A Streetcar Named Desire – National Theatre Live – Now – May 28th

This week’s offering from National Theatre Live is the 2014 production of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire starring Gillian Anderson as Blanche, Ben Foster as Stanley and Vanessa Kirby as Stella. Benedict Andrews directed this Young Vic production.

Williams won the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this play about two sisters (Blanche and Stella) who find themselves sharing a small apartment in New Orleans with Stella’s volatile husband, Stanley. He doesn’t trust his wife’s sister and thinks there’s much more going on with her than she admits. Tensions rise as he becomes more distrustful and Blanche’s drinking, which she tries to conceal from them, becomes more and more problematic.

Andrews took a non-traditional approach to this production which was modern in look and feel and involved a set that was constantly in motion. Anderson earned rave reviews for her performance. Susannah Clapp, writing for The Guardian said of her performance:

“Gillian Anderson captures both Blanche’s airy pretensions to grandeur and her desolate loneliness. Her Blanche is a deeply sensuous, tactile woman whose natural instinct is to stroke Stanley’s hairy forearms or to provocatively disrobe in front of a flimsy curtain. But Anderson also conveys Blanche’s emotional solitude: she is especially fine in the scene with her nervous beau, Mitch, where you sense two helpless people desperately reaching out to each other.”

Anastasia – The Royal Ballet – Now – May 28th

The classic story of the young girl who may be Anastasia, the daughter of Tsar Nicholas II and the only person to survive the assassination of the Romanovs in 1918, was first turned into a one-act ballet by Kenneth MacMillan in 1967. Four years later he completed the full-length ballet set to music by Tchaikovsky and Bohuslav Martinu.

As part of their programming available for home viewing, The Royal Ballet has made this 2016 production of this ballet available for free streaming. Natalia Osipova dances the role of Anastasia. Christopher Saunders dances the role Tsar Nicholas II. Christina Arestis dances the role of Tsarina Alexandra Feodorova and Thiago Soares dances the role of Rasputin.

PBS Shows – Now – May 26th

Social media has been filled with posts about PBS making 20 Broadway musicals and/or concerts available for viewing through May 26th. A careful examination found that not all productions are available in all areas.

The following titles may be available regardless of where you live in the United States:

Annaleigh Ashford in Concert; Megan Hilty in Concert; Celebrating Sondheim; Leslie Odom, Jr. in Concert; A Broadway Celebration at the White House; Macbeth with Patrick Stewart; Alfred Molina in Red; Doubt from the Minnesota Opera and Cynthia Erivo in Concert.

Residents in these counties: NY: Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster, Westchester; NJ: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, Warren; CT: Fairfield; PA: Pike have access to the following titles:

Buried Child with Ed Harris and Amy Madigan; Richard Thomas in Incident at Vichy; Bill Irwin and David Shiner in Old Hats; School Girls or, The African Mean Girls Play; Jay Sanders in Uncle Vanya and Kelli O’Hara in a New York Philharmonic concert of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel.

Sutton Foster in Concert seems to be an expired link.

Timon of Athens – Stratford Festival – Now – June 11th

In this Shakespeare play, the title character starts off rather care-free. He’s generous to a fault which prompts his friends to take full advantage of that generosity. When suddenly he finds himself bankrupt, he also finds himself without those same friends. Disillusioned and bitterly disappointed, he leaves Athens and becomes a hermit.

Joseph Ziegler plays Timon in this 2017 production directed by Stephen Ouimette. Ben Carlson plays the philosopher Apemantus; Tim Campbell plays Timon’s friend Alcibiades and Michael Spencer-Davis plays Timon’s steward, Flavius.

This is part of Stratford Festival’s At Home series where each week a new production becomes available for streaming for three weeks. Still available are productions of Macbeth and The Tempest.

Anne-Sophie Mutter: Mutter Virtuosi – May 22nd – May 24th

This 2014 Carnegie Hall concert by violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter found her leading the Mutter Virtuosi Ensemble and playing violin. The ensemble is comprised of young students and professional string players who are alumni of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation. 

The program for this concert included: Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins, Strings, and Continuo in D Minor, BWV 1043; the US premiere of André Previn’s Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra (with two Harpsichord interludes); Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and the Presto from Concerto in G Minor for Violin and Orchestra, RV 315 (L’estate) and Bach’s Air on the G String.

The program is available of Medici.tv and does not require membership. It is free.

Are you ready for more Best Bets at Home: May 22nd – May 25th?

Cendrillon – The Royal Opera – May 22nd – June 4th

Of Jules Massenet’s best-known operas, his version of the Cinderella story isn’t top of the list. The opera had its world premiere in 1899 in Paris and features a libretto by Henry Caïn.

This 2011 Royal Opera production stars Joyce DiDonato as Cendrillon, Alice Coote as Prince Charming, Ewa Podlés as the Stepmother and Eglise Gutierrez as the Fairy Godmother.

Laurent Pelly directed this production. The orchestra is lead by Bertrand de Billy.

Moby Dick – San Francisco Opera – May 23rd

The next in the streaming productions from San Francisco Opera is Jake Heggie’s opera based on the Herman Melville novel no one wanted to read in high school. The libretto is by Gene Scheer. For those who might be worried, they have condensed this whale of a book into an opera that runs just shy of two-and-a-half hours.

Heggie, who is perhaps best known for his opera Dead Man Walking, was commissioned by the Dallas Opera, San Francisco Opera, Calgary Opera, San Diego Opera, and the State Opera of South Australia to write Moby Dick. The opera had its world premiere in Dallas in 2010. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive.

Jay Hunter Morris sings the role of the single-mindedly determined Captain Ahab. First mate Starbuck is sung by Morgan Smith and Queequeg is sung by Jonathan Lemalu. Interestingly, Ishmael, the narrator of the book, is not part of the opera.

Leonard Foglia directed this 2012 production (which was a San Francisco Opera premiere) and the orchestra is conducted by Patrick Summers.

This SF Opera production is available for viewing beginning at 1 PM EDT/10 AM PDT on Saturday, May 23rd through 2:59 AM EDT on May 25th/11:59 PM PDT May 24th.

Our Lady of 121st Street – LAByrinth Theatre Company – May 23rd

In the movie The Big Chill the characters talk about how there’s always great post-funeral bash. When friends of the family of Sister Rose show up at the funeral home in Our Lady of 121st Street, they can’t have that bash…until they find out who stole her body.

Don’t get carried away thinking this will be a riotous broad comedy. It comes from the mind of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis. This dark comedy reveals what happens when life’s circumstances bring old friends back together who haven’t fully sorted out lingering issues nor overcome old wounds.

LAByrinth Theatre Company, who first premiered the play, will do a virtual reading with many of the members of the original off-Broadway cast on Saturday, May 23rd at 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT. The reading will be available for viewing for 24 hours.

The reading will be directed by Elizabeth Rodriguez and feature eight members of the original Off-Broadway cast: Elizabeth Canavan, Liza Colón-Zayas, Scott Hudson, Russell G. Jones, Portia, Al Roffe, Felix Solis, and David Zayas. Joining them are Bobby Cannavale, John Doman, Laurence Fishburne, and Dierdre Friel. David Deblinger will read stage directions.

The Marriage of Figaro – Glyndebourne – May 24th – May 31st

Michael Grandage directed this 2012 production of the Mozart/DePonte opera at Glyndebourne in Sussex County, England. He updates the setting to the 20th century during the waning days of Franco’s regime in Spain.

The Marriage of Figaro is a comic opera in which Figaro and Susanna plan to get married. In order to do so, they must navigate the wandering hands and eyes of her employer, Count Almaviva.

The opera continues the story that was started in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.

Figaro is sung by Vito Priante. Lydia Teuscher is Susanna and Isabel Leonard sings the role of Cherubino. The countess is sung by Sally Matthews and her husband, Count Almaviva, is sung by Auden Iverson. Robin Ticcati conducts the orchestra.

Grandage, best known for his work on stage (he’s a Tony Award-winner for directing the play Red by John Logan), made his debut as a director of operas with Billy Budd at Glyndebourne.

Lyrics and Lyricists – Jerry Herman: You I Like – May 24th – May 31st

The 92nd Street Y in New York is celebrating the 54th anniversary of the opening of Jerry Herman’s musical Mame at the Winter Garden with this concert from the Lyrics and Lyricists series celebrating the composer.

In addition to Mame, Herman’s musicals include Milk and Honey, Hello Dolly!, Ben Franklin in Paris, Dear World, Mack and Mabel, The Grand Tour and La Cage Aux Folles. Herman, who died in 2019, was the recipient of three Tony Awards and a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Participating in this concert (which took place earlier this year) are Tony Award-winner Cady Huffman, who made her Broadway debut in the original production of La Cage Aux Folles; Quentin Earl Darrington (who starred as Coalhouse Walker in the 2009 revival of Ragtime); Bryonha Marie Parham (Prince of Broadway); Andrea Ross (The Sound of Music) and Ryan Vona (Beautiful).

This concert was conceived and music directed by Andy Einhorn (Hello, Dolly! revival) and was directed by Huffman.

Jerry Herman: You I Like becomes available on May 24th at 7 PM EDT/4 PM PDT and will remain available through May 31st at 11:59 PM EDT/8:59 PM PDT.

Don’t forget you can also check out SFJazz’s Wayne Shorter Celebration Part 1 on May 22nd. The Metropolitan Opera offerings this weekend are Don Giovanni, Faust and Manon.

That’s it for this weekend’s Best Bets At Home: May 22nd – May 25th

Enjoy your long weekend!

Update: This post has been updated to correct the composer of The Barber of Seville as Rossini, not Mozart. Cultural Attaché regrets the error.

Main Photo: Gillian Anderson in A Streetcar Named Desire (Photo by Johan Persson/Courtesy of NT Live)

The post Culture Best Bets at Home: May 22nd – May 25th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Which makes her the perfect actress to play the role of the Dowager Empress in Anastasia. The character has to be convinced that a young woman may actually be her long-lost granddaughter, the only survivor of the brutal murders of the Romanov family. This is a woman who has been through a lot and has seen a lot. As has Franz.

Recently I spoke with Franz by phone about Anastasia and about her experiences working with artists who need no first names:  Sondheim, Fosse and Prince. But first, Flaherty and Ahrens (composer/lyricist of Anastasia.)

What inspires you most about the songs they have written for Anastasia?

What inspires me most, besides the gorgeous melodies, are the lyrics. They are very poignant and very current with the messages that Lynn has written. It is very inspiring for anyone: girls, boys, adults. It’s very inspiring and empowering. And, of course, Terrance McNally’s book! I just love him.

You said in an interview with the Kare Reviews podcast that Anastasia was the most perfect show you’ve ever been involved with. What makes the show more perfect than some of the legendary musicals in which you’ve appeared?

Oh dear, did I say “the most?” (She then laughs very broadly.) Actually Into the Woods is the most perfect and this is right up there with it. Not only does it talk about love and hope and family, it’s also saying never give up on your dreams. Perseverance, strength, courage, that’s what I feel is the very important message this show provides. 

Let’s talk about some of those shows. The first show you saw was also your first show: Sweet Charity. What do you remember most about your first night?

Oh my gosh. Am I going to be able to swing my leg over that? I wasn’t a dancer. Am I really going to get my leg over that dance barre? I didn’t know how to move my hips back then. I was so naïve. People apologized for swearing in front of me and now I cuss up a storm.

Fosse/Verdon depicted a not very charismatic Fosse. With your experiences in Sweet Charity and Pippin, what do yo think is most misunderstood about who Fosse was as a man?

He went through all the things he went through, with drugs and stuff. I think there’s always something that one wants to escape from their own reality. Maybe he totally didn’t accept himself as the great master that he was. I don’t know.  

He was a charmer. He was electrifying to watch and be around. Kind of like Lenny Bernstein (with whom she worked on Mass,) everyone fell in love with him. Bob was such a genius.

From Company through to Assassins, you had a front row seat and a perspective on how Sondheim evolved through his career. Why do you think revivals of some of the shows you’ve been in are being far more warmly received than the original productions?

I think the audiences have been educated and have become more aware with the sensibilities and insights that Steve has. He’s just so progressive and was just way ahead of his time in writing. I mean no one else really wrote like him with shows that depict or went into the psychology of the people that he wrote about – which was all part of him, I believe. And what he was going through in looking for love and acceptance.

Producer/director Hal Prince passed away recently. What set Prince apart and what do you think current producers can learn from him?

He could paint that stage and the way he directed he was visionary. He could paint like Picasso and coming from being a stage manager, he was one of the greats, if not the greatest.

Apart from musicals you played the role of the mother in Marsha Norman’s ‘Night Mother. That couldn’t be further from what most audiences know of you. How did that experience challenge you?

I loved doing that play. That was a really wonderful experience and challenge. The depth and the desperation to try to save her daughter. I could relate to the desperateness of wanting to save someone or one’s self from going deeper. 

Julie Andrews talked about doing tours of musicals as being “lonely, but it does give you some kind of spine, I think it does give you some kind of grit.” At this point in your life and career, what does touring give you?

She’s quite right because sometimes it really is lonely. But to know that I can do this, that I can take care of myself. Although our company manager, Denny, he takes care of all of us, but I can make do with almost any situation. I can survive on my own.

Did you know you had those skills?

I would think so. Coming from Kansas City, Missouri and going to New York City with only 500 dollars. But I knew that was where I was supposed to be.

Anastasia is currently playing at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa through November 17th.

Main Photo: Victoria Bingham and Joy Franz in Anastasia (Photo by Evan Zimmerman – MurphyMade)

Archive Broadway photos by Martha Swope/Courtesy of the New York Public Library Archives

The post Joy Franz From “Sweet Charity” to “Anastasia” appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

The film had seven songs written by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, the duo behind the Broadway musicals Ragtime and Once Upon a Time in America. With the number of Disney musicals successfully making their way to Broadway, it was only a matter of time before this film would also find its way there. Anastasia, which ran at New York’s Broadhurst Theatre for 808 performances, is now touring and is currently at the Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts in Costa Mesa through November 17th

Starring as Anastasia is Lila Coogan. In the role of Dmitry, one of the two con men, is Jake Levy. Vlad, the other con man, is played by Edward Staudenmayer. The Dowager Empress is beautifully portrayed by Joy Franz. Her assistant, Countess Lily, is played by Tari Kelly.

In the film, the ghost of Rasputin was trying to track Anastasia down and kill her. Rather than employ a ghost, the musical has created the character of Gleb, a loyal servant to the Russian government. He is played wonderfully by Jason Michael Evans.

Darko Tresnjak (The Ghosts of Versailles; A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder) directs with choreography by Peggy Hickey. The book was written by Terrence McNally. Flaherty and Ahrens have expanded their songs for the film and added many new ones to make this a fully-fleshed out musical.

For tickets to Anastasia go here.

Main photo: Lila Coogan in “Anastasia.” All photos by Matthew Murphy/Courtesy of the Hollywood Pantages Theatre

The post Anastasia appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

I discussed with him the first part of that ascent where he was talking about people like Joe Mantello, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, Kelli O’Hara, Jason Robert Brown and more. It should be noted that each and every one of those people has at least one Tony Award. So in his young career he’s keeping some pretty heady company. Which is precisely where we will pick up our conversation.

You realize that you have already worked with some pretty heavyweight Broadway talent. Do you ever just stop and let it sink in?

I’m very aware and I pinch myself constantly with these experiences I’ve had. Just coming off Anastasia and working with Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, Terrence McNally and Darko Tresnjak, I’m just grateful they saw something in me in the audition room and had the willingness to work with me. [It should be noted that they are all also Tony Award winners.]

Even though I didn’t have musical training in college, the experiences and people I’ve worked with has been invaluable. I learn and I continue to learn. Having these role models to learn from…I’m the luckiest guy.

You’ve done two productions of Diner. The show is based on Barry Levinson’s film and features songs by Sheryl Crow. Tell me about the music and why this show hasn’t made it to Broadway.

The music is beautiful. It’s a tricky show and it’s a tricky movie to translate to the stage because it is such a character-driven and relationship-driven show. Incorporating that musical element to that and to find the ebb and flow of the plot line from the movie was a challenge. 

Barry had rewritten [the book] for the show. I know they are still fiddling with it. Hopefully Diner will have a life on Broadway. Sheryl’s music is so beautiful and is written to period. Watching the way she translated all these iconic characters and gave them a musical voice was fun to watch. That was another experience to watch her work and her work with Barry specifically. It seems like such an odd pairing. Strangely enough they worked well together and produced a great musical.

Does new work excite you more than revivals or going into long-running shows?

There is a privilege you get from developing new material. The writers, in a way, are writing the role to fit your skill set and abilities. So if something is feeling wonky or you’re having trouble with it, they are open to tailoring it to you. 

Another really cool aspect is you get to do the cast recordings. You get to make that piece of history. Everybody grows up listening to these iconic albums and the voices they idolize listening to those records. To be a part of that is kind of a dream come true.

In 2014, Stephen Holden of the New York Times called you a dead ringer for the early 70s Richard Carpenter [of The Carpenters] and he continued to say that you are, “so boyish that his baby face virtually sparkles with morning dew.” That almost sounds like the kind of comment that would take years to recover from. How did you feel when he wrote that?

Oh I remember that one. I’ll take it as a compliment that I look youthful. That’s great if I can still pass being a younger self. I do look for roles that will mature with my age and I’ll get to demonstrate that more. As I grow I’m looking for more complex characters to do on stage. In Jagged Little Pill I’m a younger character, but he’s experiencing a lot of life experiences on that stage. I don’t take it as a negative right now.

Jagged Little Pill got rave reviews in Boston. What excites you most about the show and its upcoming opening on Broadway?

I’m very grateful we’re not re-telling Alanis Morissette’s life. Alanis has, and always had, such a strong perspective on the human condition. Whether or not and/or why people make the decisions they make, what experiences we have that cause us to make those decisions…What we do in Jagged Little Pill is almost put the audience on the spot and ask the hard questions. We spotlight really relevant questions that open up the conversation about today.

Our biggest goal is that at the end of the night, no matter what political party you are part of, whether you are rich or poor or somewhere in between, if you walk out and it sparks a conversation about one of the topics we address – we’ve done our job. The last song illustrates what we’re trying to do. You fall down, you make mistakes, you grow as a person. The most important thing you can do is strive to be a better person. Especially today.

For tickets to Saturday’s show at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood go here.

For information and tickets for Jagged Little Pill (previews being November 3rd at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York) go here.

To see part one of my interview with Derek Klena, please go here.

Main Photo:  The company of Jagged Little Pill/photo by murphymade

The post Derek Klena’s Career is Certainly Not Jagged appeared first on Cultural Attaché.