#bobby frederick tilley

[theasexualfangirl]

the team of creatives for be more chill on broadway.

(photographed by emilio madrid-kuser)

[bmc-cast-answers]

(via @nirehtyls-oiprocs) this is genius holy shit

[bmc-cast-appreciation]

katlyn carlson: ethereal sequined goddess (ft. george salazar's leg)

[larryland]

“What you see is what you get!”

That was the catch phrase of Flip Wilson’s Geraldine, one of America’s favorite drag characters, and it perfectly embodies drag as an art form. Geraldine both did and did not exist, she was Wilson and she was not.

In the Dorset Theatre Festival’s production of The Legend of Georgia McBride, Matthew Lopez’ new comedy about a young straight man whose discovery that he is a drag queen literally saves his marriage, what you see – a spectacular ninety minutes of very moving comedy brilliantly performed and directed – is exactly what you get.

The minute you enter the theatre in Dorset you are greeted by an air of excitement. Strings of colored lights swoop across the ceiling down toward the stage (just the start of Zach Blane’s dazzling lighting design.) A sign upstage welcomes you to Cleo’s in Panama Beach, Florida and songs like “One Night in Margaritaville” and “Tequila Sunrise” set the scene for the tacky booze-fest that occurs in such clubs. The opening minutes of the show introduce the central character, Casey (Joey Taranto), doing a mediocre Elvis impression on Cleo’s stage. The fact that he can’t earn enough to pay the rent from this gig is immediately obvious. His wife Jo (Vasthy Mompoint) is exasperated with his lack of responsibility and his oblivious optimism, and reality socks them both in the gut when, a few minutes later, a home pregnancy test reveals that they are expecting.

Cleo’s owner, Eddie (Denny Dale Bess), is as desperate as Casey for the club to turn a profit, and so he calls on his cousin Bobby to bring in his drag act. Bobby arrives in his drag persona, Miss Tracy Mills (David Turner), with her partner, the erratic and seldom sober Miss Anorexia Nervosa aka Rexy (Jon Norman Schneider), and Casey is demoted to bartender. Until one night when Rexy has one too many and passes out…and a new drag star is born.

Casey’s transformation into Miss Georgia McBride occupies the center slice of the show and offers a fascinating glimpse into what it takes to develop a new identity physically and psychologically. I say a glimpse because Casey’s transitions in and out of drag are lightning fast. When I read the script I was terrified that Lopez had written a play that would literally be impossible to stage because he had not built in enough time for the costume changes, but director Stephen Brackett has choreographed them to the last second, and thanks to Bobby Frederick Tilley’s flexible (and stunning!) costumes, a drag-savvy cast (shout out to Judy Bowman Casting), and expert dressers, they all go off without a hitch. The dressers to appear on stage occasionally, briefly, and inconspicuously and it seems perfectly normal that Tracy and Georgia would have assistance with their changes.

“Drag ain’t a hobby, baby. Drag ain’t a night job. Drag is a protest. Drag is a raised fist inside a sequined glove. Drag is a lot of things, baby, but drag is not for sissies.”

– Matthew Lopez

Still, Taranto’s first appearance as the fully formed Georgia is gasp-inducing. She is gorgeous!  (There are no production photos of his full transformation so you will just have to go and see for yourself.) And Taranto is unrecognizable, even though you watch him remove her and turn back into him right before your eyes, they remain two distinct people. Taranto performed in drag on Broadway in the original cast of Kinky Boots, so he is completely comfortable sprinting around in towering stilettos that would break my ankles in a second.

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Equally gasp-inducing is the brief scene in which Tracy appears as Bobby. This huge presence is suddenly this small, quiet man. (Again, no production photos of that moment but Turner can be seen out of drag in the rehearsal cast photo.) While Casey is billed as the lead role, as far as I was concerned Turner’s Tracy was the star of the show and it’s heart. He handles the majority of the lip synch numbers (kudos to Ryan Rumery for the excellent sound design) and an astonishing number of costume changes.

As I watched Turner perform his first big number – “Hey Big Spender” from Sweet Charity vividly choreographed by Patrick McCullom – I realized that I have only been exposed to nice safe sanitized G-rated drag, and that watching what was definitely merely PG-13 was quite shocking to me. I have definitely got to expand my horizons and go see a real drag show. Which way to Cleo’s?

Bess is ideal as the sleazy middle-aged club boss with the heart of gold, and Mompoint is warm and relatable as Jo. For a variety of reasons Casey finds it impossible to say to Jo that he is performing drag, and she finds out by accident on a chance visit to the club when she is six months pregnant. Her struggle to come to grips with her husband’s duplicity and his new identity as Georgia is slightly truncated, but ultimately winning. The one thing that makes me sad as a cisgender straight woman like Jo is how marginalized we are in the drag world. Women do drag too, adopting both male personae – three cheers for Melissa McCarthy! – and drag queen identities – Madonna and Cher are excellent examples. I was glad Brackett gave Mompoint a dance solo in a snazzy outfit in the final number because drag is also a celebration of the universal feminine.

Schneider is equally impressive both in drag as Rexy (I seriously covet those hot pink fishnets with the barber pole swirls and the poison green patent leather heels!) and in a dual role as a straight dude named Jason, who is Casey and Jo’s beleaguered landlord. Lopez has given both characters some of the most important lines in the show – Rexy’s ferocious defense of his identity as a drag queen, and Jason’s confession that, before his marriage, he was deeply in love with a trans woman.

I can’t think of a production where the vital importance of each and every member of the company is so apparent. While standing ovations are nauseatingly ubiquitous these days, when the audience I attended with leapt to their feet at the curtain call the impetus was genuine and the accolade well-earned. I would have been delighted to keep cheering if the set , costume, lighting and sound designers had bounded out on stage, along with the director and the choreographer and the stage manager and the dressers and…and…and… Talk about your well-oiled machine! This production is firing on all cylinders.

I attended a matinee, performances generally patronized by older theatre goers, and as I walked out I heard many interesting snippets of conversation in which people unused to discussing drag and gender identity and such struggled to find the words to describe their thoughts while maintaining their own facades of genteel propriety. This is good. These are things we need to think and talk about more. We need to recognize the common humanity underneath whatever persona we are wearing today.

What you see may be what you get only because that’s what you’re expecting. What you see is usually only the tip of the iceberg.

The Dorset Theatre Festival’s production of The Legend of Georgia McBride by Matthew Lopez, directed by Stephen Brackett, runs August 3-19, 2017, at the Dorset Playhouse, 104 Cheney Road in Dorset, Vermont. The show runs 90 minutes with no intermission. Choreography by Patrick McCullom, set design by, Lee Savage costume design by Bobby Frederick Tilley, lighting design by Zach Blane, sound design by Ryan Rumery, stage manager Will Rucker. CAST: Denny Dale Bess as Eddie; Joey Taranto as Casey; Vasthy Mompoint as Jo; David Turner as Miss Tracy Mills; and Jon Norman Schneider as Rexy and Jason.

The box office may be reached by calling (802) 867-2223 ext 2 Tuesday through Saturday 12-6pm (8pm on performance days). For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit Dorset Theatre Festival’s website at dorsettheatrefestival.org.

REVIEW: “The Legend of Georgia McBride”at Dorset “What you see is what you get!” That was the catch phrase of Flip Wilson’s Geraldine, one of America’s favorite drag characters, and it perfectly embodies drag as an art form.

[amateur-theater-critic-blog]

Be More Chill

Be More Chill is a disappointing and repetitive play that leans too much on its ability to provide good music to develop any sort of character or original plot. Based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Ned Vizzini, it tells the tale of an average boy going through the troubles of high school when he encounters the Japanese supercomputer nanotechnology called the S.Q.U.I.P. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really do anything with that idea. Instead it uses old overused high school cliches that any casual reader of anything can recognize. Everything you think that will happen, happens. And not even in an original fashion, either. It felt more like going through the motions. We need a strong independent love interest, but she has to fall in love with him in the end, so, in the very last scene, with no prior interest in the main character, she will tell him she loves him and kiss him.

There are also a lot of plot points that are mentioned once - as if to set up conflict or problem, and then is never addressed again. In one scene, the rich kid’s house gets set on fire, and even though it triggers a song and one of the characters walks in crutches, nobody else seems to actually be affected by it. The whole deal is dropped after the song - even the crutches in the next few scenes. There’s also a moment when the SQUIP tells Jeremy that he isn’t going to be cool, he’s going to be chill, while never providing a distinction, even in the story. Other scenes are similarly disjointed, even though they happen within a few days of Jeremy’s life.

None of the characters have any dimension to them, simply given a single characteristic from the beginning that stays with them through the end - a wikipedia one word description, one could say. In addition, the plot itself is flawed, wherein the villain ultimately made everything better and not being yourself is the answer - completely contradicting their attempt at a moral. It is also unclear is Christine, the love interest, was ever interested in Jeremy, making the last scene, where she suddenly proclaims her love to him, a little suspicious. However, I feel like that problem stems from the director not allowing the actors to flesh out their own role, as the first act has a very good base for interesting characters, if not good ones.

If that were the only bad part, I would think it was a pretty okay musical. It fails terribly as a storytelling medium, but at least it would have had good music and songs. And while individually, each song and dance number is reasonably good, when you listen to all of it one after the other, it gets boring. The sound of the people singing feels especially artificial next to the techno style instrumentals, and it is just loud enough that eventually it stops being a song and just becomes word vomit with a catchy beat. When I listened to the playlist of songs on Spotify, I was shocked at the difference in quality. Maybe the problem here is that it was only previews and the issue will be fixed in the real performance, maybe not. Who knows.

The best part of the play, hands down, was the set design and the lighting. With screens lining the front of the stage, and the whole techno vibe, it was absolutely beautiful. The only time it got in the way was when there were lights flashing in the audience, and the balcony was just at the right level to have spotlights flashed right into unsuspecting eyes. Luckily, it was only done once.

In reading reviews of the 2015 off-broadway version, most critics agree with my thoughts, that the story on its own is pretty shallow, so if you don’t particularly like the music, it doesn’t provide much else in the way of entertainment. So, my suggestion is to listen to the Spotify Be More Chill Original cast recording, and if you really like that, like really love it, then sure, go ahead, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying it.

Rating: 2/5

Now In Previews: Opening Night is March 10th

http://bemorechillmusical.com/

Cast and Creative:

Jeremy Heere -- Will Roland

Mr. Heere/Mr. Reyes/Scary Stockboy -- Jason Sweettooth Williams

Jake Dillinger -- Britton Smith

Chloe Valentine -- Katlyn Carlson

Brooke Lohst -- Lauren Marcus

Rich Goranski -- Gerard Canonico

Christine Canigula -- Stephanie Hsu

Jenna Rolan -- Tiffany Mann

Michael Mell -- George Salazar

The Squip -- Jason Tam

Music and Lyrics -- Joe Iconis

Book -- Joe Tracz

Director -- Stephen Brackett

Choreography -- Chase Brock

Music Supervisor and Orchestrator -- Charlie Rosen

Music Director and Vocal Arranger -- Emily Marshall

Scenic Designer -- Beowulf Boritt

Costume Designer -- Bobby Frederick Tilley II

Lighting Designer -- Tyler Micoleau

Sound Designer -- Ryan Rumery

Projection Designer -- Alex Basco Koch

Wig and Makeup Designer -- Dave Bova

Fight Designer -- J. David Brimmer

Music Coordinator -- Michael Aarons

Dance Arrangements -- Rob Berman

Production Stage Manager -- Amanda Michaels

Production Supervisor -- Senovva

Associate Music Director -- Geoffrey Ko

Associate Choreographer -- Alicia Lundgren

Musicians:

Conductor/Keyboard 1 -- Emily Marshall

Theremin/Trumpet/Flugabone/Recorder -- Danny Jonokuchi

Woodwinds/Keyboard 2/Vocoder -- Josh Plotner

Guitar 1 -- Mike Rosengarten

Guitar 2/Ukelele -- Charlie Rosen

Drums/Percussion -- Marques Walls

Bass -- Dennis Michael Keefe

[reidspng]

WAIT is the photo from george’s insta bc i don’t see it?? BUT YOOO IM SO HAPPY

if you mean the hoodie pic nah it’s from the insta of bobby frederick tilley!!! he’s the costume designer :)

[showbizchicago]

Ghostlight Records Releases BE MORE CHILL-OBCR 2-LP Vinyl

George Salazar in "Be More Chill" Photo Credit: Maria Baranova GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS has announced that Be More Chill: Original Broadway Cast Recording two-LP vinyl set is now available exclusively at Barnes & Noble . The album was released for digital download and streaming, in addition to a two-disc CD, earlier this year. This new album continues the remarkable journey for Be More Chill, as the original recording from Ghostlight – which has now been streamed over 300 million times to date – helped propel the show from Two River Theater to a viral Broadway hit. Be More Chill was nominated for a 2019 Tony Award for “Best Original Score.” The gatefold two-LP package features complete lyrics, color production photography, and special liner notes by Grammy and Tony Award-winning songwriters Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman. The album is produced by Kurt Deutsch, Joe Iconis, and Charlie Rosen, and co-produced by Ian Kagey and Emily Marshall. To download or stream the album, or order the CD, please visit  ghostlightrecords.lnk.to/bemorechillbroadway To order the vinyl LP set, please click HERE Be More Chill – which closed at the Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45th Street, NYC) on August 11 – was nominated for “Best Musical” by the Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, Off-Broadway Alliance, and Lucille Lortel Awards. The show, featuring music and lyrics by Joe Iconis and a book by Joe Tracz, based on the cult sensation novel by Ned Vizzini, was directed by Stephen Brackett and choreographed by Chase Brock. “It’s no secret that many of Be More Chill’s supporters first discovered the show thanks to its Two River original cast album. The thought of delivering a brand-new Broadway cast album to those same fans, who continued to support and love the musical and expand its reach to brand-new audiences is a thrill,” said lead producer Jerry Goehring. According to Joe Iconis, “the score of Be More Chill has mutated, deepened, gotten tons more heartfelt and a lot more explosive since our first production at Two River. I am so thrilled that our new Broadway cast recording captures all of that growth and more. Fans of the show can expect the definitive version of the score, complete with tons of never-before-recorded musical goodies and expanded versions of songs they know and love. First time listeners can expect the most contemporary-sounding traditional musical comedy cast recording imaginable.” Be More Chill arrived on Broadway with the entire cast of its summer 2018 off-Broadway run intact, all of whom are all featured on the album: Will Roland as Jeremy; George Salazar as Michael; Stephanie Hsu as Christine; Gerard Canonico as Rich; Katlyn Carlson as Chloe; Tiffany Mann as Jenna; Lauren Marcus as Brooke; Britton Smith as Jake; Jason SweetTooth Williams as Mr. Heere - Mr. Reyes - Scary Stockboy; and Jason Tam as The Squip. What if popularity came in a pill? Would you take it, no questions asked? In Be More Chill, achieving that elusive “perfect life” is now possible thanks to some mysterious new technology-but it comes at a cost that's not as easy to swallow. What could possibly go wrong? Blending the contemporary with retro sci-fi, this thrillingly exciting, comically subversive, and deeply felt new musical takes on the competing voices in all of our heads. And ultimately proves, there's never been a better time in history to be yourself-especially if you're a loser...geek...or whatever. When the musical opened on Broadway, The Wall Street Journal called it “one of the strongest new musicals of the past decade. Not since Hamilton has a musical opened on Broadway that is so closely in tune with contemporary pop-music style.” Rolling Stone hailed it as “a wow of a musical shaking things up on Broadway. Talk about universal! This joyful, roof-raising phenom is uplifted by the irresistible score of the mega-skilled Joe Iconis.” New York Magazine writes, “It soars… witty, high octane tunes, bang-up performances and shrewd comedy. It has a welcome edge to it that’s refreshing!” AM New York calls Be More Chill “an exciting musical with an addictively catchy score and superb cast. It deserves a place in Broadway history.” NBC says Be More Chill is “the toast of Broadway. A new musical that speaks to a new generation.” Be More Chill’s creative team features scenic design by Tony Award winner Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Bobby Frederick Tilley II; lighting design by Tony Award winner Tyler Micoleau; sound design by Ryan Rumery; projection design by Alex Basco Koch; hair and makeup design by Dave Bova; music direction by Emily Marshall; music supervision and orchestrations by Charlie Rosen; fight direction by J. David Brimmer; production supervision by SenovvA Inc.; and casting by Telsey + Company / Adam Caldwell, CSA & Rebecca Scholl, CSA. The work of Joe Iconis is also represented on Ghostlight Records with Be More Chill (Original Cast Recording), Two-Player Game (George Salazar and Joe Iconis), The Joe Iconis Rock & Roll Jamboree, and Things To Ruin (Original Cast Recording). GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS has become the leading independent force in Original Broadway Cast Recordings – building a library of over 200 records over the past 19 years, featuring some of the most successful Broadway musicals and solo albums by Broadway’s brightest stars. Founded by Grammy Award winner Kurt Deutsch, Ghostlight has won Grammy Awards for The Band’s Visit, The Book of Mormon, In the Heights and Beautiful – The Carole King Musical. Ghostlight has also released solo albums from Patti LuPone, Kelli O’Hara, Sutton Foster, Billy Porter, and more. The label continues to support the new generation of musical theater composers and has developed extensive relationships with Jason Robert Brown, Michael John LaChiusa, and David Yazbek, as well as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Pasek & Paul, Tom Kitt, Joe Iconis, and Shaina Taub. Ghostlight Records is part of the Arts Music division at Warner Music Group. ghostlightrecords.com “BE MORE CHILL – ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING” TRACK LIST Jeremy’s Theme (Instrumental)  More Than Survive  I Love Play Rehearsal  More Than Survive (Reprise)  The Squip Song  Two-Player Game  The Squip Enters  Be More Chill Pt. 1  Do You Wanna Ride?   Be More Chill Pt. 2  Sync Up  A Guy That I’d Kinda Be Into  The Squip Stalks (Instrumental)  Upgrade  Loser Geek Whatever  Halloween   Do You Wanna Hang?  Michael in the Bathroom  A Guy That I’d Kinda Be Into (Reprise)  The Smartphone Hour (Rich Set a Fire)  The Pants Song  The Pitiful Children  The Play  Voices in My Head Read the full article

[theatre-photography-blog]

Photos from Be More Chill opening night.

(left to right, top to bottom: Bobby Frederick Tilley, Charlie Rosen, Stephen Brackett, Joe Tracz, Emily Marshall, Anthony Chatmon II, Beowulf Boritt, Chase Brock, Joel Waggoner)

(Photos by Emilio Madrid-Kuser for Broadway.com)

[hayleysprout13]

Be More Chill @ The Other Palace

New Review! -- Be More Chill @ The Other Palace

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tickets and more information: https://lwtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/be-more-chill/ Booking until: 3rd May 2020 Run time: 2hr 30 mins

The musical sensation Be More Chill has arrived in London, direct from Broadway. Based on the Ned Vizzini novel, the show follows Jeremy Heere, a high school teenager who just wants to fit in. He soon discovers a pill called The Squib, a supercomputer…

[larryland]

"The Legend of Georgia McBride" Takes Center Stage  at Dorset Theatre Festival

“The Legend of Georgia McBride” Takes Center Stage  at Dorset Theatre Festival

DORSET, VT: Dorset Theatre Festival continues its 40th Anniversary Season with the Regional Premiere of The Legend of Georgia McBride by Matthew Lopez. The Legend of Georgia McBride, under the direction of Stephen Brackett (Buyer & Cellar National Tour, Ultimate Beauty Bible at Page 73), runs for 16 performances between August 3 – 19, 2017. All performances take place at the Dorset Playhouse, 104…