The Last Midnight: August

A Bronx Tale
Theatre: Longacre Theatre (Broadway)
Opened: December 1, 2016
Closing: August 5, 2018
Tony Awards: N/A

Consent
Theatre: Harold Pinter Theatre (West End)
Opened: May 29, 2018
Closing: August 11, 2018
Olivier Awards: N/A

The Boys in the Band
Theatre: Booth Theatre (Broadway)
Opened: May 31, 2018
Closing: August 12, 2018
Tony Awards: N/A

Killer Joe
Theatre: Trafalgar Studios (West End)
Opened: May 15, 2018
Closing: August 18, 2018
Olivier Awards: N/A

Hello, Dolly!
Theatre: Shubert Theatre (Broadway)
Opened: April 20, 2017
Closing: August 25, 2018
Tony Awards:
Best Revival of a Musical
Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for David Hyde Pierce as Horace Vandergelder [Nominated]
Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for Bette Middler as Dolly Levi
Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for Gavin Creel as Cornelius Hackl
Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for Kate Baldwin as Irene Malloy [Nominated]
Best Direction of a Musical for Jerry Zaks [Nominated]
Best Scenic Design of a Musical for Santo Loquasto [Nominated]
Best Costume Design of a Musical for Santo Loquasto
Best Lighting Design of a Musical for Natasha Katz [Nominated]
Best Orchestrations for Larry Hochman [Nomianted]

Young Frankenstein
Theatre: Garrick Theatre (West End)
Opened: October 10, 2017
Closing: August 25, 2018
Olivier Awards:
Best New Musical [Nominated]
Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical for Ross Noble [Nominated]
Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for Lesley Joseph [Nominated]

Knights of the Rose
Theatre: Arts Theatre (West End)
Opened: July 5, 2018
Closing: August 26, 2018
Olivier Awards: N/A

Magic to Do: Thrill Me

This blog has been a passion of mine for some time now and I love working on it. It brings me so much joy and I'm glad for all the support I've been given over the years. As you know this past year has been explosive. I've expanded this blog to Twitter, Tumblr and several other social media platforms. Anyway, I'm trying to get together my first ever directorial job. I want to do this nifty show called Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story by Stephen Doglinoff. The only problem is that I have to come up with all the money myself. Now, I'm a college student and I don't have that much money. That is why I set up a GoFundMe page. I'm normally not one to ask strangers for money, but I really want to do this show. Even if you only donate $1 it would help.

Unexpected Song: Days and Days

About a month or so ago I saw Fun Home at Arden Theatre Company and I became obsessed with the character of Helen Bechdel, the matriarch of the family, but more specifically with her gorgeous solo "Days and Days" that is near the end of the show and is just such a poignant song which Jenine Tesori and Lisa Kron wrote so beautifully. P.S. Sorry couldn't find many full videos/audios of women singing this song.

Judy Kuhn (Off-Broadway, Broadway)

Rebecca Luker (Broadway)

To Cats or Not to Cats

Okay, so I've been well aware that a Cats movie has been in the works for a while now and I'm bored and figured I would share my opinion on this... WHY?!?!? When I was a little kid I would spend the afternoons at my Grandparents house and one day my Grandma had with

her the 1998 movie (On VHS) of Cats and I had never been so blown away by a show before. I became obsessed. I watched it so much that I ended up distorting the tapes. I eventually got the DVD and I watched that so much that the sound became distorted. Here is my question why do we have to remake when this TV Movie was literally perfect one every level? Costumes=Gorgeous, Set=Gorgeous, Lighting=Gorgeous, Dancing=Gorgeous, Vocals=Gorgeous and don't even get me started on the cast. It featured an all-star cast which includes Elaine Paige, Rosemarie Ford, Jonathan Partridge, Michael Gruber, Sir John Mills, Susan Jane Tanner and Ken Page along with many others. Everyone in this cast is absolutely amazing and they delivered rock star vocals. The creative team brought the best and the brightest from Cats cast members all over the world to play these roles. I think everyone was just absolutely perfect and I have never found a production that lived up to the 1998 movie. Now, the main reason that I believe Cats was

a huge success was because of Gillian Lynne's fantastic (and very erotic) choreography and that is why I refused to see the 2016 Broadway Revival because they brought Andy Blankenbuehler who absolutely ruined the choreography (in my opinion at least.) I didn't understand that because every single professional production of cats used Lynne's choreography except for the 2016 Broadway Revival. This brings us back to the movie which is NOT going to be choreographed by Gillian Lynne, but by Wayne McGregor. Again, I do not understand this because when you look at McGregor's background it's mostly ballet. This, to me, doesn't make much sense because Cats needs a choreographer with vast amounts of experience and someone with knowledge not only in ballet but also jazz, tap, and modern dances. What I also find weird is why for the second time are they replacing Lynne with a man? I'm not trying to call the producers sexist, but there are so many women choreographers out there who are underrated and would bring fresh and interesting takes to this show (Mainly talking about Fatima Robinson of The Wiz Live! or Camille A. Brown of Once On This Island) 

Besides the choreography, Andrew Lloyd Webber is writing new songs... Including one for the role of Victoria, which to me doesn't make any sense because Victoria is a dancing role and she has the beautiful solo dance at the beginning and does she really need her own song? I'm just confused as to why this is happening and more importantly why this needs to happen. I mean come on Andrew seriously? Instead of making a new movie why not just release the already amazing one in theatres for a limited time? Don't get me wrong I'm still gonna see it because Cats is an extremely guilty pleasure of mine, but also no matter how it's done this movie is going to be weird. (The only thing that could make it any weirder is if Joel Schumacher directed it.) Therefore, I have to see it.

Run and Tell That: Once On This Island (2017 Broadway Revival)

Note: Okay so I once again repeat that I'm terrible at organizing my thoughts and editing my reviews. Also, I had not originally planned to do a review for this show, but I changed my mind and so I'm doing most of this from memory because I didn't take notes during the show like I normally do. (I saw this show June 9th, AKA the day before the Tony Awards.) Therefore, this review isn't the greatest.

"I have to give props to set designer Dane Laffrey for his absolutely wonderful set design that fills the entire theatre and really makes you feel like you are on the island."

The reason for my visit to the island was because of a college event. I go to Ithaca College and one of its alumni is a producer for the show. So that's my intro for this review. Okay, so overall I really enjoyed this show. I did have a few problems with the book (written by Lynn Ahrens) here and there mainly as to why Ti Moune fell in love with Daniel so fast and why she was willing to give her life for a guy who hadn't said anything to her. I mean I get it he is cute and all, but that boy could have been Zac Efron for all I care, but if Papa Ge came to me and said "This boy is mine! I am his dying breath." the only response I will give is "Do you want some cheesecake too?" I am not dying for a boy who decided to drive super fast in the rain (Side Note: Did Daniel get his drivers license in New Jersey?) Besides that one plot point and a few other things which I won't get into I think this was a very solid show with gorgeous music by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. I think that Michael

Arden directed a brilliant production (Side Note: What was the point of having live goats and chickens? They only appeared in the pre-show and then were never seen again. Were they really needed?) and he should have won the Tony for Best Direction, although I'm happy for The Band's Visit. I think that what Arden and his design team did with the space given was absolutely gorgeous and I think this intimate space helped. However, this space also had its drawbacks... I had one minor problem which took place during the ball and that was the spacing of the scene. It felt very cramped because of everything that was on stage from the chairs and tables to the candelabras and also the fact that the women wore these huge, gorgeous dresses designed by Clint Ramos (Who I'll talk about later) when they were all on stage it made the space look so small and it made some of the crossing and staging seem odd. The most massive problem I had

Kenita R. Miller

was with the sound of this production. This production created its gorgeous music by using found instruments, created by John Bertles and Bash the Trash, along with the casts voices (And a tiny band) and these gorgeous arrangements were done by AnnMarie Milazzo and Michael Starobin. However, the problem was that because of this space and it being in the round the sound had no place to go like it does in a proscenium-style theatre. The sound would just bounce off the walls and echo and this became a massive problem when you had people singing/talking over one another and they would be saying different things and it just came across as garbled noise. Anyway, before I start talking about the different design areas of the show I want to give a huge shoutout to the massively Tony snubbed Camille A. Brown (I still think Carousel should have won, but she definitely should have been nominated) who came up with absolutely genius choreography that blended so well with Arden's direction that you don't know where one started and the other ended. I was specifically impressed by her choreography for "Ti Moune's Dance." Anyway,

The Cast

onto the designs first and foremost I have to give props to set designer Dane Laffrey for his absolutely wonderful set design that fills the entire theatre and really makes you feel like you are on the island. My favorite part about this set is that everything that is on stage is used by a cast member at one point or another. In fact, this brings us to Clint Ramos and his utterly brilliant costume designs from found objects (My particular favorite being Asaka wearing a sports jersey and a tablecloth to make a fabulous dress.) Ramos is an absolute genius and I just can't think of words to describe his genius. As much as I love Catherine Zuber and how she designs some gorgeous period clothes the Tony for Best Costume Design should have gone to Ramos. Finally, we have the fabulous lighting design by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer who are just brilliant as always and create the most stunning images with their lighting. Onto the main event the actors/actresses! First, we have the role of Little Ti Moune portrayed by the adorable Mia Williamson who was really good. Williamson has chops and is a good actress for someone so young. I can't say much else because she was pretty much mute most of the show. Next, we have Andrea Deveraux, who I really thought was gonna be portrayed as a b*tch, but I was shocked when Alysha Deslorieux went on a different route. Deslorieux showed that

Isaac Cole Powell and Quentin Earl Darrington

Andrea didn't want to hurt Ti Moune, but she also wanted it to be clear that Daniel is hers. My two favorite characters were Tonton Julian and Mama Euralie portrayed by the fabulous Phillip Boykin and the wonderful Kenita R. Miller who have the most gorgeous chemistry I have ever seen. They were absolutely hilarious with their comedic moments during "One Small Girl" and they delivered heartfelt renditions of "Ti Moune" and "A Part of Us." This brings us to the mystical gods of Once On This Island who manipulate the entire story of this show. First, we have Tamyra Grey as Papa Ge "the sly demon of death" who delivered a vocally outstanding, albeit not necessarily terrifying performance. Following Papa Ge is her foil Erzulie portrayed by the vocally mesmerizing Lea Salonga. I went in not expecting much from Salonga considering the past performances I have seen from her, but I was thoroughly surprised. (I'm going to try and say this next part in the least b*tchy way, but here goes...) I think the reason for is because the role of Erzulie doesn't require these heart-wrenching ballads (I.E. Kim and Fantine) she simply has to use her gorgeous voice to sing a simple, yet touching rendition of "The Human Heart." She had some brilliant little moments at the beginning such as talking to a little girl in the audience and when the storytellers were choosing who would play the

Norm Lewis, Lea Salonga, Alex Newell,
Hailey Kilgore and Tamyra Gray

gods and when they came to Erzulie everyone looked at Lea and she gave a response of "Oh no... Come on... Please choose someone else." However, my favorite part of her performance though has to deal with an interview she had on Show People. In this interview, she says how Erzulie and Agwe are married and they had many little shared moments in the show that showed this relationship. Speaking of Agwe we have the fabulous Quentin Earl Darrington whose silky smooth voice was practically serenading the audience as he crooned out "Rain." (I mean they seriously need to cast Jesse L. Martin in this role.) The final god featured in this story is Asaka "Mother of the Earth" played by understudy Aurelia Williams who while having a powerful voice did not seem to be in sync with the rest of the production. She was also off beat with her main number "Mama Will Provide." My least favorite performance has to go to Isaac Cole Powell in the role of Daniel Beauxhomme whose acting choices only lived up to his character's last name, French for "beautiful man." I was actually rather bored with his performance.

Hailey Kilgore

Powell has a beautiful voice, but I found his acting quite bland and cardboardish. I couldn't really feel anything for this character. Was I supposed to hate him because he broke Ti Moune's heart or should I have felt sorry for him because he has to live up to societal expectations? I didn't know how to feel about his character because Powell didn't give me much to the role. His acting choices seemed strange and as I previously stated it came out as cardboardish. Last, but certainly not least we have newcomer and leading lady Hailey Kilgore who delivers a heart-pounding marathon of a performance as Ti Moune. Kilgore delivers a knockout performance that starts with her high belting solo "Waiting for Life" at and ends with a heartbreaking "Forever Yours (Reprise)." However, the only thing that confused me about her performance was the fact that she had an accent (I believe it was Haitian, but correct me if I'm wrong) and yet no one else had an accent... I felt that the accent hurt her performance because it made it a little hard to understand what she was saying at times. I also wish that she added a bit more dynamics in her big solo "Waiting For Life" because it is a beautiful song and while Kilgore has a gorgeous voice you get more of the "I'm so excited, but a little bit nervous" feeling with dynamics instead of it being belted the entire song. Anyway, besides that Kilgore delivered a stunning performance and I picture many great things from her in the future (Nettie in The Color Purple or Dorothy in The Wiz #CastingGoals) and this won't be the last of her I guarantee. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the island and I am planning on going back because Cicily Daniels (AKA OG black Ursula from The Little Mermaid) joined the cast as understudy Mama Eueralie and Asaka and I have to see her because she is fantastic!

"So I hope that you will tell this tale tomorrow. It will help your heart remember and relive. It will help you feel the anger and the sorrow and forgive."

The Last Midnight: July

Escape to Margaritaville
Theatre: Marquis Theatre (Broadway)
Opened: March 15, 2018
Closing: July 1, 2018
Tony Awards: N/A

The Iceman Cometh
Theatre: Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (Broadway)
Opened: April 26, 2018
Closing: July 1, 2018
Tony Awards:
Best Revival of a Play [Nominated]
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for Denzel Washington as Theodore "Hickey" Hickman [Nominated]
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for David Morse as Larry Slade [Nominated]
Best Scenic Design of a Play for Santo Loquasto [Nominated]
Best Costume Design of a Play for Ann Roth [Nominated]
Best Lighting Design of a Play for Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer [Nominated]
Best Sound Design of a Play for Dan Moses Schreier [Nominated]
Best Direction of a Play for George C. Wolfe [Nominated]

An Ideal Husband
Theatre: Vaudeville Theatre (West End)
Opened: May 3, 2018
Closing: July 14, 2018
Olivier Awards: N/A

Angels in America
Theatre: Neil Simon Theatre (Broadway)
Opened: March 21, 2018
Closing: July 15, 2018
Tony Awards:
Best Revival of a Play
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for Andrew Garfield as Prior Walter
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for Nathan Lane as Roy Cohn
Best Performance by  Featured Actress in a Play for Denise Gough as Harper Pitt [Nominated]
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for Susan Brown as Various Characters [Nominated]
Best Original Score for Adrian Sutton [Nominated]
Best Set Design of a Play for Ian MacNeil and Edward Pierce [Nominated]
Best Costume Design of a Play for Nicky Gillibrand [Nominated]
Best Lighting Design of a Play for Paule Constable [Nominated]
Best Sound Design of a Play for Ian Dickson [Nominated]
Best Direction of a Play for Marianne Elliot [Nominated]

Red
Theatre: Wyndham's Theatre (West End)
Opened: May 15, 2018
Closing: July 28, 2018
Olivier Awards: N/A

Tartuffe
Theatre: Theatre Royal Haymarket (West End)
Opened: May 29, 2018
Closing: July 28, 2018
Olivier Awards: N/A

Carousel's Subtle Racism

Okay, so I'm bored and doing laundry and I figured why not make a post. First things first, I have not seen the revival of Carousel. When the revival of Carousel was first announced I immediately thought "why?" out of all the musicals in the world that deserve a revival why this one? Is this really the appropriate time to tell this story when we are in the #MeToo era? Then this news just got better when they decided to cast Joshua Henry, a large built black man, in the role of Billy Bigelow opposite Jessie Mueller, a (somewhat) tiny white woman, as Julie Jordan. (Now in case you're not aware of the story *SPOILER* Billy abuses Julie throughout their marriage *END

Joshua Henry

SPOILER*) Before you get all upset and say something like "Well why do you have to look at it as a race thing? Why are you making this a race thing?" I have two things to say 1) Great Comet 2) I am all for colorblind casting, but this show seems off with it. Considering the fact that except for Lindsay Mendez in her TONY WINNING turn as Carrie Pipperidge (#CastingGoals come true btw), John Douglas Thompson as The Starkeeper, Rosena M. Hill Jackson as Ensemble & u/s Nettie Fowler and a few other ensemble members all of the P.O.C.'s in this cast play the bad people. In case you don't know what I'm talking about: Billy Bigelow the *SPOILER* criminal and abusive husband who dies *END SPOILER* 2 of the 3 men who portray him are black (Joshua Henry and u/s Antoine L. Smith) and for Jigger Crain the *SPOILER* Guy who convinces Billy to go back into crime which eventually gets him killed *END SPOILER* 3 out of 4 of the men who portray him are M.O.C. Amar Ramasar (I'm not sure of his ethnicity), u/s Andrei Chagas (Brazilian) and u/s Ahmad Simmons (Black). Now, I'm not trying to call the producers racists because I'd like to believe that this is just something that they never thought about or realized. The reason why this bothers me so much is when you look at the rest of the cast, specifically the other principles, such as Jessie Mueller as Julie Jordan, Alexander Gemignani as Enoch Snow and Renée

Renée Fleming and Jessie Mueller

Fleming as Nettie Fowler it gives the show a racist undertone. A large, black man who beats his tiny, white wife... I'm the only one who sees a problem with this? This would have looked even worse had the producers had their first choice for Carrie Pipperidge, Betsy Wolfe (A white actress) and this would have made it even more uncomfortable for me. The reason that the casting of this show bothers me so much besides the #MeToo movement is also everything going on in the news right now and the hate crimes against black people. Does that make sense to anyone or am I just connecting dots that aren't there? Now, if the producers are trying to make some sort of political statement with this casting, then I'm at a loss, but if not then they should have rethought their casting. What I mean by that is add a few more P.O.C.'s in the show SPECIFICALLY in the roles of Julie Jordan and Nettie Fowler. There are many W.O.C. soprano's to choose from and all have gorgeous voices now just to name my own personal favorites for the role of Julie Jordan: Ali Ewoldt, Denée Benton and Phillipa Soo. Meanwhile for the role of Nettie Fowler: Audra McDonald (OBVIOUSLY I MEAN COME ON GUYS!!!) as well as Lea Salonga and Ruthie Ann Miles. In conclusion, I'm not attacking the people in this revival so don't try and make this article about that. I am simply saying that I find the casting choices made for this production a little odd that is all.