Tony Time!...but its only October?

Today is a great day! Jesus Christ Superstar is going to get a Broadway Revival in 2012! I didn’t even believe it when I first saw.  Andrew Lloyd Webber is going to have one heck of a year on Broadway in 2012 with two EPIC revivals. This announcement has completely psyched me up for the Tony Awards this year! So, I figured I would make this post about the 2012 Tony’s and how excited I am for them…yes, it is only October.

It will be battle royal at the Tony’s this season, with Evita, JCSS and Godspell all returning.  I’m assuming that they will all be eligible for the 2012 Tony’s, but it may be a little late for Evita which won’t open until April.  All of these revivals have me VERY excited and it would be greatly appreciated if someone bought me tickets to each of these shows. J

As for my super early predictions of how new shows will do, I think the highly anticipated Bonnie & Clyde will be a force to reckon with. My favorite Broadway information sight, Broadway.com, just uploaded a press screening for this show and what you can hear of the music is great.  Both leads, Jeremy Jordan and Laura Osnes, have exceptional voices and I am expecting a lot from them.  I have a good feeling about this show.

I’ve already said my piece about Lysistrata Jones.

Some sad news broke this week, Laura Benanti’s new show The Playboy Club has been cancelled by NBC.  I didn’t watch the show and didn’t really plan on it.  I just really like Laura and wished it would’ve worked out for her. Well, that’s just the life of an actress, just got to pick up the pieces and move on.

I send out congratulations to Andrew Lloyd Webber and everyone involved in Phantom for the last 25 years.  It’s amazing that a show has the stamina to run this long.  There are a lot of good things going on for ALW.  I wish I could say he deserves it, but I’m a bitter Patti LuPone fan.  I can, however, say that he is very talented and he knows how to write a spectacular score.  I saw Phantom in London this summer while I was studying abroad. I was very impressed. All three shows I saw in the West End left me very impressed to be honest.  I’ll save my West End analysis for another post though.

Since this week has been a good one for Sir Andrew and Phantom, I will leave you with one of his classics from the show.

Tweet! Tweet!

A post all about Twitter!  How interesting!

I must say, like the majority of the world, I am obsessed with Twitter.  I figured I could cut down on my theater tweets that none of my “unenlightened” friends will understand or find comedic by starting a blog.  And now to get more blog readers, I made a Twitter account for the blog.  Theater Eater is now up and running in the Twitterverse!!! Follow the blog @TheaterEater.  I will let you know when I have a new post and maybe some day to day theater geek tweets. 

One of my favorite things about Twitter is getting to see what my favorite theater stars have to say.  Some of the stars I follow include:  Kristin Chenoweth (@KChenoweth), Lea Michele (@msleamichele), Alice Ripley (@RIPLEYTHEBAND), and Nick Adams (@TheNickAdams).  I am following all of these people and more on @TheaterEater, so feel free to browse my peeps and pick some for yourself.  Some of them are pretty hilarious.

So now I figured I would give you my Top 5 favorite theater people to follow on Twitter.  These are in no particular order.

1) Lea Michele from Spring Awakening and Glee (@msleamichele) – Lea tweets…A LOT!  She practically lives on Twitter, but hey, I’m not complaining!  She tweets pictures from the Glee set and always talks about her co-stars (not in a gossipy way).  She is pleasant and refreshing. 

2) Nick Adams from Priscilla Queen of the Desert (@TheNickAdams) – Nick is an up-and-coming star on Broadway right now.  He is very humble and responds to his followers often.  If you are looking to reach out to someone on Broadway and get a response, I recommend Nick.  Plus, he’s man pretty. 

3) Susan Blackwell from [title of show] and Side by Side by Susan Blackwell on Broadway.com (@TulitaPepsi) – My God is this woman hilarious!  I have a new obsession with Susan.  Her show on Broadway.com is brilliant.  It is reason enough to follow her on Twitter.

4) The Tony Awards (@TheTonyAwards) – They let you know what is going on in theater and so forth.  I started my Twitter account during the 2010 Tony Awards because my friends complained that I updated my facebook status so much during the broadcast.  You get to see and read about backstage stuff during the show.

5)  Betty Buckley (@BettyBuckley) – Another very gracious star.  She is very sweet and it’s kind of funny she is on Twitter.

Now I have to warn you, not all stars are worth following.  Kristin Chenoweth tweets CONSTANTLY!  It’s pretty annoying.  Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Cheno as much as the next girl, but my God, I do not need to know that you are “getting on the bed bus” every night.  Her sometimes witty tweets to Kathy Griffin are alright, but probably just better to follow Kathy.

ALSO! DO NOT FOLLOW ANYONE WHO CLAIMS TO BE PATTI LUPONE!  Patti does not have a Twitter and will never have a Twitter.  She’s been quoted speaking out against the imposters and Mama ain’t happy!

So now I shall leave you with a lovely song about something else that tweets…a bird!  Yes, I’m quite witty and original!  Here is the song Meadowlark from a flop Patti was in.  The music is beautifully written by Stephen Schwartz and sung by my homegirl Patti.  I promise the next post will feature someone other than Patti.  Maybe I won’t even mention her at all!  Doubtful, but possible!

Opening Night!

Hello, theater geeks! I personally enjoy reading and watching commentary on anything "theater."  So, I figured, if Seth Rudetsky can have a billion different shows and blogs, I can have at least one.  I'm not sure exactly how this blog will go, I just have a slight idea of what my focuses will be.  Each post will be about a different show or creative personnel that has caught my attention at that particular moment.  I figure, since this is my "opening post" I would focus this one on shows that are going to open soon on Broadway.

I will start with a positive, because that is just my nature.  Godspell.  Let's be honest, who doesn't love a little Godspell!?  I'm pretty excited for this revival.  The cast seems decent enough to pull it off.  We shall see in the coming weeks though.  It's crazy to think that the guy who composed this show also created the mega-monster-musical that is WICKED!!!  Stephen Schwartz is pretty darned talented and I do respect him as an artist, but based on his interview with Broadway.com recently, I lost a little respect for him. (Show People: Stephen Schwartz)  Not only does he look like a scrub, but he bashes the Broadway community.  First off, Stephen, you look like a gigolo with that open collar and gold chain.  Second, if you are going to wear a suit jacket and pants, perhaps you should rethink the sneakers.  You just look creepy.  So, yes, he was just being honest about his experience with the Broadway community, but I think he is just bitter.  What do you guys think?

On to the next one...Lysistrata Jones.

This concept does not appeal to me at all.  It is going to be a flop.  It seems like it will be Xanadu minus the roller skates plus basketballs.  I don't really know.  Maybe I am just being too cynical about this one, but it just looks stupid.

Last show I will bring up is the Evita revival!

I do not think any of you realize how long I have waited for this moment!  The moment I heard that it was being revived in New York, I just about passed out.  Now, since reading my dearest Patti LuPone's memoir, I have told myself to boycott Andrew Lloyd Webber.  And I am trying really hard, but his shit is just too damn good!  I love Patti, but I think she will understand for Evita!  Anyways, I've heard only good things about Elena Roger, who will play Eva, and I am quite excited to see what Ricky Martin will do on stage.  For me, this revival is highly anticipated.  Am I the only one?  I doubt it!

So in honor of one of my top 5 favorite musicals being revived I figured the song of this post would be "Buenos Aires" as sung by the fabulous Patti LuPone.

You will soon learn how obsessed I am with Patti.  It's pretty bad.