Theatre News and Reviews

Oliver!, the musical, is based on the classic novel Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens. The novel was published in 1838 and has been a great favorite ever since. There have been a number of films based on this timeless story, most notably: the 1922 silent film starring Lon Chaney and Jackie Coogan; the 1948 film with Alec Guinness and Anthony Newley; the 1958 television version with Robert Morley, Eric Portman and Inga Swenson; and another made-for- television movie in 1982, with a script by James Goldman, starring George C. Scott.

The musical adaptation of Oliver! began its life on June 30th, 1960 in London and celebrated its fifth anniversary in 1965, with no closing date in sight. New York producer David Merrick, who liked to specialize in bringing London successes to Broadway, secured the American rights to Oliver!. Because of a prolonged daily newspaper strike, the New York opening on Broadway was delayed until January 6th, 1963. The production starred Clive Revill as Fagin, Georgia Brown as Nancy, and Bruce Prochnik as Oliver Twist. In the spring of 1963, Lional Bart received a Tony Award for his music and lyrics of Oliver!. The show drew capacity houses right from the start and continued for 97 weeks in all….up to its closing in November of 1964. After-ward, there were long runs in Chicago, Washington and other cities during a major National tour. The show returned to New York for a second engagement in the fall of 1965.

There have been a number of first class revivals of Oliver: a long running London revival which starred Roy Hud in 1977; a major Broadway revival in 1984 with Ron Moody and Patti LuPone; and the 1994 successful London revival produced by Cameron Mackintosh, starring Jonathan Pryce as Fagin. Lional Bart went on to adapt his stage musical into a hugely successful film which was released in January of 1968. In June of that same year, Oliver! captured six “Oscars,” including Best Picture, Director, and Art Direction and scoring. Onna White was given a special prize for her choreography. The all-star cast included Ron Moody as Fagin, Oliver Reed as Bill Sykes, Shani Wallis as Nancy, Mark Lester as Oliver, Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger, and the irresistible Hugh Griffith as the Magistrate.

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The cast of the broadway musical, Little Women (based on Louisa May Alcott’s novel by the same name) has a Little Women Show Blog. As Blogway Baby points out this may be the first ever broadway cast blog. Little Women the Musical is now playing at Broadway’s Virginia Theatre.

Imagine there’s a musical biography of John Lennon with very little of the Beatles in it. You may say I’m a dreamer, but not only is that pretty much the case with “Lennon” — the Broadway-bound world premiere that opened Tuesday at the Orpheum Theatre in the Best of Broadway series — but it scarcely seems to matter for a good part of the show.

But then it does. “Lennon” is brightly creative, engagingly earnest, irreverent, sweet, informative and funny. It contains terrific songs and dynamic voices to match. But it never fulfills the rich promise that hovers so tantalizingly just beyond its reach.

That makes it still several cuts above most of the animated songbook musicals that have flooded the field of late, thanks to the still-astonishing richness of Lennon’s output and the inventive showmanship of author-director Don Scardino. With numbers like “Imagine,” “Instant Karma,” “Working Class Hero,” “Give Peace a Chance,” “The Ballad of John and Yoko” and the ferociously honest “God,” “Lennon” was already ahead of the game before Scardino even got started.

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Charlotte d’Amboise, who was playing the title character in Broadway’s Sweet Charity just two days ago, will return to the role of Roxie Hart in Chicago on April 18, according to a production spokesperson. Even though she is employed at the Ambassador Theatre, d’Amboise will continue to serve as Christina Applegate’s standby for Sweet Charity.

D’Amboise was hired as the Sweet Charity standby early on. When Applegate broke her foot out of town, d’Amboise left Chicago to headline Sweet Charity’s Boston run. She was announced as the production’s new Broadway lead, but those plans were changed when it became clear Applegate would recover in time for the show’s opening on the Great White Way, leaving d’Amboise to play the beginning of the musical’s run in New York. Sweet Charity began previews at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on April 11 with d’Amboise. Applegate plays her first Broadway performance in Sweet Charity tonight.

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The Broadway production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast — based on the Oscar-nominated animated film — celebrates its 11th anniversary on The Great White Way April 18.

The musical, which is the sixth longest-running show in Broadway history, originally opened at the Palace Theatre — now the home of All Shook Up — April 18, 1994. The production played 2,250 performances at the Palace before reopening at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, where it now resides. Beauty also recently marked another milestone, playing its 4,500th performances April 8.

Steve Blanchard and Brooke Tansley currently star in the title roles of Beauty and the Beast. Their co-stars include Grant Norman as Gaston, Jeff Brooks as Cogsworth, Peter Flynn as Lumiere, Alma Cuervo as Mrs. Potts, Jamie Ross as Maurice, Aldrin Gonzales as Lefou, Pam Klinger as Babette and Mary Stout as Madame de la Grande Bouche. Matthew Gumley and Patrick O’Neil Henney alternate in the role of the young Chip.

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Passing along a note from Kyle, one of the stars of Chico Cabaret’s production of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (previously mentioned):

Hello everyone, first of all, thanks to everyone who came to see the show, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.” I hope you had a fabulous time. I know that I sure am. This is just a reminder that there are still four more weeks left to see the show. It plays on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm at Chico Cabaret in the Almond Orchard Shopping Center (write me if you don’t know where that is) [google map]. Also we are having and Actor’s Benefit Night (where all of the door money goes to us) on Sunday May 1st at 7:30pm. Everyone should really come because it’s a fabulous show and I know everyone of you will love it! I won’t hold it against you if can’t make it on May 1st…but I may hold it against you if you don’t come at all. Thanks again and I hope to see you all there.
~Kyle (That Crazy Red Head!)

I’ve seen the show twice, and it is great! Each of the four actors plays about a dozen parts; and they make it look easy! Jevon the piano player becomes the fifth member of the cast with enthusiastic accompaniment. This is one of the funniest performances I have ever seen.

Spamalot is bringing a new group of consumers to Broadway — the “kinds of teenagers and 20-somethings who find jokes about fish, flatulence and the French absolutely sidesplitting and who normally wouldn’t be headed to the theater unless dragged by a girlfriend, school trip, or court order.”

Mike Nichols, Spamalot’s director, is quoted as saying “They are what the movie preview experts call young males under 35…and we have them.”

The article talks about how there are finally longer lines for the men’s washroom than at the women’s washroom. It goes on to say that groups of men without wives or girlfriends are going out for night of theater at the Shubert in New York. And industry officials say they ae impressed by the show’s ability to draw men in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.

First of all, I think anything that gets anyone to go to live theater for any reason is a good thing. So way to go Spamalot!

But this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about how men generally stay away from Broadway shows, especially musicals.

Is this whole “real men don’t go to Broadway” thing a recent phenomenon? Wasn’t there a time when men went to see shows, be it play or musical? And weren’t those shows more than just people covered in blue paint banging on garbage pail lids?

Weren’t men just as in awe with Marlon Brando in Streetcar, or just as stirred at the opening of a new Arthur Miller or Eugene O’Neill play, or perhaps just as inspired by Oklahoma! (before they went off to fight), as women were?

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Once in a while, it is the chorus girl who gets the big break. “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” which tours to Salt Lake City’s Capitol Theatre this week, offers a couple of examples.

A little-known understudy named Sutton Foster took over the starring role of Millie during the show’s tryouts at La Jolla Theatre in San Diego and did so well that producers chose her to carry the $10 million musical when it transferred to Broadway. The gamble paid off. “Millie” won six Tony Awards in 2002 - and Foster became a hot property on Broadway after winning one of those Tonys as Best Actress in a New Musical.

Last week, an understudy was tapped to take over the starring role in the show’s touring cast. The departure of Darcy Roberts, star of the tour, was no surprise since her ripening pregnancy was stretching the seams of Millie’s flapper dresses. And, as Roberts’ understudy, Laura Schutter knew there was a chance the role would go to her. She didn’t allow herself to hope too hard.

Last Monday, Schutter learned she had been plucked from the chorus and given the show’s starring role.

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Summer of ‘42, the coming-of-age musical based on the book and film of the same name, will finally get a recording following Off-Broadway and regional productions, composer-lyricist David Kirshenbaum told Playbill.com.

The show will be heard in a May 23 benefit concert for The York Theatre Company and be recorded the next day for JAY Records, with John Yap producing a two-disc full version of the show’s score and libretto.

Given that the show is licensed and performed around the country, the disc will likely appear sooner rather than later. No release date has been announced. Rachel York will also be heard on JAY’s forthcoming cast album of Dessa Rose.

The one-night-only Summer of ‘42 concert performance of the entire show will be directed by Gabriel Barre, who directed the developmental staging for Goodspeed Musicals and the subsequent Off-Broadway production. Original musical director and orchestrator Lynne Shankel (Altar Boyz, Princesses) will be on hand, leading the six-piece band that played the show’s off-Broadway run.

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The UnCommon Theatre Company continues it’s 25th season by presenting the Broadway Musical version of Mark Twain’s semi-biographical and classic story, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”.

Filled with foot-stomping, toe-tapping songs by Don Schiltz (writer of music for such stars as Alison Krauss, Lee Ann Womack, Randy Travis and Reba McEntire), and a warm, funny book by Ken Ludwig (”Moon Over Buffalo”, “Crazy For You,” and “Lend Me A Tenor”), “The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer” is a tale of thrilling escapes and is filled with comedy and inspiration for the whole family. This show is presented with a cast of 47 talented local young actors and is directed by Laura Rotondo Canfield of Foxboro, with musical direction by Linda Barbieri of North Attleboro, choreography by Rob Canfield of Foxboro, and costuming by Lisa Surrette of Bellingham.

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New Line Cinema, the studio behind the romantic comedy “Wedding Singer” starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, is teaming up with Margo Lion, Tony-winning producer of the hit Broadway adaptation of Hairspray, to launch a musical stage version of The Wedding Singer.

The stage production will hold its world premiere at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre on Jan. 31, 2006. After a three-week warm-up run, the show is slated to begin previews on Broadway in March 2006 followed by an April opening.

“I am thrilled to be returning to Seattle with a new Broadway show,” said Lion in a statement. “Our experience with Hairspray convinced me that there is no better venue to get it right than the 5th Avenue Theatre.”

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