Posts

Posted on

DYNAMICS WORK, SO YES, IT’S ‘HOT’

Sixth in a series of Broadway reports

NEW YORK — “Some Like It Hot” is a 2023 musical remake of the popular 1959 Billy Wilder comedy with modern shenanigans and old-world charm.

If you adore vintage choreography, in the spirit of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, trotting non-stop all over the dance floor, and men cavorting in dresses and tresses because they witnessed gangland murders and need disguises to remain safe, then “Some Like It Hot” is your dance ticket, and it’s now playing at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway.

The ensemble, with Tony winner J. Harrison Ghee, as Jerry/Daphne, center right.

For me, “Some Like It Hot” is the best show now, with its special dynamics of motion, music, and manic energy.

It was the most-nominated Tony show this past June — 13 noms and four wins including J. Harrison’s Ghee’s  historic Leading Actor in a Musical award, Best Choreography for Casey Nicholaw, Best Original Score for Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter, and Best Costume Design for Gregg Barnes).

Scenic Designer Scott Pask didn’t win, but should have earned a Tony, too, since he created a lifelike train car swiftly rolling from right to left in one scene. You practically felt the swoosh of the car passing by.

The cast, too, is choo-choo active, running in and out of closed doors and creating momentum of the rare kind.

Joe/Josephine and Jerry/Daphne become members of a traveling all-girl jazz band, led by Sweet Sue, portrayed by NaTasha Yvette Williams, with Sugar, the lead singer played by Adrianna Hicks (Marilyn Monroe was in the movie), during Prohibition-era times in Chicago and San Diego.

Adrianna Hicks, as Sugar, and Christian Borle, as Joe/Josephine.

The plot includes dizzying rushes in and out of doors, and non-stop prancing and dancing requiring speed and good timing, typical of the slam-dunk maniacal musical comedies of the past. One extreme and unexpected treat comes in a brisk flash of movement – Pask’s roaring train car, zooming across the stage. If you blinked, you’d have missed it. It was that fast.

The show boasts a host of “wow” moments. Ghee’s “You Coulda Knocked Me Over With a Feather” is a revelation – a confirmation that he realizes he is proudly a she and the song and sentiment are exquisitely honest.

And there’s charm and credibility with Osgood, the root beer dude played by Kevin Del Aguilar, who gets the hots for Daphne and why not? He/she is a beaut!

Further, Borle and Hicks manage to tap-tap-tap and sing their hearts out in a joyous staircase number, “Dance the World Away.”

One curiosity, and this was the first time I’ve seen this happen in a show. “Some Like It Hot,” the title tune, closed Act 1, with vocalists Hicks (as Sugar), Williams (as Sue) and Daphne (as Ghee) leading the ensemble to bring down the curtain. As the intermission ended, before the start of Act 2, it was announced that Hicks (Sugar) would be replaced by her understudy, TyNia Rene Brandon , no reason provided …

And that’s Show Biz. …

‘Some Like It Hot’

“Some Like It Hot” is a musical based on the Billy Wilder movie with the same name, with book by Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin, music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaman, directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw

Playing at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway

Posted on

‘NEW YORK:’ A ONE-SONG WONDER

Fifth in a series of Broadway reports

NEW YORK — One truly positive thing can be said of “New York, New York:” the title song immortalized separately and specifically by Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnelli has become an awesome theme song for the city that never sleeps.

From that mammoth hit song emerged the phrase, “My Kind of Town,” and clearly New York is everybody’s kind of town.

This show, based on an earlier film, not so much. The powerful title song is not delivered till the finale, which is logical, and the Francine Evans character, (Anna Uzeke) emerges singing the tune with the 20-something musicians wailing and soaring brassy notes on trumpets, trombones, French horns and supported by violin, guitar, viola and more.

If this rousing and soulful number was performed at the very opening of “New York, New York,” everyone would be wholly satisfied. We could all have gone home. The cast could have been dismissed for early dinner and call it a night.

But we had to wait through a mess of wayward subplots, and two acts of inconsequential songs and dancers, with little reward and beaucoup yawning.

This was not my kind of town, nor my kind of play.

This was a prime disappointment in the annals of Broadway musical history – a one-song wonder.

You can’t wholly blame the cast, which stars Colton Ryan as Jimmy Doyle, with standby Mike Cefalo in the performance I saw, Anna Uzeke as Francine Evans, Clyde Alves as Tommy Caggiano, John Clay III as Jesse Webb, Janet Dacal as Sofia Diaz, Ben Davis as Gordon Kendrick, Oliver Prose as Alex Mann, Angel Sigala as Mateo Diaz aka he/him, and Emily Skinner as Madame Veltri. Considering that this behemoth of a stinker – with high anticipation and grim delivery from multi-Tony winner Susan Stroman — is astonishing.

If Lin-Manuel Miranda, himself a Tony veteran, wrote new lyrics and infused Latin rhythms, the credits don’t acknowledge the tunes with cooperation from Broadway veteran John Kander, so even this is a puzzlement.

The script by David Thomas and Sharon Washington attempts to reflect the common notion that New York is a place of opportunity, where dreams can come true, and immigrants can start a new life.

Failure should not be an option in musical theater life, but “New York, New York” staggers and putters with no compass to turn around its misfortune. Some may find pearls and potency in this one, but nada for me. It misses the mark on several levels. …

‘New York, New York’

“New York, New York” is  musical inspired by the motion picture written by Earl M. Rauch, with music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb, with book by David Thompson co-written by Sharon Washington with additional lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda; directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman

Playing at the St. James Theatre on Broadway

Broadway grosses, for week ending July 2

“Back to the Future,” a new musical based on the popular movie, has shown remarkable box office power in its first few shows: it grossed $1.035 million after it premiered June 30. Not enough to make the Top 10 roster of shows, but just enough for it to join the Million Dollar Club.

We list the Top 7 here, which still is dominated by the long-running productions:

1 – “The Lion King,” $2.485 million.

2—“Hamilton,” $1.892 million.

3—“Wicked,” $1.880 million.

4—“Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” $1.794 million.

5—“Aladdin,” $1.607 million.

6—“MJ, the Michael Jackson Musical,” $1.557 million.

7—“Harry Potter & the Cursed Child,” $1.46 million.

Here’s the full list, courtesy The Broadway League:

And that’s Show Biz. ..

Posted on

SOMETHING FOR ALL IN ‘MOULIN ROUGE’

Fourth of a series of Broadway reports

NEW YORK — “Moulin Rouge,” undeniably an expansive and explosive musical unfolding at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway, is a monstrous dash of flash. It’s anything you might want it to be: a nightclub, a disco, a non-stop jukebox of hot pop songs, a floor show of can-can girls. Even a state of mind, as noted by Harold Zidler, the owner of the Moulin Rouge club, played by Eric Anderson.

The show – set in Gay Paree’s notable nightclub of the title — begins even before the spectacle opens, with costumed characters descending from sets onto the stage, crawling on the rims of both stage left and right, resembling Cirque du Soleil artists. The regalia — some nostalgic, some brief, some clearly exotic — build anticipation of what’s to come.

Amour is in the air, and when the dazzling melodies start thumping away, showtime means feathers, glitter, gyrations and hearty emotions.

“Lady Marmalade,” certainly the key prevailing anthem in the score, is all action and audience reaction. The cast and the audience members (some quietly, some not) belt out Labelle’s explicit and exquisite lyrics of  Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, and the dance party is officially on.

Director Alex Timbers and choreographer Sonya Tayeh retain the life-is-beautiful spirit of film director Baz Luhrmann and co-writer Craig Pearce, who collaborated on the film, which has been updated and upgraded with lots of oomph and power, with something to appeal to all, straight, gay, or LGBTQ.

Starring Joanna “Jojo” Levesque as Satine, a courtesan fighting tuberculosis, Derek Klena as the lovestruck composer Christian, Eric Anderson as Harold Zidler, Andre Ward as Toulouse-Lautrec, and David Harris as the Duke of Monroth, aka he/him, “Moulin Rouge” treats music as a drug in a sense that it’s easy to get high – with emotion and participation. Songs often are said to be the soundtrack of our lives, and surely, fleeting nostalgic moments of your memories whirl and twirl like a merry-go-round on steroids.

Unfortunately, the Playbill does not collate titles of the music employed during this journey, so you can’t reflect and count ’em. And the tunes are clustered into fast-and-furious medleys that you may not recall the fave you’re grooving to because, um, here comes another fastball.

But since songs are so dominant and definitive in the show, you’re likely to get dizzy with joy when you recognize Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” in a quick mashup with Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” then sooner or later, there’s an extended rendering of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,”  roaring out from the lungs of Christian and Santine. One of the shows impactful moment, this.

In case you forget when the charades and parades fade, Katy Perry’s “Fireworks,” Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” and “You Can’t Get Always Get What You Want” are prominently staged with glorious dances.

There are temptations, visual and aural, all tied to the tempo and choreography, and since this is kind of a Bohemian rhapsody, expect Elton John, Madonna and sundry others to pop in musically.

Be warned: if strobe lights and loud music offend you, you might best order balcony seats to be\some distance away from the pyrotechnics…

And that’s Show Biz. …

‘Moulin Rouge’

“Moulin Rouge” is a musical based on the film written by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce, directed by Luhrmaan, with book by John LoganPlaying at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre

Posted on

MICHELE: THE BELLE OF ‘FUNNY GIRL’

Third in a series of Broadway reports

NEW YORK — Lea Michele has emerged as the belle of the revival of “Funny Girl,” becoming a diva of traditional Broadway musicals fueled by a female superstar.

She put the glee and the whee into the troubled show, which was launched a season ago with Beanie Feldstein in the lead.

Michele succeeded Feldstein on Sept. 6, 2022, earning six standing ovations on her first night, and the roars of approval haven’t stop at the August Wilson Theatre. Clearly, she’s become one of the next-generation’s leading ladies of the genre of traditional stage musicals like “Hello, Dolly!,” “Gypsy,” and “Mame,” and Michele’s appeal has rewarded her the opportunity to be the Fanny Brice voice in the show’s cast album. Also, Michele’s presence has buoyed the show into the Broadway League’s “million dollar club,” meaning that the weekly “Funny Girl” box office grosses have finally logged a slot on the elite list.

Lea Michele, as Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl.”

The fingerprints may be invisible, but there exists the Barbra Streisand aura in the revival – think “hello, gorgeous!” – when Fanny is in front of her dressing room mirror. Streisand’s Broadway debut as Fanny in the 1960s, coupled with the subsequent movie version in the late ‘60s in which she also starred, has been the stuff of legend, but Michele surely will make this her own trademark in the decades ahead. Michele, till now best known as a luminary from the “Glee” TV series, is poised and powerful in delivering she show’s best-known anthems, “People,” “I’m the Greatest Star” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” lasting favorites from the score by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill.

The tale, based on a book by Isobel Lennart revised by Harvey Fierstein, tracks the show biz quest of Brice, a Jewish vaudeville wonder from Brooklyn, who becomes a headliner of the famed Ziegfeld Follies, and wife of the production’s honcho, Nicky Arnstein, played by Ramin Karimloo. They have chemistry, notably on “You Are Woman, I Am Man” and “Who Are You Now.”

Naturally, there is a poker-playing Jewish mom, Mrs. Brice, portrayed by the beloved Tovah Feldshuh, who demonstrates her seasoned charm on “Who Taught Her Everything She Knew,” a duet with Jared Grimes as Eddie Ryan. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

‘Funny Girl’

“Funny Girl,” a musical featuring music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, book by Isobel Lennart, revised book by Harvey Fierstein

Playing at the August Wilson Theatre, through Sept. 3

Posted on

A LOCATION HOTEL GEM ON BROADWAY

Second in a series of New York reports

NEW YORK – Location, location, location.

Price, price, price.

Convenience, convenience, convenience.

Whenever I traveled in the past, I’d book hotels to accrue frequent-stayer points.

I favored the Hilton brand, which included sister properties like Doubletree. And Sheraton also was a secondary favorite.

But when my back and leg pain worsened, a hotel located smack dab in the middle of the zone I preferred – in New York, it’s always been the Theatre District in Manhattan’s West Side –the focus of where my wife and I would stay mattered most.

And though we were totally aware of the Hotel Edison on W. 47th Street, we’ve never stayed there. Till this most recent trip.

We’d always walk through the Edison’s lobby, to get to 46th Street, and through the Marriott on 46th and 45th to further traipse through the short cuts to 44th Street. Everyone did this; the flock of theaters were located in this region.

When checking for housing this time, the Edison’s $238 daily rate was an unbelievable attraction, because Marriott down the street was charging under $500, just like The W next door.

Of course, the final tab would escalate when New York’s multi-taxes were added.

Still, when you rely on an electric wheel chair to tool around the theater district, location and convenience matter most.

Thus, the Edison in the heart of the Broadway action, was a gem. No need frequent stayer points. Location doesn’t get any better, and the price clearly was right. And the conveniences on W. 47th St., like the TKTS booth,  attracts folks hunting for buy-one, get-one-free tickets to Broadway shows. Popular restaurants like Olive Garden are on W. 47th, and Applebee is just up the street, on Broadway. Junior’s, a Zippy’s-like eatery with a huge family following, is further up on Broadway at W. 49th Street, and we always have breakfast here.

Further, the MTA buses stop at W. 49th Street on Seventh Avenue, if you’re southbound; and subway stations similarly in walking distance.

But the largest convenience is the fact that  Broadway theaters generally are in the mid-40s, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.

One theater, the Lunt-Fontanne, where “Sweeney Todd” is playing, is a mere minute away next-door to the Edison. Can’t get better than this.

We stayed at the Marriott before, when I was still a fully qualified walker; the problem with this hotel is that whenever the elevators open, they were always filled, particularly when everyone was headed to a show. The next available elevator would be generally filled to the max, too. With a wheelchair now, this would be wholly inconvenient. In contrast, the Edison’s bank of six or seven elevators are readily accessible; if one was full, the next one arrived quickly.

This past stay, the furthermost theater we visited was the Vivian Beaumont at Lincoln Center, at W. 65th Street. We caught a Yellow Cab going there and an Uber lift returning to the hotel.

The longest distance I walked was up to the August Wilson Theatre, on W. 52nd St., where “Funny Girl” is running. ‘Twas the longest journey by foot, augmented by my walking cane. But manageable.

To get to “Here Lies Love” at the Broadway Theatre, at Broadway and W. 53rd Street, I utilized the wheelchair and parked it in the lobby. Like many theaters, this one had a mezzanine balcony, and our seats were Up There, and I managed the ascent and descent by clinging to handrails. The movement was slowly, yes, and deliberate, to avoid a fall.

Also, wheel chaired to the Winter Garden, at Broadway and W. 51st Street, and had booked seats for “Back to the Future” in the last row in orchestra, with an open space for the chair adjoining the companion’s fixed seat. Didn’t have to park the chair in the lobby here. We exited the performance during the curtain call, enabling us to get a jump on the journey to the Edison.

Back to the hotel: If I book the Edison on a future trip, I’d try to secure a room with more space. Our room had a king-sized bed but little wiggle space, with the wheelchair parked in the midst of the room for nightly recharging.

 The Edison, renovated some years back, had a spacious bathroom with a large shower stall. But storage was nil; just one small door-sized closet to hang clothing, plus a shelf.

The work desk for a laptop was a teeny table that also held the coffeemaker, the coffee packets, the tub for ice, and bottled water, with an office chair – the only seat in the room.

The bed had two tiny shelves with one small drawer on each side but was attached to the walls; perhaps two smaller drawers below would have been helpful. 

The ledge of a large window was used as an iPhone and Apple watch recharging station, since there was no other space.

The Edison hosts a complimentary 24/7 gym, which I visited only once, for an hour of cardio pedaling on a bike, along with exercise machines I’ve used back home, under supervision. I didn’t want to overdo or underdo weights for leg and pulleying excersises without an on-duty official, in case of accidents.

The hotel stay included a daily free grab-and-go breakfast (with choices like an egg and bacon sandwich, a croissant, a yogurt sundae, and fruits like banana and orange) and Wednesday and Friday happy hour wine parties which we didn’t partake in since we were coming from or going to theater.

The Edison provided a new concept of breakfast in bed, since there was no space to sip coffee and eat – except on the bed. And a large TV mounted on the wall facing the bed, offered the “Today” show daily. …

By paying more and securing a larger room,  perhaps the location-price-convenience formula would still be relevant. For potential handicapped visitors, these considerations count. We shall see if we return to the gem called Edison. …

And that’s Show Biz. …