Profile for illiniparkie

My condolences to Mr. Sondheim’s family, friends and colleagues.  The theater world lost a giant.  But his words and music will continue to challenge and give pleasure to audiences and performers for generations to come.  Thank you, sir, for a life well lived.

“Little Tin Box” from Fiorello
“Someone in a Tree” from Pacific Overtures
“Everybody Ought to Have a Maid” from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”

Saw this tonight with the family. I liked it a lot. The ladies are very talented and the choreography, lighting and costumes were outstanding. The music is catchy and the lyrics are smart, poignant and funny. The audience ate it up (it seemed there are some Six groupies out there who have seen the show multiple times based on the crowd’s response). I was surprised how relevant and touching it was having gone to the show cold, just knowing the basic concept from reading the comments in thi

That was pretty terrific. Great staging and concept. Leaps and bounds better than the other musicals recently done on TV. And very brave for John Legend to take this on. He acquitted himself very well.

So I am wondering how housing works for casts and crews that travel in shows on tour.  Does everyone stay at hotels or apartments?  Do the producers pay and arrange for housing or do cast members pay out-of-pocket and make their own arrangements?  Are meals covered?  Are the arrangements the same for a sit-down production that runs for months (such as the production of Hamilton in Chicago)?  So "stars" get special accommodations?  Do fami

Kevin Spacey was a lot of fun.  I had forgotten about his spot-on Johnny Carson impersonation.

I thought the way the best plays were presented was original and a splendid way to give recognition to the playwrights.

The Rockettes?  I felt I had accidentally turned on a Christmas show.

Bette's speech was hilarious.  A bit long, but so what?  She played off the orchestra!  Priceless!

I was personally predicting a Best Musical for Come from

1.  Come from Away

2.  Groundhog Day

3.  Miss Saigon

4.  Bandstand 

5.  Dear Evan Hansen

6.  The Great Comet

7.  Hello, Dolly

8.  War Paint

9.  Falsettos 

Forgive me if this has been explained, but James Lapine was nominated for Falsettos when it first appeared on Broadway.  Can he be nominated again (even though he lost)?

Double post.

A fun show with a lot of great character parts is L'il Abner.  Not too well known today since it is based on an old comic strip but it would be a good choice. Likewise, Finian's Rainbow is a great show for a diverse community.  Both shows are funny and have a satirical political edge as well as good music.  I also loved being in Carnival! in high school but it could be somewhat technical with the the circus setting, magic, and puppets.  Good luck with your choice.<

Les Miserables - Tears

1776 - Stunned

King and I - Tears

Sweeney Todd - Stunned

Sunday in the Park with George - Tears

Hamilton - Stunned and Tears

Hey, I agree not all movies need a happy ending to be good.  There are other problems with LA LA LAND that (in my and my wife's opinions) make LA LA LAND less than satisfying.  Underdeveloped characters and lack of complexity to the story being a couple of problems.  We have liked other movie musicals that don't quite end happily-ever-after (SWEENEY TODD, LES MIZ, INTO THE WOODS).   If you like the movie, fine.  I am glad movie musicals are bein

I, too, felt the movie was pleasant but not worth a lot of the hype.  The production design, cinematography, and direction were good.  Emma and Ryan were an attractive couple.  The opening two group numbers were creative but the vocals were so soft and lacking in individuality that the movie didn't engage me until it focused on the couple..  I liked Emma's audition song, probably because I was engaged in her story by that time (and it did remind me of "Rainbow Connection".

My?format=auto&width=600 wife did not like it much at all:  

 

Regardless, I am sure it will do well at the Oscars.  Hollywood loves movies about itself.

Nathan Lane

Harvey Fierstein

Stephen Schwartz

Alan Menken

Renee Fleming

John Lasseter

The documentary did not make the final cut of 15 for Oscar consideration.

 

http://www.oscars.org/news/15-documentary-features-advance-2016-oscar-race

Anthony Rapp played Charlie Brown (his followup to Rent) and B.D. Wong (his followup to M. Butterfly) played Linus.  That cast did pretty well for themselves.

My daughter saw it last night while she was in New York on business.  She enjoyed it very much and gave high praise to the cast, who brought out the humor in the well-written thoughtful script.  She loved the use of projections of social media pages.  Her single seat was in the center of the orchestra, which she thought provided a great view (purchased at TKTS for about $90).

"Hills of Tomorrow" and "Merrily We Roll Along" from "Merrily We Roll Along".

"Hello Twelve" from "Chorus Line".

"13" from "13".

 

 

Same Time Next Year