One That Got Away: Anastasia

One That Got Away:

Anastasia (2017)

There are many reasons why someone might miss a show altogether. Maybe it closed before you could get to it. Maybe it was too hard to get a ticket. Or maybe it's simply not of interest to you. But it is a real head-scratcher for me as to why I missed Anastasia.

Let's take a closer look at this. It was at the Broadhurst for two full years, so there were plenty of chances to see it. It was written by some of my all-time favorite creators: Terrence McNally (book) and Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (score). I love everyone in the principal cast, particularly Ramin Karimloo, Derek Klena, and Anastasia herself, Christy Altomare. Doubly perplexing was missing Klena and Altomare after adoring them together in Carrie. And the astonishing (and award-winning) projections by Aaron Rhyne were the standard-making talk of the town - how could I not see that for myself.

Confession time: I have completely avoided the cast recording. I've not, to my knowledge, heard a single note of the score. I'm afraid I'll love it. Then I'll really kick myself for this One That Got Away!

Anastasia began its 34 previews at the Broadhurst Theatre on March 23, 2017, and opened on April 24, 2017. It was nominated for two 2017 Tony Awards: Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Mary Beth Peil) and Best Costume Design of a Musical (Linda Cho). After 808 performances, the show closed on March 31, 2019.

📸: M. Murphy

CD Review: Ahrens and Flaherty: Nice Fighting You (Live at 54 Below)

Broadway has had famous composing teams throughout is long history - Rodgers and Hammerstein, Rodgers and Hart, Lerner and Loewe, Bock and Harnick, Kander and Ebb... For the last twenty-four years, Broadway has had its share of tunes contributed by the team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.

They've had only five new scores on the Great White Way (so far), and they won a Tony, but they still haven't had that big breakout hit.  They've had two beloved , if modest, hits with Once on this Island and Ragtime, two flops with Seussical and My Favorite Year, and the jury is still out on this season's Rocky, a bigger hit in Germany than here.  And they've had modest success off-Broadway and regionally with shows like Lucky Stiff and Dessa Rose, and with the animated film (again, a modest hit) Anastacia.  To celebrate their 30 years together, they put together a series of concerts at 54 Below, featuring some of the stage's biggest stars, singing a sampling of their songs, past, present and future.  Listening to this terrific 2-CD set, Nice Fighting You, makes you realize that, despite not having a huge hit under their belt, they have quite a cache of amazing songs in a really astonishing variety of styles.  And you will also realize that Ahrens and Flaherty belong in that list of great Broadway composing teams.

Grade: A+

Title: Nice Fighting You (Live at 54 Below)

Artist: Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty and Various Artists

Label: Broadway Records

Number: BR-CD54B-012

Format: Double CD

Case: Single Jewel Case, with double CD center

Booklet: Full color, 14 pages.  CD package design and layout by Van Dean. Photos by Nathan Johnson.  Liner notes by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.  Album produced by Michael J. Moritz, Jr. Executive produced by Van Dean and Stephanie Rosenberg.

THE TOP THREE REASONS YOU NEED THIS RECORDING

1.  The hosts are terrific! 
They are articulate and charming.  Their patter is the perfect blend of humor, self-deprecation and "insider-y" gossip.  And best of all, Ahrens and Flaherty's affection for their chosen profession and each other comes shining right through your ear buds!

2.  The great selection of songs!

This is more than a greatest hits recording - and there are plenty of great hits here.  But there are also some great lesser-known songs from shows like Dessa Rose and Lucky Stiff.  And there are a few awesome gems, like Flaherty himself playing the overture from Ragtime on the piano, a song that was cut from the same show, and a few new songs from their upcoming new musical, Little Dancer.

3.  The cavalcade of Broadway stars!
The "cast list" here reads like who's who of current Broadway stars, including Kecia Lewis, Rebecca Luker, Stephanie J. Block and Mary Testa. Then there are the stars who have come back to sing the songs they created on Broadway and beyond, including LaChanze, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Bobby Steggert, Marin Mazzie (who also shows off some of the crazy she brings to her role in Bullets in an hilarious number called "Speaking French"), and the absolutely sweet Kevin Chamberlin, who recreates his Suessical numbers, "Alone in the Universe" and "Solla Sollew."  (There are several others on this recording, too.)

The bottom line is this: If you are new to their work, or love their work, this CD is for you.

Jeff
5.202

Ding! ROUND 1: Why I Am Looking Forward to ROCKY

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE IN ROUND 3 OF THE HOT OR NOT COMPETITION!  

THIS WEEK RATE THE CAST OF BIG FISH!  

CLICK THE SHOW LOGO TO YOUR RIGHT - THE SURVEY STARTS AFTER THE CAST PICTURES!  VOTE NOW - THE POLL CLOSES AT NOON ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13!

Five months from tomorrow will be the first preview of Rocky: The Musical.  And I have to admit that the more I read about it, the more I am looking forward to seeing the show.

Rocky and I have an important history together: in 1976, at age 10, I got to go to my first "grown up" movie.  Rocky.  As you might guess, I am not all that into boxing (or sports for that matter, klutz and geek that I am/was), and yet I remember the whole film like it was yesterday.  Perhaps most importantly, it was the first time that I realized that my little isolated small town world wasn't the only place on Earth; that not everyone lived like I did.  And in a time when the country was swathing itself in red, white and blue accouterments of glory and patriotism, it was easy to believe (especially for a 10 year old) that America was a completely free, abundant-with-wealth paradise filled with prosperous heroes, Rocky showed me an America I knew nothing of.  It was gritty, urban (in the scariest sense of the word) and filled will ill-mannered, uneducated people who worked hard, had little to show for it, and had every reason to hate their lives and the country that had clearly let it down.  And the main character LOSES!  And yet, I remember distinctly telling my dad that Rocky was the good guy because he did the best he could even though he didn't have the best training or equipment.  But he had the best people in his life, especially Adrian who loved him even when he was beat up really bad.

Scenes from Rocky - Das Musical

It was the first time I saw and learned that the hero doesn't always win - in fact, losing the fight can make you a winner in real life, anyway.  This was a powerful message shining through a sea of images and messages that told me just the opposite.

Truthfully, I can't sit through more than 10 minutes of any of the sequels.  But the original resonates with me even today.

The Rocky: The Musical Creative Team

And so, inevitably it may seem, Rocky will become another movie-turned-musical.  Here's hoping that this time the creative team will stay true to the small, intimate, yet powerful story, bring the important humanity of the piece to the fore, balancing the every-man story with the spectacle of sport. Given the writing team - book by Thomas Meehan, music by Stephen Flaherty, and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens - all three of whom are no strangers to both huge Broadway spectacle and small, intimate theatre, I feel very optimistic that they will find every way they can to make each moment musical and theatrical.  And I am sure they will surprise us, too.  And add one of the most vibrant and modern story-tellers at the helm, director Alex Timbers, and one of the most unique specialists in movement and dance, choreographer Steven Hoggett, and I can only imagine what a visual feast this will be.  The pictures from the original German production look like an interesting mix of iconic images and scenes that show a theatricality that celebrates all the things that live theatre can do that film can't.

I am optimistic and hopeful!

(Photos from NY Times, and the German production, Rocky - Das Musical)

Jeff
5.008