Broadway's 2009 Season Continues to Beckon

The ridiculousness of my schedule right now has me literally standing in a room, spinning in circles before pointing myself in the direction of the next project that needs my attention. Very frustrating. Because I have a LOT to write about but no time to do it in.

That said, I had to stop in for a minute because I could not let these two litle tidbits pass my ever-faithful readers by:

TIDBIT #1.

First, there has recently been a lot of hoopla about the closing night of Rent. This hoopla is justified because Rent has, in my opinion, valiantly earned its place in musical theatre history for so many reasons. You can pretty much Google "Rent closing night" and read any of the aforementioned hoopla but I was struck by a paragraph with Playbill.com's hoopla that made me quite happy:

[Kevin McCollum] opens West Side Story Dec. 16 in Washington D.C.'s National Theatre, where it was originally launched in 1957, and will open on Broadway "at a theatre we're going to name in about three weeks. When Arthur called and said, 'I think it should also be bilingual,' I said, 'Okay, I'm in.' Even though it's a revival, it's a fresh take. I'm excited about that. We're talking to Lin-Manuel Miranda about translating Sondheim into Spanish. He has met with Arthur. He's going to meet with Stephen. It's just a consult right now. We're just asking him to contribute ideas, and we'll see what happens.

I just saw In The Heights on Saturday night and, while West Side Story was already very much on my radar, it is now an even brighter beeping beacon with the involvement of the infectiously charming and talented Lin-Manuel Miranda.

(SIDENOTE: I really hope that I can spend a few minutes to do a review of In The Heights but if you reference Paragraph #1 you will see that it is not coming any time soon.)

TIDBIT #2.

It has been officially announced that The Public's production of Hair is officially making the move to Broadway in 2009. Given the play's subject matter, I find it quite ironic and telling that this announcement was officially made on September 11th. I've seen this production evolve from its concert version in September 2007 and the Central Park staging in August 2008 and I am very much looking forward to the Broadway revival.

Beads. Flowers. Freedom. Happiness.

Much happiness.

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Obama, Iconis & Sondheim

Wait! Barack Obama listens to Joe Iconis? When asked about late-period musical theatre, Obama replied thusly:

Despite the emergence of the Brown-Lippa-LaChiusa triptych and younger, DIY voices like Lopez/Marx and Joe Iconis and in the post-Larson era, no one writing today even approaches the emotional depth, harmonic complexity and the spiritual clarity evident in the work of the still-living legend Stephen Sondheim. Maybe Adam Guettel, but he supports drilling.

Of course, I think it is a bit unfair and premature to compare Joe Iconis to America's most revered living musical theatre composer, who happens to be 50 years Iconis' senior. I also have a hard time believing that Obama is rocking out to Iconis on his iPod... I'm just saying.

And since we're speaking of Sondheim...

FINALLY - some casting news for the much-anticipated revival of West Side Story: Matt Cavenaugh (A Catered Affair, Grey Gardens) will play the coveted role of Tony, a move guaranteed to catapult him to Broadway superstardom. The remaining casting decisions remain a mystery but, with a February opening, I suspect they will be announced soon.

The WSS announcement comes directly on the heels of The Public Theater announcing the Off-Broadway run of Sondheim's Road Show. The musical, whose previous incarnation under the title of Bounce, will be directed by Sondheim's staple director of late John Doyle. The production will star Michael Cerveris and Alexander Gemignani.

And in more solemn Sondheim news, George Furth, the librettist for Company and Merrily We Roll Along, passed away at the age of 75. Merrily is one of my favorite Sondheim musicals, one that is also rumored for revival. Strangely enough, in my quest to find a composer for my musical project, I received a resume from someone who recently worked with George and cited him as one of his references. Perhaps this is a sign. And you know how I am about signs...

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Related Article: Barack Obama and John McCain Weigh In On Pop Culture
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April Fools

I absolutely love it!

http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=26518