#jim walton

[jgroffdaily]

@merrilyonbway New old friends + original old friends = a special moment in #MerrilyOnBway history.

📸: @andyhenderson

[clarasteam]

Jim Walton, the original Franklin Shepard, sings "Our Time" from Merrily We Roll Along at 54 Below

[mthguy]

Stephen Sondheim’s Follies  

The legendary 1985 concert performance of Stephen Sondheim's acclaimed musical Follies was��presented by the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. 

The thrilling - and possibly historic - New York Philharmonic concert version of Follies presented at Avery Fisher Hall was a reunion of sorts, albeit one with a happier ending. To cast this all too transitory event, the producer Thomas Z. Shepard brought together veterans of Sondheim musicals stretching from the 1964 Anyone Can Whistle to Sunday in the Park With George - among them, Lee Remick, Elaine Stritch, George Hearn, Liz Callaway and Mandy Patinkin. They were joined by other stellar musical-comedy hands who exemplify the Broadway heyday whose passing Follies mourns - Barbara Cook, Carol Burnett, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Once this company paraded before the orchestra to the glittering melody of the opening song, ''Beautiful Girls,'' it was impossible to separate the fictional show-biz reunion dramatized in Follies from the real one unfolding on stage. The audience, more than willing to let the distinction slide, simply erupted into pandemonium.

The cheering rarely subsided thereafter, and not without reason. Mr. Shepard assembled this evening to record the complete Follies score, which was mangled on its original Broadway cast album. Although there were still a few elisions (mainly of dance music) in the concert, this version was as complete, gorgeously sung and sumptuously played as Mr. Sondheim or his fans could wish. But there were other reasons for the thunderous response as well. Even in concert, Follies proved much more than merely a star-studded recording session. The performance made the case that this Broadway musical can take its place among our musical theater's very finest achievements. (Frank Rich, The New York Times)

[whileiamdying]

Suspect is a 1987 American legal mystery thriller film directed by Peter Yates and starring Cher, Dennis Quaid, and Liam Neeson. Other notable cast members include John Mahoney, Joe Mantegna, Fred Melamed, and Philip Bosco.

— Wikipedia

[barrygeuse]

come from away: my retrospective

now that come from away has ended, i've decided to collect my thoughts and put them all together in one (not-so) little post for myself and anyone else who wants to to read.

lots of emotions below the cut and a long story about how this thing came to mean so much to me!

if you stick around and read, i really do appreciate it. this is my favorite musical (my second favorite piece of theater!) and my second biggest special interest.

tl;dr — come from away is a beautiful show about the best of human nature, about people healing from a collective trauma. it will be a part of me for as long as i live, and i couldn't be happier to have it nestled right next to my heart, keeping me warm.

i first saw the show when it visited my local theater on tour in 2019. despite being a musical theater kid, i managed to skip over it entirely—i feel like that wasn't uncommon—it wasn't exactly targeted toward the middle school crowd! my mom and i went to see it (we went in knowing literally nothing at all, and i mean nothing besides the title!), and we left that theater crying and absolutely gushing about how beautiful it was.

it became a pretty common staple to play over bluetooth when we were in the car together for the years to come.

at that point, besides having seen it and loved it immensely, i moved on. it was another piece of media to add to an ever-growing list of adorations, and it wasn't until december of two years later that it grabbed my attention for a lasting period of time.

in september of 2021, the proshot released, a day before the 20th anniversary of 9/11. i didn't end up hearing about this myself until later in the season—i was busy with college and had a lot of other things on my mind—but i was ecstatic nonetheless when i did find out.

i got my hands on the recording and watched it. something changed that day, even if i hadn't realized it yet. i showed it to my friends, new ones every time, over and over again. when i was home for that holiday break, i showed it to my parents, and put it on in the background in my free time.

as i got back to school and february came to an end, come from away became the thing that i watched whenever i felt poorly. it was a feel-good show about wonderful people. i've always loved stories, especially stories about the beautiful nature of humanity, and it got me through some pretty rough times. over the winter months i started to learn the dialogue, since i already knew the numbers.

for spring break, i took a trip to florida, and watched the proshot probably over seven times during the course of travel alone. i fell in love with the characters, their mannerisms, the stories, the reality of people coming together to heal from trauma. it was a beautiful thing to make a part of myself.

time pressed forward. sharon wheatley released her second book, which i bought, and then had the honor over the summer to send to her and have her sign for me (not to mention read my annotations and write alongside them!).

the news that the show was closing devastated me. at that point, i had no hope of going to see it, which didn't upset me too badly. i was happy to just have the professional recording to watch and to celebrate the show from afar!

summer flew by. i got back to school, settled in, and started going to classes. at the beginning of september, my parents called me and surprised me with the news that we would be going to new york city at the end of the month to see the show. i was absolutely floored. my pupils genuinely grew two sizes (it was funny, i looked like i was on drugs but it was just concentrated autism in the bloodstream) and i made a countdown for the trip as soon as we got off the phone.

telling you the details of my time in NYC could be a whole post on its own. with the broadway flea happening at the same time, i got to buy some things that i really wanted (hello, beetlejuice obc signed playbill!) and i had the insane opportunity to meet sharon, who actually recognized me and my book when i went to the table and gave me the sweetest hug.

we had front row seats, which i could never thank my parents enough for, and i silently mouthed along to the show the entire time. the actors smiled at me, i was ecstatic, i was flying, i was there and a part of the show. it was more than anything i could've ever dreamt of. i laughed, i cried, i had the time of my life.

i was lucky enough to meet jim, astrid, and jenn at the stage door, alongside seeing sharon again, who spoke to me briefly and gave me another hug before leaving. it is an experience i will never, ever forget.

come from away is something that means so much to me. more that i could ever describe, really. today, the day of the final performance, i watched along to the proshot at 3pm while the matinee played in new york. i cried nearly the entire time.

i am so proud of everyone who was a part of this amazing, amazing production. it changed lives, it put newfoundland on the map, it told real life stories about real people and did everything endless justice. i could not thank everyone involved enough.

"you are here at the end of a moment," and "you found your heart but left a part of you behind," and "you're gonna be okay," and a dozen other lines that would make this already long post too much longer.

come from away: thank you for telling stories. thank you for doing something beautiful. thank you for the tears, the laughter, and the endless joy. thank you for everything you did for me and for millions of others.

this is not the end. it is only the beginning of a tale that will be told for years to come, one that will live on in my heart and in so many others.

thank you.

[waltons]

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Will and Gareth? Will and Gareth?! WILL AND GARETH?!! I did NOT know this was a ship I needed until now. No offense to Mike "it's not my fault you don't like girls," Wheeler, but Will deserves better. I have a feeling that Gareth can be a bit of a grumpy bear like Hopper, and Joyce notices when Will brings him around.

"It looks like we have the same taste in men," Joyce joked.

"Mom!"

Though Will was the one who started calling Gareth his grumpy bear, Joyce loved that and started to call Hopper that as well.

"Aw, look at our grumpy bears!"

"Joyce! We can hear you!"

[stilettomafiosas]

beloveds

[captainclervals]

captain bobbert

[12timetraveler]

Collection from Deadwood. Everyone I got a picture with. Every single one was an absolute joy to meet. Not a bad apple in the bunch they're all so genuine and sweet

[sleepynegress]

Random... On Walton Goggins

Taking it out of the tags because to me it's hilarious. Walton Goggins basically formed his career being typecast as Klan member #12 in pretty much all of the old Black history media that used to rerun in Black households... And I think this is hilariously ironic because when they are repeatedly hired for that kind of media (especially when it's Black people BTS) it's because they are deemed safe to play that kind of thing. And now, that I've pointed this out... You're gonna recognize him in all the 90's Black history stuff, playing "Hick Bigot #21" and pouring spaghetti on some teen's head sitting at a segregated lunch counter or something. But anyway... yeah it's so odd to watch him be the it guy now, having known him from that.

[jgroffdaily]

Jonathan and original Frank Jim Walton in 2008

Wayman Wong: Last November, you went to see Merrily We Roll Along at the New York Theatre Workshop. What did you think?

Jim Walton: I went with some other original cast members, and it was terrific! I've seen Merrily a couple of times since I did it. It's always sort of a mixed blessing. It's hard to forget our production, and there have been changes made that are generally good. It was emotional to see it now that Hal and Steve are gone. I love the show. I really love the score. We had a great time, and all the performances were fantastic, especially Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez. Jonathan is a great Franklin Shepard. He's handsome, honest, and committed throughout. And we got to chat with him onstage after the show.

WW: Jonathan told me you were "impossibly generous and kind. It was so encouraging to get the thumbs-up from Jim, especially since we were so early in the process. I have been a fan of his forever." But that's not the first time you two met.

JW: Right. We remembered meeting [in 2008] at your wonderful Leading Men III concert at Birdland. And there's a photo.

WW: It was a benefit for Broadway Cares, and you sang "Good Thing Going" and "Not a Day Goes By" from Merrily, and Jonathan was on the bill, too. He says: "I remember marveling at Jim's kindness and gorgeous voice. The sound of him singing on the original cast album of Merrily is absolute perfection. It's been such an honor to play the role he so brilliantly created."

Frank is a tricky role. In the wrong hands, he could be such a sellout and jerk to his friends. Was Frank a tough part to play?

JW: Yeah. It was hard to get a grip on Frank. You have to go from 43, a man in midlife crisis, to 20. I was so young that I couldn't identify with Frank. I still looked like this tall, skinny 22-year-old kid. That's why it was easier for me to play Act II; it got closer to who I was ... In the new revival, Jonathan's a very talented actor who makes you sympathize with Frank. He's created this likable guy who's lost and trying to find his way. And Jonathan's got a great voice. His "Growing Up" is so beautifully sung.

[attaboylew]

via jimgaffigan

[therogerclarkfanclub]

The cast of RDR2 photoshopped as their own characters, part 2.

Credit: ardelia.vp (IG)

[morning66]

Rover the peacock 🦚🦚 ❤️❤️

[gravedust412]

George Walton Lucas Jr., David Robert Hayward-Jones, & James Maury Henson