Archive for December, 2008

Tommy Reunion Concert Rocked The House!!

I believe Jack Black said it best in introducing honorees Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey on the “Kennedy Center Honors” program: “Thank you for blowing our minds and touching our hearts”. Those words express so accurately what the audience felt at the end of The Who’s Tommy reunion concert on December 15th, and what I still feel now, two weeks later. Thank you Donnie Kehr, and the entire original cast of The Who’s Tommy Broadway show, for making this experience possible.

ROCKERS ON BROADWAY

Rockers On Broadway was founded in 1993 by Donnie Kehr during the Broadway run of The Who’s TOMMY, in which he was appearing at the time. Inspired by his collaboration with Pete Townshend, Kehr created Rockers on Broadway, offering musical theater performers an opportunity to sing with a rock band in a concert environment - ultimately creating a raw energy and edge that could be transferred back to the Broadway stage. Kehr remarks, “It is our mission to bring together the worlds of rock ‘n roll and Broadway in a unique way, while supporting inspirational charities including Broadway Cares / Equity Fights Aids, Broadway Dreams Foundation and the Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia and Parkinson Foundation.”

On this 15th anniversary of the opening of “Tommy”, Donnie had the idea to reunite the original cast for this one-night-only event. And they were on board full force: Michael Arnold, Anthony Barrile, Bill Buell, Maria Calabrese, Victoria Cave, Michael Cerveris, Tracy Nicole Chapman, Paul Dobie, Jonathan Dokuchitz, Tom Flynn, Cheryl Freeman, Romaine Fruge, Jody Gelb, Christian Hoff, Todd Hunter, Paul Kandel, Donnie Kehr, Tracey Langran Corea, Lisa Leguillou, Norm Lewis, Marcia Mitzman, Lee Morgan, Alice Ripley, Sherie Rene Scott, Timothy Warmen, with national tour alum Destan Owens appearing for original cast member Michael McElroy. The show was produced by (see photo left) Cori Gardner, Donnie Kehr and Sandy Hicks.

Click here to watch a video of the cast of Tommy performing on the Tony Awards.

THE CONCERT

You could feel the excitement in the air before the show even began. We were all here to witness something special, and we were in good company: spotted in the crowd were Rick Elice (writer, Jersey Boy) whom I had the pleasure of chatting with before the concert; Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller, along with son Ben Stiller and his beautiful wife Christine Taylor; funny lady Caroline Rhea; John Ciarcia, Frank Vincent, Vincent Pastore and “Little Stevie” VanZant (who, I’ve heard, was so caught up in the moment that he was hugging people during the ovation!). And no one was disappointed.

The production was presented concert style with the cast and band on stage during the entire performance. Donnie Kehr started things off by introducing Des McAnuff, director of the original production, who read a letter from Pete Townshend, saying how sorry he was to miss the show, but he was performing in a “Who” concert - I guess we’ll forgive him. From the first notes of the overture, I knew we were in for a wild ride. The emotions of seeing and hearing this story told, with the use of projections and pictures from the original production, are indescribable. Watching David Bologna as young Tommy, sitting completely still and expressionless was heart-wrenching. And when Michael Cerveris ran on to the catwalk suspended above the cast, the power of this show became so obvious. I’ve heard it described as almost a religious experience, and that is truly accurate.

‘By the time Cheryl Freeman made her appearance as the Acid Queen, devouring the stage as if in contention for taking over Tina Turner’s crown, people were clapping along and screaming for each sustained note. In the midst of it, Freeman turned around and caught sight of a production still from 1994 projected on a screen above the stage. There she was in full costume—yellow dress hugging her body, and wig as boisterous as her belting voice—raising her arms up to the stage lights above her. Freeman paused tonight in the midst of her fury. She lifted her hands to the lights above her head, this evening topped off by a much more fashionable bob, and struck the same pose, watching her youthful self float across the projection screens. For a moment it seemed like she let the nostalgia take a hold of her. And we all went there with her.

Donnie, Des McAnuf and Christian, original production photo

Immediately following her number, the theater exploded. Not literally, but it may as well have when the song “Pinball Wizard” started. Christian Hoff and Donnie Kehr began the number and executed a full section of the original choreography by Wayne Cilento to rousing applause from the audience as the music swelled around us. By the time they finished the number, much of the audience was on its feet and for a moment the importance of theater was overwhelming: the way a theatrical experience can become so much more than a collection of performers, lights, and songs. It can become a shared experience, and a time capsule of emotion.’*

By the end of the show, the crowd was in a frenzy. We all felt that we were a vital part of this spectacular, phenomenal show. And in a way we were. When the applause finally ended, and the cast left the stage, the crowd spilled out onto 52nd Street. It seemed no one wanted to leave. The atmosphere was that of a huge, happy street party. Stars mingled in with the crowds, everyone smiling, everyone happy. And there, in his rightful place at the August Wilson stage door, was Christian Hoff, smiling, laughing, hugging old friends. And as always, staying until he was sure he had seen all those who wanted to see him. A gentleman always!

As my husband and I wandered down the street, not wanting the evening to end, I thought to myself “I would give anything to relive that experience.”

* rantingdetails.com
* pics from broadwayworld.com

Pal Joey Curtain Call - November 18

I’ve said it before, and find it true again - you can find anything on YouTube! Here is video footage of one of the few curtain calls that included Christian Hoff.

The Annotated ‘Zip’

The song Zip is one of the highlights of Pal Joey. It is a thinly disguised spoof of striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, who had introduced a new “high-class” form of stripping: she recited intellectual patter while taking her clothes off. The song features numerous references to people and things much better known in 1940. We provide here an annotated Zip with the obscure references explained. (There are 18 Notes–you may need to click on the post’s title above to see all of them.)

Zip! Walter Lippmann (1) wasn’t brilliant today.
Zip! Will Saroyan (2) ever write a great play?
Zip! I was reading Schopenhauer (3) last night.
Zip! And I think that Schopenhauer was right.
I don’t want to see Zorina (4),
I don’t want to meet Cobina (5).
Zip! I’m an intellectual.
I don’t like a deep contralto,
Or a man whose voice is alto.
Zip! I’m a heterosexual.
Zip! It took intellect to master my art.
Zip! Who the hell is Margie Hart (6)?
_
Zip! I consider Dali’s (7) painting passé.
Zip! Can they make the Metropolitan (8) pay?
Zip! English people don’t say clerk, they say clark.
Zip! Anybody who says clark is a jark!
I have read the great Cabala (9),
And I simply worship Allah.
Zip! I am just a mystic.
I don’t care for Whistler’s mother (10),
Charley’s Aunt (11), or Shubert’s brother (12).
Zip! I’m misogynistic (13).
Zip! My intelligence is guiding my hand.
Zip! Who the hell is Sally Rand (14)?

Zip! Toscanini (15) leads the greatest of bands.
Zip! Jergens Lotion does the trick for his hands.
Zip! Rip Van Winkle on the screen would be smart.
Zip! Tyrone Power (16) will be cast in the part.
I adore the great Confucius,
And the lines of luscious Lucius (17).
Zip! I am so eclectic.
I don’t care for either Mickey; Mouse or Rooney make me sicky!
Zip! I’m a little hectic.
Zip! My artistic taste is classic and dear.
Zip! Who the hell is Lili St. Cyr (18)?
_
NOTES:
(1) Walter Lippmann (1889-1974), influential American writer, journalist, political commentator and adviser to Presidents.
(2) William Saroyan (1908-1981), Pulitzer-Prize-winning playwright and author. Plays include The Human Comedy and The Time of Your Life. Gene Kelly was appearing in the latter play when he was cast in Pal Joey.
(3) Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 -1860), important German philosopher who believed that man’s desires (physical, sexual and emotional) could never be fulfilled.

Bill Diehl, ABC News Radio, Interviews Matthew Risch

Click HERE to visit the ABC News site and listen to Diehl’s interview.

Stockard Channing “Bewitches” in ‘Pal Joey’

Martha Plimpton’s New York

Martha Plimpton shares some of her favorite things about her home on the upper west side, and New York in general, in this NY Post article. (Yes, there are some things in the Post worth reading!)

MY NEW YORK
By REED TUCKER
December 14, 2008 –

I live on the Upper West Side, and I’m very happy here. I like the trees. I like that the avenues are wide and the sun can get through.

Martha Plimpton says she feels at home on the Upper West Side, and no wonder: She still lives in the apartment where she grew up. The rent’s no doubt affordable, but Plimpton may not need much help paying the bills. The actress has appeared in classic films, including “The Goonies” and “Parenthood,” and lately she’s been spending a good amount of time on the Broadway boards. Her latest is “Pal Joey,” a musical revival about a scheming nightclub crooner, which opened this week. This is her New York.

1.) Oppenheimer Prime Meats & Seafood, formerly 2606 Broadway, at 98th Street

“It had been there for decades. My mother went there, my nana went there and I went there. It was a real neighborhood butcher, the last one of its kind in the area. I stopped by a few weeks ago, and it was closed. [Owner Robert Pence now works out of Hunt's Point Market.] I’m really heartbroken about it. If I can be so bold, I’d rather not have Bloomberg run for a third term, because this is the kind of thing New York has lost entirely.”

2.) Showman’s, 375 W. 125th St., near Morningside Avenue

“I like going up to jazz bars in Harlem, often on Thursday nights. Showman’s is an old-school, railroad car-shaped bar with a bandstand in the back for a trio or a quartet.”

Michael Riedel Can’t Get Enough of Pal Joey

I just can’t resist posting another gossipy article from Michael Riedel’s NY Post column Broadway Matinee (Thursday, December 17). I just have to wonder, how in the world is he privy to someone else’s e-mail unless he has a) hacked into their computer; b) made it all up; or c) been leaked the information by someone desperate for publicity.

UNFRIENDLY WORDS OVER ‘PAL’
POST LEAK LEADS TO E-MAIL BATTLE

ON the eve of the opening of the troubled revival of “Pal Joey,” a war of words has broken out between the head of the Roundabout Theatre Company and the head of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, which controls the rights to the show.

In a series of blistering e-mails, Todd Haimes, who’s shepherded the Roundabout for nearly 20 years, accused Ted Chapin, who oversees the Richard Rodgers estate, of badmouthing the production to - who else? - The Post!

Jimmy Merrill Interviews Steven Skybell, Robert Clohessy and Daniel Marcus

In our fifth and final installment of interviews from the Opening Night Celebration, contributing correspondent Jimmy Merrill talks with the featured actors of Pal Joey — Steven Skybell (Ernest, Joey’s tailor), Robert Clohessy (nightclub manager Mike) and Daniel Marcus (Chez Joey tenor Ludlow Lowell).

Pal Joey’s Official Opening Night, December 18th

I’m just back from a fantastic trip to New York for the “official” opening night of Pal Joey at the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Studio 54. In case you’re wondering, the difference between the show on December 11th, which was the original opening night, and December 18th, the “official” opening night is that now the press is allowed to write reviews. That’s right, all that stuff you’ve read in the press the last month wasn’t “reviews”, but just “opinions” - officially.

I am not by any means, a Broadway critic. So the thoughts you are about to read are just that - my random thoughts as I watched the show. And as always, I invite, even encourage you to share your thoughts.

This was not my first visit to Studio 54, but it certainly wasn’t the same place I remembered. Well, it was 25 years ago and a very different venue! The theatre is gorgeous, with old ornate woodwork and a very intimate feel to it. The orchestra was located in balconies on either side of the stage and sounded beautiful. I don’t imagine there was a bad seat in the house.

I forced myself to put all thoughts of Christian Hoff out of my mind…no comparisons, no what-could-have-beens…just watch the show and enjoy. I thought it would be hard to do, but when Joey (Matthew Risch) entered (or was thrown onto) the stage, I was captivated by him. He’s good looking, sexy, and he could really dance. I noticed I had a huge smile on my face at the end of “Chicago”. Off to a good start. I even found myself believing he was falling for Linda (Jenny Fellner), and really enjoyed their duet of “I Could Write A Book”. Jenny’s voice is flawless, and I could sense the innocence, as well as the desperation, in her character.

Stockard Channing’s portryal of Vera Simpson was harder for me to categorize. Yes, Vera is supposed to by cynical and hard, but I couldn’t decide if Ms. Channing was playing the part to perfection, or was just a little bored with the whole thing. Either way, the audience loved her, and Joey’s first encounter with Vera in the nightclub was quite entertaining. I didn’t totally buy into her passion for Joey, but her rendition of “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” gave the audience a glimpse into her “troubled soul”. The talk-singing I had heard so much about fit beautifully with her voice and her character, and I thouroughly enjoyed it.

The audience favorite, by far, was Gladys Bumps, played superbly by Martha Plimpton. Her sultry, smoky voice and great comedic timing made for a terrific “Zip”. I only wish we could have had more Martha, as the second Act dragged a little bit for me. My husband was very entertained by the “chorus girls”, who I suspect were his favorite part of the show. And we both enjoyed the voice of Daniel Marcus (as Ludlow Lowell). Wish we could have had more Daniel Marcus. Besides “Zip”, my favorite song of the second act was “Take Him”, performed beautifully by Fellner and Channing.

The costumes by William Ivey Long were perfection. Linda English was suitable dowdy, the chorus girls were just tacky enough, Joey was smashingly handsome in his well tailored suits, and Vera’s gowns and pant suits were beautifully rich without going overboard.

The stage was dark and smoky, which I suppose was appropriate for the gritty Chicago setting, but was a bit disctracting to me. And I thought the cast managed the stairways with great agility - not an easy feat. And Chez Joey was just tacky enough!

The show is helped along by a very strong supporting cast. Robert Clohessy and Steven Skybell (Mike and Ernest, respectively) could have handled parts with a little more meat to them, but both actors got the most out of their characters, and gave terrific performances.

I give Matthew Risch a great deal of credit for coming as far as he has in such a short time. He wasn’t quite the “leading man” this show needed, but I can certainly see it in his future. I found myself singing several of the songs in my head the next day, which is a good sign. I suspect that Pal Joey will have a great run, despite (or perhaps because of) all the drama surrounding it.

Jimmy Merrill Interviews Lily Rabe, Mary Rodgers, Mario Cantone, Margaret Colin, Denis O’Hare and Jenny Fellner

Here is our fourth installment of interviews from the Opening Night Celebration. It features Lily Rabe (Steel Magnolias), composer and author Mary Rodgers (daughter of Richard Rodgers), Mario Cantone (Sex and the City), Margaret Colin (A Day in the Death of Joe Egg), Denis O’Hare (The Changeling) and Jenny Fellner (Linda English in Pal Joey). Contributing correspondent Jimmy Merrill hosts.

Jimmy Merrill Interviews Chita Rivera, Nathan Lane, Rachel Dratch, Cherry Jones and Stockard Channing

The third installment of interviews from the Opening Night Celebration features Broadway legend Chita Rivera, The Producers’ Nathan Lane, TV and film comic actress (and former Saturday Night Live cast member) Rachel Dratch, multiple Tony winner Cherry Jones and Pal Joey’s very own Vera, Stockard Channing. Contributing correspondent Jimmy Merrill is your host.

Bewitched, Bothered and Opening

The story of Roundabout replacing Christian Hoff as Joey continues, this time in the more staid New York Times (vs the freewheeling New York Post). Following is an excerpt from the article.

Bewitched, Bothered and Opening
By PATRICK HEALY
Published: December 17, 2008

After months of backstage turbulence, capped by the loss of its leading actor and the ascent of an understudy into the title role, the Broadway revival of “Pal Joey” opens on Thursday night with hopes of defying the problems that have clouded the show since previews began on Nov. 14.

Several people involved with the Roundabout Theater Company’s production at Studio 54, members of the creative and financial teams as well as actors, said in interviews that this “Pal Joey” seemed destined to enter theater lore as one of the more artistically troubled experiences of Broadway in recent years.

Just as Gene Kelly struggled to make audiences fall in love with the antihero club impresario Joey Evans in its premiere in 1940, and a 1976 revival was marred by recasting, the convulsions in this latest production have largely involved the cast and the tricky story of a bad-boy huckster who treats women shabbily.

Jimmy Merrill Interviews Patricia Clarkson, Tony Roberts and Matthew Risch

Continuing his coverage of the Pal Joey Opening Night Celebration, contributing correspondent Jimmy Merrill talks with Patricia Clarkson (Good Night and Good Luck, Vicki Cristina Barcelona), Tony Roberts (Annie Hall, Xanadu on Broadway), and Joey Evans himself, Matthew Risch.

Christian Hoff Can Dance!

Matt Windman posted the following on the amNew York, New York City Theater blog (December 16):

Something very weird is going on… Two weeks ago, Roundabout Theatre Company claimed that Christian Hoff had withdrawn from PAL JOEY due to a foot injury, now replaced by his much younger understudy Matthew Risch. Before the injury occurred, however, Hoff was set to appear in the one-night-only reunion original cast reunion concert of THE WHO’S TOMMY.

Interviews from the Opening Night Celebration

Click here to see contributing correspondent Jimmy Merrill’s interviews with the Pal Joey stars and other celebrities–exclusively on the Pal Joey Blog. The five segments are listed in reverse chronological order based on when they were posted. The total running time is around 25 minutes.