A Dark, Spare, Cavernous Camelot Fizzles

Last night the "revival" of Lerner and Loewe's Camelot opened on Broadway at Lincoln Center. We saw it earlier in preview.

All of the beautiful Lerner & Loewe music is there. But that's about all that remains.

The set is almost non-existent and features a cavernous bare stage that makes the actors look like pawns on a chessboard. The costumes, such as they are, feature mostly spare, drab black and grey materials. The lighting is equally dismal.

Merlin (Dakin Matthews) is completely devoid of any magical powers. In this new production he's just a rather clueless, somewhat disoriented old man. Oh, he has some occasional words of wisdom but they're tossed off as so many sitcom jokes. Perhaps that's because the new book by Aaron Sorkin manages to be at times snarky, condescending and ultimately juvenile. King Arthur (Andrew Burnap) acts like an insufferable preteen and the wispy Guinevere (Phillipa Soo) isn't much better though she does have a lovely voice. Mordred (Taylor Trensch) is loud and combustible but still not disruptive enough to awaken this dreary production. The one shining star in  the bleak night sky that hangs over this Camelot is Jordan Donica who plays Lancelot. Donica is instantly Broadway's new leading man. The voice, the range, the stature, the romantic presence are all there in Donica's portrayal of the dashing Lancelot. How wonderful it would have been to see him in a faithful production of the dreamy flight of fancy that Camelot was meant to be.

Many years ago we saw another revival of Camelot at Lincoln Center, a production that starred the original King Arthur, Richard Burton, reprising his role. Burton was sober that night and on his game and we had orchestra seats that allowed us to fully appreciate his rugged masculinity and regal presence. What a night it was! 

We are left with our memory of the earlier Camelot, contrasted with the couple that we chatted with at intermission who left this new production in a huff. "You're leaving?" I inquired as I saw them putting on their coats. "We damn well are," the gentleman answered. "This is an abomination!" 

THIS Is What Broadway Is All About!

Final curtain call for the rapturous Music Man after one year on Broadway!

Remembering Dame Angela Lansbury . . .

Angela Lansbury was one of the brightest stars of Broadway. And we had the pleasure of seeing her live in four wonderful Broadway shows: Mame, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd and Blithe Spirit. She was positively stellar each and every time. 

Though Lansbury was a huge "name above the title" Broadway entertainer you'd hardly call her a diva. She was a classically trained ensemble player in the great tradition of British troupers. 

In fact, she didn't even seem to seek the spotlight. She didn't have to. Her superb acting was such that the spotlight naturally seemed to come to her. She could play light comedy (Blithe Spirit), stark, grizzly drama (Sweeney), musical "dramady" (Gypsy) and charm an audience with frothy song and dance (Mame). Angela Lansbury did it all. In the process, she won five Tony Awards, hosted the Tonys numerous times, garnered Kennedy Center Honors and was officially made a Dame of the United Kingdom by Queen Elizabeth. Through it all, she remained gracious.

You can't say this about many notables nowadays but Angela Lansbury was truly beloved! For this and many other reasons, she must be considered one of the last of the greats! 

Of course, Lansbury was also a big star in the movies and on TV which makes her just-announced passing a monumental loss.

Angela Lansbury was born in 1925 into a prominent upper middle class  family living in the Regent's Park neighborhood of London. Her father was socialist politician Edgar Isaac Lansbury. Lansbury's mother was Irish film actress Moyna Macgill, originally from Belfast. During the first five years of Angela's life, the Lansbury family lived in a flat located in Poplar. In 1930, they moved to a house located in the Mill Hill neighborhood of north London. They spent their weekends vacationing in a farm located in Berrick Salome, a village in South Oxfordshire.

In 1940, Lansbury started her acting education at the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, located in Kensington, West London. She made her theatrical debut in the school's production of the play "Mary of Scotland" (1933) by Maxwell Anderson (1888-1959). The play depicted the life of Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587, reigned 1542-1567), and Lansbury played one of the queen's ladies-in-waiting.

Also in 1940, Lansbury's paternal grandfather, George Lansbury, died from stomach cancer. When the Blitz started, Moyna Macgill had reasons to fear for the safety of her family and few remaining ties to England. Macgill moved to the United States to escape the Blitz, taking her three youngest children with her. Isolde was already a married adult, and was left behind in England.

Macgill secured financial sponsorship from American businessman Charles T. Smith. She and her children (including Angela) moved into Smith's house in Mahopac, New York. Mahopac is a hamlet within the town of Carmel. Lansbury was interested in continuing her studies, and secured a scholarship from the American Theatre Wing. From 1940 to 1942, Lansbury studied acting at the Feagin School of Dramatic Art, located in New York City. She appeared in performances organized by the school.

Through her mother, Lansbury was introduced to screenwriter John Van Druten, who had recently completed his script of "Gaslight" (1944). He suggested that young Lansbury would be perfect for the role of Nancy Oliver, the film's conniving cockney maid. This helped secure Lansbury's first film role at the age of 17, and a seven-year contract with the film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She earned 500 dollars per week, and chose to continue using her own name instead of a stage name.

Lansbury continued appearing in MGM films. She appeared in 11 MGM films between 1945 and 1952. MGM at times loaned Lansbury to other film studios. She appeared in United Artists' "The Private Affairs of Bel Ami" (1947), and Paramount Pictures' "Samson and Delilah" (1949). In 1948, Lansbury made her debut in radio roles, followed by her television debut in 1950.

In 1952, Lansbury requested the termination of her contract with MGM, instead of its renewal. She felt unsatisfied with her film career as an MGM contract player. She then joined the East Coast touring productions of two former Broadway plays.

Meanwhile she continued her film career as a freelance actress, but continued to be cast in middle-aged roles. She regained her A-picture actress through well-received roles in the drama film "The Long, Hot Summer" (1958) and the comedy film "The Reluctant Debutante" (1958). She also appeared regularly in television roles, and became a regular on game show "Pantomime Quiz".

In 1957, Lansbury made her Broadway debut in a performance of "Hotel Paradiso". The play was an adaptation of the 1894 "L'Hôtel du libre échange" ("Free Exchange Hotel"), written by Maurice Desvallières and Georges Feydeau. Lansbury's role as "Marcel Cat" was critically well received. She continued appearing in Broadway over the next several years, most notably cast as the verbally abusive mother in "A Taste of Honey". She was cast as the mother of co-star Joan Plowright, who was only four years younger.

In the early 1960s, Lansbury was cast as an overbearing mother in "Blue Hawaii" (1961). The role of her son was played by Elvis Presley (1935-1977), who was only 10 years younger than her. The film was a box office hit, it finished as the 10th-top-grossing film of 1961 and 14th for 1962 on the "Variety" national box office survey. It gained Lansbury renewed fame, at a difficult point of her career.

Lansbury gained critical praise for a sympathetic role in the drama film "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" (1960), and the role of a manipulative mother in the drama film "All Fall Down" (1962). Based on her success in "All Fall Down", she was cast in a similar role in the Cold War-themed thriller "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962). She was cast as Eleanor Iselin, the mother of her co-star Laurence Harvey, who was only three years younger than she. This turned out to be one of the most memorable roles in her career. She received critical acclaim and was nominated for a third time for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The award was instead won by Patty Duke.

Lansbury made a comeback in the starring role of Mame Dennis in the musical "Mame" (1966), by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. The musical received critical and popular praise, and Lansbury won her first Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Lansbury gained significant fame from her success, becoming a "superstar".

Her newfound fame led to other high-profile appearances by Lansbury. She starred in a musical performance at the 1968 Academy Awards ceremony, and co-hosted the 1968 Tony Awards. The Hasty Pudding Club, a social club for Harvard students. elected her "Woman of the Year" in 1968.

Lansbury's next theatrical success was in 1969 "The Madwoman of Chaillot" (1945) by Jean Giraudoux. The play concerns an eccentric Parisian woman's struggles with authority figures. Lansbury was cast in the starring role of 75-year-old Countess Aurelia, despite her actual age of 44. The show was well received and lasted for 132 performances. Lansbury won her second Tony Award for this role.

Her film career reached a new height. She was cast in the starring role of benevolent witch Eglantine Price in Disney's fantasy film "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (1971). The film was a box-office hit; it was critically well received, and introduced Lansbury to a wider audience of children and families.

In 1972, Lansbury returned to the British stage, performing in London's West End with the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1973, Lansbury appeared in the role of Rose in London performances of the musical "Gypsy" (1959) by Arthur Laurents. It was quite successful. In 1974, "Gypsy" went on tour in the United States. with the same cast. For her role, Lanbury won the Sarah Siddons Award and her third Tony Award. The musical had its second tour in 1975.

Tired from musicals. Lansbury next sought Shakespearean roles in the United Kingdom. From 1975 to 1976, she appeared as Queen Gertrude in the National Theatre Company's production of Hamlet. In November 1975, Lansbury's mother Moyna Macgill died at the age of 79. Lansbury arranged for her mother's remains to be cremated, and the ashes scattered near her own County Cork home.

In 1979, Lansbury was cast in the role of meat pie seller Mrs. Lovett in the musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (1979), by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler. The musical was loosely based on the penny dreadful serial novel "The String of Pearls: A Domestic Romance" (1846-1847), which first depicted fictional serial killer Sweeney Todd. Lansbury remained in the role for 14 months, and was then replaced by Dorothy Loudon (1925-2003). Lansbury won her fourth Tony Award for this role. She returned to the role for 10 months in 1980.

Lansbury's next prominent film role was that of Miss Froy in "The Lady Vanishes" (1979), a remake of the 1938 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980). She was next cast in the role of amateur sleuth Miss Jane Marple in the mystery film "The Mirror Crack'd" (1980), an adaptation of the novel "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side" (1962) by Agatha Christie.

In 1982, Lansbury was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. At about that time, Lansbury appeared regularly in television films and mini-series. Her most prominent television role was that of Jessica Fletcher in the detective series "Murder, She Wrote" (1984-1996). Jessica was depicted as a successful mystery novelist from Maine who encounters and solves many murders. The character was considered an American counterpart to Miss Marple. The series followed the "whodunit" format and mostly avoided depictions of violence or gore.

The series was considered a television landmark for having an older female character as the protagonist. It was aimed primarily at middle-aged audiences, but also attracted both younger viewers and senior citizen viewers. Ratings remained high for most of its run. Lansbury rejected pressure from network executives to put her character in a relationship, as she believed that Fletcher should remain a strong single female. By the time the series ended in 1996, it tied with the original "Hawaii Five-O" (1968-1980) as the longest-running detective drama series in television history.

Her popularity from "Murder, She Wrote" made Lansbury a much-sought figure for advertisers. She appeared in advertisements and infomercials for Bufferin, MasterCard and the Beatrix Potter Company.

Lansbury's highest-profile film role in decades was voicing the character of singing teapot Mrs. Potts in Disney's animated fantasy film "Beauty and the Beast" (1991). Lansbury performed the film's title song, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

Following the end of "Murder, She Wrote", Lansbury returned to a career as a theatrical actress. She temporarily retired from the stage in 2001, to take care of her husband Peter Shaw, whose health was failing. Shaw died in 2003, from congestive heart failure at the couple's Brentwood, California home. Their marriage had lasted for 54 years (1949-2003).

Lansbury felt at the time that she could not take on any more major acting roles, but that she could still make cameos. She moved back to New York City in 2006, buying a condominium in Manhattan. Her first prominent film role in years was that of Aunt Adelaide in the fantasy film "Nanny McPhee" (2005). She credits her performance in the film with pulling her out of depression, a state of mind which had lasted since her husband's death.

Lansbury returned to performing on the Broadway stage in 2007, after an absence of 23 years. In 2009, she won her fifth Tony Award. She shared the record for most Tony Award victories with Julie Harris. In the 2010s, she continued regularly appearing in theatrical performances. In 2014, she returned to the London stage, after an absence of nearly 40 years.

In 2015, Lansbury received her first Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress. At age 89, she was among the oldest first-time winners. Also in 2015, November 2015 was awarded the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre. She also starred on the stage in Noel Coward's Blithe Sprit and in the Sondheim musical A Little Night Music.

In 2018, Lansbury gained her next film role in Disney's fantasy film "Mary Poppins Returns" (2018), a sequel to "Mary Poppins". Lansbury was cast in the role of the Balloon Lady, a kindly old woman who sells balloons at the park. The films was a commercial hit, earning about 350 million dollars at the worldwide box office.

In 2019, Lansbury performed at a one-night benefit staging of Oscar Wilde's play "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1895). a farce satirizing Victorian morals. She was cast in the role of society lady Lady Bracknell, mother to Gwendolen Fairfax.

How In Hell Do Your Describe A Show Like THIS?

It's really hard to accurately describe it. 

Ir calls itself a musical but it's more a spectacle than anything else. Oh, don't misunderstand. There really is plenty of music in it -- more than 30 songs (or at least snippets of songs) to be exact. 

And the music covers just about every genre and numerous eras. Plus, the music does sort of fit in with the story. But the story doesn't take itself too seriously and it's often all rather tongue-in-cheek. 

It's frequently comedic but you'd hardly term it a musical comedy. It's inspired by the relatively recent  Baz Luhrmann movie of the same name but it's not actually a faithful recreation of the movie, at least not as far as we can tell. 

There's so much going on that the costumes, the sets, the characters and the staging will sometimes keep you wondering exactly where to focus your attention.  It's a show that's all over the place, moving very quickly and changing from scene to scene and song to song in the blink of an eye and yet, it not only sustains your interest throughout but it all manages to come together in two acts as a coherent whole.

KABOOM! It's Moulin Rouge on Broadway at the Al Hirshfeld Theatre.

And you really ought to see it on Broadway because the theatre has been transformed for this show and one doubts that it can travel easily or faithfully.

Yes, the actual legendary Moulin Rouge in Paris has long since become a tourist trap but it's more than 130 years old and it is the home of the once-scandalous cancan. And yes, in this Broadway outing you'll see the cancan performed as never before with great dancers and the wildest, most vivid colors imaginable. It's all here, complete with the iconic rouge windmill that has beckoned throngs to the foot of Paris' Montmartre hill to partake of this unique nightlife ritual.

The story? Well, the musical promises a tale that's built around "truth, beauty, freedom and love". And, to be sure, each of these is touched upon in one way or another but don't expect anything profound. It's a classic backstage story but at its core, like the Moulin Rouge itself, this show is all about having fun. 

So, you will recognize and thoroughly enjoy the music and be delighted by the dancing, the gyrations, the gorgeous bodies and the sheer sumptuousness of the whole thing.

Which is to say you most assuredly will have fun. And if you don't, it will be your own damned fault! 

Mangez bien, riez souvent, aimez beaucoup.

 

FIRST LOOK: New Musical Title Tune!

Here's a first listen to the title track of #SomeLikeItHotMusical headed to the Shubert Theatre this fall! 🧡 Broadway’s hottest tickets are now on sale! https://somelikeithotmusical.com Featuring a score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray), a book by Matthew López (The Inheritance) and Amber Ruffin (“The Amber Ruffin Show”), and choreography and direction by Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon), SOME LIKE IT HOT arrives on Broadway this November at the Shubert Theatre.

This looks very promising!

2022 Outer Critics Circle Winners!

Outstanding New Broadway Play: The Lehman Trilogy

Outstanding New Broadway Musical: Six

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play: Prayer for the French Republic

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical: Kimberly Akimbo

Outstanding Revival of a Play: Take Me Out

Outstanding Revival of a Musical: Company

Outstanding Actor in a Play: Simon Russell Beale, The Lehman Trilogy

Outstanding Actress in a Play: LaChanze, Trouble in Mind

Outstanding Actor in a Musical: Jaquel Spivey, A Strange Loop

Outstanding Actress in a Musical: Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play: Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Take Me Out

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play: Uzo Aduba, Clyde’s

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical: Matt Doyle, Company

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical: Patti LuPone, Company

Outstanding Solo Performance: Kristina Wong, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord

Outstanding Direction of a Play: Sam Mendes, The Lehman Trilogy

Outstanding Direction of a Musical: Jessica Stone, Kimberly Akimbo

Outstanding Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon and Rich + Tone Talauega, MJ the Musical

Outstanding Book of a Musical: David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo

Outstanding New Score: Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six

Outstanding Orchestrations: Jason Howland, Paradise Square

Outstanding Scenic Design: Adam Rigg, The Skin of Our Teeth

Outstanding Costume Design: Gabriella Slade, Six

Outstanding Lighting Design: Jon Clark, The Lehman Trilogy

Outstanding Projection Design: Luke Halls, The Lehman Trilogy

Outstanding Sound Design: Nick Powell and Dominic Bilkey, The Lehman Trilogy

John Gassner Award: English by Sanaz Toossi

Special Achievement Awards: Johanna Day, David Morse, Mary-Louise Parker, and Ruben Santiago-Hudson for reprising their outstanding performances in How I Learned to Drive and Lackawanna Blues two decades later. All had been eligible in previous seasons.

Outer Critics Circle Commendations: The Standbys, Understudies, and Swings of the theatrical community who step up to perform, often on hours’ notice, to keep their shows running; and The Covid Safety Supervisors, Managers, and Compliance Officers who put themselves in harm’s way eight times a week to keep the curtains up.

Excellent Cuisine Steps From Times Square

 

Of all the cities in Italy, Venice has always been our favorite.

It's a delight -- a feast for the senses at every turn.

But we can't always be in Venice.  So, when we want a touch of Venice we head right up the road to the bustling island of Manhattan.

We're talking about one of our favorite restaurants, Osteria al Doge.

Just steps away from Times Square. Osteria al Doge presents an inviting, charming ambience with Venetian inspired dishes. Homemade pastas are complimented by a good selection of fish and meat entrees without forgetting the great thin crusted pizzas. Here you'll find great, authentic Italian food for lunch and dinner.

We've been patronizing this restaurant for two decades and we can tell you that the atmosphere, service and (most of all) the dishes are all consistently excellent.

In a city like New York, it's hard to maintain success amidst relentless competition. People have so many choices and many of them are outstanding.

But Osteria al Doge has continuing to attract a loyal following as well as newcomers with a great dining experience.

Whether it's a romantic dinner for two, an important business lunch, or a lively group celebration, Osteria offers the easy elegance of Venice in the heart of New York's theatre district. And it's great for pre or post theatre dining.

Put it at the top of your list!