PPAC's 2010-2011 season

The Providence Performing Arts Center has announced its 2010-2011 season and I think it's a pretty strong one. It's also a milestone for me - I've seen every show. Here's the lineup:

Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Nov. 12-28

South Pacific, Dec. 7-12

Mamma Mia!, Dec. 28-Jan. 2

In the Heights, Jan. 11-16, 2011

The Lion King, Feb. 1-20, 2011

Blue Man Group, March 4-6, 2011

Next to Normal, March 22-27, 2011

Monty Python's Spamalot, April 15-17, 2011

West Side Story, April 25-May 1, 2011

Things kick off - literally - in November with the Rockettes in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, which I saw in New York in 2008. It's a great show with some truly spectacular segments featuring those high-stepping dancers. And it'll definitely get you in the Christmas spirit. Here's my review.

Also on the PPAC schedule for next season are five musicals I really enjoyed on Broadway - South Pacific, In the Heights, The Lion King, Next to Normal and West Side Story. I can't say what the touring productions will be like but they're shows I'd see.

Honestly, I'm less enthused about Spamalot, Mamma Mia! and Blue Man Group.

The first two have stopped in Providence fairly recently. Mamma Mia! is a fun musical and I had a good time seeing it on Broadway. I was less enthused about Spamalot when I took in the tour at PPAC in 2008. And I saw Blue Man Group in Boston years ago. Different, but once was enough for me!

Of course South Pacific, West Side Story and The Lion King are classics that probably don't need an introduction from me. But theatergoers in Southern New England might not be as familiar with In the Heights and Next to Normal.

In the Heights, the 2008 Tony winner for Best Musical, refers to Washington Heights, a neighborhood at the northern end of Manhattan that's a Latino melting pot.

It's a sweet and heartfelt look at an immigrant community's hopes and dreams. I loved the choreography and the score that combines hip-hop and salsa with more traditional Broadway sounds.

Next to Normal is something so rare on Broadway, an original musical about a complex subject - a woman suffering from mental illness and the effect it has on her family.

People are divided on it but I gained a greater understanding of the devastating impact of mental illness and how difficult it is to treat. Plus, the vibrant rock 'n' roll score conveys so well what each character is going through. Tough to watch at times, yes, but utterly compelling.

Broadway in Boston 2009-2010

Broadway Across America finally released its Boston lineup for 2009-2010 this week. There are a few shows I really want to see that we're not getting in Providence, (which isn't part of BAA) including August: Osage County.

(But we are getting Xanadu in Providence, so life's a tradeoff. Sometime I would like to find out how these things work, how the producers decide which shows to put in which cities. For example, why is Little House on the Prairie bypassing the Northeast, except for the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey?)

Also coming to Boston are the national tours of In the Heights and Dreamgirls. They're both arriving in the winter, so let's hope it's a mild one.

I really enjoyed In the Heights on Broadway, the 2008 Tony winner for Best Musical. The story, set in a Latino neighborhood in New York City, is a joyous reminder of the vitality that immigrants bring to this country, along with their hopes and dreams. And it's got great music and choreography, too. In the Heights plays at the Opera House Jan. 12-24.

I've only seen the movie Dreamgirls, so I'm very interested in catching the stage version that tells the story of a Supremes-like singing group. The national tour is being launched at the Apollo Theater in November. Dreamgirls is playing at the Colonial Theatre Feb. 2-14.

Luckily, I won't have to worry about the weather by the time August: Osage County comes to the Colonial, from May 4-16. As I mentioned the other day, I only had a chance to see it once in New York so I'm looking forward to a return visit with the dysfunctional Weston family.

I can also recommend Fiddler on the Roof, which is coming to the Opera House from Nov. 3-15. It was a thrill to see the musical in Providence last February, with 73-year-old Chaim Topol as Tevye. Apparently his farewell tour is quite extensive. And he should keep doing it as long as he can - he's still terrific in the role.

There is one other musical coming to Boston that I'm kind of curious about: Cats, which will be at the Colonial April 13-18. I've never seen it and, truth be told, while I like cats I'm really much more of a dog person. If they ever make a musical called Dogs, I will be there.

Still, I'm kind of curious about a show that played 18 years on Broadway. And according to the Web site: "There's no better way to introduce your family to the wonders of live theater than with the magic, the mystery, the memory of CATS."

In the Heights, under the sea

The talented Lin-Manuel Miranda is going in a new direction after the success of In the Heights. I thought he'd do something else for the stage while he worked on the movie version of the 2008 Tony winner for Best Musical. (And one of my favorite musicals of last year.)

But Miranda, who won the Tony for Best Score for In the Heights and portrayed bodega owner Unsavi until last month, has a new project. He's signed a deal with DreamWorks to develop an animated musical with Peter Barsocchini, screenwriter of Disney's popular High School Musical series.

The storyline is top secret - or maybe they don't have one yet - but there's a bit of a hint in this comment from Bill Damaschke, co president of production for DreamWorks Animation:

"At DreamWorks we want to figure out a way to do an animated musical in the way Jeffrey (Katzenberg) did at Disney in the '80s. That team found a way to make an animated musical. Our plan is to do something unique and really innovative. It's been a long time since there's been an animated musical that pushed the medium forward."

Hmmm, are we talking about 1989's The Little Mermaid for inspiration? Because the movie is very close to Miranda's heart. Last month he told the New York Post that composing a score for an animated film has always been a dream:

"I got Alan Menken's autograph when I was in fourth grade because I was obsessed with The Little Mermaid. His niece went to my school and I think the autograph actually says, 'To Lin, From Alan. Stop kissing Jenny's feet,' because I had been begging her. I couldn't get enough of those songs. I remember faking sick to get out of school so I could buy The Little Mermaid on VHS. I just rewinded the hell out of it."

Katey Lynch at Cinema Blend speculates that it's Miranda's "gift with lyrics that DreamWorks is probably interested in, and would translate perfectly to the screen."

She's got a point. I've listened to the Grammy-winning recording of In the Heights more than a few times. Sure, Miranda's rapping is fun and his mixing of different musical styles is imaginative. But what stuck with me are the songs that tell the stories of the Latino residents of this New York City neighborhood - where they grew up, what their lives are like, their dreams.

Coincidentally, among the recordings that In the Heights beat out to win the Grammy for Best Musical Show Album (they still call them albums) was the score that Menken, Glenn Slater and the late Howard Ashman wrote for The Little Mermaid.

Now that Shrek has whetted DreamWorks' appetite for Broadway musicals I'm thinking that whatever Miranda comes up with, eventually we'll see it on stage. And I'll be looking forward to it.

Some memorable moments from 2008

It's hard for me to pick my favorite shows of the year because truly, I loved almost everything - just some more than others. These are some of the songs, choreography, scenes and characters that amazed me, made me laugh or cry or simply made me think a little bit harder about the world this year. There were probably another dozen I could have picked, too.

One of the things that struck me as I looked over the list of plays and musicals I saw in 2008 was how many of them dealt with adolescents struggling to find their place in a world that's not always very accepting.

Some have done things that their parents simply can't understand. Others dream of a life that their parents simply can't imagine. They want desperately to fit in with their classmates, to live up to the expectations that their families have of them. But they also want to be true to themselves. While they're not all on this list, to some extent all of their stories resonated with me. Maybe it has something to do with the power of theatre, but I felt for them all.

1.) For thrilling spectacle, it's hard to beat the opening minutes of Disney's musical The Lion King. Once a pair of giraffes ambled across the stage followed by a parade of animals up the aisles of the theatre in the opening number, "Circle of Life," I was hooked. My jaw dropped in amazement and my inner child was activated. Director (and designer) Julie Taymor uses elaborate costumes, masks, puppets and video projection to create a show that's so visually rich and vivid. I'm not a big fan of comic book stories but knowing that Taymor (and Bono!) are two of the creative forces behind the new Spider-Man musical definitely makes me interested.

2.) Black Watch brought home the experiences of a Scottish regiment in Iraq in such an imaginative, visceral way. Soldiers silently act out reading letters from home; one member of the unit relates the history of the Black Watch as he's being dressed, undressed and turned every which way with military precision. At one point near the end of the play I closed my eyes and winced in anticipation of a bone being broken. It was a moment of potential violence that was unexpected and it seemed so real.

3.) I had the pleasure of seeing Harvey Fierstein on stage twice this year - in A Catered Affair and last month, reprising his Tony-winning role as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. When Harvey sings "Coney Island" at the end of A Catered Affair, suitcase in hand, ready to start a new phase in his life, it was so touching. And in Hairspray, I had a chance to see Harvey's wonderful comic timing. I just have to smile whenever I think of him jumping on the hot dog cart in "Welcome to the Sixties" or the hilarious duet with Wilbur Turnblad in "You're Timeless to Me." They were priceless moments.


4.) Brooks Ashmanskas is an adorable, teddy bear of a man. I loved him and Kate Baldwin as feuding coworkers who don't realize they're pen pals in She Loves Me at Boston's Huntington Theatre Company. What a sweet, wonderful little musical. Baldwin has a great comic touch in "Vanilla Ice Cream" and I got choked up when she sang "Dear Friend," while waiting in a cafe to meet her pen pal. But I think my favorite moment was watching Ashmanskas, a truly expressive, physical actor, dance his way across a bare stage bathed in blue light while performing the title song.

5.) I remember as a kid watching Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals when they came on television - Oklahoma! and The King and I and above all, Cinderella with Lesley Ann Warren. But until I saw the revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center this spring, I had never seen a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical on stage. From the opening strains of the overture, when the stage slid back to reveal a 30-piece orchestra, I was captivated by this production. There were many great moments with Kelli O'Hara, Paulo Szot and Matthew Morrison as the leads. I especially loved the lively staging of "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair." But really, it was all great.

6.) Seeing Patti LuPone as Mamma Rose in Gypsy was on my list of top theatrical moments of 2007. When the musical moved from the City Center Encores! series to Broadway, I saw Gypsy again. And once again, it makes my list of top theatre moments. This time, I want to mention Laura Benanti's performance. The moment when we first see Benanti transformed from gawky, plain-Jane adolescent Louise to glamorous, confident stripper Gypsy Rose Lee was stunning. Her hair is different, her clothes are obviously different, even her personality seems different. I could hardly believe she was the same person. Really, the brilliance of her Tony-winning performance just blew me away.

7.) I've written numerous times about my admiration for Daniel Breaker's performance in Passing Strange, especially the moment when he leaps across the stage in imitation of a big Broadway dance number. There's another scene that's stayed with me, too. When Breaker's character, Youth, is living in Berlin, he's made friends with a group of left-wing artists and activists. He fully expects that one of them will invite him home for Christmas. But they're not too keen about bringing a young black man to their small towns to meet the family. It's a painful moment when Youth realizes that there are limits to acceptance and friendship.

8.) I really enjoyed In the Heights, winner of the 2008 Tony for Best Musical. Lin-Manuel Miranda was great as bodega owner Usnavi, rapping his way through the opening number, featuring Andy Blankenbuehler's awesome choreography. But Mandy Gonzalez really won my heart as college student Nina, whose story is at the center of In the Heights. She returns to her Washington Heights neighborhood in New York City from Stanford feeling like a failure. I think her voice is beautiful and she's heartbreaking in "Breathe," when she sings about her guilt at having let down her family and her community.

9.) I though Laurence Fishburne was mesmerizing in Thurgood, as he took us through the life of Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court. This was my first time seeing a one-person show on stage. Fishburne is a great storyteller as he goes through the details of Marshall's life and the fight to end school segregation in this county, culminating in the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. For me, he was such a commanding presence. I was in the third row, on the aisle, so when he sat down in a chair on stage at one point, he was literally right in front of me. I didn't dare take my eyes off of him - he was looking right at me, or at least that's what it felt like.

10.) The more I think about it, the more I like 13, Jason Robert Brown's musical about Evan Goldman, a Jewish kid who moves from New York City to Indiana after his parents get divorced. He's trying frantically to get the cool kids in his new school to come to his bar mitzvah. I loved the energetic young cast and the choreography and the rock 'n' roll score. At the end of the musical, in a very nice scene, we see Evan, played by Graham Phillips, during his bar mitzvah, a yarmulke on his head and a prayer shawl draped around his shoulders, chanting in Hebrew. The show could have left that moment out, soft-pedaled the religious angle, but it didn't - to its credit.

11.) Just about any moment that involves dancing in the musical Billy Elliot is memorable. I loved the dream ballet between Billy, played by Trent Kowalik at the performance I saw, and an adult dancer, played by Stephen Hanna. I loved seeing Billy in the middle of all those tutu-clad little girls in "Shine" and the big scrum of kids, miners and police in "Solidarity." I loved a very tender and bittersweet embrace between Billy and his father, played by Gregory Jbara. And any moment with Haydn Gwynne, who plays Billy's dance teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson, is wonderful. But the scene where Billy reads a letter from his dead mother is heartbreaking. Listening to it on the cast recording, I'm in tears.

12.) I can still picture Brian J. Smith as Brandon Hardy, a high school senior in the 1980s in Roberto Aguirre Sacasa's play Good Boys and True. At one point, Brandon angrily denies to his friend Justin (Christopher Abbott) that he's gay. He hurls vile, homophobic insults, taunting Justin that he'll have a better life, he'll make more money, be more successful, be happier, because he's not going to be gay. To me, it was a powerful moment not solely because of what Brandon does to Justin - although that's bad enough - but because it shows, in a very stark way, what Brandon is doing to himself out of fear.

Sound and light shows

When I filled out my imaginary Tony Awards ballot this spring, I was a little stumped by the sound and lighting categories. (Along with best orchestration. Even though I now know what an orchestrator does, I still don't feel any more qualified to give an opinion, even an imaginary one.)

What made me think about sound and lighting is that the recipients of this year's MacArthur "genius" fellowships have been announced, and there's at least one theatre-related winner of the $500,000 prizes, veteran Broadway lighting designer Jennifer Tipton.

The 71-year-old Tipton won Tony awards in 1977 for The Cherry Orchard and in 1989 for Jerome Robbins' Broadway. Originally a dancer, Tipton also designs lighting for dance and opera. She's taught at Yale and trained many other designers in the craft, including Donald Holder, Tony winner in 1998 for The Lion King and in 2008 for South Pacific, and Howell Binkley, the lighting designer for In the Heights and Gypsy.

The biography at the MacArthur Foundation Web site says, "Best known for her work in dance, Tipton’s painterly lighting evokes mood and defines and sculpts movement. Preferring a small but powerful palette of colors, she pioneered the use of white light in theatre and dance."

"Her subtle, shifting lighting for Eugene O’Neill’s A Moon for the Misbegotten (2005) gave visual support to the play’s delicate balance between vitality and deep sadness; in the final scene, the cleansing warmth of approaching dawn affirms the sense of peace and forgiveness finally achieved by the protagonists."

Sadly, when I'm writing my review, sound and lighting are two areas I tend to forget about, whereas I almost always remember to mention the sets and the costumes. Of course, there are exceptions, like Kevin Adams' very dramatic colored lights that usher in the Berlin phase of Passing Strange, or the blackout that occurs during In the Heights.

Sometimes, I neglect to mention them because I don't realize who deserves the credit for something I really enjoyed. For example, I loved the whole staging of "I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Out of My Hair" in South Pacific. But I didn't realize that it was Scott Lehrer's skillful sound design that allowed Kelli O'Hara to sing and wash her hair at the same time - without getting electrocuted.

So in my effort to become an ever-more perceptive theatergoer, and in recognition of all the designers' great work, I'll try to consider sound and lighting more closely. Maybe next spring when the Tony Awards come around, I can at least venture an opinion.

My 2008 Broadway playlist

In today's New York Times, Stephen Holden writes enthusiastically about the newest Broadway cast recordings. He looks at In the Heights, Passing Strange, South Pacific, A Catered Affair and off-Broadway's Adding Machine.

Holden also mentions Gypsy in passing, but notes that it won't be released until August. He does say, however, that it will include some never-before-recorded songs. And he gets the winner of the Tony for Best Original Score wrong, giving it to Passing Strange instead of In the Heights. Wishful thinking on his part, perhaps?

It's a very timely story for me, because I've been spending the past month listening to South Pacific, In the Heights and A Catered Affair. (Passing Strange is available on iTunes, but it won't be released on CD until July 15, so I'm holding off until then).

I decided this week to try and put together a playlist for my iPod of my absolute favorite songs from the three shows. I'll add Gypsy and Passing Strange once I've listened to them a few times.

Of course, it's impossible to pick just a few tunes out of these three wonderful scores. They're all terrific and I've enjoyed listening to them repeatedly. I mean, what don't I love about South Pacific? Holden writes that you can't listen to the revival recording "without becoming misty-eyed for an era of cockeyed postwar optimism when all America sang Rodgers and Hammerstein hits and absorbed the moral instruction in their songs."

You'll note that my South Pacific picks are heavily tilted toward Matthew Morrison's Lt. Joseph Cable. The more I listened to South Pacific, the more I was taken with Morrison's voice. While he's not my all-time favorite Lieutenant Cable, he's a close second.

In the Heights
In the Heights
Breathe
Inutil
Pacienca Y Fe
Everything I Know
96,000

A Catered Affair
Our Only Daughter
Your Children's Happiness
Don't Ever Stop Saying I Love You
I Stayed
Coney Island

South Pacific
My Girl Back Home
Younger Than Springtime
You've Got to Be Carefully Taught
I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Out of My Hair
A Wonderful Guy
A Cockeyed Optimist
There Is Nothing Like A Dame
Some Enchanted Evening
This Nearly Was Mine

It's Miranda at the buzzer!

Just in case you missed it, here's Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tony-winning composer of 2008's Best Musical, In the Heights, ringing the opening bell (or pressing the buzzer that rings the bell) at the New York Stock Exchange this morning.

I think he looked terrific - very casual and confident. He was smiling and bouncing up and down, like he was having a great time, and he seemed to keep his finger on that buzzer for a loooong time! You can watch it here.

From the Heights to Wall Street

The honors just keep pouring in for In the Heights, the 2008 Tony winner for Best Musical.

On Wednesday morning, actor and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda will ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. (No word on whether he's composed a rap for the occasion). A live webcast will be available beginning at 9:29 a.m. (a minute before the event) on NYSE.com. I work at night, so I'm normally just getting up at at that time, but I'll be setting my alarm clock and my DVR!

Unfortunately, the honoree doesn't get to ring an actual bell. According to this article from Fast Company, you press a buzzer that rings a bell at 9:30 a.m. to officially start the trading day. The opening bell ceremony is broadcast on two dozen networks worldwide and reaches 110 million viewers a day. Here's some more of the history behind the bell-ringing.

I'm not sure whether this is an annual event, but it should be. I couldn't find anything on the NYSE Web site about whether the cast of Spring Awakening received the honor last year. But the stars of Jersey Boys were invited in 2005. Maybe there's an unwritten rule that your show has to be set in the tri-state area.

More Tony talk, Part I

I was catching up on the Playbill Radio podcasts while I was working out this morning and I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes from the Tony winners. I know I've said this before, but I'm incredibly happy for Deanna Dunagan and Rondi Reed. I have to admire Patti LuPone, and agree with Lin-Manuel Miranda. And hasn't Anna D. Shapiro just given the definition of a trouper?

"I'm the quintessential late bloomer in my career, I think, and that's been just a ball to experience and hopefully it's not over yet. ... New York has just given me a huge valentine in my career and in my life."
Rondi Reed
Best Featured Actress in a Play
August: Osage County

"The thing that happens on Broadway that you just don't get anywhere else is the enthusiastic reception. Theatergoers leap to their feet after our play, every single performance. They raise their hands over their heads, clapping and cheering. I've never had that happen. Thirty-four years in regional theatre - never."
Deanna Dunagan
Best Actress in a Play
August: Osage County

"Amy Morton is a machine. If she misses a show it's because someone amputated her leg and she's looking for it."
Anna D. Shapiro
Best Director of a Play
August: Osage County

As far as being on stage again, I said to my agent, I don't want to leave the season without knowing when I'm coming back. Because honestly, I'm older and I don't know how long my voice is going to last and I don't want to waste time. I'd rather be on stage and take advantage of theses vocal chords while they're still supple and alive."
Patti LuPone
Best Actress in a Musical
Gypsy

"My job is to write the best possible musical I can and tell the story as well as I know how. On the side, I would like to reintroduce popular music and theater music, which used to be friends a long time ago and I'd like them to be friends again."
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Best Score
In the Heights

He's a poet and he knows it

I think Lin-Manuel Miranda is my new bicycle. I'll admit that when I saw In the Heights, I was more drawn to college student Nina, played by Mandy Gonzalez, rather than to Miranda's Usnavi, the neighborhood bodega owner. While Usnavi is very funny, In the Heights just seemed to be more Nina's story than his.

But it was the 28-year-old Miranda's vision and tenacity that saw In the Heights through from a student production at Wesleyan University to off-Broadway to the 2008 Tony award for Best Musical. (He says only five notes remain from the original: In Wash-ing-tone Heights!) And Miranda definitely won my heart with his very witty acceptance speech on Sunday night, after winning the award for Best Score.

In every interview I've read or seen or heard he comes across as charming and down to earth and enthusiastic - like a kid who can't believe he's sitting at the adult table. Plus, he's so passionate - and eloquent - about his love for musical theatre. I really enjoyed this video of Miranda giving a tour of his dressing room at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, and then taking us onto the stage.

It can get pretty dull listening to award recipients recite a laundry list of thank-yous to their manager, agent and lawyer, but Miranda name-checked everyone while making me laugh. I've been known to write a bit of poetry myself from time to time, and I thought he did a terrific job. Simply reading the words doesn't do them justice, because the genius is in the delivery, so you can watch it here. What struck me listening to it again is how incredibly nervous he sounds, like he's just hoping he can get through it before he collapses from shock!

"I used to dream about this moment, now I'm in it!
Tell the conductor to hold the 'ton a minute
I'll start with Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman
Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller and Jill Furman
Quiara for keeping the pages turning
Tommy Kail for keeping the engine burnin'
For bein' so discernin' through every all nighter
Dr. Herbert for tellin' me "you're a writer"
I have to thank Andy Blank for every spank
Matter fact thank John Bizetti for every drink
Thank the cast and crew for having each other's backs
I don't know about God but I believe in Chris Jackson
I don't know what else I got, I'm off the dome
I know I wrote a little show about home
Mr. Sondheim, look, I made a hat
Where there never was a hat!
It's a Latin hat at that!
Mom, Dad and Cita, I wrote a play,
Y'all came to every play
Thanks for being here today
Vanessa who still makes me breathless
Thanks for lovin' me when I was broke and makin' breakfast
And with that, I want to thank all my Latino people
This is for Abuela Risa in Puerto Rico
Thank you."
—Lin-Manuel Miranda, Best Score, In the Heights

Miranda mentioned in an interview after he won his Tony that he's been talking to Dreamworks about writing some music for animated films. He also said that he has a couple of ideas for musicals, but he hasn't secured the rights for them yet. I'm kind of intrigued by that last part. What could he be securing the rights to? I certainly don't want to pigeonhole Miranda as writing only about Latino subjects, but I loved the 1987 movie La Bamba, and I think the life of Ritchie Valens would make an excellent subject for a musical.

I was happy to read about another project - contributing music for a new production in San Diego of the extremely short-lived 1978 Broadway musical Working. Besides Miranda's involvement, I'm interested in this for a couple of other reasons: I met Studs Terkel, the legendary Chicago author of Working, when I was in college, and he signed my copy of the book. Plus, the show was adapted by Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz, and he's one of my personal musical theatre gods.

Between Miranda's success, and that of August: Osage County playwright Tracy Letts, I feel like I've discovered two great new voices in American musical theatre and drama, and I'm excited to see what they'll do in the future. (Ok, I know Letts isn't exactly a new kid on the block, but he's new to me).

My Tony thoughts

Whew, the Tony awards are over! Lots of observations:

Whoppi Goldberg is funny! I'm so happy for Rondi Reed! I love In the Heights! Lin-Manuel Miranda is one classy, talented guy! Patti LuPone is one fierce Mama Rose! Tracy Letts should have been given more time to talk! Paulo Szot is tall! During the musical number for Sunday in the Park with George, I think I saw Daniel Evans' tonsils! Stew has a weird sense of humor!

And a few questions:

What was Boeing Boeing's Mark Rylance talking about in his acceptance speech for Best Actor in a Play? What does Anna Shapiro, who won for best director of a play for August: Osage County, have tattooed on her arm? Why didn't Stephen Sondheim show up to accept his lifetime achievement award? I understand why there's lots of love for musicals, and that was terrific, but couldn't there be a little more love for the plays?

In the Heights was my pick for Best Musical, so I'm ecstatic that it won, and I thought its musical number, "96,000,'' sounded great. I admired and respected Passing Strange but I loved In the Heights. It won my heart and made me want to dance, despite the sad fact that I was apparently born without a sense of rhythm. This is a musical that has a great message in its celebration of a Latino neighborhood at the top of Manhattan: we're a nation of immigrants, and we're better for it.

Plus, Lin-Manuel Miranda's acceptance speech in the form of a rap, when he won the Tony for Best Score for In the Heights, was terrific. And his reference to Stephen Sondheim was so sweet: “Look, Mr. Sondheim, I made a hat where there never was a hat and it’s a Latin hat at that.” Very nice. I hope Miranda stays in musical theatre. The funny thing is, I heard him during the red carpet interviews. He really doesn't talk like a rapper all the time.

Other highlights for me:

I'm thrilled that as expected, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company's production of August: Osage County won for Best Play, Best Director, Best Actress in a Play and Best Featured Actress in a Play. And Todd Rosenthal, winning for Best Scenic Design of a Play, on the Tony preshow, started it all off. Seeing that big old three-story house was the first time I ever had an immediate, visceral reaction to a set on a stage. I was just fascinated by it, by the size and the clutter and the shabbiness, and I'm so happy Rosenthal won.

Rondi Reed winning for Best Featured Actress in a Play was the one I was really, really rooting for, because she's such a wonderful person as well as a great performer. Steve, Doug and I talked to her for at least half an hour after August: Osage County ended one night. She is a warm, funny, gracious, down-to-earth woman. And she is an absolute hoot in this play. (Unfortunately, Sunday was her last performance. She's headed back to Chicago).

The success of August: Osage County, a transplant from Chicago, is truly a testament to the great work being done on stages all over this country. Being on Broadway and winning a Tony must seem like a pipe dream to these actors who toil far from New York. August's Deanna Dunagan, who won for Best Actress in a Play, summed it up perfectly: "After 34 years in regional theater I never even thought about it. I watched it on tv like everyone else."

Hearing from the original cast from Rent was so moving, especially when they were talking about Jonathan Larson and how he came to write the musical at a time when so many people he knew were dying of AIDS, and then his own untimely death. It was cute to see Idina Menzel and her husband, Taye Diggs, who met while they were in Rent, right next to each other. And even though I saw The Lion King, with its incredible parade of animals, on Broadway a month ago, the giraffes are just as thrilling the second time around.

I loved Patti LuPone singing "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from Gypsy. Her standing ovation was well deserved. She is fierce. Laura Benanti and Boyd Gaines looked terrified! They also really deserved their Tonys for Best Featured Actress and Actor in a Musical. I've said before that Benanti gave one of the best performances I've ever seen as she transformed from a shy, awkward teenager into a glamorous, confident stripper.

And LuPone, the Best Actress in a Musical, did have a great acceptance speech: "It's been 29 years!" Let the woman talk! I also liked the way she thanked her husband and son right off the bat, instead of going through her list of agents, producers, etc. So many winners at these awards shows end up having to shout out the names of their loved ones just as the music starts up.

Also, I was glad to see The 39 Steps pick up a couple of Tonys: Mic Pool won for Best Sound Design of a Play, and Kevin Adams won for Best Lighting Design of a Play. It is such a fun, inspired 90 minutes of theatre, and I hope the awards give it a little bounce.

There were a few spots where I thought the Tony producers slipped up.

When Lincoln Center's Andre Bishop accepted the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical for South Pacific, the camera should have been ready to turn immediately to Rodgers & Hammerstein's daughters, who were sitting together in the audience, not 20 seconds after Bishop mentioned their names.

Playwright Tracy Letts should have been given a little more time to accept his Tony for writing August: Osage County. I mean, how often do we get a major new American play on the scale of this one? (Perhaps he should have gotten a little assertiveness training from Patti!)

And the segment where they had Daniel Breaker, James Snyder and Kerry Butler do the little spiel about all of the American Theater Wing's educational programs mentioned the Wing's radio shows but failed to mention that they're available as free downloads from its web site, or as podcasts from iTunes. In fact, why not flash the Web site on the screen? Duh! Missed opportunity!

And what's up with taking the Tony for best choreography out of the televised portion of the ceremony? How can the Tonys not recognize the winner of that category on national television? I mean, so much of Broadway is musicals and choreography is such an important part of why we love them. Anyway, I'm glad that Andy Blankenbuehler won for In the Heights.

Apparently, some of the nominees were surprised that their categories were in the preshow, too. Passing Strange's Stew, who won the Tony for Best Book of a Musical, said he was looking in his pocket for some M&Ms when his name was announced. His speech was lame, so maybe he's serious when he says he was unprepared. And Stew turned me off with the funny nose and glasses he wore when they showed the nominees for Best Actor in a Musical. Ugh.

Ok, I may have more to say later, but that's enough for now. Except that I'm glad some of my favorites: In the Heights, South Pacific, Gypsy and August: Osage County did so well and I'm thrilled I was able to see so many amazing Tony-winning performances. I hope I get to see as many next season.

Listening to In the Heights

With the temperature in the mid-90s, I figure this is the perfect time to send out some love to the Broadway cast recording of In the Heights.

I just finished listening to the two-disc cd, and it has a lot of what I enjoyed about the show: the energy, the humor, the spirit, the mixture of salsa, hip-hop and pop music, the very moving stories of immigrants in a Latino neighborhood at the very top of Manhattan. This is still my pick for the best musical of the year. Of all the musicals I saw this year, it's the one I most want to see a second time.

When I watched In the Heights, I loved the big ensemble numbers, like the opening song, "In the Heights,'' along with "96,000,'' where everyone in the neighborhood fantasizes about what they'd do with the money from a winning lottery ticket, and "Carnaval del Barrio." Aided by Andy Blankenbuehler's choreography, they were so much fun and thrilling to watch.

On stage, I really enjoyed Lin-Manuel Miranda's rapping as Dominican bodega owner Usnavi. (Miranda composed the music and lyrics). But on the cd, there is a certain sameness to it after awhile. A little bit goes a long way. There's a lot of yo, yo, yo if you know what I mean. I still like the songs, but I just think I like watching them better than listening to them on their own.

One of my favorite songs is "Pacienca Y Fe," sung by Olga Merediz, who plays the neighborhood matriarch, Abuela Claudia. It's a beautiful song in which she reminisces about her childhood in Havana, about coming to New York with her mother and their struggle to make a life in America. And I loved Mandy Gonzalez, who plays Nina, the neighborhood's bright hope, in "Breathe," where she sings about returning home after a disappointing year in college.

While the rapping is fun, the songs I like the best on the cast recording, the ones that stick with me, are the slower ones. They're the songs that tell me something about the characters - where they grew up, what their lives are like, their dreams. I love immigrant stories, and while In the Heights may not be the most profound, it's got a lot of heart.

The music of their lives

I'm marking a very big circle around June 3 on my calendar - the date the two-disc original Broadway cast recording of In the Heights will be released. There's an interesting Playbill Radio podcast, taped at the recording session for In the Heights. It made me even more excited to listen to the music again.

What struck me was hearing producer Jeffrey Seller, actor and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda and actress Mandy Gonzalez, who plays Nina, talk about the cast albums they loved growing up. The music - West Side Story, Camelot, Les Miserables, A Chorus Line, Rent, to name a few - had a big impact on their lives.

While I wasn't a huge musical theatre fan as a teenager, I did have a few cast albums and soundtracks: Cabaret, 1776, A Chorus Line, Camelot, Oliver! (Don't laugh. I think I saw the movie when I was 9, and I loved it!) and Hair. I've still got all of them. Except for Hair, I'm pretty sure I started listening to them only after I saw the movie, or in the case of A Chorus Line, on stage in Boston when I was in college.

But for Sellers, Miranda and Gonzalez, the cast albums were their introduction to the shows. They listened to the music long before they saw the musicals on stage. Some of them, they may never have seen, or they may only have seen the movie version. That's one of the things I also found most interesting about The Drowsy Chaperone. Its narrator, Man in Chair, is in love with a musical he's only experienced through a cast album handed down from his mother.

Here's some of what they said:

"When I was growing up in Oak Park, Michigan, my first exposure to shows like A Chorus Line, Evita, Sweeney Todd were through the cast albums. I fell in love with those shows through the cast albums. And then if I was lucky I finally got to see those shows on Broadway. So a cast album is the the first line of attack for more than half of our audiences. It's only a small number of people that actually get to see a Broadway show in the theater in which it was born."
Jeffrey Seller

"One of the reasons they [his parents] realized they fell in love was they were comparing record collections and they both had Man of La Mancha and they both had Camelot. My dad saw Man of La Mancha in Puerto Rico and it was an English-language production and he remembers not understanding much of it, but when "The Impossible Dream" came on, just being reduced to tears. So I saw the effect that had on them at a very young age. I think it's probably one of the reasons I'm in this field is I saw how much theatre music can really move people."
Lin-Manuel Miranda

"This is my first original cast album and I'm so excited. When I came to New York I always said I want to be on Broadway and I want to be on an original cast album. Because my whole life I've listened to cast albums over and over and over again. So many different cast albums have had such a different effect on different parts of my life. to feel like somebody might do that with this and feel that way with one of my songs is just thrilling. So I can't believe it."
Mandy Gonzalez

In the Heights

Let me review my theatre geek checklist: Playbills of every show I've seen: got them. Multiple cast recordings of my favorite scores: ditto. Lavish coffee table books from my favorite musicals: absolutely. Guilty pleasure: I think I've found one!

Ok, technically, In The Heights, at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre, is too well-reviewed to be a guilty pleasure, but I'm claiming it as one anyway. The plot is a little weak - it didn't have me sitting on the edge of my seat in suspense. But the musical has loads of charm, incredibly energetic dancing, and a score that combines hip-hop and salsa with more traditional Broadway sounds. It's also got funny, heartwarming characters and a terrific New York City scene of a set.

I've never been to the Washington Heights neighborhood at the top of Manhattan that In the Heights celebrates, but composer Lin-Manuel Miranda and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler have combined to present a real sense of place. To me, this is New York City: a close-knit community where the sounds and the food might be different but the values are the same as you'll find anywhere else in America.

And Anna Louizos' set, with its tenements and fire escapes and graffiti, the corner bodega and the little hair salon, is one of my all-time favorites. When I first saw it, I immediately thought of Sesame Street. (I mean that in a good way!) It has kind of a gritty yet wholesome look. I would not have been at all surprised to see Big Bird comes strolling by and learn that today we were going to talk about the letter "A."

In the Heights centers around three hot summer days in the lives of three generations of New Yorkers living in a neighborhood in transition. At the center is Mandy Gonzalez' Nina, who may or may not return to Stanford University, where she's had a difficult freshman year. While I found Gonzalez' performance very appealing, her story unfolds in a way that seems a little far-fetched.

Her sense of anxiety and feelings of failure seem very real and honest. But what her parents, Kevin and Camila, played by Carlos Gomez and Priscilla Lopez, are prepared to do to ensure that she can go back to Stanford seems excessive and defies logic. (The cynic in me wondered why she didn't live at home and go to Columbia, or get just as fine an education at a state university, saving her hard-working parents a ton of money. But In the Heights is not a musical for a cynic.) Gonzalez has alot going on - maybe too much. She's also romantically involved with Benny, played by Christopher Jackson, the African-American dispatcher who works for her father's car service, and her father does not approve.

I do appreciate the way book writer Quiara Alegria Hudes includes a variety of Latino characters in the musical. They're not cookie-cutter, interchangeable characters either. They come from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and they each have their own stories. I just wish we'd heard more from some of them.

I know that Miranda's Usnavi, who owns the corner bodega, is getting heaps of praise. Miranda, who conceived of the idea for In the Heights and started to write the music while he was a sophomore in college, is fun to watch. He has a great presence on stage, especially as he raps his way through the opening number. He even name checks Cole Porter. How cool is that! Perhaps my expectations were too high, but he didn't dazzle me as much as I thought he would. Part of it is a misunderstanding on my part. I thought he'd have a more central role in the plot when really, In the Heights is mainly Nina's story. There were other characters I enjoyed just as much, including Robin de Jesus' Sonny, Usnavi's cousin who works at the bodega and provides some great comic relief.

As Nina, Gonzalez simply won my heart. For me, she was one of In the Heights' most memorable characters. She just looked so youthful and sweet. She's sincere and smart and loyal and and lively. She's passionate and loving and wants nothing more than to live up to the expectations that everyone in the neighborhood, from her parents on down, have for her.

Gonzalez seems so true to life as a young woman with a foot in two worlds, who left her close-knit neighborhood for a great adventure on the other side of the country. She represents the first-generation American, the first-generation college student, the child upon whom immigrant parents heap so many hopes and dreams. Her first year away from home has been a difficult one, socially and academically.

When Nina sings about trying to find her place in the world, feeling like she's lost her way, wondering what her life would have been like if she'd grown up in Puerto Rico and had never seen Manhattan, it's incredibly moving. And she's the one who, in the years to come, will have to decide how much to assimilate and how much of her culture to retain.

At a time when there's considerable debate over immigration, In the Heights is a joyous reminder of the variety and vitality that newcomers from all over the world bring to this country. Nina's parents, Usnavi, and the other residents of this one upper Manhattan block are working hard to build small businesses, making sacrifices to ensure a better future for their children and watching out for their neighbors, all the while trying to carve out their own small slice of the American Dream.

In the Heights is a place to laugh, to get caught up in the stories of its very appealing characters, to be amazed at some incredibly energetic dancing, to feel your fingers and toes tapping to the beat of the music, and to watch a quintessentially American story unfold before your eyes. It's a place I loved visiting and where I'd love to return.

To listen or not to listen

By nature, I'm an information gatherer. It's instinctive, innate, in my genes, in my blood, in my bones, or something. Whatever it is, I can't be any other way.

So it's taking every ounce of willpower I can muster, which normally isn't much, to stay away from video clips and audio clips and stories and reviews of the Broadway musicals I'm seeing in just a few short weeks - In the Heights, Cry-Baby, South Pacific and Gypsy.

I don't really want to unplug my computer, pretend Al Gore never invented the Internet, cover my eyes and ears and relocate to a cave for the rest of the month. But it's tough, because I'm torn between competing desires.

I'm excited about my upcoming trip, so I want to read and hear and see everything I can beforehand. At the same time, I want to maintain a sense of surprise and anticipation that will stay with me until I'm in my seat, listening to the music and watching the story unfold right before my eyes.

Actually, I'm giving myself a free pass on Gypsy, since I saw it at City Center over the summer, and a reduced pass on South Pacific, since I've seen the movie and the concert version on DVD. Because they won't be total surprises, I'm allowing myself to read reviews of Gypsy and listen to the scores of both musicals. (See, I told you I don't have much willpower!)

But I'm trying my best to hold firm on In the Heights and Cry-Baby. Let me tell you, it's not easy with all that temptation at my fingertips.

First, within a half-hour of the end of the first preview, or sometimes even the end of the final dress rehearsal, someone on the Broadway World or Talkin' Broadway message board posts a review. Yeah, I admit I'm a little bit addicted to those boards, even if they do tend to get kind of repetitive after awhile.

Obviously, it's impossible to remain completely in the dark. I mean, it's not like I could take a monthlong vacation from all things Broadway and theater-related. I'm too far gone for that. If you pay attention to the theater, you can't help but read about a show months or years beforehand - during workshops or out of town or off-Broadway.

So I know the basic story of In the Heights and Cry-Baby. But I'm doing my best to stay away from audio and video clips and interviews with the cast and creative team. That's difficult to do, especially in the case of Cry-Baby, since the music starts playing when you click on the Web site.

Last year, I think there were some shows I knew way too much about before I saw them. I loved Spring Awakening, but I really wish I hadn't watched the cast perform "The Bitch of Living" on The Late Show or read so many spoiler-filled reviews.

Also, I wish I hadn't read A Moon for the Misbegotten before I saw the play. My only defense is, I read the play when Kevin Spacey was still doing it in London, and at that time I had no idea I'd be seeing it on Broadway. I'm staying away from his current play, Speed-the-Plow, just in case there's a Broadway transfer.

I just think back to how hard I laughed at the finale of Curtains, how surprised I was to find out whodunit. I did an especially good job of maintaining a healthy sense of ignorance on that one, thank-you very much!

I know that some theatergoers like listening to the score of a musical before they see a show. If you're trying to decide whether or not to buy a ticket, of course that makes sense. But I'm glad I saw Curtains months before the Broadway cast CD came out.

I'd only heard the briefest of snippets of the songs from Wicked before I saw the musical. I don't think "For Good" would have hit me quite so hard if I'd been listening to it every day for the previous three months. I've mentioned before that as soon as I heard the song, I started to cry. And I wouldn't trade that experience for anything.