James Marino (2:49)

So. Also with us is Jenna Tessa Fox. Jenna has written about theater for many publications including Playbill magazine, Broadway World, TimeOut New York 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.

Janetessa Fox (3:08)

Hello, James. How are you doing?

James Marino (3:11)

Doing well, better now that you're with us.

Janetessa Fox (3:14)

Oh, thank you. Likewise.

James Marino (3:18)

Also with us is Michael Portantier. Michael's a theater reviewer and interviewer. He's the founder and editor of castalbumreviews.com he's also a theatrical photographer whose photos have appeared in the New York Times and other publications, and he writes reviews of cabaret shows for NightLifeExchange.com Additionally, Michael is known as a producer and Director of Shows at 54 below the Laurie Beechman Theater and other venues. Hello, Michael.

Michael Portantier (3:45)

Hello.

James Marino (3:45)

Hello, Michael. I, you know, hear a rumor that there is a new book about Sweeney Todd and that you have some contribution to this new book.

Michael Portantier (4:02)

Yeah, Rick Pender, who was for many years an editor at the Sondheim Review and then the editor of its successor, Everything Sondheim, has written a new book called Sweeney behind the Bloody Musical Masterpiece. And he actually contacted me some time ago to ask me if he could use quotes from interviews that I had done with Glenn Cariou, Sarah Rice, and Victor Garber that had been published in Everything Sondheim. And I, you know, I said, that's fine with me. I said, I'm not sure if I own that content anyway, but as long as you cite it. And so he did. He cited. There's about 12 citations with my name in chapter three alone. I haven't gotten through the rest of the book, but I think probably most or all of it is in that chapter, because that's where those three people are quoted. So I bought the book. It's a very handsome hardcover book, and it looks great. And as much as I know about Sweeney Todd, I'm happy to read another book about it because it's such a rich history. He really goes into detail about, you know, especially about the origins of this story, the. The Penny Dreadful, the.

Peter Filicia (5:32)

The.

Michael Portantier (5:32)

The legends of Sweeney Todd and the Penny Dreadful and the Christopher Bond play upon which Sondheim based it. So. So, yeah. So, you know, I. I think it's. And it's. It's interesting, too, because my interviews were done because I was supposed to have written a book about focusing on the film of Sweeney Todd for a series that. And they wound up canceling the series after only, I think, one or two books. They did one on west side Story, and I think the other one was something like Flashdance, and then they canceled the series. So. But when I thought, you know, when I interviewed those three people, I thought it was for that. And then I had nothing to do with those interviews. So I went to Rick and I said, would you like to publish these in Everything Sondheim? And he was glad to do so. So now I'm glad that they finally ended up in a book anyway, even if it's not by me.

Peter Filicia (6:33)

One of the surprising things, I didn't know this, but Christopher Bond was like in his mid-20s when he wrote that adaptation.

Michael Portantier (6:41)

Right. And also primarily an actor at the time.

Peter Filicia (6:44)

Yeah, I mean, that's really surprising to me.

James Marino (6:47)

Do you, you guys don't read books the same way I read books?

Peter Filicia (6:50)

Oh, yeah.

James Marino (6:52)

I open up the.

Janetessa Fox (6:53)

Read them back to front.

James Marino (6:55)

Exactly. I absolutely do read them back to front. I open up the back cover, go to the index. If my name isn't in there, I don't read it.

Peter Filicia (7:05)

It's funny, I, I do know that when it comes to a biography, let's say a new biography came out of Lucille Ball, I would go the index would look under W. That's what interests me first and foremost.

Michael Portantier (7:16)

Well, to be honest, I, I did go to the index first, but, but, but I'm not there because he has the citations in a separate section. It's really very well cited. And what's that other word? Well, there, there are lots of, you know, footnote numbers. And then you go to the footnote and it tells you where it came from. Came from. So, yeah, it's, it's, it's very well researched and, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Peter Filicia (7:53)

Great.

James Marino (7:54)

All right, so let's do some Broadway radio stuff.

Michael Portantier (8:02)

Annotated is the word I was thinking of eventually. It's all in there. It's just a question of getting it out. Sorry.

James Marino (8:15)

No, no, annotated. And let me annotate what happened on Broadway radio in the last week or so. On Sunday, we had Week on Broadway.

Peter Filicia (8:26)

Where.

James Marino (8:29)

Matt Tamineni wrapped up the week's news for us and told us what happened in the last week. Jim Parsons joining Titanique is something that was very interesting we didn't talk about here on this Week on Broadway. Matt also did the Broadway grosses on Wednesday and an emergency Today on Broadway episode where Hell's Kitchen to close unexpectedly.

Peter Filicia (8:57)

Yeah, indeed. I didn't see that coming at all.

James Marino (9:01)

Yeah, no, I, I don't think really anybody saw that coming. And am I using this correctly? It begs the question. No, no, it is.

Michael Portantier (9:13)

It has come to mean that, but.

James Marino (9:15)

Yeah, it has come to mean that, but I'm using that incorrectly. It prompts the question. It leaves open the question, what is going to happen there? And pet led to a social media post on Facebook that just broke the Internet, didn't it now?

Peter Filicia (9:31)

Well, I don't know about that, but nevertheless, yeah, I posted the Fact that as of February 23rd, there will not be one show playing between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue on 44th street, which to me was unprecedented. But Alan Gomberg, who always would know.

Michael Portantier (9:51)

Yeah.

Peter Filicia (9:51)

Who always winds up correcting anything I ever say, pointed out that during the depression in the 30s, indeed there was a time when there were no shows on 44th Street. And Christopher Conley, a very, very bright guy who did a wonderful biography of Helen Morgan from Showboat, said the same thing. But in the long time that I've been following Broadway, there's never been a situation where there's been no shows on that block. And one person said, yeah, but things are coming. Yes, I understand things are coming. But nevertheless, there was never a time in my life when I saw no shows there. I mean, that, that wasn't the case ever. So, so this is really surprising to me. I mean, there's a reason that that street is considered the street. I mean, it's, it's been chumely known as Hit Street. It's Rogers and Hammerstein street away or something like that. There's an actual sign there. There's a reason the Phantom of the Opera wanted to go to that street. There's a reason the Chorus Line was put on that street. There's a reason why when Chicago opened at the 46th Street Theater, I mean, Rogers probably was time that they immediately moved it to the Shubert on that street. So, so this is really amazing to me that, that this is the situation. And one, one person wrote, well, who wants to open in February? Okay, maybe you don't want to open in February, but it's not as if shows don't run in February.

Michael Portantier (11:18)

Exactly.

Peter Filicia (11:19)

You know, so, I mean, so very, very strange. But anyway, a very sad situation. Who expected it to happen?

Michael Portantier (11:27)

I listened to Matt's podcast, which was excellent, and he, I think it's, he decided that the prime candidate to fill that space is Galileo.

James Marino (11:40)

Really interesting.

Michael Portantier (11:42)

Yeah, I mean, he mentioned several others, but I think that's, he said that's the one he's hearing most frequently, which was a little surprising to me because I don't think it was all that well received.

James Marino (11:55)

Well, it's, it's just prime real estate and I, you know, I guess, well.

Peter Filicia (12:01)

The real bottom line, I mean, if, if Titanique is going to the St. James, really anything can happen. And this is not, this is not an indictment against Titanique. But we, we do think of it as a small show.

Michael Portantier (12:14)

Yeah, I, I, I was again kind of amused and I understand hype in press Releases. But the Hell's Kitchen press release said something like, after two years of sold out audiences. And I thought, well, if they were still selling out, it wouldn't be closing. So.

James Marino (12:37)

Yeah, it's, you know, the press reps are putting the best face forward, as they often, they often do.

Peter Filicia (12:46)

It's their job. I mean, you can't blame them.

James Marino (12:49)

Yeah, so, yeah, that's what happened on Broadway radio this week. If you missed it, get back to broadwayradio.com, you'll be able to check it out there and download and listen to all those things that have happened in the last week. Peter, Jenna and Michael got a chance to see this Broadway production of Bug. So, Peter, why don't you get us started on this?

Peter Filicia (13:18)

Well, what's most interesting about Bug is the fact that here's a guy who is convinced the government is doing terrible things, things to him. And you might think he's paranoid, you might think he's not. But since this play opened within a quarter century ago, which is pretty surprising, there's been a lot of reason to believe the guy might be onto something. And that's the real power of this play as far as I'm concerned. Tracy Letts, who certainly has been very, very active in the last quarter century, both as an actor and as a writer. As an actor in Virginia Wilpen, as a writer certainly best known for August of Sage County. But this is a strange and funky play, and it's not a play I expected to see at Manhattan Theatre Club, which traditionally has older audiences. I did pay attention to see if people would be walking out like crazy because it's, it's an unpleasant play in many respects. It is about a guy who's convinced that the place where he's living is, is just full of bugs. And we're not talking about electronic bugs, we're talking about insect. And, and he hooks up with a girl who definitely turns out to love him and starts to believe what he's believing. And it really does end with quite a surprising ending. But all things considered, I did find it far more engrossing this time than I did when it was way downtown when I found it engrossing to begin with. But now there's that extra little edge to it. So I like that quite a bit. Carrie Coon is marvelous, especially towards. And she has a wonderful confrontation. That's just terrific. An actor named Peter Evans, not the Peter Evans from years ago, a very fine actor who died much too young. That's the character name. Namia Smallwood plays him and it's a very, very effective performance. An actor that I think is new to me. So. So. And, you know, really, there are people who have tiny, tiny roles. Well, certainly not roles nearly as large as those two. But, boy, this Randall Arnais as the Doctor. This Jennifer Angstrom making her Broadway debut as Carrie's character's name is Agnes White, her best friend. And Steve Key comes in late in the play playing Jerry Goss, and he plays a role that you wouldn't expect to see at this moment in time, and he is very, very effective. So. Well, David Crome is directing. Good Lord, does this guy have a sleep? I mean, does this guy do anything but direct? I mean, it's amazing how many projects he does every season, and he certainly hasn't let us down with this one. So if I'd say if you can get to the Friedman Theater by February 22nd and you are willing to be put through the ringer with a very, very difficult play, I think you'll be rewarded.

James Marino (16:21)

Okay, Jenna, you saw a bug. Tell us what you thought about it.

Janetessa Fox (16:25)

Oh, yes, I agree thoroughly with Peter. And unless I'm mistaken, The play is 30 years old.

Peter Filicia (16:33)

Is that right?

Janetessa Fox (16:34)

I believe so. I think it was done in the UK in 96.

Peter Filicia (16:37)

Oh, I see. Okay, I didn't know that.

Janetessa Fox (16:39)

Which I think. I think the timing is very interesting because 96 would be one year after the Oklahoma City bombing and that militia movement becoming more widely known.

Michael Portantier (16:53)

That's correct. I have actually have the Wikipedia page up because I was checking something else, and you're absolutely right, Jenna.

Janetessa Fox (17:00)

And Wikipedia is never, ever wrong.

Michael Portantier (17:02)

Well, thank you.

Janetessa Fox (17:03)

No, no, no. My usual line for researching something on Wikipedia, I do the same thing. But yes, sure, yes, thank you for checking. I appreciate that. Yeah. So, like, in 96, Tracy Letts looked into the future. He saw how this paranoia and this distrust of the government would go from being a horrifying fringe mindset to a horrifying normality. This has to be one of the creepiest plays I've seen in years. And only somewhat because of the subject matter. Like. Like Peter was saying, the story follows these two. My note was two lost souls. Just like damn Yankees, the two lost souls, they just spiral into these delusions, and they may not be all that delusional. And that's what makes the story so terrifying. Thirty years ago, we could feel sympathy for the characters mental illnesses, but we could also believe that they were outliers. And now we see people just like Agnes and Peter on every TV news program. And they would have Millions of followers on social media platforms. And just to make things even worse, let's makes their paranoia almost reasonable. Peter is a military veteran, and he believes that the government conducted experiments on him. He specifically mentions the Tuskegee syphilis study as evidence that really happened. He's got reason to believe that this could be real. Agnes has had a horrible domestic life. She's been through an abusive marriage. Her child disappeared years ago. Everyone who should have been there to offer her support has let her down. So it's understandable that she would find comfort in paranoia. She has lost all control of her life, so that means other people must be controlling things. There's logic to their beliefs, and that's one of the most horrifying parts of the whole play. The performances, like you said, Peter, they do a lot to push the play over the line from drama into horror. Carrie Coon is just all raw, exposed nerves as Agnes, and she never lets the character slip into a caricature. Her. Agnes has been broken over and over again. She has had to pull herself back together each time. And Carrie Coon lets us see every crack and every patch that Agnes has used to heal herself, starting with drugs and casual sex and then descending into paranoia. Her chemistry with Namir Smallwood as Peter is really fantastic. They play off of each other's energy just brilliantly. And Smallwood also makes Peter very believable and very sympathetic. He believes in his paranoia and. And his very calm delivery of increasingly wild theories just makes them terrifying. He is never making up nonsense for the sake of making up nonsense. All of these wild ideas come from a place of reason and that just makes them so much worse. I agree with you, Peter. Also about the supporting cast. Steve Key is menacing and frightening as Agnes's abusive ex husband. His sense of entitlement is such an. An unnerving parallel to Jerry's paranoia. And to see Steve Keeko, from playing such a calming character in sweat to playing such a menacing character here says a lot about his skill as a performer. Jennifer Engstrom makes RC very compassionate. She also has a lot of attitude. Like Agnes, she's very tough, but she clearly cares about people and that really comes through. Randall Avery comes in late in Act 2 as Dr. Sweet, and by that time, it's kind of hard to know what's real or if he's there. And to make that scene even more surreal, he just plays the part with this great mix of my note said oily compassion. I'm not quite sure why oily came to mind, but yeah, Oily compassion and. And what could almost be described as dispassion. He really lets the audience wonder what's actually going on. David Cromer's direction, he really keeps the tension up almost to the point of jitters. And a lot of that tension, I'd say, comes from walking the fine line between real and surreal and letting the audience decide for ourselves how much of what we're seeing is insanity or even there at all, and how much is completely reasonable. Takeshi Kata's set is also really excellent. It goes from this bland Oklahoma motel room, surprisingly spacious and very nicely detailed motel room, into this physical manifestation of psychosis and paranoia. And I don't want to say too much about that because it would spoil a brilliant surprise. So I really hope Kata is remembered when awards season comes around. And Heather Gilbert Gilbert's lighting and Josh Schmidt's sound design also do a lot to keep us guessing about what's actually happening. You know, it's kind of awful. That bug feels so much more relevant today than it did in 96. We've gone from the militia movement of the mid-90s being widely condemned to QAnon being maybe not widely accepted, but accepted enough that they can storm the Capitol building and get away with it. This is a really excellent production. I hope it sparks a lot of discussions about why people fall into paranoia like this, and I wish it offered some answers about how to help them, because that would be a nice conversation to have, too.

James Marino (23:15)

Michael, what was your take on this?

Michael Portantier (23:17)

Well, it's a fascinating play with a fascinating history. As Jenna mentioned, it did premiere in London in 1996. Then let's see. It was done in Washington, D.C. in 2000 by the Woolly Mammoth Theater with Deborah Haslett and Eric Sutton in the two leads. Then it was done in Chicago with Kate Buttigie and Michael Shannon in the leads. And then it was done off Broadway in why isn't the date.

Peter Filicia (23:56)

I think it's 2004.

Janetessa Fox (23:59)

I think it was.

Peter Filicia (24:02)

Oh, yeah, that's right. Yeah, that sounds right to me.

Michael Portantier (24:05)

Yeah. With Michael Shannon. And it turned out to be Shannon Cochran again. But does anyone here remember who was supposed to be playing Agnes in the Off Broadway premiere and who resigned from the show days before the start date due to artistic differences with the director?

Peter Filicia (24:27)

I remember the incident, but I can't remember who it was. Who was it?

Michael Portantier (24:30)

Amanda Plummer. Yet another example of an Amanda Plummer meltdown that almost really hurt a production. But as it turned out, it was fine because Shannon Cochran and Michael Shannon were brilliant in that production. Have any of you seen the film version?

Peter Filicia (24:49)

I did, yeah. It's very similar.

Michael Portantier (24:51)

Yeah, I would like to see it directed by William Friedkin, who saw the Off Broadway show and loved it so much he immediately called Tracy Letts and they decided to collaborate on a movie. And one thing that would be interesting to see about the movie is not only to see Michael Shannon's performance preserved, but Also Harry Connick Jr. Is the abusive husband.

Peter Filicia (25:16)

Yeah. And boy, you know, what a stretch. And yet he's terrific.

Michael Portantier (25:20)

I can imagine him being really great in that part. So I've gotta, I've gotta see that. It's probably not hard to find. This production is just perfectly directed by David Cromer and brilliantly acted by everyone who. Everyone has already mentioned. Peter, I'm not sure that I completely agree with you. You said it's about the, you know, the insect kind of bug and not the other kind. I think it's about both. Sure, sure. And in fact, don't they. I may have misunderstood, but don't they even at some point, doesn't Peter say something? That the bugs themselves are bugged, you know?

Peter Filicia (25:59)

Yes, he does. Yeah.

Michael Portantier (26:00)

Yeah. And then of course, there's. Not to spoil anything, but there's a, a scene where the, the, the, the walls of the motel room, they wind up lining them with, I guess, let's put aluminum foil or tin foil to supposedly stop the transmissions that are supposedly maybe happening from, you know, from the room. So it's really, it's very creepy. It's very scary. I. One question I have, which I guess we can't really discuss in terms of spoilers, but also there's no answer to the question, is that the Doctor, when he does. Come on, you know, assuming he's real, and that's an interesting suggestion, Jenna, that maybe he's not even there, but I think he's supposed to actually be there in terms of the way they both react to him. And there are one or two things he says that almost make you think, well, he's kind of coming out and. Right, right out and admitting that there is some kind of conspiracy. And I almost wish that wasn't there because to me, if it had been left a little more open ended, that would have been better. But see how you react when you, when you go to see that, it's, it's, it really is very interesting. And I do, yes, I'm, I'm very glad that the Tuskegee incident is mentioned in the play because it does show. At least we have that one Clear example, absolutely clear example of the government doing something exactly like what poor Peter in this play pretends they're doing. And then also mentioned in passing, and I don't even want to get into this, but AIDS is also mentioned as a possible, a possible conspiracy in some way, which many. I think some people still believe that and they have cause to believe it. So, yeah, the play could not be more timely and everyone should see it. And it gratifies me that a play can be such a big hit and so newsworthy on Broadway. Doesn't happen so often anymore. So very, very glad to have it back.

James Marino (28:22)

All right, so the Bug is at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater, currently scheduled through February 22nd. It is a quick check of their website shows. Very few tickets available, but there are some, so you can check that out. I'm not sure it can extend beyond February 22nd. We have maybe a week or so. Yeah, they have a play called the Blusters Bluesters. Blusters by David Lindsay. A bear. Ah, ballast.

Michael Portantier (29:01)

Isn't that right?

James Marino (29:02)

It sounds right. I would. I. I always defer to you for pronunciation.

Michael Portantier (29:08)

Don't always.

Peter Filicia (29:08)

Especially with Italian words. I love when Michael speaks Italian.

Michael Portantier (29:15)

Balustra.

Peter Filicia (29:16)

So.

James Marino (29:19)

What, what would you call Ballist. What did you say? Balusters.

Michael Portantier (29:25)

Bal.

James Marino (29:27)

Oh, yeah. Ball. Bal. Balusters is scheduled from April 21 to May 24. So it doesn't seem like.

Michael Portantier (29:37)

I'm not sure if we mentioned that. Yeah, that bug is a Manhattan Theater Club production. So that's why, you know, limited run and they theoretically can't extend.

James Marino (29:46)

Sure.

Michael Portantier (29:47)

Much.

James Marino (29:48)

Anyway. All right, so we'll have a link to that in the show notes. You can check it out there. This week on Broadway is sponsored by Factor. With the wrap up of the holiday season, we are busy again with all the new shows and openings coming up, but eating is one of my New Year's resolutions. So how do I do it with Factor? Factor makes it easy with fully prepared meals designed by dietitians and crafted by chefs so you can eat well without the shopping or cooking. I don't even have to think about it. With quality ingredients, lean proteins and healthy fats, I have hundreds of choices of rotating meals. They are convenient, always fresh, never frozen, and ready in about two minutes. Whether you're a Broadway fan who has a 9 to 5 or somebody in the biz who needs to eat before half hour, be like me and get your meals from Factor head to to FactorMeals.com Broadway50OFF and use the code Broadway50OFF to get 50% off your first Factor box plus free breakfast for one year offer only valid for new Factor customers with the code and qualifying auto renewal subscription with purchase. Make healthier eating easy with Factor. We'd like to thank Factor for the continued support of Broadway radio. Michael, you were going Bacharach recently. So tell us about this show at the Marjorie Dean Little Theater.

Michael Portantier (31:31)

Yeah, I loved it and I think you will too. You know, as long as your expectations are in line with, with what it is. It's. It's a review, very much a review, as you would see in a place like 54 Below or Laurie Beechman Theater or, or something you might see on a cruise ship. But I don't mean that in a negative way. Lots and lots of songs presented with, you know, a little bit of pattern between some biographical information about Burt Bacharach. Very, very talented cast. Hillary Cole, who I known for years. I first became aware of her as a singer at Birdland, but hadn't actually seen or heard her in quite some years. So it was great to see her again. She's beautiful woman with a really, really great voice. John Pagano, someone I wasn't totally unfamiliar with before this show, but he apparently performed with Burt Bacharach in concert for 26 years.

Janetessa Fox (32:40)

Oh, wow.

Michael Portantier (32:41)

So he obviously liked him and so he's here for authenticity. And then a really fabulous young woman named Ta Tanisa Wilson, who apparently was in Hamilton at some point. And she is great and she is African American. So she, aside from everything, she gets to do some of the Dionne Warwick stuff. And then this is interesting that the show, there were a lot of cooks here created by, it says, created by Wilfried Wald, Adrian Galante, Ted Firth and Jack Lewin and conceived by Jack Lewin. Arrangements and orchestrations by Adrian Galante, musical supervision by Ted Firth and directed by David Sippel. And for the most part, I think everything works very well, despite all those cooks. It's a very well done, very well put together show and you'll get to hear just about every Bacharach song that you, that you know or. And many that you didn't know and, and very, very, very well done. One interesting thing is that they. There was a bit of misinformation when I saw it in that they do a little Promises Promises Medley. But one of the songs that they include in it is I say A Little Prayer without mentioning that it was not written for the show and was only inserted into the Broadway revival. So actually I know several other people involved with this production and so I wrote to them and suggested that they maybe do a little change there. And they seem like they were going to. So if you do see the show by the time you see it now, I think that maybe will be correct. Peter, you're. You said you're going to see it, so you can.

Peter Filicia (34:45)

Yeah. Let me ask you this, Michael. Do they do this guy's in love with you.

Michael Portantier (34:50)

They do it in a. They do it in a separate section. And they also do. Interestingly enough, they also do knowing when to leave in a separate section. And they don't. And they don't do Turkey Lurky time at all.

Peter Filicia (35:08)

No, here's my point. Back in 1968, that's when this guy is in Love with you debuted. And it's amazing to me they didn't put it in Promises, Promises because, indeed, Chuck Baxter is desperately in love with Ms. Kubelik, and it would be such a perfect song for him to have sung. And I was. And we would love to have yet another hit song represented in a Broadway musical. So I always thought that was a lost opportunity. And when indeed, the revival came around, I was surprised that they didn't put it in then, as opposed to the other songs, which, to be frank, made Ms. Kubaluk seem a little mentally unbalanced. So, anyway, I'm sorry that. That if anybody's going to do Promises, Promises again, see if he can put this guy's in love with you in there. Because almost every lyric works perfectly almost in context with the show.

Michael Portantier (36:09)

You know, you're absolutely right. I think you mentioned this before, and it would fit so much better than I say a Little Prayer, which really, really does not fit. And neither does A House Is Not a Home. That's the other one they put into the revival, right? Yeah. So two missed opportunities and two other mistakes that were made. But, you know, know, that was a very troubled revival as far as I'm concerned, because the director is someone who I've never had any respect for. Anyway, one last thing on going back. Correct. The sound and lighting design are the best you will ever.

Peter Filicia (36:45)

Wow.

Michael Portantier (36:46)

See in here, for this kind of a show, I mean, if. If there's a lot of reverb in it, but I think it works perfectly for this kind of music in this kind of setting. If. If it was this much reverb in a Broadway show, I don't. I don't, you know, a book think that would be right. But here it just sounds incredibly beautiful and you. And actually. And it actually sounds like there's only about four. Four or five musicians. And that you know, and just the. The. The three singers so. Well, three singers, plus Adrian Galante does a lot. Does a lot of solo work on clarinet and piano, but the sound is so full of that, you'll think you're hearing a Broadway orchestra at some points. It's really kind of amazing.

James Marino (37:41)

All right, so going Bacharach, the Songs of an Icon at the Marjorie S. Dean Little Theater on the upper west side, 10 West 64th has been extended through February 22nd, and we'll have a link to that in the show notes. Peter, you went to the Players Theater to see the opening, which most theater fans think it's about theater, but this one is actually about chess. But not.

Peter Filicia (38:19)

Well, yes, but frankly, the opening has yet another meaning in this show, which is in very dubious taste. So that's a big problem for me. Yes, there's a young man terrifically played by Ryan Jacobs. The character's name is Newton Anderson, and he's only 17 years old in the show. I don't know what his real age is, but anyway, he's 17 years old, and he's been practicing chess all his life. And he's going up against a. A guy who just never loses, a guy who's even somewhat frustrated that he never loses because it's just too monotonous for him that he always beats his opponent. Well, Newton's best friend, Jim, decides that there is a way to cheat. Now, the thing is, we do see early on that Newton has to take off his shirt to make sure that he doesn't have any electronic devices at all that may help him to win. But Jim says there's another way. Since they're only checking from the waist up, maybe we could do something with the opening on the weight below the waist. I swear this is true. So, anyway, they go to an adult store and they buy something that really, it's in terrible taste. The sad thing is that we have very talented people here writing this. Obviously, my sensibility is different from theirs, but Brooke DiSpirito and Matteo Chavez Lewis are the two collaborators. Now, Matteo did the music, and Brook did the book, and the lyrics are by both. And the lyrics are very, very fine. Not only because of craft, that everything rhymes, but also some interesting images. These are young people, and yet they have lyrics that refer to the Civil War and many historical events in one song. So I really had great respect for the lyrics. And the music is quite tuneful. So I am looking forward to seeing what these people are going to do next. And as it turns out, they're in the layman angle BMI workshop. And so is Ryan Jacobs, according to the playbill. And so they're. They're obviously buddies and I hope they do something in the future that is quite a little different. Now, if you think I'm overstating this here's part of Brooks bias bio. And to her mom, brother and family who supported her wholeheartedly upon hearing it's just a show about chess. Even though they will still have to still have no idea what the show is really, really, in all capital letters, really about until they are sitting in the theater reading this bio. So as a result, they do know that they're dealing with something controversial here. And so. But boy, I'm looking forward to the next show. 1.

James Marino (41:23)

Peter, did you know that it's sort of based on real events?

Peter Filicia (41:29)

No. Really?

James Marino (41:30)

It actually happens. Yeah, it happened. Yeah, it actually happened.

Michael Portantier (41:35)

Wow. I'll put.

James Marino (41:36)

I'll put a link in the show notes. The BBC's got a report on this.

Peter Filicia (41:41)

Oh.

James Marino (41:41)

And. And so, you know, so sort of Law and Order ripped from the headlines based on a true.

Peter Filicia (41:49)

That does put a different spin on it. Yeah.

James Marino (41:54)

So if you look in the. If you look in the chat for Zoom right now, I. I threw a link in there for the BBC. You can see the. It's from 2023 and there was a multi million dollar lawsuit about this. About this cheating.

Peter Filicia (42:10)

Oh, I had no idea.

Michael Portantier (42:12)

Wow.

James Marino (42:13)

Yeah. So you know who to thunk. There is source material everywhere.

Michael Portantier (42:24)

Stranger than fiction.

Peter Filicia (42:26)

Yeah.

James Marino (42:28)

All right. So the opening at the Players theater, running through February 8th. We'll have a link to that in the show notes. Jenna, you got a chance to see Picnic at Hanging Rock, so why don't you tell us about this?

Janetessa Fox (42:43)

Yeah. Sadly, the show had closed yesterday. Yes, yesterday. But I wanted to still comment on it in hopes that the creative team will try again and hopefully it'll get more of an audience. The next production. This musical follows a group of girls studying at an Australian school at the turn of the last century who disappear while out on a picnic. Several people who saw the girls and one of their teachers before the disappearance can't quite explain what it is that they saw. And the mystery begins to take on some supernatural elements. The show did not really work for me, but there is a lot to appreciate here. Hilary Bell's book and lyrics and Greta Guardier Gold's music and arrangements really, really beautifully capture the dreamlike nature of Joan Lindsay's novel, which I just started reading after seeing the show. So I love it when a musical inspires me to start reading books.

Peter Filicia (43:51)

Indeed.

Janetessa Fox (43:52)

Right.

James Marino (43:53)

Check the index.

Janetessa Fox (43:55)

Exactly. See? But I don't read it back to it. That's how I need to read this one. Any case. Right. Everything feels just a little bit off, but also just real enough to keep us wondering about what's actually happening. And thanks to some flashbacks when each moment fits into the narrative. But that's also the musical's biggest problem. David Cromer's direction for Bug nicely balanced the real and the surreal. Portia Krieger's direction for this production never quite finds that balance. Her direction is very uneven. It's hard to keep track of what moments are happening where or when or if they're even happening at all, or if they're just in someone's imagination. And it became really difficult to follow the story and to care about the characters when I was perpetually just trying to keep up. A unit set can work for conveying a range of locations, but Daniel Zimmerman's set really didn't work with Krieger's direction to let us know where every scene took place. I had to go back and read the script to figure out what had happened at the end because I wasn't sure where two different events took place because it looked like they happened at the exact same spot and they didn't. Barbara Samuel's lighting design also didn't do much to help differentiate different settings, but it was very atmospheric. I will completely give her credit for that. I'll also give Krieger credit for using all of the Greenwich House Theater as performance space. She stages scenes in the aisles, even on the walls of the auditorium. That was really effective, and it made sure we didn't know where to focus our attention. Much like Jenna, can I interrupt you.

James Marino (45:42)

For a second, please? Yeah. She might have had to use all of the Greenwich House Theater because the cast seems to be huge. Let's see. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 18 people in the cast for an Off Broadway musical.

Peter Filicia (46:01)

That.

James Marino (46:01)

That's enormous.

Michael Portantier (46:02)

Yeah, it is.

James Marino (46:04)

That's enormous. So keep going. I'm sorry to interrupt.

Janetessa Fox (46:06)

No, not at all. But yes. I mean, when everyone is out in full force. Yeah. They spill from the stage out into the aisles. And it was really effective. It meant we don't know where to look. Do we look at the person right in front of us in the aisle? Do we need to pay attention to what's happening on the stage? And the characters in the story are trying to solve this mystery. They don't know where to look either. So I thought that was a really nice way to put the end a audience in the same position as the characters. The performances were also very good. I didn't get to see Tatiana Cordoba as Irma, but her understudy Lizzie Tucker was really excellent. Gave a very poignant performance as a traumatized kid who doesn't quite know what happened to her or to her friends. Gillian Hahn made Miranda, one of the missing girls, really likable. So her disappearance feels really tragic, especially for the character Sarah, a young orphan who was left behind at the school and didn't get to go on the picnic. Sarah Walsh made the character very, very poignant. Her childish innocence never quite slips into saccharine sweetness and that's kind of hard to do. Usually young actors are taught to go all in with the sweetness and cutesiness and she really made the character sympathetic. She got some of the show's most emotional moments and really handled them beautifully. Erin Davey didn't get an awful lot to do as the school's headmistress. Belle makes her somewhat of a one note character, but she made the most of it. There are two men in the cast played by Rhys Sebastian Diaz and Bradley Lewis. They did a very nice job of conveying the classism and racism of 1900 Australia. They added some additional layers that I really wish had been explored more. I think that could be something to do in a future revision. Ostebeni Hostetter's costume design was very good as well conveyed class and background for the characters. Nick, I'm going to mispronounce this name. Please forgive me. Cordite's sound design did a lot to set the mood and maintain the very ethereal, dreamlike vibe. Picnic at Hanging Rock is a musical with a lot of potential. It really could be great on a larger stage with better clarity about what is going on, where and when. I really hope the creative team will keep working on it. I hope it gets another life in a bigger venue that can do a bit more to convey the different locations.

Peter Filicia (48:44)

Speaking of hope in terms of the future, now that James has told me about this opening thing, I think you need an opening number that establishes the fact that what you are seeing is pretty much the truth or it is based on actual events. Because if you don't know that, and again, I will totally concede that this may be something that everybody who's listening knew about and I didn't. But I don't think it hurts to have an opening number that would establish the fact that this is based at least on true events or at least.

Michael Portantier (49:17)

A note in the program?

Peter Filicia (49:18)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, maybe there is a note in the program. It's a very thin program, so I know.

James Marino (49:22)

Don't.

Peter Filicia (49:22)

About didn't even tell us if it was going to be an intermission or not. In fact, there isn't, even though there's a very logical place for it. But anyway, so to be fair, the list of municipal numbers doesn't say Act One and Act two. So I guess that implies that there's no intermission.

James Marino (49:43)

I mean, I've not been through, you know, programs like the Lehman Engel Workshop for, you know, training how to write a story. But I' always been told, you tell people what they're about to see, and then you show them it, and then you tell them what they just saw, and that's how to tell a story.

Peter Filicia (50:06)

That's good advice.

James Marino (50:09)

And so when. When you miss some of those critical elements, you lose some of the audience. And, you know, I. I think that you look at great. What I see as great opening numbers. The opening of Carousel, the opening of. Of you look at Me, She Loves Me. You look at the opening of. I was just thinking of Hamilton. And I was thinking of what else? Oh, yeah, Hamilton. Oh, Beauty and the Beast. Ragtime Ragtime opening. Beauty and the Beast, the Bell Song, the. Please set the stage and tell the audience what you're about to see.

Michael Portantier (50:55)

And then they tell you the greatest example of all. Fiddler on the Roof.

James Marino (50:59)

Exactly.

Michael Portantier (51:00)

You know, which they. Tonight, that famous story. Right. Jerome Robbins said, what is the show about?

James Marino (51:09)

So the opening at the Players Theater, they talked in all the press materials. I didn't see it. They talked in all the press materials how this is their first presentation, and they are, you know, it's a new musical. They say it and all the stuff. And so maybe they're, you know, maybe this is the type of feedback that they're looking for. So could be that and Picnic at Hanging Rock. Picnic Hanging Rock on their. On their website, talks about their production in Australia, plus readings at Lincoln center and other developmental stuff.

Peter Filicia (51:42)

So.

James Marino (51:42)

So this is all good stuff. I mean, we found good things in all of these shows.

Janetessa Fox (51:49)

Yeah.

Michael Portantier (51:49)

And as far as Picnic at Hanging Rock, I didn't get to see it because, as you recall, they had to cancel several shows at the beginning of their run because of illness, and I couldn't reschedule. But I will say several reviews that I've read and people I've spoken to have said almost exactly the same as what Jenna said, that there's a lot of really wonderful stuff in it, and it just maybe didn't completely work. So it does sound like they really got something there. And I hope they do continue to work on it and it gets future productions.

James Marino (52:24)

All right, so that brings us up to our next one, which, Peter, I read that your odometer turned to 13,200.

Peter Filicia (52:37)

Yeah. Longtime listeners know that I do keep track of the shows I see in. Which has turned out to be two volumes now, one volume from New York and one for everywhere else. Because, yeah, it does add up, no question. So, yes, the point is, I went back to Ragtime and. And one of the reasons I love going back to a show when it's in the middle of a run is because are they still working hard? It's all very nice to go opening night when they're all up for it and they know that they're going to be reviewed and all this kind of stuff. What happens when they're doing it for the 115th time? Which is indeed what happened when I went on January 7. In fact, I purposely went to the matinee because sometimes on a Wednesday or a Saturday, I have seen performances where they figure, well, let's not give so much at this matinee because we have to do it tonight, or vice versa, that by the second time they do it, they're out of gas. And, you know, that's. That's a legitimate thing. I mean, doing these shows isn't easy. And certainly doing ragtime isn't easy. So I'm very happy to say that it was just as galvanizing and wonderful as it was on opening night. Nobody is dogging it. Everybody is trying extraordinarily hard to get what goes across here. So. So I really liked it. One thing I wanted to point out that is. Is something that was very clever. That Lyde Bessonnet, who did a wonderful job when she did this at Encores and did an especially wonderful job when she had to adapt it to a thrust stage. One of the things that is very clever at the beginning is when Father is going on his journey, ostensibly to the North Pole, and he's introduced to the second in command and it's a black man. And the thing is that we can just naturally assume that back in 1906, the second in command would actually be a white man. And this is non traditional casting. But when the black man puts out his hand for Father to shake and Father does not shake it, that's when we know that indeed he is a black man. And that certainly pays off later when, of course, Coalhouse offers him his hand late in the show and he takes it because he has had respect for, for him. So, so, but really it's, it' such a great, great show. And I, I, I, I'm not sure I'm right about this, but the first time I saw it, and even this time I just feel that the audience, some of the audience knows that it lost to the Lion King and it shouldn't have. I just feel that there, that applause is saying, yes, yes, let's right this wrong that happened so many years ago. And again, you'll never be able to prove that. I, I could not say anything more than just a feeling killing. Finally, what I want to talk about is Brandon Uranowitz, because he was the little boy in the original production and then they fired him and it was a, you know, he was a kid. I mean, it was, it's very hard to be fired at any age, but as a kid, you know, it's really, really hard. So. But he certainly has come back and here he is playing the astonishing Tata, who really, when you come right down to it, is two roles. Because in the first act, you know, he's kind of down and out as an immigrant doing the best he can, and all he has is his talent, talent which he will use in the second act. Suddenly he's a baron. He really isn't. And as he admits later on, but he's a movie director and he's doing astonishingly well and the money just keeps rolling in from every side. So my point is that Ragtime is such a classic. I won't be around to see when Brandon plays Grandfather in the show, but I see that in his future because Ragtime will be around. And so will the wonderful talents of Brandon Urianowicz be around as well as well.

Michael Portantier (56:33)

Just to clarify, wasn't he fired because he just grew out of the role?

Peter Filicia (56:37)

I don't know. I, I remember reading an article where it simply seemed to say that they, they just weren't pleased enough with him.

Michael Portantier (56:49)

Oh, okay.

Peter Filicia (56:50)

That was an implication in the article. It was an article in the Times about him at the time when the revival was happening at Encores. And so it didn't, it, there was nothing about his growing out of the role in that article, which may have been the. I don't know. But nevertheless, in that article, I don't think that was the implication.

Michael Portantier (57:08)

Okay, maybe I just misunderstood.

Peter Filicia (57:10)

Oh, no, no, you may very well be right. I just don't know.

Janetessa Fox (57:15)

And as to your comment about what show should have won best musical in 98. Every now and then, I still walk by the Lyric Theater and just look sadly at it, thinking it should still be running here.

Peter Filicia (57:27)

Yeah, I'm with you.

Michael Portantier (57:31)

All right.

James Marino (57:32)

Ragtime at Lincoln Center Theater. We'll have a link to that in the show. Not. Michael, you spent a little time at Carnegie hall this week where you saw two shows. One of them was an Oklahoma Concert, and the other one was Isabel Leonard and Friends. So tell us about them.

Michael Portantier (57:49)

Yeah. Let me just start briefly with Isabel Leonard and Friends, which was Thursday the 15th. Isabel Leonard is a wonderful opera singer and an extremely beautiful one. And I just actually only recently started to become familiar with her and am kind of flabbergasted at how much I think she looks like Laura Benanti. So, you know, as evidence of how beautiful we're talking about, look, look up some photos or video of her, and I think it's almost shocking how much she looks like Laura Benanti or vice versa. And they both obviously have beautiful voices, although Isabella is more of a male. That's so. But she's really, really great. And she had with her at Carnegie two of her friends, another opera singer, Ryan Speedo Green, who's a big star at the Met and who I recently had the pleasure of seeing as crown in Porgy and Bess at the Met. And then someone who we all know as primarily musical theater singer, Jordan Donica from both My Fair lady and Camelot at Lincoln center and other things that he's done. It was a really great evening. American song is how they. They categorize it. Songs of Bernstein, Berlin and beyond. Everything from I'll be seeing you to my ship, the way you look tonight Anything you can do, I can do better, which was a duet between Isabel and Ryan Speedo Green. Jordan sang Some enchanted evening. Where is the life that laid, I led Come to me, bend to me. That was interesting because we really think of him as a baritone, but he did a lovely job with Come to Me Men to Me. He has a nice tenor extension, I would say, and he's able to lighten his voice to sing up high like that. Oh, and you know what he sang? That was maybe the most interesting thing on the program was this flower from Carmen Jones, which is Oscar Hammerstein's version of the Beautiful, Beautiful Flower Song from the opera Carmen. And you don't get to hear that very often, especially not in. In that, you know, that version, that English translation from Carmen Jones. And there again, that's absolutely a tenor aria. So I have a lot more. I already liked Jordan Donagha before this, and I have a lot more respect and admiration for him after this because I didn't know he. He was quite so vocally versatile in terms of range. So it was a really wonderful night at Carnegie. And then on Monday the 12th, I had seen Oklahoma. In concert, which I had been plugging here on the podcast, and it was definitely worth. Boy, it was definitely worth attending. Just beautifully musical directed and conducted by Rob Berman with The Orchestra of St. Luke's which is about 40 pieces, I.

Peter Filicia (60:59)

Think.

Michael Portantier (61:02)

And excellently directed by Schuler Hensley, who of course is famous for his performance as Judd in one of the Broadway revivals of Oklahoma, but with a spectacular cast. Emmett o', Hanlon, opera singer, who I did not previously know. It was maybe the perfect curl.

Peter Filicia (61:27)

That.

Michael Portantier (61:28)

I've ever seen, like right up on a par with Gordon McCray in the movie. Beautiful guy to look at. Gorgeous baritone voice. He even has naturally curly hair, so they didn't have to, you know, there was no disconnect there. It's always funny when people call him curly and his hair is like wavy, you know.

Peter Filicia (61:55)

But.

Michael Portantier (61:55)

And he had the best. The best thing that a curly can have is that he. His voice was 100% legit. As I say, he does sing opera, but it didn't sound operatic or stuffy or trained, if you know what I mean. It sounded very, very natural. And then everyone else was just perfect. Michaela diamond as Laurie. Andrew Durand as Will Parker. Jasmine. Amy Rogers, who was a guest on our podcast not long ago as Adu Ann. It's sad that Boop had such a short run, but it's great that that Jasmine is getting to do all these other things. Instead. She was great as Ado Annie. And she has also coming up at Encores, the lachiusa Wild Party. So that's another thing to look forward to. Her in this great guy Parvish China I'm unfamiliar with as Ali Hackam got every single laugh laugh in in that script. And David Hyde Pierce in my old role of Andrew Carnes that I played in high school, as he was. He was just perfect in that. And a great ensemble, including my friend Leah Horowitz and lots of other great singers. They did. I would say they did about 85% of Oklahoma. The book was cut slightly and some of the ballets were cut down a little bit, but all the major themes were included. And that was good because that ballet music is so wonderful for the dream ballet. And Laurie makes. Well, Laurie makes up her mind. That's the dream Ballet Many a New Day. A lot of that dance music was included as well. And there was some choreography. The Dream Ballet was not choreographed. The orchestra just played it. And it was, was wonderful to listen to that music, you know, and just enjoy it as music. But there was choreography in Kansas City and in some of the other numbers by Chase Brock. It was just, just a great, great night. Oh, and here's maybe the most interesting thing about it, which I'm glad I didn't forget to mention. Jud Fry was played by Jonathan Christopher, who I did not previously know. He is the brother of Nick Christopher, who's currently on Broadway in tests and we've seen in many other things. And apparently they are from Bermuda originally. But I guess you would classify them them as performers of color. And I have always said that I always wondered how Oklahoma would play with a person of color in the role of Judd to justify why he's such an outsider. And it can be tricky because then how did the other characters come across in the way that they treat him? But that's exactly what was done here and it was so moving. He chose to play Judd not as creepy and violent, but as terribly, terribly lonely. And you really felt for the character. And poor Judd worked. The song poor Judd is Dead worked on an entirely different level than it ever worked before because of the way he played it. So I'm glad that I finally got to see a performer of color in that role and that he did such a brilliant job of it. And I hope, I'm only sorry that I don't believe, believe that this, there's any video record of this. But maybe, you know, maybe, I don't know, maybe he'll get to do it again or someone else will in that way because I think it, it just gave a whole new slant to the show.

James Marino (66:03)

All right, so as Michael said, these were one night only things. But we'll have.

Michael Portantier (66:08)

Yes.

James Marino (66:08)

Back to the Carnegie hall website for more information about this. Peter, you saw something at Art called Tri Step Trip. So tell us about this.

Peter Filicia (66:21)

Well, what I want to say about it is that the precision dancing was amazing. We associate great precision dancing with K Pop when K Pop ran a very short period of time a couple of years ago. But if you like that type of dancing, boy, are you going to see it here. This is a show about, about drug addiction. And it doesn't sound like there would be much dancing in a show about drug addiction, but indeed there is. And it's very, very effective to watch these people tell their stories and then go into a dance that does not seem irrelevant or incorrect to for them to be dancing. So this is at an out of the way Place on 10th Avenue. I don't know if you've ever been to AR this not to be confused with the place in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This is a period R period T period. But nevertheless it's certainly worth checking out and I do believe that we're going to see a lot from these people in the future. But wow. What does it take? What does it take to be able to do this type of thing to perfection? And that's the word I'm looking for here. So there's a bit of music in it, not a lot, but the music in it is quite effective as well. So this is something that is off the beaten track in more ways than one but nevertheless turns out to be very, very effective.

James Marino (67:53)

All right, so tri step trip at art. We'll have a link to that in the show notes. And also Peter, you wanted to mention the Gilbert and Sullivan Society Society's new production of HMS Pinafore. Tell us about this.

Peter Filicia (68:09)

Well, the reason I want to mention it is because productions of GNS aren't that easy to come by. But here's this company that's been doing it for a long, long time. They certainly hold the record for the longest time that they're currently in business. And so I mean even the doily cart doesn't exist anymore. So, so if you want to see see a Gilbert and Sullivan show, I do recommend this company, the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players is the official name of it. For one thing, they have a terrifically lush orchestra. There are a lot of pieces in it. Not as many as the one that Michael just mentioned, but nevertheless quite a few and more than we usually hear. They take it very, very seriously and the people who are in it are quite good. But I really want to do a shout out to Michelle Sipal who played Josephine, the captain's daughter and boy Beautiful, beautiful job. Every time she opened her mouth she was extraordinary. The other people were quite good too but I really do feel that she was the best of the bunch. And I have to say that I, I, I'm always very, very glad to hear so many of these songs. Especially Never Mind the why and Wherefore which is a big favorite of mine as well as We Sail the ocean Blue so and of course when I was a lad, you know, a nice pattersong and so they did it proud and I'm really very, very glad that I went. They don't do it very Long. It's only a week or so that they wind up doing it. But James Mill certainly was a fine director and Joseph Rubin was a fine, fine musical director and conductor. And so I was, I was tremendously impressed. And I do think that in these times when seeing a show is either something that's very rare or something that a lot of people don't want to go to, here are these people holding up the banner very, very high and I was delighted that they indeed did.

Michael Portantier (70:14)

You know, the only production in those of theirs that I ever saw was the Pirates of Penzance. And it was absolutely fantastic because they used the original orchestrations with that great orchestra like you mentioned. And but they did it in the style of the Broadway version, you know, so the guy who played the pirate king was very much in, you know, in the Kevin Klein mode. But yet you got to hear those beautiful original orchestrations as well. So in a way it was, you know, I guess it was the best one that I ever saw.

Peter Filicia (70:54)

Good.

Michael Portantier (70:55)

Yeah.

James Marino (70:57)

All right, so Gilbert and Sullivan players. HMS Pinafore at the K Playhouse has got one performance left at 3pm today. Unlikely that you'll be able to get to it if you're listening to this, unless you're have already seen it and are listening to it after. So. But the Gil and Sullivan Society has Utopia Limited coming up in April.

Peter Filicia (71:27)

Yeah, that's a real rarity.

James Marino (71:29)

Yeah, not seen in a very long.

Peter Filicia (71:31)

Time and I believe that's one that's never been done on Broadway. There was a time when the doily cart used to come and do limited runs on Broadway. But if you go to IBDB and you check any one of those famous titles, Pinafore, the MC Avocado, Penzance, you will see these things used to be done all the time, but not Utopia Limited. Not Utopia Limited. So this is a real opportunity to see something you usually don't see.

James Marino (71:59)

So do you have it penciled in for April 18th and 19th?

Peter Filicia (72:03)

I may. Very well. That's a very busy time of the year, needless to say. Yeah, but if I can fit it in, I'm certainly going to.

James Marino (72:10)

All right, so. Oh, we have two quick things to mention in the news. We're running very late, so please try to keep your comments brief here. There is a new 12 part Sondheim podcast. So you know what I will be doing on March 5th when it comes out is listening to these things. The podcast series is called Loving youg the Untold Sondheim. So Michael, what are your thoughts on this?

Michael Portantier (72:43)

Oh yeah, Just briefly, it's put together by, by his friends Martin Milnes and Peter E. Jones. Peter Jones, I know was a fairly long time romantic partner of Sondheim. I don't, I don't know what titles they actually used for their relationship, but. And Martin Mills I'm not sure about, but it says as promises to share exclusive heartfelt recollections from composers longtime close friends, family and esteemed colleagues including Dame Julie Andrews, Jamie Bernstein, Dame Judi Dench, Mia Farrow, Ronan Farrow, Maria Friedman, Adam Gettel, John Kander, James Lapine, Patti LuPone Maltby and Shire Lin Manuel Miranda, Bernadette Peters, Jonathan Tunick, John Weidman and Maurice Yeston.

Peter Filicia (73:37)

And because I was asked to participate, I'll see if I made the cut after. With all those heavy hitters there, we'll see if there's a sentence or two from me, but I was interviewed.

Michael Portantier (73:47)

Ah, great. Yeah. Well, I'm sure they can't name everyone.

James Marino (73:50)

Well, no, I don't expect that.

Peter Filicia (73:52)

My point is I hope I made the cut.

Michael Portantier (73:54)

Yeah, I got you, I got you.

James Marino (73:56)

This is why podcasts should have indexes.

Michael Portantier (74:00)

Exactly.

Janetessa Fox (74:01)

Flip to the the back.

James Marino (74:03)

Exactly. Or podcasts have show notes. All right. And also on the side time front, Cynthia Ebo. Rumor has it that she has secured the rights to Passion in some way or another. Michael, do you have any more information or is that the whole story for right now?

Michael Portantier (74:24)

Well, that's pretty much what I heard from a fairly reliable source. She has acquired the rights to do Passion with Maria Friedman directing. I don't know more than that. I, I, I'm, we could guess that it might be on Broadway or in the West End or both first and then who knows, maybe a movie.

Peter Filicia (74:49)

Well, what's interesting here of course is the fact that I dare say that of all the Sondheim musicals, Passion is the one that people think of least. And indeed it's running Tony winning musical of all time. But who knows, just as merrily wound up getting appreciated later. Maybe this will turn out to be a way of getting a real renaissance for Passion, which would be nice.

Michael Portantier (75:13)

Well, certainly it has this, it will have the star power. Yeah.

James Marino (75:21)

Interesting about Passion, at least from original Broadway cast versus a London Broadway cast recording. The two recordings are dramatically different, at least for, for my ear. What did do you have a comparison contrast the three of you and any thoughts about the two different cast recordings back in the day?

Peter Filicia (75:45)

No help at all because I've never listened to the London one.

Michael Portantier (75:48)

Me neither.

Peter Filicia (75:48)

Oh wow, that's interesting.

Michael Portantier (75:52)

Well, because you know, I too, am not a big fan of the show.

Peter Filicia (75:57)

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Janetessa Fox (75:58)

I also have issues with stalker stories.

Michael Portantier (76:03)

So the James Mark Miller in On for cast album reviews.com wrote, the London recording is almost 20 minutes longer than the Broadway album.

Peter Filicia (76:15)

Oh, my.

Michael Portantier (76:16)

Containing more music as well as dialogue, but both are roughly equal in terms of performance quality. Maria Friedman's Fosca is more strident than Donna Murphy's.

James Marino (76:26)

I was gonna say don't listen to this. Don't listen to the London. To the London cast recording. With headphones on, you might blow out your eardrums.

Peter Filicia (76:36)

Wow.

Michael Portantier (76:36)

Okay, so you agree on that? Okay, yeah.

James Marino (76:39)

I mean, it was very, very good. But it was startling and unexpected. You know, the Father Alaska screams of pain are really, really scary and dramatic. And so if you're wearing headphones, you might fall off the subway platform, you know.

Peter Filicia (76:56)

Wow.

Janetessa Fox (76:57)

Good to know.

Peter Filicia (76:58)

Well, this certainly motivates me to listen to it.

Michael Portantier (77:00)

Well, if it's 20 minutes longer, then it would, you know, be interesting to hear, if only for that reason.

Peter Filicia (77:05)

Yeah, sure.

James Marino (77:07)

I. I'm not sure she yells for 20 straight minutes, but okay. You know, it's possible, so. But the tie back to Maria Friedman, very interesting.

Peter Filicia (77:17)

Yeah, yeah.

Michael Portantier (77:17)

Yes, exactly.

Peter Filicia (77:18)

As well.

James Marino (77:20)

Yeah. All right, so that wraps it up for today. Before we move on to our musical moments and our brain teaser, I want to remind you you can subscribe to these broadcasts by going to the front page broadwayradio.com There's a subscribe link that way each and every time we have a new episode of this week on Broadway be automatically downloaded to Apple Pieces podcasts for you. Of course, you don't have to listen to us to us in Apple podcasts as many ways to listen to us. One way is Patreon P-A-T-R-E-O-N.com BroadwayRadio is where you can support all of Broadway radio shows as well as get us a little bit earlier than the public. Get a few bonuses here and there, and, you know, support worldwide radio. Contact information for Peter, for Jenna, for Michael and me can be found in the show notes@broadwayradio.com 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 Filicia (78:17)

Listen to the cast album of Chicago and one sequence might bring to mind something in the miracle Worker. Well, in Chicago's nowadays, Roxy and Velma sing mid song wah wah, which is the first word that Helen Keller says in the Miracle Worker. Josh usual was the first to get it because he said he was actually in a production of the Miracle Workers. So he that gave him a head start, followed by Tony Janicki after 5,002, 500, 600 guesses and Sean Logan. And that was it. This week's question. They both had the same first name. They both had the same middle initial, which both use professionally. They both acted in the same play, one in the original production and one in a revival almost 48 years later. Each one a Tony, although not for either of these productions. In fact, the earlier person didn't win the Tony for acting. Who are they? What was the play?

James Marino (79:22)

All right, if you have an answer for that, email us at trivia@broadway radio.com we'll let you know if you're on the right right track. So, Michael, you promised me that this was going to be a great musical. Moments.

Michael Portantier (79:33)

Well, inspired by Going Bacharach, we have two songs from Promises, Promises. The first one is the title song, and it's one of the most fun parts of Going Bacharach comes when Hillary Cole explains to us the incredible changes of meter and radio rhythm within the first few measures of Promises, Promises, because Bacharach was famous for that. I remember when we did that song in my Jerry orbach show at 54 below, Nikita Berstein was going to sing the song. And I, I think in rehearsal I said something to him like, you know, it's up to you, but I, I wouldn't even look at the music for this. I would just listen to it because if you try to read, almost would make you insane with all of the tempo changes from one measure to the next. So anyway, he wound up doing it fine, you know, whatever method he used. But that's something interesting about that song and you find it very frequently in Burt Bacharach. So our opener is Promises, Promises as sung by Jerry Orbach from the original Broadway cast. And our closer is also from the original Broadway cast album, a little excerpt of Turkey Lurky Time, which, as I say, is one of the few really popular Bacharach David songs that's not included in Going Bacharach. So you can enjoy it here. Please enjoy both.

James Marino (81:10)

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

Peter Filicia (81:47)

Sam.