Tuesday, May 24, 2016

My Tony Awards

Ok, I know I've been doing a lot with The Tony's lately, but I'm slowly easing my way back into this so give me some time. I know I have plans to go see Sister Act at Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia this Saturday and I will write a review on that for all of you. Anyway here is who I think should win in what category and a brief explantation why (Or if it's just because it's Hamilton).
*Side note: I am only doing the categories that I am familiar with.*

Best Musical
Winner: Hamilton
Why: It's Hamilton, and as much as I think this show can be a little overrated at times it does deserve this award.

Best Revival of a Play
Winner: A View from the Bridge
Why: Ivo Van Hove's direction of this Arthur Miller classic was visionary and it was a completely new production of the show and I have not heard a bad word about it.

Best Revival of a Musical
Winner: The Color Purple
Why: I know some people say that it will be Spring Awakening, but that show closed and as much as I hate to say it closed shows don't get much Tony love. However I could be wrong on this, but my bets are on The Color Purple

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Winner: Mark Strong for A View from the Bridge
Why: Mark Strong has recieved nothing but rave reviews for his portrayel of Eddie Carbone and he won the Olivier Award for this role so why would he not win the Tony?

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Winner: I CAN'T DECIDE!!!!!!
Why: All of these women are so talented! Can they all just have a five way tie?

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Winner: Danny Burnstein for Fiddler on the Roof
Why: It's about DAMN time that he won his Tony. This is the mans 6th nomination! If he does not win Mama will have a fit. He is such a great actor and an amazing singer and I know this will be his year!

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Winner: Cynthia Erivo for The Color Purple
Why: This woman has pure talent! She is such a beautiful woman and an even more beautiful actress. Her role as Celie in The Color Purple is such a heavy role to play. She not only carries that burden she pushes it up and right through the ceiling of the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. This woman is a Celie for all times.

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Winner: Megan Hilty for Noises Off
Why: Noises Off is a shit storm of a show. (I mean that in a good way.) This show was meant to push actors/actresses to their limits and to test them on a whole new level. Noises Off requires strong comedic skills and even stronger comedic timing. Hilty not only proved she can do all this, but she took her role as Brooke Ashton in a whole different direction then how she is normaly played. Hilty has received rave reviews for her performance and I can not wait to see her win this award.

Best Performance by a Feaured Actor in a Musical
Winner: Daveed Diggs for Hamilton
Why: Daveed is an amazing actor. He has set the bar so high for his portrayels of Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson in the smash hit musical Hamilton. He has such great vocal chops as well as a great sense of humor and comedic timing. His rendition of "What'd I Miss" is absolutely amazing and I can't get enough of him!

Best Performance by a Feaured Actress in a Musical
Winner: Renée Elise Goldsberry for Hamilton
Why: The only reason you NEED to go see Hamilton is Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler-Church. Renée brings something new to the stage as Angelica. Hearing her go from "Schuyler Sisters" to "Satisfied" and then to "Take a Break" is amazing. Renée is so incredibley talented and her role is such a pivotal role and she portrays it to perfection if anyone else had been cast in this role the whole dynamic of the show would be off.

Best Original Score
Winner: Lin-Manuel Miranda for Hamilton
Why: Come on this score is perfection.

I'll probably update this list tomorrow maybe? I don't know. I really love feedback and would love to know what you guys think of my blog. What can I do better? What should I try and add? Please let me know. You can always email me at purplepaul99@gmail.com Thank you fellow thespians for your support and for me reaching over 2,000 views for this blog. (For me that's a lot) I just want to say thanks for all your support.

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Casting Goals: Hairspray Live!

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! I JUST HAD THE MOST AMAZING IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!! LAURA BENANTI AS VELMA VON TUSSLE IN HAIRSPRAY LIVE!!!!!!!!!!! THAT WOULD BE SO AWESOME! She has the perfect comedic talent for that role and would be a sure knock out as Velma. I can't believe I didn't think of this until now. Oh my god that's so awesome! Let's also have Shanice Williams as Little Inez that would be really cool and we could bring back another person from The Wiz Live! Ok since I'm on the subject of casting for Hairspray Live! I'm just gonna make a whole post dedicated to it. I'd like to know everyone's thoughts on my casting.


Laura Benanti as Velma Von Tussle
(She Loves Me, Nashville, The Sound of Music Live!)
Shanice Williams as Little Inez
(The Wiz Live!)
Bryshere Y. Gray as Seaweed J. Stubbs
(Empire)
Dove Cameron as Amber Von Tussle
(Descendants, Liv and Maddie)


Nick Jonas as Link Larkin
(How To Succeed..., Les Miserables)

Taylor Louderman as Penny Pingleton
(Peter Pan Live!, Bring it On)




Saturday, May 21, 2016

Hairspray Live!: What We Know So Far

I have decided to compile a list of everything I know so far about Hairspray Live!
  • Cast
    • Tracy will be played by an unknown
    • Harvey Fierstein as Edna Turnblad
    • Martin Short as Wilbur Turnblad
    • Jennifer Hudson as Motormouth Maybelle
    • Ariana Grande as Penny Pingleton
    • Derek Hough as Corny Collins
  • Creative Team
    • Kenny Leon will return as director
    • Harvey Fierstein will return to write the teleplay
    • Jerry Mitchell will recreate his choreography for the event.
    • Alex Rudzinski will be the live TV director
  • Location
    • They will switch from filming in New York to filming in Los Angeles
    • They will have multiple filming locations
    • They will have indoor and outdoor locations
  • Other
    • Hairspray Live! will air on December 7, 2016
    • They will have a live studio audience
    • The studio audience will be a part of the story and share dialogue with the characters

As If We Never Said Goodbye: Part 2

 OH MY GOD! School has had me so swamped lately. I promise (And this time I will try and keep that promise) that you will see more of me! I am super excited for what's to come with this blog. I am going to Europe this summer and I plan on seeing some of the theatre life there! I honestly can't wait. I am also super excited for the Tony Awards this year (Unpopular opinion: I think Hamilton was over nominated. It should not have been nominated for set design.) I'm already preparing myself for the hate mail I am going to receive for saying that. Anyway I have updated the look of this blog (again) I think this one is a lot easier on the eyes then the last one I had. I will start talking about the Cats revival soon as well as the Miss Saigon revival and I will continue to talk about Live TV Musicals. I can't wait! See you all soon!

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

70th Annual Tony Award Comparisons

Hello one and all! I am going to compare my Tony Award predictions to the actual Tony Award nominations. My predictions were pretty spot on. When a line is crossed out ABC that means I was wrong about the prediction. Anything in red means that a I did not predict that certain nomination. I was very surprised at the amount of nominations for Hamilton. I don't think it should have been nominated for Best Set Design. I was surprised at the lack of nominations for On Your Feet!, particulary with the fact that Ana Villafañe was not nominated. Normally the Tony's love a good biographical musical/play especially when it comes to the actors themselves, they do love those empowering women in history.*
  1. Best Play
    • An Act of God
    • Eclipsed
    • The Father
    • Fully Committed
    • The Humans
    • King Charles III
    • Misery
  2. Best Musical
    • American Psycho
    • Bright Star
    • Hamilton
    • School of Rock
    • Shuffle Along
    • Tuck Everlasting
    • Waitress
  3. Best Revival of a Play
    • Blackbird
    • The Crucible
    • Long Day's Journey into Night
    • The Gin Game
    • Noises Off
    • A View from the Bridge
  4. Best Revival of a Musical
    • The Color Purple
    • Dames at Sea
    • Fiddler on the Roof
    • She Loves Me
    • Spring Awakening
  5. Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
    • Gabriel Byrne- Long Day's Journey into Night as James Tyrone
    • Jeff Daniels- Blackbird as Smith
    • Frank Langella- The Father as Andre
    • Jesse Tyler Ferguson- Fully Committed as Various Characters
    • Tom Pigott-Smith- King Charles III as Charles
    • Mark Strong- A View from the Bridge as Eddie Carbone
    • Ben Whishaw- The Crucible as John Proctor
    • Bruce Willis- Misery as Paul Sheldon
  6. Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
    • Jessica Lange- Long Day's Journey into Night as Mary Cavan Tyrone
    • Laurie Metcalf- Misery as Annie Wilkes
    • Lupita Nyong'o- Eclipsed as The Girl
    • Sophie Okonedo- The Crucible as Elizabeth Procto
    • Nicola Walker- A View from the Bridge as Beatrice Carbone
    • Michelle Williams- Blackbird as Una Spencer
  7. Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
    • Alex Brightman- School of Rock as Dewey Finn
    • Danny Burstein- Fiddler on the Roof as Tevye
    • Zachary Levi- She Loves Me as Georg Nowack
    • Lin-Manuel Miranda- Hamilton as Alexander Hamilton
    • Leslie Odom Jr.- Hamilton as Aaron Burr
    • Benjamin Walker- American Psycho as Patrick Bateman
  8. Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
    • Laura Benanti- She Loves Me as Amalia Balash
    • Carmen Cusack- Bright Star as Alice Murphy
    • Cynthia Erivo- The Color Purple as Celie Harris Johnson
    • Jessie Mueller- Waitress as Jenna Hunterson
    • Phillipa Soo- Hamilton as Eliza Schuyler Hamilton
    • Ana Villafañe- On Your Feet! as Gloria Estefan
  9. Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
    • Reed Birney- The Humans as Erik Blake
    • Bill Camp- The Crucible as Reverand John Hale
    • Daniel Davis- Noises Off as Selsdon Mowbray
    • David Furr- Noises Off as Gary Lejeune
    • Richard Goulding- King Charles III as Prince Harry
    • Jim Norton- The Crucible as Giles Corey
    • Campbell Scott- Noises Off as Lloyd Dallas
    • Robert Sella- Sylvia as Tom/ Phyllis/ Leslie
    • Michael Shannon- Long Day's Journey into Night as James Tyrone Jr.
  10. Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
    • Pascale Armand- Eclipsed as Bessie
    • Phoebe Fox- A View from the Bridge as Catherine
    • Meghan Hilty- Noises Off as Brooke Ashton
    • Zainab Jah- Eclipsed as Maima
    • Andrea Martin- Noises Off as Dotty Otley
    • Saycon Sengbloh- Eclipsed as Helena
  11. Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
    • Nicholas Barasch- She Loves Me as Arpad Laszlo
    • Roger Bart- Disaster as Tony
    • Daveed Diggs- Hamilton as Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson
    • Brandon Victor Dixon- Shuffle Along as Eubie Blake
    • Christopher Fitzgerald- Waitress as Ogie
    • Jonathan Groff- Hamilton as King George III
    • Christopher Jackson- Hamilton as George Washington
    • Terrence Mann- Tuck Everlasting as Man in the Yellow Suit
  12. Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
    • Danielle Brooks- The Color Purple as Sofia
    • Renée Elise Goldsberry- Hamilton as Angelica Schuyler Church
    • Jennifer Hudson- The Color Purple as Shug Avery
    • Jane Krakowski- She Loves Me as Ilona Ritter
    • Jennifer Simard- Disaster! as Sister Mary Downy
    • Heléne Yorke- American Psycho as Evelyn Williams
  13. Best Book of a Musical
    • Alexander Dinelaris- On Your Feet!
    • Tim Federle and Claudia Shear- Tuck Everlasting
    • John Fellow- School of Rock
    • Steve Martin- Bright Star
    • Lin-Manuel Miranda- Hamilton
    • Jack Plotnick & Seth Rudetsky- Disaster!
    • George C. Wolfe- Shuffle Along
  14. Best Original Score
    • Sara Bareilles- Waitress
    • Edie Brickell & Steve Martin- Bright Star
    • Chris Miller & Nathan Tysen- Tuck Everlasting
    • Lin-Manuel Miranda- Hamilton
    • Duncan Sheik- American Psycho
    • Andrew Lloyd Webber- School of Rock
  15. Best Set Design of a Play
    • Beowulf Boritt- Thérèse Raquin
    • David Korins- Misery
    • Derek McLane- Noises Off
    • Christopher Oram- Hughie
    • Jan Versweyveld- A View from the Bridge
    • David Zinn- The Humans
  16. Best Set Design of a Musical
    • Es Devlin and Finn Ross- American Psycho
    • David Korin- Hamilton
    • Santo Loquasto- Shuffle Along
    • Anna Louizos- School of Rock
    • Scott Pask- Waitress
    • David Rockwell- She Loves Me
    • Walt Spangler- Tuck Everlasting
  17. Best Costume Design of a Play
    • An D'huys- A View from the Bridge
    • Michael Krass- Noises Off
    • Jane Greenwood- Long Day's Journey into Night
    • Jane Greenwood- Thérèse Raquin
    • Clint Ramos- Eclipsed
    • Ann Roth- Misery
    • Tom Scutt- King Charles III
  18. Best Costume Design of a Musical
    • Greg Barnes- Tuck Everlasting
    • Jane Greenwood- Bright Star
    • Katrina Lindsay- American Psycho
    • Jeff Mahshie- She Loves Me
    • Ann Roth- Shuffle Along
    • Emilio Sosa- On Your Feet!
    • Paul Tazewell- Hamilton
  19. Best Lighting Design of a Play
    • Jane Cox- Noises Off
    • Natasha Katz- Long Day's Journey into Night
    • Justin Townsend- The Humans
    • Keith Parham- Thérèse Raquin
    • Jan Versweyveld- The Crucible
    • Jan Versweyveld- A View from the Bridge
    • David Weiner- Misery
  20. Best Lighting Design of a Musical
    • Howell Binkley- Hamilton
    • Peggy Eisnhower and Jules Fisher- Shuffle Along
    • Donald Holder- She Loves Me
    • Kenneth Posner- On Your Feet!
    • Ben Statton- Spring Awakening
    • Justin Townsend- American Psycho
  21. Best Direction of a Play
    • Evan Cabnet- Thérèse Raquin
    • Rupert Goold- King Charles III
    • Jonathan Kent- Long Day's Journey into Night
    • Ivo van Hove- The Crucible
    • Ivo van Hove- A View from the Bridge
    • Joe Mantello- The Humans
    • Liesl Tommy- Eclipsed
  22. Best Direction of a Musical
    • Michael Arden- Spring Awakening
    • John Doyle- The Color Purple
    • Scott Ellis- She Loves Me
    • Rupert Goold- American Psycho
    • Thomas Kail- Hamilton
    • George C. Wolfe- Shuffle Along
  23. Best Choreography
    • Andy Blankenbuehler- Hamilton
    • Savion Glover- Shuffle Along
    • Spencer Liff- Spring Awakening
    • Josh Rhodes- Bright Star
    • Hofesh Shechtor- Fiddler on the Roof
    • Randy Skinner- Dames at Sea
    • Sergio Trujillo- On Your Feet!
  24. Best Orchestrations
    • August Ericksome- Bright Star
    • Philip Glass- The Crucible
    • Larry Hochman- She Loves Me
    • Joseph Joubert- The Color Purple
    • Alex Lacamoire- Hamilton
    • Ted Sperling- Fiddler on the Roof
    • Daryl Walters- Shuffle Along
    • Andrew Lloyd Webber- School of Rock

* Here is a list of well known examples
  • Gypsy- A musical based of the memoir's of Gypsy Rose Lee
    • Rose
      • Ethel Merman- 1960
      • Angela Lansbury- 1974 WON
      • Tyne Daly- 1989 WON
      • Bernadette Peters- 2003
      • Patti LuPone- 2008 WON
    • Louise
      • Sandra Church- 1960
      • Zan Charisse- 1974
      • Crista Moore- 1989
      • Tammy Blanchard- 2003
      • Laura Benanti- 2008 WON
    • Herby
      • Jack Klugman- 1960
      • Jonathan Hadery- 1989
      • John Dossett- 2003
      • Boyd Gaines- 2008 WON
  • Fun Home- A musical based off a graphic memoir about Bechdel's relationship with her gay father and her attempts to unlock the mysteries surrounding his life
    • Michael Cerveris- Bruce Bechdel WON
    • Beth Malone- Alison Bechdel
    • Judy Kuhn- Helen Bechdel
    • Sydney Lucas-Small Alison
    • Emily Skeggs-Medium Alison
  • Other shows that have had acting nods that are biographical shows are
    • Lady Day at Emmerson's Bar and Grill
    • Beautiful: The Carol King Musical
    • The Elephant Man
    • A Night with Janis Joplin
    • Rocky: The Musical
    • Bonnie & Clyde
Sorry I went all theatre geek at the end there, but hey whatever! This blog is The Diary of a Theatre Kid. I'll see you on Tony Night my lovelies. Mama's gotta do some Algebra II homework.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

My 70th Annual Tony Award Predictions

Howdy! How are you doing today? I figured with it being awards season and all I should maybe do my Tony predictions. Now these predictions are based on four things 1) My own opinion 2) Who was already been nominated for awards 3) What others have already predicted 4) The reviews. Are you ready? Let's begin with the design categories. *Notes: 1) My choice winners are in blue, 2) The people who I believe will win are in red 3) If the choice is in pink text then they are my personal choice winners and the people who I believe will win* I am honestly not excited for James Corden to be the host of this year's Tony Awards I kind of wish they went with a female host, but I'm still gonna watch it for Hamilton.

  1. Best Play
    • An Act of God
    • Eclipsed
    • Fully Committed
    • The Humans
    • Misery
  2. Best Musical
    • American Psycho
    • Bright Star
    • Hamilton
    • Tuck Everlasting
    • Waitress
  3. Best Revival of a Play
    • Blackbird
    • The Crucible
    • The Gin Game
    • Noises Off
    • A View from the Bridge
  4. Best Revival of a Musical
    • The Color Purple
    • Dames at Sea
    • Fiddler on the Roof
    • She Loves Me
    • Spring Awakening
  5. Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
    • Jesse Tyler Ferguson- Fully Committed as Various Characters
    • Tom Pigott-Smith- King Charles III as Charles
    • Mark Strong- A View from the Bridge as Eddie Carbone
    • Ben Whishaw- The Crucible as John Proctor
    • Bruce Willis- Misery as Paul Sheldon
  6. Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
    • Jessica Lange- Long Day's Journey into Night as Mary Cavan Tyrone
    • Laurie Metcalf- Misery as Annie Wilkes
    • Lupita Nyong'o- Eclipsed as The Girl
    • Sophie Okonedo- The Crucible as Elizabeth Proctor
    • Nicola Walker- A View from the Bridge as Beatrice Carbone
  7. Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
    • Danny Burstein- Fiddler on the Roof as Tevye
    • Zachary Levi- She Loves Me as Georg Nowack
    • Lin-Manuel Miranda- Hamilton as Alexander Hamilton
    • Leslie Odom Jr.- Hamilton as Aaron Burr
    • Benjamin Walker- American Psycho as Patrick Bateman
  8. Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
    • Laura Benanti- She Loves Me as Amalia Balash
    • Carmen Cusack- Bright Star as Alice Murphy
    • Cynthia Erivo- The Color Purple as Celie
    • Phillipa Soo- Hamilton as Eliza Schuyler Hamilton
    • Ana Villafañe- On Your Feet! as Gloria Estefan
  9. Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
    • Daniel Davis- Noises Off as Selsdon Mowbray
    • Jim Norton- The Crucible as Giles Corey
    • Campbell Scott- Noises Off as Lloyd Dallas
    • Robert Sella- Sylvia as Tom/ Phyllis/ Leslie
    • Michael Shannon- A Long Day's Journey into Night as James Tyrone Jr.
  10. Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
    • Pascale Armand- Eclipsed as Bessie
    • Phoebe Fox- A View from the Bridge as Catherine
    • Meghan Hilty- Noises Off as Brooke Ashton
    • Zainab Jah- Eclipsed as Maima
    • Saycon Sengbloh- Eclipsed as Helena
  11. Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
    • Nicholas Barasch- She Loves Me as Arpad Laszlo
    • Roger Bart- Disaster as Tony
    • Daveed Diggs- Hamilton as Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson
    • Christopher Fitzgerald- Waitress as Ogie
    • Terrence Mann- Tuck Everlasting as Man in the Yellow Suit
  12. Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
    • Danielle Brooks- The Color Purple as Sofia
    • Renée Elise Goldsberry- Hamilton as Angelica Schuyler Church
    • Jennifer Hudson- The Color Purple as Shug Avery
    • Jane Krakowski- She Loves Me as Ilona Ritter
    • Heléne Yorke- American Psycho as Evelyn Williams
  13. Best Book of a Musical
    • Alexander Dinelaris- On Your Feet!
    • Tim Federle and Claudia Shear- Tuck Everlasting
    • Steve Martin- Bright Star
    • Lin-Manuel Miranda- Hamilton
    • Jack Plotnick & Seth Rudetsky- Disaster!
  14. Best Original Score
    • Sara Bareilles- Waitress
    • Edie Brickell & Steve Martin- Bright Star
    • Chris Miller & Nathan Tysen- Tuck Everlasting
    • Lin-Manuel Miranda- Hamilton
    • Duncan Sheik- American Psycho
  15. Best Set Design of a Play
    • Beowulf Boritt- Thérèse Raquin
    • David Korins- Misery
    • Derek McLane- Noises Off
    • Christopher Oram- Hughie
    • Jan Versweyveld- A View from the Bridge
  16. Best Set Design of a Musical
    • Es Devlin- American Psycho
    • Anna Louizos- School of Rock
    • Scott Pask- Waitress
    • David Rockwell- She Loves Me
    • Walt Spangler- Tuck Everlasting
  17. Best Costume Design of a Play
    • Michael Crass- Noises Off
    • An D'huys- A View from the Bridge
    • Jane Greenwood- Thérèse Raquin
    • Ann Roth- Misery
    • Tom Scutt- King Charles III
  18. Best Costume Design of a Musical
    • Jane Greenwood- Bright Star
    • Katrina Lindsay- American Psycho
    • Jeff Mahshie- She Loves Me
    • Emilio Sosa- On Your Feet!
    • Paul Tazewell- Hamilton
  19. Best Lighting Design of a Play
    • Jane Cox- Noises Off
    • Natasha Katz- A Long Day's Journey into Night
    • Keith Parham- Thérèse Raquin
    • Jan Versweyveld- A View from the Bridge
    • David Weiner- Misery
  20. Best Lighting Design of a Musical
    • Howell Binkley- Hamilton
    • Jon Clark- American Psycho
    • Donald Holder- She Loves Me
    • Kenneth Posner- On Your Feet!
    • Ben Statton- Spring Awakening
  21. Best Direction of a Play
    • Evan Cabnet- Thérèse Raquin
    • Rupert Goold- King Charles III
    • Ivo van Hove- The Crucible
    • Ivo van Hove- A View from the Bridge
    • Joe Mantello- The Humans
  22. Best Direction of a Musical
    • Michael Arden- Spring Awakening
    • John Doyle- The Color Purple
    • Scott Ellis- She Loves Me
    • Rupert Goold- American Psycho
    • Thomas Kail- Hamilton
  23. Best Choreography
    • Andy Blankenbuehler- Hamilton
    • Savion Glover- Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
    • Spencer Liff- Spring Awakening
    • Josh Rhodes- Bright Star
    • Sergio Trujillo- On Your Feet!
  24. Best Orchestrations
    • Philip Glass- The Crucible
    • Joseph Joubert- The Color Purple
    • Alex Lacamoire- Hamilton
    • Ted Sperling- Fiddler on the Roof
    • Andrew Lloyd Webber- School of Rock



  • Nominations per production
    • 14- Hamilton
    • 9- She Loves Me
    • 8- American Psycho, A View from the Bridge
    • 7- Noises Off
    • 6- Bright Star, The Color Purple, The Crucible, Misery
    • 5- Eclipsed, On Your Feet!, Waitress
    • 4- King Charles III, Spring Awakening, Thérèse Raquin, Tuck Everlasting
    • 3- Fiddler on the Roof, Long Day's Journey into Night
    • 2- Disaster!, The Humans, School of Rock
    • 1- An Act of God, Blackbird, Dames at Sea, Fully Committed, The Gin Game, Hughie, Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, Sylvia

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Run and Tell That: Grease Live

(From Left to Right, up and down)
Keke Palmer, Kether Donohue, Julianne Hough, Andrew Call, Carly Rae Jepsen, Carlos PenaVega, Aaron Tveit, David Del Rio, Jordan Fisher, Vanessa Hudgens
*I apologize if this just seems like one long rant I'm not good with organizing my thoughts* Is Grease really the word? Grease Live was not a smash hit, but it was not a box office flop either. It was simply a show of mediocrity. The opening scene with Danny & Sandy were on the beach I thought I was about to start watching a bad 80's romance movie. I was not having it and then Jessie J while singing a spectacular rendition of "Grease is the Word" was roaming around the sets just felt like an MTV teen special from the 00's. What also did not help the production was the constant interruptions by Mario Lopez and talking like a cheesy game show host and seeing behind the sets would totally take you out of the moment of the show. What was also annoying was how some of the sets and costumes for the musical were exact copies from the movie (Originality at it's finest) In the beginning Julianne Hough
as the prissy, pure Sandy just felt bland and boring and their was nothing special about her. Later on though Hough's performance improved greatly especially during her rendition of "Hopelessly Devoted to You" was very good and powerful, but lacked emotion at times. When she got to be the sexy, skin-tight leather pants wearing Sandy she was definitely more in her element and was better overall. But she was still no match for Olivia Newton-John. The Broadway veteran Aaron Tviet [Hairspray, Next to Normal, Wicked] as greaser Danny Zuko was good casting, but his acting was nothing special. The other T-Birds, who took the gang name from the movie and not the Burger Palace Boys from the musical, Jordan Fisher, Andrew Call [Rock of Ages, American Idiot] and David Del Rio [In the Heights] who played Doody, Sonny and Putzie while they did pretty good jobs their character portrayals were nothing special and to be frank they were rather boring. However on the bright side of things the second in command of the T-Birds, whose hickies are like Hallmark cards, Carlos PenaVega as Kenickie did a very good job on portraying his character and tried something new with the character, while that was worth mentioning he lacked on making the character memorable. The infamous T-Birds song "Greased Lightning" was lacking quality and skill and I felt like they were trying to imitate the movie throughout the whole sequence. Also why was their these random girls doing pelvic thrusts in the middle of the number. "Greased Lightning" is supposed to be about the men trying to sell sex that means no girls allowed, but hey that is just my opinion on it. Vanessa Hudgens [Gigi] as the Pink Ladies leader, Betty Rizzo, gets my props for
performing just hours after her father died, but she does what she always does and that is over act. Hudgens has amazing talent and she always tries too hard on her roles she has the potential to be a great Rizzo, but I think she needs the right director who will work with her on her roles. Hudgens did get better as the night progressed, but no one can ever beat Stockard Channing from the film. Carly Rae Jepsen [Cinderella] as Frenchie was just awful she was also bland and uneventful, no one will ever match with Didi Conn (Who had cameo as Vi) and her cute nasally voice she did, but what made matters worse was that pointless song "All I Need is an Angel" for Frenchie right before the unnecessary riff filled, carbon copy of the movie costumes and all rendition of "Beauty School Dropout" sung by the 1 to many Boyz II Men. In my opinion they only needed one teen angel not three that is just excessive. Kether Donohue who played Jan, the lovable Twinkie eating Pink Lady, was again not on the same level as the movie actress Jamie Donnelly who will always be the one true Jan (Besides my amazing mentor Tara Tagliaferro) On the opposite end was Keke Palmer [Cinderella] who gave us quite the shocker as she pulled of the role of the smart, sophisticated, man hoarder (For lack of a better term) of
the Pink Ladies, Marty, while putting her own sassy twist on the role. Her rendition of "Freddy My Love" was absolutely superb and a wonderful performance and I can't wait for her Broadway return (Maybe as a replacement Dorothy in The Wiz revival.) Elle McLemore [Heathers, Bring it On] who portrayed the over-excited, optimistic annoying student council vice-president Patty Simcox was again no match for the movie actress Susan Buckner who again played the role to perfection, but McLemore was definitely a good choice to play this role. The dance legend of St. Bernadette's Charlene "Cha-Cha" DiGregorio looked like a cheap hooker with a drug problem when we first met her in that unflattering dress and teased hair. While the students of Rydell High may have lacked the staff knew what they were doing. Principal McGee played by lovely Ana Gasteyer [Wicked, The Rocky Horror Show] did a great job in her role. (However I would have loved to see Stockard Channing return to play Principal McGee that would have been pretty cool.) Wendell Pierce [Serious Money, The Boys of Winter] who played the funny Coach Calhoun was absolutely amazing and was very funny in his small role. And by far the knock-out performance of the night was that lovable, charming, charismatic secretary Miss Blanche played
by the amazing Haneefah Wood [Rent, Avenue Q] was down right funny. From when she was grooving to the bells that ring during the daily announcements, to getting down at the night of the dance, and of course her hungover state after the dance and realizing that her bra was left under the bleachers. I mean talk about a knock-out! She was absolutely hysterical, but didn't try to steal the spotlight from her co-stars. Grease Live had some good moments, but felt like a complete carbon copy of the movie from the script, as well as the costumes (The dance scene are you kidding?) and even the choreography was taken from the movie. I felt there was no originality at all. That being said for a first try this was not bad Fox. Every station will have their own The Sound of Music Live, so I hope that Fox does continue with the live musical trend these days for it gets people aware of how great musical theater is. As we know Fox is planning a remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Which will not be live and will be released October 2016) I wonder what they will plan to do next year. Perhaps Rent, Footloose, Chicago or maybe even Avenue Q. I think we can bet on Fox doing more teenage and adult musicals while NBC will stick to the family friendly. The only question I have is: Who will be the next channel to join us with live televised musicals and more importantly will they finally get the right formula?