YANK! The Musical-off-broadway- Page 3

[Q]

Posted: 3/7/10 at 2:25am

Excellent, Tulita! I'm sure they'll appreciate the wise words of an obviously seasoned, experienced and articulate observer.

And I agree with all he wrote, as well

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/7/10 at 8:20am

Posting the f-word at 5 in the morning?

Somebody needs a HUG!

(Or something...)

[Luscious]

Posted: 3/7/10 at 9:16am

Decided not to wait and got tickets for the only weeknight in March that works for me. If they extend and I like it as much as I hope to, I'll see it again. Really looking forward to it!

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 3/7/10 at 9:20am

Good move, Luscious! Hope you like it!

[GatorNY]

Posted: 3/7/10 at 1:44pm

Tulita...you should start a YANK! love thread.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 3/8/10 at 12:03pm

I generally don't post thoughts on shows anymore, but when something says something new and moves you to the core, I guess I'll break that rule.

What shocked me most was the very brave view it presented of gay identity. It was incredibly nuanced, and dealt very much with not only what it means to be gay, but what it means to be a man. I felt it was somewhat provocative...and it was certainly well appreciated (at least by me).

I loved how closely the show adhered to the Rodgers and Hammerstein model of creating a show. It added a tension that managed to be sustained throughout the entire evening. Really, truly well done.

I admit it. I loved the dream ballet. Totally fell for it. The only comment I have about it is that it's hard to pull off something like that in such an intimate space. A dream ballet (whether it's a pas de deux or a full company epic) needs a bit of room to breath and soar. In a larger space, I think the ballet will be much better received by all.

Nancy Anderson too old? Or maybe she's just too perfect. Beautifully calculated performance. The range she finds in 1940's stock characters is utterly surprising. She's a treasure.

The entire cast is really terrific. It was such a treat hearing Ivan Hernandez's perfect voice after his thrillingly sung Joey, Joey, Joey at City Opera a few years ago. He's also quite a terrific actor.

And then there's Bobby Steggert. I'm not quite sure what to say about him, other than, as an actor myself, every time I step onto a stage, I just hope and pray to give that kind of performance. It was a fully-lived performance. It was heartbreaking and empowering at the same time. The growth of the character was so subtle, yet so completely full. Frankly, I don't think I've seen a performance by a man in a musical that is as accomplished as Steggert's.

I guess this is just a long-winded way of saying, 'GO.'
Updated On: 3/8/10 at 12:03 PM

[NYadgal]

Posted: 3/9/10 at 10:51am

Thanks for sharing these wonderful and thought-provoking reviews.

Am planning to see it once again before April 4th. Look forward to viewing new aspects of it the second time.

[GatorNY]

Posted: 3/22/10 at 7:52pm

I went again last night and found it even more moving than the first outing. I especially enjoyed "Letters", "Blue Twilight", and "Just True." I am so enamoured with Bobby and his talent. I just got a ticket to go back again on 3/31. I just had to experience the emotion once more. Thank goodness I only live 2 blocks from The York.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 12:49am

Saw this last week. Have to say, one of the best new musicals I've seen in a long time. Easily the best new musical work of the season- perhaps the best musical production of the season, too. Bobby Steggert is fantastic. Truly an incredible performance, the sort awards are made for.

Nancy Anderson is perfection. She adds depth to characters that, by rights, should have none.

Not to mention the rest of the cast. Not a wink link or a sour note.

The staging is wonderful.

This could easily move to New World Stages for a commercial run.

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 8:33am

I'm very happy so many here have fallen in love with YANK!
I'm seeing it again with two buds tonight, and I'll be there closing night, April 4.

Closing night is NOT sold out. There is still one ticket available. :^)

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 5:09pm

OK, NOW it's sold out.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 3/28/10 at 8:50pm

I saw it a second time today - and loved it even more on the second viewing.
As has been written in this thread, I am captivated by the performances - Steggert's in particular - and the incredibly moving story shared in this show. It's truly special.

I hope everyone who wants to see it has the chance to.

(I kind of half hoped there would be special auction items during the BC/EFA fundraiser announcement following the show! Jeffry joked that you could pay to take cast members home, and that Bobby would be expensive. I can only imagine there would have been many takers! )

[IfYouCan]

Posted: 3/28/10 at 9:54pm

I saw the show yesterday afternoon and I was truly blown away by it. The show itself is incredibly strong and Bobby Steggert is really delivering a tony-worthy performance if I ever saw one. His range of emotion is astounding to me, and his voice is beautiful and clear as ever. I also had no idea he was such a good tapper, It was thoroughly impressed.

After the show there was a talk back and a woman said that they were trying to raise the funds necessary to bring it to broadway because they're too big for off-broadway. They did say quite firmly that this was not the last production of the show in the city. There will be more.

Fun fact: Bobby took Ragtime over Yank! to begin with, and Ragtime closed literally the last week the Yank! producers could hold out to cast him. It made me almost happy that Ragtime closed. I don't think this show would be the same without Bobby's performance.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 1:40pm

I can't possibly offer better words to describe how absolutely terrific this musical is. I do hope it moves to Broadway.

The entire cast was excellent, but Bobby Steggert and Nancy Anderson were out of this world--Bobby in giving a fully fleshed out performance for Stu, and Nancy for giving life so perfectly to so many different characters.

As for the subject matter, it's one I've read quite a bit about--and they nailed it. And, yet the piece doesn't feel preachy. It makes quite a number of points very well.

It was the kind of evening we have so rarely in the theatre, and I thank all of them for that.

Updated On: 3/30/10 at 01:40 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 2:15pm

Best new musical in years.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 2:49pm

YANK may transfer. Also SCOTTSBORO BOYS asn per this article excerpted below....


Hits, Smart Money Ditch Off-Broadway For Tonys

by Jeremy Gerard

The producers of two new hit musicals, "The Scottsboro Boys" and "Yank!" say they'd rather gamble on Broadway than move into an off-Broadway theater. The costs are lower, but so are potential profits -- and prestige.

That two-tiered system is all but dead.

Today the money -- and there's a lot of it floating around just now -- is going exclusively to Broadway, where investors will roll the dice for a chance to stand on the stage with a star or two during the broadcast of the
Tony Awards.

Today, with "Scottsboro Boys," the biggest hit in the Vineyard's history, it's Broadway or bust. The musical, the last show written by the "Chicago" team of composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb, who died in 2004, sold out its entire run, including a two-week extension through April 18.

But "Scottsboro" is a high-risk show about nine young black men charged with raping two white women in the '30s American South. The audience for Broadway musicals isn't typically looking for such strong brew; after all, isn't that what off-Broadway is for?

Not these days.

"It's not a business anymore," said Ben Sprecher. "The economics just don't
work. The expenses are too high, the profit margins are too low and the
talent won't go there."

The stagehands union doesn't hold sway over off-Broadway, eliminating one major expense. But other costs, including pay for actors, stage managers,press agents and others, are nearly as high as Broadway's.

So if "Scottsboro Boys," has a future, it will be on Broadway.
Garvey-Blackwell said the Vineyard's budget for musicals is $600,000 to $800,000. Moving to Broadway will cost upwards of 10 times that amount.

The producers who raised $325,000 for the nonprofit York Theatre Company's $440,000 production of "Yank!" also want to move to Broadway when it ends its sold-out run this weekend in the Theater at St. Peter's Church in midtown.

Except for its gay lovers, "Yank!" is a conventional romantic musical set against the backdrop of World War II. It has love songs, snappy subplots, big production numbers and an undercurrent of intrigue.

"Direct to Broadway is our first choice," said Stuart Wilk, one of three managing partners for "Yank!" in a producing pool of eight. "Going to a regional theater before coming to Broadway is the second choice."

Wilk and his partners are looking for a theater under 1,000 seats and figure
it will cost $5 million to move their show to Broadway. Raising that $5 million may not be nearly as hard as finding the first $325,000 for the York production. Like the creative people who only want to work in a Tony Award-eligible theater, venture capital is following the same pattern.

"The talent only wants to go where you can get a Tony, and the talent drives the business," Sprecher said.

That's a pittance by today's standards, when new shows like "The Addams Family," which opens next week at the Lunt-Fontanne, cost $16.5 million. That's about the same amount investors put into "A Tale of Two Cities," which opened in the fall of 2008 and closed after 60 performances. The producers lost their entire investment. And no one in the cast got a Tony nomination, let alone an award.

Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!

I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 2:55pm

I came up on Friday from DC to see Yank specifically. I found the show/performances fascinating, riveting, heartbreaking, etc. So many here have put into words what I couldn't after seeing this show. A wonderful evening of theatre.

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 3:08pm

YANK! is now completely sold out. On to Broadway, guys!

[Hmm...could YANK! be expanded just a teensy bit? Wonder if we can convince the Zellnix to add two new roles for Marc Kudisch and Raul Esparza as two closeted Generals, both rivals and both in love with Stu...]

Nah... :^)

Here's a great new interview with the Z-boys in OUT.

David & Joe

Updated On: 3/30/10 at 03:08 PM

[newintown]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 3:42pm

Although I found much to enjoy in Yank, it seems to me that it wouldn't fare as well as even [title of show] on Broadway. But who knows? I'm also in the minority of preferring Hernandez and Anderson in this show by far over Steggart. He does project a light cuteness, but seems (to me) to make very obvious choices. Hernandez is that rare thing, a masculine leading man; and Anderson seems to be able to do anything. Whatever the case, the strange tightrope this show walks between sentiment and camp would (I think) not appeal to a large audience.