07/30/04
The weeklong cruise will still set sail on July 10, 2005, but from New York harbor again rather than the previously announced Boston. The reason for the switch is the boat. Rather than cruising on Holland America's ms Maasdam (which holds almost 1,000 less travelers), R Family has chosen to once again charter Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Dawn, the same glorious liner that took me on my Caribbean getaway. The northern destinations remain the same: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Boston, Martha's Vineyard and gorgeous Provincetown.
In my account of the first R Family voyage last week, I tried to keep my comments about the actual boat to a minimum, as I knew that the 2005 cruise was being planned for a different ship and the real attraction for me was the amazing group of passengers and talented theater folk that were onboard. However, now that O'Donnell has let the cat out of the bag about the Norwegian Dawn, let me take a moment to gush! The boat was a sight to behold. Comfortable, well-appointed staterooms, nine restaurants with eat-when-you-want dining, a three-story Broadway-sized theater, a movie theater, a casino, a basketball court, a full-service fitness center... Oh, and that amazing spa with the indoor pool and hot tubs... It truly must be seen to be believed.
Will the boat be filled with Broadway stars again next year? You bet! See you there? Book now and save. Visit www.rfamilyvacations.com for more info.
SUMMER OF THE FROGS
To win a Best Picture Oscar in Hollywood, the rule of thumb is to open your movie at the end of the year, but is there any correlation for the Tonys? After May baby Nine trumped December arrival Dreamgirls back in 1982, everyone started to open their musicals on the last possible day to be fresh in Tony voters minds. But what about now? In the past two seasons, the Best Musical Tony has gone to shows that arrived in the dead of the sweaty New York summer--Hairspray and Avenue Q--making it the suddenly hot time to book an opening.
But what about Summer 2004? Beyond the fledging revivals of not-quite classics (After the Fall, Sight Unseen), all that theater fans have had to chat about are Nathan Lane's reworking of Stephen Sondheim's The Frogs at Lincoln Center and the goings-on at Dracula, which has attracted the attention of plenty of blood-thirsty flop cultists with its rehearsal-period cast change and delays. Will the skilled creative team and company pull this one off and not follow in the footsteps of Dance of the Vampires? Time will tell.
As for The Frogs, I for one was excited to see something so ambitious in a time where audience are trained for mindless fluff. Sure, even in its trimmed down form (the first preview was rumored to be over three hours), the show felt a bit overlong, but it was full of good ideas, terrific Sondheim songs (seven new ones!) and a knockout cast of clowns led by Lane in a confident, funny turn as the Dionyses, the god of wine, mysteries and the theater. (“Nathan is the god of wine and drama,” director/choreographer Susan Stroman cooed on opening night. “He had to play the part!”)
At the opening night celebration at the nearby Tavern on the Green, Lane arrived promptly and spoke of his high-flying role, which requires him to bungee jump 30 feet in the air at one point. “Susan and I first went bungee jumping in Jersey,” he revealed. “It's a good place to start cause no one will see you!” Lane pointed out that flying like a frog is a lot of fun, but the harness is, uh… well, I'll let him tell it: “It grabs you in your private areas. That's where it's holding you. That's where all the tension is. You have to get used to it. It's like two midgets squeezing your balls. That's what it's like!”
Burke Moses appears in the show in little more than a loincloth in the 12-minute role of Herakles (a.k.a. Hercules) and expressed similar concerns: “I got together with [designer] William Ivey Long to talk about the costume and he showed me a gold lamé thong to wear and I just looked at him and said, ‘No.'” Moses said that he and Long finally agreed after a bit of compromise. “I wanted a big beard and they wanted me to shave my body,” he told me. “They didn't want a big beard and I wanted to keep the hair on my body. In the end, I got the beard and I shaved my body. It all worked out just fine!”
Funny man Roger Bart, who reunited with Producers cohorts Lane and Stroman at a moment's notice to replace Chris Kattan as the show's second banana, was still recovering from vacation iterruptus. “A week and a half ago, I was on Martha's Vineyard with my family minding my own business,” he remarked. “If you're ever out of work, go on vacation! Within 24 hours, you'll get a job!” As much as he enjoyed his come-and-go run as both Carmen Ghia and Leo Bloom in The Producers for three years, Bart is basking in the political tone of The Frogs: “As much as The Producers was a wonderful opportunity for people to come and just be taken away to a land of smart, goofy comedy, there's something fun about doing this because it has real meaning for all of us while we're trying to wrap our brains around everything that's going on.”
The Frogs runs though October 10 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. Click here for tickets.
CLICK HERE FOR BELTING!
Broadway, meet the Labbadia Sisters! Two Connecticut girls—Melissa is 15, Jessica is 12--the Labbadias are aspiring musical theater performers. Or at least, that's what I'm picking up from their website (!), which features audio clips of Melissa belting out “My Strongest Suit” and the girls teaming up for “In His Eyes” from Jekyll and Hyde and Wicked's “For Good.” Speaking of Wicked, there's amazing video of Melissa and Jessica performing the entire “Defying Gravity” scene that ends Act One of the show. All dolled up for a voice recital, Melissa (Elphaba) in is black and Jessica (Glinda) in white—get it? They even have two well-dressed boys standing in for the Oz guards! Wicked fans and fans of big belters (in other words, all of you!) need to check this out! Bravo, ladies!
THIS AND THAT
- Rescue Me, the searing new FX series about New York City firefighters living in the aftermath of 9/11 is a critical hit and a great new vehicle for theater stars! Joining producer/star Denis Leary in the firehouse are Take Me Out lead Daniel Sunjata as the cocksure one, Man of No Importance's Steven Pasquale as the dim one and Michael Mulheren of The Boy from Oz as one of the fire chiefs. Two episodes in, I'm completely hooked.
- You know that photo that's been floating around the web of Dance of the Vampires survivor Max von Essen naked on a stool holding just a sheet over his privates? (“Floating” isn't exactly accurate as it's smartly featured on www.maxvonessen.com!) Well, anyway, it's from a photo shoot for the musical Dorian, the musical version of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, that he's been attached to star in for years. Now I've just learned that von Essen will headline the upcoming West Coast Premiere of the show at The NoHo Arts Center in North Hollywood. Congrats Max!
- Douglas Sills, who really should have gotten a little more respect (and a Tony nom!) for bringing down the house over at Little Shop of Horrors every night, just landed a fun new role! I hear he's joined the cast of Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, the sequel to Rob Schneider's 1999 comedy Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo. I don't know much about his role, but wouldn't Sills make a fetching gigolo (or "man whore" as Schneider likes to say)? Currently shooting in Amsterdam, the film should be out in April 2005, just as the star is opening as King Arthur in Spamalot. Thanks to his Gigolo duties, Sills had to pull out of Macbeth, which he was set to star in opposite Kelly McGillis at The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. Replacing him is Paige Davis' hubby Patrick Page, now on hiatus from the role of Scar in The Lion King.
IN BOX
Dear Paul:
Long-time reader, first-time writer here! Congrats on the kickin' column. Just wanted to drop you a line to say that Rosie's cruise looked like a wicked good time! It was great to see the Taboo cast back together again. Taboo was one of the shows I was most looking forward to from last season. This season, I'm mostly looking forward to Spamalot. (Tim Curry is, after all, a stone fox.) What are your thoughts on the prospects for this show? It seems like every show I look forward to this much ends up a flop (Taboo, Dance of the Vampires and now my beloved Little Shop... Don't get me started). Thanks for your kind attention, and keep up the sassy column!
----Michael Ettannani
----Garden City, New York
Dear Michael:
Where do I begin? First of all, thanks for finally writing to say hello! Spamalot, huh? I'm withholding judgment on this one for now if you don't mind. You didn't ask, but I'd probably have to choose Dirty Rotten Scoundrels as the show I'm most looking forward to next year, as it boasts a killer cast and the genius of songwriter David Yazbek. I may even fly out to the Old Globe to take a sneak peek at it next month. Thanks for writing. I hope I answered your questions, although I'm not really sure you had any!
Dear Paul:
It looked like you had a terrific time on Rosie O'Donnell's cruise. Thanks for letting me live vicariously through you. You mentioned Julia Murney, and it got me thinking. That girl's never been on Broadway! What do you think would be the ideal show for her to make her debut? (I guess we have to talk revivals!)
----Joey Sellis
----Columbus, Ohio
Dear Joey:
Oh man. I don't even know where to begin, so I'll stick with the first thing that came to mind. Don't you think that Murney--probably the most photographed non-Broadway star on Broadway.com!--nailed the role of Florence Vassey in last year's Actors' Fund Chess concert? Yeah, so do I. I'll go with that!
Dear Paul:
I just wanted to drop you an e-mail to let you know that I think your column friggin' rules. At a time when a lot of people are writing a lot of negative sh*t about theater, it's refreshing to read someone who clearly loves New York theater and can write so entertainingly (and eloquently) about it. I also have a question- if you could pick someone to play you in a musical, who would it be? (I'm a student at NYUTisch's Musical Theater Writing Program and I'd like to offer my services, so after you pick someone to play you, I'll write a show about you for them to be in. Clearly it would be called the "Wontor-ical.") Rock on, Paul Wontorek.
----Joe Iconis
----New York, New York
Dear Joe:
Thanks for your amazing note--it's probably one of my favorite letters to the editor yet! You're gonna write little old me a musical? I'd love to see how that would turn out. Anyway, on to casting. I asked some friends and a few people in the office and the following names came up: Christian Borle, Gavin Creel, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michael C. Hall and John Lithgow. Hmm. Well, Borle has the sense of humor, Creel has the hair and Lithgow certainly knows how to play a Broadway columnist. Still, I'm going to take the advice of Broadway.com Managing Editor Beth Stevens, who chose Hugh Jackman, simply “to guarantee that the show would be a hit.” That works for me.
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
For an archive of old Stage Note columns, click here.