Stage Rush TV: Episode 75
Talking points:
- Our Fringe Festival correspondent, Nicole Gluckstern, co-hosts!
- FringeNYC vs other cities’ Fringe
- Rent off Broadway. How it stacks up and who is best in the cast
- Broadway grosses
What do you think, Rushers? Have you ever attended a Fringe Festival in another city? What are your best Fringe memories? Have you seen Rent off Broadway yet? Who do you think is giving the best performance? Leave your bohemian opinions in the comments below!
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Broadway in Bryant Park recap: ‘Rent’ and ‘Wicked’
The big boys came out to play in Bryant Park Thursday. This week’s outdoor concert featured some of Broadway’s biggest box-office hitters: Jersey Boys, The Lion King, Rent, and Wicked. Death Takes A Holiday came by to chill too. This group made for one of the strongest sets this summer, without having any particular wow moment. Here are the highlights.
Roundabout Theatre Company’s new off-Broadway musical Death Takes A Holiday served as the opening act. Kevin Earley, the newly crowned lead who has replaced the laryngitis-stricken Julian Ovenden, was there to toe tap with Mara Davi in “Shimmy Like They Do In Gay Paris.” Spring Awakening alum Alexandra Socha was clear-voiced and charming during “What Do You Do” with Max Von Essen. Overall, the new score by Maury Yeston sounded elegant and romantic.
The boys from Jersey set the mic stands in a line and plowed through a medley of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons classics. Even though I’ve heard this set so many times, the foursome of Miles Aubrey, Erik Bates, Russell Fischer, and Ryan Jesse sounded spot on as the famous crooners. Also, I’m a sucker for that mic-stand choreography. Read more 
Stage Rush TV: Episode 53
Talking points:
- The one-two punch of interviewing Tony Kushner and Michael Greif for Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide
- Michael Greif spills details on this summer’s off-Broadway revival of Rent
- Michael Esper describes his final American Idiot curtain call with Billie Joe Armstrong
- Steven Pasquale on how he and wife Laura Benanti keep their schedules in sync.
- Broadway grosses
What do you think, Rushers? Are you excited for the Rent revival? Do you think Michael Greif will make it very different from the original production? Do you want to see Michael Esper in another musical? Aren’t Steven Pasquale and Laura Benanti a sickeningly attractive, charming couple? Leave your envy, thoughts and ideas in the comments below!
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Concert recap: Idina Menzel with Marvin Hamlish and New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall
It was an evening that would make any performer green. Tony winner Idina Menzel, famed for her emerald-skinned turn as Elphaba in Wicked, made her New York Philharmonic debut Saturday night at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. Yet in an environment of elegance and sophistication, Menzel was geeking out over her conductor. Well, in her defense, the conductor was Marvin Hamlisch.
The EGOT winner (30 Rock-speak for someone who has won all four Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards) and composer of A Chorus Line and many Barbra Streisand standards was on the receiving end of many gushings from Menzel throughout the concert. At one point, she asked for permission to climb up onto his conductor’s podium so that she may kiss him. Hamlisch obliged, and the embrace evoked a collective “Aww” from the sold-out house.
In addition to her songs, which included musical theater classics and selections from Rent and Wicked, Menzel was in great comedic spirit. Taking long breaks between songs, she told stories of her youth (her family’s most requested song of hers was “The Way We Were”), her life with husband Taye Diggs and 17-month-old son Walker (she and Diggs compose original lullabies and argue over who gets to vocally shine), and of her career (singing for Streisand at the Kennedy Center and being upstaged by Beyonce).
Menzel’s comedy was well received by the Lincoln Center audience, which can typically be an upturned-nose crowd. She embodied a jovial attitude that mixed well with her elegance. Menzel took the stage (barefoot) in an elegant and simple white dress with a thin black belt. Her radiance was a reflection of the night—a special achievement in her career. Read more