Stage Rush TV: Episode 72
Talking points:
- Adam Rothenberg from Adaumbelle’s Quest co-hosts!
- Sexy Performers Week at Broadway in Bryant Park
- Word Association with Chester Gregory‘s best roles
- One Night Stand, the documentary about the 24-hour musicals
- Broadway grosses
What do you think, Rushers? Did this week’s Bryant Park concert rock your world with the sexy people that performed? What is your favorite role of Chester Gregory’s to date? Have you ever attended the 24-hour musicals event? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to enter our Follies ticket giveaway for a chance to win one of two pairs of tickets to the show!
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Broadway in Bryant Park recap: ‘Anything Goes’ and ‘The Phantom of the Opera’
The oldie musicals came to Broadway in Bryant Park this week to show the newbies who’s boss. The lively casts of The Phantom of the Opera, The Fantasticks, Hair, and Anything Goes performed their classic, well-trodden material with fresh enthusiasm.
At first, I wasn’t so sure about the Phantom set. Kyle Barisich and Marni Raab sang a sweet “All I Ask of You,” but the acting was so out of context on the Bryant Park stage that I had trouble holding back a few snide laughs. I shut up when Hugh Panaro took the stage for “Music of the Night.” The Broadway A-lister and long-time Phantom sang the famous number with remarkable control, and his power notes filled the park effortlessly.
VIDEO: Hugh Panaro sings “Music of the Night” from The Phantom of the Opera
Stage Rush TV: Episode 66
Talking points:
- Lucky Guy‘s unexpected, early closing almost derails Stage Rush giveaway winners
- The Phantom of the Opera ticket giveaway concludes
- The four Tony-nominated Book of Mormon actors interviewed by Seth Rudetsky
- Stage Rush is traveling to LA for theater coverage
- Stage Rush will predict Tony winners on WGHT radio Wednesday, June 8 @ 9:30 a.m.
- Broadway grosses
What do you think, Rushers? Are you surprised of Lucky Guy‘s closing, in light of its aggressive marketing? Did you see/hear Seth Rudetsky’s interview with the four Tony-nominated Mormon actors? Which Mormon actor is your favorite? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
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Stage Rush TV: Episode 65
Talking points:
- Word association with Wonderland‘s Kate Shindle
- Acrobats tumble at Cirque du Soleil’s Zarkana press event
- Win a pair of tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera
- Broadway grosses
What do you think, Rushers? Is Kate Shindle the perfect combination of beauty and humor? Do you think Zarkana is going to be one of Cirque du Soleil’s best shows, or another Banana Shpeel? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and have a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend!
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Ticket giveaway: The Phantom of the Opera
There are lots of shiny, new musicals on Broadway this season, and while a lot of them have superior star power to offer, it’s hard to top that of an institution. Stage Rush is giving a way a free pair of tickets to the Broadway mainstay The Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theatre!
Here are the easy steps you need to take to have your chance to win these tickets:
- Enter on Facebook by writing on Stage Rush’s Facebook wall (“Like” us, if you haven’t already done so)
- Enter on Twitter by retweeting a link to the Phantom of the Opera contest page (a retweet button is located at the top of this page) OR one of Stage Rush’s tweets about the contest (@StageRush must be mentioned somewhere within your tweet, or else we won’t receive your entry)
- Subscribe to Stage Rush’s weekly newsletter. (Previous subscribers will automatically be entered into the contest.)
You can enter this contest one time via each method. So if you enter through Facebook, Twitter, and the newsletter subscription, you will have three entries in the contest. No more than three entries per person will count. If you play through Facebook, you must be able to be contacted via private message. If you play through Twitter, I must be able to direct message (DM) you (you must be following @StageRush in order for this to happen).
The giveaway will end on Friday, June 3. I will notify the winner through email, Facebook, and/or Twitter private message.
All participants must be able to see the show between the dates of June 3 and June 23, 2011 (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evening performances only). The tickets are not valid for resale.
What are you waiting for, Rushers? Get over to the Stage Rush Facebook wall, retweet us on Twitter, and sign up for the weekly newsletter—it couldn’t be easier!
Tickets are provided by The Phantom of the Opera.
Concert recap: Broadway on Broadway
The new Broadway season swoops in with quite a homecoming when it takes over the area it inhabits. During the annual Broadway on Broadway concert, Broadway the art takes full control of Broadway the district. In its nineteenth year, the free outdoor concert in Times Square offered strong performances, many of theater’s biggest stars, and a lack of new offerings.
Sponsored by The Broadway League and billed as a kick-off to the new theater season, Broadway on Broadway should (and usually does) feature the new musical productions that will be bowing in the coming months. It’s an exciting sneak peak of shows that are opening in a few weeks, and some much further into the year. Last year, new productions like Finian’s Rainbow and Memphis were among those that debuted their songs and cast to the Times Square audience. This year, just two new musicals performed, out of the 10+ productions slated for Broadway this year.
Only one of those two productions, Elf, features original music. Beth Leavel was on hand to perform “There Is A Santa Claus,” which was pretty paint-by-numbers in melody, but embodied a strong seasonal flavor. Will Swenson (with newly cropped hair, much to the female audience’s audible disdain) performed “I Say A Little Prayer” from Priscilla Queen of the Desert—a jukebox musical. Not two of the strongest numbers of the day, but still exciting, being they were new.
Where was the cast of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, who is clearly ready to go? The Scottsboro Boys are still performing at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, so they get a pass on this event. But why couldn’t Reeve Carney represent Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark like he did on Good Morning America on Friday? Were the A-list stars of Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown above the free concert? Being that all these shows are set to open in the next two months, a one-song performance couldn’t have been too far out of their reach. Instead of performances, Sutton Foster, from the upcoming revival of Anything Goes (another production that didn’t perform—like she doesn’t know how to sing “Blow, Gabriel, Blow?) appeared on stage to read from the list of all these shows that are coming to Broadway and wouldn’t be performing. Some tease. Read more
Broadway in Bryant Park recap: Memphis and Billy Elliot
The second installment of the free summer Broadway-at-lunchtime extravaganza (aka Broadway in Bryant Park) enjoyed much less steamy weather than its premiere week. I also indulged in one of the park’s signature green chair this time, which resulted in a much further spot for filming, which I didn’t realize was a consequence until later. Let me know if the videos are too difficult to see, or if you enjoyed the full-stage perspective.
This week’s concert, which boasted a hefty lineup, kicked off with the oddball of the group—The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, featuring the Rockettes. I can’t be the only one who isn’t keen on Christmas in July. Thankfully, the Rockettes showed the audience mercy and refrained from performing to any Yuletide tunes. Instead, they relegated their performance to a brief routine of high kicks and chorus lines to an instrumental number (no Christmas carol I could make out), and exited the stage roughly three minutes after they began. Someone’s not getting coal in their stocking, come December.
The first real show to take the stage was the king of Broadway, The Phantom of the Opera. Phantom actor John Cudia was not in attendance, but Paul Schaefer knocked it out of the park with “Music of the Night.” Interestingly, Phantom only got two songs, which, as I would find out, left more time for newer shows. Usually, all shows get four numbers. This week, the allotted numbers were quite unbalanced.
The cast of South Pacific was up to bat next, and they were easily the best performers of the day. I’ve thought for a while that the South Pacific chorus is the strongest I’ve ever seen on Broadway. Danny Burstein and his men proved it once again with “There Is Nothing Like A Dame,” making full use of the stage, something that Memphis could have done (but more on that later). Laura Osnes (ah, a star!) was up for the Bryant Park challenge and sang “A Wonderful Guy.” Seeing her perform was a first for me, and I was quite impressed with her vocals.
Video: “There Is Nothing Like A Dame”
Read more
Understudy Hall: ‘At This Performance’: Spring 2010
Stage Rush TV: Episode 4
- The Broadway portion of Las Vegas
- The Scottsboro Boys has a rush policy, but no rush tickets
- Evan Rachel Wood backs out of Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark
- Steven Sater: Spring Awakening film could begin production as soon as fall
- Broadway grosses