So, the devastating news of shows beginning to close has already begun and the Tony Awards haven’t even happened yet. It was recently announced that the musical Tuck Everlasting will close on My 29th, and I have to say that I find this somewhat unacceptable. No, it wasn’t the perfect musical, but it was a sweet musical with a touching story that should have at least found some success in the family market. I saw the show while it was in previews, and I understand a case can be made for some inherent flaws in the piece, but here I am over a month later and I find many of the songs, characters, imagery and performances are still with me.
Broadway Stars and Their Not-So-Successful TV Past
With the Tony Awards just around the corner and that shaping up to be a ho-hum night (thanks to forgone conclusions of a Hamilton sweep), no exciting new musicals on the immediate horizon (the Cats revival excites me like a case of distemper) and, just in general, no inspiring theatre news to get me riled up, I turned to one of my other favorite hobbies: TV Theme Songs (yes, I wrote a book on the subject). I like to go to Youtube.com and watch the opening sequences and clips of shows from days gone by. The other night, while doing this, I found so many Broadway performers in short-run sitcoms, stinkaroos that didn’t last for very long. Some of these shows were awful, but some of them were actually quite good. Here is a sampler of some of your Broadway favorites in sitcoms that just didn’t fly.
What If? The Great Tony Award Rewind – Part One
With the Tony Award nominations announced and the race setting in to be a pretty uneventful one since Hamilton appears to be poised to win most of the prizes, I started thinking about what these awards would look like if Hamilton were not in the equation. For the Best Musical prize, I think it is fair to say that the race would come down to a dead heat between Waitress and Bright Star, with Bright Star edging out the win on Tony night. This got me thinking about other years where juggernauts like Hamilton were a foregone conclusion, and what might have happened if those titles had never been in play. Read along and debate with me.
A Baker's Dozen of Musical Ditties for Mother's Day
Today is Mother's Day and it's time to celebrate all of the great ladies who have loved us and nurtured us. What better way in musical theatre circles to celebrate the moms in our lives than to create a playlist of songs that capture the true essence of the mother. So, to go with your baker's dozen of bagels for your Mother's Day brunch, I present:
A Baker's Dozen of Musical Ditties for Mother's Day.