Popular Broadway Songs [Youtbe Clips]

Tony Awards

Sunset Boulevard responds to the Tony snub.

Hair

The Tony Awards are next month on June 11. Let's look back at some great Tony performances.

This one has the cast of the 2010 revival of Hair. Director Diane Paulus didn't just want the musical to be a museum piece. She wanted to dig down and create not just a cast, but a tribe. The cast spent weeks virtually living together, breaking down inhibitions and working off each other. The result is obvious when you see this group on stage.

The musical is led by current Tony nominee, Gavin Creel (Hello Dolly!) along with current Waitress villan/leading man Will Swensen.



Extra! Watch Gavin Creel and cast do I Got Life in the rain(!) in Central Park where the production was originally done.

Tony Awards

Need to put a face to those names of Tony nominees?

Wednesday was Tony Press day when all the nominees were invited for lunch and a chance to talk to the media. Theatermania put together a quick edit that lets you see and hear from the lucky few while they were still feeling their nomination buzz.

Your Weekend Musical


The weekend's show is one of Stephen Sondheim's most popular creation's: 1987's Into the Woods. This is the whole Broadway show, as recorded for PBS.


Woods is the second James Lapine / Stephen Sondheim collaboration, and like their first (Sunday in the Park with George) it has an easy to enjoy first act, and a more complicated second act. The first act is a farce where a new fairy tale about a baker and his wife gets all mixed in to more familiar tales of Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel.

In the second act we see what happens after "happily ever after" where all the little lies and compromises they made at the beginning of the show come back to haunt them. In the end, it becomes a fable about failings between children and parents, love and loss, and community responsibility. Pretty heavy stuff for fairy tales to carry - but Lapine (the writer and director) and Sondheim pull it off.

Every performance here is memorable, in particular Joanna Gleason's Tony winning turn as the baker's wife (not to be confused with The Baker's Wife, which was a topic I posted on a couple of months ago). Some are huge fans of Bernadette Peters' witch. It's a bit too much of a star turn, for me. But I may be biased because the part was originally done by a friend of mine, who was replaced when they decided they wanted a star in the role. But, that's show business. (She did fine. She married the show's producer.)

Hello, Dolly!

Here is a treat! (For a limited time, I assume.) NPR has put up a page where you can listen to the new cast album for Hello, Dolly! with Bette Midler. The album will be released Friday, May 12.


First impression

I grew up with four Hello, Dolly! cast albums:

• Original Broadway Cast (Carol Channing)
• New Broadway Cast (Pearl Bailey)
• London Cast (Mary Martin)
• Movie Soundtrack (Barbra Streisand)

I think there is also an Ethel Merman recording out there somewhere. The original recording is beloved and the best selling of them all. But the production is raw, the voices are not always the best (Charles Nelson Reilly) and it feels like it was recorded in an afternoon (which it was, as is the custom). Given the choice I much preferred the Pearl Bailey version - better singing and Bailey is better suited to come across in the recording studio than Carol.

But, this version is absolutely stunning. The orchestrations are miles better than the oom-pah hack job of the originals. They really make every song sound like something you would want to listen to multiple times. Much of the dance music is included, as well as new overture created just for this production.

And the supporting cast here is unequaled anywhere else. Having performers of the caliber of Gavin Creel, David Hyde Pierce, and Kate Baldwin at your disposal puts this ahead of any previous efforts.

But Bette? She's Bette Midler. She'll never outsing Barbra, or even Pearl, but she adds a touch of the Divine to what had become a warhorse of a role.

Overall the production sparkles and the ensemble is controlled and not belting at the top of their lungs which gives an extra layer of dynamics that previous recordings never had. I would say this now becomes the definitive version of the score. What do you think?

Thank youl

This a wonderful insight into this latest adaption of Hello'Dolly

What do we file this under?

The US TV show Will & Grace is coming back this fall and they just released a promo today that includes a musical homage to Sunset Boulevard. In keeping with the current revival, it has a full orchestra on the set.

La Cage Aux Folles

La Cage Aux Folles is currently touring the UK through June. John Partridge has been getting great reviews and I just found this video of him doing "I Am What I Am" while getting made up for the role.

Falsettos

The recent revival of Falsettos was filmed and will be broadcast on US Public Television (probably in the fall). Hopefully after that it will be available in the rest of the world via streaming, broadcast, and DVD. All four of the leading actors are currently nominated for Tony Awards.

They just released a preview.

Coco


Sometimes a very flawed show can still dazzle. I saw Katherine Hepburn in Coco in it's US tour in Los Angeles in 1971. Coco is the musical biography of French fashion designer Coco Chanel. I don't expect it ever to be revived, but the original production was trying to push the musical in new directions - and ideas that started here made shows like Company, Follies, and A Chorus Line possible in the following years.

On the 1970 Tony Awards show Coco was given an unheard of 15 minute spot, which was more than enough to show why the production ran for a year (the length of Kathrine Hepburn's contract).


The costumes are by the legendary Cecil Beaton (My Fair Lady on stage and screen, and the movie versions of Gigi and On A Clear Day You Can See Forever). The producers took a chance on a chorus boy turned choreographer - Michael Bennett (Company, Follies, A Chorus Line, Dreamgirls). Bennett staged models with Beaton's costumes like production numbers in a way that almost out-shined Hepburn. The supporting cast and chorus featured Bennett's assistant Bob Avian, choreographer Graciela Daniele, and Ann Reinking.

But the star attraction was Kathrine Hepburn on stage. She couldn't sing, but no one cared. Just to watch her bring the character to life in front of you was enough.

For more information take a look at this blog post with photos and memories of the production.

Your Weekend Musical


It's thought by some to be the pinnacle of the mid-century American musical in the Rodgers & Hammerstein form. Music by Jule Styne, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by Arthur Laurents, Dance arrangements by John Kander, originally directed by Jerome Robbins - it's Gypsy.

This is the full TV version done in the 1990's with Bette Midler. Sing out Louise! Grab an eggroll, Mr. Goldstone, smile baby, and enjoy.


Quite a few of the bit players are now stars of Broadway and TV.

• Michael Jeter (Mr. Goldstone)
• Andrea Martin (Miss Cratchitt)
• Tony Shalhoub (Unlce Jocko)
• Elisabeth Moss (Baby Louise)
• Spencer Liff (Clarence)
• Christine Ebersole (Tessie Tura)

Kiss of the Spiderwoman


Continuing with memorable Tony Award performances - here we have the 1993 winner for Best Musical: Kiss of the Spider Woman. This John Kander & Fred Ebb musical introduced us to the choreography of Rob Marshall (who later went on to win an Oscar for the movie version of Chicago).

Brent Carver won a Tony for his stunning performance playing Luis Molina. After Spider Woman he went back to Toronto where he continues to work.

And, of course, it brought back Chita Rivera as the symbolic title character. Note that this is her return to Broadway after a car accident. It took eighteen screws and two braces to mend her left leg. Still, she embarked on years of physical therapy determined to dance again.

Broadway Boys


On our way to the Tony Awards, the time has come to speak of Ben Platt.

UPDATE 30 May 2017 - As part of their We're Evan Hansen series, the Dear Evan Hansen producers finally got around to profiling Ben Platt. It's basically the whole cast and creative team talking behind Ben's back.


On Sunday he won the Drama League Distinguished Performance Award - a recognition that can only be given once in a performer's lifetime - for his performance in Dear Evan Hansen. The show centers on a high school senior with social anxiety disorder who becomes mistakenly bound to a fellow student who committed suicide.

If Dear Evan Hansen has a flaw as a musical, it is that it places so much of the burden of carrying it's complicated moral narrative on the shoulders of its title character. Other actors will go on to play Evan when Ben leaves the show - and it will still work. But I don't think the play could have been created on any other actor. Like Streisand in Funny Girl, the part benefits from not only the actor's discipline and talent, but also his quirks and life experience he brings on stage. Ben fills in the shadings and specifics that make Evan a unique person while also showing a vulnerability that makes us identify with him.


Platt is remarkable both for his youth (he's 23) and lack of formal study in acting. He was only in college for a month before he was cast as Elder Cunningham in the Chicago company of The Book of Mormon - a role he later played on Broadway. He surprised audiences with his take on the role (originated by Josh Gad) by making the character less bumbling and dim and more wounded and needy.

But his training started long before that. Ben did three musicals as a child at the Hollywood Bowl, directed by legendary Los Angeles theater director / acting coach Gordon Davidson. He is the son of Broadway / Hollywood producer Marc Platt. He was a theater nerd from the time he could talk, and would regularly stage shows in his back yard, holding auditions in his room and then posting casting notices in the kitchen.

His most famous role, however, he landed right out of high school as Benji in the Pitch Perfect movies: the nerdy kid who loves magic and music.

Ethel Merman famously gave Elaine Stritch some advice: "If you want to be a star on Broadway you have to live like a fucking nun!"

Click to expand...

I'm sure Ben can identify with that. He is committed to giving the same high quality performance every night, so that means he has to rest his voice during the day and on most of his days off. He takes time to meet visitors after the show, and then sign autographs at the stage door. Then its home to bed where he sleeps for nine hours.


Ben is the front-runner for the Best Actor in a Musical Tony Award in June, despite some substantial competition from Andy Karl (Groundhog Day), Josh Groban (The Great Comet of 1812), and Christian Borle (Falsettos).

For more information

• How a 23-Year-Old With Mild Anxiety and a Charmed Life Became the Lying, Sobbing, Lovesick Toast of Broadway - Ben Platt wrecks himself onstage in “Dear Evan Hansen.” Surviving it takes practice — and has made him a favorite to win a Tony Award (NY Times)
• Reviews and video from Dear Evan Hansen
• Ben Platt & Steven Levenson '"Dear Evan Hansen" on Charlie Rose Interviews

Broadway Boys


Continuing a look back at previous Tony Awards - this is from 2015 and features another nominee for this year's Best Leading Actor in a Musical : Josh Groban. Here he does a spectacular arrangement of Rogers & Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone" as part of the In Memoriam section of the program. Josh is backed up by a choir made up of chorus members of all the current running Broadway Shows.

Your Weekend Musical


The Book of Mormon opened on Broadway in 2011 and it still sells out both in New York and on the road. This is a bootleg of the Chicago company with Nic Rouleau as Elder Price and current Tony Nominee Ben Platt as Elder Cunningham.


UPDATE #1: Ok, the link is down.

War Paint


There wasn't much in the way of video available when War Paint opened, but now it's Tony season so there's a lot more to see to give you a feel for this spectacular show. The Broadway cast album is now available for download on Amazon (and I assume other platforms) and the CD will be available July 14.

Here is a sample of the two divas in the studio and on stage. The do the songs "Forever Beautiful", "Pink", and "Face to Face".


For more information

• War Paint on CBS Sunday Morning
• Theater Talk: War Paint Patti LuPone, Christine Ebersole & Michael Greif
• A Class of Their Own - The creative team of War Paint The Musical discusses the beginnings of the project

Broadway News

Broadway News

It's Tony week and the news is piling up.

The Tony Awards are this coming Sunday, June 11. In the US it will be broadcast on CBS and is also available online at CBS All Access. That is a subscription service, but there is a 30 day trial, so you could sign up and cancel. I don't know if there are international restrictions on that online service. There are also international carriers of the program, some live and some are delayed because of the time difference. Check out the International Viewing page on the Tony Awards web site for details. Kevin Spacey will be the host. The Hollywood Reporter has an interview with him on how he got the gig and what to expect.

Need a quick review of who is nominated? Watch this compilation of all four nominated musicals.

If you want to be prepared, or place you own bets, there is a printable Tony ballot here that you can download. Want to know how to win a Tony Award? Check out this overview from the Musical Theater Mash website.

Bette Midler's Hello, Dolly! May be a Tony No-Show - Broadway fans are still in shock after reading the New York Times story last week that talks have broken down between Dolly producer Scott Rudin and the Tony committee. Rudin wants Bette to do the big title number from the show, which is more than OK with the Tonys. But Rudin will only do the number remotely from their stage at the Shubert Theater - not at Radio City Music Hall in front of the Tony audience. While there have been exceptions made in decades past, the current board has insisted in recent years that all performances be done live in front of the Tony audience. They had already turned down requests from The Great Comet and Groundhog Day to perform on their own stages. But Rudin in balking and insists that either they perform on their own stage, or he will simply send co-star David Hyde Pierce over to do a solo on his own; i.e. no Midler.

NBC's previously announced Christmas live musical Bye Bye Birdie has been canceled, reportedly because of Jennifer Lopez's schedule. I would like to believe that they came to their senses and realized that back-to-back stagings of Grease, Hairspray, and then Birdie was one 60's high school rock & roll musical too many.

Brendon Urie Takes His Broadway Bow in Kinky Boots - The lead singer of Panic! At the Disco has proved a hit with the show, pushing it's ticket sales up over $1 million for the first time in nine months. You can see him do a number from the show on Playbill's website.

Closings - Amelie - to no one's surprise, Amelie closed after receiving no Tony nominations. Sunset Boulevard will end their limited run as planned in mid-June. On Your Feet will close on August 20 and then start their tour in September.

Openings - The 2017-2018 season is already shaping up. More details later, but these shows have already been announced and have a theater.

• Prince of Broadway (Friedman) August
• The Band's Visit (Barrymore) November
• Once on This Island (Circle in the Square) November
• SpongeBob SquarePants (Palace Theater) December
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Lyric) February
• Escape to Margaritaville (Mariquis) March
• Disney's Frozen (St James) April

We'll close out today the same way Ariana Grande closed her Manchester benefit concert last night - with a tearful rendition of "Over the Rainbow". Just a beautiful example of a song from a film musical that has gone on to touch souls from kids to adults throughout many generations.

Tony Awards


This Sunday is Tony time! Watch in the US on CBS. See this page for online access and this page for international broadcasts.

News

• If you were hoping for a last minute miracle and Bette Midler would appear from the wings to give you a glimpse of her Dolly Levi, forget it. Midler will present an award, but David Hyde Pierce will represent the Dolly company and do his solo "Penny in my Pocket".
  [*]Ben Platt of Dear Evan Hansen has been put on vocal rest under doctor's orders. His understudy Ryan Colton went on for him last night (Friday) and may have to do the weekend. Ben assures fans he will be well in time for the Tonys on Sunday, if not before.
• Spice up your viewing pleasure with the Tony Drinking Game.
• Check out the New York Times Tony Awards page for all their coverage. The Times six person full time theater staff has been cranking out articles over the past weeks and will be producing more this weekend.
  Want to see the red carpet? Starting at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time, the red carpet special airs on the Tony Awards website; Nordstrom, one of the sponsors, will also have a stream from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

(Watch this space for updates over the weekend.)


Predictions

Here's what I think (please post you own opinions!) For all the nominees see the Tony Awards Ballot.

Best Musical - Come From Away
This is a surprise horse race. Dear Evan Hansen has been the one to beat, but in the last two months Come From Away has picked up a lot of buzz. CFA would be a great choice if voters want to spread the love and give a boost to a show that is not very high profile. (Since many voters are producers from outside New York this could bolster a CFA tour that may come to their theaters.) We have seen similar generosity in recent winners like Once, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, and Fun Home. I'd say this category is 50/50 but I'll go with CFA and then just be happy if DEH wins.

Best Score - Benj Pasek and Justin Paul Dear Evan Hansen
Pasek & Paul's DEH score is simply stunning - I highly recommend the album. Of course, I love acoustic pop/rock so it is aimed right at my taste and others may feel differently. There is certainly a lot to recommend David Malloy's The Great Comet score which is the challenger, but I think Pasek & Paul are going to follow up their Oscar win (La La Land) with one for DEH.

Best Book - Steven Levensen Dear Evan Hansen
I don't think you can overemphasize how rare it is to have a completely original musical on Broadway - that is one that is not adapted from a book or a movie or a collection of someone's songs. Steven Levensen's script, structure, and characters are the kind you normally find in contemporary plays, not musicals. I think he wins this easily.

Best Leading Actor (Musical) - Ben Platt Dear Evan Hansen
Both Ben Platt and Andy Karl (Groundhog Day) are the engines constantly running powering their shows forward. While I love Andy (literally - please, call me) nobody can compete against what Ben Platt does six days a week at the Music Box Theater. This is a Willy Loman sized role and Platt gives the audience a character they love and want to protect, even when he is making terrible choices.

Best Leading Actress (Musical) - Bette Midler Hello, Dolly!
I think this award was engraved a year ago when the revival was announced. Then Bette Midler came to town and killed it.

Best Featured Actress (Musical) - Rachel Bay Jones Dear Evan Hansen
Rachel Bay Jones's competition here is Jenn Colella from Come From Away, who has also won a lot of awards this season. But Jenn's part is small and Rachel almost begins and ends DEH and is an integral touchstone for reality in Evan's life throughout the show. I would also be totally cool with Stephanie J. Block winning for Falsettos. If she does win, expect a standing ovation at Radio City - that's how much fans adore her performance.

Best Featured Actor (Musical) - Gavin Creel Hello, Dolly!
This could also go to Lucas Steele of The Great Comet, but I think the frequently nominated but empty-handed Gavin Creel (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hair, She Loves Me) will take home the prize. Personally, I would hand it to Brandon Uranowitz of Falsettos in a heartbeat for reinventing the role of Mendel (Marvin's psychiatrist / Trina's husband).

Best Revival (Musical) - Hello, Dolly!
A sure thing? Up until last week I would have said so. But last week's dust up with super-Producer Scott Rudin which resulted in Scott pulling Bette Midler out of the Tony performances left a bad taste in the mouth of many theater fans. While I think that will cost Dolly votes, it won't be enough to change the outcome. Too bad, I would love to see Falsettos take this prize. But I'll settle for seeing them on the telecast and then on PBS later in the fall.

Best Choreography - Andy Blankenbuehler Bandstand
This would give Andy Blankenbuehler's Bandstand a well needed shot in the arm. Though, The Great Comet could take it away. If Andy wins, it will be his second win in a row for choreography - he won for Hamilton last year.

Best Direction (Musical) - Rachel Chavkin The Great Comet
This is really a 50/50 race between Rachel Chavkin of Comet and Michael Greif of Dear Evan Hansen. I think Chavkin's innovative immersive staging will make the difference.


Design Awards - Lighting and Scenic Design should go to The Great Comet. They could take costume design as well, though that will probably be the only Tony Award for War Paint.


Performances

These performances are officially confirmed, but only Dear Evan Hansen has announced the specific number they will do ("Waving Through a Window"):

• Bandstand
• Come From Away
• Dear Evan Hansen
• Falsettos
• Groundhog Day
• Hello, Dolly!
• Miss Saigon
• Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
• War Paint

For More Information

• 
  Ultimate Guide to This Season's Cast Recordings- Recapping the albums released this season.
• Belt Your Face Off to Our 2017 Tonys Playlist! - Celebrate the songs of the season, whether they be advice from Dolly, letters from Evan, or laments from Pierre. From Whizzer to Wonka, Islanders to Dreamers, Vietnam to Punxsutawney, and everything in between... your Broadway belt-session awaits
• How Does Broadway Cast Its Deciding Votes for the Tony Awards? - Playbill breaks down the complex system behind awarding the theatre’s highest honor.
• All the Nominees for Best Lighting Design for the 2017 Tony Awards - Playbill shows pictures of all the lighting designers that received nominations for a musical or play this season.
• All the Nominees for Best Scenic Design for the 2017 Tony Awards - See all the set designers that received nominations for a musical or play this season.

Tony Awards

"To all young people watching at home, don’t waste any time trying to be like anybody but yourself, because the things that make you strange are the things that make you powerful." - Ben Platt

Click to expand...

Well, it was a wonderful bash to end the 2016-2017 Broadway season. Dear Evan Hansen and Hello, Dolly! took most of the awards. The Great Comet got two design awards, but to add insult to injury they were awarded off-camera during the commercial breaks. Biggest surprise: Come From Away taking Best Director. Didn't see that coming - but nice that they got a major award.

Biggest disappointment: No Hello, Dolly! number from Bette. But be sure and check out her looooong acceptance address.

Best performance: Take a look at Bandstand and The Great Comet - those numbers will make you want to go see the show or get the album.

Winners
Links to videos of their acceptance speeches are provided if I could find them.

• Best Musical - Dear Evan Hansen
• Best Leading Actress in a Musical - Bette Midler, Hello, Dolly! (Press Room)
• Best Leading Actor in a Musical - Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen (Press Room)
• Best Revival of a Musical - Hello, Dolly!
• Best Choreography - Andy Blankenbuehler, Bandstand
• Best Direction of a Musical - Christopher Ashley, Come From Away
• Best Featured Actress in a Musical - Rachel Bay Jones, Dear Evan Hansen
• Best Lighting Design of a Musical - Bradley King, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
• Best Orchestrations - Alex Lacamoire, Dear Evan Hansen
• Best Book - Steven Levenson, Dear Evan Hansen
• Best Score - Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Dear Evan Hansen (Press Room)
• Best Featured Actor in a Musical - Gavin Creel, Hello, Dolly! (Press Room)
• Best Scenic Design of a Musical - Mimi Lien, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
• Best Costume Design of a Musical - Santo Loquasto, Hello, Dolly!

Performances

• Kevin Spacy Opens the 71st Tony Awards
• Dear Evan Hansen Perform "Waving Through A Window"
• Groundhog Day The Musical Perform "Seeing You"
• Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812 Perform "Dust and Ashes" and "The Abduction"
• Bandstand Perform "Nobody"
• Falsettos Perform "A Day In Falsettoland"
• Miss Saigon Perform "I'd Give My Life for You"/"Exodus"
• Hello, Dolly! - David Hyde Pierce performs "Penny in my Pocket"
• War Paint Perform "Face To Face"
• Kevin Spacey And Patti LuPone Bring Down The House To Close Out The 71st Annual Tony Awards

2017 Tony Awards

Thanks for your great posts, O to live in New York or even the USA, just to be able to get this great event live. Your predictions were insightful and helped appreciate the 3 hour production. Again thanks for your work.