"Annie" Gets Holly Jolly Revival at Paper Mill Playhouse

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Parent Category: Other Festivals

Category: Theater

Published on Tuesday, 28 November 2017 18:16

Written by Ellis Nassour

The holiday season has arrived for Paper Mill Playhouse audiences with a gaily-wrapped Christmas present under a tinseled tree. It’s the sumptuous revival of Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin, and Thomas Meehan’s Tony-winning Best Musical Annie.  Just as they pulled a rabbit out of their collective hat this time last year with the North American premiere of The Bodyguard, producing artistic director Mark Hoebee and managing director Todd Schmidt, have done it again with a sterling production of “the world’s best-loved family musical” – one filled with whopping sentiment, hilarity, and beloved tunes fit for the entire family.

The vastness of Paper Mill’s stage, which comes extremely close to rivaling Radio City Music Hall’s, and set designers desire to fill it all the way Left and Right, has worked against many a show. But this isn’t one of those occasions.
Adapted from Harold Gray’s classic comic strip, Little Orphan Annie by the late three-time Tony-winner Thomas Meehan (The Producers, Hairspray -- and Young Frankenstein, enjoying quite a successful London revival), it’s the Great Depression and we find red-headed moppet Annie, the eldest child at the New York Municipal Orphanage, has never given up hope her parents, who dropped her off 11 years earlier, are coming for her. To search the streets and “Hoovervilles” (camps of the downtrodden) of NYC in the hope of finding them she becomes quite adept at escaping the drudgery of the hard-knock-life  – only to be caught and returned to the clutches of cruel, heavy-drinking, slovenly Miss Hannigan. In a twist of fate, billionaire industrialist, world traveler, art collector, and name-dropper of just about everyone famous in the 30s, Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, in a benevolent gesture, decides to pick an orphan to spend a Christmas like no other. At his Fifth Avenue mansion, Annie warms not only his heart, but the hearts of his secretary Grace Farrell, butlers, maids, even FDR, who’s finding ways to put Americans back to work. Warbucks engages Eliot Ness and the FBI in a search for Annie’s parents and offers $50,000 so they can start a new life. Hannigan’s brother, Rooster, straight out of the slammer, abetted by his moll Lily concocts a plan to capture the biggest prize of their tawdry lives. But …

Hoebee, a seasoned director (credits at Paper Mill alone include: Dreamgirls, Hello, Dolly!, High School Musical, Mary Poppins, Miss Saigon, and among numerous others, The King and I and West Side Story), also helms this production.
He’s assembled a huge cast of 30 plus, headlined by two Paper Mill favorites: indefatigable Tony-winner Beth Leavel (The Drowsy Chaperone; at Paper Mill and on Broadway in Bandstand and, in a long and storied career, as record executive Florence Greenberg in Baby It’s You (Tony nomination) as that stinker Miss Hannigan and Tony-nominee Christopher Sieber (Tony nominations, Spamalot and Shrek, later in Matilda as harsh, bombastic educator Miss Trunchbull) as Warbucks.

You might wonder, “Another Annie? Why?”
 The Broadway original inspired two main stem revivals, at least four national tours, two stage sequels, a musical film, TV adaptation, a horrible, somewhat-based-on musical movie set in contemporary times, countless local productions, and Paper Mill’s 1983 and 2002 productions – to name but a few. The answer is simple: Leavel’s Miss Hannigan, a role she was born to play and one  she inhibits with pratfalls, slapstick, and face-twisting antics; Sieber, whose amply-endowed outsized voice and steady hand offer just the reassurance needed in hard times; and it’s the perfect time of year to be lifted out of the doldrums with Strouse and Charnin’s score. Who doesn’t need to be assured that the sun’ll come out tomorrow?
Add two adorable, spirited ‘’orphan” heartbreakers as alternating Annies: Cassidy Pry [who performed opening night, January 26) and Peyton Ella [who got to join the company for bows opening night]. Season it with a brood of sassy, rambunctious orphan pests: Gabby Beredo (Pepper), Michelle Henderson (Duffy), Eve Johnson (Tessie), Lauren Sun (July), Sloane Wolfe (Kate), and pint-sized (nine-years-old) scene-stealing dynamo Tessa Noelle Frascogna (Molly), who also proves to be quite an acrobat.
Co-starring are Erin Mackey (Paper Mill: South Pacific; In Transit, Amazing Grace) portrays “Daddy” Warbuck’s secretary Grace Farrell; Cooper Grodin (Les Miz; title role, national tour Phantom), Rooster Hannigan, Miss Hannigan’s brother straight-out-of-the slammer and ready to do no good; abetted by Lily St. Regis, portrayed by Kim Sava (Matilda); and Kevin Pariseau is Franklin D. Roosevelt.

There are nice moments for featured cast members, such as Allen Kendall, in one of his four roles, radio personality Bert Healy, and his rendition of “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile,” along with the program’s Boylan Sisters (Bronwyn Tarboton, Kate Marilley, and belter-who-needs-no-amplication Anneliza Canning-Skinner). Wait: there’s one more: Macy, the rescue dog as Sandy (a role she’s played many times).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Of course, there’re the tunes: Annie’s heart-breaking “Maybe” and optimistic “Tomorrow”; Leavel’s show-stopping “Little Girls”; Grodin, Sava, and Leavel’s “Easy Street”; Sieber’s poignant “Something Was Missing”; and those scraping orphans, who keep things roarin’ with “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” and “You’re Never Fully Dressed without a Smile.”
Jeffery Saver is music director and conducts excellent, new arrangements crafted for this production by Keith Levenson (music director, conductor, original Annie) and rousingly played by the 15-strong orchestra.
The superb design of reversible sets and stunning painted scrims of New York City by Tony-winning and Obie-honored craftsman Beowulf Boritt (Paper Mill: The Honeymooners, A Bronx Tale. Broadway: Prince of Broadway, Come from Away, Act One (Tony), and, among many others, the just-opened Meteor Shower) have been smartly resurrected from Paper Mill’s 2002 production; along with the costumes by Suzy Benzinger. The knee-jerk, acrobatic choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter (School of Rock; regional, The Nutty Professor), is far from a highlight – rarely rising to the occasion except for the orphan’s show-stopper “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” and some stylish movement when Mackey and Warbuck’s staff pay tribute to their favorite orphan in the show’s title song.

In the program notes, director Hobbee writes: “It’s significant that the show, like its lead character, has at its core an indefatigable spirit so full of hope. The anthemic tune Annie sings near the beginning of the story declares that even through the dark times of the Great Depression, when half the country was broke, or out of work, and it seemed as though politicians were unconcerned with the plight of the common man, there was still hope … [the late] Thomas Meehan threaded through this musical the powerful message that family can be found in the most unlikely of places … We can’t think of a better way to celebrate that love of family, the promise that hope brings, and the joy of the season than by sharing this wonderful musical.”


Photographs by Evan Zimmerman for Murphy Made

For more information go to: www.PaperMill.org

New Production of "Phantom of the Opera" Plays Memphis’ Orpheum Theatre; Andrew Lloyd Webber Reminisces on the London Premiere

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Parent Category: Other Festivals

Category: Theater

Published on Monday, 27 November 2017 16:38

Written by Ellis Nassour

Production photos by Matthew Murphy and Alastair Muir

Sixteen years ago, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart’s The Phantom of the Opera became the longest-running show in Broadway history, surpassing Webber’s “now and forever” Cats’ 7,485 performances. On January 26, POTO continues its reign into a fourth decade, seemingly “now and forever.” 

POTO, produced by Cameron Mackintosh (Mary Poppins, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Cats,) and Webber’s Really Useful Company, is not only one of the most successful Broadway road shows ever but also one of the largest. This new production, co-produced with NETworks Presentations, as dazzling and dramatic as the original, launched in November 2013. It returns to Memphis’ majestic and historic Orpheum Theatre November 29 through December 10. The musical first took Memphis by storm in November 1997, with thousands of theatergoers from throughout the region making it a sold-out smash. It returned to the Orpheum by popular demand in 2001 and 2014.
                                        

The Tony Award-winning Best Musical has additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe, who co-wrote the book with Webber, based on Gaston Leroux’s Le Fantôme de L’Opéra. The classic story tells of a masked madman, terribly disfigured from a fire at the Paris Opera, lurking beneath the catacombs of the building [which actually exist, along with – as depicted in the show, an underground  lake] and reigning terror over all. He falls madly in love with soprano Christine, and devotes himself to creating a new star –  employing all manner of the devious methods at his command. That includes murder and, when he doesn’t get his way, crashing a massive chandelier onto audiences.
It’s estimated this reimagining of the romantic thriller has been seen by over 2.5-Million across country. There’s reinvented staging by director Laurence Connor (Broadway’s School of Rock, and Miss Saigon revival); and scenic design by Paul Brown.                    

The tour, with choreography by Scott Ambler and lighting by Tony Award winner Paule Constable, has a cast of 30, an eight-member corps de ballet, and 14-piece orchestra under musical supervisor John Rigby, making it one of the largest productions on the road.  
                                        
                                   

Tenor Derrick Davis is the infamous masked Phantom. He appeared on Broadway and tour as Mufasa in The Lion King; and regionally as Curtis Taylor Jr. in Dreamgirls. His CD, Life Music, is available on Amazon. For a preview of his stunning voice, check out: Derrick Davis sings “The Music of the Night” from “The Phantom of the Opera."

Canada’s Eva Tavares, portraying Christine Daaé, the ingénue at the center of POTO’s love triangle, is a triple treat talent: singer, actress, and choreographer. In March, she was featured in the Toronto world premiere of Richard Maltby Jr., David Shire, and Lobo M’s musical Sousatzka, book by three-time Tony Award nominee Craig Lucas (especially known for The Light in the Piazza), based on the 1962 novel, Madame Sousatzka (filmed in 1988, starring Shirley Maclaine).
In the role of the debnoir, love smitten Vicomte de Chagny Raoul is Texan Jordan Craig, who received training and has performed many roles with Houston Grand Opera.

On Broadway, in January, it will surpass 12,500 performances before an estimated 18 million at Broadways’ Majestic Theatre – where it opened in 1988 with a then-record advance of $18-million. Two years earlier it premiered on London’s West End, where it’s still thriving.
A world-wide theatrical blockbuster, it’s estimated 140 million people in 35 countries (15 languages) have surrendered to what many feel is Webber’s best score. The  two-disk original cast album spent five years on trade charts; and a single-disc highlights recording spent over six years on Billboard’s Pop Album chart.


Back in 1984 as the show was premiering on London’s West End, advance sales and preview audience reaction suggested an unstoppable hit. Webber, on the other hand, even after blockbuster hits Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, and Evita, was far from certain.



“I wish I could say I had the best time of my life during those heady days,” he
states. “Phantom is the only show I’ve done that was entirely unchanged during previews. Our brilliant director Hal Prince was so certain we’d be a hit that he suggested we take a holiday and return for the opening.

“At openings,” he continues, “even when you feel you have the public with you, you’re at your most vulnerable. I couldn't bear to sit through the show.” Cameron Mackintosh, co-producer, with Webber’s Really Useful Company, found him and got him back for the curtain call. Amid the thunderous applause, Webber yearned to have loved ones around him.
But (then) wife, Sarah Brightman, playing Christine, was onstage basking in audience adulation with her Phantom, Michael Crawford. “While all were celebrating,” Webber says, “I felt alone and frightened.”
It didn’t help when the first review, by the London Sunday Times critic, read “Masked balls.” States Webber, with the memory still vividly ablaze, “Those were the only words. Most composers, let alone producers, would be suicidal to receive a notice such as that. Amazingly, it didn’t faze [co-producer] Cameron [Mackintosh] on bit.”

Ever the optimist, Mackintosh telephoned “while having a jolly good breakfast” and in a fortuitous prediction, stated to Webber, “Nothing any reviewer writes can after the fact that Phantom has chimed with audiences.”
               

Webber, was used to critical snipes. He points out POTO’s reviews “were wildly polarized between those who really did or really wouldn't surrender to the music of the night.” What was most upsetting was ruinous gossip that Brightman, an alumna of the West End Cats who’d been onstage since her teens, got the role because she was his wife.

 “The fine line between success and failure is perilously small,” says Webber. “I’m struck 30 years hence with the phenomenon Phantom has become. Much credit goes to the [Tony Award-winning] late Maria Björnson for her opulent design and costumes. And would another choreographer have understood the period as well as former prima ballerina Dame Gillian Lynne (Cats)? Many said the chandelier moment could never work. It turns out to be the most theatrical moment I ever conceived – a moment that can only be achieved in live theater.”

Legendary, multi Tony Award-winning director of the West End and Broadway productions Harold Prince says he was instantly hooked on the idea that Leroux’s classic was musical material. “To my surprise. Andrew's initial idea for the score was to use famous classical works and write only incidental music. Much to my delight, he later decided on an entirely original score - one of his   greatest.

“However,” he adds, “the superlative score wasn’t Andrew’s only contribution to Phantom’s success. It was his instinct to take the story one step further and make the emotional center of the show a love triangle.That struck a chord with audiences. It’s the crucial difference between our musical, the novel, and other versions of the story.”

The Phantom of the Opera has won more than 70 theater awards, including seven 1988 Tony Awards and three London Olivier Awards. Since 2010, it’s become one of the most accessible musicals of all time with hundreds of high school and university productions licensed through R&H [Rodgers & Hammerstein] Theatricals.

Tickets for the Memphis engagement of POTO are available at the Orpheum box office or by calling (901) 525-3000, www.orpheum-memphis.com, and via Ticketmaster, where service fees will apply.

Trivia: As anyone who’s toured the Paris Opera has seen, there’s a private box
reserved only for the Phantom at every performance – just as he demands in the musical.

Interested in how Memphis’ Orpheum first got The Phantom of the Opera and other big musicals, such as Les Miserables and Miss Saigon? Check out their video: https://www.facebook.com/theorpheum/videos/10154789869450947/

Lion Pride: Disney’s Spectacular Lion King Celebrates 20 Years on Broadway

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Parent Category: Other Festivals

Category: Theater

Published on Friday, 03 November 2017 13:59

Written by Ellis Nassour

Photos by Brinkhoff-Mogenburg and Joan Marcus

The Tony-winning Best Musical which set a new definition for spectacle in its eye-popping production, Disney's The Lion King reaches a new plateau not only in the African Plains but also on Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre on November 13th when it celebrates its 20th Anniversary. The story of lion cub Simba soon became a unprecedented worldwide phenomenon. Audiences of all ages were dazzled by its imagination, color, music, and joy.

Props must go to costume designer and mask co-designer Julie Taymor, who became the first woman in Broadway history to win the Tony for Best Director, Musical. Taymor stays in frequent touch with the show and has a team in place to keep it fresh and has supervised productions worldwide.

Before the official anniversary, however, there’ll be a gala performance with many original cast members and creatives on hand on November 5. Already there’s a caricature of the Rafiki character, originated by Tony-nominee Tsidii Le Loka, on Sardi’s walls of fame, Currently playing that prized role, long a favorite with audiences, is Tshidi Manye.
There’s also going to be an unheard of special gift to lucky Lion King lovers: a free — that’s right: FREE – performance on November 15.

Jelani Remy (Simba), Adrienne Walker (Nala), L. Steven Taylor (Mufasa), Stephen Carlile (Scar), Fred Berman (Timon), Ben Jeffrey (Pumbaa), and Cameron Pow (Zazu) co-star in the cast of 52. To keep the musical faithful to its African origins, South African performers have been integral members of the company. There’re six indigenous African languages spoken in the show: Congolese, Sotho, Swahili, Tswana, Xhosa, and Zulu.

The Lion King is the third longest running musical in Broadway history – just behind Chicago and the champ The Phantom of the Opera. The production has been seen by over 90 million in 19 countries -- on every continent except Antarctica. 

The show’s award room is crammed with honors from around the world. Here, it garnered six Tonys, including Best Musical, and, among numerous other honors, the New York Drama Critics Award, Best Musical. The Grammy-winning cast CD is certified Platinum. In the U.K., TLK won the Evening Standard Award for Theatrical Event of the Year and Olivier Awards for choreography and costume design.


TLK’s music is a fusion of Western popular music and distinctive sounds and rhythms of Africa. The majority of the Tony-winning score is by Sirs Elton John and Tim Rice. Contributing additional music is Hans Zimmer, who wrote the movie score. Songs include: "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" [Oscar, Best Song], "Circle of Life," the vastly popular "Hakuna Matata," "I Just Can't Wait to Be King," "They Live in You," and the haunting ballad “Shadowland.” Clement Ishmael is music supervisor.
The book has been adapted by Roger Allers, who co-directed Disney’s animated feature, and Irene Mecchi, who co-wrote the screenplay. Choreography is by Jamaican modern dance master Garth Fagan, founder and artistic director of his own dance company.


Since the musical’s 1997 Broadway  premiere,  24 productions  have  been  mounted  around  the world. There’ve been several national tours. The 25th global production and first international tour premieres in Manila next March. Worldwide grosses exceed that of any film, Broadway show or other entertainment title in box office history. TLK is still a solid hit on London’s West End. Among cities with current productions on the boards are Hamburg, Madrid, Mexico City, Shanghai, and Tokyo.
Some interesting trivia: There’s a menagerie of more than 230 giant puppets, representing  antelope, baboons, birds, elephants, giraffe, hyenas, lions, meerkat, and warthogs. Tallest, of course, are the 18-foot giraffes; the biggest: the elephant, who stands only five feet shorter.

To make Lion King painstakingly accurate, hair and make-up designer Michael Ward drew inspiration for his colorful work by researching various African tribes. One of the behind-the-scenes craftspersons is make-up supervisor Elizabeth Cohen, who has her share of stories when things don't go as planned. "It's our job to get it right," says Cohen, "but there're always things you're not prepared for."

Like the time a former Nala, then played by Kissy Simmons, complained of illness. “We only had one cover for her and she was very pregnant." Backstage crews, like Boy Scouts, learn to be prepared. During intermission, Cohen and her make-up team pulled the cover from the ensemble to get her ready. But you can't keep a trouper down and Simmons bravely raised her head and said, "I'm okay. I can go on." And out she went, just in time for her big solo. However, even the applause was not a cure-all.

When Simmons exited, she informed the stage manager she couldn't continue. "Of course," says Cohen, "We had to discreetly pluck our cover off stage and quickly transform her into Nala." The hair and sound folks went to work. Wardrobe supervisor Kjeld Andersen scrambled to put together a costume. They had her in the wings within seconds of Nala's next entrance." reports Cohen. "When she appeared,” laughs Cohen, “the audience had to wonder how Nala had gone from tall and statuesque to short and pregnant."
With little make-up or touching up to do in Act Two, Cohen's friends often ask why she stays on site until the curtain. She laughs, "That story explains why!"

It would be an understatement to say it takes a village to put on each performance of The Lion King – for instance, there are 142 people directly involved. These include 51 cast members – eight of whom are South African, 24 musicians, wardrobe staff of 19, a three-person hair and make-up department – not to mention a physical therapist, the stage and puppet crew, and five stage managers to keep check on everything.

Taymor, with  designer Michael Curry, hand-sculpted and painted the masks appearing in the iconic “Circle of Life” opening, which, with the help of their department of mask makers, sculptors, puppeteers, and artisans, took 17,000 hours to build.

In celebration of TLK’s 20th, the show is giving away every ticket via a free lottery to the 8 P.M. performance Wednesday, November 15th.

“Though it’s been seen around the world, The Lion King was born in New York City,” says Disney Theatrical president and producer Thomas Schumacher. “This free performance is our chance to thank New York City for 20 years of loving support. It’s our hope that audiences who could otherwise not experience Julie Taymor’s glorious vision will join us to toast the musical born here in our hometown.”

“The Lion King has been delighting Broadway audiences for 20 years,” states Julie Menin, NYC Commissioner of Media and Entertainment. “We are proud to be the home of this landmark show and congratulate the production on this milestone. The free ticket lottery to be held in Times Square and libraries throughout the five boroughs will give hundreds of New Yorkers a chance to see this wonderful show.”

On Sunday, November 12th, enter The Lion King lottery via a celebratory event in Times Square. Thanks to a partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, you can also enter at New York Public Library, Queens Public Library, and Brooklyn Public Library.  No purchase of any kind is necessary, but only one entry per person. Participants must be at least 18 years old. Entrants must be 18 or over to enter. Visit www.lionking.com/20 for the official rules, library lottery locations, and more information. The lottery is powered by Broadway Direct, and entries will only be accepted in person.

On November 12, from 10 A.M. – 6 P.M. in the Times Square plaza between 45th and 46th Streets, attendees will be able to enter the lottery and enjoy Lion King-themed activities -- including a sharable photo opportunity inspired by the show’s iconic ‘Circle of Life’ moment on Pride Rock, autographs with cast members, and an up-close look at the show’s masks and puppets.

In addition, Snapchat users can unlock a custom Lion King lens (Broadway’s first ever) within the Snapchat app using a unique Snapcode. Once unlocked, users will be able to virtually “try on” Simba and Nala masks through Augmented Reality technology. For download information, visit the above site.