I wince a little whenever I see the Tony Awards tagline, “There’s a little bit of Broadway in everyone,” but I can live with the discomfort because it is my favorite awards show. I always watch the Academy Awards, I often watch the Emmys, and I’ll never forget when Christine Lahti was in the bathroom when she won the Golden Globe for Chicago Hope in 1998; but the Tony Awards feature big song and dance numbers. They’re the gayest awards show out there, with all the men (and the occasional woman) thanking their same-sex partners, and the acting awards winners give good speeches because they’re comfortable in front of a live audience. So really, they’re just great.

Speaking of great, there are a couple of really great things about this year’s nominations, which were announced earlier this week. Most importantly, The New Mel Brooks Musical: Young Frankenstein did not get nominated for Best Musical or for Best Book of a Musical. In fact, the show only got a couple of reasonably well-deserved acting nominations and a scenic design nod. Now, I might have picked Megan Mullally over Andrea Martin for Best Featured Actress, but I take no issue with the strength of the performances.

The issue I take is with the never-ending comments about how well-endowed the monster is. (You may have guessed that I did not love Young Frankenstein and that I am so over Mel Brooks.)

The other really great thing is that two of the four Best Director of a Play nominees are women — that’s a full one-half, people! (At the Academy Awards, it’s still fairly rare to get one female nominee, and I’m still stewing that Kasi Lemmons didn’t get nominated last year for Talk to Me.) … continue reading

Patti LuPone is the toast of Broadway right now, and with good reason.

Her turn as “Mama Rose” in the current revival of Gypsy is drawing comparison's to Ethel Merman's original characterization of the stage mother of all stage mothers. I've always been envious that my mother saw the original run of Gypsy, but not anymore. (Well, at least not as much as before.) I think Ben Brantley of The New York Times summed up Lupone's performance beautifully.

“When Ms. LuPone delivers “Rose's Turn,” she's building a bridge for an audience to walk right into one woman's nervous breakdown. There is no separation at all between song and character, which is what happens in those uncommon moments when musicals reach upward to achieve their ideal reasons to be.”

And that's what I love so much about musical theater – those moments when the actor, the character and the song all merge together into one utterly captivating entity. It's a combination of the strength of the performance and of the material. (For the record, I did not experience any moment like that when I saw David Hasselhoff in Jeckyl and Hyde.) These moments are why I rail against stunt-casting. I don't want to see performers who are a curiousity; I want to see performers who make me get lost in the show.

I had been wanting to see Patti LuPone in a Broadway show for ages. I saw 12 zillion Evita commercials when I was a kid, and she was always this Broadway great that I had never seen.

So, I'm thrilled to have finally seen her in all her greatness. Of course, over the years I've seen my fair share of great performances. And I'm going to indulge myself by reminiscing about a few of them. … continue reading

My normal theater plans have been turned upside down lately. Usually, I'm all about the musicals. I only see plays when I've heard something amazing about them or when there's an actress I want to see. But these days, I keep adding plays to my list. I mentioned recently that I want to see Top Girls on Broadway this spring. I saw August: Osage County, which is a shoo-in for multiple Tony Award nominations, a couple of weeks ago. And now, I'm going to be making some off-Broadway plans as well. I just learned that Lynn Redgrave is starring in the MCC Theater Company's production of Grace at the Lucille Lortell Theater. (Whenever I walk past that theater, I flash to Friends when Joey was starring in a play at the Lucille Lortell Theater, and he fell in love with Kate, the woman who (for a while) taught him about rejection.)

Grace is the story of a woman who is "a mother, a wife and a brilliant professor.” She's enmeshed in a public debate about the existence of God (she does not believe), when her civil rights attorney son declares he plans to become a priest. I suspect that a bit of conflict ensues.

While the story certainly sounds interesting, the story alone would not draw me to the play. It's Lynn Redgrave I want to see. She's one of those great stage actresses who I just want to see sometime. She's from a renowned theater family and has an extensive West End and Broadway résumé. The idea of seeing her on an intimate off-Broadway stage is particularly appealing. … continue reading

This past Monday in Los Angeles, a gaggle of celezbrities and lesbian icons joined forces to participate in V-Day West LA 2007, a benefit production of Eve Ensler's award-winning play, The Vagina Monologues. Producer Victoria Russell invited AfterEllen.com to the first of two shows (one on April 16, the other tonight, April 23), both of which benefit non-profit organizations dedicated to ending domestic violence, Sojourn Services for Battered Women and Their Children and Break the Cycle.

The April 16 show was directed by Leanna Creel (Promtroversy), and L Word cast members who performed that night included Jennifer Beals, Rachel Shelley, Alexandra Hedison, and Janina Gavankar (all pictured below).

… continue reading

On April 16 and April 23, West Los Angeles will stage a production of Eve Ensler's Obie Award-winning play The Vagina Monologues as part of the V-Day Worldwide Campaign to raise money and awareness to stop violence against women. This year, the first West LA show is a star (and lesbian)-studded affair, featuring performances by The L Word creator Ilene Chaiken and L Word stars Jennifer Beals and Janina Gavankar.

The April 16 performance will also feature a bevy of out lesbian actresses, including Honey Labrador (April's Shower), Alexandra Hedison (Designing Blind, The L Word), Jill Bennett (In Her Line of Fire, The Pleasure Drivers), Jenny Shimizu, and Danielle Egnew.

For more info, check out V-Day West LA's official website.

An upcoming New York workshop presentation of Prairie, a musical version of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie, will star Patrick Swayze (Dirty Dancing) and Melissa Gilbert as Pa and Ma. The show will run April 16-17 in New York (but will be closed to the public), and producers are aiming for a national tour in spring 2008.

In her youth, Gilbert played spunky daughter Laura Ingalls in the LHOTP television series.

This was her then:

This is her now:

She grew up nice, didn't she?

Women appear to be running this show: the book was written by Beth Henley (who won a Pulitzer for her fabulous play Crimes of the Heart), the lyrics were written by Donna DiNovelli, Oscar winner Rachel Portman (Emma) composed the music, and Francesca Zambello will direct. … continue reading