JK's TheatreScene: Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Showing posts with label Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Around the TheatreScene: August/September 2024

Over the course of each month, we'll collect pictures and newsy tidbits from the "TheatreScene." We'll be scouring Twitter, Instagram and other social media for interesting items. And we'd love to share your love of theater, too! Send us your pics from your theater scene - local stuff, school shows, fan art, stage door encounters! Send them to: jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com (careful of the spelling!).

Around the TheatreScene

August/September 2024

Back to School with The Outsiders

These guys have some of the greatest fans - and their fan art is so timely!

Opened: The Roommate

Dueling divas took to the stage of the Booth! Welcome back, Mia and Patti!

Closed: The Wiz

The super successful revival ended on a high note in the box office, and no less than acting icon Wendell Pierce went to the final performance!

FANTASTIC! Closing Night of THE WIZ on Broadway!! The National Tour begins! Coming to a city near you! “CAN YOU FEEL A BRAND NEW DAY?”🎶 Don’t Miss It! pic.twitter.com/V6dqZYki7U
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) August 18, 2024

Something's Coming!

Broadway newbies and folk rock stars The Avett Brothers are on the scene of their soon-to-preview new musical, Swept Away. This show is on our must-see list!

Something's Coming! - Update!

Just when it looked like Maybe Happy Ending was maybe not happening, they've gone full court press on, well, press to herald its soon-to-preview show! These co-stars sure look excited!

🤖🤖 pic.twitter.com/Vkor9YQp3p
— Maybe Happy Ending Musical (@mhemusical) August 21, 2024

Broadway in the Comics
Whether it's a political cartoon captures a current show's importance, or a fun Fosse-themed meme (I want this on a t-shirt!)...

Broadway Beefcake

Here's some vintage beefcake...

Before Jeremy Jordan became Jay Gatsby, he posed for the Rock of Ages pin-up calendar!

Before Darren Criss became a Helperbot named Oliver, he took his Opening Night bows as Hedwig!

Farewell

How fortunate we were to watch master actor James Earl Jones share his craft in the 2012 revival of The Best Man. Thank you for the privilege, sir. Rest in Peace.

Thursday, August 19, 2021

At This Theater: The Belasco

I've been seeing shows at the Belasco Theatre long enough to have been there before and after its refurbishment. The Belasco of today is a far cry from the old, which was dingy, dirty, and visibly falling apart. Thank the theater gods that it transformation happened! As it currently stands, it has probably my favorite interior, with its stunning decor and lighting fixtures and gorgeous stained glass windows. You can feel the history every time you enter the house. (You feel a different kind of history, though, in the tiny lobby/box office area, with its floor to ceiling dark marble. Mausoleum vibes!)

At This Theater:

The Belasco

Between us, we've only seen five different shows there, but we saw Hedwig several times, and I'm happy to report that pretty much anywhere in the house offers at least a good view - and that includes both box and on-stage seating!

# of Shows We Saw There: 5

Shows We Saw There: Passing Strange, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, End of the Rainbow, Twelfth Night, Hedwig and the Angry Inch

How They Rate:

5. End of the Rainbow: Mike saw this one, I did not. He says, "It was memorable for Tracee Bennett's manic performance. I also enjoyed seeing Tom Pelphrey from The Guiding Light."

WHERE HE SAT: Balcony: far away, but good sight lines.

4. Passing Strange: Here's a show Mike and I disagree on. He enjoyed it. I did not. One thing we did agree on is that we felt it really pushed the boundaries of musical theater, and that's always a good thing. He enjoyed the score, while I felt it was a bit self-indulgent, particularly with Stew himself literally center stage. Still, the cast was amazing, including both Rebecca Naomi Jones and Daniel Breaker.

WHERE WE SAT: Side right orchestra about 8 rows back on the aisle: excellent view.

3. Twelfth Night: Aside from the thrill of seeing such gifted actors as Mark Rylance, Samuel Barnett and Stephen Frye doing Shakespeare, perhaps the most memorable thing about the production is that it was done as closely as practical to the way it was done in The Bard's time; men played all of the roles, much of the lighting included candles, and there was a Globe-like unit set. It was fun and so theatrical!

WHERE WE SAT: On stage! It really added to the experience, being up close to and part of the action. Surprisingly, I never felt like we missed a thing, sitting on the side of the stage, up on a huge multi-level platform. And it was really cool to look out into the theater, seeing what the actors can - it is true, you really can see obnoxious patrons clearly from there!

2. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown: I always wonder what we would have thought of it, had we seen it after opening night, like we were supposed to. As it turned out, thanks to postponements, we ended up seeing one of the first previews. Well, though it was clearly still a work in progress, it was in terrific shape. And as a theater aficionado, it was a thrill to see it at this point. I will never forget Laura Benanti stopping the show with her tour de force number, "Model Behavior," or a very game Patti LuPone whizzing by, wig askew, on a motorcycle, or fellating a lollipop while singing and swinging from a bungee cord! David Yazbek's score remains one of my favorites of the 21st century,

WHERE WE SAT: Side left orchestra about 8 rows back on the aisle: excellent view, nothing cut off.

1. Hedwig and the Angry Inch: I'm pretty sure both Mike and l of agree that Hedwig is not one of our absolute favorite shows. But the performance of it is just so exciting, and this production was so wonderfully staged, we ended up seeing it four times. Each of the three actors we saw in the title role - Neil Patrick Harris, Darren Criss and Michael C. Hall were so different, it truly became a study in the craft of acting.There was so much to love and appreciate about each performer, it wouldn't really be fair to pick our favorite. And Lena Hall was simply brilliant, while Rebecca Naomi Jones brought her own lively spin on the role of Itzak, and proved why she remains one of our favorite Broadway performers.

WHERE WE SAT: Center mezzanine: the perfect view, able to see the big picture and still see the tiniest of details. House left box seat. Another great view, with an up-close view of most of the stage.

#2613

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

SPECIAL UPDATE: The Torsos of Broadway Return!

We've noticed that traffic on the site has been very heavy over the past couple of months for an older post (from January 2013!) about the preponderance of bare torsos on the Broadway stage. Given the recent posting of ass shots by Sebastian Stan, I suspect that makes the rise in hits to this article in recent days has to do with that since Mr. Stan figures prominently there.

No matter the reason, we thought it might be fun to do an update of some of Broadway's best torsos over the past 8 years. In the interest of...continuity... we will start where we left off, with the 2013 revival of Pippin and hitting all the "hot spots" between there and Moulin Rouge!

Enjoy!

The Torsos of Broadway Return!