Tag: Broadway

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Sunday Showtunes – ‘Lena Horne: The Lady And Her Music’

Show poster for Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music (photo: ThinkingCouch/Flickr – CC license)
From my favorites list on YouTube, the legendary Lena Horne in her Tony Award-winning one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music. The autobiographical show opened on May 12, 1981, and after 333 performances, closed on June 30, 1982, Horne’s 65th birthday. Horne subsequently toured with the show in the U.S. and Canada, as well taking the show to London and Stockholm in 1984. For her extraordinary performance, Horne won the 1981 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. She was also honored with a special Tony Award at the 35th Tony Awards, a special award from the New York Drama Critics’ Circle, and the City of New York’s Handel Medallion. At the 24th Grammy Awards, Quincy Jones and Horne won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album, and Horne took home the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Having touched on “Stormy Weather” earlier in the show, Horne circles back for this powerful, visceral take on the song which became synonomous with her career. It’s like she was telling us, “Yes, kids, there’s always another verse to the song.” The video adds her encore: an earthy, richly-layered performance of her personal anthem “If You Believe” from the musical The Wiz. Seeing the passion in her performance, it will come as no surprise that Horne also applied that heart and soul in her work as a civil rights activist in the 1960s and 1970s. Folks, THIS is star quality. Seeing this as a young acting student taught me much and gave me permission to break rules when it came to exploring material. This. Is. Art. Lena passed away in 2010 at the age of 92.

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No, Fauci Didn’t Say Live Theater Won’t Come Back For Another Year

(photo: Ludovic Bertron/Flickr)
This has blown up across many outlets online and I feel the need to underscore Dr. Anthony Fauci’s true words. Per the New York Times, he did not say it would be more than a year after a coronavirus vaccine becomes available that theaters can open. He said it would be a year before “people feel comfortable returning to theaters without masks.”

As theaters look to see how they might reopen with safety accommodations including mask use, Dr. Anthony Fauci says it will likely be more than a year before people feel comfortable returning to theaters without masks.

“If we get a really good vaccine and just about everybody gets vaccinated,” he said in an Instagram Live interview with Jennifer Garner on Wednesday, “you’ll have a degree of immunity in the general community that I think you can walk into a theater without a mask and feel like it’s comfortable that you’re not going to be at risk.”

He said that would likely not be until mid- to late 2021.

But that doesn’t mean he is saying when it would be safe to go to the theater without a mask. Dr. Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease expert, clarified in a phone interview on Friday that he was referring to when people could return to theatergoing at their pre-coronavirus comfort levels. “Words like ‘safe’ are charged,” he said. “I’m talking about the general trend of when we’ll start to feel comfortable going back to normal if we get a safe and effective vaccine.”

It’s an important difference to note because Broadway and regional theaters may open by January or February. The pandemic situation changes weekly. So, folks, please don’t misconstrue Dr. Fauci’s comments to mean we need to write Broadway and live theater off for another whole year. It’s not what he said.

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Podcast: Chatting With ‘Sas’ – Broadway & TV’s Rachelle Rak

The Randy Report podcast delivers the week's top stories in a quick, convenient podcast - 'the 60 Minutes of gay news - only shorter' In this episode I chat with my longtime (and awesomely talented) friend, Rachelle Rak, or as she’s known to countless friends and fans, “Sas.” A quick run-down of her lengthy resume includes her many Broadway Credits: Fosse, Catch Me If You Can, The Look of Love, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Thou Shalt Not, Oklahoma!, and CATS. Numerous TV appearances including Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition and Dance Moms on Lifetime TV, and you’ll remember her from the Broadway documentary Every Little Step: The Making of A Chorus Line. There are two aspects to this chat: Two friends catching up on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected life, but also how the coronavirus crisis doesn’t have to slow us down.

Broadway & TV star Rachelle Rak
In addition to starting her own dance conventions, Ignite Dance Live, which have now gone virtual, she’s also starring in a new fitness series for Broadway On Demand called “Sas and Shred” that she conceived and filmed in lockdown. She’s started offering her own masterclasses (SasStorm.com) where studios around the country can book her one on one for their students. Oh, and she’s written a musical that she’s workshopped with 15 veteran female Broadway performers. Oh, and she’s going to college at almost 50. COVID is clearly not slowing Sas down. My favorite Sas-ism: “Stop worrying about how to do it better. DO it better.” Follow Rachelle Rak on Facebook here.

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News Round-Up: September 8, 2020

(via Instagram/GusKenworthy)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Out Olympian Gus Kenworthy (above) shared some fun pics from the desert this Labor Day weekend complete with shirtless black tutu snap. “This year’s Burning Man was canceled but it didn’t stop us from getting weird in the desert.” • Pink News: Russian ‘Cossack soldiers’ prowled the streets of the Russian city of Yekaterinburg during Pride week attempting to hunt down LGBTQ people. They wound up targeting straight people they thought looked queer. • Stat News: A large, Phase 3 study testing a Covid-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford at dozens of sites across the U.S. has been put on hold due to a suspected serious adverse reaction in a participant in the United Kingdom. • New Music: Grammy nominee Tayla Parx’s playful new music video, “Dance Alone,” has soulful sass and groove to spare. “We’re all stuck inside while coping with being away from loved ones more than usual,” says the native Texan. “We need human connection, but at least when you’re home dancing in your pajamas while blasting your favorite song, you feel a little less alone. You have the music to keep you company.”

• Instinct Magazine: Chasten Buttigieg, husband to former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, shares in his new book I Have Something To Tell You, that he ran away from home as a teen thinking he would only be a disappointment to his parents due to being gay. ” I was so convinced by everything that I had learned for 18 years that I would be a disappointment and the society I grew up in told me that I was twisted and broken.” • Washington Post: Broadway alone accounts for more tickets sold each year than for all of the metropolitan area’s professional sports teams, and the industry pumps on the order of $13 billion annually into the city economy. Check out this thoughtful exploration of what will be involved, and what it will take, to bring Broadway back to life post-pandemic. • The Advocate: A New Jersey man faces both federal and state charges – including malicious use of explosives, unlawful possession of two destructive devices, and unlawful possession of a short-barreled rifle – in connection with an explosion at a gym owned by a female couple. Some in the local LGBTQ+ community suspect it was a hate crime. • InstaHunks II: A few more photos from Gus Kenworthy’s faux Burning Man desert fun…

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News Round-Up: August 31, 2020

Cher (photo: Machado Cicala via Karpel Group)
Some news items you might have missed: • Washington Blade: The one and only Cher (above) headlined an LGBTQ fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden Monday evening which raised over $2 million in half an hour. Paraphrasing her hit song “Believe,” the icon asked the viewing audience, “So ask yourself, do you believe in life after Trump?” • Insider: A straight-identifying man in his 20s says he’s only ever slept with women, but lately sex has been slowed up, so he’s been chatting with dudes on Grindr and he’s not sure why, so he’s seeking advice. “I’ve been going on Grindr and talking to other men with no intention of ever meeting them. I just like flirting with the people on there.” • Dad of the Day: Channing Tatum shared the pic below surrounded by unicorns with the news that he’s penned his first children’s book, “The One and Only Sparkella,” dedicated to his 6-year-old daughter, Everly. “Guys, I don’t know about you but things got a little weird for me in quarantine. I ended up accidentally locking myself in my 7-year-old daughter’s room. And I ended up finding my inner child. So this is what I created for my little girl. From what is, I guess, the little girl in me. Thanks for reading.”

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A federal judge on Monday extended the deadline for absentee ballots to be returned in Georgia, ruling that they must be counted if postmarked by Election Day and delivered up to three days afterward. The ruling invalidates Georgia’s requirement that ballots had to be received at county election offices by 7 p.m. on Election Day. • The Gaily Grind: Actress/comedian Niecy Nash dumped her husband in December, and announced her marriage to musician Jessica Betts on Instagram on Monday, coming out in the process. • Instagram: Director/producer Ryan Murphy, who is heading up Netflix’s upcoming film adaptation of the Broadway musical The Prom, shared a cast photo teasing in the caption, “Christmas is right around the corner…” The pic is our first look at several of the stars in costume: Meryl Streep as Dee Dee Allen, Nicole Kidman as Angie Dickinson, James Corden as Barry Glickman, Andrew Rannells as Trent Oliver, Ariana DeBose as Alyssa Greene, Keegan-Michael Key as Mr. Hawkins, Kerry Washington as Mrs. Greene, Kevin Chamberlin as Sheldon Saperstein, and newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman as Emma Nolan.

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Showtune Saturday: Ramin Karimloo “Make Them Hear You”

Ramin Karimloo

Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera star Ramin Karimloo absolutely kills “Make Them Hear You” from RAGTIME. I’m such a fan of Ramin’s work. His focus, clarity and open heart command your attention with ease. And that voice. Oh, and then there’s the fact he’s so easy on the eyes 🙂 Plus, the message of the song seems particularly relevant in this time.

Your sword could be a sermon or the power of the pen Teach every child to raise his voice and then my brothers, then…
Will justice be demanded by ten million righteous men Make them hear you,  When they hear you, I’ll be near you – again…

More of his music can be found on iTunes here.

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News Round-Up: August 24, 2020

InstaHunk Petr Hollesch (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: I think what drew me to this photo of Czech fitness guy Petr Hollesch was his chill, subdued demeanor 🙂 Follow him on Instagram here. • Global News: Vancouver police are recommending charges of aggravated assault after a confrontation downtown Saturday that left a man with a broken leg. In a series of tweets, Sportsnet 650 host Justin Morissette said he “stood up to anti-gay evangelical bullies in the West End … and they purposely broke my leg for the trouble.” • Instinct Magazine: JLo recently released the trailer for the short film, Draw With Me. The film introduces the world to the pop star’s nibling, a non-binary term for a family member, Brendon Scholl. Scholl is the 19-year-old child of Jennifer’s sister, Leslie Lopez. • CNN: A California Superior Court judge has ordered Donald Trump to pay $44,100 to Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, to reimburse her attorneys’ fees in the legal battle surrounding her nondisclosure agreement. Clifford, an adult-film actress, went public in January 2018 with the news she had an affair with Trump from 2006 to 2007. • NY Times: Trump administration officials told congressional leaders last month they would probably give emergency approval to a coronavirus vaccine before the end of Phase 3 clinical trials in the United States, perhaps as early as late September. The move would be highly unusual and would most likely raise concerns about whether the administration is cutting corners on approvals for political purposes. • HBO: David Byrne’s critically acclaimed Broadway show American Utopia comes to HBO beginning October 17 in a one-of-a-kind film directed by Oscar and Emmy-winner Spike Lee. Recorded during its run at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre in New York City, David Byrne is joined by an ensemble of 11 musicians, singers, and dancers from around the globe, inviting audiences into a joyous dreamworld where human connection, self-evolution, and social justice are paramount.

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Sunday Showtune: Elaine Paige ‘Nobody’s Side’ From CHESS

Theater legend Elaine Paige (photo: Eva-Mueller)
Theater legend Elaine Paige (photo: Eva-Mueller)
Theater legend Elaine Paige (photo: Eva-Mueller)

Official hat tip to my buddy Larry at theOUTfront.com who reminded me of this totally 80s music video for West End legend Elaine Paige’s vocal tour de force in “Nobody’s Side” from the musical Chess. Continue reading “Sunday Showtune: Elaine Paige ‘Nobody’s Side’ From CHESS”

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Broadway: 74th Annual Tony Awards Will Take Place This Fall

Tony Award Productions announced today that they will present the American Theatre Wing’s 74th Annual Tony Awards digitally this fall. Final eligibility determinations will be made by the Tony Awards Administration Committee in the coming days. Additional information, including a date and platform for the awards ceremony, will be announced soon. The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. “Though unprecedented events cut the 2019-2020 Broadway season short, it was a year full of extraordinary work that deserves to be recognized,” said Charlotte St. Martin, President of the Broadway League, and Heather Hitchens, President & CEO of the American Theatre Wing. “We are thrilled not only to have found a way to properly celebrate our artists’ incredible achievements this season, but also to be able to uplift the entire theatre community and show the world what makes our Broadway family so special at this difficult time. The show must go on, no matter what – and it will.” The Antoinette Perry “Tony” Award, which was founded by the American Theatre Wing in 1947, is bestowed annually on theatre professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway. As a reminder, here’s the opening number from the 2019 Tony Awards hosted by James Corden:

(via press release)

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Stars In The House Remembers ‘Carrie The Musical’

(image via the original poster for the Broadway production of Carrie)
Michael and I thoroughly enjoyed watching Saturday night’s edition of Stars in the House which brought together the creative team and actors from the 1988 Broadway musical Carrie. Adapted from the 1976 movie of the same name by Stephen King, the musical was first produced at Stratford-upon-Avon in England starring Linzi Hately as Carrie and Broadway veteran Barbara Cook as her mother, Margaret White. Directed by Terry Hands and choreographed by Debbie Allen, the cast also included Charlotte d’Amboise (Song & Dance), Gene Anthony Ray (Fame), R&B star Darlene Love, and Sally Ann Triplett. In order to achieve the effects of Carrie’s telekinetic powers, the production boasted an elaborate technical design in terms of sets and lights utilizing lasers. According to theater lore, Cook tendered her resignation on opening night when she was nearly decapitated by a set-piece.
Betty Buckley and Linzi Hately in ‘Carrie’ (production photo)
Tony Award winner Betty Buckley (who had played the gym teacher in the film) was summoned to save the show as it transferred to Broadway. But after 16 previews and 5 performances, the producers pulled out their money following mixed reviews despite packed houses and standing ovations each night. In a time before smartphones, little video footage exists of the Broadway production although, during last night’s streaming reunion, it was revealed cast member and soon-to-be Tony Award winner Scott Wise had planted an old-school video camera in the back of the audience before the audience was admitted in hopes of capturing footage. Apparently, Wise’s camera was able to capture Act One before the battery ran out of juice. Just to give you a peek into the power and sensitivity Buckley brought to the role, this is the haunting “When There’s No One.”

The show, capitalized at a then-enormous $8 million, was considered the most expensive flop in Broadway history. I was on the road performing in CATS at the time, but my bestie Carlye saw the closing night performance. According to her well-informed opinion, while much of the show proved problematic I’ve never forgotten her final assessment – that the scenes between Buckley and Hately were some of the most thrilling musical theater she’d ever experienced. Playbill put together a terrific recap of some of the existing footage along with interviews with cast members including Charlotte D’Amboise here. Here’s the full reunion show from last night hosted by SiriusXM’s Seth Rudetsky & James Wesley. The creative team of Lawrence D. Cohen, Michael Gore, and Dean Pitchford share the history of creating the book and score and are then joined about halfway through by Buckley, Hateley, D’Amboise, and Triplett. Over the past four months, the streaming series has brought theater fans the backstage stories they’ve longed for (for free!) while raising over $442,000 for The Actor’s Fund in donations.