This Week on Broadway for December 22, 2024: Gypsy

Summary

BroadwayRadio: This Week on Broadway for December 22, 2024 – Detailed Summary

Episode Title: This Week on Broadway for December 22, 2024: Gypsy
Host: BroadwayRadio (James Marino)
Guests: Peter Felicia, Michael Portentier, Ron Fassler
Release Date: December 22, 2024

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1. Introduction and Guest Introductions

The episode kicks off with host James Marino welcoming listeners to "This Week on Broadway." He introduces the panelists:

• Peter Felicia: A multifaceted playwright, journalist, and historian known for his latest work, Day by Day Wall Calendar Show Tune for Today, 366 Songs to Brighten Your Year. He contributes columns to outlets like Masterworks Broadway and Broadway Select.

• Michael Portentier: A respected theater reviewer and essayist, founder and editor of CastAlbumReviews.com, and a renowned theatrical photographer with works featured in major publications. His photography portfolio is available at fowspotphoto.com.

• Ron Fassler: A recurring guest on Broadway Radio, Ron is a seasoned theater historian and author of The Show Goes On: Broadway's Hirings, Firings, and Replacements. He joins the discussion to delve into his latest book and share insights on Broadway’s intricate dynamics.

Notable Quote:
James Marino [01:23]: “Peter's new Day by Day Wall Calendar Show Tune for Today, 366 Songs to Brighten Your Year has been released. So, Peter, very exciting.”

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2. Discussion of Ron Fassler's New Book

James Marino introduces Ron Fassler, highlighting his blog Theater Yesterday and Today and his extensive research into Broadway replacements. Ron shares the inspiration behind his book:

Ron Fassler [03:26]: “I realized one column wouldn't do it, so I wrote a second, then a third. The response was amazing, and nobody really ever talks about what goes into a replacement on Broadway. That's when the book idea took shape.”

Ron details his process of interviewing over a hundred individuals and scouring historical archives to compile a comprehensive account of Broadway replacements. He emphasizes the complexities actors face when stepping into established roles, often overshadowed by previous performances.

Notable Quote:
Ron Fassler [05:10]: “There are people who take trains to get to the destination in order to replace a flailing actor during an out-of-town tryout. It’s incredible. It’s heroic, really.”

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3. Gypsy Production Review and Insights

The core of the episode revolves around the revival of Gypsy at the Majestic Theatre. Peter Felicia and Ron Fassler provide in-depth reviews, complemented by Michael Portentier's observations.

Peter Felicia [24:33]: Discusses the use of a stuffed lamb as Louise’s birthday present, suggesting it symbolizes her childlike perseverance despite adversity. He praises George C. Wolf’s direction, highlighting nuanced stage details like Papa’s Bible in the "Some People" scene and the emotional depth of Rose’s interactions.

Ron Fassler [30:43]: Appreciates the casting of Audra McDonald and Danny Burstein, noting their compelling performances. He reflects on the historical significance of Gypsy’s numerous revivals and its enduring appeal compared to contemporaries like The Sound of Music and Fiorello!.

Notable Quote:
Ron Fassler [22:52]: “Nobody wrote a love letter to an actor like Walter Kerr. Nobody, nobody could do it like he did.”

Michael Portentier [35:52]: Commends Audra McDonald’s performance, despite initial skepticism. He asserts, “She’s one of the best actresses the musical theater has ever known.”

Peter Felicia [41:24]: Critiques the portrayal of Louise, expressing concerns over the lack of transformative energy in her character arc compared to previous renditions. However, he acknowledges strong elements like Rose’s teenage rebellion and the clever staging of critical scenes.

Ron Fassler [43:27]: Emphasizes the remarkable achievements of the current Gypsy production, recommending it despite controversies surrounding color-conscious casting.

Notable Quotes:
Peter Felicia [07:45]: “I wrote something once and you responded to it because you were there the same night I was… Lonnie Price tearing the house down.”

Ron Fassler [43:43]: “There are people who are going to be shocked and surprised by what happens during Gypsy. They don’t know it.”

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4. Reviews of Other Broadway Productions

Eureka Day at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Michael Portentier reviews Jonathan Spector’s Eureka Day, noting its satirical take on ultra-woke parents navigating a mumps outbreak and vaccination policies. He praises Anna De Shapiro’s direction and the standout performances by Amber Gray and Jessica Hecht.

Cult of Love at Helen Hayes Theatre
Portentier discusses Cult of Love by Leslie Hedlund, highlighting its exploration of family dynamics amidst shifting religious beliefs. He commends the strong performances by the ensemble cast, including Zachary Quinto and Shailene Woodley.

Two Gentlemen of Verona Benefit Concert at Symphony Space
Michael reviews Red Bull Theater's benefit concert of Two Gentlemen of Verona, lauding the professionalism and casting, particularly Jordan Donica and Jin Ha. He contrasts this rendition with previous productions, noting significant improvements despite criticisms of the score adaptation.

Elf at The Marquee
Portentier shares his mixed feelings about the Elf production, praising Gray Henson’s performance while criticizing Philip William McKinley’s direction for overly broad performances. He offers practical ticketing advice for listeners to secure better prices by visiting box offices directly.

Notable Quotes:
Michael Portentier [49:43]: “Eureka Day is a brilliant satire on the lengths people go to avoid offense, brilliantly directed and magnificently acted.”

Peter Felicia [57:42]: “I have to say that what I felt was that it was a minor league version of August: Osage County. If there were no August: Osage County, I would really love this play.”

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5. Brain Teaser Recap

The episode includes a brain teaser segment, where Peter Felicia discusses a historical Broadway review and poses a question about a performer who replaced roles in Disney musicals and is referenced in Mel Brooks’ musicals.

Teaser:
“Considering what its title was, it could have just as easily had the same name as the Jason Robert Brown musical. What is it? Julius Monk's 1964 review at the Plaza Hotel called Baker's Dozen.”

Solution:
Answer: Tony Janicki, referenced in Mel Brooks' musical lyrics.

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6. Musical Moments

Michael Portentier curates a segment dedicated to Christmas music, spotlighting Julie Andrews’ contributions. He highlights:

• "Oh, Come All Ye Faithful" from Andrews’ 1982 Christmas album arranged by Ian Fraser.
• "The Christmas Song" from the Firestone Christmas albums, arranged by Erwin Costello.

He also shares a link to the 1987 TV special The Sound of Christmas, featuring Julie Andrews alongside Placido Domingo and John Denver, praising its delightful performances and nostalgic appeal.

Notable Quote:
Michael Portentier [75:13]: “Julie Andrews made three full Christmas albums, one in 1967 arranged by Andre Previn, and others in 1982 and 1990 arranged by Ian Fraser. These selections capture her timeless charm.”

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7. Closing Remarks

James Marino wraps up the episode, encouraging listeners to subscribe via broadwayradio.com or patreon.com/broadwayradio for exclusive content. He thanks guests and offers contact information for further engagement.

Notable Quote:
James Marino [78:34]: “On behalf of Michael Portentier and Peter Felicia, I'm James Marino saying thanks so much for listening to Broadway Radio's This Week on Broadway. Bye!”

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Conclusion

This episode of BroadwayRadio offers a deep dive into Ron Fassler's latest book on Broadway replacements, insightful reviews of current productions like Gypsy, Eureka Day, and Cult of Love, alongside thoughtful segments on musical theater trivia and curated Christmas music. The panelists provide a blend of historical context, personal experiences, and critical analysis, making it a valuable listen for theater enthusiasts seeking comprehensive updates and discussions on Broadway’s vibrant landscape.

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For more details and to access the discussed content, visit broadwayradio.com

Transcript

[Unknown Singer]

O come O ye faithful Joyful and triumphant O come ye O come ye to Bethlehem Come and behold him Born the king of angels Come let us adore him oh, come let us adore him oh, come let us adore him Christ the Lord.

[James Marino]

Hello and welcome to Broadway Radios this week on Broadway for Sunday, December 22, 2024. My name is James Marino, and in the broadcast today we have Peter, Felicia and Michael Portentier. Peter is a playwright, journalist and historian with a number of books. Peter's new Day by day wall calendar show tune for today, 366 songs to brighten your year has been released. So, Peter, very exciting. Peter also has columns at Masterworks Broadway, Broadway select in many of the places. Hello, Peter.

[Peter Felicia]

Hi.

[James Marino]

I put you on my calendar and now you are my calendar.

[Peter Felicia]

Thank you.

[James Marino]

Excellent. Also in the show notes last week, I don't know if anybody noticed, but I found that photograph of a young Peter Felicia on Saturday Night Live.

[Michael Portantier]

Yes.

[Peter Felicia]

Oh, you did find it.

[James Marino]

Yeah. I have photographs in the show notes.

[Peter Felicia]

Wow.

[James Marino]

Yeah. Peter on Saturday Night Live from New York. Here it is. It's Saturday night. Also with us is Michael Portentier. Michael's a theater reviewer and essayist. He's the founder and editor of castalbumreviews.com he is also a theatrical photographer whose photos have appeared in the New York Times and other major publications. You could see his photography [e-mail] hello, Michael.

[Michael Portantier]

Hello.

[James Marino]

Hello. So three days to Christmas. Three days to Christmas for our Patreon supporters out there, Grace and Matt released the patreon exclusive, the December 2024 Q&A where Grace and Matt took questions from listeners and answered them. A lot, A lot of fun. Best places to eat in the theater district pulled back the curtain on what Grace actually does for a living. Very interesting. So go over to patreon.com broadwayradio and subscribe there. With us this morning we have a very special guest. Ron Fassler is joining us. Ron's been a guest on Broadway radio a number of times and even a panelist once. And last week we talked about his new book, the Show Goes Broadway's Hirings, firings and replacements. And we thought, hey, why don't we give random Ron a quick call and get him on. So, Ron, thanks for getting up on a Sunday morning and joining us.

[Ron Fassler]

It's my pleasure. Happy to be here.

[James Marino]

So, Ron, tell us about your new book and what made you what was the impulse to write this?

[Ron Fassler]

Well, I write a blog called Theater Yesterday and Today and over the past seven years or so, I've written about 600 of them. And I've covered so many different subjects. About two and a half years ago, I wrote a column based on a little history of Broadway replacements. And I realized one column wouldn't do it, so I wrote a second, then I wrote a third. And I was getting the response from people, hey, you're. This is amazing stuff. And nobody really ever talks about what goes into a replacement on Broadway. And a few people suggested you may have a book here. And I immediately took to that. I started the book like immediately. I just went, yes, this is a book. And so two and a half years later, here it is. 400 pages of text, 462 pages when you're finished with my endnotes and index. And it's been a joy every step of the way. I'm so interested in the actors process because I was an actor for many, many years and I just wanted to explore what goes into a replacement. Making a role their own, especially in the shadow of often of another's highly lauded performance. I mean, what happens when an actor hops on the moving train? That's a multimillion dollar production, replacing a flailing actor during an out of town triad. And of course, how do understudies and swings miraculously go on sometimes without a single rehearsal? So I talked to a hundred people and dug into the deep recesses of old newspaper articles and books, all written that tell these amazing stories. And I've. I've gathered them together in one book.

[Peter Felicia]

Is there anybody? Sorry. Go ahead, Michael.

[Michael Portantier]

Oh, no, I was going to say in the case of. Well, in the case of at least hello Dolly and on the 20th century, they really were moving trains.

[Peter Felicia]

Exactly. That's terrific.

[Ron Fassler]

And there are people who take trains to get to the destination, you know, in order to do that or you know, the flying to Boston, that many, many act, they sit there, they see the show and within a couple of days they're. They're in the show. It's incredible. It's heroic, real.

[Peter Felicia]

I remember I wrote something once and you responded to it because you were there the same night I was. That was October 8, 1981, when James Weissenbach came out for his curtain call in Merrily We Roll along. And boy, you know, there was Lonnie Price tearing the house down. There was Anne Morrison tearing the house down. And there was James Weissen back and the applause cut by about 50%. And the expression on his face showed that he knew it. Do you remember this at all?

[Ron Fassler]

Sure. I mean, remember And I talk about it in the book because obviously this is one of the great replacement stories.

[Peter Felicia]

Sure, sure.

[Ron Fassler]

And I was lucky enough to talk to both James Weizenbach and Jim Walton, who replaced him. And a little bit of it is Rashomon. There's a moment, a story that is told by both of them, their version of events. And I believe both of them. I believe both of them are telling the absolute truth. And the only person who could tell us what. What really happened is Hal Prince, but he's gone now. But I, I think he. He. He told one person one thing and told they're not lying is, in other words. And I get it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And yes, that was the intermission. Talk of Merrily roll along at that very, very first preview was unlike anything I've ever experienced. I. I couldn't believe how. How people were piloting it on. On poor James Weizenbach. Just. It was. It. It felt like he couldn't last very long. And it was only one performance and about what, another week and a half? Right.

[Peter Felicia]

Well, yeah. The other thing that, that's, that's interesting that you mention was very impressed by your audience reaction when you talked about Pearl Bailey's hello, Dolly that you went home, you grabbed your notebook, and you wrote. Rarely have I seen a show so gripping. And how old were you, rowan?

[Ron Fassler]

I was 12. Yes.

[Peter Felicia]

How many shows that you've seen?

[Ron Fassler]

That was my fifth Broadway show.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah. So really, with the experience of four beneath you, really, I can understand why this was high praise indeed. Of course, there was a lot about Dolly, and I was very surprised to see I had never run into that Mary Martin quotation about the fact that she said, look, I've replaced a lot. That really surprised me because I had put two and two together there. And it is funny that she got a Tony for playing in Annie get your gun while Ethel Merman didn't, because the Tony's written evidence. Then who would you have liked to have spoken to who you weren't able to? Because the person that died.

[Ron Fassler]

Oh, gosh, there's too many of those, I think, but anyone will do. Yeah, you put me on the spot. Yeah. I mean, I think it would have been a thrill to talk to somebody like Ethel Merman, you know, about what it was like to take on a part that had been played by so many women by that point, and that she didn't let ego stand in the way. I do find it interesting that the reason she turned down hello, Dolly, because I'm sure many of your listeners know it was written down for her, specifically for her voice. David Merrick told Jerry Herman, this is an Ethel Merman musical. And get to it, young man. And he did. And when she turned them down, which I tell that story in the book, you know, they were in shock. They couldn't believe it. But she was exhausted. She had done two years of Gypsy on Broadway. Two years. And then toured in it for a while. And she just wanted to relax. She really thought about retiring, actually, or thought she'd do other things that weren't making her do eight a week television appearances, other things like that. But by the time it was seven years later almost, and Dolly had. Was still on Broadway and David Merritt came a calling. She, she, she was bored. She was ready to get back up on the horse again. And she did. And I do love the Walter Kerr quote that I, that I use in the book. Cause as I say, nobody wrote a love letter to an actor like Walter Kerr. Nobody, nobody could do it like he did. And when he describes her as being that kid who's just won all the marbles and she's walking down the sidewalk, you know, just like that, that there's no woman like her. I just love his description of Ethel Merman in the book.

[Peter Felicia]

I thought it was very smart of you to start off with the show you start off with, because after all we've had on Broadway, the play that goes wrong, We've had Peter Pan goes wrong and then we had Funny Girl goes wrong. And so it was very interesting for you to start with that, which, yeah.

[Ron Fassler]

It went wrong and then they said it. Right.

[Peter Felicia]

Yes, indeed.

[Ron Fassler]

I mean, I purposely start with the Funny Girl story and devote an entire chapter to it because I'm trying to hook the reader, you know, people.

[Peter Felicia]

Sure, exactly.

[Ron Fassler]

So to start with Dolly, which, you know, was 50 years ago, it makes more sense to have started with Funny Girl. And I think I'm the first person to gather up all the information from all the sources and tell it and I think, tell it objectively. I mean, I'm. I want, I didn't want to pile on poor Beanie Feldstein, you know, I mean, somebody said to me, you should have interviewed her. I'm like, and why make her go through this again? I mean, I mean, actually, when it came time to talk about the Guys and Dolls replacement story, which I'm sure listeners remember from 1992, when the big Faith Prince Nathan Lane revival was the smash hit of the season, they had had a very rocky preview period where they had to fire the actress Carolyn Minini in the role of Sarah and replaced by Josie de Guzman. And Carolyn is an old friend, and I. I didn't know if I wanted to make her stir up. I even spoke to her husband first. Sure. And I said, would Carolyn be. And he went, oh, please, give her a call. You know, it's been 30 years. And I thought Carolyn was marvelously introspective about it and extremely common sense, was able to convey her feelings about it these many years later. Well, those kind of interviews were fantastic to be able to have, but was.

[Peter Felicia]

So fascinating about that was the fact that you revealed that Jerry Zaks originally wanted Sarah Brown to be older than she had been in previous productions, because so many people came to that and they said she looks like his mother. And. But it's interesting that that's what he wanted.

[Ron Fassler]

Yeah, he. He thought that was a way to go to express Sarah's misgivings about where she was in her life.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah.

[Ron Fassler]

Passed her by.

[Peter Felicia]

It does make sense.

[Ron Fassler]

Very valid. But the chemistry. Yeah, chemistry was not happening between this guy and Sarah. And when they slipped Josie to Guzman and it. It got better. It was curious to me that when I read the reviews, which was, you know, the show was a smash. Justice Boseman did not get great reviews. In spite of a Tony nomination that came her way. I think people still felt she was still finding her way on opening night. You'd be surprised if you go back and read certain opening night reviews for certain people that you would swear. Go back and read Barbra Streisand's opening night reviews in Funny Girl, Angela Lansbury's In May. They weren't quite there yet. Believe it or not, they didn't achieve legendary status overnight.

[James Marino]

You know.

[Michael Portantier]

The Beanie Feldstein, Lea Michele affair was so epic that you do devote a lengthy chapter to it. I was wondering if ALMOST did that, would you say that that inspired you to make a. Write a whole book about this?

[Ron Fassler]

No. When I wrote the book, I then thought, well structured. How am I going to stop?

[Michael Portantier]

Oh, okay. Oh, so it was the other way.

[Ron Fassler]

Exactly. I thought, no, I'm going to lead off with. And the title of that chapter is who is the Pip with pizzazz? I hope, Peter Michael James, you enjoyed the chapters of my book. Each one is a.

[Peter Felicia]

Sure.

[Ron Fassler]

Either a title of a Broadway show song or lyric.

[Peter Felicia]

Oh, yeah.

[Ron Fassler]

A great deal of fun doing that, for sure.

[Peter Felicia]

I'm not asking for names, but given that you just mentioned talking to Steve before you talk to Carolyn, the question becomes, were there people who said, no, I will not Talk to you. I do not want to talk about that. Leave me alone.

[Ron Fassler]

Not that the only person who turned me down to discuss lengthy understudy gigs they had on Broadway is Danny Burstein, the nicest man in show business.

[Peter Felicia]

Sure. Yeah.

[Ron Fassler]

But he said to me, you know what? I. I gotta save it for my own book. So we can.

[Peter Felicia]

We have something to look forward to. Oh, that's.

[Ron Fassler]

And he's actually a wonderful writer, if you recall the pieces he wrote during COVID about.

[James Marino]

Yes, yeah, sure.

[Ron Fassler]

Very, very tough battle with COVID Yeah.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah.

[Ron Fassler]

Right on the heels of losing his. His beloved wife.

[Peter Felicia]

Indeed.

[Ron Fassler]

He's got some great stories to tell. But no, people were so fantastic about talking to me and. And. And sometimes really revealing some. Some great things that I. I long wanted to know. You know, the. I tell the great story of See Saw out of Town and the replacement of Lainey Kazan Lee. And I sort of knew in the back of my mind that. Or somehow I'd once read that they were actually really good friends at the time. And then I found out they were, like, best friends. And Michelle talked about how she didn't quite, you know, know how to handle this. She goes, I was so young. I didn't. And they rehearsed Michelle far away from Laney. You know, that. That story is epic. I mean, you want to talk epic? The seesaw. Because, you know, not only did Michael Bennett come in and. And replace the lead, he replaced 13 people in that, brought on four additional choreographers throughout the book, basically.

[Michael Portantier]

I'm not sure about this, but I think maybe Michelle and Lainey even lived in the same building.

[Peter Felicia]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Really?

[Ron Fassler]

Yes. Wow. And then Michelle told me of the rapprochement the moment they saw each other, literally across a crowded room at a New Year's Eve party. And they caught their eyes with one another, and they slowly started walking towards each other as Auld Lang Syne was playing.

[Peter Felicia]

Wow.

[Ron Fassler]

They had their embrace and their.

[Peter Felicia]

Wow.

[Ron Fassler]

And they're. They're still very good friends.

[Peter Felicia]

Wow.

[Ron Fassler]

And go back to your other question. I did reach out to Lani Kazan through a mutual friend, and she did not respond. She might not have gotten my email. You never know with these.

[Peter Felicia]

You never know. It's really true.

[Ron Fassler]

Also, may not have really just wanted to go there again.

[Peter Felicia]

Sure.

[Ron Fassler]

But most of what I have is from public records, and she spoke a lot about it in the press at the time. So that was the great fun of researching this book is just pouring through people's personal papers at Lincoln center and going through old Press clipping and the reviews and what people wrote and puff pieces in the press. I love that process, as my friend Winnie Holtzman, the book writer of Wicked said to me that I've never forgotten. She said, oh, I love research because it's not writing.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah. But the most remarkable thing you found by far, I mean, we've all heard the story of Shirley MacLaine taking over for Carol Hay. Where did you get the actual understudy slip that you replicate in the book?

[Ron Fassler]

Oh, thank you for that. Yes, I, you know, I thought twice about, oh, do I include the Shirley MacLaine understudy story? It's been told so many times. But I thought no, because after all, I mean, it happened so long ago, it's going to be fresh to some people. And I actually bought a playbill of Pajama Game many, many years ago when I was kind of collecting them for my son who had a real interest in old playbills. And we bought the playbill for Pajama Game and when we came home, that slip fell out of it.

[Peter Felicia]

No kidding.

[Ron Fassler]

Wow. Yeah, wow. Yeah. So I had to throw it in the book there. It's the little slip of paper, you all know it, that says at this performance, the role of babe Carol Haney, he played by shirley, she was 20 years old, Gladys, by her 21st birthday, she was a movie star.

[Peter Felicia]

I'm glad you did it, Michael.

[James Marino]

Ron, you have, you have a chapter called In Philly, Boston or Baltimore.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah.

[James Marino]

And it reminds me of Peter in Philly, Boston or Baltimore talking about his so many out of town trucks, riots that Peter has seen. And you've recapped some of them, some of the more famous ones here. What do you think about the, the trend towards opening cold on Broadway or never?

[Ron Fassler]

I get into that. I do. I mean, I go back in 1979 when Sweeney Todd previewed in New York, basically because of the set not being able to be moved. Heavy metal works that they imported from an old factory that was going out of business, they couldn't move it. Obviously it was adapted when they later did a tour, but they previewed in New York which could have been disastrous and there were times where it was tough. So then Prince was emboldened by that and did it for merrily, which was truly disastrous. Certainly should have had an out of town run. Might have even closed out of town, who knows? But yeah, that, that trend is an unfortunate trend. It's, it's sad. What is my quote? I, I, I found a statistic that New Haven has not hosted an out of town show since the Tom Sawyer musical way back in the 90s. It's a shame. These, these theaters were great stops and great for local businesses and, and gave people the chance to work out the kinks and when they're doing it in New York under the hot spotlight. And now of course, social media and the gossiping. I mean, the gossiping during merrily was in 1981. Right. 43 years ago. And it was vicious and it circulated quickly. Can you imagine how it would have circulated today?

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah. Really, We've been talking mostly about musicals, but one of the most fascinating stories you tell is about who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Because indeed the performance was considered so difficult for UTA Hagen and Arthur Hill was a matinee company. And it wasn't just a case that the matinee people went in and just replicated what UTA Hagen and Nafa Hill were doing. Right, right.

[Ron Fassler]

They were re. Rehearsed immediately. The director, Alan Schneider brought them all together and, and put them on that set, by the way. Interesting. And I'm not sure if I get into it in the book, but you know that Virginia Woolf rehearsed on the stage of the theater. They had the availability of it and the producers thought, well, why don't we just rehearse it on the stage? And they built the set and those actors came in and had that. They didn't. They were never in a rehearsal room. But yeah, Virginia Woolf had its own matinee company. Although when you say it was too strenuous to do eight a week, UTA Hagen claims, I could have done eight a week. Arthur Hill wasn't so sure. But Utah actually said, yeah, she told me.

[Peter Felicia]

She told me that too. In the middle of an interview of 30 minutes where I bet she smoked 12 cigarettes. I've never seen anybody smoke. And she didn't die of lung cancer. But anyway. No, but my point is that Alan Schneider said to Kate Reed and Shepherd Strudwick, I do not want carbon copies of what those two people are doing. I mean, that's really something.

[Ron Fassler]

So that's a good director. That's an actor's director. Yeah, yeah.

[Peter Felicia]

I mean, really. How wonderful.

[Ron Fassler]

The other thing I wanted to talk about and that people don't understand most of the time is, you know, when you do see somebody take over in a major role, you assume that Ilya Kazan or Mike Nichols, you know, put them to. Not often. Not often. Kazan was very famous for leaving a show and never looking back at it again. Never. And Mike Nichols personally told me a story that I put in the book, which is that when the Little Foxes was a big Broadway hit with Ann Bancroft and then replaced by Margaret Layton, and he worked with both of them, but when it went on its national tour, he made sure Geraldine Page got the part, because he adored Geraldine Page and then he completely ignored her. And he said, boy, did I learn a lesson there. I let the stage manager take over. And that's what commonly happens. The stage manager would put the replacements into the show and then Mike Nichols, then he changed his tune. Because I know actors who came into Spamalot and Mike Nichols came back and worked with them.

[James Marino]

Well, Ron, I want to thank you for coming on Broadway Radio and talking about your new book, the Show Goes On Broadway, Hirings, Firings and Replacements. And Ron, I think that I saw this on social media. Did you see Gypsy?

[Ron Fassler]

I certainly did. I wrote a review for Theater Pizzazz.

[James Marino]

Would you stick around for a minute while we talk with Peter and you about Gypsy?

[Ron Fassler]

I would love to. And the only other thing I'd love to add if I could in a self promotional way, is that in order to get the Show Goes on, you have to go to my website. It's not available on Amazon. I'm keeping this all to myself, I should say. Or keeping the profits all to myself. Okay, you want to stick it to the man if you want. Let's not make Jeff Bezos any richer than he already is. And if you buy the book from me, you can be assured there's no middleman and you're helping a struggling artist. So it's at ronfassler.org you can click on there and you can find it. It's on my website. You can just buy the book one.

[James Marino]

Click and we will definitely have that in the show [e-mail] thank you, ronfassler.org org books and you can pick it up there. So Peter and Ron got over to the new Majestic Theatre to see a little skit with some people that we've mentioned, Danny Burstein and Audra McDonald. It's something called Gypsy. So, Peter, tell us what you thought about this new Hottest Ticket on Broadway revival.

[Peter Felicia]

Well, I've read Ron's review and I'm gonna take issue with one thing right here and that is the fact that what, they couldn't afford to buy a lamb. Yes, one of Louise's birthdays presents is a lamb. And Lord knows in most productions a genuine lamb that was cast. So is having a stuffed one a cost cutting move? Well, probably and even, well, at least possibly. But you know, there's another interpretation that hit me while I was watching this, that it's even more poignant that she's singing to a stuffed animal. That when we're young people we often have imaginary friends, we often have stuffed animals that we talk to. I'll grant you she's a little long in the tooth to be doing that. But of course she has been so beaten down that there is a childlike quality about her. So while this is not the first time I have seen a stuffed animal used in Gypsy, this was the first time that it made me think that indeed this could be the reason why rather than let's not have to buy lamb food. Anyway, what did I think? Well, a six time Tony winner really impressed me. And I'm talking about George C. Wolf. All right, so one of them he didn't win it was a lifetime achievement award, which isn't so bad either. But the things he has found in this show that I have never seen before. And I took out, and I mean this, I took out all my videos, legal and ill, to check on certain things. Okay. First off, in the some people scene where the father is there reading a book, it is very clear that this is a Bible because it has gilt edged pages. You can see them this light center. Whoever was lights hit it nicely. So in previous iterations, even to the point of where one was reading a pulp novel. But in the stage direction, Arthur Lawrence specifically says that he's carrying a Bible which he constantly reads. So George Wolf made something of that. And that's the first time I've ever noticed what Papa was reading. So I thought that was terrific. Terrific indeed. There is something that happens that will bring a tear to your eye involving a G string. Who would expect that to happen? But George Seawell found something that is so real that happens late in the show with a G string. I defy you not to be moved by it and impressed by the fact that he thought about it that he had that idea. There is a stage filling backdrop that says Baby June in enormous letters. Enormous letters. Of course, no mention of Louise, which again reiterates the fact this talk. Oh, Louise can be a boy in the act. Yeah. Not only is she a boy, she has to play Abraham Lincoln in that Stars and Stripes Forever sequence in the act. Da da da da da da da da. You know, it's a very smart idea. He makes a veritable Mount Rushmore there. I'm not saying he replicates Mount Rushmore, but hadn't happened yet. I'm just saying he has Teddy Roosevelt represented, so on and so forth, but poor Louise has to play Abe Lincoln with a beard. So not only is she a boy, but she has to wear a beard. So I mean, I thought that was terrific as well. A very smart idea. Now in the office where T.T. granska's office, where Mrs. Mrs. Cratchit is and you can get a job, dear. That sequence there's Rose saying, look at her scrapbooks. Look at her. Look at her clippings. Look at them now in every other iteration. And again, I watch the videos. What she means is go out and look at them. Here she has Louise carrying the scrapbook. So as a result, Louise not only has to endure the fact every moment of her life that her sister is this, the talented one, the favorite one, but. But she actually has to hold that and be reminded that she is not mentioned in many if any of those clippings. So I'm telling you, there are so many clever ideas. This is not, by the way, non traditional casting. This is not colorblind casting. Rose is black. She is. And again, you've heard this from other people, I'm sure, but that June is the light skinned kid and Louise the dark skinned kid. And you know, it started me thinking about Rose is probably avoiding toba, the theatric artist organization. TOBO was the acronym and many black performers called it Tough on Black Asses. That was the nickname because. So the idea that Rose. This never comes up in the show, of course, I'm just thinking about it. But the fact that she is avoiding that avenue, that she wants to break into show business sort of makes her a forerunner of Curtis and Dreamgirls thinking, you know, I can break into this. Which makes her job that much more difficult. Much more difficult. And so we really have to admire her courage in becoming a pioneer in that way. So. So that's really something that I was tremendously impressed with. So in Mr. Goldstone, a smart idea. Okay. It's always been Rose's solo, all right? And the Russell and Russell will be the boys chime in in harmony at one point. But it's a Rose solo, not here. And what's so interesting is that all the boys and even June join in because they want to impress Mr. Goldstone. They know, they've seen the handwriting on the rooming house walls. They know that this act is doomed at this point in time. And here's this man, it's every man for himself. They are auditioning for him. They want to show that they have the goods and hoping that he'll pull them out of this. Since he has that power.

[Ron Fassler]

Can I interrupt Peter just to ask, where was the egg roll? Did you notice? No, he does not offer him an egg roll. That's a very curious thing to me.

[Peter Felicia]

Well, I could appreciate that. Yes, you're right. I won't disagree with you on that. I would say. No, no. Well, the thing is. So that was. Yeah. So Mr. Wolf should go back and check that. I also thought.

[Ron Fassler]

Can I also ask you, did she pop the balloons on the.

[Peter Felicia]

No, no. But I didn't think so. But I was talking to my buddy Dawn Dagnan, who said she did.

[Ron Fassler]

Yes, this is what I'm hearing. So for those who don't know, you know, in the very opening sequence, Rose is pretty mean. She pulls out a hat pin from her hat and she pops the balloons on some of the competition on stage so her girls will get a leg up. And it didn't happen at my performance. Apparently, it happened at Don Gagnon's. It didn't happen at your performance. So I'm curious what's going on there.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah, I thought it was a case that they felt that that was a joke that had been used one time too many.

[Ron Fassler]

I thought it was maybe making her too mean too early.

[Peter Felicia]

Yes, that occurred to me as well. Yes, indeed. So what's really interesting is when Dainty June is certainly more than nine years old and she has to do the act. It's so interesting. Jordan Tyson is the actress's name. She overdoes it purposely. She's ashamed of what she has to perform and how she comes across. So she plays it as parody. Her only hope is that people will see it that way, that mocking it is the lesser of the two entertainment evils. And it's the only way she's going to get through the echo, you know, going crazy. So I think that's impressive. I also like very much in the way that if Mama Was Married was staged, because this has always been a problem with me for Gypsy. Now, for all the talk about it's the greatest book in musical theater history. And I would say 1776 is. But anyway, for all the talk about how this is the greatest book in musical theater history, I do not understand why, after the disaster with TT Granzger that Herbie says, I'm taking your mother back to the hotel. Why is he leaving them there? I mean, he would say, come on, girls, let's go. And I think it would be very simple to have them walking in an in one with the girl singing. If Mama was Married, while the two of Herbie and Rose were ahead of them walking. So at least what George Wolf does is get them out of that office and into the passerelle. Yes, there is a passerelle, like in Dolly, the room around the orchestra. So he ameliorates the problem there to some degree. I very much liked an All I Need is the girl. There's a moment where Louise says that she'll help do the costumes for Tulsa. And what he does and no other Tulsa does, again, the videos. He gives her a knock on her arm. I mean, this girl is hoping for a kiss and she gets a knock on her arm, which indeed is, you know, a nice sign of friendship, but ain't a good sign of romance. So I think that's pretty impressive, too. So they say God's in the details. And I really do believe that there are plenty of details here in Everything's Coming Up Roses. She grabs this kid and clutches her to her breast. The kid cannot breathe, really. The kid is choking, genuinely. And Rose isn't even aware of that. She goes from mad to mad. Mad meaning angry mad to mean crazy. It's really, really something. Which I guess brings us to Audra McDonald, who's quite wonderful. It's just you're going to hear the score in a way you never did. And I think it's going to be controversial because she uses her soprano a lot. A lot. And it will make for a different cast album if it gets that far. We never know anymore. And I'm sure there are people say, we do not need another recording of Gypsy. But of course, people go to see this one, are going to want this one. And by the way, for all the talk of that, so many of us said what they're reviving Gypsy again. It was so interesting to me. Ron, tell me if this was true of your performance. It was so interesting to me that so many people were gasping at things in the plot that they didn't see coming. They didn't know there is an audience that. Yeah, you had that, too. I'm telling you, when she says to Louise, look at the new star and all that, that dialogue there, that audience gap. They did not see that coming. When Rose says, my daughter can strip. Another gasp. They did not see that coming. And you might say, wait a minute. I mean, it's Gypsy Rose. People don't know who she is anymore. I mean, really, a lot of people have taken issue with this production because they said, well, Rose wasn't black, you know, I mean, and it is being played as A black woman. Yeah. It also was called the musical Fable, so I think you can get away with it for that reason as well. So. And. But anyway, sure. Audrey is everything you would expect in terms of the fact that, as Michael and I have said many times, we had our doubts about her in Lady Day and look what happened. Oh, I agree.

[Ron Fassler]

Oh, man, I agree with you. I heard that casting. I thought, she can't play Billie Holiday. And then she knocked it out of the park. And there were people saying the same thing about her in Gypsy. Oh, she's all wrong. She's all. Her voice is wrong. I'm like, will you just give her a chance? She's one of the best actresses the musical theater has ever known. And that is absolutely true.

[Peter Felicia]

Absolutely true. We're very lucky to be living at a time when we can see this. That is. I agree entirely. So. So it is quite a triumph. And I think I've said this before, that when she was in Marie Christine, she had won three Tonys. And I said, so what do you think? She said, peter, I don't think anybody thinks I need another Tony. Well, of course, she's doubled the amount she's had then. And while we don't think that she needs another Tony, I don't think anybody's going to necessarily bet against her when the time comes. It'd be a foolish bet. I'm not saying she's going to win. It's a long season to come and who knows what's going to happen? But nevertheless, we know that she's going to be a contender.

[James Marino]

All right, so, Ron, tell us what your thoughts are.

[Ron Fassler]

Well, you know, as I wrote in my review, it's hard to fathom that as great a musical as Gypsy is that it lost all eight Tony Watts back in the 1959, 1960 season, which was a season that resulted in the only tie for Best Musical. And Gypsy wasn't one of the two. It was the Sound of Music and Fiorello. And who in the world could have ever predicted that it would be Gypsy that would get five revivals in the past 60 years, or almost 70 years, and Piarello none. And the Sound of Music merely won on Blitz. So it's testament to what a truly enduring piece this is. And I agree with Peter. If they bring along another one in 10 or 15 years. Years, I'd have no trouble with that. I could watch a Guys and dolls every 10 or 15 years. I could watch. I mean, these are. You know, opera does it all the time. There's no reason why this shouldn't happen. And I'm just thrilled that we've got another gypsy. As you said, there are people who are going to be shocked and surprised by what happens during it. They don't know it. And I want to say the whole issue of the fact that she is black and it's being played like she's black, it really didn't enter into my thinking while I was watching it. Perhaps that's because I did all my research on, for my book on the Dollies, but it reminded me of sitting through hello Dolly with Pearl Bailey. I mean, there was no reason for them to all be black, but it didn't matter. None of it mattered. And I don't really. I mean, I know they tried to shoehorn a few things in the whole the fact that June is a little more light skinned and dark skinned, but you know, they're not changing a line of dialogue and it's what you want to see and what you don't want to see. To me, it was colorblind casting. Especially when I think you, you noticed in the transition from the younger players when they become the more teenage versions of themselves, suddenly these young black little boys become, you know, white boys. I mean, that was, that was odd. That was odd.

[Michael Portantier]

But again, yeah, but Ron, you know, I mean, these, these terms are used differently by different people. And many people would say that's the opposite of colorblind casting, that's color conscious casting. Because he's trying to make the point that when they were, when they had the little act with the little kids, they were all black. But then when, presumably when they were going to try to be more appealing to more mass audiences, that they're the white kids, isn't that what, what we're supposed to think?

[Ron Fassler]

I think so. But then again, in the original piece, I believe that it's the same kids grown up. Right. She didn't replace them.

[Michael Portantier]

No. In the original piece, yeah.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah.

[Ron Fassler]

But the one thing you didn't mention while you were talking, Peter, is Joy woods performance as Louise. Because this is where I felt that George Wolf really failed. I just can't decide whether she's miscast or that Woolf let her down. Because Joy woods does not offer a hint that this squished caterpillar of a teenager could become the butterfly that was Gypsy Rose Lee. When she's revealed as glamorous, she looks great. But that young woman who's been trapped inside and been on such a low flame for so long, that transformation didn't catch fire for me. And it's very unique, unfortunately staged. The entire montage of stripteases that supposed to mark her ascendance to the heights of stardom is just. It's not sexy. And I don't know what happened. It doesn't play. And I found that a big issue. And I found that she was a bit stranded in terms of the attention towards Audra McDonald and Danny Burstein and everything. I mean, the role of Louise is a major role. And let's not forget the last time out, Laura Benanti is the only person to ever win a Tony for playing it. They're all nominated. Everyone always gets nominated for playing the part, but Laura Benanti really, really put her stamp on it. And Joy woods did not compete in that arena as far as I was.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah, I felt differently because in the second act where she's arguing with the mother, both Rose Louise, the blondes, if I'm the star, all that, I really felt I was seeing a teenage rebellion, you know, that this was just a variat. When all of us are teenagers, we start talking back to our parents. I thought it was very effective and I saw a real arc in terms of her developing every time she was arguing with her mother, she was stronger, she was gaining in that. So. So that's what I felt. But one thing you mentioned about Gypsy losing all those awards way back when, what's really interesting to me is that Jerome Robbins did not get nominated for choreography. So you might say, well, you know, all right, but tough year of choreography, you know, Michael Kidd won for Destri Rides Again, you know, and everybody talked about how wonderful that was. But who also got nominated in that category as opposed to Jerome Robbins was Lee Scott. Yeah, Lee. Gee, we don't have time to mention all of our favorite Lee Scott musicals. But anyway, for this one, he was nominated for the five performance flop Happy Town, which Walter Kerr said he offered the same dance in three different places. Clap hands horizontally, clap hands vertically, girls swish skirt to the right and left. Everyone does the gallop that begins with the rodeo, the famous ballet. And then they do it backwards on one foot. So that was Walter Kerr's assessment of the Tony nominated Happy Town choreography by Lee Scott. Really? Not Jerome Robbins. You would think even for the idea of the strobe lights, which Wolf avoids here, that that alone would get some sort of recognition. So as Scott, shocking as it is, I mean, every other Tony losing musical could say, well, maybe we finished second, maybe we lost by a few votes. Gypsy can only say that it finished third at best. I'M sure it was third, by the way. But nevertheless, it can't say we finish second because, as Ron pointed out, Sound of Music and Fiorello tied.

[Ron Fassler]

Yeah, it's wild. But listen, let me. Let me make it clear that I recommend this production. I think that the work that Audrey McDonald and Danny Burstyn are doing, let's. I mean, Danny Burstyn, who is so ideally cast. I mean, when we all heard he was going to play Herbie, I mean, didn't we all just go? Of course.

[Peter Felicia]

I mean, he's perfect.

[Ron Fassler]

And he has every bit of strength and weakness that the man needs to convey. His scenes with Audrey McDonald are superb. I'm very high on him, and I think there's a real good chance he's going to win another Tony Award for this. And listen, it got rave reviews. I mean, I know it's been controversial. People have been chatting about it and all, but after I saw it, I turned to my companion and said, this is going to get excellent reviews. So much of this production works, and as you know, it's gotten across the board really, really fine reviews. I hope it does great business. I hope it runs long enough for a replacement. I don't know if you're aware of this, but out of all these six productions of Gypsum, only one ever had someone replace. Ethel Merman. Did it for two years. The other productions didn't. You know, the Bernadette Peters production really wasn't doing enough business to consider maybe putting someone else in once her contract was up. But the only time was when Tyne Daly did it and they replaced her with Linda Lavin. Who? Peter, did you ever go back and see Linda?

[Peter Felicia]

I did, I did. I wish she had the size. That was their only for me. The only problem. Why juicier terms, too?

[Ron Fassler]

I did not.

[Peter Felicia]

Oh, okay. Yeah. I mean, she. She's just a small lady. And so as a result, you really do need somebody who has a few more inches on her, so. But she was fine. Needless to say, I also saw one of my favorite performers do it. Somebody who is not known by the general public. But Maureen Moore, I think, was Bernadette Peters understudy.

[Ron Fassler]

She's in my book. Maureen Moore understudied some pretty formidable ladies.

[Peter Felicia]

In her time and a wonderful performer. And her Charlotte in a little Night Music up at Lincoln Center. I'm sorry.

[Michael Portantier]

City Opera.

[Peter Felicia]

City Opera. Thank you. She was marvelous. Really marvelous. And so I was very, very lucky that Jim Bick, the press agent for Gypsy, said, look, I know you love Maureen Moore. Why don't you come and see the show with her? And she was terrific, too. So I really. I don't think I've ever seen a Gypsy where I've been disappointed. In fact, ironically, Audrey McDon times made me feel like I was watching Leslie Uggams, who I did see do it in Connecticut. So the first one I ever saw was Joan Tolentino, a name that totally unknown to you. This was at a Harvard House production. Not even on the main stage, just in the house. But I had never seen Gypsy, so it was early in my theater.

[Ron Fassler]

Is that Chip Tolentino's mother?

[Peter Felicia]

I doubt it. But anyway, she was. She was part of that group, that Stalker Channing, then Susan Channing, Steve Kaplan, now Steve Mohannon were. And so she was so nice when Stalker Channing had her TV show that she actually had Joan Tarlentino as one of the performers in it. So it was very nice to see that type of loyalty go on. So I was very glad for that. So, yeah, I've done a lot of time with Gypsies and will again if I live long enough. But I'm never tired of it, and I'm always amazed by it, aside from, as I say, that one scene where Herbie would take the girls back home. So I wanted to give a shout.

[Ron Fassler]

Out to the renovation for the Majestic Theater.

[James Marino]

I was just gonna say we are deeply, deeply behind schedule.

[Peter Felicia]

Okay.

[James Marino]

But I did want to hear what you have to. I was gonna ask about the Majestic Theater. If you can give me one minute, both of you, on the Majestic Theater, but we really have to go.

[Ron Fassler]

Yeah, I'll be very quick. The Majestic Theater is where I saw 1776 a dozen times. That was the third theater it played on Broadway. And that's when I was just deep into my appreciation and love, as Peter said, the great greatest book for a broad musical. So I. I think the Majestic, just like the Richard Rogers, is just one of those warm, big houses, and they have done a splendid job. It looks like a couple of million bucks, which I know is what they spent. It's worth it just to go see how beautiful this restoration is and what a. What a welcome thing it is to have the majestic back after 35 years of just running.

[James Marino]

Where did you see the show from? Where did you see Gypsy?

[Ron Fassler]

From Rose center and from the TKTS booth at a quarter of two. So just.

[James Marino]

Did you go upstairs? Did you look at. Did you.

[Ron Fassler]

I did. I walked all over the place.

[James Marino]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Peter, how about you? Where did you sit?

[Peter Felicia]

H2 in the orchestra but yes, I certainly paid attention into how clean scrubbed it was and all that. You know, the Shuberts take a lot of heat for a lot of things, but nevertheless, their theaters, they keep them in good shape and they were certainly waiting for Phantom to close. I had a friend in Phantom, I won't say who, just in case, I don't want to get him in trouble, but he said that place was really run down. How could it not be with 31 years of a show? They couldn't get in and do really very much during that period of time. So, yeah, it looks brand spanking new. You would think it was minted yesterday.

[James Marino]

Yeah, I mean, a lot of people give the Shubert's heat, but we also don't talk about this. We don't talk about this enough. The Shubert Organization is a nonprofit and gives away millions upon millions upon millions of dollars each year to tons of arts organizations around the United States. So that's, that's a wonderful part. So Ron, thank you for joining us on Broadway radio again. You could go to ronfastler.org and get his blog. I've also put in the show notes. Everything's coming up. Audra Gypsy is back on Broadway, which is Ron's theater review over at Theater Pizzazz. And thanks so much, Ron. Have a great one.

[Ron Fassler]

Thank you so much, gentlemen. Bye bye now.

[Michael Portantier]

Bye bye.

[James Marino]

All right, Michael, you made your way over to the Samuel J. Friedman Theater to see a production of Eureka Day. So tell us, tell us about this.

[Michael Portantier]

Well, I had a really great week because I saw two great new plays on Broadway and I can't remember the last time that that happened. I think that's a really wonderful thing. So I'm just thrilled. Eureka Day is by Jonathan Spector. It's an MTC production at the Friedman, as James mentioned, and it's set in 2018. Make a note of that date in a school, at a school, a day school at Berkeley, California, which, you know, when we see that, that designation, I guess we maybe have in mind what, what kind of people they're we're going to see and what kind of school it is. And indeed we, we see five parents meeting in the library of this school to discuss various matters in what might be described as the most ultra woke way possible. The humor of this play is to get a satirical humor in the lengths to which these people go to not offend anyone else in any remote fashion and to not even have the slightest chance of doing so. So for example, there's a painful discussion about the dropdown menu where the student has to identify themselves in terms of their ethnicity. And it seems like there are 500 possible choices in the dropdown menu. And they're wondering if they should add a transracial adoptee, I think, is the term. Things like that. So it's, you know, it is humorous to watch something like that happen. And yet, as one of the other reviews pointed out, I think a great success of this play is that it is sympathetic to the characters. I mean, they're certainly not monsters. They're trying to be good people. It's just. It's so. Sometimes it's so difficult to do that without offending anyone. And I think that's the point of the play, which is brilliantly directed by Anna De Shapiro and magnificently acted by Amber Gray, Jessica Hecht, Bill Irwin, Thomas Middleditch and Chelsea Yukura Kurtz. The centerpiece of the play, as you may have heard, is absolutely brilliant sequence. I've never seen anything like it. What happens is that there turns out to be an outbreak of mumps in the school. And it turns out that the school has a policy whereby they do not enforce vaccinations. So, of course, suddenly this is going to become a tremendous issue, and they decide to have a zoom meeting about it. So we have the five teachers in the meeting in the library. And then we have all the parents. Parents on zoom. And we see the Zoom meeting on a huge screen at the back of the stage. But the parents are. They're not on as visual, you know, in video. They're just. We see their. Their comments as they type them, you know, which helps to tell the story here. And what happens is it starts out as a very civil discussion with almost inane little comments by some of the people. And then it starts to escalate as people's emotions start to boil. And then it goes to the point where words like cunt are used. And the audience reaction is just beyond hilarious. I mean, I thought the roof was going to come up. It's so well written. And the timing of the projections, of the way the comets come in. And the amazing thing here is that while all that is happening, the actors, they have to keep talking, even though the focus is absolutely not on them at all. But if you can pay some attention to that, you'll see that they just continue dialogue and monologues while that's happening. Really hand it to them to completely, like giving over that entire section of the play to these projections, you know, for the good of the play. And it really is amazing. And the final Thing I have to say that makes this a really great play is that for all its hilarity, there are some moments that are very, very serious and very touching. And somehow the playwright Jonathan Spector and the director Anna Shapiro and the actors managed to make that transition without making it seem like two different plays. So I cannot say enough in praise of Eureka Day, and I urge everyone to see it as soon as possible. Cult of Love, another excellent play about a family gathering for Christmas. And we're supposed to, in a nutshell, think that they are all Christian, or at least were Christian, very religious Christian people. But now some of them have moved away from that a little bit. Some have moved away from it completely. And so on top of all the other conflicts that might arise among a family at a Christmas gathering, there is that basic issue of the religion and how much some of them are still following it, whereas others have maybe abandoned it. Again, by Cult of Love by Leslie Hedlund, directed by Trip Coleman at Second Stage at the Helen Hayes Theater. Cast is Molly Bernard, Roberta Calindres, Barbie Ferreira, Rebecca Henderson, Christopher Lowell, Zachary Quinto, David Rashi. I think that's how he pronounces his name. Christopher Sears. Mayor Winningham. Again, wonderful. And Shailene Woodley. Very strong cast and I think very observant of family dynamics. I'm sure there are many, many moments in this play that many of the audience will relate to, even if you know those of us who are not Christian, because that's only part of it. It's really just about family dynamics and how people accommodate each other or don't. So really another excellent work. So happy to see those two great plays that I happen to see in the same week.

[James Marino]

Okay, so Eureka Day is at The Friedman through February 2nd, and Cult of Love is at the Haze through February 2nd. We have both of them. Links to their websites in the show notes. I'm going to see Eureka Day in a couple of weeks. I was scheduled to see it last week and we had to reschedule. And I did see Cult of Love and. And it was a little bit of PTSD for me, a little bit too close to home for me.

[Michael Portantier]

I see. Gosh, yeah.

[Peter Felicia]

I have to say that what I felt was that it was a minor league version of August Sage County. I immediately came home and watched the movie about August of Sage county. And I think the issues, they were bigger and more interesting than this. So I couldn't help thinking of it while I was watching the movie play. If there were no August Osage County, I would really Love this play.

[Michael Portantier]

Yeah, Actually, Peter, I did think of August Osage county. And I also thought of Appropriate. Just as I've said, I think audiences like to watch families really argue with each other.

[Peter Felicia]

Oh, yeah, we can all identify it, can't we?

[James Marino]

Well, it's sort of Arthur Miller sort of, you know, made a.

[Peter Felicia]

That, you know, as I always say, you hear the term relative humidity talking about the weather, but that's when my relatives and I get together, when we all get hot under the collar. Yes, indeed. Yes, I understand what you're saying, but.

[Michael Portantier]

What, but, but also, what I mean is one can do that either for drama or. Or for comedy.

[Peter Felicia]

Oh, yeah.

[Michael Portantier]

And I think. I think all. I certainly think that Cult of Love and Appropriate both did that very well.

[James Marino]

Steve Bell nailed it right away. Appropriate. Appropriate. Appropriate. Put it in the chat. In the chat. Sarah Paulson, Lois Smith. So we love our. Our listeners helping us out here in the chat room.

[Michael Portantier]

Thank you.

[James Marino]

It's great. All right, so I'm totally jealous. Totally jealous. As Peter says, you can't see them all.

[Peter Felicia]

You can't.

[James Marino]

Can't see them all. But Peter and Michael got over to Symphony Space on December 16th to see Red Bull Theater's benefit concert of Two Gentlemen of Verona, which, my goodness, I totally missed off my radar. So, Michael, tell us about this.

[Michael Portantier]

Well, I would like to say first of all that I thought it was a much better performance overall than last year's benefit that Red Bull did, which was the show your own thing. This one just seemed so much more professional in terms of, I don't know, it seemed better rehearsed and better staged and I would say, better cast as well. I really enjoyed Jordan Donica and Jin Ha in the two male leads. And the rest of the cast was wonderful as well. But it's so interesting. I did not expect to have the reaction that I had. I have seen two previous full productions of the show. One was a community theater production on Staten island many, many years ago. They tended to do all of G. McDermott's shows at one point or another because he lives. He lived and worked there. And so I saw one there. And actually, that was so long ago that I don't even remember it well enough to make any judgment on it, to be honest. I did love, very much enjoy the production that was done at the Delacorte in Central park as part of the New York Shakespeare Festival some years ago with Renee Elise Goldsberry and Oscar Isaac, among other people. I thought that was completely delightful. But for some reason, when I saw this Presentation. Although I thought it was very, very well done, I was almost appalled by how bad I thought the adaptation was in terms of the. The lyrics and the book, specifically the lyrics. Peter talked, and I talked about this very briefly at the show and Peter said that he had spoken to John Guare who co wrote the lyrics. And John said, well, Galt McDermott just was unwilling to make any. To be collaborative in writing the score. He just wrote the music basically, and then we had to fit the words to it. So, you know, I don't doubt him on that and certainly that makes it more difficult. But that said, I think that what they came up with, I mean, honestly, I'm gonna say if. If I wrote those lyrics, I would not put my name on them. I. I just think most of them are just. Just absolutely horrendous in terms of the incredibly dunning repetition of the lyrics. And also that I'm not. I didn't even clock so much the. How many false rhymes there are or not. But what I was conscious of is that every other line had a accent on the wrong syllable of a word to the point where it just becomes like you. You feel like you're listening to another language. So that was my quite surprising response because I didn't. I wasn't so sensitive to that in the past as, for example, when I saw it in the park. But I suppose that's partly because, I mean, that was a full production with full costumes and full sets and choreography. And here the. The accent was really just on the score itself. I thought that I still love the music as divorced from the. The lyrics. And I thought that as I said that, that the company did a very good job with it in terms of everything, the casting, the musical direction, every aspect of it. But for that reason that I just said, I don't think I'm ever going to need to experience this show again.

[James Marino]

Okay, Peter, what do you think?

[Peter Felicia]

Well, for all the talk about how infrequently Two Gents is revived, I have to say that this was my. My 10th time seeing it and follies the show that it beat for Tony's. I've seen 14 times, so it isn't that far apart. I adore two gents. And yes, of course, the accents are atrocious. Meat Chopper, as opposed to Chopper, is just one of many. Michael, what actually happened is they wrote the lyrics first and gave it to Galt, and Galt was entranced. And I know that. I know the things that can easily be the case because I've said this Before, I interviewed Gal McDermott three times. And each of those three times he made a statement like it's my way of the highway, so. Which I guess means his way is the low way. But anyway, so he must have been a very difficult collaborator. And. But yes, the music is glorious. And I have to say that when I first got the album, which of course I got the day it came out, it made no great impression on me. And what was very interesting is that the Shakespeare Festival said, we are not going to put. Put critics raves in our ads as everybody does. What we're going to do, we're going to have a contest and we're going to ask everybody to write a limerick. And the best limericks, we're going to use one every day and that's what we're going to do. And we'll. There's going to be a grand prize winner, we'll fly them to New York, so on and so forth. I finished in third prize, so I got tickets to that and Sticks and Bones, which was another pap production. And I couldn't believe the great time I was having when I was seeing it. That original production was phenomenal beyond belief. Raul Julia and Clifton Davis and Diana de Villa, wherever she may be now, she was tremendous. And of course, Jonelle Allen, who everybody went crazy for. So the affection that I have for two gents, despite the terrible, terrible stresses on the wrong syllables, are just beyond comprehension. I remember one time seeing a musical called Five After Eight, which had a mylock curtain. I was sitting in the first row and at one moment I saw the expression on my face. I couldn't. I caught myself. I didn't even realize I was looking at myself for a second. And I saw, my God, I look so terrible in an audience. I'm scowling. I mean, and here I do something I'd never do. I'm bopping my head back in here to the music and the rhythm and all that. I mean, this score really, really intoxicates me. So I agree with that. I have a wonderful time the other night revisiting it. And I was so impressed that these people with so little rehearsal, I believe Jesse berger told me 20 hours that they were so prepared. There was none of that, Let me see where I am, none of that. They were raring to go and they did it. A couple of songs were dropped. I have a feeling that Don't Tell the Baby was simply spoken and not sung. I have a feeling they ran out of time and that's why they did it. Just Spoken. And they dropped Land of Betrayal, if you know the score, but they probably dropped some other things. So it's a very, very long score, which is why it got two records. And as everybody points out. Yeah. And Follies didn't. But. But anyway, they really are apples and oranges of very different types of the apples and oranges too. But nevertheless, two Gents is a blast. And I was really thrilled to be back there again. And by the way, they never used the limericks because after they won that Tony Award, that's what went into the ABC ads.

[Michael Portantier]

Did you see. I forget, Peter, did you see your own thing last year? When. When.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Michael Portantier]

Didn't. Didn't you feel like this one was much more polished?

[Peter Felicia]

Absolutely, yeah. For whatever reason, you know, and Gabriel Barry's a terrific director and he did your own thing, but who knows what the circumstances were. You know, we don't know if they were last minute replacements or what have you. But yes, I came to this with a feeling, saying, well, I hope it's better than your own thing was last year. And it certainly was so. These people are quick studies.

[Michael Portantier]

By the way, the. That one in the Delacorte also had Rosario Dawson and Norm Lewis. It really was an amazing cast.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah, yeah. Oh, I had a wonderful time that night. Wonderful.

[James Marino]

All right, so as we mentioned to start, it was just one night only. December 16th.

[Peter Felicia]

Right.

[James Marino]

And we'll have a link back to the Red Bill website with all their information from this one night only benefit concert. So finally this morning, Michael, you returned to Elf. Couldn't get enough, could you?

[Michael Portantier]

Yes, I very much wanted to see Elf because as I mentioned before, I had unfortunately not gotten press tickets because I screwed up my invitation. I didn't respond quickly enough. But I did want to see it because I wanted to see Gray Henson in the lead. And he was absolutely as charming and wonderful and fascinating and fantastic as I thought he would be. So I was glad that I spent my money for that. I was very disappointed by the direction, I guess I would have to say by Philip William McKinley. I felt like he directed several of the supporting players to give extremely broad performances that actually kind of set my teeth on edge. And I don't think I want to name anyone in particular, but there were a few people who. A few people who every time they came on stage, I almost kind of wished that they would go off as quickly as possible. And I looked up, I couldn't remember who directed the show originally. When I see Nicola. Yes, yes, I looked it up. I couldn't remember who it was. And I think Casey. My memory is that Casey did a far, far better job with that. I mean, it's a tricky tone when you do a show like this in a large theater. You know, just how. How big and broad the performances are supposed to be, and if there's any room for subtlety. But I thought that Casey got it in that production, and Philip William McKinley did not get in in this production. That said, I'm still very happy I went to see Gray. And also because I do like the show. I think I like the score, I like, like the book, I like the adaptation. I've never seen the movie, but just judging it on its own terms, I really like it. Oh, I thought they made another big mistake. This always bothers me. When you enter the theater, the Marquee, one of my least favorite theaters, you're going to hear traditional, familiar Christmas songs playing over the sound system before the show. And I always think that that is a big mistake because, you know, of course it's going to be a different style music from the show. And for a musical, I don't think you're supposed to play music from something else before it especially. So I wish they had reconsidered that, but I guess they're thinking it as more of a tourist attraction than an actual musical. Anyway. But the final thing I wanted to say about Elf is actually not about the show itself. I just. Just wanted to stress again to our listeners how important it is if you want to get tickets at a reasonable price and if there's any way that you can actually go to the box office to get them rather than order them online or on the phone, that would be really great because I got to the box office at the Marquee, and the sign said, tickets available from 129 to $999. And I, of course, sort of did a double take, but I was planning on getting a cheaper ticket anyway. So I went up to the box office and I said to them, fellow, I said, what is the earliest that I can get a $129 ticket? And he said, well, actually, I have one for tonight. But after that, he said, I think they're all gone for most of the rest of the run. And I said, oh, okay, well, I can actually go tonight. That's fine. So then he rung me up, and he rung me up at $99. And I said, oh, oh. I said, that's great. Why is it 99 and not 129? And I didn't understand what he said in response. But anyway, so I realized that not everyone, obviously not every audience member, lives in the proximity of the theater district or can get there easily or works near it. But I would say if you have a friend who does, and you know that you want to see a show and you want to get the best tickets at the best price, feel free to see if they will perform that favor for you as I have done for many friends and family members. Because it just makes such a difference. Difference. It's really like night and day.

[James Marino]

Okay, so what we have is when is ELF running through? I think I have through January 4, 2025. We'll have a link to that in the show notes. So that wraps it up for today. Before we get on to our brain teaser, our musical moments, I want to remind everybody that you can subscribe to these broadcasts by going to the front page pageofbroadrayradio.com There's a subscribe link. That way each and every time we have a new episode of this week on Broadway, it'll be automatically downloaded to Apple Podcast View. Of course, you don't have to listen to an Apple podcast. There's many ways to get us. Patreon.com is one way. P A T R E O N dot com broadwayradio you can get us earlier than everybody else. Plus get those bonus episodes. As I mentioned, Matt and Grace's Q&As that came out this week as well. Contact information for Peter for Michael and me can be found in the show [e-mail] as well as links to some of the things we've talked about today. So Peter, do we have an answer to last week's brain teaser?

[Peter Felicia]

Many reviews get cast albums. This one didn't. Reviews seldom if ever get published in hardcover by a major publisher. This one did. Considering what its title was, it could have just as easily had the same name as the Jason Robert Brown musical. What is it? Well, I'm talking about Julius Monk's 1964 review at the Plaza Hotel called Baker's Dozen. Baker's Dozen is another term for 13, which indeed was a Jason Robert Brown musical. Tony Janicki show that he is our true champion because he and he alone was the only one to get it. No Witty, no Green, either Robinson or Brigadoo. Just Janick. Maybe I need to be a little easier this week. Okay, given that we've been talking about replacements, this performer replaced in a long running Disney musical, but if he were to appear in a revival of a Mel Brooks musical, He'd hear his name mentioned in a lyric at every performance. Who is he? What's the Mel Brooks musical? What song would include his name?

[James Marino]

Okay, if you have an answer for that, email [e-mail] we'll let you know if you're on the right track. So, Michael, what do we have in this week's musical moments?

[Michael Portantier]

Well, I've been listening to a lot of Christmas music recently for obvious reasons. And of course, so many of our great musical theater talents have made Christmas albums and Christmas recordings. So, I mean, I could have chosen from hundreds, maybe thousands, but I thought, well, why not focus on Julie Andrews? Because I love her so much. Julie Andrews made three full Christmas albums, one in 1967 that was arranged and conducted by Andre Previn, and Then one in 1982, and another in 1990, both arranged and conducted by Ian Fraser. And in addition to that, she made recordings of some other individual Christmas songs that were included on those old Firestone Christmas albums that used to be the Firestone company used to issue. I think they would put out one a year in the 1960s. So a lot of wonderful Christmas stuff from Julie Andrews and again, a lot to choose from. So our opener is oh, Come All Ye faithful from the 1982 recording with Ian Fraser as arranger and conductor. I really love the arrangement and the performance on that, and I hope you will, too. The closer is, I think this is quite a rarity because this is one of the recordings that she made separately for the Firestone, one of the Firestone Christmas albums in the 60s. And in fact, I found it on YouTube and we'll put the link in, but it's obviously copied from an lp. I don't think that there was ever a digital version of this recording released, but it is one of the great Christmas songs. The Christmas Song is the title written by Mel Torme. And this, by the way, was arranged and conducted by Erwin Costello, who, among other things, was the musical director for the films of both west side Story and the Sound of Music. So he had previously worked with Julie Andrews on that. So enjoy these two selections. Oh, and also I'm putting in the show notes a link to a video of a 1987 TV special, the Sound of Christmas. Julie Andrews, starring with guest Placido Domingo and John Denver and the King Singers. And it's utterly delightful. I hope you enjoy it. Among other things, among the other delights in it, you will get to see there's a brief section of the cast performing the Night Waltz from a little Night Music. And, you know, with Julie featured in that section. And so watch that and imagine, if you will, how amazing she would have been as Desiree Armfelt in A Little Night Music if she had gotten to do that role in her prime. So those are our musical moments this week.

[James Marino]

Okay? So on behalf of Michael Portantier and Peter Felicia, this is James Marino saying thanks so much for listening to Broadway, because radios this week on Broadway. Bye. Bye.

[Michael Portantier]

Bye.

[Unknown Singer]

And every mother's child is going to spy to see if reindeer really know how to fly. And so I'm offering this simple phrase to kids from 1 to 92. Although it's been said many times, many ways, many. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas to you.