Anything Goes

Anything Goes, at Broadway's Sondheim Theatre
Gratuitous Violins rating: *** out of ****

Set aboard an ocean liner sailing from New York to London, the Tony-winning Broadway revival of Anything Goes has a boatload full of colorful characters, a comical plot involving romance and mistaken identity and some dazzling choreography.

But what really makes this 1934 musical sparkle is Cole Porter's delightful score. It brings you back to a time when the popular music of the day came from Broadway.

Just look at a partial list of the songs in Act I: "I Get a Kick Out of You," "You're the Top," "Friendship," "It's De-lovely" and "Anything Goes." Some musicals don't have that many memorable numbers in the entire show.

It doesn't matter that they don't always have much to do with the story, the lyrics are so witty and the tunes are so catchy. (Most of the songs were composed while Porter was a guest at Newport's Rosecliff mansion, which I visited two years ago as part of a birthday surprise thrown for me by my dear theatre blogger friends!)

The characters in Anything Goes are pretty broadly drawn and the cast plays them to the hilt. They all made me laugh: Adam Godley as the British Lord Evelyn Oakleigh; John McMartin as Wall Street tycoon Elisha Whitney; Erin Mackey as debutante Hope Harcourt and Kelly Bishop as her mother, Evangeline, determined to marry off her daughter to Oakleigh; Joel Grey as small-time gangster Moonface Martin and Jessica Stone as his sidekick Erma; and Colin Donnell as Whitney's assistant Billy Crocker, who's smitten with Hope.

A highlight was seeing Grey onstage. His chilling performance as the emcee in movie Cabaret is something I've never forgotten. At 79, Grey knows how to get the most out of every line and every mannerism and facial expression in a way that never seemed over the top. His rendition of "Be Like the Bluebird" was mesmerizing.

Then there's Tony winner Sutton Foster as Reno Sweeney. Foster brings a great comic touch to her duets with the suave Donnell in "You're The Top" and the charming Grey in "Friendship." But to me, she didn't exude the toughness or brassiness you'd expect from an evangelist turned nightclub singer. I've seen Foster in three musicals and I know I'm in the minority but I haven't warmed to any of the characters she's played.

I had a few other qualms about Anything Goes.

There are two Chinese characters that made me cringe. (The actors, Andrew Cao and Raymond J. Lee, made the best of the situation.) Some of the jokes went on for too long. And while Tony winner Kathleen Marshall devised a terrifically intricate tap dance for the title song, it also seemed to go on and on. I didn't find her work particularly inventive.

Still, I had a good time. This is a highly polished and entertaining production from the Roundabout Theatre Company. Despite showing its age a bit, Anything Goes remains buoyant. And you know I'll be picking up the cast recording!

25th annual Broadway Cares Flea Market

After spending a week obsessively checking the forecast on my iPhone, Sunday turned out to be a beautiful sunny day in New York City. It was perfect weather for attending the 25th annual - and my first - Broadway Flea Market.

This year, the Flea Market and auction raised a total of $547,658 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, which supports organizations around the country that provide services for people with HIV/AIDS, as well as other critical health issues.

Tables for many Broadway and some off-Broadway shows, as well as organizations like TDF, Broadway Impact, Dancers over 40 and Actors Equity, were set up along 44th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. The Flea Market also spilled over into part of Times Square. You could find old Playbills, cast recordings, books, posters, show jackets, costumes, baked goods and just about any kind of Broadway-related tchotchke imaginable.

I wish they'd been able to spread out even more because it became harder and harder to get to the tables as the day went on and the crowd grew larger. Although I guess they like to keep these things in relatively compact areas and there are several Broadway theatres on 44th Street, so it makes sense.

I had planned to attend one of the autograph sessions with Broadway actors that they held throughout the day but the lines were just too long. I wanted to spend my limited time browsing. I did spot Tony nominee Rory O'Malley, from The Book of Mormon, a musical I hope to see someday, if I can ever get a ticket! Hope he's still in it when I do!

One thing I'll keep in mind for next year is that you really have to spend some time digging through the tables. You can't see everything with a cursory look and when I read about some of the things other people found, I realized that I missed a lot! I'm also going to bring more money. While you can use a credit card, cash is faster and easier.

I ended up spending $51. Here's a picture of my haul. (It doesn't include the very tasty homemade cookies from the tables for Wicked and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, which I consumed immediately, and a raffle ticket for a chance to win tickets to 5 upcoming Broadway shows.)

My favorite purchase was a Desperate Housewives script autographed by Debra Monk, who had her own table of stuff she was selling. I'm a big Desperate Housewives fan and I love Monk from the musical Curtains. I'm planning to get the episode on dvd and watch it while I follow along! Or I may just sit with it in Starbucks and pretend I'm an actress learning my lines.

Also, my advice is if you see something you like and it only costs a dollar, buy it because it may not be there when you come back. The Fiddler on the Roof magnet and HAIR Summer of Love 2011 pass were only $1 apiece and they're great souvenirs from two of my favorite musicals.

And if anyone at BCEFA is reading this, two things I could have used at the Flea Market were food and water.

Except for Billy Elliot's grandma's sausage rolls, most of what I saw were cookies and cake and brownies. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) They were delicious but I had to leave the Flea Market to get something more substantial, which I didn't want to do. And if anyone was selling water, I didn't see it.

It would have been great if the How to Succeed crew had whipped up some pancakes and waffles to go with the bottles of maple syrup autographed by Daniel Radcliffe! (And they're wearing little blue bow ties just like the ones Dan wears in the show. Adorable!) Or maybe souvlaki from Mamma Mia! or Memphis barbecue. I would even have tried a Vegemite sandwich from Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

Anyway, I'm so happy I could be a part of another Broadway tradition. I bought some great souvenirs. I had a great time meeting up with some of my fellow bloggers and people I follow on Twitter. It was the perfect way to cap a wonderful weekend in New York City.

Broadway, a blog, a brother and a birthday

Today is Steve on Broadway's birthday!

Many of you reading this know Steve and even some of you who've never had the pleasure have heard me kvell over him and what a wonderful friend he's been to me.

There's no doubt that Steve's passion for theatre has had an impact on my life, ever since he answered an e-mail I sent him, in 2006, when I was planning my first trip to Broadway to see Kevin Spacey in "A Moon for the Misbegotten."

In the five years before we met, the total number of plays and musicals I'd seen: 1. In the five years since: nearly 150. Before bloggers brunches, before Twitter, he was someone with whom I could share my newfound enthusiasm. And without his encouragement, I wouldn't have started a blog of my own. (The name Gratuitous Violins was his inspiration.)

I'm pretty sure that when Steve answered my first e-mail, saying "I'm delighted you found me," he never expected to get caught up in all of my drama. But he is a good and generous person and a loyal friend, with an amazing capacity to welcome new people into his life.

And having Steve for a friend means you never know when there'll be a surprise just around the corner. Two years ago, he threw me the best birthday party I've ever had. He took a day that I'd been dreading and suddenly made it all seem worthwhile.

Really, there's only one word to describe Steve - he's a mensch. I feel so blessed to have him in my life and I'm so proud to be his adopted Jewish sister. As he marks a milestone today, I just want to say: Happy birthday, Steve! Love you lots!

The Normal Heart

The Normal Heart, at Broadway's Golden Theatre
Gratuitous Violins rating: **** out of ****

I saw The Normal Heart and I wept.

Larry Kramer's 1985 work, this year's Tony winner for Best Revival of a Play, was so powerful and performed by such a remarkable ensemble that I don't think I've been as deeply affected by anything I've seen onstage since I started going to the theatre in 2007.

The Normal Heart is set in New York City between 1981 and 1984, when gay men were being stricken by a deadly and baffling disease that wasn't yet called AIDS. It's a largely autobiographical account of Kramer's efforts to sound the alarm and his role in founding the Gay Men's Health Crisis.

It's also the second work about this period that I've seen in the past couple of months - both by gay Jewish writers and drawing heavily on Jewish themes. While Tony Kushner's Angels in America is soaring and poetic and filled with biblical imagery The Normal Heart is searing, full of anger and references to the Holocaust.

I'm always wary of writers using Holocaust analogies but this one resonated, perhaps because I know our shared history: gays and Jews were both persecuted by the Nazis. And the story of The Normal Heart is sadly familiar: a group of people facing discrimination and unable to live their lives openly cope with a catastrophic event at a time when few know or care about their plight.

As Kramer's stand-in, activist and writer Ned Weeks, Joe Mantello is magnificent. Mantello, who directed one of my favorite musicals, Wicked, returned to acting for this role and he delivers one of the most intense and enthralling performances I've ever seen. (Interestingly, both Wicked and The Normal Heart are, in part, about feeling comfortable in your own skin.)

Abrasive and impatient with just about everyone - his brother, the medical establishment, city hall, the media and his more cautious gay friends - Weeks' outrage was always understandable and earned. It never seemed like Mantello was shouting just for the sake of shouting.

He lacerates the gay community for what he sees as its timidity: "Is this how so many people just walked into gas chambers? But at least they identified themselves to each other and to the world." And he's stirring and impassioned in his plea that gay men are more than simply sexual beings. We are, he says, unique and accomplished individuals - artists and writers and scientists. We helped win World War II.

And Mantello handled the play's flashes of wry humor, especially the self-deprecating Jewish kind, equally well. It's a perfectly modulated, riveting performance and it appears effortless.

What's so absorbing about Weeks is that Kramer gives us not only the activist but the personal side, too. Mark Harelik plays Weeks' brother, Ben, a successful lawyer who loves his sibling but falls short of understanding and accepting him. Their interaction and Harelik's transformation are compelling to watch.

At first Weeks' lover, Felix Turner, a closeted New York Times style reporter played by the Tony-winning John Benjamin Hickey, seems his polar opposite. But the two complement each other beautifully. Turner, quiet and calm, brings out a tenderness in the rumpled and caustic Weeks that's so appealing and poignant.

And Ellen Barkin, a Tony winner in her Broadway debut, is fierce as Dr. Emma Brookner, a physician treating gay men who have fallen ill with a rare cancer. Brookner, confined to a wheelchair from a childhood bout with polio, is electrifying as she rails against the indifference of government officials and medical researchers toward the disease.

The title of The Normal Heart comes from a poem by W.H. Auden, "Sept. 1, 1939." It contains the line "We must love one another or die." But what happens when you love one another and die? Brookner lectures an incredulous Weeks that in order to save their lives, he must urge gay men to stop having sex. When he asks her whether at least they can still kiss she responds, simply, that she just doesn't know.

I've seen more than my fair share of preachiness onstage and from what I knew about The Normal Heart going in, I was afraid that it would be more agitprop than anything else. I was so wrong. Directors George C. Wolfe and Joel Grey bring out the best in everyone in the superb cast and they all deliver compelling performances. Yes, it's political but Kramer never allows the audience to forget that this is a very human story.

The first time I couldn't hold back the tears that had been welling up all evening was in a scene where Lee Pace, playing closeted Citibank executive Bruce Niles, describes bringing his lover home to die. Hearing what they went through, the ignorance and prejudice they faced, was anguishing and I started to weep.

But what truly got to me in The Normal Heart, beyond the deaths and the indifference toward this nascent epidemic, as horrible as they were, was the fear.

The fear that men like Turner, Niles and Patrick Breen's Health Department worker Mickey Marcus expressed about identifying themselves publicly as gay, and possibly losing their jobs, was palpable and heartbreaking. They could barely bring themselves to be associated with an organization that had the word "gay" in its name.

I saw The Normal Heart two days after the New York state Senate voted to legalize gay marriage. Astonishingly, there are a couple of references to marriage in the play, a topic that I don't think was on anybody's radar in the 1980s. Talk about prescience. (It also struck me that the men refer to their "lovers," never to a partner or even boyfriend.)

Jim Parsons, who plays the sweet and easygoing Southerner Tommy Boatwright, got huge applause when he said, "Maybe if they'd let us get married to begin with none of this would have happened at all."

Twenty-five years after the events depicted in The Normal Heart, AIDS has become a manageable disease - if you're in the developed world and have access to health care. Today, the GMHC has a long list of corporate donors and even an official airline.

But the play's depiction of a community under stress gives it a certain timelessness. The Normal Heart is a potent reminder of how far we've come and how much work remains. (And producer Daryl Roth deserves an immense amount of credit for bringing it to Broadway. You can listen to her talk about it here.)

Everyone leaving the theatre gets a letter from Kramer telling us that what we saw was true and that the fight against AIDS continues. "Please know that the world has suffered at the very least some 75 million infections and 35 million deaths. When the action of the play that you have just seen begins, there were 41."

And while more and more Americans know someone who is gay, and support for same-sex marriage grows, homophobia certainly hasn't disappeared.

Last week, a report came out saying that half of gay and lesbian white-collar workers are not out in the workplace. It remains legal in 29 states to discriminate against someone on the job because of their sexual orientation. Those are shameful statistics. No one should fear losing their job because they're gay or lesbian.

Unfortunately, this is the final week for The Normal Heart on Broadway. But the producers are aiming for a national tour. Everyone - gay and straight - should see it.

My 99 cents on The Book of Mormon Broadway cast recording

I haven't seen The Book of Mormon, Broadway's newest Tony winner for Best Musical, but Amazon had the cast recording on sale for $1.99 as an MP3 download. With the way tickets are selling, that might be as close as I'll get for awhile.

Because I had a credit, it ended up only costing me 99 cents! So here's my 99 cents on The Book of Mormon. After listening a few times to the songs and the snippets of dialogue two things struck me - one good and one not so good.

The songs performed by the young Mormons who are about to embark on their stints as missionaries are catchy and upbeat and funny. The lyrics are sweet and heartfelt about their desire to spread their religious faith and make the world a better place.

In fact, they seemed so positive, so earnest and sincere, that I'm surprised the Mormon Church isn't already using them as recruiting tools. Specifically, "Hello," "Two By Two" and "I Believe" are virtual love songs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

But the other thing that struck me about The Book of Mormon was the portrayal of the village in Uganda where Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad, who play the musical's two Odd Couple-like missionaries, are sent.

The Africans, in sharp contrast to the clean-cut, All-American and God-fearing Mormons, are presented as violent, profane, ignorant and easily led. I can't even bring myself to write what the villagers believe will "cure" them of AIDS.

The one appealing Ugandan character, played by Tony winner Nikki James, does get a nice song where she talks about her hopes and dreams, if she can only reach the paradise of "Sal Tlay Ka Siti." (Oh hah, hah, that's a joke on the Ugandans' inability to pronounce Salt Lake City.)

I know that The Book of Mormon was created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the South Park guys, and Robert Lopez, the guy from Avenue Q. I realize that the clash of cultures is what this musical is all about. It's a satire - it's supposed to be irreverent and skewer everyone. But based on what I've heard, the skewering just seems a little one-sided.

I'd still like to see The Book of Mormon someday. I realize it's unfair to judge a musical solely on its cast recording. I may be hearing things out of context, not getting the full picture of the story and characters. But for now, that's the only thing I have.

A Bill of Rights for Broadway ticket-buyers

Since I started going to Broadway shows, in April 2007, most of my experiences have been great. But I've also learned a lot about what can go wrong. So here's my suggestion for a ticket-buyer's Bill of Rights.

Sure they're obvious to veteran theatergoers but maybe not to people seeing their first show. And they're pretty simple steps. Let's face it, the producers are selling a product and we consumers should be able to make an informed purchase.

1.) Websites and promotional materials should list the date of preview performances and the expected opening night.

Sure, you can find the date a play or musical begins previews by Googling it - but why should you have to do that? You don't have to go to a third-party website to find out basic information about any other product.

In fact, not properly labeling preview performances may be a violation of New York's consumer protection laws.

Ticket buyers, 63 percent of whom are tourists and some of whom may be first-time Broadway theatergoers, should know when they're seeing a work in progress as opposed to the finished product.

2.) The ticket seller should list the dates when an above-the-title star will not be performing.

Right now if you go to Telecharge you can buy a ticket through the first week of November for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, starring Daniel Radcliffe.

There are no dates listed for Radcliffe's vacation but he could take a week off in the summer or fall and when that happens, there are going to be some mighty disappointed Harry Potter fans. Of course they can get a refund but what if they've come to New York expressly to see him and can't easily return?

(I'm just using this show as an example since he'll be one of the biggest names on Broadway this spring. He may not take a vacation, the show may not last until November. Who knows?)

As I learned with La Cage aux Folles, sometimes there's no way to tell when you buy your ticket whether or not the star will performing. And I'm talking about planned vacations. While I ended up loving the musical with the understudy, it's an expensive crap shoot that ticket-buyers shouldn't be forced to play.

Producers, make an agreement about vacation time at the beginning of the run and inform the public. I realize this will result in your box office dropping for that week but selling tickets knowing the star won't be appearing is false advertising.

3.) Promotional material should state that the play or musical could close at any time, even it's advertised as a limited run.

What? Everyone knows a show could close at any time. Well as I found out with Elling - not everyone does.

When the producers announced it was closing, a week after opening night, I went to the show's Facebook page and saw comments from disappointed Brendan Fraser fans in England and Australia. They bought airline tickets and booked hotel rooms in anticipation of seeing him onstage. And it sounded like they couldn't easily get their money back.

If they'd known the play might not last its advertised 20 weeks, they might have waited until after the reviews came out before making their plans.

The ethics of Spider-Man's marketing

I haven't said very much about Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark because I haven't seen the show and I didn't feel like I had anything to add to the debate that hadn't already been said.

But I just read a column about the ethics of professional critics reviewing the musical while it's still in previews and this jumped out at me:

"Broadway audiences know that previews are early glimpses of works in progress, and that is part of their appeal. The audiences for previews are part of the creative process, for how they react to a performance will help decide what stays and what gets cut. The prices they pay for the privilege of being Broadway guinea pigs are fair if they choose to pay them."

Sorry, that holds true for a portion of the audience. But 63 percent of Broadway tickets are purchased by tourists and I bet many of them have no idea when a show is in previews or exactly what that means. For some, Spider-Man may be their first Broadway experience.

In fact, if you go to the Spider-Man web site, it says "Now playing on Broadway." It doesn't say in previews or that the musical is subject to change. I don't think the word "preview" is even mentioned on the web site, so I don't know if it's a "choice" on the ticket-buyer's part or simply not knowing how privileged they are to be attending a preview performance.

And if they are familiar with previews, they may have purchased their ticket thinking it was after the much-delayed opening night, now scheduled for Feb. 7.

I just checked Ticketmaster for a performance in late January, while the show is still in previews, and ticket prices range from $76.50, for the cheapest seat in the balcony, to $289, for a premium seat in the orchestra. If you have a family of four, $306 is a hefty price to pay to be a "guinea pig" for director Julie Taymor and rest of the creative team.

You can debate the appropriateness of professional critics buying a ticket and writing a review before opening night. But please, don't tell me that Broadway audiences fully understand what a preview means, especially when the show's own web site misleads them.

If you want to talk about ethics, let's talk about the ethics of producers who fail to tell the ticket-buying public exactly how much of a rough draft they're spending their money to see and charging them plenty to be part of a work in progress.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2011!

Fifty years ago, in 1961, 54 shows opened on Broadway.

Musicals from 1961 include Frank Loesser's How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, Jerry Herman's Milk and Honey, Bob Merrill's Carnival!, Johnny Burke's Donnybrook!, and Comden and Green's Subways are for Sleeping.

Among the year's plays were Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons, Neil Simon's Come Blow Your Horn, Jean Kerr's Mary, Mary, Ossie Davis' Purlie Victorious, Henry and Phoebe Ephron's Take Her, She's Mine and Harold Pinter's The Caretaker.

Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana featured Bette Davis in her final Broadway role. William Shatner appeared in A Shot in the Dark before he went on to boldly go where no one had gone before. And Dustin Hoffman made his Broadway debut, in The Cook for Mr. General, six years before starring in one of my favorite movies, The Graduate.

Three plays opened and closed on the same night: The Garden of Sweets, set in a Greek-American candy store and ice cream parlor in a city on the Great Lakes; Julia, Jake and Uncle Joe, which took place in a New York apartment, a Moscow hotel room, the office of the American ambassador and the Kremlin; and Once There Was a Russian, set in 1787, in Potemkin's study in a small Crimean palace on the sea.

One show from 1961 that became a hit is on my must-see list for 2011: the revival of How to Succeed in Business, with Daniel Radcliffe taking on the role created by Robert Morse. Radcliffe was compelling in his Broadway debut in Equus and I'm looking forward to seeing him in a musical.

Wherever you are I hope your 2011 is happy, healthy and filled with great theatre and as always, thank-you for stopping by.

A Broadway show pulls the plug

If you go to the Facebook page for the Broadway play Elling you'll find some people who are extremely disappointed that it's closing on Sunday, only a week after opening night. They had tickets for later in what was advertised as a 20-week run.

Here are two examples, the first from England and the second from Australia:

"If this is true can we have a valid explanation as to why since I have booked my flights and hotel and I am traveling from England to see this. It's one hell of a waste of money if the play has closed. Incidentally, it is money I can ill afford to lose. I am not a happy Brendan [Fraser] fan at present."

"I'm shattered about the news of it's closure. Was only going to the US to see the show. I had no idea that shows close all the time, as someone on this board said previously. All booked & paid for. I don't want to go now."

According to the most recent statistics from The Broadway League, in the 2008-2009 season international visitors accounted for 21 percent of the 12.15 million Broadway admissions - the highest ever. Overall, tourists accounted for 63 percent of all ticket purchases.

I'm not sure what, if anything, can be done. The producers are under no obligation to keep open a play or musical that's losing money. The average paid admission for Elling last week was $22.03 and it only took in $145,070.

The problem is, something like this hurts the Broadway brand, as well as all of the other businesses in Times Square that rely on tourist dollars.

Perhaps there ought to be a little truth-in-advertising when you buy a ticket, stating in big, bold type that there's no guarantee how long the show will run or whether the actor you came to see will be in it that day.

I know to a lot of theatre fans, that's obvious. Of course you realize the producers can pull the plug at any time. An actor can go on vacation or become ill.

But clearly, some people don't know. If you look at the marketing material for Elling, it says: "20 weeks only. Now on Broadway." If you're a Brendan Fraser fan in England or Australia, you probably think it'll be there for 20 weeks.

So, what will those disappointed fans in England and Australia tell all of their friends, family, neighbors and coworkers about their experience? My guess is they won't have much that's good to say.

I hope they decide to see something else on their trip to New York City but I'm not optimistic. I bet they'll think twice about ever buying another ticket to a Broadway show. The Great White Way has lost some goodwill.

On the verge of a trip to Broadway

I got a sinking feeling reading the reviews last night for Women on the Verge of A Nervous Breakdown knowing that I have a ticket to see a Broadway musical widely considered a mess.

It's one of 11 shows - 10 on Broadway and 1 off-Broadway - that I'll be taking in during my two trips to New York City this month.

For an out-of-towner, especially one who can't get to the city that often, the selection process can be a gamble. Sometimes I have friends who've seen a show and rave about it. Sometimes I'm making my decisions before opening night or even before previews begin.

Honestly, I'm not sure how I'll feel about my choices by the end of November or whether the results will affect my next round of theatergoing.

While I use discounts, I'll pay full price if I think a better seat is worth it. And my aging knees require the extra leg room in the orchestra section. So we're not talking about an inconsequential amount of money.

Fortunately, I'm in a situation where I could just eat the ticket and go see something else that got a better reception from the critics. It's not going to break the bank.

Maybe it's me putting on a brave face but despite the pans, I'm still curious about Women on the Verge - if only to see for myself what everyone's talking about. I'm still looking forward to seeing Patti LuPone and Laura Benanti onstage again. I will do my best to sit back and enjoy myself. I will NOT have a nervous breakdown over it.

Picking a show is a tough decision for a tourist. Do you go with the safe choice or do you take a chance? I hope I'm always willing and able to take a chance. That's part of the excitement of being a theatre fan - and sometimes the disappointment.

And I'm pretty easy to please. Being in New York City, on vacation and away from the responsibilities of daily life, is always a treat for me. A show has to try really hard for me not to be entertained.

I love being in New York and I love going to Broadway. If Women on the Verge doesn't work for me well, it's an opportunity to hone my critical skills and see why - and to be part of the conversation.

My Broadway wish list: fall 2010

I love this time of year, when every book and movie, TV series and CD, play and musical has the potential to be a hit.

I'll only be able to see a handful of shows in New York City and not nearly enough off Broadway. But you have to start somewhere, so here are the Broadway shows at the top of my wish list:

La Bete:
A comedy in rhyming couplets inspired by Moliere? I'm there. This is my chance to see Mark Rylance, whose Tony-winning turn in Boeing Boeing I missed. And it's been 3 1/2 years since I last saw David Hyde Pierce on Broadway, in his Tony-winning performance in Curtains. Much too long.

The Pitmen Painters:
Maybe it's because I loved How Green Was My Valley, or the fact that I've been in a coal mine, but I'm very interested in Lee Hall's play about a group of British miners in the 1930s who discover their artistic side. Hall, who wrote Billy Elliot, knows the terrain. New Yorker theatre critic John Lahr, who saw it in London, put The Pitmen Painters on his list of the 10 best plays of 2008.

Brief Encounter:
I've never seen the 1945 British movie, directed by David Lean, with a screenplay by Noel Coward. And I'm not a big Coward fan. Still, I like innovative work and this play, from Britain's Kneehigh Theatre, sounds so intriguing for the way it incorporates film footage into the action onstage. I can't even imagine what it'll be like.

The Scottsboro Boys:
The reviews from the pre-Broadway engagement at the Guthrie Theater have been glowing. It's got a score by Kander and Ebb. The cast includes John Cullum and Colman Domingo, both of whom I've enjoyed onstage. And I'm so curious to see how this shameful episode in American history is told through music.

A Free Man of Color:
I've read a little bit about the time in which John Guare's play occurs and it's fascinating. New Orleans in 1801, before the Louisiana Purchase, was a freewheeling place, where racial strictures were much less rigid. Jeffrey Wright plays the title character, whose life will be upended when the city is transferred from French to American sovereignty.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown:
I could not be more excited about a cast - Patti LuPone and Laura Benanti, both of whom I adored in Gypsy, plus Sherie Rene Scott and Brian Stokes Mitchell, whom I've never seen. And the musical is based on a Pedro Almodovar movie that I haven't seen, so it'll all be new to me. Plus, haven't we all been on the verge of a nervous breakdown at one time or another?

Of course there's more I'd love to see. I missed Time Stands Still with Laura Linney, so I'm hoping to catch the return engagement. And I want to see Spider-Man Turn off the Dark, but since previews don't begin until mid-November, I'll wait until they get that flying down pat.

Sondheim tonight!

Broadway's Henry Miller's Theatre officially becomes the Stephen Sondheim Theatre this evening with the lighting of the marquee on 43rd Street.

A group of Sondheim devotees made the renaming possible with a donation to the Roundabout Theatre Company, which operates the venue, in honor of the composer's 80th birthday.

Unfortunately, I can't be there for the ceremony but as a fan, I'd like to add my congratulations on this long-overdue recognition. I can't wait to see my first show at the Sondheim.

I have many favorite Sondheim songs and musicals but I'm very partial to Sweeney Todd and I love the clever wordplay in "A Little Priest." Despite the grim subject matter, I can't help but smile at Mr. Sondheim's wit.

From Spider-Man's Reeve Carney, Good Morning America!

I'll admit that hearing a song out of context is not the best way to sell a Broadway show. Still, I was underwhelmed by the debut of a song from Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark on Good Morning America.

First of all, the cameras should have taken us inside the Foxwoods Theatre for a tour and an interview with director Julie Taymor. Having her sitting in the GMA studio, holding still photographs of the set and costumes on her lap, didn't do much to convey the tremendous scope of this production.

I mean, according to an interview in The New York Times with lead producer Michael Cohl, the musical has a price tag of $60 million, making it the most expensive show in Broadway history. C'mon, show me how spectacular that set looks. Make me think I need to get my ticket now.

(Interestingly, the article notes that Cohl got his big break as chief promoter for the Rolling Stones "Steel Wheels" tour, which I saw in Syracuse in 1989. I remember it was a big deal - everyone I know went - and I think I still have my bootleg T-shirt somewhere.)

There are two reasons I'm interested in Spider-Man. One is Taymor, whose work on The Lion King I loved. And the other is the music, written by Bono and The Edge, from U2, a band I love (at least their early stuff).

The musical's Peter Parker, Reeve Carney, performed "Boy Falls From The Sky,'' backed by his band, Carney.

It was different from a traditional show tune and I like the idea of mixing up the sound on Broadway. There ought to be all different kinds of music on the Great White Way.

But it struck me as a generic slow rock song from a slight twentysomething with his hair falling in his eyes. Plus, Carney was slurring the lyrics so much that I could hardly understand them. And he's not exactly a commanding presence onstage. Hope he's got enough stamina for eight shows a week.

You can watch his performance here:



Having a national television audience, I was hoping the creative team would come up with something a little more jaw-dropping than what I saw. Don't get me wrong, I'm still interested. But I think they hit a single when they should have been trying for a home run.

Spider-Man begins previews Nov. 14 and opens Dec. 21.

My 2009-2010 Broadway season

Even though the Tony Awards were two months ago, I didn't wrap up my 2009-2010 Broadway season until the middle of July.

Sadly, I couldn't get to New York City in the spring, so I missed A View from the Bridge, Red and Fences. (Curse you, limited runs!)

But I made it to the short-lived revival of Brighton Beach Memoirs, I heard Angela Lansbury sing in A Little Night Music and I finally saw Wicked in all its Broadway glory, with Rondi Reed as Madame Morrible.

Looking back, the shows that made the biggest impact were ones with strong personal stories: Brighton Beach Memoirs and Superior Donuts, La Cage aux Folles and Fela!

Laurie Metcalf in Brighton Beach Memoirs, Douglas Hodge in La Cage aux Folles and Jon Michael Hill in Superior Donuts could easily have descended into stereotypes: overprotective Jewish mother, flamboyant drag performer, wisecracking young black male. But they imbued those characters with such depth and humanity that they rose above caricature and captured my heart.

La Cage aux Folles entered my pantheon of favorite musicals. I loved Jerry Herman's songs so much that I got the original Broadway cast recording, which I've been listening to nonstop. The revival CD will be released Sept. 28 and I can't wait to have both of them on my iPod.

I noticed more audience participation on Broadway this season - batting beach balls at La Cage, swiveling my hips during Fela! and missing the waxed fruit that came flying into the audience during Lend Me A Tenor. While the trend could become overdone, so far I've enjoyed it!

I also crossed five theatres off my list, making my first visits to the Gershwin, Longacre, Lunt-Fontanne, Nederlander and Schoenfeld. Only seven more to go before I've seen a show in every Broadway house.

Among the theatres I've yet to enter is the Majestic, home to The Phantom of the Opera, which I've never seen. If the sequel, Love Never Dies, comes to New York next spring perhaps I'll make it a double feature.

Foxwoods and Broadway

I was surprised yesterday to find out that Broadway's Hilton Theatre is now the Foxwoods Theatre, after Live Nation sold the naming rights to the Connecticut casino in a multiyear deal.

I'm sure Live Nation could use the money. The Hilton has been dark for more than a year in preparation for the much-delayed Spider-Man musical.

And it gives Foxwoods a major presence in Times Square, as well as a connection to the musical that marketing officer Robert Victoria calls "the most anticipated Broadway production of all time." Yes, of all time.

(As an aside, I highly recommend the book Without Reservation, by Jeff Benedict, about the Mashantucket Pequot tribe that built Foxwoods.)

Personally, I'd love it if theatres were named for people who have some connection with Broadway. But beyond that, I have a bigger concern - Does this mean the casino is dipping its toe further into the musical stream?

A full-length production of Hairspray played Foxwoods in December. As the Hartford Courant's Frank Rizzo reported, it was the first time a Connecticut casino had presented a traditional Broadway musical.

He questioned the impact on venues like New Haven's Shubert or Hartford's Bushnell if Foxwoods competes for musical theatre patrons. (Not to mention the impact on restaurants and other businesses that help keep urban downtown areas vibrant.)

At the time Bruce Flax, director of marketing for MGM/Foxwoods, said that Hairspray would be a test case and if successful, could pave the way for other Broadway-type productions."It's a big commitment for us," he said.

There's no indication the naming deal is anything more than that. But it makes me nervous. Look at where bands and musicians go now.

Over the next month Counting Crows, Stevie Nicks, Donna Summer and John Fogerty will perform at the 4,000-seat MGM Grand at Foxwoods. There was a time when they would have made tour stops in cities like Boston, Providence or Hartford.

Foxwoods is in the middle of nowhere - 2 1/2 hours from Boston, an hour from Providence or Hartford. You can take an infrequent bus or drive. It's not an easy place to reach compared with any of those cities.

I'd hate to see touring productions of Broadway shows migrate there, too.

The Addams Family

The Addams Family, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway.
Gratuitous Violins rating: **1/2 out of ****

Even though there's nothing remotely pink about it, I've settled on cotton candy as the perfect food metaphor for The Addams Family: tasty but not very filling.

Charles Addams' macabre cartoons first appeared in the New Yorker in 1938. Since then, they've been turned into a TV series and movies, video games and a musical variety show, to name a few incarnations.

Now, his characters known for looking on the dark side of life are in a splashy musical comedy, playing to some of the biggest crowds and with some of the highest ticket prices on Broadway. If you're visiting New York, it seems like a show that the whole family would enjoy.

And it's definitely a crowd-pleaser. The Addams Family has a large cast with actors who know how to deliver a joke, imaginative special effects, an impressive-looking set and a big Broadway sound.

While I enjoyed those things (as well as Thing), for me they weren't quite enough.

The musical starts strong, with the orchestra striking up the familiar TV-show theme by Vic Mizzy. A scene in a graveyard introduces the family and a ghostly chorus of ancestors with a lively ensemble number, "When You're an Addams."

I loved the Addams house - an old, creepy New York City mansion designed by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch. Together with puppetry by Basil Twist and special effects from Gregory Meeh, they created an appropriately ooky, spooky atmosphere.

If only the rest of the musical had been that stylish and clever.

Composer Andrew Lippa's songs weren't very memorable. I felt like I'd heard similar ones in other musicals and there wasn't much variety to the delivery either. Although I have to admit, it was glorious to hear a full-sized orchestra fill a Broadway theatre.

The book, from Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, had too few examples of true wit. It relied on easy topical humor, with references to texting and swing states, and tiresome stereotypes - narrow-minded middle America. Those lines got laughs but I groaned.

The plot, instead of being inventive, was borrowed from La Cage aux Folles: Wednesday (Krysta Rodriguez) is bringing her boyfriend, Lucas, (Wesley Taylor) and his parents (from shudder, Ohio) home for dinner. She wants her "nontraditional" family to act "normal" for an evening.

Nathan Lane was a standout as Gomez - urbane, with a vaguely European accent. The man can wring a laugh out of me with even the most pedestrian lines. And the "Happy/Sad" ballad he sang to Wednesday, about his conflicting emotions as his daughter grows up, truly was touching.

With her tight, slinky gown and long, jet-black hair, Bebe Neuwirth looked stunning and as Morticia. I just wish she'd been given more to do besides her solo number, "Death is Just Around the Corner." (Corner - coroner, get it?)

Jackie Hoffman was a hoot as the salty, crotchety Grandma, even if the material felt mundane - telling Pugsley (Adam Riegler) to stop texting and open a book - and vulgar. (I mean, a pee joke?) And Kevin Chamberlin was sweet as the lovestruck Uncle Fester.

Lucas' parents, Alice and Mal Beineke, played by Carolee Carmello and Merwin Foard (subbing for Terrence Mann), were funny but their characters weren't the most interesting foils. Did anyone think they'd be able to keep Wednesday and Lucas apart? Did anyone care?

After a pre-Broadway run in Chicago, veteran director Jerry Zaks was brought in as a "creative consultant" to work with directors McDermott and Crouch. He tightened things up, put the focus more squarely on the Addams characters.

Maybe he did help but the problem was, after a dinner scene that ended Act I The Addams Family kind of fell apart in Act II. Everyone seemed to go their separate ways and the story drifted. I felt less and less engaged.

Still, despite the flaws I enjoyed myself. (Hey I was on vacation. What's not to like?) The Addams Family was fun - just not as inspired as I'd hoped it would be.

Lend Me A Tenor

Lend Me A Tenor at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway.
Gratuitous Violins rating: *** 1/2 out of ****

One good thing about going to Broadway after the season ends is that you've read the reviews and heard the buzz - or lack of it. And the revival of Lend Me A Tenor had great buzz.

Honestly, I'm not really into farce. Broad physical comedy, disguise, mistaken identity, slamming doors, hiding in the bathroom or the closet - a little goes a long way. It can become repetitive and tiresome.

But this terrific ensemble, directed by Stanley Tucci, had me in stitches. What a fast-paced production, with memorable characters and perfect comic timing from an expert cast. I was laughing from the beginning to the inspired curtain call.

Ken Ludwig's play is set in 1934, in a hotel room in Cleveland. An impresario, Saunders, played by Tony Shalhoub, has brought a famous opera singer to star in Otello and he's got a lot riding on the evening's success. (Without giving too much away, let me simply say that complications ensue.)

Justin Bartha, in his Broadway debut, was especially impressive as Max, the mild-mannered, eager assistant assigned to babysit the tenor - who turns out to be quite a handful.

Bartha, who was in the hit movie The Hangover, is so confident and expressive that he seems born to be onstage. I hope this is only the first of many Broadway roles.

Anthony LaPaglia is great as the egotistical tenor, Tito Merelli. And Jan Maxwell, whom I loved as a 1920s Broadway star in The Royal Family, is just as wonderful here playing his tempestuous wife, Maria. Jay Klaitz stands out in a small role as an opera-loving bellhop.

Since I couldn't make it to New York City in the spring, I missed several limited-run plays. In the summertime, a Broadway play is nearly an extinct species. Lend Me A Tenor closes Aug. 15, and I'm so glad I got to see it.

Fela!

Fela! at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on Broadway.
Gratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****

I was supposed to see Fela! in December as the final show in my New York City trip. When the performance was canceled due to injuries about 10 minutes after curtain time, I was extremely disappointed.

By the time I returned to Broadway, last weekend, new musicals had opened and I'd lost interest. I was going to skip Fela! altogether.

But my friend Steve on Broadway encouraged me to give it another chance, telling me it was incredible and reminding me that I'd get to see Saycon Sengbloh in a featured role. Fortunately, I listened to him.

Fela! tells the story of the late Nigerian musician and political activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and takes place in 1978 in his nightclub, the Shrine. It's an original musical that meshes politics, history and a personal narrative with the pulsating sound of Afrobeat. I was enthralled from beginning to end.

Two actors share the title role - Sahr Ngaujah and Kevin Mambo. I saw Mambo and he was mesmerizing - a charismatic showman who at one point gets the audience up and swiveling our collective hips. You can understand why a million people crowded the streets of Lagos at Fela's funeral.

Mambo is onstage almost the entire 2 1/2 hours and has practically the only speaking role. The music - from the Afrobeat band Antibalas - and dance, choreographed by Tony winner Bill T. Jones, are almost nonstop. Robert Kaplowitz's Tony-winning sound design was crisp and clear without hurting my ears.

Aided by Peter Nigrini's projection design, Fela tells of his childhood in a politically active family, chafing under British Colonial rule, eye-opening travels to England the United States, becoming a musician and opposing the corruption that took hold in Nigeria after independence.

And Mambo is a terrific storyteller. He's funny as Fela describes his influences - Frank Sinatra and James Brown among them; poignantly ambivalent referring to his grandfather - the first African to record music in Europe; reverential about his mother, Funmilayo, a courageous, pioneering feminist; defiant toward the authorities who constantly harass and arrest him.

Only two other performers have speaking roles. Sengbloh is captivating as Sandra Isadore, an American who sparks his interest in politics and black power. Abena Koomson (understudy for Lillias White) is stirring as Funmilayo. I just wish we'd seen more of them, and others who influenced Fela's life.

Fela! doesn't present its subject as a saint - there's a hilarious scene involving marijuana and he married 27 women, some of whom are onstage dancing with him. And it doesn't stint in describing the violence directed against Fela and his followers by Nigeria's military dictatorship.

So I was disappointed that while the show mentions Fela's death, it's silent about the cause - complications from AIDS. The omission leaves the audience wondering and it made me a bit sad that in one respect, this bold musical held back.

Nonetheless, I left the theatre exhilarated and with two thoughts: that Kevin Mambo should have received a Tony nomination along with Sahr Ngaujah and that Fela! was the best new musical I saw on Broadway this season.

La Cage aux Folles

La Cage Aux Folles, at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway.
Gratuitous Violins rating: **** out of ****

While I knew the plot of La Cage aux Folles going in, until this Tony-winning Broadway revival I'd never seen the show on stage.

So Jerry Herman's unforgettable score was new. Combine that with tender, sensitive performances from Chris Hoch as Georges, owner of a St. Tropez nightclub, and Tony winner Douglas Hodge as the drag queen Albin, his life partner. Add a book by Harvey Fierstein that's humorous but never loses sight of the human element. Toss in some fun, athletic Cagelles.

What you get is a musical that captured my heart. With warmth and wit, La Cage aux Folles gets to the true meaning of family values: the love we show each other, the sacrifices we make.

In their 20 years together Georges and Albin have raised a son, Jean-Michel, the product of Georges' one-night stand. He's engaged to the daughter of the conservative Monsieur Dindon, head of the Tradition, Family and Morality Party. And when he brings his future in-laws home for dinner, he doesn't want the flamboyant Albin to be there.

Hodge, who transferred with this production from London's Menier Chocolate Factory, plays Albin as dramatic and insecure. He's an aging actor surrounded by the younger and more agile drag performers. He's a parent terribly hurt by the son he adores. The attempts to make him appear more "masculine" were funny but also heartbreaking.

Hoch, on in place of the vacationing Kelsey Grammer, was terrific. His Georges is steady and patient - a perfect counterpart and soulmate to Albin. He's wonderfully expressive: hilarious as he coaxes Albin out of his dressing room, stern as he reminds Jean-Michel of all the things Albin has done for the family. And he has a deep, beautiful singing voice.

Herman's songs illuminate the lives of these two men and their love for each other so well - an emotional "Look Over There" that Georges sings to his son, Albin's anthemic "I Am What I Am," the poignant "Song on the Sand" when Georges serenades Albin, and a stirring "The Best of Times."

There were times when I was moved to tears, including the scene at an outdoor cafe when Georges tries to hold Albin's hand, only to be warned away because someone is watching. The brief moment when they finally touch made me think about my friends who are gay and lesbian and how guarded they have to be with their affection in public.

From what I've read, this La Cage aux Folles takes place in a nightclub that's more rundown, with fewer dancers than in previous productions. It worked fine for me. I have rarely had as much fun sitting in my seat as I did when the Cagelles started tossing giant beach balls into the audience, which we swatted back onto the stage.

I liked the supporting cast, too: A.J. Shively in his Broadway debut as Jean-Michel plays a young man more misguided than mean-spirited. Robin De Jesus provided great comic relief as Jacob, the butler/maid devoted to Albin, who dreams of being a performer.

Fred Applegate was effective as the blustery, narrow-minded Monsieur Dindon. Yes, Dindon is a stereotypical bad guy but the hurtful things he says are mild in comparison with the bigotry of real-life antigay groups.

And talk about morality - contrast the way he browbeats his wife and daughter with Georges and Albin, who go through a charade, pretend to be people they're not, in order to make their son happy. When they affirm who they are, simply and with dignity, I wanted to cheer.

Last week I wrote about Grammer's absence and I questioned whether Hoch, who's younger, would be believable as Georges. Well, he won me over from the first scene until after the curtain call, when he put his arm around Hodge's waist and they walked offstage together.

All I can say is, bravo.