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This Week on Broadway for March 2, 2025: Dakar 2000
01:19:04
Peter Filichia, James Marino, and Michael Portantiere talk about Dakar 2000 @ MTC, In The Heights @ Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA, Second Stage production of Evolutionary Function of Shame @ Signature Center,
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- [00:00]
James Marino
This is it.
- [00:20]
Peter Felicia
There ain't never been another man in here.
- [00:32]
James Marino
Hello and welcome to Broadway Radio's this Week on Broadway for Sunday, March 2, 2025. My name is James Marino, and in the broadcast today we have Peter, Felicia and Michael Portentier. Peter is a playwright, journalist and historian with a number of books. Peter's new day by day desk calendar show tuned for today. 366 songs for bright new year has been released. Peter also has columns at Masterworks, Broadway, Broadway select and many other places. Hello, Peter.
- [01:01]
Michael Portentier
Hi.
- [01:02]
James Marino
What is our show tune for today?
- [01:04]
Michael Portentier
Well, this is an easy one to guess because King Arthur does tell Queen Tiber Guinevere that this is the date on which winter exits at camelot. It exits March 2nd on the dot. So for those of you who live in areas where snow and ice are frequent visitors during a winter, more we cannot wish you than for March 2 to put a close on your cold winter.
- [01:29]
James Marino
If ever I could leave you.
- [01:32]
Peter Felicia
Peter, are you aware and do you possess. There is a complete recording of a live performance of Camelot from sometime during the run.
- [01:44]
Michael Portentier
Audio.
- [01:45]
Peter Felicia
And it is just amazing. You listen to that and you think, this is the biggest hit show I.
- [01:51]
Michael Portentier
Know that ever played in the history of Broadway. I dare say if Kim Love had come before My Fair lady, it would be so appreciated. It really was a spectacular show.
- [02:02]
Peter Felicia
And you know who always. Who else always says that?
- [02:05]
Michael Portentier
Ethan Morton.
- [02:06]
Peter Felicia
Julie Andrews.
- [02:08]
Michael Portentier
Ah, yeah, yeah. I forget you have a relationship with her, so that's great. Good for you.
- [02:16]
James Marino
So let me ask the two of you a question that, that often is discussed. Was the. The whole comparison to the Kennedy administration really. Does that really bolster Camelot or did Camelot people say, oh, Camelot would be forgotten if it weren't for the Kennedys? Do you think that's true?
- [02:41]
Michael Portentier
No, but there's no question that that made a big difference. And I really love the fact that something so significant should be tied to a Broadway musical. And I think it's a great badge of honor. But that original cast album of Camelot, I think is the classiest album of them all. And as a result, I think that the show would have lived as a result of that. It's never been on the print.
- [03:09]
Peter Felicia
Absolutely.
- [03:10]
Michael Portentier
Yeah.
- [03:10]
James Marino
Michael, I missed exactly what you said. Did you say it was an audio recording or a video recording?
- [03:16]
Peter Felicia
Audio.
- [03:17]
James Marino
It's an audio of the live performance.
- [03:18]
Peter Felicia
Yeah. Just to hear the audience response, particularly the laugh. I mean, we don't maybe think of that show as like a laugh fest, but there is a lot of humor in it. And every joke, every, you know, every funny thing that happens gets this tremendous response. And then of course, to hear Goulet and Andrews and Burton singing live, just amazing.
- [03:51]
James Marino
Is it. Is it a commercial recording or is it a bootleg or.
- [03:55]
Peter Felicia
No, no, no, no.
- [03:59]
Michael Portentier
No. Another one that really surprises is. I do, I do. Because if you listen to that one, that sounds like a slam bang buffo hit as opposed to a delicate show, which it comes across as the cast album is delicate.
- [04:13]
Peter Felicia
Right.
- [04:13]
Michael Portentier
It was. It was really a razzmatash show. And speak about laughter. The audience is having a hell of a time. So I don't know if we should be endorsing bootlegs, but nevertheless, they do exist.
- [04:25]
Peter Felicia
Well, maybe when the shows are 60 years old, maybe it's a little different than as I do.
- [04:32]
James Marino
I said, do you remember some productions of Camelot? I didn't see that. The original. It's a three hour show.
- [04:45]
Peter Felicia
Well, it used to be, but then, you know, then they cut it. This recording that I'm referring to was made after Moss part came back and made significant cuts. So, for example, there's no. Then you may take me to the fair in it. And I don't think Fion. Goodness, that's right.
- [05:05]
Michael Portentier
Yeah. Yeah. And when I saw it in 62, the original production, and I opened my playbill and those two songs weren't in it, I said, oh my God, the person who did this is going to be fired for leaving out those songs because I hadn't heard that there had been. Those songs had exercised and certainly then you may take me to the fair is a terrible loss because it's such a witty song. But anyway, I don't know really.
- [05:38]
James Marino
These days it, you know, has become pretty rudimentary, pretty easy to like me. When I went to the Chess concert, the one night only benefit thing. Yes, Last year or so. Two years.
- [05:56]
Peter Felicia
The one with Darren Criss.
- [05:57]
James Marino
Yeah, that one.
- [05:58]
Peter Felicia
Yeah.
- [05:59]
James Marino
I accidentally recorded it on my iPhone and it's pretty easy to do. But how do you record a three hour Camelot back in 1962?
- [06:11]
Peter Felicia
No, very difficult.
- [06:14]
Michael Portentier
Somebody must have a very long extension cord. Yeah. Really?
- [06:18]
James Marino
Yeah, I mean, it's just really, you know, fine. Goodness.
- [06:25]
Peter Felicia
But real to real, as far as I know, was the only option.
- [06:29]
Michael Portentier
Yeah, I think so, yeah.
- [06:33]
James Marino
Any chance, do you think it came through the board.
- [06:39]
Peter Felicia
This one? It could be, yeah. But of course it's been degraded over the. Yeah, sure, yeah, that did occur to me. I was going to just say that, actually.
- [06:52]
James Marino
So anyway, we haven't introduced you, Michael that wonderful melodic voice that we hear is Michael Portentier. He's a theater reviewer and essayist. He is the founder and editor of castalbumreviews.com Just imagine, we were just talking about cast albums. He is also a theatrical photographer whose photos have appeared in the New York Times and other major publications. You could see his photography work@followspotphoto.com hello, Michael hello. Hello. And not only have you worked on the audio side and the video side of everything with follow spot photo, so the imaging and the audio in cast album reviews, but you're also quite the adventurer and traveler because you got out to Signature Theater in Virginia. And we're going to talk about that in a bit. But actually, before we get started, our Patreon listeners got a bunch of surprises this week. The Was it the first? No. Yeah. The first surprise was also a surprise to me. Stagecraft Best Wall's new play about her play Liberation was released on Patreon on March 5th. And that was released by accident. And so you got it like a week, two weeks early. And after I released it by accident, I just let it stay out there. But, but it's great. It's a great interview. It's going to be available to the public. It'll be available to the public in a few days. So. But if you want to hear it now, you have to subscribe to Patreon. Also, Jan Simpson's all the Drama where she talks to Michael R. Jackson about his 2020 Pulitzer Prize winner, A Strange Loop. And you know, the interview with Michael R. Jackson was not what I expected. And I it was really very interesting. And I'm like, you know, I didn't much like A Strange Loop when it came to Broadway. And I feel like I have to go see it again after listening to this interview with Jan and Michael R. Jackson, and that was released on Patreon as well. And it'll be out to the public this Saturday, March 8, coming up. So take a listen to that. So before we get on to in the Heights at Signature Theater in Virginia, let's talk about Man Manhattan Theater Club's production of Dakar 2000, where Peter got a chance to see it. So, Peter, give us your thoughts on Dakar.
- [09:53]
Michael Portentier
Well, one of the things is that there is an actor named Abu Kha Ali. And I'm telling you, even though there was no intermission, I couldn't wait for the show to end so I could dive into my Playbill and see if this was his debut because, boy, he would get my theater World Award vote. I do see in the playbill. I'm reading it now that he's worked with Roundabout, New York Theatre Works, Atlantic, the Public. But I'm hoping that he had ensemble parts doing very little, so that. Because what we do with the Theater World Awards is we give them for the most significant debut. And so if you're in Coriolanus and you carry a spear, you're not ineligible. So he's really tremendous. But for that matter, so is Mia Baron, too. What's going on? Well, he is working in the Peace Corps, and he's done something a little shifty. And as a result, she who's in charge of him is going to send him back to America, and he doesn't want that to happen at all. He is devoted to his job, even though he did something shifty. But the shifty thing was one of those things that was going to be a nice thing for a certain group of people. He really bent the rules. But his motivation, it's not like he was trying to profit for himself. Not at all. He wanted to do something nice for people. So she says, well, all right, I won't send you back if you do this for me. And as the play goes on, you realize that she was never going to send him back. She just wants to use him. And there are times when he wants to use her as well. So it's a real cat and mouse game. And I think it's tremendously effective. It's by Rajeev Joseph, the guy who did Bengal Tiger and this. I think he did another play, too, that got out off Broadway. But I think this is the most effective one. Maya Dralles directed very, very well. I mean, obviously, you don't get two performances like this unless you have a good director, and certainly it's terrific. Now, what does the title mean? Well, what they're examining is what happened in Tanzania in 1999. And now they're in Dakar talking about it. And it's just on the eve of 2000, and you may recall that we were anything from interested to worried about Y2K at that moment in time. So that plays a factor in, too, will they be able to exhort their plans in any way, shape or form, or will the whole world come to an end on New Year's Eve, 1999? So fascinating, fascinating play. I enjoyed it immeasurably. It went by like lightning. The set is funky. It's not the type of set you might expect for a show like this, but Tim Maccabee did Something a little above the ordinary. And they spent money. So that's always nice when that happens. And I think it's a very worthwhile evening.
- [13:03]
James Marino
Okay, so Lauren Klass Schneider, who does class notes for Broadway Radio, interviewed Rajeev Joseph a few weeks back. And I'll put that in the show notes so that you can check that out as as well, if you're interested in that. Dakar 2000 seems to be running through the 23rd of March. I'm not quite sure if that's official on the on the end date on that, but it looks like it. So we'll have a link to that in the show notes. Next up, Michael, the aforementioned in the Heights at the Signature Theater in Virginia. Tell us, how are things going in the Heights in Virginia?
- [13:55]
Peter Felicia
They're going really well. The production got deserved rave reviews and it really is one of my favorite musicals of the 21st century. I was so thrilled when it came along. And of course, at that time, none of us had ever heard of Lin Manuel Miranda. And for him to create, to co write and star in this wonderful, wonderful show was thrilling. And also, I think when I saw that it was on the schedule for Signature, I was so happy because as far as I know, it's not done that often. It's got a huge ensemble cast where everyone gets a chance to shine, but you really can't have a weak link among the leads. I mean, let's see this. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. There's about 12 roles that really define an ensemble cast. They all get moments to shine and they appear throughout the show. And then in addition to that, of course, in this case, really, I would say all of those roles need to be played by people who are Latino, because the whole point of the show is that it's a picture of this community in Washington Heights that's almost totally 100% Latino, except for the one African American character, Benny, who's very much involved in the action. So I've never, I don't recall ever seeing a bad or even mediocre production at Signature down there. They do wonderful, wonderful stuff. So the fact that the show is done so infrequently and then that they were going to do it just made me very happy. I had previously seen it only twice, and both times on Broadway, the first time with the original cast and then the second time with with some replacements. So this was the third time. And then there was the movie, which I wanted to mention briefly. I think that movie, which was directed by John M. Chu, who went on to direct a little movie called Wicked, or two little movies called Wicked. I thought it was brilliantly, magnificently done until they made a tremendous mistake towards the end and they reshuffled the order of some songs so that the death of one of the major characters came earlier. And then everything after it seemed anticlimactic. And there was like a whole nother half hour or 45 minutes after it. So I don't know why they did that. I think it may have hurt that movie. Although the movie came out at an odd time, the pandemic was still not, you know, I mean, it was still pretty. In a pretty bad stage and etc. And I. I think maybe a lot of people wound up streaming the movie rather than going to a theater to see it, but. But also might have been a. A bigger hit if the timing had been different. And I hope. I hope it gets maybe reappreciated now in the wake of the excess of Wicked. We'll see if that happens. But anyway, this production, directed by James Vasquez, choreographed by Shani Talmore, music direction by Angie Benson, and in this case, I would say it was performed in the Round, although it would be more accurate to say in the Square. I think of that line from the.
- [17:47]
Michael Portentier
Producer.
- [17:49]
Peter Felicia
If you heard of Theater in the Round. I invented Theater in the Square. Nobody had a good seat, but nobody.
- [17:54]
Michael Portentier
Has a good seat in Theater of the Round either.
- [17:57]
Peter Felicia
Well, it's. That's true. I mean, it's a. It's a funny line, but it doesn't really make sense. And actually this. No, there were lots of good seats in this. I would say there were no bad seats, actually, because we were. The audience was basically seated among them at the action. In one corner of the stage, there was the. The bodega where Osnabi and his cousin work. And at the other. The other side of that rectangle basically was the dispatch place. And then the entire center section, the playing section, was painted to look like a street intersection. And that's where almost all of the action took place. So it was very, very well staged like that. And it's gotten a lot of great response for the. The immersive staging, if that's the best word for it. Very strong production overall, with, I would say, one major flaw. I'm sorry to report that the mix was off. I felt the mix between the band and the singers, and for that reason, a very, very large percentage of the lyrics were lost. I know the show back and forth, so I didn't have that much Trouble. But the two people I went with had never heard it or seen it before. And that was their first comment that they felt that way. And they felt bad about it because from what they could hear of the lyrics, they thought they were excellent when. I certainly agree, but there was just a lot of times when you couldn't hear them. And then of course, exacerbated by the fact that one aspect of in the round staging is a lot of times the actors are going to be facing away from you so you can't read their lips, which does help. You know, we don't realize how much that helps when someone is singing to int, you know, in terms of intelligibility of the lyrics. So that was. That was unfortunate. I wish they could address that, but. But I don't know if that's going to happen and I don't want to make too much of it, but I did notice it. Another thing I noticed there was some extra choreography that I don't think hurt the show, but I didn't think it was necessary. The opener was a little solo dance by the Graffiti Pete character. And then during the Benny's Dispatch number, which I think is one of the most delightful numbers in the show, it wasn't just a solo for him. There were, I would say, four ensemble members dressed as cab drivers dancing around during his song. That was, I think, an unnecessary addition and sort of took away from him because the lyrics to his song are so charming and funny. But overall beautifully directed by James Vasquez and choreographed by Shani Talmore. The lead was a fellow named Angel Lozada and I thought he was somewhat miscast in that he looked very young. He did not look especially like he was from the Dominican Republic. And actually one of the people I attended with said that before I did. So I guess I know I'm not the only person who thought of that. And also I thought he was maybe a little too conventionally attractive for Usnavi, who's supposed to be a little awkward and very shy about approaching Vanessa, whom he wants to hook up with. This guy is really very good looking and kind of hunky. So he did have a great voice. And acting wise, he was excellent also. So I'm sure that's why they cast him. But he wasn't 100% perfect for the role. Let's see, all of the women, all of the women were absolutely great, especially Victoria Gomez as Nina, who as that beautiful song Breathe and Adriana Scaliche, I guess that's how you pronounce it. So I don't know, maybe that's alternative casting. And she's Italian. She was Vanessa, who has one of my absolute favorite songs in the score. It won't be long now. And she really knocked it out of the park. Of course, there's the prime role of Abuela Claudia, who was here, played beautifully by Rayan Gonzalez. And just everyone was fantastic.
- [22:52]
Michael Portentier
Who.
- [22:52]
Peter Felicia
Haven't I mentioned it? Michael Marrero, Graffiti Pete. Berto Fernandez, the Piragua guy. Rudy Martinez as Kevin and Chrissy Guerrero as Camila. Carmine Alhers as Daniela Carlan Max Benitez as no as Carla. I'm sorry. Oh. Nicholas Garza as Sunny Chibuze Iluoma as Benny. And that. That's the. That's the main part of the ensemble. And then there were 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 other people. So I'm so glad I went. I did not want to miss it. And it was worth the trip. As our listeners know, I was in D.C. just a few weeks ago to see two shows at the Kennedy center, but I knew this was coming up, and I was very much looking forward to it. And coming soon at Signature is Joe Iconis unauthorized Hunter Thompson musical. So I think that's going to get a lot of press, so be prepared for that.
- [24:08]
James Marino
Okay, so in the Heights is running at the Signature Theater in Arlington through May 4th. So you have roughly two months to hop down to the beautiful Signature Theater and the neighborhood there and get to see in the Heights. They have some video that I've included in the show notes if you want to check that out as well.
- [24:34]
Peter Felicia
Yeah, I think it's great that they do long runs. I hate it when I go see a really wonderful show and then it's over before it started. So I'm glad that that's how their schedule works. And they have nice long runs, especially.
- [24:48]
James Marino
Merrily We Roll along, because it's over before it started, because it's in reverse. All right, so you hopped over to the Irene diamond stage at the Pershing Square Signature center, which is a different signature than Michael was just at this is the one on 42nd street in New York to see the second stage production of Evolutionary Function of Shame. So tell us about this.
- [25:22]
Michael Portentier
Well, what's really interesting about this more than anything else is that it's written by a Columbia University MFA student who's in the program right now. So this is a very young person because it deals with trans issues. I'm not sure if DA Mindel identifies as male, female or something else entirely, but that's who wrote the play. And it actually was spurred by a remark that was heard when Lynn Nottage was up there, who actually used the expression on the evolutionary function of shame. And that's where mind got the title. So it starts off with Adam and Eve. Yeah, that Adam and Eve. And already there he is, alive for God knows how long a period of time, and he's already worried about the length of his penis, thinks it's too short. Of course, there's no basis for comparison, as he points out. But anyway. But already he's shamed there'll be more shame from Adam and Eve. After all, they got thrown out of the garden. They're ashamed of that, too. But the meat of the play really comes down to the present day, when indeed we are meeting a different Adam and Eve. A very different Adam and Eve, because Eve, yes. Is this his gender? Female. But Adam is a female to male, trans. And they've. They've had a wonderful relationship, but they're not going to have a wonderful relationship for very long. For one thing, Adam is pregnant and is going to deliver a baby. Well, I guess that's what happens when you're pregnant, doesn't it? Anyway, Eve works in genetics and she has found a way. Has found a way to eliminate the possibility of a person will. Who will be born and says, I'm in the wrong body. She's done good work on this and she's very proud of it. And he is outraged. Outraged. And this becomes a fascinating idea because what are we talking about here? He is saying that trans people have every right to be born in the wrong body and make the decision that indeed you should not eliminate that before anything else happens. So the big line is, trans people don't need fixing, we just need help. And that's a very, very potent message. It reminded me very much of a play from 1993 called Twilight of the Golds. Do you remember that one, Michael? Yes. Doesn't this sound familiar?
- [28:20]
Peter Felicia
Yep, yep. I thought of that when you. When you started describing the plot of this.
- [28:24]
Michael Portentier
Yeah, yeah. Where indeed there would be a. A way of making sure that gay people would not be born. That you could nip that in the bud. Correct. And so the issues are very much the same. I, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if, if Mendel had no knowledge of Twilight of the Gold. It's not a very famous play. It did get a TV movie. But nevertheless, it just so happens that what we're dealing with now is just the son or daughter or grandson or granddaughter of Twilight of the Golds. But what is really extraordinary is the performance of Cody Sloan as Adam, the Adam who is pregnant. Again, no intermission. Diving into my playbill at the end to see if indeed there was any previous performance of note that would eliminate Cody from getting a Theater World Award. And I do see that Cody was involved with Seven Deadly Sins at the Tectonic Theater Project. So we'll see what that means. But boy, what a knockout performance. Amazing. And we do have a person here who is bearded, doesn't seem to have any conventional female qualities and that's part of the interesting fact as well. Involved in fact very much involved with Ryan Jamal Swain, his longtime partner who has a lot of opinions too about what's going on and he's very well played. And of course Jordan Barber and Elizabeth Ramos have far less to do is the real so called Adam and Eve. And but they're they're great fun as well and they have a lot of good laughs. A very very, very classy presentation and I was delighted to see it just mcle did a very good job of directing and I think it's very worthwhile project and it really was. If there is such a thing as food for thought, this was a pretty good meal.
- [30:35]
James Marino
Okay, so Evolutionary Function of shame at signature second stage production. It is playing through March 9th and we will have a link to that in the show. Notes this week on Broadway is sponsored by Factor Meals. Are you ready to optimize your nutrition? This year Factor has made chef made gourmet meals that make eating well easy. They are dietitian approved and ready to heat and eat in two minutes so you can feel right and feel great no matter what life throws at you. Factor arrives fresh and fully prepared, perfect for any active, busy lifestyle. Lose up to eight pounds in eight weeks with Factor Keto Me Meals based on a randomized control clinical trial with Factor Keto and your results will vary depending upon diet and exercise. With 40 options across eight dietary preferences on the menu each week, it's easy to pick meals tailored to your goals. Choose from preferences like Calorie Smart, Protein plus or Keto. Factor can help you feel your best all day long with wholesome smoothies, breakfast grab and go snacks and more answers. Add ons Reach your goals this year with ingredients you can trust and convenience that can't be beat. Eat Smart with Factor get started at FactorMeals.com Factor podcast and use the Code Factor podcast to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping. That's Code Factor podcast at FactorMeals.com Factorpodcast to get 50% off plus free shipping on your first box. We'd like to thank Factor Meals for sponsoring Broadway radio. Okay, Michael, so you saw a production of Garside's Career. So tell us about this.
- [32:23]
Peter Felicia
Yeah, Peter talked about it, I think it was last week, and really liked it. This is a typically wonderful production by the Mint Theater Company. Jonathan bank, artistic director. And let me say, first of all, I went with two friends, and although both of them are avid theatergoers, I think at least one of them said it so happened that he had never seen a Mint production before. And he said he will definitely be back because they. It's just amazing what they do. First of all, their mission is to find really, truly obscure plays and present them. And somehow 95% of the time, the plays they find are very worthy. You would think, well, if something is forgotten, completely forgotten, and they had only a few performances, and especially if it was by a playwright who is known for other works, you would think that some people would have done it over the decades. But, but. And the hits keep coming. You know, Jonathan bank and his team, I guess they keep finding them somehow. This one, I did not like the play itself as much as Peter did. It's by Harold Brighouse, and it's about this fellow named Garside who initially is somewhat reluctant to stand for Parliament, as they say. But then he gets talked into it very quickly. I. I thought too quickly for credibility, to be honest. And then he really takes like to it like a duck to water. But there's a woman involved, and his relationship with her, I thought was one of the most interesting things about this play, because to see how that played out back in the day and how it might have been different if the action were happening today rather than in the early years of the 20th century. So. So that role of Margaret Shawcross was beautifully played by Madeline Seidman, and Garside himself was played by Daniel Marconi, who I mentioned last week is a Wagner College alumni who I first saw when he did a beautiful job of replacing in the role of Tobias in this most recent Broadway production of Sweeney Todd. And then I saw him in the bravura role of In Tick Tick Boom at George Street Playhouse. So he's really very, very versatile and glad that people are recognizing him and giving him leads very much the central character of this show. But also, as I said, Margaret and how she deals with him and how honest she is with him, and even as he changes very much as a person and then maybe changes back not sure. All very, very, very interesting and wonderful, wonderful. Other actors in the entire company. Not a weak link. Amelia White, Eric Grattan, Michael Chance. An actor I've known for quite some time and hadn't seen on stage in a while, but he was fantastic. Paul Kneebank, Sarah Hader, Avery Whitted, Melissa Maxwell and Eric Grey. So even though, again, the play itself, which was directed by Matt Dixon, I just thought it seemed very schematic and somewhat melodramatic, and I felt like a lot was stuffed into it and things would have been more credible if they had happened more slowly. That was my main thought about it. Garsite's career by Harold Brickhouse. But undoubtedly, inarguably, a stellar, stellar production. One of the things the Mint is known for is being able to do wonderful sets on presumably a shoestring budget and on relatively small stages, as is the case here at Theater Row. In one of the theaters at Theater Row. Stage four, to be precise. So, yeah, you'll never. I don't think you'll ever be disappointed with a production at the Mint Theater, even if very occasionally. Some of the plays are not as do not stand up as well as others. The set, by the way, Christopher Swader and Justin Swader. Costumes, Kendall Allman. Lights, Yeon Lee and sound, Carson Jenkins. So if. If the Mint is not already on your radar, really try to try to focus on them at some point because you won't be disappointed.
- [38:03]
James Marino
Do they have little mints at the Mint Theater?
- [38:06]
Michael Portentier
The sooner the better.
- [38:09]
James Marino
Should put them on the chairs before you get into the theater, you know, Oh, I got a mint on the chair.
- [38:14]
Michael Portentier
All for it.
- [38:16]
James Marino
Oh, are you a one.
- [38:17]
Peter Felicia
One final thing. They tend to do a lot of British plays. Not exclusively, but a lot. A lot of British.
- [38:25]
Michael Portentier
And the accent, Irish, too.
- [38:27]
Peter Felicia
Irish too, yes. And the accent work is always stellar. So yet another feather in their cap.
- [38:39]
James Marino
Okay, so Garsite's career is playing through March 15th. We'll have a link to that in the show notes. You have about two weeks to go. Check that out. And tickets start at $39.
- [38:54]
Peter Felicia
Yep.
- [38:55]
James Marino
So excellent. Peter, you were over at the new group. You were over at Signature again, seeing a different producing company. The new groups production of Curse of the Starving Class. So tell us about this.
- [39:15]
Michael Portentier
This is by Sam Shepard. And I want to talk about the time when I interviewed Sam Shepard. He was full for love, was being done at the Picardo Theater in Princeton. As people said, he'll call you at some point. We don't know. That's the way he is, he's just gonna. One of these days you're gonna get a call from him and he'll talk to you. And one day the phone rang and I could tell that he was driving in his car. And I have this image of him in Wyoming, you know, with just nothing on each side of him, just driving on this long, long road. But what I really loved at one point I said, now in your movie career, at the beginning or in the middle, I don't remember what the question I was going to ask was, but he said, or do you mean at the end? And he laughed wildly. And I just thought it was great that he had such a sense of humor about himself. So I've always thought fondly of Sam Shepard as a result of that, Curse of the Starving Class is a tough play. And I'll tell you, it takes a few viewings, I think, really to come to terms terms with it. This is my fourth time seeing it. It's the time that I've most enjoyed it. I don't know if you can say enjoy a play like this, but Scott Elliott really has done it very well here. What Sam Shepard likes to do is talk about the fact that the American family is hardly Leave it to Beaver. A father knows best, that many American families are pretty dark families. And there's no question that a lot goes on beneath the surface. Well, he it above the surface. So I mean, for example, very early in the show, there's this young girl beautifully played by Stolen Marcus, the daughter who's working on us a project for school. You know how we all had to do those big pieces of boards where we put on various pieces of information, so on and so forth. Her brother comes in and urinates on it. I mean that he urinates on it. And what's really strange is the fact that don't nobody cleans it up right away. I mean, those pieces of urinated paper stay on stage for a long time. And the point is that she really isn't amazingly upset at it. Yes, of course she's upset, but considering if we had the punishment fit for crime, I am telling you there would be a great war happening. And yet it doesn't. And it strangely remind me of our the TV series Roseanne where those kids used to insult each other and it just rolled off their backs because they just insulted each other so many times that the insults had no power. And I, I think that's, that's the second cousin thing to what's going on here that these people have been so mean to each other that nothing even affects them anymore because the meanness is just part of their lives. That's all there is to it. So how are the father and mother getting along? Not well at all. And they are played by Calista Flockhart and Christian Sl. Yes, they're old enough to play parents of grown children. The son is substantially older than the daughter and how much communication goes on between them. We talk about how much communication means in a marriage, you shouldn't keep secrets from each other. Each one of them is trying to sell the house without telling the other. So those are just a couple of the things that really go on in Curse of the Starving Class, which really the point of which is indeed that the American family needs a good looking at and sometimes people just shouldn't be married, shouldn't have children. And certainly Sam Shepard's characters are among those that should not be in this situation. So a powerful play and a tough one to sit through. But I'll tell you, familiarity for me did not breed contempt and I liked it the most of the four productions I've seen.
- [43:19]
James Marino
Okay, so Curse the Starving Class has been extended through April 6, so you have just about a month or so to get to see it. And we'll have links and other fun stuff in the show. Notes.
- [43:37]
Peter Felicia
That's two interesting things you said about multiple viewings being necessary. I don't think I'm going to be able to do that. That this was my first one and I was, I was tremendously turned off. But I should say I, I guess my sensibility has never ever been attuned to Sam Shepard and I know he's recognized as a great playwright. So I'm, I'm not going to, you know.
- [44:01]
Michael Portentier
Yeah. Say we all have those.
- [44:04]
Peter Felicia
Yeah, yeah, yeah, right. And also I, for that matter, I, I'm not a, I am I guess an anti fan of Scott Elliott who directed this production. But I tell you, I don't know quite how he almost consistently gets very big names to be in his show. In addition to to Calista Flockart and Christian Slater, we have Cooper Hoffman, who is the son of Philip Seymour Hoffman. And big made a big splash in that movie, Liquor Pizza, among other things. And then Stella Marcus and Jeb Krieger and Kyle Beltran in this show. And the other interesting thing you said, Peter, was about how they're so used to being insulted that it rolls off their backs. That actually, I mean that helps me in thinking about this play. But also I think that applies to, you know, of all things Long Day's Journey Into Night.
- [45:10]
Michael Portentier
Sure.
- [45:11]
Peter Felicia
And some other O'Neill plays as well. But I always thought with that play, you know, the things that people say to each other at points in that play and in this one, I'm like, why does the person stay in the room? Why don't they leave and never come back? You know? And I know family is, you know, his family ties are strong and it's not easy to renounce your family, but to me, there are, I guess that, you know, there are limits that are much more tighter than what people get away with here. So if you like Sam Shepard and if you like this play, check it out for the cast. I was was happy to see it, if only to see the cast. I have. It's been years since I saw Calista Flockart on stage. I'm not sure when was the last time she was on stage. And same thing for Christian Slater. And so, so there it is.
- [46:21]
James Marino
Michael brings up Excuse me. Michael mentioned seeing repeated viewings of productions and one of our, one of our listeners wrote me this week and asked me about this. Arthur Smith is one of our, one of our listeners and he forwarded me another podcast that talked about watching shows from different parts of the house and how that impacts.
- [46:56]
Michael Portentier
Oh, you bet.
- [46:57]
James Marino
So what's your thought about this in this podcast by Market Marketplace or something? Naveen Kumar, who's the theater critic for the Washington Post, hurt his back and has been seeing shows from the sides of theater and the backs of theater because he can't sit for the whole period of time. So he's been standing at the side, standing at the back. And it's changed his perspective on.
- [47:27]
Peter Felicia
Oh, I didn't realize that. Wow.
- [47:30]
James Marino
So what do you think about repeated viewings? And if you do have repeated viewings, has it been affected by the seat that you're actually sitting in or maybe standing in?
- [47:43]
Michael Portentier
I will say that when I saw Lempicka, I was on the side. And the second time I saw it, I had to go back because the understudy was doing the role the first time I was in the center. And it made a tremendous difference. I don't think it was just the fact I was seeing it for the second time. It was that the way it was staged, it was so much more effective when you were seeing it head on. So, and I've certainly made mention of maybe happy ending, that if you're on the side, you're in trouble in the orchestra, if you're in the either balcony, you're all set. But if you're in the orchestra, you better be in the center. So, yes, it does make a profound difference, but.
- [48:26]
Peter Felicia
Yes, but there are also differences other than sight lines. You know, obviously if you're closer, you can see facial expressions more. And I'll never forget, I've told the story of sitting. I've rarely sat in box seats.
- [48:41]
Michael Portentier
Me too.
- [48:42]
Peter Felicia
But I did sit in box seats for the God of Carnage, because I remember only because there was some mix up about my press tickets and they, they didn't, they didn't have them, so they put me in a box seat. And at first I thought it was a little odd and I was a little disappointed, but I, you know, because it's a small cast and not much of a set, I really didn't feel like I missed anything on stage. And it had the benefit of you. You almost feel like you're on stage in terms of the entire audience is behind you, you know? You know, I mean, you can see them and, and to see and hear them react to that play, I think it actually even improved it. I mean, I think it's a wonderful play to begin with. So that was amazing. And there are many other variables as to where you're sitting and how that can affect your thoughts on the show. By the way, one more thing about Curse of the Starving Class. Peter mentioned that it's maybe shocking to some of us that Calista Flockhart and Christian Slater can now play. Play parents of grown children. Well, I, I may have mentioned before that I saw Christian Slater's stage debut in 1980 in. In when which he played Winthrop in the Music Center.
- [50:10]
Michael Portentier
That's right. Yep, yep, yep.
- [50:12]
Peter Felicia
So. So imagine how I feel.
- [50:14]
Michael Portentier
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I saw that production too. So.
- [50:21]
James Marino
All right, so, Michael, coming up at the York is a production of Platinum Dreams and you're going to give us a heads up to. As to what we can, what we can expect to see there.
- [50:39]
Peter Felicia
Yeah, this show. Well, I mean, I don't know exactly what you can expect because this is, I guess you would call it maybe a revisal of a revisal. Can actually quote from castalbmreviews.com this was a review of the cast album of Sunset. And this review was written by the. The late great David Wolf. And it says Sunset. The album was released in 1990 and David rates it as no stars, not recommended. And he writes. In 1978, a musical titled Platinum had an extremely brief run on Broadway. It starred the stylish Alexis Smith in the role of an aging movie star involved with a young rock singer. In 1983, a cut down version of the show with four performers turned up off Broadway retitled Sunset and closed on opening night after 13 preview performances. This is the cast album of that version with the libretto and lyrics by Will Holt and music by Gary William Friedman. Sunset concerns a male rock star named Danger Dan, who wants to wear an old movie star's red beaded evening gown on his upcoming TV special. The saddest part of the whole enterprise is the waste of a talented cast. Ronnie Blakely, Kim Milford, Walt Hunter, and most significantly, Tammy Grimes in the central role. Well, I saw Platinum, the Broadway version with Alexis Smith, and I thought there were some great things in it, but it was quite a mess and obviously it was not a success. I don't know if any listeners can glean from that plot description, that very weird plot description, but it was thought to be loosely inspired by Sunset Boulevard, which is why the change to the title Sunset when the Off Broadway production occurred. But anyway, so now, according to the press release, the York Theater is excited to announce the cast and creative team for the first production of its Spring 2025 New to NY series, Platinum Dreams, with a book by Stevie Holland, music by Gary William Friedman, lyrics by Will Holt and additional lyrics by Stevie Holland. Adapted from Platinum by Will Holt and Bruce Valanche, and Sunset by Will Holt. That's the. That's the rather unusual credit. So I. So, to use James words, I don't know what to expect. I would imagine a major, major revision, but I certainly wanted to put it on people's radars because this I would think will at least be newsworthy.
- [53:42]
Michael Portentier
CB Holland, that's a woman, by the way, and Gary William Friedman are married. My favorite story involving Platinum, I. The second time I went, I took a friend who was a cutting edge playwright. I mean, so cutting edge that I'm telling you, if you read one of his scripts, you probably get a paper cut on every page. I mean, he was really a downtown guy, got produced by Circle Rep, et cetera, et cetera. At the end of the first act, he looked at me with stars in his eyes and said, I love bad musicals. I don't necessarily like good ones, but I love bad ones. So that's how I'll always remember Platinum. Oh, also, it was the ending, the final number. Everybody came out in silver and it was so reminiscent of Chorus Line where everybody else came out in gold. I mean, it was just. It seems so sad that they use that. It seemed like such a derivative thing. So. But anyway, yeah, we'll see what Happens with platinum.
- [54:46]
Peter Felicia
I do remember that Alexis Smith was pretty great in it. And certainly to retain her dignity.
- [54:52]
Michael Portentier
Absolutely.
- [54:53]
Peter Felicia
Also remember that there were not extensive but considerable film clip segments of recreating her old movie musicals. Theoretically. And so they put some money into that. And, you know, filming all of that. I'm taking it, Peter, you did not get to Sunset Off Broadway.
- [55:14]
Michael Portentier
I did not. What? I was out of town working on TV series that night. Happening that night. Right. Yeah. For all the previews, too. But what I will say is, if you're throwing a party and for musical theater Fans, do play 1941, a song from Sunset, and you'll all have a wonderful time laughing hysterically at that song. So that's what I recommend. High heartily.
- [55:47]
James Marino
All right, so next up. And finally, in the review section for the morning, Peter is veering off the stage into a book.
- [56:00]
Michael Portentier
Yep.
- [56:01]
James Marino
Telling us if the song doesn't work, change the dress.
- [56:06]
Michael Portentier
Yeah. That's something that Patricia Ziprot learned. Now, she was an amazing costume designer and certainly, certainly won for Fiddler on the Roof. She won for Cabaret. And what was really interesting is that in 1986, she won for Sweet Charity. Now, that was a revival. And the point is that Bob Fosse said, I do not like Irene Sharif's costumes and I want you to completely redo them. And look what happened to Tony nomination win. So what's also interesting is a quotation from irene Sharif that Mrs. Brought recounts when she was working on Happy Hunting and Irene Sheriff said to a Burrows, who had his opinions on costumes, abe, if I had a rusty razor, I'd castrate you. So. So everything about it is appealing. So what's amazing is to hear Jerome Robbins, who we always hear here, was a very difficult human being, says after he sees the sketches for Fiddler on the Roof, said, these are the best costumes I have ever seen ever. Do you understand me? Do you understand me? They are the best I have ever seen ever. Who expects a compliment like that from Jerome Robbins? So she talked about the fact that after she listened to it, couldn't play Please Me More from Cabaret. It took her a long time to get the absolutely German yuck quality for Lottie Lena's dress, which is fun to hear, too. She turned down a Sondheim show to work on Happy Hunting. Now, it wasn't a Sondheim show, really. It was the Girls of Summer, which he had incidental music. But she says, I don't know if this is true. I don't know if she made a mistake, but she says it was such authority. I'm starting to think it was true. Maybe you know, this could you guys that David Merrick was the original producer of Happy Hunting and then he lost interest and Joe Mills and the set designer took over. That's true. I mean he definitely was the producer above the title of that show, but I had never heard that Merrick was involved in that or if I did, I forgot about it. Joel Gray is part of the introduction. He talks about how they went shopping, that they wanted a terrible old tailcoat for the MC to indicate the type of place that the Kit Kat Club was. So what's disappointing about the book is that after all Patricia's at brought designed into the woods and Sunday in the park with George. And the book doesn't deal with them at all. I. Because there's a co writer who took over as time went on. I get the impression that she had written only up to that point and he took over and edited and did things for clarity and what have you. But one would want to hear about into the woods and Sunday in the park with George. And so I was amazed that the book was over before those two shows came into play because while the story is about those, ironically enough, by the way, a little side note here, I was at Western Connecticut State College yesterday and saw a production of Sunday in the park with George which was really impressive. I will say that so many times. You have to be in awe of anybody who can do George and do all that red, red, blue, blue dot dot stuff in that. It's just amazing. And the cast was really, really terrific. And just as I always say, you never know where greatness is going to strike in community theater. It can happen in college theater too. So very, very impressive. And it's always such an amazing thing to watch that painting come to life on stage. So it was really quite imp. Anyway, but what is in the Patricia Zip Rock book is. Is quite good. So with those caveats about good. My God. Tell us about. About into the Woods, Sunday in the park with George. Well, okay, let's. Huffaloop is better than none.
- [60:25]
Peter Felicia
I met her only once. Did you. And she was delightful. Apparently she was quite a funny woman.
- [60:31]
Michael Portentier
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [60:33]
Peter Felicia
Well that, you know, that you're. That quote you shared with us I thought was. Was pretty.
- [60:39]
Michael Portentier
Pretty, you know, cunning.
- [60:41]
Peter Felicia
And I can't. I wish I could remember the show. I seem to remember that she was actually fired from something.
- [60:46]
Michael Portentier
Oh yeah.
- [60:47]
Peter Felicia
Or there was some. There was some conflict about a show she was involved with. And I ran into her at an event. And I said. Because I was. I think I was maybe writing for Backstage at that time, so covering news items. So I said, Ms. Ziprod, would you be willing to talk about what's happening over at Blah Blah Blah? And she said, I might.
- [61:15]
Michael Portentier
She also talks about the possibility of working on the Funny Girl movie. And she said, I want. I wasn't too sure that I wanted to lock ons with Streisand because I had heard a lot about her. So. And think about it. This is before she became a movie star. So already, you know, the reputation is spreading about her being difficult. So. So, yeah, what's there is choice.
- [61:42]
Peter Felicia
Oh, and I do remember that when Ms. Zipra died, I was then writing for In Theater magazine, and somehow I got Tony Walton to write her obit. It was so. That was really wonderful. He really loved her.
- [61:57]
Michael Portentier
Wow. Yeah.
- [61:59]
James Marino
Okay. If the song doesn't work, Change the Dress will be available soon. It's not. It's not quite out yet, but I have a link back to Bloomsbury, the publisher's website, so you can check it out and see when it's ready. It says February 6th, but I can't find. Find it elsewhere. So maybe it was delayed just a bit, but it should be.
- [62:28]
Michael Portentier
Well, my book says Drama, so I know it's part of the company, but anyway, maybe that'll help. Methuen Drama. So that's what my book has.
- [62:39]
James Marino
All right, so a few little quick items before we go off into our sunset is that sunset has announced their sunset, which.
- [62:55]
Michael Portentier
That's right.
- [62:56]
James Marino
I was very surprised about. You know, they. They claim to all along have been just a limited run. And I didn't. I took that with a grain of salt. I really didn't think it was just a limited run, but it. They're proving me wrong. And they're closing 7-3-13th, which is one week longer. It had been originally scheduled for July 6th, but now it's July 13th. I'm very, very surprised about this.
- [63:29]
Peter Felicia
Although, wasn't the point made that she's been doing it for 18 months?
- [63:36]
James Marino
Is she the only person in the world that can do it?
- [63:39]
Peter Felicia
Well, this was a subject of discussion last evening, and a bunch of us could not think of anyone offhand who could go in and do that production and that part the way that she is doing it. I mean, I'm sure there are people who could, but are they available? So, I mean, I don't know. Do you suppose they tried to get someone else?
- [64:09]
James Marino
I. I don't know. I was thinking maybe Some other production wants the St. James, but I can't think of anything off the top of my head that is going to come into the St. James in the fall.
- [64:26]
Peter Felicia
But also, I didn't bother to. Have you checked the numbers and are they, are they so high still?
- [64:32]
James Marino
Yeah, they are.
- [64:33]
Peter Felicia
Well, all right. Well then that, yeah, that, that is, that is interesting.
- [64:37]
James Marino
They are. Let's see, last week they played to 88% 1.1 million, 1.2 million, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6. 855,000 in January. But I think something happened that week. 55.
- [64:57]
Michael Portentier
Moving eight blocks up the street. Have you heard the rumor that when Cabaret closes, Katz is going in there and they're going to keep the theater the way it is right now?
- [65:06]
James Marino
I have not heard that.
- [65:08]
Michael Portentier
Yeah, I'm not saying it's true, but I'm, I'm. That's where I heard yesterday, so.
- [65:14]
James Marino
Oh, interesting. So, so. But I think that there's a way to keep this production running. It. It. I'm just so surprised about it. I, I just assumed that they were going to announce because of. Rob Johnson says in the chat room that Queen of Versailles is going to the St. James. Yes, I heard that.
- [65:40]
Peter Felicia
I heard that.
- [65:41]
James Marino
Kristin Chenoweth. Yeah, Kristin Chowneth vehicle. But I heard Queen of her size wasn't very good.
- [65:47]
Michael Portentier
Well, and obviously the time to work on it. But you know, when Sunset was first done here in what was it, 93, there was always talk about the fact that you could get all these aging wonderful stars of yesteryear to come in and do it. And of course this production doesn't make any reference whatsoever to the fact that she's aging and on the verge of decrap ed, which to me is one of the big flaws of it that she seems bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to go. So anyway, but way back when that was the thing. Oh, it's going to last forever because you can get all these people who haven't been on Broadway for a while, are film stars to come back. And, and, and it, it would seem to me that this is an eminently castable role. So I think there's more going on here than that. I, I have a feeling maybe it's just wishful thinking that advanced sales are not too hot.
- [66:54]
James Marino
Is. Is Sunset Boulevard Andrew Lloyd Weber's Follies?
- [66:59]
Michael Portentier
Ah.
- [66:59]
James Marino
You know, Sean Logan in. Sean Logan in our chat room is saying Chess revival in the Al Hirschfeld after Mul Rouge. Oh, interesting. The. Was that the Chess. That was the actress fund or a different production of Chess. I know that. I know that Tim Rice has been. Oh, yeah, has been talking about.
- [67:29]
Michael Portentier
He sure has.
- [67:31]
James Marino
About Chess, repeatedly and saying it's coming, it's coming, it's coming repeatedly. So I think he said.
- [67:37]
Peter Felicia
Yeah, I think he said in the fall.
- [67:40]
Michael Portentier
Yeah.
- [67:43]
James Marino
All right. Well, if we hear anything, we will let you know. Michael, that article, that feature in the New York Times, Chris Catelli, the choreographer Chris Catelli sends his love letters, sends love letters to his dance heroes. What did you have to say about that?
- [68:07]
Peter Felicia
Oh, well, just, you know, I. I gave a glowing report on Schmigadoon at the Kennedy center, which Chris directed and choreographed. And just seeing this article appear on February 6 in the Times made me think that there's even more reason to believe that that Schmigadoon might also come to Broadway if there's someplace for it to go. So this article is by Margaret Furrer. F u h. Imagine having especially right now. I'm not familiar with her, but it's very well written and it starts off if Christopher Gattelli's choreography looks familiar, that's probably the point. A veteran of more than 20 Broadway shows and a devotee of movie musicals, he has an encyclopedic dance brain. A catalog of musical theater references he deploys throughout his work on stage and on screen. Homage is his calling card, and that makes him a very clever satirist. His two current projects, the stage adaptation of the television show Schmigadoon at Kenny center and Broadway's Death Becomes her at the L'Enfantanne, both feature wickedly detailed send ups of quote, unquote musical theater dance. For Gattelli, 52, though, those scare quotes might as well be hugs. Barbed as his dance humor can be, it's underpinned by his affection for the genre in spite and because of its excesses and quirks. Quote it's easy to get snarky when you're spoofing something you're so familiar with, he said in an interview. It's easy to get all the digs in, but I'm truly writing love letters to all of my dance heroes. So I think I made this point when I reviewed Schmigadoon. Shows like Schmigadoon and you'd're in Town and I suppose Smash, which is also upcoming. It really is important that they have affection, a lot of affection in them as well as a lot of snark. If they don't have the affection also, I think they will fail. But those Things have been, well, some of those things. Not, not, we'll see what happens with Smash. But the other things have been successful, I think, for that specific reason. And I think Chris Gattelli is really great at that and that's why he's doing so well lately. So I'm looking forward to whatever he has coming up. And I do hope that, that Schmigadoon finds a home on Broadway. If, you know, even if for a limited run, which I imagine it would be.
- [70:57]
James Marino
So Margaret Fuhrer is a. Has been writing a lot of dance stuff for many years, so she's really more focused on dance than she is on theater. So.
- [71:11]
Peter Felicia
So that's why I'm not familiar. Yeah.
- [71:13]
James Marino
See her very often. She's covered dance in the New York Times since 2022 and she's also written some recent articles on dance version Playbill. And she's also written for Dance Magazine, my old alma mater. And did you guys know I work for Dance Magazine?
- [71:34]
Michael Portentier
No.
- [71:34]
Peter Felicia
Oh, yeah, I think you mentioned that once. Yeah.
- [71:36]
James Marino
Yeah. I was the operations director for the parent company for Dance Magazine. So we had dance magazines, we had cheerleading magazines, Dance and Cheers, and we had conferences and things like that that we did as well. So. So Margaret's longtime dance writer and so that's why we really don't. You really haven't seen her in the theater. In the theater side. Thanks for exploring. Before we wrap up and head on to our brain teaser and our musical moment, I would 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 Broadbeat automatically download it to Apple Podcasts for you. Of course, you don't have to listen to us in Apple Podcasts. There's many ways to get us. Patreon is one way. P A T R E O N.com Broadwayradio or Broadwayradio.com Patreon is one way that you can support support Broadway radio's shows. Plus, get us a little bit early. As I mentioned about the Jan Simpson stuff, you got two surprises this week. All the drama for Strange Loop and Stagecraft where Jan talked to Best Wall about Liberation. So get over there and check those things out. Contact information for Peter from Michael and for me can be found in the show notes at Broadway Radio as well as links links to some of the things we've talked about today. So, Peter, we have an answer to last week's brain teaser A musical revival.
- [73:26]
Michael Portentier
Currently on Broadway has a character who appears in one song, only it's not a solo. The character's name is the same as the title of a show that once held Broadway's long run record. Well, back in 1833, 3, Broadway's long run record of 18 performances was smashed by a show that opened on July 22 and didn't close until September 9, racking up an astonishing 43 performances. Its name was Mazeppa, just like the stripper who appears and you gotta have a gimmick. And Gypsy, now revived, the Majestic. Paul Witty was first, followed by Cheryl Hodges Selden, Sean Logan, Michael Wanis, Dan Rubins, Josh Israel, Jeff Hussenfeld and Angela Ramachi. This week's quest. Oh, yeah. Do you notice names missing? No. Tony Chanicki.
- [74:19]
James Marino
Tony Chanicki.
- [74:20]
Michael Portentier
No. Tony Jacky. No. Brigade.
- [74:22]
Peter Felicia
Now, Peter, isn't it. Is it correct that there was another correct answer or was that not correct because Annie was never.
- [74:30]
Michael Portentier
Yeah, this whole thing. Yeah. I mean, a lot of people guessed Annie and a lot of people who appears in Chicago in, in Cell Block Tango, but Annie was never the longest running show in Broadway history.
- [74:42]
Peter Felicia
Right, Right.
- [74:43]
Michael Portentier
That's the problem. But a number of people guessed that and I never.
- [74:48]
Peter Felicia
I'm not sure I ever knew that all of those murderesses in Chicago had names.
- [74:53]
Michael Portentier
Yeah, they do. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Well, go to hell. Kitty is mentioned some, but that's not one of the best. One at the end of the first act. All right, this week's question. What character first seen in a 1950s musical and only on Broadway during this century, has the longest name?
- [75:20]
James Marino
You have an answer for that? Email us@triviaroadrayradio.com let you know if you're on the right track. So, Michael, what do we have in this week's musical moment?
- [75:31]
Peter Felicia
Well, one of the shows I'm most looking forward to is the revival, or apparently Revisal will be the better term, of Floyd Collins at the Vivian Beaumont at Lincoln center with Jeremy Jordan starring. And soon as I heard his casting, I thought, wow, I cannot wait to see him and hear him in that role. And indeed, some promo video was released recently of him singing the Call hall, and it's absolutely fantastic. Now, what's interesting about this is he's in a studio and with, with a full orchestra and he's recording the song. And I was, my first thought was, well, maybe that's. I, I assume that that's for the cast album and maybe they're already recording the cast album, which sometimes are recorded before shows open. But wiser people, specifically Robbie Roselle said no, he said that that's just promo video that they, that they created especially, you know, for promotional material. And I said, well, isn't that surprising in terms of the expanse and the, you know, hiring the orchestra and also the, the studio. And he. And Robbie said, well, Adam, Adam Gittel has a. Adam Gettle, excuse me, has a studio in his office. I mean, his home isn't a studio basically. So that answers that part. But you know, they're still hiring the orchestra. And I, and I had a similar thought recently when I saw promo video for the last five years with Nick Jonas and Adrian Warren. And then there again, they're in a studio with a full orchestra. So I'm a little surprised but, but, you know, but happy that producers go to the expense to do that. And I guess they've done that in both of these cases. Anyway, Adam Gettles score for Floyd Collins is just beyond brilliant. And I can't wait to hear it again, especially with the cast headed by Jeremy Jordan. So the Call is featured as our musical moments today. The, the opener is the, the first section of, of this clip and the closer is the. The Closer. So please enjoy it and I will. I. I hope you're looking forward to seeing the show as much as I am.
- [78:10]
James Marino
Okay, so on behalf of Michael Portentier and Peter Felicia, this is James Marino saying thanks so much for listening to Broadway radios this week on Broadway. Bye Bye.
- [78:42]
Peter Felicia
Morning. And I'm a calling I'm a calling.