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Today on Broadway: Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025
00:15:55
Peck and Noblezada to Lead ‘Cabaret,’ Bowen to Star in Fasthorse’s New Play, First Listen to ‘Lost Boys Musical’ Since 2016, “Today on Broadway” has been the first and only daily podcast recapping the top theatre headlines every Monday through Friday.
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- [00:02]
A
Welcome to Today on Broadway for Thursday, January 16, 2024 on Broadway Radio's Matt Tamminini.
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B
And I'm telling me on a Sunday podcast, Grace Aki.
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A
Grace, have we talked about the fact that I am going to London to see Hadestown?
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B
No. Well, probably when the announcement first happened.
- [00:20]
A
Yeah, I said I wanted to go. We did actually do it. I told my brother about it and he was like, okay, well we're going. And I was just like telling him. I wasn't thinking that was gonna happen. So my brother, my niece and I are going over for literally like 72 hours to see Hadestown with the original principals. But the reason I bring that up is I gave my niece and my brother a list of other shows we could possibly see. Lots of other things. They only wanted to see one other thing. Cause they wanted to do sightseeing as well. So we're seeing one other show. I gave them a whole list of things including like Starlight Express, Matilda, this new Oliver Les Mis, all these things. Do you want to guess what my niece picked to see? Ooh, the last thing you would think a freshman in high school would pick big stars. And I will say she is a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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B
Am I one of Elektra?
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A
No. Close. That's a good, that's a good pick. No, we're going to see Much Ado about Nothing starring Tom Hiddleston and Haley Atwell. So Loki and Peggy Carter from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and your friend Mason Alexander park is in it as well.
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B
Yeah, it's going to be fantastic. I'm trying to see it as well, so that's very exciting.
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A
Yeah. So that is what my niece, my 14 and a half year old niece decided to pick. So that is what we're going to see. I got tickets on Wednesday, so very excited about that for my first trip to London and see that in Hadestown. So speaking of very exciting castings and shows, yesterday, Grace, we got some news that had been percolating across the theater blogosphere for a while and the social medias, but we now know who is going to replace Adam Lambert and ali'I Carvalho in Cabaret on Broadway. And this is insane casting. We keep talking about these shows that are prolonging their lives because of how great they are casting, whether this is on Broadway or off off. And this is another one. Joining the Broadway production of cabaret beginning on March 31st will be two time Tony nominee Eva Noble Zada as Sally Bowles. And stepping into the role of MC will be country music star Orville Peck. Now, I have to admit, I don't know much about Orville Peck other than the fact that I now know he always wears a mask, which is wild. Apparently Orville has said that he will not wear a mask during the show, although I thought it very well could have been, you know, brought into the costume design for this show. But Eva and Orville will replace Adam and Ali'I on March 31st for a 16 week run through July 20th. This will be fresh on the heels of Eva doing that Hadestown production that I mentioned. It is a just an incredible casting. Like I said, I don't know much about Peck, but I know he comes with fans. He is very popular in the queer community, especially queer country. Fans don't have a lot of people to look towards. And Eva is obviously one of the biggest stars in musical theater of her generation. So again, absolutely killing it in terms of casting over at the KitKat Club.
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B
This is how I know Matt is from Ohio. Cause he keeps saying Orville and I know him as Orville, Orville Peck. So that's, that's that different.
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A
Different dialects. Different dialects. Right.
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B
But no, I mean, I'm thrilled. I think it's also like keeping it in the KitKat club, like see Orville unmasked. This is also like Orville Peck is his country Persona, his, you know, his identity, etc. But if you do some digging, Orville in another life was also in the play that goes wrong or Peter Pan goes wrong and is a stage actor of a trade. And you can dig enough to find some of those photos on the Internet if you need to. But if you want to wait and make sure that you see him at the Kit Kat Club, you definitely will want to. I'm freaking thrilled about this casting. I think it's going to be great. So I can't wait to continue to return to the Kit Kat Club.
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A
Yeah. Orville is an out gay man and in his statement he said, quote, the MC has been my dream role since I was a teenager. The nature of the character allows a complete freedom of individual expression. It could be portrayed through such a vast range of emotions, perspectives and performance styles. That kind of freedom is every actor's dream. I truly cannot believe I'm getting to make my Broadway debut in one of my favorite shows and in probably my favorite role in musical theater. Similarly, Eva Noblezada said, quote, while studying musical theater in school, cabaret always stood out. I was and amazed by the lineage of theater royalty who has been in this show. And Sally Roll to me is simply fascinating. Look, I have said that I didn't love this production of Cabaret, but I had to go see Adam and Ali'I and Ali'I. Was out when I went, but I saw Adam and I feel like I'm gonna have to see Eva. I love Eva. So great job by everybody involved with this production. Speaking of great casting this show, we got information about the world premiere of Larissa Fasthorse's new play, Fake it until youl Make It. This show to be a co production between the Center Theater Group on Los Angeles and the Arena Stage in Washington D.C. it is going to begin performances at the Mark taper forum on January 29th and then will transfer to Washington D.C. in April. And it is going to star not only Modern Family star but also Happy Gilmore star as well as the sequel, Julie Bowen, which I think is great casting. I don't know if she has done much stage work in the past, but she is going to be joined by Noah Bean, Eric Stanton, Betts, Dakota, Ray Hebert and others. When it goes to Washington D.C. amy Brennaman is going to take over the role for Bowen. So both of these two great stars of screen for many decades now are going to be a part of this production moving forward. And if it's written by Larissa Fasthorse being co produced by these two great theater companies, you know, keep an eye out for it because it very well could end up in New York at some point in the future. All right, Grace, one of your favorite shows of recent years was Ain't no Mo, correct? Like that's up there in your favorite theatrical pieces in the past two, three, four years, right?
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B
Yeah. No, I love that piece and I love Jordan and the writing of it. It's phenomenal. I'm very excited about what you're about to talk about.
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A
Yeah. So if you did not get an opportunity to see Ain't no Mo on Broadway, this is Jordan E. Cooper's play. On January 20, which is next Monday at 7:30pm The Apollo Theater is going to be presenting a free reading of the show at the Victoria Theatre. And the cast will feature not all, but many of the original Broadway cast, of course, led by our dear Kara Young. Stevie Walker Webb will again direct. And this is part of the Apollo Theater's annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And that is obviously MLK Day on Monday. So if you did get an opportunity to see it on Broadway, this would be a fantastic way to check this show with many of the people who brought it to Broadway in the first place. Grace, on Tuesday night I went to see the national tour of Mamma Mia. And I'm gonna talk about that at the end of the show here. But my friend that I went with, Taylor, she had gone to and spent like three weeks in Japan last year and for some reason we were just start talking about it. And she was talking about how like the school uniforms that kids wear there reminded her so much of Sailor Moon. So she. Because she loves anime and loves Sailor Moon and every time she walked, saw somebody walk by, it took her a minute to realize that they were not cosplay, they were actually just in uniform. I'm only telling you that because it's a weird little connection to a press release that we got on Wednesday and that is that Sailor Moon the Musical is going to launch a North American tour starting in Pittsburgh in March. It'll then have an official opening in Austin, Texas, and it'll tour to a bunch of different dates. I don't know much about Sailor Moon other than like, I recognize it. Are you a Sailor Moon person?
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B
Am I obsessed with Tuxedo Mask? Yes, Matt.
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A
I don't know what that is.
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B
Of course I am. Of course you don't, because it's for us Gorellies who love Sailor Moon.
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A
Okay, so is this a. Is this an anime? Is it just like a cartoon? A manga? What is this?
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B
Yeah, it's a cartoon. It's. It's. It was a kid's cartoon. It might be based on a manga that I'm not familiar with, but probably. But yeah, no, no, it's. It was a really, really popular 80s 90s cartoon that also got reruns on Cartoon Network and some others. But it's super popular.
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A
What's it about?
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B
I mean, it's about a girl who has powers, obviously, but like Mercury, Venus, like Jupiter and Mars, etc, like there's all, you know, she's. And she's Sailor Moon, all the different sailors and. And they kind of like fight battles in the cosmic space. But there's also. There's Tuxedo Mask who is her like, lover. And she doesn't know as it didn't. It's very like superhero y, if that makes sense. It's kind of hard to describe.
- [09:35]
A
I was going to say, I don't know that you actually helped me understand what Sailor Moon is about, but I feel like that's probably not as much on you as it is on me not understanding the world of these types of things. But nonetheless, Sailor Moon the Super Live is going to be touring. If you want to get more information, you can check out the show notes or head over to Sailor Moon. Super Live. Yesterday, Grace, Actors Equity association announced its plans for 2025 to celebrate equity Chorus members. They are calling this year a chorus year. It is going to kick off on January 15, which was yesterday, which is why they were announcing it then with the 10th annual swing day. Then in August, they will have the 70th anniversary of the chorus Equity merging with Actors Equity to establish the union as we know it today in 1955. And then finally with the 75th anniversary of the creation of what is now known as the Legacy Robe that'll be celebrated in November. The robe was actually created in 1950 for the Broadway production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by ensembleist Bill Bradley. And it has been awarded to an ensemble member with the most Broadway credits for every Broadway show. I mean, for mostly for every Broadway show in memory. So very exciting about that. Those people do not get the appreciation and attention that they so richly deserve. All right, Grace, real quick, I want to talk about Mamma Mia. The musical that I saw that I Phillips center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday night is going to be here in Orlando for two weeks. And it continues to be one of those shows that every time I see it, it is just delightful, especially if you get a top notch cast. It is just so fun and so silly and so enjoyable that it kind of makes you forget how ridiculous it is. Because when it's done earnestly, it is just kind of stage magic. The cast was really fantastic. Playing Donna Sheridan was Christine Sherrill, who had previously played the role in the Long running Sit down production in Las Vegas. Playing Sophie was Amy Weaver. And it was just a really fun, great show. And I was with my friend that I went with, we were talking about the fact that like this was originally directed by Phyllida Lloyd, who was one of the great Shakespearean directors working in the uk. And when you really pull out the ABBA stuff, you do realize how Shakespearean it is. There's all of these, like, hiding secrets. People know certain things, people don't know other things. You're trying to, you know, figure things out. There's a big kind of a mixed up identity and it all ends in a surprise wedding. Like, it really is a glorious show and I always enjoy going back to it. And it's so interesting because when I went on my cruise in December, the boat that I was on had a production of Mamma Mia. And it's just wild how identical they've been able to keep all of these performance all of these productions because the sets, the costume, everything was exact. And it is still credited to this day as Philadel Lloyd's direction. This is not. Somebody else directed it based on Philida Lloyd's work. This is still directed by Philadel Lloyd. This is the 25th anniversary national tour, so if you get a chance to come to Central Florida and see it, I highly recommend it. Or if this show is coming to a town near you, make sure to check it out. All right. And finally, Grace, we have a recommendation. We don't exactly know when this show is coming to Broadway other than the fact that they have announced that it is coming to Broadway. Directed by Michael Arden. And this is the musical adaptation of the iconic 80s cult classic vampire show the Lost Boys. It is going to feature a book by David Hornsby and Chris Hock and music by the band the Rescues. They have released a song from it called Belong to Someone sung by the composers, so you can check that out. The we don't know the cast, but there had previously been an invitation only reading that featured Casey Levy. Casey likes Nathan Levy, Lorna Courtney and others. I have heard that this show has a theater, but that was a while ago. So I don't know if this is going to try to sneak in early in the 2025, 2026 season. But this is one that is very interesting. I think anytime you have Michael Arden directing something, you have to expect it to be Dynamite Grace, based off of his recent track record. And this song is really good. So I'm excited to see what the rest of this show looks and sounds like.
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B
Yeah, I mean, famously it's, you know, the Lost Boys based on the film from 1987. I think we're seeing a massive resurgence. I think that people need to be particularly looking at years 1982 to 1992 and those cult classic films as things that people are going to start adapting because the core demographic of ticket buyers, ratio of nostalgia for that being in their teen years, these movies coming out is literally cross section. Like, it's just been so consistent, you know, you back to the future and it's just, you know, it's rampant. And I think that this is going to be a very cool trend in my opinion, in terms of, like, thoughtful adaptations. This is going to be one of them. I'm very excited by it. I can't wait to listen to this song. Yeah, I think it's cool. I'm pumped for it.
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A
As somebody who was born in the early 80s, I might be a little younger than that demographic you were talking about, but it still makes me incredibly excited to see what this is like. I think my core demographic would be 95 to 2000 when I was in high school years. But this is very fun and very exciting. Love to see all the things from my childhood on a musical stage. And especially if Michael Arden's directing, that means they're probably pretty good. All right, everybody, that's all that we have for today. Thanks for listening to TODAY on Broadway. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Broadway reading. You can follow me on Instagram @BW Met Grace. Where can people find you?
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B
You can find me at its Grace Hockey.
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A
All right, everybody, have a wonderful Thursday and we'll be back to talk to you tomorrow.