Profile for aja

Very excited to hear this news. I wasn't able to get to NY in time to see this production, but I had an odd question for those that did. Did Steven Pasquale as Wilkes Booth not sport a mustache? In photos I dont see one and it struck me as odd. Forgive me if this has been discussed elsewhere.

Hi all. So I need some friendly suggestions. I am a theatre teacher at an Arts High School and am looking to direct a musical next fall in our black box theatre. I am looking for something small (or that can be done on smaller scale) that has a good sense of humor. Also, ideally could sound good with a 3 or 4 piece orchestra. I have previously directed Urinetown and The Apple Tree in the space, but I'm just not getting any brilliant ideas for this year. I figured there'd be enough experts on ...

is there any actual flying (wires)? Or is everything done imaginatively and theatrically? Very excited to see this next week!

Anyone know where I might be able to find a recording of this show? I can't locate a cast album anywhere on Amazon and would like to hear the music if possible. Even any useful youtube links would help. Thanks!

I think the fascination/repulsion for Rylance's acting style comes from that fact that he is a classic British stage actor. What I mean by this is that he works from the outside-in. Funny walks, funny voices, funny body positioning, funny clothing choices, very broad character-based choices. This is directly oppositional to the American acting technique of inside-out that has dominated most stages since Brando and the rise of Strasberg's 'Method.' A classic example of this was the famous inte...

Every number kind of looks the same with the exception of the Kerry Butler number. And given the character's extremely small role in the film, I can't understand why she would have such an emotionally driven song. But then again, I never read the source material so i dont want to unfairly compare the film and musical too much.

Ticket prices, ticket prices, ticket prices. When a show asks you to lay down over $100 per ticket, one expects Wicked or some similar spectacle. A show like this has NO PLACE in the commercial theatre world of Broadway. This belongs in the non-profit sector of American theatre. As someone who pays attention to Broadway as well as reads frequently from periodicals like American Theatre Magazine, I can say that the rift between for profit and non-profit theatre in this country is growing wider...

Are you kidding? its so melodramatic, its very theatrical just with an edge.And of course it did not look theatrical it was just him singing with a band. in two short sentences you manage to contradict me, and then fully support what I said. very well. enjoy the show!

So very little about that looked or sounded at all theatrical. It's interesting how in some ways, Broadway is reconnecting back with popular music with these elaborate concerts/spectacles-as-theatre-pieces, but at what cost to the art form of musical theatre?

ive always thought that 'Confederacy of Dunces' would make a great English opera. To me, its central character sees himself on such an unrealistically grand scale that only an opera would suffice. I think it could have the same type of comic potential as Jerry Springer: The Opera, which could really be regarded as a piece of opera OR musical theatre come to think of it. But def. agree with some sort of stage adaptation of C.O.D.

Jesus Christ, Ashford again?? How can this man direct AND choreograph this many productions and not get burnt out? Are there really no other possibilities for directors? And for such a book heavy show, why does this call out for a director/choreographer? I'm kind of sick of this guy.

The director obviously knows very little about the actual setup of Major League Baseball. The Cubs are in a completely different league than the Yankees. Why a Cubs fan would hate the Yankees is fairly unfathomable. They never even would play one another except perhaps in a World Series. Changing the team and basic plot...why not just change the title too while you're at it? In fact, why even use Damn Yankees as source material if you're going to bastardize it to the nth degree?

What interests me is the casting of this production. I've just watched one or two of the video blogs from their rehearsals, and what struck me was how young the entire cast appeared. Isn't this production set some years after the original? It looks as if they've cast a production of a PREquel rather than a sequel. She looks significantly younger than both Brightman, and some of the Christine's I've seen on Broadway. And he looks fifteen years or more younger than Crawford did when he was play...