THE FRIDAY 5: 2017-18 Theatrical Elements

This week, I thought I'd talk about the five (+ one honorable mention!) theatrical elements I'm most looking forward to this winter/spring of play-going.  And just like with the acting choices, it was very difficult to narrow down my list to just five!

THE FRIDAY 5:

THE TOP THEATRICAL ELEMENTS

JEFF IS LOOKING FORWARDTO

5. SVEN IN FROZEN

I have to admit that I still love Frozen, and I'm really excited to see how it expands this spring at the St. James. My favorite character in the film is the sweet, goofy and adorable reindeer, Sven, and I'm very excited to see how Andrew Pirozzi brings this lovable creature to life! 

4. THE IMMERSIVE STAGING OF

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET

Sweeney Todd is a show I'm very familiar with - I've directed it, and I've seen several varied productions. Traditional, "concept." small cast... but I am really looking forward to seeing it truly up close and in the action! I can't wait to be terrified, laugh and appreciate one of the greatest musicals of all time in a whole new way.

3. MICHAEL ARDEN'S DIRECTION OF

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND

I have enjoyed Michael Arden as a  performer over the years, but his truly inspiring staging of Spring Awakening a couple of years ago brought my admiration of him to a whole new level. Now, I can't wait to see what magic he brings to the charming Once on This Island. And anyone who can make great use of the difficult Circle in the Square space, is aces in my book.

2. JUSTIN PECK'S CHOREOGRAPHY

OF CAROUSEL

Carousel contain's one of my all-time favorite pieces of music in any genre, ever: the prologue, aka The Carousel Waltz.  Justin Peck, one heck of a dancer and choreographer, should be just the artist to bring this piece (and the ballet section in act two, as well) to life with a modern, urgent vibrancy.  

1. DAVID YAZBEK'S SCORE FOR

THE BAND'S VISIT

The Band's Visit score is already one of my favorites - and I haven't even seen it yet!  But what I have heard thrills me.  I'm not really surprised, though.  David Yazbek has yet to write a score I haven't loved, from The Full Monty to Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.  I find his sense of humor and depth of humanity to be unparalleled among his current peers.  Looking forward to my visit very soon!

HONORABLE MENTION:

THE SETS AND COSTUMES OF MY FAIR LADY

My Fair Lady is a show where high-concept and/or minimalist staging would not serve the piece well.  And on the cavernous stage at the Beaumont calls for big and lavish production values.  I didn't love the look of The King and I, so I'm hoping we get something South Pacific in scale.  That would be loverly.

FAREWELL: Damon Intrabartolo

Damon Intrabartolo, who passed away on August 13 at the age of 39, was one of the more influential people in my adult life.  I suppose that is odd to say about someone younger than myself, and even more so since I never met the man.

Like many of you reading this, I have found that I am probably more familiar with Mr. Intrabartolo's work than I ever realized.  As a composer and conductor, he helped to score and underscore some of my favorite films, including Dreamgirls, Superman Returns, and Fantastic Four.  Apparently, I've been enjoying his work for years without knowing it.

Of course, as a fan of "the new generation" of musical theatre writers, I'm a little more familiar with his works.  The most famous of those, Bare: A Pop Opera, is the one that had an impact on my life.  His musical (with collaborator Jon Hartmere, Jr.) came at a time in my life where I needed it without realizing I needed it.

To say that Bare hit me pretty close to home is an understatement.  While I was never in a private Catholic high school, the rest of the show parallels my life in so many ways, it sometimes feels autobiographical.  Like Jason and Nadia, I am very close to my sister.  Like Peter, I was the quiet guy who only let loose during my hours spent working with my school's drama program.  I also had a drama teacher confidante - she and my sister were the first people I ever told I was gay.  My mother still struggles, sometimes publicly and always to my face, with my sexual orientation, just as Peter's mother does.

Jon Hartmere, Jr. (left) and Damon Intrabartolo

But most significantly, my first relationship was with my own "Jason."  Back in the early 80's being gay was not like it is today.  The closet was deep, and the door was firmly shut.  My "Jason" was the captain of the soccer team; I was the drama geek that was in every play the school did.  My "Jason" was super smart - we met, in fact, because we were both misplaced in freshman English, and were sent to the guidance office for schedule changes together. We got pretty close, pretty fast, especially considering how far "under the radar" we had to be.  He dated girls; I played shy.  We snuck around on weekends and holidays; the school week was "keep as far away as we could stand it" time.  And classes we shared were excruciating.  But it was totally worth it when we found stolen moments to be alone. He was my first love; I was his.  I got to most of his games; he never missed a show I was in.  And then, we almost got caught.  And the terror of that, caused my "Jason" to call everything completely off.  Thankfully, unlike Bare's Jason, my guy didn't kill himself.  But he did end up marrying the girl he took to the Prom, and they have kids, not unlike Jason might have with Ivy.

All of that was literally decades before Bare came into my life - decades of anger, refusing to forgive, and tons of self-doubt.  But Bare did come along, and its sad tunes and modern rock sensibility struck a chord with me, and the story made me pretty much obsessed with Jason and Peter.  Recognizing that I was fortunate that the love of my life was still alive, I made contact with him again.  We talked things through, and I'm glad to say we made our peace.  Now, I occasionally hear from him, and we email each other with major life news.  We even saw a production of Bare together.  We wept, understanding every single word all too well.

Michael Arden as Peter and John Hill as Jason

in the 2004 off-Broadway production of Bare: A Pop Opera

And so, I owe the closure of one of the biggest issues in my life to Mr. Intrabartolo, in part at least.  Without his gift to the world, my life as an out, proud gay man would still have a messy start without a finish.  It may not seem like much to you, readers, but Bare really and truly changed my life for the better.

Thank you, Damon.  I hope that you realized that your life made a difference to many people before your untimely demise.  We will never know what else you might have improved the world with in the future.  But I, for one, am so grateful for the time we had you in our lives.  Rest in Peace.

Jeff
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The OUT100 2012: The Broadway Connection Part I

If it is the start of November, it must be time for OUT Magazine's "100 List."  Each year, the magazine comes up with the 100 most influential LGBT people and straight allies of the gay community.  They come from all aspects of life: politics, sports, business, and, of course, the entertainment business.  As usual, they roll out the list in burst, building the anticipation for finding out who will receive this year's honors.

Last Year's 100 covers, featuring Larry Kramer,
Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Kathy Griffin

As you might expect, the Broadway is once again well represented.  Of the 22 names revealed so far, eight have connections to the New York Theatre scene.  If these first honorees are any indication of what's to come, there is a nice representation of long standing members and activists of the community, and an emphasis on the new generation of young up and comers who represent a new kind of activism: they live their lives openly and lead by example.

Here at those first 8 that made the 2012 OUT100:

Elton John and David Furnish (Photo by M. Sharkey)

Elton John and David Furnish: Legendary Singer/Composer and Filmmaker, Theatrical Producer

Known for: Elton: Rock 'n roll legend, Broadway composer, AIDS activist; David: Filmmaker, theatre producer and AIDS activist
Theatre Connection: Furnish and John produced the play Next Fall on Broadway.  John has written the scores for AIDA, Lestat, Billy Elliot and a little show called The Lion King.
Activism:  John and husband Furnish run the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which distributes millions of dollars worldwide in support of AIDS prevention and education programs.  They have raised some $275 million for this worthy cause.

Terrence McNally (Photo by M. Sharkey)

Terrence McNally, Playwright

Known for: writing plays and musicals with gay characters, thees and stories for mainstream culture
Theatre Connection: Where to start?  I'll just list a few of his works: The Ritz, Lisbon Traviata, Lips Together Teeth Apart, The Full Monty, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Love! Valour! Compassion!, and Corpus Christi, not to mention Ragtime and Master Class.
Activism: He has, for decades, been a prominent voice for bringing gay issues to the widest possible audience.

And now that younger generation...

All of these talented young men lead by example, as out, proud leaders of their profession and role models for future generations of youth, LGBT AND straight.

John Tiffany (Photo by M. Sharkey)

John Tiffany, Director

Theatre Connection: He won a Tony for directing his Broadway debut musical, Once.  Up next: The Glass Menagerie with Cherry Jones and Zachary Quinto.

Gideon Glick (Photo by M.Sharkey)

Jonathan Del Arco (TV actor), Jason Moore, Andy Mientus
and Michael Arden (Photo by M. Sharkey)

Jason Moore, Director

Theatre Connection: Tony-nominee for Avenue Q, Steel Magnolias

Michael Arden, Gideon Glick, and Andy Mientus, Actors

Theatre Connecton: Michael: Big River, The Times They Are A-Changin', bare (the original New York production); Gideon: Spring Awakening, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Wild Animals You Should Know, Into the Woods (Public Theater's revival in the Park); Andy Mientus: RENT, Spring Awakening (regional), off-Broadway's Carrie, TV's Smash (upcoming Season 2)

More of the list will be published as the month goes on.  To read about each honoree, click HERE.

Before you go...

...have you VOTED in this month's THEATRE POLL?  It is in the left column!
...have you VOTED in this week's HOT or NOT?  It's DROOD, PART 2: THE PRINCIPALS!  CLICK the show logo in the upper left column!
...have you ENTERED to WIN tickets and the OBCR to NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT?  CLICK that show's logo in the left column to enter by Wednesday, November 7!

...have you checked this week's INTERVIEW with CHAPLIN's WAYNE ALAN WILCOX?  He's a pretty amazing guy!  CLICK his picture in the right hand column to find out more!

Jeff

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Comments? Questions? @jkstheatrescene (Twitter); jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com (Email); or leave a comment below and check a box!

Looking Back: Twyla Tharp's The Times They Are A-Changin'

With Twyla Tharp's newest musical, Come Fly Away poised to dance its way into the Marquis Theatre, I thought it only appropriate to take a look back at her other dance-musicals, starting with 2006's flop, The Times They Are A-Changin', an original story set to the music of the legendary Bob Dylan.







BY THE NUMBERS:
The Times They Are A-Changin' played the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

• First Preview: September 25, 2006
• Opening Night: October 26, 2006
• Closing Night: November 19, 2006
• 35 Previews, 28 Performances

Cast members: 10, lead by Michael Arden (Coyote), Thom Sesma (Captain Ahrab) and Lisa Brescia (Cleo) and featuring John Selya, Lisa Gajda and Jason McDole. 3 understudies, 3 swings and 2 standbys.

THE STORY
Set "sometime between awake and asleep," the musical's setting is a travelling circus, with some seriously dark overtones. The main story concerns the son (Arden) and father (Sesma) and whether or not the son will take over from the father - not only the circus itself, but his evil ways and his lover/captive, the runaway girl (Brescia). Add to the mix the clowns, acrobats and camp dog, and you have an evening of high-flying, stilt-walking, trampoline-bouncing evil circus, all set to the eclectic tunes of master songwriter Bob Dylan.

The story weighed pretty heavily on the show, so much so that a complete synopsis was included in each Playbill. Part allegory, part metaphor and quite pretentious, having to include a synopsis should have been the first clue that something wasn't working.

THE CRITICS
The critics were nearly unanimous in disliking the show, many placing it on their year's worst in theatre lists. And they were completely unanimous in praising Tharp's previous work, Movin' Out, another dance musical based on the narrative songs of Billy Joel. Many opined that that was the chief problem: where Joel's songs fit together into a cohesive story, which then lent itself to super-imposing themes and emotional content, Tharp herself super-imposed meaning rather heavy-handedly over Dylan's classic songs which might have stood better separately than shoved into a strange story.

Many critics praised the singing/acting of Arden and Brescia (above), while split on Sesma, maybe because his character was the most heavily symbolic. They also praised what dancing there was, though most agreed it was short on dance and much too long on visual trickery, particularly with the prominently downstage trampolines. John Selya came through pretty much unscathed, though Jason McDole (above) in his Broadway debut divided the scribes with his rendition of a dog. Yes, he played a dog.

Ben Brantley of The New York Times used phrases like "'When Bad Shows Happen to Great Songwriters'," and "Tharp turns lyrics' metaphors into flesh... props rule in this magic kingdom," and he ends with, "Even as the dancers seem to fly, Mr. Dylan's lyrics are hammered, one by one, into the ground." But he also had high praise for Tharp's Movin' Out ("gloriously redeemed the jukebox genre") and Tharp herself ("[she is] one of the bona fide, boundary-stretching geniuses of modern dance"), though he concludes his praise with "when a genius goes down in flames, everybody feels the burn."

THE CONTROVERSY (BLAH BLAH BLAH)
Even during its short two months, Times was not without its controversy. Caryn Lyn Manuel was rather noisily replaced by Brescia during previews. And there was, just as has been recently reported with Come Fly Away some jurisdictional arguing between the AEA and the dancer's union, AGMA, with Times. In both cases, the tension is over who can provide the best contract vs the cost to the producers. Law suits filed, blah blah blah. Pretty much business as usual.

MY THOUGHTS
A huge fan of dance, and particularly of Movin' Out, I couldn't wait to see Times. I caught the second to last preview, so I'll assume what I saw was pretty much the final product. I liked the music the least, though the friend I went with said he felt that the musicians were at least faithful to Dylan's originals. And I felt the story and literal fashion of much of the dance to lyrics was mostly pretentious and over-wrought.

Yet, I sat mesmerized for the entire 90 minutes. No, I didn't feel like I was watching a train wreck, and no, I didn't want there to be an intermission so I could leave. I thought that by itself, the staging, along with the acting and singing were all top-notch. I remember literally thinking "this is way ahead of its time." The acrobatics and circus imagery were breathtaking, Thom Sesma was villainously creepy, and I actually cared about what happened to Lisa Brescia's character. But Michael Arden was fantastic in all ways. What a voice! What a presence! Boyishly charming, and manly strong, he was perfectly cast. (And I thought Jason McDole's dog was a delight - he was uncannily like a dog, and really put every single one of the Cats to shame.)

I knew in my heart that it wouldn't last long, but I thought the show was worthwhile and enjoyable on the whole.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Interestingly, Michael Arden has yet to reappear on the Broadway stage (I hope he isn't going to end up on that "promising but never made it" list I referred to yesterday), though he did assistant direct another Broadway flop, A Tale of Two Cities. He did tour Europe with Barbra Streisand, and he was announced for (and later removed from) Sondheim on Sondheim, but mostly he's been doing guest spots on TV. We haven't heard from Thom Sesma since, and Lisa Brescia has done several readings and is often a part of Broadway/Cabaret concerts.

The dancers continue to dance - John Selya and Charlie Neshyba-Hodges are both attached to Come Fly Away, and Lisa Gajda has been in nearly every dance-heavy show since Times, including Cry-Baby, Pal Joey and currently, Finian's Rainbow. The same can be said for Ron Todorowski, who most recently appeared in the tour of A Chorus Line and the recent revival of Guys and Dolls along with Mr. Selya.

Love it our hate it, Times was one of those shows that galvanized audiences, divided critics, and pushed the envelope. It, like so many shows, was not as good as its intentions, but not as bad as the criticism it garnered.

I'll take a look at Movin' Out in the coming weeks before the opening of Come Fly Away.

Comments? Leave one here or write to me at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com
Jeff