This Week on Broadway for June 8, 2025: Red Bull Theater’s production of The Imaginary Invalid

Summary

BroadwayRadio Podcast Summary
Episode: This Week on Broadway for June 8, 2025: Red Bull Theater’s Production of The Imaginary Invalid
Release Date: June 8, 2025

---

Introduction and Show Tune of the Day

The episode kicks off with host James Marino welcoming guests Peter Felicia and Michael Portantier. They delve into Tony Day, celebrating the rich history of Broadway musicals.

Show Tune Selection:
Peter introduces the show's tune for the day:

"Better with a band. From A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. Because 11 years ago this was the night that it won best musical and three other Tonys too."
— Peter Felicia [00:49]

He highlights the clever staging and humor embedded in the musical, tying it into the current Pride Month.

Upcoming Works and Projects

One-Person Play on Gun Control:
Peter discusses his collaboration with Eric Krebs on a new one-person play addressing gun control, starring Nikita Burstein.

"It's going to be on Wednesday night at 7 o' clock and a Thursday matinee... It's a tough show... be prepared for a gut-wrenching experience."
— Peter Felicia [01:52]

Theater World Awards Annotation:
Peter shares his project of annotating William Goldman's The Season, aiming to auction it for fundraising.

"On each and every page... I'm putting notations in the margin in different colored flare pens of what has changed, what has not changed."
— Peter Felicia [03:36]

Theater World Awards and Season Annotation

James Marino reminds listeners of Peter's involvement in the Theater World Awards and the Drama Desk.

Peter's Commitment:
Despite being labeled a "slacker" by Michael, Peter emphasizes his active participation in various theater events and productions.

"I've done two shows on Friday and Saturday night, I really started understanding why actors say doing eight a week is so terrible because I only did two and boy, did I sleep well these last two nights."
— Peter Felicia [05:07]

Tony Awards Predictions and Discussions

The trio shifts focus to the ongoing Tony Awards, discussing potential winners and unexpected outcomes.

Potential Winners:
Michael Portentier brings up Audra McDonald and Jasmine Amy Rogers as strong contenders.

"Some people feel that the Patti LuPone incident will give an extra edge to Audra McDonald... but I have been hearing more people saying that they think Jonathan Groff is going to get his second Tony Award in a row."
— Michael Portentier [11:35]

Shared Drama Desk Award:
Peter acknowledges the shared Drama Desk Award between Audra McDonald and Jasmine Amy Rogers, expressing hope for more diverse winners.

"Audra McDonald will be very happy to see Jasmine A B Rogers win... they shared the Drama Desk Award last Sunday and that was really quite nice."
— Peter Felicia [12:00]

Reviews of Current Productions

Red Bull Theater’s The Imaginary Invalid at New World Stages:
Peter provides an in-depth review of this Molière adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher.

"Mark Lynn Baker... is always a terrific performer and he certainly gets all the juice he can out of the characters he plays."
— Peter Felicia [19:24]

He praises the performances but critiques the inclusion of anachronistic songs and certain character portrayals, rating the production two and a half stars out of four.

John W. Angman Theater’s South Pacific:
Michael Portentier shares his experience attending South Pacific, commending the cast and direction by Hunter Foster.

"Taylor Aronson was just about perfect as Nellie... Alec Nevin as Cable... Carol Angeli as Bloody Mary was absolutely fantastic."
— Michael Portentier [22:52]

Peter echoes the sentiments, noting the importance of traditional casting and the challenges posed by the theater's limited orchestra space.

Vineyard Theater’s Bowl EP:
Peter discusses this production's unconventional staging and thematic exploration of queer love.

"It's a very old audience... but they really, really loved it."
— Michael Portentier [34:53]

He underscores the play's ambitious approach to addressing complex social issues through dynamic performances.

News and Updates in Theater

Tony Awards Viewing Guide:
James Marino mentions Adam Feldman’s guide on how to watch the 2025 Tony Awards, including a list of the best Tony performances of all time.

Beetlejuice and Mamma Mia Tours:
The hosts discuss the ongoing tours of Beetlejuice, concluding on whether returning Broadway productions qualify as revivals.

"Usually it's considered return engagement and only the people who are in it are essentially eligible as well."
— Peter Felicia [48:02]

Paramount Theater Developments:
Michael Portentier shares insights about the Paramount Building's rebranding and its historical significance.

"The Viacom Corporation rebranded themselves as Paramount through some sort of merger."
— James Marino [54:13]

Personal Anecdotes and Stories

High School Reunions:
Michael recounts his experience at his 50th high school reunion, reconnecting with a classmate involved in Broadway productions.

"He worked at the Public Theater with Joe Papp... he was a production assistant for Anything Goes starring Sid Caesar and Ginger Rogers."
— Michael Portentier [49:03]

Peter relates a similar encounter, emphasizing the value of attending reunions for unexpected connections.

"I've had the same experience... Mary Rogers... has so many shows... she's dedicated to it."
— Peter Felicia [52:02]

Conclusion and Announcements

James Marino wraps up the discussion by promoting subscription options and upcoming content, including a live stream of Matt Tamonini’s Tony Awards recap.

Brain Teaser:
Peter presents a challenging question related to Broadway musicals and Sondheim’s works, engaging listeners to participate.

Musical Moment:
Michael highlights a teaser trailer for South Pacific available on YouTube, encouraging listeners to view it for a glimpse of the production's quality.

"We’re including a link to the actual trailer in the show notes so you can watch it."
— Michael Portentier [58:51]

Notable Quotes

• "There is nothing like a day Nothing in the world. There is nothing you can name that."
  — Peter Felicia [00:00]

• "This is not like anything I've ever written before. This is a tough show."
  — Peter Felicia [03:18]

• "If you are somebody who wants to know more about Molière, this is, I would say, a two and a half stars out of four."
  — Peter Felicia [22:32]

• "You never forget your first cast album."
  — Michael Portentier [16:38]

---

Stay Connected:
For more information, contact Peter, Michael, and James at broadwayradio.com. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts or support through Patreon at patreon.com/broadwayradio.

---

This summary captures the essence of the BroadwayRadio episode, highlighting key discussions, reviews, and personal stories shared by the hosts and guests.

Transcript

[Peter Felicia]

There is nothing like a day Nothing in the world. There is nothing you can name that.

[Michael Portantier]

Is anything like a dance.

[James Marino]

Hello and welcome to Broadway Radios. This week on Broadway for Sunday, June 8, 2025, it's Tony Day. My name is James Marino. And in the broadcast today we have Peter, Felicia and Michael Portentier. Peter is a playwright, journalist and historian with a number of book Peter's new Day by Day desk calendar. A show tune for today. 366 songs to bright New Year has been released. Peter also has columns at Masterworks, Broadway, Broadway select and many other places. Hello, Peter.

[Peter Felicia]

Hi, Peter.

[James Marino]

What is our show tune for today?

[Peter Felicia]

Well, better with a band. From A Gentleman's Guide to Love and murder. Because 11 years ago this was the night that it won best musical and three other Tonys too. And to think it's a musical about a serial killer is kind of funny. But they was so smart in building a stage in the stage and making it look like it was like a dollhouse almost. And that way you could enjoy the murders and think they were funny as opposed to, oh my God, people are being killed. But better when a man was chosen because indeed victim number three is Henry, who believes the time spent is better with a man. Only another man knows what you need When a man has fallen down upon his knees. Well, anyway, this is Pride month, so I thought that was the AP song to choose from this Tony winner of 2014.

[James Marino]

All right, so Peter, you also have something coming up with your good friend Eric Krebs called for the public Good. Tell us about it.

[Peter Felicia]

Well, some time ago Eric said to me, I think there should be a play about gun control. What's happening with guns in this country is really unfortunate. So I went with it and I've created a one person play about a kid who is very obsessed with guns. Nikita Burstein will be playing the part. And this is going to be on Wednesday night at 7 o' clock and a Thursday matinee. You know, so many times tourists come to town and they're always looking for something to do and they'll go to a matinee whenever they can fit one in. Well, if that's the case, Thursday at 2 o' clock, Wednesdays at 7 o' clock, and it's at the tank, which is at 312 W. 36th St. And 20 bucks will get you in and I hope you come. It's. I will say this is not like anything I've ever written before. This is a tough show. It's like the famous thing you hear about an accident. You can't look at it and you can't look away. And I've seen Nikita do it in workshops and he's terrific. And I dare say it's tough thing to sit through, but ultimately I think that you'll find it rewarding. Famous last words. We shall see what we shall see on Wednesday and Thursday. So. But be prepared for a gut wrenching experience.

[James Marino]

Peter, did you not just host the Theater World Awards?

[Peter Felicia]

I did. Yes, indeed.

[James Marino]

Did you not attend the Drama Desk.

[Peter Felicia]

Awards not only, but also. Yes, indeed, but also.

[James Marino]

And did you not just finish up your annotation of the season?

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah, I did. Yeah. I'll tell you what happened. I wanted to have this done and auction it for the Theater World Awards and get some money for it. What I've done is on each and every page of the William Goldman book, the season, about the 1967, 68 season, I am putting notations in the margin in different colored flare pens of what has changed, what has not changed, little observations here and there. So I, I did it on the book that I originally had back from 1969 when the book came out, and I did finish that. But you know, I have to say that book is in such bad shape because I've read it so many, so many, so many, so many times that I got another copy of it and started all over again. And that's why I was delayed because I meticulously did new notations in the other book and it was better because so many times I had things that I had said and I had to fit in quickly and it didn't look good. So. So I do believe now I have something that's really quite good. And in the near future I am going to put it online for auction and raise money for next year's Theater World Awards, which will be here before we know it.

[Michael Portantier]

I think James's point in noting all that stuff that you're involved in is that you're really a slacker, Peter, and you really have to, you really have to get going.

[Peter Felicia]

I do. Especially in the last couple of nights I was at Union, New Jersey for a brand new theater doing this show called Broadway Tunes and Tales in which.

[Michael Portantier]

Oh, with Michael Levine, right?

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah, right, right, indeed. And Nahal Joshi, Aaron Davy and Asia Bell Arrows performed songs that commented on the stories I was telling. So we did that opening a new theater in Union, New Jersey, which is very pretty. And so that was good too. And, and next week I'll be flying to Fort Lauderdale to see my play, Shylock vs. Antonio, which will be a reading down there in, in Fort Lauderdale with the Actor Shakespeare Company. So you're right, you know, and you know, I'll tell you this, doing those two shows on Friday and Saturday night, I really started understanding why actors say doing eight a week is so terrible because I only did two and boy, did I sleep well these last two nights.

[James Marino]

And you also slipped in there under the radar last week that you have your next book that you're already working on. So I'm thinking that Lin Manuel Miranda might have written nonstop about you.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah, right.

[James Marino]

Also with this is Michael Portantier. Michael is a theater reviewer and essayist. He's the founder and editor of castalbumreviews.com he is also a theatrical photographer whose photos have appeared in the New York Times and other major publications. You could see his photography [e-mail] hello, Michael. Hi Michael. I have a question for you.

[Michael Portantier]

Yes.

[James Marino]

Not only are you running castalbmreviews.com and follow spot photo, but were you not at the Drama Desk the other night and have a photo feature in talking at Talking Broadway?

[Michael Portantier]

Indeed I do. Yes.

[James Marino]

So I am going to include the Talk and Broadway photo feature in the show notes, some great photos of the evening, the Drama desk awards, the 69th, which was just about a week ago on Monday.

[Michael Portantier]

And yeah, we posted, yeah, we posted it on Talking Broadway. They were nice enough to post it. I, I don't do as much photography as I used to, but I thought it would be, it sounded like it's going to be a really great event with pretty starry gathering, you know. And so, and I also, I mean used to use my big oh, you know, camera with, you know, a real camera. But, but I mean honestly the quality of, of, of resolution etc on, on current cell phone cameras is so ridiculously high that I just, I, I figured I'd go with that and it's a lot easier to, you know, to manipulate. So, so I, I think I got some really good photos of the beautiful Jasmine Amy Rogers and the be and the beautiful Jonathan Groff and George Wolf and Jeremy Jordan and Gabriel Ebert and Michael Arden and lots of other people. And as sometimes happens, the best photo of all. I think I almost missed it and was almost a mistake because I saw Andrew Scott coming in at the very last moment, at the very last moment right before the lights went down. And so I followed him into the theater and I caught him at the top of the aisle as he was headed down to his seat. And I think that photo turned out really well. It's the first one in the future, so you can, you can tell me.

[James Marino]

All right, so some housekeeping here. Jan Simpson's most recent episode of all the drama is on the 1956 Witness winner for the Pulitzer Prize for drama, the Diary of Anne Frank. And I think that that needs to have a Broadway revival, don't you think? So?

[Peter Felicia]

I like the original better than Wendy Kesselman's.

[Michael Portantier]

Me, Me too.

[James Marino]

Really interesting.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah. I, I also, there's an enormously long story which I'm not going to tell about the gestation of that property, but I really urge people about it. Meyer Levin. That's all I'm saying. Google Meyer Levin and the Diary of Anne Frank and you will come up with a fascinating story.

[James Marino]

Yeah, well, in fact, Jan Simpson talks about that in this episode of all the drama. So all the drama is out this week already for patreon [e-mail] that's P A T R E O N dot com broadwayradio and you can get it early there and support all of Broadway radio shows. Also, something new on Patreon is that you can buy just the episode and not subscribe to us for everything. So check that out there. It'll be out to the general public next week. So Jan Simpson's all the drama, the Diary of Anne Frank is now available for Patreon listeners as we speak. The Tony Award rehearsals are going on at Radio City Musical we, you know, talked about last week, our predictions. I'm going to give Michael and Peter the opportunity to amend or revise their remarks. Has anything changed in the last week that you think maybe it might go this way or that way or I rethought it. Anything, or you sticking with what you said?

[Peter Felicia]

I'm holding, Pat.

[James Marino]

Okay. Michael, how about you?

[Michael Portantier]

Well, you know, it's interesting when that happens, when people change, when people do have second thoughts, because it's all based on just who you happen to be talking to. Right?

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah, that's right.

[Michael Portantier]

And, and yes, there has been talk about that some people feel that the Patti LuPone incident will give an extra edge to Audra McDonald, even though I've heard that.

[Peter Felicia]

Yes.

[Michael Portantier]

Even though, as far as I'm concerned, she was a very minor player in that whole unfortunate situation. So. Yeah. But then I am, I am also hearing more, some more people say that they think it's going to be Jasmine, Amy Rogers. And also I have been hearing more people saying that they think Jonathan Groff is going to get his second Tony Award in A row.

[James Marino]

Yeah, I have heard those things as well. And I agree with those things. I think Jasmine is going to come from out of nowhere and take it all home.

[Peter Felicia]

And I may be wrong about this, but I will say this. I have a feeling that Audra McDonald will be very happy to see Jasmine A B Rogers win. Certainly, as she has said so many times, I have enough, Tony. But also they shared the Drama Desk Award last Sunday and that was really quite nice. And a lot of people were surprised because if you thought there would be a tie, you might have thought Nicole Scherzinger would be one of those people who was tying. So that had to be a very close race.

[Michael Portantier]

Yeah, thank you for mentioning that, Peter, because that was kind of amazing. And, and also if you thought there, if you thought. Well, there was. Wait a minute now, was that, Were there two or three winners in that category?

[James Marino]

Three winners? No, I thought, which two?

[Michael Portantier]

All right. But there was one category with three winners which would have meant a tie. But otherwise it wasn't a tie. It was that there were two winners in each of the acting categories. The two that got the two highest.

[Peter Felicia]

Oh, that's right. You're right. Absolutely. Yeah, that's right. That's what they do now. Right? Yeah, my mistake.

[Michael Portantier]

But, but, but you would have thought, or you might have thought that one of the winners would be a man because they're also gender blind categories.

[Peter Felicia]

That's right.

[Michael Portantier]

But no, there were two women who won that, that award and then there was two men or two or three men who, who won in another category. So I'm sorry, I don't have the list in front of me.

[James Marino]

I just put, I put the list in the chat, Michael. It was outstanding fe performance in a musical, three way tie. Brookish Manschkish, MASH and Jake Malone for Operation Mincemeat. And Michael Urie for Once Upon a Mattress.

[Michael Portantier]

Right.

[Peter Felicia]

Now here's what just occurred to me about Brooks, which is, I think, really ironic. In the prom, certainly the Beth Leavel character was very proud of her two Tonys. And the thing was that she lorded it over Brooks that indeed he had only won a Drama Desk Award and here he was winning a Drama Desk Award. That only occurred to me yesterday.

[Michael Portantier]

That is great.

[James Marino]

Yeah. In that previously mentioned Audrey Jasmine category, it was outstanding lead performer in a musical. Tatiana Cordoba, Darren Criss, Sutton Foster, Tom Francis, Jonathan Groff, Gray Hanson, Elf. He was great in Elf. Jeremy Jordan, Audra McDonald, Jasmine, Amy Rogers, Nicole Scherzinger, Helen J. Shen and Jennifer Schmaard.

[Michael Portantier]

Yes.

[James Marino]

And that was the category where. Yeah. An embarrassment of the riches that yeah.

[Peter Felicia]

They were all worthy. Really.

[James Marino]

Just. Just really wonderful. I'm surprised that Sutton didn't get more recognition this this round because I thought she was great. Once Upon a Mattress.

[Michael Portantier]

I agree.

[Peter Felicia]

This may very well be the situation we're talking about earlier about Jean Smart.

[Michael Portantier]

So we're season.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah, maybe then. Yeah, that's the, the advantage that TV and movie voters have that they could always get the DVDs and look again, you know, but we can't. Not when the show closes.

[Michael Portantier]

By the way, I told Michael Urie at the drama desk that I was really enjoying the cast album of Once Upon a Mattress. Yeah. And he said. Yeah, he said that was my first. And I said, oh, I guess it. That's true.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah, Right. Sure. Huh. Yeah.

[Michael Portantier]

Because he had replaced and in. In how to Succeed and. And a couple other things, I guess. But yeah. So how exciting for him.

[Peter Felicia]

Indeed. You never forget your first cast album.

[James Marino]

If. If you are not sure how to watch the 2025 Tony Awards our friend Adam Feldman has put together a nice little guide on how to watch the awards. How you can get it on CBS and on various different streaming services like Pluto. So I have included that in the show notes. And because I ended up going down the rabbit hole of Adam Feldman, he also had the 35 Best Tony Award performances of all time where divas, divas and dancers stopped the show in our updated list of the best musical Tony Awards performances of all time. That was really fun. These are things that you might be able to play on and look through in your pre Tony Awards pre game warm up. And our friend Waymond Wong. Do you guys know Waymond?

[Peter Felicia]

Sure.

[James Marino]

So Raymond sent over his tone, his 2025 Tony Awards appetizers that I thought I would share with everybody. First up is bagels with the last five shmears. Buena Vista Social Club Sandwich Dead Outlaw Floyd Collards, Justin Time T H Y M E maybe Happy Endive the picture of Durian Gray Real women have hors d' oeuvres and smashed burgers.

[Peter Felicia]

I have to say that Waymond Wong, who often posts on all that chat, is so terrific with puns. He does them so beautifully. And there's rarely a post where indeed in the subject line he doesn't have a pun and they're always delicious and delightful. So. So all that chat is great fun. And by the way, since you mentioned Adam Feldman, I think he is one of the greatest ones to really cater to the Broadway fan. I mean he really knows what The Broadway fan wants and he gives the information that the Broadway fan craves and needs. So he is so good at that and we're very grateful to have him.

[James Marino]

Yeah, I love, love Adam. He is really what really wonderful. So let's get into some reviews for the morning. Peter, you were over at New World Stages where you saw the Red Bill Theater's production of the Imaginary Invalid. So tell us about this.

[Peter Felicia]

Well, of course, this is a new adaptation of a Moliere play. Jeffrey Hatcher, who's done a lot of adaptations and writing in his past, has now taken on this famous Moliere play about a hypochondriac who is, is well off and as a result has a servant. And one of the points that Moliere made time after time after time again is servants were so much smarter than their masters because indeed they have to work in the trenches and they have street smarts while the, the rich people, after all, have everything handed to them and they haven't life experiences. And as a result, many times they're clueless. So Mark Lynn Baker, whom we've known for decades, certainly has aged into the part and is quite, quite funny. Even funnier is Sarah Stiles playing the servant, who indeed is very acerbic and quite won. So I do have some issues with what Jeffrey Haftier has written because I'm not sure we should be hearing songs from Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera interpolated into the show. I was just mentioning puns, which many people feel are the lowest form of humor. I feel the lowest form of humor are anachronisms, and there are plenty of them in here. So I'm not going to respond to it while we're talking about this. Jesse Berger, who directed I had a problem too, too with the way he directed Marklyn Baker's wife, Belen is her name. Emily Swallow plays the part. Because the point is you can tell that she's only interested in him for his money and that's all the reason she married him. Well, she's so obvious that anybody would see through her. And, you know, there, I will admit that there are audiences who like this type of thing who like to say, oh, I'm smarter than the person on stage. That that really is a dynam. That certainly happens, especially in comedy, and it's something I don't relate to. I would like this character to be played as if she may be somebody who's a phony, but I don't want to see it so blatantly that she's a phony, that you really lose respect for the guy not seeing that she's a phony. So that, to me, was the weakest element of the show, along with the anachronisms. Only 80 minutes goes by very, very quickly. And it wonderful to see Marklin Baker as well as Arnie Burton, who plays three parts. And there's a very funny costume late in the show. I'm not going to say any more than that. But the real bottom line is that he is always a terrific performer and he certainly gets all the juice he can out of the characters he plays. So he's a highlight as well. So the chance to get the see, the Imaginary Invalid doesn't grow on trees. So as a result, if you're somebody who wants to know more about Moliere, Joyce Moliere, this is, I would say, a two and a half stars out of four. Evening.

[James Marino]

Okay, so the Imaginary Invalid is playing through June 29th at New World Stage. We'll have a link to that in the show. Notes. Michael, you headed out to Northport on Long island to the the John W. Angman Theater to see a production of South Pacific. Did you feel younger than Springtime when you were out there?

[Michael Portantier]

There? Well, it was a nice day on which I visited. And also Northport, of course, is the home of Patti LuPone.

[James Marino]

Yes.

[Michael Portantier]

Have we heard of that person? Maybe a little more on that later. But anyway, aside from that, aside from being known for that, it is known for this wonderful theater, the John W. Angerman Theater, at which I have seen several shows over the years. And they always do wonderful jobs. Really, really thoroughly professional, even though the company is not all. Not all, never all Equity, but they have a nice mix. I would say all of the leads in this production were Equity. And it's. I wanted to go because it is one of my favorite shows to begin with. And I know that they do such great work. So I thought it would be worth the trip. And it was also directed by Hunter Foster, who really, of course, started as an actor and has become a director of note. He and Michael Arden, I think, are really just very impressive, their trajectory in moving from acting to directing. So hopefully, maybe at some point Hunter will even reach the level of success that Michael now has, because really, everything I've seen that he has directed has been wonderful. And by the way, two days after I saw the show, I ran into Hunter at the gym because we go to the same gym. So I was able to tell him how much I enjoyed it. And I asked, I said, that is your first show out at the Engement, isn't it? And he said, yes, it is. And he said, said how nice they all were and how wonderful they were to work with. So he had, I think, a wonderful experience and so did the audience. I went on a matinee because just in terms of easier to travel out there and back, didn't want to get back really late from Northport. And so it wasn't the most responsive audience, but you could still tell that they loved the show. I mean, it was frankly a very old audience, but. But they really, really loved it. And the leads were fantastic. A woman named Taylor Aronson was just about perfect as Nellie. She had a lovely voice and acting wise, she was superb. And she had a couple of moments. It's so interesting when you know a show like the back of your hand. This one, I. I was in it in high school, I played Billis and God knows how many productions of it I've seen. So I kind of feel like if, God forbid, if the entire text of the musical was lost, I could probably recreate it word for word. So point being, I know it really well. And it's so interesting how someone can say a line that you've heard said so many times and just give it a different spin. And in this case, the first time it happened was when she said in the first scene, Emil asks her why she joined the army and came to the South Pacific. And she says something like, well, I wanted to see new people and see what they were like and see if I like them. And I'm finding out. And just something about the way she said and I'm finding out was so fresh. And so, you know, it communicated how she was falling in love with him. And then it led to a little awkward moment where he said, would you like some cognac? And she said, I'd love some. And they went into the twin soliloquies. So that was just a little moment in her wonderful, wonderful performance that really helped. And she's also a very beautiful woman, which doesn't hurt. Mike McGowan is interesting because I've seen him not too long ago as a young leading man, a type, but now he's very gracefully aging into an older leading man type. He's got white hair now, I don't know if it's dyed or actual, but anyway. And he was not 100% perfect casting, I would say, because he. There's something very American about him, even though he did quite a. A. A good French accent. And also he is basically a 10 more of a tenor than a baritone. And in fact they, I noticed that they. I know the show well enough that I could tell that they took up the keys of his solos, namely Some Enchanted Evening and this nearly was mine. But, you know, they didn't take them way up and they, they just were more suited to his voice where they move them. So he was wonderful also. And this incredible guy, Alec Nevin as Cable. I don't know how they found him, but you could not cast someone more perfectly in terms of looks and voice and acting and type. And I do think that because of the subject matter and the setting and the theme that it's very, very, very important to cast South Pacific traditionally along racial lines. Otherwise the story just to me does not make any sense at all. So that was wonderful. And on that note, Carol Angeli, or Angeli as Bloody Mary, was, was absolutely fantastic. Younger and more attractive than I think any other Bloody Mary I've seen. Which, that's not traditional because I think she is supposed to be more of a, you know, more of a. An older character type. But she sang it so beautifully and acted it so great that I wouldn't, I wouldn't say anything against her. Really beautiful, exceptionally beautiful. Sets by Kyle Dixon, costumes by Dustin Cross and lighting design by John Burkand. Excuse me. B U R K A N D the one, I would say, disappointment that I sometimes have at the Engelmann is they don't have large orchestras, but I think it's really due to the fact that they simply don't have the space. The orchestras are backstage somewhere and I guess in the wings. I don't know where exactly, but I don't think they literally have room for more, even if they had the money for it. And South Pacific is a show that benefits from a larger orchestra. But that said, they did a great job with what they had. Music director Alec Bart and I guess that's pretty much what I have to say about South Pacific. But really if you, you can get to the Engemen, it's not hard. Well, you, you take the train to Northport and then you do have to take a cab. It's not walkable from there, but it's about a 10 minute ride. And in the days of Uber and Lyft, you know, that's not a hard, hard thing to arrange. Their next show, the last show of this season is the Wedding. No, I'm sorry, that's next year they're doing Footloose coming up, but next year they've got Come From Away A Christmas Carol, Ring of Fire, the Bodyguard, Camelot and the Wedding Singer. I'm definitely going to be there for some of those, especially the Wedding Singer, because that's one of my favorite shows that I think didn't get its full due on Broadway, so. Yeah. And boy, it seems like lots and lots and lots and lots of people are doing camels lot. Yeah, right.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah.

[Michael Portantier]

Yeah. Anyway, check out the Angerman. Really, really great work.

[James Marino]

Michael. Peter, do you remember. I guess it was in the late 90s, early 2000s, it seemed like there was a trend of doing cast recordings in Europe where. With really large Eastern European orchestras. Michael, do you remember that?

[Michael Portantier]

Well, I know. Did you feel like there were several. I know, of course there's the JTER recordings that are done in London, but that's not you're referring to.

[James Marino]

No, that's. No, no, no. I sort of felt like there was a trend of, you know, Eastern European orchestras that were inexpensive and able to do cast recordings less expensive than it were to do them here. I wonder with technology today if you can hire a remote orchestra, because if they're in another room versus being over the Internet, does it really matter?

[Michael Portantier]

Well, as we know, currently orchestras at certain theaters are sometimes in. Literally in another room. Or at least part of them are. Part of them are especially.

[James Marino]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Peter Felicia]

But I know what you're talking about. I believe the first one to use an orchestra in Europe, in a town, something. I bet Michael knows this. A name like Bratislav, something like that. Any way the Grass Harp did that, they could not afford to hire an orchestra here in America and they. They went overseas and had the musicians play it there and then they brought the tracks back and the people sang to it. So. And that's 1971. So that was the first one to do that. But a lot of people have followed suit. But Also in the 90s, there were plenty of those symphonic recordings as well that a lot of people like more than original cast albums. I'm not one, but nevertheless, a lot of do. So there's that as well.

[Michael Portantier]

So, James, you were. Yeah, I guess you were referring to. These would always be cast albums that were made after the fact. Right. Not shows that we're currently running.

[James Marino]

No, I don't think. Not for. Not for like a Broadway cast recording. No, not for that. But for pre Broadway concept albums, things like that.

[Michael Portantier]

And I think maybe that maybe one or two things that Frank Wilde Horn.

[James Marino]

Did fall into the category that you make sense. Yeah, yeah, sure.

[Michael Portantier]

Yeah.

[James Marino]

All right. So South Pacific at the Engman in North Port is running through June 29th. We'll have a link to that in the show.

[Michael Portantier]

Notes.

[James Marino]

Peter, you were over at the Vineyard Theater to see a production of bowl ep, which is produced by Vineyard and the National Black Theater in association with the new group. Three well known theater organizations teaming up together to put on a production, which is great. So tell us about this.

[Peter Felicia]

Well, it is no surprise to me that it took three groups to put this on because if you know the Vineyard Theater, which has about 12 rows of seats with stadium seating, a very nice theater to see. It doesn't look at all like the Vineyard, you know, and love. The seating is completely different now. It is definitely arena style where a of lot around the stage and there is no stage per se. That sounds odd, doesn't it? But there's a swimming pool that they've built. A swimming pool. However, there's not a drop of water in the swimming pool. So why is it there? Because indeed the two actors in the show who are the stars do skateboarding here. They swerve up and down and up and down, across and all the way. And that's a lot of the show. So that's the bowl in Bowling ep. And what we hear is two black men who are attracted to each other, but they're, you know, after all, it's hard for black men who are supposed to be the president of the United States of Love, as the lyric and hair goes, to admit to being gay. And so there's a lot of yes, I will, no I won't. What are you doing? Yes, this is good. No, it's bad. A lot of that going on. So in the middle of the show, out comes a woman who gives what has to be a 5 to 10 minute speech dealing with sexual matters. Masturbation comes up a lot in the speech. Frankly, I don't know if Nazareth Hassan, who wrote and directed the play, had to tell us beyond the fact that I guess we all have some sort of sexuality and most of us have the propensity to color outside the lines when it comes to sexual. I think that's what it means. He did a talk back, which I didn't stay for, called Queer Love and Crisis. So that's what he's getting at. But frankly, I found the show very confusing. And if somebody told me at the end of the show what this play was really getting to is that every human being has a desire to be lieutenant governor of Indiana, I would have said, okay, yeah, I guess that's what it was about. So I was pretty Flummoxed most of the way, so. And what can I say it? There's a little bit of music by a group called Free Fool. I'll make no more statement than that. But anyway, it's amazing to see how much money must have been spent to bring a swimming pool into a theater.

[Michael Portantier]

Well, while it's there, they should just do a revival of wish you were here.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah, that's going to be my calling for masterworks Broadway next week, believe me.

[James Marino]

The Frogs. The Frogs.

[Peter Felicia]

The Frogs too.

[Michael Portantier]

Sure, the Frogs.

[Peter Felicia]

That's more likely.

[Michael Portantier]

Yeah, yeah, do them all.

[James Marino]

You know the, the original Sunset Boulevard.

[Peter Felicia]

Right? That's right. Yeah.

[James Marino]

Really? You know Edgar Doby with building a swimming pool on the, on the stage there. All right, so that is Bowl EP at the Vineyard. It's playing through June 22nd's been extended, so I'll have a link to that in the show notes. My Michael, you were over at the Laurie Beechman Theater to see Matt Doyle say goodbye to New York for just right now. So tell us about this.

[Michael Portantier]

Matt had done the show there before and then he added some performances or at least one performance because it was so successful and I'm glad that he did because I couldn't make the others. So I really enjoyed seeing it. I've been a fan of Matt for a long. The first time I really became a big fan of him was when I saw him play Tony in West side Story at Paper Mill. Because I was aware of him before that, but I had no idea until then how beautiful his voice is. It really is gorgeous and very wide ranging and I think one of the best of the, you know, younger leading man type voices that we have at the moment. Ironically, you. Yeah, you wouldn't know that or you couldn't necessarily tell that from his Tony winning performance in Company because the, the, the brilliant performance that won him that Tony was the song getting married today, which is a very, very fast, very, very, very, very fast pattern number that doesn't require, you know, any, any special gifts as far as sustaining notes and sounding beautiful. You know, I mean, you wouldn't want. So he. But I was happy for that reason that I got to see him in west side Story and his show at the Beachman was charming. He spoke a lot about his career, but in a very entertaining way. Not a, not a, you know. And then I did this way. He mentioned, very classy. He mentioned in passing one of his co stars, of course in company was Patti LuPone, but all he said about her was Patti has had a bad week and then he kind of moved on to something else. So he, he did reprise Getting Married Today, which was fantastic. He sang a little of Left behind because he was in Spring Awakening and he was. Now I forget if he was an understudy and or took over the role of Melchior. But at any rate, he did go on in the role and he mentioned, by the way, in that regard that he made it sound like he wasn't very close with Lea Michele. But she did give him a compliment one night and she said you're Left behind was really pretty. Pretty. So. And he took that as a great compliment. So he sang that incredibly beautiful, very sad song at the Beachman. And I was happy to hear him do that because I did not ever get to hear him do that. I heard Jonathan Groff, who was the actual Melchior. Matt. It was a very honest show. He mentioned his breakup with Max Clayton. He mentioned also that. I guess this is common knowledge. I'm not sure I realized Matt mention he's bipolar and has had issues with that. But he seems to be doing very well now and it was a really great night. Oh, no mention of Bye Bye Birdie, which was not, you know. Sure. Well, I mean, it was certainly wasn't his fault. He was Hugo in that misbegotten production and he was fine, but it did not go well. So I can understand why he didn't even mention and didn't sing anything from it because Hugo doesn't really sing anything in that anyway. I think they gave him a little bit to sing when they, when they revised the show. So, yeah, he really did a great job. And now he's headed off somewhere very exotic to do the Great Gatsby. I forget where. I don't remember. Maybe Singapore, maybe. Some. Some are very exotic. And I, I am not a fan of that show, but I could see him certainly in that role.

[Peter Felicia]

Yes.

[Michael Portantier]

Especially vocally. So if you're, if you are, wherever he happens to be doing that, you might want to catch it. I think that would be a great idea.

[James Marino]

All right, so that was Matt Doyle Bon Voyage on the Beecher and Whips site. It has a live stream possibility.

[Michael Portantier]

Ah, so you maybe can still see it.

[James Marino]

Maybe you can still see it. It. It's unclear here. There is a link to the live stream, but I don't know if that's his last show.

[Michael Portantier]

I. I think was this past Friday.

[James Marino]

Yeah, it looks like Friday, June 6th at 9:30.

[Michael Portantier]

Yeah.

[James Marino]

So. All right, so next up, Peter was at the Flee to see Chiaroscuro A light and dark skinned comedy. So tell us about this.

[Peter Felicia]

A very, very talented cast of seven people. I don't know who was who, but because they all play so many roles, it seems at the beginning that this is a series of blackout sketches. Though there's never a blackout about falling in love, the difficulties of being in love, the difficulties of breaking up, whether you should stay with the person, whether you should not stay with the person, it's all that type of thing going on. But then there's a scene involving people being on a ship and not being sure if they're alive or dead, which of course has been done many times in the past. Outward Bound I think is a play that does that. I may be wrong about that, but I think that's the name of the show. But then it gets really interesting when they talk about Othello because indeed the issue Othello is the fact that Desdemona says to Othello, if I were black, would you have loved me? And that's a very good question. So was it the fact that they bring up the fact that is, did Othello want a white woman to prove that he could get one? Was he genuinely attracted to her? Opposites do attract and of course even though opposites do attract, that doesn't mean they'll stay attracted. And we all know what happens to Desdemona in that play. But that's what really made the play extraordinarily interesting to me and I was very, very pleased to see it. It's at a very strange space ethically and it's done with cockpit type of seating. We're on each side of the stage, think of a basketball game, that type of seating. But I really was very impressed with Ashisha Rahman did with the writing and I thought that Abigail Jean Baptiste did a wonderful job of directing as well. Whenever you see a cast that's exemplary and this cast is know that the director had a lot to do with it and that was good. So, so what's, what's also interesting is the fact that there's a lot about light skinned people being automatically pretty while dark skinned men are not considered as alluring. That's a point that this play really wants to make. So, so I, I was very, very much involved with it and the fact that there was, it just kept on going. That again, Abigail Gianptiste did a splendid job in keeping that motor running and accelerating. And it's wonderful when you see a play that grabs you at the beginning but never lets you go and keeps going, keeps going. And it accelerates so well. So a mile a minute. No, well beyond the speed limit. And move. It was very good lad to take.

[Michael Portantier]

I have not seen this play, but your description certainly makes it sound interesting. And it also sounds like it has a great title for the subject matter because chiaroscuro means a technique in art and other visual media where the contrasting areas of light and dark are used to create a sense of depth, volume and drama. So.

[Peter Felicia]

I love when Michael does Italian. It's one of my favorite things. He's so good at it.

[Michael Portantier]

Thank you.

[James Marino]

All right, so Chiaroscuro is playing through June 22nd at the Flea. We'll have a link to that in the show. Notes, a few quick hits in the news. There's that, I guess Rob Johnson stood on Broadway at Times Square and said Beetlejuice three times in itself. Return October 8th. October 8th for a limited 13 week engagement. It is seems to be the final stop right now of the North American tour of Beetlejuice. So I asked the question, if it's basically the same Broadway production and it comes back, is it in the revival category or is there not eligible or what do you guys think?

[Peter Felicia]

Usually it's considered return engagement and only the people who are in it are essentially eligible as well. The director and choreographer could be if there's major differences, but that's what's taken into consideration. Anything else?

[Michael Portantier]

You know, the Mamma Mia. That's coming to Broadway is also a.

[Peter Felicia]

Tour and why not? You know, really? I mean, there are people who want to see these shows and so they.

[James Marino]

Should be stopped.

[Michael Portantier]

In that case. No, no, no, we're kidding. We kid.

[James Marino]

We kid because we love.

[Peter Felicia]

That's right. That's right.

[James Marino]

So, Michael are one of my favorite.

[Michael Portantier]

My reunion, my. Well, yes, I'm sorry, go on.

[James Marino]

No, no, I was going to talk about the Paramount Theater, but tell us about your 50th reunion.

[Michael Portantier]

Oh, yeah, last night was my 50th high school reunion. Monsignor Farrell High School on Staten Island. And it was really fun, you know, lots of emotion, as you can imagine. But something kind of amazing happened to me. I was not aware really of just about anyone else in the class who was especially into theater. But it turns out there's this fellow named Charlie Tarzian who I, you know, I knew vaguely then. We were friendly, we were close and we've stayed in touch just in terms of being Facebook friends and things like that over the years. But I, I really didn't know him very well. And we were talking and I said you know, so what have you done over the past 50 years? One of those kind of questions. And he said, well, he goes, oh, you know, I did this and I did that. And he said, for a while, he said, I worked at the Public Theater with Joe Papp. I said, what? He said, yeah, I was reading scripts for Joe Papp. I was like, you were reading scripts for Joe Papp? He said, yeah. And he said, I worked with Des Mackinaff at a show there. You worked with Des Mackinac? Yeah, and the Maboo Minds, the Map of Minds. And then he dropped. I think he got the show wrong. But he said he was a production assistant. I. He didn't. He said Guys and Dolls. But I think I looked it up and it was Anything Goes. I think a production assistant, a production of Anything Goes that starts Sid Caesar and Ginger Rogers.

[Peter Felicia]

Wow.

[Michael Portantier]

Where was it? I looked it up and it said, sid Caesar and Ginger Rogers collaborated in a touring production of Anything Goes in nineteen nineteen eighty. They start together in a production that toured different locations, including the Connecticut center for the Performing Arts. And the production was also performed at the Valley Forge Music Fair near Philadelphia. So he said. I said, well, how was it? He said, well, Sid was kind of maybe like losing it a little bit. But he was very nice. He said, and Ginger Rogers was extremely difficult.

[Peter Felicia]

Oh, yeah.

[Michael Portantier]

Which I'd heard from several people. But it was just so funny the way he casually mentioned reading scripts for Joe Papp. That's nice to have that on your resume.

[Peter Felicia]

And I've had a similar experience. I was a high school teacher for a number of years, and the first year I taught freshman, the second year sophomore, the third year juniors. So I had a lot of the same kids over and over. So I always go to their reunions. And they had their 50th reunion two years ago, and I had the same experience. Michael. Suddenly there's Mary Rogers, who was in my home room, and I didn't know anything about her. And my, What a theater goer. She goes just so many shows in so many places. I mean, she's. She still lives in New England, but she goes around Gonkwood.

[Michael Portantier]

Oh, so obviously not the Mary Rogers.

[Peter Felicia]

Indeed. Right spelled like Mary Rogers in Will Rogers Follies, in fact. So. So we've become very good friends. And it's delightful that she comes to town so often and see shows and really is dedicated to it. So it's. Yeah. So I. I urge everybody to go to reunions. People say, well, I don't want to see those people again. What's so wonderful? The enemies you made in high school. Suddenly it's all faded away and everybody gets along wonderfully.

[Michael Portantier]

Yes.

[Peter Felicia]

So.

[Michael Portantier]

And James, I'm sorry I cut you off. Yeah, Just something I noticed recently because I, I didn't attend the Theater World Awards, but I, you know, I knew that they were at the Hard Rock Cafe and I know that that's the formest site of the Paramount Theater. What was called the Paramount Theater in the, well, years and decades ago. The most famous as the site of Frank Sinatra's concerts where he would have the Bobby Soxers, you know, screaming their heads off, I think one of whom was my mother, by the way.

[Peter Felicia]

Is that right?

[Michael Portantier]

Yes. So I forget when that theater was torn down. It was many years ago. But then I recalled that briefly the, the theater at Madison Square Garden was called the Paramount and they tried to make a big thing of that. I remember, I seem to remember, like a huge ad in the Times, like starting to trying to brand it as the Paramount Theater, but it didn't work. And so I'm pretty sure they now just call it the Theater at Madison Square Garden. But then the other day I was walking along Times Square and I passed 1515 Broadway, which is just a BL up from 1501 Broadway, where the Paramount used to be. And I noticed that what used to be called the Viacom Building is now called the Paramount Building. So that word, you know, it really gets bandied about and it's, it's a little confusing, but. But that's where it is now.

[James Marino]

Well, the Viacom Corporation rebranded themselves as Paramount through some sort of merger. So I'd imagine that's how the building name came to be. But you know how people talk about, oh, you know, Madison Square Garden has been in five different places in New York City and Station has been in a bunch of different places. The Hard Rock Cafe has been in like five different places in Manhattan.

[Michael Portantier]

That's right, yeah.

[James Marino]

Used to be on 57th Street. Used to be on like 55th street, you know, has been all over the place, so. Boy.

[Michael Portantier]

And one more theater related thing, the Palace Theater, I've gone on recently about how ridiculous I think it was that they spent all that time and effort and money to raise it up. But I had to mention someone posted online, this is so well written and it expresses what I feel it says, of course, this bizarre, expensive lifting of the palace up in the air was done by the money grubbing Nederlanders so there could be ground floor retail space for more crappy stores for tourists. I can't imagine how much more it costs to load a show into the palace now that it's all up in the air. I never thought of that.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah, I didn't either.

[Michael Portantier]

The same Nederlanders who sold the beautiful Mark Hellinger to the Times Square Church out of spite, they didn't want it anymore, but also didn't want to sell it to a rival theater owner. So on that note, recently there's been talk of Andrew Lloyd Webber perhaps buying it. Yeah, wouldn't that be something if in our lifetimes, guys, if we get to see the Mark Hellinger back as a legit theater.

[Peter Felicia]

Yeah, the sooner the better.

[James Marino]

All right, so that wraps it up for this week. Before we get on to our brain teaser, our musical moment, I want to remind everybody that you can subscribe to the these broadcasts by going to the front page of 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 download to Apple Podcasts as well. Of course, you don't have to listen to us in Apple Podcasts. There's many ways to get us. One way is Patreon P A t r e o-n.com Broadwayradio is some way that you can support Broadway radio's offerings as well as get us a little bit earlier than everybody else, including Jan Simpson's older. All the drama contact information for Peter from Michael and me can be found in the show [e-mail] as well as links to some of the things we've talked about today. And it is Tony Sunday and immediately following the Tony Awards. 11:15, 11:30 tonight, Matt Tamonini is going to put a recap show together so that you know, if you are somebody who is headed to bed and you're going to catch it through morning, you can listen to Matt's recap show, which will probably come out like midnight or so, but you'll be first in your feed on Monday morning. So, Peter, do you have an answer to last week's brain teaser?

[Peter Felicia]

This was a tough one. They're the first words of a song heard in a Tony winning musical of the 70s. The words also constitute the full title of a Sondheim musical. Understand that the name of the Sondheim musical is not the title of the song from the Tony winning, winning musical, but only its first words. Okay, what I was going for was in Ain't Misbehavin, there's a medley at the end and that's what's so sneaky about this question. And the medley includes the song two sleepy people, which begins with the words here we are. And of course, that was the final Sondheim show. Tony Janicky was back in first place, followed by Sean Logan, Mike Meaney, Fred Abramowitz, Ingrid Gammerman, Brigad, and Lee Korn. So this weeks, an expression often written on a postcard became the title of a play. When that play was made into a musical, the sentence that offered and followed that expression on a postcard became the show's title. What's the play? What's the musical? I know it, but I know you do. I know you do. I know you do.

[James Marino]

I think was a Pink Floyd album.

[Peter Felicia]

That's right.

[Michael Portantier]

All right.

[James Marino]

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

[Michael Portantier]

Well, if you go to YouTube, you will find a wonderful little teaser trailer for the production of South Pacific at the Engelman Theater. And it's not very long, but I think it'll give you a really good idea of the quality of the cast as well as the sets and costumes and and lighting. So our opener and our closer feature audio clips of that teaser trailer. And we're also including a link to the actual trailer in the show notes so you can watch it. I think you'll understand just from seeing it, seeing that, why I had such a good time and why I recommend the show so highly.

[James Marino]

All right, so on behalf of Michael Portantier and Peter Felicia, this is James Marino saying thanks so much for listening you Broadway radios this week on Broadway. Bye.

[Michael Portantier]

Bye. Some enchanting evening. You may see a stranger you may see a stranger across a crowded room? Gonna wash that fan right out of my face? I'm gonna watch that fan right out of my head? Gonna wash that man right out of my hair and send him on his way.

[Peter Felicia]

Never.

[Michael Portantier]

Let her go.

[D]

When the Moore family ditched cable Internet and switched to ziggly fiber, they got so much more. Mr. Moore got more upload speed, next level gaming and live streaming to the masses with reliable service. Mrs. Moore is no longer her family's IT guru, leaving her more time to stream games into overtime.

[Michael Portantier]

Let's go.

[D]

And young Mason Moore got more done quickly uploading HD product demos and video conferencing without freezing.

[Peter Felicia]

The numbers look good.

[D]

Brad, you're on mute switch from cable Internet to Ziply Fiverr and get more of what you love for $65 less per month than cable@ziply fiverr.com.