Watch the New Trailer for Amelie the Musical Starring Phillipa Soo (VIDEO)

~ Metacrone

 

Our First Look at Phillipa Soo as the Quirky, Adorable Amelie Is Here!

Amelie the musical opens December 16 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, in preparation for its move to its Broadway home at the Walter Kerr Theatre in March. The musical is based on the charming 2001 French film (which you can stream on Netflix). It stars Phillipa Soo (“Hamilton”) as Amelie, as well as Adam Chanler-Berat (“Next to Normal”) and Tony Sheldon (“Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”).

Amelie runs from December 16,2016-January 15, 2017 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. The musical begins previews at the Walter Kerr Theatre in Manhattan on March 9, 2017, and officially opens April 3, 2017.

Second teaser trailer below the cut.

Continue reading “Watch the New Trailer for Amelie the Musical Starring Phillipa Soo (VIDEO)” →

42 Hairspray Live! GIFs to Brighten Up Your Day

~ Metacrone

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Courtesy of the Folks at BroadwayWorld.com

Who were apparently goofing off and making gifs while they were supposed to be covering the event. (Just kidding, they made the gifs to insert into their live tweets of the broadcast.) The gifs include the entire cast, and moments from the length of the show, from opening to closing credits. Here are a few to get you started.

Continue reading “42 Hairspray Live! GIFs to Brighten Up Your Day” →

George Takei’s Musical, Allegiance, Will Be Shown in Theaters Nationwide Tonight, 12/13/16 7:30 PM Local Time

~ Metacrone

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Their loyalty was questioned, their freedom taken away but their spirit could never be broken.

Allegiance: The Broadway Musical In Select Cinemas Nationwide

Beloved “Star Trek” actor, George Takei, invites you to embark on an emotional journey into a chapter of America’s history that is more relevant today than ever. George was only 5 years old when his family was amongst the nearly 120,000 people relocated from the West Coast after the events of Pearl Harbor. This past year, at the age of 78, George made his Broadway debut alongside Tony Award®-winner, Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon) in a new American musical inspired by his own childhood experience. Allegiance tells the poignant and uplifting multi-generational tale of one family’s love, loss, and heroism who – much like George’s – endured unfathomable circumstances during the Japanese American internment of World War II.

Prepare to be moved by this vivid and deeply-personal musical during this one-night cinema event tonight, Tuesday, December 13th at 7:30 pm.

“An important show with a PHENOMENAL CAST, it deserves to be seen.”
– Entertainment Weekly

Fathom Events Tickets and Information

 

+Art and text from Allegiance/Fathom Events promo materials

Watch Full Recording of the Bright Star Reunion Concert On Demand Now [Updated with Video]

~ Metacrone

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Youtube Has Posted the Full Concert Recording on Livestream.com with Steve Martin, Edie Brickell, and the Original Broadway Cast

Post Concert Update: The concert was amazing, and the creative team shared a few juicy tidbits during the Q&A. A tour is being planned for 2018, starting in Salt Lake City. They’ve also been getting requests for regional licenses. (Like I thought, this show just needs time to grow its audience slowly and organically.) There are no current plans to make the show into a movie, but Steve said he tends to end up turning everything he writes into one, eventually. The entire cast and creative team were clearly excited about the Grammy nomination and the chance to perform the show again. Everyone looked to be enjoying themselves. They were all in good voice, and backed by a full bluegrass band. Steve and Edie performed at the top of each act. At one point during the Q&A, Steve took someone’s phone from the audience so that he could playback the question he’d just been asked (he said he’d already forgotten it), then took a selfie.

Watch the Entire Bright Star Reunion Concert Here

2021 Update: Oops, the original Theatermania link is broken, but have a lovely Youtube of the event instead! I finally saw the full version of Bright Star myself at the Lyric Theatre in Oklahoma City in April, 2019. It was a wonderful production. I wished that I’d arranged to stay a couple of days to see the show a few more times!

Bright Star Reunion Concert Starts Soon! [Has Ended]

~ Metacrone

 

Livestream the concert from Theatermania.com!

Rewatch on This Page

Theatermania.com has put up the livestream videos of the Drama desk Awards for the last several years for rewatch, so hopefully this concert will show up, too. There is a page for it already.

Continue reading “Bright Star Reunion Concert Starts Soon! [Has Ended]” →

Steve Martin and Edie Brickell Host Bright Star Reunion Tonight: Concert Will Be Livestreamed

~ Metacrone

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The Original Broadway Cast Returns to Celebrate the OBC Soundtrack Album Receiving a Grammy Nomination

As we reported last week, Steve Martin and Edie Brickell will host a Bright Star concert tonight (Monday, 12/12) at the Town Hall venue featuring Carmen Cusack, Paul Alexander Nolan, and many others from the original cast. The concert is sold out, but you can still watch it! Theatermania.com is livestreaming the concert at 7:30 PM ET. There still aren’t any more details on the livestream, but I will update with a link and any other info I find it before the concert tonight.

More from the Bright Star Facebook page:

Join us online for a live stream of Monday night’s sold-out Bright Star reunion concert at Town Hall in NYC, exclusively on TheaterMania.com. Co-creators Steve Martin and Edie Brickell will join as both hosts and guest-performers for the evening. Immediately following the concert, the legendary Peter Asher will moderate a Q&A with Martin, Brickell, and other members of the creative team.

The livestream will begin at 7:30pm EST and can be viewed by visiting TheaterMania.com.

Since its release this past spring, the original cast recording of Bright Star has enjoyed the rare distinction of having charted on five different Billboard lists. The cast album hit #1 on the Top Current Blue Grass Albums chart, #2 on the Top Broadway chart, and #5 on the Americana/Folk Albums chart. It also made the Top 100 on the Billboard Top Albums chart and Top 200 on the Overall Digital Albums chart. The album is produced by the legendary, multi-Grammy Award-winning producer, manager, and musician Peter Asher. It is one of the top selling cast recordings of the year, and is now nominated for a 2017 Grammy Award. For more info & to buy it: https://www.sh-k-boom.com/bright-star-original-broadway-cast-recording

Metamaiden’s Denver Hedwig Reviews: Alone Again in Some New Wicked Little Town (AUDIO)

~ Metamaiden ~ 1 Comment

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Hedwig 12-10-16 Mat Review – EUAN AND HANNAH TIME

These were my initial thoughts after seeing Euan and Hannah the first time, with some minor edits to make it a little more coherent. (I was very excited and fangirling all over the place.) My main impression was: HANNAH. My review of the evening show is below my review of the matinee.

As soon as she came out on stage I was taken with her. She looks a LOT like Lena, more than Shannon does, and she has a catlike quality that I haven’t seen in a Yitzhak before. The way she carries herself is captivating. When she made her announcement just before the show, I loved the way she spoke. She sounded a little like she was singing even then, particularly in one little part where she almost did a little trill, of sorts. Then she started SINGING. Her voice is beautiful. It’s very clear and pleasantly high-pitched but full and husky, and the way she uses it is effortlessly smooth. The little riffs and trills she does are amazing. She tends to slide down at the ends of notes (called a glissando, I’m a huge fan). Her voice reminds me of a stream, the smooth transitions she makes from note to note.

Continue reading “Metamaiden’s Denver Hedwig Reviews: Alone Again in Some New Wicked Little Town (AUDIO)” →

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)” →