Profile for canmark

Inherit the WindThe Will Rogers Follies

I’ve stayed at the Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square (6th Avenue at 39th Street) and would recommend it for an older couple. It’s near Times Square, but away from the hubub – it’s close to Bryant Park, which is nice. Easily accessible by taxi and subway, and walking distance to most of Midtown. Not cheap, but the rooms have kitchenettes and they provide a free buffet breakfast.

Ditto 5 Napkin Burger

Entrance applause seems to be a Broadway thing. One seldom experiences it in Toronto. Although I do recall Kim Cattrall getting entrance applause when she starred in Private Lives at the Royal Alex opposite Paul Gross. I thought this interesting because I associate Broadway entrance applause with legendary stars who have made many noteworthy appearances on the Broadway stage (for example, Bernadette Peters or Nathan Lane) and were being recognized for a lifetime of work. But Cattrall seemed t...

Indeed, Nina Simone’s version of Feeling Good is used in the trailer for the upcoming documentary about her, What Happened, Miss Simone? She had an uncanny way of taking a show tune and turning it into a Nina Simone song (to be later covered by other artists). Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moOQXZxriKY

What’s great about the Yvonne de Carlo version is that undersung (like the Glynis Johns version of Send in the Clowns) when so many performers want to over sing it. I actually like Elaine Stritch version because she comes across as a slightly daft, eccentric old broad who may have actually lived that life. Performers like Betty Buckley or Elaine Paige may sing the song well, but they are too classy and sane. You don’t get the sense that they are a crazy old bird hollering “Hey, look at me bab...

George Takei fans can help contribute to Allegiance and the Japanese American National Museum by making a donation here: George Takei's Legacy Project

I saw the first preview in Toronto and saw the show during its Broadway run. It’s the only time I ever saw Chita Rivera (or Brent Carver, for that matter) on stage. Good show, but far from my favorite Kander and Ebb.

Regarding the comments about Watanabe’s diction: is he speaking with his natural Japanese accent or is he trying to speak with a Thai accent? I’m wondering if some people are having difficulty understanding him because they’re not accustomed to listening to a person with a Japanese accent – as opposed to a native English speaker using a mock Thai accent.

On one of her previous tours, I was sitting in the second row and I caught one of the gladiolus that Dame Edna throws into the audience. Not knowing what to do with it (Dame Edna was instructing us to hold them high and wave them in the air) I hastily handed it to the lady sitting next to me.

Some shows are using “flex” pricing, are they not? If the show is close to sold out, the remaining seats have a higher price. It the show has a lot of seats remaining, the remaining seats have lower price. Supply/demand. I know a lot of sporting events (basketball, hockey) do this, too. Depending on the opponent and the advance ticket sales, the price of a specific seat can vary considerably. That said, it would be nice if producers offered discounted seats on a more regular basis. The last r...

Cats is the third-longest running show in Broadway history. Why? Because people like it. Of course it’s going to be revived – it’s a cash cow. I myself like Cats – the show, that is. I’m indifferent to actual cats – although I do like watching big cats on nature programs. I saw the Broadway production Cats, as well as the Toronto production. It’s an entertaining song/dance show that appeals to all ages. It seems quite a number of people on this board don’t like it, but tough. If you don’t lik...

I thought all of their 10 choices could POSSIBLY be made into musicals (and their comments re-: Mel Tillis sound like they were making fun of him). As mentioned by others, Tootsie actually sounds like a good idea for musical. Milk might be a good idea, too. “Hello, I'm Harvey Milk, and I'm here to recruit you” sounds like the opening line of a song to me. Jerry Herman, where are you? Driving Miss Daisy calls for a William Finn-type treatment. Sondheim wanted to scare audiences with Sweeney To...

Thrilled to hear that Allegiance will indeed come to Broadway. I don’t know a lot about the show, but I am familiar with its subject matter and think it’s an important story to be told. My family’s Japanese Canadian and my mother (and her family and friends) were put in Japanese-Canadian internment camps during WWII. Not only were men, women and children imprisoned, but they were disenfranchised – they lost the right to vote in their own country. We also have a relative who was in a Japanese-...

Yay! Falsettos was the first show I ever saw on Broadway. Summer of 1992. John Golden theatre. I sat in the balcony with a half-price ticket from the TKTS.

Ditto The Lisbon Traviata. And Frankie & Johnnny.

I vaguely recall Chilina being good as the daft Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. I don’t recall her being all that in Jesus Christ Superstar. I do wish her the best of luck. Poor Stratford, losing so many of their young musical stars (Chilina, Josh Young, Paul Nolan) to the Broadway stage.

Someone got me the Jersey Boys DVD for Christmas and I finally watched it. I have not seen the stage version, but have the OBC CD and have some familiarity with the structure of the show. Found the first part long and uninteresting, like a poor man’s version of a Martin Scorsese mafia picture that involved petty criminals who liked to sing. It was a full 45 minutes before the group was formed and they don’t sing their first hit (“Sherry”) until the 55 minute mark. And did they change the orde...

The last movie I would see in 2014 was Into the Woods. Acceptable, but disappointing, is the best I can say for the film. Despite the all-star cast, the movie felt cheap and under lit. The costumes were drab (especially compared to the stage originals), the production design was unimaginative (Granny’s house was a tree with a door, the “palace” looked more like a fortress), and the special effects (like the virtually unseen giants) lacking. Perhaps if less money was spent on star salaries, mo...