The Broadway Appreciation Thread: Now Discussing: "Avenue Q"

I know a movie called "Light in the Piazza" but not a stage play...

 

Zaz- Oh, there's definatly a musical. Same plot as the movie (both are based off of the short story by Elizabeth Spencer) with absolutely exquistie music written by Adam Guttel (the grandson of the famous Rogers, and a mentee (someone who has been mentored by) Sondhiem). Its beautiful. Victoria Clark, 2005 Best Actress in a Musical, will be shown in the PBS special.

I've never seen Sutton, but I do love her work. However, I still was feeling for Patti to win. Just personal preference, I guess.

 

Ironic. Rogers wrote a musical with Sondheim after Hammerstein's death. Called "Do I Hear a Waltz?" and based on the Katherine Hepburn movie "Summertime." Thunderous flop, though I understand undeservedly so. Apparently also, they ended up hating each other. Rogers was not an easy man to collaborate with.

 

Have the soundtrack. Love it to death. Best Musical Ever. For me anyway.

 

I have never seen or heard Spamalot but I loved seeing their short appearence on the Tony's and then hearing my choir teacher sing part of one of the songs I think it is hilarious!

 

my sister and i went to the movies and they were playing the soundtrack to spamalot. The songs were really cute, just a funny side note.

 

Who wrote the music and lyrics for the stage play?

 

For Spamalot: Music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle; book & lyrics by Eric Idle

last chance to get spamalot thoughts in before another musical goes up.

 

One of my Favorite musicals:


Gypsy: musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Theaters/Run Lengths:
May 21, 1959 - Mar 25, 1961 Broadway Theatre, Imperial Theatre
Sep 23, 1974 - Jan 4, 1975 Winter Garden Theatre
Nov 16, 1989 - Jul 28, 1991 St. James Theatre, Marquis Theatre,
May 1, 2003 - May 30, 2004 Shubert Theatre

Original cast:
Ethel Merman- Rose
Sandra Church- Louise
Jack Klugman- Herbie
John Borden- Arnold
Lane Bradbury- June

Revival Cast:
1974:
Angela Lansbury- Rose
Zan Charisse- Louise
Bonnie Langford- Baby June
Rex Robbins- Herbie
John C. Becher- Uncle Jocko
Maureen Moore- June

1989:
Tyne Daly- Rose
Jonathan Hadary -Herbie
Crista Moore -Louise
Robert Lambert -Tulsa
Tracy Venner -June
Christen Tassin -Baby June

2004:
Bernadette Peters- Rose
Tammy Blanchard -Louise
John Dossett -Herbie
Kate ReiHeather Tepe -Baby June
Addison Timlin -Baby Louise
Kate Reinders -June

Synopsis:
Gypsy is loosely based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, and focuses on her struggle with her mother, Mama Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business mother."

Songs:
"May We Entertain You"
"Some People"
"Small World"
"Baby June and Her Newsboys"
"Mr. Goldstone"
"Little Lamb"
"You'll Never Get Away From Me"
"Dainty June and Her Farmboys"
"If Momma Was Married"
"All I Need is the Girl"
"Everything's Coming Up Roses"
"Together Wherever We Go"
"You Gotta Get a Gimmick"
"Let Me Entertain You" (reprise)
"Rose's Turn

Awards:
1975 Tony Award® Best Actress in a Musical -Angela Lansbury
1990 Tony Award® Best Actress in a Musical- Tyne Daly
1990 Tony Award® Best Revival

this is one of the most famous musicals ever, and one of my favorites. I've seen the old movie version with Natalie wood like a dozen times. There was also a 1993 tv movie version with bette midler, and there are rumors that Rob Marshall (who made the movie version of Chicago) might make another movie version with Catherine Zeta-Jones. Many of broadways biggest stars have played Rose, including my favorite Bernadette Peters (bow to her greatness)

I love this musicals, songs like Gotta Get a Gimmick, and let me entertain you are heavily played on my broadway cd. But the story is kinda sad, Rose is so obssessed with making her daughters sats that she misses who they really are, eventually leading both of them to be more or less estrangr from her. You really feel for Lousie by the end of it.

 

I've seen the original movie which is marred by Rosalind Russell, who is miscast as Rose, and Natalie Wood, who is miscast as a human being. Even so, it's rather good at the beginning, and the "Gotta Have a Gimmick" number is a hoot.

Didn't see the Midler version.

There's plenty of life in the material, and I hope Marshall has a crack at it. He would explore the nasty possibilities in it, which are edited out of the original in deference to the Production Code.

Oddly, the best Mama Rose I've seen was Harvey Korman, who played her in drag in a skit with Carol Burnett. The clip is floating around...they sing "If Momma Was Married", and he's very funny.

It is very loosely based on the life of Gypsy Rose Lee. If you believe June Havoc, who once wrote a summary of all the falsifications Lee made, it doesn't come within shouting distance of the truth. Havoc's account is really hair-raising, and if they used some of the stuff she wrote, it could be an extraordinary movie. They won't, though. People want to believe Mama Rose was lovable.

 

I won't lie- I have the Bernadette Peter's revival cast CD. And for some reason, I just can't get into it! It may work after I've seen the show (as it does occasionally). But as a stand alone, it doesn't make me go crazy.

 

Yeah, i find that with alot of songs in Gyspsy that if you don't have the context for them, you have no idea whats going on. I mean Gotta Get a gimmick is only funny if you know what is happening

I don't know if she comes off that lovable, she pushes her daughter into stripping. Thats not a good mom, although i'm sure some of the worst things have been glossed over.

 

I've never liked the character of Madam Rose. She doesn't seem to truly care about June or Louise, merely living out her dream through them. Louise is one of the most sympathetic characters in musical theatre, IMO.

I've never seen either film version, though I would like to. I do like some of the songs; my favorite is "You Gotta Have a Gimmick".

 

I remember Havoc's account of the death of her first husband (the kid she runs away with in the play). Scary beyond description.

 

Alright, time for an Oldie. This one was up for Best revival of a musical at this years Tony's.


Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler.
Theater/Run length:
March 1, 1979- Jun 29, 1980: Uris Theater
Sept 14, 1989- Feb 25, 1990: Circle in the Square Theater
Nov 3, 2005- current: Eugene O'Neill Theatre

Original Cast:
Len Cariou - Sweeney Todd
Angela Lansbury - Mrs. Lovett
Ken Jennings - Tobias
Victor Garber - Anthony Hope
Sarah Rice - Johanna
Edmund Lyndeck - Judge Turpin
Jack Eric Williams - Beadle Bamford
Merle Louise - Beggar Woman
Joaquin Romaguera - Pirelli
Robert Ousley - Fogg

Revival Casts:
1989
Bob Gunton - Sweeney Todd
Beth Fowler - Mrs. Lovett
Eddie Korbich - Tobias
Jim Walton - Anthony Hope
Gretchen Kingsley-Weihe - Johanna
David Barron - Judge Turpin
Michael McCarty - Beadle Bamford
SuEllen Estey - Beggar Woman
Bill Nabel - Pirelli
Tony Gilbert - Fogg

2005
Michael Cerveris - Sweeney Todd
Patti LuPone - Mrs. Lovett
John Arbo - Jonas Fogg
Donna Lynne Champlin - Pirelli
Diana DiMarzio - Beggar Woman
Manoel Felciano - Tobias Ragg
Alexander Gemignani - The Beadle
Mark Jacoby - Judge Turpin
Benjamin Magnuson - Anthony Hope
Lauren Molina - Johanna

Synopsis:
Act One
Sweeney Todd begins as the company, Citizens of London, gather for a no-frills burial, dumping a body in a bag and a can of human ashes into a shallow grave. The company sings the first Ballad of Sweeney Todd, a thematic song which will appear several times during the course of the Musical. The Ballad asks the audience to ?attend the tale? of ?the demon barber of Fleet Street,? who ?served a dark and a vengeful god?. After Todd himself rises from his grave and joins the chorus, the story begins.

It is London, 1845. At the docks of the city, a small ship returns bearing two men: Anthony Hope and Sweeney Todd. Anthony is a cheerful young sailor, Todd a grim, hulking figure in his late 40s. Anthony is excited to see his home again, but Mr. Todd is despondent and oddly distracted. ?You are young,? he tells Anthony. ?Life has been kind to you. You will learn?. (No Place Like London)They are accosted by a ragged, half-mad beggar woman, who alternately begs for money and offers herself for prostitution. Todd drives her off when she thinks she recognizes him. When Anthony questions him on his melancholy, Todd replies that London is the source of it. It is the pit of the world, and he has seen terrible things. For example, many years ago, a young barber was destroyed by the city, whose only crime was having a beautiful wife (The Barber and his Wife). It is a terrible, sad story, and one without an end. The two men part ways.

Todd travels to Fleet Street, and enters the empty Meat Pie Shop run by Mrs. Nellie Lovett, a vigorous, slatternly woman of 40. Mrs. Lovett is understandably surprised to see a customer, given that her pies are the self-admitted Worst Pies in London because she can?t afford the meat. When she stops to take a breath, Todd asks her about the empty room above the shop. If times are so hard, why doesn?t she rent it out. People won?t go near it, she says. ?Years ago, something happened up there, something?not very nice.? It seems that fifteen years earlier a talented young barber, Benjamin Barker, had lived with his wife and baby daughter in the room above, but one day the beautiful Mrs. Barker attracted the attentions of the wealthy Judge Turpin. The Judge and his assistant, the Beadle pursued the Wife, but she remained obstinate. So the Judge had her husband arrested on a false charge, after which he raped the Poor Thing.

At this, Todd can take no more and he cries out, confirming Mrs. Lovett?s suspicions. ?So it is you, Benjamin Barker," she says. He has returned from the penal camps in Australia after fifteen years to fi

 

It sounds like great material for Depp and Burton.

 

Sweeney. Was. Robbed.

Robbed.

With the unfortunate luck of not living anywhere near NYC, I have only heard the recording of the revival cast. And what a cast. What I wouldn't GIVE to see this show with the actors, and Patti, and... yeah, they were robbed.

Though I do own the DVD of the concert version featuring George Hearn as Sweeney and Angela Lansberry as Lovett, I haven't ever made it through it. Of course, I haven't watched it yet since I discovered the revival recording. Its something I've been meaning to do.

This is the Sondhiem musical that convinced me of his genuis- that and the lyrics to West Side Story.

I don't know why I didn't realize there was another revival before the current one, however. Silly me.

What I think is so special about htis revival is the premise- that the actors both play their role, and are their own orchestra. Cello is played by Lauren Molina and Bejamin Maughson (sp?), violin by Manoel Feliciano (who has me absolutely loving him), Michael Cerveris on guitar, and Patti Lupone on tuba and triange, with other characters playing other things. Thats what I think really draws me to the revival for some reason- I can't wait for Company next season.

 

I can't say I've ever heard the music; onto ze list it goes!

 

I agree, my best friend and i yelled at the TV when Pajama Game won best revival over Sweeney. Of course we also yelled when Drowsy Chaperone lost, and Sutton Foster lost, in fact i think we were yelling the whole night.

 

I was stunned when Sweeney lost the Best Revival Tony. I had heard and read so many people raving about it, I thought it was a shoo-in. I only saw the excerpt from the Tonys, and it looked great. I like productions like that- where the set and costumes are stripped down so the audience can focus on the music.

 

alright, time for a new musical.

One of my top five personal favorites:

Thoroughly Modern Millie: music by Jeanine Tesori; Book: Dick Scanlan, Richard Morris; lyrics by Dick Scanlan. (Based off a movie staring Julie Andrews)
Theater: Marquis Theatre
Run Length:april 18 2002 - june 20, 2004

Original Cast:
Angela Christian- Miss Dorothy Brown
Gavin Creel- Jimmy Smith
Sutton Foster- Millie Dillmount
Harriet Harris- Mrs. Meers
Francis Jue- Bun Foo
Marc Kudisch -Mr. Trevor Graydon
Ken Leung- Ching Ho
Anne L. Nathan- Miss Flannery
Sheryl Lee Ralph - Muzzy Van Hossmere
Kate Baldwin- Lucille
Julie Connors- Dorothy Parker

Synopsis:It?s 1922 and Millie has arrived in New York. Millie has guts, pluck, charisma, moxie: a girl with big dreams from a little town. She is scared and excited to be there. She looks at her return ticket and sings, ?Burn the bridge, bet the store. Baby?s comin? home no more.? (?Not For the Life of Me?) and she tears up her return ticket. She sings and dances with the ?moderns? and tells the world to ?beat the drums, ?cause here comes thoroughly?modern Millie now.?(?Thoroughly Modern Millie?)

Millie is then mugged and loses her scarf, hat, and shoe and after a tug of war for her purse, she loses that, too. When Jimmy Smith (remember him now) a brash city slicker with an irrepressible, buoyant personality, enters, Millie trips him. He tells her to go back to Kansas and, when Millie refuses, suggests she check into the Hotel Priscilla--a rooming house for actresses. The defiant Millie plans on staying and making her mark in the big city.

At the Hotel Priscilla, the girls Lucille, Rita, Alice, Gloria and Ruth bemoan not getting any acting roles but they aren?t leaving the excitement of the city. Ethel brings in that day?s newspaper that has a headline of ?White Slavery? going on to say that many young girls mostly orphans have suddenly disappeared without anyone noticing.

Mrs. Meers who runs the hotel, a former actress-turned-criminal has adopted the disguise of a kindly Chinese proprietress of the hotel to mask her real profession: white slavery. She thinks she is a wonderful actress but her Chinese accent is deplorable and her depiction of a hateful stereotype is held up to ridicule by real Chinese characters that appear later. Mrs. Meers gives Ethel a telegram saying that her great uncle has died and she is now?an orphan. Ethel is offered a cup of green tea that will ?calm? her and dropping her accent Mrs. Meers makes a call and sells Ethel to Buddha for four hundred bucks.

Millie enters and is told she is behind in her rent and that she must leave and while she and Meersie are discussing the problem the ingénue-- clueless, old-fashioned beauty-- Miss Dorothy Brown enters. Millie makes a deal with her to share her room (as long as Dorothy sleeps on the floor). Miss Dorothy is excited to make the acquaintance of her first poor person (?How the Other Half Lives?) and Millie says she is not poor just broke. But Millie has a plan. She a new woman, bold and daring, and she plans on marrying her boss. The only hitch is she doesn?t have a boss yet. Mrs. Meers offers Miss Dorothy Ethel?s room which has just recently become available and is delighted to discover that Miss Dorothy is an orphan.

Millie and Miss Dorothy head upstairs and in order to get the elevator going they must tap dance their way up They ascend as they chat happily.

In the laundry room of the hotel, Ching Ho and Bun Foo are folding towels when Mrs. Meers enters and tells Bun Foo to take Ethel to Buddha and collect the four hundred bucks C.O.D., A.S.A.P. and Ching Ho is to take a snack to the new arrival, Miss Dorothy. We discover the boys are working here to save money to bring their mother over from Hong Kong while they reprise (in Chinese) the song we heard from Millie (?Not For the Life of Me?) when she first arriv

 

Somewhere along the line I saw the movie made from this play, and to judge from this description, they left out vast chunks of it. I recall the white slavery, anyway, with Beatrice Lillie as Mrs. Meeres.

 

well they can't keep everything.


The music from this musical is great. Gimme Gimmie, Not for the Life of me, Forget about the boy and What do i need with love are all heavily rotated in my broadway Itunes List.

 

*poking up* before i change the musical.

 

I saw the recent tour of this when it passed through my town (non Equity) and it was terrific. It didn't absolutely blow me away like some shows have, but I found it a very enjoyable show. It ended too perfectly for my taste though. I really enjoyed the character of Millie, though the girl who played her had an extremely nasal voice, and it bugged me at the beginning (I got used to it).