This month we focus on two more shows that opened on Broadway this year and are currently running.
War Paint (Ghostlight Records)
War Paint is an old-fashioned show, in the best sense of that term. The craftsmanship of the script and lyrics is top flight, and the tunes are similar in style to golden age musicals. This suits the fact that the story is set in that era.
The music by Scott Frankel and lyrics by Michael Korie (the collaborators on Grey Gardens) are more sophisticated than what’s heard in recent Broadway shows. The plot looks to the past, as it portrays the rivalry between Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, the two leading cosmetics entrepreneurs of the 20th Century.
This show is a display piece for the two performers who play Arden and Rubinstein — Christine Ebersole and Patti LuPone respectively. Even if you don’t care about the life stories of those two doyennes from the past, you can revel in the singing competition between the two divas.
This is the only show or opera I can recall that focuses on a competition between two women that does not involve a man (such as Aida and Amneris fighting for the love of Rhadames) other than, maybe, Queen Elizabeth and Mary Stuart fighting over the crown.
LuPone has the juicier role, with the over-the-top Rubinstein and her Eastern European accent. She digs into the essence of the foreign-born outsider, and Doug Wright’s script spotlights the anti-Semitism which Rubinstein experienced, giving it extra relevancy right now. Ebersole knows how to play an eccentric (as in Grey Gardens) but here she is more serene, singing her ballads with lovely richness. Her character is a single-minded businesswoman who made pink the color for every month of the year; pink, which represented every woman’s childhood, when youth sprang eternal.
Korie’s lyrics are delectable and, with the CD, you’re able to hear them even more clearly than when you attend a live show. He has Helena describe her use of estrogen in her facial crème: “Feminine quintessence / Cooked down to its essence.” He also demonstrates how to make perfect rhymes that disregard spelling and, correctly, rely on sound: “We’ll seduce new clients / By selling science.”
The rivals’ big duet is “If I’d Been a Man” where Arden complains that “A man doesn’t need to prove his worth / Knows his place from birth” and Rubinstein responds “I love only men I can’t caress / Two sons ashamed of my success.”
Those fine singers John Dossett and Douglas Sills play the men who were most important in the women’s lives. Dossett scores especially during the song “Step On Out.” As he gets drunk he sings “Win me one for the Gipper / I’m too blind to find my zipper.”
Frankel’s music successfully captures the flavor of the romantic and swing eras in which the story takes place. In “My American Moment” the music deftly blends buoyant Americana with the minor-key of an immigrant’s background. Alas, economics has prevented real big band sounds and the clever orchestrations by Bruce Coughlin are 12-piece arrangements.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Masterworks Broadway)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has always focused on one character, and it’s not Charlie. The person who can make or break any production (musical or movie) is Willy Wonka. And in the Broadway production, available on a Masterworks Broadway CD, Christian Borle gives a superstar performance.
Borle is a two-time Tony Award winner and Broadway veteran known for Something Rotten and Falsettos, and here he surpasses those high achievements. As the chocolate confectioner, Borle achieves the monumental task of equaling Gene Wilder from the original 1971 film while not copying him. He dazzles with his song-and-dance hoofing, his energetic strutting and his winning smile, which I enjoyed greatly on stage.
All of that is irrelevant when we listen to this new CD, without any visual aids. Fortunately, Borle has a rich and versatile voice, with many different colors. He sounds alternately sweet, deranged, and malicious, and the recording is a testament to his talents. Borle tenderly croons “The Candy Man” and “Pure Imagination,” composed by Anthony Newley with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse for the 1971 film. Then he belts “It Must Be Believed To Be Seen” and “Strike That, Reverse It,” two excellent numbers by the team of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who wrote all the rest of the score. “The View From Here” is the tenderest song in the show, a lovely finale.
The rest of the talented cast have roles that clearly are subsidiary, and their songs are catchy but rather generic. One is Bavarian, one a samba, one a patriotic march, and so on. Veteran performers John Rubinstein and Jackie Hoffman deserved more. Nothing in the score resembles Shaiman and Wittman’s biggest hit, Hairspray. That shows their versatility and is an observation, not necessarily a critique.
Christian Borle and Company. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Next month: the first-ever complete recording of Dreamgirls & Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.
From the moment Laura Benanti stepped onto the stage at The Barns at Wolf Trap to perform Tales from Soprano Isle she set the buoyant mood for the evening. She charmed and enchanted even as she spoke of having a cold. She assured the audience that the show would go on. And that it did!
Laura Benanti. Photo by Laura Marie Duncan.
Benanti was simply an enchantress, leaving the sold-out audience spellbound and happy as they hopped on to her musical journey featuring songs and anecdotes from her career.
The evening was one of Broadway music and plenty of unexpected pop and urban tunes. With her powerful soprano voice that moved between easily hitting operatic highs and at other times a marvel of deeper soprano velvet. She was a treasure trove of uplifting sounds and then quickly showing her uproariously comic nature.
As she walked about the stage and sat on a stool in her dark cobalt blue dress, Benanti owned the audience with her authentic manner. She was just a feisty delight who used self-deprecating, sometimes salty stories to win everyone over. Her visible pregnancy (a daughter) was a point of beaming pride.
So, if you don’t know Laura Benanti, just a few quick facts. She is an actress and singer. She won the Tony Award for her performance as Louise in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy. In 2010 she was in the stage musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown receiving the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. More recently Benanti earned a Tony nomination for her performance in the Broadway musical She Loves Me and was on television in Supergirl.
Along with her musical accompanist and collaborator Todd Almond, Benanti commanded the Wolf Trap stage. Her repertoire had a clearly wide range that began with about 15 minutes of songs and anecdotes from her work in She Loves Me (lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and music by Jerry Bock ) including a sweetly playful “Vanilla Ice Cream” (“I am so sorry about last night. Last night I was so nasty!).”
From there, she had musical conversations with composers/lyrists such as the Gershwins, Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein. Leaving Broadway, she took on Tori Amos and Joni Mitchell and even Beyoncé’s “All the Single Ladies,” and even bits of a Tina Turner-like version of “Proud Mary” among other unexpected pop hits, and all with well-choreographed moves. My eyes still happily water with the sight of her taking on Sir Mix-A-Lot’s 1992 hit, “Baby Got Back.” Yup. You read that title correctly.
A particular favorite of mine was when Benanti took on the now timeless standard :”Send in the Clowns” with a sweet lyrical deep heart. The room was a hush as she sang. She made it her own.
An arrangement by Todd Almond of “Our Love is Here to Stay” matched with “Love, You Didn’t Do Right by Me” became a bumpy lovers’ journey that was easily understood. She also sang Almond’s own ballad “Take Good Care of Me,” written in honor of his father.
Benanti told tales about her journey to Broadway from a North Jersey high school as a musical geek in love with Rosemary Clooney and Fosca from Sondheim’s Passion. She brought zest with fabulous tales, even if only half true, of working with Patti LuPone who called her “Doll.” She was simply fearless chatting about her three marriages. Discussing her stage-fright taking on the role of Maria making the hills come alive in The Sound of Music, when she was eighteen, was a visual delight. And who knew that power bars were her intermission snack of choice.
Singer and actress Laura Benanti. Photo by Carolyn Cole
And she did not displease by speaking of her current viral hit on the Internet. She was a vivacious storyteller describing how folk from the Stephen Colbert show asked her to impersonate Melania Trump. She didn’t do the sketch, but it was an interesting tale to hear.
The evening with Laura Benanti ending all too quickly. One last moment was a beauty. Benanti called up the a number of performers from the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington as she spoke of her uncle being one of the founders. The group (with Benanti looking on from the wings) did a wondrous acapella version of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” leaving the audience in rapt silence.
The audience left talking about how energized they felt, how happy they were, and how thankful they were to be there. I was awestruck by Benanti’s multi-talented performance.
Running Time: 80 minutes, without an intermission.
The Barns at Wolf Trap resonated with the powerful belt of one of Broadway’s reigning divas tonight as Patti LuPone brought her concert “Don’t Monkey with Broadway” down to DC. A whirlwind tour through some of her favorite Broadway songs, the original Evita proved once again that age has not slowed her–or her voice–down one bit.
LuPone is perhaps most well known for her star turn in the titular role of the original Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita. Most recently seen on Broadway in her concert with Mandy Patinkin titled An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin, she also earned raves (and a Tony) for her stellar performance as Mama Rose in the recent Broadway revival of Gypsy. A Grammy, Tony, and Olivier Award-winning icon of stage and screen, her most recent project involved creating the role of Helena Rubinstein in the new musical War Paint in Chicago.
The evening opened—appropriately—with a Patti-fied version of “Don’t Monkey with Broadway,” including a poke at Brooklyn hipsters and horrified crack about the possibility of President Trump that garnered quite a lot of applause and agreeing “whoop”s. The lighthearted tone and clear affection for Broadway and its music set the tone for the rest of the evening as LuPone focused on the Broadway songs she likes best, regardless of the age or gender of the character. Songs like “Happy Talk” from South Pacific, or a fantastic quick-talking version of “Trouble” from The Music Man made it clear that LuPone can sing pretty much anything she wants and sing it fantastically.
Patti Lupone performing ‘Woulda , Coulda, Shoulda’ at 54 Below on July 22, 2013. Photo by Rahav iggy Segev / Photopass.com
LuPone’s vocal skill is such that she can brassily belt and then quickly transition to soft and quiet, sweet tones, such as in her rendition of “Meadowlark” from The Baker’s Wife. Despite the demanding nature of the song (nearly 6 minutes!) as it requires both strength and tenderness, LuPone made it seem effortless. Her strong belt is so powerful that the oft-used-cliche of “blowing the roof off” seems likely to come true in the intimate Barns setting, especially in such power anthems such as “Being Alive” or “Blow Gabriel Blow.”
Yet she is not mere power–her acting skills are on full display with these songs from shows where she is able to use dynamics and expressions to make the audience feel exactly what the character is going through and trying to convey. Her absolutely hilarious flirty version of “I Cain’t Say No” from Oklahoma! had the audience in stitches, as she became completely believable as a flirty teenage minx, and her duet with herself in “A Boy Like That” as she played both Anita and Maria and switched back and forth was another funny moment.
My favorite songs though were the more serious ones where LuPone flexed her dramatic muscles. Her rendition of “Millwork” from Working began with a bit of a monologue and then transitioned right into the pathos of the song, where LuPone was restrained and quiet with moments of letting-go to express the resignation and anguish of the character. It was absolutely fantastic. Similarly, her treatment of “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” was not LuPone singing one of her greatest hits but Eva Peron pleading with the people of Argentina.
Joining LuPone for a few songs was the a capella group Potomac Fever (an ensemble from the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC), backing her up on a few songs including an appropriately lullaby-like “Sleepy Man” from The Robber Bridegroom. The also sang a song by themselves, and chose—much to LuPone’s delight—“I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables. The smoothness of their voices and their blending skill was fantastic, and the soloist’s emotion and lovely clear high notes amazed both the audience and LuPone, who exclaimed after that he sang it “better than [she] ever did!”
At the end of the night, it was more than evident that with Broadway in the capable hands of divas such as LuPone, there is no need to “monkey around with Broadway”!
Running Time: Two hours, with a 15-minute intermission.
Patti LuPone: Don’t Monkey With Broadway plays again tonight at 8 pm at The Barns at Wolf Trap – 1635 Trap Road, in Vienna VA. Tonight’s performance is sold out. For tickets to future Wolf Trap events, go to their calendar of events.
In Part 9 of a series of interviews with the director and cast of Laurel Mill Playhouse’s Sweeney Todd meet Sophia Nasreen Riazi-Sekowski.
Tobias and Pirelli (L-R): Sophia Riazi-Sekowski, and Michael Iacone.
Joel:Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you on local stages before and what shows you and roles you have appeared in and played.
Sophia: When I was three yearold, I thought it was wrong I couldn’t be Jean Valjean. I had memorized the tune of every Les Miserables song and in the car I sang Jean Valjean and made my momma sing Javert. By the way, I am Sophia Nasreen Riazi-Sekowski and I am an 11 years-old 7th grade student at Judith P. Hoyer Montessori.
I believe I can do anything. Before you misunderstand me, I am not a diva. I just long to tell any story I can on stage. I think of musical theater as storytelling. Poetry. I started going into my world of acting when I saw my neighbor, Miss Amanda, act in what was our local children’s theater, Cheverly Young Actor’s Guild. She was amazing! I suddenly realized, “I can do that!” I started out in CYAG in the pre-show and at age seven, I was cast as Michael in CYAG’s production of Peter Pan and got to fly!
I’m starting from the bottom, like William Shakespeare. Before I flew with CYAG, my first “real” show was at Laurel Mill Playhouse. I was 6 years old and was cast in the London version of Peter Pan. Cast as a nameless Lost Boy, I named myself “Cuddles.” Another girl in the cast became my partner in crime. The things I most remember are 1) We got to chase Smee all around the stage with our wooden daggers, 2) Captain Hook was an amazing and generous actor and I loved acting and exchanging lines with him.
Since then, I have been in over a dozen community theater performances. I have a long history with Laurel Mill Playhouse (LMP), including the super-fun opportunity to play Molly in Annie, (the always fun and amazing character, thrown into the laundry cart and who sings “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile!”) and Little Girl in Ragtime.
Ragtime at LMP still remains closest to my heart. I remember I said to my Ragtime Tateh, “Well since I am supposed to be your daughter, I will be your daughter all the time we are here.” So I was. We were like glue and became lasting friends. I loved the show so much and poured my heart out into my role and the cast truly made something powerful, I don’t think I, or we, could have done it any better.
I have been so lucky to have each theater experience offer something special. Sometimes it is learning how to laugh at your self and make others laugh like with The Heritage Players in Catonsville where I played Ling in Anything Goes. Sometimes it is about a great cast family and the their dedication to rehearsing each step and position over and over in order to make something amazing like with my experiences with 2nd Star Productions in Bowie, where I have been in ensembles for both Hello Dolly! and Children of Eden and most recently their 65 Years of Broadway Cabaret.
Sometimes it is about reimagining stories and roles and using theater to give back, like two years as Tiny Tim in a benefit production of A Christmas Carol for Wolf Pack Theatre Company. This modern take on the Dickens story surprised and moved our audiences and helped raise money for a local hypothermia shelter program.
So far, I have only had the opportunity to be in one professional show. What an experience! I played Gretl in The Sound of Music at Compass Rose Theater. I had a lot of support in that show from all the cast. We built our characters together and formed lasting relationships. It left me wanting more professional theater opportunities “anyone listening?”
So, this is what I look for in my favorite shows. I look for friends. I look for people to look up to. I look for people who respect me. I look for a chance to draw you deep in and share a story that makes you, the audience, love theater and want to return.
I may never be Patti LuPone, but I will always keep going and hopefully have the experience of making it to Broadway. Outside of the theater, I love math and science and playing the French Horn. I am very involved in Montessori Model United Nations and environmental activism in my community. I am learning to play softball and am now a Cadette in Girl Scouts. I want to be an oncologist, an environmentalist, and to work with the UN—oh, and forever to be a storyteller.
Why did you want to appear in this production of Sweeney Todd? Have you appeared in other productions of Sweeney and if yes-who did u play?
Well, let’s start with I am too young, too small, and I am a girl. Then again, I wanted to be Jean Valjean. I never intended to be in Sweeney Todd. Truthfully I just came to get the experience from the audition. It always helps to watch other people. I told myself I wasn’t supposed to get the role, but I had this tingling inside me saying, “maybe, maybe.” I sang “Not While I’m Around” for my audition. My momma received an email and the part she saw was, “we have decided not to call Sophia back.” My momma wasn’t surprised, because, after all, I was too young, too small, and I am a girl. They were looking for a boy from the ages 13-18. What she missed, though, was the part saying “…Because we already decided to cast her for the role of Tobias.” When she told me, I was so excited, but she was a little horrified. I am so grateful to Mr. TJ for stepping outside of the box and taking a chance on me, and I hope to surprise you in a good way.
I wanted to be in Sweeney Todd because of the music, how it is both so pretty and so creepy at the same time. Sondheim can really do that and he draws me deep into the music. Also, it could be a new opportunity and good experience to be it a show that is a little different than some of the musicals I know.
How is this production similar or different from other productions you have appeared in, or seen?
I haven’t seen or been in any other performances of Sweeney Todd. I have seen the movie, though. Our production is very different than the movie. The musical in general is very different than the movie. You cannot get the full glory and meaning of the show through the movie. The layers of meaning in the musical are lost in the movie. In my opinion, the musical Sweeney Todd is full of so much. It is about politics and how the people in the world destroy each other. It is about grief and loss and drastic measures—not just blood and gore. In the movie they cut a lot of things that I think would be important, like both of the Ballads. In “A Little Priest,”,not even half of what Sweeney is talking about is about meat pies or putting people into pies or the flavors as it shows in the movie. It is all politics and the state of the world in which Sweeney lives.
Who do you play and how do you relate to your character?
Thank goodness I don’t relate too directly to poor ! I do connect to that role, though, because I, too, feel like I would do anything for some people in my life, just like Tobias would for Mrs. Lovett, even if it means to kill or be killed. I am far luckier than Tobias, as my trust has never been betrayed, but I have done a lot of work to put myself into his shoes. I am a child who stands back and watches and thinks and puts things together that others don’t think a child can. I have felt that need to be heard and I can feel inside how Tobias would feel as he pleads with Mrs. Lovett for her to heed his warning. To make Tobias come alive, for me and for you, I need to be able to connect with the process of how an 11-year old would react and then put it through another layer of Toby’s world and personality.
What have been some of the challenges preparing for your role?
“Diction is done with the tip of the tongue and the teeth…” Try saying that 5 times fast while singing and acting! In other words, what was really challenging for me was articulation and enunciation. I have to feel like I am enunciating too much to be able to be understood sometimes. Also, learning the music. I have to be able to reach all those high notes and be able to act at the same time. In “Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir,” I have to sing with the whole ensemble singing different parts back at me at the same time. It is super hard. A goal for myself is to be emotionally exhausted by the end of the show. It is all a challenge of “What would Toby do?” “How would this feel?” “Who is Toby?” I believe Toby has a story like everybody else. Maybe he used to have a mum, but all he could remember is that she loved him and that he loved her. Maybe he wants to find someone who loves him and for Toby to swear to protect that someone with all of his heart. He wants to get people’s attention and hopefully one day find someone to love. He thinks that person is Mrs. Lovett. He wants to protect her from any danger he can find. And a whole bunch of other things are going on, but I won’t be a spoiler. Now the challenge is acting this into being.
How would you describe Stephen Sondheim’s score for Sweeney Todd?
Well, let me start by saying that Stephen Sondheim is a cruel but beautiful composer. From a singer’s perspective, he has no mercy. The range required for Tobias has demanded that I grow as a singer. Though there are a lot of random rhythms, there is something about the music, when it is put all together, that is extraordinary. His score makes you believe the stage is alive. There are so many layers and he seems to use people as his instruments, putting their individual parts together to form his composition. It takes a lot of talent to sing this show!
It seems like Sondheim follows a pattern of tension and release. His score builds and builds, reaches its point, and then it becomes calmer. It will make you uncomfortable in some songs and others will wrench your heart out. It is on purpose Sondheim does some crazy things that I don’t even begin to understand in the music. It may seem silly at first, but when you look at it all together, it somehow makes sense. It is magical, I’m telling you! It is so wonderful, and when I imagine the pit behind us, I promise you it is going to be even better.
What is your favorite song that you don’t sing in the show and why?
Oh no! There are so many! My favorite song is probably either “A Little Priest” or “My Friends.” I also love the “Johanna Quartet.” If you go under the words and just listen to the tune, everything has beauty. I hope the audience will be able to notice that. “A Little Priest” is so wrapped with politics and if you look close enough, it isn’t about meat pies; it is about how horrible our world can be to some people. Then it becomes a play on words. A game you could say. “My Friends” is just so powerful. I can’t get over it. And finally, the “The Johanna Quartet” is so pretty it makes me sigh.
What are your solos/duets and what do we learn about your character as you sing these songs/solos?
To mix musicals, Tobias really is such a “Poor Unfortunate Soul.” Ha ha. Tobias’s first song is “Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir.” During that song, we get a snippet of Toby’s life. How he is bold and nervous and fearful all wrapped up into one and how his very world (and even his life) depends on making Pirelli proud. After that song, we see the consequences if he doesn’t perform as he should. We can see how Toby is stuck in a situation and is trapped. How he isn’t loved.
In “Not While I’m Around”, my personal favorite, you can see that he will do anything to protect Mrs. Lovett because he has found what he thinks is the person he will love forever and he desperately wants to have her love and to keep her safe from something bad and terrible that he has discovered. He is convinced that Mrs. Lovett saved him from all the bad things in the world and that she is sweet and dear and kind. He will be her champion and will do all he can to protect her, if only she will listen. Tobias gives us a hint of what he is made of…
What has been the most challenging scenes/songs to learn and perform and how has your director helped you to overcome these challenges?
In case you haven’t guessed, I am full of questions and full of ideas and lucky to have a director that loves me for both (Thank you Mr. TJ)! Not to give away too much, I think the most challenging thing for me is the scene at the end. I will not tell you the ending. I can tell you the whole show is thrilling and in order to know the amazing, heart-wrenching ending that can’t be topped by the movie—come and see the show! Both my Director, Mr. TJ, and my stage manager, Ms. Lilliana, have helped me a lot in talking through what Toby feels and how he would react. Another hard part has been creating a fourth wall in some scenes, when all I have before me is you, the audience. This is Sondheim, so all of my songs are challenging! I am working with our rehearsal pianist to be able to get the notes, strong, and finding the counts and rhythm with a score that is quite merciless to singers. Oh, the horror… and yet I love it so… definitely Sondheim!
What do you admire most about your castmates’ performances?
I admire how my castmates interact with the audience and get in touch with their characters. Also, how my castmates interact with each other on stage is really fascinating. I am learning a lot from them and watch how they make things work and try on different ways of doing things. Everybody is really good, but I really want to single out our Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett. Our Sweeney puts all the feelings into what Sweeney feels and I think that he will really draw you in… maybe to your doom. If you didn’t know her offstage, you would totally believe Mrs. Lovett is a very scary reality. She really works her role and she is not afraid of crazy. Come and see the show. You will be blown away by all the amazing voices!
What does Sweeney Todd have to say to modern theatregoers? Why do you think it is still so popular?
Sweeney Todd is all about today. I think that this is part of the reason why it is so popular. I think Sweeney Todd brutally talks about how life can be so miserable for some people and that it is all just a mess. Sweeney Todd rages about how there is no justice for some people and we see how despair can resort to revenge and go over the edge into madness—but is what Sweeney does any more mad than what is done to people every day? How many people play Mrs. Lovett to a real life suffering Sweeney? In our world, today, there is greed and injustice all over the place. Sweeney Todd gives us a big picture of how bad things happen. It is also about revenge consuming people and how things can come right back at you. Just like today, it is about how there are people being wronged and people who are higher class and beat up on the people lower than them. The theme is horrible, but today it is so current, so it is important to have a big picture understanding of some horrible things that have happened and still are happening.
Although being current is one of the reasons Sweeney is still so popular, I think that it is also so popular because it is a musical for people who don’t generally like musicals. It is different. Believe it or not, it is realistic and yet just unreal enough that we can handle it and be entertained by its awfulness. For those people who don’t appreciate musicals with big unison dance numbers and such where you are wondering “who just dances on the street like that, in unison!?” I mean I love shows like that, but anyways, if you don’t like shows like that, this is a new musical for you to see. Also, it is just so fun and scary.
It is a thriller show. That is why people continue to like it and I believe that you will like it as well!
What is your favorite kind of pie?
Now you are creeping me out a little. I have many favorite pies, and no they aren’t meat pies. I never even had a meat pie, although Tobias sure has a liking for them! I have a favorite type of pie every season. Right now my favorite is pumpkin pie. The filling is so smooth and it is even better when it is well-seasoned with cinnamon and such. “The crust all velvety and wavy! That glaze! Those crimps!” Now I am creeping myself out! Anyway, my favorite combination right now is Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream with warm pumpkin pie and apple cider. Yum!
What do you want audiences to take with them after seeing Sweeney Todd at Laurel Mill Playhouse?
I want our audiences to be left with the horror and pity the show conveys. I want them to have a better understanding of how horrible life can be to some people. I want them to feel the guilt from something they did bad come back up. I want them to feel like they want to fix things. I want them to worry. I want them to be scared. I want them to find something in their own lives to relate to this show. Everyone has something to relate to this show, no matter how small. This show really illustrates things we humans feel and do. A lot of humans love. A lot are greedy. A lot of people resort to revenge (even in the tiniest ways). A lot of people suffer from injustice. This is a show about humans and how they suffer. Most of all, I want people to feel like they want to do what they feel is the right thing. Oh, and of course, I want them to enjoy the show and get that thrill and chill climbing up their backs as they “attend the tale of Sweeney Todd!”
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street plays through this weekend at Laurel Mill Playhouse – 508 Main Street, in Laurel, MD. For tickets, call the box office at (301) 617-9906, or purchase them online.
Joe Gillis: You’re Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big.
Norma Desmond: I AM big. It’s the PICTURES that got small.
Well pictures may be small but Reston Community Players’ (RCP) production of Sunset Boulevard is really big and not to be missed. With a gifted cast, amazing sets, and strong direction and tech team, the story follows Norma Desmond, an aging film star from the silent picture era and her obsession to return to the silver screen (please don’t say comeback) with the help of unemployed writer Joe Gillis. Much of the show is set inside Desmond’s antiquated mansion on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard.
The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with book and lyrics by Don Black is based on the 1950 film of the same name directed by Billy Wilder and starring Gloria Swanson and William Holden. The film received seven Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. The stage version opened in London in 1993 and received the 1995 Tony Award for Best Musical.
Katie McManus as Norma Desmond. Photo by Traci J. Brooks Studios
One of the critical factors to the show’s success is the actress playing Norma Desmond. The role requires the actress to bring life and interest to what is now a stereotypical character with little dimension and nuance. The challenge for the director and actress is to portray the character without going over the top. It is a very fine line. Additionally, Norma’s songs, especially the musical’s two showstoppers “With One Look” and “As If We Never Said Goodbye”, require a big voice with range and control. Patti LuPone, Glenn Close, Betty Buckley, and Elaine Page have all played the role to great acclaim as did the wonderful Florence Lacey in Signature Theatre’s 2010 production.
Katie McManus successfully takes on the challenge. Her powerful, soaring voice and expressive face deliver a Norma Desmond that gives the show its foundation. I recently saw McManus in Creative Cauldron’s Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and once again I am impressed by her talent. She stays in control while moving Norma closer and closer to edge of insanity. Most impressive is her ability to maintain her power and energy throughout the entire show and into final moments. McManus delivers a mesmerizing performance.
Joshua Redford as Joe Gillis and Katie Depp is Betty. Photo by Traci J. Brooks Studios.
Joshua Redford plays Joe Gillis, the struggling screenwriter who stumbles onto the Desmond property and is mistaken for someone else before Norma realizes he may be the key to editing the script that will bring her back to stardom. Redford’s charming, easy style and his good looks help the audience to find him likeable even as he displays Gillis’ sarcastic and cynical qualities. Gillis has seen the dark side of the Hollywood dream factory and has few expectations. Redford, like most all of the cast, sings so articulately that he makes it easy to follow the dialogue told in song. Redford connects with the audience as he finds himself enjoying the luxurious lifestyle yet finds himself drawn to Betty (Katie Depp), a smart, young script reader at Paramount. Depp displays the earnest desire to write good films and her voice is clear and sweet. At this performance,unfortunately, there wasn’t quite enough chemistry between Redford and Depp to make the romance completely believable, especially in their duet “Too Much in Love to Care.” And there were some sound/mic glitches. I am sure these will be rectified by the next performance.
The scene stealer for the show was Paul Tonden as Max, Norma’s devoted butler. He doesn’t talk much but when he does, he commands attention. Tonden conveys the devotion and love underneath the character’s creepy exterior, especially in the second act as he reveals his long history with Norma and reprises “New Ways to Dream.” His rich voice will linger in my memory for some time to come.
Paul Tonden as Max. Photo by Traci J. Brooks Studios.
The show has a big cast with Michael Bagwell as Cecil B. DeMille, Richard Farella as Artie, Danny McKay as Sheldrake, and Quentin Nash Sagers as Manfred. The ensemble includes Dwayne Allen, Sean Cator, Rene Kieth Flores, Cara Giambrone, Blake Green, Jasmine Jones, Karen Kelleher, Anthony Khong, Sally Kiernan, and Grace McCarthy. When the entire ensemble is on stage, the sound fills the theater. Music Director and Conductor Elisa Rosman and the ten-piece orchestra bring a high level of professionalism to the production.
Director and Choreographer Mark Hidalgo keeps the energy high and all the pieces moving. Scenic Designer Steven Royal and his team of carpenters and painters have created sets worthy of such a massive production in their scale and effectiveness to create a specific time and place. I have never seen sets of such high caliber in a community theater production. Costume Designers Jennifer Lambert and Hidalgo create a nice tension between the ensembles black and white clothing in some scenes and the bright colors in others.
In this age of celebrities with little or no talent and singers who are auto-tuned for recordings, it’s nice to know there is so much talent and skill available in Northern Virginia that can bring a big, challenging production to the stage to tell a timeless story of dreams and ambition. Sunset Boulevard is another feather in the cap of the award-winning Reston Community Players.
Running Time: Two hours and fifteen minutes, with one intermission.
Sunset Boulevardplays through March 21, 2015 at Reston Community Players, performing at CenterStage at the Reston Community Center – 2310 Colts Neck Road, in Reston, VA. For tickets, call the box office at (703) 476-4500 ext. 3, or purchase them online.
LINKS She’s Ready for Her Close-Up: Meet Katie McManus, Star of Reston Community Players’ ‘Sunset Boulevard.’
It’s The Pictures That Got Small: Meet Joshua Redford, Star of Reston Community Players’ ‘Sunset Boulevard.’
New Ways to Dream: Meet Paul Tonden, Star of Reston Community Players’ ‘Sunset Boulevard.’
In our series of interviews with the director and cast of American University’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, meet cast member Patrick Kavanagh.
Joel: Introduce yourself to our readers and tell them what other shows you have appeared in and some of the roles you have played.
Patrick: My name is Patrick Kavanagh and I am a sophomore double major in Broadcast Journalism and Musical Theatre. I have been acting and singing for 13 years. This is my third performance at American University. Outside of AU, my favorite shows that I have been in include Pippin (Pippin), The Paper Chase (Hart), and All Shook Up (Dennis).
Patrick Kavanagh. Photo by Meriam Salem.
Why did you want to be in Women on the Verge… at AU? What did you sing at your audition?
I auditioned with the song “Don’t Let Me Go” from Shrek. The reason I wanted to be in Women on the Verge… was simply because I love theatre. Very rarely has there ever been a show where I say “I don’t want to do that” or “I’m not interested.” Ever since I was a kid, theatre has been something I have strived to be a part of, so I couldn’t imagine not wanting to do anything.
Had you seen the show on Broadway, and if yes, what did you like the most about it and what did you not like about it? Why do you think it only ran for 69 performances?
I have seen clips, but did not see the live performance. The show only enjoyed a short run because, although the run had notable talent (Patti LuPone and Brian Stokes Mitchell, who is one of my biggest idols), the set itself seemed to confuse audiences.
What does Women on the Verge… have to say to your generation of theatregoers?
To our generation of theatregoers, Women On The Verge… has a message we all can relate to: you may think you are praying for one thing, but you actually need something else. The show emphasizes the message that things may be crazy at times, but things can always work out for the best.
Who do you play in Women on the Verge… and how do you relate to him?
I play Carlos, a character whose burning emotions are buried beneath the surface initially until it suddenly bursts out. Carlos also becomes tangled around his own emotions, confused about whether to let his passion break through. As a person, I tend to keep things under the surface, wanting to please people first instead of speaking my mind. Carlos does the same thing; he doesn’t want to hurt anyone, even if it kills him on the inside.
What have been the challenges you have encountered while preparing for your role and how have you overcome these challenges? How did your director, Carl Menninger, help you to overcome these challenges?
I had challenges with the role initially, as Carlos’ highest note in the show is a full 2 steps above the highest note I’ve ever sustained onstage. I initially struggled with how not to play Carlos as too much of a punching bag. Carl Menninger and I worked together on how to still present Carlos as a strong character, working specifically on posture and vocal strength. I also worked on specific moments where Carlos’s passion shines through, those specific times like “Microphone” and “Tangled. Carl and I both worked on how I could have more fun in the part, and I think over the past couple of months, I have started to do just that.
What are your solos in the show and what do we learn about your character when you sing it/them?
Every time Carlos has a solo, such as “Island (Reprise)” or “Microphone” or “Tangled” or “Crazy Heart,” you are hearing his true emotions. Until the end of the show, Carlos rarely confesses his real feelings through spoken word. In a sense, Carlos himself is what a musical is all about: the reason Carlos sings is because the emotion is too great and the stakes are too high for him to simply just talk. Through these songs, you learn that Carlos isn’t a mama’s boy and he isn’t a pushover. Carlos wants things just like everyone else.
What have you learned about yourself – the actor and singer- during this whole process?
I’ve grown a tremendous amount during this performance process. As a singer who has always prided himself on being able to go lower than anyone, I was astonished how much I was able to grow my upper range for this part. As an actor, I learned how to play a character much deeper than the surface level. I learned much more about how to play a complex character who can feel many different things at the same time.
How do you describe the David Yazbek score you get to sing?
The Yazbek score is something that is intricate while at the same time being extremely different. It is truly unlike anything I’ve ever sung before.
The women of ‘Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.’ From left to right: Linda Bard, Kendra McNulty, Izzy Smelkinson, Kendall Helblig, and Nia Calloway.’ Photo by Murugi Thande.
What is your favorite song that you are not performing and why? What is your favorite scene in the show and why?
My favorite song to watch is “Invisible,” sung by Lucia (Linda Bard). Linda performs the song itself to perfection; she sings the song with the insanity that is Lucia, but manages her emotions perfectly. Upon hearing the song for the first time, I found it very simple. However, once I started listening to the song, I simply started crying. The lyrics are so sad, but Linda plays this part so well; there are simply no words to describe how well she plays the complexity of emotions that come with this song.
What do you want audiences to take with them after watching you perform in Women on the Verge…?
After watching Women on the Verge…, I want people to see all the talent that American University has to offer. Many times, our stellar IR and poly-sci programs, just to name a few, overshadow the arts at AU. However, the talent in the Department of Performing Arts at American University is outstanding, and every time I step in a classroom with the professors and my fellow actors, I am reminded what a privilege it is to share the space with such outstanding performers, teachers, and directors. I am truly blessed every day to learn from my fellow actors and my director.
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdownplays through October 25, 2014 at American University’s The Harold and Sylvia Greenberg Theatre – 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, in Washington DC. For tickets, call the box office at (202) 885-2587, or purchase them online.
Performance Dates: October 24-25, 2014 at 8 PM and October 25, 2014 at 2 PM.
LINKS
Read Douglas Lloyd’sreviewof Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown on DCMetroTheaterArts.
Meet the Director and Cast of American University’s ‘Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown’: Meet Director Carl Menninger.
Last night George Mason University’s annual Arts byGeorge!benefit outdid itself as they had Broadway legend and TV star Patti LuPone headline their gala event. LuPone, whose credits span the Broadway stage, film, TV, opera, and various recordings, performed songs from all the roles that she ever wanted to do in her aptly-titled cabaret – Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda – for an enthusiastic crowd.
Patti Lupone performing ‘Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda’ at 54 Below on July 22, 2013. Photo by Rahav iggy Segev/Photopass.com.
Arts by George! is a college-wide event held to benefit student scholarships in Art, Dance, Music, Theater, Arts Management, Computer Game Design, and Film and Video Studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, as well as the Center for the Arts Great Performances at Mason season. So to celebrate this 9th annual event, George Mason University invited Broadway legend Patti LuPone. LuPone, famous for her Tony Award-winning performance as Eva Peron in the original Broadway production of Evita” as well as for her Tony Award-winning turn as Mama Rose in the recent Broadway revival of Gypsy, is nothing if not a Broadway legend. Tonight’s concert amply showcased her unique and powerful vocal abilities and true star quality.
Sticking close to her Broadway roots, LuPone opened the concert with the song “Broadway” from the musical Gypsy, setting the tone for the rest of the evening, with her powerful, brassy voice booming to the rafters. From there, she took the audience on a musical journey through her road to Broadway, singing “An English Teacher” from Bye Bye Birdie, and “A Wonderful Guy” from South Pacific, as well as songs from some of the shows she wanted roles in when she was younger —including a rousing rendition of “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from Funny Girl and “Easy to Be Hard” from Hair. Hearing LuPone sing these standards is a master class in musical theater—the control she has over her voice is apparent, as she effectively controls dynamics and the force of her voice to bring the audience in to the story of the song and make them feel exactly what she wants them to feel. For example, LuPone sang most of “A Wonderful Guy” softly and lightly, until the very end when the character singing the song proclaims her love, and then LuPone suddenly (and excellently) becomes very exuberant and forceful, helping the audience to feel the love and joy of the character.
LuPone also demonstrated her masterful acting skills (she was a member of the first graduating class of Julliard’s Drama Division) as she brought songs like “Meadowlark” from The Baker’s Wife and “The Ladies Who Lunch” from Company to life.
As fantastic a singer as LuPone is, the night really came to life in those spots when she departed from the scripted patter—at those times the audience was really able to feel connected to her and to the performance. She rapped a fantastic rendition of “Ya Got Trouble” from The Music Man only to flub a line because the guy she was looking at while singing made a face that threw her off—the audience howled with laughter as she picked someone else to sing to and then when she restarted and congratulated herself on getting the line right. Or when LuPone brought 18 of the George Mason University’s School of Theater students onstage to sing “Sleepy Man” from The Robber Bridegroom with her, and joked about this being the only time it was OK for the parents of the student singers to get out cell phones and take pictures. LuPone’s graciousness and sincere praise for the skill of the students, and the high quality arts program at George Mason University, only endeared her to the audience even more.
Patti LuPone. Photo by Eric Hill.
There were many great moments: “Being Alive” from Company received a loud standing ovation, “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” from Evita, and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” from Gypsy, among others, allowed LuPone’s distinctive brassy voice to soar, delighting the audience. Yet one of the night’s highlights was when she graciously allowed the student a capella group ‘Soundcheque‘ to perform “I’ll Be Seeing You” and the musical theater students sang “Hello Patti”—a modified version of “Hello Dolly.” Both performances, and LuPone’s praise for the students, brought down the house. To see a Broadway master at work, and future singing stars sharing the stage with her, was breathtaking.
As Patti LuPone took the audience on her journey through Broadway and the roles that she Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda played, the audience was only left thinking how lucky they were to be in attendance, so that they didn’t have to lament in the future that they “coulda, shoulda, woulda” been there! It truly was a night to remember.
Running Time: 2 hours, with one 15-minute intermission.
Patti LuPone performed Shouda, Coulda, Woulda on Saturday, September 27, 2014 at 8 PM at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts – 4373 Mason Pond Drive, in Fairfax, VA. For upcoming events at The Center for the Arts, check their calendar.
ARTS by George, a signature event gala that supports scholarships and the Great Performance series at George Mason University, has raised more than $1 million.
The co-chairs of this year’s gala are Merrill and Mark Shugoll. This is the second year in a row that they have served as Chairs of the event.
David: How does ARTS by George! help students at the George Mason University?
Mark Shugoll. Photo courtesy of Shugoll Research.
Mark: ARTS by George! helps in two ways. First, it raises money for student arts scholarships. It may surprise many that Mason has an industry leading arts faculty in everything from music, dance and theater to visual arts, film, and computer gaming. And it attracts hugely talented students that will become the future generation of artists, arts managers and teachers. Many of the students could not afford to attend the university without the scholarships funded by this event. And the event raises money to support the Great Performances at Mason series of international artists in the Concert Hall. The series is often a student’s first exposure to classical art forms and it can create a life-long love of the arts. And Mason students can attend these events for free! It’s a great opportunity.
If you could invite new audiences to attend ARTS by George!, what would you say to them?
This is the most fun gala in the DC area. It’s the gala you’ll want to come to, not go to just out of obligation. You start your evening by attending student showcases. It’s a wonderful smorgasbord of the arts: every 20 minutes you can choose a different performance in a different location. You choose what you want to see: dance, musical theater opera, Peking Opera, orchestra, jazz. You can even see a demonstration of motion capture used in movies like the Planet of the Apes and the Spiderman series. And as you walk around you can sample food from area restaurants, just enough to tie you over until you have dinner at the Grand Buffet under a tent.
Patti Lupone performing ‘Woulda , Coulda, Shoulda’ at 54 Below on July 22, 2013. Photo by Rahav iggy Segev/Photopass.com.
Then you will see an amazing concert by Patti LuPone and have dessert and champagne on stage after the concert along with the star. And don’t forget to stop by the silent auction where you can bid on amazing adventures like a trip to China, a walk on appearance on the hit TV show House of Cards and backstage arts adventures where you meet big stars after seeing their shows.
Note:Meagan Busch, a recent Mason School of Art graduate, is one example of the affection and gratitude that students hold for the George Mason University School of Visual and Performing Arts. She is donating one of her art works for the “ARTS by George!” silent auction. “Donating a piece of art and expressing my gratitude and love of my school is the least I can do.”
‘Monkey on Your Back,’ January 2014.2011. Woodcut, Cut Paper, and Watercolor, Monoprint (One of a Kind). By Meagan Busch.
ARTS by Georgeat George Mason University including the Laski Performing Arts Building, “ARTS by George” tent, and Harris Theatre – 4400 University Drive, in Fairfax, VA. For information call (703) 993-8888, or see the schedule online.
Student and Faculty Showcases, Buffet, Silent Auctions, and more are from 5-7:30 p.m. Patti LuPone’s performance of Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda performance begins at 8 p.m.
Two-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone and I had a conversation about her upcoming performance of Coulda Woulda Shoulda coming up at George Mason University’s Arts by George on September 27th at The Center for the Arts. It’s a benefit for George Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, and the money raised that night will help fund student scholarships and help fund future performances at George Mason University.
Joel: What will audiences be hearing and seeing when you appear on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014, at 8 PM at George Mason University’s ARTS by George?
Patti LuPone. Photo by Eric Hill.
Patti: I am not going to tip the hat. The show is called Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda and it’s my life in the musical theatre. I am not going to say anymore.
How has the show changed since you first premiered it?
We have taken some songs out that we felt didn’t work, or get the response we wanted, and have added other songs.
What roles that you were offered and turned down do you wish you had taken?
That’s not an easy one because you want to forget about them. You don’t want to bring up memories of “Oh damn, I really should have done that.” I don’t think I have been offered that many roles that I turned down.
You have been really lucky…
I’m trying to remember when I turned a role down. Robert Altman offered me a role in Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean when he directed it on Broadway, but I was performing at the time in As You Like it at The Guthrie.
I have always questioned my choice of not doing Les Miserables on Broadway after doing it in London. And I have questioned other choices that I have made.
Playing Ruth in David Mamet’s The Woods at Second Stage Theatre in NYC in 1982.
There was a season where I was offered the role of Mrs. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank and the role of Bea in A View From the Bridge, but I chose to do David Mamet’s The Old Neighborhood. You are always second-guessing your choices especially since there were an abundance of them that year. I was offered a role in a Michael Weller play, and I was offered a role in Extremities, but decided to reprise my role in David Mamet’s The Woods.
As for Broadway musicals – there was one with Stephen Sondheim – but that was because negotiations broke down. They wanted me to play the Witch in Into the Woods, and I wanted to play Cinderella.
What? You have got to be kidding. Why Cinderella?
Well, why not? They let me audition for Cinderella but they wanted me to play the witch. Then negotiations broke down. It broke my heart.
Well, you can’t complain.. you’ve done pretty well despite not getting that role.
You’re right. I have and I am thankful. But I wanted that role.
What roles that you were not offered do you wish you had been offered?
In the beginning of my career – I would have liked to have played Nellie Forbush in South Pacific. I would have loved to have played Ruth in Wonderful Town, and Desiree in the recent Broadway production of A Little Night Music that was directed by Trevor Nunn, (who never returneds my phone calls despite working with him twice. It’s extremely rude.)
I always think that I never get the roles I go after – so I don’t necessarily go after roles. I certainly don’t get them when I audition for them.
You get what you are supposed to get…
What comes to you is what you are supposed to do.
That’s really smart.
Are there any roles today on Broadway now that you would love to play?
I don’t think there is anything in musicals now that I would like to play.
But I had a meeting with André Bishop, (Producing Artistic Director of Lincoln Center Theater), and he said that this was ‘The Golden Age of American Playwrights.” I would like to do an original play.
You are doing ArtsSpeak sponsored by Shugoll Research the night before on Friday, September 26th at 7 PM at Blake HS in Silver Spring, Maryland. Why is it so important to bring these kinds of programs and other programs like it to the schools?
This government underestimates and underfunds programs for the Arts. It’s heartbreaking for me, especially music programs being cut in schools. That’s how I got where I was and where I am. I was a product of the public school music programs on Long Island. We had a strong music program where I learned how to read music and in the third grade I was playing cello. It was because it was part of the curriculum. It was as important as science and math. We learned how to read music and to play an instrument. And so it is so heartwarming and inspiring to me to see young children wanting to continue the tradition of musical theatre and/or anything in the arts. I am still glad that people are still playing instruments.
Mandy Patinkin and Patti LuPone. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Mandy is actually shooting Homeland right now in South Africa. When he gets back he needs a break. He wants to take some time to relax, and I cannot blame him. He’s incredible. He has the TV show, comes home and then goes on the road concertizing. And we need to come up with a new show since we have been doing this show for quite a while. Not that we are bored with it. But we need something new.
What do you think about DC audiences? Are they unique to you?
As Fantine in ‘Les Misérables’ at The Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican Theatre Center, in London in 1985. Photo courtesy of Patti LuPone’s website.
Audiences around the world are the same. We are made up of the same flesh and bones and our blood is red. What we do is universal. You will have the same reaction. The perfect example of that is: When Trevor Nunn came to us at The Royal Shakespeare Company before the first performance of Les Mis and he said, “And now I want you to know and want you to remember that you are in a musical. And people do not come to the Royal Shakespeare Company to see musicals and you will not receive the reaction in a musical you should tonight!” [Patti and I laugh loudly!]
We should have only invested in that loser!
It was brilliant. If you deliver and it touches an audience they are all going to respond that way-the same way.
I have found that people respond to good quality.
Yes, but everybody does. I will tell you that standing ovations are cheap in America and I won’t stand regardless of how good the performances are. There’s no distinction. All the audiences here feel,” Well I paid $150 or more for these tickets so I have to stand at the end- OR I am going to stand at the end because I spent $150 for these tickets.”
When was the last time you stood up at the end of a show?
Twelfth NightwithMark Rylance. Was that not the most magical night? It was what how I felt when I saw The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby – all 8 1/2 hours of it. It was so magical.
I stood up for Twelfth Night too!
Let’s talk about Elaine Stritch and Betty Bacall who passed away recently. What do you think their legacies will be?
I can’t answer that because I knew both of them in a different and personal way.
After you performed ‘The Ladies Who Lunch” in front of Elaine Stritch at The Sondheim Birthday Party, did she say anything to you about your interpretation?
Because I knew Elaine and I spent time with her and they wanted me to sing “The Ladies Who Lunch,” I thought it was a gas. I actually said to Lonny [Director Lonny Price], “Where will Elaine be?” And he said, “She will be in the first chair on the left.” And when I came to “Does anyone still wear a hat?” I turned to her. She left a message on my answering machine, and was so complimentary. She was great. She did say, “You have to be very careful about what you choose next Patti.” And I don’t know why she said that. And I respected her opinion. She didn’t say, “How dare you?” And she didn’t say, “Lovely job.” That’s a great compliment coming from Elaine. I mean – I didn’t do it the way she did it. And that’s not why she complimented me. And I didn’t shy away from doing it either. See what I mean?
I think you are right. She saw courage in your performance, especially performing it in front of her.
It wasn’t a tough one because I loved Elaine. I knew Elaine personally and I knew Elaine wasn’t going to be judging me. She was a very, very, very generous woman. She was very generous to her colleagues.
What would her legacy be? It’s going to be very complicated. There were many facets to Elaine. She will be remembered as one of the great “Dames of Broadway.” There are no dames left.
I just saw a group of talented kids at The Theatre Lab for the Dramatic Arts here in DC performing Evita. And now there is another National Tour about to stop at The Kennedy Center. Why do you think Evita still is being performed by so many theatres and schools 34 years after it opened on Broadway?
I think Evita is swarming around. She was once vilified and now she is glorified. Are you kidding? Now they are doingHere Lies Love about Imelda Marcos, which is the 80’s version of Evita. I am just convinced that Evita Peron is up there just swirling around. It keeps making me look good! Seriously, it’s a powerful piece of theater. I didn’t like the music. It wasn’t Meredith Wilson and it wasn’t Jule Styne. It wasn’t Stephen Sondheim. It was the weirdest music but over the years the music has become something that people want to perform. Every actor and actress and singer wants to play Evita and wants to play Che. And why not? They are great roles. If someone can sing it, God Bless her and God Bless him!
I don’t know how you vocally did it.
Me neither.
What do you want the audience to take with them after seeing Coulda Woulda Shoulda?
It’s up to them to come away with what they want to come away with. Hopefully, there will be a lot of laughter because it’s a funny show. It’s about how I ended up on the stage, and there will be a wonderful surprise.
Patti Lupone performing ‘Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda’ at 54 Below on July 22, 2013. Photo by Rahav iggy Segev/Photopass.com
Patti LuPone performs Shouda, Coulda, Woulda on Saturday, September 27, 2014, at 8 PM at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts – 4373 Mason Pond Drive, in Fairfax, VA 22030. For tickets, purchase them online. Here are directions and parking information.
AL GREEN, TOM HANKS, PATRICIA MCBRIDE, STING, AND LILY TOMLIN TO RECEIVE 37TH ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS
America to Celebrate the Careers of Five Extraordinary Artists Sunday, December 7, 2014 Gala will be broadcast on CBS on December 30, 2014 at 9:00-11:00 p.m., ET/PT
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced the selection of the five individuals who will receive the 2014 Kennedy Center Honors. Recipients to be honored at the 37th annual national celebration of the arts are:
“The Kennedy Center celebrates five extraordinary individuals who have spent their lives elevating the cultural vibrancy of our nation and the world,” stated Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein.
“Al Green’s iconic voice stirs our souls in a style that is all his own; Tom Hanks has a versatility that ranks him among the greatest actors of any generation; one of the world’s greatest ballerinas, Patricia McBride continues to carry forward her legacy for future generations; Sting’s unique voice and memorable songwriting have entertained audiences for decades; and from the days of her early television and theatrical appearances, Lily Tomlin has made us laugh and continues to amaze us with her acting talent and quick wit.”
The annual Honors Gala has become the highlight of the Washington cultural year, and its broadcast on CBS is a high point of the television season. On Sunday, December 7, in a star-studded celebration on The Kennedy Center Opera House stage, produced by George Stevens, Jr. and Michael Stevens, the 2014 Honorees will be saluted by great performers from New York, Hollywood, and the arts capitals of the world. Seated with the President of the United States and Mrs. Obama, the Honorees will accept the thanks of their peers through performances and tributes.
The President and Mrs. Obama will receive the Honorees and members of the Artists Committee who nominate them, along with the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees at the White House prior to the gala performance. The 2014 Kennedy Center Honors Gala concludes with a supper dance in the Grand Foyer.
The Kennedy Center Honors medallions will be presented on Saturday, December 6, the night before the gala, at a State Department dinner hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry.
The Honors Gala will be recorded for broadcast on the CBS Network for the 37th consecutive year as a two-hour primetime special on Tuesday, December 30 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT).
Under the leadership of George Stevens, Jr. and his Honors producing partner, Michael Stevens, the broadcast of the Kennedy Center Honors has received five Emmy Awards in the last six years for Outstanding Television Special. The Honors telecast has also been recognized with the Peabody Award and seven awards from the Writers Guild of America. Between them, the Stevenses have received 22 Emmys and 54 nominations for their work in television. Nick Vanoff was co-creator of the Honors with George Stevens, Jr. in 1978.
The Boeing Company is the exclusive underwriter of the 2014 Kennedy Center Honors Gala Luncheon and post-gala supper dance in the Grand Foyer. Delta Air Lines, the official airline of The Kennedy Center Honors, will provide transportation for the performers and television crew that will be coming to Washington for the Honors Gala.
The Honors recipients recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts—whether in music, dance, theater, opera, motion pictures, or television—are selected by the Executive Committee of the Center’s Board of Trustees. The primary criterion in the selection process is excellence. The Honors are not designated by art form or category of artistic achievement; the selection process, over the years, has produced balance among the various arts and artistic disciplines.
The Honoree selection process includes solicitation of recommendations from the general public and an advisory committee comprised of artists, past Honorees and Kennedy Center board members. Previous Honors recipients and members of the Honors artist committee making recommendations included Edward Albee, Marc Anthony, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Harry Belafonte, Harolyn Blackwell, Glenn Close, Stephen Colbert, Christoph Eschenbach, Jose Feliciano, Sutton Foster, David Hallberg, Paloma Herrera, Hugh Jackman, Quincy Jones, Lang Lang, John Lithgow, Lourdes Lopez, Patti Lupone, Audra McDonald, Terrence McNally, Anna Netrebko, Jack Nicholson, Christopher Plummer, Sidney Poitier, Arturo Sandoval, Steven Spielberg, and Meryl Streep.
Newly arrived Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter expressed the Center’s continued gratitude to the many individuals involved in the success of the Honors program. “In addition to recognizing some of the world’s most treasured artists, the Kennedy Center Honors supports a wide variety of artistic programming, as well as the Center’s educational and national outreach efforts.”
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This Press Release is by John R. Dow, Vice President, Press Office, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
All Photos are courtesy of The Kennedy Center’s facebook page.
If you were going to create a time capsule to preserve a glorious musical theatre partnership, you need look no further than Mandy and Patti in Concert now playing at The Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theatre. Having played variations of this concert for several years now, Patinkin and LuPone have refined their concert to emphasize their unique vocal styling and their endearingly quirky flair for comedy. Already iconic and legendary performers in their own right, their obvious fondness for one another (dating back to their starring together in the original Broadway cast of the musical hit Evita) and their theatrical savvy congeal to produce an electric current of sheer all-out showmanship.
Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin. Photo by Brigitte Lacombe.
The start of the show was magnetic as LuPone and Patinkin appeared standing stoically next to each other (in functional black outfits amidst a cluster of stage lights designed by Production Designer David Korins) on a very minimalistic stage setting singing Sondheim’s classic “Another Hundred People” (from Company) and, then, they both proceeded to engage each other (with obvious signs of affection) with a plunge into several standards from Oscar Hammerstein ll’s wonderful show South Pacific including “A Cockeyed Optimist” and “Some Enchanted Evening”.
It did not take too long to see that this concert was a template for a totally new, radical vision of what would normally be considered your “standard” evening of musical theatre. Gone was conventional show-biz banter and patter. Songs were not introduced but, rather, the entire first act was entirely “sung-through” with each successive song linked organically from the one preceding it. This approach was highly specialized and, obviously, tailored for very discerning and sophisticated tastes.
There was no concerted effort to wow the audience with breaks for applause and jokes but, instead, there was a marked, almost scripted and cinematic feel to the proceedings that might have been disorienting to those who wanted conventional fare. Director Patinkin is propelling a conception (developed by him and his pianist Paul Ford) with sprightly audacious and syncopated Choreography by famed choreographer Ann Reinking that helps to relieve the intensity of this conception. The Lighting Design of Eric Cornwall added to the unique approach of this show as the house lights went on (albeit somewhat dimly) frequently throughout the concert—perhaps this was a deliberate choice to engage the audience and break down the fourth wall for, indeed, Act One was delightful and wonderful but, also, seemingly self-contained in execution. Certainly, Ms. LuPone and Mr. Patinkin were having a veritable “field day” interacting with one another and delivering crisp, natural musical performances like the old troupers that they are. I cannot stress enough, though, how exciting it was to watch such experienced old pros deliver such a totally new approach to a musical theatre concert; I firmly believe that I was witnessing a concert that is distinctly “ahead of its time.”
After this most auspicious beginning, Patinkin and LuPone proceeded to saunter through a very eclectic choice of songs with interspersions of Frank Loesser’s “Baby It’s Cold Outside” (a standout) and Kander and Ebb’s “A Quiet Thing” from Flora the Red Menace (sung almost matter-of-factIy and not in the usual yearning mode by LuPone) helping to balance the beautifully-executed Hammerstein and Sondheim choices. I could sense no discernible theme except, perhaps, a concerted attempt by the performers to stress friendship, love, and reciprocity as the virtues to be instilled from the musical choices chosen for this production. An air of spontaneity seldom seen in a Broadway–style concert setting was achieved through the obvious preparation and discipline that LuPone and Patinkin must have invested to make it all look so easy and effortless. The novelty song “April in Fairbanks” (versus Paris!) by Murray Grand from New Faces of 1956 was a fitting iconoclastic choice for this boldly radical and enticing Act One.
Act Two opened with LuPone and Patinkin appearing in nicely tailored brown apparel and dueting as two elderly and lovable “Old Folks” (from the song of the same name) singing in their rockers to the words and music of Kander and Ebb. LuPone and Patinkin then each did one of their signature tunes: LuPone delivered a searing “Everything’s Coming up Roses” from Gypsy while Patinkin performed an extremely intricate and manic rendition of “The God-Why-Don’t-You-Love-Me Blues” from Sondheim’s Follies (this is the song that Patinkin introduced in the Lincoln Center concert version of Follies).
Up next was a cluster of four songs from what many consider to be Sondheim’s best score—namely, Merrily We Roll Along (but how do you pick a “best” score from Sondheim !?) . Included were “The Hills of Tomorrow,” “Merrily We Roll Along”, “Old Friends” and “Like It Was.” “Old Friends” was quite obviously performed with more than ample resonance as the audience was witnessing a decades- long personal and professional friendship. “Like it Was” was the highlight of the evening with both stars registering a poignant wistfulness in their phrasing.
Act Two eschewed the more scripted cinematic feel of Act One somewhat with the aforementioned signature songs, as well as the reminiscing of LuPone and Patinkin when they were young and conquering Broadway with the Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sir Tim Rice blockbuster musical hit Evita. As a celebration of their friendship forming in Evita, LuPone sang a stunning “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” and Patinkin sang a rousing and earthy rendition of Oh What a Circus.
I have seen Ms. LuPone perform four times in the past and I must mention that her singing for this concert was intriguing and even, quietly spellbinding, in its almost “zen-like” stillness. She seemed to be singing from a very pure and peaceful part of her psyche and she seemingly eschewed some of the more histrionic flourishes with which she would often conclude her songs. This approach worked beautifully because she has the vocal power and inflection to captivate attention no matter what singing style she utilizes.
Mr. Patinkin, who I have seen twice in the past, has developed deeper chest tones in his vocal delivery and he conveyed this especially well in the last grouping of songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel. Though he still maintains his pleasing falsetto-like tones, his voice has become much rounder with an earthy and deeper robust quality that only adds to his usual appeal. The closing number, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was sung so movingly by Patinkin and LuPone that two encores were performed with zeal: “You’re Just In Love” from Irving Berlin’s Call Me Madamand “Coffee in a Cardboard Cup” by Kander and Ebb.
Mandy Patinkin and Patti LuPone. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Mention must be made of the superb musical accompaniment throughout by Musical Director and Pianist Paul Ford and Dan Hall on Bass. The instrumental embellishment was perfectly subtle for two such powerful singing talents.
An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin is, I repeat, a template for a new vision of what a Musical Theatre Concert can be. This show propels us into the future.
Running Time: Two Hours, including one intermission.
An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin plays though this Sunday, February 23rd at The Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater-2700 F Street, NW, in Washington, DC. For tickets, call the box office (202) 467-4600, or purchase them online.
Everything’s coming up sunshine and Santa Claus at Signature Theatre. Hands down-—Signature Theatre’s Gypsy is the best musical I have seen this year. Signature Theatre pulls out all the stops for Gypsy, and the resulting spectacle is nothing short of spectacular! This Gypsy is swell and it’s great! Its a holiday treat you won’t want to miss!
Vaudeville dreams catch on as Momma Rose (Sherri L. Edelen) gives a pep talk to Baby June (Erin Cearlock) in ‘Gypsy. Photo by Teresa Wood.
Under the brilliant direction of Joe Calarco (Signature’s Romeo and Juliet, God of Carnage, Urinetown), Signature Theatre’s production of Gypsy is simply everything right about musical theatre. With book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by the legendary Stephen Sondheim, Gypsy recounts the rise of the famed performer Gypsy Rose Lee, based on the true 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee herself. The storyline focuses on trials and tribulations of show business as Momma Rose (the incredible Sherri L. Edelen)—an over-the-top stage mother—pushes her daughters to the brink of stardom as she nearly destroys everything else meaningful in her life in the process.
Originally produced by David Merrick & Leland Hayward on Broadway in 1959, then revived four times on Broadway in 1974, 1989, 2003, and 2008, Gypsy is widely referred to as “what may be the greatest of all American musicals.” Signature Theatre’s adaption of Gypsy reminds us why.
Momma Rose (Sherri L. Edelen, left) has a dressing room stand-off with Gypsy Rose Lee, aka her daughter Louise (Maria Rizzo). Photo by Teresa Wood.
I could start by sharing how Signature Theatre’s production of Gypsy had sets (Jim Kronzer) and lighting (Chris Lee) that perfectly exuded the glitz and glamour of the vaudeville circuit rivaling some of the best and versatile scenic designs I have ever seen, or how Ellen Roberts (Baby Louise) and Erin Cearlock (Baby June) perfectly captivate the ups-and-downs of life as a child of show business, or perhaps even how Maria Rizzo (Louise) masterfully transforms from a shy sidekick of her older sister Dainty June (Nicole Mangi) to the masterful striptease artist Gypsy Lee Rose. But, instead, I’ll start with what truly stole the limelight during Saturday night’s performance of Gypsy—and that was the amazing Sherri L. Edelen’s incredible portrayal of the eccentric, melodramatic Momma Rose.
Edelen—who has been seen at Signature’s productions of Xanadu, Hairspray, Side by Side by Sondheim, Walter Cronkite is Dead, Sweeney Todd, Les Misérables (Helen Hayes Award), Urinetown, Elegies (Helen Hayes nomination), Side Show (Helen Hayes Award), and more—commands the stage from the moment she walks on to the final curtain call. As Momma Rose, Edelen has the unique ability and responsibility to develop one the most complex characters in the American stage musical. Edelen captures the nuances of the role by carrying the audience through each phase of her character’s development—which intentionally leaves the audience a bit conflicted: Edelen makes us feel hope for the future, disdain at her willingness to sell out her daughters, remorse at her failed marriages, and at times even giddy at the absurdity of her ways, and handles the multidimensionality of the character with ease and grace.
Momma Rose (Sherri L. Edelen) finds a new agent in Herbie (Mitchell Hébert). Photo by Teresa Wood.
That’s not to mention Edelen’s glorious voice. Edelen carries the show with hits including “Some People,” “Mr. Goldstone”, and the dazzling Act I finale “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.” Dare I say, Edelen channels the likes of the legends like Ethel Merman, Bernadette Peters, and Tony Award winners Tyne Daly, Angela Lansbury, and Patti LuPone while injecting her own unique inflections and flare into these time-tried classics. Her take is fierce, refined, refreshing, and vocally top-notch.
Other standout performers include Mitchell Hébert (Signature’s Art) as Rose’s love interest Herbie, Maria Rizzo (Signature’s Spin, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and Xanadu) as the emerging Gypsy Rose Lee, Nicole Mangi (who was in the Broadway revival of Gypsy with Patti LuPone) as Dainty June, and Vincent Kempski (Signature’s Miss Saigon, Spin, Crossing in concert) as the love-stricken Tulsa.
Hébert carefully walks the line between agent and husband-to-be, who himself wields a great deal of internal conflict. His tact in cautiously wooing Momma Rose in songs like “You’ll Never Get Away From Me,” while always hedging an exit strategy, is believable. His on-stage chemistry with Edelen makes the relationship convincing and their tribulations all the more real.
Dainty June (Nicole Mangi) and Louise (Maria Rizzo) sing “If Momma Was Married.” Photo by Teresa Wood.
Maria Rizzo’s portrayal of the younger Louise and the emergent Gypsy Rose Lee is astounding. What’s phenomenal about Rizzo is the range of characters she can play. She starts the show in a metaphorical cocoon, smothered by her mother and overshadowed by her sister June. At times, her body language and understated demeanor makes you forget she’s even there, but the innocence in her voice in songs like “Little Lamb” reminds you of her star potential, which is unveiled in Act II. Transforming into the newly-born burlesque star, Rizzo handles the evolution of Gypsy Rose Lee with star quality—blending a particular fragility and awkwardness with the eventual tact and prominence of a true icon. Having seen Rizzo portray Sally Bowles in The Keegan Theatre’s production of Cabaret last year, it’s no surprise to me that Rizzo can carry a show in her own right.
Nicole Mangi plays the older and more talented Dainty June, and the time she spent on Broadway in the revival of Gypsy certain shows. She manages to articulate the struggle of an emerging star and the reluctance to continue performing despite the promise of emerging success. Her collapse under the pressure of her mother is believable, and her portrayal of the tired vaudeville act in her mother’s later years is at once absurd and amiable.
Vincent Kempski deserves recognition for his performance of “All I Need Is The Girl,” in which he woos and dances with the then understated Louise. Kempski is truly a triple threat—able to navigate complicated choreography, sing a nuanced and difficult score, and convey a sense of longing all at the same time. He portrays Tulsa in a way that balances a careful sense of hopeful longing, yet also a degree of tragic emptiness with which show business left him.
Under the musical direction of Jon Kalbfleisch, the orchestra, which was situated a top the stage, was also quite the spectacle. With blaring trumpets, heart-pounding drum cadences, and a truly unique, full sound, the five-minute overture at the top of Act I reminds us that there is nothing quite like live music—especially in show business. The sound design by Lane Elms is similarly well balanced; in a show with such iconic Broadway show tunes, Elms ensures that the audience is able to enjoy a blended experience between melodies, harmonies, and orchestral embellishments.
The choreography (Karma Camp) and costume design (Frank Labovitz) are integrated exceptionally well, particularly in the striptease scenes. With vaudeville and burlesque at the centerpiece of the show, the movements are such an integral part of Gypsy that Camp manages to capture through her precise choreography. The movement and body language manage to tell the story itself, particularly for Louise whose awkwardness and jerky movements eventually evolve into the masterful navigation of the burlesque stage through seductive and scintillating dances.
Louise (Maria Rizzo) gets a surprise birthday present from her stage pals Yonkers, Angie, and L.A. (from left: Samuel Edgerly, Joseph Tudor, and Gannon O’Brien). Photo by Teresa Wood.
The costume design by Frank Labovitz was authentic to the era throughout the evening and was highlighted in a comic number entitled “You Gotta Get A Gimmick” in which burlesque dancers strive to teach Louise a thing or two about strip teasing. With Donna Migliaccio (Mazzepa), Sandy Bainum (Tessie Tura), and Tracy Lynn Olivera (Electra) each demonstrating how their burlesque outfits and associated gimmicks reeled the men in, Labovitz illustrated how details in each costume can really steal the show. Olivera’s costume, in particular, was a scene-stealer; exposing her bare belly and covered with Ping-Pong ball shaped light-bulbs that illuminated in sync with the choreography, the costume was well-constructed and quite the sight to see.
Gypsy is often heralded as the “Great American Musical,” and this award-winning musical favorite shines and dazzles at the Signature Theatre.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, with one 15-minute intermission.
Gypsyplays through January 26, 2014 at Signature Theatre — 4200 Campbell Avenue in Arlington, Virginia. For tickets, call the box office at (703) 820-9771, or purchase them online.
Julia Murneywill be at Wolf Trap on Sunday, July 28th at 8:15 PM to perform Wicked Divas with Stephanie J. Block. and The National Symphony Orchestra. I asked Julia about what audiences will be seeing and hearing when she takes the Wolf Trap stage with fellow Broadway Elphaba – the Divine Stephanie J. Block.
Julia Murney. Photo courtesy of Wolf Trap.
Joel: What will audiences hear you sing at Wicked Divas at Wolf Trap on July 28th? Have you performed at Wolf Trap and with The National Symphony before?
Julia: We’ll be singing some old favorites, some songs that may be surprising, and of course, a couple of songs from Wicked!
You and Stephanie Block both appeared in Wicked as Elphaba on Broadway. How long did you play Elphaba on Broadway and in The National Tour?
Yes, we did and that’s why it’s so fun to get to do these concerts together! I did the show for six months on tour and ten months on Broadway.
Did you both get a chance to see each other perform the role and how were your performances similar and different?
I am influenced by every amazing woman I have gotten to see play the part, including Steph. No idea how we were similar or different, as I’ve never seen me do the show!
What did you admire most about Elphaba?
I admire how she keeps fighting. I admire how she learns.
Julia Murney as El:phaba om ‘Wicked.’ Photo courtesy of Wolf Trap.
What is a diva and what makes you diva-like?And why is Stephanie Block a true Diva? How many times have you performed the show with Stephanie and why is she so much fun to perform with?
The term Diva has become a catch-all term for someone difficult which I certainly try not to be-I will speak my mind and fight for what I think is right, but I don’t ever want to be perceived as difficult. I prefer it in it’s original definition, as it’s from the Italian for goddess. And ‘Goddess’ is exactly what makes Stephanie a true Diva.
You have such powerful and gorgeous voice. How would you describe your voice?
Well, that’s very nice-thank you. I guess I would describe my voice as expressive. I have a very particular sound that I guess not everybody loves, but I’ve learned to.
Who do you consider the five best Divas who ever sang on a Broadway Stage?
I could never narrow it down to 5, but I’ll give you 3-one old school: Angela Lansbury (she’s a great actress), one current: Lindsay Mendez (currently Elphaba on Broadway-but you can hear her on the Dogfight cast album), and one eternal: Patti LuPone (beyond human in what she can do).
Would you ever consider popping on a blonde wig and playing Glinda?
Only in my dreams.
Any roles you would love to play that you haven’t yet played?
Dot in Sunday in the Park with George.
Why do you think Wicked is still so popular and selling out everywhere it plays?
It’s a story for anyone who has ever felt like the underdog…and who has never felt that way? It’s also got such a great score!
Julia Murney and the cast of ‘From Broadway with Love: A Benefit Concert for Sandy Hook.’
I wanted to thank you for being part of ‘From Broadway with Love: A Benefit Concert for Sandy Hook.‘ I actually rode the bus with you and Stokes and others from Lincoln Center to Waterbury, CT and that night you sang ‘Defying Gravity.’ (I still get chills thinking about it). Did the song have a special meaning for you that night? And why did you choose it to sing to the families of Sandy Hook?
The song always has special meaning, but that evening was tremendously moving-they asked me to sing it and I had the great honor of having Stephen Schwartz at the piano, and afterwards, a gentleman came up to me and said his daughter loved Wicked and he used to sing “Defying Gravity” to her every night-and she was taken in Sandy Hook-and he thanked me for bringing that song to him. That was beyond anything I ever could have imagined.
You conduct Master Classes around the country. What advice would you give a young student who is considering becoming a professional singer or making musical theatre his/her career?
Do your work, be yourself, be kind, and know that musical theatre can be performed in many different arenas-Broadway’s great, but it’s not the end of the story.
Wicked Divas plays on Sunday, July 28, 2013 at 8:15 PM at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center – 1551 Trap Road, in Vienna, VA. For tickets, purchase them online.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced its 2013-2014 THEATER SEASON:
The Kennedy Center at night.
-A new Kennedy Center production of Henry Krieger and Bill Russell’s Side Show
-Touring productions of Sister Act, Elf, Flashdance – The Musical, Peter and the Starcatcher, An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin, and the return of Million Dollar Quartetand Disney’s The Lion King.
-International Theater Festival 2014 highlighting theatrical works from around the world
DISNEY’S THE LION KING, June 17, 2014 – August 17, 2014, Opera House
Winner of six 1998 Tony Awards® including Best Musical, Best Direction, and Best Costume Design, Disney’s The Lion King returns to the Kennedy Center after a sold-out nine-week engagement in June 2008. With direction and costumes by Julie Taymor, Elton John and Tim Rice’s score brings the rhythms of the African Pridelands to life with songs that include “Circle of Life,” the Oscar®-winning “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” and much more.
ELF, December 17, 2013 – January 5, 2014, Opera House
One of the most beloved Hollywood holiday hits of the past decade is born again—live on stage. Elf is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported back to the North Pole. Unaware that he is actually human, Buddy’s enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father, discover his true identity, and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas. This modern day Christmas classic is sure to make everyone embrace their inner elf. Based on the beloved 2003 New Line Cinema hit, Elf features songs by Tony Award® nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer), with a book by Tony Award® winners Thomas Meehan (Annie, The Producers, Hairspray) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone).
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Flashdance – The Musical is a stage adaptation of the 1983 hit film that defined a generation. With dance at its core, Flashdance – The Musical tells the inspiring and unforgettable story of Alex Owens, a Pittsburgh steel mill welder by day and a bar dancer by night with dreams of one day becoming a professional performer. When romance with her steel mill boss threatens to complicate her ambitions, Alex learns the meaning of love and its power to fuel the pursuit of her dream. Directed and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys, Memphis), the musical features a book by Tom Hedley (co-writer of the original screenplay) and Robert Cary and a score including the hit songs from the movie such as “Flashdance – What a Feeling,” “Maniac,” “Gloria,” “Manhunt,” “I Love Rock & Roll.” Additionally, 16 brand new songs have been written for the stage with music by Robbie Roth and lyrics by Robert Cary and Robbie Roth.
Back by popular demand, the Tony Award® winning musical, directed by Eric Schaeffer and featuring a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, Million Dollar Quartet returns to the Kennedy Center after a sold-out three-week engagement in December 2012. On December 4, 1956, an auspicious twist of fate brought Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley together. The place was Sun Records’ storefront studio in Memphis. The man who made it happen was Sam Phillips, the “Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” who discovered them all. The four young musicians united for the only time in their careers for an impromptu recording that has come to be known as one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll jam sessions of all time. The show brings that legendary night to life with an irresistible tale of broken promises, secrets, betrayal and celebrations featuring an eclectic score of rock, gospel , R&B and country hits including; “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Fever,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Who Do You Love?,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Matchbox,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Hound Dog,” and more.
PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, January 28, 2014 – February 16, 2014, Eisenhower Theater
Winner of five Tony Awards®, the musical play Peter and the Starcatcher takes a hilarious romp through the Neverland you never knew. This swashbuckling prequel to Peter Pan will have you hooked from the moment you let your imagination take flight. An innovative and imaginative musical play based on the best-selling Disney-Hyperion novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Peter and the Starcatcher features a company of 12 actors who play more than 100 unforgettable characters, all on a journey to answer the century-old question: How did Peter Pan become The Boy Who Never Grew Up? This epic origin story of popular culture’s most enduring and beloved character proves that your imagination is the most captivating place in the world.
SIDE SHOW, June 14, 2014 – July 13, 2014, Eisenhower Theater
The Kennedy Center in association with La Jolla Playhouse presents a revival of the musical Side Show. With music by Henry Krieger, book and lyrics by Bill Russell, and direction by Academy Award® winning director Bill Condon, this new production is the first major revival since the production’s original 1997 Broadway debut. Side Show is based on the true story of conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton who became stars during the Depression. It is a moving portrait of two women joined at the hip whose extraordinary bondage brings them fame but denies them love.
SISTER ACT, October 29, 2013 – November 10, 2013, Opera House
Featuring original music by eight-time Oscar® winner Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Little Shop of Horrors), Sister Act tells the story of Deloris Van Cartier, a wannabe diva whose life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses a crime and the cops hide her in the last place anyone would think to look—a convent. Under the suspicious watch of Mother Superior, Deloris helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own. A sparkling tribute to the universal power of friendship, Sister Act is reason to rejoice.
AN EVENING WITH PATTI LUPONE AND MANDY PATINKIN, February 18 – 23, 2014, Eisenhower Theater
Two of Broadway’s most venerated performers appear together again after their Tony Award® winning performances in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita (1980), Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin are reunited onstage for An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin. Since then they have both starred in film, television, the concert stage, and back to Broadway.
BARBARA COOK’S SPOTLIGHT, November 1, 2013 – May 2, 2014, Terrace Theater
Now in its seventh season, Broadway legend Barbara Cook selects preeminent Broadway talent to perform on the Kennedy Center stage in a cabaret-style performance as part of her Spotlight series. The five performers in the 2013-2014 season include Tommy Tune on November 1, 2013; Lucie Arnaz on November 8, 2013; Patina Miller on December 6, 2013; Brian d’Arcy James on March 7, 2014; and Megan Hilty on May 2, 2014.
Barbara Cook’s Spotlight: Brian d’Arcy James
Two-time Tony nominee Brian d’Arcy James (Shrek, Next to Normal, Sondheim at 80 at the Kennedy Center) joins Barbara Cook’s cabaret series.
Barbara Cook’s Spotlight: Lucie Arnaz
Last seen at the Kennedy Center in 2007 with the NSO Pops, Emmy winner Lucie Arnaz (They’re Playing Our Song, Lost in Yonkers) brings her “lusty vibrato [and] disarming charm” (New York Daily News) to the Kennedy Center.
Barbara Cook’s Spotlight: Megan Hilty
Megan Hilty (Wicked, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 9 to 5, TV’s Smash), follows her acclaimed NSO Pops concerts last season with an intimate evening in the Terrace Theater.
Barbara Cook’s Spotlight: Patina Miller
Fresh from 2012’s First You Dream at the Kennedy Center, and soon in Broadway’s Pippin revival, Tony nominee Patina Miller (Sister Act) returns with her “funky, spunky stage presence and great comic timing” (Telegraph).
Tommy Tune hits the Terrace Theater stage, high-stepping through his nine-time Tony Award–winning career and celebrating more than 50 years on the Great White Way.
THEATER FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES 2013-2014, Family Theater
Elephant and Piggie’s We Are in a Play! Orphie and the Book of Heroes Rain Art Productions: Man of the House Visible Fictions of Scotland: Robin Hood (part of International Theater Festival 2014)
Elephant and Piggie’s We are in a Play!
Best friends Gerald and Piggie find themselves on an excellent musical adventure in this world premiere adaptation of Mo Willems’ award-winning Elephant and Piggie books. Age 4+
Man of the House
In this world premiere, master storyteller David Gonzalez returns with a brand-new, semi-autobiographical solo show about Pablito, a young boy of Cuban/Puerto Rican heritage who searches for his long-lost father while spending a summer in Miami. Age 9+
Orphie and the Book of Heroes
Spunky and curious Orphie, a young girl in Ancient Greece, sets out to save storyteller Homer and his Book of Heroes in this humorous world premiere musical–a quest that takes her from the heights of Mt. Olympus to the depths of the underworld. Age 9+
Robin Hood
Updated, inventive, and hilarious, this U.S. premiere is unlike any Robin Hood you’ve seen before! Scotland’s acclaimed theater company Visible Fictions returns to bring this classic tale to life with a few actors and lots of imagination. Age 7+
PAGE-TO-STAGE, August 31, 2013 – September 2, 2013, Throughout the Center
The Kennedy Center hosts its 12th annual Page-to-Stage new play festival over Labor Day weekend, featuring more than 40 theaters from the D.C. metropolitan area, all with a mission to produce and support new work. The three-day, Center-wide event offers a series of free readings and open rehearsals of plays and musicals being developed by local, regional, and national playwrights, librettists, and composers in locations throughout the Center.
INTERNATIONAL THEATER FESTIVAL 2014, March 10-30, 2014, Throughout the Center
Bristol Old Vic/Handspring Puppet Company (UK/South Africa): A Midsummer Night’s Dream Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes (Canada): Penny Plain
Sulayman Al-Bassam Theatre (Kuwait): A Reading of The Petrol Station Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord (France):The Suit Visible Fictions (Scotland): Robin Hood Théâtre de l’Atelier (France): Savannah Bay Nalaga’at Theater Deaf-Blind Acting Ensemble (Israel): Not By Bread Alone (United States): ZINNIAS: The Life of Clementine Hunter National Theatre of China: Green Snake Tapioca Inn Mexico): Incendios La Mafia Teatro (Chile): La Muerte y La Doncella (Death and the Maiden)
International Theater Festival 2014 is supported through the generosity of the HRH Foundation.
KENNEDY CENTER AMERICAN COLLEGE THEATER FESTIVAL (KCACTF), April 14-19, 2014
Since its establishment 46 years ago, KCACTF has reached millions of theatergoers and hundreds of thousands of college and university theater students nationwide. The national festival brings together participants from regional festivals around the country to the Kennedy Center from April 14-19, 2014. The national festival includes an awards ceremony, an opportunity for participants to engage with colleagues from across the nation, as well as the Washington, D.C. theater community, scholarship eligibility, and master classes in the theatrical arts.
Shear Madness still sparkles at the Kennedy Center with all the body, bounce, and shine of opening night. For 25 years, audiences are still trying to figure out whodunit as they spot the clues, question the suspects, and solve the funniest murder mystery in the annals of crime. The show combines up-to-the-minute improvisation and spontaneous humor to deliver a unique performance every night.
New Visions/New Voices 2014
Explore the Arts educational events including Theater Look-in’s will be held in conjunction with most productions as part of the Kennedy Center’s ongoing education program.
MYTIX PROGRAM
Several of this season’s theater performances will be part of the Kennedy Center’s MyTix program, which offers those 18-30 years old and active duty members of the armed services complimentary and discounted tickets to a wide variety of performances throughout the 2013-14 season. Patrons can visit kennedy-center.org/mytix to register and receive MyTix member benefits including a bi-weekly newsletter and ticket alerts, discounts on food and beverage service, discounts at Kennedy Center Gift Shops, and much more.
TICKET INFORMATION
To receive subscription information by mail, call the Subscription Office at (202) 416-8500. Subscriptions may be purchased in advance of general on sale dates. Groups of 20 or more may contact Kennedy Center Group Sales at (202) 416-8400. Dates for sales of individual tickets will be announced at a later date.
2013-2014 Season Schedule – Theater.
Performance Dates Theater Shows
August 31 – September 2, 2013 Throughout the Center Page-to-Stage
September 24 – October 6, 2013 Eisenhower Theater Million Dollar Quartet
October 29, 2013 – November 10, 2013 Opera House Sister Act
November 1, 2013 Terrace Theater Barbara Cook’s Spotlight: Tommy Tune
November 8, 2013 Terrace Theater Barbara Cook’s Spotlight: Lucie Arnaz
December 6, 2013 Terrace Theater Barbara Cook’s Spotlight: Patina Miller
December 17, 2013 – January 5, 2014 Opera House Elf
December 25, 2013 – January 19, 2014 Eisenhower Theater Flashdance – The Musical
January 28, 2014 – February 16, 2014 Eisenhower Theater Peter and the Starcatcher
February 18 – 23, 2014 Eisenhower Theater An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin
March 7, 2014 Terrace Theater Barbara Cook’s Spotlight: Brian d’Arcy James
March 10 – 30, 2014 Throughout the Center International Theater Festival 2014
April 14-19, 2014 Throughout the Center Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival
May 2, 2014 Terrace Theater Barbara Cook’s Spotlight: Megan Hilty
June 14, 2014 – July 13, 2014 Eisenhower Theater Side Show
June 17, 2014 – August 17, 2014 Opera House Disney’s The Lion King
Continuous Theater Lab Shear Madness
All artists and performances are subject to change.
FUNDING CREDITS
-Musical Theater at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Adrienne Arsht Musical Theater Fund.
-The Kennedy Center Theater Season is sponsored by Altria Group.
-Barbara Cook’s Spotlight is made possible through the generosity of the Charles E. Smith Family Foundation.
-Explore the Arts and MyTix are part of the Rubenstein Arts Access Program, which is generously funded by David and Alice Rubenstein.
-The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, part of the Rubenstein Arts Access Program, is generously funded by David and Alice Rubenstein.
-Additional support for Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival is provided by The Honorable Stuart Bernstein and Wilma E. Bernstein; Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation; The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust; and Beatrice and Anthony Welters and the AnBryce Foundation.
-Page-to-Stage is made possible by The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and Share Fund.
-Education and related artistic programs are made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.
-International Programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.
-Check The Kennedy Center’s website: kennedy-center.org. -Please visit facebook.com/kennedycenter for behind-the-scenes news, special offers, advance notice of events and other related Kennedy Center Facebook pages. -Follow us @kencen on for up-to-the-minute news, offers and more.
When you think you know someone, all of a sudden you are introduced to another side of that person you didn’t know about – and you are thrilled! That’s what happened last night when Broadway legend Patti LuPone brought her one-woman show Patti Lupone: Matters of the Heart to The Music Center at Strathmore.
Patti LuPone.
We all know that Patti LuPone can belt a song to the heavens. We know she is a great actress, and after watching her in Sweeney Todd, we know that she plays a mean tuba, but what I and many of her fans and admirers learned last night is that Patti is a terrific storyteller and interpreter of pop songs.
Using “Theme From Carnival” (“Love Makes The World Go ‘Round”) as a theme throughout the evening, Patti introduced heartfelt and emotional and personal “reflections’ of songs about ‘the various aspects of love…first love..lust..a mother’s love…love at first site…get out of here love…desperate love… because I assume that everyone here tonight has been in love…at least once!”
Surrounded by Musical Director Chris Fenwick and The Four Play String Quartet, who were ‘dressed to the max,’ and lovely roses set atop a grand piano – they played Dick Gallagher’s lush arrangements with gusto, emotion and …love. It was simpley gorgeous and classy, and the audience loved it. Created by Scott Wittman, the show allows LuPone’s sense of humor and years of experience as a performer and a mother to shine through.
Watching LuPone’s face and hands wide open, clenching her fists, her head swaying – her entire body and glorious voice told the story of each lyric – softly and powerfully and lovingly on “Alone Again (Naturally),” “Unexpressed,” “Air That I Breathe,” “Sand and Water,” “My Father,” and “Look Mummy, No Hands.” And what she does with Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” and Joni Mitchell’s “The Last Time I Saw Richard” was a revelation.
Patti LuPone performing ‘Matters of the Heart’ at Lincoln Center. Photo courtesy of Patti LuPone’s website.
And there she had the audience laughing with her funny performances of “Shattered Illusions,” “I Never Do Anything Twice,” and “Better Off Dead.”
And of course, Broadway songs were belted and her renditions of “Not a Day Goes By,” from Merrily We Roll Along, “Being Alive” from Company,”I’m In Love With A Wonderful Guy” from South Pacific and “Not A Day Goes By,” from Merrily We Roll Along” were not just sung – but she ‘lived them.’ Here powerful and heart-wrenching and passionate performance of “Back to Before” from Ragtime not only displayed her vocal gifts but reminded us – her fans -why Patti LuPone is a star. LuPone is a star. I had chills up and down my spine when these ‘intense’ renditions rocked Strathmore.
The great news is that you have a chance tonight to grab a ticket or two and see the great Patti Lupone in this wonderful evening of great song, great singing, gorgeous orchestrations and talented musicians. Drop everything and run!
Running Time: One hour and 45 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.
Patti LuPone: Matters of the Heart plays tonight, October 6, 2012 at The Music Center at Strathmore – 5301 Tuckerman Lane, in North Bethesda, MD. For tickets, purchase them online Use a special discount for DC Theater Arts’ readers here. To view their upcoming events, check out their calendar.
Buddy Guy, Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, Ntalia Makarova, and Led Zeppelin to receive the 35th annual Kennedy Center Honors. What a wonderful group they selected this year!
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced the selection of the seven individuals who will receive the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors. Recipients to be honored at the 35th annual national celebration of the arts are: bluesman Buddy Guy, actor Dustin Hoffman, comedian and television host David Letterman, ballerina Natalia Makarova, and rock band Led Zeppelin. While Led Zeppelin is being honored as a band, keyboardist/bassist John Paul Jones, guitarist Jimmy Page, and singer Robert Plant will each receive the Kennedy Center Honors.
Buddy Guy. Photo by Paul Natkin.
“With their extraordinary talent, creativity and tenacity, the seven 2012 Kennedy Center Honorees have contributed significantly to the cultural life of our nation and the world,” said Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein. “Buddy Guy is a titan of the blues and has been a tremendous influence on virtually everyone who has picked up an electric guitar in the last half century; Dustin Hoffman’s unyielding commitment to the wide variety of roles he plays has made him one of the most versatile and iconoclastic actors of this or any other generation; David Letterman is one of the most influential personalities in the history of television, entertaining an entire generation of late-night viewers with his unconventional wit and charm; Natalia Makarova’s profound artistry has ignited the stages of the world’s greatest ballet companies and continues to pass the torch to the next generation of dancers; and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant transformed the sound of rock and roll with their lyricism and innovative song structures, infusing blues into the sound of rock and roll and laying the foundation for countless rock bands.”
Dustin Hoffman.
The Honors Gala on December 2, 2012 will be recorded for broadcast on the CBS Network for the 35th consecutive year as a two-hour primetime special on Wednesday, December 26 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT).
David Letterman. Photo by John Paul Filo/CBS.
George Stevens, Jr. will produce and co-write the Honors for the 35th year. Stevens and his Honors producing partner, Michael Stevens, have received three consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Television Special for the Honors and are nominated again this year for the sixth consecutive time.
Natalia Makarova.
Past Honors recipients, as well as members of the Kennedy Center’s national artists committee, made recommendations of possible 2012 Honorees. Artists making recommendations included: Alan Alda, Joshua Bell, Stephen Colbert, Renée Fleming, Kris Kristofferson, Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Mark Morris, Lionel Richie, Frederica von Stade. Previous Kennedy Center Honorees, including Edward Albee, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Kirk Douglas, Angela Lansbury, Meryl Streep, Barbra Streisand, and Oprah Winfrey, also made nominations.
Led Zeppelin: (Left to Right) – John Paul Jones, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page. Photo by Soren Solkaer Starbird.
LINK
The Kennedy Center Honors website.
Note: Information supplied by John Dow of The Kennedy Center.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Masterworks Broadway)
