Matilda The Musical

There is a new musical hitting the West End in London right now based on the classic children's book Matilda by Roald Dahl. I grew up with this book and the movie adaptation and am hopeful that the show makes it to a Broadway stage the same way Newsies managed to.

Thanksgiving

I hope every had a great holiday. I know I did with all the food and friends and especially watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year, there were some really great performances along the parade route. This reviewer compiled all the videos of the performance so if you missed one, you can catch it now!

Enjoy!

Going to Broadway

I was hoping and wishing this would happen and it is! Newsies is going to Broadway for a limited run in March. Spring break trip??

Hugh Jackman photo gallery

I have already posted about Hugh Jackman's limited return-to-Broadway show. These are some just released photos from the opening last night.

Bring it On, again

I showed you some of the first images of Bring it On the musical, today, this oh so lucky day of November, is the official opening of the musical in Los Angeles. It first opened in Atlanta earlier this year and had a short tour in October before landing in L.A. it will run into December then move to San Francisco. The full itenerary is in the article.

GLEE

One of my favorite TV shows is going to be doing my favorite musical. West Side Story is one of the best musicals (The best if you ask me) ever written because of it's dream team of writers, Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim as well as the incomparable director/choreographer Jerome Robbins.

On Glee, they auditions are over and they are beginning to rehearse the show and I am so excited!

Big Fish Reading

I know I have already shared as much info as I have gotten when Andrew Lippa was in town but I can't contain my excitement about this show. The reading will be on 11/11/11 (which is Lippa's lucky number). I will be keeping up with this story as much as I can, because this movie meant so much to me when it came out, since my father's father passed that year and my dad and his brothers are just the same big storytellers that Edward Bloom  is in his story.

South Park and Wicked

I have already discussed the phenomenal smash hit Book of Mormon, a musical by the creators of South Park. I just found this article about the new episode and its about another huge Tony award-winning musical, Wicked. the actual touring musical will be coming to Austin very soon and the Book of Mormon Tour will begin in Denver  in 2012.

I wonder what the guys will do with this musical?

Hugh Jackman

The show is literally called BACK ON BROADWAY. Jackman has performed on Broadway before in the musical The Boy From Oz, in the starring role of Peter Allen, and in the play A Steady Rain. He is currently in production on a movie version of the huge Broadway musical, Les Miserables and is playing the lead character Jean Valjean, along side Anne Hathaway and Russel Crowe

If you make it past the terrible intro song, you will get a preview of his show and the numbers in it. Enjoy!

Little Princess

Last night for A Little Princess. If you haven't gotten to seen it, you ca always watch the live stream, and it lasts through the end of the month!

It has been sold out the last 3 shows and I expect big things tonight from the people who get to watch it all over the world. I am so proud I got to be a part of this show.

The King's Speech

Did you know the Academy Award winning movie was based off a play? Me neither, but I do know The King's Speech is set to make its world stage premier early next year with a U.K. tour. It was one of 2010's most successful movies, winning many awards and I feel like this play has a good chance of becoming on of 2012's most successful plays.

Kathie Lee Gifford

Now I don't know if you are like me and watch The Today Show every morning, but a crucial member has been missing the last couple weeks. Kathie Lee Gifford of KLG and Hoda has been missing from New York, the musical capital of the world and is working on her musical Saving Aimee. Gifford is not only producing the show that opened just over a week ago but also wrote the book and lyrics!

Sister Act

Sister Act is in Broadway news right now because tonight there was a special performance to benefit The Actors Fund, a non-profit org that assist struggling actors (aren't we all?) I only mention it because a Texas State alum made his Broadway debut in this musical. Demond Green got his BFA here and also studied with Royal Shakespeare Company and The Shakespeare Institute in Stratford program offered through the theatre department. His success is really inspiring to me because it makes it all seem possible.

NEWSIES

One of my favorite movie musicals, starring Christian Bale, has made its premier as a stage musical last week at the Papermill Playhouse. We talked in class a little about how most Broadway shows nowadays are Disney, Jukebox and/or star big names. With how much money musicals cost ( 65 million, eh Spidey?), most producers can't/won't take a chance on a more unique and controversial musical. Some do make it big, like Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon, but Newsies is not that kind of show. Its written by Alan Menken, you probably know most of his songs by heart, Jack Feldman and Harvey Fierstein. I hope it does well, because if I were closer to New Jersey I would go see it!

Bring It On: The Musical

Yes based on the cheerleading movie, but its going to be awesome, know why?? Because its written by the Jeff Whitty, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Kitt and Amanda Green. And its choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler. This is a very contemporary and fun team.

Here are the first images and I am  hearing good things about it from the casting director and that it was very difficult to cast because not only did they need the regular cast of singers and dancers, but they needed cheerleaders and multiple covers (replacements) because its an easy show to get hurt it. Maybe not as easy as Spider-Man (don't even get me started) but with so many stunts it is going to be quite a spectacle!

Mean Girls the musical??

No not really, but it would be fun to imagine. I always think about what could make a fun musical, like SNL:The Musical or just an interesting musical, like Lorena Bobbitt: The Musical.
Broadway.com created a fictional cast for the fictional Mean Girls the Musical. My three favorite choices are Lea Michelle, Kristin Chenoweth and Krysta Rodriguez. Most people know Lea Michelle from the smash hit  Glee and the rock musical, based on the 1892 play of the same title (that was banned when it came out for being too obscene). Kristin is a Broadway goddess and she has been in multiple movies and TV shows. now, Krysta is pretty new to me but she was incredible in The Addams Family musical, that is currently running on Broadway.
I would be so excited if this was made into a real musical.

Gaga singing Babes in Arms

Lady Gaga with Tony Bennet. Babes in Arms is a classic Broadway show by the writing duo Rodgers and Hart. Rodgers being the infamous Richard Rodgers who basically wrote the "Golden Age Musical" rule book with Oklahoma!, The King and I, The Sound of Music, South Pacific and Cinderella. Lorenz Hart wrote Pal Joey and The Boys from Syracuse, which include wonderful standards like "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", "Blue Moon", "Ten Cents A Dance" and "Where or When".  The classic standards in the show are "My Funny Valentine" and "The Lady is a Tramp", the song the pair sing.

I am actually very impressed with her level of talent shown  in the song. she really has a good grasp of the style that Rodgers and Hart wrote.

Emmy Night!

Since tonight is Emmy night, and I know I love watching all the award shows and keeping up with people in the business, I want to share this cute video about "Life After Emmy" It features several big name winners as well as Kristen Chenoweth and Megan Mullally, both of whom are Broadway goddesses.

A Little Princess

Here is the world press release of the show that i have the pleasure of working on. I would be thrilled if you come and see it. It is something I am very proud of and excited about.

A Little Princess

Andrew Lippa

As the fall theatre season begins at Teaxs State, I am thrilled to be a part of A Little Princess. It is a new show by Broadway composer Andrew Lippa (The Addams Family, The Wild Party, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown).
Lippa is the composer-in-residence for Texas State Musical Theatre and is working with the students to create new works. A Little Princess, which I have the pleasure of working on, will be staged and debuted featuring Texas State students and faculty, with Lippa himself doing the conducting.
Another project I am excited about is the musical adaptations of Tim Burton's Big Fish. He will pair up with director/choreographer Susan Stroman ( Big, The Producers, Young Frankenstein). When the film came out in 2003, it was nominated for multiple awards. I think the fantastical story and characters is the perfect base for a musical, so I am excited to see how it turns out.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/susan-stroman-signs-on-to-direct-stage-musical-of-tim-burtons-big-fish/

Why Musical Theatre?

That is really the question I hope to answer for my readers.

The world of musical theatre is small and the people involved seem to work and play within a small bubble. When you talk stats with a football enthusiast they can tell you all kinds of info about their favorite team and players, but theatre folk can you tell you about any musical, the production team, the original and revival cast as well as rattle off several bars of each song. As a professional actor, we have to know all about the major players in our field because its all about networking.

Now when I tell people what I do, I get excited and want them to be excited for me but more often than not, they don't have an opinion or don't care. I strive to make my world relevant to theirs so that hopefully in the future, they can still be a part of my network. I can't tell you the number of times that people say "Well when you get big and famous, I can say I did her hair, sold her shoes, took a class with her, etc." I remember all those people and anyone who is excited with me is relevant to me, so I strive to make them comfortable and knowledgable in my world.

With this blog, I will post updates in the world of musical theatre and Broadway plays, and I will show you how it is relevant in your life, because its not all jazz hands and belting anymore.

Ok maybe it is, but there is more too it, as you will soon see.