This year I was thrilled to see Elaine May, at 87!, win a Tony for her role in "The Waverly Gallery." She graciously attributed part of her success in playing the family matriarch to "My family was played by everyone you've ever wanted to be on stage with."
Before Ali Stroker won the Tony for her role as Ado Annie in "Oklahoma" (the girl who cain't say no) she performed and brought down the house. No wonder she won! Never mind that she's in a wheelchair.
And I was delighted to see "The Ferryman"--the story of a family during The Troubles--which I remember Lucy had gone to see and raved about! "Hadestown" (best musical) is now on top of my list to see next time we're in NY.
As much as I love the theater, it's weird that a recurring nightmare I have is that I am IN a play and don't have a clue what my lines are.
LUCY BURDETTE: We've seen several of these shows, though I did not watch the Tonys--The Waverly Gallery, The Ferryman, and Tootsie.
Broadway is an incredible splurge, but we love it enough to justify. The talent, the music, the costumes! I am still raving about THE FERRYMAN--want all of you to see it! It's intense and dark, but brings the Irish troubles to life and all the actors were incredible. Elaine May was terrific in The Waverly Gallery, but it was a difficult play--not "fun." At all, though she had some funny lines. Alzheimer's=not fun. Tootsie: I was crazy about this movie, can remember lines and scenes so clearly. I worried that the show couldn't do as well. But the lead was fantastic--he transformed himself into a totally believable woman. Great music, great costumes, great dancing. Next up for us will be Ain't Too Proud this fall.
About being IN a play, only if I can stop and say "oh I forgot, give me a minute and it will come to me."
JENN McKINLAY: When I lived on the east coast, I went to see Broadway shows all the time. Fabulous! Like you, Hallie, I am completely under the spell of the performance. I love, love, love live theater. Being in AZ, we catch a lot of the touring shows when they come to ASU's Gammage theater. Hub and I try to go a couple of times a year. Our most recent favorite was Something Rotten. It really spoke to the writer in me and was witty and funny and smart. Delightful!
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: LOVE live theater. And such fun to see the Tonys. Jenn, Something Rotten is first on my list, even though it's oldish. I love the songs, --"It's hard to be the Bard!" We should all just sing that every day.
(We just saw the pre-Broadway preview of the new Moulin Rouge--first act awesome, second act, not so much.)
Random thoughts: I wanted to be an actor in high school and college. Loved it. I sang I Cain't Say No in a big audition once, and every time I hear it, it brings back that memory. (I always got the role of the character's best friend or the Rosalind Russell type.)
And for YEARS I had that "oh, no I don't know the lines" dream. Often. And then, a about a year ago, I started to have it, and then in the dream, I said to myself--this is a dream. And it doesn't matter. And anyway, you can figure the lines out as you go, no problem. I never had the dream again.
DEBORAH CROMBIE: I love the Tonys, watched most of the show but had to record the end as I was drooping. I thought it was a good show--why do the critics always have to complain about the awards shows? And Ali Stroker was fabulous.
I have to admit, however, that I have never seen a Broadway show. The West End, yes, although not as many as I'd like. I'm always so busy doing book research and trying to squeeze everything in when I'm in London (or writing frantically) but next trip I'm determined to see something. The last thing I saw was one of the final shows of the final run of Billy Elliott--so glad I did! Live shows really are magical--and I loved James Corden's opening number on the Tony's!
No dreams about forgetting my lines on stage--I have enough trouble in real life!
HALLIE: Have you had a transporting theater experience? Ever been IN a play? And what about nightmares about unlearned lines?
I've never had that nightmare, thank goodness (although last night I dreamed I had a passionate tryst with Jack Nicholson...). I rarely go to major plays, and Hamilton moved too fast for me, so it was frustrating. Give me live ballet though? Swept away. (Can't believe I snuck in here before Joan - a first!)
ReplyDeleteOh, take me to the dance, too! I love ballet. When I was in college I splurged on a season ticket to the New York City Ballet - Balanchine was still at the helm. Suzanne Farrell. Jacques d'Amboise. Arthur Mitchell. Edward Vilella. Patricia McBride. Only in retrospect did I realize it was their Golden Age. We also saw the Joffrey. And Alvin Ailey (Judith Jamison!)
DeleteYes, I definitely watched the Tony awards . . . I love, love, love live theater.
ReplyDeleteWas I ever in a play? A high school performance of “West Side Story” . . . no nightmares about forgetting lines, though.
When I was in college, we used to go into the city all the time to see shows. I even had the opportunity of watching Dustin Hoffman perform from backstage . . . that was quite an experience.
Really? Was it in Death of a Salesman?
DeleteJimmy Shine
DeleteHank, thank you for the Bard! Loved it. And now I also want to see Something Rotten.
ReplyDeleteI was backstage support for plays in high school, and had one offstage line, as a sexy Russian spy giving the code word: "The bougainvillea are doing vell this season." It was only sexy because no one could see the skinny, flyaway hair, huge glasses dork behind the voice!
I always wanted to act, but I'm crap at remembering lines, so there's that, but one of my daughters was very good in her early years, spending two weeks of every summer at acting camp at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Henry Fonda's last wife came to one of their end-of-camp performances and she singled Robin out for a compliment. That was a very big deal to an 11-year old. Not to mention to her mom.
I've been lucky enough to see several great Broadway musicals, no dramas, though: Bubbling Brown Sugar, with a guy I met on the plane to NYC was my first. 42nd Street, Les Miserables, and Cats. My husband is not a theater fan, so we rarely go, although Robin and I had season tickets to the Playhouse when she was in junior high and high school, until the selections got very dark for a couple of years. We're lucky here, though, because we have a lot of not-Broadway-but-pretty-darned--good venues for live theater, opera, symphony, ballet, etc.
Cracking up, Karen, imagining you delivering that line. Reminds me of Katharine Hepburn's line in Stage Door: "The calla lilies are in bloom again, such a strange flower, suitable to any occasion..."
DeleteAnd btw you did not turn out to be in the least bit dorky.
Aw, thanks, Hallie.
DeleteYes, I love it! The words are so hilarious,
DeleteIn addition to the Cincinnati Symphony, Opera, Ballet, and Playhouse in the Park, we have access to UC-CCM theatre, opera, and dance productions. The performers (many of them master's or artist's diploma candidates) are vibrant, well-directed and coached. "Lysistrata Jones" featured an on-stage choreographed with singing and dancing. Fabulous! We enjoy something of everything.
ReplyDeleteAlways love watching the Tony awards even though I've never been to a live show. It must be fabulous! When I was in high school there was Camelot and My Fair Lady. I had the live cast albums and would have dearly loved to see the shows. By the time they were made into movies My Fair Lady was wonderful, but Camelot did not do it for me.
ReplyDeleteCamelot may have been the first play I ever saw, come to think of it. In Chicago with Robert Goulet and could it be… Julie Andrews? Can that be true? And Richard Burton. I was about 12, I think, can that be true? I honestly cried for about three weeks, trying to figure out who’s fault it was. Lancelot? Guinevere? King Arthur for being weak? The songs are so beautiful, but the story is so sad.
DeleteI don't think there are many plays that were improved as movies. Only CHICAGO comes to mind. I saw it on Broadway and the plot totally escaped me. Loved the movie. I saw Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison in MY FAIR LADY. Mary Martin in PETER PAN and in SOUTH PACIFIC. And a mind-blowing Glenda Jackson in Marat/Sade.
DeleteMovie improved as play was Grey Gardens
DeleteAnd the bard song… You really have to listen to the whole thing , when the Shakespeare character talks about how very difficult it is to write. I mean… It is perfect!
ReplyDeleteI think it's brilliant. Thanks for including it!
DeleteOh, I am with you on live theatre and dance--when I lived in Columbus I was able to catch shows on tour--my favorite was Evita. There was also OSU's Department of Dance, Jazz on Mirror Lake at OSU, poetry readings in the park--lots of live events that were wonderful! Here, not so much, but really enjoyed when my youngest nephew performed in his high school musicals--Pajama Game and Oklahoma--a talented group of young performers--lots of fun!
ReplyDeleteI love high school productions. My daughters were both in them.
DeleteWe did all the traditional shows in high school - Annie Get Your Gun, Oklahoma, The Music Man - and my best friend and I knew every word of every Barbra Streisand musical. But transforming theater? A Chorus Line (so different from every musical before it - and the ticket cost $20), Carol Channing in a revival of Hello, Dolly! (I had a seat on the 7th row!), and off Broadway, Judith Light in Wit (an incredible and brave performance).
ReplyDeleteYES! Chorus LIne. I still think about it..
DeleteI love the theater and see a Broadway play in person is on my list of dream vacations. That said, I'm a west coast theater gal. While we do get the Broadway productions here, our smaller venues are rich with so many original works. The Pasadena Playhouse and the Geffen Playhouse are never boring!
ReplyDeleteAs to my own stage experience, if it can be called that, consists of black-box theater in the arts district. Los Angeles black-box is akin to off-off-off (off?) Broadway and Jenn nailed it. "And anyway, you can figure the lines out as you go, no problem." I've been on-stage when the other actor totally blanked. You improv, and carry on.
These days you also GET plays that eventually make it to Broadway.
Delete"You improv," she said blithely.
I was always in the "chorus" when I did musicals in high school, so no lines and no nightmares.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a Broadway show, but we love live theater and see it in Pittsburgh (where some of the Broadway shows come, but not with the same cast). Recently we attended some "live readings" at a local theater for plays in development. No props or costumes or set pieces. Just actors standing at music stands and someone reading the stage directions. They've been awesome!
That sounds like great fun.
DeleteAnd there is a Q&A with the director and playwright after where you get to give your impressions/feedback, so you get to feel like you contributed to the development of the play.
DeleteCheck this out! Goes right along with today's topic!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theatermania.com/broadway/news/watch-billy-porter-slay-broadway-karaoke_88991.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=11jun2019&fbclid=IwAR2CJLeJFIGtqMxEwe1VsCrPFOxbRrN8YETcFJC3HmpqS1RlNiHQbnqoHVA
LOVE IT!!! Mary thanks so much for posting this. He's a treasure. Amazing!
DeleteI was a theatre kid, although I got tired of being cast as the mother, so I transferred my talents backstage by the time I was out of college. I'm still backstage, and I agree that there's nothing else like a live performance, whether it's a play, dance, or a concert. Go share transcendent moments with other people in a public place. Just do it!
ReplyDeleteAs for the dream . . . I used to have it pretty regularly. Typically I'd go backstage before a show to wish all my friends good luck and someone would say, "Why aren't you in costume?" Only then would I realize I had the leading role with no idea what the play was about. That dream could really shake me until one evening, when I was doing summer theatre in college, I went up to the costume shop to wish my friends the best, and the director said, "Here, I want you to go on for Kay. She sprained her ankle. The stage will look unbalanced without her. You're about her size."
I was the assistant director for that show, so I wasn't totally clueless, but it was Shakespeare, so I couldn't exactly make up my lines on the fly. I got in costume. Kay was in the chorus, not a leading role. And I got through it. Scary? Yes. But also, ultimately, exhilarating, and a huge exercise in trust and love as the rest of the cast took me under their collective wing and guided me, with some of them taking her lines in scenes where I didn't know them. I've never had that dream again.
Oh, Gigi - what a fantastic story!! What was the play?
DeleteIt was "Two Gentlemen of Verona". A comedy, so if I had fallen on my prat, it would have fit right into the action.
DeleteWell, it's no secret that theater is almost and equal love of mine as crime fiction. Living on the East Coast affords me the opportunity to visit NYC a few times each year - so I often seem many of the shows each season. I have to admit, this year was a slower than normal one for me, mainly because I did see the two-part Harry Potter play - which was no small expense, but most definitely worth every penny. There are things done on that stage that I have never seen before in all my theater-going. I still don't know how they did it and I don't care - it was MAGIC!
ReplyDeleteNext up for us - besides a bunch of local theater - is THE INHERITANCE in October. Transferring over from the UK (hopefully with Vanessa Redgrave intact), it's a history of the gay rights movement told through the eyes of several couples. Loosely based on Howards End, it - like the Harry Potter play - is two parts (one matinee, one evening) coming in at almost 7 hours total. I can't wait!
On Sunday, I'm taking Mom to see Disaster! a Broadway musical that makes fun of those disaster movies (Towering Inferno, Poseidon Adventure) but uses the music of the 70's. It was written by Broadway expert Seth Rudestsky and he is going to be at this community college production for this one performance.
SO cool!
DeleteI love live theater. Though my talents lay in running them, I have always thought actors were some of the bravest folks I know. Your dream is one I've had as well. The actor's nightmare. Also a terrific play by Christopher Durang.
ReplyDeleteI love live theater. I've been in a couple of plays, usually in the ensemble, although that still gives you plenty of stage time in Fiddler on the Roof.
ReplyDeleteThere is a theater in the round I go to quite a bit here in Southern California. I have yet to see a play on Broadway, but I have seen the official touring companies of some plays when they hit LA.
Planning to go see a friend in a play on Friday night. It will be a drive after work, but I'm looking forward to it.
I wouldn't mind getting back on stage, but the time it would take for rehearsals and the weekends for performances always keep me from auditioning. Plus the fact that I have problems learning lines and have no real acting training. Yet I haven't had that nightmare about forgetting lines - at least not yet.
Yes, I always watch the Tonys too. Such fun! And sometimes they do a number and I say, "Wow! How did I miss that!" and go order a tickets ASAP. (Kinky Boots!) I don't go that often though I live in NY -it is very expensive and takes some planning too.(Occasionally I have been lucky or smart , and got the big tickets before they were big, Yes, Hamilton) BUT live and on stage? Real music and real talent? Yeah. Nothing, but nothing,like it. So very grateful for the ones I've had a chance to see and never forget. (I saw Helen Mirren (!!!) in Stratford when I was really young and so was she, and not famous. Yes.) Never had that dream though. Even my dreams know better than to put me onstage.
ReplyDeleteI was in a high school production of The Mouse That Roared, but I much prefer being a spectator, and I love, love, love theater. As a matter of fact, I am attending a production of Archduke by Rajiv Joseph tonight at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley--yes, this year's Tony award-winning regional theater! My husband and I were subscribers for 15 years or so, but more recently we have picked and chosen which shows we wanted to attend. This is a great organization, though, and long overdue for this honor. Quite a few Broadway stars cut their teeth there--including James Monroe Iglehart (Tony winner as the genie in Aladdin), Jessica Chastain, Megan Hilty, and Alex Brightman (I've seen them all there).
ReplyDeleteI've lived in CA for many years, but in 2008 we took a trip to NYC (my husband had never been there) and saw In the Heights starring Lin-Manuel Miranda before the show (and Lin) won Tonys--what a thrill! We also saw Clay Aiken in Spamalot. When I lived in PA, I got to see a few Broadway shows--Sammy Davis in Golden Boy, Anthony Newley in Stop the World I Want to Get Off, and Pearl Bailey in Hello Dolly, not to mention Hair! I've seen a lot of touring shows in San Francisco as well.
I'm considering taking one of the Road Scholar Broadway trips--anyone want to share my hotel room (they still have a nasty additional charge for single travelers).
And yes, I watched every minute of the Tonys, and I agree--it's the only awards showing really worth watching.
Margie, we did The Mouse that Roared, too! SO funny.
DeleteAnd you won an arc of THE MURDER LIST last week--email me your address at hryan@whdh.com if you would like to have it!
The Murder List. Watch for it on the NYT bestseller list later this summer
DeleteTHANK YOU, Hank! I just emailed you with my contact info. Can't wait to read your new book!
DeleteAww...thank you! xoxooxo Crossing fingers, and I am so grateful, truly, for your kind words Finta/Ann!
DeleteI have never had any desire to be a performer of any kind. Yikes! Even the thought of it is frightening! But I love seeing live theater. I have seen a number of Broadway shows since childhood. Friends and I have season tickets to a local theater. We used to go into NYC every year or so to see a play, and for some reason we stopped. Now that we’re retired (we all met at work) we plan to go more often, since we can get to Wednesday matinees now. Three weeks ago we saw The Cher Show (with a still-working friend who took a vacation day) which was magnificent! This time, instead of getting tickets ahead of time we went into the city early, got in line at Ticket Masters at Times Square, and managed to get excellent tickets st half price! One person in our group does this with her husband every few weeks, and even if they don’t get tickets to their preferred show, they’ve never been disappointed. We plan to start doing this regularly,
ReplyDeleteDebRo
Before I moved from New York City to Pennsylvania, I always loved to get half-priced matinee tickets at TKTs. I think my favorite was A Soldier's Play. It was later turned into a movie with a young Denzel Washington and called A Soldier's Story.
DeleteStraight shows (as opposed to musicals) are easier to score at half price and have a much shorter line at TKTS
DeleteI still dream of being a Broadway star everytime I load a soundtrack in my car stereo and belt it out. I was in My Fair Lady in school, but got beat out for Eliza by an upperclassman. Since the tony's I've pretty much had "Hadestown" on repeat because it's SO DANG AMAZING.
ReplyDeleteLove "Hard to be the Bard!!!" And such fun to watch James Corden's Tony opening again! You have all inspired me. Next time I'm in London I'm going to see something. And I've just looked into our Dallas Summer Musicals (misleading name now, as we have touring productions all year.) Aladdin is on now, then Hello, Dolly with Betty Buckley, then Fiddler on the Roof. Cats is coming in November, then in the winter we have Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away, and The Band's Visit. Must see recommendations, anyone?
ReplyDeleteCome From Away!!!!!! I loved it so much — it will restore your faith in humanity
DeleteNoted! Thanks, Hallie! And The Band's Visit looks really interesting, too.
DeleteCome From Away was everything Hallie says. Loved it so much I wrote a blog about it, and am still scheming for a chance to see it again.
DeleteMy husband and I are both live theater enthusiasts and used to take theater weekends in New York somewhat frequently pre-kids. We both have done some performing, too, though also primarily in the pre-kids years.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I would add to this discussion is the recommendation that if you live far from the theater hubs, don't automatically dismiss amateur theater as -- well -- too amateur. Admittedly, there's a lot of really bad community theater out there, but many communities also boast one or more community theaters that do pretty high quality work. Ask around and you can probably learn which ones to avoid and which are really worth a visit. (Repertoire is usually a tip, too. If all they do are rehashes of the golden oldies, I'd be suspect. But if they are performing works that were on Broadway five years ago, as soon as the rights are released for community groups, they may be a more ambitious group that takes their avocation seriously.)
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is the greatest! I spent 3 days there a few years ago and loved all the plays I got to see. I try to go to at least one Shakespeare play every vacation - this year I will hit the Delaware Shakespeare Festival in Wilmington. Last year I saw MacBeth in Chicago, and Much Ado About Nothing in Omaha. We have a group of young people who put plays on in our community and they are fabulous! Great costumes and energy! Our local university has great productions as well.
ReplyDeleteVacations to see Shakespeare sound wonderful! If you're ever coming to the East Coast, try the Hudson River Valley Shakespeare Festival. Set on the grounds of a stately old home and the performance has the Hudson River Valley (really: the river! the mountains!) as a backdrop. Just stunning. - Melanie
DeleteWonderful post! The first time I heard of the Tony awards was when Phyllis Frelich won a Tony for her role as Sarah in Children of a Lesser God. I used to go to the theater when they had sign language interpreted performances. And I went to a British sign language interpreted (translated) performance at Oxford in England. It was a Shakespearean play Measure for Measure. The translators were from Wales and it was interesting to see how they signed the dialogue of the actors on stage!
ReplyDeleteYes, I was in a Christmas play when I was a kid. I loved it. I was at an age when I wanted to be an actress.
Diana
I do love the theater, but I'm still waiting to go to my first Broadway show on Broadway. I have seen a couple of plays at the Kennedy Center, with The Producers being so amazing. Like Jenn, I go to the touring productions. A friend and I get a yearly subscription to attend the ones that perform here. I was in a couple of local theater productions when I was growing up and in high plays, but my personal participation stopped after high school. My daughter and son were both in drama and the plays in high school, and I enjoyed those so much. I really thought my son would go on to do something with theater, but he hasn't, yet. He has a great voice that projects so well. Anyway, I'm hoping to get to NYC sometime in the near future to catch a couple of plays. It's all so magical.
ReplyDeleteI'm exhausted after watching James Corden! He is something else. My only acting roles were in Girl Scouts skits eons ago. I love live entertainment though and started early. In elementary school the Houston school district offered two afternoon performances of the Houston Grand Opera: Carmen and Die Fleidermaus. Fabulous. Houston has an embarrassment of riches in the performing arts. The Alley Theater and numerous theater groups plus national tours; ballet; symphony; two opera companies; and a ton more in the area. My high school in Houston was rich in talent. One year the performance was High Button Shoes with Cindy Pickett and Trey Wilson. Our principal was Harlan Andrews; he had two brothers in show business: Dana Andrews and Steve Forrest. I'm afraid my theater exposure has been limited to Houston, Cleveland, and Minneapolis but my experience has been pure magic.
ReplyDeleteI have dropped the line. I had one week to learn a very small part in a very small community theater production where I was normally the house manager. I normally attended rehearsals the week prior to opening night so I knew the length of the acts..I arrive to rehearsal and am handed a script. Opening night was fine, so was the whole opening weekend. But the second weekend I forgot to fire the lead character.... I did catch my mistake and squeezed the line "your fired!" just a bit later than expected. That was over 20 years ago and the company is no longer but still remember - all of it.
ReplyDeleteJust drove home from a few days with our Philadelphia friends, whom we shall call Tim and Victor. We’ve been singing the entire score from Oklahoma for the last hour and a half. Does that count? We know all the words.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteIt counts! And I am singing along. They've gone about as far as they can go...
DeleteWith isenglass windows you can roll right down..
And his fingernails have never been so clean.
I only saw one Broadway play, A Chorus Line. Saw Anything Goes in Miami and Murder at the Vicarage in London. I used to see a lot of local plays or musicals. Our church senior club just saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Local people can be very good. We saw a boy play Fagin in Oliver in high school. He was as good as the guy in the movie. He and his wife had their own theater company for many years.
ReplyDeleteI did theatre in high school and college. Then I had enough sense to stop.
ReplyDeleteI did not watch the show. It can make me sad because I 1-don't get the inside jokes and 2-I haven't seen any of the shows.
With luck we'll get a traveling company here and even then the ticket prices and availability are rather dear. (I was trying for a rhyme there.)
Thank you for introducing me to Ali Stroker (WOW WOW WOW!) and the bard.
I haven't been to see a Broadway play in more than a decade. But, we do have great local theater--Yale Rep, Long Wharf, etc. BUT the last Broadway play I saw was Long Day's Journey into Night with Brian Dennehy, Vanessa Redgrave, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Robert Sean Leonard. Oy! Over three and a half hours long. During performance time, I don't think a single member of the audience so much as shifted in their seat. And those were some tight seats! We all just sat there entranced. Probably with out little mouths hanging open in astonishment!
ReplyDelete-Melanie
When my kids were small, it was easy to find things for my daughter to do. My son? Not so much. Then we learned that he loved lived theater. It became our thing. Of course, we occasionally took my daughter along, but it was something special for the two of us. We've seen Les Mis more times than I can count. (Once my daughter and I spent a week in California to see it there. A week was cheaper than a weekend in NY.) We loved Phantom and Wicked. My son and I loved seeing old musicals - Camelot, Jesus Christ Superstar. I grew up in poverty, but developed an early passion for musicals on TV - My Fair Lady and The King and I stand out in my memory. Whenever possible, I try to read the book first. By the time I saw Les Mis, I had read the book and had most of the score memorized. It added to my enjoyment as I had a good understanding of the plot. I did have to remind myself not to sing along.
ReplyDeleteWICKED! I cried during Defying Gravity, and did not stop. I still cry when I hear it. It is my theme.
DeleteANd I adore Les Mis, too. Every time.
James Corden's opener was so great! I loved it. Thanks for posting that, Hallie! Now I desperately want to go to the theater!
ReplyDelete