HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2010! BRINGING YOU A THEATRE REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL TOUR OF WHITE CHRISTMAS...AND SO MUCH MORE!
THEATER REVIEW: Kentucky Center's White Christmas
By CHARLES WHALEY
Here’s a gladly received holiday package arriving at the Kentucky Center a few days after the day itself, but only a curmudgeon would hold that against this sparkling version of “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.”
This magical recreation of the classic 1954 film starring Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney comes with Stephen Bogardus (the Crosby part) and Kerry O’Malley (the Clooney part) in the roles they created in the Broadway original cast.
And as an extra added attraction there’s Lorna Luft, Judy Garland’s other daughter, taking the Kentucky Center stage on which Liza Minnelli did her pre-Broadway show not many months ago.
Luft is a perfect fit for the sardonic Martha Watson, concierge at the Vermont inn owned by the gruff much-loved general (Barry Flatman) of World War II veterans Bob Wallace (Bogardus) and Phil Davis (David Elder), now song-and-dance headliners on the Ed Sullivan Show.
The guys meet and match up with Betty (O’Malley) and Judy Haynes (Megan Sikora), who have a sister act, and wind up with them at the inn at a time when snow hasn’t fallen and no one else is checking in.
Misunderstandings keep romance on tenterhooks, and the general is in danger of losing his inn. But the day gets saved in typical musical comedy fashion.
Snow (or a reasonable facsimile) falls on the Kentucky Center stage and even on the audience in this slick, good-looking production with flashily costumed singers and dancers cavorting to the title song and “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.”
There are spectacular ensemble dances to “I Love a Piano” (led by Elder and Sikora) and “Let Yourself Go” (led by Bogardus and Elder).
Bogardus and ensemble also offer a showstopping “Blue Skies.” routine.
“Sisters,” sung first by O’Malley and Sikora, gets an amusingly camp reprise by Bogardus and Elder.
Luft’s big number is “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy” with some of her top hat and cane moves being reminiscent of her mother. She’s also terrific in “Falling Out of Love Can Be Fun” in a trio with O’Malley and Sikora.
In her soulful “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me” solo set in a swanky Manhattan nightclub (the show’s sets and costumes are gorgeous) O’Malley sounds at times like Clooney, for whom Irving Berlin wrote the special song.
A charmed audience didn’t hesitate when invited at curtain’s end to join in a “White Christmas” singalong with the cast of this nostalgic PNC Broadway Across America show.
Charles Whaley is a longtime theater reviewer in the Louisville metro area.
He has reviewed stage productions for The Courier-Journal, totaltheater.com, CurtainUp.com, San Francisco Bay Times and The Sondheim Review.
A Musical About Holly Woodlawn
By Michael Musto in Featured, theater
It's coming to an off-Broadway theater near you, mamacita.
I hear the show has been authorized by the campily funny Andy Warhol superstar herself, and it will be co-written by Penny Rockwell (Sam's mother) and will costar downtown favorite Brandon Olson as fellow
drag icon Jackie Curtis.
I think it's a guy named Lance Cruz who's cowriting and starring as Holly.
Those of you who love Trash--Holly's most famous Warhol movie--should be wetting yourself over this news.
Bob Mackie - A Talent for Theater
Bob Mackie staged a few triumphant New York Fashion Week shows, bowing out with a razzle-dazzle fall/winter catwalk salute to Broadway in 2002. It was an ebullient show after a long decade of pared-down minimalism and dainty romantic chic, but what really came through was Mackie’s love of the theater.
“When I was a kid, if you wanted to be a costumer, then you wanted to be a costumer for a big Broadway show,” he says.
He succeeded, designing costumes for such productions as Lorelei with Carol Channing, On the Town with Bernadette Peters, and Moon Over Buffalo with Carol Burnett.
In a production of Blue Suede Shoes with an Elvis Presley soundtrack staged by the Cleveland San Jose Ballet in 1996, Mackie got to design both sets and costumes.
“Doing the set and the costumes meant that I could decide how everything goes together visually. You know, when you’re doing a big show or a weekly TV series, it’s such a scramble to get there. And then there’s a change in the set or the script or whatever.”
Just recently, he conjured up nifty swinging ’60s jet-set costumes for Catch Me If You Can by Terrance McNally with the Hairspray composer/lyricist team of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.
“We did the out-of-town tryout in Seattle, which I love,” Mackie says. “Of course, things keep changing, which is difficult, especially on a budget.
But the reviews are great.”
This article appears in the January 2010 issue of Palm Springs Life
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That's the Show Biz: 'Ragtime' Gets Added Week on Broadway
(Source:Kenneth Jones, Playbill)
As Evelyn Nesbit might say: "Wheeeee!" The producers of Broadway's Ragtime announced on Dec. 30 that the acclaimed revival would not close on Jan. 3, 2010, as previously announced, but would get an extra week of performances at the Neil Simon Theatre, to Jan. 10.
A rush of sales followed the Dec. 28 closing announcement, prompting the extension of eight performances. By the time it closes Jan. 10, the musical will have run 28 previews and 65 regular performances.
Producer Kevin McCollum said on Dec. 30, "We're thrilled and grateful that audiences will have another eight chances to see Ragtime."
Ticket prices are $46.50, $86.50 and $126.50 (including $1.50 facility fee) and available by calling Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4100 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com. Ragtime plays Tuesday at 7 PM; Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday eve at 8 PM; Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2 PM; Sunday matinees at 3 PM. It's dark Monday.
On Dec 28, producer Kevin McCollum said in a statement, "While we're saddened and disappointed to announce that Ragtime must close, bringing this beautiful and powerful production to Broadway has been a joyous experience. We couldn't have asked for a more talented and dedicated company and creative team or a more passionate team of producers."
The 1998 Tony Award winner returned to Broadway less than a decade years after its lavish first run closed, but this time in a critically acclaimed somewhat minimalist staging by director-choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge. With her designers, she helped emphasize character and story by stripping away scenic elements.
She got solid reviews.
When this 40-actor production bowed earlier this year at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, producers huddled to bring it to Broadway. It opened Nov. 15 after previews from Oct. 23.
The musical based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow brings to life both the historical sweep and intimate human stories of the broad-strokes book.
Christiane Noll, Robert Petkoff and Quentin Earl Darrington star as the leaders of three tribes that collide in 1906 New York City.
Ragtime has a Tony Award-winning book by Terrence McNally and Tony-winning score by Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (music). William David Brohn's original Tony-winning orchestrations were utilized.
A big cast plus a big orchestra made for a not small weekly running cost. There had been rumors in recent weeks that the show would not be able to survive into early 2010; there was apparently not enough of an advance sale to encourage the producers.
The show was overshadowed 11 years ago in a season that also saw the opening of The Lion King (which is still running).
The scenically lean, actor-driven production at the Kennedy Center was critically acclaimed. The ever-transforming skeletal, multi-tiered set helps accentuate the characters and the storytelling over design spectacle. (The 1998 production was lavish and often literal.)
The new Broadway cast is a mix of holdovers from DC (including Noll as the privileged white matron known as Mother, and Darrington as African-American musician Coalhouse Walker Jr.) and newcomers (including Petkoff, as Jewish patriarch Tateh).
The 28-piece orchestra is led by musical director James Moore. There are some trims and revisions to the original score, which was preserved on a two-disc cast album in 1998. The show now runs under three hours.
The Broadway company includes The Woman in White's Ron Bohmer (Father), Color Purple touring veteran Quentin Earl Darrington (Coalhouse Walker, Jr.), Jekyll & Hyde's Christiane Noll (Mother), Fiddler on the Roof's Robert Petkoff (Tateh), 110 in the Shade's Bobby Steggert (Mother's Younger Brother), Stephanie Umoh (Sarah) with Christopher Cox (The Little Boy), Sarah Rosenthal (The Little Girl), Mark Aldrich (Willie Conklin), Aaron Galligan-Stierle (Henry Ford), Jonathan Hammond (Harry Houdini), Dan Manning (Grandfather), Michael X. Martin (J.P. Morgan), Michael McGowan (Stanford White), respected DC star Donna Migliaccio (Emma Goldman), Josh Walden (Harry K. Thaw), Rock of Ages' Savannah Wise (Evelyn Nesbit) and Sammy & Me's Eric Jordan Young (Booker T. Washington), a Broadway vet who appeared in the original Broadway production of Ragtime.
The cast also features Sumayya Ali, Terence Archie, Corey Bradley, Jayden Brockington, Benjamin Cook, Carey Brown, Jennifer Evans, Carly Hughes, Lisa Karlin, Valisia LeKae, James Moye, Tracy Lynn Olivera, Mamie Parris, Bryonha Parham, Nicole Powell, Kaylie Robinaccio, Arbender J. Robinson, Benjamin Schrader, Wallace Smith, Catherine Walker, Jim Weaver and Kylil Williams.
Here's how the producers characterize the musical: "At the dawn of the century, everything is changing…and anything is possible. Based on E.L. Doctorow's celebrated epic novel and set in the volatile melting pot of turn-of-the-century New York, Ragtime weaves together three distinctly American tales - that of a stifled upper-class wife, a determined Jewish immigrant and a daring young Harlem musician - united by their courage, compassion and belief in the promise of the future. Their personal journeys come alive as historic figures offer guidance and diversion - among them escape artist Harry Houdini, auto tycoon Henry Ford, educator Booker T. Washington and infamous entertainer Evelyn Nesbit. Together, their stories celebrate the struggle between tradition and independence all in pursuit of the American dream."
The Broadway run of Ragtime is produced by Kevin McCollum, Roy Furman, Scott Delman, Roger Berlind, Max Cooper, Tom Kirdahy/Devlin Elliott, Jeffrey A. Sine, Stephanie McClelland, Roy Miller, LAMS Productions, Jana Robbins, Sharon Karmazin, Eric Falkenstein/Morris Berchard, Wendy Federman, Jamie deRoy, Sheila Steinberg, Lauren Stevens, Independent Presenters Network, Held-Haffner Productions, HRH Foundation and Emanuel Azenberg in association with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Milgrom Dodge's production debuted at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theater on April 18 and played a sold-out limited engagement through May 17.
After a world premiere in Toronto, Ragtime opened on Broadway on Jan. 18, 1998, at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts.
Ragtime plays the following schedule: Tuesday evening at 7 PM, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 PM, Wednesday and Saturday matinee at 2 PM, Sunday matinee at 3 PM. Dark Monday.
Ragtime ticket prices are $46.50, $86.50 and $126.50 (including $1.50 facility fee) and are available by calling Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4100 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.
For more information visit www.ragtimebroadway.com.
The score to the show is available on two recordings: "Songs from Ragtime," a studio recording released around the time of the Toronto world premiere in 1996, and the original Broadway cast album of 1998 (on two discs).
Two hours prior to each performance of Ragtime, patrons will be invited to enter a lottery drawing at the Neil Simon Theatre (250 West 52nd Street) for a limited number of $26.50 lottery tickets to that day's performance. Names will be drawn at random 90 minutes prior to curtain.
There will be a limit of two tickets per person and tickets may be purchased using cash only.
Winners must be present with valid identification at the time of the drawing to purchase their tickets.
Liza Minnelli 'On the Record'
This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," December 28, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SHANNON BREAM, FOX NEWS GUEST HOST: Now, one of the biggest star ever goes on the record with Greta-Liza Minnelli, she has been nominated for a Grammy, for "Liza's at the Palace." You can catch that event on DVD on February 2nd. We have to talk to Liza about that and of course, got that behind the scenes old school Hollywood stories.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Liza, nice to see you.
LIZA MINNELLI, SINGER AND ACTRESS: Hi Greta, how are you doing?
SUSTEREN: I'm very well, this is exciting for me and of course I feel so Hollywood, this pictures, we don't usually get to sit in big chairs like these.
MINNELLI: Good. This is comfortable.
SUSTEREN: This is quite comfortable.
MINNELLI: Oh, yes. It's good.
SUSTEREN: All right. First of all, you have a head band. What is with that head band?
MINNELLI: I'm going to have a rehearsal after I finished with you.
SUSTEREN: You work?
MINNELLI: Yes.
SUSTEREN: All right. There is big news. You have a DVD coming out. It has been nominated for a Grammy. So, tell us about this DVD.
MINNELLI: Well, it was the show that we won the award for. And it was the second act. The first act was something I do not think you have heard, some very interesting acting choices on it, and the second half is all about my godmother, Kay Thompson.
SUSTEREN: Who is Kay Thompson?MINNELLI: She was a force, an underground force in Hollywood. First of all, she had a huge radio show. She had vocal singers and she arranged music like nobody else at MGM, at first she was 30, to run the entire vocal arrangement thing at MGM. Right? That's unheard of. Then, you know, the next thing she did is she did Eloise, just a little something, Kay Thompson Eloise.
SUSTEREN: About the Plaza Hotel.
MINNELLI: Yes. There she did all kinds of things but what I'm celebrating is the nightclub act that she did. In 1948, I was two, but I saw it, and I remember it, and what I remember is I'm sitting on mom's lap, across from my dad, these feet that just never stopped moving, and these long arms, and the audience -- with laughter, because she was truly witty.
SUSTEREN: All right. OK. Let's talk about this Grammy award.
MINNELLI: Oh, my God.
SUSTEREN: Why, you got some other rewards.
MINNELLI: I still got nervous.
SUSTEREN: We got some competition, I mean, Michael Buble
and Tony Bennett.MINNELLI: Oh, those two are my favorite singers in the world.
SUSTEREN: But look at the competition you had with the Oscar. You had Diana Ross, I mean, the competition when you won your Oscar, so you have faced hard competition before.
MINNELLI: Yes, I know but Tony Bennett, I have every album that he ever made, and then all of the CD's, I mean, I used to get a bus ticket to go and see him when he was in Brooklyn, I worshipped him and Buble, and I adore, so those two, I am up against some pretty strong competition, but I am thrilled to be in their company.
SUSTEREN: Is it really fun and exciting to get up there and sing those songs, or is it work for you?
MINNELLI: No, both of those, it is fun and exciting because the audience that singing to has never seen me before or if they have, I can always find a face that never seen me. I can always find somebody who has never seen me, you know, and then I perform the whole show for that person.
They do not know it, but I do, until I get them.
SUSTEREN: All right, so, last night, I listened to all of these tapes of you on YouTube, and I just seen this DVD and I got an advance of the one where you are nominated for this Grammy and the one that keeps popping up is "New York, New York."
MINNELLI: Well, thank you.
SUSTEREN: And you mean, this one with you in Sinatra, tell me what's like singing with Sinatra -- like Tony and Frank?
MINNELLI: They would have loved the Kay Thompson show, because they worshiped her. They worshipped Kay. I can tell you that before, we used to spend hours on airplanes, talking about her, but it was great, because it was really simple. Wherever Frank went, Sammy and I went the other way and made it work, you know?
SUSTEREN: What was Frank like?
MINNELLI: Frank is great. He was great and he was always wonderful to me. And that's all I can go on.
SUSTEREN: All right. The other -- which I thought it was fascinating is I heard a music video with you and Pavarotti singing "New York, New York."
MINNELLI: Yes.
SUSTEREN: And now that's -- to me, I mean, it seems like unusual.
MINNELLI: Yes, it was.
SUSTEREN: How did that come by?
MINNELLI: He wanted to sing it, and it was his show and it was for charity, so I said OK. You know, and I guess there is not a lot of rhythm and opera, because if you watched that tape, he was so brilliant. When we rehearsed it the first time, he went, I am spreading the news, I am leaving today, I want to be a part of it, and I was, start spreading the news, I am leaving today and I didn't know how to make this words. He went, my little town blues, anything to get those beats, just to make it work.
SUSTEREN: Why you stayed on top for so long? What it is, a hard work, talent or luck or what it else?
MINNELLI: I think it's going to be both. I mean, it has got to be caring about what you do. I mean, you do research on people. You are great at what you do. You cannot stay on top forever. I mean, if you have had enormous success.
SUSTEREN: Well, everybody knows Liza Minnelli.
MINNELLI: Yes, but I never changed my name to Garland. And my father was a brilliant director and a great, great scene of designer. He designed the -- radios for the musical and then all the movies he may. And then I learned, and then I only work with people I can learn from.
I want to learn. That is all I want to do. That is what keeps me going, and if you are curious, you cannot get depressed. You cannot get angry. You don't get a lot of time for yourself if you're curious and if you stay that way, and that is my job.
SUSTEREN: One of the things that I think, is the beginning of your career is from people who get to know you, when you introduce on television, the great movie "The Wizard of Oz," when you first appear on TV, you introduce it.
How old were you?
MINNELLI: I was ten. Oh, I don't remember all.
SUSTEREN: OK. All right. Here's one question, do you meet Margaret Hamilton?
MINNELLI: Oh, yes, well, she was the meanest witch.
SUSTEREN: Was she nice in person?
MINNELLI: My sister, Lorna) is doing a lot of that now. She is doing it great.
SUSTEREN: What was Margaret Hamilton like?
MINNELLI: She was the nicest lady I have ever met.
SUSTEREN: She surely did not seen it.
MINNELLI: No, but that is the movies.
SUSTEREN: All right. Because I have Margaret Hamilton that is seen in a bicycle which is going.
MINNELLI: Oh my God! Is that scary?
SUSTEREN: Terrible. It was the worst seen I've ever seen, she looks like every bad music teacher I ever had.
MINNELLI: There is only one story that I know, that I remember was that in one of the scene, there was a puff of smoke, and Margaret Hamilton disappears, and there was a trap door, right, and she went down in back, and something went wrong, an explosion or something, and she caught fire, so they had to come and put her out.
SUSTEREN: And that is what killed her in the end, the water.
MINNELLI: Oh my God!
SUSTEREN: I take it that winning the Grammy, because you win some of the words that you want to win this one for Kay Thompson. I sort of get that. Is that a little bit of .
MINNELLI: A lot. It would mean the world to me, and she was the most important person in my world, thanks to my parents.
BREAM: There is so much more of Greta's interview with Liza Minnelli, and you can check it all out on GretaWire.com.
WARPED REALITY
Posted January 3, 2010 by Paul Russell Casting
Categories: acting, actors, auditions, employment, entertainment
Tags: acting, acting tips, actors, auditions, casting, entertainment industry, how to become an actor
First of all, a very happy New Year. I wish you great success in 2010!
As we move forward together, and before this week’s post, my thanks to you:
- Thank you for following my ramblings; reading that book; and if you’re a FBF, thank you for enduring the Facebook reminders. (Note to my FB groupers: Being in only one PRC FB group will reduce the assault. Please, don’t make me feel guilty about duplicate FB e-mails.)
- Thank you to those who offered virtual love and support in my battle with cancer. I’m very well and will soon have another check-up. I’ve got too many expletives left in me to give up on winning.
- A very big thank you to all the students who — with courage and balls I never could have had when I was an actor — braved my bluntness in person. Bravo! Those inner monologues of mine said aloud came from the heart and were meant to push you forward. The greatest reward back is your success. Just from the most recent Access to Agents three of the participants now have agents to begin 2010!!
And a very, very special, besos thank you to every actor who auditioned for one of the PRC projects in ‘09. Without you guys my life would not be possible. Graci.
Now, onward to the first post of 2010… (how long until the first expletive?)
===================================
This Week: Actors Pretending to Be Real People Pretending Not Be Actors
(Sunday, January 3, 2010)
Reality doesn’t exist.
31. That’s the number of breakdowns via Breakdown Services released to talent agents in the past twelve months for reality programming seeking actors as ‘real’ people. It’s been no industry secret that those ‘real people’ you see on Survivor, Big Brother and similar non-episodic programming that clog our cable providers have not been filled solely with people pulled from the local mall but sweetened with actors cast in sessions put together via submissions from talent agencies.
If this is news to you; welcome to reality.
Among the real shows revealed in my breakdown search seeking ‘real people’ (who just happen to have real talent agents) the projects included:
- An untitled, reality, fashion show seeking ‘real’ photographers who by coincidence are also actors. (Faux-cameras need not apply.)
- A non-union, major cable, untitled, reality show looking to tear apart BFFs – who happen to be actors – as they fight for the affections of one man. (Gives new meaning to ‘BFF’; bitch fist-fights.)
Then there was one reality program seeking real lawyers who by chance are also actors. (There’s an infinity mirror gone hell-ish. Representation with representation.)
My personal fav reality show breakdown was one that was searching for a mugger. Yes, it would seem that the streets of New York, LA and Chicago are not filled with honest deviants of battery so the producers needed to look elsewhere for true assault; an actor to be a thug but not declare that they are a thespian. The mugger character description read: ‘must be rough/scruffy looking’. That could be any actor who has just emerged dazed and dreary from a week of tech.
‘What’s the point Paul’ you may be asking? None. O.K. well yes I have one or I wouldn’t be working my fingers as the winter winds howl outside my window.
When reality programming first became the rage of the early-aughts of the 2000’s actors themselves got enraged. Employment was being usurped as television execs found a cheaper form or programming.
Now those jobs are coming back to the actors. But nearly all are non-union as so too must be the actors (if they’re honest). And unless a winner for whatever contest is being held there remains no money. Only exposure.
The producers exploit the cheaper-to-‘hire’-talent at mostly free wages and the union actors remain on the sidelines, again, as the number of small-screen, union jobs, diminish. Worse yet; union or not, actors are no longer competing for employ slash exposure among the overwhelming volume of their peers but now have to go up against civilians as well.
Is it no wonder that some actors scream silently in their cranium about lack of opportunity, Who do I have to fuck to be noticed on YouTube? (Try a sports icon. If you’re desperate; a Governor or Senator.)
And then there’s the misguided thought of the ‘actors’ or civilians with acting aspirations who land a reality show gig gloating, ‘This is gonna make me!’ Uhmmm… not for very long my high-def dilettantes. More than likely you’ll be forgotten as the next male enhancement commercial flails before our eyes. Reality might be a short-cut to extreme exposure but so far the statistics on long term endurance remains doubtful. William Hung anyone?
The most recent news on Mr. Hung’s official web site was from June 10, 2008. He was the highlighted guest of an international Mahjong Tournament in Hong Kong. Oh, can his star on the Hollywood walk-of-fame be far behind?
What can actors do to cauterize the wounds of lost employ to ‘reality’? Union actors with activist ambitions would do themselves and their membership brethren well by involving themselves on union committees which negotiate contracts. Pollyanna? Yes. Realistic solutions? No. But one answer does not solve a host of problems. And this current deluge of ‘reality’ on TV was brought upon by multiples of economic and contractual tsunamis.
We, the audience, have only ourselves to blame for encouraging the growing shrinkage of paid employ on television. And so now actors are willingly stepping up to fill that void by bartering the lack of a paycheck in exchange for exposure.
So next time when sitting in your hell’s kitchen studio that’s not a million dollar listing –with your average Joe, big brother or better half — to tune-in to see if America’s got talent and you’re flipping out over the next best thing that has the it factor remember moving up from the real world to the surreal life is a shark tank of anything for love that in the end is an amazing race where there is only one survivor and all others are the biggest loser.
(Yes, I know… but I couldn’t resist temptation of that last paragraph. And there are 17 of them in there by-the-by. 17 pieces of reality chipping away at opportunities for actors getting paid to create fantasy.)
My Best,
Paul
P.S. The February Access to Agents (Musical Theater version) is now registering.
The most recent series got three actors signed with agencies plus several other actors received additional call-backs and agent meetings. Only 10 participants per series.
Paul Russell’s career as a casting director, director, acting teacher and former actor has spanned nearly thirty years. He has worked on projects for major film studios, television networks, and Broadway. Paul has taught the business of acting and audition technique at NYU and has spoken at universities including Yale, Temple and the University of the Arts. He writes a column for Back Stage and is the author of ACTING: Make It Your Business – How to Avoid Mistakes and Achieve Success as a Working Actor. For more information, please visit www.PaulRussell.net.
Only Yesterday: A Preview of the 2010 Broadway Season
By Robert Simonson
03 Jan 2010
Only Yesterday: A Preview of the 2010 Broadway Season
Playbill.com gives a walking tour of Broadway's upcoming plays, musicals and specialty shows.
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It seems producers are picking them younger and younger these days. Whether they're seasoned enough to hit the Broadway stage does not seem to be a consideration. It's youth. Youth reigns supreme. If you weren't born in the 1980s, you're old news, past your prime.
No, I'm not talking about the actors. I'm talking about the plays chosen for revival. This past fall, we had new Broadway productions of Oleanna and Brighton Beach Memoirs, whose original mountings were still fresh in many theatregoers' memories. Before that we had new versions of Sight Unseen, The American Plan and A Chorus Line which followed the closings of their world premieres by less than 20 years.
Producers don't seem to be reaching too far back in their memory banks for ideas these days, and the trend continues this winter and spring. Ken Ludwig's Lend Me a Tenor was of the great comedy hits of the 1980s, bowing in 1989 to praise and a long run. It will begin previews March 11 at the Music Box Theatre.
A View From the Bridge is also back. This is not a case of a relatively new play being revived, of course, but of an old play that was revived only recently being revived again. LaPaglia starred as conflicted longshoreman Eddie Carbone in 1997.
But stars make plays go these days, and when Liev Schreiber and, more importantly, wattage-wise, Scarlett Johansson made themselves available, director Gregory Mosher and his producers had little choice but to book a theatre. Previews began Dec. 28 at the Cort for a Jan. 24 opening.
You think 12 years between Broadway revival is a short time? Try six! Jerry Herman's La Cage Aux Folles was here only in 2004, but it will return April 6, 2010, at the Longacre. One of the reasons, surely, is that Kelsey Grammer is playing Georges. Terry Johnson directs the production, which also stars Douglas Hodge and transfers from the Menier Chocolate Factory, the hot London theatre of the moment.
Playwright Donald Margulies has been a beneficiary of the current inclination to revive young plays. Manhattan Theatre Club brought back his Sight Unseen a couple years back.
Now, it's giving his 1997 two-hander Collected Stories, about a novelist and her perfidious protege, another look, previewing it from April 6 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
Lynne Meadow will pilot Linda Lavin and Sarah Paulson.
Valerie Harper as Tallulah Bankhead in Looped
Margulies, in fact, virtually owns the Friedman Theatre in 2010. Preceding Collected Stories at the house will be his new work, Time Stands Still, directed by Hughes' spiritual brother in steady-handed productivity, Daniel Sullivan. Laura Linney, Alicia Silverstone, Brian d'Arcy James and Eric Bogosian star in the story about a war journalist and a photographer forced to return home. Previews begin Jan. 5.
Valerie Harper (forever TV's "Rhoda," but also a fearless stage actress) will play boozy star Tallulah Bankhead in Matthew Lombardo's new comedy Looped, directed by Rob Ruggiero at the Lyceum starting Feb. 19 prior to a March 14 opening. In it, the celebrated and troubled actress is called into a sound studio in 1965 to re-record (or "loop") one line of dialogue for what would be her last film. She spars with the sound engineer.
The London cast of Enron
The most anticipated new play of the season is, arguably, the London import on a very American subject, Enron, which will open April 27 at the Broadhurst. And, yes, there are characters named Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. Inspired by the real-life financial scandal of 2001, Enron, which was commissioned by Headlong Theatre, premiered in summer 2009 at the Minerva Theatre Chichester, and then moved for a six-week run at the Royal Court Theatre in London, where it played through Nov. 8, 2009. The play will transfer to West End's Noel Coward Theatre in January 2010.
Rupert Goold, on Broadway most recently with his Macbeth, will direct the Lucy Prebble drama.
The second-most anticipated new play of the coming months is A Behanding in Spokane. As you might guess from the gory, location-specific title, it's a new play from Martin McDonagh.(Remember when McDonagh was saying he had written his last play? Well, he apparently had second thoughts.) This new work is the first to be set in America and will star Christopher Walken, Zoe Kazan, Anthony Mackie and Sam Rockwell. John Crowley directs. Who loses the hand? You'll have to wait until Feb. 15, when previews begin at the Schoenfeld.
Patrick Breen and Maddie Corman in Next Fall
Also new-ish is Next Fall, the Geoffrey Nauffts drama about a long-term relationship debuted to great reviews last year Off-Broadway. It transfers to Broadway's tiny Helen Hayes Theatre on Feb. 16, Patrick Breen, Maddie Corman, Sean Dugan, Patrick Heusinger, Connie Ray and Cotter Smith in the cast, again. Sheryl Kaller directs.
Among the other play revivals heading for Broadway in the coming months are: Present Laughter, the Noel Coward classic about a vain actor and his travails, opening Jan. 21 at the American Airlines Theatre with Victor Garber in the lead; a new production of the William Gibson evergreen, The Miracle Worker, with Alison Pill as Annie Sullivan and Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin ("Little Miss Sunshine") as Helen Keller, beginning Feb. 12 at Circle in the Square; and a double-bill (how often do you see that format on Broadway anymore?) of O'Neill's Hughie and Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape, the latest effort from the team of director Robert Falls and actor Brian Dennehy, beginning April 12.
SAY IT WITH MUSIC
Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane in The Addams Family
New musicals are few in 2010, but there's a potential whopper in The Addams Family. The Andrew Lippa, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice musical, inspired by Charles Addams macabre characters, had a Broadway tryout in Chicago in December to encouraging, if not great, reviews, and is currently going through some rewrites. (Jerry Zaks was recently added as creative consultant.) But, given the familiar subject matter, and the failsafe stars Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth, the show certainly has a chance to succeed on Broadway. (Especially when there's not much competition.) Spooky specialists Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (Shockheaded Peter) direct and design the piece, which begins March 4 at the Lunt-Fontanne.
The other big new musical of the season, should it happen — and that's an "if" the size of the Empire State Building — is the star-crossed Spider-man, Turn Off the Dark. Suffering from a mountain of bad word-of-mouth and backstage gossip about its future, the latest word from the Julie Taymor-directed, Bono-The Edge-scored mega-musical is that it would open in "2010" (the previous start date was more specific, Feb. 25) and that Reeve Carney would star in the title role.
Also announced was Michael Cohl. Cohl's not an actor, he's the new lead producer of the show. It's highly unusual for a production to switch producers mid-stream and the move is indicative of the stress the high-budgeted show has undergone over the last year. Stay tuned.
The major musical revival of the spring will be the first-ever Broadway return of the 1960s Burt Bacharach-Hal David-Neil Simon hit Promises, Promises. Directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford, the New York-set tale, based on "The Apartment," stars Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes. (Ragtime and Finian's Rainbow, its major competition in the Tony Award revival category, will be closed, but not forgotten by Jan. 10 and Jan. 17, respectively.)
Other coming attractions include: All About Me, a pairing of blowsy Aussie diva Dame Edna and concert and cabaret star Michael Feinstein, beginning Feb. 19 at Henry Miller's Theatre (Casey Nicholaw directs); Million Dollar Quartet, a transfer of the Chicago musical by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux centering on Sun Records recording artists Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley; and Sondheim on Sondheim, a new revue of the music of Guess Who?, starring Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams and Leslie Kritzer. It will mark 82-year-old, Broadway legend Cook's first non-concert, non-benefit show on Broadway in nearly 40 years.
Waiting in the wings, perhaps for spring 2010, is the well-reviewed American Idiot, the new rock musical by punk group Green Day and Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer. No dates have been announced, but producers Tom Hulce and Ira Pittelman are said to be craving a certain Broadway venue. The dark-hued musical borrows songs from the punk album of the same name, plus numbers from Green Day's latest album, "21st Century Breakdown."
The show, which world-premiered at Berkeley Rep in California in fall 2009, "follows working-class characters from the suburbs to the city to the Middle East, as they seek redemption in a world filled with frustration — an exhilarating journey borne along by Green Day's electrifying songs." (It ain't The Addams Family.)
Also expected (but not yet officially announced) for spring 2010 is Twyla Tharp's new Frank Sinatra-infused music-dance show, Come Fly With Me. With the blessing of Frank Sinatra Enterprises and the Sinatra family, the show, which played a well-reviewed tryout at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, is to feature original masters of Sinatra's voice, backed by a live on-stage band.
This week's blog marks the official beginning of a new decade—Happy New Decade, folks! Is your New Year's resolution to see more theatre? Well, lucky ...
Director, Choreographer, Performer, Published Author Margery Beddow passed away January 3rd. I just appeared with Margery on December 13th (her 78th Birthday)
In film Margery Beddow was featured in Disney's ENCHANTED which was reprised on the 2008 Oscars. She performed in both the original THE PRODUCERS starring Zero Mostel as well as the recent PRODUCERS - THE MUSICAL with Nathan Lane. She had a role in the TV film LEGS starring Gwen Verdon. Margery was also seen as Reba in the film WALTZING ANNA. She just completed the role of the dancing teacher in the Catholic School in the film DOUBT starring Meryl Streep which will be released in December of 2008.
Margery has appeared in seven Bob Fosse musicals and wrote the book, BOB FOSSE'S BROADWAY, which is now in its fourth printing. As a Choreographer, she created two Broadway shows, DEAR OSCAR and WIND IN THE WILLOWS.
In touring companies she choreographed CAN-CAN with Yvonne De Carlo, PAJAMA GAME with John Raitt, THE OLYMPIAD, DAMN YANKEES and a Cole Porter revue called COLE. In New York she recently directed and staged a show at Town Hall called, BROADWAY BY THE YEAR, as well as a show for the Lyric and Lyricists Organization called, NOEL COWARD AND HIS LADIES which starred Steve Ross. Margery was the show Doctor and Production Supervisor for the Off Broadway show, MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL which ran for over four years. She was Director/Choreographer on innumerable Industrial shows and many Cabaret Acts.
As a Performer on Broadway she performed in ten Broadway shows: REDHEAD, CONQUERING HERO, WE TAKE THE TOWN, LITTLE ME, TWO ON THE AISLE, ALMANAC, TAKE ME ALONG, ULYSSES IN NIGHTTOWN and revivals of FIORELLO and SHOWBOAT.
Margery performed on tour as Gladys in PAJAMA GAME, Nicky in SWEET CHARITY , Lola in DAMN YANKEES, Lil Dolan in ON YOUR TOES, Felicia in READY WHEN YOU ARE C.B., Angie in BALLROOM, Sue Smith in NO, NO NANETTE, Maggie in 42ND STREET, Snobson in FASHION, Rosita in EL GRANDE DE COCA COLA and Matron Mama Morton in CHICAGO.
Off Broadway shows include, SING MELANCHOLY BABY, SECOND SUMMER, WIT & WISDOM, ANYONE CAN WHISTLE and JOHNNY ON A SPOT.
A Couple of New Years Resolutions You Should Keep
* Written by Chris Tompkins
If you are anything like me, you may be feeling some of the pressures that exist around the beginning of a New Year. Lose weight. Be more goal oriented. Stop smoking. Find the perfect mate. Make my first million….etc, etc, ad nauseam.
I don’t want to focus on how you can get back into those now skintight jeans or supply the web address where you can buy cheap Nicorette. What I want to do is provide two resolutions to keep, especially if your professional goal this year is to build your business by using online marketing and social networks.
I see people all the time jumping headfirst into online marketing, whether it be social networks, blogs, micro-blogs (like Twitter) and numerous other online channels. The problem is many times their shared communications seem canned, the tone is a bit off, the message is not cohesive and the approach, at times, can be rather aggressive.
“Why are you just barging into my universe?” “Stop selling to me!” “Spammer!” I hate to tell you, but people think this all the time. Even worse…in the online world, they shout it so everyone can hear. Loudly.
First thing first: the wonderful world of online marketing is different than the wonderful world of traditional marketing. Although they have many things in common (target markets, communicate messages, distribute collateral, market research) the approach is vastly different.
The difference is social networks and online communications are not just pushing the message through the channel…they are about building relationships and having conversations. Read that sentence again. Relationships and conversations.
With that in mind, here are two “New Year’s Resolutions” to keep you in the game. If you have been entrenched in social media marketing for quite some time, then these tips will keep you fresh. Brand new and desperate to see what everyone is talking about? These two resolutions should help you enter the online marketplace with more ease.
Resolution #1:
I Will Listen, Watch and Monitor the Activity Before I Join the Discussion
The mistake many of us make is that we don’t listen before we leap. Our gut instinct is to stick to the same communication style as our email blasts, corporate website or to “business speak.”
I’m not saying its a bad way to go, my point is that if you are going to talk that way then you better make make sure everyone else is speaking your language.
Go onto sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook and look around. Go into the groups section on LinkedIn and Facebook and use the search function to find groups relevant to your professional interests. Look at the discussion topics, how people are conversing in each topic, check the level of activity. Anyone providing links to video or audio? Click, watch and listen.
Also, both sites have a main micro-blog wall (they call it “Status Updates”, but looks very similar to Twitter…how uncanny). See how people are interacting, watch how they speak.
Twitter is more tricky, my tip is to download TweetDeck. It is a third party platform that helps you listen in a fast and efficient way. You can search for people talking about relevant topics to your business, your company and even you! Before you send out your first “tweet”, check out TweetDeck and size up the playing field.
Resolution 2:
I Will Plan Before I Dive
If you are going to begin engaging with the global online audience, it’s important to get your act together first, so to speak. Stop and think for a minute. Would you execute a branding or pr initiative without at least a plan outline?
Sit down and identify what you want to get out of this. This can be the hardest step. Without full knowledge about what you can expect, it is hard to identify what your goals should even be. My advice, be realistic, honest and take into consideration what the medium is all about. If you are thinking about SEO, direct response advertising or pay-per-click Google ads then you will think in terms of hits to your online point-of-sale.
The social media has elements of this, but the purpose is to position you as an expert, increase visibility to you and your brand, build relationships that will in turn build your business and more.
Think about your purpose, what you are an expert in and what value you can offer. Once you pinpoint that, you can identify the sites you want to focus on, the methods you want to employ and targets you want to hit.
Wrap it up already…..
I really can’t stress how important it is to take the time to check out the playing field before you jump in headfirst. I think the real point here is that you wouldn’t sink $100,000 in a direct marketing initiative without making sure of the integrity of the mailing list. You would never spend $15,000 a week on an English speaking call center who is calling a Spanish speaking market.
At the end of the day it is marketing 101. Learn where your market is, what they are saying and then plan how you are going to join the conversation. THEN start talking.
Tommy Tune, in an interview with Variety, praised film director Rob Marshall for his delivery in the movie musical NINE. Tune directed the original Broadway installment of NINE, which had a successful run from 1982 - 1984 at the 46th Street Theatre.
Says Tune in Variety:
"Rob Marshall is a filmmaker plus. The plus is the gargantuan talent and technique he possesses for creating, not just films, but film musicals, contemporary film musicals.
Today's screen characters, rooted in a certain reality, can't just burst into song when the temperature of a scene demands it. That could turn a heartfelt moment into a joke in these cynical times. Rob has conceived a whole new language to accommodate these transitions from acting to singing to dancing, with an alacrity that is deceptively natural. Tricky stuff. Life isn't like this, but Rob pulls it off. In "Nine" there is not one jarring transition from scene to song to dance to scene. With this film he has taken his latest step up into this complicated, mysterious and difficult medium. However, I suspect, if you take away all this plus factor which Rob owns, you'll discover simply a fine and sensitive film director who works straight from his heart. I feel this is the essential prerequisite for all great directorial work. And that's the true plus of Rob Marshall."
The big screen adaptation of Nine the Musical stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz and Nicole Kidman. The all-star cast is directed by Rob Marshall, who also helmed critically-acclaimed 2002 musical Chicago - which garnered six Academy Awards, including a Best Supporting Actress nod for Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Daniel Day-Lewis replaced the previously attached Javier Bardem in the leading role of Guido Contini, Bardem left the project citing exhaustion. Marion Cotillard, Kate Hudson, Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson, Sophia Loren and Judi Dench star in the film as well. Nine is a musical with a book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and is based off of Fredrico Fellini's movie 8 1/2. The play tells the story of a highly stressed director living in VenIce Trying to juggle all of the women in his life.
The Broadway production of Nine, directed by Tommy Tune and choreographed by Thommie Walsh, opened on May 9, 1982 at the 46th Street Theatre, where it ran for 729 performances. The cast included Raúl Juliá as Guido, Karen Akers as Luisa, Liliane Montevecchi as Liliane, Anita Morris as Carla, Shelly Burch as Claudia, and Taina Elg as Guido's mother. Replacements later in the run included Bert Convy and Sergio Franchi as Guido, Maureen McGovern as Luisa, and Priscilla Lopez as Liliane. The musical won five Tony Awards, including best musical. The first revival of the 1982 Tony Award-winning musical hit Broadway in 2003 led by Antonio Banderas-who made his Broadway debut in the role of Guido. Laura Benanti, Jane Krakowski,Mary Stuart Masterson, and Chita Rivera rounded out the original revival cast.
Nine revolves around one central character, Guido Contini a film director in the Fellini mold. He is contracted to write and direct a film, but is unable to come up with a suitable plot. After recent box office failures, he finds himself drifting towards a nervous breakdown. Guido finds himself examining his past flawed relationships with the many women who have come through his life and the struggle to act his mature age of 40--as opposed to nine. For more information visit the official NINE website by clicking here.
Pump Room Swan Song?
By
David Hoekstra
THE PUMP ROOM is on the downbeat.
After cabaret singer Nan Mason's final song on Jan. 30, the restaurant will no longer have live music. There will be no extravagant dinners except for special occasions. The Pump Room is the cultural jewel of the Ambassador East hotel, which is in the process of being sold to Ian Schrager Co. in New York. Schrager is eyeing a hipster renovation. He was co-founder of the Studio 54 dance club.
"Holy Cow!," as former Ambassador East resident Harry Caray said.
The Pump Room opened on Oct. 1, 1938. It thrived on a celebrity culture that no longer exists.
Original owner Ernie Byfield recruited stars to sparkle in the dimly lit elegance of the Pump Room. He saw the room as a spinoff the 18th century spa of the same name in Bath, England. That pump room was spot where London aristocrats mingled with local showfolk, absorbing the cure of the waters by day and the roguish social scene at night.
It was "Swimming with the Stars."
The Pump Room was a hit from the jump. Celebrities stayed over in Chicago for a day or two instead of rushing to a private jet........
Sun-Times columnist Irv Kupcinet worked from Booth One in the 225-seat restaurant. He saw his sources eye to eye. [The original Booth One is in storage at the Chicago History Museum.]
The Great Signature Book of the Pump Room includes signings from Marlene Dietrich, Cole Porter and Led Zeppelin. Legend has it that actor John Barrymoore urinated on the book after being overserved on champagne.
John Belushi ate caviar with his fingers and Sammy Davis, Jr. sang for his supper--for the help in the Pump Room kitchen, After pop star Phil Collins was refused entry to the Pump Room because of its dress code, he titled his next album "No Jacket Required." The dress code hasn't existed since the late 1990s.
The Pump Room's genesis was in style.
The Pump Room is on the north port of Rush Street, once known as "The Street of Dreams." The restaurant was a place where those dreams came true. Anyone could be like Bogie and Bacall. They stopped at the Pump Room en route to Hollywood the day after getting married in May, 1945. "Ernie (Byfield) invited Essee and me to join the Bogarts at table No. 1," Kupcinet recalled in his 1988 memoir "Kup (A Man, An Era, A City)." "What I remember best was the lovelight in the eyes of both Bogie and Baby."
The Pump Room could do that to you.
The Ambassador East was built in 1926 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The hotel's ornate lobby was featured in Alfred Hitchcock's classic "North By Northwest."
Baseball Hall of Fame announcer Caray lived in a suite in the 285-room Ambssador East. Several of the hotel's 55 suites are named in honor of the celebrities that stayed in them: Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra for starters.
The Rat Pack's 1988 reunion tour ended in the Ambassador East after a concert at the Chicago Theatre. Sinatra wanted to hit the town and Martin preferred staying in his suite to watch westerns. Martin was replaced by Liza Minnelli, who probably does not like westerns.
The Rat Packsters are included in the 725 celebrity photos that adorn the walls of the Pump Room. "Those are all the original pictures," said Paul Lauritsen, general manager of the Ambassador East, home of the Pump Room. "Most people don't know that. That's foremost on my mind. I'm not sure if they will incorporate them into the new space."
Fade to black?
MAMMA MIA! Becomes 12th Longest-Running Show in Broadway History
by Lauren Wolman
MAMMA MIA! is now officially the 12th longest-running show in Broadway history after surpassing the record previously held by landmark musical Grease (3,388 performances) on Christmas Day, December 25, 2009. The hit musical has also surpassed the record breaking runs of legendary musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof; Hello, Dolly!; Annie; My Fair Lady and the original run of Cabaret.
MAMMA MIA! also had its best eight-performance week on Broadway ever, grossing $1,315,354 Million for the New Year's week ending January 3, 2010.
The previous New Year's record set by MAMMA MIA! for an
eight-performance week was in January 2009 with $1,261,938.
Seen by over 40 million people around the world, MAMMA MIA!, is
celebrating over 3,400 performances in its eighth hit year at
Broadway's Winter Garden Theatre and remains one of Broadway's top selling musicals. The originAl West End production of MAMMA MIA! is celebrating 10 years and over 4,000 performances in London, an international tour has visited more than 40 foreign cities, and the blockbuster feature film adaptation is the most successful movie musical of all time grossing over $600 million worldwide.
With a worldwide gross of over $2 Billion, MAMMA MIA! is acclaimed by the Associated Press as "quite simply, a phenomenon."
Produced by Judy Craymer, Richard East and Björn Ulvaeus for Littlestar in association with Universal, the creative team responsible for bringing MAMMA MIA! to theatrical life includes some
of the most gifted and celebrated talents of musical theatre and opera. With music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, MAMMA MIA! is written by Catherine Johnson and directed by Phyllida Lloyd. MAMMA MIA! has choreography by Anthony Van Laast, production design by Mark Thompson, lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce and Bobby Aitken, and musical supervision, additional material and arrangements by Martin Koch.
For tickets, schedule and information about MAMMA MIA! around the world, visit
www.mamma-mia.com.
Kathy Griffin Banned From CNN
Following her very controversial F-bomb-dropping New Year's Eve hosting gig, CNN executives have decided Kathy Griffin will NOT be getting a 2011 invite. "She was a total embarrassment to the network that calls themselves 'The Most Trusted Name in News.' Even Anderson (Cooper, her co-host) thinks it's time to say goodbye to Kathy," a CNN insider tells me.
Not only did the potty-mouthed redhead drop the F bomb on live TV, she also made not-so-funny jokes about needing a "bump" of cocaine and asked Cooper if he pleasured himself while looking in the mirror. As sexy as the Silver Fox is ... that's just too much, Kathy.
Even worse than the comedienne's desperate need to shock was the fact that the show was a ratings bomb, as it fell far behind the family-friendly 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve' on ABC.
Still, CNN publicist Shimrit Sheetrit tells me: "No decisions have been made yet regarding next year's show."
CNN, I find it hard to believe that you have not yet made a decision regarding someone who drops the F bombs live on your network!!!
Either way, it's nice to see Dick Clark on top like the classy fella he is.
Support THE ARTS! LIVE THEATRE! Go see a show this week! Send me your reviews and suggestions and I will put them in my next blog coming out next Tuesday! Here's to an ARTS-filled week! Don't forget to contribute to the DR. CAROL CHANNING & HARRY KULLIJIAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS: http://www.carolchanning.org/Foundation.htm
With grateful XOXOXs for your support!
Richard Skipper
Follow me on Twitter @RichardSkipperHERE IS WHAT AUDIENCES ARE SAYING ABOUT MY WORK:
I had the extreme pleasure to go to Club Iguana to see Richard and Dana's great Wednesday show. This is without a doubt the best entertainment value in NYC! The hosts really know how to throw a party and what a party it is. Great talent and a great place to enjoy. Don't miss seeing this great show.
Joe Magnetico, http://www.jmassociates.webs.com
Thanks Richard for giving me the opportunity to perform at the Iguana. You and Dana are two hard working artists. It is not easy to put a show on every Wednesday night and make the people and performers happy. I feel I have a family in the cabaret world. I enjoy attending whether i perform or not..it's just a pleasure just to be there and enjoy the talent.
Joey Infante
Richard....
My sister, Joanna, and my student Omar Felix went with me to Dancers Over 40 on 12/13 for the tribute performance...your energy, warmth and enthusiasm as Carol Channing made the afternoon very special for all of us, and tied the whole program together. Can't wait to see more, Richard...
Cheers,
Garold Gardner, garoldgardnerscholarshipfoundation.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NYC Now a night out in NY to see a show at a VERY AFFORDABLE price! Dana Lorge and I have put our OWN spin on the variety show format and are now hosting every Wednesday night in NYC at The Iguana VIP Lounge (http://www.iguananyc.com) in the heart of
NYC (240 West 54th Street 8-11PM/with an intermission).
WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT THE IGUANA!
Cover: $12 - no food or drink minimums – but remember – the food is great!
This is a nice night
out with the family! A
"throw back" to the variety shows we grew up with.
For more info, please call 845-365-0720 or visit _www.RichardSkipper.com_
RESERVATIONS A MUST!!!!!!!!
212-765-5454. No one admitted before
7:30.
TONIGHT!
Tonight's guests include: Kelly Esposito-Broelmann, Jack DiMonte, Travis Moser, J. Michael Reeds, Marya Zimmet ...
January 13th: Barbara Gurskey returns!
January 20th: Douglas Davidian, Cait Doyle, D'yan Forrest, Greta Heron, Catt John, Alegra Themmen
Feb 3 : Michael Austin, Christopher Gerrard, Lucia Mozzola, Jane Schechter, George Stella, Jane Stuart
February 10th: MY BIRTHDAY SHOW! Glen Charlow, Jenna Esposito, Helene Feldman (who shares a birthday with Richard), Jeanne MacDonald, Stearns Matthews, Jim Speake ...
...and a few other surprises as well!
February 17th : James Alexander
March 10th: David Alpher & Jenny Litt, Louise Quick (pictured)
, Nicholas Tamagna, Pam Tate, Maureen TaylorMarch 17th: Cindy Marchionda returns!
March 24th, Julie Reyburn returns!
April 28th: Kecia Craig and Frank Stern!
Keep checking http://www.richardskipper.com/schedule.html for upcoming entertainers and shows!
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