On this episode of “Stage Left: The Podcast”, anchor Rob Russo is joined by Hayley Levitt, theatre critic and associate editor at Theatermania.com, and Jose Solís, freelance theatre critic, writer, and podcaster, for a roundtable conversation about three musicals: “Mack and Mabel”, “Darling Grenadine”, and “West Side Story”.
Deeper cuts from the Bob Dylan songbook are roughly interpolated into “Girl from the North Country”, a new musical by Irish playwright and director Conor McPherson. Heavy on mood, this original Depression-era story offers a compelling look at a mélange of ordinary, forgotten people on the margins of low-rent society, but the effort is hampered by Mr. Dylan’s anachronistic songs and their poor integration into the plot. This one left me chilly and detached.
On this week’s episode, Jamie and Rob discuss all the shows opening up on Broadway this spring season.
"The Inheritance" will close March 15th; "Beetlejuice" eyes the Ethel Barrymore Theatre; "To Kill a Mockingbird" makes history with Madison Square Garden performance; Greg Kinnear is the next Atticus Finch; Tony Yazbeck to direct a Frank Wildhorn’s "The Civil War"; Sophia Anne Caruso abruptly departed “Beetlejuice"; NYTW’s "Three Sisters" will feature an adaption by Clare Barron; Cassie Beck will star in the next segment of the national tour of "What the Constitution Means to Me"; and "Ink" will be adapted for the big screen
Belgian auteur Ivo van Hove presents a reimagined version of “West Side Story” for the 21st Century; employing his signature style of theatremaking, this production is thrilling and revelatory, breathing new life into a beloved classic with new choreography, precision cuts to the text, new orchestrations, a superb ensemble cast, and groundbreaking use of video and live filmmaking. The result marks a true summit of achievement in theatre-making and a highlight in a lifetime of theatergoing. It demands to be seen.
Transport Theatre Group Company presents the first New York revival of “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”, featuring a new book by Dick Scanlan. Despite an energetic star turn by Beth Malone, the titular character operates in a single mode, and the Meredith Willson score is unremarkable. This attempt to shoehorn a 21st century approach into the shell of a 20th century musical founders.
On this week’s show, Jamie and Rob are joined at Orso Restaurant by “one singular sensation”: Priscilla Lopez! Currently starring in “Grand Horizons” on Broadway, Priscilla talks about her storied career, from her Broadway debut that wasn’t—the two performance flop “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”—to replacement gigs in “Company” and “Pippin”, and her landmark creation of Diana Morales in “A Chorus Line”.
On this episode of “Stage Left: The Podcast”, anchor Rob Russo is joined by Christian Lewis, theatre critic and Outer Critics Circle member, and Ayanna Prescod, theatre critic and founder of OurBKSocial, for a roundtable conversation about “Grand Horizons”, “Little Shop of Horrors”, and “Moulin Rouge!”
After 46 years away from New York, audiences at City Center finally have a chance to see what Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart’s 1974 flop “Mack and Mabel” is all about thanks to a new Encores! production. The result is bittersweet—both thrilling and sad. Jerry Herman’s score shines, alongside performances by Douglas Sills, Alexandra Socha, Lilli Cooper, and a top-notch ensemble, and the atmosphere of old Hollywood is superbly spun. Still, this is not a musical masterpiece, but a beloved curiosity—a good musical that almost works. Perhaps someday, it might.
On this week’s episode, Rob and Jamie go in deep with all things “Mack & Mabel”, discussing Jerry Herman’s legendary flop as it returns to New York for the first time in 46 years with a new production at New York City Center’s Encores!
"American Utopia" will return to Broadway this fall; Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf to lead a Broadway revival of "Death of a Salesman"; Disney to release a filmed version of "Hamilton" on Broadway; Spike Lee to film "American Utopia"; "Sing Street" cast album comes out March 26th; Rebecca Luker reveals she has been diagnosed with ALS; Jeremy Jordan to replace Gideon Glick in "Little Shop of Horrors"; RIP Kevin Conway, Paula Kelly, Lynn Cohen, and Orson Bean
A look at two new musicals that opened recently off-Broadway: The New Group’s “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice” and Roundabout Underground’s “Darling Grenadine” (critic’s pick!).
