This Week on Broadway for February 23, 2025: Redwood

Summary

BroadwayRadio Podcast Summary Episode: This Week on Broadway for February 23, 2025: Redwood

Introduction In this episode of BroadwayRadio, host James Marino and his panelists—Peter, Michael Portantier, and Jenna—delve into the latest developments on Broadway, with a primary focus on the new musical Redwood. Released on February 23, 2025, Redwood has garnered significant attention, especially due to the involvement of Broadway sensation Idina Menzel. The episode also touches upon other noteworthy theater productions and experiences from the panelists.

Main Discussion: Redwood

Redwood marks a bold venture for Broadway, blending intricate storytelling with ambitious stagecraft. The panelists provide a comprehensive review, highlighting both strengths and areas of contention.

Plot Synopsis Redwood centers around Jesse, portrayed by Idina Menzel, who embarks on a spiritual journey into the redwood forests to cope with personal grief. The narrative weaves through her relationship with her wife, Mel, and introduces supporting characters Finn and Becca, who embody contrasting personalities essential for the storyline's progression.

Peter elaborates, saying:

"Jesse's journey is triggered by a pivotal incident that propels her to California, ultimately leading her to the redwood forests in Eureka. The dynamics between Jesse, Mel, Finn, and Becca form the crux of the emotional landscape of the show." [09:50]

Performance Highlights Idina Menzel's performance is a focal point of the discussion. The panelists commend her dedication, especially her physical feats on stage, such as climbing and hanging from wires while delivering powerful vocal performances.

Michael notes:

"The extent to which Idina Menzel is singing while hanging and tumbling from wires is unparalleled. It's a testament to her unwavering commitment to the role." [16:18]

However, the panel acknowledges that while Menzel's performance is stellar, it sometimes overshadows the narrative and other characters, leading to a mixed reception among audiences.

Production Elements The production design of Redwood receives praise for its innovative use of projections and stage mechanics. Hannah S. Kim's projections create an immersive environment, complementing the physical set design.

Jenna shares her admiration:

"Hannah S. Kim's video design works beautifully with the set, creating a vivid and real atmosphere that even IMAX movies can't rival." [22:25]

The aerial choreography by Alicia Estrella and Aerial Dance Company Bandeloop is highlighted as a standout feature, seamlessly integrating movement with the set to enhance the storytelling.

Critical Reception While Redwood boasts impressive technical elements and star power, the panelists express reservations about the script and character development. Issues such as skewed character motivations and unresolved plot points detract from the overall experience.

Peter critiques:

"The show contains numerous clichés and lacks the depth needed to elicit genuine emotional responses from the audience." [09:21]

Jenna echoes these sentiments, pointing out that despite Diaz's commendable efforts as a first-time musical theater composer, the lyrics and character portrayals fall short in creating a compelling narrative.

Quotes with Attribution and Timestamps

• Michael Portantier on Menzel's performance:

  "The extent to which Idina Menzel is singing while hanging and tumbling from these wires... is amazing." [16:18]

• Jenna on set design:

  "Hannah S. Kim's video design works so beautifully with the set... I gasped when the tree first appears." [22:25]

• Peter on the plot’s execution:

  "When Jesse wants to climb the redwoods, it's totally against the rules. The lack of plausibility in her motivations makes it hard to engage emotionally." [09:50]

Other Theater News

Garcia's Career at the Mint Theater Peter reviews Harold Brighouse's Garcia's Career, drawing parallels with classics like Hobson's Choice and June Moon. The revival showcases a strong cast, particularly highlighting Amelia White's fearless portrayal of the mother character.

Michael adds:

"Daniel Marconi shines in his role, bringing depth and nuance to his performance." [45:41]

Conversations with Mother at Theater555 Another highlight is Matthew Lombardo's Conversations with Mother, a poignant two-character play exploring the complex relationship between a mother and her son. The play is lauded for its authentic portrayal of familial bonds and the actors' compelling performances.

Peter remarks:

"Carolyn Aaron and Matt Doyle deliver stunning performances, making the audience feel the underlying love amidst the chaos." [51:35]

Kaylee at the Tank The panel briefly discusses the play Kaylee, noting its exploration of gender identity and the challenges of expanding it into a full-length production. Victoria Sasso's portrayal is particularly praised for capturing the character's internal struggle.

Choir of Man Cruise Show Michael shares his recent experience watching Choir of Man aboard the Norwegian Escape cruise ship. The energetic British show, featuring live musicians and audience participation, received high praise for its vibrant performances and engaging format.

Musical Moments

Opening Song: In the Heights Peter introduces the opening song from the original Broadway cast album of In the Heights, performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, setting an inspiring tone for the episode.

Closing Song: Let It Go from Frozen The episode concludes with the iconic "Let It Go" from Frozen, highlighting Idina Menzel's enduring impact on Broadway.

Jenna emphasizes:

"'Let It Go' has transcended its origins to become a Broadway classic, showcasing the powerful vocal prowess of Idina Menzel." [68:14]

Trivia Segment The panel concludes with a trivia question related to musical theater, encouraging listener engagement and participation.

Conclusion BroadwayRadio's latest episode provides an in-depth analysis of Redwood, balancing praise for its technical achievements and Menzel's performance with constructive criticism of its narrative structure. Additionally, the panel offers insightful reviews of other theatrical productions, making this episode a must-listen for Broadway enthusiasts seeking comprehensive coverage of current and upcoming shows.

Notable Quotes:

• Michael Portantier on set contributions:

  "The projections by Hannah S. Kim are terrific, enhancing the overall aesthetic of the production." [09:50]

• Jenna on character development:

  "The character of Jesse fails to resonate emotionally due to her portrayal as whiny and petulant, undermining the show's intended depth." [16:14]

• Peter on the production's collaborative nature:

  "While 'Redwood' aims to be a collaborative masterpiece, the overlapping credits may have diluted the creative vision, leading to a disjointed final product." [36:01]

Final Thoughts The episode encapsulates a critical yet appreciative perspective on Broadway's evolving landscape, offering listeners a balanced view of Redwood and its place within the theater community. With expert insights and engaging discussions, BroadwayRadio continues to solidify its reputation as Broadway's premier podcast.

Transcript

[Usnavi]

Lights up on Washington Heights. Up at the break of day I wake up and I got this little punk I gotta chase away. Pop the grade at the crack of dawn. Sing while I wipe down the awning. Hey, y'all, good morning, high school.

[Peter]

Piragua, paracha, chino, cherry, strawberry. And just for today I got Mame.

[Usnavi]

I am Usnavi and you probably never heard my name. Reports of my fame are greatly exaggerated. Exacerbated by the fact that my syntax is highly complicated. Cause I immigrated from the single greatest little place in the Caribbean, Dominican Republic. I love it. Jesus, I'm jealous of it. And beyond that, ever since my folks passed on, I haven't gone back. God damn. I gotta get on there. Oh, the milk is gone bad. Hold it just a second.

[James Marino]

Hello and welcome to Broadway Radios. This week on Broadway for Sunday, February 23, 2025. My name is James Marino, and in the broadcast today we have Peter, Felicia, Jenna, Tessa Fox and Michael Portentier. Peter is a playwright, journalist and historian with a number of books. Peter's new Day by day wall calendar, A show tune for today. 366 songs to brighten your year has been released. Peter also has columns at Masterworks, Broadway, Broadway select and many other places. Hello, Peter.

[Michael Portantier]

Hi.

[James Marino]

So, Peter, what is the show tune for today?

[Michael Portantier]

El Rey. K. Hey. And Madrid. That's from me, Belladama. Because this was back in 1958, was the anniversary of My fair Lady opening in Monterrey, Mexico. And the reign in Spain stays mainly in the plain. Doesn't rhyme when translated, but the king who was in Madrid does. So that's what they changed it to. By the way, if you listen to the Spanish language recording in Town Filly, which many of us know is, wouldn't it be lovely? See if you can discern the voice of a just starting out Placido Domingo as one of the three buskers. Yes, indeed. We all got to start somewhere. And that's what he did. Manolo Fabregas, who was considered el Senor Teatron Mr. Theater, starred as Henry Higgins and he also directed and co produced the production. So he was a big star. I mean, I remember was on the Tonight show talking about this very song, talking about how they had to translate it differently and use their own expression because the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plane. Does not rhyme in Spanish. So. So that's the song for today.

[Peter]

That's a very excellent cast album. I have it.

[Michael Portantier]

Oh, I like it too. Yeah, yeah.

[James Marino]

Do we have a review on castalbumreviews.com no.

[Peter]

We don't do. We never opened that Pandora's box.

[Michael Portantier]

Yes, I understand.

[Peter]

I mean, as it is, we can't get to everything in English.

[Michael Portantier]

You mean you don't have the Peruvian cast album of Big. I mean, that does exist.

[Peter]

Sure it does.

[James Marino]

I remember when Les Miserables was just, you know, in its prime on Broadway and there were international cast albums all over the place. I got all of the different languages. Yeah, I was. I was studying Japanese at Penn State and I got the Japanese cast recording to help me learn Japanese, and it was very, very helpful.

[Michael Portantier]

Yeah, it was a Japanese hair album, too, way back when.

[James Marino]

I have to see what Let the Sunshine.

[Michael Portantier]

Right.

[James Marino]

Sounds like. So also with us, you heard her voice briefly, Jenna. Tessa Fox is with us. Jenna has written about theater from many publications including Playbill, Broadway World timeout, and Howl Round. She's a member of the League of Professional Theater Women and the Drama Desk and is a contributor to Broadway Radio. Hello, Jenna.

[Jenna]

Hello, James. How are you doing?

[James Marino]

Oh, we're doing well. We're doing even better now that you're here. We were very excited to, when I spoke to you last week and asked you to come on to say hello, that you were able to join us.

[Jenna]

Very exciting to be able to join you again. Thank you so much for inviting me.

[Peter]

Sure.

[James Marino]

Also with us is Michael Portantier. He's back from his cruise in the Bahamas. Michael's a theater reviewer in sas. He's the founder and editor of the aforementioned cast album reviews dot 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. Hi, Michael. Did you have puppy withdrawal on your cruise ship?

[Peter]

There was one dog, one service dog.

[James Marino]

But you're not allowed to really play with service dogs or.

[Michael Portantier]

No, they tell me.

[James Marino]

They tell me, you know.

[Peter]

No.

[James Marino]

Yeah, yeah.

[Peter]

I didn't attempt to, but. But there was one dog representing.

[James Marino]

Yeah. I always see police canine units, and I'm like, can I play with them? And they were like, do you want to lose an arm?

[Peter]

No.

[James Marino]

So, you know, I've been thinking about the Fantasticks and that wonderful song Try to Remember. You know, and this week I was thinking, remember a simpler time when Reagan was the worst.

[Michael Portantier]

Yeah.

[James Marino]

Remember, we think about. But one of Reagan's mantras was trust but verify. Remember that? With the Soviets. So our little trust but verify happened this week because I happened to be at the Felicia bachelor pad and I saw with my own eyes an annotated book. So Peter, tell us, how far into the season are you?

[Michael Portantier]

Yeah. For those who haven't been listening to the podcast, I am annotating the Season, the book by William Goldman that talked about the 1967-68 season. I am putting in the margins little notations about what has changed, what has not changed, funny stories about the people who are mentioned in the book, that type of thing. And what I'm going to do is put it up for auction for the Theatre World. Aw. The check will be out to the Theatre World Awards, not me. But anyway, James will verify that there are a lot of notations on the pages already and every page has a different color flare pen for the notation. So paragraph one might be in red and paragraph two might be in fuchsia. So, anyway, that's what's going on there, and I'm delighted that James was here to see the book and know that I'm really working hard on it.

[James Marino]

Oh, I think that Peter might have more words on the page than Goldman has on the page. And it's beautiful. Your handwriting is beautiful, Peter.

[Michael Portantier]

12 years of Catholic schools. What can I tell you?

[James Marino]

This is not only knowledge, but art. It's just amazing. I'm so looking forward to this auction of the book.

[Michael Portantier]

Well, I have to say that so many times when I've given a credit card to people, they say, wow, your signature really matches what you just signed here. So. Because they're so used to people scribbling, but, yeah, that good handwriting is a trademark.

[James Marino]

Yeah, that is really something. So we'll have to keep up with this and see how this goes. You know Goldman's book, how many books do you think were sold?

[Michael Portantier]

Oh, I have no idea. But I know that it goes for a lot of money on ebay, so it's. Goldman did tell me himself that of all the books he wrote, this was the one that sold the fewest copies, which I guess we shouldn't be surprised. In fact, I was amazed that it got into paperback. And for those who know the book, they know that he replicated Playbill pages, and I never thought those would be replicated in the paperback because they'd really have to be shrunk terribly. But they're there. So. Wow. This is a hardcover that I'm dealing with, by the way. But nevertheless, it did go into paperback. But, yes, talking to Goldman in 1988, he told me that that was. He wasn't sorry he wrote the book. Not at all. But never. He got great pleasure out of it. And because he really did love Broadway, even Though he didn't work there very much, the fact remained that he did, did, did put his heart and soul into it. And it really shows.

[James Marino]

So I guess I thought that it sold a lot of books, but I guess not a lot of redwoods were cut down to make it.

[Peter]

Hope not.

[Michael Portantier]

Good segue.

[James Marino]

So the four of us, all four of us were over. Let's see to the Needlelander. Of course, it was the Needleander. I had to grab my playbill. Yes, the Needleander. To see Idina Menzel's return to the Needleander in Redwood, a new musical. So, Peter, why don't you get us started off on Redwood?

[Michael Portantier]

You know, years ago, Clive Barnes reviewed the musical via Galactica, which opened the Eures Theater, which is now the Gershwin. And the way he started his review was, well, there's always the theater. So I was thinking about that when seeing Redwood because I have a feeling a lot of people will say, well, there's always the tre. That's what people have been talking about, how magnificent the tree is. Frankly, I didn't think the tree was so magnificent. First off, it was very interesting to me that I expected, having heard about the tree, I expected to hear oohs and ahhs. When it was revealed. None of that happened. But I think one of the reasons is it just looks too pat, too cylindrical, even antiseptic. Yes, the bark is there, but. And I went on Google images because I really thought, do redwoods really look like this? Because I would think that they would flare out at the bottom, you know, and. And to be fair, there are plenty of redwoods that look exactly like this tree on stage. But the thing is that this is Kerplunk on the stage. And you don't. I wish they had made like a hole in the stage so that it would sit in it so it would look like it was growing out of the. Out of the ground. But that doesn't happen. So it looks very, very phony. So I think it was a mistake not to have it flare out and look more like a tree than just a cylinder. Okay, fine. I will say the projections behind the tree, Hannah S. Kim did them, are terrific. But I guess it's time to talk about the show itself, you know, So I can't imagine that very many people are going to find this very compelling. It makes psychological sense. Yes, it does. Does. All right, we have Jesse. That's Sedena Menzel and Mel DeAndre Aziza. They've been married for some time now. And Jesse's son from a previous relationship has grown to manhood. And Mel has come to love him perhaps as much as. As Jesse does. But. Well, there's an incident that happened. I'm not going to reveal it here, but it spurs Jesse to go to California and she goes as far west as she can to Eureka. That's. That's it, you know, I mean, after that comes the Pacific Ocean. And I get the impression that if there were more road, Jesse would still be on that road because she's really trying to escape what happened. And of course this doesn't bring Mel any pleasure because she didn't expect this to happen. And of course we have a phone conversation where Jesse says we need to take a break. Well, you and I know that when people say we need to take a break, what they mean is I need to take a break. You know, and this is not lost on Mel. So anyway, so anyway, she gets into Jesse gets into the redwoods. And of course you're going to meet two people who are not alike. I mean that's solid dramaturgy. So you have Finn, an old crusty guy, you know, who's really a pussycat, is hard, if not a kitten. And you also have Becca, who's works with him. Very different, all business, all the time, very tough lady. And so anyway, when Jesse wants to have her way with the redwoods, what I mean is climbing them, that's totally against the rules. You can't do that. But you know, Finn is a little more indulgent, so on and so on. Now we were very impressed when Idina Menzel flew to the top of the stage in Wicked. You know, I was reminded of that famous statement about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers that as magnificent as had Fred Astaire was at dancing, Ginger Rogers had to do it backwards and in high heels. Well, if you were impressed with Idina Menzel flying to the top of the stage in Wicked, you're going to be impressed with the fact that here she's actually upside down sometimes while she's climbing the redwoods. So I mean it really is quite a feat. And obviously Idina Menzel knew she was going to do this because not only is she above the title star, but she's also listen listed as a co creator and as something else, like additional material or something like that. So it's pretty impressive to see her do what she does on that tree. Now the other thing is that I really got the impression that at the end of every number the way people were applauding was not because they were so thrilled by what they had just heard, but were more thrilled with the fact that they were in the same room as Idina Menzel, who has given them plenty of wonderful experiences in the past through Rent and Wicked. It really seemed like legacy responses to me, if I can use that term, that it really wasn't a case that they were bowled over by the material. Certainly not what's in the book, because the cliches really abound here. You know, I want to find someplace where I can find me. I've never had the chance to dance before. There's also talk about life without purpose and gender parity pay and coloring outside the lines. You know, a lot of stuff like that, so. But when you finally find out why she wants to climb the redwood, there's no question to say, yeah, okay, yeah, that makes sense. That stands to reason. But of course, the ideal scenario is always a situation where you say, wow. Oh, yeah, okay. Yeah, I didn't see that coming. You don't get that. So who do we blame for all this? Do we blame Tina Landau, who, after all, provided the book and the direction? Do we blame Kate Diaz for giving us music? That's okay, but I'll tell you, a lot of times, it's very hard to understand what's being sung because some of it comes at lickety lickety split, and some of it does get lost in the music. So that's a problem as well. It's funny, you know, they want to keep the tree from you as for as long as they can. So when you go into the theater, you're going to see all these panels of white. And all I could think of was Sunday in the park with me. Too really light. So many possib.

[Peter]

But canvas.

[Michael Portantier]

There may have been just as many with where I would, but so few have been realized.

[James Marino]

All right, Jenna, what did you think about this?

[Jenna]

I had a similar reaction. Sometimes a lot of very talented people come up with some really great elements that should work together beautifully, but just don't. Redwood really should be a great show, and it's got some genuinely lovely pieces, but, you know, I was really looking forward to a powerful emotional experience and didn't have that. And to what Peter said about the different people involved. The credits for the show are kind of unusual. It's listed as book by Tina Landau, music by Kate Diaz, lyrics by Kate Diaz and Tina Landau, conceived by Tina Landau and Idina Menzel, additional contributions by Idina Menzel and directed by Tina Landau. Madow. So that's three people spread across six different categories. Seven if we Count Menzel's starring role, and I'd really love to know what Menzel's additional contributions were. And how is the final product different from the original idea that Lando and Menzel had? Who came up with what elements? The show really aims high, literally and figuratively. Peter gave a synopsis of the piece. It takes on an awful lot and it looks to tug at the heartstrings, but it seems to miss the mark. I found a lot of problems in Landau's book trying to make Jesse nuanced and flawed and human. The writers just made her, I hate to say this, whiny and petulant. When she meets the researchers Becca and Finn, she insists that not only do they welcome her into a restricted and protected land, like she is not supposed to be there, she has stumbled into land she is supposed to be excluded from. Not only do they have to welcome her, once she learns that they climb the trees, she begins insisting, oh, you need to let me do that too. And kind of out of nowhere, demand. And then when Becca, a black woman, repeatedly offers very valid reasons why they should not allow an untrained person who has never climbed a giant trees before to do this without extensive training, Jesse, a white woman, whines and begs and thin, a white man, repeatedly overrules all of Becca's objections. So the optics there really aren't great even without that racial dynamic. Turning Jesse's issues and pain into whininess and pushiness just makes it harder to empathize with that pain. Landau did such a great job creating very sympathetic, nuanced characters in Floyd Collins, so it's doubly sad that these characters feel really flat and shallow. Diaz is making her musical theater debut as a composer. She creates some really nice songs for the characters, but it's really telling that the two songs that I found the most powerful were not written for Jesse. Diaz also did the orchestrations, which I thought was really cool. The simple, really poignant arrangements for the songs looking through this lens, which is sung by Dadri Aziza as Jesse's estranged wife and Becca's song, are really, they really help the moment shine. She really does some great work as an arranger and if all of the songs don't hit their mark, they are nice songs and she is a first time musical theater composer, so I will happily extend her some grace. I'm excited to see what she does next. I can't say I remember the lyrics to the song all that well, so that could be saying something too. Menzel does her best with Jesse, but Again, it's hard to feel a lot of sympathy for the character who demands so much sympathy from others while refusing to empathize with them. As a performance, Menzel really does not convey that much nuance or complexity in the character. I will say the supporting cast fares much better. Kalia Wilcoxon plays Becca as very smart, very sensible, very determined, and ultimately very empathetic. Watching her warm up to Jesse over the course of the show is probably one of the. It's probably the one bit of character growth that feels real, even if it's maybe unearned. On Jesse's part, Michael park gives Finn a friendly warmth, but he rarely gets to go deeper than the philosophical Woodman cliche. He really makes the most in this scene where he talks about redwood roots. That was so pseudo philosophical, I had to close my eyes for a moment. Dadre Aziza gets way too little to do as Jesse's wife, but she makes the most of her underwritten role, and she really does get some of the show's most emotional scenes. And Zachary. Noah Peyser plays Jesse. Sorry, he plays several parts. I don't want to spoil who they all are. Yeah, clearly meant to evoke one another, so I liked that. This role is clearly written not for multiple people to play, but all of these roles relate to one another and gives each of the parts enough personality to feel unique. And then, yeah, like Peter said, there's that set. I found it stunning. I really, really enjoyed it in spite of myself. I was thinking about all the projections for the woman in white 20 years ago. I hated those projections back then. They were terrible.

[Michael Portantier]

Yeah.

[Jenna]

Thank you. Okay, thank you. I'm glad I'm not the only one who really. I don't know if it was a knee jerk reaction that I thought, you should have a real set on a Broadway stage. This is cheating. And, you know, I've always wondered why I had this visceral reaction to that set. But here, I mean, the set just feels so all encompassing. And Hannah S. Kim's video design works so beautifully with that set. I mean, even IMAX movies don't feel this vivid and real. And, you know, when that tree first appears, I did gasp out loud. Maybe I wasn't loud enough.

[Michael Portantier]

Oh, you were in my performance.

[Jenna]

Maybe I wasn't at that performance. But, yeah, I gasped. To me, that was just so beautifully done. You know, they say you don't go home humming the sets, but I will be remembering. Oh, my God. I wrote down the name. And it was yet another moment where I can't Remember how to pronounce the name? Sorry. Artizani west and Kim. I was thinking of into the woods as I looked at that gorgeous set. Just wondering how would these projections work in another and other shows? Their work was really beautiful, so cheers to them for that. Alicia Estrella and Aerial Dance Company Bandeloop did the aerial choreography, the vertical movement. I really loved that as well. I was thinking about how when Peter Pan and Wendy fly were supposed to ignore the ropes holding them up, but when the characters fly in Redwood, the ropes are part of the choreography. And that was wonderful to watch. It was so great to see them become increasingly comfortable in the air. All while Kim's projections give us a sense of how high up they are. And I thought that worked beautifully together. There are a good number of misses in Redwood, but the elements that work really do work well. And if nothing else, I'll say it's great to have a truly original musical not based on a pre existing story that was created entirely by women telling a story about a woman's journey. I hope the team's next effort fares better.

[James Marino]

Okay. Michael, how about you?

[Peter]

Well, yes, to your last point, several people have pointed out you. When all is said and done, we really have to give Idina Menzel credit for this is the, I guess the second original, completely original musical that she has starred in on Broadway when she certainly could have, you know, picked a revival to star in. And I'm sure her friends, her fans would have flocked and it would have been a big hit. But instead she, she did if then and now she's doing Redwood and even apparently more integrally involved in in Redwood as per those credits than that Jenna read. She really co conceived it with Tina Landau and then apparently made these other contributions, whatever they may be. So all credit to her for that. I just wish that the final product in both cases had turned out so much better. I agree with all of the flaws that both of you have cited. But I think neither of one of you mentioned the major flaw actually, which to me is that Peter alluded to it and I extended it too. So Jesse is married to Mel and she then goes off on this hopefully spiritual journey into the redwood forest. But she chooses to be very, very non communicative live with Mel during it. And so I mean to the point of Mel is really worried about her. And it seemed to me that there were times when she wasn't hearing from her for like maybe days on end. And I think that that's a terrible thing to do to a person even if you're grieving. I'm sorry. You know, I mean, she. Mel is still alive, and Jesse, you know, hopefully loves her. So I'm sorry that she's so grieving. But I think that that was tremendously stacked the deck against the main character. And it's interesting. The friend with whom I attended did say at the end of the show, he said, well, he said, I liked the characters, especially her, more at the end than at the beginning. And he said, I guess that's something. And I said, well, I guess if you look at it that way, but I don't know why Tina Landau and, you know, whoever else decided to put that plot element in. I think it was a tremendous mistake. By the way, I may be wrong. So if you all think this is a spoiler, you can cut it out. I don't think it's a spoiler quite early on in the show, Jesse says that her son is dead. And maybe it's not immediately clear that that's why she has come to the Redwood Forest, but I think that comes clear fairly quickly. And that role is played by one of the roles played by Zachari. No Appizer, which I don't. Again, I don't think is a spoiler. And he does have, as Jenna mentioned, one of the best songs in the show. Really, really beautiful. And he has got a gorgeous voice, so he really stood out. We do eventually learn the details of the son's death, Spencer's death. And there again, I thought. I mean, of course, any death of a young person is tragic, but what we are told to me seem like, I hate to use the word, but a cliche death. And whereas if it had been something more shocking, I think that would have helped the narrative better. So that was another issue that I had. This is one of several musicals I've seen lately where I. It seemed to me that the music was better than the lyrics, although that said, I could not understand a tremendous percentage of the lyrics. And I think it was a combination of the fact that the music was so loud and the amplification was so loud that the. The vocals became distorted at some points. I think James and I agree on that because of a email correspondence that we had. And then also Adina does have. I don't think she has poor addiction, but she has a nasal quality to her voice that tends to make vowels sound the same. And I think that works against full understanding of the lyrics as well. So I think that that was a huge problem, especially because it's amazing if you look at the song list it's just one song after another. Says, Jesse, Jesse, Jesse. Then you say, Then you see Spencer, Mel, Jesse. Then you see Jesse, Jesse, Jesse. Then you see Finn, Jesse. You know, she. No one will ever accuse Idina Menzel of not giving a thousand percent.

[Michael Portantier]

Oh, yeah.

[Peter]

You know, in terms of energy and singing full out and, and singing so much. So that's another thing that she deserves credit for.

[Michael Portantier]

Absolutely.

[Peter]

And as far as the, the diction thing, I, I will say the one song where I understood every single word was late in the show, she has a ballad that is sung with only piano, and I understood every single word. So I think the main culprit there was the, was the amplification and the fact that the orchestra was too loud. What? I agree that all of the supporting cast, as small as they were, were excellent. Michael park looks very different, I would say, from the last time we saw him on stage, but he, he, he developed a very, very credible characterization, I think, and so did all of them. D'Adria, Aziza, despite all of the flaws in the writing, which Peter and Jenna have noted. So absolute great credit to them as well. And yes, the set is pretty amazing. The projections are phenomenal. And, and yeah, you may not believe we sort of described it already, but the extent to which Idina Menzel is singing while hanging and tumbling from these wires, I've never seen it done to that extent by anyone in any show and probably won't be again. So, so that also is amazing. I just do applaud the effort, as Jenna said, of all these women to create this completely new musical. And I just wish it had turned out better than what we wound up getting here at the Nederlander.

[James Marino]

I think this is gonna, I think this is going to do well after a cast recording comes out, maybe.

[Peter]

Yeah.

[James Marino]

And I also think it will do well in the regions and subsequent productions. It's a five person cast. It's sort of interesting to do. The climbing was amazing. You know, as Michael pointed out, Idina singing hanging upside down, 20ft over the stage, you know, effortlessly. She, she's quite talented. But I, I, I was very, very challenged watching this show. And two hours, no intermission. I wonder if it had an intermission at any point. I wonder why there's no intermission now, being two hours long. And the sound was just, was just terrible in the performance that I saw. And it sounds like the same one that you saw. Michael, Jenna, and Peter, what did you think of the sound? I had a really big problem trying to understand the lyrics in the very Beginning. What about the two of you?

[Michael Portantier]

I could hear sounds, I could hear words, but I couldn't make out what they were. But the thing is that I really think that has to do with how it fits on the music. So I. I attribute it to that more than anything else. But you may very well be right with the reason that you're giving.

[Peter]

I think it's a combination.

[Michael Portantier]

It probably is.

[Jenna]

I also had a hard time following all of the lyrics, but that's not unusual for me.

[James Marino]

Okay.

[Jenna]

One reason why I rather like revivals is that I already know the songs and I know what the lyrics are. So I generally credit that to just the way I process words and the way I process songs that I've never heard before. I tend to do better if I can read the lyrics along with hearing the music. So I do love captioned performances. For that reason, I don't feel like I'm qualified to criticize the sound design, if only because this is an ongoing issue that I have.

[James Marino]

Okay, Peter, we have a question from Cheryl Hodges Selden. What was the Linda report? Did Linda make it through it?

[Michael Portantier]

Linda read the synopsis of what it was and says, and I am telling you, I am not going. So I took somebody who's a big Idina Menzel fan, and she was very disappointed across the board.

[James Marino]

So the other thing is that. And I could be 100% wrong, as I often am.

[Michael Portantier]

Aren't we all?

[James Marino]

I wonder how much decision making power Idina had in this.

[Peter]

I bet considerable, considering the way the credits are written. I would agree. Yeah.

[James Marino]

Because it seems like most of the song. Well, Michael pointed out, it seems basically an Idina Menzel concert with a few guest artists. You know, most of the songs are in her trademark belt area and somebody needed to stop her.

[Michael Portantier]

Well, there's another factor at work here too, and I really believe this. I think when you have credits like this, you weaken the show. You're essentially saying that we needed help. And I think that's something that surely should be kept from the public. You know, every show has a play doctor here, there, or somewhere. I mean, advice comes from everybody, God knows. So as a result, giving this. Like when musicals have the song listings and you have asterisks and daggers and all that kind of stuff, I think it makes the show look weak. And I think having too many credits, when wasn't it enough for her to be over the title and to say she co conceived it, did she really have to say additional contributions? It may very well be the reason that the show didn't turn out better that in fact the collaborators just couldn't find common ground because obviously she had opinions after they came up with their things. So who knows? Who knows? We weren't in the room. So we're.

[Peter]

That's it. That's interesting. Yeah. See, I, I was going to say you could look at it the other way and say, oh, this is a very collaborative project. But I see what you mean and it's interesting. As I think we all read in the, in the publicity for the show. It says here the idea for Redwood apparently first came to Menzel when she heard the story of Julia Butterfly Hill, an environmental activist who lived at the top of a redwood tree for two years in the late 1990s to protest its felling by the Pacific Lumber Company. Now, as others have pointed out, sitting at the top of a redwood tree, you know, for two years or whatever for that reason is very different than for one's own personal grief. So that was a major change in the story that was made by somebody and I think it was a mistake.

[Michael Portantier]

Good luck. How could anybody do that? What do you do for food? What do you do for defecation? What do you do for showering? I mean, did you come down every day? I mean, well, anyway, yes, that's a far more interesting story than what's going on at the Needleander.

[James Marino]

So will it run? I, I, the generously, we'll say the reviews were mixed. The reviews are mixed. The fans of Idina Menzel are over the top about it it.

[Peter]

And, and for what it's worth, it's a New York Times critics pick.

[Michael Portantier]

It is.

[Peter]

Yes. And that was the, the most positive review that I.

[Michael Portantier]

Yes, it was. Yes, it was.

[James Marino]

Wow. Was it Jesse?

[Peter]

Yep.

[Michael Portantier]

Yeah.

[Jenna]

Well, of course, I mean Jesse always likes Jesse's.

[James Marino]

Jesse's girl.

[Michael Portantier]

Yeah.

[Jenna]

And even explicitly spelled the same way. So, you know.

[Peter]

That's right. That' you know, James, to your point, if it is done elsewhere, I, I would imagine that the, the aerial stuff is going to have to be tremendously simplified.

[James Marino]

Well, you know, it's sort of like when everybody does Peter Pan and they get flying by Foy to come in and do their flying for them. You know, we've all seen lots of Peter Pans.

[Peter]

Well, that's true, that's true.

[James Marino]

That are done at community theaters that have good flying in it.

[Peter]

But I was just, I was just in, I was amazed by the extent of this and I thought if, if only the insurance.

[James Marino]

I was thinking the insurance and in the audition they were like, okay, scale that tree, you know. Right, right. And then Redwood announced this week that they've got a crossover promo with rei, which is a big outdoor store, camping gear and outdoors and tree climbing people and all the, all the nature people.

[Michael Portantier]

In terms of that flying business that we're talking about. Yes. A lot of people do not use flying by Foy. And I've seen that very well replicated on America's Funniest Home Videos because sometimes the flying doesn't work out. And by the way, that's where I also learned that a lot of people do the Superman musical. Again, the flying turns out to be a problem, but nevertheless, the home videos show. But, but I was very impressed to see how many schools do Superman and community theaters.

[James Marino]

So, hey, I, I just thought to myself, is. Is Spider Man Turn off the Dark available for. Not that I know it'd be interesting. Why a. Why it's not available? Because I think that it would be done everywhere. Just because Spider Man's such a big trademark.

[Michael Portantier]

Yeah.

[James Marino]

But I wonder if people would do. I mean, they, you know, they had millions and millions and millions of dollars available to them and they still had problems with all the.

[Peter]

Maybe it's not available because it's tied up in litigation.

[Michael Portantier]

Oh, that would be.

[Peter]

Don't you think?

[Michael Portantier]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[James Marino]

So, you know, can you market a show? You know, why are tickets being sold here? Tickets are being sold here. They're playing, you know, in the 90s to 100% sellout. Is that based on Idina or is it based upon the underlying property? And does. Can the underlying property make it after Idina leaves? Those are big question marks. I mean, I think, you know, I always think, you know, a show about a dead child, you know, is tough to market. Very. It is very, very tough. Buried Child. There we are. And you know, a great literary work that's tough to. Tough to market. So Redwood at the Nederlander Theater. We'll see what happens here with that. I mean, Needlelander has, has had, you know, such huge long running hits as Rent and Newsies and things like that and other things that have been shorter. So we'll see what happens. So I guess that's it. Does. Is there anything else anybody had to say about Redwood before we move on?

[Peter]

No.

[James Marino]

Okay.

[Jenna]

Come down from the Tree as the song.

[James Marino]

Yeah.

[Peter]

I love that show.

[James Marino]

So Sacri. No. Or Pizer.

[Peter]

Yes.

[James Marino]

What a song that he had at the end. Yeah. I wish that that song was earlier in the show. It might have. Have sucked me in a little bit. But I thought that that was great sound design during his. During his song.

[Peter]

And do you all recall that ballad that. That one ballad that Idina had that I'm referring to two stars? I. I guess so.

[James Marino]

It's.

[Peter]

It's sort of towards the end and it. And it seemed to me that it was really with just with piano and I understood every word and it was very moving and refreshing, you know, after all of the wailing.

[Jenna]

Why I wanted to emphasize Diaz's work as an orchestrator that wed. It's the power of great arrangements and great orchestrations that sometimes, you know, less is more and you can have that beautiful, intimate moment with just a piano.

[James Marino]

Well, then again, maybe the. Maybe a cast recording is going to be a big boost to this show. Similar.

[Peter]

I'm sure it will.

[James Marino]

You know, I hope so, if it's still running. Michael, has there been an announcement about a cast recording or anything?

[Peter]

I haven't heard. I haven't heard.

[James Marino]

So I think it would help them in a Tony campaign if they're gonna try to go that route if it. If it makes it. The stars song is at the beginning of the show that. That I just mentioned before, and I couldn't understand a word. But I wish. I do have a. The press rep sent me a script, so I have a script.

[Peter]

Yeah. Maybe it was. It wasn't that. Maybe it was no repair. Maybe it was.

[James Marino]

Yeah. Okay. Becca's song.

[Peter]

Somewhere around there. Yeah.

[James Marino]

Oh, Becca's song was for Becca. Clever title. All right. Red would need a lander. See what happens. All right. Oh, I wrote a note to myself. Michael park once again has. Is in a show about trees. So his dear Evan Hansen.

[Peter]

Oh.

[James Marino]

So, Peter, you were over at the Mint theater to see Garside's career. So tell us about this.

[Michael Portantier]

Well, this is written by Harold Brighouse, who's very famous for Hobson's Choice, one of my all time favorite plays. Why? Because it deals with a boot maker who would sit in the cellar and make boots for the rest of his life and get his meager pay each week. And the boss's daughter, who has no ability to make shoes, needless to say. But she has a good head in her shoulders because she's run the business for a long time and her father really depends on her and takes advantage of her and she decides that she and the bootmaker will go into business. And as a result, we find one of the great things of all time in terms of if a man and woman work together with different skills, they can really make a difference and have a wonderful relationship. So is Garcia's career as good as that? No, but it's very good indeed. Now this is a play from 1914 and I have to say that I wonder if George S. Kaufman, Barrett, because his and Ring Lardner, I think they collaborated on June Moon and there is a similarity between the two. And again, it's possible judges Coffman and Ring Larner, if indeed that's the co author of June Moon, I think it is, would have had no knowledge of it because it wasn't produced here. But anyway, it's a terrific play even if it's not Hobson's Choice, because what it's about is about a man named Garside. And Garside is drawn into politics and he really fully expects, even though he comes from this terribly mundane background in this backwater town in rural England, that indeed he can succeed. And at the time he has a woman who's extraordinarily interested in him. And it's really something to watch the mother, his mother, make no bones whatsoever that she doesn't like her. I mean, it's astonishing to see how frank she is in front of this woman. And it just bounces off Margaret, the would be girlfriend, would be wife. I mean, because she really feels that after all, the important thing is that Garside, Peter Garside, really loves her and that that will all work out. It doesn't quite. Because indeed he starts getting into politics and he starts rising and he's doing awfully well. He gets very full of himself. All the cliches that Brinkhouse did not use, I will use. Too big for his bridges swell, Ted. Hubris like crazy. And. And the fact that power corrupts, and indeed it does. So I will leave it at that in terms of the plot and I'll bet from what I've said, you can figure out what happens, especially if you've seen June Moon, which I really recommend, by the way, as well. There's a video of it and Sondheim appears in it as an actor and he's very good. But anyway, a very, very successful revival. And if we can call it a revival, I guess we can, even though it never played here before. But once again, you know, here's Jonathan bank, the artistic director, and Matthew McVeigh Lee, producing director for the Mint, doing an astonishing job of finding the. Where do they find them? And it's not just the art and finding them, it's the art of doing them well as well. So Matt Dixon did a wonderful job in directing a very clever set by Christopher Swader and Suiter, I don't know if they're brothers or father and son or what are married. But nevertheless, they did a very nice good job. And of course, because it's a period piece, you need the right costumes. And Kendall Allman did that very, very well. But really credit is so due to this cast, especially Amelia White as the mother who is just fearless, just tremendous. But Daniel Marconi as Peter is wonderful as well. Meline Sideman as Margaret is wonderful as well. And so is the rest of the cast, especially the oh proper Lady Bracknelish Lady Mottram played by Melissa Maxwell, who certainly has a number of opinions about this parvenu being in her house. So a very worthwhile experience from the Mint as usual.

[James Marino]

Okay, so that is playing. I had it here through March 15th and we'll have a link to the Mintz website in the show notes.

[Peter]

Daniel Marconi is. Excuse me, Daniel Marconi is at Wagner College alum. And let's see, I first met him a while ago. He had just been written out of the Outsiders. He was in the Outsiders out of town and then they wrote out his entire role and that was a tremendous disappointment. But then as I mentioned, he bounced back. He replaced as Tobias in Sweeney Todd in the, in the most recent and he was absolutely amazing. And then I saw him in Tick Tick Boom at George street and he was phenomenal in that. And so I was so happy to read that he got the lead in this show. I'm seeing it on Tuesday and I can't wait. He has credits. You might know him, he's been on TV in Bull and the Blacklist and Boardwalk Empire. But I think he's really making a terrific career as a stage actor.

[Michael Portantier]

So good for him.

[Peter]

Very much looking forward to that.

[Michael Portantier]

Wonderful.

[James Marino]

Yeah, he was outside the Outsiders when he was written out.

[Michael Portantier]

How terrible. Yeah.

[James Marino]

So, all right. So Peter, you were also over almost in the Hudson river to Theater555 to see Conversations with Mother, Matthew Lombardo's new show. So tell us about this.

[Michael Portantier]

Well, this is a two character show and it's about a mother and her son. We see him from when he was a little boy all the way up to, to say the least, the end of his life. So Carolyn Aaron plays the mother, Matt Doyle, who we know from Company plays the sun, both excellent. It really is a very good play in showing how mothers and sons can drive each other crazy. And they certainly do. And yet the love is there. And that's very skillful in the way that Matthew Lombardo Balances. You're driving me crazy, but I still love you. And that's really the power of the play, I imagine. Some of it is autobiographical. It starts off, I think, in the 70s and it goes many, many moons later. One of the wonderful things about it is the fact that the young man is gay. And the mother never brings this up as an issue. What she does object to is indeed her son's choice of mate. And that seems to be the big bugaboo. It is not the fact that he is gay at all. That is wonderfully accepted. And I think it's really terrific to see that happening. Carolyn Aaron has a marvelous gravelly voice that serves her very well. She has to age as well and does very, very well in the scene where she's quite elderly. And they're both terrific, as you would expect. I mean, it's really. It's hard for an actor to really play a child. It's. It's often so unconvincing and just. It's so hard. But Matt Doyle does very, very well by it and ages tremendously. And this is a play where mother knows best at times and sun knows best at times. So Lombardo is very fair to both characters. And I think it's a very successful evening. I do think it will be done a lot in regional and community theaters, partly because, of course, it's a two character show. It is, however, the first and only show I ever expect to see. Where one is their opinions on what to do after defecating, waiting. Do you use toilet paper or do you get into the shower? What can I tell you? They bring it up, so I might as well do it too.

[James Marino]

Okay. It's not a conversation I've ever had with my mother. But yes, I. I was thinking. Conversations with Mother at Theater555 is playing through May 11, and we'll have a link to that in the show notes.

[Peter]

Is it with Mother or with my mother? Mother.

[Michael Portantier]

No, with mother. Yeah, there's no my. Yeah, yeah.

[Peter]

Interesting.

[Michael Portantier]

Yeah, I know, I know. Yeah. I had the same reaction. I had to check quickly to see because one. One is inclined to go to that. The. The mind.

[James Marino]

Yeah. Well. Well, some people. Yeah.

[Peter]

British.

[James Marino]

Is it a British thing when you. You say mother?

[Peter]

It just sounds more. Yeah.

[James Marino]

I sort of feel like very British television series when, you know, what's the. What's the British television series that was very famous a few years ago where there was the maids and the butlers and the family.

[Peter]

Downton Abbey.

[James Marino]

Downton Abbey, yeah. Yeah. I feel as though that they sent Mother all the time or I don't know. Although Ragtime. You had Mother. True Mother in Ragtime.

[Peter]

Well, that's her name.

[James Marino]

Yes, exactly. So, Peter, what happened when you saw the last time you saw Caylee?

[Michael Portantier]

Well, this is a play that has been written by committee. Victoria Sasso, Matthias Moret, Helen Percival and Harun Chekovic. Now, Harun lives far away and puts in his bio that he's fluent in English, Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian and German. He lives in London at the moment. So he didn't come over and act in the play. The other three people did act in the play. So Aman Hakimatar had to take over for Harun. So what does this play about? It's refreshing to see a play about a person who's considering becoming trans, where it's a woman who's thinking about becoming a man. And because usually we have to admit that plays we've seen basically dealt with men thinking about becoming women. So I will say the Kaylee, again, played very, very well by Victoria Sassy, so hesitates more than Hamlet does. But, you know, it is a big decision. And of course, one of the big problems is that she does have a boyfriend. And that boyfriend is the one that's played by Armand Hatar. And of course, he has certain opinions about his girlfriend becoming a man and all the ramifications thereof. The play is an hour long and the way I'm going to look at it is that it's a good start on a full length play because by the end of the play she has not transitioned. Now will she transition. We will see, but only if indeed these three people get back to their computers and write the. What needs to be a second act. But so far, so great.

[James Marino]

Okay, so the last time I saw KayLee was just two performances at the Tank. So they were last week. So as Peter mentioned, if they get back to it and get back to a stage near us, I think we'll take a look at it again and report back to you on this. So, Michael, as all of us here in New York were freezing our butts off last week, you were cruising the Bahamas and making. Having little Mai Tais or some cute drink with an umbrella in it. In this, basking in the sun as we were freezing. So recap us, reguile us with your. With your trespasses and tell us how it was.

[Peter]

Mudslides. I was having mudslides.

[James Marino]

Mudslides. What's a mudslide? It's some sort of chocolate. Chocolate thing.

[Peter]

Yeah, it's got vodka And Kahlua and I think Bailey's and.

[James Marino]

Yeah, I see, I see.

[Peter]

So that was one of the features. Yeah, I was on a Norwegian cruise. Norwegian Cruise Line, and I'd been on them before. The show on this cruise was one that I had never heard of, but perhaps some of you have it called the Choir of Man. Anyone?

[James Marino]

No?

[Jenna]

Well, I didn't know Emily Mann had a choir.

[Peter]

One man. It's. Well, let me read here. The Choir of Man is a British musical created by Nick Doodson and Andrew Kay. Set in a traditional British or Irish pub, the show features a working onstage bar from which pints of beer are poured for the audience during their performance. So it's got that going for it to begin with. Throughout the show, the cast of nine multi instrumentalist singers perform arrangements of well known pop and rock songs arranged and orchestrated by the show's musical supervisor, Jack Bloom. While dialogue takes the form of spoken word monologues. Written performance poet Ben Norris, movement direction and choreography is by tap dancer Freddie Huddleston. The show was first presented at the Edinburgh fringe festival in 2017 and has since had seasons as venues around the world, including the Sydney Opera House and the John F. Kennedy center for the Performing arts. Yes. Since 2018, the choir of man has been a resident show show on board the Norwegian Escape and Norwegian Encore cruise ships. I was on the Escape, that's the ship I just got off this morning. And it's a really fun show with tremendous energy and unbelievably talented guys. A lot of like a huge amount of British testosterone on stage and they're constantly in motion and a lot of audience participation, et cetera. And here's an interesting thing. They did a Q and A at, at one point on the. On the ship. And they mentioned during it that when the show started it was had only tracks, it had no live musicians. And then a few years later they added all of the live musicians, including the. So almost everyone in it plays an instrument as well. And then there's also four guys who are just in the band. And so I, during the Q and A, I asked the question, I said, that's really wonderful that you added live musicians. You know, in our world today, usually things go the other direction and things get downsized. So I said that must have really made it so much more exciting when you added the live musicians. And they said yes. So I thought that was really a neat thing. And then the other thing I wanted to report about the ship was I went to karaoke every night, which was fun and lots of Songs I've never heard of, that people were singing. But there were some show tunes. And we got One Night. We got Waving through a Window, we got Science fiction double feature from Rocky Horror. We got someone did Satisfied from Hamilton, which is not easy, you know, and, and Let it go from Frozen, which I guess now counts as a, a show.

[Michael Portantier]

Secondhand show, too.

[Peter]

Yes. And actually, did you get up there.

[Michael Portantier]

And sing something from Guys and Dolls?

[Peter]

No, but believe it or not, one of my fellow cast members was on the show ship.

[James Marino]

Oh, with.

[Peter]

And I had no idea.

[Michael Portantier]

Really?

[Peter]

Yeah, with his, with his partner and, and, and two friends of theirs. So that was a really wonderful surprise. And I sang, I sang. As I said, I, I sang every night, but I, I guess I sang secondhand show tunes because I sang, let's see, I sang your song, Elton John. I sang Sweet Caroline and Cracklin Rosie, which are now show tunes, I guess, from Neil diamond and New York, New York. So, so it was fun to do that. And I, I, I had a great time, but it's nice to be back.

[James Marino]

Do you guys recall that when Titanic was playing Broadway, there was a band called Floating Sky City? No, no, it was some of the cast members of Titanic formed a band called Floating City and they played around sort of like the Jersey Boy. J. What, what are the Jersey Boys? Some.

[Peter]

Oh, the Midtown Men.

[James Marino]

Midtown Men and things like that. They called themselves something related to Jersey Boys and then got sued and they changed it to Midtown Men. But Floating City, I might point out that Michael's ship, the Norwegian Escape, has a guest guest capacity of 4,218 people, which is like Floating City and has a crew of 1733 people.

[Michael Portantier]

Wow.

[Peter]

Oh, and when we booked the cruise, we did not realize that this was spring break week or winter break week. Excuse me. Me. So we were told that there were 2,000 kids on the ship.

[James Marino]

Wow. Excellent. And only one dog.

[Peter]

Only one dog.

[James Marino]

Only one dog and his dog. The dog's name was Sandy.

[Peter]

I didn't get his name.

[James Marino]

His name. His name is Dova. All right, so I found the Choir of Man website. It seems to be playing in London at the Arts Theater in London. And it is in Lisbon, Portugal. Munich, Germany, in Italy. Two productions in Italy, three productions in Italy, Turin, Genoa and Trieste. So, boy, this Choir of Man thing, maybe next, next stop, it's going to land Fleet Week here in New York.

[Michael Portantier]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Peter]

During the Q and A. One of the guys in the group, his name is Tristan Wincup. W H I N C U P and great voice, really really good looking young guy. And he mentioned that he, he had a musical theater background, which I guess not all of them do, but he did. And then he mentioned that he was from the Midlands. And I so wanted to ask him if he's already played Barrett in Titanic, but I didn't get a chance. So if he hasn't, I hope he gets to do that because he'd be amazing.

[James Marino]

All right, so that wraps it up for this week. 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 of broadcast. 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 us in Apple podcasts. Many ways to get us. One way is Patreon P-A-T-R-E-O-N.com BroadwayRadio. That way you can not only get our podcasts early, but support all of the Broadway radio shows. Contact information for Peter, for Jenna, for Michael, and for 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 layup?

[Michael Portantier]

What song in Anyone Can Whistle mentions a phrase that's also found in a very famous board game? Well, Cora sings that in Me and My Town that she has no community chest, which is an important component of Monopoly. Steve Bell was the first to get it, followed by Rob Johnston, Juliet Griffith Green, Cheryl Hodges Selden, Tony Janicki, Sean Logan, Arthur Robinson, Josh Israel, Angelo Ramatke, Deb Popple, J. Aubrey Jones, not to be confused with Kathy Jones, who got it next? Hal Morgan, Paul Witty Brigad, Phil Bond, and Christine Chen. James, I think you had something there about the fact that you thought this was an easy question. All right, no more Mr. Nice Guy, a musical revival currently on Broadway. Broadway has a character who appears in one song only. It is not a solo. The character's name is the same as the title of a show that once held Broadway's long run record. What's the name of each?

[James Marino]

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

[Peter]

Well, actually, fresh from my cruise on Wednesday, I'm heading down to D.C. again. As I had reported, I was there just a few weeks ago to see Schmigadoon at the Kennedy center. And who knows when I will ever be there again. So sad. But on Wednesday I am heading to the Signature Theater which is doing in the Heights, really one of my favorite all time shows. So I cannot wait to see that. And our opening song is the title song from that from the original Broadway cast album as performed by Lin Manuel Miranda. And for Our Closer, I thought it only appropriate with so much talk of Idina Menzel to feature her. So our Closer is a song which started out in a movie musical and then became actually quite a short, short lived Broadway musical. But regardless, the song itself has now become an absolute classic by Kristen Anderson Lopez and Bobby Lopez. And it is Let It Go from Frozen, sung by Idina Menzel.

[James Marino]

Okay, so on behalf of Jenna, Tessa Fox, Michael Portentier and Peter Felicia, this is James Marino saying thanks so much for listening to Broadway radios this week on Broadway. Bye bye. Bye bye.

[F]

My power flurries through the air into the ground My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around and 1 thought Crystal I did flying in Izzy blast I'm never going back the past is in the past Let it go, let it go When I'll rise like a break of dawn Let it go, let it go that perfect girl is gone Wanna here I stand Then I never bothered me anyway.