Profile for Jonathan Cohen

binau said: "But he did produce good work. And I wish his work was back on stage. I don’t know how to solve both problems. Can some powerful Broadway ‘people’, whoever they are - or even Scott Rudin himself - agree to work only under CCTV camera and provide an escalation path for workers if he cannot keep control? I don’t think he can have a second chance that is unqualified or unsupervised. But at the same time he is not Harvey Weinstein."

There's a "flash sale" on tickets to the reunion concert. It looks like all the mezzanine seats row J and behind are now $28.40.  It looks like there are still over a 100 tickets for sale in the mezzanine section and about 175 tickets left for sale in the rest of the venue.

I would love to see Suffs do "Great American Bitch", it's the song that's the most fun in the show. 

"Keep Marching" is the song I expect to see. I get wanting to use a song that utilizes the entire cast, but I actually preferred the version Shaina Taub did solo playing the piano on Kelly Clarkson to the version in the show. More is not always better. 

Someone in a Tree2 said: "So for the Fallon appearance, who the hell is the 6th band member?? (The one in the red cowboy shirt and straight-leg jeans (very non-period for 1976)! Did they bring on a guitar ringer just for the tv appearance, or is there additional offstage guitar support playing every night at the Golden? Inquiring minds wanna know."

Justin Craig, who just got nominated for Best Orchestrations for the show. 

somecheapfrenchthing said: "Hmm... Maybe in the minority here but kind of wish Schmigadoon wasn't taking up one of the Broadway Center Stage slots. Would've much preferred a third "revival," consistent with past programming, a la Encores. But happy about Spelling Bee and Legally Blonde! Lots of exciting casting possibilities!"

It is a revival! Just a cross medium one.  

Broadway Flash said: "I thought Dancin was a breath of fresh air last season. I thought it was new choreography?"

Here's an article from Playbill that describes what happened in more detail. Basically because they don't have a full recording from the 1978 show, a couple of the original dancers tried recreating it based on their memory and Fosse's notebooks.

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "Winner - Primary Trust

Finalists

-Public Obscenities

-Here There Are Blueberries"

It looks like you called it.

Primary Trust is an interesting choice from my perspective, based on how much I straight up disliked it. Giving a 38-year-old interpersonal relationship challenges that would make more sense for a 18-year-old, I found exhausting to listen to.

TaffyDavenport said: "https://variety.com/2024/tv/awards/benj-pasek-justin-paul-egot-only-murders-song-submission-emmys-1235988018/

"‘Only Murders’ Songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul Go for EGOT With ‘Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?’ at Emmys""

This reminds me of how "We Don’t Talk About Bruno" didn't win an Oscar for Encanto, for the dumbest reason possible. Disney didn't even submit it for consideration, pushing “Dos Oruguitas” instead. 

Look for the Light has like 4X as many monthly listens as Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It on Spotify. It's Murder's most popular song. Don't overthink it and just submit your most popular song.

jacobsnchz14 said: "Per Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6e55FCvquq/?igsh=MTd1dzZ2aGIybGNqNg=="

Considering how bad Lempicka is about accurately quoting people on social media, maybe the producers aren't closing it?   

The whole thing is a shame. This was the most ambitious of the many half baked new musicals that hit Broadway this Spring. The show really invoked Sondheim for me. Yes, because of all the singing about color and light, but also because much like Merrily We Roll Along, I think the show can still be fixed down the line. 

yyys said: "Is the front row too close for this production?"

I just watched the show from the front row and it's a high stage, but the front row is further back from the stage compared to most Broadway theaters. I couldn't see anyone's shoes but other than that it's a pretty unobstructed view. 

You do have to crane your head up for the entire show however, and I'm saying that as someone who is 6'2.

Quit while you're ahead is probably especially true for Sondheim shows. Merrily We Roll is also another hit revival of his not attempting replacement casting.

No Sondheim show has ever run for 1,000 performances on Broadway, though A Funny Thing Happened on the Way came close with 964 performances. Compared to other giants of the theater, his shows don't seem to lend themselves to replacement casts and indefinite runs as much.

TaffyDavenport said: "If you're counting Cynthia Erivo as an Elphaba, you have to count Ethan Slater as a Boq."

100%. I just edited it to include that omission. 

After reading the New York Times article on 3 Elphabas getting nominated for Tonys this morning, I was curious how often actors who have appeared in Wicked have gotten nominated for Tonys overall? 

Doing some research, I could find 16 instances of Elphabas getting nominated for Tonys, compared to 9 instances of Glindas receiving Tony nominations. Fiyeros have received 9 Tony nominations, and Boqs 9. 

Since the The Wizard and Madame Morrible are roles for actors further along in their careers, those are the Wicked actors who currently have the most Tony nominations. Wizards have 31 nominations and Madame Morribles have 26 nominations. 

Specifics are below. Since I was looking at people who performed in Wicked beyond just Broadway, I assume the list is incomplete. 

# of Tony Nominations For Elphabas 

Stephanie J. Block  -  3

Idina Menzel  -    3

Shoshana Bean  -   2

Lindsay Mendez  -   2

Carmen Cusack  -  2

Eden Espinosa   -  1

Saycon Sengbloh   -  1

Lilli Cooper  -  1

Cynthia Erivo   -  1

# of Tony Nominations For Glindas 

Kristin Chenoweth  -  3

Annaleigh Ashford  -   3

Megan Hilty   -  1

Jennifer Laura Thompson  -    1

Laura Bell Bundy  -   1

# of Tony Nominations For Wizards 

Joel Grey. - 6

Robert Morse  - 5

George Hearn  - 5

Kevin Chamberlin - 3

Ben Vereen -  2

Brad Oscar - 2

David Garrison - 1

John Rubinstein - 1

Tom McGowan - 1

Lee Wilkof  - 1

Mark Jacoby  - 1

Paul Kreppel  -  1

Cleavant Derricks -  1

John Dossett  -  1

# of Tony Nominations For Madame Morribles 

Jayne Houdyshell -  5

Carole Shelley -  4

Judy Kaye -  4

Mary Testa -  3

Michele Lee  - 2

Alison Fraser  -  2

Rondi Reed  -  1

Sheryl Lee Ralph  -  1

Isabel Keating. - 1

Nancy Opel -  1

Michele Pawk -  1

Donna McKechnie  -  1

# of Tony Nominations For Boqs

Christopher Fitzgerald  -  3

Robin de Jesús  -  3

Alex Brightman  -  2

Ethan Slater  -  1 

# of Tony Nominations For Fiyeros 

Norbert Leo Butz  -  4

Andy Karl  -  3

Aaron Tveit  -  1

Derek Klena  -  1

The crowded landscape argument is a little disingenuous when the same article says new Summer programming for the Hayes Theater will be announced soon. It's just too crowded for a show where it not belonging on Broadway is literally in the title.

Jordan Catalano said: "The title fits perfectly with the theme of the show."

Yeah, The Power of Love, Stuck with You, Hip to Be Square, Jacob's Ladder, and Perfect World all charted higher, but The Heart of Rock and Roll fits the story the best. 

If the show had to be named after a Huey Lewis song, they landed on the best available choice.