Musicals: On Screen and On Broadway

As many of you may know there is a new movie coming out named "Rent." What some of you may not know is that this movie is based off of the Broadway Musical with the same name. I have known this music for many years but have never seen it performed so I am glad that this movie is coming out. The musical "Rent" follows the life of a group of twenty somethings trying to forge their way while living in New York. The group of friends consists of a variety of people with very different types of lifestyles. What I find interesting about this movie is that all but two of the cast members are reprising their roles from the original Broadway Production. The Broadway version opened in 1996 and is still currently being performed. I think that casting original cast members gives the movie an edge that isn't found very often on the big screen. These people lived and worked together for years perfecting the roles that they are portraying and I think that type of chemistry is hard to come by. Original Broadway Casts always set the standard for those that follow and considering that "Rent" is approaching its tenth year on Broadway, the original cast obviously did something right. I am excited to see this movie since I was never able to see the original cast, or any cast for that matter perform. This is definately going to be a movie to go see.

Another musical that is making its way back to the big screen is "The Producers." This Mel Brooks muscial was first made in 1968 as a feature length film starring Zero Mostel as Max Bialystock and Gene Wilder as Leo Bloom. In 2001 Mel Brooks' "The Producers" arrived on Broadway starring none other than Nathan Lane as Max and Matthew Broderick as Leo. The show was an instant success and people couldn't pay enough for tickets. I first saw this musical when it was in previews and fell in love with it. I had never seen the orginal movie until after I saw that play, but both are hysterical. The reason that I am talking about this right now is because Mel Brooks is again coming out with another version of this fabulous musical. "The Producers" is coming to the big screen and is starring Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick and Uma Thurman. I am really excited to see this movie come out, just to see how they adapted a movie to a play to another movie. It's definately going to be interesting.

Broadway Buzz

Britney Spears on Broadway??

That is the new rumor floating around town. Apparently Britney Spears is in talks to replace Christina Applegate as Charity in Sweet Charity. There are also talks that Kevin Federline, Britney's new husband will be joining the cast as well. The couple as well as Spears' mother attended a production last week. This is very amusing to me because I would have never even thought of Britney Spears or Kevin Federline, for that matter, as Broadway seekers. In my personal opinion I think that Spears should stick to singing pop songs and going on tour with ehr cd's. Kevin might have a chance because he hasn't actually classified his career as anything to set in stone. I'm sure that if he puts his mind to it, he will succeed. But Britney has already cast herself as a pop princess in the public's eye and I really don't see how she can transform that into Broadway gold. People who go to see Broadway shows are looking for a certain type of talent along with a good show and in my mind Britney, doesn't quite fit the Sweet Charity image. Correct me if you think I wrong, but it would not be in the best interest of that show to cast her as the lead.

Hello Neuman...that's right! Wayne Knight of Seinfeld will be returning to the Broadway stage and joing the cast of Sweet Charity.

John Lithgow is leaving Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

It will be a sad day when John Lithgow leaves that musical. He did a marvelous job portraying an aging con man. Jonathon Pryce will be taking over the role, Lawrence Jameson, that Lithgow created for the stage version of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

More news about Dirty Rotten. Norbert Leo Butz who portrays the younger of the two con men, Freddie, has just signed a deal with CBS for a new sitcom. Norbert is a great actor and I am really happy to see him get a great deal like this. He will be toplining a new comedy for the network and I think that he will do a really good job. He's got the charm and the average guy look that people will be able to relate well too. I hope that he will do better than his Wicked co-star, Kristen Chenowith. She attempted the same thing, but did not succeed. Norbert, I wish you the best of luck, and I'll be watching for your show!!

"Bang Bang You're Dead"

The play "Bang Bang You're Dead" is currently being performed at Newark High School. I have never seen this show, but my roommate saw the advertisement and thought that it may be something interesting to write about. A summary of the show can be found on movies.yahoo.com:

"Trevor Adams was a model student until extreme bullying drove him to threaten to bomb the high school football team. Now Trevor's a time bomb himself--troubled, misunderstood, and on the brink of committing real violence. Salvation comes in the form of a caring drama teacher named Mr. Duncan, who offers Trevor the lead in the school play. But when the community gets wind of the play's subject matter--school violence and playground killers--as well as its troubled protagonist, the production is in jeopardy, as is Trevor's attempt to avoid calamity. This gritty, hard-hitting drama offers an authentic glimpse inside the post-Columbine high schools of America and the forces that can compel a teen to violence."

From what I have read about this play, it sounds like the basic story of teenage angst. It was written by a teenager after the attack at Columbine High School. As a private, catholic school girl it is hard for me to imagine that the school agreed to perform the script. Where I come from there are many restrictions as to what type of plays we can perform. I'm sure that Newark will do a good job performing the play and if I get some time I am going to try and go see it.

On another note. The Delaware Children's Theatre just recently had auditions for "Alice in Wonderland." My younger sister was cast as Alice and I am very excited! The show is a typical, musical recounting of the story. The songs differ from the Disney version, but the character are the same. This is one of my favorite because the cast always has a good time and it shows in their performance. It opens January 15th. Information can be found at www.dechildrenstheatre.org.

Kimberly Akimbo

This week I am going to write about a play named Kimberly Akimbo. This play can be seen next weekend at Sanford School in Hockessin. I actually went and saw this play when it was Off Off Broadway. My friend John Gallagher Jr. starred in it along with Ana Gasteyer. Both of them did a fantastic job.

The play Kimberly Akimbo follows the story of a sixteen year old girl, Kimberly, who ages at four and half times the normal rate. Her life at school is difficult since she looks so much older than all of the other children her age. At home she faces a drunken father, a mother who is a hypochondriac and an aunt who is an ex-con. Her best friend is a social outcast who spends his days playing Dungeons and Dragons and making anagrams out of other people’s names. Kimberly has reached the average life expectancy for people with her disease and her parents both fear losing her. To calm their fears of the inevitable they decide to have another child.

This play covers a serious topic, but does so in a lighthearted tone. I really enjoyed the play when I saw it in New York. I think that it presented the main point very well and did so in a way that people watching were not uncomfortable. The play had people laughing and crying all at the same time. I would highly recommend going to see this play at Sanford. I have worked with the director before and he can pull amazing talent out of high school students.

Theater Mania

This week my aunt sent me an email about a website named TheaterMania.com. This aptly named website has all sorts of Broadway news and information. One thing that I think is really great about the website is that they offer discounted tickets. These are always hard to come by and make seeing shows so much easier as well as more affordable. On the Theater Mania website you can subscribe to them and receive emails detailing opening shows and offering you discounted tickets. I think this is great because you receive emails updating you on new openings and ways to buy tickets for less. You can’t beat it! The email that I recently received talked about the upcoming play, Hamlet, starring Michael Cumpsty (pictured left). I last saw Michael Cumpsty in 42nd Street and he did a phenomenal job. If I am able to get up to New York I am definitely going to see this show.

If you are looking for suggestions for some other shows to go see in New York City, I can give you some. I just recently went to see Spamalot, which I spoke about in an earlier post. Another great show that I saw over the summer is Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. This show is a musical based on the hit movie starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine. Steve Martin plays Freddie Benson and Michael Caine plays Lawrence. In the play Norbert Leo Butz plays Freddie and John Lithgow plays Lawrence. Both the movie and the musical follow the same plot line, described below by the internet movie database:

Freddy Benson, a con man, lives off women by waking their compassion with shocking stories about his fake fate. One day in beautiful Beaumont sur Mer, he meets Lawrence Jamieson, who shares the same passion, works the rich ladies with the same scheme, but in quite a different league. With the knowledge of his profession, Freddy forces Lawrence to teach him high-society behavior, so that he himself can earn a major living. When time comes to say goodbye, Freddy decides to stay a little longer. As there is no way two con men can work a town that small at the same time, Lawrence and Freddy agree on a settlement: The first one to extract $50.000 from a young female target wins, the other leaves town. The sum is no match for Lawrence, the age of the lady no match for Freddy (Julian Reischl, imdb.com).














I would highly suggest this show. It is not only hysterical, but all of the actors involved are amazing (pictured left). Most of you would know John Lithgow for his extensive career in tv and movies. Norbert Leo Butz won the Tony for best actor and also originated the part of Fierro in the musical Wicked. The two of them have great on stage chemistry and both carry the show beautifully. I had a great time watching this musical and I believe that you would too!

Fresh Faces

For this week’s blog I decided to take us back to New York City and Broadway. I haven’t said much about New York Theatre recently and I honestly wanted to catch myself up on what was going on. I happened across a new aspect of the Broadway.com website that gives information about men and women making their Broadway Debuts. It is called “Fresh Face.” I found it to be really interesting because you can almost get a glimpse of what these people are really like and how they ended up with their parts. It could be a real inspiration for people who are trying to make it big on Broadway, or in any type of acting gig. One of the “fresh faces” that I found interesting is a guy named, John Pinette. He is 41 years old and making his Broadway Debut as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. He basically has to play an overweight housewife while singing and dancing. They story of how he got into acting was funny because he began his life after college career as an accountant and realized very quickly that it wasn’t for him. He then moved on to stand up comedy and has now landed a starring role on Broadway. I say Bravo to all of these people who are following their dreams and making them come true.

A new musical on Broadway, In My Life, is all over the place. Reviews tend lean towards enjoying the show, but having mediocre things to say in the end. It is a musical that ranges from being a love story, a parody and an opera. As I read the review the show sounded like it could be good. The main character has Tourette Syndrome and the actor who plays him is one of the “Fresh Faces.” From the review it sounds like he did a great job. The “fresh faces” article about him stated that he did an extensive amount of research in order to play this part correctly. The website Broadway.com has some different videos from the play and the music like it could be enjoyable. This show may be one that I put on my list to go see. Let’s see how long it lasts.

Here is a picture David Turner (the guy flying in the air) and Christopher J. Hanke (the one at the counter) from In My Life. David Turner plays a dead man trying to write some sort of opera. Christopher J. Hanke plays the young musician with Tourette Syndrome. Just from looking at this picture you can tell that the show is not going to be your normal, run of the mill Broadway show. I must say that I am intrigued.

Volunteers Needed

This week is a bit slow in the theatres around the area. Since most shows have not opened yet and are still in rehearsal the information that I gave you last week still stands. I thought that today I could talk about the theatre that I work at, the Delaware Children's Theatre. First off, I have been selected to stage manage the Christmas show! I haven't had the responsibilty of being totally in charge since I was sixteen. I am so excited!! The show is called "What Child is This" and it is an Evelyn Swenson production. I am not too familiar with the plot because I have not seen a script yet. Since I am the stage manager for this show there will no one to be the head of the props department so I am looking for a volunteer to take over for me. If anyone is interested in heading up props or working backstage please let me know. The Children's Theatre loves when we have new volunteers and working on shows really is a lot of fun. On another recruiting note, the Delaware Children's Theatre is also performing "Jesus Christ Superstar" this season. The director is looking to cast as many men as possible. She is not the type of director to cast women in men's roles, so in order to do the show we have to cast lots of guys. Please let me know if you or anyone you know would be interested in auditioning.

As I was writing the above I realized that I forget to mention the Chapel Street Playhouse as another possible location to see plays. My friend Dan Healy has performed in a number of shows for them. He is also one of the hosts of Quizzo, which used to be at Kate's Monday nights, but is now only at Galluccio's on Tuesdays. The theatre is of the block box, New York style. It's a very small intimate atmosphere that really makes you feel like you are immersed in the story. The Chapel Street Playhouse performs more eclectic shows that I sometimes don't recognize. I have never seen a show there that I did not enjoy. My friends and I still quote lines from a show that we saw a couple of year ago. I have not found their website yet, so I will keep you informed of new shows that they are performing.