The No. 1 Reason To See: The Best Man
The year might be 1960, but not much has changed in the arena of dirty politickin’ in this revival of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man. Eric McCormack and John Larroquette face off as two party candidates vying for the presidential primary nomination. Each has a handful of dirt to throw and heavyweights like James Earl Jones, Angela Lansbury, Candice Bergen, Michael McKean, and Kerry Butler have gathered to watch.
The No. 1 Reason To See The Best Man: John Larroquette’s struggle with the dark side of politics Read more 
Hunter Ryan Herdlicka’s last page of ‘Night Music’
Hunter Ryan Herdlicka is preparing for the closing of A Little Night Music—for real this time. Last June, the cast of the acclaimed production was given a second life when Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch signed on to replace departing stars Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury—just two weeks before the show was set to close. For Herdlicka, who is making his Broadway debut at 24 as the morose Henrick, the extension was a fairytale ending to a story that already had one.
“We thought we were done,” Herdlicka said. “I was on my phone and I clicked onto BroadwayWorld.com and I saw that headline that we were going to stay open with Bernadette and Elaine. It was a shock.”
With Night Music, Herdlicka experienced an aspiring young actors dream. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon University in 2009, Herdlicka was cast in the role of Henrick in the revival of A Little Night Music before he even moved to New York. He was, in fact, the first person cast in the show. “It wasn’t until that summer that I started hearing names like Uma Thurman, these celebrities that were going to come and be in the show,” Herdlicka said. “I was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa! They’re not just bringing over the people from the London [Menier Chocolate Factory] production?’ It didn’t hit me till a few months into the run that it was such a huge deal.”
Herdlicka’s audition process took just nine days. During his final callback, he sang for the show’s composer Stephen Sondheim. “I had met him in the elevator on the way up,” Herdlicka said. “I shook his hand, he knew my name. That kind of helped me relax a bit. In the audition room, [director Trevor Nunn] was introducing me to everyone, which makes you feel so comfortable, I wish everyone would do that when you go to an audition. Trevor says, ‘Stephen, this is Hunter.’ And he says, ‘Oh, we go way back!’”
Analysis: Peters and Stritch to replace Zeta-Jones and Lansbury in ‘Night Music’
In an anticipated announcement Monday, it was revealed that Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch will replace Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury in A Little Night Music, effective July 13. Zeta-Jones and Lansbury will depart the show June 20, and the production will take a three-week hiatus, during which the actresses will rehearse.
This casting news effectively saves this production from shuttering, as it had already marked June 20 as its closing day. Until this point, the show’s producers had wooed numerous A-list actresses to assume the roles (Gwyneth Paltrow and mother Blythe Danner, Debbie Reynolds), but with no talks coming to fruition. Yet Peters and Stritch’s commitments to the show are a well-deserved saving grace for a high quality production.
I wonder if Peters felt slighted when she began talks for the role, since she wasn’t the first approached, and the other attempts were well publicized. Peters will fit the role extremely well, which makes me question why the producers hadn’t asked her earlier. Although from their first attempts at a replacement, it is clear they were looking for more Hollywood power, and Peters has more Broadway clout to her name than from film. Regardless, I don’t think her name will perform poorly at the box office, as she’s become one of those Broadway legends that people flock to see. Read more
The Tony Awards, 2009
Well Rushers, Cinderfella is back from the ball. The Tony Awards was a surreal, dreamlike experience, and I realized that sleeping on the street is a small price to pay for amazing memories.
Kym, my date, and I arrived at Radio City Music Hall at 6 p.m. We had butterflies in our stomachs and were laughing because it wasn’t like we were nominated or performing. As we lingered around the entrance at 6th Ave and 50th St, trying to figure out how to approach entering, Best Featured Actor in a Play nominee John Glover from Waiting For Godot passed by. We twiddled our thumbs for a few more minutes, waiting to cross paths with more arriving celebrities, but soon decided we better find the commoners entrance and start making our way in. The entrance line for regular ticket holders stretched nearly around the entire block. We waited in line and felt the discriminating eyes of the tourists parked on Rockefeller Center benches meandering over our outfits. As we crawled toward the security check, we saw Heidi Blickenstaff from [title of show], accompanied by Christopher J. Hanke. As we entered the venue, we realized that Heidi had to enter the same way we did—which we felt extremely bad about. The girl was not only in a Tony-nominated show, but she was also Ursula in The Little Mermaid! [title of show] just gets no respect (which we realized again during the ceremony). Read more
Blithe Spirit
There are some things in life that, if given the opportunity, you simply have to do. Seeing Angela Lansbury on a Broadway stage is one of them. Thus, rushing the revival of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, starring Mrs. Potts herself, was a no-brainer.
The Blithe Spirit student rush is a tricky one to maneuver, in that discounted tickets go on sale two hours prior to curtain. If the rush begins when the box office opens, I know to show up two hours prior. No problem. But in the case of Blithe, do you show up right at 6 p.m.? Do you come 15 minutes before? Or do you wait all damn day at the front of the line? It’s difficult to judge how many people will show up for rush, and when. Well, I loves me some discounted tickets, but I’m sure as hell not going to create an all day vigil at the head of a one-person line. Read more