Profile for HeyMrMusic

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "As discussed before, this revival will feature a 28-piece orchestra, making it the largest band on Broadway at the moment."

This prompted me down an IBDB rabbit hole. Does WICKED still have 23 + conductor, same as when it opened? If so, that's the next-largest orchestra on Broadway, followed by a few shows in the 18-20 range (Aladdin, Lion King, DBH, Great Gatsby)."

The Lion King also has 23 + conductor. A great resource for current Broadway orchestras is broadwaymusicians.com.

Why a scholarship for Asian men specifically? Asian men are far less represented in musical theatre, especially in principal and leading man roles.

Thank you, Wayman. Always eloquently put.

Posting that statement at 1:00 AM on a Thursday may not have been the most savvy of them.

No, I think you’re just defiantly not listening.

Just offering this in their own words:

Park: [Bringing it to America in 2020,] we were stubborn — we’re not changing the location, we’re not doing stunt casting, the actors should really match the characters. Luckily, the show was already running for multiple years in Korea and Japan and China, and everyone was respectful of what was already done, so we were able to stick to the authenticity of the material.

Aronson: At one point, we had Denée Benton playing Claire, Corey Cott as Oliver and Jon Jon Briones as both [Oliver’s former owner] James and the jazz singer. Then, our thinking was: They’re robots, so they could technically be any background, but if the audience only has a few moments to define the setting, it helps that the protagonists are cast Asian.

Darren Criss (actor, Oliver): Let’s call a spade a spade here — I’m the white-passing Asian of our group, but it is my identity. The AAPI community in the arts is a smaller, if not marginalized, group, so to be up there, I feel that excitement and encouragement from the community at large. It’s important, and I hope this show can continue to have that legacy and be an inspiring call to action in other artistic spheres.

Justin Scribner (production stage manager): I’m excited for Asian artists to see themselves in a piece that’s not about Asian trauma, of which there’s so much in the musical theater canon, like “Miss Saigon” and “The King and I.” That takes its toll. To have roles for Asian artists that just happen to be in Korea, built by Asian creatives in Asia — it all feels like a possible beginning of something.​​​​​​​

LA Times

So they changed their tune pretty quickly.

Very excited about Kurt Elling, who is one of my favorite vocalists.

BorisTomashevsky said: "chrishuyen said: "I just realized that since Rob was in the 25th anniversary Les Mis concert, that's 3 people in that concert that are currently doing shows in NYC (with Nick Jonas and Ramin Karimloo)"

And Norm Lewis also, if his play’s still running."

Let’s not forget Lea Salonga!

A gentle reminder: Rob uses they/them pronouns.

Seeing this tonight. Bought my tickets on TDF, so I’m curious where I’ll be. I’m glad that they are reshuffling the seating so that it feels more intimate for both Rob and the audience. 

I didn’t know we counted Sports Emmys in EGOT, although I admit I don’t pay attention to Sports Emmys. Once upon a time, people didn’t want to count Whoopi as an EGOT winner because her Emmy was a Daytime Emmy.

Lady Gaga has an Emmy for music direction, and no one has won a Tony for music direction since 1964. They really need to change that.

With Nicole and Sunset winning, I’m slightly surprised Jamie Lloyd didn’t pull out a win. 

ShowBro said: "I thoroughly enjoyed MHE, but I honestly have no idea why they pushedThe Rainy Day We Met as the lead single in their current PR campaign.It’s easily one of the weakest songs in the show, IMO, and only really works within the context of the full production."

Probably because “Hitting the Road” is broken up into two separate tracks.

I can’t imagine thinking the songs of Maybe Happy Ending are boring, same-sounding, or non-hummable. It’s certainly not a bombastic score, but it’s not meant to be. I listened to the score on repeat when it came out, and it just felt like a cozy hug. Different folks, I guess.