Though recently voted “Sexiest Man Alive” and starring in this week's movie blockbuster AUSTRALIA, what we're really waiting for is Hugh Jackman to finally return to Broadway. At one point, he was going to star in the current Broadway revival of PAL JOEY. Now word comes that Jackman may return in HOUDINI, a bio musical of musician Harry Houdini. It is to be directed by Jack O'Brien, with music by Danny Elfman and lyrics by David Yazbek.
2.5 out of 4 Stars
Queens-born and bred monologist Danny Hoch has a message for all the bar-hopping hipsters, career-obsessed yuppies, and “Sex and the City” groupies that are now moving to New York City in droves: “Get the f - - - out! Nobody wants you here.” So much for the Community Day banner that decorates the stage.
Hoch, a self-described “flag-waver for anti-gentrification,” has risen to hip-hop theater acclaim with one-man shows exploring cultural themes. He bravely crosses gender and ethic barriers to portray a wide variety of characters.
In “Taking Over,” a collection of monologues exploring the gentrification of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Hoch argues has forced longtime residents out of their homes due to higher rent costs as a younger, wealthier, all white crowd moves in.
It is certainly a topic that hits close to home. Though the show is excessively angry in attitude and unedited in raw content, Hoch remains highly provocative and entertaining in performance.
His collection of idiosyncratic characters include a Jewish landlord, a rap artist, a Michigan-born NYU dropout who sells trinkets on the street, a sleazy French real-estate agent, a 60-year-old African-American woman who feels ignored by the new community, and a Dominican taxi-dispatcher who must switch between speaking Spanish to the drivers and English to the customers.
While Hoch provides fully fleshed, sympathetic portraits of all the longtime Williamsburg residents, he portrays the newcomers to the community as gross, oversimplified caricatures.
Theatergoers are bound to disagree with Hoch’s opinions. At one point, Hoch actually shows nostalgia for the crack epidemic of the 1980s. In fact, Hoch ends the show by reading aloud his hate mail. Still, Hoch’s fiery, unapologetic opinions will certainly provoke discussion and debate. And in the end, that’s what political theater is supposed to do.
Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St, 212-967-7555, $20-70. Schedule varies. Thru Dec 14.
Playbill.com reports that SHREK THE MUSICAL has cancelled its Dec. 2 evening performance in order to "complete some final changes before the opening. There is not enough stage time during the current preview schedule to implement and rehearse the changes planned." That's pretty unusual. I've heard of shows delaying their first preview, but why cancel a show that's a week away?
Rumors indicate that Tutus Burgess, the talented young actor currently playing Sebastian the Crab in THE LITTLE MERMAID, is slated to play Nicely Nicely Johnson in the Broadway revival of GUYS AND DOLLS. Word of mouth also suggests that Craig Bierko will play Sky Masterson. I've heard different rumors that Sister Sarah could be played by Lauren Ambrose or Kate Jennings Grant. We know for a fact that Oliver Platt will play Nathan Detroit and Lauren Graham will play Adelaide.
The Public Theater announced today that A FREE MAN OF COLOR, the world premiere play by John Guare scheduled for late winter, has been postponed due to a loss of significant individual funding and a few key donations brought on by the current economic climate. The Public is still committed to producing the play and expects to be mounting it next season.
Gerald Schoenfeld, the longtime chairman of the Shubert Organization, and arguably the most powerful man on Broadway, died on Tues, Nov. 25 at 84 years old. He also produced and backed numerous shows, including most recently PASSING STRANGE. Four years ago, a Broadway theater was named after him on 45th Street. His death comes only one week after the passing of theater critic Clive Barnes, another powerful person of the old theater guard.
The self-distributed indie musical comedy WERE THE WORLD MINE got audiences in New York to come in from the cold and wet weather and sell out multiple shows this weekend to the tune of $12,205 at one theater – Cinema Village. The film stars my former theater camp friend Tanner Cohen as a struggling gay teen armed with a magical love-portion who turns his narrow-minded town gay and makes them walk a heartbreaking mile in his musical shoes. Think HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL meets A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM meets BOYS IN THE BAND.
It's so 42ND STREET... Christian Hoff has been forced to withdraw from the Broadway revival of PAL JOEY due to a foot injury that he sustained at Friday night's performance. Matthew Risch, his understudy, formerly a LEGALLY BLONDE ensemble member, will now take over the role of Joey Evans. The opening night will now move one week later to Dec. 18 at Studio 54.
I'm excited to attend FAMILY GUY SINGS!, a new stage show featuring the entire cast of "Family Guy" and a 40-person orchestra, on Monday night at Carnegie Hall. We spoke with Walter Murphy, the Emmy-winning composer of the television series.
Q: How did FAMILY GUY SINGS! come about?
A: We did an event like this in April in LA as a benefit and it went over really well. This show has the entire cast of FAMILY GUY doing a table reading of an episode. And instead of commercial breaks, we'll use songs from the show. I’ve just been working on the musical end.
Q: Which songs will be performed?
A: That's still being figured out. Probably "Prom Night Dumpster Baby," "Shipoopi," "Let's Hear It for the Friggen FCC," "Rocket Man," "Road to Rhode Island."
Q: What's it like to compose for FAMILY GUY?
A: It's one of the most fun compositional jobs I've ever had. Every episode is full of different kinds of music. When a script is written, I'll get a copy. And there are often musical interludes written into the script with a set of lyrics I'll need to set to music. And we'll have to record that right away. Or musical jokes are written in. Seth MacFarlane and I decide where background music should go. I go home, write it and orchestrate it. We are lucky to have a 50 piece orchestra to record it. I don't conduct it because of the time constraints of doing a TV show.
And another one bites the dust. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, Mel Brooks' much maligned follow-up to THE PRODUCERS, will shutter on January 4 at the Hilton Theatre. Do you remember when tickets to the show were $450? A national tour is tentatively planned.
THE STORY OF MY LIFE, the two-actor Canadian musical starring Will Chase and Malcolm Gets, will transfer to Broadway's Booth Theatre (currently occupied by DIVIDING THE ESTATE) in February 2009. Directed by Richard Maltby Jr. (produced by Mishkin, Dalgleish, Martin), this new musical tells the story of two childhood friends and how that friendship profoundly defined their lives.
Of course, I'm glad to hear news of any production moving forward to Broadway in this economic climate. But seriously - what is this show's appeal? Hopefully I'll find out in February.
3 out of 4 Stars
As far as holiday entertainment goes, “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” easily wins our vote for the most professional and crowd-pleasing show in an overstuffed genre that includes “The Radio City Christmas Spectacular,” “Wintuk,” “A Christmas Carol,” “The Nutcracker” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
Based on the 1954 movie musical with Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney and Danny Kaye, “White Christmas” has received numerous regional productions over the past four years. Though it is only playing Broadway for two months, it might very well become an annual tradition.
The story revolves around two army pals turned song-and-dance team who stage a revue at a Vermont inn owned by their former general in order to save the place from bank foreclosure. In other words, it reverts to the classic “hey gang, let’s put on a show” and boy-meets-girl formulas.
As stylishly directed by Walter Bobbie, the production looks and moves like an antiquated musical comedy, complete with blackouts in between scenes, corny jokes and innocent misunderstandings.
Besides the title song, “White Christmas” actually has very little to do with Christmas. It is really about celebrating the songs of Irving Berlin. Its score includes such timeless Berlin classics as “Let Yourself Go,” “I Love a Piano” and “Blue Skies” all played by a superb 24-piece orchestra. David Ives and Paul Blake’s book seamlessly blends these songs into the paper-thin but coherent plot.
The show’s other main asset is the fabulous tap-dance and ballroom choreography of Randy Skinner, paying homage to the movie musicals of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Busby Berkeley and Gene Kelly.
Stephen Bogardus, playing the lead role of Bob Wallace, displays matinee idol looks and genuine charm. Also excellent are Kerry O’Malley, Jeffry Denman and Meredith Patterson.
So while “White Christmas” is not the most artistically ambitious show on Broadway this year, it feels absolutely lovely to allow its old-fashioned entertainment and generous spirit wash all over you like a giant flurry of snow.
Marquis Theatre, 1535 Broadway, 212-307-4100, $66-121. Tues 7pm, Wed 2 & 8pm, Thurs 8pm, Fri-Sat 2 & 8pm, Sun 2 & 7pm. Thru Jan 4.
PAL JOEY lead actor Christian Hoff (a Tony winner for JERSEY BOYS) injured his foot on Friday evening. As a result, Saturday's matinee was cancelled. Until Hoff recovers, the role of Joey Evans will be played by his understudy Matthew Risch, who last seen in the ensemble of LEGALLY BLONDE. Hoff is expected to return to the show later this week.
Given its weekly grosses, this isn't exactly surprising. But it is depressing, especially if you liked the show. 13, the Broadway show with an all-teenage cast and band, will play its final performance on Sunday, January 4, 2009 after 22 preview and 105 regular performances at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
"In my entire career I have never seen so much talent in a single company as I have in 13. The joy and enthusiasm of the cast and band is genuinely matched by Jason's remarkable music and the stellar creative team. I am happy to announce that although 13 is saying goodbye to Broadway, we've received much interest in a national and international tour," said 13's lead producer Bob Boyett.
3.5 out of 4 Stars
No one would suspect 92-year-old Horton Foote, a gentle playwright whose 60 tenderhearted plays include “A Young Man from Atlanta” and “The Trip to Bountiful,” of writing a vigorous piece of political theater.
But in addition to its hearty laughs, “Dividing the Estate” is in fact a brilliant dissection of greedy family politics and the out-of-control economics that have caused our country’s current recession.
“Diving the Estate” takes place in Harrison, TX, the setting of nearly all Foote’s plays. Here, it is home to the Gordon family’s 5,000-acre mansion and farm, once a prized home of southern gentility and gossip. But it’s now 1987. Most of the town’s wealth lies in a plastic factory owned by the Vietnamese and fast food malls.
All that’s holding the fort together is the family’s 85-year-old, sprightly matriarch, who stubbornly refuses to divide the estate among her three middle-aged children, none of which have ever held down real jobs. Clearly, she does not want to fall into the same traps as King Lear.
Eventually, her children’s dreams manage to both come true and fall apart. After decades of borrowing money from the estate, there appears to be no more money left on the cookie jar. They’re on the brink of poverty. Even worse, the kids might even need to get jobs! A way of life has ended.
Husky-voiced Elizabeth Ashley is stunning as she physically transforms herself into a female version of Big Daddy from “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” Hallie Foote, the playwright’s daughter, portrays Mary Jo, the family’s youngest daughter, in a mercilessly self-centered manner. She has even trained her two young daughters, dressed in gaudy 80s fashion, to be as greedy and lazy as her.
Michael Wilson’s production well-cast production displays pitch-perfect comic timing and nuanced characterization. Though it lacks the thriller quality of “August: Osage County,” “Diving the Estate” is another new family drama that is more than worthy of its spot on the Great White Way.
Booth Theatre, 222 West 45th St, 212-239-6200, $71-96. Tues 8pm, Wed 2 & 8pm, Thurs-Fri 8pm, Sat 2 & 8pm, Sun 3pm. Thru Jan 4.
3 out of 4 Stars
Do not judge the groundbreaking 1944 Broadway musical “On the Town” by its lame 1949 MGM movie version starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra.
Though its plot about three sailors on 24-hour shore leave in Manhattan remained the same, the bulk of Leonard Bernstein’s symphonic score (with lyrics and book by Adolph Green and Betty Comden) was mercilessly ripped out of the film, including the timeless ballads “Lonely Town,” “Lucky To Be Me” and “Some Other Time.”
Luckily, “On the Town” has been restored to its full theatrical glory in City Center Encores’ handsome concert production, which runs through Sunday. As directed by John Rando, it is also superior to the show’s 1998 flop Broadway revival. As always, the 30-person Encores orchestra, playing Bernstein’s original orchestrations, is wonderful.
As in the original Broadway production, “On the Town” begins not with an overture, but an impromptu rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” This serves as a firm reminder that “On the Town” was written during and takes place in World War II.
After spending a short day in New York and meeting women that they care about, the musical’s three sailors are suddenly shipped off to fight overseas. After all the fun and games, “On the Town” is mixed with a great deal of sadness.
Tony Yazbeck is truly affecting as Gabey, the mature but lonely sailor who aimlessly chases after his dream girl (Jessica Lee Goldyn). Christian Borle and Justin Bohon bring a great dose of youthful enthusiasm as Gabey’s buddies.
Leslie Kritzer is a wild riot as Hildy, the sexually charged cab driver who delivers the screwball comedy songs “Come Up to My Place” and “I Can Cook Too.” And as an inebriated music tutor, Andrea Martin chews the scenery with aplomb.
Though Jerome Robbins’ original choreography no longer exists, he did restage three production numbers (including “New York, New York”) in 1989 for “Jerome Robbins’ Broadway” that have now been replicated. In addition, Warren Carlyle has staged the remaining ballets in Robbins’ muscular, masculine style.
New York City Center, 130 West 55th St, 212-581-1212, $25-95. Fri 8pm, Sat 2 & 8pm, Sun 6:30pm. Thru Sun.
Could the Deaf West revival of PIPPIN transfer to Broadway? After all, Broadway has yet to have any revival of PIPPIN. Deaf West is the company that brought us the incredible production of BIG RIVER five years ago that combined hearing and non-hearing actors. PIPPIN will be staged in the same manner and by the same director, Jeff Calhoun. Michael Arden will share the role of Pippin with Tyrone Giordano, the deaf actor who played Huck Finn in BIG RIVER. The cast also includes Ty Taylor as The Leading Player, Troy Kotsur as Charles, Sara Gettelfinger as Fastrada, Harriet Harris as Berthe, Melissa van der Schyff as Catherine, and James Royce Edwards as Lewis.
Cory English, whose Broadway credits include FORUM, DOLLY and GUYS AND DOLLS, will inherit the role of Igor from Christopher Fitzgerald in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. No word yet on whether the show will survive the harsh winter.
