I saw Something Rotten and really liked it - but like a lot of these kinds of shows (Book of Mormon, Spamalot), it's a little on the over-rated side.
'Hamilton' Soundtrack is Actually Rivaling Rap Albums - N.Y. Post http://nypost.com/2015/10/18/hamilton-soundtrack-is-rivaling-rap-albums-on-the-cha I picked Hamilton up at Best Buy over the weekend, an outlet which very rarely carries show albums in their stores. They always seem to have copies of Wicked -- still selling after 13 years, for God's sake. (I think I've only listened to my copy of Wicked once, to make sure the disc wasn't defective.) Otherwise, only the occasional musical movie soundtrack turns up in Best Buy (Into the Woods, Les Miserables, last winter's dreadful Annie remake, the umpteenth reissue of The Sound of Music). Although earlier this year they did carry Sting's The Last Ship for a while. Hamilton is a double-disc set in a large jewel box case, containing two booklets. One with the first act lyrics and another with the second act. Oddly, the booklets offer no photos of the production. Both discs run just over 71 minutes long -- for a grand total of 143 minutes! Concerning the headline of the above article, somebody needs to inform the New York Post that theater productions don't have soundtracks, they have cast recordings. Movies have soundtracks.
ITV to Mount 'Sound of Music Live' UK Christmas Special - Deadline http://deadline.com/2015/10/itv-sound-of-music-live-christmas-special-kara-tointon-1201590814/
Broadway on Demand? New Streaming Service Aims to Bring Stage to Screens - Chicago Tribune http://www.chicagotribune.com/enter...dway-hd-streaming-service-20151026-story.html Two stage producers hope to usher Broadway fare into the digital streaming era with BroadwayHD, a new subscription and on-demand service that launches today. The service kicks off with a library of more than 100 titles drawn from Broadway Worldwide's Direct from Broadway catalog -- including "Memphis" and "Jekyll and Hyde" -- as well as product from BBC Worldwide North America and public television station WNET, including London performances featuring the likes of Helen Mirren, Anthony Hopkins, Judi Dench and Daniel Craig. BroadwayHD founders Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley -- who have been on the producing team of a long string of Broadway shows including the current "On Your Feet!" and "Sylvia" -- will aim to update the library with new titles on a regular basis. They'll concentrate at first on plays with limited runs, since that model tidily evades any stage producers' lingering concerns about digital distribution cannibalizing audiences for ongoing shows. On Broadway, there remain significant challenges in convincing stage producers that digital distribution is a good thing for individual shows and for live theater overall.
'Hamilton' Best Debut On Billboard Since 'Camelot' - Associated Press http://bigstory.ap.org/article/556c...ast-album-makes-history-singing-about-history NEW YORK (AP) — The cast album from the Broadway smash "Hamilton" has done something few such recordings have done in quite some time. How long? Since Richard Burton was King Arthur onstage — the first time. Atlantic Records said last week that "Hamilton" has so far sold over 54,000 albums, had more than 16 million songs streamed and become the highest debuting cast recording on the Billboard Top 200 in over 50 years — not typical numbers for Broadway. The last time a cast recording scored better on its debut on the Billboard Top 200 was in 1961, when "Camelot" starred Julie Andrews and Burton on Broadway and John F. Kennedy was in the White House. That cast album debuted at No. 4 in 1961 on the mono album chart (not stereo, a sign of how long ago that was). Not surprisingly, the cast album debuted as the No. 1 Broadway Cast Album, but it also debuted as the No. 3 Rap Album and No. 9 on the Top Current Albums chart, something cast recordings rarely do. The digital album came out Sept. 25 and a 2-disc CD was released Oct. 16. The album features 46 songs over 2½ hours.
Musical theatre recipients... President Obama Names Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom - White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-pres...a-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom Stephen Sondheim is one of the country’s most influential theater composers and lyricists. His work has helped define American theater with shows such as Company, West Side Story, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, and Into the Woods. Sondheim has received 8 Grammy Awards, 8 Tony Awards, an Academy Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Barbra Streisand is one of our Nation’s most gifted talents. Her body of work includes extraordinary singing, acting, directing, producing, songwriting, and she is one of the few performers to receive an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and a Tony. Her performance in 1968’s Funny Girl endeared her to Americans for generations, and she won her first Academy Award for her role in that film. In 1984, she became the first woman to win a Golden Globe for Best Director, which she won for the motion picture Yentl.
Andrew Lloyd Webber: Lord, Baron, Rocker - N.Y. Times http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/theater/andrew-lloyd-webber-lord-baron-rocker.html?ref=theater
Nominations for the 58th Annual Grammy Awards have been announced. The Grammys will be held on Feb. 15, 2016 (8:00-11:30 PM, live ET/delayed PT) and air on CBS. Best Musical Theater Album "An American in Paris" (Music by George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin) "Fun Home" (Music by Jeanine Tesori; Lyrics by Lisa Kron) "Hamilton" (Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda) "The King and I" (Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II) "Something Rotten!" (Music and Lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick)
Bette Midler Sets 2017 Broadway Return In "Hello, Dolly!" - Variety http://variety.com/2016/legit/news/bette-midler-hello-dolly-broadway-1201682670/ Bette Midler will star in a 2017 Broadway revival of the musical “Hello, Dolly!,” directed by Jerry Zaks and produced by Scott Rudin. Midler, who showed off her power at the Broadway box office in the strong-selling one-woman play “I’ll Eat You Last” in 2013, will play the title role of Dolly Levi, originated by Carol Channing on Broadway in 1964 and played in the 1969 movie by Barbra Streisand. The musical, with songs by Jerry Herman (“La Cage aux Folles,” “Mame”) and book by Michael Stewart, will be directed by Broadway veteran Zaks (“Six Degrees of Separation,” “Guys and Dolls”) and choreographed by Warren Carlyle (“After Midnight,” the upcoming “She Loves Me”), with a nod to the work of original director-choreographer Gower Champion. Midler, who’s wanted to play Dolly for years, seems a natural fit for the flamboyant comic lead of of the show, and the match seems likely to draw musical-theater fans in droves. The new revival of “Hello, Dolly!” has its dates all lined up — beginning previews March 13, 2017 ahead of an April 20, 2017 opening — but a theater won’t be locked in until closer to the run.
'Cats' Returning To Broadway - Entertainment Weekly http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/21/cats-broadway-revival There are over 70 breeds of cat, but only one Broadway musical dedicated entirely to them. "Cats," the 4th longest-running musical in Broadway history, will return to Broadway with its first U.S. revival since the original’s record-breaking run ended in September 2000. Set to open Aug. 2 at the Neil Simon Theatre, the new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s famous feline musical will be directed by Trevor Nunn and feature choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler ("Hamilton"), based on the original’s choreography and associate direction by Gillian Lynne. Previews begin July 14. Costume and scenic designer John Napier, who won one of the seven Tonys earned by the 1982 production, will once again design this production’s costumes and scenic design.
I recorded it but have not watched any thing but the first few minutes as yet. Problem with it one of the lead performers is a dancer who can't sing. They had to show the actual singer at the beginning walking through the set singing dumb. On that part the choreography was stolen from another choreographer. It has freaking commercials at my age commercials put me to sleep. That is why it was so damn long. My wife could not even watch it. Live theather is a great idea to introduce it to children and to show it to people who have never experienced it before. But, the people who produced it should show it exactly the way they would see it in theather's. They should not try to make money off it and instead think of it as a public service. There are 1000's of very talented people who could do all three things sing, dance and act. Hire those people to perform.
This is unrealistic to expect from a commercial television network. The theatrical presentations on programs like PBS's Great Performances are the closest we can get to your goal. The DVD of Grease Live! -- sans commercial interruption -- will be on sale March 8. The CD will be available on March 4.
'Grease Live!' Is A Spectacle Maximizing Moments Over Story - Neil Genzlinger, N.Y. Times http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/a...view-vanessa-hudgens.html?ref=television&_r=0
I saw the original tv performance of Peter Pan starring Mary Martin in the 50s. I remember it as being great. Unfortunately, you can not buy it on DVDs today. You can buy it on VHS. The quality is not that good, but is a lot better then the version they showed on TV recently. I showed it to my Grand Daughter she loved it. Worth buying.
Years ago I saw tale of two cities on Broadway I thought it was a great show. I have known the lead for a while now James Barbour very talented actor/ singer. He is in phantom of the Opera here currently. There were kids at the performance I saw the problem was the kids did not know the story. It is a very complicated story. The parent never explained the story to that child I asked. So that kid got lost. If I did not know the story I would have Been lost. I am sure one of the reasons the network gave for putting on tv was so the poor can be introduced to theather. It would have been better if it were commercial free. Also if the stars did their all singing and dancing. When I first saw Westside story the movie. I saw it live while they were shooting the movie. The play ground they shot the movie was actually my playground. I never saw anything like that before except the TV play Peter Pan. I did not know what to make of West Side story. They fight other gang and dance while doing it? The gang the Jets was the white gang. The gang in that area was the Red Wings all Italian that part was shot in Italian Harlem. The PR gang was the Sharks. The big PR gang there was the Vice Roy's. If you look you will see the Viceroys on the walls. You could buy a button knife in any candy store back then 8 inch blade was 8 dollars. We all had one of those. They like to call them switch blades now. They were called a button knife then. There was a switch blade those were the knives that you could switch blades from a straight blade to a stiletto blade it had a swiggly blade. Any way when the neighborhood was thrown down. We wanted to move into the projects. They would not let us it was for the Spanish. That is how Italian Harlem became Spanish Harlem. Now it is becoming yuppie Harlem. Most Italians moved to the Bronx. Mom moved to Brooklyn to keep me out of trouble she thought There I met a fell in love with my wife of 49 years. She introduced me to the theather if I had not met her I never would have gone.
'Hamilton' Cast To Perform Live At Grammys Via Satellite - USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/...n-cast-gets-its-shot-grammys---live/79642090/ Musical theater is coming back to the Grammy Awards this year — or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the Grammys will visit Broadway. The ceremony, set to air live from Los Angeles' Staples Center on Monday, Feb. 15, will feature a performance from the critically celebrated smash hit "Hamilton," live from the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York. Says Lin-Manuel Miranda, the musical's creator and star: "We're going to do the opening number, scream with joy, and then celebrate the fact that we were just on the Grammys. Best night ever." The "Hamilton" performance will be the eighth time in history that musical theater has been featured on the Grammy Awards. Previous Broadway productions featured on the telecast include "Godspell" (1972); "The Magic Show" (1975); "Sophisticated Ladies" (1982); "La Cage Aux Folles" (1984); "Will Rogers Follies" (1992); "Riverdance" and "Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk" (1997); and, most recently, "American Idiot" (2010).
When I first read your post I thought you meant the Tony awards. So they are showing on the Grammy interesting. When I first watched the Tony awards. They just gave out awards. They did not show actual performances on their award show it was boring originally.
I saw An American in Paris this past Saturday night and was highly impressed by the production, choreography and the performances by the cast. It's a great musical.
I saw Easy Rider recently. I noticed in the credits one of the cat house girls Mary was played by Toni Bassel. Anyone know who she is?
There's a whole Wikipedia bio on her... Toni Basil: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toni_Basil Seems like the only thing she has to do with musical theatre -- what this thread is supposed to be about -- is that she was a dancer (uncredited) in the movie version of Sweet Charity.