Blog Archives
I have such an urge to direct again…
… and what I really am eager to do is a production of the 1953 musical “Kismet“, whose music was adapted from classical work of Borodin.
The wonderful Arabian Nights story of 16th Century Baghdad about a fortune teller, a Wazir, a young Caliph and two very lovely women is something I have loved most of my life.
Many of it’s musical numbers became song classics. “Baubles, Bangles and Beads“, “Stranger in Paradise” and this:
The show was a starring vehicle for Alfred Drake and the Broadway debut of Richard Kiley.
Unfortunately, my current physical condition makes it seem like I will never be able to direct again. If the tumor is removed it will probably endanger the part of my brain where cognitive creativity is connected. If we don’t solve the problem and I keep having seizures I will never be able to drive again and won’t be able to put in the solid effort that coordinating a musical production, especially a large and complex one as this, would be very difficult. It could certainly, however, make West Virginia community theatre history.
And then I have to find one of the local community playhouses who might let me do it… find 20 great performers … get a nice piano score for my dear collaborator Ruth Robertas to play from… and find a local choreographer who can bring the dancing girls to life.
If I get through this surgery and all that accompanies it, it will take at least a year before I can even get started (apart from notes I am doing now) putting it together. One can hope. It gives me something to focus on.
Related articles
- STAGE TUBE: On This Day 10/7- Alfred Drake (broadwayworld.com)
- MUSIC: On a November weekend, music to evoke ‘Summer Nights’ (kitsapsun.com)
- Augustin Hadelich Performs Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole (wqxr.org)
Director Albert Marre Dead at 86…
I remember sitting in the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut back in the mid sixties watching the premiere performance of “Man of La Mancha“. The musical, directed by Albert Marre, eventually won him a Best Director Tony when it appeared on Broadway at the ANTA Theatre.
I went to the La Mancha performance not because I knew anything about the show, nor did I know anything about Marre, but because my friend Charlie Leipart was in the cast (it was our summer break from Northwestern University’s Theatre Department.) I discovered, however, what a wonderful musical it was… I couldn’t wait for an Original Cast album to be released.
Marre began his theatre career as an actor, making his Broadway debut as both performer and associate director in 1950 in The Relapse. One year later, he was director alone, on The Little Blue Light.
In 1948, Mr. Marre was a co-founders of the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA, one of the country’s first classical repertory companies. In 1953, he was hired by Lincoln Kirstein to be the first artistic director of the New York City Drama Company at City Center, where he staged Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Merchant of Venice and Shaw’s Misalliance, all in 1953.
The musical classic Kismet came next, and he won a 1954 Donaldson Award for Best Director of a Musical.
Marre introduced Broadway audiences to composer Jerry Herman in 1961, when he staged Herman’s tale of the birth of Israel, Milk and Honey. He wrote the book for the 1970 musical Cry for Us All and the 1975 musical Home Sweet Homer. His final non-La Mancha Broadway credit was the musical Chu Chem in 1989.
Related articles
- Play review: ‘La Mancha’ a dream (utsandiego.com)
Actress Celeste Holm, 95, Dies…
Celeste Holm, the versatile actress who achieved fame on Broadway in the original production of Rodgers and Hammerstein‘s hit musical “Oklahoma!” in 1943 and five years later won an Oscar for best supporting actress, died today.
In a career of over 70 years, Holm did other Broadway shows such as “Bloomer Girl” and as the replacement for Gertrude Lawrence in “The King and I.” She made films like “Three Little Girls In Blue,” “The Snake Pit” and “All About Eve.”
Celeste Holm won an Academy Award for supporting actress in the 1947 film “Gentleman’s Agreement” and was nominated two other times. She also had frequent roles on television, including in the 1990s series ‘Promised Land.’
Holm died in her apartment on Central Park West in New York City.
Related articles
- Celeste Holm – Actress Celeste Holm Dies At 95 (contactmusic.com)
- ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ Academy Award-winning actress Celeste Holm dies at 95, niece confirms – @CNN (cnn.com)
- Oscar-winning actress Celeste Holm dies aged 95 (itv.com)
- Photos: ‘All About Eve’ Star Celeste Holm Dead at 95 (abcnews.go.com)
- Oscar-winning actress Celeste Holm dies at 95 (cbsnews.com)
- Oscar-winning actress Celeste Holm dies at 95 (miamiherald.com)
- Actress Celeste Holm dies at 95 (hollywood.com)
For old guys like me who remember Ichabod Mudd…
…the actor who played Captain Midnight‘s sidekick, Sid Melton, has died at age 94.
One of the many second tier actors on Broadway, in films and on early TV, Melton’s face was immediately recognizeable from his regular roles in the television shows “Make Room for Daddy” and “Green Acres,” and for his unflagging reliability as the comic relief in many science-fiction and noir films of the 1950s.
His career ranged from 1939 to the early 1990s with a role on The Golden Girls.
Related articles
- Sid Melton (obitpatrol.blogspot.com)
Playwright Lanford Wilson Dies at 73…
Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lanford Wilson has died of pneumonia complications at the Kindred St. Joseph Hospital in Wayne, N.J. Wilson lived in Sag Harbor, N.Y.
Wilson was one of the founders of the Circle Repertory Company, an off-Broadway repertory group where he premiered his plays. Known for such works as “The Hot l Baltimore” and Talley’s Folly“, he explored such themes as contemporary gay identity, youthful angst and the modern lack of the usual social or ethical standards.
A number of Wilson’s plays reached Broadway, and he received three Tony nominations for best play. But today he is most closely associated with the off-off-Broadway scene. He won the Pulitzer for “Talley’s Folly.”
A revival production of “Burn This,” directed by Nicholas Martin, is set to open at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles on April 3.
Related Articles
- Theater critics announce six finalists for $25,000 new-play prize (orlandotheater.wordpress.com)
- The Afternoon Report, Thursday, March 24, 2011 (boneaubryanbrown.com)
- Award-Winning Playwright Lanford Wilson Dies (foxnews.com)
As promised, here are the Tony Winners for 2010
Best Play | |||
Red ![]() |
Author: John Logan | ||
Best Musical | |||
Memphis ![]() |
|||
Best Book of a Musical | |||
Memphis | Joe DiPietro ![]() |
||
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | |||
Memphis | Music: David Bryan Lyrics: Joe DiPietro, David Bryan ![]() |
||
Best Revival of a Play | |||
Fences ![]() |
|||
Best Revival of a Musical | |||
La Cage aux Folles ![]() |
|||
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play | |||
Denzel Washington ![]() |
Fences | ||
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play | |||
Viola Davis ![]() |
Fences | ||
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical | |||
Douglas Hodge ![]() |
La Cage aux Folles | ||
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | |||
Catherine Zeta-Jones ![]() |
A Little Night Music | ||
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play | |||
Eddie Redmayne ![]() |
Red | ||
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play | |||
Scarlett Johansson ![]() |
A View from the Bridge | ||
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical | |||
Levi Kreis ![]() |
Million Dollar Quartet | ||
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical | |||
Katie Finneran ![]() |
Promises, Promises | ||
Best Direction of a Play | |||
Michael Grandage ![]() |
Red | ||
Best Direction of a Musical | |||
Terry Johnson ![]() |
La Cage aux Folles | ||
Best Choreography | |||
Bill T. Jones ![]() |
Fela! | ||
Best Orchestrations | |||
Daryl Waters & David Bryan ![]() |
Memphis | ||
Best Scenic Design of a Play | |||
Christopher Oram ![]() |
Red | ||
Best Scenic Design of a Musical | |||
Christine Jones ![]() |
American Idiot | ||
Best Costume Design of a Play | |||
Catherine Zuber ![]() |
The Royal Family | ||
Best Costume Design of a Musical | |||
Marina Draghici ![]() |
Fela! | ||
Best Lighting Design of a Play | |||
Neil Austin ![]() |
Red | ||
Best Lighting Design of a Musical | |||
Kevin Adams ![]() |
American Idiot | ||
Best Sound Design of a Play | |||
Adam Cork ![]() |
Red | ||
Best Sound Design of a Musical | |||
Robert Kaplowitz ![]() |
Fela! | ||
Special Tony Award® for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre | |||
Alan Ayckbourn | |||
Marian Seldes | |||
Regional Theatre Tony Award® | |||
The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Waterford, Connecticut | |||
Isabelle Stevenson Award | |||
David Hyde Pierce | |||
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre | |||||
Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York | |||||
B.H. Barry
|
|||||
Midtown North & South New York City Police Precincts
|
|||||
__________________________________________________________________ | |||||
Two Great Producers Have Died…
David Brown, who, with Richard Zanuck, brought us THE STING, JAWS, THE VERDICT, COCOON and DRIVING MISS DAISY, has died at age 93.
The mustachioed husband of Helen Gurley Brown, also produced several films and live Broadway shows on his own.
Aaron Ruben, Television producer of so many shows … from THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW to SANFORD AND SON… has also died at age 95.
In his later years, Ruben was a court-appointed special advocate for abused and abandoned children.
Broadway in 1977
Here’s a kick. Would you like to hear radio interviews of Broadway stars, writers and producers that were taped in 1977?
I originally went to this site because it had an interview with Meryl Streep who was starring in HAPPY END, the Brecht Weill Musical. It was one of the first dates I took my wife of 30 years on in NY (took her Mother, too). Listening now it brought back memories… and it was a great show, too.
You can hear Hermione Gingold, John Kander, Jack Gilford and more. Go to “This Is Broadway” which is adding interviews every day.
Shelley Gross is dead at 88
Sheldon (Shelley) Gross, partner of the late Lee Guber, has died in Florida at age 88. Guber and Gross were the kind of theatrical producers I really admired when growing up in the theatre of the sixties and seventies. They developed the tent theatre idea in the suburbs, produced on Broadway (shows like Man of La Mancha and the revival of King and I with Brynner) and brought so much entertainment to people living far away from new York.
He should be remembered.
2009 Tony Awards… Nominees and Winners
The Tony’s were last night. Here’s the Nominees and Winners list courtesy of the NY Times (winners marked with asterisk):
BEST MUSICAL* Billy Elliot
Next to Normal
Rock of Ages
Shrek the Musical
BEST PLAY
33 Variations
Dividing the Estate
* God of Carnage
reasons to be pretty
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Guys and Dolls
* Hair
Pal Joey
West Side Story
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Mary Stuart
* The Norman Conquests
Waiting for Godot
BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
* Lee Hall, Billy Elliot
Brian Yorkey, Next to Normal
David Lindsay-Abaire, Shrek the Musical
Hunter Bell, [title of show]
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC AND/OR LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATER
Billy Elliot
Music: Elton John, Lyrics: Lee Hall* Next to Normal
Music: Tom Kitt, Lyrics: Brian Yorkey9 to 5
Music and lyrics: Dolly PartonShrek the Musical
Music: Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics: David Lindsay-AbaireBEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Jeff Daniels, God of Carnage
Raúl Esparza, Speed-the-Plow
James Gandolfini, God of Carnage
* Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King
Thomas Sadoski, reasons to be pretty
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Hope Davis, God of Carnage
Jane Fonda, 33 Variations
* Marcia Gay Harden, God of Carnage
Janet McTeer, Mary Stuart
Harriet Walter, Mary Stuart
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
* David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish, Billy Elliot
Gavin Creel, Hair
Brian d’Arcy James, Shrek the Musical
Constantine Maroulis, Rock of Ages
J. Robert Spencer, Next to Normal
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Stockard Channing, Pal Joey
Sutton Foster, Shrek the Musical
Allison Janney, 9 to 5
* Alice Ripley, Next to Normal
Josefina Scaglione, West Side Story
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
John Glover, Waiting for Godot
Zach Grenier, 33 Variations
Stephen Mangan, The Norman Conquests
Paul Ritter, The Norman Conquests
* Roger Robinson, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Hallie Foote, Dividing the Estate
Jessica Hynes, The Norman Conquests
Marin Ireland, reasons to be pretty
* Angela Lansbury, Blithe Spirit
Amanda Root, The Norman Conquests
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
David Bologna, Billy Elliot
* Gregory Jbara, Billy Elliot
Marc Kudisch, 9 to 5
Christopher Sieber, Shrek the Musical
Will Swenson, Hair
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Jennifer Damiano, Next to Normal
Haydn Gwynne, Billy Elliot
* Karen Olivo, West Side Story
Martha Plimpton, Pal Joey
Carole Shelley, Billy Elliot
BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Phyllida Lloyd, Mary Stuart
Bartlett Sher, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
* Matthew Warchus, God of Carnage
Matthew Warchus, The Norman Conquests
BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
* Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot
Michael Greif, Next to Normal
Kristin Hanggi, Rock of Ages
Diane Paulus, Hair
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Karole Armitage, Hair
Andy Blankenbuehler, 9 to 5
* Peter Darling, Billy Elliot
Randy Skinner, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas
BEST ORCHESTRATIONS (Tie)
Larry Blank, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas
* Martin Koch, Billy Elliot
* Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt, Next to Normal
Danny Troob and John Clancy, Shrek the Musical
BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY
Dale Ferguson, Exit the King
Rob Howell, The Norman Conquests
* Derek McLane, 33 Variations
Michael Yeargan, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Robert Brill, Guys and Dolls
* Ian MacNeil, Billy Elliot
Scott Pask, Pal Joey
Mark Wendland, Next to Normal
BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY
Dale Ferguson, Exit the King
Jane Greenwood, Waiting for Godot
Martin Pakledinaz, Blithe Spirit
* Anthony Ward, Mary Stuart
BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Gregory Gale, Rock of Ages
Nicky Gillibrand, Billy Elliot
* Tim Hatley, Shrek the Musical
Michael McDonald, Hair
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY
David Hersey, Equus
David Lander, 33 Variations
* Brian MacDevitt, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Hugh Vanstone, Mary Stuart
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Kevin Adams, Hair
Kevin Adams, Next to Normal
Howell Binkley, West Side Story
* Rick Fisher, Billy Elliot
BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY
Paul Arditti, Mary Stuart
* Gregory Clarke, Equus
Russell Goldsmith, Exit the King
Scott Lehrer and Leon Rothenberg, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Acme Sound Partners, Hair
* Paul Arditti, Billy Elliot
Peter Hylenski, Rock of Ages
Brian Ronan, Next to Normal
SPECIAL THEATRICAL EVENT
* Liza’s at the Palace . . .
Slava’s Snowshow
Soul of Shaolin
You’re Welcome America. A Final Night With George W Bush
SPECIAL TONY AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN THE THEATER
Jerry Herman
REGIONAL THEATER TONY AWARD
Signature Theater (Arlington, Va.)
ISABELLE STEVENSON AWARD
Phyllis Newman
SPECIAL TONY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE THEATER
Shirley Herz
My extra congratulations to Shirley Herz who, so many years ago, handled the press on Ride The Winds, my long-forgotten experience as a Broadway producer.