"Hair" in the Park

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of "Hair," the Public Theater will be hosting three free concert readings of the musical at the Delacorte Theater on September 22-24. Free tickets will be distributed the day of the show, just like its Shakes in the Park season. More information can be found here.

Censored and Loving It

For those who might be wondering about my presence on the Showshowdown, you'll have to inquire with Patrick, who removed my access today following a debate about some non-theater related videos I had posted earlier this week (two YouTube clips you can see below). Within a minute of telling him I wouldn't continue to participate in the competition if he continued to censor my content, he kicked me out. Very telling, of course, and also very childish. It seems some people are a bit obsessive about their blogging and have an unhealthy relationship with control. That's a theater blog, though. Never without the drama.

One for my baby …

More on the closing of Rose's Turn, courtesy of the New York Observer.

Ring Cycle, day 1 — It's A Wagner Crowd

The rare staging of a Ring Cycle means that the Wagner crowd will be out in full force. As I spend the rest of my week attending the Mariinksy Theater's Kirov Opera production at the Metropolitan Opera, I'll be surveying the crowd and posting photos of some of the enthusiastic Wagnerites I meet. Last night's performance of "Das Rheingold" gave us a glimpse of what's to come. First up, Karyn and Scott smile for the camera.


I spotted this woman in the crowd after the performance but couldn't catch up to her. She looked grandmotherly and cute.


And this woman just looks completely unsatisfied, but her Valkyrie helmet does seem a bit tight.


The Met has its own Alberich, who I like to call the Ticket Troll. He can often be found outside any theater in Manhattan begging for soon-to-be unused tickets. His usual mating call is "Does anyone have an extra ticket?" and he approaches everyone in vicinity, whether or not they're actually attending the performance or just happen to be standing nearby. Should we pity him? Obviously he's too poor to buy his own entry and I'm all for getting people in to see theater, having given away full-priced tickets to strangers so they don't go unused — the tickets, not the strangers. But he goes a bit over the edge in his desperation. At a performance of Philip Glass's "The Juniper Tree" I saw this past spring, a patron chastised him and he reacted a bit too violently for someone in his position. Beware of the Ticket Troll if you see him. He'll turn on you at the slightest provocation.

Notice how far away I stood and used my zoom lens to capture this photo of him. That's because I'm not stupid. I don't want to end up like the Nibelungen.

Work It Out, Fosse

Get This Party Started

Dan: this is the gayest video ever
Dan: gayest
Dan: video
Dan: ever
Dan: there's bel ami porn less gay than this
Christopher: true
Christopher: and that's why I love it
Dan: it's fabulous

I'm leaving my family; I'm leaving all my friends.

I was going to post this yesterday, but I was too busy drowning my sorrows in a Stoli & tonic to even think about turning on my computer. Having awoke this morning still in the throes of depression brought on by the news, I now feel the responsiblity of spreading word about the imminent closing of the greatest piano bar in the world, Rose's Turn. I'm told that the building has been sold. Last call will be this Sunday, July 22. See you there.

Il Trovatore

Photo by Thomas McDonald
The reason to go to Caramoor for this "Trovatore" was to hear famed contralto Ewa Podleś in the role of the gypsy Azucena, which was written for mezzo soprano. However, it soon became clear that Ms. Podleś's top notes really weren't there, and this was probably one of her worst public performances. Please remember, though, that the standard is very high, and that even a mediocre performance by Podleś still draws whoops of delight from the audience, as it did on Saturday. But the real stars of the evening turned out to be the tenor Francisco Casanova as Manrico and Julianna Di Giacomo, an up-and-coming soprano who will be appearing this coming season as Clothilde in the Met's "Norma." Both were in top form. Will Crutchfield drew a shimmering bel canto interpretation from the orchestra, which for me, was worth the trek to Katonah. Following the performance, Ms. Podleś confided to someone at the after party that she hated singing Azucena and that it wasn't the right role for her. At least she's aware. Tickets are still available for the second and final performance, which is Friday July 20th. And it's also on TDF, if you're a member.

Broadway! Broadway! How great you are!

With all this talk of a B'way transfer for the LuPone "Gypsy," has anyone noticed that the Imperial is sitting empty? I'm told it's being saved for "Billy Elliot," but until then? My mind reels with possibility.

Bryn Terfel as "Elijah"

Though it's really not the right time of year for a visit from the prophet ("Come back in April!"), Bryn Terfel is scheduled to sing a concert performance of Mendelssohn's "Elijah" oratorio with the Collegiate Chorale at Carnegie Hall on Monday, November 19th at 8 p.m. And as if that weren't enough, Metropolitan Opera mainstays Hei-Kyung Hong and Eric Cutler will be joining him. Until August 31st, you can order tickets during the Chorale's pre-sale by going here.

Cattle Battle Is Still A Bitch

According to my source in Aspen, Kathleen Battle is up to her old tricks as a whining fit-throwing diva. In town this weekend to sing a program of Gershwin tunes at the Aspen Music Festival, the Battle Axe was put up in the St. Regis — the city's poshest digs — and upon being shown to her room, she flew into a rage of discontent and demanded to see every available room in the complex (which resembles an upscale hunting lodge), until she found something suitable to her needs. She also turned down an interview request by the local radio station, saying that the music "should speak for itself," and also has refused to meet with the festival's student singers, defying the tradition of master classes led by seasoned professionals. Perhaps that's because she doesn't have anything nice to say.

"Les Fables de La Fontaine" by Comédie-Française

The visionary director Robert Wilson has returned to Lincoln Center with a new offering from the Comédie-Française, one of the oldest and most respected theater troupes in the world. A staging of a handful of the French poet Jean La Fontaine's fables based on those of Aesop, "Les Fables de La Fontaine" is an accessible introduction to the tales and makes great theater for children of all ages. The actors wear masks representing the animals and a throaty-voiced Christine Fersen plays Fontaine himself, addressing the audience while weaving between the masquerading characters. The haunting original music by Michael Galasso, lighting and set design by Wilson, and inventive costumes by Moidele Bickel come together to create an engaging spectacle that's not to be missed. My one complaint: inadequate supertitles that only summarize every 10 lines of text instead of giving line-by-line translations of the original French. Thankfully, English language versions of the poems are included in the program, but you'll have to wait until after the show to pour over them.

Online extra: Calvin Klein is looking leathery these days. Did his contract with Mephistopheles expire or has he stopped drinking the life-giving boy juice that had kept him young for so long? Maybe he's finally started practicing the heterosexual lifetstyle he's claimed all these years?

"Gypsy" by Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents

In a word: Flawless. And that's not just Patti we're talking about, but every single performer on a cramped City Center stage (shared with a full orchestra) who's been directed with the knowing hand of Arthur Laurents. Thankfully, he has been able to capture perfect nuance with the smallest bit of staging, making the tiniest gestures evolve into character defining moments. Encores has spared little expense with a fully-staged production that makes the 2003 Broadway revival look like summer stock. Even the performers outdo their recent predecessors, with LuPone arguably the first Mama Rose to have the vocal chops of Merman, and boy does she use them. Just before the show ended, she stopped it with an incomparable rendition of 'Rose's Turn," audience applauding wildly with a well-deserved standing O. Laura Benanti gets major kudos for her transformation into Gypsy Rose Lee and for her perfect "Little Lamb," which she acts with weepy sincerity. City Center would be smart if they offered frequent flier miles for return visits to "Gypsy," because just like a Pringles potato chip, you can't have just one. I need to go back again and again because it's just that damn good.

"Guilio Cesare" by Georg Frederick Handel

Ruth Ann Swenson's final performance in "Giulio Cesare" at the Met occured on a warm Saturday afternoon in April. It was a cloudless day and most of my friends were doing outdoor things. The occassional invitation to join them collected silently in my pocket while I bathed in the warm rays of Handel's score and Swenson's scintillating Cleopatra. I couldn't think of a better way to spend the day.

"Coram Boy" by Helen Edmundson, after the novel by Jamila Gavin

This highly melodramatic epic about three generations in a British family during the 18th century really grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until it's choked every last tear from the inner reaches of your gut. Interspersed with selections from Handel's "Messiah" and performed by a talented cast, it feels like you're watching an intricately staged Masterpiece Theater serial that incorporates live choral music. Is this the one for "Coast of Utopia" to beat come awards season? Yes, and it will. Nevertheless, "Coram Boy" is a great evening in the theater and is not to be missed. Look for the always charming Jan Maxwell in yet another conniving villainess role.

"110 in the Shade" by N. Richard Nash, Harvey Schmidt, and Tom Jones

By no means is "110 in the Shade" a perfect musical. But unlike Aaron, I did walk out humming tunes. And not just one. There were at least three lingering melodies in my head giving argument to the already pestering voices. And the reason? Audra McDonald gives a sensational performance as Lizzie Currie. I can't remember the last time I actually felt moved at a musical. Weepy-eyed moved, even. The cast is all around terrific and it's great to see John Cullum back on stage where he belongs. Bobby Steggert is endearingly cute and a bundle of energy. Kudos to Lonny Price for what I'm thinking is his best work yet — No, I unfortunately didn't see "A Class Act." But I'll be going back to see this again once it opens.

"The Distant Sound" by Franz Schreker

Franz Schreker's opera "Der ferne Klang" (1910) hadn't ever been performed in the United States until Sunday, when Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra gave the premiere at Avery Fisher Hall. With an altogther glorious cast of relatively uknown singers, particularly the dramatic German soprano Yamina Maamar, who I'm hoping will be in New York again soon, the ASO hasn't sounded this good I think ever. The score, which can only classified as modern Romantic, is bombastic, swooping, hummable, and downright catchy. Just when you're still reeling from an emotional ballad, you're thrown into a dervish of a czardas and your feet can't stop a-tappin.' Why hasn't this been staged in NY yet? Wake up, Jimmy, and give us some Schreker.

"Deuce" by Terrence McNally

Old women say "fuck," "cunt," and "goddamn" just like the rest of us. That's what I learned on Saturday, after sitting through an interminable 105 minutes of watching Marian Seldes and Angela Lansbury squirm in what appear to be uncomfortable plastic stadium seats. That old adage about the phone book isn't true; it's horrifying when it actually happens. The play ranks among McNally's worst. On top of that, lines were dropped more often than a hot potato in a kindergarten class. Owing, I'm guessing, to a constantly changing script, a scriptgirl was heard from my seat in Row B of the mezzanine, feeding lines to both of the two ladies throughout the show. I stopped counting after I heard the disembodied voice (uncredited, of course) more than 30 times. Let's hope this shapes up, or else what was once the most anticpated Broadway play of the season will quickly become the most panned one. Someone should start a pool to determine how many performances this will actually last. I'd put 10 bucks on any of the single digit squares. Perhaps we should lobby the award committee so the scriptgirl could get a Tony nom?

"The Yeoman of the Guard" by W.S. Gilbert and A.S. Sullivan

photo by Kate Weiman
The Blue Hill Troupe is one of only two NYC companies that present Gilbert & Sullivan operas every year. What's different and most surprising about the Blue Hill Troupers isn't that they always give us high quality performances, it's that they're (mostly) non-professional actors who work in the evenings and weekends to rehearse and construct two productions a year. Their Spring offering of "Yeoman" bests their previous work of the past few seasons, with high caliber production values as well as superb singing that made for a very entertaining Saturday matinee. On top of that, all proceeds of ticket sales go to a different charity each year, so there's no reason you shouldn't see it. This year's beneficiary The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children would agree.

"LoveMusik" by Kurt Weill and Alfred Uhury

Caught the first preview of a new book musical that uses forgotten songs from the Kurt Weill canon to tell the tale of his tormented love with singer and actress Lotte Lenya. Harold Prince's new project clocks in at three hours. If those three hours weren't so damned entertaining, I would be complaining instead of writing a loose leaf love note to a Germanic musical drama. But in the end, it will need to be cut, as some of those neglected numbers stop the show cold with no clear relation to the the story, as if to say: and while Kurt was suffering attacks from Brecht in Los Angeles in 1944, this song of his was perfomed in (ENTER NAME OF UNKNOWN WEILL MUSICAL HERE) that played Broadway for -10 performances. The orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick are sublime. His overture is a shiny gem of a compliation, and I've never heard "Speak Low" sound so haunting and heartbreaking. Cerveris is exceptional and Donna Murphy is an actress who sings and she knows how to sell each of her big numbers, including Surabaya Johnny and September Song. But she doesn't sound anything like the real Lenya, especially the later Lenya who is preserved on record. But where's Donna's "Pirate Jenny"? After three hours, don't we at least deserve that?