Patty & Emily discuss theatre on TV this week with the Hamilton documentary and Rocky Horror Picture Show. They also go over the stories of the week, including Donna Murphy as Dolly Levi, upcoming shows Groundhog Day, Bandstand, and 13 Going on 30, and the controversy over at Great Comet.
Patty & Emily
Comedy and Opinions from Two Broadway Fans!
Hi Patty and Emily!
I sent my high school musicals last week and to answer some questions:
1. My high school was Middle Township High School in Cape May Court House, New Jersey. Great arts program, and Urinetown was my favorite theatrical experience and everyone loved it. It was also where I met my future step sister, who played my daughter Hope Cladwell.
2. Yes, it is weird that after A Little Night Music that they did Brigadoon and Camelot, but that’s only because the director picks the shows based on her talent, especially with the junior and senior class, and it just so happened that year those shows catered to the talents of the junior and senior class. That’s also why she picked Little Women in 2013, because she had 4 senior girls that were perfect for the March sisters, and their Jo was fantastic.
3. Surprisingly, our production of A Little Night Music had only like a handful of really sexual lines cut and “Liaisons” shortened for time. Other than that, people loved it and thought we handled the material very well.
4. The only year the high school musical theatre department had some lash backs (which was ridiculous because the former, overly religious band director was going after the musical director, ever since he was fired for the same abusive crap, very much like out of the film Whiplash, crap he pulled for over 15 years) was the year they did Pippin. It made all alumni go, “Where was this fight back and lash back when we did A Little Night Music (sex), Show Boat (talks of racism and miscegenation, alcoholism), West Side Story (gang violence/rape) or Les Mis (whores and violent deaths on stage)??” . There are a couple of articles about it, including 1 on the New York Post, which actually was not great, obviously. http://nypost.com/2016/04/04/parents-who-censor-high-school-theater-are-morons/
http://www.capemaycountyherald.com/news/education/article_36a331d4-ed41-11e5-af76-37fa1ff2f075.html
But anyway, thanks for mentioning me on your show. Love your thoughts and opinions when I am on my commute for work.
These were the musicals my high school did when I was a student there:
2005 (9th grade): Brigadoon
2006 (10th grade): Guys & Dolls
2007 (11th grade): Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
2008 (12th grade): Into The Woods
I was a member of the ensemble for Brigadoon and Guys & Dolls, worked on the prop crew for Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and played one of the Narrators in Into The Woods (our director expanded the role from one Narrator into six Narrators so that more kids could participate in the show).