Author: Chris Van Patten

Hello,Wall-E!

Okay, so I’m about the seven thousandth person to make that pun. Sue me. However, thanks to the fantastic Pixar animation film Wall-E, which is one of the most loved films to come about this year, there is talk of the Nederlanders presenting their long-awaited revival of Hello, Dolly! It had actually been discussed when the revival of La Cage Aux Folles was first announced a few years back that the Nederlander Organization would present revivals of La Cage, Dolly! and Mame in succession. However, with the disappointing six month run of La Cage, the other two shows seemed to be put on the back burner.

Fast forward to right now. Jerry Herman is excited. The buzz created from the film is stratospheric. The Nederlanders’ interest is back up. And the internet boards are abuzz with chatter about who would make the perfect Dolly Gallagher Levi. So it makes perfect sense to strike when the iron is hot. And let’s face it, the film adaptation of Dolly is pretty lackluster. Barbra Streisand was somewhat out of her element (even if the note she holds at the end of “Before the Parade Passes By” for sixteen bars is impressive), the overall picture was low on humor and ultimately bloated with too much spectacle and little heart, with the story of Dolly’s re-emergence feeling lost in the shuffle. Another problem, for me, is that because of her youth and vibrance, there is a certain gravitas lost in the character’s arc. Where has she been?)

Jerry himself weighs in on some various “suggestions” in Variety:

Herman has been thinking of possible actresses to topline the revival for some time. While he concedes the role demands “a big star,” he declines to name any frontrunner. He acknowledges eyeing Queen Latifah to play Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi, but says her busy film career would make that casting problematic — at least so far.

Chat rooms and theater insiders have been volunteering casting ideas that range from the fantastic to the obvious: Oprah Winfrey (“An exciting idea, but I don’t think she could devote a year to the production,” says Herman); Meryl Streep (“She can do anything.”); Barbra Streisand, star of the 1969 screen version (“She’s the right age now, but she’s never coming back to Broadway.”); Patti LuPone (“Magnificent.”); Reba McEntire (“I’m crazy for her, but I’m not sure about the accent.”); Bernadette Peters (“We were close friends and I obviously love this lady, but I just don’t know.”).

Interesting comments from Mr. Herman. Hell, I think this revival should replicate the original: replace one formidable star with another. Why not have all these ladies come down the red staircase akin to Carol, Ginger, Betty, Martha, Pearlie Mae, Phyllis and Ethel.

It’s refreshing to see something Broadway related so fresh in the mindset of current popular culture. Makes me feel like I’ve seen a flash of what it would have been like to be a theatre fan in 1956.

"Some Enchanted Evening"

I know there are you naysayers who didn’t particularly care for this production, better yet, for this musical entirely. I found this clip on BlueGobo tonight and had to share this swoon worthy coupling of 2008 Tony winner Paulo Szot and Kelli O’Hara, here singing the first “Some Enchanted Evening” reprise, which appears in the show proper between “I’m Gonna Wash That Man” and “A Wonderful Guy.” My only complaint is the pesky TV direction by those people at “The View.” One shot through the harp is good enough, thank you. Just let the camera focus on the performers.

Just Another Reason to Love Donna Murphy

What About Joan? Does anyone remember this sitcom vehicle for Joan Cusack from 2001? It aired on ABC for a very short-lived period of time. The show presented Cusack as her usual neurotic self, with a boyfriend of six weeks (played by Kyle Chandler) proposing marriage and the hijinks that follow. As in most sitcoms, there is a central core of friends lending moral and comic support to the leading character. Your lovable diva and mine, Donna Murphy, played Dr. Ruby Stern, a sassy psychiatrist dealing with her own neuroses. (Trivia: the sitcom was produced in Chicago so Cusack could remain close to her family. Deanna Dunagan was a guest actress on one of the show’s episodes – not this one).

For the show itself? The ratings started out strong, but the show was slashed early in its second season when ABC decided to revamp its entire programming, ridding itself of Joan and Bob Patterson and causing the woefully premature demise of the great Denis Leary sitcom The Job.

The description of the episode is as follows (courtesy of TV.com):

Sensing that Jake is in a “funk,” Joan encourages him to get some professional counseling, a la Dr. Ruby Stern. Against his better judgment, he agrees to go and talk to Ruby, although it feels strange to divulge his most intimate thoughts to Joan’s best friend. During their session, it’s Ruby who has a breakthrough, realizing that somehow along the way, she never pursued her first love of singing, for fear that she would fail. Concerned that she would never be the best, she never tried. In an effort to push Ruby past the point of fear, Joan sets up an opportunity for her to perform at an open mic club.

Well here is Donna Murphy taking on the classic “Hit Me With a Hot Note.” Also note, her pianist? That’s none other than Grey Gardens composer Scott Frankel. Enjoy…

As the regulars are well aware, I’ve been toying with the design on the site. I felt a change was needed so I settled on this – for now. I may tweak things here and there as I try to become more blog literate in the ways of design, etc.

>As the regulars are well aware, I’ve been toying with the design on the site. I felt a change was needed so I settled on this – for now. I may tweak things here and there as I try to become more blog literate in the ways of design, etc.

"On Broadway!" A Glittering Salute to the American Musical"

Any event which promises an appearance by Angela Lansbury has got to be okay in my book. She’s hosting the following gala which will honor Brian Heidtke and Tommy Tune this October. Sounds very interesting, no?

Rolex presents “ON BROADWAY! A Glittering Salute To The American Musical”- Career Transition For Dancers’, 23rd Anniversary Jubilee on Monday, October 27 at 7pm at New York City Center, 131 West 55 Street (bet. 7 & 6 Aves). Two of the honorees for the Gala are Brian Heidtke and Tommy Tune. Multi award-winning actress Angela Lansbury will host the Gala, which will be followed by an Anniversary Supper with the Stars at Hilton New York’s Grand Ballroom. “ON BROADWAY! A Glittering Salute to the American Musical”, is a glorious historical journey inside the Broadway musical seen through the eyes of legendary choreographers. The Gala will be the entertainment-dance event of the new season; accompanied by the Jubilee Orchestra with appearances by dance companies, dancers, stars and many surprises. It is produced and directed by Ann Marie DeAngelo.


“We are pleased to present the Rolex Dance Award to Tommy Tune, the most illustrious choreographer, dancer, singer and director of our time. This winner of nine Tony Awards and The National Medal of Arts is not only dedicated to the art of dance, but also to supporting the mission of Career Transition For Dancers. We are pleased to celebrate his legendary career and many contributions to the world of dance,” said Allen Brill, President and CEO of Rolex Watch USA.


Tommy Tune is the recipient of an unprecedented nine Tony Awards in 4 different categories plus, among other accolades, 8 Drama Desk Awards, 2 Obie Awards, 2 Astaire Awards, American Dance Award, Drama League Award, and the George Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement. Tommy first danced onto Broadway in the chorus of “Baker Street”, followed by “A Joyful Noise”, “How Now Dow Jones” and “Seesaw” (1st Tony). He directed “The Club” then on to B’way, as choreographer and co-director on “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” followed by “A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine” (Tony). Other shows are “Cloud 9”; “Nine, The Musical” (Tony). A double Tony Award win for “My One and Only”. “Grand Hotel” followed with 2 more Tony wins; and the following year Mr. Tune did what no artist had done before when he won the same two prestigious honors back to back for “The Will Rogers Follies”. Tommy returned to perform his one-man song and dance show, “Tommy Tune Tonight!” Tune has sung and danced for three U.S. Presidents, the Queen of England and the Royal Family of Monaco. He was inducted into the Broadway’s Theatre Hall of Fame, and has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


Brian Heidtke will receive the Career Transition For Dancers’ Award for Outstanding Contributions to the World of Dance. He has been an active member of the dance community for years, serving both as board trustee and as a financial supporter. He is the Vice President and Treasurer of ABT and chairs its education committee. He is also the recipient of the Lucia Chase Award. He has been an active supporter of the international ballet competition Youth America Grand Prix and of the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center. Formerly the Vice President, Finance and Corporate Treasurer of Colgate-Palmolive Company, he is the Chair of the National Association of Corporate Treasurers and a board member of the Williams Capital Management Trust.


Career Transition For Dancers, with offices in New York City and Los Angeles, has helped thousands of professional dancers identify their unique talents in preparation for establishing new careers when dance is no longer an option. Since 1985, they have provided more than 38,000 hrs (equivalent to $4 million) of one-on-one career counseling and program services (at no cost) and has awarded millions of dollars in scholarships for education and grants. CTFD also provides dancers with specialized services that include seminars and workshops, peer support groups, resource centers, a toll-free national hotline, and National Networking Directory. The Caroline & Theodore Newhouse Center for Dancers is at 165 West 46th Street Suite 701 (at Broadway – the Actors’ Equity Building) NYC. CTFD’s phone number is (212) 764-0172 and the fax is (212) 764-0343 and in Los Angeles (323) 549-6660. www.careertransition.org


Gala tickets are $600, $750 & $1,200 each, which include the performance and a post-performance ‘Anniversary Supper with the Stars’, auction and dancing. Sponsorships, tables and journals ads are also available. For gala tickets call Marjorie Horne of McEvoy & Assocs. at (212) 228-7446 x33 and for Group Sales (718) 499-9691. Show only tickets are $130, $75, $55 and $45.

Let us hope this lunacy is just a trend…

An article at Playbill discusses an alarming problem that is fast becoming the latest headache for the house staff at Broadway theatres: text messaging. Now, I think the text message is an excellent way of communicating in a situation in which talking on the phone isn’t a viable option. However, it is made especially clear by the house management prior to the show either usually in the form of an announcement or in some cases an insert in the Pllaybill for audience members to turn off all electronic devices. Considering there is a law against the use of cell phones in theatres, one might assume this would fall under the ban. Most shocking is the item about Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon at a matinee of August: Osage County. If you’re only going to attend one act (especially when you think they probably received comp tickets) and spend the entire time on your blackberry, why bother coming at all? There are other people who could use the ticket, who would want to be engaged. It was also recently reported on the message boards about the incident at Gypsy last weekend where a teenager in the second row spent the entire first act texting to the increasingly unhinging frustration of Patti LuPone, who eventually wouldn’t re-enter the show in the second act until the girl was relocated or removed.

There was a time with one of my older cell phones, I would even remove the battery for the duration, just in case it accidentally turned on during the performance. Paranoid as I might be, I occasionally double or triple check the phone during a show to make sure it is off, even though I know I shut it down prior to the curtain. There’s always intermission people!!

In the words of your friend and mine, Mattie Fae Aiken, “Just…show a little class!!”

From the bookshelf…

Every six months, the booksellers at B&N receive what is called the “Employee Appreciation Discount” which gives us 40% off on books for a period of about a week. I was hell-bent on not buying anything, but my impulsive-compulsive whimsy took me to the computer screen to search for items of interest. One of the things I decided to do was look up some books that were later musicals or movies.

I read three of those recently (among two other books – the Strouse memoir and A Separate Peace by John Knowles): The Flower Drum Song by C.Y. Lee, The World of Henry Orient by Nora Johnson and Buried Alive by Arnold Bennett. Obviously the first was the basis for Flower Drum Song, the second, the 1967 Bob Merrill flop Henry, Sweet Henry (which came about from the popularity of the 1964 film adaptation) and my beloved 1968 disaster Darling of the Day.

As I read through the books, it fascinated me to see what the original creators came up with in terms of plot and character. Particularly FDS. In the book, the plot follows Wang Ta from his failed romance with the sluttish Linda Tow to his guilt-laden affair with the obsessive Helen Chao (who does one further than tell love to look away, she kills herself) and finally his romance with May Li, a Chinese immigrant, who is much more outspoken and not as charming as the character presented in the musical (the 2002 Hwang revisal need not apply). However, the themes of tradition and culture when juxtaposed with a generational gap (add to that the East vs. West friction), you see where Rodgers and Hammerstein found their musical. Keeping the characters and certain plot elements, they made their musical a decidedly lighter and more comic piece.

The World of Henry Orient and Buried Alive were pre-paid print on demand orders. They are books not regularly carried by the store and are non-returnable, so its got to be paid for and shipped to your home. I enjoyed that – you want a book, they print it especially for you – it’s kinda nice. Henry Orient, I think, should go onto the middle school reading lists. It’s a remarkably sophisticated coming of age story about two imaginative and quirky pubescent girls whose friendship revolves around their fascination with a second-rate pianist. However, the plot isn’t enough to carry a full-scale musical (not to mention the decision to take the relatively minor character of Lillian Kafritz and build her up with two glorious, but extraneous, showstoppers, but of course that’s what happens when you write a role for the fantastic Alice Playten).

Buried Alive is a delightful light British prose, with the farcical plot elements of a famed painter switching places with his dead valet. However, one of the major changes between Buried and Darling is the character of Priam Farll. In the book, most of his actions stem from an incredible introversion as opposed to the Henry Higgins-like disgust with British class society of the musical. Fortunately they kept the social commentary about the class society (Yip Harburg had a field day) in adaptation. However, the song “Butler in the Abbey” presents a finale that doesn’t possibly make sense. In the musical, its decided that the idea a valet has been buried in Westminster Abbey would bring ruination to England, and the final decision is to let Priam Farll go on being Henry Leek in Putney, with a decidedly Gilbertian tone. In the book, with more realism and great humor, the author playfully describes the media circus the trial creates throughout England, satirizing everyone along the way.

I’ve also started to list the books I’ve recently read under the aptly titled “A Trip to the Library” toward the right of the blog posts. Just feel like sharing!!

Silas Botwin Sings

Hunter Parrish who is most noted for his portrayal of Nancy Botwin’s older son on the hit Showtime series Weeds, one of my all-time favorite television shows, will make his Broadway debut as Melchior Gabor in the laugh-a-minute musical comedy riot Spring Awakening this August. As pleased as I am to see a younger actor with such a rising profile so willing to work on stage, I’m sorry to say it wouldn’t be enough to make me ever go see the show again.

However you can’t deny the kid’s got enthusiasm. From Playbill:

In a statement actor Parrish said, “I have always hoped that my passion for the theatre would eventually lead me to Broadway. Spring Awakening is a truly one-of-a-kind show with its timeless story, commanding music and innovative imagery. I am elated to have the opportunity to become a part of it.”

I’m quite fortunate – this is the first year I’ve had Showtime, so I can now actually catch the series as it’s airing. Still one of the more innovative series out there – Mary Louise Parker continues to amaze me, as does most of the cast and writers, frankly. Not to mention it’s made me a fan of Malvina Reynolds.