Category: Theater

I Do Love a Warm Hand on My Entrance: Metacrone’s Review of Hedwig in Denver 12/10/16 (AUDIO)

~ Metacrone ~ 3 Comments

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First Off, Euan Morton’s Legs Go on Forever

No other Hedwig can pull off a high kick like this man. I mean, WOW. Y’all probably know I’m a Darren Criss fan, and I find it hard to resist anything Andrew Rannells or John Cameron Mitchell turn up in. But Euan has the best legs. (I’ll concede to JCM fans if anyone wants to argue with me.) Hedwig also has tattoos in this incarnation, a partial sleeve on her left arm that runs up over her pec, and several smaller ones on her right arm. (Including a zia, the sun symbol of the Zia people and New Mexico, the metawitches home state.)

But, on to more important things. Euan’s Hedwig is closer to a combination of NPH and John Cameron Mitchell in manner than any of the others. Great with the physical comedy. She’s more sad than angry, and both graceful and clumsy at the same time. She’s loose and flexible, rolling around on the stage more than any other Hedwig, I think. She rolls down the car windshield and right onto the floor at the beginning of Angy Inch. Euan’s Hedwig puts on a good face and keeps soldiering on until she. just. can’t. do. it. any. more. Then, SHE’S DONE. And she breaks down completely during Long Grift/Exquisite Corpse. She’s broken, and can’t even hold her head up.

Continue reading “I Do Love a Warm Hand on My Entrance: Metacrone’s Review of Hedwig in Denver 12/10/16 (AUDIO)” →

George Takei’s Broadway Musical Allegiance Will Screen in Theaters Nationwide This Tuesday, December 13

~ Metacrone

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Allegiance Will Be Shown for One Night Only as a Fathom Event

This Show Is About One Family’s Experiences with the Japanese Internment Camps in WW2, an Important Part of American History That Is Being Forgotten

Trump’s Government Is Threatening to Revive This Practice with Other Immigrant Groups

Allegiance was developed by George Takei (Star Trek) with Marc Acito, Jay Kuo and Lorenzo Thione, inspired by Takei’s own experiences during World War 2, and those of his family. It stars Lea Salonga, George Takei, Telly Leung, Katie Rose Clarke, Greg Watanabe, Michael K Lee, and Christopheren Nomura.

Theater Locations Here

More Details from the Fathom Events page for Allegiance:

Date: Tuesday, December 13

Time: 7:30 p.m. (local time)

Run Time: 2 hours 30 minutes (approximate)

Ticketing: Tickets are available by clicking on the orange “Buy Tickets” button on the More Details page. If online ticketing is not available for your location, you can purchase your tickets by visiting the box office at your local participating cinema.

George Takei: They interned my family. Don’t let them do it to Muslims. (Op Ed Piece in The Washington Post)

Continue reading “George Takei’s Broadway Musical Allegiance Will Screen in Theaters Nationwide This Tuesday, December 13” →

Bright Star Reunion Concert Will Be Livestreamed by Theatermania.com on Monday December 12th (AUDIO & VIDEO)

~ Metacrone ~ 1 Comment

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The Entire Original Broadway Cast Will Be Joined by Creators Steve Martin and Edie Brickell

The original Broadway cast of the musical Bright Star is giving a concert at Town Hall in NYC this Monday, December 12, 2016. The concert will be livestreamed by the website Theatermania. There’s no information on how the livestreaming will work available yet. I’ll update this post if Theatermania updates before Monday night.

The musical Bright Star began previews on Broadway on February 25, 2016, running for 30 previews and 109 regular performances beforce closing on June 26, 2016. The show was nominated for five Tonys, including Best Musical, but if your name wasn’t Hamilton, your musical probably didn’t win many (or any) or Tonys this year. It’s now nominated for a 2017 Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.

This show is a sweet, quiet, romantic show that was never going to be able to keep up with the splashiness of Hamilton. With Waitress and Bright Star being similar shows, and both having their Broadway debuts this past spring, only one was going to survive. Sara Bareilles and Jessie Mueller are currently more popular than Steve Martin and Carmen Cusack, so Waitress won, but both are great shows*. If you like Waitress or Once, there’s a good chance you’d like Bright Star. The show has a gorgeous bluegrass score and a story that spans 3 generations. It takes place in North Carolina in the first half of the 20th century. The story involves love, trust, betrayal, secrets, family, identity, discovery and reconciliation. It reminds me of Tennessee Williams’ stories like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Long Hot Summer, though without as much of an edge.

Continue reading “Bright Star Reunion Concert Will Be Livestreamed by Theatermania.com on Monday December 12th (AUDIO & VIDEO)” →

NBC to Air Hairspray Live! Again on December 26th

~ Metacrone

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They Still Can’t Stop the Beat

The Network Will Show the Entire Musical Again the Day After Christmas

BroadwayWorld.com is reporting that NBC will reshow Hairspray Live! on Monday, December 26th, at 8:00 PM ET. If you missed the original, live airing on December 7th, this is your chance to watch it on the big screen. In the meantime, you can still watch the full musical and the preshow, Countdown to Hairspray Live!, on Youtube and on NBC’s website.

Disclaimer: BroadwayWorld is currently the only site with this story. Even NBC isn’t saying yet when they’re repeating Hairspray Live! They’ve repeated every one of the previous musicals at some point in December, so I’ve been watching for it to be scheduled. I’ll keep an eye out to see if the date changes. 12/11/16: Other sites, including NBC, are now showing the reprise date of 12/26 at 8:00PM ET.

VIDEO- Euan Morton and Hannah Corneau Sing “Wicked Little Town” from the Hedwig Tour

~ Metacrone

The Hedwig on Broadway Facebook page has posted a new video featuring Euan Morton, the current Hedwig on the Hedwig and the Angry Inch National Tour, singing Wicked Little Town, a song from the show. Hannah Corneau, the current Yitzhak on the tour, sings backup, and Justin Craig, music director and Skszp, plays acoustic guitar. The video was recorded in Denver at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. The cast is not in costume or make up. They were likely singing as part of a press event for the tour stop, which just started on Tuesday. I’m loving Euan and Hannah’s voices on the video, but I’ll let you know more when I write my review after I see them live tomorrow! (Writing this from a hotel in Denver.) 😉

Hairspray Live! Review: Welcome to the 60s!

~ Metacrone ~ 1 Comment

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Now that everyone’s hair has been sprayed so that it won’t move until the next decade, let’s review the show!

Overall, I really loved the show. To be fair, it’s kind of a can’t miss show for me anyway, and with this cast, that would be hard to do. There were some things I didn’t like, which I’ll get to later, but I found it to be a well done production in general.

The opening was great, though I don’t think anyone will ever top last winter’s Grease Live! opening with the beach fake out and the run across the studio lot while Jessie J sang. Good Morning Baltimore opened the show with the same sort of excitement and movement though, and the momentum kept up throughout most of the show. It did drag a bit at times, mostly because they added enough commercials to turn a 2 hour show into a 3 hour broadcast.

In the current political climate, it was incredible to see a show centered around so many women of different sizes, ages, and ethnicities, celebrating them all, asking for them all to be respected. The show has an important message of acceptance for everyone and encouragement to keep fighting the good fight while working together.

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Countdown to Hairspray Live! Watch the Full PreShow Now with Kristin Chenoweth, Sean Hayes and Darren Criss

~ Metacrone ~ 2 Comments

The full Countdown show is up on Youtube! My local station opted to show the news instead of the preshow, so I’m seeing this for the first time now, too, except for the parts that were on Facebook. Here it is, for everyone who missed it.

Hairspray Live! Watch the Full Show Now!

~ Metacrone ~ 2 Comments

NBC has put the entire show up on Youtube in a single video, so everyone can watch at their own convenience on whatever device they please. Here it is. Enjoy! (And then take our POLL and read our REVIEW.)

The official versions have been removed. This Youtube isn’t ideal, but it’s the best one available right now. Let me know in the comments if it’s removed too.

It’s only available for rent or purchase now, sorry.

 

What Did You Think of Hairspray Live? Take the Poll

~ Metacrone ~ 6 Comments

 

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Did you love it? Hate it? Vote, then tell us why in the comments.

We’ll have a full review up later. For now, let’s just say we loved it! It’s one of our favorite musicals, so it’s hard to go wrong with this show. This production did an exceptional job. It wasn’t perfect, but that’s part of being live. Everyone has different tastes, though, so let us know what you thought below.

Greg Berlanti to Remake Little Shop of Horrors Film

~ Metacrone ~ 4 Comments

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Berlanti Should Continue His Streak of Casting Glee Alumni, and Cast Darren Criss and Lea Michele as Seymour and Audrey

Deadline reports that Warner Bros is developing a film remake of the classic musical Little Shop of Horrors with Greg Berlanti, producer of superhero shows on The CW, directing, Marc Platt (La La Land) producing, and a script by Matthew Robinson (The Invention of Lying).

Little Shop of Horrors was originally a 1960 B movie cult film directed by Roger Corman. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman turned it into an Off-Off-Broadway rock musical in 1982. It eventually made its way to Off-Broadway, where it ran for 5 years, then to movie theaters in 1986. Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene starred in the 1986 film as Seymour and Audrey.

After the cut, my take on the news, and video of Darren Criss and Lea Michele singing Suddenly Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors.

Continue reading “Greg Berlanti to Remake Little Shop of Horrors Film” →