Profile for TimesSquared

The Broadway League isn’t some external, independent body. It’s make up of the producers themselves.

MJ canceled an hour before curtain because most of the cast called out. They were prepared to do the matinee with some workers at the theater since 9am.

“Yes, about 7 people have replied already and informed me I was wrong. My bad guys! Carry on!”Didn’t mean to gang up on you! I don’t read every post.

“Looks the same to me”The Kennedy Center used the original Bway art. This is new for the move to Broadway. This new version has the Lady of the Lake and the Laker Girls.

“Appears to be the same artwork from the Kennedy Center run.“It’s not. It’s new art. Kennedy Center used the original Bway art.

James Nederlander is among the dozens of producers.https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2022/4/14/james-nederlander-donated-thousands-to-donald-trump-and-gop-organizations-in-2021

I was there tonight too and I just loved it. Borscht Belt humor may not be to everyone’s taste, and a younger audience may not be on board, but funny is funny, and the audience ate it up. Like you said, Jordan, neither Billy or David Paymer are great singers but they put their numbers across well. It’s a terrific story, and very touching. There is nothing like watching a seasoned pro like Billy Crystal on stage.And the score is great. Very much along the lines of Honeymoon in Vegas. Again, no...

The workshop in Barrington had no sets and minimal costumes. Probably wouldn’t have made for great photos.

Just my personal taste, but I listened to some of her hits after reading all the buzz about this new song (yeah, I’m part of a different generation) and I’ve yet to hear a melody I haven’t heard the likes of many times before. I get that fans are into her stories, and I love a good singer/storyteller in a concert setting, but Swift seems to write a lot of songs that hover around a single note over a very simple chord progression. To me, they drone, and lack the variety needed for a musi...

After seeing her “autobiographical” song on SNL last night — rambling, repetitive lyrics and droning, boring melody — I’d say no. I’ll never understand the appeal.

An interesting point. I saw Fun Home at the Public first, where it did have an intermission. It was dropped for Broadway, and for me, that was part of what made the Broadway experience a richer one.

Great discussion topic. I like intermissionless musicals, not because I can get out sooner, but because it means that unnecessary padding has to be cut, which (usually) results in quality over quantity. The Band's Visit and Fun Home are great examples. They could have added superfluous chorus numbers, elaborate set changes, or fleshed out other characters' stories extending the running time and requiring an intermission—adding “bang for your buck” to justify ever-increasing ticket prices. Ins...

I can't stand the new On Stage. Frank DiLella's idea of an interview is a childish "Complete this sentence..." game, or "What kind of candy represents your character?" Patrick Pacheco and Donna Karger asked informed questions that showed respect for the actors' and the audience's intelligence. DiLella's shallow, gushing, fanboy silliness is grating and unwatchable. Sad we lost this show to another goofy, Richard Ridge type.The management at Spectrum, who I'm sure don't know theater from their...

Frank DiLella and "Broadway Whispers"

I agree, Madonna Musical, I do hope they get the word out there. For the general public though, there's no name recognition with Groundhog Day except for the title—and Bill Murray, who isn't in it. I think musical adaptations of well-known movies are a tough sell. As theater fans, we all know of Andy Karl and Tim Minchin, but they're not a draw outside of our circle. I think shows cost so much to produce now, that there's not much left in the bank for promotion. Unless you're Scott Rudin.

I just want to point out that any art you see for a show, the logo, the posters, marquees, tv ads, magazine ads, billboards, etc.—that's the advertising, not marketing. Yes, advertising is a component of marketing, but if you're referring to the artwork you see in print, on tv and on the theater, that's advertising. Marketing includes PR, sales strategy, pricing, market research, advertising, and on and on.Sorry to be pedantic!

Forget Hamilton, how many Americans in 1979 had any idea who Eva Peron was? People didn't avoid Evita because they didn't know who she was.I just finished Lindy Woodhead's book War Paint, on which the show is based. I knew the names Arden and Rubinstein, of course, but not that they were business tycoons on a global scale from as far back as the 1920s. Not to mention the obvious fact that they were women in a time when women were rarely in charge of anything, much less corporate empires of th...

I saw a workshop and I have to say I think the score is wonderful. The lyrics are super clever and the melodies are terrific. It has the feel of a classic 1950's musical by Frank Loesser that you somehow never saw. There's a choral number sung by the bus drivers that I couldn't get out of my head for weeks. Alice has a very clever number about her frustration with Ralph's latest scheme involving a piano, and Ralph's song at the end, "Baby, You're the Greatest"—roll your eyes, if you must—it's...

Henri has been written by Lucas as a closeted gay character, recognized to be so by his two buddies. Many lines point to this, including a jealous Jerry saying, after Henri does his number in the cabaret and is embracing Lise, "Yes, he really puts on quite an act." It's meant to be the reason for his hesitation in proposing to Lise, which his mother keeps pushing. He now also does a pointed take to the two handsome dancers who appear on either side of him at the beginning of his fantasy seque...

All I could think was "How in hell did this ever get on a Broadway stage?" And "What bored rich people thought they could play producer and win a Tony with the likes of this?" My jaw was on the floor for most of the show. The music, lyrics and book are the work of rank amateurs. Every tune was derivative, every lyric clunky, every joke dead, every try for emotion hollow. It is truly unbelievable to behold. That duet for the groom and his father was one of the most embarrassing things I've eve...