Upcoming at BAM

Normally I don't highlight upcoming film, but this is at BAM  - and I love this movie.
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If you haven't seen Holiday, then you must.  It is in the mold of The Philadelphia Story, which followed it by a year or two.  But Holiday was a flop at the box office.  In it, Cary Grant is a young man who just did well in finance.  He has proposed to a rich society girl, and all appears to be on track.
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But the he meets the girl's sister, an atypical rich girl who isn't looking for money played by Katherine Hepburn.  Their attraction is obvious, but seems star-crossed since Cary Grant is engaged to her sister.
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It is an indictment against the class system of the 30's and of success for success' sake.  It went against the grain so much, that it's failure caused Hepburn to be declared box office poison.  The Philadelphia Story was made only after Miss Hepburn purchased the rights herself and insisted on being in the movie.
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Holiday is not only a fun film, but an interesting one.  Go see it.
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Kinky Boots Dates for Broadway Announced

As expected, Kinky Boots has announced dates for Broadway.
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New York, NY (8/15/2012) – Producers Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig announced today that Kinky Boots, the highly anticipated new musical that brings together four-time Tony^® Award-winner Harvey Fierstein (Book) and Grammy^® Award-winning rock icon Cyndi Lauper (Music & Lyrics), will begin preview performances on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45^th Street) on Tuesday, March 5, 2013, with an official opening night set for Thursday, April 4, 2013.  Group tickets for Kinky Boots, directed and choreographed by Tony^® Award-winnerJerry Mitchell, will go on sale Tuesday, August 21 to groups of 10 or more.

As previously announced, Tony® Award nominee Stark Sands (Journey’s End; American Idiot) and Billy Porter (Angels in America; Smokey Joe’s Café) lead a cast of thirty-two that also includes Annaleigh Ashford (Rent; Legally Blonde), Celina Carvajal (Spiegelworld's Empire), Daniel Sherman (Desire Under the Elms), Marcus Neville (The Full Monty), Paul Canaan (Legally Blonde), Kevin Smith Kirkwood (How to Save the World…), Kyle Taylor Parker (In the Heights National Tour), Kyle Post (Rent), Charlie Sutton (How To Succeed...), Joey Taranto (Rock of Ages), Andy Kelso (Mamma Mia), Tory Ross (Cry-Baby), Jennifer Perry (Mamma Mia), Josh Caggiano (Les Miserables at the Ahmanson Theatre),Aaron Bantum (Finian’s Rainbow), Adinah Alexander (The Wedding Singer), Eric Anderson (South Pacific), Eugene Barry-Hill (The Lion King), Stephen Berger (The Pajama Game), Caroline Bowman (Wicked), Sandra DeNise (Shrek the Musical National Tour), Eric Leviton (Seussical National Tour), Ellyn Marie Marsh (Priscilla Queen of the Desert),John Jeffrey Martin (Hairspray), Nathan Peck (La Cage aux Folles), Robert Pendilla (Wicked), Lucia Spina (South Pacific), Sebastian Hedges Thomas (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), Marquise Neal and Clifton Oliver (In the Heights).

Foreverman: Part of the New York Musical Theater Festival Wrap Up

One of the real pleasures at the New York Music Festival this past July was a new musical call Foreverman, based on an original idea.   It is an “old school” type musical, with a sweeping score and intense songs focusing on love across the ages.

It is the story of two friends, a 17^th century upper class scientist and his lower class assistant, who discover an elixir for immortality.  They both sample the result, but then divide the recipe so that neither person can use it by alone.  The friendship is strained, and ultimately pulled apart by a woman, who is dying and self-apprenticed to the men.  Will, the scientist, falls deeply in love with the young lady and is heartsick when she passes away.

The story continues 170 years later as the two men’s paths cross again, this time both trying to save women they love.  Their hostility turns to understanding and then back to friendship as they watch their loved ones die.

Adam Monley

Omar Lopes-Cepero

Foreverman is the work of a fresh voice Brett M. Boles, who wrote the Book, Music and Lyrics.  It is young Mr. Boles second full work, and it is quite impressive.  There are some overwrought moments, but the New York Musical Theater Festival is built for working out kinks.  And this show had fewer bugs to work out than most other shows.

Director Stephen Nachamie was lucky enough to get some amazing voiced actors to sing this musical. Omar Lopes-Cepero and Adam Monley handled the leading roles with vocal mastery., but all the cast was top notch.

Foreverman, as part of the New York Musical Theater Festival, had a short, trial run – but it proved to deserve a longer stint so that more people can enjoy it.

Aug 15th: Morning Update

It is "Season Announcement" time.  If you haven't seen the announcements, then I will share some as they come across.  This is the splash for The Public Theater (website).
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Aug 14th Update

CARRIE: THE MUSICAL – PREMIERE CAST RECORDING due Sept 25^th.

Carrie: The Musical – Premiere Cast Recording was produced by Joel Moss and Michael Gore, and features orchestrations by Tony Award® winner Doug Besterman (The Producers, Thoroughly Modern Millie), vocal design by AnnMarie Milazzo, and music direction and arrangements by Mary-Mitchell Campbell.

In addition to Marin Mazzie and Molly Ranson, the cast recording features cast members Christy Altomare, Carmen Cusack, Jeanna de Waal, Derek Klena, Ben Thompson, Wayne Alan Wilcox, Corey Boardman, Blair Goldberg, F. Michael Haynie, Andy Mientus, Elly Noble, and Jen Sese.

AWARD-WINNING CIRCUS AMOK PREMIERES with free performances in September

Free Performances in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx  & Harlem Parks

September 8 - 23

Obie and Bessie Award-winning Circus Amok, New York City’s only one-ring, traveling political circus, once again lands in neighborhood parks throughout the city for the world premiere of its new production, “MOO.” All performances have a running-time of one hour and are free to the public, playing Saturdays and Sundays, September 8- 23, 2012.

From the worlds of Ringling brothers Circus, Bread and Puppet Theater, the Judson dance theater, the new burlesque, and the Theater of the Ridiculous springs Circus Amok!!  In this extravaganza not to be missed, the multi-talented, seven-member troupe and five-piece Circus Amok Band will amaze and astound audiences with “MOO,” a thrilling escapade of danger, mystery, mayhem and madness. This bona fide traveling circus, which tours public parks from Coney Island to Harlem, will delight and incite audiences throughout the city.

In “MOO,” we encounter a circus under siege!  Creditors are knocking down the doors, performers disappearing left and right, and there’s a cow on the loose!  But the show must go on!  Astounding acrobats, stunning stilters, dancing cows, and catastrophic clowns all forge ahead while a wire-walker teeters on the edge of sanity.  Cops, creditors and Carol Channing mix it up in this not-to-be-missed spectacle!

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The premise of The Picture of Dorian Gray is well known to most people, therefore questions arise: can it be told in a fresh way and is it worth seeing something that is so familiar?  Sonnet Repertory Theatre’s new production answers both questions strongly in the affirmative.  This engrossing new adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray is by Michael Raver.  It swiftly brings the audience into the action, and then targets key moments, illustrating the tale without burdening the story with every single detail from the book.

Front- Ned Noyes, Sam Underwood, Roger Clark, Rear - William Connell

It helps that Mr. Raver and director Quin Gordon have an excellent cast to work with.  Sam Underwood gives the early Dorian a layer of innocence, even as he is fully aware of his own beauty and sexuality.  From first to last, Mr. Underwood gives Dorian’s actions a layer of insensitivity, rather than cruelty – more egotist than sociopath.

Dorian's insensitivity is justified by the pronouncements of Lord Henry, wonderfully played by Roger Clark.  Lord Henry speaks as if he is a professor of hedonism, and he has found a rapt pupil in Dorian Gray.  Mr. Clark’s Lord Henry slips easily between different motivations in “educating” young Dorian.   At various moments you can read his emotions in his eyes; adoration for beauty in general, desire to relive his own youth through Dorian, the joy of being a fount of knowledge and experience, as well as the occasional undercurrent of lust, albeit quickly squelched.

It is the attraction by both Lord Henry and the painter Basil Hallward (well played by Ned Noyes) that defines the attractiveness of Dorian Gray.  To witness the way these men gaze upon Dorian is to understand the mesmeric beauty Dorian possesses.

Hanley Smith in one of many roles

The rest of the cast, all the other men and women, are played by William Connell and Hanley Smith.  Mr. Connell brings to life many different characters very well; the inebriated foppish husband, late in the show, is quite funny and touching.  Ms. Smith plays three women, with more depth than expected.  All three women are infatuated with Dorian at different points in his life, and Ms. Smith brings a unique view to each of them.  Ms. Smith also plays the piano, providing musical punctuation to the action.

Finally, Sydney Shepherd performs a unique function in the company.  She plays the cello in accompaniment, but – more importantly – she functions as a visual Foley artist.   She provides sound effects for the largely prop free show.  It provides a perfect base of expectations about the props, because the actual picture in this Picture of Dorian Gray is never seen.  The characters react to the image, viewing the picture as if it is hung in front of the audience.  It is a cleaver idea, successfully executed.

Director Quin Gordon has delivered a fascinating take on The Picture of Dorian Gray, one that expands story by showing more emotion than just “the picture ages and the man doesn’t” tale we all know.

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Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray

August 9 – 19 @ The Studio Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center

Playwright (adaptation): Michael Raver

Director: Quin Gordon

Cast: Roger Clark, William Connell, Ned Noyes, Sydney Shephard, Hanley Smith and Sam Underwood

website

Aug 13: Morning Update

Two new shows are coming to New York's off Broadway scene soon.
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First: Detroit at Playwrights Horizon startingAugust 24th.  The Theater synopsis says:

Pulitzer Prize finalist. Somewhere in the suburbs of a mid-sized city, Ben and Mary welcome into their lives the rootless couple who move in next door. But as this foursome bonds over backyard barbecues, the neighborly connection they find threatens to unravel the lives they've built and change them forever. An ecstatic, dangerous new comedy, Detroitexposes the nerves that live just under the surface of American life.

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The second is a new Dusty Springfield musical opening after a run in Los Angeles.

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Links:
Detroit
Forever Dusty