Digital Lottery & Rush Tickets Now Available

STARRING
AARON TVEIT as Freddie Trumper
LEA MICHELE as Florence Vassy
NICHOLAS CHRISTOPHER as Anatoly Sergievsky

WITH
HANNAH CRUZ as Svetlana
BRADLEY DEAN as Molokov
SEAN ALLAN KRILL as Walter
AND
BRYCE PINKHAM as The Arbiter

Exclusive Capital One and Mastercard Pre-Sale Begins Today at 11:00AM ET
Public On-Sale Begins Friday, October 17 at 11:00AM ET

Officially Opens Sunday, November 16, 2025
At Broadway’s Imperial Theatre

NEW YORK— Producers Tom Hulce, Robert Ahrens and The Shubert Organization along with Creative Partners Productions are thrilled to announce that the first-ever Broadway revival of CHESS will extend performances through Sunday, May 3, 2026 at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street). The show is now in previews.

Capital One and Mastercard®, the official credit card and payment partners of CHESS, are offering cardholders exclusive pre-sale access, 48 hours before the general public. Beginning today, October 15 at 11AM ET, eligible cardholders can secure tickets by clicking HERE and using the code CHESSCAP. Tickets for the new block of tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, October 17 at 11AM ET.

The production also announces $49 digital lottery and in-person rush policies, subject to availability.

Entries for the CHESS digital lottery start at 12:00AM at rush.telecharge.com, 1 day before the performance, and end the same day at 3:00PM. Winners are drawn at 10:00AM and 3:00PM. Winners may buy up to 2 tickets at $49 each.

A limited number of in-person CHESS rush tickets will be available at 10:00AM the day of the performance (and 12:00PM on Sundays) at the Imperial Theatre. There is a limit of two tickets per person and tickets are $49 each.

Tickets for CHESS are available via Telecharge by calling 212-239-6200 or visiting https://chessbroadway.com/and at the Imperial Theatre box office.

CHESS officially opens Sunday, November 16, 2025 at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street).

Starring Tony Award winner Aaron Tveit (Moulin Rouge), Emmy Award nominee Lea Michele (Funny Girl) and Nicholas Christopher (Sweeney Todd), CHESS also features Hannah Cruz (Suffs), Tony Award nominee Bryce Pinkham (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), Bradley Dean (The Phantom of the Opera), Tony Award nominee Sean Allan Krill (Jagged Little Pill) and an ensemble that includes Kyla Bartholomeusz (Hamilton), Daniel Beeman (Once Upon a Mattress), Shavey Brown (Sunset Blvd), Emma Degerstedt (Broadway Debut), Casey Garvin (Smash), Adam Halpin (Glory Days), Sarah Michele Lindsey (Once Upon a Mattress), Michael Milkanin (Shucked), Aleksandr Ivan Pevec (Something Rotten!), Aliah James (Gypsy), Sydney Jones (Sunset Blvd.), Sean MacLaughlin (Lestat), Sarah Meahl (Death Becomes Her), Ramone Nelson (MJ), Fredric Rodriguez Odgaard (Moulin Rouge), Michael Olaribigbe (Once Upon a Mattress), Katerina Papacostas (Tootsie), Samantha Pollino (The Great Gatsby), Regine Sophia (Broadway Debut) and Katie Webber (Smash).

Featuring a new book by Emmy Award winner Danny Strong (“Dopesick”), with music and lyrics by Emmy and Tony Award nominees ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award winner Tim Rice (Evita), based on an idea by Tim Rice, this new production will be directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) and choreographed by Drama Desk Award nominee Lorin Latarro (Waitress) with original orchestrations by Anders Eljas, orchestrations by Anders Eljas and Brian Usifer (Swept Away) and music supervision by Brian Usifer.

CHESS will feature scenic design by Tony Award winner David Rockwell (She Loves Me), costume design by Tom Broecker (Call Me Izzy), lighting design by four-time Tony Award winner Kevin Adams (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), sound design by John Shivers (Kinky Boots) and video design by Tony Award nominee Peter Nigrini (Hell’s Kitchen). Johanna McKeon (Funny Girl) will serve as Associate Director and Travis Waldschmidt (Hello, Dolly!) will serve as Associate Choreographer. Casting is by Jim Carnahan C.S.A. and Jason Thinger C.S.A. Hair, Wig and Makeup Design are by Luc Verschueren for Campbell Young Associates.

CHESS is produced by Tom Hulce, Robert Ahrens and The Shubert Organization along with Creative Partners Productions. CHESS is presented by arrangement with Three Knights, the Shubert Organization and Robert Fox Ltd.

CHESS is a seductive showdown of love, loyalty, and power on a global stage. As two of the greatest chess players in the world compete for something beyond victory, the woman between them is caught in a high-stakes battle of desire and devotion.

For more information visit www.ChessBroadway.com.
Follow CHESS at @chessbway on Instagram, Facebook, X and TikTok.

The post ‘Chess’ in previews; digital lottery & rush tix available appeared first on StageZine.

‘SMASH’: Robyn Hurder (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

SMASH
Book by Bob Martin & Rick Elice
Based on the NBC TV series by Theresa Rebeck
Music by Marc Shaiman
Lyrics by Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman
Choreography by Joshua Bergasse
Directed by Susan Stroman
Imperial Theatre
249 West 45^th Street
https://smashbroadway.com/

By Scott Harrah

The NBC TV series “Smash” aired for two seasons in 2012 and 2013. Now, the Tony Award-winning team of book writers Bob Martin and Rick Elice, composer Marc Shaiman, lyricist Scott Wittman and director Susan Stroman have adapted the TV series into a splashy, fun, flawed yet sublime Broadway musical, Smash.

The show focuses on the story of a make-believe Marilyn Monroe musical called Bombshell: The Marilyn Monroe Story and the colorful characters all working behind the scenes to get the production off the ground. The fictional Marilyn is established star Ivy Lynn (Robyn Hurder), a gorgeous blonde who looks the part and is so into her character that she hires a “Method”-style acting coach, Susan Proctor (Kristine Nielsen), to help her become Marilyn.

Backstage intrigue

The narrative centers on backstage intrigue at a Broadway musical, with everyone doing anything to shine in the show, with more than one actress coveting the lead role of Marilyn. Ivy hires Susan after the husband-and-wife duo Jerry (John Behlmann) and Tracy (Krysta Rodriguez) give the actress a book by the Method coach. Meanwhile, understudy Karen (Caroline Bowman) is talented indeed but considered too inexperienced to play Marilyn. Ivy and Karen become instant rivals, adding tension.

Bombshell is helmed by veteran director Nigel (Brooks Ashmanskas), with the help of associate director Chloe (Bella Coppola). Chloe is a plus-sized woman who has also memorized all of Ivy’s lines. Everyone involved in the musical must answer to the producer Anita (Jacqueline B. Arnold), a no-nonsense woman who makes sure the show adheres to the guidelines and theme her investors expect.

Insider humor

The story includes all the issues involved with mounting a Broadway musical, from managing talent and budgets to “creative differences” and coping with egos. This is all a nice recipe for a “show-within-a-show.” Does everything work? Not always, but anyone interested in theater will find plenty of insider humor to savor. Joshua Bergasse’s energetic choreography and Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman’s songs keep everything moving along at a fun, vibrant pace. Fans of the TV series might recognize some of the numbers from the NBC show, including “The 20^th Century Fox Mambo” and “Let Me Be Your Star.”

Shows-within-a-show are nothing new in theater. Shakespeare used this technique in Hamlet (when actors performed for the court), Agatha Christie used it in The Mousetrap (still playing on the West End in London) and so did the recent British comedy The Play That Goes Wrong and the 1982 farce Noises Off.  The French call the concept mise en abyme, or “placed into abyss,” and in English it’s often called “metadrama.”

A hit for director Susan Stroman?

It has been a while since renowned Tony Award-winning director Susan Stroman scored a bona fide hit, but she might just have one here with Smash. Although far from being a perfect musical, the show has so much going for it, including an accomplished cast, many of whom have been working on Broadway for decades.

Fine cast

Robyn Hurder is delightfully imperious as the self-centered Ivy who makes everyone’s life hell in the production with her diva-like behavior. Caroline Bowman is equally top notch as Ivy’s rival and understudy, Karen. Ms. Bowman is exquisite, particularly in her show-stopping number “They Just Keep Moving the Line.”

Longtime Broadway vet Brooks Ashmanskas is always outstanding in any show. However, as the middle-aged, self-deprecating gay director Nigel, Mr. Ashmanskas gives one of his finest performances yet. He has never been funnier, from his quick-witted delivery of dialogue to his dynamic stage presence. He never fails to mine the material for laughs.

Supporting cast members shine

Nearly all of the supporting-cast performances are noteworthy as well. Krysta Rodriguez and John Behlmann are both hilarious as the often-arguing, married book and songwriting duo Tracy and Jerry. Two-time Tony nominee Kristine Nielsen is almost unrecognizable as the black-clad Method coach Susan Proctor. Ms. Nielsen’s Susan is a camp delight. She plays the character (or should I say caricature?) as a pretentious theatrical sorceress, charging big bucks to coach Ivy in the acting “method” used by Konstantin Stanislavsky and Lee Strasberg.

Bella Coppola gives one of the musical’s most magnificent performances as Chloe. Watching her transform herself from a frumpy associate director to a solid replacement for the glamorous Marilyn role is one of the show’s highlights.

This may not be the stage adaptation some fans of the old TV series were expecting, but as a musical comedy loaded with wit and nonstop silliness, Smash is simply splendid.

Published April 12, 2025
Reviewed at press preview performance on April 8, 2025

‘SMASH’: (left to right) Megan Kane, Brooks Ashmanskas, Robyn Hurder, Kristine Nielsen, Krysta Rodriguez & John Behlmann. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘SMASH’: (left to right) John Behlmann, Krysta Rodriguez, Jacqueline B. Arnold, Brooks Ashmanskas, Robyn Hurder, Caroline Bowman, Bella Coppola, and Nicholas Matos. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘SMASH’: Robyn Hurder & Brooks Ashmanskas. Photo: Paul Kolnik.

‘SMASH’: Bella Coppola. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘SMASH’: Krysta Rodriguez & John Behlmann. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘SMASH’: Caroline Bowman & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘SMASH’: Robyn Hurder & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

The post ‘Smash’: Show-within-a-show is sublime appeared first on StageZine.

‘WATER FOR ELEPHANTS’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS
Based on the Novel by Sara Gruen
Book by Rick Elise
Score by PigPenTheatre Co.
Choreography by Jesse Robb & Shana Carroll
Directed by Jessica Stone
Imperial Theatre
249 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.waterforelephants.com

By David NouNou

Whatever happened to the adage “less is more”? There is so much and nothing going on here that the head literally reels. Water For Elephants starts out in a reasonable fashion and within minutes, it becomes an overwrought runaway train.

The fairgrounds have closed, the circus has been dismantled, and there is the elder Jacob Jankowski, the ever genial (Gregg Edelman) admiring and enjoying the pleasures the circus has provided him over the years. He is greeted by the current mangers, June (Isabelle McCalla) and Charlie (Paul Alexander Nolan) and wonder what he is doing there, only to be told he escaped from the old age home and came to enjoy the circus, and starts retelling them what he did as far back as 1931 when he started working for a circus. We now meet Young Jacob (Grant Gustin). His parents died in a car crash. He was young with nowhere to go, and accidentally jumped on board a circus train and hoping to get at least one day’s work at Benzini Brothers Circus.

Young Jacob is met with a lot of hostility and animosity from “kinkers and rousts,” the names of circus performers. He is hired by August (Paul Alexander Nolan) to do odd jobs from cleaning stalls to pitching tents. Jacob can do and does everything. Next enters Marlena (Isabelle McCalla), the star attraction with a beautiful white horse. The horse has been overworked and a spur is jutting from his foot; ultimately, he must be put down. Jacob—who was studying to be a veterinarian at Cornell but never graduated—euthanizes the horse and that brings an end to the specialty attraction of the circus.

Jacob has now been assigned to get a new act for the circus—and it is in the form of a giant elephant who speaks only one language. Wait for it. It is Marlena and Jacob who have to get the elephant act up and running in order for the circus to continue. Oh, did I mention that Marlena is married to the abusive August when this new trio forms?

That is basically the story condensed and is, hopefully, comprehensible. Also, a further clarification is needed that the story jumps to past and present, so stay alert and keep up.

A circus is basically a fun place to go to and be amazed by all the illusions taking place. What we have here is all the daily grind routines and pressures a circus endures with none of the pleasures involved. The book by Rick Elise is so top-heavy with every turgid cliché imaginable. It keeps hammering at you repeatedly if you missed it the first couple of times. The nice guy, the sinister malevolent circus owner, his gentle and sweet wife, all the fun and mean circus folk, on and on and on.

Next is the score by Pigpen Theatre Co. It has a depression-era bluesy 1930s sound and for every dirge inserted, an upbeat song follows, then another dirge, another rousing number and so on and so on. When all else fails, brings on the “kinkers and rousts” to do all the tumbling, scaling each other, with the acrobats throwing themselves across the stage, over each other and under each other. These routine antics, thanks to choreographers Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, are akin to an alarm, keeping things moving to keep the audience awake. At this point, we haven’t even hit intermission yet.

Last year, director Jessica Stone delivered the beautiful musical Kimberly Akimbo with laser-focused direction. There is so much extemporaneous stuff  going on just before intermission, including a dreadful stabbing act that completely boggles the mind on why it even exists.  Her direction here is so loose and all over the place that at least half an hour could have been trimmed from the show and you would not have missed a thing. Why? Everything is repeated multiple times. Finally, the curtain comes down at almost two hours and 45 minutes.

Two things that do stand out are the ever-charming Greg Edelman, who makes the evening somewhat bearable; and making his Broadway debut is Grant Gustin. Mr. Gustin has boundless energy and is put through the wringer but comes out shining.

Not to worry, though, as this is one of the shows that out-of-towners can fully appreciate.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 29, 2024
Reviewed at March 28, 2024 press performance

‘WATER FOR ELEPHANTS’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘WATER FOR ELEPHANTS”: Marissa Rosen, Sara Gettelfinger, Taylor Colleton & Grant Gustin. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘WATER FOR ELEPHANTS’: Marissa Rosen, Gregg Edelman, Taylor Colleton, Sara Gettelfinger, Joe De Paul & Stan Brown. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

The post ‘Water for Elephants’: Excessive adaptation appeared first on StageZine.

‘BAD CINDERELLA’: Linedy Genao & Jordan Dobson. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

BAD CINDERELLA
Book by Emerald Fennell
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics by David Zippel
Directed by Laurence Connor
Choreographed by JoAnn M. Hunter
Imperial Theatre
249 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), badcinderellabroadway.com

By David NouNou

Bad Cinderella isn’t as horrendous as you may have heard or read, but it is pretty awful. The only two musicals that are worse, since the theatres reopened in September of 2021,  are: Diana, The Musical, which was so ridiculously bad, making it amusing enough for audiences to revel in its lunacy. The second was last fall’s disastrous and totally misguided inept all-female revival of 1776, which, by the way, also had Carolee Carmello in it.

What makes Bad Cinderella such a head-scratching enigma is that there is so much pedigree in it. How can you screw up Cinderella? The creators found a way: Emerald Fennell, who won an Oscar for her brilliant screenplay of Promising Young Woman, tried to give an edgy twist to the Cinderella plot instead wrote herself into a humorless trainwreck. The lyrics by David Zippel are bland and clichéd. They both failed Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music. This is not to say that this is among Lord Lloyd Webber’s best, but they are melodic and kind of have a staying power in your head.

This Cinderella (Linedy Genoa) is bad. She is a rebel and doesn’t take sass from anyone. There is no Prince Charming here—he comes later (don’t ask), but there is his younger meek brother, Sebastian (Jordan Dobson). There is also the Queen Mother (Grace McLean), the wicked stepmother (Carolee Carmello) and two stepsisters: Adele (Sami Gayle) and Marie (Morgan Higgins) and an array of witless vapid young ladies trying to capture Sebastian’s heart, and an array of shirtless “hunks” (as Playbill dubs them) with leather harnesses on (please again, don’t ask). Because other than the initial Cinderella storyline nothing makes sense in this rendition. The trouble here is that the show takes itself too seriously, and unlike Diana, The Musical (which was a fun hot mess), there is no joy in goofing on it.

Both Ms. Genoa and Mr. Dobson lack the experience, presence and the charm to make Cinderella and Sebastian likeable characters. As for the rest of the cast— and this includes the always dependable Carolee Carmello—they are all so over the top, with exaggerated overacting, that the smell of stale ham reeks throughout the theatre.

There is also the unforgivable misguided direction of Laurence Connor who also did Lord Webber a disservice. It is so heavy-handed and aimless, that he has no real vision of what is happening on the stage. If you saw his previous revivals of Les Misérables in 2014 and Miss Saigon in 2017, you would understand. In this case not being a revival, there is no real structure, the transitioning from one scene to the next has no real continuity; they just happen. Thrown in between is JoAnn M. Hunter’s listless choreography.

What is so sad about this musical is that Andrew Lloyd Webber delivered the music, but no one and nothing else came up to his level. Let’s hope that Phantom of the Opera gets extended again, this time for the summer, and thus gives Lord Lloyd Webber a fitting send-off.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 27, 2023
Reviewed at March 26, 2023 press performance.

‘BAD CINDERELLA’: Carolee Carmello. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BAD CINDERELLA’: Grace McLean & Carolee Carmello. Photo: Matthey Murphy & Even Zimmerman.

‘BAD CINDERELLA’: Linedy Genao. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BAD CINDERELLA’: Linedy Genao. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BAD CINDERELLA’: Morgan Higgins & Sami Gayle. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BAD CINDERELLA’: Grace McLean. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BAD CINDERELLA’: Jordan Dobson & Grace McLean & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BAD CINDERELLA’: Cristina Acosta Robinson. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BAD CINDERELLA’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

The post ‘Bad Cinderella’: Fractured fairy tale appeared first on StageZine.

‘AIN’T TOO PROUD’: (left to right) Ephraim Sykes, Jeremy Pope, Jawan M. Jackson, James Harkness & Derrick Baskin. Photo: Matthew Murphy

AIN’T TOO PROUD: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS
Book by Dominique Morisseau
Music & lyrics from the Motown Catalog
Directed by Des McAnuff
Choreographed by Sergio Trujillo
Imperial Theatre
249 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200),www.ainttooproudmusical.com

By David NouNou

Jukebox musicals are becoming more and more a Broadway staple. All you need is an extensive songbook catalog, a backstory dealing with the struggles of rising to the top, struggles with love/home life, and a few bumps along the way and the rest of the show fills itself out. You don’t need to have the songs be in the right order of their release. All you have to do is place them where they fit in best. Just look at two recent jukebox musicals: last year’s Summer: The Donna Summer Musical which was an offensive and an inaccurate mess; and The Cher Show, a campy homage to the legend.

Jukebox musicals when done well may turn out to be a profitable blockbuster. Case in point: Des McAnuff’s Jersey Boys; everything worked to perfection in that. Then there are the abysmal messes like Jimmy Buffet’s Escape to Margaritaville and the Go-Go’s musical Head Over Heels (both with pedestrian books). The plot lines were so absurd that the only way to go was down.

Aside from the Motown song catalog, which is the raison d’etre for Ain’t Too Proud, there is a coherent book by Dominique Morisseau, showing the struggles to the top, the struggles of being on the road and the messed-up home life, and since this is a musical about a group, the cracks that begin and form from within. Otis Williams (Derrick Baskin), the head of the Temptations who brings them together, tells us there were ultimately 24 members who made up the group over the years.

The original five consisted of Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin (Jawan M. Jackson), the bass, the silky lady’s man, Eddie Kendricks (Jeremy Pope), smooth stylist Paul Williams (Curtis Wiley) and the main voice and also the seismic volcano David Ruffin (Ephraim Sykes). The struggle here is the higher the charts they climbed, the more their demons took over and made them more volatile to work with together.

The leads, voices, acting, choreography by Sergio Trujillo, direction by Des McAnuff, songs and book are all here. This doesn’t mean that the show is flawless. This could have been one of the greatest jukebox musicals, if it wasn’t for the artistic design team: sets, costumes and lighting making the evening duller and less exciting that it actually is. The sets (what there is of them) are by Robert Brill, consisting of a monochromatic gray, black and white which visually makes the look very dreary. The costumes by Paul Tazewell are equally bland and they both make the proceedings seem like you are watching it on a 1960s black and white TV set. The lighting by Howell Binkley doesn’t shed much light on the proceedings, either.

Besides the song catalog you are left with six excellent performances and voices that give the show its gravitas and knocks you out of your seat. It is hard to single any performance but let’s start with the flashiest; Ephraim Sykes as David Ruffin is a sure-fire Tony Award contender for Featured Actor in a Musical. Jeremy Pope, seen earlier this year in Choir Boy, is just as smooth, silky and charming and another contender. At our performance the role of Paul Williams was taken over by Curtis Wiley who was splendid, as was Jawan M. Jackson (Melvin Franklin, bass), the longest-staying member of the group alongside Otis Williams. Derrick Baskin as Otis has the hardest part and it is the least showy. He is the man who brings the Temptations together. He is the father figure and the disciplinarian, thus making his role a straight man, narrator and the last living survivor of the group. The sixth is the scene-stealing Saint Aubyn, playing Dennis Edwards who replaces David Ruffin. His scenes inject attitude and humor in just the right places.

Let’s leave the ending a surprise. It brings the show to a crescendo and gives it the vibrance that leaves you in R&B nirvana.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 29, 2019
Reviewed at March 28, 2019 press performance.

‘AIN’T TOO TO PROUD’: Christian Thompson (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘AIN’T TOO PROUD’: Ephraim Sykes (center, kneeling) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘AIN’T TOO PROUD’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘AIN’T TOO PROUD’: Jeremy Pope & Candice Marie Woods. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘AIN’T TOO PROUD’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘AIN’T TOO PROUD’: Ephraim Sykes & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘AIN’T TOO PROUD’: Ephraim Sykes. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘AIN’T TOO PROUD’: Derrick Baskin (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

The post ‘Ain’t Too Proud’: Temptations’ jukebox journey appeared first on StageZine.

‘RUBEN & CLAY’S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR REUNION SHOW’: Ruben Studdard & Clay Aiken. Photo: Carol Rosegg

RUBEN & CLAY’S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR REUNION SHOW
Written by Ken Arpino & Jesse Joyce
Directed by Jonathan Tessero
Through December 30, 2018
Imperial Theatre
249 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), http://www.rubenandclay.com/

By Scott Harrah

Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken reunite on Broadway this holiday season to celebrate the 15^th anniversary of their finale on “American Idol” back in 2003.

For those that remember and care to reminisce about Mr. Studdard and Mr. Aiken’s pop heyday for the holidays, this “first annual” Christmas Show might be something worth taking the entire family to, but anyone else expecting a razzle-dazzle Broadway seasonal extravaganza will be disappointed.

Mr. Studdard and Mr. Aiken have aged well since their halcyon days, and they are both still in fine voice. Mr. Studdard, one may recall, was the winner of “Idol” in 2003 and was christened “America’s Velvet Teddy Bear” by R&B legend Gladys Knight. He went on to have a platinum-selling album, Soulful, the same year, and has since been seen on reality shows like “The Biggest Loser” and done a national tour of Ruben Sings Luther, a musical tribute to Luther Vandross. Mr. Aiken also found success after “Idol,” with mega sales of his albums Measure of a Man and his 2004 release Merry Christmas with Love. Mr. Aiken is also no stranger to Broadway because he took over David Hyde Pierce’s role in Monty Python’s Spamalot more than a decade ago. So, why are these two pop stars on Broadway for the 2018 holidays for three weeks? ‘Tis simply the season for this type of expensive family fare, perhaps?

Last year, Broadway gave us Home for the Holidays, a Christmas concert featuring lesser-known contestants from “Idol” and “America’s Got Talent” (which was also directed by Jonathan Tessero). Ruben & Clay’s First Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Show is certainly a step above the Christmas concerts and overpriced magic shows we get this time of year. In fact, the first act is consistently clever and amusing. While singing Christmas standards like “Silent Night,” “O Holy Night” and “O Come All Ye Faithful,” the two spoof Broadway shows, with Mr. Studdard dressed as the lead from Phantom of the Opera, while the camp-as-Christmas (pun intended) Mr. Aiken sings as he rises above the stage like Elphaba in Wicked. It’s as funny as anything one may have seen in the cabaret satire series Forbidden Broadway. They are also not afraid to address controversy: Mr. Studdard does a nice, cleaned-up “PC” version of the much-maligned 1950 pre-feminist-era holiday song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” with one of the female vocalists.

The duo has a great group of supporting singers (Farrah Alvin, Ken Arpino, Julian Diaz-Granados, La’Nette Wallace, Khaila Wilcoxon), but unfortunately most of the actual fun is all packed into Act One. At the end of the first act, Mr. Studdard, Mr. Aiken and company all try to cram in a medley of holiday classics into just a few minutes. That’s truly a shame because Act Two is mostly filler, complete with a silly word game about the 12 days of Christmas with an audience member, and Mr. Studdard and Mr. Aiken singing downbeat Christmas songs while reflecting on Yuletide memories. Mr. Studdard’s tales of past Christmases with his late brother are often touching, while Mr. Aiken recounts some pointless stories about how his mother used to surprise him at Christmas by pretending he wouldn’t get everything he wanted.

Both men still have fantastic voices, and Mr. Aiken’s is particularly soaring and suitable for live theater, so it’s puzzling why he chose, as a solo, a rather dull Christmas hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (a song about the Christ child that’s in all the hymn books but is not that popular at many churches).

Throughout most of the second act, the kids in the audience were restless and bored. Other than some lame jokes (“all Clay wants for Christmas is Mario Lopez”), there is little memorable material. Director Jonathan Tessero should have simply made the show 90 minutes long, with no intermission.

The official title notes the show is not only the “First Annual” Ruben and Clay Christmas but also a “Carol, Family Fun, Pageant, Spectacular Reunion.” The duo may or may not have enough fans and sell enough tickets to make this an annual holiday event, but they would be wise to add a bit more glitz to make everything more “spectacular” and trim the padding if they return next year.

Reviewed at December 9, 2018 press performance

‘RUBEN & CLAY’S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR REUNION SHOW’: Clay Aiken, the cast & Ruben Studdard. Photo: Carol Rosegg

‘RUBEN & CLAY’S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR REUNION SHOW’: Clay Aiken & cast. Photo: Carol Rosegg

‘RUBEN & CLAY’S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR REUNION SHOW’: The cast & Ruben Studdard. Photo: Carol Rosegg

‘RUBEN & CLAY’S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR REUNION SHOW’: Ruben Studdard & Clay Aiken. Photo: Carol Rosegg

The post ‘Ruben & Clay’s First Annual Christmas Show’ appeared first on StageZine.

CAROUSEL
Book & lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Music by Richard Rodgers
Based on the play Liliom by Ferenc Molnar
Choreographed by Justin Peck
Directed by Jack O’Brien
Imperial Theatre
249 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.CarouselBroadway.com

By David NouNou

If you don’t have a real carousel on stage, how can you still call the show Carousel?

The definitive revival of Carousel was presented by Lincoln Center in 1994. So how can you improve on that production? You can’t; it is virtually impossible. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel was a treat for sight, mind and sound. It is still a treat for sound because no matter how bad the production, nothing can ever dim the brilliance of the score. It was impeccably directed by Nicholas Hytner and choreographed to perfection by Sir Harold McMillan. The sets and costumes by Bob Crowley were a feast for the sight and mind that transported us to Maine for the turn of the 20^th century and what a magnificent carousel was created right on stage before our eyes. The lighting by Paul Pyant just added to the enchantment. It was a marvel to behold.

I guess by now you have figured out how I felt about the 1994 revival. I wish I could say the same about this version. Of all the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Carousel by contrast seems the most dated and sluggish of their shows. Other than the brilliant score, there really is very little cause to revive this show unless you have a revelatory vision, which this version totally lacks.

This is a delicate piece about a lovely, gentle factory worker, Julie Jordan (Jessie Mueller) falling in love for the good-looking brutish carnival/carousel barker, Billy Bigelow (Joshua Henry).  Billy gets fired from his job because he pays too much attention to Julie. This is not an easy love. They truly do love each other, but the difficulties of life and the difficulty of Billy trying to find a job all make him abuse Julie, precipitating his ultimate demise and never getting to see his unborn daughter. He is given a second chance to plead his case to come down to Earth and do right by Julie and his daughter, Louise, who is 15 now and is having a hard time finding her place in the world.

In order for this gentle piece to work there has to be real chemistry between Julie and Billy to be able to sell this fantasy Although both Ms. Mueller and Mr. Henry are incredible talents in their own right, their chemistry here is below the charts. Mr. Henry possesses a great singing voice, but here he is a one-note charmless brute as Billy and Ms. Mueller, who is also in great voice, adds no spark or life into her Julie. Considering how much life and charm Ms. Mueller injected into Beautiful and Waitress and Mr. Henry in The Scottsboro Boys and Violet, together they totally flatline as a couple.

The joys of the show are Renee Fleming as Julie’s Aunt Nettie, whose rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” brought the house down; and Alexander Gemignani as Enoch Snow, Julie’s best friend Carrie Pipperidge’s fiancé, singing “When the Children Are Asleep” is an absolute joy. The two of them just fill the stage and we wish the show could have been more about them.

The creative team does little to eliminate the datedness of the show. Jack O’Brien’s listless direction makes the proceedings even more ponderous. Justin Peck, resident choreographer of the New York City Ballet, scraped all the revolutionary choreography that Agnes DeMille and Harold McMillan created for “The Carousel Waltz,” “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over,” “Louise’s Ballet” to name a few, and instead inserts his banal choreography that slows the proceedings even further. The brilliant Santo Loquasto–who won a Tony last year for Hello, Dolly!–has created some of his dullest designs. There isn’t even a carousel in this version, just a lone horse among dancers; and the lighting by Brian MacDevitt is so dim, you can hardly see the stage.

Other than the brilliant score, this version of Carousel is totally unhinged, never gets to spin and stalls.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 12, 2018
Reviewed at performance on April 8, 2018

Image: Carousel on Broadway/Facebook

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‘NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812’: (left to right) Josh Groban & Denée Benton. Photo: Chad Batka

By David NouNou

I saw Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 exactly three years ago at the Kazino Theatre, which was in a tent set up with heaters right next to the Imperial Theatre. I thought I was experiencing one of the most dreadful musicals I had seen in a long time. It was bleak, dark, claustrophobic, listless and pointless; after all it was set in Russia. It was freezing inside the tent, my partner and I had our coats, gloves and scarves on all night–which I guess for some it might seem atmospheric, getting a sense of what it would be like to be in Siberia. I remember ushers/servers pushing vodka, beverages, and various food items at exorbitant prices and the audience was piled on top of one another on chairs and tables. I just wanted to get the hell out of there; needless to say the evening warranted one star.

What a difference three years later makes. It is now at the Imperial Theatre. The theatre has been magnificently redesigned with sets by Mimi Lien, beautifully and warmly lit by Bradley King and the costumes by Paloma Young are extraordinarily colorful. It is now colorful, open, and energetic, with a deliciously eclectic score by David Malloy that has Slavic overtones that captures the mood from sad ballads to the contemporary sound. In addition, the cast has been expanded, which now makes the musical more jubilant and exciting. And, of course, you have the wonderful Josh Groban. with his thrilling baritone voice.

You must remember that this is based on Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace; there will be a lot of grief and heartbreak, characters that have at least five first names and a Moscow that was brimming with life and opulence. The story centers on Natasha (Denée Benton) saying goodbye to her fiancée, Andrey (Nicholas Belton) who goes off to war and she comes to Moscow to be with her cousin Sonya (Brittain Ashford) and her Godmother, Marya (Grace McLean). In the course of her socializing and experiencing new delights, she falls in love with Anatole (Lucas Steele), whose sister Helene (Amber Gray) is married to Pierre. In the midst of all this is somber Pierre, a friend to all and ultimately he has to clean up the mess that has taken place by all the revelers and revelry.

With all the revelry going on stage, the real deal here is Josh Groban. As an actor, he is perfect as Pierre, and as a singer he is outstanding. If nothing else he is worth the price of admission and more. Denée Benton is lovely as Natasha. Also noteworthy is Amber Gray as Helene, Pierre’s promiscuous wife. As for the rest, they vary in degrees of overplay due to the direction they were given by Rachel Chavkin. There is so much going on stage that you never know where to look; it is a lavish spectacle, frenetic, that at times it seems like a mashup of Cirque De Soleil butchering Leo Tolstoy. In this case so much is too much.

If you go with the purpose of seeing Josh Groban, you’ll not be disappointed, for he delivers the goods and his voice is heaven sent.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 4, 2017
Reviewed at performance on January 3, 2017

‘NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812’: Josh Groban. Photo: Chad Batka

‘NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812’: Nick Choksi. Photo: Chad Batka

‘NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812’: Denée Benton & Brittain Ashford. Photo: Chad Batka

‘NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812’: Denée Benton. Photo: Chad Batka

‘NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812’: (left to right) Lucas Steele & Denée Benton. Photo: Chad Batka

‘NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812’: Josh Groban. Photo: Chad Batka

‘NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812’: Denée Benton & Amber Gray. Photo: Chad Batka

‘NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812’: Josh Groban & cast. Photo: Chad Batka

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