My co-worker's daughter emailed her a picture of a Sweeney Todd poster with Johnny Depp today. My co-worker has a bit of a crush on Mr. Depp. But dang, that poster looks creepy. It's hard to see here because it's small.
http://ia.imdb.com/media/imdb/01/I/73/40/53/10m.jpg

ETA: Found a larger one at this link: http://www.worstpreviews.com/media.p...&place2=poster

Attend the tail of Sweeny Todd...
He serves a dark and a vengeful god...

This whole story is strange.

Haha, wow. Okay, I found out tonight that it closed loooong ago and now I feel like an idiot for saying we might go see it. The way he used to talk about it made me think it was still on. Oh well. Mary Poppins is a great suggestion!

That's pretty much how I would picture Sweeny...

Although I remember the production I went to (at college), one of the voice faculty was playing Sweeny, and was well over 6'5"...they guy playing Anthony was a dwarf in comparison.

We just saw the national tour of Spamalot and then had dinner with the woman who plays Lady of the Lake. She went to Oklahoma with our son who is home on his way back to NYC.

The show here was as much fun as when I saw it in New York.

Am I the only one that doesn't care for Andrew Lloyd Webber's stuff?

Don't think I've posted to this thread yet, so I'll tell you which shows I've been to:

A Little Night Music
Me and My Gal
My Fair Lady
42nd Street
A Chorus Line
Dreamgirls
Wicked
Hairspray
Rent
Les Miz
Phantom
Smokey Joe's Cafe
West Side Story
Miss Saigon
Jesus Christ Superstar
Kiss Me Kate
Oklahoma
Into the Woods
Young Frankenstein
Peter Pan
The Wedding Singer
Bye Bye Birdie
Annie

I think that's all of 'em. Probably forgot one or two.

No, you're right there with MysticCat.

Rogers & Hammerstein is my musical theatre hate.

It's unfortunate Michael Bennett's life ended so early...I absolutely love A Chorus Line and Dreamgirls and wonder what he would have done had he lived to be an old man.

Just an FYI, Kelli O'Hara (Light in the Piazza, Pajama Game) is a Gamma Phi Beta. In fact, she was a member of the same chapter as Kristen Chenoweth (Oklahoma City U).

I bet that chapter sure sounded great on preference night!

Previews for Toronto's production of Dirty Dancing start on Halloween!

Dirty Dancing

Has anybody seen Whistle Down the Wind? It's coming to Detroit and I'm debating whether to get tickets. I have enjoyed all the other Andrew Lloyd Weber musicals...

It is coming here, and I had never heard of it until the season was announced. I STILL have no idea about it, except it is another show based on a movie. (Only know that from an article in our paper.)


I take it Broadway Across America is also production company in your city?

I'm not sure who the production company is but they are now calling the season "Broadway in Detroit" so I think it would make sense that the production company might be Broadway Across America.

ETA: Our season this year also includes Mama Mia and 12 Angry Men. Would those be the same in all theatres using Broadway Across America?

I saw it in London.

Typical of ALW's lesser shows.

I wouldn't go out of my way to see it again.

It's OK at best. It sure didn't last long in NY.

If you get it as part of a season package, you probably won't hate it.

It might actually be better here. In London the British actors were trying to imitate old Oklahoma accents. It was almost funny.

Our Broadway Across America shows in Seattle for 2008 include The Color Purple, Mamma Mia, A Chorus Line, My Fair Lady, Avenue Q, Phantom of the Opera and High School Musical. A great season!

Whistle Down the Wind has been advertised on TV over the past few days here, but it's coming to a different theatre than the one that does Broadway Across America in my city.

I hope that this thread will continue as it has in the past, but thought it might be revitalizing and fun to add a twist.

What are your favorite songs from shows?

Here are mine -- at least off the top of my head.

Male Solo --Anthem from Chess (honorable mention -- Your Eyes from Rent)
Female Solo -- Memories from Cats
Male Duet -- Lily's Eyes from The Secret Garden
Female Duet -- His Eyes from Jekyl and Hyde (there seem to be a lot of "eyes" here)(honorable mention -- Because I Knew You from Wicked)
Male/Female Duet -- Elaborate Lives from Aida (honorable mention -- Written In The Stars from Aida)
Trio -- A Step Too Far from Aida
Quartet -- Not Me from Aida (OK, I really like Aida)(Honorable mention Once Upon A Time from Broklyn, The Musical)
Novelty (for instance by a narrator) Shoes Upon The Table from Blood Brothers

I reserve the right to change my mind as I think of things later.

I like this idea. Some of my favorites:

Male solo - "Maria" and "Cool" from West Side Story
Female solo - "Nothing" from A Chorus Line, "I'm Not That Girl" from Wicked
Female duet - "For Good" from Wicked or "Take Me or Leave Me" from Rent
Male duet - "I'll Cover You" from Rent
Trio - "At the Ballet" from A Chorus Line
Quartet - "Tonight" from West Side Story (OK, so this isn't quite a quartet)
Ensemble - "Seasons of Love" from Rent and "Montage" from A Chorus Line
Novelty (a funny song) - "Dance: 10, Looks: 3" from A Chorus Line

You can tell what my favorite musicals are :)

Male Solo --Lost in the Wilderness - Children of Eden
Female Solo -- Popular - Wicked
Male Duet -- Lily's Eyes from The Secret Garden
Female Duet -- For Good - Wicked
Male/Female Duet -- Sooo many, but I have to say right now it's As Long As You're Mine (Pattern much? Well, what do you expect from someone with my signature?;) )
Trio -- Near to You - Damn Yankees
Quartet -- Can I say the entirety of songs for a new world? No? Ok, Flying Home.
Novelty (for instance by a narrator) - Many Moons Ago - Once Upon A Matress

NEW CATEGORY! Chorus Number: Either the Finales from Into the Woods, or the Act I Finale from The Mikado.

Quick Hijack...

Does anyone know if "Broadway Across America" shows are (Actors) Equity or non-Equity? Are the musicians AF of M?

I'm curious since I have a son who is now an Equity member. He's back from his cruise contract and auditioning in New York again. He has two auditions today and a call back on Friday. Two of the shows are NYC, and one regional theatre.

I've never heard of Broadway Across America until reading the posts in this thread. Has it been around long? We don't have it here in Denver -- I suspect because Robert Gardner Center Attractions at the Denver Center For The Performing Arts (DCPA) is so good, and has been around for so long, that we get all of the first national tours and have actually premiered the national tours of Sunset Boulevard and Lion King, as well as the pre-Broadway runs of Little Mermaid and Broklyn, The Musical (which was done at the Denver Civic Theatre, not a part of DCPA).

We've seen one non-Equity (tour) show here, and while the performers were really pretty good (I'd say not quite as good as most we've seen), none had the big New York or national tour credits that we're used to seeing. And the music was a track instead of a live orchestra. That was not great. The excitement of the live music is part of the theatre experience to me.

OK, so maybe we're theatre snobs. I guess it comes from having a former theatre teacher/actor, two actor/singer/dancers and an actor/singer/director in the family. (None of the above is me, by the way, my director credits are in live TV)

Just curious.

Great choices!!

For me, for the new category, I'd chose:

High On A Hill or the finale from The Secret Garden, or the finale from Les Miz.

I think they're Equity. Seattle has a huge theatre community and is filled with theatre snobs, though we're also very open minded. That's why we were the test market for Hairspray (actually developed locally), The Wedding Singer, and A Light in the Piazza (again, developed locally). Actually, all of those shows and many of the other "big" shows done in Seattle are at the 5th Avenue Theatre, which is a different theatre than the one that hosts the Broadway Across America series. All BAA is is a name to put all of the national tours under; the shows that come to town are the same national tours that go to Denver and other places, so yes, they have big credits and of course a live orchestra (I can't imagine going to a show without one!). It's probably a production company of some kind, kinda like Live Nation is for concerts...i dunno, just a guess.

Male Solo -- Fathers and Sons (Working), It's a Fish (The Apple Tree), If You Want to Die In Bed (Miss Saigon)
Female Solo -- Rose's Turn (Gypsy), Doatsy Mae (Best Little Whorehouse in Texas), Time Heals Everything (Mack and Mabel)
Male Duet -- Ballad of Booth (Assassins)
Female Duet -- Who's That Girl (Applause), There's Always a Woman (Anyone Can Whistle)
Male/Female Duet -- I Could Be Happy With You (The Boy Friend), The Next Ten Minutes (Last Five Years)
Trio -- There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This (Sweet Charity), Big Ass Rock (Full Monty)
Quartet -- How about a quintet... anything from Altar Boyz (especially Number 918 and Rhythm in Me)
Novelty (for instance by a narrator) - DeltAlum, I also love Shoes Upon the Table, but Summer Sequence is my favorite narrator number in Blood Brothers
Chorus Number - Overture: Audition (42nd Street), Touch Me (Spring Awakening), Something to Point To (Working)

Interesting. I'm really pleased to hear that.

Denver does also.

We just got back from White Christmas at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) Buell Theatre. The tickets came as part of our Broadway season, but it was not a tour, but rather a local effort of the Denver Center Theatre Company (a subsidiary of DCPA), in collaboration with the Fifth Avenue (street?) Theatre Company in Seattle and the Theatre Under the Stars (I think) in Houston. The three companies shared in financing and creative staffs on the production.

It was good.

A seventh grader from the Denver School of the Arts played Susan, and her mother bought our daughter and son-in-law orchestra seats because he cast her in a couple of shows (Sound of Music and The Secret Garden) and daughter had leads in both and kind of mentored her. She did a great job.

DCPA has also collaborated with The Royal Shakespere Company as well as others on projects. That is just so smart, and a great use of resources.

The Denver Center was really alive today with White Christmas at the Buell, Nutcracker at the ELLIE (Ellie Caukins Opera House), The Colorado Symphony at Boetcher Concert Hall and The Taffetas at The Stage. All three spaces are in the same complex. There are three other theatres in the complex, but they didn't have showings at the same time.

The theatre district was really busy after the shows and we discoverd a really neat 50's/60's type diner and had dinner. It was packed with after theatre folks.

Great day!

ETA that it's great to see the IATSE (stagehands) strike is over!

Found some good fares and a friend of son's from "Millie" last year is subletting her apartment, so we're heading for the City 12/19 thru 12/25.

Thinking about what show to see...

Back.

Saw Young Frankenstein (really funny), Color Purple with Fantasia (left me cold, but she can belt) and the Chorus Line revival (enjoyed it a lot).

Didn't pay full price for any -- ticket lottery for Frankstein ($26.50 per ticket, first row center), TKTS booth for the other two -- $60.50 per ticket for both shows)

Also walked all over Manhattan and my feet will be better some day. I hope. Stayed in a real need little apartment at 56th and 9th -- great location.

Had the chance to get standing room for Jersey Boys, but by the time (about 90 seconds) I checked with wife, they were sold. That would have been $26.50 per ticket. Frustrating.

Rent Closing June 1!
 

Ahhhh man! I SO loved Rent

I heard that this morning on the radio. So sad! We even had "RENT" themed rush shirts one year.

Saw the original cast in NY. What a great show. I'm sure it will still be touring.

I'm happy about this. Why? Because that means nonequilty theatres could get rights before I'm too old to be in the show.:D


[ahem] "Only thing to do is jump OVER the moon..."

I love the music of Rent, but I think the book is dated now. It's almost a cliche. My mom and boyfriend went with me to see it last year and they didn't get its appeal at all. Living with AIDS today is way different than it was when this musical was written. For people who are seeing it for the first time now, the story is way overdramatic and unreal.

It's based on La Boheme - written in 1896 - I think it's got the right to be dated.;)

As for it being overdramatic and unreal - it's a musical, and therefore saying that makes it redundant.:p

I think you know what I was getting at. :)

I do, but look at West Side Story, which keeps having revivals and is still often playing in high school and community theatre as well.

Romeo and Juliet lives, as does La Boheme.

I recognize that both musicals are based on old stories.

West Side Story is about race relations, and the racially segregated gangs in the story are still around today - and when you combine that with the debates going on in this country today about immigration and race, WSS is just as relevant as ever. But, a major part of Rent's storyline is AIDS, and although it's still a serious issue in this country, the attitude about it has changed since the early 90s. The majority of the main characters in Rent have AIDS and go through the whole thing acting as if their days are numbered - and for one of the characters, it's true. That may have been the way it was when the story was written, but people diagnosed with AIDS nowadays can actually live their whole lives with AIDS - the treatment and prognosis is completely different...it's no longer a death sentence. So now the story comes off as cliched. The storyline is a little too literal to be able to apply its lessons to life today.

They pretty well establish that the story takes place in the 90's. It's not one of those shows that they play off as present day, no matter how old the show is. If there was a show set in the late 1800's, would it be too literal and cliche if someone in that show died of a simple disease that we now have treatments for, like influenza or dysynystry (Ok, that just made me decide that someone needs to write "OREGON TRAIL, THE MUSICAL")??

I think it's overly simplistic to say that RENT is "about AIDS."

It's also about human relationships (hetro and homosexual) and economic (class) stuggle.

I don't think those have gone away.

I said "a major part of the storyline" is about AIDS. Not the whole thing obviously.

Okay, Gypsyboots just broke into "You just diiiiiieeeedd of dysenterrrrrrry" - I think she should be the lead.