I wince a little whenever I see the Tony Awards tagline, “There’s a little bit of Broadway in everyone,” but I can live with the discomfort because it is my favorite awards show. I always watch the Academy Awards, I often watch the Emmys, and I’ll never forget when Christine Lahti was in the bathroom when she won the Golden Globe for Chicago Hope in 1998; but the Tony Awards feature big song and dance numbers. They’re the gayest awards show out there, with all the men (and the occasional woman) thanking their same-sex partners, and the acting awards winners give good speeches because they’re comfortable in front of a live audience. So really, they’re just great.

Speaking of great, there are a couple of really great things about this year’s nominations, which were announced earlier this week. Most importantly, The New Mel Brooks Musical: Young Frankenstein did not get nominated for Best Musical or for Best Book of a Musical. In fact, the show only got a couple of reasonably well-deserved acting nominations and a scenic design nod. Now, I might have picked Megan Mullally over Andrea Martin for Best Featured Actress, but I take no issue with the strength of the performances.

The issue I take is with the never-ending comments about how well-endowed the monster is. (You may have guessed that I did not love Young Frankenstein and that I am so over Mel Brooks.)

The other really great thing is that two of the four Best Director of a Play nominees are women — that’s a full one-half, people! (At the Academy Awards, it’s still fairly rare to get one female nominee, and I’m still stewing that Kasi Lemmons didn’t get nominated last year for Talk to Me.) … continue reading

So, the BBC has recently launched the latest in its line of three musical talent contests, and I admit that I’m watching. First there was the 2006 show How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, which searched for an unknown girl to play Maria in a new West End production of The Sound of Music. Then there was the 2007 show Any Dream Will Do, which searched for an unknown boy to play Joseph in a new West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Now there’s I’d Do Anything, which searches for both a girl to play Nancy and a boy to play Oliver Twist in a new stage production of Lionel Bart’s Dickens-based musical Oliver! Thankfully, the producers have decided that it’s just too cruel to put the small boys auditioning for Oliver through the usual American Idol–style humiliation of panel criticism and a public vote — so that decision will be made privately, although the audience will be let in on footage of the boys preparing and performing.

But the girls — who have now been narrowed down to twelve finalists aged between 17 and 28 — are judged to be old enough to cope. Consequently, there’s been all the usual gratuitous upping of their angst, as the panel (which includes Andrew Lloyd Webber) make them stand and wait for the initial decisions, and hint that they’ve been dropped just to see them squirm.

Why do I keep on watching, given how obnoxious that behavior is? Well, for one thing, I love musical theater. And for another, there are worse ways to spend your Saturday evenings than in watching 12 talented women singing their hearts out.

Back in the days of the first contest, How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, the show was considerably enlivened by the gorgeousness, as well as the talent, of one of the competitors, Siobhan Dillon: … continue reading

First, let me establish that I am a Bradyphile. After a few child-specific shows (Sesame Street, The Electric Company, The Magic Garden), The Brady Bunch was my first great TV love. And it proved to be an enduring love.

If you weren’t around for TV in the '70s and early '80s, I don’t believe you can appreciate how frequently The Brady Bunch aired in syndication. One could watch it daily. And I did.

Over time, I developed an encyclopedic knowledge of the show. When my family moved to California in the '80s, I had a moment of truly pathetic excitement when I was watching one of the “Grand Canyon” episodes and realized that it was a different edit than my old station had aired — I was seeing a scene I had never seen before! I’ve watched the show in every incarnation and have seen stage versions, and every time I’ve gone to Hawaii, I’ve sent my brother a postcard of Diamond Head with the message, “That’s Diamond Head, dumbhead.”

So, when my brother sent me an article about an upcoming Brady Bunch musical, I read it warily. And then I quickly concluded it sounded like a very bad idea. Here’s the ill-advised plot:

"Through a misunderstanding, the Brady kids overhear a loud argument between their usually perfectly-in-love parents. The kids think their parents might be heading for a divorce and dig in to raise money to obtain marriage counseling for their woe-stricken parents. Greg operates a car service; Marcia dates for money; Peter and Jan put on magic shows; and Bobby and Cindy look for money in couches. Did you ever imagine what the Bradys might look like in a holding cell at the local police station? Somehow even Alice gets in some legal trouble for fraud. All the while Mike and Carol are desperately trying to have sex, something they have never done since they’ve always had six kids in the house and have never had any alone time."

The plot sounds pretty stupid to me, but that’s not really the problem. (I’ve waxed rhapsodic about Grease 2 a few too many times to make a compelling case that I’m above stupid plots.) The problem is that not only is it just tired to rehash and revisit The Brady Bunch, but there’s also just something inherently disrespectful and cheap — base, really — in this particular idea. And I’m a little surprised by how much it bugs me. … continue reading

Last night during Dancing With the Stars, the new trailer for Mamma Mia! premiered. The teaser trailer was pretty good, but the full-length one? My dancing shoes are already on!

The stage musical is ridiculous, but also ridiculously enjoyable, and it looks like the movie will fit that same groove. As if the ABBA soundtrack (22 songs!) weren't enough — and, really, what's better than ABBA? — we get Meryl Streep doing pratfalls in her overalls. That alone is worth the ticket price.

Meryl seems to be having a great time in general, what with all the dancing and drinking and screwball comedy. I can never decide which I like better: dramatic Meryl or comedic Meryl. Mamma Mia! might just give us both. She's funny, she's moving, she's handy around the house!

And I had forgotten that Christine Baranski is in Mamma Mia! She plays one of Meryl's BFFs. … continue reading

It's still a year or two down the road, but a musical version of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City is slated to head to Broadway — with a possible stop in San Francisco along the way.

The Tales of the City series, which spanned seven books and three miniseries, began as a serial in The San Francisco Chronicle in the '70s. It told the story of Mary Ann Singleton, a secretary who never returned to Cleveland after a vacation in San Francisco, and the “family” she found in her new digs at 28 Barbary Lane on Russian Hill. Her family members included Michael “Mouse” Tolliver, her gay best friend; Mona Ramsey, Michael's sometimes-lesbian roommate; Brian Hawkins, '70s straight guy on the prowl (and her future husband); and Anna Madrigal, the transgender “mother of them all” who grew pot in her garden and taped joints to apartment doors as gifts for her “children.”

The creative team certainly has the credentials to keep the show gay enough. Tony Award winner Jeff Whitty is slated to write the book. If you're not familiar with his work in Avenue Q, check out the opening number.

(Whitty didn't write the music and lyrics, but he clearly had a lot to do with the campy gay sensibility.) The musical team will consist of John Garden and Jason Sellards (Scissor Sisters), so it's likely that the show will have some era-appropriate disco influences.

The story has so many intricate story lines that some will clearly have to go. Obviously I hope the lesbian plot remains. (Mona's ex-lover, D'or — a white woman who's passing as black for the sake of her modeling career — moves back to the Bay Area to win back Mona.) Perhaps they can do without the story of the closeted gay husband of the socialite (pregnant by the Chinese deliveryman) hooking up with the socialite's gynecologist at the baths. Or maybe they'll downplay Brian's endless quest to get laid. But they have to keep Mary Ann's doomed romance with the vitamin salesman/private investigator/child pornographer. (I won't tell you how that ends.)

I can imagine lots about the show: a set featuring the Barbary Lane steps with the Golden Gate Bridge and Transamerica building in the background, an opening number about Cleveland, perhaps a song and dance number with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. But what I cannot picture is the casting. The original miniseries was so perfectly cast that I cannot fathom seeing others in the roles.

First, there was Laura Linney as Mary Ann. … continue reading

One of the more tiresome trends in musical theater these days is the reinvention of '80s movies as stage musicals. (The other tiresome trends are jukebox musicals — which seem to be waning — and musicals that mock musical theater.) I've seen a few of the '80s movie musicals. Xanadu was fun, but a little too self-aware for my taste. Urban Cowboy was, um, kind of watchable, I guess — and I did see Rosie O'Donnell in the audience. Footloose managed to lose whatever depth and heart the movie possessed. Ergo, I'm ready for this trend to play out soon.

I am, however, cautiously optimistic about the upcoming 9 to 5 musical — especially as long as Dolly Parton and Allison Janney stay attached to the project. And I just read about another one that maybe, possibly could be good. A musical version of Mask, the 1985 Cher and Eric Stolz movie about Rocky Dennis, a teenager with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, will open at the Pasadena Playhouse on March 21.

Although Cher won an Oscar for Moonstruck, I believe that Rusty Dennis, in Mask, was her best role. She was this incredibly flawed, drug-abusing, loving, devoted mom. Who was incredibly hot.

You can get a pretty good sense of her in this extended music video filled with scenes from the movie. … continue reading

For the past few years, I've been studiously ignoring the fact that Shrek the Musical is in development and coming to Broadway this November. It keeps getting delayed (I believe it was originally projected to open in 2006), so it's been fairly easy to dismiss. And it's not a given that I'll hate it if I see it. The movie wasn't bad. It won't be a jukebox musical. And I haven't heard any stunt-casting rumors. Yet I find it difficult to get excited about a show starring an ogre and wisecracking donkey. Odd, that.

But it just got interesting. Tony Award winner Sutton Foster has signed on to star as Fiona, the princess who falls for the ogre. Sutton Foster is one of the best actresses in musical theater these days. And her story is great. She was an ensemble player in a number of shows in the late '90s and early '00s before she was plucked from the chorus of Thoroughly Modern Millie and cast in the starring role. She won Best Actress in a Musical for that performance and became one of the most bankable actresses on Broadway as a result. Her story could be the stuff of a corny Broadway musical (à la 42nd Street)!

I wasn't a huge fan of Millie, but I became a huge fan of Foster. Here she singing and dancing her heart out to “Forget About the Boy.” (An easy song to embrace.) … continue reading

Hairspray is the toast of London these days, and (probably) with good reason. (I haven't seen the London production, but the Broadway production was amazing when it was new.) After winning eight Tony Awards in 2003 (nominated for 13), the musical just broke Olivier Award records by receiving a whopping 11 nominations.

When I saw Hairspray during its first week of previews in 2002, I was ecstatic to see such a smart song-and-dance show that perfectly married showtunes with '60s pop. It outclassed everything then on Broadway (other than Urinetown), and nothing that's been produced since has impressed me as much. But even better than the show was creator John Waters' observation:

“The real reason I'm praying that Hairspray, the Broadway musical based on my 1988 movie, succeeds is that if it's a hit, there will be high school productions, and finally the fat girl and the drag queen will get the starring parts.”

Well, now the fat girls and drag queens in the U.K. are going to get the starring parts, too, because the show is definitely a hit. So, yay.

And it's not just the future secondary school students who will benefit. Newcomer Leanne Jones received a nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.

Speaking of Best Actress nominations, though, the star power the Best Actress in a Play category is approaching supernova proportions. There's Kristin Scott Thomas for her role in Checkov's The Seagull. … continue reading

I like music. I listen to it frequently. (My current obsession is Anne Murray's Duets — Friends and Legends. It is soooo good!) I believe it's even fair to say I appreciate music — which is a good thing, apparently, because it seems that not all music is appreciated. I just read a seemingly random list of “10 Unappreciated Albums” on Musicouch.com. The author did not provide any context or standards, and I kind of agree with the only comment posted in response to the list: “I hav[e]n't even heard of most of those bands. This article is pointless.” Yet I feel like making my own similarly pointless list.

So I'm considering my own CD collection and pondering which CDs are unappreciated — or at least underappreciated. And I mean which albums are unfairly maligned, or, more likely, unjustly ignored? Here are six, because that's how many came to mind.

1. A Cheap and Evil Girl (2000) — Bree Sharp

Bree Sharp had one fairly big single off this album: “David Duchovny,” a catchy gimmick song that got her some attention, and probably led to her second album, More B.S.. Her first album, however, should have been bigger than the one song. It is absolutely fantastic. I stumbled across it at at a record store (remember record stores?), listened to a few tracks, walked away and then went back the next day to buy the album. I still listen to it regularly. The tracks “America,” “Walk Away” and “Faster, Faster” floor me every time. … continue reading

It's true: A musical version of The Diary of Anne Frank will hit the stage in Madrid next month. And that is a first. Although the story of the Jewish girl who hid with her family from the Nazi occupation in Amsterdam has been depicted in theater and in film, it's never been told in song.

I'll give them one thing: Isabella Castillo, the 13-year-old Cuban-born girl who will play Anne Frank, is absolutely adorable. And she has spoken of the moving experience of visiting Anne Frank's house and the Anne Frank Foundation. Here she is in front of the Anne Frank tree.

And it is impressive that the musical's producers even have the blessings of The Anne Frank Foundation. Those are the same people who once rejected Steven Spielberg. … continue reading

You know when you hate your sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot boss and fantasize about poisoning his coffee, and then accidentally poison his coffee, and then keep him in bondage for a while until you can get documents with which to blackmail him, and then while he's indisposed, you make your company women-friendly while you dramatically increase productivity? I know ... it's an old story and we've all been there. But, still, Hollywood managed to make that tired plot fresh back in 1980 with Dolly Parton, Lilly Tomlin and Jane Fonda in the comedy classic 9 to 5. And now (drum roll, please), 9 to 5 is on the cusp of becoming a stage musical.

Take a moment to guess how much I love the movie. Did you guess “a lot”? If you did, you're right. As a general rule, I'm not a big fan of slapstick — and there are moments when the movie gets too slapsticky for me — but I love that movie. Love it. I don't love every Dolly Parton movie (although, embarrassingly, I do have a certain fondness for Rhinestone), but I love most of them, and I still think Doralee Rhodes is her best role. … continue reading

A couple of nights ago at midnight, I watched fireworks from a friend's roof, kissed my girlfriend and thought about the career and personal changes I could make in the new year. Then I decided self-improvement was overrated, and it would be more fun and less work to make resolutions for others. I suspected that my girlfriend wouldn't let me make them for her, so I turned my attention to the powers-that-be in Hollywood and on Broadway. Here's what I resolve they do for women in entertainment in 2008.

Movies

I resolve that the Academy Awards will be less of a celebration of male accomplishment, and more of a recognition of the breadth of accomplishment in Hollywood. Last year, it was great that Ellen DeGeneres hosted the show, but the dearth of female nominees in the directing, writing and producing categories was a wee bit depressing. So I resolve that the Academy nominate at least two women for Best Director. If they need my help, I'll make suggestions: Kasi Lemmons (Talk to Me)

and Sarah Polley (Away From Her).

… continue reading

A couple of days ago, I finished the project that's kept me working around the clock for weeks — and I celebrated by getting some sleep, and by checking the theater news I've been neglecting since the end of the stagehands strike. I was thrilled to discover that some of my Broadway and movie musical favorites were just inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

On the diva front, we have Barbra Streisand's “The Way We Were.”

Movie theme songs don't get much better than this, and divas don't get much better than Barbra. You know you want to watch her belt the song back in the day, so here you go: … continue reading

I may finally be too old for a stocking, but there’s one holiday tradition I continue to love, and that’s the airing of classic musicals on television. For a long time now, I’ve been of the opinion that lesbians need to reclaim musicals from gay men — not least because there is such a plethora of gorgeous, talented women in film musical history.

While a list of all my favorite female performances would probably take all day, here in chronological order are ten that I’m hoping to see over the vacation:

1. Ginger Rogers in Shall We Dance (1937)

I love all the Ginger Rogers/Fred Astaire collaborations, so it’s hard to select just one.

But Shall We Dance has one of my favorite Ginger Rogers moments, as the camera dwells in close-up on her listening face as Fred Astaire sings "They Can’t Take That Away From Me." While the song is beautiful, it’s Ginger’s subtly despairing response that really strikes at the heart. (She would go on to win an Oscar for Best Actress, for the non-musical film Kitty Foyle, in 1940).

2. Rosemary Clooney in White Christmas (1954)

This very, very silly seasonal musical is mostly notable for the gay undertones brought by Danny Kaye’s performance (no, really — watch it again). … continue reading