Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

The 2011-2012 Patrick Lee Theater Bloggers Award Winners

The Independent Theater Bloggers Association (the “ITBA”) is proud to announce the 2012 recipients of the Fourth Annual Patrick Lee Theater Blogger Awards, (the “the Patricks”). Patrick Lee was one of the ITBA's founding members. Patrick passed away suddenly in June 2010, and was an erudite, passionate, and tireless advocate for theater in all its forms. Patrick was also the ITBA's first awards director, and was a regular contributor to Theatermania and TDF Stages.

The 2011-2012 Patrick Lee Theater Blogger Award Winners:

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL

• Once

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY

• Peter and the Starcatcher

OUTSTANDING BROADWAY MUSICAL REVIVAL

• Follies

OUTSTANDING BROADWAY PLAY REVIVAL

• Death of a Salesman

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF BROADWAY PLAY

• Sons of the Prophet

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE

• Peter and the Starcatcher

CITATIONS FOR EXCELLENCE BY INDIVIDUAL PERFORMERS (Across Off-Off Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Broadway)

• Nina Arianda, Venus in Fur
• Christian Borle, Peter and the Starcatcher
• Philip Boykin, The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess
• Danny Burstein, Follies
• James Corden, One Man, Two Guvnors
• Santino Fontana, Sons of the Prophet
• Judy Kaye, Nice Work If You Can Get It
• Judith Light, Other Desert Cities
• Jan Maxwell, Follies
• Lindsay Mendez, Godspell
• Terri White, Follies

OUTSTANDING OFF-OFF-BROADWAY PLAY

• Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Mad Ones, The New Ohio Theatre
• She Kills Monsters, The Flea Theatre

UNIQUE OFF-OFF BROADWAY EXPERIENCE

• The Tenant, Woodshed Collective

CITATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN OFF-OFF BROADWAY THEATRE

• The Flea Theatre

OUTSTANDING SOLO SHOW/PERFORMANCES (Across Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway)

• Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway
• Denis O'Hare, An Iliad, New York Theatre Workshop
• Zoe Caldwell, Elective Affinities, Soho Rep
• Juan Francisco Villa, Empanada for a Dream, Barrow Group
• Stephen Spinella, An Illiad, New York Theatre Workshop
• Daniel Kitson, It's Always Right Now Until It's Later
• Lorinda Lositza, Triumphant Baby

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL

• Now. Here. This.

The ITBA comprises bloggers who regularly see live performances in all its forms in New York City and beyond. Members are in New York, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, and London, among other places. For further information and a list of our members, our website is www.theaterbloggers.com. If you are interested in learning more about the ITBA, email [email protected]. To invite the members of the ITBA to your show or event, please send an email to [email protected].

The 2010-2011 Patrick Lee Theater Blogger Award Winners

The Independent Theater Bloggers Association (ITBA) is proud to announce the 2011 recipients of the Third Annual Patrick Lee Theater Blogger Awards.

Patrick Lee was one of the ITBA's founding members, and was the author of the blog Just Shows to Go You. Patrick passed away suddenly last June, and was an erudite, passionate, and tireless advocate for theater in all its forms. Patrick was also the ITBA's first awards director, and was a regular contributor to TheaterMania and TDF Stages.

 

The 2010-2011 Patrick Lee Theater Blogger Award Winners:

 

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

 

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY

Jerusalem

 

OUTSTANDING BROADWAY MUSICAL REVIVAL

Anything Goes

 

OUTSTANDING BROADWAY PLAY REVIVAL

The Normal Heart

 

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity

 

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL

The Kid

 

OUTSTANDING OFF-BROADWAY REVIVAL (PLAY OR MUSICAL)

Angels in America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches

 

OUTSTANDING SOLO SHOW/PERFORMANCE (ALL VENUE CATEGORIES)

Michael Shannon, Mistakes Were Made

 

CITATIONS FOR OUTSTANDING OFF-OFF BROADWAY SHOW

Feeder: A Love Story

Invasion!

The Caucasian Chalk Circle

Belarus Free Theater's Discover Love

Black Watch

ReWrite

 

UNIQUE OFF-OFF BROADWAY EXPERIENCE

Sleep No More

 

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE

The Scottsboro Boys

 

CITATIONS FOR EXCELLENCE BY INDIVIDUAL PERFORMERS

Nina Arianda, Born Yesterday

Laura Benanti, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Reed Birney, A Small Fire

Christian Borle, Peter and the Starcatcher

Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can

Bobby Cannavale, The Motherfucker with the Hat

Colman Domingo, The Scottsboro Boys

Sutton Foster, Anything Goes

Josh Gad, The Book of Mormon

Hamish Linklater, School for Lies

Joe Mantello, The Normal Heart

Arian Moayed, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo

Lily Rabe, The Merchant of Venice

Mark Rylance, Jerusalem

Michael Shannon, Mistakes Were Made

Benjamin Walker, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

 

CITATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN OFF-OFF BROADWAY THEATRE

La Mama

 

The list of the 2011 recipients of the Patrick Lee Awards is read by Susan Blackwell, Heidi Blickenstaff, Jeff Bowen, and Hunter Bell, the cast and creators of the acclaimed [title of show], who are currently collaborating on Now. Here. This., a Developmental Lab Production at the Vineyard Theatre. A video of their reading is on YouTube, which was filmed by ITBA member Jesse North. 

 

The ITBA, is composed of bloggers who regularly attend live theater in all its forms in New York City and beyond. Members live in New York, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, London, and elsewhere. For further information and a list of our members, please visit our website: www.theaterbloggers.com. If you are interested in learning more about the ITBA, email [email protected]. To invite the members of the ITBA to your show or event, please send an email to [email protected].

TV Show - The American Theater Wing - "Working in the Theatre"

You know what's really humbling? Being in a room with a bunch of people who know a lot more than you do, about a subject that you thought you knew a whole lot about. And you know what's even more humbling? When that conversation gets taped for broadcast purposes.

A few months back, I was asked by Howard Sherman, the outgoing executive director of the American Theatre Wing, to appear on the organization's "Working in the Theatre" television program. The program airs on cable TV in New York City, but episodes are also available online and via Podcast.

The subject of this particular show was theater journalism, both online and off. And the panel featured some of the brightest theater journalists currently working. And me. My fellow panelists were: 

• Terry Teachout, theater columnist and critic for the Wall Street Journal, and author of the blog, About Last Last.
• Scott Heller, theater and book editor for the New York Times.
• Jan Simpson, former arts editor for Time Magazine, and author of the blog, Broadway & Me. 
• David Loehr, founder and editor of 2AM Theatre (2AMt), a theater-practitioner blog. 

I was deeply impressed by all of my fellow panelists, as well as moderator Howard Sherman, and their rich understanding of both the theatrical landscape as well as the past, present, and future of arts journalism. The panel made some especially incisive comments about the changing economic model for journalism, and what we can expect from the future of theater criticism. Meanwhile, I proceeded to prattle on about my dog Oliver, teaching musical theater, and, for some strange reason, Venn diagrams. 

The show should be airing sometime soon in New York City, although I haven't the slightest idea when, but you can watch it online (click here to watch the show online) or fire up iTunes and download the Podcast. The show is an hour long, but you can always skip past the parts when I'm talking.

Five Years of Theater Blogging

In all of the hubbub of the end of the Broadway season and the end of the Boston Conservatory semester, it totally slipped my mind that my blog turned five in April.

Five years of blogging. It's really kind of hard to believe, and it's amazing to me to look back and see how much this blog has changed my life. I've met so many wonderful people, and seen so many shows, some of which were quite wonderful. Some.

I won't waste your time with lists of accomplishments and highlights, but I would like to send a shout out to the following people, my beloved fellow theater bloggers, and thank them for their support and friendship over the past five years.

If the only effect this blog had on my life was bringing you lovely people into my life, then I could truly consider myself blessed. Here's to many more years of blogging and friendship.

Sarah Roberts at Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertainment

Gil Varod at Broadway Abridged

Jan Simpson at Broadway and Me

Esther Gross at Gratuitous Violins

Jesse North at Stage Rush

Steve Loucks at Steve on Broadway

Kevin Daly at Theatre Aficionado at Large

Alicia Dempster at Things You'll Learn to Love About Me

Jimmy Moon at Third Row Mezzanine

Linda Buchwald at Pataphysical Science

Vance Hues at Tapeworthy

Third Annual Independent Theater Blogger Awards - Nominations Announced

As a member of the Independent Theater Bloggers Association, I am pleased to announce the nominations for the Third Annual Patrick Lee Theater Blogger Awards.

Patrick Lee was one of the ITBA's founding members. Patrick passed away suddenly last June, and was an erudite, passionate, and tireless advocate for theater in all its forms. He was the author of the popular theater blog, Just Shows to Go You, and was one of the co-founders of the Show Showdown blog. Patrick was also the ITBA's first awards director, and was a regular contributor to Theatermania and TDF Stages.

Conratulations to all of the nominees. The winners will be announced on Friday, May 20th.

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL   

• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
• Catch Me If You Can
• The Book of Mormon
• The Scottsboro Boys
• Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY   

• Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
• Brief Encounter
• Good People
• Jerusalem
• War Horse

OUTSTANDING BROADWAY MUSICAL REVIVAL

• Anything Goes
• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

OUTSTANDING BROADWAY PLAY REVIVAL

• Arcadia
• Born Yesterday
• The Importance of Being Earnest
• The Merchant of Venice
• The Normal Heart

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY

• Gatz
• Other Desert Cities
• Peter and the Starcatcher
• The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
• The Metal Children

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL

• Freckleface Strawberry
• In Transit
• The Burnt Part Boys
• The Kid
• We the People: America Rocks!

OUTSTANDING OFF-BROADWAY REVIVAL (PLAY OR MUSICAL)

• Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches
• Angels in America Part 2: Perestroika
• Hello Again
• The Little Foxes
• Three Sisters

OUTSTANDING SOLO SHOW/PERFORMANCE (ALL VENUE CATEGORIES)   

• Kimberly Faye Greenberg, One Night with Fanny Brice
• John Leguizamo, Ghetto Klown
• Michael Shannon, Mistakes Were Made
• Mike Birbiglia, My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
• Tim Watts, Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer

OUTSTANDING OFF-OFF-BROADWAY SHOW   

• Belarus Free Theater's Discover Love
• Black Watch
• Dog Act
• Feeder: A Love Story
• Invasion!
• Reefer Madness, The Gallery Players
• ReWrite
• The Caucasian Chalk Circle
• Treasure Island

There will also be citations for individual performances, but the nominees will not be made public. The winners will be announced along with the rest of the winners on May 20th.

Patrick Lee - A Tribute

The theatrical blogosphere, at least as I experience it, is a small, dedicated, and passionate crew. Defying the stereotype of the bitchy theater insider, the folks with whom I've become friends are collegial and welcoming.

One of the most passionate and supportive was Patrick Lee, who passed away in his sleep last week at the age of 51. Patrick was the author of the Just Shows to Go You blog, and from the time I started writing this blog, Patrick was always encouraging and generous whenever I was in contact with him. He introduced me to a number of people in the New York theater community, and was instrumental in bringing about the Independent Theater Bloggers Association. We met for dinner, drinks, and to see shows together on numerous occasions. Patrick made an indelible impression on me with his wit, his knowledge, and his passion for live theater. 

Patrick taught me that there is a vital place in the theatrical media for smart, independent voices, and that we can only continue to grow in our breadth and influence. I was simply thunderstruck when I heard of his passing, and will continue to mourn the loss of a friend and fellow blogger.

The 2010 Theater Blogger Awards - The Nominations

OK, so a bit of backpedaling. Just yesterday, I was bemoaning the "orgy of self-congratulation on the part of the theatrical community" that the awards season represents. And now I'm telling you about yet another series of awards. Yeah, so sue me. But the difference here is that I was involved in the nomination and voting process. So that makes it OK.

OK?

Below are the nominations for the 2nd Annual Independent Theater Bloggers Association (ITBA) Awards. The ITBA Awards cover Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway plays and musicals. The Awards will also include citations of individual performers, although the list of some 30 nominees isn't for public consumption. The winners will be announced on May 20. And you can rest assured that I will be publishing, and commenting on, the results. 

Outstanding Musical - Broadway
American Idiot
Everyday Rapture
Fela!

Outstanding Play - Broadway
In the Next Room (Or The Vibrator Play)
Next Fall
Red
Superior Donuts
Time Stands Still

Outstanding Musical Revival - Broadway
Finian's Rainbow
La Cage Aux Folles
A Little Night Music
Ragtime

Outstanding Play Revival - Broadway
Brighton Beach Memoirs
Fences
Lend Me A Tenor
Oleanna
A View From The Bridge

Outstanding Play - Off-Broadway
Circle Mirror Transformation
Clybourne Park
The Orphans' Home Cycle
The Temperamentals

Outstanding Musical - Off-Broadway
Bloodsong of Love
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
The Scottsboro Boys
YANK!

Outstanding Revival - Off-Broadway (Play or Musical)
The Glass Menagerie
A Lie of the Mind
Twelfth Night

Outstanding Off-Off-Broadway Show
Alice in Slasherland
Girls in Trouble
In Fields Where They Lay
Lear
MilkMilkLemonade
Rescue Me
Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War
The Soup Show
Viral

Outstanding Solo Show (All Venues)
A Boy And His Soul
Zero Hour

Outstanding Ensemble Performance (All Venues)
Circle Mirror Transformation
A Lie of the Mind
Twelfth Night

Outstanding Unique Off-Off-Broadway Experience
Taylor Mac's The Lily's Revenge

Citation for Excellence in Off-Off-Broadway Theater
Company XIV (Brooklyn)

Should Bloggers Review Previews?

My esteemed blogging colleague Esther at Gratuitous Violins has an insightful post today about bloggers reviewing shows before opening night. Her post is in response to an article in on British news site The Guardian about British producer Michael Condron. At the end of the article, Condron rails against theater bloggers:

His single flash of anger is aimed at the bloggers who, in defiance of theatrical convention that comment is embargoed until press night, review a play during its previews. "It's almost invariably reactionary responses. They're the modern equivalent of the lot that used to boo the plays in the 50s and 60s. I think they're ghastly.

Here's an irony: Codron actually misuses the word "reactionary," under the false supposition that it means "in reaction to." In fact, it means "opposing political or social change." And that is, in fact, what Codron himself is doing. Well, tu quoque, Mr. Codron.

You're fighting a losing battle, dude. ("It's a new world, Golde. A new world...") The moldy Old Guard simply don't understand the new media. They rail against change, anything that doesn't fit in with their fixed ideas about how theater should operate, and in the process they fail to take advantage of potential marketing opportunities. One of the reasons that Next to Normal recently turned a profit is that the marketing team was very savvy about social media, Twitter in particular, upon which it has amassed more than one million followers. That's right, one million. How many Twitter followers did you manage to scrape up for Losing Louie, Mr. Codron?

When I get press tickets, I abide by embargoes. It's only fair. But when I pay for my ticket, I'll say what I want, where I want, when I want. And no reactionary septuagenarian is going to stop me.

FTC to Bloggers - No More Free Ride

Hey, guys and dolls. I betcha didn't know that bloggers are getting fat and rich from sponsor freebies and kickbacks. And with all the financial sturm und drang out there, there's no more effective way of shoring up the economy than to clamp down on this shameless blogger profligacy.

I jest, of course. But to hear the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) describe it, you'd think the blogger gravy train was right up there with, I don't know, creating fictitious investment opportunities, or selling criminally deceptive mortgages to unsuspecting (and mostly minority) home buyers. The FTC recently issued disclosure guidelines for bloggers: if you receive something free, and then write about it, you need to disclose that "material connection."

To be fair, I really don't think the FTC is going after people like me, but rather bloggers who enter into certain questionable sponsorship relationships, receiving actual cash payments to promote particular products. (See this recent article in the New York Times for some perspective on the complexity of the sponsorship issue.) Quite a few media outlets have decried this move by the FTC, calling it "unnecessary and unenforceable" (Silicon Valley Insider) and a "mad power grab" (Slate).

Full disclosure, dear reader: I get free stuff. It's mostly theater tickets, but I do also get some books and CDs, some of which I then review on my blog. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. Although I'm not paid for blogging, I do consider my self a critic, and critics have received free merchandise since the invention of professional criticism. I'd like to think that getting a free seat for a show wouldn't influence my judgment. My tickets to Tin Pan Alley Rag, Vanities, and Kristina were all free, and that certainly didn't stop me from writing rather negative reviews for all three. 

Starting in December, bloggers must disclose any financial consideration or free goods and services that they receive in connection with any reviews that they write. Fines for not doing so can reach as high as $11,000 per incident. So, yes, I will indeed comply with the new FTC guidelines, indicating at the end of any review for which I received a free ticket that I did indeed attend gratis. But, for me, I think the FTC has bigger fish to fry.

But, let me put it to you, dear reader. Would you second-guess the validity of a review if you knew that the reviewer had received a free ticket? Would you think of the write-up as somehow biased? If the answer is yes, then do you think about the free tickets that professional critics receive when they review shows? Do you honestly think that Ben Brantley and John Simon are pulling any punches because they nabbed a freebie? Somehow, I don't think so.

I do have to say that I sometimes worry if certain press agents will stop arranging free tickets for me if they get the sense that my reviews are always negative. I think that insecurity is a function of the fact that, as a blogger, I'm not very high in the critical pecking order. Also, as I get to know more people in the industry, and as show creators contact me after reading my reviews, I have run into some awkward moments in writing unflattering reviews for shows created by people with whom I'm, if not friends, then at least friendly. And now that I'm in my seventh year of teaching at the Boston Conservatory, more of my former students are starting to appear in the shows I'm reviewing. That hasn't presented any difficult situations as yet, but there's certainly the possibility.

But I think the larger and more difficult question is this: is complete objectivity even possible in a task that is, almost by definition, subjective? Or is it simply a theoretically worthy but, for practical purposes, unattainable goal?

The Independent Theater Blogger Awards

Yeah, I know. Just what the theater world needs, another set of awards. But at least on this one, I actually got a chance to vote.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's the first annual Independent Theater Blogger Awards. [insert crowd noise.]

Recently, one of my fellow bloggers, Ken Davenport of The Producer's Perspective, proposed that we theater bloggers get together and form our own group, the Independent Theater Bloggers Association. The idea was that, as newspapers face an uncertain future, and theater critics continue to receive pink slips, bloggers would become an increasingly important voice in the theatrical community.

Ken has a number of different ideas about what we can do together as a group, but our first official act was to vote on the best plays and musicals of the season. Everyone loves awards, specious though they may be, and it would help our fledging group to garner attention. To simplify the process, Ken chose to use the nominees from the Tonys and the Lucille Lortel Awards, but in the future I'm hoping that we'll also provide our own nominees.

So here are the winners of this year's ITBA Awards. Look for more news about the ITBA and its activities in the months to come.

• BEST BROADWAY PLAY: Reasons To Be Pretty

• BEST BROADWAY MUSICAL: Billy Elliot

• BEST BROADWAY REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL: Hair

• BEST BROADWAY REVIVAL OF A PLAY: The Norman Conquests

• BEST OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL: Fela!

• BEST OFF-BROADWAY PLAY: Ruined

• BEST OFF-BROADWAY REVIVAL (PLAY OR MUSICAL): Our Town

• BEST OFF-OFF BROADWAY PLAY: Universal Robots

• BEST OFF-OFF BROADWAY UNIQUE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE: Suspicious Package

• CITATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN OFF-OFF BROADWAY THEATER: Flux Theatre Ensemble

And here is the ITBA membership, thus far. Bloggers interested in joining the ITBA should contact Ken Davenport at the ITBA Web site.

• Bill Brown - Creating Theater (creatingtheater.com)
• Linda Buchwald - Pataphysical Science (pataphysicalscience.blogspot.com)
• Donald Butchko - Me2ism (me2ism.blogspot.com)
• Chris Caggiano - Everything I Know I Learned from Musicals (ccaggiano.typepad.com)
• Zack Calhoon - Visible Soul (zackcalhoon.blogspot.com)
• Jodi Schoenbrun Carter - Off Stage Right (off-stage-right.com)
• Corine Cohen - Corine's Corner (corinescorner.com)
• Kevin Daly - Theatre Aficionado at Large (theatreaficionado.blogspot.com)
• Ken Davenport - The Producer's Perspective (theproducersperspective.com)
• Ryan J. Davis - Ryan J. Davis Blogs (ryanjdavis.blogspot.com)
• Jeremy Dobrish - Jeremy’s Green Room (JeremysGreenRoom.com)
• Donell James Foreman - The DJF (thedjf.blogspot.com)
• Michael Gilboe - Broadway Bullet (broadwaybullet.com)
• Dan Gilloon - One NYC StageHand (onenycstagehand.blogspot.com)
• Diana Glazer - Lezbehonest (lezbehonest.tumblr.com)
• Byrne Harrison - Stage Buzz (stagebuzz.com)
• Leonard Jacobs - The Clyde Fitch Report (clydefitch.com)
• Patrick Lee - Just Shows to Go You (justshowstogoyou.com)
• James Marino - Broadway Stars (broadwaystars.com)
• Tulis McCall - Usher Nonsense (ushernonsense.com)
• Jesse North - Stage Rush (stagerush.blogspot.com)
• Aaron Riccio - That Sounds Cool (thatsoundscool.blogspot.com)
• Sarah Roberts - Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertainment (sarahbsadventures.blogspot.com)
• Michael Roderick - One Producer in the City (oneproducerinthecity.typepad.com)
• Adam Rothenberg - Adaumbelle’s Quest (adaumbellesquest.com)
• David Spencer - Aisle Say (aislesay.com)
• Ethan Stanislawski - Tynan's Anger (tynansanger.com)
• Gil Varod - Broadway Abridged (BroadwayAbridged.com)
• Kim Weild - kimweild.com

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

I've been a little late getting to the party on "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog." It had been on the outskirts of my consciousness, and I downloaded the three current episodes onto my iPhone a few weeks back, but I didn't get around to watching them until this past weekend. You can watch them online by clicking through the link above, or you can download the three "acts" on iTunes for $3.99. The three episodes have been among the most popular TV show downloads since their release, attesting to the continued re-popularization of musicals.

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised, both at the quality of the writing and the performances. These are no slapdash YouTube efforts, but fully fledged 15-minute episodes, with Hollywood production values. I guess it's a tribute to the mainstream nature of blogs that writer/producer/director Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel") chose to distribute this property online. Apparently the series arose out of boredom during the recent Hollywood writers' strike. Whedon has said that he hopes that his show becomes a model for alternate content distribution.

Of course, it also fits in with the central conceit of the show: Dr. Horrible uses a video weblog to announce to the world his nefarious intentions. Neil Patrick Harris is terrific as the eponymous doctor, bringing sharp comic timing, a terrific singing voice, and a vulnerable and sweet quality to his interactions with his love interest, the wonderful Felicia Day. As Dr. Horrible's nemesis in life and in love, Nathan Fillion makes for a suitably smarmy Captain Hammer.

Of course, the real star of this opus is Joss Whedon and his co-writer siblings Jed Whedon and Zack Whedon. The Whedons' dialog is by turns intentionally awkward and blisteringly funny. Although I've never seen a single episode of "Buffy," I have heard about the musical episode "Once More With Feeling." Based on "Dr. Horrible," I'm going to have to track at the very least that musical episode down. And the songs are actually quite good, although the lyrics can sometimes veer into the land of trite phrasing. But on the whole, it's a very enjoyable series, which is reportedly to be followed by additional online installments, as well as a soundtrack recording.

Will the success of "Dr. Horrible" spawn additional online musicals? It seems likely. Hey, let's put one together ourselves! My dad's got this old barn...