Thurgood Marshall Presiding On Broadway

From time to time on Broadway, History (big “h”) lives and breathes. The living ideas of individuals now dead are given fresh voice on stage, and that is the case tonight when the new production of Thurgoodopens on Broadway. Thurgood Marshall is worthy of recognition at any time, and his story is not yet woven broadly into the American cultural consciousness. That is likely to change, as Laurence Fishburne gives voice to a man who championed some of the most important causes of the last century, and paved the way for the historic challenges we face today. Sometimes a Broadway show is more than a Broadway show, and coming in the midst of a heated presidential election and on the eve of a controversial verdict, Thurgood Marshall arrives on Broadway with impeccable timing. In Marshall’s obituary in the New York Times, Paul Gewitz, Yale Law professor and former Marshall law clerk is quoted as saying:

“He grew up in a ruthlessly discriminatory world — a world in which segregation of the races was pervasive and taken for granted, where lynching was common, where the black man’s inherent inferiority was proclaimed widely and wantonly. Thurgood Marshall had the capacity to imagine a radically different world, the imaginative capacity to believe that such a world was possible, the strength to sustain that image in the mind’s eye and the heart’s longing, and the courage and ability to make that imagined world real.”

While a one-person show on Broadway is always an event, the current production offers audiences an experience that is quite welcome…that is, the chance to spend an evening with one of the most remarkable figures in American history. Welcome to Broadway, Justice Marshall.

Grist For The Broadway Rumor Mill

Clifford Odets’ powerful drama The Country Girl is a backstage drama in the truest sense. The current Broadway revival seems to have set about to out-drama Odets with the flood of back-stage gossip and rumors about the actual production itself. Opening night of The Country Girl is tonight, with reviews arriving tomorrow. Regular readers of All That Chathave been aware of something brewing for a month. Michael Riedel from the New York Post frames the whole story quite well in this article.

London Critics Love It (To Be Over?)

It is inevitable that there would be the temptation to pun a-plenty over the new Gone With The Wind;everyone knows the story, sceptics have doubted its stage-ability, and some critics love to be clever and pounce when the chance is there. So, amid the slew of negative reviews about the London production there must be a silver lining? Tomorrow is another day for this production? Who knows? The story is iconic, and perhaps a total re-working is not unwarranted. Some critics found some things positive…most others did not. Samples and  links below:

“Trevor Nunn’s production achieves the kind of paradox normally only found in the baffling field of quantum mechanics. It feels interminable, but moment by moment it also seems ridiculously rushed, so that incidents that really make a mark in the film go for almost nothing on stage…”- Charles Spencer, The Telegraph

“Frankly, my dears, I did give a damn but not as big a damn as I had hoped. To put it another way: fiddlededee to some but not all the things that are occurring in a piece I wasn’t always sure should exist. ” Benedict Nightengale, The Times

“Trevor Nunn’s Achilles heel is always the length of the heel in question. Having adapted the book he has left it in loquacious long-windedness. He unsuccessfully reprises the style of his Royal Shakespeare Company Nicholas Nickleby, making the actors serve as redundant narrators.” Nicholas de Jongh, Evening Standard

“Three-time Tony-winning director Trevor Nunn has delivered a long-winded show with rushed scenes, dull music and lyrics so banal that Rhett Butler is unlikely to be the only one who doesn’t give a damn.” Ray Bennett, Reuters

Broadway’s French Revolution

Tonight belongs to John Water’s Cry-Baby rockin new musical as the show opens with a roar, but the whispers from the awards announcements of the Drama Desk and Outer Critics seems to bode well for one of the last new productions to open before the Tony voting begins. Sure there is the oddity of Young Frankenstein racking up more nominations in total than any other production. Can someone tell me more about that? That question aside, it is quite exciting to sense the momentum building for this new production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses(try spelling that three times fast). Starring Laura Linney, a stage actress of the highest order, and daughter of the celebrated playwright Romulus Linney, this production may not have the romance of Cyrano, the Jones of Cat, or the breathless hush of Little Sheba, but the story is infinitely engaging and unsettling, as Daniel Luzer points out in his story on the novel. It is truly a dangerous kind of fun. With Top Girls on the way in May as well, Broadway is rounding out the season with some interesting choices. Photos by Joan Marcus.

-Christopher Moore, Broadway Magazine, Broadway.tv

Young Frankenstein Nets 10 Nods

This is not a joke. Young Frankenstein received 10 nominations from the Outer Critics Circle Awards. Broadway Magazine and Broadway.tv are not affiliated with the Outer Critics in any way, and have little insight as to why such a largely critically panned show got such a warm welcome from the Outer Critics. We liked the production enough, but are a bit perplexed as to its sweeping number of nominations. Other nods are cause for more celebration than confusion, like nominations for the cast of Come Back, Little Sheba and Kevin Kline. Variety has the details.

Broadway Bound Wind Blows?

It is still too early to tell what will happen with the new London musical based on Gone With The Wind. The show will meet the critics this week, and is currently in a troubled preview period according to reports by The Guardian of London. Those troubled by reports of broken legs, long-running times, and last minute cuts can still take solace in the fact that it is not unusual for a show to change in previews. The recently announced closing of the Lord Of The Rings musical had a run in Toronto and London, as the show continued to evolve. Given the popularity of the story and its characters, it would seem like the show has the raw stuff of a wonderful musical. Time will tell.

Drama Desk Integrity Battle?

Wonderful column again from Michael Riedel, who as noted previously always seems out front of the pack in traditional Broadway coverage…scoops and inside information. The latest is a focus on the Drama Desk Awards and a serious rift between Barbara Siegel and Tony Philips. According to Riedel, in the letter Philips resigns his post and expresses deep concern about the leadership of chairwoman Siegel, who writes for theatremania.com. The idea is that the Drama Desk Awards are on the brink of becoming a second-rate Tonys with a focus on celebrity over substance. A cynic might say “Welcome To Broadway.” However, this season has shown a fine balance of the innovative and the commercial. As fascinating as the Riedel article is, what is even more concerning is that the nominating committee for the Drama Desk is a group of 7 individuals. Such small group with such a tremendous amount of power. This is unsettling. There seems to be ample opportunity to create a more equitable and inclusive process that celebrates New York Theatre in the broadest sense and allows Off, Off-Off, and Broadway to share the stage and spotlight. The Obies are truly the gold-standard for Off-Broadway, and the list of other awards are long. The underlying story of Riedel’s article is that the divide between commercial theatre and non-commercial theatre is alive and unfortunately well. Surely there is a way to honor the full scope of accomplishments in all areas of New York Theatre that would weight both the esteemed chirping of crickets (as Edwin Booth might say) and the voice of theatre fans!

Will the glow of the Drama Desk awards be dimmed with visions of star-loving nominators wolfing down Chinese food and engaging in witch hunts? For those outside the process, it might give pause. Regardless of the veracity of all the claims, there are larger questions which the story raises about rewarding art. Hopefully an Off-Off Broadway One Act called “Dinner With Mrs. S.” will be playing next month at P.S. 21 that will give a Sheridan-like treatment of the whole idea of the comedy and tragedy that is always to be found when power resides in the hands of the few. Set in a Chinese restaurant, the show will frame the upcoming Drama Desk Nominees in a satirical light! Forbidden Broadway for the Awards community. Read the article here.

–Christopher Moore, Broadway Magazine, Broadway.tv

More Action On Broadway Than Ever

The reviews are in for A Catered Affair, and the critics have had their say. You can find the details on Broadway.tv and in our newsletter. While response was at the best mixed, there is no mistake that Broadway loves a wedding. In fact, if you include “Young Frankenstein” (which we do) there are more wedding’s on Broadway this season than Funerals, and if you count “Passing Strange” (which you must), more characters are having sex on Broadway than at anytime in history. In preparing for an upcoming article, a look at who’s dying and whose thriving on-stage on Broadway it is interesting to note the trends. We’ll have the article up soon, but in the meantime, you can rest confidently knowing that weddings and death are not confined to A Catered Affair, and Spring Awakening isn’t the only show that has reason to smile.

- Christopher Moore, Broadway Magazine, Broadway.tv

Broadway Musical On Houdini

The father of modern celebrity–Harry Houdini– is about to get his own Broadway musical from the outstanding Hairspray director Jack O’Brien and music by Tim Burton composer, Danny Elfman and lyrics by David Yazbek, who has made Broadway smile with his work on “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and “The Full Monty.”

“Houdini is an amazing, iconic figure who continues to captivate our imagination more than 80 years after his death,” Sanders said in a report from the San Francisico Chronicle. “His colorful world defines the theatrical and, combined with this remarkable creative team, will make for a fascinating and entertaining musical.”

Seems like a perfectly good subject for a Broadway musical. Let the escaping begin…no Broadway theatre or dates are set. Though the article says look for the musical in 2010!

Catered Affair Gets Big Buzz

What do you get when you combine the narrative genius of Paddy Chaefsky with the Broadway genius of John Doyle and the limitless genius of Harvey Fierstein and Faith Prince? Well, we’ll find out tonight when the big buzz production of the new musical A Catered Affair opens on Broadway tonight. Based on a 1950s play and film (Gore Vidal did the screenplay), A Catered Affair comes to Broadway with great expectations. The book for the new musical comes from Harvey Fierstein himself, and reports from the road were positive. Touching on the age-old conflict that arises in a family between throwing an elaborate wedding or using that money for more practical matters…dreams, family, conflict and love in 1950s New York. Very exciting. Happy Opening!