#rob ashford

[d-criss-news]

Via Jen Tullock's Instagram Story (July 10th, 2023)

[dorothy16]

aaron and darren in tangier via 🇲🇦

[demonbarbers]

honestly so sad joe locke doesn’t start as toby until after josh and annaleigh leave bc can you imagine annaleigh’s lovett with a little gay boy toby? lives would be changed

[mariacallous]

Every generation gets the King Lear it deserves. Kenneth Branagh, who stars in a precipitate production that recently opened at the Shed, has given us an Ozempic-thin rendition of Shakespeare’s sprawling tragedy, one that privileges aerodynamic efficiency over depth. At the heart of this staging—directed by Branagh, Rob Ashford, and Lucy Skilbeck—is the strikingly hale actor, who struggles to embody “a very foolish fond old man, Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less.” In a recent interview, Branagh said that “the starting point for this new version was to have an emotional immediacy, to have youth and the impatience of youth at the center of things.” He could have been describing the buzzy new Broadway run of Romeo + Juliet, which boasts a clubby aesthetic and features a constellation of spirited stars. To underscore youth in Lear, though, is to look through the wrong end of the telescope. Its last lines, as spoken by Edgar, are a paean to “the oldest,” who “hath borne most.”

The current show, presented by the Shed, KBTC, and Fiery Angel, transports us to a Neolithic Britain sparsely populated by fur-clad characters wielding spears. Designed by Jon Bausor, the set features massive slabs of stone that link up in a semicircle and calve apart, while a circular screen (or is it a lidless eye?) hovers above the stage, displaying swirling galaxies, star systems, and planets. Ironically for a play presided over by a vaguely celestial donut, the script’s commerce with the supernatural is downplayed: in his fury, Lear does not call upon “Hecate and the night” or invoke “the operation of the orbs.” The Game of Thrones–like costumes may be period-appropriate but are something of a liability: on the day I was in the audience, the actors’ fur coats seemed to occasionally muffle their microphones, resulting in uneven sound quality. So much for Dolby Atmos’s immersive audio technology.

The greatest handicap, however, is not the youth-centric vision or the spotty sound but the cuts to the text. A director who makes drastic reductions to a Shakespeare play should be prepared to compensate for the elisions through gestural or subverbal means. Unfortunately, that never happens in this production, which is reduced to two intermission-less, complexity-killing hours. The opening scene bypasses the original prologue—which helpfully adumbrates many of the play’s central themes—and leaps directly to Lear commanding his three daughters to take turns professing their love for him. Regan’s (Saffron Coomber) overture is reduced by half, rendering her protestations of adoration less fulsome, more Cordelia-like in their brevity. Gone too are the youngest daughter’s asides: in the original, Cordelia ruminates that “I am sure my love’s more ponderous than my tongue.” Absent such internal quibbles, here she verges on mere tactlessness. Any sympathy one may feel for Lear’s favored child is bullied into us by prior acquaintance with the story—not by Jessica Revell’s by-the-book performance. Omissions accrue apace. Where lines are not redacted, they are, in many cases, reordered, misappropriated by different speakers, or unwisely edited so they are leached of Shakespeare’s unusual imagery. Thus—in a subplot about a nobleman in Lear’s court and his two sons, Edgar and the bastard Edmund—instead of lamenting that Edmund “did bewray [Edgar’s] practice,” the Earl of Gloucester (Joseph Kloska) tonelessly utters, “He did expose the evil.” The result is a kind of poetic vitiligo.

A treasonous letter, allegedly written by Edgar (Doug Colling), in which he plots to overthrow his father, is read silently rather than aloud, depriving the audience of a greater sense of Edmund’s villainy. The “bastard” (Dylan Corbett-Bader) is more of a brute than an Iago-like schemer; he doesn’t offer his father the chance to obtain “auricular assurance” of Edgar’s disloyalty and is overly hasty in assenting to Gloucester’s negative impression of his brother. Lear’s eldest daughter, Goneril (Deborah Alli), and his second, Regan, are even less realized and fatally fungible in their lust for Edmund.

With other productions of Lear, it has often crossed my mind that the tragedy of the tale is raveled up in the notion that one’s children are biological prostheses of oneself. When Lear deputizes Regan and Goneril as his “guardians” and “depositaries,” he scarcely expects them to defy his requests for superfluities. Whether out of benignant paternalism or not-so-benign blindness, he anticipates that they will gladly countenance all his desires, no matter how reasonable. What accounts for the harshness of his subsequent pronouncements—Lear calls upon Nature to dry up Goneril’s “organs of increase” and “into her womb convey sterility”—has partly to do with the terrible realization that his daughters have their own spheres of existence. The interpretation only tenuously applies to this British import.

Throughout, Branagh and his codirectors have prioritized action over interiority, and the pacing intensifies the feeling of hollowness at the show’s core. When Branagh’s Lear curses Regan and Goneril for having the temerity to ask him to reduce his retinue by fifty men, then seventy-five men, his feelings come not from the marrow of his bones but from pique. “Reason not the need,” the king chastises his daughters, yet his need, especially in the context of this austere production (Lear’s train of rowdy men is as notional as the play’s deluges and “hurricanoes”), comes across more as greed. The scene on the stormy heath—which ought to be a showcase for Lear’s headlong descent into lunacy—fails to strike the right note of pathos. A platform at the center of the stage tilts up at an acute angle for Lear’s meltdown in the maelstrom (the same platform is later used for the Dover cliff episode), but rather than evoking an “extreme verge,” the awkwardly inclined surface recalls a utilitarian loading dock. Equally prosaic, this Lear never calls on thunderbolts to “singe my white head,” but does suffer from some ill-timed aneurysms.

An excellent comedic actor, Branagh is fitfully compelling in his declamations. A lighthearted tone too often prevails where gravity should; the moment when Lear meets a raving Poor Tom and asks him, “Didst thou give all to thy daughters?” should not elicit a big laugh from the audience. On more than one occasion, Branagh’s Lear is fogged by a forgetfulness redolent of Lockhart, the milk-livered professor the actor played in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Even in his final moments, as he cradles Cordelia’s lifeless body, his presentation feels frustratingly recitational, a mere quotation of more lived-in performances. To quote a line originally spoken by Regan and excised from this mutilated play, this Lear “hath ever but slenderly known himself.”

[broadwaydivastournament]

Broadway Divas: Obscure Sondheim

To highlight how vast and varied Sondheim's roles and shows are, these five Divas have a singular Sondheim credit to their repertoire that are a little more obscure than most. So obscure that my dream of finding pictures to dazzle you all with was quickly shattered.

Bebe Neuwirth as Cinderella's Stepsister, Florinda, in a reading of Into the Woods for a 1994 movie that never came to fruition. This reading took place at director Penny Marshall's house and had a truly breathtaking cast: Robin Williams (The Baker), Goldie Hawn (The Baker's Wife), Steve Martin (The Wolf), Danny DeVito (The Giant), Carrie Fisher (Lucinda), and fucking CHER as The Witch. Bebe Neuwirth and Carrie Fisher as catty sisters tormenting Cinderella and getting their eyes pecked out. And then Cher trying to feed them to Danny DeVito. We were robbed of a masterpiece.

Judith Light as Joanne in a Reprise! presentation of Company at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. Though not known for her singing abilities, Judith was nevertheless part of an all-star cast for this two-week run in 2004. The only review I could find was...not favorable. It's been twenty years, and I, for one, think Judith Light deserves her chance at redemption.

Linda Emond as Mary in Merrily We Roll Along, 1988. The Seattle-based ACT company produced Sondheim's biggest flop musical through the month of May in 1988. Linda, then in her late twenties, played the female lead in a rare musical role for her. And I do have a picture thanks to ACT's fantastic archival system.

Pictured: Linda Emond (Mary) center, surrounded by Joseph Dellger (Franklin Shepherd) and Joseph McNally (Charley). And no, I cannot tell which man is which...

4. Susan Blackwell as The Giant in a 2019 one-night-only staged concert of Into the Woods. If you thought the recent Broadway revival was bare-bones, it had nothing on this staged concert at the Town Hall in NYC. There is one singular photo that includes Susan, and without knowing she was meant to be there, you'd never be able to identify her.

Pictured (L to R):

5. Paula Leggett Chase as Stella Deems in Follies, a one-night-only special event in Tangier, Morocco featuring a transcontinental cast of Divas. Since 2013 (excluding pandemic years), Rob Ashford has staged fundraising productions of shows such as A Little Night Music, The Crucible, and Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. Confusingly, though Paula sang Stella Deems' song "Who's That Woman," she was credited in the program as Emily Whitman (presumably they just combined the roles for this production and gave them to the dancer in the cast?)

Pictured (L to R): The late Haydn Gwynn (Phyllis Rogers Stone, my beloved), Marisa Berenson (Solange LaFitte), Harolyn Blackwell (Heidi Schiller), Jenna Russel (Sally Durant Plummer), Paula Leggett Chase (Emily Whitman), Harriet Harris (Hattie Walker).

[vivientol]

rip alexia ashford you were so interesting character and villain, but was ruined completely. i mean...how tf the smartest person in the whole world could be easily defeated by redfield siblings only (sorry chris and claire, i love you two but it sounds delusional)? how the person with whom wesker refused to fight could be ruined so fast? how the person who created a virus at her 10 and controlled the umbrella's branch at the same age could be easily forgotten?

we need code veronica remake because we were completely robbed in terms of lore.

[scotianostra]

Happy birthday Scottish actor Jimmy Yuill, born March 6th 1956 in Golspie, Sutherland.

Yuill is another of those Scottish actors that has been in an abundance of shows, and will be known, but not as a household name.Fans of the Crime drama series Wycliffe will know him best as DI Doug Kersey, in almost every episode, I will come back to that later.

Known mainly as an actor on the stage Jimmy began in 1976 in The Jesuit at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. After, as he put it “some joyous years” working on new plays and classics countrywide he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1983, as Snug in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and ended his time there, in 1987, as Young Wackford Squeers in Nicholas Nickleby on Broadway.

In 1988 he joined Kenneth Branagh’s Renaissance Theatre Company for Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It and Hamlet directed by Judi Dench, Geraldine McEwan and Derek Jacobi, respectively. Also for RTC, Sicinius (Coriolanus); Telygin (Uncle Vanya) and Kent in Richard Brier’s ‘King Lear’.

Other roles include Toby Belch in Twelfth Night and as Henry IV parts1&2 at the Bristol Old Vic; In 2013 Jimmy played Banquo in ‘Macbeth’ at the Manchester International Festival and the following year at the Park Avenue Armory, New York. Most recently Jimmy played the Old Shepherd in The Winters Tale at the Garrick Theatre in London’s West End �� both productions directed by Rob Ashford and Kenneth Branagh.

Jimmy Yuill, while always being busy treading the boards, has also found plenty time to appear in many TV shows, they include, in the 70’s The Mackinnons, The Omega Factor and the TV film A Sense of Freedom. in the 1980’s Eurocops and Boon and the 90’s mainly in Hamish Macbeth as Lachlan McCrae and the aforementioned Wycliffe. Into the new millennium he is a s busy as ever in the mini-series Monsignor Renard, A Touch of Frost and a recurring role in 14 episodes of Eastenders as Victor Brown an old frien of Ian Beales. Jimmy also appeared in several episodes of The Bill as D.S. Cottrell.

Yuill has had a longstanding friendship with Kenneth Branagh and has appeared in some of the Irish actor/directors films, including, Much Ado About Nothing, Frankenstien and As You Like It.

I said I would return to Wycliffe, where Jimmy starred in all but two episodes. The series was cancelled after that because Jack Shepherd, who played Wycliffe, refused to continue in the title role when the producers had sacked Yuill “for insurance reasons” after he contracted life-threatening meningitis during filming, and then would not reinstate him even though he made a full recovery. He says he owes his life to Shepherd with whom he was sharing a house while on location, and who rushed him to hospital in the middle of the night. Shepherd and the rest of the cast and crew felt so betrayed that they decided not to make any more episodes once filming of the current series had finished.

Along with Richard Briers he is one of only two actors other than Branagh himself, to appear in all five Shakespearean films that Branagh has directed: Yuill has worked as a performance consultant on a number of productions, and also as a producer.

More recently Jimmy has been in the movies Artemis Fowl , Kindred and my pick The Road Dance, which is set in The Outer Hebrides just before World War One. He also popped up in the Scottish dark comedy series Guilt, There are no pdates on his work in the past three years

[hoodoo12]

Two show Wednesday

"Two show Tuesday" sounds better, but the travel plans didn't work out that way.

I saw a play and a musical. Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors and Spamalot. Mild spoilers under the cut (mostly for Spamalot).

Dracula was in an off Broadway production in a theater of ~250 seats. It was nice to be in such an intimate theater; even though we were fourth row the stage was so much closer because there was no pit. I loved the set design! They did a lot with a little. The show was a tight 90 minutes so there was no lag time or dragging out the plot. Out of the five actors, four of them played multiple roles, sometimes in the same scene!

Because the show was short and a comedy, I'd call it Dracula-lite or Cliffs Notes Dracula lol. There were changes to some backstories and genderswapping, and Dracula had a change of heart at the end. There were puppets, a bat on a stick, lots of black lace well-cut men, and every actor did an absolutely bangup job with the comedy.

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Before it was a stage show, it was a radio drama -- oops, podcast. The podcast starred a ton of stars: Christopher Sieber, John Stamos, Annaleigh Ashford, Laura Benanti, Alex Brightman, James Monroe Iglehart, Richard Kind, Rob McClure, Ashley Park, Alan Tudyk, Kathy Fitzgerald, Jeff Kready, and Orville Mendoza.

Listen to it here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Broadway Podcast Network.

Second show was Spamalot! I was excited to see the differences between the Kennedy Center and Broadway.

The sets were slightly different: bigger, flashier, with an expensive looking forest. If you know, you know, lol. Some lines were changed but nothing drastic. God was Steve Martin, which is apropos. It was Leslie Kritzer's first night back after being sick; she made reference to that and her improv game is top notch.

Ethan Slater was great. The person I went with said they could hear his Spongebob voice when he sang as Prince Herbert but I didn't hear that (I laugh too hard at those scenes because they're my favorite). The person sitting to my other side had never seen the show or knew much about Monty Python (apparently) and he was INTO IT. I loved that he enjoyed it so much and some of it took him by surprise.

I really enjoyed Taran Killan. He made Sir Lancelot his own versus aping was Alex Brightman did and it worked. His French Taunter also got huge laughs because he dragged some of it out to an awkward amount of time but got the audience into it, which brought it back around to funny again. You know Justin Collette's outrageously long scream when Lydia heads into the Netherworld? Increase that time by about two minutes and that's what Killan did during one specific part of the scene. His costume for "His Name is Lancelot" was also different with many more bedazzled flames, lol

Good quick trip with good shows!

ps: We stopped at a random cafe before Spamalot and David Josefsburg was there! I tagged him on my IG and he dmed me back, lol

[si-cucumber]

Mazz's Top 5 Shows (as of 8/23)

So I’ve been debating on letting my inner theater geek out on here for a while, but I also realize that....this is my blog so I can talk about whatever the hell I want to talk about.

If somehow you didn’t know already, I am and always have been a theater kid. I’ve been lucky enough to have seen tons of live theater in my day, whether it’s community, national tours, or in New York. And now that my current touring season is over, and I continue to gush over the amazing shows I’ve seen the past few months, I think it’s time for me to officially update my Top 5 Show list. 

5.) Six (US Tour)

So fun fact, I just saw this for the first time yesterday. I've been a fan of Six since it opened in the West End and waited super patiently for it to tour. It was entirely electric, the crowd was beyond into it, and the vocal talent was so stunning that I instantly bought tickets to see it again. That has never happened to me before. I was incredibly blown away and look forward to seeing it again next weekend lmao

4.) Next To Normal (Broadway, 2010)

This was my very first Broadway show on my first trip to New York. This was baby's first online fandom. Back in the day, my friends and I ruled the n2n category on FFnet. It was my first experience with fanfiction and fandom and it was fantastic. This show was everything angsty, teenage Mazz needed at the time. Being able to see the original cast and it being my first real Broadway show, it will always hold a special place in my heart!

3.) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2023 Revival)

I saw this back in June when I went to New York last! Actually, the whole reason for my trip was just to see this, especially since I missed out on Josh Groban in Great Comet. The most star-studded cast I've ever seen, tons of heavy-hitters. Sweeney Todd was a favorite of teenage Mazz and his theater friends. We'd spend our weekends in my friend's basement performing "A Little Priest" to the best of our ability. Even though I know this show inside and out, I was still on the edge of my seat by the end. Annaleigh Ashford was the stand-out for me. She was robbed of that Tony.

2.) Beetlejuice (National Tour)

I saw this back in January with one of my best friends. I've loved this show since it debuted ages ago, and was probably the best show I saw this touring season! The absolute funniest show I've ever seen. Like, we were laughing so loud and hard I'm pretty sure we were annoying the people around us lmao. But nonetheless, it was an excellent production and I left dying to see it again (no...pun intended).

1.) Some Like It Hot (Broadway 2023)

I will never ever ever stop talking about this show. Hands down, best show I have ever seen. The amount of joy i felt for hours after seeing this was incredible. I was so lucky to see this during pride month, so I have a pride version of the playbill, which is so so special to me. It was so refreshing to see a classic, jazz musical again and the choreography? Insane. Like jaw dropping insane. The final chase sequence blew my mind.

But what struck me the most was seeing a queer actor onstage playing a canonically trans character. A character who was done so well and felt so organic. I saw this at the point in my transition where I really started presenting and dressing masculinely. I was the little awkward trans guy from Ohio, alone in the big city, sat at the front of the mezzanine hearing the crowd cheer for Daphne. After months of feeling dread about the state of this country and the fear of being outwardly trans, this was just...the perfect thing at the perfect time. The amount of gender euphoria I felt was incredible, it was so moving to me. It will always hold a special place in my heart and that is why it's my number one.

So that is my current list! Will it change? Probably at some point lmao. My next season starts in October, and I look forward to seeing what awaits me next.

[timetravel-tv]

"DAY OF THE DAUGHTERS" RELEASE DATE SET FOR FEBRUARY!

Back in May 2023, Ian Kubiak kindly allowed us to film a brand-new documentary at CYGNUS ALPHA's hugely successful SPEARHEAD 2 event ... held at Wood Norton in Evesham.

DAY OF THE DAUGHTERS stars DAISY ASHFORD and SADIE MILLER, chatting to NICHOLAS BRIGGS about their mothers and what it has been like reimagining for BIG FINISH the characters CAROLINE JOHN and ELISABETH SLADEN created in DOCTOR WHO.

Filmed by ROB THRUSH, this really is another unique documentary from REELTIME. My very grateful thanks to SADIE, DAISY and NICK for such an honest and revealing conversation.

At NICK's suggestion, I then was privileged to attend the BIG FINISH studio recording of the upcoming Third Doctor story REVOLUTION IN SPACE, where I not only filmed cutaway shots for DAY OF THE DAUGHTERS, but also filmed and edited the promotional video of the audio drama for BIG FINISH.

Both titles will be released in February ... stay tuned for the date soon!

[d-criss-news]

Via Paula Leggett Chase's Instagram Story (June 28th, 2023)

[dorothy16]

via Jen Tullock’s Instagram story.

[sapphirepolexia]

who did you meet?? :D

oh man, well it just took me like 45 mins to make this list and these people (and/or bands) are all clearly varying degrees of “famous” but-

- julian lennon

- steven spielberg

- jessica lange

- zachary quinto

- the jonas brothers (and dnce)

- demi lovato

- jon bon jovi

- elvis costello

- keke palmer

- julianne moore

- billy porter

- aaron tveit

- ariana grande

- halsey

- bo burnham

- aminé

- annaleigh ashford

- the struts

- dave le’aupepe (and all of gang of youths)

- drake bell (yikes 😵‍💫)

- rob schwartzman

- david henrie

- alexander hodge

- andrew schulz

- david johansen

- nicholas megalis

- honor society

- michael lindsay-hogg

- steve cropper

- kurtis conner

- claire danes

- miel (from vine)

- houndmouth

- may pang (if you count her as famous?)

most of these are not very exciting at all lol but i’m currently waiting for my laundry so i had nothing better to do with my time than make this list 😅 probably forgetting someone big idk

[vivaciousarcanist]

My OCs

Main WIP

Context: in 2020 a solar flare wipes out all electronic technology on earth, in the following years magic develops and the story begins 300 years after that solar flare

Main cast:

Sabrina Willis: A trans woman from 2020 who finds herself in magic college in 2320.(18 years)

Anastasia Deimos: A blind trans woman, who will be Sabrina's roommate and possibly have a minor adversarial relationship with her.(19)

Leona Blackwell: A cis woman who is a fairly competent huntress.(18)

Cascadian Higher Ups

Athena Pierce: Queen of Cascadia(main country, name subject to change), main antagonist, ritual magic specialist(100+)

Lilianna Pierce, Queen of Cascadia, illusion magic specialist(100+)

Cassandra Rivers: A studious mage with a wealth of knowledge on flora(54)

Ashton Deimos: Headmaster(President?) of the magic college and accomplished healer(47)

Gwendolyn Eberhardt: Transfem werewolf alchemist archer (29)

Yvette Lancaster: Transmutation specialist (30)

Ariadne Argyris: Centaur who has high skill with destructive magic and the conflict resolution skills of a murderhobo(title was given more to keep an eye on her), wife of The Artificer(43)

The Artificer(name pending): Skilled magical item manufacturer, bigender spouse of Argyris(???)

Valerie Ashford: a mage skilled in the manipulation of space and portals(38)

Others:

Astraea, Indigo, Lavender, Scarlette, and Tyrian Pierce: The princes and princesses of Cascadia.

will add more later

Vampire WIP

context: vampires and shit

 Arachne Hawthorne: Newly turned vampire, trans woman.(20)

Kamaria Moore- Arachne’s human roommate and first to know of her vampirism. Owns the cat.(20)

Mercedes Solís- A young vampire hunter who has yet to prove herself.(21)

Superhero WIP

context: following the Tunguska event (or some other meteor impact, i need to do research) about 1 in 10 people have the possibility to awaken superpowers when in life or death/high stress situations

Ophelia Sinclair: A trans woman who recently awoke her powers, allowing her to control her bones and regrow them should she remove them. (18)

Briar Morgan/Heartbreak: A teen who works as a super hero to ensure access to doctors for their heart condition. Their power allows them to manifest wings and a weapon(probably spear) after grabbing and squeezing their own heart(19)

Amaryllis Ward: A teen girl acting as a vigilante to make a name for herself outside her parent's shadows. Her power allows her to rewind time for herself and anyone she's touching while moving outside where she was originally. Due to this, others think her power is a short ranged teleportation ability(18)

Cyrus Matthews: A teen who as a result of being a super hero and having an unhidable power is quite popular at school. I am thinking he'll end up as a love interest for Ophelia(18)

Lorelei Ward: Amaryllis' mother, reformed supervillain turned vigilante after Magnus intervened following her first kill. She never had powers, but instead used technology to put herself on the level of a super and would rob banks just to fight whatever superhero would try to stop her and test her gadgets(42)

Magnus Ward: Amaryllis' father, superhero turned vigilante following his relationship with Lorelei becoming public. He has a sort of a gentleman super persona, with his power being the ability to propel things forwards at high velocity after touching them, which he uses with his knuckles(43)

Note:

Character details may change, but their relationships and general vibes will stay roughly consistent.

[istumpysk]

Hi Stumpy, I just wanted to vaguely tell you that actually Jonnel and Sansa Stark carries no foreshadowing of Jonsa for reasons I won't explain, it doesn't make sense. He actually named Jonnel Jon long after he started writing the first book in the series (not sure if you've read it yet) so it can't be connected. Hope that helps

I'm so sorry my laziness robbed you of your moment. It was well done, anon. I laughed.

Context: ashford defeated