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- [00:59]
A
To Broadway Radio's the this Week on Broadway for Sunday, March 15, 2026. Ooh, the Ides of March. My name is James Marino, and in the broadcast today, we have Peter, Felicia and Michael Portantier. Peter is a playwright, journalist, and historian with a number of books. Peter's new Day by Day Desk Calendar, a show tune for today, 366 songs to bright New Year, is available at finer retailers. Peter also has columns at Masterworks, Broadway, Broadway select, and many other places. Hello, Peter.
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B
Hi.
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A
Hello. So, Peter, I was shocked when I got to March 15th on my calendar, and it had nothing to do with the Ides of March.
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B
Well, remember, the whole point of this calendar is songs to brighten your ear. So I didn't want to do anything. So, of course, there will be some people who think that the song I chose will not brighten their year because it will remind them of their marriages. But nevertheless, it's a married man from Baker Street. Now, why today? Because in 1964, this was the day that Richard Burton married Elizabeth Taylor for the first time, not the last. They would get married again after a divorce and then get divorced again. So as a result, why does this have anything to do with Baker street and a married man? Well, Burton had recently finished portraying Hamlet on Broadway for producer Alexander H. Cohen, who would soon be producing Baker street, which is a musical version of Sherlock Holmes stories. Now, if you're having a hard time picturing Sherlock Holmes singing and about marriage, yet, no, Dr. Watson actually sang the song as a tribute to his wife. So Cohen was smart to ask Burton to record the song from the show. I mean, what could be more timely or ironic than the world's most famous newlywed singing about the joys of marriage with the world's greatest movie star? So it actually became a 45 record, a single, and it was. He basically talks his way through it, more so than he does in Camelot. It's much more talking than singing. But when the CD came out, they did offer it as a bonus track. So if you get the CD of Baker street and there are some good numbers in Baker street, you will also hear him singing it at the end.
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A
Okay. Also with us is Michael Portentier. Michael has been a theater journalist for more than 50 years. He's the founder and editor of CastAlbumReviews.com and a theatrical photographer whose photos have appeared in the New York Times and other publications. He writes reviews of cabaret shows for NightLifeExchange.com and additionally, Michael is known as a producer and director of shows at 54 below the Lori Beachman Theater and other venues. Hello, Michael.
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C
Hello.
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A
And Michael, in your, in your producing, directing line of work, you have an evening with Charles Bush coming up on Tuesday, March 31 at the Lori Beachman. Link is in the show notes. But tell us, how are we preparing for this?
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C
Well, first of all, let me say it's just been confirmed that the evening will be live streamed. So for those who can't make it in person and live stream, the tickets are only 15. I think it's going to be a really minimum.
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A
You can have that in effect at
- [04:30]
C
your home if you like and you can tip accordingly. But yeah, as I mentioned, Charles seems very much into it, but he's helped gathering the clips and he is going to sing two songs, I think with Jonah Minelli at the piano. He hasn't told me what he's singing, but I may let it be a surprise to me as well. And Julie Halston has said she will be on hand. So I think it's gonna be really special. Like Charles has such an amazing career and really, really very visionary and very, you know, instrumental in, you know, in theater, off Broadway theater at a certain point in history. And then, you know, then I think it's so wonderful that he had a mainstream success on Broadway with his play the Taylor the Allergist Wife. So really fascinating. Amazing career.
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B
Thoroughly agree.
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A
Charles Bush and Julie Halston. Couldn't you get anybody funny?
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B
Yeah, this should be hilarious.
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C
Well, I should. Yeah, she's going to be in the audience, but I'm sure she'll. Yeah, she'll participate in some way or another.
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A
She makes the, she makes any room she enters. Cheerier, you bet. Is cheerier a word? Cheerier. Okay.
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C
On the exterior, it's cheerier.
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A
All right, quickly, some Broadway radio information. All the drama, Jan Simpson's series on the Pulitzer Prize winners for drama that have won, she talks with David Auburn of Proof, the playwright of Proof. And that was out two weeks ago for our Patreon supporters, now available to the general public. So you can pick it up in yesterday's Broadway radio feed that's available to everybody. Little update on our little problem with Patreon. They still haven't responded to our requests for help on these things. I am still hounding them about it as much as I can. They don't have a phone number. They only have an email address and I've been emailing them. We have no update. I am going to look for ending Patreon and looking for another platform for us to Go on to support us, because this is the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back for Patreon. So more information about that. I don't have any information about that, but if you are a Patreon supporter and you're not getting shows, please email me and I will get you the show somehow so that you are not missing anything. All right, so Michael and Peter were over at the Hudson Theater, where they both saw every brilliant thing. So, Peter, why don't you get us started on this?
- [07:37]
B
Well, Daniel Radcliffe is magnificent beyond belief. Anybody who would play this part would have to be magnificent beyond belief. And many people have played this part. It's amazing to me that it gets done so often because it is not an easy show to do, to say the least. Okay, what makes it hard? First off, before the show starts, if you want to meet Daniel Radcliffe, you'll have an excellent chance to do it, because he's going to come into the audience, and he's going to give you instructions on what to say at certain points. You will have a number assigned to you, anywhere from one to, like, a hundred thousand. And when he calls out your number, 682, you have to speak and say what, indeed is on the piece of paper that you were given. What. What is all this? Well, the thing is, it is about a character who does realize early on that there are many things in life that are worth living for, which is something that seems to be escaping his mother. His mother is in desperate need of some help because she's prone to suicide. And we'll see how that plays out as the play goes on. It's about 75 minutes long. And the thing is, I don't know how anybody memorizes this thing, because you have to remember the certain numbers at a certain point. And there's no reason to remember682 after you've been talking about your mother being in the hospital. I mean, it's. It's astonishing to watch. Now, that said, what I have to say, and this is not a knock against Daniel Radcliffe was, as I say, magnificent. Gibbs is all fine. However, years ago, there was an HBO special on this subject. Well, the play. The exact same thing. The exact same thing. And I have to say that I watched it after I saw Daniel Radcliffe do it. Usually I watched these things before, but I just didn't have time, so I watched it afterwards. And I have to admit that I liked it much more in the TV version than I did on stage. Why? Because it's a small show. The thing is while you're sitting in the theater and people are yelling out their words that they've been given. The problem is that some people just don't project and you kind of hear what they're saying and you want to hear what they're saying. Now, when it was the HBO was done in a production that was done many moons ago at the Greenwich Village Theater, the one on Barrow Street, 27 Barrow street, near Seventh Avenue. It's a small space and of course with the technology that HBO brought to it, you could hear everybody react saying what they were going to say. And more to the point, they also subtitled what everybody had to say so you don't miss what they have to say. And the thing is, all these things that are said are life affirming, things about reasons why we should appreciate life and those are worth hearing. But you really can't hear him in the Hudson Theater terribly much, especially because the place is just too big for this show. I doubt that there were 120 people if that at the Greenwich House, but here, you know, we're at a major Broadway theater. And so I found the story very hard to follow at some instances and indeed I found it easy to follow on the HP documentary through. Given the fact that if you are interested, if this intrigues you at all and given the price of tickets, you know, if you, if you have to see it the way that I saw it in while lying on my bed in my apartment, I don't think you're going to have so bad a time of it, but you might have a tough time of it considering that the sound, which will not get nominated for anything this year should be a problem. So. But boy, wow, Daniel Radcliffe was becoming. Becoming. He is. He's one of my most valuable players. It's just amazing how he keeps coming back and look at the look in his Playbill bio and see if you see anything omitted of more than moderate interest.
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A
I think he admits that often.
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C
I didn't notice that. I'm going to have to jump to my Playbill now. Interesting.
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A
All right, Michael, what did you think of this?
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C
Well, Peter, your comments about the venue are very interesting and I can certainly understand that. I had trouble hearing also, I wouldn't say I felt that the story suffered because what you, the things you can't hear are just what people are yelling out, you know, the brilliant things they're yelling at. But. But I do feel like I missed a lot of laughs, you know, and also just so, so that, that was a disappointment. That said, I, you Know, I turned to the friend I was with and I said, I. I'm amazed. I. I couldn't understand a lot of the things that were yelled out, but it wasn't because of the volume. It sounded loud enough to me. It just. It wasn't clear. And I. And I said, I'm. I don't. It almost sounded like everyone was miked, but how could that be? And he. But he pointed out to me that. Did you see there are shotgun mics all over the theater pointing at the audience?
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B
I didn't notice that.
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C
And so, you know, they're going to help with the volume, but obviously it's not the same as having a mic in front of your mouth. So that's one interesting thing. It's incredible the amount of audience participation in this show, but fear not, Daniel will clear it with you ahead of time if you. If you want to participate or not. And some people unseated on stage. I guess they were all seated on stage, and maybe one person in the audience participate quite heavily. For example, he enlists. Daniel enlists so much to play his dad, which is a fairly significant role. And a woman to play, in this case, a woman to play a therapist, a child mental health counselor whom he goes to see and who's very, very helpful to him. And also maybe the most significant role of all is the man he eventually falls in love with and marries, which at my performance, was played by this incredibly wonderful guy, you know, who. I don't have no idea if he was a professional actor or not, but he. He just did it with aplomb. And it was. It was absolutely wonderful. I wonder if it has happened that, you know, that Daniel has ever made, like, a wrong choice and someone winds up freezing and. And if that has happened, I wonder how he deals with it. That would be very interesting to see.
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B
Yeah. But may I say here that in the HBO one, it's a woman, that her name is Sam, as in Samantha, but it's a woman he hooks up with. And what I've since learned is that at any given performance, you might choose a woman instead of a man or a man instead of a woman. So I've been told. I'm not saying that's true, but that's what I've been told.
- [14:57]
C
Thank you. Because I was absolutely wondering about that. I mean, the name is Sam, but I thought to myself, well, it could be Samantha. There were. When it. At my performance, since it was a man, there seemed to be a lot of lines that. That indicated that it would always be a Man. But, but I guess not. And, and if I'm correct, this play has been done by women, hasn't it?
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B
Yes, that's right. Yeah.
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C
Yeah.
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B
Indeed.
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C
Yeah. So it's really just brilliantly Written by Duncan McMillan with Johnny Don and. Yes, absolutely. I double and triple everything that Peter said about Daniel Radcliffe. I think he. I hope this doesn't sound like a left handed compliment. I think he has improved vastly as a stage performer since he first started. Although, I mean, I did not think he was very good in Equus. But as I've said previously, I think that show was terribly misdirected. And the same goes. And the same goes for how to Succeed.
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B
Yeah, yeah.
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C
I did like him very much in the Cripple of Inishman, so maybe that was partly due to a better director. And of course I loved him. And Merrily We Roll along. So whatever, whatever it is, all props to him, as the kids say. He, he's just the real deal. And, and I advise everyone to go see. And you know what's wonderful? You might think he's a pretty big star. We all agree. You might think that there would be awkward in the theater and that maybe some people might try to take advantage during that pre show when he's running around and try to. And I suppose it's possible that it might happen, but he seems to defuse it just because he's so professional and so charming and he is acting like, you know, just a guy, not, not a superstar. So that's another thing, another reason to give him all praise. And I, I cannot recommend this play more highly.
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A
Okay, so this is running it well. It's scheduled through May 24, which isn't an odd date for this type of thing. Oh, no, it's right before the Tonys and.
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C
Oh, right before.
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A
Oh, yeah, yes, right before the Tonys. And you know, if he gets a nomination and then eventually an award or something like this, this could run much longer unless he has something else scheduled.
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C
Well, that, that's the obvious option. Yes.
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A
So every Brilliant Thing at the Hudson Theater through May 24th. We'll have a link to that in the show notes. Michael, you were over at Irish Rep to see Ulster American. So tell us about this display.
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C
I really enjoyed it. It's a play by David Ireland, directed by Kieran O'Reilly, starring Matthew Broderick, Max Baker and Geraldine Hughes. It's a very clever play and funny about a American actor, American celebrity actor who is an Academy Award winner and he somehow becomes involved. He signs on to go to England and star in an Irish play by an Irish female playwright. So Matthew Broderick plays the, the actor, Max Baker plays the director and Geraldine Hughes plays the playwright. And the action all takes place in the, in the living room sitting room of the director's home in London. So it's a, it's, it's an Irish play that's going to be presented in London, presumably on the West End. And Matthew Broderick's character is, is really, it's the kind of character you can imagine lots of actors would just really like to sink their teeth into because he's very, he's very, very talkative on any possible subject, regardless of whether you want to hear his opinion. He's one of those people who's, who tries to be so woke that sometimes they twist themselves into knots and then wind up saying something that's anti woke. You know, those people. Oh yeah, yeah, he's, you know, and I guess, you know, it's maybe a satire of how some Hollywood people are like that, how they're so vocal on social issues and feminism and etc. Etc. But maybe what they actually think is not in line with that. So that, that's a spot on portrayal, I think, of that kind of person. And there are lots of interesting complications in this play related to what it means to be really Irish is, is very much a theme of the play and so the Irish Rep is the perfect place for it to be done. In that sense, I would say that it starts out as a fairly realistic play, but then it gets a little less realistic as, as it goes on and what happens at the very end of it is, is quite over the top. And I think by that point the, the play has moved into another sphere where it's, it's not realism so much, it's, it's very heightened reality and, and, and obviously a, a satire that's not meant to be taken, you know, as any, you know, as a documentary or anything like that. So I, I very much enjoyed it. I, I, I will say Matthew Broderick is g, as he has, as we have seen him give for about the past 30 years, ever since the producers. I would say somehow he tends to somehow make it work in whatever role he's playing, whether this one or. I mentioned how I recently enjoyed him in Tartuffe. That said, it did seem to me that this play would have been a lot more effective with a younger leading man type of actor because it seems like the dialogue that he says would indicate that he's supposed to be more along those lines. So I would like to maybe see this play again with someone in that role who more fits the description that I, that I just gave. But that's not what we have here. We have Matthew Broderick, who's still a force to be reckoned with on stage at the Irish Rep in a very enjoyable play by David Ireland.
- [22:27]
A
Okay, Ulster American at Irish Rep is running through May 10, and we'll have a link to that in the show. Notes. Peter, you made your way over to the Mint Theater Company to see a production of Zach. Michael talked about it last week. What were your thoughts?
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B
I liked it a little more than Michael did, partly because I really admired two people in the cast. Melissa Maxwell, who plays Mrs. Munning Manning. But Manning, who is very interested in getting her handsome son betrothed to a very rich, rich young woman who is terrifically played by Cassia Thompson. So those are the two reasons to really see the play. Coming in slightly behind, but only slightly behind, is Jordan Matthew Brown as Zach. Now, Zach is her son and indeed he's a bit of a schlub and doesn't really have seemingly much ambition, but nevertheless, you know, a good guy. But there's no question that of the two sons, Mrs. Bunning prefers her handsome son Paul, nicely played by David T. Patterson. Okay, so what's going to happen? Can't you guess? I mean, no question about it that it's an easy play to figure out. Harold Breakhouse wrote one of my all time favorite plays, Hobson's Choice, which proves that if men and women work together, if one has one skill and one has another, and if they pool their resources, they will thrive. Not just survive, but thrive. It's a much more interesting premise than this one, where indeed you can figure out what's going to happen as the play goes on. That's very, very obvious. However, it's a very, very nice production directed by Burke B E R K E. I have to say too, the Brittany Vesta's set has a bit of charm to it too. That makes it very nice. It's a simple set, but boy, Melissa Maxwell playing this mother who she's not a Madame Rose, I don't mean that at all. But she knows what she wants and she is certainly going to do everything she can to get it. But the lovely Cassia Thompson, just charming at every step of the way. It's very interesting to me that in those days casts were very big. There were three people come in the middle that aren't needed at all. I mean, it's amazing to me that they're there, that the salaries are being paid when they really add so little to what's going on. But nevertheless, yes, it's an antique, no question about it. Yes, it takes its time in letting you come to the conclusions you come to within 14 seconds of the play opening. But boy, I went with the ride. I really did because I just enjoyed the professionalism of the Mint Theater Company, which is almost always the case. So as a result, congrats to everybody, and I'm not at all sorry I went, and I'm not at all mystified why it never played Broadway.
- [25:32]
A
Okay, ZACH. At the Min Theater Company through March 28th. We'll have a link to that in the show notes. Michael, you were down at the Soho Playhouse to see the Amazing Sex Life of Rabbits. I. I have got nothing clever to say here. What do you think about this?
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C
Well, I went on a recommendation from a friend of mine who saw this play in la and it's being presented as part of the Soho Playhouse International Fringe Encore series and it only runs from March 2nd to the 28th, so just make a note of that in case you want to see it. I went because of my friend's recommendation. But bearing in mind that this particular friend of mine don't always have the same taste, and I guess here is another example of that. But it's an interesting situation. This is one of those places where I think it matters greatly what your expectations are as to what you're going to see. And if I had known going in that it was going to be almost theater of the absurd in terms of what happens in the play, then, then I would have liked it more. And I guess once I realized that that's what it was, I started to like it more. At first I, I thought it was, you know, just a regular heightened reality comedy. About the premise Let me tell you, the premise is that there are two couples and one of them visits the other. Well, the, the man from one couple was previously married to the woman in the other couple. And so it's, it's a kind of a very, very hopefully civilized, Noel Coward esque attempt for them to, to get together and, and then socialize and see how they all get along. But then it turns out that there is an agenda because one of the couples is infertile and there's some question as to exactly why, but that's a whole nother matter anyway. And so they want to have the husband impregnate the, the woman from the other couple. And so that the baby can be, you know, at least partly theirs. Yeah. And that's interesting. But then there are, you know, as if that isn't enough, there's all sorts of other complications that arise, as I said, in a very non realistic way that I was fine with once I realized what was happening. And so I would advise you of that if you do decide to go see this play, that if you approach it as a really kind of gonzo satire rather than anything that follows what real people would actually do in situations like that, then you'll have a much better time. The cast is quite good. Richardson, Cisnero Jones, Rebecca Larson, Lee Wolf and Shun Hodges. And the play is written and directed by Michael Shaw Fisher at the Soho Playhouse, which I don't get to very often, but there it is. So that's about what I have to say about the Amazing Sex Life of Rabbits.
- [29:32]
A
Okay. The Amazing Sex Life of Rabbits is running through March 28, so you have about two weeks or so to come see it. It's part of the Soho Playhouse International Fringe Encore series, as Michael mentioned. And we'll have a link to that in the show notes. Peter, you were over at 59 East 59 to see calf Scramble. So tell us about this dusty East Texern, East Texan play.
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B
Yeah, you know, when, When Come From Away showed us that the victims would also be played by the people who had rescued them. And that seemed to be a stretch. They did it very well, as you don't need me to tell you. And it's, it's wonderful how Come From Away has had such an after life. It's being produced all over the country. Why do I mention this? Well, because here the five young actresses also have to play cows. Yeah. Because indeed they are working with cows. They're in a competition and they have to manage their cows and make sure the cows do everything that they're supposed to do while they're out there in the arena. But every now and then the girls have to change just. I don't mean clothes or anything like that. And certainly there's no nudity. But they have to just suddenly take on the personality of cows. Every one of them has to do it and they do it very well. And I mean, they do it in the blink of an eye. They come back and forth playing the young women who are in this competition to cows. So I really am very impressed with all five actresses and certainly impressed by Caitlin Sullivan, who. Because this would seem to be a very, very difficult thing to pull off. And I have to give credit To Libby Carr, the playwright, for even thinking that this would be a good idea and seeing it through. Because as odd as it may sound, you don't come out saying, what the hell were they doing? Not at all. Not at all. Okay, so here are these five women, and what's going to happen? Well, I don't think it's going to take you long to understand that there's going to be some romantic complications among these five women. And that is going to be really the. Just to play how difficult it is for people in the sports arena. And I don't mean the actual place where you put the cows in this, in the Sporting Life for a lot of these people to have their feelings revealed. I mean, it. It's not an easy thing for a lot of people, and especially when you have one character played wonderfully by Make Lanstra Korn. Now, that's M, A, I, K, E, L, A, A, N, S, T, R, A on. It's quite a name and a lot of vowels in there. Who's a religious fanatic? And the. The letter of the Lars, just exactly. Religious law is exactly what she ties into. And that's all there is. That's her bottom line. That's her top line. That's it. So obviously, she's going to have a ton of opinions about what's going on here or what she suspects is going on here or what she doesn't see going on there because she chooses not to believe it. It's. It's a fascinating character. So I don't mean to give short shrift to Ferenbergen, Marbeline Ramirez, Esalen Tarquino or Gabriella Veliciana, who are all wonderful as well, getting involved with seeing the lay of the land. Do you think that if I just plunge forward with a kiss that I can say, I'm sorry, I. I didn't mean to do that. And what's going to happen afterwards? It' nice when that first happens, after the girl apologizes for doing it. The next line is really a very fascinating one. So I'm going to let you see what that is on your own. But anyway, Calf, C, A L, F. Calf, as we pronounce it. Scrambled is sometimes obvious, I'll grant you that, but, boy, when it works, it works very well.
- [33:41]
A
All right, so, cal, scramble at 59. 59 runs through April 12th. We will have a link to that in the show notes. Michael, this week you got over to the Beachman to see our friend Ben Jones sing 100 Years of American Songbook. Did it take 100 years.
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C
No, no. But it was a wonderfully eclectic program. Ben has done wonderful shows at 54 Below and Birdland and elsewhere. But this was his Laurie Beechman debut and I'm happy to report it was a great success. Packed house with Ron Abel back as his ace musical director. And it was the title of the evening was timeless, which gave him a lot of latitude to offer, as I said, a very eclectic program. All kinds of different songs. But since I think we all would agree that many musical theater songs are timeless, there were four of those. People will say we're in love from Oklahoma, it's all right with me from Cancan, being alive from Company and Embraceable youth from Girl Crazy. There was also the way you look tonight, which is not from a show, but it's by Dorothy Fields and Jerome Kern, who certainly were of the theater. And also the best is yet to come by Carolyn Lee and Cy Coleman, who also are of the theater. I've always thought it would be fun to find a place to slip. The best is yet to come into Little Me. That might be fun if it wasn't so much like I've got your number.
- [35:35]
B
Yeah, yeah.
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C
That would be a good place to put it. Right?
- [35:38]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
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C
Anyway, so. So those were the show songs and show adjacent songs that Ben did. But he also did Ain't no Sunshine, make you feel my love, anyone who had a heart, a case of you, all of me, bridge over troubled Water, and imagine the John Lennon song. As I said, very, very eclectic and beautifully performed and with particularly excellent sound and lighting at this performance, which only was an icing on the cake. It was a really, really great success and I'm sure the Beachman will be very happy to have him back in future.
- [36:26]
A
All right. Timeless Ben Jones sings 100 Years of American songbook at the Laurie Beachman was a one night only at Wednesday, March 11th. We'll have a link to that in the show notes so you can catch up with Ben Jones. Peter, you got to the Perlman Performing Arts center to see Trash and it's a little bit, bit different of a theatrical experience. Can you explain why?
- [36:54]
B
I certainly can. And that is because it's about two deaf people who live together and they communicate through sign language. But we not have to rely on super titles. What we do have is a gentleman standing at the back who takes on very different voices and we get to hear what these people are signing through. This gentleman who is really a amazing with voices because there will be other people coming in that he's going to have to make even more voices. So that's pretty impressive. So there are three things in this show that really affected me, and it really shows the power of theater because this is what I love best about theater, when it opens your mind to something you never thought of and just broadens your world. And what happens here is one of the deaf men talking about the fact that. That when there were holiday situations, parties, dinners, what have you, that he was always put at the children's table, which was certainly a way of this saying that they thought he was inferior simply because he was deaf. Wow. The other thing was a guy talks about his father who was deaf, and indeed, he worked in a company, and he wasn't brought into meetings because they felt he wouldn't be able to understand what's going on. So as a result, he said, please get an interpreter. And they finally did get an interpreter who said to him, you're fired. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, this is really powerful stuff. On a lighter note, which is really kind of hilarious, a woman comes in and she's interested in one or both of the. The deaf guys, and she says, I only do it with deaf guys. Now, why would anybody make that distinction? Well, as she tells us, when she's having sex, she screams so much that so many hearing boyfriends have said, I just can't deal with you. I mean, you're just too loud. Go away. So, as well with deaf guys, this is not a problem. She can scream as much as she likes during sex. So, yeah, really funny perceptions here in this play called Trash. And Trash certainly plays into it. There is an overflowing, a good deal of trash that does make its way into the play. But I have to say, though, I really, really was tremendously impressed by the fact that these things, which would have never occurred to me, were brought to my attention. And it really made me have some tremendous feelings for the people who have this situation. And, you know, the thing is, I have to bring this up. Up. Linda's parents were deaf. And when I told her this, I mean, she was appalled beyond belief. She didn't go see the show. She has a tough time with shows about deafness since she dealt with it all her life. And. But I'm telling you, the cries of outrage that she gave out as a result of this were quite, quite profound. So. So I know I've given away three tremendously important things here, but I did want to show you the depth to which Trash goes. And for a play that doesn't indicate from a tit title that has Anything to do with deaf people, you should know that this is what's going on and everybody in it is quite, quite good.
- [40:32]
A
All right. Trash is at the Perelman Performing Arts Center. It's an out of the box theatrical production. It is running through March 28th. We'll have a link to that in the show. Notes. Peter, you also were over at Theater Row to see Spare Parts, which is a new play by David Glass. So tell us about this.
- [40:56]
B
Well, Rob McClaus in this, I mean, after all, he's the two time Tony nominee and I don't think there's anybody who would have felt that it was a bad idea if he won either time, either for chaplin or for Mrs. Doubtfire. But here he is in the play. Now, this is no surprise to me because I first discovered Rob McClure when he was a student at Montclair State University where he played Henry in the Skin of Our Teeth, which is a, a typical role because after all, he starts out as just this little kid and by the end of the play he's this revolutionary who really has changed from this innocent little kid. So he was tremendous in that. And but here's the thing. He's has the smallest part now. I don't know if he took it because he just felt, well, you know, let me, let me do a play. I haven't done one in a while. I don't know if he knows director Michael Hurwitz who said, rob, will you help me? I don't know if he knows Dave Glass, the playwright. David J. Glass, to be technical. I don't know if he's doing a favor. He's very good in the play. There's nothing wrong with that. But it's a little surprising when you hear that Rob McClure is going to be in the play and he doesn't have the biggest role. So who is he? Well, he's this scientist who really has a lot of opinions about whether or not the people can be immortal. He's been working with worms, you know, and it's worked out okay. That is extending their life. He's been working with mice and yeah, it's all very good. You know, things are really happening. It looks good that maybe in 20, 30, 40, 50 years we will be able to extend life to an astonishing degree. It could very well happen. But there is this billionaire who is interested in the here and now. He's aging and he hears about this situation, he wants to take advantage of it. And Robin McClure is just very conservative and does not want to look, we're not remotely at that point yet. But. But he has an assistant, a student, actually, because he's a teacher. He has a student who seizes the opportunity. And it's funny, this is such a non sequitur, but all I could think of was the time when Bette Midler was dealing with somebody and she couldn't get anything done. And Marc Shaiman said, Ms. Midler, I can do it. And that really started his career with Bette Midler. So the same type of thing, an eager guy who seizes an opportunity and he becomes the darling of this entrepreneur who also has an assistant. Now, both the assistant. I'm sorry, excuse me, both the entrepreneur and his assistant are black. And that's not going to be irrelevant to what's going to happen in this story. But you know, I have to say I've often thought about how difficult it must be when you are really super rich and super powerful and you know that your life is coming to an end. It seems almost unfair that you've had this, this tremendously charmed life and no matter how charmed your life is going to be instead. And Kane tells us death as it must to all men came, you know, and that's, that's what's. So there is quite a few surprises here in the play. A lot of things don't work out the way you expect them to and that's always a good thing. So I think you should spare some time to see spare parts.
- [44:09]
A
Okay. If you can spare the time, it is running through April 16th. We'll have a link to that in the show notes. So before we get on to our brain teaser musical moment, I want to remind everybody that you can subscribe to 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 podcast view. Of course you don't have to listen to a snap a podcast as many ways to get a us as I mentioned before, right now Patreon is one way that you can get us@patreon.com broadwayradio contact information for Peter from 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 you have an answer to last week's brain teaser?
- [45:07]
B
He wrote more than one Tony winning musical. One team did even better. The solo songwriter saw the first of his Tony winners run precisely twice as many performance as the team Tony nominated but Tony losing musical. Well, I'm talking about Frank Lesser, who wrote the score to the Tony winning Guys and Dolls, saw it run 1200 performances, which is twice as long as Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum song. That racked up an even 600. They, of course, had won before for South Pacific and the King and I and would later win for Sound of Music. Lesser would later win for how to Succeed. Tony. Janicki returned to first place, followed by Paul Witty, Sean Logan, Juliet Green, Jack Leshner, Steven Sokol, Ray Ustra, A New Name, Brigadoon, Lee Korn, and Fred Abramowicz. Okay, this week's question. He produced 16 shows on Broadway. Seven had titles with many words in common. He also produced a revival of a Pulitzer Prize winning play that became a musical in the same year that he produced one one of those seven similarly named shows. Who is he? What are the seven shows? What's the play that he revived, and what's the name of the musical that it became?
- [46:25]
A
Okay, if you have an answer for this, email us at trivia broadway radio.com, we'll let you know if you're on the right track. So, Michael, what do we have in this week's musical moments?
- [46:37]
C
Well, today is a very, very significant day in theater history, which I almost missed acknowledging on our podcast. So I'm glad I know what you're talking about.
- [46:47]
B
Yeah.
- [46:48]
C
Yes, because Today marks the 70th anniversary of the opening night of My Fair lady on Broadway, March 15, 1956, at the Mark Hellinger Theater. As we've discussed, I am planning to do an evening of Lerner and low at 54 below on May 20. Originally, the original plan was to do a concert version of My Fair lady today at 54 below. But actually we couldn't get the rights to do the whole score like that. And so, but as it turned out, today is also also Academy Awards night, so it probably it was just as well. And anyway, so we're going to do our learner and load thing on May 20th. May 19th. Excuse me, May 20th is Eliza Doolittle Day. So we're not quite going to coincide with that. But yeah, May 19th. But in the meantime, today is the anniversary of My Fair Lady 1, one of the great, great successes, artistic and financial successes of musical theater history. And since we are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the opening of the original production, I thought we would use two musical clips from the original Broadway cast album. The first one is the Overture, which I think, is acknowledged as one of the great Broadway overtures. And so great, great that it is used almost in its broad. In its exact Broadway form in the film version of My Fair Lady. It's just a. It's reorchestrated, but not a lot. And also it very, very slightly expanded, but it's basically the same overture you hear on Broadway. And that's. That's highly unusual. In fact, I cannot think of one. Oh, I did think of one other example where the overture is used that way in a film, and it was Gypsy. Although even there, that. That doesn't quite apply because that version that you hear at the start of the film of Gypsy is severely cut from what was heard on Broadway, whereas My Fair lady is the whole thing, in fact, even a little bit longer, as I mentioned. So that is. I think Andre Previn, who did the music for the film, recognized that it was one of the great overtures I that, you know, leave well enough alone and don't tamper with it and don't cut it and don't rearrange it. So the opener for today's podcast was the beginning of the overture, which is tremendously exciting. It starts with this fanfare of eight repeated notes, quarter notes, the same note repeated eight times. And it's just. It quickens your pulse and it gets you ready for what's going to happen. And a really, really phenomenal overture. And the closer is. I mean, it's so hard to pick highlights from My Fair lady, but I thought we would have an excerpt of the Rain in Spain because I think it's almost a miracle the way the thrill and excitement of that number was captured on the cast album by Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews and Robert Coote. And also, I think, you know, a tip of the hat to the record producer Godard Liberson, who very wisely told them to keep in all the whooping and hollering and olays and cheering each other on that happens after they stop singing and then start dancing in a sort of a Spanish mode to bring the number to its thrilling conclusion. Absolute. You know, like, what was it? Two, two and a half minutes of musical theater heaven. Please enjoy both of these clips.
- [51:12]
B
Oh, yes. May I interrupt you to say that I saw a production of My Fair lady in Rahway, New Jersey, this Thursday. It's the small version with just piano and about 10 people. Very, very effective. Done. Directed by Jim Ve, who is retiring, is the head of the American Theater Group. And this is. Was. This one song was terrific. But here's My point, I went to a student matinee and it was a cast of Sweeney Todd that was going to be done. This is being done this weekend. So these were kids who really were very much into theater. But again, you know, they're kids. And it's very interesting to me because I was 15 when I first saw My Fair lady. And I was reliving that experience watching kids who were around that age, obviously 14 to 18, seeing the show. So afterwards, Jim gets up and says, how many of you have ever heard of My Fair lady before now? And one and only one kid raised his hand and Jim said, what do you know about My Fair Lady? He says that it's old. And then what happened was another kid said, I tell you, I'm just a sucker for golden age musicals. Imagine, you know, that's pretty impressive. But what was really great was seeing them respond tremendously because they are people who perform and they know how difficult it is to perform. And that was what was so impressive about the situation in Railway, New Jersey.
- [52:39]
C
Well, that's great. And by the way, in addition to our learner in low evening, it has just been announced that the Irish Rep, the aforementioned Irish rep, is going to do a gala concert of My Fair lady on Monday, June 8th at the town Hall. And they haven't announced the cast yet, but they have announced, you know, that it will be with a full orchestra. So I think I'm gonna go to that regardless of who's in it. But given that it's the Irish rep, I can imagine that they will wind up with an excellent cast. So keep that on your radar and please keep tabs on that.
- [53:20]
A
All right, so on behalf of Michael Portantier and Peter Philippines, Alicia, this is James Marino saying thanks so much for listening to Broadway radios. This week on Broadway, Bye.
- [53:30]
B
Bye.
- [53:44]
C
In Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly happen.
- [53:52]
B
How kind of you to let me come. Now, once again, where is it? Rain. On the plane. On the plane.
- [54:01]
C
And where's that blasted plane?
- [54:04]
B
In Spain. In Spain,
- [54:41]
C
1 8.