#John weidman

[doyouknowthismusical]

[onewordshy]

delivering that hot Pacific Overtures content the kids crave

[sondheims-hat]

April 22, 2004: Assassins opens at Studio 54.

[bumblingest-bee]

a non-exhaustive list of things from the 1989 workshop reading of assassins that i wish they'd kept in the show:

guiteau reading his iconic "enclosed is the seven dollars i owe you. stick it up your bunghole and wipe your nose with it" letter

the alternate version of everybody's got the right (reprise)

"i also knew a guy in high school called guy lombardo." "who's guy lombardo?" "a famous band leader." "in high school??"

the slightly different harmonies at the end of how i saved roosevelt

moore shooting at a teddy bear which apparently belongs to guiteau

"i loved him so much and he said that he loved me and then he threw me out!" "colonel sanders??"

"are you okay, mr. president?" "don't worry, i'm a ford, not a lincoln!"

[bestmusicalworldcup]

Concord Theatricals Recordings will release the 2023 off-Broadway cast recording of I Can Get It for You Wholesale this fall.

The album's stars include Santino Fontana, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Judy Kuhn, Julia Lester, and Joy Woods.

I Can Get It for You Wholesale has music and lyrics by Harold Rome (adapted by David Chase for this production) and a book by Jerome Weidman (reimagined by his son John Weidman).

[czolgosz]

the john weidman quote "why do these dreadful events happen here, with such horrifying frequency..." from the preface of the 1991 assassins script is fascinating to me because at the time of the mckinley assassination there were many articles about how Assassinations are a european thing, they’re going on constantly over there, how could this ever occur in the usa, &c. &c. &c.

[drartemysia]

Emily Kaplan about Jack again-- get your tissues ready

Notable quotes from the article linked above (June 13, 2023). The main topic is Jack's injury, surgery and rehab:

How the injury came to be

Eichel can't pinpoint exactly when the issues began. "A few years ago, I started dealing with some symptoms," he said. "It wasn't necessarily something that was going to keep me out of the lineup, but I was dealing with it and playing through it." In a March 2021 game against the Islanders, Eichel hit his head against the boards, which resulted in a herniated disk in his neck. He missed the rest of the season.

2. What the spinal fusion surgery (the one Jack didn't want to have and the Sabres were insistent on) would have entailed (emphasis mine):

"The spine has three curves, and the reason it's shaped like that is because it's for movement," Lindsay said. "The best athletes in the world move with these transition areas in the spine. Guys like Connor, Cale Makar, [redacted because ick], Jack, the outliers, they move really well there." Lindsay rehabbed several NFL players who had the fusion surgery, and he didn't like the resulting rigidity in a segment of the spine. "In hockey, you're moving and the puck is moving," Lindsay said. "When you see it with Jack on the ice, he's very fluid in his movement. He would have lost that, just to make it super simple, he would have lost the accuracy to make those nice passes that he makes."

Have you ever seen Jack skate circles around other players? Because you should. This is the first example that comes to mind.

3. How bad things got:

Time was of the essence as he felt increased numbness in his arm from the constant pressure to his disk. 

I repeat, his fucking arm was going fucking numb. I'm going to feel sick. He has talked elsewhere (especially in this interview with Chris Weidman, a UFC fighter) about some episodes of numbness, which started to be more and more frequent. How terrifying that must be, he was 23 years old.

4. The rehab process:

"I wanted him to get back into the natural flow of skating and movement as soon as possible," [Dr. Mark] Lindsay said. "He was pretty rigid at first. Pretty stiff. I had him on the ice three days a week, just stickhandling. It was an emotional change for him. The frustration of dealing with everything he had to go through, being sidelined for so long. Getting back onto the ice was significant for him, emotionally." But Lindsay knew Eichel's body was a mess after having overcompensated for his neck for so long. "His pelvis needed a lot of work," Lindsay said. "He was inefficient in overall movements, and that's what I had to unwind."

Finally (emphasis mine):

"The hardest part is some people want you to fail in some ways," Lindsay said. "But someone had to be the pioneer. Years from now, we'll be talking about this as the Jack Eichel surgery, in the same way as Tommy John."

In conclusion (emphasis mine):

"The fact that an institution or team has trump value when you have to invasively cut somebody open, I think that needs to be changed," Prusmack said. "It's why Jack's story is so important. You now have elements of coercion based off economic agreements, which should not be part of our health system. Jack did what he did for the right reasons. I'm proud of him; that's hard to do in our culture."

Eichel said he doesn't feel any effects from the surgery at all; the only sign is a pink scar on the front of his neck.

(Emily have you been in my drafts, because "the scar, a pink horizontal line dividing Jack's life in before and after" is something that I wrote months ago)

[jgroffdaily]

Jonathan talks at 1.00.30 in this video honouring Stephen Sondheim on February 14 2024 after a matinee. Jonathan discusses when he visited Stephen Sondheim’s townhouse, meeting Lonny Price, what he said to Patti LuPone recently, an early connection with Sondheim at a school science fair, and his views on the character of Franklin Shepard.

From the YouTube description: The program was led by Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Chair of Historic Landmarks Preservation Center and NYC Landmarks60 Alliance.

Participants in the program include: James Lapine, Librettist and director Patti LuPone, actress and singer John McWhorter, Columbia University Professor of Linguistics and author, Jonathan Groff, actor and singer, John Weidman, Librettist Liz Callaway, Grammy-nominated singer.

[camisoledadparis]

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … October 21

1891 – Ted Shawn (d.1972), originally Edwin Myers Shawn, was one of the first notable male pioneers of American modern dance. Along with creating Denishawn with former wife Ruth St Denis he was also responsible for the creation of the all-male company Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers. With his innovative ideas of masculine movement he was one of the most influential choreographers and dancers of his day. He was also the founder and creator of Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts.

Ted Shawn was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Originally intending to become a minister of religion, he attended the University of Denver. There he caught diphtheria, which led him to take up dance in 1910 to regain his muscle strength. Shawn's dancing was discouraged by the University, which still had a Methodist affiliation, and was the reason for his expulsion the following year.

After marrying Ruth St Denis in 1914., she and Shawn opened the first Denishawn School in Los Angeles, California, where they were able to choreograph and stage many of their famous vaudeville pieces. The school and company went on to produce such influential dancers as Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman.

Although Denishawn came to an end in 1929 due to hard times both in Shawn's and St Denis' marriage as well as the economy, Shawn's second dance group Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers (1929-1940) were soon to follow in his dancing career. The new all-male company was based out of Massachusetts near his then home of Lee. In creating this company Shawn was hoping to make America become more aware, and accept the importance and dedication of the male dancer. It was with this new company that Shawn produced some of his most controversial and highly skilled choreography to date. With works such as Ponca Indian Dance, Sinhalse Devil Dance, Maori War Haka, Hopi Indian Eagle Dance, and Dyak Spear Dances he was able to showcase performances that all stressed male body movement.

His love for the relationships created by the men in his dances soon translated into love between him and one of his company members Barton Mumaw which lasted from 1931-1948. He had another partner following Mumaw, John Christian with whom he spent his life from 1949 until his death in 1972.

1917 – William Dale Jennings (d.2000) was an American LGBT rights activist, playwright and author.

Jennings was born in Amarillo, Texas. He and his sister Charlotte Elaine (two years older) grew up in Denver, Colorado where they were both schooled in music, Elaine playing the violin and Dale (as he was known, to distinguish himself from his father) the piano. The two made many appearances on local radio and at tent revival meetings. Dale showed an early love of dance, growing into a noted prodigy before the age of twelve. Later he joined the Lester Horton dance troupe as they traveled around the United States. In his late teens he moved to Los Angeles, with aspirations of becoming a writer and theater director, for which he had trained in Colorado. He eventually launched a theater company called the Theatre Caravan,located in a now demolished building near Olympic Blvd. and Alvarado, where he also lived. During this time he wrote and produced about 60 plays.

During World War II he was stationed at Guadalcanal. During his military service, he was awarded a WWII Victory Medal, an American Campaign medal, an Asiatic- Pacific campaign medal, and a Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one bronze star. After being honorably discharged in 1946, he returned to California where he studied cinema for two years at the University of Southern California. Before the war Jennings pursued relationships with women in the custom of the time, to avoid any suspicions about his true nature. He married once, an aspiring actress at Theatre Caravan; this lasted through the war, followed by divorce.

In November 1950, Jennings accompanied his friend Bob Hull, to a meeting with Harry Hay and Chuck Rowland to discuss a prospectus that had called on the "androgynies of the world" to unite. This meeting began the first official meeting of the International Bachelors Fraternal Order for Peace and Social Dignity, which would later be renamed as the Mattachine Society. The society sought to gain acceptance through greater communication between homosexuals and heterosexuals. The group began to grow and by the summer of that year they had adopted official missions and purposes which proclaimed homosexuals to be one of the largest minorities in America.

In the spring of 1952 Jennings was arrested for allegedly soliciting a police officer in a toilet in Westlake Park, now known as MacArthur Park. The Mattachine Society decided to help contest the charges brought against Jennings.They enlisted the help of attorney George Sibley, a member of the Citizens' Council to Outlaw Entrapment.

Jennings was one of the first homosexual men to contest charges such as this one. Most homosexuals at the time pled guilty so as not to be publicly scrutinized. His decision to fight back was a pivotal point in the movement. The organization raised funds and promoted Jennings' case nationally.

The trial began June 23, 1952 and lasted ten days. Jennings confessed to being a homosexual but denied any wrongdoing. The jury voted 11-1 for acquittal on the basis of police intimidation, harassment, and entrapment of homosexuals, and the case was dismissed. The trial brought a lot of attention to the Mattachine Society, increasing awareness of the Gay Rights Movement as a whole as well as increasing the organization's membership.

While Jennings was one of the founders of the Mattachine Society, his views on how to best fight for equal rights for homosexuals differed from the organization as a whole. Harry Hay believed that "gays were a unique and especially talented group who had been a primary part of tribal societies and needed to come together and reclaim those sacred and traditional roles". Jennings believed that there essentially was no difference between a gay man and a straight man. Jennings adopted a more private role, believing that homosexuals as a group had very little in common, and wanted to fight for the right to be left alone while Hay and the rest of the Mattachine Society collectively wanted to make homosexuality visible to the public and fought for more homosexual awareness.

In 1953, Jennings and others of like mind separated from the Mattachine and created ONE, Inc.. This organization became the dominant organization in Los Angeles and with the financial assistance of Jennings' sister Elaine and her husband James Porter its magazine became, for a period of time, the voice of the gay and lesbian movement. The magazine spoke out openly and more forcefully on behalf of the rights and interests of homosexuals.

After leaving ONE in 1955, Jennings wrote and published his first novel, The Ronin, followed by The Sinking of the Sarah Diamond. Another book, The Cowboys, based on a film treatment he sold to Warner Bros., caused considerable controversy among publishers due to its glimmers of homoeroticism. The Cowboys was made into a film in 1972, starring John Wayne. While not as successful as his first book, he made enough profit from the book that allowed him to buy a ranch outside of Los Angeles. Later he moved to northern California where he decided to re-involve himself in the movement. He contacted an old friend from ONE, Don Slater, who had also separated himself from ONE and founded a new organization, HIC (Homosexual Information Center) in 1965. Jennings was very passionate about his writings, and hoped that the HIC would accept and protect his scripts and books.

He continued to write until shortly before his death on May 11, 2000 at the age of 82.

1953 – Born: British former secretary of state for Trade and Industry Peter Mandelson, Baron Mandelson. Along with Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, he is regarded as one of the main players in the rebranding of the Labour Party as "New Labour". Mandelson served as Member of Parliament for Hartlepool for twelve years (from 1992), a seat he vacated in order to become a European Commissioner (2004-2008).

In October 1998, during his first period in the Cabinet, Mandelson was the center of media attention when Matthew Parris (openly Gay former MP and then Parliamentary sketch writer of The Times of London) mentioned during a live interview that "Peter Mandelson is certainly Gay".

In 2000, Peter Mandelson publicly recognized his long term relationship with his long-time partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva by allowing photographs of them together. His memoir, The Third Man: Life at the Heart of New Labour, was published in July 2010.

In an interview, he said:

''I would hate to think that I take a stand because I have one sexuality, or one sexual orientation. I think it's important that people should be able to get to the top of politics - or whatever profession they aspire to travel to the top of - irrespective of what they are. I think I'm actually quite a good role model for people who, without any fuss or bother, without any self-consciousness or inverse or other discrimination, (are) able to make it in politics, to make it in public life, to make it to the top places in government of our country."

1968 – Trev Broudy is an American actor and former model born in California. Broudy came to national attention when he became the victim of a violent attack in 2002, which touched off a national discussion of hate crimes, drawing comparisons to the Matthew Shepard case.

On September 1, 2002, Broudy and boyfriend Edward Ulett were attacked after embracing outside Broudy's West Hollywood, California home by three assailants, Larry Walker, Torwin Sessions and Vincent Dotson. Broudy was beaten with a baseball bat and left in a coma for 10 days. In response the West Hollywood gay community organized a candlelight vigil.

Upon his regaining consciousness, Broudy's doctors determined that he had suffered permanent brain damage and was left legally blind. Part of his skull was replaced with a metal plate.

Walker, Sessions and Dotson were initially charged with attempted robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery. Republican Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley declined to press hate crime charges, a decision that sparked outrage in the community. West Hollywood City Councilmember Sal Guarriello and his political consultants immediately launched a recall campaign against Cooley to demonstrate their disgust for Cooley's homophobia. Cooley stated that he believed the motive to be robbery, not bias, a conclusion that Broudy disagreed with. After the preliminary hearing, an additional charge of aggravated mayhem was added for each defendant.

On August 27, 2003, Walker pleaded guilty to all charges and a day later Sessions and Dotson did the same. Walker was sentenced to 13 years in prison, Dotson received a seven-year sentence and Sessions was sentenced to 21 years.

Prior to the attack, Broudy was best known for a small role in the independent film The Fluffer. After the attack he narrated the 2003 VH1 special Totally Gay! in which he countered the generally light-hearted tone of the special by describing the attack and the devastating effects on his life. Broudy has appeared in a number of guest roles in a variety of television series and has started a career as a voice actor, performing in television and radio commercials and playing Cole Yeager in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent and Captain America in Marvel Ultimate Alliance.

1973 – Sasha Roiz is an Israeli-Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Sam Adama in the science fiction television series Caprica. He also had a regular role in the American dark fantasy television series, Grimm.

Roiz was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to Russian Jewish parents. The family moved to Montreal, Canada in 1980. Roiz studied history before joining a theatre school in Montreal. He later graduated from Guildford School of Acting in England

He has appeared in a number of popular television dramas, including CSI: Miami, House, NCIS, The Mentalist, Lie To Me, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Roiz has joined Warehouse 13 as a recurring character named Marcus Diamond.

In 2008, he landed the role of Sam Adama on Caprica, a spin-off of Battlestar Galactica. His character is a Tauron enforcer for the Ha'la'tha crime syndicate on Caprica. His character is also the uncle of William Adama. On April 28, 2009, his role was expanded to series regular. He stated in an interview that it was later revealed to him that his character would in fact be gay, something he felt was an opportunity to explore the dynamic relationship of a gay character in a science fiction setting, as well as to explore the issue of homosexuality on a social level.

When asked whether he is gay, his stock response is not a denial, but "no comment" and he adds,

I'm very involved as much as I can be with any sort of causes in the gay community and I'm very supportive and I'll continue to be so. So far, no word of my character [ in "Grimm"] being gay but in my personal life I will continue to be a supporter.

Matt Dallas (L) with husband Blue Hamilton

1982 – Matt Dallas is an American actor, best known for playing the title character on the ABC Family series Kyle XY.

Dallas has starred in several films, including Babysitter Wanted, as well as the title character in the ABC Family television series Kyle XY for three seasons. The series ended on March 16, 2009 after it was canceled by ABC. Dallas also appeared in Living The Dream, Wannabe, Camp Daze, and Way of The Vampire. He has been a guest on the TV show Entourage.

In 2012, Dallas starred as Max in the musical love story movie You, Me & The Circus. He played the role of Bat Masterson in an action packed western movie Wyatt Earp's Revenge with Val Kilmer. He also starred as Lance Leigh in the Hallmark movie Naughty or Nice with Hilarie Burton. Dallas played the role of Scott Orenhauser in the indie syfy thriller film Life Tracker. Dallas had a recurring role in ABC Family show Baby Daddy, where he played Riley's love interest. In 2014, Dallas starred in the horror comedy movie Ghost of Goodnight Lane.

On July 5, 2015, Dallas married musician Blue Hamilton, musician, his partner of five years. On December 22, 2015, Dallas and Hamilton announced on their YouTube channel that they had adopted their two-year old son, Crow

1984 – Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman is a Canadian actor and fashion model. He is known for appearances in films and TV series including in the role of Jay in Lifetime dark comedy-drama series, UnREAL.

Bowyer-Chapman was born in Edmonton, Alberta and raised in Rimbey, Alberta. At the age of 16, he began his modeling career, shooting for a number of fashion brands. Alongside modeling, Bowyer-Chapman also began acting career, making his screen debut in gay-themed film Shock to the System (2006). He went to appear in Noah's Arc and The L Word, and well as romantic comedy The Break-Up Artist (2009).From 2009 to 2011, Bowyer-Chapman had a recurring role in the Syfy series, Stargate Universe. In 2012, he starred alongside Jussie Smollett in the LGBT-themed romantic comedy-drama The Skinny. In 2015, he began starring alongside Constance Zimmer and Shiri Appleby in the critically acclaimed Lifetime dark comedy-drama series, Unreal, playing the role of Jay, the gay producer on reality show. In 2016, Bowyer-Chapman appeared in the comedy fim Dirty Grandpa.

Born in 1984, he was adopted as a one-month old child. He carries the family name of both his mother and father's surnames. His biological younger brother is Cleyon Laing, defensive end for the Ottawa Redblacks. He got trained as a gymnast.

Bowyer-Chapman is openly gay. He was named one of "Five Of The Best…" in Out magazine's 2007 feature article "Canada's Coolest" and was listed in Mwinda magazine's 2009 special issue "The 10 Most Beautiful Africans In Entertainment". He has modeled in many venues including USA, Canada, South Africa and Europe and modeled in international campaigns for American Apparel and Levi's.

1986 – U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop calls for the use of condoms to prevent HIV transmission.

2010 – The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favor of Moscow Pride president Nikolai Alexeyev, saying that authorities acted illegally when they banned gay pride in Moscow.

[loebleopoldwp]

what's your favourite fictional leopold and loeb retelling? Book/movie/musical/anything!

Thank you for your question!

Ooo that's a tricky one, there's so many possibilities!

As far as my favorites objectively, which I think I'd like even if I didn't know the Leopold-Loeb story, I'd say Funny Games (1997), Rope (1948) and Scream (1996), none of which are really about Leopold and Loeb at all, haha.

But for the ones that really adapt the story/characters I'd say Never the Sinner by John Logan, Little Brother Fate: The Cold and the Dark by Mary Carter-Roberts, Nothing But the Night by James Yaffe, The Hunting Accident by Landis Blair and David Carlson, Compulsion (1959) and the Laural Meade play trilogy

I think These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever is really good but man is it depressing in Paul's POV for so many pages, so I don't really reach for it a lot.

Shout outs to The Nice Boys by Isabel Colegate and The Death of Dickie Draper by Jerome Weidman too!

[doyouknowthismusical]

[mthguy]

Patti Lupone and Company perform “Anything Goes” at the 1988 Tony Awards

Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, revised considerably by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London. Billy Crocker is a stowaway in love with heiress Hope Harcourt, who is engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Nightclub singer Reno Sweeney and Public Enemy Number 13, "Moonface" Martin, aid Billy in his quest to win Hope. Songs introduced that later became pop and jazz standards are "Anything Goes", "You're the Top", "All Through the Night", and "I Get a Kick Out of You".

For the 1987 Broadway revival, John Weidman and Timothy Crouse (Russel's son) updated the book and re-ordered the musical numbers, using Cole Porter songs from other Porter shows, a practice which the composer often engaged in. This revival opened at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, in Lincoln Center, on October 19, 1987, and ran for 784 performances. Directed by Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Michael Smuin, it starred Patti LuPone as Reno Sweeney, Howard McGillin as Billy, Bill McCutcheon as Moonface, and Anthony Heald as Lord Evelyn. It was nominated for ten Tony Awards (including nominations for McGillin, LuPone, McCutcheon, and Heald), winning for Best Revival of a Musical, Best Featured Actor (McCutcheon), and Best Choreography. The production also won the Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Revival of a Musical and Outstanding Actress (for LuPone).

[sondheims-hat]

February 16, 1991: Assassins closes at Playwrights Horizons after 47 previews and 25 performances.

[prismartist]

For the Assassins asks: 6/7 and 12 (I wasn’t aware this was even a fandom debate, I love it!!)

favorite line(s)/favorite joke

oh no there are so many good ones 💀 for joke i'll say the entire first fromme and moore scene is just brilliant, it's always a hit with the audience especially when the actresses have really good chemistry. for line, maybe the entire "sammy had a dream" section of sam byck's second monologue. john weidman is a genius for that it just hits

bonus shoutout to "father christas undecided" and guiteau singing deck the halls in the original off-broadway script

something just broke or nah?

the thing is i can see the arguments for both sides? so i could take it or leave it, but i do prefer it in the show because it's just been a part of it for so long it's more jarring without it. and i do think it adds something, showing how the assassinations both affects civilians deeply and won't give the lasting satisfaction the assassins want. also it's a really good song. what else do ya need

[bumblingest-bee]

i love how in assassins (as in real life) booth is fixated on the idea of being a modern-day brutus, but by the end of the play he's become cassius. manipulating oswald by preying on his insecurities and fears and ego. the julius caesar parallels in that scene are so distinctive they have to be intentional. he knows what role he's playing because of course he does

[bestmusicalworldcup]

The Menier Chocolate Factory and Umeda Arts Theater's production of Pacific Overtures opens at the Menier Chocolate Factory on December 4th with a scheduled run lasting to February 24th. This production played in Tokyo and Osaka earlier this year.