Broadway Behind the Scenes 1

Ever wondered if an actor on Broadway can afford the rising cost of real estate and rent in NYC? Well, here's a very interesting article from Playbill.com on Chorus Salary. I've always wondered about that and now someone from Actors' Equity aswered the question.

What about those touring companies? How do they move the set, props and costumes to the next city on the tour? How much time does it take to assemble the set? I got a glimpse on how they did it when I saw the WICKED truck in Minneapolis last year when I saw the tour cast. Here's a really good article on The Load-In Process of Touring Companies.

I heart the printed word

GEEK ALERT: This is my Playbill with Anthony Rapp's autograph. I'm perturbed because it got a little wet so there are creases. I collect playbills and have developed weird little habits as far as caring for them. Dame Edna asked us during her Royal Tour why we even read it...there's nothing in it, that's why they're free. But I never have the whole cast sign the front; I save it for the lead actors. I keep all my Playbills in a binder or frame those from my favorite shows. I keep all my ticket stubs and staple it inside. (If I have a picture of the marquee then the ticket stub might go on the photo album.) I read half of the articles before the show starts then read the other half during intermission. It pains me to see those sad, unwanted playbills lying on the floor after the show. (especially wrinkled or folded ones) It was interesting that when I was blog-hopping from my sister's website tonight, I found this entry on book care. Good to know I am not alone. My book etiquette?

I only open books a hair. I almost never make my books lie flat or put a book face-down. It disturbs me to see so many creases on the book spine or have pages falling out.

I never dog-ear the page corners. I have lots of bookmarks, mostly paper but my sister gave me a couple of those pretty metal ones.

I always write my name on the title page and on one of the blank pages at the back. I have a compulsion to write my name probably stemming from schooldays when you had to write it on testpapers. Otherwise I do not write anything else. I used to highlight textbooks in college but I am deeply remorseful now.

I don't like putting books on the floor. They are on bookshelves or stashed away.

Like my sisters, I've taken to removing the dust jacket of a hardcover book while reading it. Growing up in the Philippines, I always loved buying the new textbooks for the schoolyear, wrapping them in plastic. I actually wish those covers were available here.

My name is Lani and I might be a bookaholic.

August: Osage County

The Steppenwolf Theatre has been a cornerstone of Chicago theatre for years. They have produced shows that have been acclaimed by critics here and on broadway. And now comes what may be the best production of the theatre's history.

Tracy Letts' August: Osage County is a story of the Weston clan from Oklahoma. It is led by it's patriarch, Beverly who is a drunk and his wife, Violet, a drug addicted vicious mother. It revolves around the sudden disappearance of Beverly that calls for the reunion of the whole clan (sister, daughters, their husbands and cousin). It is an intense look at a family's dynamic triggered by this turning point in their lives.

Violet (played by Deana Dunagan with staggering fierceness) is a marriage between Mary (fr O'Neils Long Days Journey Into the Night) and Martha (fr Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf). A mother who is honestly brutal she tears her daughters and everyone in her path for that matter, apart. If she were to face off with either Martha and Mary.....well I think Violet will come on top.

If you think the subject is daunting enough, well, consider too that it is 3 1/2 hrs long! However, when I saw this last Saturday.....those 3 hours flew by! The script is filled with humor and wit that is so enjoyable and played by the ensemble cast with brilliance. I was riveted and was sitting at the edge of my seat, anxious of what will Violet say next. It also takes you through a rollercoaster of emotions and realizations as the play peels away the family's secrets. You'll never know where it came from until it hits right in the gut (yes that was how I felt during the show).

The amazing set, which is a 3 storey house, also acts as another charater.....the keeper of secrets. The tri-level set allows several scenes to happen all together (at some point) making the play more energetic.

Is it good theatre? Well, I think so because it provokes thought, moves emotions and makes you feel and care for the characters as well as also make you look at your life. That is good theatre for me.

It is moving to broadway this November (11/20) with the entire Chicago ensemble cast intact! However, it is only a limited run at the Imperial Theatre for 16 weeks. I was fortunate enough to snag last minute tickets to this and proud to have seen it at the theatre where it was born and nurtured......the world premiere of a midwest story......from a Chicago theatre company.......written by one of it's ensemble members, Tracy Letts. Truly a brilliant peice of Chicago theatre! New York get ready you're in for ride!

(photo fr Steppenwolf.org)

33 to Nothing

The theatre had 100 seats and a stage with band equipment. I had said yes to Marc's invitation to go see a play instead of a movie. The next 90 minutes (no intermission) was really good. It had gay central charcaters but it wasn't a gay play. It was more about a band reaching middle age and deciding what to do. it's also about break-ups, relationships, dying parents, and "Mont-fucking-clair". Yes, my town is mentioned, quite disparagingly. It was so good, I bought the CD on the way out. Spread the word, it's really good.

La Vie Boheme!

So my sister and I went to see Rent again on 25 August 2007. The line of people waiting to get in the theatre snaked around two blocks, something we have never seen since we started watching the show. The excitement in the air was palpable. It wasn't a sold-out show but the energy level was so high it might as well have been. Adam Pascal was the first one to go onstage and Anthony Rapp with the rest of the cast followed. That was the longest and loudest entrance applause I have ever witnessed. Rent audiences tend to be a rowdy bunch anyway, but each number was greeted with thunderous applause and much hooting and hollering. Kudos to the music director/conductor for keeping the show moving with so much cheering going on. A sidenote: A woman in front of us kept singing along with the show and the woman in front of HER kept shushing her. Throwdown at the Nederlander! Anyway, it was a surreal experience actually watching and listening to Messieurs Rapp and Pascal. They were both hilarious as well, seeming very comfortable settling back into the roles they originated. Tamyra Gray was fierce, a huge improvement from the Mimi that we saw last year, who was a sobbing incoherent mess. Ms. Gray did a lot of riffs, rivaling Shoshana Bean. Justin Johnston as Angel is a scene-stealer. Nicolette Hart as Maureen is a spaz but very funny. Her mooning scene was the longest I've ever seen. She even stepped down off the chair, pants pulled down and bumped against Benny. The show is as funny, moving and heartbreaking as ever. It was a treat and probably one of the best theatre experiences I have ever had. What other theatre will allow fans to write on their exterior walls? Brava Nederlander!

My thoughts exactly.
Curtain call

Shout out to Mr. Jonathan Larson. Go and listen to that boy's songs.
Anthony was the only member of the cast to meet and greet the fans. He was so gracious, not going back inside until he signed everything.


The madness at the stagedoor.

Paul Giamatti Selects

I have been a fan of character actor and indie favorite Paul Giamatti since I saw "American Splendor". I had a chance to revisit the movie "Sideways" on TV one weekend. I still can't believe the Academy snubbed his performance. He should have gotten the Oscar award just for that devastating scene where his ex-wife tells him she is carrying her new husband's baby. Of course they made up for their guilty feelings by nominating him the next year for "Cinderella Man". Anyhoo, as the 2007 Brooklyn Academy of Music Cinema Club Chair, he has picked movies for an eight-film series called "Paul Giamatti Selects". The series started 01 August and will run until 11 September. Click here for the schedule. His selections, which include "Dr. Strangelove", "Dawn of the Dead" and "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" show what kind of sense of humor he has.

Dumbledore - The Puppet Master!

Ok Potter fans you have to see this video!!!! HIlarious!!! I almost fell off my chair from laughing!

An Evening with Andrew Lippa

Last Thursday (8/16), Northwestern University hosted An Evening with Andrew Lippa as part of their Johnny Mercer The Power of the American Song series. It's a combination of "Inside the Actors' Studio" interview and a mini concert. These things often happens in NYC but seldom here in Chicago so I made it a point to be there that night......and it turned out to be one of the more fun nights this summer.

Andrew Lippa is one of the new generation of composers that write for the theatre. I have always found his music electrifying particularly The Wild Party and his song "I'm Not Waiting" has been my favorite in Julia Murney's new CD. This night showcased Mr. Lippa's brilliance. He opened with a song that he said he has not sat down to write the music and lyrics down.....he just knows it......and if I remember right, the hook goes like this:

doo wa, doo wa, doo wa.....

doo wa, doo wa, doo wa....

I like skinny white boys and staying up late,

mac & cheese on a second date,

sitting cozy on an all night movie theatre

wonderin' if you'll brush my knee

I like heads up days and milky ways

snow that shower for days and days

I like work that pays

but I love you lovin' me.......

You see, he writes pretty catchy tunes that makes you remember them after. But what was interesting that night was learning how his creative mind works. It was interesting to discover how he stumbled into composing.....watching Dreamgirls on broadway. That was the time he knew that he wanted to do that......write music and tell a story. He said that he writes for the theatre because he likes to express a character's emotion at that particular moment. He also discussed that he usually writes the hook of the song 1st.....he said he wants to know what the song is about when he writes it. He performed songs from his musicals The Man in the Ceiling, Asphalt Beach and Raise the Roof (fr The Wild Party). He was also joined onstage by Brian D'Arcy James (Burrs in The Wild Party) who sang a song from an upcoming unnamed musical (due to still pending rights issues). Mr. Lippa's writing comes from personal experiences and observation and I must say though, that the song he performed from The Man in the Ceiling echoes the yearning of the creative spirit. Very beautiful and moving. I'm already excited to see that onstage. It was so much fun to hear the composer sing his songs........BUT what was more mesmerising is watching his fingers on the piano keyboard as he plays.......as if they were possessed....magically gliding and tinkering on the keys. Just pure brilliance!

(photo fr AndrewLippa.com)

Away from Her

I watched Away from Her not because I wanted to see a movie about Alzheimer's disease. Honestly I just wanted to see the luminous and reclusive Julie Christie and came away with much more. We meet Grant (played with quiet dignity by Gordon Pinsent) and Fiona (Ms. Christie), a childless couple living in a picturesque lakeside cottage in Ontario. They have settled into a comfortable, if by no means perfect, marriage. (There were hints of infidelity on the husband's part.) Ms. Christie, still beautiful despite the gray hair and the lined face, of course gives a heartbreaking performance. She decides to go into a nursing home as the Alzheimer's progresses, despite his own denial about her disease. Grant watches silently as Fiona forms an attachment to Aubrey, another resident. When he finally asks her why, she says simply, "because he doesn't confuse me". Olympia Dukakis plays Aubrey's wife who gives voice to family members faced with difficult decisions. The film is hard to watch. The pace is slow, almost contemplative. The scenes jump from past to present and I felt unbalanced, maybe to mirror the characters' own feelings. But the situations and dialogue seemed very honest, realistic yet unsentimental with unexpected funny moments. The emotional pay off at the end is enormous.

(still photo from Hollywood.com)

King of all Media

Speaking of uber fans, the ahmaazing Seth Rudetsky is an Emmy nominated comedy writer for "The Rosie O' Donnell Show", the Grammy Awards, Gypsy of the Year, Easter Bonnet competitions and has a regular column on Playbill.com. The author of The Q Guide to Broadway also hosts Broadway Chatterbox and has a radio show on Sirius satellite radio. He can sing, dance, play musical instruments. He is an Actors Fund artistic producer and conductor for their benefit shows. Once voted "Funniest Gay Male in NYC", he does interviews with Broadway artists like nobody can. Pinky, Dawn and I went to see his hilarious "Broadway 101, A Master Class in belting, divas and hostile opinions" earlier this year. He is his own one man show. Move over Howard Stern... all hail the one true king, Seth.

Fanartics

Pinky's last post made me think about fans and how creative and generous they are. We've all heard of the Wicked cast members (and probably other shows as well) getting presents at the stage door, from pictures, bags, sculptures, keychains and flowers (Hem, hem), among other things. Wicked: The Grimmerie even features fan letters. The musical's website has a Fan Art section. I especially liked this drawing of the witches of Oz. It just goes to show how theatre, movies, music can be so influential and possibly life-altering. They inspire people to create...draw, write fanfic, start websites. Or perhaps point an aspiring performer in the right direction. Everyone is a fan of something or someone. In this age of Youtube, message boards and blogs, it just got easier to find kindred spirits.

I just had to share this one: I am also a fan of PotterPuffs, a LiveJournal that my sister showed me. Naomi Noelle makes drawings of Harry Potter characters in the style of the Power Puff Girls. They are so cute and adorable.

When Harry Meets Elphie

I randomly found this somewhere and I'm too much of a fan of both not to post it.....

See for yourself....what happens when Elphie goes off to Hogwarts instead of Shiz University????? (click on the pic to enlarge so you can see the diaglogue)

The Doctor Investigates

According to Digital Spy, BBC's Doctor Who will meet Dame Agatha Christie in 2008. Fenella Woolgar will play the best selling crime fiction author. David Tennant (Barty Crouch Jr. in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire") is the time-travelling, problem-solving doctor. I'm anxious to find out what sort of mystery they will collaborate on. BBC America is still showing the 2005 episodes so I may have a bit of a wait.

The crime writer's grandson Matthew Prichard welcomed the news: "What a brilliant idea... two characters whose contribution to British entertainment is absolutely unrivalled. As far as I know my grandmother, Agatha Christie, never saw Doctor Who, but I am sure she would have been intrigued, excited and above all flattered by all this attention in 2007."

(photos from David Tennant's site and Wikipedia)

Fringe theatre

The 11th annual New York International Fringe Festival begins tomorrow 10 August. The festival is one of the largest multi-arts events in North America and features up and coming artists and writers. FringeNYC premiered shows such as "Urinetown" and "Dog sees God". All tickets are $15 with performances from 2 pm to midnight on weekdays and noon to midnight on weekends.

(Photo from FringeNYC)

Broadway's biggest fan

Ever dreamed of being onstage with your favorite Broadway performer? You can introduce a performance and be part of the finale during Broadway on Broadway this 16th of September at Times Square. If you consider yourself Broadway's biggest fan, submit a video by 23 August and win a trip to the Big Apple. If you have stage fright or just plain camera shy, you can just help choose the winner by voting for your favorite video starting 27 August. Online voters will be eligible to win a package prize of theatre "memorabeeya", to quote little Edie . The first 100 fans attired as their favorite Broadway character will also get to view the show from a VIP area near the stage they have dubbed the Broadway Fan Zone. Are YOU ready for your close-up?

Say You Do

part 2:


I've seen this video before and thought it's cute. But finally Brendan Milburn of Groovelily (who wrote the score) has posted it for everyone) This is an entry for RIPFEST # 4 where a bunch of theatre people were grouped and asked to make a 10 minute movie musical in 2 weeks. From the notes it's described as "A 10-minute movie musical, with two pre-determined locations and three actors, written in two days, shot in two days, with about five days of post-production. Synopsis: Frederick's just been to a palm reader and is convinced he'll marry the next woman he meets." It stars Julia Murney and Jimmy Bennet.

Let's see if that melody doesn't get stuck in your head! I know it did with me for days! Very cute and check out what she's listening to in the end.

Indies

(Above photo from Film Freak Central)

(the bottom photo courtesy of my sister Cecile) There were unexpected celebrity sightings at my naturalization ceremony on Friday the 3rd of August. I was hoping for Senator Hillary Clinton (whom I have seen at a fund-raising event to restore this theatre when she was still First Lady) but this film buff got something even better. John Sayles and his companion Maggie Renzi, both actors and Academy Award-nominated independent filmmakers, were the guest speakers. He wrote and directed "Eight Men Out", "Lone Star", and more recently, "Sunshine State". He gave a lovely speech about how immigrants shouldn't give in to pressure to assimilate, and instead, keep what they value the most from their culture. She gave an even better speech about how immigrants are in the best position to change the world, especially in these dangerous times. She mentioned a Filipino friend and how she saw first hand the arduous process of becoming a citizen. And yet qualified Americans fail to vote or participate in their governance. My sister insisted I should have my photo taken with them afterwards but I was too intimidated for some reason. At least I got to shake their hands at the receiving line. I wanted to say something about their wonderful speeches, but I always act like a moron in the presence of VIPs.

Spy vs. Spy

Ever opened a book, started reading and couldn't stop? Just one more chapter and before you know it, it's morning. I used to devour Robert Ludlum novels when I was young. They inspired my wanderlust and interest in the Cold War and conspiracy theories. The books were movie-ready. I watched the Jason Bourne TV movies with Richard Chamberlain as the CIA agent. Since "The Bourne Supremacy" and "United 93", Paul Greengrass has become one of my favorite directors. In this age of CGI, the Bourne film franchise stands out for its nail-biting, edge of your seat action sequences as well as the intelligent scripts. "The Bourne Ultimatum" drops you right in the middle of the action from the get-go. Tightly edited, it features an amazing rooftop footrace in Morocco, a silent and brilliantly choreographed fight scene where you just hear the blows landings, a cat and mouse game through Waterloo Station, a thrilling New York City car chase. Of course there are the requisite scenes of CIA agents pacing up and down with arms crossed, looking into their computers and barking orders. After my fill of summer blockbusters with a young demographic, I was amused to see plenty of senior citizens in the theatre with me. Definitely a sign that this is an action thriller for adults. I must admit I was surprised when Matt Damon was cast as our protagonist, but he has brought the right blend of ruthlessness and vulnerability to the über-assassin. It seems he was "bourne" to play the part ;)

Pssst...

In 2006, Broadway.com inaugurated its Word of Mouth section, selecting 12 ordinary, theatregoing mortals to become critics for a year. The panelists are assigned shows to review and receive a pair of free tickets to preview performances. On 31 July 2007, Broadway.com and WABC-TV concluded the contest to pick reviewers for the 2007-2008 season. Personally, I haven't watched any of the videos of the previous panelists but I found this thread dissing them. Although there are some valid criticism of the Word of Mouth feature (why it is inappropriate in a ticket provider site, for one), I don't know how much of it is from envy. The concept of regular theatregoers pronouncing judgment on shows is still intriguing, given the usual discrepancy between professional critics' and the general public's opinion.

Sing-along

"Hairspray" is letting you let your hair down and sing-along to the movie starting 3 August 2007 , with a special screening in New York City 01 August with leading lady Nikki Blonsky and scene-stealer Elijah Kelly. Click here to see if it will be playing in your town.

Speaking of sing-alongs, the musical episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" entitled "Once More,with Feeling", has been following in the footsteps of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" midnight screenings. An acting troupe performs in front of the screen as the audience sings along with subtitles. Before the show, they distribute goodie bags, have trivia contests and show fan-made videos. There are once a month screenings at the IFC Center in New York City. If you're not in the NYC area, check this out for dates near you.