Category: Stage

Fourth of a series of Broadway reports

NEW YORK — “Moulin Rouge,” undeniably an expansive and explosive musical unfolding at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway, is a monstrous dash of flash. It’s anything you might want it to be: a nightclub, a disco, a non-stop jukebox of hot pop songs, a floor show of can-can girls. Even a state of mind, as noted by Harold Zidler, the owner of the Moulin Rouge club, played by Eric Anderson.

The show – set in Gay Paree’s notable nightclub of the title — begins even before the spectacle opens, with costumed characters descending from sets onto the stage, crawling on the rims of both stage left and right, resembling Cirque du Soleil artists. The regalia — some nostalgic, some brief, some clearly exotic — build anticipation of what’s to come.

Amour is in the air, and when the dazzling melodies start thumping away, showtime means feathers, glitter, gyrations and hearty emotions.

“Lady Marmalade,” certainly the key prevailing anthem in the score, is all action and audience reaction. The cast and the audience members (some quietly, some not) belt out Labelle’s explicit and exquisite lyrics of  Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, and the dance party is officially on.

Director Alex Timbers and choreographer Sonya Tayeh retain the life-is-beautiful spirit of film director Baz Luhrmann and co-writer Craig Pearce, who collaborated on the film, which has been updated and upgraded with lots of oomph and power, with something to appeal to all, straight, gay, or LGBTQ.

Starring Joanna “Jojo” Levesque as Satine, a courtesan fighting tuberculosis, Derek Klena as the lovestruck composer Christian, Eric Anderson as Harold Zidler, Andre Ward as Toulouse-Lautrec, and David Harris as the Duke of Monroth, aka he/him, “Moulin Rouge” treats music as a drug in a sense that it’s easy to get high – with emotion and participation. Songs often are said to be the soundtrack of our lives, and surely, fleeting nostalgic moments of your memories whirl and twirl like a merry-go-round on steroids.

Unfortunately, the Playbill does not collate titles of the music employed during this journey, so you can’t reflect and count ’em. And the tunes are clustered into fast-and-furious medleys that you may not recall the fave you’re grooving to because, um, here comes another fastball.

But since songs are so dominant and definitive in the show, you’re likely to get dizzy with joy when you recognize Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” in a quick mashup with Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” then sooner or later, there’s an extended rendering of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,”  roaring out from the lungs of Christian and Santine. One of the shows impactful moment, this.

In case you forget when the charades and parades fade, Katy Perry’s “Fireworks,” Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” and “You Can’t Get Always Get What You Want” are prominently staged with glorious dances.

There are temptations, visual and aural, all tied to the tempo and choreography, and since this is kind of a Bohemian rhapsody, expect Elton John, Madonna and sundry others to pop in musically.

Be warned: if strobe lights and loud music offend you, you might best order balcony seats to be\some distance away from the pyrotechnics…

And that’s Show Biz. …

‘Moulin Rouge’

“Moulin Rouge” is a musical based on the film written by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce, directed by Luhrmaan, with book by John LoganPlaying at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre

Third in a series of Broadway reports

NEW YORK — Lea Michele has emerged as the belle of the revival of “Funny Girl,” becoming a diva of traditional Broadway musicals fueled by a female superstar.

She put the glee and the whee into the troubled show, which was launched a season ago with Beanie Feldstein in the lead.

Michele succeeded Feldstein on Sept. 6, 2022, earning six standing ovations on her first night, and the roars of approval haven’t stop at the August Wilson Theatre. Clearly, she’s become one of the next-generation’s leading ladies of the genre of traditional stage musicals like “Hello, Dolly!,” “Gypsy,” and “Mame,” and Michele’s appeal has rewarded her the opportunity to be the Fanny Brice voice in the show’s cast album. Also, Michele’s presence has buoyed the show into the Broadway League’s “million dollar club,” meaning that the weekly “Funny Girl” box office grosses have finally logged a slot on the elite list.

Lea Michele, as Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl.”

The fingerprints may be invisible, but there exists the Barbra Streisand aura in the revival – think “hello, gorgeous!” – when Fanny is in front of her dressing room mirror. Streisand’s Broadway debut as Fanny in the 1960s, coupled with the subsequent movie version in the late ‘60s in which she also starred, has been the stuff of legend, but Michele surely will make this her own trademark in the decades ahead. Michele, till now best known as a luminary from the “Glee” TV series, is poised and powerful in delivering she show’s best-known anthems, “People,” “I’m the Greatest Star” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” lasting favorites from the score by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill.

The tale, based on a book by Isobel Lennart revised by Harvey Fierstein, tracks the show biz quest of Brice, a Jewish vaudeville wonder from Brooklyn, who becomes a headliner of the famed Ziegfeld Follies, and wife of the production’s honcho, Nicky Arnstein, played by Ramin Karimloo. They have chemistry, notably on “You Are Woman, I Am Man” and “Who Are You Now.”

Naturally, there is a poker-playing Jewish mom, Mrs. Brice, portrayed by the beloved Tovah Feldshuh, who demonstrates her seasoned charm on “Who Taught Her Everything She Knew,” a duet with Jared Grimes as Eddie Ryan. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

‘Funny Girl’

“Funny Girl,” a musical featuring music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, book by Isobel Lennart, revised book by Harvey Fierstein

Playing at the August Wilson Theatre, through Sept. 3

Broadway in Hawaii, the group which just concluded its first four-show series of musicals at the Blaisdell Concert Hall, is seeking input on what islanders would like to see in the next slate of shows.

The Concert Hall will shut down in July, for a long-overdue renovation, but the producers of these events are polling ticket-buyers about possible choices next year, or in two years.

Inside the playbill at the “Cats” show, there is a page dubbed “What show do you want to see?,” along with a QR code to vote.

There’s no guarantee any of the show choices will be picked, but let your voice be heard.

This ad in the “Cats” playbill seeks viewer choices.

Personally, I think if we could have a four-season agenda, I’d pick these:

• “Les Miserables,” the most popular of all Broadway titles that have been staged here. I can already hear the people sing! Bring it home, again.
• “Ain’t Too Proud,” a musical bio of The Temptations. Saw this a couple of years ago, and the soundtrack is chock-full of Temps triumphs like “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” and “I Can’t Get Next to You.” The vocals are grand, the choreography sensational. The Temptations are Motown’s longest-running act topping such label mates as Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and the Supremes, and Lionel Richie and the Commodores.
• “Come From Away,” a sleeper when it first opened in New York, is a gotta-see  musical about the real-life tales and friendship when passengers heading for New York couldn’t land because of the 9/11 tragedy but found comfort and support from the Canadian residents of Gander, Newfoundland.
• “A Beautiful Noise, the Neil Diamond Musical,” is an audience favorite. Will see this when I visit New York this month, and I can already hear the choruses of “So good, so good, so good” when “Sweet Caroline” is performed. The show had no Tony noms, but diehard Diamond fans are making this one sizzle.

Of the other choices: if you want a current show, “& Juliet” or “Shucked” could fill the bill; they arrived this past season on Broadway.  I’d pass on “Pretty Woman, the Musical,” a disappointing take on the Julia Roberts and Richard Gere film, and isn’t it too soon for a “Wicked” homecoming?  “Kinky Boots” is a howl, no matter how often you see it, but “Beetlejuice”  might work if it had a Halloween run. Enough opinions, already…

Let the ‘Sunshine’ in…   

Pat Sajak and Joe Moore, the duo comprising Neil Simon’s “The Sunshine Boys” comedy at the Hawaii Theatre, completed the first of five performances “and I’m happy to report the audiences seem to love the show, a lot of laughs and applause,” said Moore.

Sajak and Moore have generously donated time and their comedic skills to raise funds for the Hawaii Theatre, and the  final six performances start this Wednesday and run through Sunday. Evening performances are at 7 p.m. with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. 

The duo, Army buddies from way back when, are the only television “names” I know who have made this a regular “hobby,” rehearsing long-distance. Sajak has been the host of the syndicated (and widely popular) “Wheel of Fortune,” and Moore has been a top-rated news anchor at KHON, the Fox affiliate here.

Tickets are $35 to $75, available  at www.hawaiitheatre.com the box office at 808-528-0506  …

Moore,  the merrier

Bryce Moore, son of Joe Moore, is in “Sunshine,” and calls stage acting a “tricky beast.”

“You get the thrill of being in front of a live audience but also don’t get any ‘second takes.’ It’s straight through, no do-overs.”

This is his first professional theater gig, with only a middle school (Mid-Pacific) credit in a production of “Suessical Jr.,” in which he played the Mayor of Whoville.

He’s watched dad and Sajak before, and dad offered him a role. After viewing the movie adaption of “Sunshine,” he said, “ “there was no way that I was going to say no. I couldn’t, and still can’t think of a higher honor than to share a stage with them.”

Since 2020, he’s also been working in the shadows of dad Joe as a KHON journalist, riding out the pandemic, which shelved “Sunshine” for three years.

His tasks have included “listening to police scanners, answering phone calls from the public and getting everything that aired in our newscasts onto our website.”

As a multimedia journalist, he is “responsible for being the writer, producer, editor, talent and cameraman while I’m out on my stories. I’m constantly approaching strangers with a camera and recording myself in public, so as far as to feeling pressure of being watched… I guess I’m pretty used to it.” …

And that’s Show Biz. …

“CATS,” the Andrew Lloyd Webber hit based on T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book on Practical Cats’” winds up a brief week’s run with two more performances today (June 18) at the Neal Blaisdell Center Concert Hall.

It’s the finale of a four-show “Broadway in Hawaii” series that early included “Beautiful, the Carole King Story,””Hamilton,” and “Jersey Boys.”

This touring company boasts a capable ensemble and actually is a delight. Can’t believe how this “Cats” has nine lives of actors who bring sprightly freshness and hidden gems to the plate, as featured soloists and as en mass ensemble.

For me, the nine elements that make this very entertaining include:

1 – Old Deuteronomy, portrayed by Cameron Shutza, brings a powerful tenor voice, and has a commanding presence in the role of the Cats’ senior mentor. His grandness extends to that body in a costume that looks more like a bear than a cat, and he’s the first Deutoronomy that doesn’t remain on stage during intermission. In very early productions, spectators could get on stage and visit, but the pandemic nixed that inter-action perk. Too bad; he’d be a hero to worship.

Old Deutoronomy, rear, awaiting the cat transiting to the Heviside layer.

2 – Gus, the theater cat, full name Asparagus, is hugely likeable. As I’ve personally aged, I can  associate with John Ankier Bow, who has presence and character and he dons show’s best costume, an eye-catcher that looks highly fashionable befitting a theater legend. He looks and says Show Biz.

3 – The resident Grizabella, Tayler Harris, starts slowly and deliberately and becomes the centerpiece of the show’s signature hit, “Memory.” No doubt, she earns the privilege to ascend to the Heaviside Layer, up, up, up, away. In this version, however, she boards a gigantic tire with Deuteronomy, but is shuttled to heaven in a newbie transit.

4 – Magical Mister Mistoffelees, played by Ibn Snell, is the magical cat with the brightest, lit-up costume in multiple hues, and besides a soaring voice, he can twirl and swirl in dance. His magical tricks are new and awesome.

5 —  Mungojerrie and Rumpleteaser are the winsome twosome, enacted by Brian Craig Nelson and Taryn Smithson, respectively, doubling the pleasure of teamwork.

6 –Rum Tum Tugger, the rock ‘n’ roll cat, makes Hank Santos one of the most active, energetic cats with motion and commotion. Happily, his hairy costume has been retained, and he makes good use of his tail.

7 – Who can’t joyously chug along with the railroad cat, Skimbleshanks, depicted by Reagan Davidson? That locomotive scene, with locomotive and choo-choo wheels, is one of the show’s highlights.

8 – Though he’s mostly not seen, but repeatedly heard, Macavity as shaped by Dominique Fortunato, has his wiry coif, and elusive mysteriousness that continues to haunt.

The “Cats” company, in full costumed regalia, is the cat’s meow.

9  — The Jellicle Ball, in Act 1, sets the tone for the evening, with classic choreography which has defined the show for decades. “The Naming of Cats,” by the company, is true poetry-in-motion, and Trevor Nunn’s original direction, and coupled with Gillian Lynn’s original choreography are preserved with updates for future generations who want to see and hear the cat’s meow. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

—————————————–

‘CATS’

A musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on T. S. Eliott’s “Old Possum’s Book on Practical Cats”

Where: Blaisdell Concert Hall

When: 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. today, closing performance

Tickets: Sold out

—————————–

And that’s Show Biz. …

—————————————–

‘CATS’

A musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on T. S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book on Practical Cats”

Where: Blaisdell Concert Hall

When: 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. today, closing performance

Tickets: Sold out

—————————–