Good luck!

… and this is going to be such a good season too! Don’t you want to review Sunset Boulevard, Hello Dolly, Anastasia, Sunday in the Park with George and War Paint?

Sorry. I’m still in the negotiating phase.

Take a bow, girls.

Ahaha. You two describing street fairs…

I will not go because I rarely go to anything farther from the city than Brooklyn. But I’m curious about Rags. It was one of the Playbills I found at the Flea.

The Grumpy cat thing reminded me… I met Tinkerbelle the dog at Holiday Inn. She didn’t sit near me but I saw her outside. I need to email you guys about it.

I saw Carolee while she was manning one of the tables at the Flea.

Yes to Emily’s mediocre/pure trash rant. It’s great that wonderful things are being produced but I am so tired of everything produced by or starring “minority” talent needing to be brilliant because it has to speak for and to the experiences of everyone in that group. It’s exhausting and a system set up so failure is the most likely option.

More public transportation talk. This is why I’m always running late. 🙂

I might go see Fiddler for Judy Kuhn.

I have a flask and two shotglasses from Doctor Zhivago that I don’t use and I have a Tuck Everlasting mug I bought at the theater because the design was just so cute and tied into the actual show. All my other merch is Flea merch. I felt a little silly buying Aladdin cups (like the ones they use selling refreshments) but they’re super useful because they’re covered. I like regular-sized mugs for a single serving size of tea or something. I already have plenty of 16-25 oz water bottles for water. I go through periods when I put things on walls. When it starts to feel cluttered I end up going back to bare walls but I’ve had to start putting concert posters up again after my dog had a moment a chewed up one of the posters I had rolled up and lying within reach.

I’m glad they recorded The Woodsman. More people should see it.

I listened to the OBC album. I just really don’t like the music for Cats. Maybe if someone gave me a ticket I would enjoy the camp of the stage show but I don’t feel compelled to see it.

I love when Emily gets fired up. And it wasn’t even 5 minutes into the episode.

I saw Fun Home once with the full original cast and once when Rebecca Luker stepped in and I feel satisfied with that.

I saw the other Sheen Center shows but I missed the Georgia Stitt concert. I’m sad now that I know Derrick Baskin was there. He was so good in Whorl Inside a Loop. And I’ve only sort of heard him sing in Rosewater. And I love Elena Shaddow. But I went to her recent 54 Below show and that was fantastic so I can’t complain too much.

I don’t think about it too much because it’s so stressful but yeah, if I thought about it I could remember a lot (if not all) of the times I’ve been late or almost late to a show. The only time I can remember really being that annoyed at the ushers flashing the flashlights around is when I went to see a concert at the New York Society For Ethical Culture. It was like a proper concert with two openers so people were showing up at all times but the venue looks like a church and there’s assigned seating… ugh, it was a mess.

I love this dream cast. Good job, Dylan.

I wanted to go to the American Psycho concert but I didn’t like the music in that show (or Spring Awakening that much) and I’m trying to be better about saving money so I can see people in the shows that I really want to see them in.

I like Sweet Charity. I know the score relatively well and I watched the movie. The movie drags a little but it’s very much worth checking out.

“I am here for the stories about ladies.” YES!

I didn’t see Finding Neverland. I had so much time. I thought about go to see one person or another in the show. But in the end, yeah, I was never motivated enough.

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).

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.

My high school has done quite a selection selections of musicals. Some shows I can remember vaguely, but mainly I can remember the shows they did from when the current director of the high school musicals started, which was 1999, till the current years since I graduated in 2009. Here are the shows:

1994/5? – The King and I (innaugural show in our brand new performing arts center where all the shows are performed now)
1997 – Hello Dolly!
1998 – Anything Goes
1999 – Fiddler on the Roof
2000 – 42nd Street
2001 – Once on This Island
2002 – West Side Story
2003 – Les Miserables (one of the first high schools to perform it and some students got to be part of the final matinee of the Original Broadway Production)
2004 – The Mystery of Edwin Drood
2005 – Damn Yankees
2006 – Godspell
2007 – Show Boat (The 1994 Revival Hal Prince Version)
2008 – Urinetown: The Musical (I was Caldwell B. Cladwell!)
2009 – A Little Night Music (I was Fredrik Egerman)
2010 – Brigadoon
2011 – Camelot
2012 – How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
2013 – Little Women: The Musical
2014 – The Secret Garden
2015 – Once on This Island (Only repeat in the history of this director’s reign)
2016 – Pippin (with a female Leading Player)
2017 – They’re doing She Loves Me

It still surprises and upsets me to remember that Shuffle Along has closed. I expected it to run for so much longer and of course I’m happy for the cast and all the opportunities they’ve been free to take advantage of in light of the premature closing but still… grrr.

I really only go to a matinee if I have a discounted ticket because (sometimes generalizations are accurate) it’s usually an older crowd that reacts to a play like a panto audience, gasping and talking.

I loved your conversation about memory. I definitely get where you’re coming from. I think it’s natural but it’s something that gets amplified/you have to acknowledge it more when you see a lot of shows. Frankly, a lot of times shows have little to no emotional impact on me now or I forget them very quickly once I leave the theatre. That’s also a quality issue but it is hard to hold the memory of even great shows in my mind.

My repeat experience that I somewhat regret was Fun Home. I appreciated seeing different actors in the parts but the first time I saw it was such a profound, emotional experience. And the second time I saw it I was just much more detached. Also, I enjoyed Emily objectifying the new Christopher in Curious Incident.

I want War Paint to transfer SO badly.

I missed The Taming of the Shrew. It was my own fault. I was lazy about waiting in line and I spent my nights off binge-watching Nashville. It’s good I saw The King and I three times because this was a bad weekend for me to try and see something. I also wanted to see Bright Star for a second time… and didn’t.

I need to go see The Color Purple again. I’m going to be very busy for NYMF. I’m not sure if I should go before or after.

Oh, that’s why you weren’t counting Hamilton.

Kristin is great casting for Velma. Though honestly, I still haven’t watched Grease or The Wiz.

I’m debating if I want to go back to An American in Paris to see Leanne Cope. Maybe if I hold out long enough Robert Fairchild will come back. Though I did like Garin Scribner. I didn’t love the story.

It’s sad that Fun Home is closing but I got to see it twice with the OBC and amazing replacements so I can’t complain.

Shuffle Along. WHAT IN THE HELL? I refuse to go along with the people saying this is “smart producing.” So many shows operate at a loss for months. I’m not even asking for that. But closing immediately after Audra is scheduled to leave? When they’re selling so well? Wouldn’t smart producing be to try to market the show in her absence? Now I’m going to have to go into intense planning mode to figure out when I can see it again. I feel like the people in charge didn’t even TRY.

This Ragtime sounds crazy amazing. Why is it invitation only? 🙁

We had some great supporting actors in revivals this year.

I feel like I don’t pay enough attention to wigs.

I could use some more exceptional props next year.

I think I would have to go with Shuffle Along for costumes and lighting.

Yes to Savion Glover.

Oh my God, if it had been Glenn Slater… (Let’s just say I’m not a fan.)

I’m not with you on Exceptional Book/Exceptional Adapted Book.

And now I really need to go see Waitress.

The Christian Borle’s Arms Shmazie Award. Cynthia. Yes.

There were some great breakout stars this year. Thanks for the reminder.

YES! Oh my God, the flying baby suitcase is a story I now tell everyone.

Gasp! Disaster beat American Psycho for NJ shade? I didn’t see it. I will never understand.

Exceptional Sasstress was very tough. I was like, who could beat Jeff Blumenkrantz? But yes, Church Ladies for the win.

I haven’t seen Fiddler so my vote would have been Cynthia for Real Tear Realness. Especially if you counted all my tears watching her. I need to go back to see Heather now.

Exceptional Sung Passage Actor/Actress is a great example of why I can think of so many divas and not as many actors that I would see a show for.

I love Exceptional Ensemble. I wish the Tonys had it. I appreciate the shout outs for Allegiance and Shuffle Along. I would have given The Color Purple Exceptional Ensemble Background Acting too. I feel like the ensemble was a little too distracting in American Psycho. That is, if you were paying attention to them in some scenes, it would be hard to focus on the dialogue or the characters center stage.

Yes to Sarah Charles Lewis, Theo Stockman, and Kyle Scatliffe!

I feel the same way about Sally Field in The Glass Menagerie as I do about Diane Lane in The Cherry Orchard and Liev Shreiber in Les Liaisons Dangereuses. A big actor I’m not really familiar with is doing a play I’m not really familiar with. I’d like to see them all if I can but I won’t be broken up about it if I miss them.

I know the movie of Little Foxes. I’m not sure about this casting. I don’t see it.

I feel like you can’t be freaked out about the possibility of gun violence or you will never leave your house. But we should be freaked out about how lax this country’s policies are and all of the cultures that propagate the crazy numbers of guns in circulation.

Best Costume Design of a Musical: I still really like the Gregg Barnes costumes but Shuffle Along was also doing a lot of good work. Though it had a similar problem to After Midnight and some other shows with dancing and big ensembles which is that sometimes the costumes looked a little cheap.

Best Costume Design Of A Play: Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Best Costume Design Of A Musical: Hamilton

Best Lighting Design Of A Play: A View From The Bridge

Best Lighting Design Of A Musical: Hamilton

Best Scenic Design Of A Play: The Humans

Best Scenic Design Of A Musical: She Loves Me

Best Book Of A Musical: Hamilton

Best Choreography: Hamilton

Best Orchestrations: Hamilton

Best Original Score: Hamilton

Best Featured Actor In A Play: Reed Birney—The Humans

Best Featured Actress In A Play: Jayne Houdyshell—The Humans

Best Featured Actor In A Musical: Daveed Diggs—Hamilton

Best Featured Actress In A Musical: Renee Elise Goldsberry—Hamilton

Best Actor In A Play: Frank Langella—The Father

Best Actress In A Play: Jessica Lange—Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Best Actor In A Musical: Danny Burstein—Fiddler On The Roof

Best Actress In A Musical: Cynthia Erivo—The Color Purple

Best Director Of A Play: Ivo Van Hove—A View From The Bridge

Best Director Of A Musical: Thomas Kail—Hamilton

Best Revival Of A Play: A View From The Bridge

Best Revival Of A Musical: She Loves Me

Best Play: The Humans

Best Musical: Hamilton

This is not who I think will win the Tonys but who I’m rooting for. I’m mainly sticking to shows I’ve seen.

Best Lighting Design of a Musical: I think Tuck Everlasting should have gotten a nod. I haven’t seen a lot of the nominees in this category so I guess I’ll pick AP, though it’s more “most” lighting design rather than “best” lighting design.

Best Costume Design of a Musical: I’ve fallen in love with Gregg Barnes’ costumes lately. She Loves Me could be better. I’m seeing Shuffle Along later this week.

Best Scenic Design of a Musical: She Loves Me

Best Original Score: Hamilton

Best Performance By An Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Danielle Brooks (though the only other performance I’ve seen in that category is Jane.)

Best Performance By an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Cynthia Errivo. Anyone else is UNACCEPTABLE.

Best Performance By an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Leslie Odom Jr. I haven’t seen a lot of performances in this category but he’s just so good on the cast recording.

Best Revival of a Musical: The Color Purple. Again, not a question for me.

Best Play: Eclipsed. I didn’t get The Father or The Humans at all and I didn’t see King Charles III. (By the way, thank you for recommending this play.)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Saycon Sengbloh. Megan Hilty is great but Megan needs to win for a musical. To me, it’s unquestionably Saycon’s year.

Oh, by the way, finally met Carolee at the Tuck Everlasting stage door. I get it now. I get it. She’s so nice. And her wig game is fantastic but her real hair is gorgeous.

Martin Charnin sighting. I didn’t say anything to him because the only thing I would have been able to muster was something generic about Annie he would have heard a thousand times before.

I feel like I went to Davenport’s website once to find something about Spring Awakening or Daddy Long Legs and already found it a little shady but I loved all your investigative reporting. 🙂

I don’t have strong feelings about the Holiday Inn casting but if I can make it work with my budget, I’ll probably get a Hiptix ticket. I don’t get Roundabout’s art. Aside from Noises Off, it’s like they don’t want me to have nice Playbills.

The cast is great but I’m not sure if I can sit through Something Rotten again.

I was supposed to see Alice Ripley at a concert but she dropped out. 🙁

I love the way you say “tour.”

It would be too difficult for me to do a top 5. I would have to split it up. Like, top 5 scores/albums. And top 5 shows I’ve actually seen. And top 5 experiences in the theatre because there’s a difference between a show that’s objectively and a show I subjectively give bonus points. Too stressful.

I will have more to say in the comments of the other episode but yes, Daniel and Marin played that scene where he pulls her in at the waist with the most sexual intensity, though I still think Hoon Lee and Kelli O’Hara had the most chemistry in that respect. And as an Asian American, I’m totally fine with The King and I. Well, mostly fine. No show is perfect.

I finally listened to the Cats album. I CAN’T. Not in a good way.

Yay, Elena Shaddow!

As of this moment, I know almost nothing about Falsettos. But that’s a great cast. I hope they have rush.

I loved Do I Hear A Waltz? It was the only ticket I bought this season and though it wasn’t perfect, I was so happy to see that whole show with all the songs in context. I’m most interested in The Golden Apple but I’ll consider the other two based on casting.

I have never shared a dreamcast on here before, but because that basically is all I do with my spare time, I figured I’d post some:

John and Jen:
John- Ben Platt
Jen- Carmen Cusack

The Drowsy Chaperone:
Man in Chair- Rob McClure
Janet- Jessie Mueller
The Drowsy Chaperone- Carolee Carmello (Singing As We Stumble Along!!!!)
Aldolpho- John Bolton
Mrs. Tottendale- Angela Lansbury
Kitty- Jen Cody
Gangster 1- Patti LuPone
Gangster 2- Mandy Patinkin

I wish I’d seen Lesli in Kiss Me Kate.

I want to see Julia Murney and Ann Harada in Mamma Mia so badly. Not as much as Kate Baldwin and Paolo Montalban in The King and I or Shoshana Bean in Funny Girl, but still.

Zhivago mention! I would have been interested in Kelli Barrett or Elena Shaddow as Anastasia but I’m more interested in whether they’re making all the right changes since they’re getting rid of the movie villain, etc.

I have no feelings about a Gypsy or Sunset Boulevard transfer.

I love that Bye Bye Birdie but mainly for Marc Kudisch and nothing else.

I finally listened to the Cats album. I have feelings. Almost all of them are negative.

I was really into Bradley Dean after that Secret Garden concert. I’ve now lost all interest in Paramour.

The Carolee Playbill quiz was so easy.

I could not afford tickets to The Wildness but I’m going to go see Sky Pony in concert. Everyone Will Die is my favorite song of theirs too.

I had to stop taping Jeopardy because it was clogging up the DVR and then I heard about the Audra category. Oh, well.

I love the movie Roman Holiday. I do not like the sound of this jukebox musical. You really should watch the movie though.

Oh, no! I’m about to go to L.A. for the first time. Hopefully, I’ll have a better experience.

I did not enjoy The Passion. I half-watched it. What I saw was enough.

So much “whispering” at Bright Star.

I want to see the Shoshana Bean Funny Girl SO BADLY. Take me on your road trip.

Please report back on Anastasia!

Everything that has happened with Patti Murin and everyone else weighing in about BWW has been a giant mess. I don’t think anyone looks that great coming out of it and it’s kind of affected my opinion of some actors. The message boards aren’t perfect but I’m grateful for a relatively active place where I can go to talk about theatre. I never would have found this podcast without that board. For me, the good far outweighs the bad. BWW is pretty tame as far as the internet goes. Matthew Murray has tweeted most of what I would like to say more articulately than I can in my current depressed mood.

https://twitter.com/MMurrayOnBway/

I love Crazy Ex-Girlfriend though I’m a little upset it took Santino Fontana away from a concert I was going to see him in. I remember Gabrielle in If/Then. LaChanze was out so Tamika covered and Gabrielle played the assistant.

MISS CONGENIALITY THE MUSICAL:
Stephanie J. Block as Grace
Carolee Carmello as Miss Sunshine (the Candice B. character)

9 TO 5:
Carolee Carmello as Violet
Alice Ripley as Judy
Annaleigh Ashford as Doralee
Lillias White or Ann Harada as Roz
Norbert Leo Butz as Franklin Heart

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG:
Andy Karl as Frank
Stark Sands as Charile
Alysha Umphress as Mary
Orfeh as Gussie
Nathan Lane as the Producer (I forget his name, but Gussie’s husband before Frank)
Laura Osnes as Beth

Random question for you ladies:
How do you store your Playbill and ticket stub collection and other theater memorabilia? I have collected a ton in the past 10 years that I no longer hold onto every playbill. I save my tickets in a giant stack in a box but I may need to get a bigger box soon. And I don’t really buy memorabilia anymore because I don’t want to amass more stuff or have the room to display them. Problems, problems.

Crazy coincidence! I also just saw The Woodsman. It was really lovely. I won’t say it wasn’t surprising but it was exactly what I wanted it to be. I only had two issues. One, I understand that they were going for a kind of Appalachian/folksy/Etsy vibe but I wish there had been more diversity in the casting because there’s no reason it couldn’t have worked. Maybe in future incarnations, when it’s not all the original people, they’ll have a more diverse cast. Second, I wish the ending was a little clearer and more resolved.

Oh, thanks for recommending Emily Dickinson: Paranormal Investigator. It was pretty fun. I really loved Poe and Helen. I wish there had been more… but I get that they had an hour and I was impressed with what they managed to do though the character of Emily was a little too stoic and obscured for me.

I still haven’t listened to 1776. Aside from the diversity issue, I have no idea how to feel about this cast in terms of voices/character/etc.

The Kate Baldwin concert was amazing and it was so great to meet you afterwards. I’m now inspired to listen to all the Michael John LaChiusa albums I’ve been putting off.

I really want to see Rebecca Luker again after that Secret Garden concert. I might have to go back to Fun Home.

I hope the secret project is a live concert.

The only thing I’m interested in from Papermill is The Bodyguard.

I liked Frozen when it came out but I recognize that it’s far from perfect. I hope they’re not afraid of making changes when it comes to the stage production. Also, someone suggested Betsy Wolfe as Elsa… YES.

Could Lin-Manuel Miranda write a role for Beyonce in an original musical? I agree she might be too famous for Broadway though. There couldn’t be stage doors. There just couldn’t. I’m just imagining all the things I hate… entrance applause, cheering over jokes and high notes, standing ovations… It could be a concert/one-woman show kind of thing like there used to be with Judy Garland and Barry Manilow.

I need to be saving money but I think I might get an Encores! Off Center subscription.

I didn’t really learn about Rent until the movie came out. I probably have kinder feelings towards the movie than a lot of people because it was my first exposure to that score but I still recognized its flaws.

How expensive are Hello Dolly tickets going to be? Do you think they’ll have a rush? Aside from Bette being cast, I have no strong feelings about the show. I watched the movie maybe two or three times many years ago.

I’m curious if Cats will be a big hit in this era of Broadway. I have no real desire to see it unless they cast amazing people I just can’t resist. I’m not a big Andrew Lloyd Webber fan aside from Evita. I’d probably see it for Nicole Scherzinger.

I am the opposite of excited for Nerds. Negative excitement.

Yes to Emily’s record company!

It would be great to see Kate Baldwin and Tony Yazbeck in their respective parts but I probably won’t have the opportunity to do so.

I went back to see Kecia Lewis in Mother Courage. I preferred Tonya Pinkins but under the circumstances, she gave a great performance. The drama was definitely an undercurrent throughout the evening. The most major change was that all the actors suddenly acquired “African” accents.

The opera house is huge, so if you can afford better seats I recommend it, but if you’re going for Kate (I am also going for her), just about any seat would be a good one!

I did not end up seeing any shows over the Christmas holiday. No real excuse. I was just feeling lazy. I did end up seeing Mother Courage though (not around Christmas) before all of this drama unfolded. It was not a very good production. Tonya Pinkins was by far the best thing about it. She is just a remarkable actress. The rest of the cast as rather uneven and the production was very flawed and quite dull. Forget the Congo. They failed at capturing even “vague Africa.” And with Duncan Sheik music? No.

If I discover a new singer or musical theatre actor I will listen to all of the albums on which they’re featured if I have the time. At the very least I’ll add those albums to my queue on Spotify.

I really enjoyed Ever After. I’m a big fan of the movie so that helped since they lifted entire passages of dialogue straight from the script. But it was also terribly charming. James Snyder was great. Christine Ebersole was great even though I didn’t like her songs. Mara Davi was good. Margo Seibert was a bit uneven but generally good. Tony Sheldon was adorable. I loved the gypsy dance number. I think it still needs to be smoothed out but if they can get it to that place, it would work really well in high schools in the vein of Once Upon a Mattress. Right now it has a split personality with a light children’s theatre side and then all these somber, overwrought ballads that don’t really amount to much. I did like the costumes but I didn’t love them as much as you guys. I still prefer the movie costumes.

Your Tom Hewitt interview was fantastic. I wish he was doing this upcoming 54 Sings Kiss Me Kate show with Lesli Margherita.

I am always going to regret not seeing Ruthie Ann Miles in Here Lies Love. I can’t wait to see what she does after The King and I.

I already have my ticket for Bright Star. All I needed to hear was Paul Alexander Nolan.

Thank you for going over the schedule Christmas week! 😀 Enjoy your holidays.

I have something to share. I was at an evening performance of The King and I recently and I looked a few rows behind me and there was a woman with a little white dog. I cannot confirm that it is the same dog that has been seeing On Your Feet and these other shows but he or she was very quiet and well behaved the whole time.

I had no desire to see The Color Purple (I was/am also planning to skip On Your Feet, Fiddler on the Roof, and School of Rock) but you’re making me want to see it.

I saw Miss Saigon but I was very young and I think we threw away the Playbill. The one time I remember actually seeing Lea Salonga perform, we happened to be in the Philippines and I saw her do Cinderella. It was magical. I wish she would do Fun Home here.

I’m conflicted about Miss Saigon coming back because I want to support large Asian casts but that show is really kind of racist. No, it’s super racist. And yet, I’m still attached to it because Lea Salonga and because for a long time I always thought about it as one of the very few parts I could ever get cast in as a lead. But yeah, really racist.

Your tangents are really fun. Talk about diets and periods all you want.

I need a clip of “Judith, when are you coming over tomorrow for bagels” so I can play it whenever I need a good laugh. That was amazing. I also love it whenever Patty sings.

The idea of Gotta Dance does not appeal to me but the cast and creatives are fantastic. Lillias White gave me a hug once. I may have cried.

I hate the Natasha, Pierre, etc. album but I would like to see it staged because so many people like it.

Speaking of not knowing how long a show is going to be… I saw Dada Woof Papa Hot tonight. (I enjoyed it for what it was. Though I think some of it felt a bit artificial, there were plenty of good moments.) Anyway, I knew going in that it was going to run about an hour and 45 minutes with no intermission. I feel like the ideal is that the you’re so caught up in the show that you don’t notice how long or short the running time is. But sometimes it helps to know how long you should settle yourself in for. But sometimes it doesn’t matter. Doctor Zhivago flew by. Wolf Hall Parts 1 and 2 felt a little long. Part 2 more than part 1.

I love Once Upon a Mattress. It’s a great score. The SJP version is the one I usually choose to listen. I feel like the lack of diversity would really bother me in this production. I can’t tell if you’re joking or not. You know they filmed a version of Once Upon a Mattress with Tracey Ullman, Carol Burnett, Matthew Morrison, and Zooey Deschanel, right?

The entire conversation about stage-dooring and fan-girling was fantastic.

I’m very interested to hear what you think of Once Upon A Mattress. It’s one of my favorite scores but my hesitation is that this production is really lacking in diversity.

Why do you hate Broadway.com? I love their vlogs.

Ellen Greene in Little Shop was AMAZING. I think I went on a different night because I didn’t notice any of that drama in the balcony. I really enjoyed Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance but I don’t think he’d make it 8 shows a week as a lead in a musical without more training.

Steven Pasquale was incredible in The Wild Party. Joaquina was very different from Idina but also great. I felt like a lot of the changes didn’t work. I agree it was just OK and Sutton Foster was kind of miscast but it was a fun night.

I loved Whorl Inside a Loop. I saw it twice. The first time I saw it, it seemed more problematic. The second time I saw it, I definitely thought through all the complexities of the show and its implications more. I feel like it was the best way for her (as co-writer) to tell their stories and make the audience aware of that remove without being preachy… and also returning that sense of authorship to those real men in the end. That is, because she was the writer I felt like it was a necessary framing device. I don’t think it was necessary to have a white character mediate the experiences of these men. Though maybe it was for some audience members. I don’t think you’re wrong to feel how you feel but I think it’s a show that rewards a second viewing because I felt similarly to how you felt the first time I saw the show.

As for the show provoking further action, there is nothing preventing you from taking further action to promote prison reform.

I really enjoyed Therese Raquin. It did feel long but I loved the staging and Keira Knightley gave a strong performance. Judith Light slayed me in act 2. I do like period pieces but it was surprisingly sexy and I think Keira Knightley was allowed to be odd in a way that she perhaps wants to be but doesn’t get to fully indulge in her film work.

Sylvia has an amazing cast. I don’t like the play very much but it made for a relatively fun night out. I am not surprised that it hasn’t caught on though.

I need to go see Allegiance.

I’m not planning on seeing Chicago again but they do need to fix up the Ambassador.

The Disaster! cast is amazing. I am the most excited for Rachel York and Faith Prince.

I see a lot of theatre. Really, I see so much theatre. And I have a great deal of respect for the kind of magic that can happen in a theatre. But sometimes you don’t get a cast album (I mean, one doesn’t get recorded) and you really want to listen to that score. Or sometimes you just want to hear every Elphaba sing Defying Gravity. Everyone listens to bootlegs.

I didn’t have as positive of a response to Ripcord. I thought it was fine. It went on a little too long for me. Both of the leading ladies were great and I also liked the actor who played the orderly (who was also good in Of Good Stock). But it wasn’t a very strong play to me. It felt like that kind of mid-range, comfort food Hallmark/Nancy Meyers movie I would never watch but with odd darkness that wasn’t explored well. And the reveals and most of the humor didn’t work on me. It felt very predictable.

I want an album but I don’t think I would really want to see it again unless I heard that they’d made significant improvements. I would see it in concert if I didn’t have to sit through any of the book.

Also, yes, Julianna Margulies is shockingly thin in person.

I think the Trip of Love Playbill is really pretty and it makes me miss when shows would do more than these quick, awkward photoshops and boring title treatments. I really enjoyed seeing Trip of Love, partially for the wrong reasons, but also because I thought the majority of the performers were very talented. I agree that it doesn’t make sense but I’ll recap the “plot” for you if you want. I’ve seen it twice. Oddly, since I knew what was coming, it seemed more like a real show the second time. Hearing your recap helped me recapture the madness of seeing it the first time so thank you for that. 🙂

After listening to the past few podcasts, it seems you girls love some Rachel York! I love her too and I wanted to tell you that a few years ago she came to Philadelphia (my home) and played Anna Leonowens in a regional production of The King and I at The Walnut Street Theatre. I just wanted to hear your opinions on her in that role and if she wasn’t attached to “Disaster!” would you like to see her as a replacement in the Broadway production? Thanks!

I hope this info is useful. Luv your shows, hire me to do your stats 😉 Just kidding, make me an intern!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_TCh3a-NZs

http://www.sh-k-boom.com/clinton-the-musical-original-cast-recording

Who would you dream cast?
Obviously Audra McDonald would make a great Diana.

I love your videos and podcasts so much, I always respect your opinions, and normally agree with them. I wanted to tell you that Memphis in Philadelphia is not a non equity tour, it actually isn’t a tour. It’s a profession regional production at The Walnut Street Theatre (America’s oldest theatre.) The playbill had denotes at the end of each cast members name marking if they were equity or not and I counted, 20 out of 24 cast members were equity. I’m from Philly and I saw it about 5 weeks ago. Just thought I’d tell you. The show was absolutely incredible and I wish you could have seen it! Again, love the videos, you two never fail to make me laugh. 🙂

Neil Devlin

Piper: Annaleigh Ashford or Betsy Wolfe
Alex: Krysta Rodriguez or Lena Hall
Red: Faith Prince
Crazy Eyes: Uzo Aduba
Taystee: Danielle Brooks
Big Boo: Lea DeLaria
Larry: Jason Biggs (If he can sing)
Morello: Sierra Boggess
Nichols: ?
Vee: Lachanze?

There are so many characters in the show, so I just did these few off the top of my head. Feel free to add to the list and critique!

Thank you so much for coming to my show and for your very kind words! I’m honored. You guys are hilarious.

xoxo

Migguel Anggelo

Charge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rctalHqsYHE

In the Spirit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX8zeUBHcX4

So I have the movie Emily was scared of with the black cloud that is terrifying. It is called Little Nemo. I ky remember because, like Emily, I was TERRIFIED by that movie. And there is a HUGE ASS BLACK CLOUD that sucks up everything. Once Emily described it I knew. Hope this is helpful!! Love you ladies.

Jimmy (operajimbo91)

I was wondering if you agree with me that there should a musical adaption of Hercules (The Disney Version)
I have a good dream cast!…I think!

Will Chase as Hercules
Aaron Tveit as Hercules as a Teen
Raul Esparza or Josh Gad as Phil
Laura Benanti as Meg
Will Swenson as Hades
Terrence Mann as Zeus
Carolee Carmello as Hera
LaChanze (Reprising her role), Keke Palmer, Anika Noni Rose, Patina Miller, Jennifer Hudson as the Muses!
The Henchmen as ?

Love you both!!

What was the first Broadway show you ever saw?

What’s it like being back in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre after doing The Addams Family? Are you in the same dressing room?

Will there be a Lestat recording?

Did you see the Parade concert? If so,did you enjoy Laura Benanti’s portrayal of Lucille?

What was it like getting to work with Kathie Lee Gifford for almost 10 years?

and last,but definitely not least,…
IS TUCK COMING TO BROADWAY!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Thank you 🙂

Is there any particular roles you’ve always wanted to play?

Favorite Schmackary’s cookie?

First Broadway show you saw?

Favorite TV Show?

Thanks ladies and hope to see you in your next projects!

•Lenny Kravitz as Coalhouse Walker,Jr.
•Beyoncé Knowles as Sarah
•Amy Adams as Mother
•Donal Logue as Tateh
•Jeremy Jordan as Mother’s Younger Brother
•James Corden as Father
•Bill Murray as Grandfather
•John Allyn as Edgar (The Little Boy)
•Ava DeMary as The Little Girl

Cameos
•Amanda Seyfried as Evelyn Nesbit
•Fred Weller as Harry Houdini
•Christine Baranski as Emma Goldman
•Benedict Cumberbatch as Henry Ford
•Terence Stamp as J.P. Morgan
•Colman Domingo as Booker T. Washington
•Jason Schwartzman as Stanford White
•Taran Killam as Harry K. Thaw
•Donald Sutherland as Robert Peary
•Seth MacFarlane as Charles S. Whitman

Hope to hear some of your opinions on these in a podcast!

•Billy Madison – Rob McClure
•Veronica Vaughn – Megan Hilty (his 3rd grade teacher)
•Brianna Madison – Shirley MacLaine (in the movie,it is Billy’s dad that runs the business,but because films are cliché and always make the man a millionaire,I’ve decided that it would be Billy’s mom that I thought up by myself.And,what’s worst,she’s probably dead in the movie.)
•Eric Gordon – Topher Grace (the “businessman” who wants to run the company once Billy’s mom (or dad in the movie) retires.The villain,of some sort.)
•Principal Max Anderson – Wayne Knight (the principal of the elementary school)
•Frank – Ryan Steele (one of his friends)
•Jack – Jason Gotay (one of his friends)
•Juanita – Felicia P. Fields (the maid)

•Music and Lyrics:Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman
•Book:Adam Sandler and Tim Herlihy (They both wrote the script to the original movie.Hopefully this is the one show that is based on a movie that has a good book.Examples of shows who got the screenwriter to write the book:Patricia Resnick for 9 to 5,Woody Allen for Bullets Over Broadway,Sylvester Stallone for Rocky,etc.)

•Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical
•Miss Saigon – The New Revival
•Cats with Nicole Scherzinger
•King Kong The Musical
•Kiss of the Spider Woman with Audra McDonald
•Sunset Boulevard with Donna Murphy
•New Alan Menken projects:Happy Trails (a Roy Rogers musical), Corrina,Corrina The Musical and Mrs. Doubtfire The Musical

Thanks 🙂

Also,a few notes on Sunset Boulevard:
•Joe is a struggling screenwriter who is trying to make it big in Hollywood
•Max is Norma’s ex-husband who is now her butler.
•Betty is Joe’s love interest who is also a struggling screenwriter and is engaged to Artie Green
•Sheldrake is a producer on the lot everybody works at and is a huge douche to both Joe and Betty
•Joe and Norma are NOT sleeping together.Norma falls in love with Joe,but Joe is somewhat of a douchebag who decides to leave Norma.
•If you two have iTunes (which you probably do),I suggest you download the cast album.There are to main ones:The Orginal London Cast with Patti LuPone or the American Premier with Glenn Close.
•The musical is known for its many lawsuits,the first one by Patti LuPone,who was promised the lead in the LA Cast by was rebuffed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and the second one by Faye Dunaway who was supposed to replace Glenn Close but was vocally challenged and couldn’t sing the part.
•The show is a “flop-hit”,meaning that since it was a huge production,it had high running costs (like Ragtime) and had to make a lot of money for those costs.It never actually recouped its investment and closed after a surprising 3 year run.

That’s all you need to know about Sunset Boulevard.

Thanks for mentioning me on your podcast and I hope to reply to another soon.

Yours truly,
Ben

Favorite Andrew Lloyd Webber musical?
Favorite Stephen Sondheim musical?
Favorite Jason Robert Brown musical?
Favorite Divine Mother Carolee performance?
and last,but not least…a dreamcast for a future revival of Sunset Boulevard

Norma – Donna Murphy
Joe – Stephen Moyer
Max – Anthony Warlow
Betty – Jessie Mueller
DeMille – Jim Borstelmann
Artie Green – Phillip Spaeth
Sheldrake – Matthew Hydzik
Standby for Norma – Kate Baldwin

Thank you so much for making laugh for the last 3 years.If I ever had a Schmazie award for you two,it would be the Schmazie Award for Most Awesome Theatre Lovers on the Internet.I hope you two have a wonderful Spring and I hope to still see you two on YouTube when I’m 50.

Thanks,
Ben

Hocas Pocus: The Musical

Winnie: Carolee Carmello OR Patti LuPone
Mary: Mary Testa (Obviously)
Sarah: Annaleigh Ashford OR Laura Osnes (A part that is NOT a typical Laura role)
Max: Darek Klena
Alison: Lindsay Mendez (Let Klendez live on!)
Dani: Lilla Crawford (?)
Billy: Anyone Really
Thackery: A Julie Taymor Puppet

Music & Lyrics by Alan Menken
Book by Douglas Carter Beane

I know the casting might not be spot on age wise, but I think it could work.

Miss Congeniality: The Musical

Gracie Hart: Stephanie J. Block
Music & Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe

I really don’t know who to cast as the others.

Also I found this on the YouTube awhile ago and I finally have people to share it with! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8LkUIKBIHc

Also could you give your thoughts on You Can’t Take It With You? I absolutely loved the current revival and was curious to hear your opinions.

Thanks for a great podcast! I look forward to it every Monday!

First off, I just have to say I love your show. It’s one of the highlights of my week listening to “Listen with Patty and Emily” on my iPod to and from work.

I loved your idea of the Jumanji musical and your casting desicions! I think it’s brilliant beyond brilliant. So what do you think of this dream cast for The Help?

The Help
Based on the book of the same title by Kathryn Stockett.

Aibileen Clark – Audra McDonald
Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan – Jessie Mueller
Minny Jackson – Da’Vine Joy Randolph
Celia Foote – Laura Osnes
Hilly Holbrook – Laura Benanti
Charlotte Phelan – Allison Janney (reprising her role from the film)
Elizabeth Leefolt – Lauren Worsham
Stuart Whitworth – Ben Platt
Elaine Stein – Kate Baldwin
Johnny Foote – Jeremy Jordan (to reunite him with Osnes from their Bonnie and Clyde days)
Constantine Bates – Leslie Uggams
Mae Mobley Leefolt – Emily Rosenfeld

It’s a work in progress, but what do you think? Also:
What show are most excited to see in the spring portion of the 2014-2015 season?
For Patty, which Mother from Ragtime is your favorite? Christiane Noll or Marin Mazzie?
For Emily, if you could pick any pair of actresses to be Daisy and Violet Hilton in another revival of Side Show, who would those actresses be?

Thank you ladies for your amazing channel!
Jimmy aka operajimbo91

Come back to see any of our shows.

Regards
Georgina Escobar

PS. I’m still waiting for the call from NBC.

Keep making wonderful videos ladies!

My review – http://paramusmusical.blogspot.com/2012/09/mr-f-reviews-chaplin.html