Category Archives: Theatre

December 18, 2010 · 1:23 pm

“The SantaLand Diaries” at Triad Stage and Christmas Entertainment in Greensboro

There really is so much to do here in Greensboro over Christmas, we really aren’t missing the fact that we aren’t going to New York for Christmas for the first time in years…

There are three real highlights of the season still playing…

There is “A Victorian Christmas” playing on South Elm Street that we thoroughly loved when we saw it last year. There are “The Eight Reindeer Monologues” playing at the Broach that I previously mentioned in the blog.

And there is “The SantaLand Diaries” at the Upstage Cabaret at Triad Stage.

First of all, I love the room where SantaLand was presented. I have had a good time at everything I’ve been in this space. Greensboro has needed an intimate space like this for some time. Especially one where you can sit at tables and drink during the performances!

I saw “SantaLand Diaries” on the main stage at Triad Stage a few years ago. I really enjoyed that production, but I enjoyed this one even more in this space.

Adapted by Joe Mantello from the David Sedaris story, this “behind the scenes” look at the department store SantaLand at Macy’s New York Flagship store should be a perennial offering.

James Tunstall is great as Crumpet, the reluctant Macy’s elf. He is an earthier Crumpet who really works the room and the audience. He was both at home in the room and fully in control of the room at the same time. I love his characterization and his take on the character. The Direction by Jeff Stanley really utilized the full room and Mr Tunstall’s talents.

I would say rush to see this at either the early or, preferably, the late show, but I hear they are sold out for the run. But rumor has it, they may be adding shows, so keep your ears open and don’t miss the chance to see this fun holiday production.

Triad Stage is also presenting “A Christmas Carol” on their main stage. I won’t be seeing or reviewing that. I just can’t sit through yet another production of “A Christmas Carol”. I wouldn’t be going to see that anywhere, no matter who did it, even if they did it in the nude with tap dancers….But I hear that production is selling out also.

There are lots of other things going on in town. Amy Grant and Vince Gill’s Christmas show is at the Coliseum tonight. I’m sure there are even more things I haven’t looked into…

There is nothing boring about Greensboro as long as you know where to look…

Happy Holidays!

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December 11, 2010 · 10:13 pm

How ballet changed the world | Need to Know

There’s a new biography out of Diaghilev that I’m dying to read. This makes me even more anxious to get to it….

From NPR…

“The night in May, 1909, when Diaghilev, the impresario, brought his troupe of musicians, dancers, designers, and choreographers to Paris and opened in a theater was the turning point for all the arts. Those brilliant colors and bold rhythms put an end to the paleness and primness of the early part of the century. Nothing has ever been the same since.”

That is Diana Vreeland, fashion designer and style icon, describing the way Ballets Russes took Paris by storm in the early years of the 20th century. When Sergei Diaghilev, a penniless Russian aristocrat, realized he would never be a great artist himself, he decided to become a patron, a collaborator, a catalyst. And through his passion and hard work, he attracted talent like Coco Chanel, Igor Stravinsky, Pablo Picasso, Leon Bakst, Vaslav Nijinsky, to name just a few. Together they created ballets and operas that changed every facet of the art world, from music and dance to fashion and design.

via How ballet changed the world | Need to Know.

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December 1, 2010 · 10:39 pm

And Happy Birthday, Mary Martin

One of the great theatrical legends of the 20th Century…

Born December 1, 1913 in Texas….

The original Peter Pan and the original Nellie Forbush in “South Pacific”…

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November 10, 2010 · 8:43 pm

Soap Star Grant Aleksander Resumes Classes at W&L after 30 Years :: Washington and Lee University

Interesting article for the W&L and theatre friends. I didn’t realize he and multiple Tony Award Nominee Rob Ashford also went to my college, Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, VA about the same time I did….

While his fellow students at Washington and Lee University may not recognize him around campus, his fans would know Grant Aleksander immediately.

He is the actor who portrayed Phillip Spaulding on the daytime drama “Guiding Light” at different times between 1982 and 2009. He also appeared in television series and movies, including the 1986 movie “Tough Guys” with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. Aleksander, 50, has now returned to W&L to complete his theater major 30 years after he left to pursue his acting career.

AND

Aleksander said he left W&L after his sophomore year to transfer to Tisch School of the Arts at New York University because he thought that he needed to go to a big theater school. “My assumption that I needed to be in New York because that was where the work was being done was correct,” he said. “But I was wrong to think that I needed to go to a big theater school. I learned an enormous amount about acting at W&L because I got to actually do it. I was in a lot of productions here and some of them were very difficult.”

“My time at W&L was really a pivotal time for me. I met the love of my life, who was a Lexington resident at the time, during a W&L production of Hamlet (he is married to attorney and former actress Sherry Ramsey) and we’re still happily together. I have nothing but wonderful memories of my time here. Now, it’s 30 years later and I’m surprised at how comfortable I feel back here in this environment. The school feels much as it did when I was here before, although there are some new buildings such as the sororities and the Lenfest Center.”

In addition to teaching acting classes, Aleksander is also assistant director to Mish for the Stephen Sondheim musical “Assassins” to be performed at the end of October in the Lenfest Center. Mish described “Assassins” as more of an acting piece than singing and dancing. “That’s one of the reasons I really enjoy working with Grant on this. Plus, we’re getting twice as much done in a shorter amount of time,” he said. “While I’m working with one group, he can take another group aside to work with them. And the students love him. They sort of know about his career but it doesn’t faze them and he doesn’t allow it to.”

Aleksander has also paved the way for a group of students to watch a rehearsal of the revival of “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying” starring Daniel Radcliffe in New York City, courtesy of his friend and Tony award-winning choreographer Rob Ashford, who roomed with Grant at W&L .

via Soap Star Grant Aleksander Resumes Classes at W&L after 30 Years :: Washington and Lee University.

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November 7, 2010 · 10:35 pm

Howl

We saw this film about Allen Ginsburg tonight and really, really liked it. The trailer really doesn’t give you a clear picture of how creative the film really is. There are a lot of layers depicted in black and white, animation and color cinematography. It’s really good…

As my partner, Steve, said so well: “If you love literature and/or Gay history, you must see “Howl”.

It’s also a fascinating study of the court case where they tried to have “Howl” declared obscene. Makes you want to draw some parallels to today’s uptight conservatives…

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November 5, 2010 · 11:52 pm

Oscar-nominated actress Jill Clayburgh dies at 66

Jill Clayburgh was one of my favorite actresses. She was such a critical part of the 1970’s film scene with her signature role in “An Unmarried Woman”. I always thought she should have won the Oscar for that part…I will miss her. I was looking forward to many more years of her work…

Jill Clayburgh, whose Broadway and Hollywood acting career stretched through the decades, highlighted by her Oscar-nominated portrayal of a divorcee exploring her sexuality in the 1978 film “An Unmarried Woman,” died Friday. She was 66.

Her husband, Tony Award-winning playwright David Rabe, said she died after a 21-year battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. She was surrounded by her family and brother when she died at her home in Lakeville, Conn., he said.

She dealt with the disease courageously, quietly and privately, Rabe said, and conducted herself with enormous grace “and made it into an opportunity for her children to grow and be human.”

Clayburgh, alongside peers such as Anne Bancroft, Shirley MacLaine and Jane Fonda, helped to usher in a new era for actresses in Hollywood by playing women who were confident and capable yet not completely flawless. Her turn as a mother dealing with life after 16 years of marriage in “An Unmarried Woman” earned Clayburgh her first Oscar nod.

“There was practically nothing for women to do on the screen in the 1950s and 1960s,” Clayburgh said in an interview with The Associated Press while promoting “An Unmarried Woman” in 1978. “Sure, Marilyn Monroe was great, but she had to play a one-sided character, a vulnerable sex object. It was a real fantasy.”

The next year, Clayburgh was again nominated for an Academy Award for “Starting Over,” a comedy about a divorced man, played by Burt Reynolds, who falls in love but can’t get over his ex-wife.

via Oscar-nominated actress Jill Clayburgh dies at 66 – Yahoo! News.

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October 23, 2010 · 1:00 am

Rose’s Turn: Your Choice

It’s one of the most famous roles in American Musical Theatre.

Moma Rose in “Gypsy”.

Alas, there is no footage of the original Mama Rose, Ethel Merman…but

Thanks to YouTube, there are videos of many of the most famous Rose’s doing the famous “Rose’s Turn” or other numbers from the show.

Who’s the best? Your choice….tell us.

Tony Award Winner Tyne Daly

Bernadette Peters:

Betty Buckley:

Patti LuPone:

Angela Lansbury: No video of Rose’s Turn, so this number will have to do:

Bette Midler:

Rosalind Russell:

Kurt …from Glee

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October 12, 2010 · 10:27 pm

Staged Reading of plays by Steve Willis, Oct. 25 at 7pm

Just a note to let you know about an evening of plays from the Great American Playwright Steve Willis.

Who just happens to be my partner!

I hope you will mark your calendars and plan to be part of a special event on Monday evening, Oct. 25th, when Paper Lantern Theatre Company presents a staged reading of two plays by Steve Willis: The Shadow of Eldorado, a play he wrote a few years ago that won several awards; and an excerpt from a new play he started writing this summer about Dorothy Kilgallen. Check out the attached flyer for all the details.

Paper Lantern has lined up a terrific cast of excellent local actors, including Michael Kamtman, Tennille Foust, and Beth Ritson. The event is free and we would love it if you could be there.

Feel free to spread the word to anyone you know who might be interested.

Hope to see you there.

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October 12, 2010 · 9:35 pm

Happy Birthday, Hugh Jackman

Since today is Hugh Jackman’s 42nd Birthday, I’m going to repost this one…..

Broadway Memories: Hugh Jackman as Peter Allen In “The Boy From Oz”

One of our great nights in the Theatre, a few seasons ago, was to see Hugh Jackman in “The Boy From Oz” on Broadway. If you only know him as Wolverine, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

This guy is amazing on stage. He totally captured Peter Allen’s style and personae. Peter was a showman and Hugh definitely is one, too.

And he never missed a performance during the entire run of the show.

Here are some clips: