PARADE at Avery Fisher Hall- Page 2

[E.Davis]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 3:37am

So I have noticed tickets have gone on sale, and surprise it is selling well.

On show people Laura Benanti said she is doing a concert in February and it is a big secret. Im wondering if she will be playing Lucille.

[gstrus2]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 6:30am

Jason Robert Brown tweeted her about a week or so saying:"@LauraBenanti I know a thing and I say yay yay yay about the thing!"
So I would presume so, E.Davis.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 6:59am

Benanti is a great choice for this. Now, who could they get to play Leo opposite her?

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 7:57am

"Oh, I was hoping it was the Jerry Herman Parade..."

If only.

Alas, it's this moribund dirge.

I guess the noxious media/theatre-world alliance has now decided on Brown as the new person to shove down our unwilling throats.

We've seen how effectively the bulldozing scenerio played out for you-know-who. Hell, it's still going strong after some 40 years!

Time to head for the hills ---- and not the old red hills of home.

[JRybka]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 9:59am

I hope they record it. It is one of the most unsung shows.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 10:06am

I have a ticket to this! I'm so excited! If Laura is Lucille I might die of happiness

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 10:13am

You buy tickets without knowing who is performing?

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 10:13am

Crossing fingers for Santino Fontana as Leo. Or someone like that.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 10:16am

@GothamPC: Yes, because I love Parade!

[meyerd584]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 1:35pm

@GothamPC
Sometimes it's about the material and not the star they put in.

(Replies like yours are why shows fail without a hollywood star and stunt casting happens. Theater has nothing to do with who we can put on the cover of the playbill)

[Fantod]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 1:41pm

Has Jerry Herman's Parade ever been performed since its premier? I would love to see a production

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 3:20pm

"(Replies like yours are why shows fail without a hollywood star and stunt casting happens. Theater has nothing to do with who we can put on the cover of the playbill)"

I don't think that's a fair assessment. The part of Lucille in Parade needs a good soprano to sing it. And she needs to be a legit singer. I'm not asking for a hollywood star, but it's nice to know who will be singing the roles.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 5:35pm

I can understand if you're lukewarm about the material, or if it's a show you've already seen in many encase nations, you might want to know who is on a show before you buy a ticket, whether it's a star or not. For example, I probably wouldn't be interested in seeing Les Mis unless I knew it had a great cast. However in this case, since I love Parade so much, and since it's so rarely produced, I gladly bought a ticket without knowing who is in the cast

[Jayar2]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 7:58pm

I live in California, and I will be making a special trip back east to see this show. I bought two tickets, and invited a friend from here who is also flying back just to see this. I don't care who is in the cast... I just know that this is one of my favorite shows of all time, and I can't miss seeing it.

[thebeautyis3]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 9:24pm

What about Norbert Leo Butz as Leo? Is he too old?

I saw a video of him singing "This Is Not Over Yet," and I really enjoyed it.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 9:48pm

"What about Norbert Leo Butz as Leo? Is he too old?"

Too working class for Leo and doesn't read as Jewish. Leo needs to be a skinny bookkeeper type.

They should do a full scale revival in a few years with Eddie Redmayne.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 10/17/14 at 10:42pm

So I have noticed tickets have gone on sale, and surprise it is selling well.

- no it's not.

https://tickets.lincolncenter.org/event/604aa92e-37ed-45fb-996a-c056e65d7c15

Expect discounts.

[LittleEdieFan]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 12:13am

Tickets booked some week ago. Traveling all the way from Sydney ( but not just for this!).

[mamaleh]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 12:58am

there is a broad range within any ethnic group. Butz, after all, was the original Jamie in THE LAST FIVE YEARS.

[MusicAndPassion]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 9:44am

This will be my third year in a row attending an MCP concert at Avery Fisher Hall. Ragtime was wonderful two years ago and Titanic was beautiful last winter. I imagine Parade will be equally fulfilling.

Lea Salogna was cast as Mother in Ragtime (and she was brilliant) - clearly colorblind casting in a musical written and exploding with race themes. Parade intensifies racial themes, but is there a chance colorblind casting will appear again for the sake of beautiful voices singing the score?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 1:36pm

For a concert version, I can see going colorblind casting (see Brian Stokes Mitchell in the South Pacific concert).

However, Parade relies heavily on the fact that Leo was Jewish. Part of the show speaks to Southern attitudes towards Jewish people. The show specifically draws lines between black people, white people and Jews.

And yes, there are many different "types" for Jewish people. But if you're doing a production of Fiddler on the Roof or The Diary of Anne Frank, you're not going to hire any blonde Jews because the "look" is not correct. IMO, even Rosie O'Donnell was miscast when she did Fiddler. You can put all the headscarves on her you want, Rosie looks Irish.

IMO, Norbert Leo Butz reads working class Irish or German.