05/19/04
I was thrilled to see that five of the 10 performers that I mentioned in my last column did in fact wind up landing Tony nominations, but I still think that some important names were left off the list. While I won't bore you with my faves (regular readers of this column will probably know anyway), I will single out one little lady that seems to have been on everyone's minds over the last week. I'm speaking of course of Ann Harada, who was Snubbed with a capital "S" last Monday morning. If the Tony folks had recognized her razor-sharp work in Avenue Q, I truly believe she would have not only been a contender but the likely winner. (Here's another "what if" for that category: Had Laura Benanti recreated her Eileen from the Encores! Wonderful Town, I'm convinced she would have won!)
Speaking of Avenue Q, I think it's great that they've launched an aggressive campaign to try to trump assumed Best Musical Wicked, but I'm not sure of the specifics of their attack. They're asking voters to "vote your heart" with a catchy new tune by songwriters Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, but the fact is that both musicals have pulled the heartstrings of theatergoers. Nevertheless, I hear that Avenue Q's campaign has only just begun. The next few weeks should be very interesting!
DIVA WORSHIP
Since we last spoke, I got to see two of my favorite musical theater leading ladies show off their versatility to the delight of audiences. The Sunday before the Tony nominations were announced, I finally caught standby Laura Bell Bundy as Glinda in Wicked (Kristin Chenoweth was glittering and being gay in Candide). I've always insisted that Bundy wasn't given the proper chance to shine in the limited role of Amber in Hairspray, and it turns out that (phew!) I was right! She was a delightful Glinda--not getting the immediate reaction that Chenoweth does for her entrance but making up for it by turning in a performance that builds and builds as the show progresses. I was concerned about the age difference between the leading ladies (Bundy was just hitting puberty back when Idina Menzel made her splash in Rent), but Bundy is a polished performer who is wiser than her years. Hers was an effortless, crowd-pleasing performance--she made them laugh, she made them cry and, best of all, she made them jump to their feet during the curtain call. Who could ask for anything more?
Then there's Sutton Foster. What is it about this unassuming starlet that enables her to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders so effortlessly? First we all saw the then-unknown Foster at the center of Thoroughly Modern Millie, sparkling with a confidence that never once allowed us to question whether or not she had the star power to headline a multi-million dollar musical. Sure, getting up a new musical is hard work, but two years and a Tony later, I witnessed Foster take on a force more powerful than Ben Brantley--Mother Nature herself! It was the second of Foster's two American Songbook concerts and the lightning was blinding and a little terrifying through the floor-to-ceiling windows that surround the Kaplan Penthouse. Yet it was still impossible to take one's eyes off of Foster, looking gorgeous center stage as she delivered a thoroughly marvelous set of pop-flavored songs. She even took on a handful of technical glitches in stride--a loud electronic beeping, announcements from an out-of-sight walkie-talkie and a sound guy who missed a cue by about a minute (!). If I called myself a fan before, I may now be a disciple. This girl's got it--whatever the hell "it" is!
Oh, I almost forgot. Now that it's official, I'd love to officially congratulate Menzel for landing a role opposite Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek in the Robert Towne flick Ask the Dust, which she'll film over a few weeks in the summer in South Africa. All of you can stop e-mailing me now--this is the secret project that I hinted at back in March. Baby schmaby! Elfie's going to Hollywood!
OK, that's enough diva worshipping for the week, don't you think?
AND THE AWARD FOR MESSIEST AWARD CEREMONY GOES TO…
Can I vent for a minute about the amateurism of some of New York's theater awards in recent time? Last year, the people behind the Theatre World Awards (which nobly honors Broadway newcomers) accidentally named Fiona Shaw as a winner, not realizing that they'd already given her a prize six years earlier. Then we had that awful moment last month where the Outer Critics Circle Award nominators got two Latina actress who look nothing alike mixed up, snatching the nomination away from the always award-worthy Liza Colón-Zayas less than 24 hours after handing it to her. Just when you thought nothing could top that, there came Sunday night's Drama Desk Awards, which I chose to watch via a choppy webcast rather than from the cramped "press room" at the midtown high school where the awards are held. As we all know now, Joe Mantello was "accidentally" called to the stage as winner for his direction of Assassins when he really won for Wicked. Or so they say.
Am I suggesting that Mantello may have actually won for Assassins? Absolutely! After all, it's extremely un-kosher for an organization to send out a press release of winners for an awards ceremony to overnight reporters prior to the start of the show. It seems to me that the Drama Desk's accounting firm (which has a lot of explaining to do either way) would have their hands on the envelopes prepared for the show more than the press release, which is typed up by a freelance publicist for the ceremony. And telling all the major dailies that they were given the wrong information could jeopardize a lot of valuable relationships. But I'll stop with the conspiracy theories here--thankfully, it was Mantello either way, a fact that saved the Drama Desk a lot of, well, drama.
Here's hoping that all of the above named organizations can pull it together for next year's award season!
BRIGHT FUTURE FOR BRIGHT LIGHTS
Throw away those bootlegs, fans of Brights Lights Big City! Christmas will bring you something special: a real recording of Paul Scott Goodman's misunderstood rock and roll musical. After first presenting a reworked concert version of the flop 1999 musical at the Guggenheim last year, Sh-K-Boom Records and producer Kurt Deutsch are heading into the studio this weekend to commit the score to wax with original star Patrick Wilson singing the role of coke-sniffing hero Jamie. Although Wilson first hit the New York theater scene in the show, these days he's navigating the choppy waters of movie stardom, so far scoring a small screen hit (HBO's Angels in America), a big screen flop (remember The Alamo?) and a lead in one of the holiday season's biggest entries (The Phantom of the Opera).
Guggenheim holdovers Gavin Creel as brother Michael, Wicked standby Eden Espinosa as headline-stealer Coma Baby and Annmarie Milazzo as Jamie's doomed mom (a role she's played since early readings of the show) will also be heard on the recording. Lending some marquee value will be Tony winner Christine Ebersole, Rent and Law and Order star Jesse L. Martin, Richard Kind and new mom Sherie Rene Scott.
The CD will be in stores in time to stuff the stocking of your favorite musical theater fan. Then what? The bright lights of this big city's theater district? Time will tell!
IN BOX
Dear Paul:
What do you think about the two recent announcements of pop stars Joey Fatone and Joey McIntyre replacing roles on Broadway? Is this really something that's good for Broadway? I didn't see Fatone perform in Rent, but I did see McIntyre in Babes in Arms at Reprise! in Los Angeles, and I just can't help but think they could find someone a lot more talented to play Fiyero. As a fan of Wicked, I'm a little disappointed. It's not like they're having trouble selling tickets.
----Robert Bastron
----Los Angeles, California
Dear Robert:
I tend to not judge performers until I see if they've got the goods. I actually did see Fatone in Rent, and I have to say that he was one of the standouts of the company at the time. As for McIntyre, he was just terrific in tick, tick...BOOM! off-Broadway and it seems that he's stopped calling himself "Joe Mac," which is a plus in my book. I'm not saying that Fatone's going to be a genius Seymour for Little Shop of Horrors or that McIntyre will find new depths for the paper-thin character of Fiyero, but let's give them a shot, no?
Dear Paul:
Like you I was stunned to learn that the best song from the London version of Bombay Dreams, "Like an Eagle," had been sent to the trash heap for its Broadway version. For anyone who actually had the opportunity to see it across the pond, it was a real treat, and "Like an Eagle" was downright anthemic as it was the story's lifeblood, being weaved in throughout the course of the entire show. It encapsulated the hopes and dreams of someone who dared to dream big, and pull himself out of the depths of poverty to enjoy the taste of success. I was fortunate enough to see the London versions of both Bombay Dreams and Taboo--and then read the derisive reviews after they opened in New York with dramatically rewritten versions that differed from their highly successful U.K. cousins. I'm hard-pressed to understand why producers chose to mess with a good thing. With that in mind, I can't wait to see how they dare change Jerry Springer: The Opera for squeamish American audiences.
----Steve Loucks
----Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dear Steve:
We Americans know how to do everything better, don't we? As witnessed by the past season, clearly not. But then again, what do I know? Keep in mind--I'm the guy who did think that Brit David Leveaux pulled off Fiddler on the Roof! As for the shows you mentioned, you are absolutely correct. Although I didn't catch either show live, I have many friends that saw Bombay Dreams abroad and I experienced the U.K. Taboo on videotape. Although the British versions both seemed messy and a little random, it seems that they worked for whatever reasons. Of course, that doesn't mean that audiences here would go for the original versions either. Both shows dealt with cultures (British clubland and Bombay slumland) that are unfamiliar on these shores. As for Jerry Springer, it seems awfully American already, which may be why I haven't heard yet of major rewrites for Broadway. Keep your fingers crossed!
Dear Paul:
Maybe you can clear up some confusion. In the program for Bombay Dreams, it lists "Shakalaka Baby" as being performed by "Rani, Akaash and Ensemble." Yet, if you look in the staff section where it lists music credits, it states that it is sung by Preeya Kalidas (who, of course, originated the role of Priya in London). So what gives? Who actually sings it?
----Philip Vetro
----East Haven, Connecticut
Dear Philip:
The addictive song is indeed sung by Kalidas--the Broadway production uses a recording of "Shakalaka Baby" that is almost two years old. The program is confusing since it lists Rani, Akaash and ensemble as the "performers" of the number, which they are, even if they are lip-synching. I'm not sure why the producers didn't re-record the song with the Broadway performers, but then again they'd already spent $14 million on lavish physical elements of the production. Even on Broadway a penny saved is a penny earned.
Dear Paul:
This is a response to Andrew Cohen's e-mail in last week's column. I don't think that anyone should be allowed to deem anything "art" or "not-art." Granted that the scores and books like Mamma Mia!'s are not the most complex or require intense amounts of thought in order to grasp or process, but that's the beauty of it. For 2.5 hours you are free of deep thought and pressure to scrutinize something. I mean, nothing makes me happier than to sit in a dark theater for 2.5 hours, hear fantastic music performed by fantastic musicians and understand its meaning immediately. It's this immediacy and simple form that was driven into the musicals of the 1950s. They were written to take minds off the current events of that time, thus they weren't complex, and usually shared similar stories and themes; but they are still considered art. Why? Because art typically does not follow a definition, and it certainly isn't going to follow one's opinion because he: 'doesn't like a show.' Embrace it and appreciate for what it is worth, it may not be your favorite, but most definitely is someone else's. Remember, it is respect that keeps art alive, not fashion. Thank you.
----Digger Howard
----Cincinnati, Ohio
Dear Digger (Cool name!):
Thanks for your e-mail, but I think Andrew would probably agree with you for the most part as he was, in fact, responding to Marc Kudisch's comments on "art" in the first place. I try to stay out of debates about certain shows. If you like, then enjoy it! Just don't make me sit through it with you!
That's it for now. Talk to you next week. Please e-mail me any of your questions, comments or critiques!
Paul Wontorek
Editor-in-Chief
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