I was SO happy to be able to sit down with “America’s Gaysian Sweetheart” Alec Mapa after his delightful one man show, “Baby Daddy” currently playing at The Laurie Beechman Theatre. Here is the video interview:
• “Smart, hilarious and funny.” — Ellen DeGeneres
• “Alec Mapa is a freak. No one should be this talented” — Variety
• “Truly insightful, hilarious, pungent and persuasive… See it! It says something important about how we live today.” — Edge
• “Both funny and poignant” — BistroAwards.com
• “By turns filthy, fierce and fabulous, Mapa’s seemingly mundane anecdotes are an outrageous delight… utterly divine.” — Next Magazine
After selling out a short run in February, ALEC MAPA (Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, The View, RuPaul’s Drag Race, The Gossip Queens, Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure) returns to New York with his critically acclaimed and wildly popular new show ALEC MAPA: BABY DADDY. It runs July 19 – 29, Thursday – Sunday at 7:30pm. The Laurie Beechman Theater is located inside West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42nd Street — at Ninth Avenue, accessible from the A,C,E,N,R,V,F,1,2 & 3 trains at 42nd Street). Tickets are $22 (plus a $15 food/drink minimum). To purchase tickets call 212-352-3101 or visitwww.SpinCycleNYC.com.
From Jazz at Lincoln Center – Michael Feinstein presents: Bringing Jazz to Broadway – Cy Coleman (Produced, Written and Directed by the multi-tallented Scott Siegel)
Here are the video interviews with 3 of the wonderful performers, Tamara Tunie, James Naughton and Michelle Lee. The official review of the concert can be found above this posting.
Enjoy!
From jazz pianist and leader of a much-in-demand jazz trio to legendary Broadway composer, Cy Coleman brought the sound of big, brassy jazz to the Great White Way. One only need think of “Sweet Charity’s” Hey, Big Spender, and its bright blare of horns, to recognize Coleman’s Signature Sound, a musical style that dominated Broadway for more than a generation. Shows like “City of Angels,” “The Life,” and many others were permeated by Coleman’s propensity for jazz.
As part of its Jazz & Popular Song series, directed by five-time Grammy Award-nominated singer and pianist Michael Feinstein, Jazz at Lincoln Center will present Cy Coleman: Bringing Jazz to Broadway on Tuesday, May 15 and Wednesday May 16 at 7:30pm. Feinstein, who featured Cy Coleman as a vocalist and jazz pianist in his nightclub the month before the famed composer died, leads a cast featuring Michele Lee (Coleman’s Seesaw, Knots Landing), Tamara Tunie (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Broadway veteran Chuck Cooper, singer-songwriter Johnny Rodgers and, on May 16 only, James Naughton (The Devil Wears Prada) that illustrates Coleman’s profound jazz influence on contemporary Broadway.
Next up: Sweet & Low Down: How Popular Standards Became Jazz Classics The show plays at The Allen Room at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th Street, New York, NY. Ticket prices for this series, except for the family concert, are $75 for mezzanine concert seating, $95-120 for cabaret seating. Tickets for the family matinee are $25.
Tickets can be purchased through jalc.org or CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, open daily from 10am to 9pm. Tickets can also be purchased at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, located on Broadway at 60th Street, ground floor. Box Office hours: Monday-Saturday from 10am to 6pm (or 30 minutes past curtain) and Sunday from noon to 6pm (or 30 minutes past curtain). Limited subscriptions for the 2011-12 Jazz and Popular Song series are available. Visit jalc.org/subs for more information.
“Act II brought out a new star that I had not had the pleasure of seeing perform, the fabulous Johnny Rodgers. Mr. Rodgers and his band brought down the house with an on-fire rendition of “The Birth of the Blues.” His rapid-fire piano skills, coupled with his great vocals, reminded me of a young Jerry Lee Lewis at work.”
Internationally known and always performing, I finally got the chance to sit down and have a chat with Johnny just before they called “Places” for his appearance in “Michael Feinstein’s Bringing Jazz to Broadway: Cy Coleman”. After you watch the interview, be sure to check out the rehearsal video below and look for the review of the evening elsewhere on this site.
The Johnny Rodgers Band will be performing in NYC on June 5th, 2010 at Iridium Jazz Club 1650 Broadway, NYC. Get your tickets before it sells out! (P.S. It’s his birthday so make sure you don’t miss this!!!)
For more information, and to follow their International travels, check out the JRB website.
A gifted songwriter, Mr. Rodgers won ASCAP’s Jamie deRoy & Friends Foundation Award in 2009, The New York Sheet Music Society’s Gerald Marks Award and the Songwriters Hall of Fame Abe Oldman Award. Other honors include the Nitelife Outstanding Cabaret Vocalist Award 2010, Backstage Magazine’s Bistro Award and the MAC Award. Mr. Rodgers recently made his Broadway debut co-starring in the Tony Award winning “Liza’s At The Palace” with Oscar, Emmy and Tony Award winning superstar Liza Minnelli. JRB’s recently released CD, “Box of Photographs” (PS Classics) has won acclaim from critics and radio stations across the country.
PLAYBILL EXCLUSIVE:
In Rehearsal With Michael Feinstein and his Cy Coleman Tribute
Directed by Charles Messina, (The Accidental Pervert), Moolahis fast moving, one word, Who’s On First type vaudvilian humor and it’s very enjoyable. Here’s what the invitation said about it:
MOOLAH tells the story of two con men who fall out of favor with the Mob.
Ant’ny is a dandy, sharp-talking shyster and small-time bookie.
His younger cousin Sonny, a gay hit man, runs a hair salon by day and moonlights as a contract killer by night. Sonny’s salon slogan: cut by day, clip by night.
This darkest of comedies reveals the fortunes and misfortunes of the two in a “Waiting for Godot” meets “The Sopranos” thriller which penetrates the core issues of love, money and sexuality.
These men are desperate.
Each one with a bounty on his head.
Each one conning the other only to discover they have only conned themselves.
I got a chance to chat with Messrs Pantoliano, Cantone and Shaw after the reading and they were wonderful to chat with as you will see below. Enjoy!
Oh, and if you’d like to become a Producer of Moolahand help see this marvelous piece go to Broadway by investing, please contact Mr. Shaw by email and tell him Elli at broadwaykingdom sent you!
I got to sit down and chat with the amazing Peggy Herman about her CD release party on Sunday May 7th 2012 at Feinstein’s at the Regency in NYC.
I hope you enjoy it!
(Click picture to make reservations)
540 Park Avenue (at 61st Street)
New York, NY 10021
212-339-4095
Doors open 5:30 for Dinner
Show at 7:30pm
Special prix fix dinner
Use code RSPH2012 when booking for
special discount of cover charge – $40.00 plus One drink minimum.
Each guest will receive Peggy’s CD
Jackets required. Reservations a must!
Peggy Herman releases a brand new recording of her critically acclaimed show, “Herman on Herman,” her tribute to Broadway legend Jerry Herman, at Feinstein’s at the Loews Regency, 540 Park Avenue, on Sunday May 6 at 7:30pm. The one-night-only concert features many of the songs from the show’s premiere in May of last year, plus additional material that was added to the project in the intervening months.
With arrangements by the renowned music director Alex Rybeck, “Herman on Herman (with a Touch of Merman)” gives the Jerry Herman songbook a whole new spin, lending a fresh take on these classic Broadway show tunes. Backing Herman on Herman – and blending a range of popular styles, including folk-pop, smooth jazz, Brazillian and Broadway — are Rybeck on piano, Jered Egan on bass and Rex Benincasa on drums and percussion. The same threesome play on the album, augmented by strings, brass, winds, and guitarist Sean Harkness.
Like the show’s premiere at the Metropolitan Room, the CD release concert is directed by Peter Glebo, and the nine-time Tony Award winner Tommy Tune. The performer and show business chronicler Richard Skipper co-hosts the event with Feinstein’s, which is offering a special “It’s Today” dinner-and-show package (premium seats $50, general seating $30, plus a $25 food and beverage minimum). All of the evening’s attendees will receive a complimentary signed copy of the new album.
“Herman on Herman… Peggy Sings Jerry” (the CD’s title) features exciting new arrangements of songs from “Hello Dolly!” “Mame,” “La Cage aux Folles,” “Mack & Mabel,” and other Herman hits. In the studio, Herman and Rybeck added new songs, including “The Best of Times is Now,” “Before the Parade Passes By,” and “If He Walked Into My Life.”
Born in Philadelphia, and raised in Miami Beach, Herman has appeared in such musicals as “Nunsense” (Mother Superior), “South Pacific” (Bloody Mary) and “Grand Hotel” (Raffaela Ottanio).
Her solo CD debut, “Mercer and More…” (Original Cast Records), was hailed as “a lush album” by John Hoglund in Back Stage, where he added, “she’s got a big voice that serves a big talent.”
I got a rare chance to sit down and chat with Terese (without her Her Little Big Band) the night after her amazing 3rd Anniversary party and CD release for a sweet one on one. I hope you enjoy it!
HUGE CELEBRATION WITH SPECIAL RELEASE OF
“LIVE FROM THE IRIDIUM NYC!” CD
[haiku url=”http://www.thekingofbroadway.com/downloads/Music/09_Washington_Square.mp3″ title=”Terese’s Washington Square from the new album while you read:”]
The fun-loving and hard-charging singer and bandleader Terese Genecco celebrates both the release of her new CD, “Live from the Iridium NYC,” and the 3rd anniversary of her long-run at the Iridium NYC, 1650 Broadway, in back-to-back shows on Tuesday March 20, at 8pm and 10pm.
Since March of ’09, Genecco and her eight-piece Little Big Band have performed without let-up, clocking over 70 consecutive performances. Produced by ScoBar Entertainment, it’s the longest-running nightclub act on Broadway. The monthly gigs, on the third or fourth Tuesday of the month, are scheduled to continue through the end of 2012.
Joining Genecco for the celebration will be guest vocalist Robert Hicks and a number of surprise special guests. Genecco’s Little Big Band consists of Barry Levitt (piano), Sean Harkness (guitar), Tom Hubbard (bass), Ray Marchica (drums), Mayra Casales (percussion), Kenny Lavender (trumpet), Mark Miller (trombone), and Cliff Lyons (sax).
The Wall Street Journal’s Will Friedwald has written that Genecco “and her three horns and five rhythm put on an unstoppable juggernaut of a set.” Indeed, the bandleader’s retro take on the rat-packing 60’s is completely right for the moment, churning up an electricity that gives today’s L.E.D.-soaked Times Square a rich, cocktail incandescence.
A Bistro Award and two-time MAC Award winner (for Best Recording in 2008, and Best Female Vocalist in 2009), Genecco was also a 2010 MAC Award nominee in the Major Artist category. She just received 2012 MAC Award nominations for Major Artist and for Show of the Year. Her acclaimed tribute to nightclub entertainer Frances Faye, “Drunk With Love” was a Time Out NY Top Ten pick of the year, as was its sequel.
The music charge is $25 with a $10 food and drink minimum. For reservations call 212/582-2121. For more information or to order online visit www.theiridium.com For more about the artist visit www.TereseGeneccoLive.com
Elli recently attended the amazing “On Tap” at Joe’s Pub February 1, 2012 6:30pm
The show was hosted by actor/dancer Dulé Hill.
After the show he got the chance to sit down for an interview.
Mr Hill’s many TV and Film credits are listed here on IMDB Click HERE to see his Theater credits.
“Boeing-Boeing”
Paper Mill Playhouse, Milburn, NJ – January 22, 2012 – 7:00 pm by Elli – The King Of Broadway
Beth Leavel! Beth Leavel! Beth Leavel! If you need more reasons to go see “Boeing-Boeing” at The Paper Mill Playhouse they would be John Scherer (as Robert), Matt Walton (as Bernard), Anne Horak (as Gretchen), Brynn O’Malley (as Gabriella), and Heather Parcells (as Gloria). Did I mention Tony® Award-winner Beth Leavel (as Bertha)?
James Brennan’s direction of this almost forgotten French farce will surely become the standard by which all future productions will be measured.
The original 1962 French version by Marc Camoletti played in France for 19 years. After being translated into English by Beverley Cross (Maggie Smith’s 2nd husband) it had an amazing run of 7 years on London’s West End; but when brought to Broadway in 1965 it ran for only 23 performances. It was however, made into a funny, if not forgotten, film starring Tony Curtis, Jerry Lewis with Thelma Ritter as Bertha the maid. In 1991,the play was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most performed French play throughout the world. “Boeing-Boeing” was revived in London in at the Comedy Theatre running from February 2007, through January 2008 at which time the London production was once again brought back to Broadway where it had a run of 279 performances.
Which brings us back to: Beth Leavel! Beth Leavel! Beth Leavel!
Beth Leavel in Boeing-Boeing at the Paper Mill Playhouse
Ms. Leavel’s brilliance in this role had me laughing so hard it brought me to tears. Typically Ms. Leavel is dressed to the nines in all of the roles I’ve seen her play, but here she is dressed down to become the schleppy, dowdy and completely unglamorous maid, Bertha, playing the role as over the top as she can. (She confided in me that her “French” accent is based on the late Peter Sellers’ Inspector Clouseau character). Ms. Level is loud and physical using every body part to convey her disapproval at her boss’s shenanigans, going as far as pratfalls and sloshing around on the floor to the delight of the audience.
Lest you think this review(er) is all about Beth Leavel (sigh), the entire cast shines bright as well.
Matt Walton plays Bernard, a suave and easy on the eyes playboy living the high life in Paris and juggling 3 stewardesses from 3 different airlines with 3 different schedules. Each one thinks that she is engaged to Bernard, until the 747 comes along to modernize the sky and complicate his life. When the ladies’ perfect schedules come undone, so does Bernard.
Lucky for him Robert, an old buddy from college (wonderfully played by John Scherer as a nebish who comes through in a pinch), decides to look him up on his first trip to Paris. Being invited to stay there after Bernard brags about his perfect arrangement , Robert is able to witness first hand how the system works and then helps to try and hold it all together when it all comes crashing down.
As the three Stewardesses/Fiancées, Gretchen (Anne Horak), Gabriella (Brynn O’Malley), and Gloria (Heather Parcells), bring their own brand of quirks and madness to the mix making this an outstanding evening of comedy and fun.
I strongly suggest you take a trip out to the Paper Mill Playhouse to see this wonderful production.
Matt Walton, Heather Parcells, Tony® Award-winner Beth Leavel, Anne Horak, Brynn O'Malley and John Scherer
Boeing-Boeing will be performed eight times a week, Wednesday through Sunday until February 12th. Tickets are on sale starting at $25 and may be purchased by calling 973-376-4343, or in person at the Paper Mill Playhouse Box Office at 22 Brookside Drive in Millburn, NJ or online at www.papermill.org.
With an impressive list of Broadway roles under his belt – Sister Act as Eddie, Dreamgirls as James “Thunder” Early (National Tour), Hairspray as Seaweed, Tarzan as Terk, The Jackie Wilson Story as Jackie Wilson, Cry Baby as Dupree, Shrek the Musical as Donkey (Seattle tryout, Pre-Broadway), Train is Comin’ as Isaac, Chicago’s Gold Soul, Otis Redding Story– and his new iPhone game UnWord, Chester took on an impressive evening of song, “Chester Gregory & Friends” at the Triad Theater.
Tired as he was, after pouring his amazing energy out to the audience,
we got a chance to chat after the show.
