WE BOTH REACHED FOR THE GUN

I realize it now seems this blog is now turning into the rumor mill for Chicago casting, I have just one more to add (for now). For anyone who knows me, how can I not comment on the following tidbit...

Rumors everywhere are swirling and it looks like everyone's "favorite" producers those crazy Weisslers have done it again...and guess who will likely make their stage debut in Chicago?

Ashlee Simpson.

Enought said. Thank you.

SOMETHING'S COMING...

Yo, peace up, A-town down...he's really coming to Broadway!

WELL DID YOU EVAH?!

Coming soon to the Great White Way...first Usher, then...Tori Spelling?! From the crazy to the mind boggling coming to you live from my blog. Does something seem, oh I don't know, a little off kilter to you? Whether you are a fan of musical theatre or not, the idea of Usher and Spelling on Broadway doesn't quite sound right. Weirder still would be if Spelling and Usher made their respective Broadway debuts playing opposite each other. That probably won't happen...but you never know. These days, it seems like anyone who is anyone has made their "Broadway debut" in Chicago: The Musical from Alan Thicke and Wayne Brady to Rita Wilson and Melanie Griffith, everyone has been in this stinkin' show. If Spelling truly makes her "Broadway debut" in Chicago, this must mean those crazy Weisslers have truly hit the bottom of the barrel in terms of their casting of "mainstream" talent. Otherwise, why else would Spelling of all people wind up on Broadway? I never knew she could sing and obviously she can't act (did anyone actually see So NoTORIous) so why put someone with little or no talent in a genre that is all about hard working talented actors? Again, whether you're a fan of the theatre (musicals or not) you have to know that the hardest working (paid) actors are those who make their living performing on the stage. That kind of work is not for lightweights (even freaking Oscar-winning Julia Roberts was amazed at the stamina it took to act for the stage day in and day out when she made her Broadway debut earlier this year in Three Days of Rain). For ALL our sakes, lets just hope that the next bit of casting news will not indicate that...Paris Hilton will soon be making her Broadway debut in Chicago (for the record, let's hope not)!

Is Tori Spelling Chicago-Bound?
By Andrew Gans
17 Jul 2006

Tori Spelling may be headed to Broadway.

Variety reports that Spelling will likely play Roxie Hart in the New York company of Kander and Ebb's Chicago. The industry paper says actress Spelling — best known for her work on "Beverly Hills 90210" — is "on hold for now, but remains a strong possibility" for a stint as the merry murderess.

Spelling would join a long list of actresses who have played Roxie on Broadway, including current Roxie Rita Wilson as well as Brooke Shields, Robin Givens, Charlotte d'Amboise, Gretchen Mol, Melanie Griffith and Ann Reinking; the latter originated the role for this revival.

Tori Spelling played Donna Martin on "Beverly Hills 90210" and can currently be seen in the TV series "SoNotorious." Her film credits include "Scary Movie 2," "House of Yes," "Trick" and, in a role parodying herself, "Scream 2." Chicago would mark Spelling's Broadway debut.

Chicago currently features Brenda Braxton as Velma Kelly, Rita Wilson as Roxie Hart, Obba Babatunde as Billy Flynn, Kevin Chamberlin as Amos Hart, Lillias White as Matron "Mama" Morton and R. Lowe as Mary Sunshine. Grammy Award winner Usher will begin a six-week stint as Billy Flynn on Aug. 22.

Chicago won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 1997 as well as awards for actors Bebe Neuwirth and James Naughton, director Walter Bobbie, lighting designer Ken Billington and choreographer Ann Reinking. The original production was directed and choreographed by the late Bob Fosse.

Chicago plays the Ambassador Theatre, located at 215 West 49th Street.

THE OTHER GENERATION

**Yes, that is Usher on my blog...don't be shocked.**

Those crazy Weisslers (yes, as in Fran and Barry) are at it again. In a strange turn of theatre news this weekend, not only is Usher appearing on my blog, but is coming to Broadway as Billy Flynn in Chicago and the South Park guys are writing a musical. Wait, what?! Stranger things have happened...no, they haven't...this is about as crazy as i think it gets in the theatre world!

One at a time now, shall we?

I'll say it again, Usher...on Broadway...really?! According to Playbill.com, the crazy Weisslers who love getting the biggest "names" to headline their Broadway shows certainly has a big one on their hands. Everyone's favorite Grammy-Award-Winning-R&B "Peace up, A Town Down" lovin' Usher has been tapped to play Billy Flynn for six weeks beginning August 22 (note my shock in a blog post last year when I found out Huey Lewis was cast in the same role). Should we be shocked by this news though? Maybe not entirely. I mean, musical theatre isn't completely unknown to Usher, he was in uh...Geppetto. Hmmm. I guess that's the power of love.

Really, what else can be said about that? Right? Nothing. I'm moving on...

With the success of Avenue Q, I guess I shouldn't be surprised either when this arrived in my inbox at work on Thursday evening:

'South Park' Guys Heading To Broadway
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are headed to the Great White Way. The Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning creators of South Park have confirmed to us exclusively that they are working on their first Broadway musical. “We’re working on something with the guys from Avenue Q,” Parker revealed while promoting his hit cartoon show Thursday in Pasadena. “It’s not puppets or anything. It’s people. It’s kind of an updated Rogers and Hammerstein thing. But we’ve learned that that world is the kind of world where you get an idea and ten years later, you see it on Broadway.
Um, did Parker dare to mention himself, Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx in the same breath as the iconic Rogers & Hammerstein?! To make such a loose comparison is rather nervy (right!?). I understand Parker was trying to describe the style of said new musical, but such a bold comparison rather shocks me. I admit I'm a theatre snob (I even spelled it "theatre," yes, I know) and possibly even closed minded when it comes to chatter about what is being staged, but I have my reservations with an announcement such as the one above.

I don't doubt the creativity of writers Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx or Trey Parker and Matt Stone, because their success has to come from some source of intelligence and wit. HOWEVER...a musical...for Broadway?! Those South Park guys yes, seem to like that the musical genre, after all, did anyone see that film of theirs (oh shock of shocks, I admit, I didn't). With the staging of Avenue Q, Lopez and Marx added a new dimension to the Broadway stage with the creation of characters like those monster-types (Trekkie and Kate) as well as Rod the closeted-gay-Republican and potentially introduced an entirely new generation to the Broadway stage. In the end though, is that what it's all about; creating art and and trying to find new ways to share or introduce it to others? Sort of.

I will admit that a show like Avenue Q has in some ways made musical theatre more accessible to a new generation by being funny, crass and by being the polar opposite of the kind of musical that was popular during the era of preceeding generations. While I'm sure I've written about it before, I wonder how shows like Avenue Q and the new Lopez and Marx/Parker-Stone will affect the future of musical theatre? At what cost will introducing a new generation to new musical theatre affect the art form going forward? A lot of crap gets staged these days and it doesn't mean its any good. Thank god there will always be writers for the musical theatre like the Adam Guettel's or the Jason Robert Brown's of the genre who look to write shows with quality and substance by looking for new ways to stage intelligent, complex shows. The over-commercialized shows will go down in history for their originality, but besides that, what else?

RAZZLE DAZZLE

Ok, so let me just say...Huey Lewis as Billy Flynn in Chicago...?

I think I've said too much...

Ok, so the Weisslers (as in Fran and Barry) seem to be notorious for trying to cast "names" in the shows they're producing (Rosie O'Donnell in Seussical). One of their productions, Chicago has had every name they could possibly get from Alan Thicke and Jasmine Guy to Kevin Richardson and Deborah Gibson (and everything in between). Don't you think though, that Huey Lewis...is...really digging kind of deep? I understand he can sing (at least he did w/ "the News") and he's a "name" but...hasn't his ship sailed...LONG ago? Ok, so I'm being harsh...I'm all for reinventing yourself/your career, god knows I seem to be trying to do it all the time. But really, Huey Lewis on Broadway...the Great White Way? That's almost as odd as Skid Row Metal band member Sebastian Bach on Broadway in Jeckyll & Hyde back in 2001. That was just scary.

* * *

Huey Lewis to Join Broadway's Chicago in November

By Andrew Gans
25 Jul 2005

Grammy Award winner Huey Lewis will join the Tony-winning revival of Chicago this fall.

Lewis is set to join the Kander and Ebb musical Nov. 1 in the role of slick lawyer Billy Flynn. Chicago will mark the singer's Broadway debut.

Lewis is the founding member and lead vocalist of Huey Lewis and The News, the award-winning group whose top-ten hits include "The Power of Love," "The Heart of Rock and Roll," "Stuck With You," "I Want a New Drug," "Workin’ For a Livin" and "If This Is It." Lewis has appeared in the films "Shortcuts," "Sphere," "Shadow of Doubt" and "Duets." His TV work includes roles in "Just Shoot Me" and "One Tree Hill."

Chicago — featuring a score by John Kander and the late Fred Ebb — currently stars Charlotte d’Amboise as Roxie Hart, Luba Mason as Velma Kelly, Christopher McDonald as Billy Flynn and Carol Woods as Matron Mama Morton.

Chicago won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 1997 as well as awards for actors Bebe Neuwirth and James Naughton, director Walter Bobbie, lighting designer Ken Billington and choreographer Ann Reinking. The original production was directed and choreographed by the late Bob Fosse.

Chicago plays the Ambassador Theatre, located at 215 West 49th Street.

SEASONS OF LOVE

Last week, Playbill.com had an article indicating "Seasons of Love" (from Rent of course) debuting at #68 on the Billboard Top 100 singles (as a "hot shot debut"). All this buzz almost three months before the film's release -- how exciting! I'm both surprised and not that the song is also among the top downloaded songs on iTunes. I mean, it's a hit Broadway show and everything...but it's not the most "mainstream" thing out there...or is it? Obviously I'm a tad incorrect because look at the buzz, look at the Billboard chart! Access Hollywood even has a link on their homepage: Access Rent: Behind the Scenes -- 'Rent' the Movie. They've even teased a show with a "first look" at Rent a few months back. Haha, this film has a stellar publicist and a great marketing strategy!

Is it so hard for me to believe that other people might actually be excited about this too? Am I being a theatre snob? Look at how successful Chicago was -- Academy Award winner for best picture, best actress in a supporting role (amongst others) and a Golden Globe for best musical/comedy film. Besides being a great film period, this is a musical. Mind you, musicals used to be a part of the Golden Age of Hollywood -- look at popular films like Oklahoma! and Carousel! These once common, popular film genres were almost a thing of the past. ..until Chicago.

It has been said that Chicago singlehandedly, is bringing back the musical genre in the film industry. Since Chicago, the only other mainstream "musical" film released has been Phantom of the Opera (I'm not counting Reefer Madness since it's a TV movie). Though Phantom of the Opera created buzz -- A.) because it was finally produced and B.) critics questioned how it would do in the box office -- overall, the film failed to surpass or even meet expectation. Despite Phantom's box office failure, film companies continued on with their musical films. In production currently, we have of course, Rent & The Producers with Sunset Blvd. and Aspects of Love in pre-production. Of course this is only seven that have either been released, are in production or pre-production -- but this is seven more than a few years ago. Again, I don't know if this is a good thing. Chicago set a precedence, but the failure of Phantom of the Opera made people stop and question the genre. I think Rent & The Producers hopefully will cause more positive buzz (and successful results at the box office) while Sunset Blvd. and Aspects of Love might slow things down again.

What are the "facts" behind my reasoning? The movie musicals on trial are as follows:

Jesus Christ Superstar

Evita

Phantom of the Opera

What do these films have in common? Any true musical theatre fan will instantly know they were written by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. While all are hits on the stage (with Phantom of the Opera set to surpass Cats as the longest running musical on Broadway, Monday, January 9, 2006), his films failed to turn a big commercial profit (a la Chicago). On a personal level, as much as I wanted to love Phantom of the Opera, I just couldn't. Some musicals just don't seem to translate well from stage to screen and Sir Andrew's just...don't. Not to say that Sunset Blvd. and Aspects of Love will fail, but if you look at the history of Sir Andrew's successful films, things just don't look too good for him.

Ok, I went on a huge tangent. What I really wanted to write about was Rent and what I thought about the excerpts from the soundtrack, but I'm too tired, so I'll save it for another day.