The No. 1 Reason To See: Wit
Stage Rush TV: Episode 88
Lindsay Mendez: The rise of a fan favorite, still rising
Google Places & Stage Rush announce the Relatively Speaking ticket giveaway contest
In Relatively Speaking, four-time Oscar winner Ethan Coen and two-time Oscar nominee Elaine May join with Woody Allen for a one-of-a-kind Broadway experience directed by John Turturro. Julie Kavner, Steve Guttenberg, Mark Linn-Baker and Marlo Thomas head a cast of 16 in this hilarious evening of one-act plays that explore the often outrageous reality of relatives (each one-act play springs from a different branch of the family tree).
So, what’s better than attending a performance of Relatively Speaking with a friend at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre? How about getting to attend a performance of Relatively Speaking with a friend for free, courtesy of Google Places and Stage Rush?
Stage Rush is proud to be teaming up with Google Places, the new personalized local recommendation engine powered by the reviews of users and their friends. Google New York wants to give you the opportunity to win a pair of tickets to Relatively Speaking, just for sharing your opinions about your favorite places in New York City—and all the winners will go out to the theater together on the evening of Tuesday, January 10. And, after the show, you’ll all go out for drinks—on Google! Read more
There’s more to Louis Hobson than prescription medication and firearms
Across 733 performances, Louis Hobson played the dual role of the Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine in the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical Next to Normal. In addition to out-of-town iterations, Hobson was one of two actors to stay with the show through its entire Broadway run. After a stint in the brief run of The People in the Picture last spring, the former Seattle theater star is currently chasing down Jeremy Jordan and Laura Osnes in Bonnie & Clyde as police officer Ted Hinton (closing December 30). Hobson sat down with Stage Rush to discuss firearms, the highest highs of Next to Normal, and the satisfaction level of supporting roles on Broadway.
Ted Hinton is an interesting role in that you’re kind of the bad guy. The audience doesn’t root for you, but you’re on the side of the law; you’re doing the right thing. Sounds like a difficult mindset to get into.
Our conversation from the first rehearsal was that there is no antagonist in this show. If you need to choose an antagonist, you can say it’s society or the circumstances that everyone’s in. I wanted to push Ted as close to the middle of that line between right and wrong. I think that Clyde falls on that line as well. To me, it’s more interesting that no one in the show is all good and no one is all bad.
What’s it like playing someone who actually lived?
Ted Hinton was the last surviving member of the group that brought Bonnie and Clyde down. Ted in the show is sort of a composite of several different people. What he needed to be for this story was a little different than what he was in real life. But it’s always nice to start with something that’s real.
Is it fun to play cops and robbers on Broadway?
It’s fun having a gun. It gives you so much power. Unfortunately, I don’t get to shoot mine. Ted is one of the few guys that doesn’t get to shoot his gun. We have these big-ass guns [during the shootout scene at the end], but they don’t actually fire; they’re prop guns. Everything in that scene is firing sound effects. I don’t get to fire a blank in the show, and… that’s alright. [mock disappointed voice]
The gunshots in the show are jarring for the audience. Is it still startling for you?
We jumped when we were first [firing the blanks]. These are real bullets; they just don’t have the metal tips that fire the projectile. We were playing around with a full load of gun powder, then a half load, a quarter, an eighth—all to test different volumes. I can live with this volume now; it was so loud at the beginning. I’ve gotten used to it. Every once in a while, I get that ringing in my ears. But it’s much worse for Jeremy and Laura.
VIDEO: Louis Hobson talks about acting opposite Tony winner Alice Ripley in Next to Normal
Stage Rush TV: Episode 86
Talking points:
- Raul Esparza, Sierra Boggess, and more sing devastatingly beautiful Christmas songs at ASTEP’s annual holiday benefit concert
- Broadway grosses
What do you think, Rushers? Who had the best performance of the night at ASTEP’s Christmas concert? Would you forgo Christmas presents in exchange for hearing Raul Esparza sing (like I would)? What’s your favorite Christmas song that you’d like to see one of these guys perform? (An album of songs featured in the concert is available on iTunes and at Sh-K-Boom Records.) Leave your swooning and inappropriate thoughts in the comments below!
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Concert recap: Raul Esparza, Sierra Boggess rock ASTEP New York City Christmas
Raul Esparza shook his ass, Sherie Rene Scott compared Lindsay Mendez to her right breast, and Seth Numrich showed up to announce he can’t sing. Yes, everyone was in the holiday spirit at ASTEP’s fourth annual New York City Christmas concert at Joe’s Pub December 12. (An album of songs featured in the concert is available on iTunes and at Sh-K-Boom Records.) The evening of Broadway A-listers performing Christmas songs to innovative arrangements proved as solid and gorgeous as ever, mixed in with a lot of good humor. Here’s what went down.
Sherie Rene Scott, Lindsay Mendez, and Betsy Wolfe (previously seen together in Everyday Rapture) kicked off the show with Mariah Carey’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” in such sassy, female rocker fashion, it made me wish the three would form a permanent girl rock group. The bond between the three women seemed strong, as their chemistry flared during their feisty number and between songs, they exchanged playful banter. Scott told a story in which an early scene for Everyday Rapture had Mendez and Wolfe playing her breasts, with character names simply “Left” and “Right.” Scott credited her strong relationship with Mendez saying, “Lindsay will always be my Right.”
VIDEO: Sherie Rene Scott, Lindsay Mendez, and Betsie Wolfe sing “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
The No. 1 Reason To See: On A Clear Day You Can See Forever
In director Michael Mayer’s revival (read: overhaul) of the Burton Lane/Alan Jay Lerner musical On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, Harry Connick Jr. plays Dr. Mark Bruckner who hypnotizes a male patient (David Turner) to help him quit smoking. While under hypnosis, Bruckner taps into David’s previous life as a beautiful jazz singer named Melinda Wells (played by Jessie Mueller). Grieving his late wife, Bruckner’s finds escape and comfort in his interactions with Melinda and falls in love with her. Nevermind that the straight Bruckner has fallen in love with the gay David’s previous incarnation, which technically is manifested within David. Thus commences one awesome head-scratcher of a love triangle. (Stage Rush TV: On A Clear Day workshop at Vassar College)
The No. 1 Reason To See On A Clear Day You Can See Forever: The three-way dance between Harry Connick Jr., Jessie Mueller, and David Turner Read more
The No. 1 Reason To See: Stick Fly
Just in time for the holidays comes Stick Fly, a new play about family members coming together with their new significant others for an oh-so-comfortable visit. Lydia R. Diamond’s dramady centers on a wealthy black family visiting in Martha’s Vineyard when the two sons bring their girlfriends home to meet the parents. One is black, one is white. Let the fireworks of heated racial arguments, class discussions, and revelations of family secrets begin!
The No. 1 Reason To See Stick Fly: Condola Rashad’s breakout performance Read more