#Off-Broadway

[glimeres]

Hadestown (2017, Off-Broadway) - Digital Booklet Pics

[terrible-musical-theatre-ideas]

In order to compensate for the fact that someone decided Cats needed to not have cats in it, we will replace the human characters in at least one musical with cats. We are hosting a poll to determine which musical will go full Jellicle in order to restore the balance of the universe, lest we unleash the flesh monster which resides in Patti Lupone's basement.

[fulesthefirst]

Dracula, a Comedy of Terrors || Interview with the Vampire (2022-)

Ancient vampires assimmilating into modern society.

[trebletreblemaker]

this is me

asking the internet

FOR A BOOTLEG

of jon groff’s LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

i am in shock that there aren’t any online like, this is the first time slime tutorials have failed me

[droughtofapathy]

"Welcome to the Theatre": Diary of a Broadway Baby

Three Houses

May 26, 2024 | Off-Broadway | Signature Theatre Company | Matinee | Musical | Original | 1H 40M

Dave Malloy has done it again: another weird, dissonant, non-traditional piece of theatre that delights at every turn. More concept musical than straightforward storytelling, this show centers three bar patrons each telling their story of how they survived the early days of the pandemic and the toll isolation and global crisis exacted. The three stories are all self-contained, each about 25-30 or so minutes of sung-through motifs, each with several constant throughlines (experiencing the pandemic in an unfamiliar location, grandparents haunting the narrative, fabulous puppetry, desecrated mental health).

The set is exactly what you'd expect of a Dave Malloy musical. Not quite literally immersive, but staged thrust-style with incredible detail to evoke the proper mood. Musicians on stage in the four corners, actively present in the story. And the puppetry, oh my goodness. Not since Milky White have I been so enamored by puppets. The dragon is precious, the animal crossing-like creature adorable, and that spider. Wow. I need that spider to hover in a corner of my room. It is beautiful.

This isn't one of his shows that contains songs all his fans will flock to and devour for audition pieces. The score is weird and wild and deeply entrenched in serving the story as a whole, not providing anyone with a big 11 o'clock number.

Verdict: Why I Love the Theatre

A Note on Ratings

[broadwaydivastournament]

At last our yearning can be satiated. Not seen on a New York City stage in a full-length production since 2011, Joanna Gleason makes a triumphant return in the Off-Broadway world premiere of Joshua Harmon's We Had a World. Previews begin February 25, 2025, ahead of a March 19 opening night. 

[bikkue]

The Hazbin Hotel Cabaret → Hazbin Hotal's VAs + Musicals

[principiumindividuationis777]

[imnottoonewnow]

Not to brag, but I think I was in the most ungovernable crowd at Twenty Sided Tavern last night: geese teeth, Achoo/Bless You, prescription names, “eat my butt”….

Also not to brag but I got to meet and hug @quiddie so I’m a cool kid now

Also also shoutout the front row of loners who banded together! The real friends were the front row we made along the way

[glimeres]

1983, The Tonight Show - Ellen Greene and Lee Wilkof (feat. Marion Ramsey, Louise Robinson and B.J. Jefferson) perform Somewhere That's Green and Suddenly, Seymour from the musical Little Shop Of Horrors

[denimbex1986]

'The list of acting greats who have taken on the role of Uncle Vanya is a long one: Laurence Olivier, Ian McKellen, Peter O’Toole, Simon Russell Beale, Derek Jacobi. Earlier this year, Steve Carrell brought his distinct pathos—and humor—to Anton Chekhov’s classic meditation on money, class, work, the environment, and masculinity in a production at Lincoln Center Theater. Yet none of these actors have, it’s safe to say, attempted to turn it into a one-man play.

Last fall, in London, Andrew Scott did just that, playing all the parts in Uncle Vanya—and somehow, by all accounts, carrying it off. That stripped-down, modernized production offered no distraction from Scott as he nimbly pivoted between the eight characters: the professor returning to his country home with his young wife, the brother-in-law (Vanya) who has been bitterly managing the estate that has funded the professor’s exploits, and everyone in between. The performance was described as virtuosic, the foundation for a captivating show that included a one-man sex scene. Scott (also one of the co-creators) was, unsurprisingly, nominated for best actor at the Olivier Awards, and the play won best revival.

Though widely known (now and probably forever) as the “hot priest” from Fleabag, Scott has moved definitively beyond the role that made millions of viewers question their inclinations toward the clergy. He starred last year in Andrew Haigh’s gently devastating All of Us Strangers, and earlier this year in Ripley, the moody Netflix adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley that earned 13 Emmy nominations, in part due to his sinister reinvention of the chameleonic central character.

And now, Scott, along with co-creator and adaptor Simon Stephens, designer Rosanna Vize, and director Sam Yates, is bringing Vanya to New York for its American premiere. (Vanya will arrive just over a century after the vodka-soaked tragicomedy had its Broadway premiere in 1923.) “Performing this play in front of an audience was one of the most magical, exhausting and thrilling experiences of my life," says Scott. "I’m so excited to come back to New York and share that experience with the audiences at the Lortel.”

“The connection between the wondrous Andrew Scott and audiences in London was unlike anything I’ve witnessed before in the theater,” says Yates. “I am honored and excited to share this production and Andrew’s remarkable performance with audiences in New York.”

Previews will begin at the Lucille Lortel Theatre off-Broadway on March 11, with an opening night set for March 18. Tickets are on sale today.'

[weirdo-daylist]

[thefandomentals]

Off-Broadway hit The Twenty-Sided Tavern, which turns D&D into a rollicking musical adventure, is set to hit the road for a national tour in May 2025.

[emcgoverns]

elizabeth mcgovern as margaret church (with george n. martin & marian seldes) in the off-broadway production of “painting churches” (1983) | 📸: martha swope

[droughtofapathy]

"Welcome to the Theatre": Diary of a Broadway Baby

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

July 6, 2024 | Off-Broadway | PAC-NYC | Evening | Musical | Revival | 2H 30M

Well, I didn't hate it. But I didn't love it either, so at least my pretentious theatre persona didn't take a complete hit.

Cats remains one of the most divisive shows in musical theatre history. You either love it or hate it, and you can guess where I stand. Cats: The Jellicle Ball is a high-concept revival that recenters the story on ballroom culture. It's queer, it's spectacle, it's painfully appropriate. It works so well and I'm a little mad about it. I fear this was the way Cats was always meant to be presented. Now, the "cats" are ballroom performers with two Houses (House of MaCavity and House of Dots) competing for trophies and Old Deuteronomy's approval. The ultimate prize remains the Heavyside Layer, which is still basically just ritualistic suicide so I don't know what's up with that, but sure, fine, whatever.

Things of note:

Jennyanydots is a House Mother who has a litter of virgin voguers ("kittins") she's coaching to win the competitions.

Munkustrap is the Emcee of the night.

The virgin voguers are Victoria, Cassandra, and Electra.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer are from Jersey and cause all sorts of havoc during the category competitions.

Rum Tum Tugger is as horny as ever, and if you read any other reviews, they'll mention the actor's jockstrap. Personally, as a lesbian, I was unimpressed, and his overall performance was just okay to me. His voice was very much your basic pop star kiss the mic and pout kind of deal. Don't care.

Macavity is less of a villain here and more of an irresponsible House Father who shoplifts his house members' costumes. This is about the only real plot we have. The police come to arrest Macavity for his thefts and Old Duteronemy "gives himself up" to the cops to protect Macavity (who is now guilt-ridden and apologetic(?))

But don't worry. Magical Mr. Mistoffeles is here to save the day with a big magician's trick box and Andre de Shields emerges unscathed.

Gus, the theatre cat is played by Junior LaBeija, an icon and trailblazer of ballroom culture. He has been a member of House of LaBeija for over fifty years, and his legendary status shows.

Skimbleshanks is a slutty MTA employee.

Grizabella is a former ballroom icon who is well-past her prime. Now homeless and destitute, she longs to regain the glamour of her youth.

The changes to the setting and "story" means that some "cats" are drastically downgraded. Bombalurina doesn't get to do anything anymore (and the one "Macavity" song is...not impressive from her end). Jellylorum gets elevated to a more vocally impressive role. Shereen Pimentel is almost single-handedly carrying the entire cast's singing. She floats on that high soprano track and I am in awe.

As a piece of artistry, this new concept is radical, transformative, and wildly creative. As a musical, the source material is still...Cats... So like, there's only so high it can climb. Yes, it's a fun night out. It's wild. I sat along the runway, so I had "cats" dancing right in front of me and twerking on the little round table I sat behind. At one point, two of the cats sat next to me to hang out. At another point, they offered up vodka shots (alas wasted on my sober ass). It made for one hell of an immersive experience (which I could have done without, but I picked that seat to avoid climbing steps, so trade-off), and visually it's stunning. The choreography is a lot. I don't have much knowledge of ballroom culture beyond a rudimentary understanding (and I'm not a fan of drag, which is heavily based off that), but I can appreciate the physical feat. The cast is partially trained musical theatre performers and partially ballroom performers, and the divide is pretty damn stark. Which brings me into my main criticisms.

Dramaturgically, the "plot" they try to infuse with the police and the raid is...not great in execution. I don't think there would ever be a successful way to integrate a book into this musical. But we don't have time to get into all that.

Also, it's a really fucking rowdy kind of show with lots of screaming and hollering from the audience, which is appropriate given the show, so I won't shake my fist. However, I was prepared to be miserable when the first note blasted through the house and everyone was shrieking with glee over a projection of a "cat" shadow doing a dance. Why so excited for what was ultimately very dull projection work? But I digress.

Musically, the show falls apart. Unlike Sondheim, whose work is far more reliant on excellent actors who can carry a tune, ALW's scores call for the opposite. His music demands technically perfect singers and actual acting can fall by the wayside as long as the notes sound good. Without singers, the whole scaffolding collapses. ALW scores are not about lyrics or even storytelling. They're about the notes. And this cast, while doing phenomenal physical work, has maybe two or three excellent singers, and no, they aren't playing the roles you'd expect. When Bebe Nicole Simpson as Demeter finally gets to do something halfway through act two ("Macavity: The Mystery Cat"), her incredible voice is a breath of fresh air. Shereen Pimentel is carrying the whole damn team with her high notes. Everyone else is standard ability, or lower. The sound mixing heavily favors the beat, so lyrics are lost to the aether left right and center. Which, given how I feel about ALW, might have been a positive, except that the lyrics of Cats (thank you T.S. Elliott) were really the only good thing, and with the casual dismissal of them here, what's left?

"Memory" is lowered significantly, and you won't find any Betty Buckley brilliance here. I understand wanting to have a ballroom icon in this role from a dramaturgical perspective, but from a musical perspective, big mistake. It's not a dance track, so it needed to be a singer. The actor did manage to infuse passion into the role, so it wasn't a disaster, but it wasn't what it should have been. I may hate the original show, and the song itself, but even I feel transcendent when Betty Buckley hits that key change. That didn't happen here, and it was almost a little horrifying. Still, far from the worst vocal miss I've heard all year (looking at you...Lempicka...)

At the end of the day, it should be seen for the risky theatremaking feat alone. I've seen queer people singing its praises from Battery Park to Washington Heights, so it's got an audience. And as history shows, Cats doesn't need to be good to be commercially great.

Verdict: ALW Memorial Landfill

A Note on Ratings

You still can't gaslight me into liking an ALW show.