Heaven on Wheels

(HIGHWAY TO SWELL - Tony Edition part 2)

It's Tony Eve and I'm very excited for the awards tomorrow night.

One of the shows I'm rooting for is the underdog for Best New Musical.....  the musical masterpiece...  XANADU!

(seriously)

Adapted from one of the worst movies ever made, this wonderful piece of entertainment lovingly pokes fun at the movie and yet has a sweet heart of it's own.

"Xanadu" features the vibrant music of Electric Light Orchestra (some from the movie... others hits added) as well as the Olivia Newton John hit "Have You Ever Been Mellow?"  If that doesn't grab you, it also has a hilarious book, a plethora of disco balls, a knockout cast, and rollerskating!!  This show is 90 minutes of heaven on wheels.

The cast truly is perfect!  Kerry Butler (Batboy, Little Shop of Horrors, and the original Penny in Hairspray) absolutely shines as Kira.  With a nod to Olivia Newton John she gives a delightful starring turn.  Cheyenne Jackson (All Shook Up) as Sonny Malone is golden.   The two have wonderful chemistry, amazing voices, and light up the stage.

Mary Testa and Jackie Hoffman are brilliant as Kira's evil sisters and Tony Roberts and the Muses are wonderful as well.  Fabulous cast all around.

We had the pleasure of seeing the show this past spring and were grinning from ear to ear the entire time.

Here's the official commercial...

Here's a clip from The View last fall.

Leading up to the Tony's they have been campaigning via viral videos.  The videos contain "Cubby Bernstein" as their Tony Campaign manager and are hilarious.  Here is one of the more recent ones (minus Cubby) featuring Nathan Lane asking the question on everyone's mind. "Is Xanadu too gay for a Tony?" 

Check out the others as well.

www.cubbybernstein.com

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In Xanadu related news... (it's not everyday you get to say that!)...  the fabulous star Kerry Butler just released her first solo album entitled "Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust."  

It is a charming collection of Disney classics and Disney-esque tunes.  She gives us wonderful new arrangements of beloved favorites.  Also there is a song written for an abandoned prequel to "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?",  "Call Me a Princess" cut early from Aladdin,  and the song "Disneyland" from the musical "Smile."

I have loved Ms. Butler since first hearing her on the recording of "Batboy."  This cd is a beautiful collection reminding us of "wonder of Disney."  She writes in her linear notes, "To believe in good, even when you see evil in the world, is something I struggle with.  That's what I love about... so much of the Disney catalog.   It recognizes that it's hard to have faith, it's hard sometimes to 'believe,' and all you can do is make a choice to try."

She gives a wonderful personal touch to all the songs including "It's a Small World" which was very special to her since she and her husband adopted their daughter "Segi" from Africa in 2006.

She writes "We had just returned from an amazing, emotional, wonderful, and exhausting trip to Africa, and my husband and I were listening to music and playing with our new baby...  When 'It's a Small World' started to play, she had an immediate and visceral reaction to it... something drew her in immediately.  I like to think it was because, even though she was an infant, she got the message of the song and realized after her long journey that it indeed was a small world after all."

Check out her cd and enjoy the Tony's.  I'm also loving "A Catered Affair" and the brilliant revival of "Sunday in the Park."  (more on them later)

Some Enchanted Evening

The Tony's are this Sunday... very excited!  Growing up in South Dakota this was always my chance to get a glimpse of what was happening on the Great White Way.  In my room I would listen to cast recordings, follow the plot with the linear notes, and imagine the staging and choreography.  (Sometimes I would lock the door and do my own choreography!)  For one "Enchanted Evening" each year in June I actually got a chance to see musical numbers come to life during the Tony Broadcast. 

The last couple of years I have been extremely blessed to visit NY and see many shows.   This year we actually stayed for a week with some great friends and saw 4 shows!!!!  By the way - a great way to get deals on tickets in advance is to sign up for emails from playbill.com.  We saw 3 of the shows for at least 40% off the ticket price.  You can get 50% from the TKTS booth, but this way you have your seats in advance and pick your seats.

In honor of TONY'S this weekend,  I want to post my thoughts on a few of the shows this year throughout the week.

First up are 2 revivals from Broadway's Golden Age.  GYSPY and SOUTH PACIFIC.

GYPSY

We got a chance to Gypsy during previews.  This version of the show was first presented as an Encores production last summer for a limited run.  With almost the entire cast intact, it transferred to Broadway this year.  Patti Lupone as Mama Rose has gotten rave reviews.  Personally there have been so many Mega Stars doing this role (Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, the Divine Miss M, Bernadette Peters) that I thought the was really good (she made some cool different choices.)  But I wasn't blown away like many NY theatre critics.  I didn't see Ms. Peters' version, but one thing I did really like was the chemistry between her and Herbie.  There was definitely romance and sexual desire between them which makes you understand why Herbie would stay with her.

I WAS absolutely blown away with portrayals of her two daughters.  Laura Benanti as Louise and Leigh Ann Larkin as Dainty June.  Both were wonderful!  I saw Laura in The Wedding Singer a couple years ago.  She has a wonderful career ahead of her.  

Now on to Leigh Ann Larkin.  She was a revelation as Dainty June.... by far my favorite performance of the show.  She brought great depth and a dark sarcasm which I have never before seen in this role.  Her and Laura's version of "If Momma Was Married" was wonderful.  You could see them bonding as sisters for the first time.  

Here's a little preview of the show.

The cast recording comes out in August.  As a bonus the current cast recorded songs that were cut from the original production!!!  

Here is an audio version of "If Momma Was Married" that I found online.

I also LOVED "You Gotta Get A Gimmick."  Loved the brilliant interpretation of Marilyn Caskey as Miss Electra.  She played Electra as so feeble she could barely walk let alone "shake it."  At her age she NEEDS her gimmick of fancy lighting.

SOUTH PACIFIC

Did not get a chance to see this.  But South Pacific has gotten amazing reviews and is the predicted favorite to win best revival.  It's amazing that this masterpiece has never gotten a full revival until now.  The cast recording is out now and is wonderful.  Love Matthew Morrison's voice.  If you purchase it at Barnes and Noble there are extra tracks (B&N plug!)

Also check out the concert version on DVD or CD (it appeared on PBS about a year ago.)  It features wonderful vocal performances by Brian Stokes Mitchell and a wonderfully cast Reba McEntire.

Here's a little Reba with Alec Baldwin shakin' what his momma gave him!

Just what the DOC ordered!

As a society we have an obsession with wanting to know what goes on in other people's lives. It can be trash.... (practically any Celebrity Show...  "Living Lohan" or "Denise Richards - It's Complicated")  or it can be treasure (the wonderful movies "Mad Hot Ballroom," and "Spellbound," and the fascinating yet tragic "Grey Gardens")  *side note- I am also in LOVE with the recent musical based on "Grey Gardens."

Anywhoo...  As I wrote in last weeks entry, I went to see a new documentary  "Young@Heart" this past week.

I was absolutely blown away.  

The movie follows a chorus of senior citizens who make up the "Young@Heart" chorus.  What makes them unique is that they don't perform old standards or showtunes.  They perform hits of The Clash, Radiohead, Coldplay, and other rock and roll giants.  The songs they sing are songs we all know. However, performed by a group whose average age is 80, the songs take on a whole new meaning.

 Here's the preview.

I don't want to give too much away because I feel it's best to go into this (and many films) with a clean slate.

I will say I found this film profoundly touching.  There were many times where I was moved to tears.  I got the same feeling as when I saw the amazing film "Once" last year.   Both of these movies show the power of music and how it is good for the soul.  Some of the members of the chorus are struggling to hang on to life... and the one thing that gets them through is their love of singing.    

I do a lot of vocal directing and coaching so I really identified with the choir's director Bob Cillman.  I appreciated that he never looked down on the performers or felt they were doing rock and roll strictly as a gimmick.  He chose songs that maybe they didn't like right away, but were ones that they would eventually connect to.  The whole chorus and director truly became a family bonded by making music.

If you get a chance, please see this film.  I would definitely say it is one of my favorites so far this year (along with "The Visitor.")  Even if you have nothing in common with the subject,  I feel a really good documentary will have at least one element that you can relate to your own life. 

I REALLY could relate to their love of music, and this movie made me think a lot about my grandparents who have been through a lot this year.  No matter what they've been through, they are fighters and are a wonderful inspiration on the power of faith.  I gave them a call on my way home from the theater.  My grandpa had surgery on his knee a few weeks ago and has been doing therapy at home.  Never wanting to burden his family with what he or my grandma are really going through, they are always tell us they're doing great.  Just last week he was walking around with a cane, but when I called them he was just getting inside from mowing the grass!    He said "It may take us twice as long to do things, but that just means the job is twice as good."

Here's to grandparents who are truly young at heart.