#frank vlastnik

[sea-changed]

Because I have not seen this posted yet, and because it really has to be heard to be believed, I submit as propaganda for Danny Kaye his legendary Tchaikovsky (And Other Russians) tongue-twister from the 1940s Broadway musical Lady in the Dark:

(And as a bonus fun fact, according to Broadway historians Ken Bloom and Frank Vlastnik, Kaye's character in this was one of the very first openly gay characters in a Broadway musical.)

Propaganda

Fernando Lamas (The Merry Widow, The Girl Rush)—no propaganda submitted

Danny Kaye (The Court Jester, Hans Christian Andersen, White Christmas)—he's such an absolute joy to watch dancing, swordfighting, singing, you name it...underrated genius and SO hot beneath all the antics! post the scene of him wooing angela lansbury from court jester i beg you [below the cut]

This is round 2 of the bracket. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage man.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

"It's easy to overlook because he was a comedic actor, which we don't always associate with hotness. But look at any publicity still and you'll see, he was absolutely hot."

"y'all sit down, shut up, let me tell you about danny kaye. HOT. HOT MAN. him? in the court jester? swordfighting basil rathbone so so badly?? the bit where he's hypnotised and romancing angela lansbury??? this man in the inspector general—i've never seen anyone look better in regency fashion in my life. people dont realise how hot he is because he's so FUNNY but he steals the show every damn time!! "

"i will never not love him for refusing to get surgery to his nose when the studio system told him he looked too Jewish. he was also an underrated genius as well—but for this poll, let me just say he is HOT, secretly gorgeous, and i have never seen a man look so good in period clothing literally ever."

"he was hot!!!!!! an ambassador for unicef!!!!! he is so fucking funny i dont know !!!! my beautiful hot ginger jewish king"

"i would like to submit the engagement clip from white christmas for danny kaye. Vera ellen is a smoke show but man. something about danny kaye crawling away from her and then figuring out the SchemeTM... That's hot folks!"(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEM-xZtALnc)

"Would also add his early life section on wikipedia is a JOURNEY (fun)"

[pealeii]

daily reminder that this is one of the greatest 11 o’clock numbers to ever exist

[musicalsorwhatever]

“Merry Almost Christmas” is the twentieth song in the 2003 Broadway musical A Year With Frog and Toad. This show featured music by Robert Reale, and lyrics and book by Willie Reale based on the books by Arnold Lobel. It was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. This song is performed by Jay Goede as Frog, Mark Linn-Baker as Toad, and Jennifer Gambatese (Mrs. Doubtfire), Danielle Ferlan (Into the Woods), and Frank Vlastnik (Sweet Smell of Success) as the Moles.

[brothermarc7theatre]

Musical Monday...err...Tuesday

Hello and welcome to a blog post! Last week I began my teaching career with my first week teaching as, of all things, a Drama teacher. So, forgive the delay, but here we go! This week’s highlighted musical is one that is near and dear to me. I think it’s an absolutely charming show for any age, and a show I hope to helm at my high school in the near future! Let’s getta loada toad and check out this week’s Musical Monday!

Musical Monday date: 8/20/2019

Musical: A Year with Frog and Toad

Book, Music, and Lyrics: Willie Reale, Robert Reale, and Willie Reale

Broadway Run: April 13, 2005 - June 15, 2003

Awards Won: None

Other: In addition to Best Musical, A Year with Frog and Toad received Tony nominations for Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score.

Fun Fact: The Original Broadway Cast comprised:  Jay Goede (Frog), Mark Linn-Baker (Toad), Danielle Ferland (various roles), Jennifer Gambatese (various roles), and Frank Vlastnik (various roles).

I think this show is a completely underrated musical, and one that should certainly be done more often. There is a cast recording, so do take a listen to it because if you have any little ones whether in the classroom, at church, in your home, or you yourself love some fantastic children’s literary adaptation, this is the show for you. Next week we shall begin our trek through the 2004 Tony season, a year where an upset and lesson in how vital marketing your show is was devastatingly learned. Until then, go see a show!

[xwekbook]

The Art of Bob Mackie - Frank Vlastnik

[richardskipper]

SAVE THE DATE: Richard Skipper Celebrates The Art of Bob Mackie with Frank Vlastnik and Laura Ross on Richard Skipper Celebrates on YouTube December 13th at 4PM ET

[mysticalhearth]

Y

Yank! - Gallery Players, Brooklyn - November 11, 2007 (Closing Night) FORMAT:  VOB (no smalls) (SD) CAST: Bobby Steggert (Stu), Maxime de Toledo (Mitch), Todd Faulkner (Sarge / Scarlett), Tyson Kaup (Tennessee), James Stover (Czechowski), Chris Carfizzi (Rotelli), Daniel Shevlin (Professor), Jeffry Denman (Artie), Nancy Anderson (The Women), Jonathan Day (Dream Stu), Chad Harlow (Dream Mitch), Matthew Marks (Melanie), Brian Mulay (India) NOTES: Excellent video, just ever so shy of proshot quality. A few occasional heads, but absolutely amazing for an off-Broadway shoot. A Year with Frog and Toad - Broadway - June 13, 2003 FORMAT:  VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Jay Goede (Frog), Mark Linn-Baker (Toad), Jenn Gambatese (Bird, Mouse, Squirrel, Young Frog, Mole), Danielle Ferland (Bird, Turtle, Squirrel, Mother Frog, Mole), Frank Vlastnik (Bird, Snail, Lizard, Father Frog, Mole) NOTES: Decently shot but suffers from gen loss. Some washout, warbly but listenable audio. Yerma - The Young Vic - August 31, 2017 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT:  AVI (SD) CAST: Billie Piper (Yerma) You Can't Take It with You - First Broadway Revival - 1984 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT:  VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Alice Drummond (Gay Wellington), George Rose (Boris Kolenkhov), Nicolas Surovy (Tony Kirby), Orrin Reiley (Wilbur C. Henderson), Maureen Anderman (Alice Sycamore), Jason Robards (Martin Vanderhof), Arthur French (Donald), Christopher Foster (Ed Carmichael), Bill McCutcheon (Mr. De Pinna), Jack Dodson (Paul Sycamore), Rosetta LeNoire (Rheba), Carole Androsky (Essie Carmichael), Meg Mundy (Miriam Kirby), Richard Woods (Anthony W. Kirby) NOTES: Taped performance during its Broadway run, and broadcast on "Broadway on Showtime." Three acts with two intermissions (one minute), at about 44 minutes and 82 minutes. You Can't Take It with You - Third Broadway Revival - December 26, 2014 FORMAT:  VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Julie Halston (Gay Wellington), Reg Rogers (Boris Kolenkhov), Fran Kranz (Tony Kirby), Rose Byrne (Alice Sycamore), James Earl Jones (Martin Vanderhof), Will Brill (Ed Carmichael), Patrick Kerr (Mr. De Pinna), Mark Linn-Baker (Paul Sycamore), Crystal Dickinson (Rheba), Annaleigh Ashford (Essie Carmichael), Kristine Nielsen (Penelope Sycamore), Elizabeth Ashley (The Grand Duchess Olga Katrina), Johanna Day (Miriam Kirby), Byron Jennings (Anthony W. Kirby) You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown - Broadway Revival - 1999 FORMAT:  VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Anthony Rapp (Charlie Brown), Ilana Levine (Lucy), BD Wong (Linus), Stanley Wayne Mathis (Schroeder), Kristin Chenoweth (Sally), BD Wong (Snoopy) NOTES: Shot from center balcony. Most faces are washed out. You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown - Pre-Broadway Revival Tour - November 23-28, 1998 FORMAT:  VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Anthony Rapp (Charlie Brown), Ilana Levine (Lucy), BD Wong (Linus), Stanley Wayne Mathis (Schroeder), Kristin Chenoweth (Sally), Roger Bart (Snoopy) NOTES: Filmed on two different days You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown - Television Production - February 9, 1973 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT:  MP4 (SD) CAST: Wendell Burton (Charlie Brown), Ruby Persson (Lucy), Ben Livingston (Linus), Mark L Montgomery (Schroeder), Bill Hinnant (Snoopy), Noelle Matlovsky (Patty) NOTES: The program was originally shown in a 90-minute time slot with minimal commercial interruptions. The Paley Center for Media lists the actual running time 1:16:58. It was later shown later in a version edited to fit into a 60-minute time slot, which is the video in circulation. Young Frankenstein - Broadway - November 10, 2007 (SunsetBlvd79's master) FORMAT:  VOB (no smalls) (SD) CAST: Roger Bart (Frederick Frankenstein), Shuler Hensley (The Monster), Christopher Fitzgerald (Igor), Sutton Foster (Inga), Megan Mullally (Elizabeth Benning), Andrea Martin (Frau Blücher), Fred Applegate (Inspector Hans Kemp/Harold the Hermit) NOTES: The changes from Seattle tighten up the show. Also includes Transylvania Mania, Roll in the Hay, Together Again as performed on The Today Show. A+ Young Frankenstein - Plays In The Park - 2015 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT:  VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Michael Louis (Doctor Frederick Frankenstein) Scott Daniels (The Monster) Billy Geltzeiler (Igor) Kelliann De Carlo (Inga), Elizabeth (Ali Gleason) Katie Riley, Bob Nutter NOTES: Pro-Shot Young Frankenstein - Seattle/Pre-Broadway - August 28, 2007 (SunsetBlvd79's master) FORMAT:  VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Roger Bart (Frederick Frankenstein), Shuler Hensley (The Monster), Christopher Fitzgerald (Igor), Sutton Foster (Inga), Megan Mullally (Elizabeth Benning), Andrea Martin (Frau Blücher), Fred Applegate (Inspector Hans Kemp/Harold the Hermit) NOTES: A terrifically talented and funny cast. A beautiful capture of the tryout before Broadway, with many changes sure to come. A Young Marx - Bridge Theatre - December 7, 2017 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT:  MP4 (SD) CAST: Rory Kinnear (Karl Marx), Nicholas Burns (Willich), Nancy Carroll (Jenny von Westphalen), Oliver Chris (Friedrich Engels), Laura Elphinstone (Nym), Eben Figueiredo (Schramm), Tony Jayawardena (Gert “Doc” Schmidt), Scott Karim (Grabiner/Singer), Alana Ramsey (Mrs. Mullet), Sophie Russell (Librarian), Fode Simbo (Peter), William Troughton (Constable Crimp), Joseph Wilkins (Sergeant Savage), Duncan Wisbey (Mr. Feece/Bearded Man), Miltos Yerolemou (Emmanuel Barthélemy)

[newyorktheater]

  Check out:

Favorite stage performances in 2019.

Top 10 Lists of Top 10 Theater in 2019.

Best Broadway Cast Recording of 2019.

Top 10 Theater of the Decade.

Worst Theater of the Decade.

  People who engaged with the arts frequently had a 31 percent lower risk of dying, according to a new study from the British Medical Journal. This was independent of demographic, socioeconomic, health related, behavioral, and social factors. Even those who were infrequent consumers of culture had 14 percent lower risk of dying than shoe who never engaged.

The Journal’s editors observe:”The data show that the very people who have the most to gain from participating in cultural activities are least likely to do so. More than 40% of patients with lung disease, depression, or loneliness reported never engaging with the arts despite robust evidence of the potential benefits. Over 40% of participants in the least wealthy group also reported that they never accessed cultural activities. Work must now be done to ensure that the health benefits of these activities are accessible to those who would benefit most.”

The Week in NY Theater Previews and Reviews

The Sorceress The Sorceress (Di Kishefmakherin), the first work of Yiddish theatre ever presented in America, is back on stage in New York 136 years after its U.S. premiere. In my article for TDF Stages, Yiddish Culture Is Alive and Well and Playing in New York, I talk to Motl and Mikhl, the director of the play and the star, who portrays the wicked witch, Bobe Yakhne, in drag. Though Babe is the villain, she is the title character.

The Sorceress, by the same company that put together the acclaimed “Fiddler on the Roof” in Yiddish, is just one of three events this month that demonstrate a resurgence in interest in Yiddish language and culture.

Luke Kirby as stationmaster Thomas Hudetz in “Judgment Day” at the Park Avenue Armory

Judgment Day with Luke Kirby Luke Kirby, who portrayed a movie star hired to play “Hamlet” in the cult TV comedy “Slings & Arrows” 16 years ago, is now on stage for real, as Thomas Hudetz, a murderer in Ödön von Horváth’s 1937 drama “Judgement Day” at the Park Avenue Armory.

Kirby has lived in New York for some two decades now, but has only appeared in a handful of plays, spending most of his time in television — currently as the real-life comic Lenny Bruce in Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” for which he won an Emmy earlier this year, and as closeted civil servant Gene Goldman on HBO’s “The Deuce.” Why so few stage roles…and why this one now?

Those are the questions I put to him in an interview for TDF Stages.

Ian McKellen as Gus the Theatre Cat in “Cats,” co-written and directed by Tom Hooper.

Cats the movie – pics and reviews Cats” isn’t for everyone – much of it is a cheesy, B-grade affair seemingly crafted solely to take over midnight-movie slots from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ Those with an open mind, though, as well as little kids and the T-Swift posse, might find it somewhat pawesome.” Brian Truitt writes in USA Today, in the most positive review I could find. He’s enchanted by Taylor Swift, but turned off by the “nightmare fuel…when human faces are put on tiny mice and Rockette-esque cockroaches.”

More typical is Manohla Dargis in the New York Times: “It is tough to pinpoint when the kitschapalooza called “Cats” reaches its zenith or its nadir, which are one and the same. The choices are legion…

Sing Street

“Sing Street” is a stage musical based on the sweet, funny “happy-sad” 2016 Irish movie by writer/director John Carney about a teenager named Conor growing up in Dublin during the economically depressed but musically vibrant 1980s, who forms a band to impress a girl name Raphina. The musical has its pleasures, especially for those nostalgic for the era of made-for-MTV, New Wave synthesized tunes. A talented group of young adult actor-musicians, ages 16 to 25, perform mostly original pastiche songs by Carney and Scottish singer-songwriter Gary Clark, who was part of the 80s scene and continues his hit-making now. But “Sing Street” the stage musical is likely to disappoint anybody who has seen “Sing Street” the movie (which is currently available for viewing online, through IMDB TV, for free.)

  The Week in New York Theater News

The opening of West Side Story has been pushed from from February 6 to February 20 due to a knee injury that left the show’s star Isaac Powell unable to perform. The show began preview peformancs on December 10

.@mockingbirdbway will be the first-ever Broadway show to perform at @TheGarden on February 26, 2020, in front of some 18,000 New York City public school students. Here’s playwright Aaron Sorkin and the new cast posing at the arena. pic.twitter.com/txrecILSJm

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) December 18, 2019

..@TheCrownNetflix stars Claire Foy and Matt Smith will perform in @SleeveNotes‘ “Lungs” at @BAM_Brooklyn March 25-April 19 2020. The play is about a couple wrestling with the morality of having kids in an overpopulated planet. pic.twitter.com/96r9elP5hB

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) December 18, 2019

View of the Shed from The Highline

The Shed’s Second Season

Claudia Rankine, “Help”

Arinzé Kene, “Misty”

Tomas Saraceno, “Particular Matter (s)”

Meet at the Shed, January 11,2020

A free, daylong, building-wide takeover with exhibitions, performances, food

  Help March 10 – April 5,2020

An inquiry into white male privilege by Claudia Rankine

Tomás Saraceno: Particular Matter(s) May 6 – August 9, 2020;

A visual art installation that is intended to be neither seen nor heard, but felt.

Misty September 24 – October 24

Fusing live music, spoken word, and absurdist comedy, Misty is a journey through the dark alleyways of a city in flux and a genre-defying excavation of the pressures and expectations that come with being an artist in our time

Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.reached an agreement with the Justice Department to resolve government concerns that the company violated a 2010 antitrust settlement that allowed it to merge with Ticketmaster, according to the Wall Street Journal. Under the original agreement, known as a consent decree, the companies were allowed to combine but had to agree to conditions designed to help preserve competition in the live-events industry.

Dear Evan Hansen

Kerry Butler (Mrs. George), Erika Henningsen (Cady Heron)

Scene from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Palace Theater in London.

Isabelle McCalla and Caitlin Kinnunen as high school girlfriends in The Prom

(l-r) Nicholas L. Ashe, Jonathan Burke, J. Quinton Johnson, Jeremy Pope, Caleb Eberhardt, John Clay III, Gerald Caesar

The problem with teen musicals on Broadway by critic Christian Lewis in American Theatre Magazine.

When it comes to teenagers and Broadway, 2016’s Dear Evan Hansen changed the game. The Tony-winning Pasek and Paul musical was certainly not the first Broadway show about—or beloved by—teens. That credit might go to Spring Awakening (2006) or 13 (2008) or Runaways (1978), or much further back to Babes in Arms (1937), considered the first musical with an entire cast of teenage characters. In the wake of Dear Evan Hansen’s success, Broadway quickly saw a sweep of major productions with teenage protagonists: Mean Girls (2018), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2018), The Prom (2018), Choir Boy (2019), Be More Chill (2019), and the latest installation, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (2019).

….The genre deserves a larger critique, but not the one critics are making. Yes, Young Adult Theatre can seem angsty, the pop score/lyrics can feel basic and the plots contrived. But the central problem with Dear Evan Hansen, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Be More Chill, and The Lightning Thief is that they’re all about straight, white, cisgender teenage boys. The supporting casts are often diverse, but the main characters don’t deviate from this norm. Not only are these protagonists about as privileged as they come; worse, each of these pieces is about its hero’s search for his identity. Compared to a person of color, a queer person, a transgender person (let alone any intersection of these), how much do Evan, Harry, Jeremy, or Percy have to figure out about themselves?….We need more shows like The Prom or Choir Boy:

The movie is a wreck, the musical is a joke. Why, then, will we always have ‘Cats’?

By Charles McNulty (who doesn’t really answer the question posed in the headline)

“Cats,” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s blockbuster spun from the light verse of T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” is a paradox and a puzzle illustrating the disconnect between theatrical success and respect. The fourth-longest-running show in Broadway history, it is the consummate tourist musical. (“Broadway’s first show for the tired Japanese businessman,” according to Ken Bloom and Frank Vlastnik’s indispensable “Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time.”)

Theater people resent “Cats” not just because it made Broadway uncool until “Hamilton” finally rescued it from the pop cultural stocks. What really infuriates buffs is that “Cats” ushered in an era of grandiose spectacle, the vacuous parade of shows from the 1980s and early ’90s that made it seem as if a musical had to have a helicopter or a crashing chandelier to be worth the rapidly rising ticket price.

Ed Harris and Kyle Scatliffe, center, in “To Kill A Mockingbird”

Q and A about To Kill A Mockingbird with Aaron Sorkin and Ed Harris, its new Atticus

Aaron Sorkin: How did Harper Lee get away with having a protagonist who doesn’t change? Because Atticus isn’t the protagonist in the book or the movie; Scout is—her flaw is that she’s young, and the change is that she loses some of her innocence. While I wanted to explore Scout, I absolutely wanted Atticus to be a traditional protagonist, so he needed to change and have a flaw … It turned out that Harper Lee had [already] given him one; it’s just that when we all learned the book, it was taught as a virtue. It’s that Atticus believes that goodness can be found in everyone….

Ed Harris: I love the film. I think Peck’s portrayal in terms of that story and that script is just indelible. There are little things that happen on the stage even now, just a head move or something, that feels like Gregory Peck! But the inner life of this man I’m playing is so different [from Peck’s character]. He’s trying to hold on to a belief that’s being eroded slowly but surely. It’s really interesting to play.

The Trojan Women’s Project at La MaMa: The artists discuss

I got asked for an end-of-the-decade quote on “emerging trends” and the editors rejected it, so here it is so that it doesn’t go to waste. Happy holidays! pic.twitter.com/b5YBglbJBL

— Young Jean Lee (@YoungJean_Lee) December 24, 2019

Best and Worst Theater of The Decade, and of 2019. See a show, live longer. #Stageworthy News of the Week Check out: Favorite stage performances in 2019. Top 10 Lists of Top 10 Theater in 2019.

[hipstermusicals-blog]

"Josh's Welcome/Here We Go Again" sung by Frank Vlastnik, Clent Bowers, Gene Weygandt, Frank Mastrone, Crista Moore from Maltby & Shire's Big

[musicalsorwhatever]

“I’m Coming Out of My Shell” is the seventeenth song in the 2003 Broadway musical A Year With Frog and Toad. This show featured music by Robert Reale, and lyrics and book by Willie Reale based on the books by Arnold Lobel. It was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. This song is performed by Frank Vlastnik (Sweet Smell of Success) as Snail.