Some Video Clips of My Favorite Leading Ladies

This is Betty Buckley as Mama Rose in the Paper Mill's production of Gypsy. I believe this was also the same production that featured Deborah Gibson as Louise/Gypsy Rose Lee. In my opinion, Betty is (at the same time) completely stunning and devistating, belting her head off, and giving a rendition of Rose's Turn only to be rivaled by Patti LuPone in the 2008 Revival.

Next to Normal

Hi All - -

Next to Normal, the new rock-Musical, opened officially last night at the Booth Theatre ( 222 West 45th Street). If you are in the New York City area, RUN don't walk to get your tickets and see this amazingly moving original musical.

More info at

www.nexttonormal.com

http://nexttonormal.com/news?critic=1

Still Purrrr-ing after all these Years

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS, the 20-something year old road horse, is currently on a week-long stopover at ASU’s Gammage Auditorium as a “special” part of the M&I Bank Broadway Across America season.

One would think that a show that is billed as “Now and Forever” and that has amateur rights available for regional theatres would be tired and shoddily produced as it continues on a national tour; not so.

In fact, I believe this current tour to be the best production of the family friendly entertainment vehicle I have seen in years. The production is tight and runs at a nice clip making the actual running time of nearly 2 hours and 20 minutes only seem like 80 minutes. A lesser production could make the same running time almost unbearable.

This production of CATS still boasts the now iconic striped, fuzzy spandex body suits and oversized junk yard items, including the tire that ascends to the “Heavyside Layer”, we have come to expect from the show. The sets and costumes, originally created by John Napier, are re-created for this tour by Raymond Huessy. Huessy’s recreations are vibrant, sleek and a feast for the eyes, making the journey into the dilapidated junk yard visually interesting.

Obviously, CATS would not be CATS without the singing and dancing, well, CATS. The show’s ballet, jazz and tap infused choreography, originally created by Gillian Lynne, is meticulously and masterfully re-created by Richard Stafford. Stafford, who also serves as the tour’s director, keeps the dance numbers and other musical staging taught and moving from number to number with precision and energy.

The CATS ensemble of singers/dancers/actors all deliver strong and energetic performances. The only unexceptional performance was of the dance number of “Mungogerri and Rumpleteazer” played by Jonathan Burke and Erica Cenci, respectively. The duo seemed to struggle a bit with both the choreography and the song; noticeably huffing and puffing through the tongue twister phrases and marking the dance steps.

The singular standout performance was that of Anastasia Lange, who played the outcast and forgotten Grizabella the Glamour Cat. Ms. Lange’s physical performance captured the rickety, arthritic and dejected qualities needed to evoke sympathy instead of giggles from an audience waiting for character to launch into the power ballad/aria that is “Memory”. Although Grizabella has very little stage time, Ms. Lange commands the stage with every entrance even if it’s for a moment. Ms. Lange possesses a fantastic rangy voice with a vibrato that caresses each note as they soar to the rafters. When her beautiful mix of chest and head voice launched into a full-fledged belt of “touch me, it’s so easy to leave me…” the hairs on my arm stood on end as the tones ran straight through my body; she stopped the show. In my opinion, her performance of “Memory” rivaled that of Betty Buckley, Elaine Paige and yes, Barbra Streisand.

Based on this production, CATS is truly “Now and Forever” and will continue to delight and entertain audiences young and old for many years to come.

Please, Please visit ....

http://www.broadwayimpact.com/Site/Home.html

A grassroots coalition of the Theatre community and its fans, mobilizing in support of MARRIAGE EQUALITY.

The organization was founded by Broadway star and Tony Nominee, Gavin Creel

A Rockin', Groundbreaking, Original Musical in "Next to Normal"

On Tuesday, April 7th, the long-awaited cast album of the new rock-musical Next to Normal by Brian Yorkey (Libretto and Lyrics) and Tom Kitt (Music) was released exclusively to iTunes. The score will also be released on CD in mid-May from Sh-K-Boom records.

Next to Normal, according to press notes, is a contemporary musical that explores how one suburban household copes with crisis. With provocative lyrics and an electrifying score,

Next to Normal shows how far two parents will go to keep themselves sane and their family's world intact.

This rock-musical features Alice Ripley (The Who’s Tommy, Sunset Blvd and The Rocky Horror Picture Show) as Diana, Aaron Tveit (Wicked, Hairspray) as Gabe, J. Robert Spencer (Jersey Boys) as Dan, and Jennifer Damiano (Spring Awakening) as the family in crisis.Mr. Yorkey and Mr. Kitt’s rock-ballad infused score is fresh, pulsing and exciting something that has been absent from the musical theatre for quite some time. The composing team has filled the score with beautiful ballads like “I Miss the Mountains”, “Light in the Dark” and “So Anyway” as well as rock-concert caliber numbers like “I’m Alive”, “You Don’t Know” and “Didn’t I See this Movie”. Each track propels the story forward without a dud in the bunch.

Although the recording captures outstanding performances from Mr. Tveit, Ms. Damiano and Mr. Spencer all of who sing their hearts out and their heads off, the singular stand-out performance is that of Ms. Ripley as the tortured suburban housewife, Diana. Ms. Ripley is a fantastic belter, with a seemingly endless range, sings with rich low tones and soars to the stratosphere in her upper register and gives listeners an emotionally charged, authentic, passionate and genuine performance; thank goodness her performance has been preserved on this recording.

I recommend this cast recording to anyone who loves show-music and to anyone who may be worried about the state of the American Musical. I believe that with composers like Mr. Yorkey and Mr. Kitt and with shows like Next to Normal the American Musical has a bright and shining future.