In the few months that I have been publishing Man In Chair, I have discovered several online theatre geek havens in the form of theatre-related bulletin boards. As one participant puts it, “Where else can I quote Rent or Wicked or even Altar Boyz, and no one is there to give me the ‘that’s nice, dear’ smile, when I know that he/she has no idea what I’m talking about.”

They are all free, but require a one-time registration. Here are my faves:

Broadwayspace.com: Created by Ken Davenport, broadwayspace.com is like Myspace for theatre geeks. Ken tells of a childhood in Worcester, Mass blasting Les Miz on his way to high school, and then hiding the tape once he arrived at school. And sitting alone in his room framing his playbill from Phantom. Ken doesn’t know it, but we lived the same childhood half a country apart.

He created the site to be a place that made you feel like you were living in the heart of Times Square, even though you might be living in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Besides theatre fans from across the country, there are Broadway folk like Michael Rupert (known to me—and maybe Ken—as Marvin from Falsettos, known to kids today as Professor Callahan from Legally Blonde), Nicolette Hart from Rent, and Andrew Call from Altar Boyz in the network.

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Broadwayworld.com bulletin board: Whenever I think I know a lot about what’s happening in the world of theatre, I take a visit to the bulletin boards at broadwayworld.com for a lesson in humility. These folks know they’re stuff. It’s the most active board I have found, with lots of people posting, replying and retorting 24/7. Pretty much any breaking theatre news will make it’s way here pretty quickly, and it’s a great place to find theatre geeky gems like the Zombie Prom Movie download.

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Musicalfans.net: A very well-organized forum to discuss specific shows. They are listed alphabetically from A Chorus Line to You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.

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Musicals.net: A little more general musical theatre discussion forum. There are currently 15,038 registered members, and at this writing, 63 of them were online, so there’s almost always something going on there.

In Jill Santoriello’s new musical version of A Tale of Two Cities, one of the characters sings “Buried alive, buried alive, and I must dig him out.” That is akin to how this blogger has felt in trying to dig up reviews of the Broadway-bound musical’s premiere at the Asolo Theatre in Sarasota, Florida. Judging from the activity at the search engines, people are clamoring for info on this show, and I aim to please the clamoring public.

Thanks to David for pointing out this one from Sarasota Magazine. “[Santoriello] has managed to successfully streamline this famous book without damaging its core, and, aided by director Michael Donald Edwards and the musical staging of Warren Carlyle, to smoothly handle its swiftly swirling changes of scene and tone while still engaging our hearts, ears and eyes.”

“First praise here must go to [James] Barbour, who perfectly embodies the jaded, world-weary Carton, whose love for Lucie ultimately lifts him to redemption through self-sacrifice; both his acting and his singing are superb….”

From Broadway.com’s Stagenotes: “…this Broadway-bound musical is on the right path, thanks especially to a handful of stirring Jill Santoriello songs, Michael Donald Edward’s brisk staging, Tony Walton’s ingenious scenic design and a strong company led by James Barbour, pouring his soul into a towering performance as Carton.”

son_of_a_gun_25 at the broadway.com bulletin boards says this: “Natalie Toro (Mme. Defarge)- I would go see this show again and again just to see her performance. She is a phenomenal talent and really embodies the rage and revenge that has taken over her characters life.”

And erdrag had this to say in the comment section of Man In Chair: “The first act is long — a complicated story has to be set up, characters need to be established. Midway through the first act and through the entire second act, the story is emotionally engaging. I wish I could see it 10 more times.”

More reviews after the jump…

Read more »

The Farmers the Hatfields the Producers and the Cowmen the McKoys the Stagehands are coming back to the table to discuss.

Reports the New York Sun: “The Broadway stagehands’ union, Local One, and the group that represents the theaters will begin negotiations again in two weeks, with meeting dates scheduled on November 7, 8, and 9, a union source and the executive director of the League of American Theaters and Producers, Charlotte St. Martin, confirmed. The two parties have been at odds since October 9 when they both presented what they said were final contract offers. Last Monday, the theaters began imposing portions of their work contract on the stagehands.”

It seems one of the main reasons for meeting is to give Tom Short, the head of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) a chance to see just how bad things are. IATSE is the larger union represented by Local One, and the stagehands cannot strike without IATSE’s authorization.

Of the ten or so articles I read, which mostly repeated the same information, most of them said if the stagehands strike, it will be in December, as the head of Local One has stated, they will not work into December without a contract.

Of course Michael Reidel of the New York Post has to have his own take on it, potentially mucking up my plans to be in New York the weekend after Turkey day: “If there is [a strike], it would likely occur during the Thanksgiving Day weekend, when Broadway’s packed and producers stand to lose millions.

Honestly, I’m not too worried. Although I would be disappointed if I had to miss Is He Dead and August: Osage County, there is plenty of off-Broadway fare on my list as well as The Glorious Ones at Lincoln Center. My main concern would be the hundreds of people who would be out of work during this time. Here’s hoping that a couple of weeks will clear the air and reopen the possibility for a solution that all sides can embrace.

At long last episode five of the [title of show] show has hit the airwaves. In this episode the gang reveals where they have chosen to go for their pre-Broadway out of town tryout…almost.

Join the regular gang, Hunter Bell, Jeff Bowen, Heidi Blickenstaff, Susan Blackwell and (sometimes) Larry Pressgrove as they ban the use of doodley doos and jokey jokes, and sit down to seriously dangle the dingle with special guests Prince Eric (aka Sean Palmer) and Leaf Coneybear (aka Barret Foa).

Hunter as Chris Crocker (Leave Britney Alone) and Miss South Carolina are not to be missed…

My initial interest in seeing Stephen Karam’s Speech and Debate, the inaugural offering at The Roundabout Theatre’s Underground series was twofold. First of all, one of the four cast members is [title of show]’s Susan Blackwell, and by now, you should know how I feel about [title of show]. And secondly, all tickets are $20.

Now that the play has opened, there is a third inspiration that caused me to stop writing this post and buy my tickets: scads of great reviews, which at one point made me laugh out loud.

First a brief summary from the show’s website: “Even though they go to the same school, misfits Solomon, Diwata and Howie have never met. But when a shocking scandal involving one of their teachers brings them together through an unexpected chain of events, they realize three voices are stronger than one. And since their school has no speech and debate squad, maybe this is their chance to be heard at last – by the school and even the world.”

Variety: Stephen Karam’s savvy comedy about three teenage outsiders grappling with sexual secrets and drawn together via the Internet is imperfect, rambling and messily plotted, but it’s bristling with vitality, wicked humor, terrific dialogue and a direct pipeline into the zeitgeist of contemporary youth. Staged with verve by Jason Moore and played by a pitch-perfect cast of four, this disarming production has enough arguments in its favor to make the flaws seem secondary.

David Bell of showshowdown, another fan of [tos] and Susan, raved about the preview he saw: “Roundabout has gathered some amazing talent to bring to blazing life Speech and Debate, a tale about 3 hyper-opinionated teenagers with like, super-serious omg! secrets. Jason Fuchs, Sarah Steele and Gideon Glick look like teenagers, act like teenagers but have all the talent of seasoned university trained, professional adult actors.”

International Herald: “[Sarah] Steele is pretty much perfect. At one point, she delivers a staged reading of an online chat transcript, and the only thing keeping people from actually falling out of their seats laughing is that the seats in the tiny Black Box are so close together.”

New York Times: “Ms. Steele captures Diwata’s loneliness without pity or condescension, allowing us to laugh at her absurdities (“You read my blog,” she yells. “That’s my private journal!”).

That was my laughing out loud moment, and also the moment at which I quit looking for reviews for fear of encountering too many such tossed out spoiler lines, and clicked on over to the virtual Box Office to get my tickets. I think all tickets are $20, but I used code SDBBOX2 when ordering to make sure of the price.

I’ve kicked myself a jillion times for not having the wherewithal to see Carrie, the Musical during its brief and infamous stint on Broadway. I still have a coveted cassette tape of a demo that sounds like it was recorded in someone’s garage, but still gives me some glimpse of what the show might have been like.

On the flip side, I managed to see an off-Broadway musical twice that was panned by most everyone, but which has a cult following in which I am glad to include myself: Zombie Prom.

I saw the show once when the company of Grease was offered free tickets, and again when I won two tickets on some sort of radio call-in show. Perhaps the free tickets contribute to my fond memories of the show.

It’s a satire not so much of 1950’s zombie horror films, but of the 1950s themselves. The plot is simple. Toffee is in love with Jonny (who rebelliously spells his name without the customary “h”). When she bows to parental pressure and breaks up with him, he throws himself into the town’s nuclear reactor and comes back as a zombie. That’s pretty much it. The conflict comes as he tries to re-enter normal high school life against the will of the principal, Miss Strict. The music is great, and the lyrics are very smart and clever.

Today I stumbled upon the doubly bizarre news that
a) it has been made into a short film starring Ru Paul as Miss Strict and
b) that the film is available for a free download on iTunes.

I don’t know how long this free offer will last, so download it now!

Like bubbles in the witches’ cauldron, concerns about Cate Blanchett and her husband’s impending reign as artistic directors of the Sydney Theatre Company are beginning to make their way to the surface, and in some cases boil over dramatically.

Colin Moody, a member of the theatre’s Actors Company, has left his position there and makes no bones about his feelings about Blanchett, and current artistic director, Robyn Nevin.

From theage.com.au: “[Moody] said that under Nevin, the STC had been ‘importing people who are manifestly frauds and charlatans and asking them to do a task that they haven’t got a clue how to do.’”

“Neither Blanchett nor [her husband, Andrew] Upton has run a professional theatre company before. Until late last year, neither had directed for the professional mainstage.”

From the Guardian Unlimited: “Blanchett’s supporters point out that there is a tradition of film actors moving into the theatre and that her star power will encourage more people to come to the theatre. Nevertheless the disquiet echoes similar misgivings about Kevin Spacey’s decision to take over the Old Vic In London in 2003. His appointment was greeted with delight, but he has since endured criticism and calls to resign because his productions have not met expectations.”

Steve on Broadway has experienced both Blanchett’s and Upton’s forays into directing, and describes hers as “OK” and his as “banal;” neither description being terribly confidence-inspiring.

Blanchett and Upton begin their three-year contracts with STC, Australia’s largest professional theatre company, in early 2008, after Nevin retires.

One of the shows I am was considering seeing when I head to NYC in a couple of weeks is Fuerzabruta (Spanish for Brute Force), playing off-Broadway at the Daryl Roth Theatre.

When I first read about the show in the New York Times, I was intrigued by the spectacle of it all: “a 45-foot clear-bottom tilting pool, hung from the ceiling and only partly filled; flying, building-size Mylar curtains; and the moving treadmill.” One spectator at a preview of the show commented that “You can’t help getting involved.”

Reading a few reviews of the show today, I realized that not only can you not help getting involved, but you are required to get involved. Although Charles Isherwood’s review of the show has been mocked for its stuffiness, it made me laugh out loud several times, and convinced me that Fuerzabruta is probably not for me.

“For true enjoyment, a powerful affection for thumping techno music would probably help. So would a delight in being befogged by acrid smoke, blasted by bright lights and shuttled around in packs like cattle. Also getting wet in public. The key demographic for Fuerzabruta is probably clubgoing, overstimulated college kids not worried about soiling their togs from H&M. Not to mention all those on the dark side of 30 who wish they were still clubgoing, overstimulated college kids.”

“Also requiring sustained neck-craning is the aerial catfight performed on a giant circular curtain of a tinfoillike substance that descends to the floor, surrounding the audience. ‘It’s like being inside a giant Jiffy Pop,’ observed one of my companions. Absolutely true, but if you’re old enough to have a nostalgic affection for Jiffy Pop, I suspect that Fuerzabruta is not for you.”

Rob Kendt, of the Wicked Stage said he liked the show more than Isherwood seems to have, but his review further cemented my suspicion that my $50 might better be spent at The Glorious Ones.

“A troupe of actors doesn’t simply tear apart a prefab set of confetti and cardboard. The cast…then circulates through the crowd and practically press-gangs us into dancing along to the techno beats supplied by a DJ in a powdered wig. If that sounds like your cup of speed, then run, don’t walk to see Fuerzabruta, then get ready to run some more.”

All of this is not to discourage anyone else from experiencing the show. If anything it’s a reflection on this aging theatre geek’s changing viewpoint about what it is that attracts him to a show. There was a time when that thumping techno music got my juices flowing. Now I think I prefer a soaring string section to thumping techno. But if you like your theatre a little messy, interactive and sensorally pumped, Fuerzabruta may be just what you’re looking for.

Click for Tickets to Fuerzabruta.

I was driving to work the other day serenely listening to Hector Berlioz’s Rob Roy Overture on NPR, when I nearly ran off the road.

Because this sounds an awfully lot like this.  Which reminded me of this:

Thanks to Gunn for pointing Man in Chair to the Sarasota Herald Tribune’s review of the Ansolo Theatre’s Broadway-bound musical, A Tale of Two Cities. A cursory internet search this morning seemed to indicate that this is the first (and only) review out there at the moment.

Jay Handelman’s overall take on the show is that it still needs some work before it will be a success on Broadway. But other than a need to be “more dramatically and emotionally compelling, mostly in the first act,” his review is pretty glowing:

“[Composer, Jill ] Santoriello has crafted some pretty melodies and a couple of comic patter songs, which are moving or fun and sometimes superfluous (like a tune about grave robbers, which doesn’t aid the story).”

“[James Barbour’s] rich baritone infuses every bit of whimsy, despair, hope and desire in the bitter “Reflection” and the tender “I Can’t Recall.” He captures your heart with his voice and his acting skills.”

“Natalie Toro, as the vengeful Madame Defarge…brings brute force and power to “Out of Sight, Out of Mind,” and “The Tale,” which explains the bitterness she has been waiting years to unleash. Jessica Rush is the picture of a young ingenue with a sweet voice to match as Lucie, and Derek Keeling is dashing as Charles.”

“Nick Wyman as the dastardly John Barsad brings a touch of comic relief, as does Katherine McGrath as the heart-warming and sarcastic Miss Pross, Lucie’s caretaker.”

Look for more reviews (including mine) as they surface in the upcoming weeks.