Ebersole and Davie: together again in APPLAUSE! — Page 2

wow.. thank you great cast.... Christine Ebersole, Erin Davie, Kate Burton and Mario Cantone....

I have not bought my ticket yet... I might just decided to buy the $95.00 tix for this one.. ehemmm.. again...

J*

Well, I am going the evening of Saturday, February 9, so if you're in NYC that day, Phil...

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I am just grateful I will not have to hear Bacall sing "Hurry Back." That was (and will forever be) excrutiating!

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Haha, Chip Zein is part of the cast too.

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Bonnie will be played by Megan Sikora.

From Playbill.com:

Casting is now complete for the Betty Comden-Adolph Green-Charles Strouse-Lee Adams musical that will feature the previously announced Ebersole in the role created on Broadway by Lauren Bacall. Ebersole will be joined onstage by Davie (Eve Harrington), Kate Burton (Karen Richards), Mario Cantone (Duane Fox), Tom Hewitt (Howard Benedict), Michael Park (Bill Sampson), Megan Sikora (Bonnie) and Chip Zien (Buzz Richards).

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It very well may end up like WONDERFUL TOWN, considering WT was started at City Center too.

Because of her ONE bad show?

Her Choreography for WONDERFUL TOWN was less than mediocre. The only reason she won that Tony was because it was a weak season for Choreography.

Her Choreography Tony for PAJAMA GAME should have gone to Casey Nicholaw, who, if it were not for John Doyle and his SWEENEY TODD work that season, would have won for Best Direction of a Musical.

Nicholaw directed and choreographed the season's best musical. He deserved a Tony to recognize his work on DROWSY that season.

The only reason PAJAMA GAME won anything was because some producers lied by saying they were going to pick it up for a commercial run.

Nicholaw proved himself again by directing and choreographing the gorgeous FOLLIES production at Encores last season.

He deserves any new work over Marshall, in my opinion.

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I know Megan Sikora is playing "Bonnie" but what part would that be in All About Eve? Or is it not in the movie at all? I've never seen Applause, but I'm curious.

If the title song turns into a big, happy, all smiles, trying to be quirky Kahtleen Marshall number with the gypsies dancing around in pastel bellbottoms and turtlenecks, I might have to kill myself. It is a production number, yes, but not that kind of production number.

"I know Megan Sikora is playing "Bonnie" but what part would that be in All About Eve? Or is it not in the movie at all? I've never seen Applause, but I'm curious."
Bonnie is not in All About Eve. Bonnie is Bonnie Franklin, a gypsy character invented to sing the title song and do nothing much else. When Leland Palmer went into the show the role was renamed Leland. I'm suprised the part hasn't been renamed Megan for Ms. Sikora.
And I too would have loved to see Nicholaw do applause.

"What are the others?"

Despite the fact that I loved Connick and O'Hara (and McKean for that matter) in Pajama Game, it was a rather mediocre production. The lamebrain ensemble smiled big phony smiles too much. I felt like Marshall made Prez and Mae more central to the story than Hines and his girlfriend secretary. I hated that the girlfriend secretary, originally played by Carol Haney, did not do Steam Heat. They really could have hired a dancer despite how good Megan Lawrence was.
She murdered Follies! MURDERED IT! So did the director of that so called "production" that Roundabout did, but she was just as responsible.
And don't get me started on Grease.
So one mediocre production, two awful ones. Wonderful Town was good and Kiss Me, Kate's brilliance was mostly thanks to Michael Blakemore.
Yes neddyfrank, there are others. However, she has done good work at Encores! so Applause could be pretty darned good.

Does it compare to Strouse's most striking, brilliant, moving show, Golden Boy? Absolutely not. Does it even compare to Bye Bye Birdie? Not really. However, I think Applause's score has its charm. Certainly Welcome to the Theatre, But Alive, Good Friends, One of a Kind, One Halloween and the title number have their merits, especially Welcome to the Theatre, which I consider to be one of Charles Strouse's absolute best songs musically and one of Lee Adam's most remarkable lyrics.