Everything I Know I Learned from Musicals

Passing Strange: Revisit and Broadcast News

Over the weekend, I revisited a whole bunch of shows, including A Catered Affair, Passing Strange, Adding Machine, and Boeing-Boeing. See my Catered re-review below, and watch for my Boeing-Boeing and Adding Machine reappraisals later in the week.

As for Passing Strange, my initial enthusiasm for the show has been waning somewhat as I listen to the cast recording. (Read my first review here.) The music doesn't seem quite as compelling upon further investigation, and I find myself increasingly irritated by the over reliance on assonance (rhyming "sex" with "cigarettes") and poor scansion in the lyrics (e.g. "un-DER your wing," "far lon-GER than you," etc.).

But since I had plenty of available show slots during this trip, I figured I'd take the show in again to see how it would hold up. Plus, it was one of only five shows with matinées on July 4th, and none of the others really struck my fancy.

Even with the limited competition, Passing Strange still wasn't able to attract a full house. In fact, the show played to just 37% capacity last week. So the show's probably not long for this world; I wouldn't be surprised if we heard about a closing notice sometime soon, perhaps this week.

Which is probably for the best, because Stew and Heidi Rodewald look like they're ready to pack it in. Stew seemed to be phoning it in, although frankly he didn't really seem all that demonstrative the first time either. The crowd energy was low; there were far fewer downtown alternativo types in attendance, and not that many African Americans either. The audience seemed mainly to comprise middle-class vacationers who got their tickets at TKTS and weren't really sure what to expect. The couple next to me left at intermission.

But the supporting cast was really on, perhaps because they're trained actors, not rock musicians. Colman Domingo and Chad Goodridge were particularly sharp. The dynamic Daniel Breaker was out for this performance, but understudy Lawrence Stallings was very animated and capable.

Even so, Passing Strange remains a bold work, one that challenges Broadway conventions and demonstrates new ways of approaching the form. For those of you who won't be able to catch the show before its imminent demise, Playbill.com reports that director Spike Lee will be filming the show for a TV broadcast on a cable channel TBD. Lee will reportedly record three performances later this month, two of which will have a live audience, and then edit the three together.

For a while there, it looked as though Passing Strange might turn out to be another Hair: a safe way for the middle class to experience the counter culture all within the relative safety of Times Square and the familiar Belasco proscenium. Even though Passing Strange doesn't seem to be catching on, the show's score is more mainstream than those of most Broadway shows. Ever since Hair debuted, people have been talking about how Broadway needed to stay relevant by reflecting changing tastes in music. Forty years later, it's finally starting to occur in earnest.

Upcoming DVD Releases

There are quite a few DVDs coming out soon that should be of great interest to theater aficionados. Here's a sampling:

COMPANY: As I watch and re-watch the TV broadcast of the recent Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company, the production is really starting to grow on me. As I said in my review, when I saw this show at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, I found it smart but cold. I was seated in the balcony, which made it hard to connect with the performers; it's not really the sort of show that plays well to the back row. But there's something about the PBS-telecast version that brings out the tension and subtlety of John Doyle's direction. Raul Esparza and Barbara Walsh in particular were a lot more impressive on the small screen than in person. The street date for the DVD is May 20th, but if you order it through New York's Channel Thirteen, they'll ship it to you in March. Will I order from Channel Thirteen, or wait for the regular release? Do you even have to ask?

SWEENEY TODD: Another DVD release that I'm eagerly awaiting is Tim Burton's movie version of "Sweeney Todd." In my review, I called the movie a "masterwork," and I'll be interested to see if it holds up to repeated viewings. I imagine that it will, in particular the nuanced performances by Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. (I will probably fast-forward through most of the really gory stuff. I'm kind of a puss when it comes to graphic violence.) The film will be available in both a regular version and a two-disc special edition. Which will I be getting? Do you even have to ask?

ENCHANTED: I haven't really been going to the movies all that much lately, but in addition to "Sweeney Todd," I also saw "Enchanted" during the recent holiday season. I remember seeing the preview one time when I took my eight-year-old niece Alyssa to see something or other, and I turned to her and said, "Oh, sweetie, we have to see that." She agreed, and we both had a blast when we finally got to see it, as I mentioned in my review. I particularly had fun picking out all the theater people both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. Not only was Amy Adams utterly disarming as Giselle, but the cast also included two dreamboats: Patrick Dempsey and James Marsden. What's not to love?

Also of interest: The recent ABC broadcast of A Raisin in the Sun, the 1955 film version of Kismet, and the 1961 film of Fanny. Will I be getting them all? Do you even have to ask?

BlueGobo.com: YouTube for Theater Geeks

I recently I posted about YouTube, and the plethora of musical-related videos one can find therein. Reader Scot Colford, co-author of the Just Giblets blog, tipped me off to BlueGobo.com, which is sort of a YouTube for musicals, with clips from the Tony Awards, "The Ed Sullivan show," the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parades, and other sources. (Much obliged, Scot.) Lots and lots of good stuff here, and once I figure out how to post, I hope to be adding stuff from my extensive collection. Here are some clips on BlueGobo that you simply don't want to miss:

Little Shop of Horrors: When the DVD for the movie version of Little Shop first came out, it contained a black-and-white version of the original ending. You know: the one in which everybody dies, as they do in the stage version of the show. After the studio showed the movie to preview audiences, they said it was too much of a downer, so the studio re-shot the ending and made it all happy and nice nice, essentially destroying the movie, and removing whatever satirical intent it may have had. Well, apparently producer David Geffen never signed off on releasing the DVD with the original ending, and when he found out about it, he promptly ordered a recall. Of course, this made what few copies that actually got out into the hands of the general public instant collector's items, and these precious gems periodically sell on eBay for big bucks. Well, if you've always wanted to see what that original ending was like, it's now just a mouse click away.

The Will Rogers Follies: On the Forbidden Broadway: Special Victims Unit CD, Gerard Alessandrini refers to Thoroughly Modern Millie as "the worst best musical ever." Much as I admire Alessandrini and his work, I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with him. My nominee for that ignominious distinction would have to be The Will Rogers Follies, which won the 1991 Tony Award over two vastly superior shows -- The Secret Garden and Once on This Island -- and one show that would become far more successful, at least financially, Miss Saigon. Although these other shows have, to varying extents, survived in regional and international productions, Will Rogers is virtually forgotten. But the show did receive a television broadcast in Japan, probably because the original show was produced "in association with" Japan Satellite Broadcasting Inc. Although Will Rogers as a whole didn't really work, there was a lot of great stuff in it, mostly thanks to director/choreographer Tommy Tune. BlueGobo has two clips from the Japan airing, including the terrific opening number "Will-A-Mania" and the act-one finale. You can see the best number from the show -- "Favorite Son," which the cast performed on the Tony Awards broadcast -- over on YouTube.

Buck White: One of the greatest musical-theater oddities of all time, Buck White starred Cassius Clay. That's right: Muhammad Ali. It played 7 performances in 1969. The cast performed "We Came in Chains" on "The Ed Sullivan Show" after the show had closed. The number speaks for itself, but it's interesting to note that Muhammad Ali wasn't all that bad as a singer. Of course, we know he had his own stunning sense of theatricality, but he could also carry a tune. Go figure.

YouTube Broadway Treasures

When it comes to YouTube, I wasn't exactly ahead of the curve. Lots of people told me about it, but I really didn't see the point of watching other people's homemade videos.
Then I discovered that people also post clips from old TV shows, and I've found that there's a lot of musical-theater-related stuff to enjoy on YouTube. Lately I've been having a blast watching old clips from "The Ed Sullivan Show," which was quite the Broadway booster in its day, frequently featuring performances from the latest the Rialto had to offer. There's even a DVD compilation of some of the best performances from Broadway musicals.

There are lots of clips from well-known shows to choose from, including numbers from shows that received TV broadcasts, but have so far not been issued on commercial DVD. Two of my favorites are Rosalind Russell singing "100 Easy Ways to Lose a Man" from Wonderful Town, and Lauren Bacall performing "But Alive" (AKA "the gay-bar scene") from Applause.

But there are also some fascinating obscurities to be found on YouTube. For instance, there are "Ed Sullivan Show" numbers from Destry Rides Again and Donnybrook. Although both shows are virtually forgotten, Ed refers to Destry as a "smash, roaring hit" and to Donnybrook as a "tremendous hit." The shows played 472 and 68 performances respectively, so neither really qualifies for such plaudits.

But the numbers are fascinating. From Destry, there's "Are You Ready, Gyp Watson?," featuring choreography that is unmistakable Michael Kidd. Later in the same clip, we have Dolores Gray singing the gorgeous Harold Rome ballad, "I Say Hello." The Donnybrook clip features flop queen Susan Johnson and Eddie Foy, Jr. performing the awkwardly staged but terrificly tuneful "I Wouldn't Bet One Penny," followed by a clarion-voiced Joan Fagan singing the show's opening number, "Sez I." Both songs are by composer/lyricist Johnny Burke.

Dear reader, what are your favorite musical-related YouTube clips? Anything fun that you'd like to share?

Legally Blonde Reality Show on MTV

The Hollywood writers' strike seems to be affecting Broadway in some indirect ways. Faced with a lack of scribes for its scripted shows, MTV has announced a reality show  to help the producers of the Broadway musical Legally Blonde choose a successor for Laura Bell Bundy in the lead role of Elle Woods. (Reality shows employ "content producers," who are cheaper and don't belong to the writers' union.) The network recently announced national auditions in anticipation of taping the show in February and March.

It's a questionable tactic, at least from a ratings perspective. By all accounts, the reality show "Grease: You're the One That I Want" wasn't much of a Nielsen bonanza, although the Grease revival that it helped to cast seems to be holding its own at the box office. On the other hand, ticket sales for Legally Blonde got a shot in the arm from its recent airings on MTV, despite predictions from many people that running the show on TV would prove disastrous.

Many people will also likely decry this reality-show move as a publicity stunt. Well, I say, what's wrong with a publicity stunt, if it keeps a decent show running? I've long defended stunt-casting as an effective way to keep good shows up and good people employed. And Legally Blonde, while certainly not a masterpiece, is a fun bit of fluff, if a bit on the shrill side. (See my review here.) The show is an intentionally populist Broadway offering, and thus is in no danger of compromising its "artistic integrity" by relegating its central casting to a populist voting process. Plus, the show will bring increased visibility to Broadway in general beyond Broadway's typical demographic (i.e. from old, rich, white people to young, rich, white people).

Let's just hope the whole reality-show thing doesn't go too far. I mean, we certainly wouldn't want this casting-by- popular-vote thing to become a habit or anything. In a larger sense, art is not a democratic process, nor should it be.

Company Revival to Air on PBS in February

I've noticed a lot of search activity recently on my blog regarding when the telecast of the recent revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company would be happening. The show was filmed shortly before it closed in July, but there was no specific date mentioned as to when it would air. I sensed some impending anxiety in the search terms: "will company revival ever air on TV" was one typically frustrated string.

Well, search and fret no more, Sondheim fanatics. According to Playbill.com, Company will premiere on PBS on February 20, 2008.

As I mentioned in my review of the show when I saw it last December, I found the production compelling but lacking urgency. Although I had been greatly looking forward to the performances of Raul Esparza and Babara Walsh, they both wound up underwhelming me in situ.

I may have simply caught an off performance for both of these remarkably talented actors. I'm open to the possibility of watching the TV broadcast and having it change my mind. That's certainly what happened with The Light in the Piazza. When I first saw that show at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, I was left a bit cold. But upon repeated viewings of the Great Performances broadcast, as well as repeated hearings of the cast album, I've become quite enamored of this lovely and touching show.

In other musical-theater-on-television news, the recent LA Opera production of Kurt Weill's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny will debut on PBS on December 17th. Why should we theater queens care about some smelly old opera? Because it stars Patti Lupone and Audra McDonald, that's why. And because, like Company, it was directed by Tony-winner John Doyle. And also because Kurt Weill was one of the best things to ever happen to musical theater, the recent abortive Lovemusik notwithstanding.

Legally Blonde to air on MTV

Negotiations are currently underway to allow cable network MTV to broadcast a performance of the new Broadway musical Legally Blonde, according to the New York Post. MTV will film a performance of the musical at the Palace Theater this month for broadcast sometime in October.

Such a broadcast would represent an unprecedented move. I can't think of another example of a show broadcast in the middle of a healthy run. (Anyone?) Shows are often taped to run on TV after they close, including Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, Smokey Joe's Cafe and [shudder] Jekyll & Hyde. The recent revival of Company was also filmed for an upcoming broadcast. And the "Live at Lincoln Center" series, although it certainly lives up to its "live" moniker, usually broadcasts one of the very final performances of the shows in question, including Contact and The Light in the Piazza.

But Legally Blonde, despite lukewarm reviews and zero Tony Awards, has been playing to very healthy houses of 80-plus percent, and has been enjoying weekly grosses of around $900,000, in some weeks raking in more than $1,000,000. So the show's got legs. However, the audience base for this show -- tweens and teens of the female persuasion -- will likely run dry in the New York City area sometime soon, and the show will then start to rely more on tourists to keep it going.

Will tourists pay $100 to see the show live when they could TiVo it free off MTV? How will this affect the prospects for a national tour of the show? Perhaps the producers don't trust that Legally Blonde will stick around much longer on Broadway. And perhaps MTV, which is struggling to stay relevant to its dwindling audience base, is willing to make some major financial commitment on a unique event to attract more viewers.

On the other hand, the movie versions of some major long-running Broadway shows (Chicago, Hairspray, Rent, The Phantom of the Opera) have actually helped these shows at the box-office. Could airing Legally Blonde on TV actually be a shrewd marketing ploy?