Showing posts with label sean hayes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sean hayes. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Promises Promises Welcomes a New Marge MacDougal
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Fun Fact of the Day: Stage-dooring
While stage-dooring may be a common practice for many avid theatregoers, to others, it is a foreign concept.
stage-dooring: visiting the stage door of a theatre after the show in hopes of meeting the performers
My first stage door experience in New York was at RENT and I was absolutely thrilled to meet the actors, take photos with them, and have my playbill signed. I almost always visit the stage-door these days and I have accumulated quite a collection of signed playbills and posters. Stage-dooring is most common at shows that are popular with the teenage crowd like Wicked or Spring Awakening and shows that feature celebrities on stage, such as the current revival of Promises, Promises. Most actors are happy to sign playbills and other items from the show, although occasionally performers will leave without signing or even duck out an alternate exit. Some are even happy to take photos with fans. While I have waited in some long lines and fought a lot of crowds, I cherish my stage-door memories and have even gotten the chance to have genuine conversations with some of my Broadway idols from Stephanie J Block and Alice Ripley to the original Broadway revival cast of Hair.
**BackStage Barbie's stage-dooring tip: if you want to get a prime stage-door spot for celebrities like Kristin Chenoweth & Sean Hayes at Promises, Promises or Bebe Neuwirth & Nathan Lane at The Adams Family, make your way out of the theatre during the curtain call to avoid the post-show rush**
stage-dooring: visiting the stage door of a theatre after the show in hopes of meeting the performers
My first stage door experience in New York was at RENT and I was absolutely thrilled to meet the actors, take photos with them, and have my playbill signed. I almost always visit the stage-door these days and I have accumulated quite a collection of signed playbills and posters. Stage-dooring is most common at shows that are popular with the teenage crowd like Wicked or Spring Awakening and shows that feature celebrities on stage, such as the current revival of Promises, Promises. Most actors are happy to sign playbills and other items from the show, although occasionally performers will leave without signing or even duck out an alternate exit. Some are even happy to take photos with fans. While I have waited in some long lines and fought a lot of crowds, I cherish my stage-door memories and have even gotten the chance to have genuine conversations with some of my Broadway idols from Stephanie J Block and Alice Ripley to the original Broadway revival cast of Hair.
**BackStage Barbie's stage-dooring tip: if you want to get a prime stage-door spot for celebrities like Kristin Chenoweth & Sean Hayes at Promises, Promises or Bebe Neuwirth & Nathan Lane at The Adams Family, make your way out of the theatre during the curtain call to avoid the post-show rush**
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...The TONYS
It has taken me a few days but I'm finally ready to give my overall impression of the 2010 TONY awards and comment on the accuracy of my predictions.
So for being a performer, not a techie, I did okay with my picks for the design awards. I predicted that American Idiot and Red would take the lighting and scenic design categories and I thought they were very deserving. My favorite moment of the creative arts awards was the speech by Christine Jones, scenic designer of American Idiot, where she declared her undying love for director Michael Mayer and the songwriting team Green Day. Red's sound designer wanting to wear his Tony on a chain as bling with a reference to Jay-Z was also a hilight. I do have major issue with the fact that CBS cannot include design awards in their regular broadcast. The technical artists deserve just as much respect as the actors and producers and their awards should be presented on the television.
This year's opening number was kitschy and it was certainly evident, from the pop song theme, that its goal was to draw viewership outside of the normal TONY-watching crowd. In my mind, nothing can compare to the 2009 opening number, but this year's production was good in its own right. Having host Sean Hayes show off his piano playing skills was a great choice and framing the number with Chad Kimball as host was quite clever. The signature Kristin Chenoweth performance of I Say A Little Prayer was obviously a hilight and Sherie Renee Scott and the Mennonettes' trio Up The Ladder To The Roof was simply fabulous. The Memphis, Fela, and Million Dollar Quartet sections were simply forgettable. John Gallagher Jr singing Boulevard of Broken Dreams with the cast of American Idiot was energetic and almost touching until Green Day came onstage and made it a complete cliche.
Scarlett Johansson's win for Best Featured Actress in a Play for A View From The Bridge was certainly a surprise but it was well deserved and she gave a very gracious and eloquent speech. Eddie Redmayne was simply perfection in his speech for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Red as he spoke of the value of the performing arts in all of our lives and acknowledged his great mentor and co-star Alfred Molina.
Normally TONY performances make me anxious to see the new musicals, but the performances from Million Dollar Quartet, Fela, and Memphis were not the least bit enticing. Actually, I was much more intrigued by the package introducing the best play nominees. And for me to be more interested in a play than a musical really speaks to just how bad the quality of musicals was this year.
Katie Finneran is my new idol and she absolutely deserved the TONY for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Promises, Promises. Her speech was so inspiring and I felt honored that she chose to give advice to aspiring actors, telling us to follow our dreams and ignore everybody who tells us otherwise. Yes it sounds cheesy, but Katie was so sincere, and funny too as she thanked Kristin Chenoweth for lending her eyelashes for the evening. I basically expected Levi Kreis to win Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Million Dollar Quartet but I was really hoping for Bobby Steggert from Ragtime. Levi seemed unexcited about his win and was boring in his speech......next subject.
Christianne Noll's rendition of Back to Before from Ragtime was stunning and I only wished this show had lasted longer rather than the rest of the trash from this season that is currently running. On the opposite end of the female solo performance spectrum was Catherine Zeta-Jones with her performance of Send In The Clowns. I wanted so much to love the performance but she overacted it to the point that it became difficult to watch (and listen to). Her musical phrasing was a disaster and she held certain notes forever while barely giving value to others. Her head movements were distracting and she looked like she was seizing...enough on that trainwreck.
Viola Davis and Denzel Washington won the leading categories for Fences and while Davis seemed genuinely moved and thrilled, Washington looked like he would have rather been anywhere else and even forgot the name of The American Theatre Wing. Fences' win for Best Revival of a Play was no surprise and based on its sales, it seems that audiences adore it.
American Idiot's performance was much stronger without Green Day and I really want to see this show. I also forgot to mention the La Cage Aux Folles performance which I found energetic and entertaining. The audience interaction was priceless and this is another show I will be seeing in the near future.
Bill T Jones was totally deserving of the choreography award for Fela and I was happy to see anybody but Twyla Tharp win. Her work was so great in her earlier shows but it is really all starting to look the same and she seems to have lost her innovative spirit.
Don't get me wrong, I love Glee, but in my opinion a television show has no place on theatre's big night. Matt Morrison did give a stellar performance though, in All I Need Is The Girl, and I desperately want him to come back to Broadway. Lea Michele and Don't Rain On My Parade...those two things have become synonymous right? I wasn't sure if Lea was trying to audition for the upcoming Funny Girl revival with this performance or what because she looked like she was about to either kill twelve people with her daggers for eyes of if her head was actually going to explode. When you start out at a 10, there is nowhere to rise to in the climax of the song without looking like you are about to spiral out of control.
Oh, I've forgotten to mention some of Sean Hayes' funnier moments as host, from the major liplock with Kristin Chenoweth and his Bernadette Peters/Annie wig to his Billy Elliot tights and Spiderman costume. He really was fabulously entertaining and his great showing as host made up for his loss in his category.
Red wins Best Play! No explanation needed.
The funniest moment of the entire show for me was the presentation of Best Leading Actor/Actress in a Musical by Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane. The irony of the situation was uncanny as the pair, two of the theatre's brightest stars were not nominated. But they were great sports and it was a very memorable TONY moment. Maybe this will be the 2010 addition to my decade of favorite TONY memories? There were no surprises in these categories as Douglass Hodge won for La Cage Aux Folles and Catherine Zeta-Jones for A Little Night Music. Hodge is a class act and was charming in his speech. Zeta-Jones seemed absolutely floored when her name was announced, almost to the point where it seemed rehearsed. Thank god the awards are not based on TONY night performances or she wouldn't have had a chance, but I believe her performance in her show did indeed merit a win.
La Cage Aux Folles wins Best Revival of a Musical--we all expected it, and it probably deserved it as well.
Normally TONY night ends with a bang as Best Musical is announced. The category started off well with Bernadette Peters presenting, but the excitement soon fizzled as Memphis was announced. I can't say I was surprised but I would have loved to have seen a more innovative show take the night's top prize and would've been much happier with Fela or American Idiot.
As for the accuracy of my picks, I was correctly chose Redmayne, Davis, Finneran, Hodge, and Zeta-Jones in the performance categories, Grandage for direction of a play, and Bill T Jones for choreography. In the pre-broadcast, I had both of the lighting and scenic design categories correctly pegged, along with costume design of a play. And most importantly I was 4/4 in the big categories as Fences, Red, La Cage Aux Folles, and Memphis were all on my list.
In a word, the 2010 TONY awards were predictable. I love seeing a few great upsets and there really were none this year. Overall, it was a mediocre awards ceremony for a mediocre Broadway season with a few blips of pizazz from the Chenoweth/Hayes and Neuwirth/Lane sideshows.
So for being a performer, not a techie, I did okay with my picks for the design awards. I predicted that American Idiot and Red would take the lighting and scenic design categories and I thought they were very deserving. My favorite moment of the creative arts awards was the speech by Christine Jones, scenic designer of American Idiot, where she declared her undying love for director Michael Mayer and the songwriting team Green Day. Red's sound designer wanting to wear his Tony on a chain as bling with a reference to Jay-Z was also a hilight. I do have major issue with the fact that CBS cannot include design awards in their regular broadcast. The technical artists deserve just as much respect as the actors and producers and their awards should be presented on the television.
This year's opening number was kitschy and it was certainly evident, from the pop song theme, that its goal was to draw viewership outside of the normal TONY-watching crowd. In my mind, nothing can compare to the 2009 opening number, but this year's production was good in its own right. Having host Sean Hayes show off his piano playing skills was a great choice and framing the number with Chad Kimball as host was quite clever. The signature Kristin Chenoweth performance of I Say A Little Prayer was obviously a hilight and Sherie Renee Scott and the Mennonettes' trio Up The Ladder To The Roof was simply fabulous. The Memphis, Fela, and Million Dollar Quartet sections were simply forgettable. John Gallagher Jr singing Boulevard of Broken Dreams with the cast of American Idiot was energetic and almost touching until Green Day came onstage and made it a complete cliche.
Scarlett Johansson's win for Best Featured Actress in a Play for A View From The Bridge was certainly a surprise but it was well deserved and she gave a very gracious and eloquent speech. Eddie Redmayne was simply perfection in his speech for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Red as he spoke of the value of the performing arts in all of our lives and acknowledged his great mentor and co-star Alfred Molina.
Normally TONY performances make me anxious to see the new musicals, but the performances from Million Dollar Quartet, Fela, and Memphis were not the least bit enticing. Actually, I was much more intrigued by the package introducing the best play nominees. And for me to be more interested in a play than a musical really speaks to just how bad the quality of musicals was this year.
Katie Finneran is my new idol and she absolutely deserved the TONY for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Promises, Promises. Her speech was so inspiring and I felt honored that she chose to give advice to aspiring actors, telling us to follow our dreams and ignore everybody who tells us otherwise. Yes it sounds cheesy, but Katie was so sincere, and funny too as she thanked Kristin Chenoweth for lending her eyelashes for the evening. I basically expected Levi Kreis to win Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Million Dollar Quartet but I was really hoping for Bobby Steggert from Ragtime. Levi seemed unexcited about his win and was boring in his speech......next subject.
Christianne Noll's rendition of Back to Before from Ragtime was stunning and I only wished this show had lasted longer rather than the rest of the trash from this season that is currently running. On the opposite end of the female solo performance spectrum was Catherine Zeta-Jones with her performance of Send In The Clowns. I wanted so much to love the performance but she overacted it to the point that it became difficult to watch (and listen to). Her musical phrasing was a disaster and she held certain notes forever while barely giving value to others. Her head movements were distracting and she looked like she was seizing...enough on that trainwreck.
Viola Davis and Denzel Washington won the leading categories for Fences and while Davis seemed genuinely moved and thrilled, Washington looked like he would have rather been anywhere else and even forgot the name of The American Theatre Wing. Fences' win for Best Revival of a Play was no surprise and based on its sales, it seems that audiences adore it.
American Idiot's performance was much stronger without Green Day and I really want to see this show. I also forgot to mention the La Cage Aux Folles performance which I found energetic and entertaining. The audience interaction was priceless and this is another show I will be seeing in the near future.
Bill T Jones was totally deserving of the choreography award for Fela and I was happy to see anybody but Twyla Tharp win. Her work was so great in her earlier shows but it is really all starting to look the same and she seems to have lost her innovative spirit.
Don't get me wrong, I love Glee, but in my opinion a television show has no place on theatre's big night. Matt Morrison did give a stellar performance though, in All I Need Is The Girl, and I desperately want him to come back to Broadway. Lea Michele and Don't Rain On My Parade...those two things have become synonymous right? I wasn't sure if Lea was trying to audition for the upcoming Funny Girl revival with this performance or what because she looked like she was about to either kill twelve people with her daggers for eyes of if her head was actually going to explode. When you start out at a 10, there is nowhere to rise to in the climax of the song without looking like you are about to spiral out of control.
Oh, I've forgotten to mention some of Sean Hayes' funnier moments as host, from the major liplock with Kristin Chenoweth and his Bernadette Peters/Annie wig to his Billy Elliot tights and Spiderman costume. He really was fabulously entertaining and his great showing as host made up for his loss in his category.
Red wins Best Play! No explanation needed.
The funniest moment of the entire show for me was the presentation of Best Leading Actor/Actress in a Musical by Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane. The irony of the situation was uncanny as the pair, two of the theatre's brightest stars were not nominated. But they were great sports and it was a very memorable TONY moment. Maybe this will be the 2010 addition to my decade of favorite TONY memories? There were no surprises in these categories as Douglass Hodge won for La Cage Aux Folles and Catherine Zeta-Jones for A Little Night Music. Hodge is a class act and was charming in his speech. Zeta-Jones seemed absolutely floored when her name was announced, almost to the point where it seemed rehearsed. Thank god the awards are not based on TONY night performances or she wouldn't have had a chance, but I believe her performance in her show did indeed merit a win.
La Cage Aux Folles wins Best Revival of a Musical--we all expected it, and it probably deserved it as well.
Normally TONY night ends with a bang as Best Musical is announced. The category started off well with Bernadette Peters presenting, but the excitement soon fizzled as Memphis was announced. I can't say I was surprised but I would have loved to have seen a more innovative show take the night's top prize and would've been much happier with Fela or American Idiot.
As for the accuracy of my picks, I was correctly chose Redmayne, Davis, Finneran, Hodge, and Zeta-Jones in the performance categories, Grandage for direction of a play, and Bill T Jones for choreography. In the pre-broadcast, I had both of the lighting and scenic design categories correctly pegged, along with costume design of a play. And most importantly I was 4/4 in the big categories as Fences, Red, La Cage Aux Folles, and Memphis were all on my list.
In a word, the 2010 TONY awards were predictable. I love seeing a few great upsets and there really were none this year. Overall, it was a mediocre awards ceremony for a mediocre Broadway season with a few blips of pizazz from the Chenoweth/Hayes and Neuwirth/Lane sideshows.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Promises, Promises
The 2010 revival of Promises, Promises promotes itself as a musical comedy, which is exactly what it is—a fun night at the theatre. Written by legendary playwright Neil Simon, it is no surprise that this reads more as a play with music than a musical. This certainly is not a negative thing, simply a credit to how strong the plot is. The Burt Bacharach & Hal David tunes, while they certainly do not show off vocal virtuosity, are American classics and widely recognized. Sean Hayes makes his Broadway debut in the role of Chuck Baxter and it is about time. Hayes seems so comfortable on stage, making him perfect for this role where he breaks the fourth wall and frequently addresses the audience. He is so generous and personable that we feel that we know him by the end of the performance. His singing is less than spectacular, but we are willing to forgive that because he is so skilled as an actor. We sympathize with Chuck as he seeks to climb the corporate ladder and even get behind his less than moral strategy as he shares his bachelor pad with high-ranking executives for their extramarital affairs. We even pity Chuck when he cannot seem to get the attention of Fran, the office cafeteria hostess that he secretly loves. Always the good guy, Chuck eventually realizes that he would rather not have a job at all than work for a slimy, cheating boss and quits. The fact that he gets Fran in the end softens the blow.
Kristin Chenoweth plays the role of Fran Kubelik and the moment she steps on stage, she receives an incredible round of applause—her reputation precedes her. There is nobody that sings like Kristin Chenoweth and she knocks every number out of the park, even with the trachea infection she was experiencing during this specific show. She has fabulous acting chops too, but I just struggled to believe her in this role. My love for Kristin Chenoweth is very deep, she is my idol, we all know that. But there is just something to be said for the perfect marriage of a performer and a role and it simply did not happen in this case. She is so gifted and charismatic and it is truly a shame that she was not given a role worthy of her talent.
Katie Finneran in the role of Marge MacDougall is a firecracker, sending the show into the stratosphere for the two brief scenes that she is on stage. Finneran takes a huge risk in her portrayal of Marge as she tiptoes the fine line between unexpected hilarity and just plain over the top. She stays on the safe side because her character is so grounded and realistic. With her crazy antics, Marge seduces Chuck and is able to take his mind off of Fran. Finneran truly invests in this role and the audience believes everything that comes out of her mouth. From her dark red wig to her low, brassy voice, Marge looks nothing like Katie and this is truly a transformation.
I wanted terribly to fall in love with this production, I really did. After all it has all the right ingredients, praised source material, a sitcom actor, a phenomenal supporting cast, and not to mention my idol, but even with all of these assets, there is something missing. A running theme in all of my favorite musicals is a personal connection to a character or the story, but that simply did not happen for me in this show. I guess it was my assumption that with Chenoweth in the role, I would have an instant connection to Fran, when in actuality we have nothing in common. Even though nothing in the show pulled at my heartstrings, Promises, Promises is nevertheless enjoyable and entertaining and after all, is that not the reason we attend the theatre?m
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)