Profile for steveshack

SPOILER-Y:In the synopsis above, it was mentioned that "Grindr" hook-up happened before the abduction. It actually, chronologically, happens after the abduction. At the end of the number, just as he kisses the new boy, he flashes back to his abductor.That's Blake Zolfo as the potential hook-up. New to NY stage, this is his first show. (He's a friend).Steve Schalchlin

> postdramatic stress disorderThat is my new favorite phrase.

My friend, Blake Zolfo, has a featured role in this. I'm hoping the show is good.

We saw Woody Allen on the staircase in the back of the house when we saw it the other night. The show is okay until the first gangster song near the end of act one. From that point on, it laid there like a dead fish.

It's probably worth a different thread, but the Tiffany Haas and Michael McCorry Rose show mentioned above was absolutely great. The musical arrangements were clever and both of them have great presence. Michael was great both as a leading man, but also as a character man. He has precise comic timing, very expressive and slightly dangerous eyes, and confidence. And a fantastic vocal instrument to go with it all. This was my first time to see him and I was kind of blown away. For a performer, ...

ARTc3, the chair stumble was a part of the show when we saw it. Your perception of the show is similar to how I felt. It really worked for me. The scenes were well written, the characters firmly established. Good thoughts about the score. The Adrian ballads are nice and it is solid in its storytelling. Also, the set was a big part of the overall entertainment value. The Philly Pie number is, of course, the attempt at disco. Maybe we were spared more period music for a reason. And that's not a...

A stunning, masterful performance in an intricate large cast play about the machinations of getting civil rights legislation passed, while simultaneously trying to get nominated and then elected to his first actual term in office after JFK's death. Cranston disappears into the bombastic, profane, warrior persona of LBJ completely and naturally. It's also a concise and illuminating history lesson by the playwright, Robert Shenkkan. Balancing many simultaneous stories, the writing was crystal c...

Saw it last night. The tech problems are straightened out. The show moves very fluidly. The two leads connect emotionally and make us care about them very much. And that's really what made the show work, for me. The score served the material and the songs rose smoothly out of the underscoring, but was also dull and kind of monotonous. Happily, though, none of the songs last that long so you don't have much chance to get bored by them. I was surprised at how utterly mundane the music was. Unti...

For the record, both off-Broadway musicals (The Last Session and The Big Voice: God or Merman?) which my partner, Jim Brochu, and I have written were written score first. So, it's definitely possible to do it that way. What I don't get from this show is who the book writer supposedly is, or whether they have one at all. Or whether they're going to bother getting one. The only hints they have given are "the book is a mess" from the pilot. What book?

Excellent interview. I happen to think Riedel is hilarious, but then, he hasn't attacked me yet. :)

My main problem with that, in just a few days, it went from "Hey, here's a bad idea for a musical" to two songs, to auditions for the Broadway production. And the book was written when? And by whom?

Turns out the "leak" was actually fumes from a fuel oil delivery next door. But the producers, not knowing the situation, erred on the side of safety and sent everyone home. No one was in any actual danger, thankfully. The production is in terrific shape, btw, if you haven't seen it. Because it's an Equity showcase contract, the rehearsal and preview periods were EXTREMELY short, so early viewers and even critics witnessed a production still finding its way around the stage. Because of the co...

Rick McKay is a national treasure.

I have to admit that I entered the show skeptically because 40s pastiche music sounds like a night in hell, but it thoroughly won me over. Especially Bobby Steggert, who never fails to be vulnerable and daring and honest and heartbreaking. (heart thump heart thump) Shack

It's a very tricky role, but it's one of the best in the canon of American theater. (Disclaimer: I am associated with the production but I'm not speaking, officially, for them). I was lucky enough to be able to attend the auditions, and this cast is unbelievable. The talent that came into that room left me breathless. Some had me in tears, literally within seconds of saying barely a few words. How rich the feeling to be in a room with a great actor. Then they told me why. Because of how rarel...

American Idiot's score was intentionally written around a single coherent theme and intended to function as a larger overall statement. The musical adheres to this vision and serves the material as it was originally intended. This is not the case with Jersey Boys.

I agree that it is NOT a jukebox musical. It was constituted as a narrative, and all those days I jogged around listening to the original album, I always saw a show in my mind long before they pulled it together and made it a stage show. I define jukebox musical as a bunch of unrelated songs from disparate sources that are shoe-horned into a narrative for which they were not written. Forgive the personal reference, but I'll use, as an example, both of our musicals, The Last Session and The Bi...

klacombe, > I agree with you Steve. I loved everything about this musical except for many of the jokes. You bring up a good point. The show, for my money, is not merely an excuse to make jokes. It has real substance as a statement about faith and the naivete many young religionists have about their ability to save the world. And yet, it shows that sometimes even having good intentions and putting yourself out there can be enough, if you have the capacity to learn the biggest lesson of all. Wh...

I was just yankin' yer chain. :)

> "No- the problem is you don't respond to the kind of the humor in the show. Simple. When everyone else around you is laughing, you are not the audience for the show." > People were also laughing all around me at the abysmal film "The Hangover." It, like this show, was not humorous. Given the fact that I found both TBOM and The Hangover hilariously funny, you kind of made his point. You're not the audience for these shows. The thing about comedy is you either laugh or you don't. If you laugh...