, supply everything that is needed to create havoc at the old homestead.
Ms. Jill BC Du Boff also contributes mightily with well applied sound effects and recorded musical bits. Still with such a small theater, why did the cast need not only body mikes but external microphones? Are people in the production SO insecure about being audible?
On the other hand, Ms. Andrea Lauer’s costumes seemed like nice enough street clothes but as the show moves forward these garments provide their own plot points and humorous diversions.
In all MURDER FOR TWO is an enjoyable 90 minute comic juggling act that is very much time well wasted.
MURDER FOR TWO is currently playing at
New World Stages / Stage 5
340 West 50th Street
Between 8th and 9th Avenues
New York NY 10019
Running Time: 90 minutes, with no intermission
Tickets are currently on sale through March 16, 2014
Please call Telecharge at (212) 239-6200 or (800) 432-7250 for ticketing assistance.
More info at: http://murderfortwomusical.com/
About the reviewer:
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York.
Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com
Photo by Denise Winters
Legendary concert artist and Kennedy Center Honoree BARBARA COOK returns to New York City’s Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street (between 6th Avenue & Broadway,) on Thursday, November 14th at 8 PM with a new evening of song (and stories) as she continues to explore her newly developed repertoire of jazz and swing while also reprising her now-classic renditions of songs from Broadway and the Great American Songbook.
The evening is presented by Joanne and Bernie Furshpan of Furshpan Productions. Bernie is Managing Partner of Metropolitan Room and has produced and promoted historic concert events, with his company Big Fish Productions, at Avery Fisher Hall and Hammerstein Ballroom. He said, “I am honored to present the legendary Barbara Cook at Town Hall. The intimate setting brings her even closer to her adoring audience.”
Considered “Broadway’s favorite ingenue” during the heyday of the Broadway musical, Ms. Cook launched a second career as a concert and recording artist. She has been honored with the Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, has been designated a Living New York Landmark, and was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.
A 2011 Kennedy Center Honoree, Miss Cook recently returned to the Broadway stage after a 23-year absence, and was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the musical Sondheim on Sondheim. Ms. Cook’s latest solo recording, Loverman, was released by DRG Records.
Tickets for BARBARA COOK AT TOWN HALL will be available beginning Sept 23, 2013 at 12 noon. To purchase tickets, please visit thetownhall.org/index.php, The Town Hall Box Office, Ticketmaster.com or any Ticketmaster outlet. To order by phone, please call Ticketmaster at (800) 982.2787. Orchestra (A-D) $85; Orchestra (E-J) $70, Orchestra (K-U) $65; Balcony/Loge $70 and Balcony $55
MUSIC/CONCERT LISTINGS INFORMATION
BARBARA COOK AT TOWN HALL November 14 at 8 PM 123 West 43rd Street (between 6th Avenue & Broadway) To order by phone, call Ticketmaster at (800) 982.2787 orwww.ticketmaster.com. Orchestra: $85, $70, $65; Balcony/Loge $70, $55
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For More Info: http://thetownhall.org/event/470-barbara-cook
For Tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.com/Barbara-Cook-tickets/artist/1471050
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Contact: Bernie Furshpan
Bernie@metropolitanroom.com
631.383.3943
ALSO: A Second Amazing Evening:
Dec 19th – Three Legendary Ladies of Song – Holiday Belles with Leslie Uggams, Christine Andreas and Marilyn Maye. Ring in the holidays in this special one night only musical feast. Three show biz musical legends join together in a concert celebrating life, love, and great songs!
HURRY… GET YOUR SEATS TODAY >> http://www.ticketmaster.com/Holiday-Belles-tickets/artist/1373649