I have so much to write about today - I feel like I am going to explode!  It is just one of those days.  The sleepy dayz of summer have suddenly disappeared and the theater world in NYC is buzzing.  Let's not waste any valuable space today and just get right down to it (that means no childhood antidotes this a.m. - did I hear some of you sigh in relief?  Nevermind).

Sizzlin' SPF

Last night I attended the opening night of SPF (the Summer Play Festival) and the debut of the festival's first show - The Black Suits.  Crank up your air conditioning and plug in the ossilating fan, because if this show is any indication SPF is going to be HOT this year!

I headed down to the Public Theater last night (where the festival is being housed this year) and joined B'way Babies Laura Jordan (of the recently closed Cry-Baby who was just running in from a hush hush audition for another big NYC show), Kitly Reidy (from The Drowsy Chaperone and currently starring in Black Suits creator Joe Iconis' next show The Plant that Ate Dirty Socks) and one of the casting directors for SPF - Paul Davis.  The theater was stuffed to the rafters with theater insiders; there were a ton of producer types swarming around the show as well as Stephen Schwartz (maybe you know a little show he did called Wicked).   The intense audience was no match, however, for the high voltage intensity of the musical that unfolded before our eyes on the stage of the Public Theater.

With music and lyrics by up and coming musical theater talent Joe Iconis and a book by Iconis and Robert Maddock; The Black Suits is a musical about a group of Long Island teenagers and their struggle to make something out of their garage band and themselves.  The show was a pure delight.  Great songs.  Great story.  Great cast.  Oh, yes, I forgot to mention the cast - wow!  In the lead role of the angst ridden lead singer of the band was Nick  Blaemire (recently of Cry-Baby on B'way and author of his own coming of age musical, Glory Days).  Blaemire knocked it out of the park - I expect we will be seeing much much more of this very talented young man.  Another Broadway star popped up in this little show and her name is Annie Golden (currently on leave from Xanadu) she nearly steals the show every time she steps on stage as the "cool" pot smoking older later who "mentors" the lead singer.  Rounding out the boy band were Lance Rubin, Jason Tam and Jason Williams who were all equally talented.  I also enjoyed Krysta Rodriguez as the beauty who comes between the boyz and their music.  Her song "I'm Gonna Die My Hair Blue" was a stand out of the night (look for her to be booking bigger and bigger jobs ASAP).  The Black Suits is an original musical with a capital O.  Iconis and his crew bring something very unique and very entertaining to the stage at SPF.  Everyone should try to check it out (although I heard rumors that the whole run may already be sold out). Click HERE for show and ticket info.

After the show the producer-types in their blue power suits were literally salivating over The Black Suits.  Sometimes I exaggerate this stuff, but last night there were really were many money men in the audience and it seemed that they all had their eyes on a possible transfer.  Let's hope these young and talented artists will get another big break with this winning new show.  

Next Up at SPF: I see Tell Out My Soul by Jacquelyn Honess-Martin.

LBTSFEW (SPOILERS BELOW)

What - you don't know what that is an abbreviation for.  Um.  Hello?  It, like, stands for Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods.  Snaps!  Like, OMG!  

Did you watch it Monday night?  I can NOT take it.  I have GOT to know who wins.  I love this show.  I hope it never ends, but - alas - I know it will.  What did you think of Monday night's episode?  I thought it rocked.

A few quick thoughts.  The whole "let's take you outside and make you dance on cobblestone in high heeled pink stiletto boots in the, clearly, freezing cold" thing.  Stop!  Just stop with that nonsense.  The boots would have been bad enough, but the cobblestone and freezing cold...you don't need to torture these girls to make sure they can be Elle Woods.  Give them a break. 

I enjoyed the segment where the girls turned "poison into medicine" with the nasty questionnaire.  Classic.  Autumn, aka My Favorite Elle, gets big snaps for taking something ugly and making it positive.  That being said, was I the only one who thought the judges were going to ask them for their real answers afterwards.  Come on.  Didn't you secretly want to know who they thought were the worst dancers and singers.  I admit it.  I did!

Once again it was difficult to tell who was doing the best in the audition.  From my tv set, it looked like Rhiannon, Quirky Elle, couldn't really dance a lick.  When she wasn't in the bottom - I was SHOCKED.  Also, can we just get rid of Natalie, Short Elle?  I like her, I think she can dance, she has a pretty good voice, but (come on) she is not going to be the next Elle Woods.  She just isn't.  I predict an exit for her next week.  (Oh, who am I kidding - I have NO idea what will happen next week.)

I was devastated when it came down to a decision between Emma, Veteran Elle and Autumn, Red Head Elle in the casting office.  I didn't want either of them to go.  I was a WRECK!   "What about Rhiannon!?  What about Natalie!?" I screamed at my television.  Alas, either Autumn or Emma would be going.  

I have to say that I was happier that Autumn stayed.  I don't know why I want her to win so badly, I just like her.  I am now convinced that she will not win the final title.  I am starting to believe that Bailey will take the top prize, but I am really just searching in the dark.  The only thing I know for sure is that the show will be on again on Monday at 10pm on MTV and that someone on the show will cry and someone will get sick again.  Please let me know your thoughts in the comment section.  I am so addicted to this show - it hurts!

TOS TOS TOS

Another thing that I am getting uber uber excited about it is the opening of [Title of Show] on Broadway.  I can't even believe that I am typing that.  It all seems like a dream, except its not!  The kids at TOS have moved into the Lyceum theater and they are prepping their little show for a big sassy glamorous opening on July 17th.  

You can check out their reactions on their TOS Blog (just click HERE).  It is fun to follow Hunter, Jeff, Heidi and Susan as they make their way to the Great White Way.  You also have to check out the funny video they did for the Tony Awards - another Broadway site sent the TOSers out with microphones to cover the post Tony parties and they results are hysterical.  Click HERE to check it out.

I heard one little piece of TOS info.  You know I have been obsessed with knowing if they will enhance the "band" for the show.  Well, Kilty told me last night that the show will still be done with ONE KEYBOARD - just like always.  Hmmm.  I am very curious to see how all this works on a B'way stage.  I guess I will know soon!  Yeah!  Go TOS!  Ok, enough with the crazy enthusiasm for TOS we have other fish to fry (fish to fry? What is that about?).

Monday Night is for Readings!

Monday night I went to a reading of a new play by Sara Montgomery called Once There was a Girl.  This delightful new work by burgeoning playwright Montgomery is about a young woman named Sally who writes fairytales.  It is a delightful mash up of whimsical other worldly stories combined with the modern day trials of the main character.  Montgomery and her talented cast have been working on the play with Ateh, an exciting downtown theater troupe (Girl Detective at last year's Crowne Point Festival).  The piece was enhanced by the performance of Elizabeth Neptune in the title role.  Neptune has a unique presence, soulful eyes and a wicked sense of humor which make her ideal for the lead role in this piece.  I wish them the best of luck with this new play and hope to see it fully staged soon!

Big Houses for Little House

The Guthrie theater announced yesterday that ticket sales for their production of Little House on the Prairie, the new musical based on the series of books of the same name, are threw the roof.  During the first day that tickets went on sale the box office smashed all previous records and sold over 5,000 tickets. Demand for the show is VERY high.  Heck, I wanna see the show which will be directed by Francesca Zambello (of The Little Mermaid) and will star Melissa Gilbert (you know - the original Laura Ingalls) as Ma.  The show begins performances on July 26th with an August 15th opening.  I saw a workshop of this show a few years ago and was pleasantly surprised.  With buzz like this at the Guthrie - I wonder if we can expect a move to B'way.  Possibly.  Possibly.

Barbour on Broadway

It has been confirmed James Barbour will reprise his role in the Broadway production of A Tale of Two Cities which opens September 18th.  You may recall that Barbour has been in the news throughout the past year for his interactions with an underage girl.  Many had wondered if Barbour's recent legal problems would keep producers from casting him in the B'way version, but that seems to be a question that has been answered.  Barbour will be joined by Brandi Burkhardt, Aaron Lazar (late of Les Miz and The Light in the Piazza) and four-time Tony Award nominee Gregg Edelman (City of Angels, 1776, Anna Karenina, Wonderful Town). 

Strike Two!?

We still remember the nasty stage hands strike that crippled "The Broadway" last fall, now comes news of the actors strike.  The Actor's Union (called Actors' Equity) has been quietly negotiating with actors since April - trying to hammer out the details of a new contract, but they have not come to a final agreement yet.  Which can make folks nervous.  Sunday night the current contract expired.  Which makes me even MORE nervous.  However, it is common for a contract to expire during negotiations and the terms of the old contract will remain in effect until a new contract is signed.  We will be keeping our eyes and ears open for more details on this as the days and weeks go by.  The one good piece of news is that NO news is GOOD news when it comes to these negotiations.  If the chatter in the media ratchets up in the next few days you can be sure we are headed for some trouble.  As for now, all is quiet...let's hope it stays that way

Did You Hear About This?

I told you there was a lot going on today, but I can't leave you without talking about this Ragtime thingy.  So - the story goes that the outdoor theater The Wallace Bowl in Gillson Park in a suburb of Chicago cancelled their production of Ragtime (which had already started rehearsals and slated to open July 10th) because they were "concerned that passersby on the park grounds who did not know the context of the show would take offense to the racist "n-word," which is used several times in the script and score of the history-steeped show about racism, community, family and justice."  The story is that they asked the show licensor if they could change the "n-word" to another "less offensive word" like "darkie", but they were denied the ability to change any of the text.  So they cancelled the show.

"I find this sad and also hilarious," Ragtime lyricist Lynn Ahrens told Playbill.com June 27. "It seems to sum up the blind ignorance of people who sit busily cherry-picking bad words, while not even bothering to read the script they are producing to understand its ideas or the context in which these words are spoken. We authors have always said that if people were uncomfortable producing the show, they shouldn't produce it. We feel the language is accurate and honest in the context of the era, and important to preserve. That hasn't stopped Ragtime from being produced in numerous theatres, high schools and colleges, where the heads of these institutions don't underestimate the intelligence of their audiences, whether comprised of children or adults, nor feel the need to censor and protect them from their own national history."

Now word comes that the show may go on - the Wilmette Theater has invited the actors and director if they would like to present a scaled down concert version of Ragtime at their theater.  They are waiting for licensing permissions but they hope to present two performances on July 10th.  

This kind of thing annoys the heck out of me.  I find the whole affair RIDICULOUS!  Congrats to the Wilmette Theater for stepping up and offering their theater for the event.  The show must go on!

I'm Outta Here

That is it from me.  I am worn out!  I need a day to recuperate and dig up some more info for you all.  I will see you on Friday.  Until then, I will...

~ See You On The Aisle