"Mamma Mia!"

I saw the new movie today which is based on the Broadway show Mamma Mia! The theater was packed, although I'm pretty sure The Dark Knight sold a few more tickets.

I saw the show with my lovely wife and her Mom and sister, and yes, there were quite a few guys in the audience, so I wasn't the only one. We all... but wait, I'm working on a review, so I'll save my (our?) comments until that's done - but be patient, I probably won't get it posted until tomorrow.

I know, the suspense is killing you! Bear with me, gentle readers!

Hurry! Time is Running Out to Catch "Dr. Horrible!"

You don't have to drop a house on me!

At the urging of: son Evan, who writes two blogs - one for the Herald-Dispatch on video games (Blog: The Video Game) and one on music (Evan Listens Z-A); my pal Angela, who writes two blogs for the H-D - one about television shows (Stay Tuned) and one on American Idol (Idol Chit-Chat); and my pal Len, who used to work at the H-D (see how it's all connected?) - they've all been urging me to go watch Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (which you can find at www.drhorrible.com).

So I did - and guess what? It's a hoot! It's an Internet-only mini-film created by Joss Whedon. There are three segments in all, and each one runs about 12 minutes (or so). It follows the story of Dr. Horrible (played perfectly by Neil Patrick Harris, of How I Met Your Mother), who's trying to join a league of super-villains, but is thwarted by two obstacles.

The first is a really annoying superhero, Captain Hammer, played with zest by the terrific Nathan Fillion (could we please have more Firefly?) The second obstacle: Dr. Horrible finds himself falling in love with a woman he meets at the laundromat (played sweetly by Felicia Day).

Like any good musical, it's not unusual for the characters to suddenly burst into song - and the songs are fun, sweet and/or very well done. It's all done in a low budget but very creative way.

Now here's the tricky part - you can watch the first two episodes free, and the third and final episode will be available tomorrow - but only until midnight Saturday night. Then, to see the Doc's adventures, you'll have to buy the DVD.

So don't waste time hanging around here - go check it out! You'll be glad you did! But after you're finished, drop back by - we miss you when you're gone!

Oh, and I just realized my pal Angela also blogged about the show - you can read her entry right here. We try not to blog about the same things, but the funny bit is - this falls outside both our blogs! It's not TV and it's not musical theatre - but it's a weird combination of the two, so what the heck!

More Photos from the Tony Awards

A few days ago in this post I told you about my pal Nigel who went on a vacation trip to New York City with his lovely wife Judith last month.

They found themselves outside Radio City Music Hall where the stars of Broadway were gathering for the Tony Awards. Nigel took several photos, and he shared them with us - and now I have a few more he sent along to show you.



The first one shows the crowd of photographers and other press-type individuals who were there to cover the event. Pretty impressive for a show that just gets so-so ratings!

Of course, the Tonys are all about the stars, and here's one now. John Lithgow first became famous in movies like The World According to Garp, and has done TV shows like Third Rock from the Sun, but these days he seems to be spending most of his time on the Broadway stage. He's a terrific performer and a very funny guy.


Our final shot from Nigel shows a surprised-looking Lily Tomlin. She's another tremendous comedian and actor who we don't see often enough, if you ask me. Isn't it about time for an Edith Ann revival?

Nigel, thanks again for sharing your photos, you star-gazer, you!

On Stage This Weekend

There are several shows for you to choose from this weekend, including:

- Huntington Outdoor Theatre's Romeo & Juliet takes the stage at the Ritter Park Amphitheater on July 18, 19 and 20.

- Jenny Wiley Theater has several shows running this weekend and next week, including: The Wizard of Oz on July 19 and 23; Honky Tonk Angels on July 18 and 25; Little Red: Life in the Hood on July 20 and 22; and A Chorus Line on July 18 and 24.

- The Portsmouth Little Theatre will present the classic story of Alice in Wonderland July 18, 19 and 20. The show has a cast of 36 kids and features lots of song and dance.

Check 'em out!

First Stage's Upcoming Season

I keep meaning to post about the upcoming season for First Stage Theatre Company, but I've been holding off because the group plans to produce three shows - but hasn't made the final decision about what that third show will be.

When the decision is made (soon), I'll post the official notice. But what the heck - here are the other two shows that have already been selected:

- Peter Pan will take flight (literally) in late October / early November. The classic musical will be staged at the new Huntington High School, and will be directed by Mary Smirl and produced by Elaine Young. Watch for announcements - the auditions are coming up in late August. This show was a huge success for First Stage when the group first put it on about 10 years ago, and it offers lots of parts to a wide variety of ages - they'll need Lost Boys and Indians and Pirates and a bunch of other characters, too. It'll be a blast!

The second show is:

- A Year With Frog and Toad, the Broadway hit based on the famous children's books by Arnold Lobel. It was nominated for a 2003 Tony Award as Best Musical. Funny and uplifting, the family musical follows two great friends, the cheerful Frog and the grumpy Toad through four fun-filled seasons. Oh, and it's going to be directed by... what was his name again? Oh, yeah - me! I love this show and am looking forward to tackling it. Auditions will probably be early in January, and the show will probably take the stage in March, but the details are still being worked out. The cast won't be nearly as big as Peter Pan's, but there will be several parts for all ages.

What will the third show be? Inquiring minds want to know! But you'll still have to be patient a little longer. Sorry!

Derek Keeling on Starring in "Grease"

You can catch a short interview with West Virginia's own Derek Keeling, who will soon be starring on Broadway in Grease with Ashley Spencer.

They were part of the competition on the reality show Grease: You're the One That I Want. Their first performance as Danny and Sandy is July 22 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.

You can see the video on Broadway.com right here.

The Search for Elle - Part 7

We're one show away from the finale to Legally Blonde: The Musical: The Search for Elle, and the pressure is on as the four finalists fight for the lead role.

It's amazing to realize that none of the candidates have ever performed on Broadway - and the producers are getting ready to give one of them the lead role in a difficult (and very entertaining) show.

Still, all four candidates have lots of potential. This episode started with the usual snipping between the girls about how bad they want to win and how another actor isn't as strong at singing or dancing or acting. Blah, blah, blah - more performances, less griping, please.

The first challenge they faced was a training exercise that forced them to combine the three vital skills for an actor in a musical - singing while dancing and acting. It's interesting that each actor has a weakness - Rhiannon struggles with singing, Autumn with dancing, and Bailey and Lauren with acting. The judges commented at one point (and this is something every director has probably said at one time or another) that they wished they could combine each actor's strong point into a Frankenstein-ish performer. But that trick never works.

After being treated to a fancy dinner, the actors faced their next challenge - two days of rehearsal for the performance of the song, "What You Want," which (naturally) combined the three disciplines, and threw in a quick costume change, too. The audition also included several performers from the Broadway show (and you can't help but wonder how they feel about these newcomers getting a shot at the lead role).

Each performance had positives and negatives - and Bailey managed to overcome being handed the wrong hat, which kept sliding down over her eyes (as seen in the above photo, courtesy MTV). Either Lauren has a huge noggin or Bailey has a golf ball head - I'm not sure which.

All four actors had to face the judges, and in the end, Lauren was sent home - mostly because of her youth and inexperience. At the very end, the judges dropped another shocker for the actors - the director only wants to see two candidates in the final audition, so another actor will be cut - but apparently not until the beginning of the next episode.

So one more show will give us the winner. I still think it's going to come down to Bailey and Autumn, but we'll see - Rhiannon has great stage presence, but I just don't think she has the pipes for the job.

We'll find out next week!

"Romeo & Juliet" - A Review

Creating a show for the theatre is all about taking chances, and Huntington Outdoor Theatre took a big one this year in creating their own version of William Shakespeare’s most well-known play, Romeo & Juliet.

Since HOT only produces musicals, they had the idea of combining modern music with the classic text. Needless to say, that’s not the kind of thing Shakespeare purists are going to be happy about - but for the general audience, you end up with a show that combines the fun of musical theatre with an enduring tragic tale. Kudos to HOT for having the courage to stick their necks out!

And a special “hats off” to my pal Mark Smith, the show's musical director, who tackled the job of not only teaching the music to the cast, but figuring out what songs to use and how to incorporate them into the show. It was a herculean job, and HOT was lucky to have Mark there ready, willing and able to tackle the job! The cast sounds fantastic on those numbers, and Mark deserves a lot of credit for that. Also, he's assembled an outstanding band to provide the music for the show.

Of course, if you’re going to tackle one of the classic shows in the history of theatre, it’s always a good idea to make sure you have a really talented cast on hand - and that’s exactly what HOT did.

In the title role of Juliet is Brittany Hazeldine, an incredibly talented actress and a powerful singer - she’s wonderful in the role. (I’ve bragged about her many times for past performances, and I’ve directed her in shows before, so I admit to being prejudiced - but she really lights up the stage.)

Playing Romeo is a relative newcomer to the stage, Philip Cron, and he also does an excellent job as both an actor and a singer. Together, he and Brittany have great chemistry as the classic star-crossed lovers.

As Benvolio, Josh Meredith turns in an excellent performance, and he gets to show off his extraordinary singing and dancing skills - a terrific job!

Chuck Herndon nearly steals the show as Mercutio, the brash and very funny friend of Romeo’s. He’s also involved in an excellent swordfighting sequence with Tybalt, played with villainous flair by Wesley Boggs. Their scenes together throw off real sparks (and probably leave more than a few bruises).

Angela Hunt also gets to steal the spotlight for a few scenes as Juliet’s Nurse - she’s very funny, and pitch perfect in every way.

Stephen Vance and Joanna Bokovitz do excellent work as Juliet’s parents, the Lord and Lady Capulet, as they make the transition from loving parents to brutally harsh tyrants in the course of the play.

Shayne Gue turns in another fine performance as Juliet’s suitor, Paris, and he gets to sing “She’s Got a Way,” one of my favorite Billy Joel songs.

Kristopher Corbett has a fun turn as the (somewhat) eccentric Friar Lawrence, whose well-meant schemes bring the plot to its tragic peak.

Nathan Cron has a brief turn as the Apothecary, and gets to have a lot of fun singing “Love Potion #9.”

Ryan Jackson holds the story together as the law-enforcing Prince, who struggles to keep the peace between the warring Montague and Capulet families.

I also have to give a shout-out to Chris Crawford for his very funny turn as Balthasar - it’s not a big part, but he gets the laughs in the song, “Love Stinks.”

Kudos to the rest of the cast for their excellent supporting efforts, including Mark Radford, Thomas Rice, Hilary Roush, Keith VanDyke, Lexi Smith, Cody Verbage, Logan Moye, Chad Arthur, Casey Homonai, Alaina Krantz, Kelsey McCallister, Grace McMicken, Angela Pino, Rachel Tadlock, Sheri Tadlock and Mary Frances Wilkes.

Congratulations also for outstanding work by the directing team, including Director Helen Freeman, Choreographer Patti Freeman, Fight Choreographer Jack Cirillo, and Scenic Designer Steven Freeman (who also came up with the creative concept).

Most of the people who sit in the audience and watch a show have no idea how much time and effort goes into a production like this. It’s a tremendous commitment, and my hats are off to the actors, the directors, the tech crew and all those who put so much time and effort into the production! Take a bow, y'all!