Thursday, November 18, 2010

THERE IS ONLY ONE BROADWAY: It's going to be a weird season on Broadway, because at least as of now, looks like we're going to have a surplus of new musicals, ranging from the arty (Scottsboro Boys), to the low-brow (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, the Parker/Stone Book of Mormon), to massive spectacles (Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, Wonderland), to a plethora of film adaptations (Sister Act, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, Catch Me If You Can). In contrast, on the play side, it already looks like most of the awards are locked down--with the massive critical and commercial hit of the transfer of Merchant of Venice from the park, you can place your bets safely now on Merchant for best play revival and Al Pacino and Lily Rabe picking up the top acting prizes come next spring.

That said, the "new play" contest is rather strange this year, with a bunch of stuff coming in with big stars--including Robin Williams in The Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Chris Rock in The M**********r With The Hat, and the winner for most bizarre visitor to Broadway this year--Dane Cook in Neil LaBute's Fat Pig. Very strange for these folks, since, given Pacino, they have little chance of winning a Tony, and the LaBute play is a surprise, since it had a run in 2004 off-Broadway with Jeremy Piven in the Cook part where it wasn't a big hit, and LaBute has had problems making a hit--despite solid reviews on reasons to be pretty, the show tanked.

27 comments:

  1. Has anyone seen Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson?  I'm going to be in NYC this weekend for the Army/ND game at Yankee Stadium and was going to hit up a Saturday matinee and was leaning toward finally seeing Avenue Q, but BBAJ looked promising as well.

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  2. Joseph J. Finn12:23 PM

    <span>The Mad Hatter With The Hat?</span>

    <span>The Monsignor With The Hat?</span>

    <span>The eMulsifier With The Hat?</span>

    <span>The Manurer With The Hat?</span>

    <span>The Marathoner With The Hat?</span>

    <span>The Mariner With The Hat?</span>

    Not sure where Chris Rock is going with this...

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  3. gretchen12:33 PM

    I have not seen it, but I have heard the music, which I love.  I just bought tickets to see it in a few weeks. 

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  4. I don't care what the other option is, see the goddamn singing puppets already.

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  5. I'm with Adam - see Avenue Q.  Totally worth it, and while I haven't see it at New World Stages, I'm sure it's even better in a smaller house. 

    I haven't seen Bloody Bloody yet, but everything I hear from friends is either love it or hate it, no in betweens.

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  6. From what I heard, reasons to be pretty didn't run very long, but it didn't totally tank financially because it was relatively affordable to run - small cast, simple sets.  Perhaps that's why producers are willing to take a chance with Fat Pig, although I'm surprised to see it getting a Broadway run as well.  I'll be curious to see who else they cast to bump up the star power.

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  7. at some point (next week?), we ought to build the ALOTT5MA Canonical List of Broadway Shows You Should Make Sure To See In Person Already -- Avenue Q, Urinetown (if revived), Guys and Dolls ...

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  8. The Other Kate1:34 PM

    I'm really looking forward to/crossing my fingers for Jerusalem, with Mark Rylance and Mackenzie Crook.

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  9. Anonymous1:49 PM

    I saw BBAJ right after it first transferred. I thought that it, like a lot of shows, would probably play better in a smaller house (I didn't get a chance to see it last spring at the Public). I thought the supporting cast was good, but I wasn't crazy about it. However, Avenue Q is always worth seeing, every chance you get. And as Sue said, it is probably even better in a smaller house.

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  10. Emily1:49 PM

    That Guest was me, sorry.

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  11. bella wilfer1:51 PM

    Bloody Bloody (full disclosure: created/directed by good friends of mine) is awesome, but it's DEFINITELY a love it or hate it situation.  I've also heard it might not translate as well to the bigger stage, but IMO for this crowd, any musical with a song that goes "Populism, yeah yeah" is going to be a "love."  (See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzs0CLXiqA8)

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  12. bella wilfer1:53 PM

    As for Fat Pig, I saw the version in LA where a then barely known (I believe it was right after his Princess Diaries 2 and Just My Luck stints) Chris Pine played the role Dane Cook is now stepping into and just KILLED it (for those who saw him in Farragut North, I assure you he was way better in this role).  I left thinking "yeah, I think that guy will be a pretty good Captain Kirk..."  

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  13. I saw Q in the smaller house this summer and had seen it at the Golden a few years ago.  The production is almost identical, though a couple of elements are downsized, and the projection screens used for a couple of transitions are kind of awkwardly located.  It's still a very good show, but the person they had doing the Princeton/Rod track was not terribly strong--it's a very difficult role, since you have two very different personalities to sing and act in with the puppets.  (And big shoes to fill--John Tartaglia and Barrett Foa were both excellent.)

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  14. Emily1:55 PM

    I saw Break of Noon last night--the LaBute play with David Duchovny and Amanda Peet. I thought the supporting cast was very good, including Peet, but Duchovny was awful. Awful.

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  15. Emily2:09 PM

    I'm not sure that Pacino is a lock for the Tony. He might be a favorite, and bway does love to honor stars for doing classics on the great white way, but I wasn't blown away by his performance this summer. I admit that I might have seen him on an off night; I heard that his performance varied wildly. The night I saw him he went off book several times and his speech patterns--frequent looooooong pauses in the middle of a phrase, for example--drove me crazy. I saw him in the reading of Salome years ago and that was a far finer performance, in my opinion. I did like Lily Rabe, though. Rylance will be nominated this year, and maybe twice based on the link posted by The Other Kate. I also agree that it is an oddly musical heavy year, especially considering that the past few seasons have had tremendous showings for plays.

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  16. Benner2:26 PM

    who goes off book with Shakespeare? 

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  17. Benner2:28 PM

    South Pacific, Carousel, West Side Story, Into the Woods, Phantom.  I'll see Secret Garden if it's revived because I know the piano score unnecessarily well.

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  18. gretchen4:16 PM

    I love, love, love The Secret Garden.  I wish they'd revive it on Broadway!

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  19. Emiy, how was the play itself?

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  20. slowlylu5:54 PM

    In my infrequent trips Stateside I was lucky enough to see The Secret Garden on Broadway. So, so good.

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  21. Emily6:59 PM

    I think the play could have been very interesting if they had cast a stronger lead. That being said, the scenes sort of repeat. Each supporting character meets up and interacts with the main character and each of them, in turn, have essentially the same response. I like that LaBute's works can be performed with a small cast and limited sets. And, as I said, the supporting cast was very good; each of them doubled parts and did a very good job of having their characters remain distinct. There was a long monologues at the beginning and end of the play. Each monologue could have been excellent, emotionally wrenching, and could have exposed a fascinating character arc and growth, if the actor had been different. There is potential.

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  22. Emily7:20 PM

    No one would have noticed if it was a production of The Winter's Tale, for example, because most people don't know the play (I would have noticed, but I teach WT every semester), but this is Merchant, this is Shylock, and Pacino has played the character before. It started in the first scene and he ad-libbed, badly (imagine some of our contemporary phrases and words just thrown in). I wish I was kidding. During Shylock's first scene a friend looked at me funny and said, "Is that Shakespeare?" I just shook my head and whispered, "No." Tangentially related: according to imdb, Pacino is set to star in a movie version of Lear.

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  23. Dan F7:34 PM

    You should go with "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson", because it isn't likely to be around all that long, unfortunately.  On the other hand, "Avenue Q" should run at New World Stages for a while.  (And it'll be joined next summer by a revival of "Rent"!)

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  24. Dan F7:35 PM

    <span>You should go with "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson", because it isn't likely to be around all that long, unfortunately.  On the other hand, "Avenue Q" should run at New World Stages for a while.  (And it'll be joined next summer by a revival of "Rent"!)">revival of "Rent"!)</span>

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  25. I don't really have anything substantive to say, but I love your Broadway posts, Matt. They make me feel connected to NYC even though I've moved away. I think I will make a return trip just for Merchant of Venice, though.

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  26. Genevieve12:01 PM

    I just . . . nothing has made me want to see Carousel.  Nothing.  I'm a giant musical fan, classics as well as new stuff, but I can't stand "You'll Never Walk Alone," don't tear up at all at "My Boy Bill," and cringe so much at the idea of a show where sometimes he hits you but it feels like a kiss.  

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  27. Genevieve12:04 PM

    Yes!  And this also makes me wonder what Daisy Eagan is doing these days.  (Last I heard, college -- good for her.)
    My roommate and I just about wore this CD out during law school.

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