Profile for SonofRobbieJ

Oh gosh! I shall endeavor to unpack my obnoxious theater-maker speak! And honestly, this is more of my argument rather than hard facts. Miranda is not just a brilliant composer/lyricist/bookwriter, he is also a true-blue theater-nerd. His knowledge is deep and broad. What I mean by 'in conversation' is that that when he was writing In the Heights, he had a strong knowledge of that other landmark musical that (in part) explored the Latine experience - West Side Story. For decades, that was the...

I was specific in my wording. I didn't say the show wasn't considered 'quaint'...particularly as compared to Hair. I said the racial politics could be considered quaint now but would not have been seen as quaint then. And frankly, Molasses to Rum to Slaves is still an absolute gut-punch of a moment. It still feels dangerous in a way that Colored Spade from HAIR may not feel today, thought 3-5-0-0 may still shock some, especially if it's the entire cast singing it. 1776 was the most convention...

1776 is my favorite musical and I got to host a concert version of it for a number of years at 54 Below. The show has the trappings of a conservative musical comedy, but it was only 4 years after both the Selma to Montgomery marches and the passage of the Voting Rights act. We may view the racial politics of the show as quaint now, but that wouldn't have been the case in 1969. In addition, Nixon (who was president when the show opened and when the film was made) pressured Jack Warner to cut C...

First...thanks for the heads up on the membership opening, y'all! I bought one for me and one for my husband at the Tier 3 level which gets you access to both the Broadway and Off-Broadway shows.

People can like or not like whatever they want. Go for it. But what is surprising in this thread is the actual erasing of her professional life in order to fit the narrative that deBessonet is a dilettante who had one fluke success four years ago. You have to go out of your way to ignore the years of work she put into the NY theater scene to suggest that everything flows from the 2022 Into the Woods. Her Public Works program was an incredibly influential project that married theater and commu...

We all have our personal tastes, but it's real weird to argue with success. Her WOODS was the best version of that show I've seen since the original production and her RAGTIME was my favorite version of that musical because of the simplicity of the staging, clarity of the storytelling and the fact that all the actors were rowing in the same direction without seeming to compete with each other. I'm just shocked that they buried the Matthew Rhys as Burton lead so far down in the release! I'm ex...

Jarethan said: "Kad said: "And yet Groff starred in Merrily We Roll Along, one of the floppiest flops to ever flop.I'm not a fan of Passion but if it's being revived with stars like Erivo and Groff, it will do well."Merrily was not exactly Passion. In the intervening years since it originally flopped, a number of songs became well known, there had been a successful production in London that had been successful in Boston as well, the same director was mounting it again, it had humor. Franklin ...

I would never tell anyone to stop fighting the fight. Keep on keeping on, Jay. I know a bunch of queer and trans artists that have been involved in Cursed Child and, knowing how awful this business is, I'd never judge them for doing what is necessary to make it in this world.But Joanne makes it really f*cking hard to separate the art from the artists when she is so brazenly using her massive wealth that as come from this franchise to fund efforts to make trans people's lives more difficult. S...

Two physical CDs I still have in my possession cause f*ck our tech overlords are essential to me:1998 Papermill Playhouse recording of Follies1995 National Theatre recording of A Little Night Music with Judi DenchI imagine both are hard to come by at this point, but they are my precious(es).

Kad said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "Kad - we may very well be heading back to the mid-'90s in terms of lighter Broadway seasons. The only question ishowlight the coming seasons will be."Yes, we may well be- but my point is Broadway has had these periods and rebounded. It is far too early to fret about Broadway's viability."This. I can't help but wonder if the 2024/2025 tsunami of new musicals was broken up a bit with, say, Boop, Dead Outlaw, Real Women Have Curves and Operation Mincemeat opened this...

I've never been so happy for a December business trip in all my life (though not 100% true, cause I saw The Bridge's Into the Woods last December). Got my ticket!

ScottK said: "CORRECT--NOT EVER--it is calamitous, horrible, catastrophic etc--but it is NOT genocide"And you have now made your bias absolutely clear. So you're even.

As the host of Sondheim Unplugged, I have a professional obligation to listen to this critically and with an eye toward understanding the greatest of musical theater masters.As a rabid fan, I'm going to house this like I used to house cocaine. Cannot f-ing wait.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Those are money raves.Cole is brilliant in this but I’dlove to see anactor try this role too."This is an odd sentence. I've worked with Cole as an actor and they are really quite something. The first thing we did together, I only knew them from Jeffrey and Cole Casserole, so I didn't quite know what to expect. During that rehearsal process, they became my rock and they exuded professionalism, diligence, intelligence and a strong grasp of character. And they led ...

On paper, this cast is far quirkier than the revival from 2000 (of which I was a big fan). Other than Joan Jett (who...ooof...) and Dick Cavett, the rest of the 2000 cast was capital MT Musical Theater. This seems like a gloriously chaotic group of oddballs and, personally, I think a grounding presence as Frank is not a bad thing. Frank should hold the center while the rest of the cast can spiral out from him.

Gotcha...thanks for clarifying. I also don't think Glinda is a supporting role but a co-lead...particularly with how Wicked: For Good shifted the focus for that role.

In what world is Dot a supporting role?? Have I hit my head and done real damage?

MagicalMusical said: "QueenAlice, I once heard one poster a long time ago say a Jack singing "Giants in the Sky" made them cry, so it's not the only time it ever happened. I would love to know more of that though, too,SonofRobbieJ! Happy to elaborate! First, the visual of Jack's appearance at the top of the song set the tone. He looked like he'd been in a fight - cuts and bruises, torn clothing and disheveled hair. That simple visual immediately upped the stakes of the song. It grounded the e...

The transformation of the Witch in Act One and the staging of the end of Last Midnight were the two moments that let me down in an otherwise stunning, deeply moving production of Into the Woods. It's a shame, too, because Kate Fleetwood's Witch is perhaps the most effective I've seen. She doesn't have the stellar vocals of some of our more resplendent Witches, but she is the perfect combination of funny and actually scary. She never asks for a moment of empathy from the audience and it is a f...

Thanks, binau! I'm in the UK next week for work and have one night in London (Wednesday) and I'm seeing this. Cannot wait.