By Lawrence Pfeil, Jr. On a white platform resting like a blank sheet of paper just above the bare stage, a diverse group of gay men gathers with pencils and paper, laptops, and tablets. They write their stories — or try to begin. The story germinating inside the youngest to be nurtured by his mentor will grow round them blossoming into an epic reflective of a community continually grappling with its own story. This is The Inheritance, Matthew Lopez’s two-part play which has opened on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Structured on, Howard’s End, Lopez reimagines E.M Forster’s masterpiece as New York City’s 21st century, “gay society.” In the process, he trades the original’s examination of social mores, ridged conduct, and reputation for issues of intergenerational relationships, interpersonal responsibility, and community. Bridging the two is Forster himself aka “Morgan” offering a masterclass to his writing protégé and creating the story within a story framework, not unlike the stage around the central “writing platform.” Following Forster’s roadmap, The Inheritance is a journey of revelation to find lost connections, that while occasionally veering off path, arrives with an emotional impact like few other plays in recent years. The cast of The Inheritance (all production photos: Matthew Murphy) Though the trend on Broadway is sadly towards the “100 minute, no intermission, in’n’out” format or spectaculars, one-ton puppets, and wizarding magic shows, The Inheritance triumphs doing the exact opposite. For six-and-half hours, over two performances, it grips an audience so tightly one can hear petals drop and does it on a virtually bare stage. The story of lives as they lose connection to each other, their community, and themselves doesn’t need gimmicks to entertain. It has a common humanity transcending sexuality, age, gender, or race, to profoundly engage. The Inheritance erupts with unvarnished honesty, overwhelming insight, and a kind of brilliance that’s shaking audiences. In particular, the description of living through the AIDS crisis by one character to another who wasn’t there is so visceral, he “gets it” in no uncertain terms because those of us who were, are there again. Additionally, Lopez has a great gift for the extended monologue. At a time, when people barely listen to each other, holding anyone’s attention with thoughtful, introspective speeches longer than 240 characters is a talent to be treasured. Jordan Barbour, Darryl Gene Daughtry Jr., Kyle Soller, Arturo Luís Soria and Kyle Harris in The Inheritance So, it seems odd The Inheritance’s flaws are in conversational “everyday scenes.” It’s been reported, the play is “drawn largely from Lopez’s personal experiences.” Ironically, the familiar scenes involving the close-knit, circle of friends often feel superficial and didactic, if not unnecessary. Even so, the action never drags due to Stephen Daldry’s flawless direction and superlative staging. With essentially a platform, a few costume changes, and various props from a cast that almost never leaves the stage, Daldry creates the absorbing world of The Inheritance. He instinctively focuses on what theatre is fundamentally about, great storytelling, fearlessly trusting the material and a stellar cast. Leading The Inheritance’s impeccable ensemble are Andrew Burnap as Toby Darling, John Benjamin Hickey as Henry Wilcox, Paul Hilton as Morgan/Walter Poole, Samuel H. Levine as Adam/Leo and Kyle Soller as Eric Glass all of whom are reprising the West End roles they originated. Expect to see those names again come award season as they each give outstanding and magnetic performances. Hilton’s superbly nuanced sage and mentor; Levine’s coming of age search for belonging; Hickey’s effortless inhumanity; Burnap’s addiction to his persona; and at the center, Glass fighting for his own humanity make The Inheritance an embarrassment of performance riches. Paul Hilton alone is not to be missed. Samuel H. Levine, Kyle Soller and Andrew Burnap in The Inheritance Most often, an inheritance has a significant monetary value and/or sometimes sentimental. The historic house in The Inheritance may have both, but its intrinsic value is beyond either of those measures. It’s the stories passed down by and about those who came before which for generations made the house, a home. Such is the inherent value of stories to a community. They bind it together in shared solidarity and guide it by passing down wisdom and experience. The Inheritance demonstrates the immeasurable gift our predecessors gave us; the invaluable legacy our stories are for future generations; and the power of great storytelling in the theatre.
“If we can’t have a conversation with our past, what will our future be? Who are we? And more importantly: Who will we become?” – Matthew Lopez
The Inheritance By Matthew Lopez PART 1: 3 hours 15 minutes, with two intermissions PART 2: 3 hours 20 mins, with one intermission and 5 min pause The Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City, Open End Run More information, performance schedule, and tickets click here.Lawrence Pfeil, Jr., is a freelance writer/playwright who has reviewed film and theatre, both on and off-Broadway, for media outlets including The Randy Report, the New York Blade, and Edge Publications.
Four ‘Evan Hansens’ sing “For Forever” from Dear Evan Hansen Today, the London production of Dear Evan Hansen begins performances officially launching the fourth company of the Tony Award-winning musical to date. To commemorate the occasion, the producers released this never-before-heard arrangement of “For Forever,” performed by a quartet of Evans: Sam Tutty (London), Andrew Barth Feldman (Broadway), Stephen Christopher Anthony (North American Tour), and Robert Markus (Toronto).
The Tony Award®-winning Best Musical also continues on Broadway, in Toronto and cities all across North America. In case you aren’t familiar, from the synopsis:
A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant to be told, a life he never dreamed he could have. Evan Hansen is about to get the one thing he’s always wanted: a chance to finally fit in.
Both deeply personal and profoundly contemporary, Dear Evan Hansen is a new American musical about life and the way we live it.
The producers have released a series of videos featuring actors from the multiple companies of the hit musical. One of my favorites showcases four actresses who have played the role of Evan’s mother on Broadway and in the national touring company – Lisa Brescia, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Jessica Phillips, and Christiane Noll – singing, “Anybody Have A Map?” Like the above video, the musical team turns these powerful solos from the show into expanded quartets with new arrangements. I love seeing the actors relate to each other as only those who’ve played the roles can; there’s a knowingness present in their connections.
Audra McDonald, Marin Mazzie and Judy Kuhn (screen capture) I’m been meaning to post this for a Throwback Thursday post for months, but the Thursdays roll by and…well, I used to be blond. In any case, many times I get to the end of the day and I don’t want to pay attention to an hour-long story on TV. So, I fire up the YouTube app on my Apple TV and chill watching videos I’ve ‘favorited’ in the past. This performance is easily one of my ‘go-to’ videos. Recorded live at the My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies concert on September 28, 1998, at Carnegie Hall, this trio of world-class Broadway actresses come together beautifully in a mashup of three Andrew Lloyd Webber love songs. Six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, and Tony Award nominees Marin Mazzie (who we lost last year to a long cancer battle) & Judy Kuhn, separately perform “Love Changes Everything,” “Unexpected Song” and “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” respectively, to stunning effect, Go ahead and hit play first, then I’ll share a few things.
Awesome, right? Now, I wanted to explain why this lands with me so well. First, what I hear: all three singers have terrific musicianship. When I listen to this, I hear voices singing to the ends of the phrases. They never kind of ‘peter out.’ They sing – with energy – to the ends of the phrases and cut off with purpose. Sometimes you’ll hear singers be a bit lazy and hold a note too long. The problem can be the note they hold might clash with the chord structure of the next phrase. Second, notice how all three actresses stay focused on the stories they’re telling. Look at their eyes – even when not singing, they never leave the narrative they’re in. Even when they all move downstage at the 5:52 mark, they don’t glance at the other two singers. They are IN it. And finally, huge props to the arranger (I believe it was David Loud?) who wove these songs into such a gorgeous tapestry. Bonus points for making sure the ladies’ lyrics for backup phrases all still make sense in each of their stories. No one ever sings a word that doesn’t logically fit into their ‘scene.’ The entire concert is well worth watching (the DVD is available on Amazon). The production features a veritable whos-who of Broadway leading ladies including the aforementioned as well as Bebe Neuwirth, Karen Ziemba, Andrea McArdle, Linda Eder, Jennifer Holiday, Priscilla Lopez, Nell Carter, Dorothy Loudon, Rebecca Luker, and Elaine Stritch.
Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein in his new play, Bella BellaBy Lawrence Pfeil, Jr. Before AOC, before Nancy Pelosi, there was Bella, Bella Abzug. Known as “Battling Bella,” she was a graduate of Columbia Law School who became a civil rights attorney, social activist, leader of the women’s movement, member of the House of Representatives, and famously wore hats because “as a young lawyer it helped me to establish my professional identity. Before that, whenever I was at a meeting, someone would ask me to get coffee.” Bella Abzug Bella Abzug’s brilliant, often biting words and crusading work are the genesis of Harvey Fierstein’s enthralling, tour de force, new play Bella Bella which opened last night at Manhattan Theatre Club’s City Center Stage I. Awaiting the fateful results of the 1976 New York Democratic Senatorial primary, Bella holds up in the bathroom of her campaign suite reflecting on her life’s work; and for 90 minutes Mr. Fierstein holds an audience captive with her hilarious, heroic, and often heartbreaking story as few other performers could. Billed as “written and performed by Harvey Fierstein from the words and works of Bella Abzug” it’s difficult to know where Abzug stops and Fierstein begins without being her scholar. But Bella Abzug knew how to make her point in no uncertain terms and Harvey Fierstein knows how to weave a story for maximum impact. Together, Bella Bella is a stunningly relevant and eye-opening call to action for a country that doesn’t seem to have progressed much beyond the America outside the window of her john in 1976. Harvey Fierstein in Bella Bella (photo: Jeremy Daniel) Bella’s opening diatribe on equality, sexist elections, and how women, who are a 2% differential in the electorate yet 1% of the House, (still only 30%) vote against themselves, is immediately passionate and gripping. Ringing so familiar, one wonders whether she’s been transported to the present or if we’ve been taken back to her, and so it is throughout Bella Bella. Her fight for civil rights and equality fifty years ago mirrors the very challenges still facing America today. Most widely known for her leadership of the women’s movement and the ERA, Abzug was also a pioneer of Federal Gay Rights. Representing the Lower East Side of Manhattan and Greenwich Village, she embraced her LGBT constituency, even campaigning at the Continental Baths. In 1974 she introduced in Congress the first Gay civil rights bill, the “Equality Act” which would have banned discrimination based on sexual orientation. It failed to pass but succeeded in getting Gay rights into the national conversation. In 1970 when Bella Abzug was elected to Congress, Harvey Fierstein was in Brooklyn already writing and performing in drag. Fifty years and four Tony Awards later he has brought them together on one stage in what can only be described as the perfect pairing of subject and performer. With her words, he has written a smart, insightful, and impassioned portrait of a woman, a Jewish woman, who recognized the discrimination in her path; but walked it anyway because she believed in equality and had the hutzpah to fight for it. With his command of the stage, he creates a Bella that is anything but a drag. Harvey Fierstein in Bella Bella (photo: Jeremy Daniel) Fierstein gives a vibrant, passionate, and powerful performance with no want of makeup or an Abzug ensemble, apart from her iconic hat. In plain black rehearsal clothes, Fierstein is at the top of his prowess as the fierce firebrand wisecracking one minute, outraged the next, inspiring throughout. Some works are a labor of love, done for the joy, not the reward. Still, there are a few others, like Mr. Fierstein’s triumphant Bella Bella which are even more. To those lucky enough to hear what she “thinks about in the bathroom,” this is clearly his labor of passion, created and performed because it had to be done and done now, much like work of Bella Abzug herself. Bella Bella Written and Performed by Harvey Fierstein From the words and works of Bella Abzug 90 minutes No intermission Now through December 1st Manhattan Theatre Club at City Center Stage I More Information and Tickets HERE https://bellabellaplay.com/Lawrence Pfeil, Jr.,is a freelance writer/playwright who has reviewed film and theatre, both on and off-Broadway, for media outlets including The Randy Report, the New York Blade, and Edge Publications
Michael Longoria (image via Skollar PR)Michael Longoria, best known for his star turn on Broadway as Frankie Valli in the Tony Award-winning musical Jersey Boys, releases his new album today, Like They Do In The Movies.The collection of classic, romantic songs from movies also features the debut of an original song written by Longoria, “Kiss Me (Like They Do In The Movies).” This is the out artist’s third studio album following Broadway Brick By Brick (2016) and Merry Christmas Darling (2018). As a singer-songwriter, Longoria has performed his original songs at Joe’s Pub, The Cutting Room, CB’s Gallery, and Caroline’s on Broadway. The acclaimed artist has been nominated for Best Male Vocalist and Best Cabaret by The Glam Awards in 2016. I had a chance to chat with the handsome actor/singer about his new album as well as the process that goes into creating a new project. The Randy Report: You’ve written a terrific new song for the album – “Kiss Me (Like They Do In The Movies).” I expected a slow, romantic ballad, but instead, it’s a driving, urgent uptempo. What was the inspiration for the song? Michael Longoria: The lyric pleads, “Kiss me like they do in the movies. Like you would in the last row, come on, let’s go. You have to show me now.” When I was recording these amazing movie love songs, I found myself wondering if this kind of love exists in real life. There is a sense of urgency in the beat, mixed with the sweeping strings characterize musically the internal conflict we have when we expect things to be like we have seen played out on film, but in reality, it doesn’t always happen as a screenwriter might dream up.
TRR: I understand you grew up on Mariachi music. How did that, as a musical foundation, form how you listen to or approach music? ML: Because I didn’t speak Spanish, I had to learn Mariachi songs by hearing and emotion. My parents would teach me how to pronounce the words and then explain the general idea. The music and melody would reveal what the true meaning was without me knowing the words. I somehow would know what to feel when belting out a classic Mariachi tune. TRR: Is there a favorite song on the new album? ML: Besides “Kiss Me,” which is my favorite because it’s about my own life, I love singing “It Must Have Been Love” from the movie Pretty Woman. It’s a heartbreaking song about being alone on Christmas after a breakup. Michael Longoria releases his new album ‘Like They Do In The Movies’ (image via Skollar PR)TRR: The song list for the new album is wide-ranging – how hard was it to whittle the list down? Was there a song you really wanted that didn’t make the album? ML: So many songs didn’t make the album but were on the long list. I wanted to record “Cruel Summer” from Karate Kid. I find that song so sexy in its tragedy. Another breakup song with an upbeat arrangement. TRR: Many of the songs on the album are so iconic and the performances by the original artists are embedded in our psyche (“Wind Beneath My Wings,” “I Will Always Love You,” “My Heart Will Go On”). Was it hard to disassociate the original? Or did the original serve as a springboard? ML: I was originally discouraged from taking on “My Heart Will Go On” and “I Will Always Love You.” But once I started to dive deep into the lyrics and storyline, the songs became about my life. That’s the sign of a great song. A lyric that tells a human experience and a melody that colors the emotion of that experience. The singer brings breath and sound to these words and then that sound stays in your head. It’s amazing how music can move the human spirit.
TRR: With years of experience on stage in long-running shows and concert work, do you approach studio recording projects differently? If so, how? ML: Yes! When I’m recording a song it’s just me and an engineer after we record the band. I’m in a small sound box singing my feelings all alone with an amazing engineer recording my every breath. It’s a very intimate and emotional journey when you record like that. When you listen to Like They Do In The Movies, you are hearing into my deepest emotions. It’s not a performance I’d give under pressure for a 2,000 seat theater. It’s more of a one on one singing just you and me vibe. TRR: This is your third studio album. With that experience now, is there any advice ‘2019 Michael Longoria’ would tell ‘2016 Michael Longoria’ about recording an album? ML: Keep writing! Tell your story. Someone will need to hear what you are going through and it will let them know they are not alone. Like They Do In The Movies, produced by Grammy nominee and 12-time Emmy Award winner Michael Croiter, is available now in stores and online. Longoria celebrates the new release with concerts in New York (last night at The Green Room 42), and in San Francisco on October 16 at Feinstein’s At The Nikko. Follow Michael Longoria on Instagram here.
Actress, singer, and trailblazer Diahann Carroll has passed away at the age of 84 due to cancer. The first African-American actress to win a Tony Award (in 1962 for her starring role in Richard Rodgers’ No Strings), Carroll broke down another barrier just a few years later when she became the first black woman to star as a middle-class single mother in the TV series, Julia. The show would run for 3 years and give greater visibility to black actresses on television. In 1974, she became only the fourth black actress to be nominated in the “Best Actress” category at the Academy Awards for the 1974 romantic drama Claudine. Younger audiences will remember her as the regal “Dominique Deveraux” on the 1980s nighttime soap opera, Dynasty. She returned to the theater as “Norma Desmond” in the 1995 Canadian premiere of Sunset Boulevard, and a replacement stint in Agnes of God.
Diahann Carroll you taught us so much. We are stronger, more beautiful and risk takers because of you. We will forever sing your praises and speak your name. Love Love Love, Debbie💕 pic.twitter.com/1LBUUa2Ql3
We are sad to say goodbye to a true icon, Diahann Carroll. The first African-American Tony winner in a leading role, winning for her performance in No Strings in 1962. #DiahannCarrollpic.twitter.com/C9VCzwuJmt
The cast of Hadestown offered the chance to pose with a ‘Best Musical’ Tony Award. From theatrical treasures to selfies with stars, from exclusive auction experiences to coveted signed show posters and Playbills, there was something special for every Broadway fan at the 33rd annual edition of the Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction on September 22, 2019. The biggest day for Broadway fans, produced by and benefiting Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS, raised $870,167.
The day featured 56 tables, 62 of Broadway’s brightest stars and 219 live and silent auction items. Fans and collectors hunted for unique theatrical treasures from tables representing Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, theatre owners and producing organizations, unions, guilds, marketing groups, ticket agencies, concessionaires and fan clubs. This year’s grand total will help to provide lifesaving medication, healthy meals, emergency assistance, and social service support to those most in need in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. The 33 editions of the Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction have collectively raised $15.4 million. The day concluded in Shubert Alley with the live auction, which raised $310,950.
I’m told they even auctioned off an autographed show poster from the 1995 Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! which featured yours truly – my debut on the Great White Way. My friend Lawrence Pfeil Jr., from TheOUTfront.com (all photos thanks to him), says the show poster fetched $800. In our email exchanges, Lawrence kept referring to the show poster as ‘my autograph’ LOL Check out some of the action at the Broadway Flea Market below. For more info about Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, click here.
I’ve always loved the Pete Allen/Carole Bayer Sager song, “I’d Rather Leave While I’m in Love.” Rita Coolidge had something of a comeback with the tune in 1979 when she hit #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart. My pal Kevin Spirtas shared this today and I had to hit repeat a few times. I’ve written about Kevin on The Randy Report several times in the past. While daytime fans know him from his years on Days of Our Lives as Dr. Craig Wesley, his most recent triumph was winning ‘Outstanding Lead Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series’ for his performance in After Forever. He also won for ‘Outstanding Writing for a Digital Daytime Series’ and the top prize, ‘Outstanding Digital Drama Series.’ The Broadway veteran (A Chorus Line, The Boy From Oz, Meet Me In St. Louis) also sings and dances, oh, just a bit LOL Many folks may not know that Kevin was Hugh Jackman’s standby for the Broadway run of the Peter Allen bio-musical, The Boy From Oz. You most probably don’t know that because Hugh never missed a performance, so Kevin never got the chance to step into his Peter Allen shoes. But trust and believe, he was ready. This is just a taste of what audience MIGHT have gotten back then. Enjoy.
CNN’s John Berman sits down with Randy Report favorite Randy Rainbow (yep, that’s his real name) to chat on his meteoric rise as political parody satirist. Randy’s career took off during the 2016 presidential campaign when his satirical take on the first Hillary Clinton/Donald Trump debate garnered over 20 million views in two days on Facebook alone. He’s now nominated for an Emmy Award and touring the country performing live concerts.
Here’s the video that began Randy’s triumphant run as Political Satirist in Chief plus his Emmy nominated “Barr:”
Guest post by Lawrence Pfeil, Jr. of TheOUTFront.com For three decades, BroadwayCares/EquityFightsAIDS has been at the forefront of the entertainment industry’s response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic raising over $300 million and supporting more than 450 health organizations. During that time, Disney Theatrical Productions arrived on Broadway becoming a leading player and champion in their vital work raising more than $18M for the nonprofit. Nine Broadway productions later, Disney and BC/EFA will share the stage of the New Amsterdam Theatre for one night only, on November 4th at 8 pm “Celebrating 25 Magical Years of Disney on Broadway.” The benefit concert, produced in partnership with Disney Theatrical Productions, will feature beloved songs from Aida, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, Newsies, Tarzan and a few surprises along the way. This unforgettable evening is set to feature a star-studded lineup of Broadway favorites to be announced in the coming weeks. From the BC/EFA website, Thomas Schumacher, president and producer of Disney Theatrical Productions and executive vice president of Broadway Cares’ Board of Trustees is quoted,
“Broadway Cares rose from a time of crisis and need to become an essential part of the Broadway landscape. It would be hard to imagine our community without the essential resource that is Broadway Cares.
“Direct support to The Actors Fund as well as an extraordinary array of grants to service organizations here at home, around the country and as far away as South Africa, is only possible because of the extraordinary efforts of Broadway Cares working side by side with theatre professionals throughout the Broadway community.
“This special evening allows our Disney on Broadway family to both express our deep thanks and to raise much-needed funds for Broadway Cares.”
Individual tickets start at $100. VIP tickets include a post-performance reception with the stars. The Backstage & Beyond package offers exclusive dress rehearsal access on the day of the show, a backstage tour, dinner with members of the company and the post-performance reception. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Purchase tickets HERE Support BC/EFA’s life-changing and lifesaving work HERE Here are just a few of our favorite moments from 25 years of Disney on Broadway! From the show that started it all, the OG Beast, Terrence Mann sings “If I Can’t Love Her” from Beauty and the Beast: https://youtu.be/J7SkaANlNnI You know we love a strong black woman who can sang, and Heather Headley’s Tony Award-winning star turn in Aida is a throw down. https://youtu.be/RcgqkqWP_Jo Still the pride of Broadway after 22 years, The Lion King has been described “like being in a dream awake.” But audiences don’t get to see the breathtaking, “Circle of Life” in a full 360 experience like this. Goosebumps: Standby Goosebumps: GO https://youtu.be/7T57kzGQGto
By Lawrence Pfeil, Jr. On a white platform resting like a blank sheet of paper just above the bare stage, a diverse group of gay men gathers with pencils and paper, laptops, and tablets. They write their stories — or try to begin. The story germinating inside the youngest to be nurtured by his mentor will grow round them blossoming into an epic reflective of a community continually grappling with its own story. This is The Inheritance, Matthew Lopez’s two-part play which has opened on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Structured on, Howard’s End, Lopez reimagines E.M Forster’s masterpiece as New York City’s 21st century, “gay society.” In the process, he trades the original’s examination of social mores, ridged conduct, and reputation for issues of intergenerational relationships, interpersonal responsibility, and community. Bridging the two is Forster himself aka “Morgan” offering a masterclass to his writing protégé and creating the story within a story framework, not unlike the stage around the central “writing platform.” Following Forster’s roadmap, The Inheritance is a journey of revelation to find lost connections, that while occasionally veering off path, arrives with an emotional impact like few other plays in recent years. 
From the BC/EFA website, Thomas Schumacher, president and producer of Disney Theatrical Productions and executive vice president of Broadway Cares’ Board of Trustees is quoted,