My NYC Trip: June 15-18

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 6/20/10 at 5:30pm

Oh my word! I had a great time in NYC. I saw four shows: two Broadway musicals and two off-Broadway shows.
Tuesday, June 15th: "Addams Family": I had a seat at the very last row in mezzanine. It turned out to be a good seat, as that part had raised seating in the last row. Good gosh, those steps at the Lunt-Fontanne are steep! The theatre was packed...with families, student groups and others. Overall, the show was o.k. For me, the highlight of the evening was Kevin Chamberlain as Uncle Fester. He was terribly funny. I don't know how he managed to fly those many times. He's a fairly "sturdy" guy to begin with. Krysta Rodriguez was amazing as April Addams. It was the first time I had to see her in a show. Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth were fine... but it's very obvious as to the imbalance of performing time between both of the leads. Even some of the other cast members seemed to have had more material than Bebe. Her gown was cut so low in the front, I could see it from the back of mezzanine. After the show ended, I went outside to the stage door. The first cast member to appear was Adam Riegler (aka Cubby Bernstein). He looked younger in person, than in those YouTube videos. Kevin Chamberlain and Bebe Neuwirth came out to sign things. Miss N. was pleasant, but wasn't saying anything. Very efficient. People were disappointed that Nathan Lane didn't come out to visit his fans. OH well.
Wednesday, June 16th: Busy day. First off, I went to the Sirius XM Broadway show with Julie Jaimes and Seth Rudetsky at the Times Square Information Center. Although I got there at around 11:15 a.m., the chairs were filling up with people. It was kind of neat seeing the setting of a program that I listen to every day. Anyhooo... Julie Jaimes introduced Seth and the guests: Bryan Batt and Jack Plotnick (sp?). First up was Jack. I remember him as the fey movie guy from "Gods and Monsters". He looked really young and very cute too. At the show, he did a segment with Seth as his alter ego "Evie Harris" in "Girls Will Be Girls." I had seen the film years ago. Jack was just too funny. Next up was Bryan Batt. He talked a bit about his Broadway career, including working with Betty Buckley in "Sunset Boulevard". Before he came on, we heard the Forbidden Broadway parody of Joe Gills (Bryan Batt) battling with Ethel Merman. Bryan did a very, very funny bit about a caveman: "The Caveman Song." Basically, the caveman didn't fit in and wasn't like the other caveboys. Loved it! Julie Jaimes was the perfect hostess. HowEV, during my drive back to Austin, I was listening to her with Kristin Chenoweth and Brian D'Arcy James. I agreed with the two ladies when they talked about Michael Riedel being an "evil man." She poo pooed his talk about a rivalry with Kate Finneran. Kristin even suggested that she'd like to send Riedel a special batch of tea (maybe with a little arsenic?) Now, on to Julie Jaimes. She's very knowledgeable about Broadway obviously...but girlfriend needs to tone down the "gushing". J.J. gushes so much, she could fuel a fleet of limousines. Her remark to Brian D'Arcy about wanting him to be part of Sirius XM Broadway "for every minute of every day" was way too much. I thought I was going to develop cavities. Anyway... enough about Miss J.J.
Wednesday, June 16th: 2 p.m. "Dietrich and Chevalier". I saw this at St. Luke's Theatre on West 46th near 8th Avenue. I LOVED this show. My original thought was that it would be mostly a concert version of the songs made famous by Marlene Dietrich and Maurice Chevalier. But, there was an actual moving (and historical) plot, unlike some current shows on B'way (cough, cough A. I.). Jodi Stevens was A MA ZING as Marlene. She wore her clothes very well and had a voice that should be appreciated. Her chemistry with her co-star Robert Cuccioli was appparent. There was a third actor who played 8 different roles. The audience members was mostly comprised of senior citizens. There were visual clips onstage, referring to the movie era and the evil Axis Powers in Europe. LOVED it!
Wednesday, June 16th: 8:00 p.m. "La Cage Aux Folles"
I got there early, as my hotel was fairly close by (the Portland Square on West 47th). As I was waiting outside the Longacre, I saw someone familiar exit the stage door at the Walter Kerr (directly across from the Longacre). He had gray hair and a beard. It was Stephen Sondheim. I did take a couple of pics, but they were blurry. On to the show. I liked it very much. It was funny and poignant. Grammer and Hodge were in great form. The supporting cast was great too. Of course, the Cagelles showed lots of leg and sass! I had a seat in left Orchestra Row C (two rows from the cabaret tables). It was a magical evening. Before intermission, I noticed two celebrities in the front row: Valerie Bertinelli and Jane Leeves. During the break, I went up to them to ask for their autograph. The both were very nice. I bought the program and had cast members sign it after the show. I didn't get Kelsey's autograph. Douglas Hodge was so sweet and soft-spoken. They pretty much signed for everyone. Wonderful show.
Thursday, June 17th: "Leslie Jordan: My Life On The Pink Carpet". I got to the Midtown Theatre early and bought his book. I read part of it before the show began. Once it started, Leslie was like a little ball of thunder. He reminisced about his life...his career, with its varied highs and lows. L.J. was extremely candid about his struggles, growing up gay in the South. Some of his material was risque, but highly entertaining nonetheless. Afterwards, he signed my book: "Dear Roman... pink wishes..." The only bad thing about this night was that I lost my "La Cage" Playbill and had to rush to my room around the block, to try to get my "La Cage" programme, for a couple of more "La Cage" autographs. I rushed out of my room and ran fast to get to the Longacre. I got there just as Kelsey Grammer was finishing up signing autographs. While there, I managed to chat a bit with Nick Adams. He is such a nice person...he really is.
Once I returned to Austin, I found to my consternation that one of my luggage pieces had a rip...right in the section where I had my "Addams Family" programme and Playbill. It got lost/stolen? somewhere between La Guardia, BWI and my home airport. Rats! But all in all, I enjoyed myself tremendously. from RC in Austin, Texas. P.S. I haven't posted images here in a long time, so I'm not familiar with how to post multiple pics. Bear with me.

Updated On: 6/20/10 at 05:30 PM

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 6/20/10 at 5:32pm

with Leslie Jordan after his show....

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 6/20/10 at 5:34pm

with Seth Rudetsky, Bryan Batt and Jack Plotnick... One thing I forgot to mention... as Seth was signing his autograph, I told him that I was involved with this site... Broadway World.com. His response was: "Oh, I don't read that!" I got the sense that he doesn't care for our site. Hmmmm?

Updated On: 6/20/10 at 05:34 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/20/10 at 5:35pm

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[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 6/20/10 at 5:37pm

with Jodi Stevens (Marlene Dietrich) in "Dietrich and Chevalier".

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 6/20/10 at 5:38pm

with Robert Cuccioli. I got a bit tongue-tied, when I tried to say that I loved his song "This Is the Moment" from "Jekyll and Hyde."

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 6/20/10 at 10:14pm

I have every desire to return to NYC, by the time "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" is showing on Broadway. I'm curious about it. It also doesn't hurt that the ever so nice Nick Adams is in that show.. from RC in Austin, Texas

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 6/23/10 at 10:21am

This is the autograph page that I received when I attended Seth Rudetsky's Sirius XM Wednesday show. (Bryan Batt, Seth and Jack Plotnick). from RC in Austin, Texas