One of the unexpected joys of today. Some Julie Andrews flavored guerrilla theatre at the Central Station in Antwerp, Belgium. (Thanks, Kari!)
Addendum: Turns out this was done on the morning of March 23, 2009 sponsored by a local station that's hosting a reality show to cast Maria in a new production of the musical. It borrows from the popular T-Mobile ad done in Liverpool and in my humble opinion is far more entertaining.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Cloris
The irrepressibly unstoppable Cloris Leachman seems about able to do or say anything. After bringing herself to the pop culture forefront in the last season of "Dancing With the Stars" with her outrageous antics, Leachman has just released her autobiography, Cloris. The book is a rather madcap retrospective about her life and career, which includes the pre-Broadway production of Come Back, Little Sheba, Shakespeare with Katharine Hepburn, a stint in South Pacific, one of the many mothers on TV's "Lassie," her Oscar-winning performance in The Last Picture Show, and of course her Emmy-winning turn as the balletic narcissist Phyllis Lindstrom on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and the spin-off series "Phyllis." Oh yeah, and all those Mel Brooks' movies.
Cloris is never short of entertaining whether she's recounting her experiences in various shows, musing over acting technique, discussing her friendship with Marlon Brando and the Kennedy clan, et al. She reveals a great deal of her close relationship with her always encouraging and free spirited mother and also her strained relationship with her seemingly distant father. College time at Northwestern University with classmates Charlotte Rae (whom she would later replace on TV in "The Facts of Life") and Paul Lynde. Winning Miss Chicago and as a result winning third in the Miss America Pageant. Who knew that she was the one responsible for Julie Harris starring in I Am a Camera? There is a sense of bewildered honesty as if she can't believe her own life either. She has fond memories raising her five children, and utter heartbreak at the devastating death of her son Bryan to drug addiction.
Leachman has written the book with her ex-husband, George Englund, with whom she maintains an incredibly close relationship. While a brisk read at 289 pages, the book is more ennervating for Cloris' flighty stream of consciousness in relaying the facts of her life. It wouldn't be Cloris if it weren't in her charming, witty and bemused style. It's worth picking up to have a glimpse at a show-biz legend showing no signs of slowing down and always looking for the next challenge. It sounds nuts, but I challenge her to take on the role of Violet Weston in August: Osage County. (If she can be swirled around a dance floor by her ankles, she can raise hell on those stairs).
Meanwhile, for the lovers of Mame and Jerry Herman out there, here is the title theme song of her show Phyllis, an amusing send-up of the musical's title song.
Cloris is never short of entertaining whether she's recounting her experiences in various shows, musing over acting technique, discussing her friendship with Marlon Brando and the Kennedy clan, et al. She reveals a great deal of her close relationship with her always encouraging and free spirited mother and also her strained relationship with her seemingly distant father. College time at Northwestern University with classmates Charlotte Rae (whom she would later replace on TV in "The Facts of Life") and Paul Lynde. Winning Miss Chicago and as a result winning third in the Miss America Pageant. Who knew that she was the one responsible for Julie Harris starring in I Am a Camera? There is a sense of bewildered honesty as if she can't believe her own life either. She has fond memories raising her five children, and utter heartbreak at the devastating death of her son Bryan to drug addiction.
Leachman has written the book with her ex-husband, George Englund, with whom she maintains an incredibly close relationship. While a brisk read at 289 pages, the book is more ennervating for Cloris' flighty stream of consciousness in relaying the facts of her life. It wouldn't be Cloris if it weren't in her charming, witty and bemused style. It's worth picking up to have a glimpse at a show-biz legend showing no signs of slowing down and always looking for the next challenge. It sounds nuts, but I challenge her to take on the role of Violet Weston in August: Osage County. (If she can be swirled around a dance floor by her ankles, she can raise hell on those stairs).
Meanwhile, for the lovers of Mame and Jerry Herman out there, here is the title theme song of her show Phyllis, an amusing send-up of the musical's title song.
"South Pacific" 60th Anniversary Reunion
Tomorrow night, the smash-hit revival of South Pacific celebrates its first anniversary at the Vivian Beaumont. However, on Tuesday the musical itself celebrates its sixtieth anniversary. The show originally opened on April 7, 1949 at the Majestic Theatre starring Mary Martin, Ezio Pinza, Myron McCormack and Juanita Hall, all of whom would win Tonys (still the only production, musical or play, to sweep all four acting categories!). The show closed at the Broadway Theatre on January 16, 1954 after 1925 performances.
Meanwhile yesterday at the Vivian Beaumont, there was a reunion of the surviving cast members. Here is a brief video montage showing the mingling of casts old and new.
Meanwhile yesterday at the Vivian Beaumont, there was a reunion of the surviving cast members. Here is a brief video montage showing the mingling of casts old and new.
Tony Eligibility Rulings for Today
With Angie now in the running in the featured category, I feel the need to start an unofficial campaign for Jayne Atkinson to receive a Best Actress in a Play nod for her turn as Ruth. Highly unlikely, especially in a year featuring performances from Jane Fonda, Tovah Feldshuh, Janet McTeer, Marcia Gay Harden, to name a few, but thought I'd put that out there...
TONY AWARDS ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES
ELIGIBILITY FOR 2009 NOMINATIONS
The Tony Awards Administration Committee met today for the fourth time this season to decide the eligibility of five Broadway productions for the 2009 American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards®, presented by The Broadway League and The American Theatre Wing.
Michael Cerveris, Paul Sparks and Peter Stormare will all be considered eligible in the Featured Actor in a Play category for their performances in Hedda Gabler.
You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George Bush will be considered eligible in the Special Theatrical Event category.
Angela Lansbury will be considered eligible in the Featured Actress in a Play category for her performance in Blithe Spirit.
All other decisions were consistent with the opening night credits.
This is the fourth time the Tony Awards Administration Committee has met this year. It will meet one final time to discuss the eligibility of shows opening in the 2008-2009 season. The cut-off date for eligibility is April 30, 2009.
The Tony Awards will be broadcast in a live three-hour ceremony from Radio City Music Hall on the CBS television network on Sunday, June 7, 2009.
TONY AWARDS ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES
ELIGIBILITY FOR 2009 NOMINATIONS
The Tony Awards Administration Committee met today for the fourth time this season to decide the eligibility of five Broadway productions for the 2009 American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards®, presented by The Broadway League and The American Theatre Wing.
Michael Cerveris, Paul Sparks and Peter Stormare will all be considered eligible in the Featured Actor in a Play category for their performances in Hedda Gabler.
You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George Bush will be considered eligible in the Special Theatrical Event category.
Angela Lansbury will be considered eligible in the Featured Actress in a Play category for her performance in Blithe Spirit.
All other decisions were consistent with the opening night credits.
This is the fourth time the Tony Awards Administration Committee has met this year. It will meet one final time to discuss the eligibility of shows opening in the 2008-2009 season. The cut-off date for eligibility is April 30, 2009.
The Tony Awards will be broadcast in a live three-hour ceremony from Radio City Music Hall on the CBS television network on Sunday, June 7, 2009.
Finian's Rainbow Transfers to Broadway
CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED
ENCORES! PRODUCTION OF
FINIAN’S RAINBOW
TO TRANSFER TO BROADWAY’S ST. JAMES THEATRE
AFTER LABOR DAY
Finian’s Rainbow, which just ended a critically acclaimed five-performance run at New York City Center’s Encores! series last weekend, will move to Broadway’s St. James Theatre in the fall. Producers David Richenthal and Jack Viertel announced that the show, which hasn’t been seen on Broadway since 1960 (it premiered in 1947), will be adapted from the Encores! concert presentation into a full production. Warren Carlyle will again direct and choreograph, and Rob Berman continues as musical director. “What Encores! gave us was a joyous evening put together in just over a week,” Richenthal said. “We have the ability to fill out that template, keeping the essence of the performance front and center, but giving it a treatment that will be appropriate for Broadway,” Viertel added.
Richenthal said it is their intention to keep together as much of the cast and the creative team from the Encores! production as practicable, but that schedules have not yet been worked out. “The show at City Center wove a spell and played to cheering audiences, and our intention is to hold on to that magic,” Richenthal said. Viertel added, “Broadway seems ready to embrace a show that radiates hope and humor, especially one with as many great songs at Finian’s Rainbow.”
Finian’s Rainbow has music by Burton Lane, book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg.
Cast, creative and design teams will be announced shortly as well as the dates for the first preview and opening night.
David Richenthal’s previous Broadway productions include, I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright, directed by Moises Kaufman, starring Jefferson Mays; Marc Salem’s Mind Games on Broadway; Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day's Journey Into Night, directed by Robert Falls, starring Vanessa Redgrave, Brian Dennehy, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robert Sean Leonard; Arthur Miller's The Crucible, directed by Richard Eyre, starring Liam Neeson and Laura Linney; Arthur Miller's The Price, directed by James Naughton, starring Harris Yulin and Jeffrey DeMunn; Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, directed by Robert Falls, starring Brian Dennehy; Noel Coward's Present Laughter, starring Frank Langella; The Young Man From Atlanta by Horton Foote, directed by Robert Falls, starring Rip Torn and Shirley Knight; The Kentucky Cycle, directed by Warner Shook, starring Stacy Keach; Mrs. Klein by Nicholas Wright, starring Uta Hagen; Remembrance, starring Milo O'Shea and Frances Sternhagen; and Conor McPherson's Dublin Carol by special arrangement with the Atlantic Theater Company. On the West End, The Female of the Species by Joanna Murray-Smith, directed by Roger Michell, starring Eileen Atkins; Death of a Salesman starring Brian Dennehy and Clare Higgins; I Am My Own Wife starring Jefferson Mays; and co-produced the world premiere of David Mamet's The Cryptogram and Katherine Burger's Morphic Resonance. Motion pictures include the soon to be released The Other Man, co-written and directed by Richard Eyre, starring Liam Neeson, Laura Linney and Antonio Banderas; Tape, directed by Richard Linklater, starring Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard; and Death of a Salesman, starring Brian Dennehy for the Showtime Network.
Jack Viertel has been the Artistic Director of City Center Encores! for the last nine years and Creative Director of Jujamcyn Theaters since 1987. For Encores! he has supervised 27 productions including acclaimed presentations of Follies, Hair, Carnival, Gypsy, and the Encores! revue Stairway to Paradise, which he conceived. Among the stars he has presented at Encores! are Patti Lupone, Donna Murphy, Kristin Chenoweth, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Victoria Clark and Anne Hathaway. For Jujamcyn, he is in charge of creating and identifying new projects for the company’s five Broadway theaters, and has worked on such productions as Patti Lupone’s Gypsy, Angels in America, Jerry Zaks's acclaimed production of Guys and Dolls, Jelly’s Last Jam, Into the Woods, M. Butterfly, and six of the plays that comprise August Wilson’s ten-play Century Cycle, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Piano Lesson. Viertel conceived and co-produced the long-running musical revue Smokey Joe’s Café, served as dramaturg for Hairspray, and is the co-author of the musical Time and Again. He spent two years as dramaturg of the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, and began work in the theater as a critic for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner.
ENCORES! PRODUCTION OF
FINIAN’S RAINBOW
TO TRANSFER TO BROADWAY’S ST. JAMES THEATRE
AFTER LABOR DAY
Finian’s Rainbow, which just ended a critically acclaimed five-performance run at New York City Center’s Encores! series last weekend, will move to Broadway’s St. James Theatre in the fall. Producers David Richenthal and Jack Viertel announced that the show, which hasn’t been seen on Broadway since 1960 (it premiered in 1947), will be adapted from the Encores! concert presentation into a full production. Warren Carlyle will again direct and choreograph, and Rob Berman continues as musical director. “What Encores! gave us was a joyous evening put together in just over a week,” Richenthal said. “We have the ability to fill out that template, keeping the essence of the performance front and center, but giving it a treatment that will be appropriate for Broadway,” Viertel added.
Richenthal said it is their intention to keep together as much of the cast and the creative team from the Encores! production as practicable, but that schedules have not yet been worked out. “The show at City Center wove a spell and played to cheering audiences, and our intention is to hold on to that magic,” Richenthal said. Viertel added, “Broadway seems ready to embrace a show that radiates hope and humor, especially one with as many great songs at Finian’s Rainbow.”
Finian’s Rainbow has music by Burton Lane, book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg.
Cast, creative and design teams will be announced shortly as well as the dates for the first preview and opening night.
David Richenthal’s previous Broadway productions include, I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright, directed by Moises Kaufman, starring Jefferson Mays; Marc Salem’s Mind Games on Broadway; Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day's Journey Into Night, directed by Robert Falls, starring Vanessa Redgrave, Brian Dennehy, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robert Sean Leonard; Arthur Miller's The Crucible, directed by Richard Eyre, starring Liam Neeson and Laura Linney; Arthur Miller's The Price, directed by James Naughton, starring Harris Yulin and Jeffrey DeMunn; Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, directed by Robert Falls, starring Brian Dennehy; Noel Coward's Present Laughter, starring Frank Langella; The Young Man From Atlanta by Horton Foote, directed by Robert Falls, starring Rip Torn and Shirley Knight; The Kentucky Cycle, directed by Warner Shook, starring Stacy Keach; Mrs. Klein by Nicholas Wright, starring Uta Hagen; Remembrance, starring Milo O'Shea and Frances Sternhagen; and Conor McPherson's Dublin Carol by special arrangement with the Atlantic Theater Company. On the West End, The Female of the Species by Joanna Murray-Smith, directed by Roger Michell, starring Eileen Atkins; Death of a Salesman starring Brian Dennehy and Clare Higgins; I Am My Own Wife starring Jefferson Mays; and co-produced the world premiere of David Mamet's The Cryptogram and Katherine Burger's Morphic Resonance. Motion pictures include the soon to be released The Other Man, co-written and directed by Richard Eyre, starring Liam Neeson, Laura Linney and Antonio Banderas; Tape, directed by Richard Linklater, starring Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard; and Death of a Salesman, starring Brian Dennehy for the Showtime Network.
Jack Viertel has been the Artistic Director of City Center Encores! for the last nine years and Creative Director of Jujamcyn Theaters since 1987. For Encores! he has supervised 27 productions including acclaimed presentations of Follies, Hair, Carnival, Gypsy, and the Encores! revue Stairway to Paradise, which he conceived. Among the stars he has presented at Encores! are Patti Lupone, Donna Murphy, Kristin Chenoweth, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Victoria Clark and Anne Hathaway. For Jujamcyn, he is in charge of creating and identifying new projects for the company’s five Broadway theaters, and has worked on such productions as Patti Lupone’s Gypsy, Angels in America, Jerry Zaks's acclaimed production of Guys and Dolls, Jelly’s Last Jam, Into the Woods, M. Butterfly, and six of the plays that comprise August Wilson’s ten-play Century Cycle, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Piano Lesson. Viertel conceived and co-produced the long-running musical revue Smokey Joe’s Café, served as dramaturg for Hairspray, and is the co-author of the musical Time and Again. He spent two years as dramaturg of the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, and began work in the theater as a critic for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner.
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