By Andrew Gans
29 Feb 2008
Question: Was there any talk of High School Musical coming to Broadway?
Fraser: I don't know. I can't imagine that it wouldn't. I would think people would go crazy for it. I remember going out and performing at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta for 5,000 people. I didn't even get to sing in the show, but I felt like a rock star! Again, you said, "What does it feel like when you get the applause for 'Gimmick' or the curtain call?" When I came out for the curtain call in High School Musical, I felt like I was Janis Joplin or Mick Jagger. I was a rock star. We all were! [Laughs.] The palpable joy and excitement was really intoxicating. I have to say that I got a lot of that out of Gypsy, too. The waves of emotion after Patti sings "Rose's Turn" — hello! I'll tell you something else. Every night at City Center, every single cast member was backstage watching Patti. We would jockey for position. We'd get down earlier and earlier every night to get a good spot. I mean, who does that? We are in the presence of genius, and I am just so thrilled to be a part of it. That genius is Patti, it's Arthur, it's Stephen Sondheim — it's a package.
Question: What other projects do you have in the works?
Fraser: I'm doing another album with Chris McGovern. I think it's going to be more pop-oriented, but we'll be talking about that really soon. That'll be fun. The other thing that's happening is I'm getting together all of Rusty [Magee's] material because Brown University asked for his musical archives. So I've hired this incredible girl to transpose all of the material either off of tapes, or take the handwritten charts or whatever is on the computer, and his entire musical catalog is now completely transcribed. . . . So those are my days. I'm going to school, I'm doing the Rusty archives, I'm trying to get my kid into college. Have all the Playbill.com readers hold their collective breath to get him into his first choice! . . . I've also toyed with the idea of producing some stuff. I've been dating a wonderful writer who writes for the Times, Randy Cohen, and he's written a really marvelous piece called The Punishing Blow that I've been sort of sewing the seeds of. I think Vivian Matalon is now attached to it as a director, which is great. I've always enjoyed putting projects together with people. That might be something that I'll be doing more of once the little bird is out of his nest and, again, trying to get some of the Rusty material out into the world again. The wonderful Ubu Rock that was done up at A.R.T. was just so splendid. So, we'll see.
Hopefully I'll be real busy doing Gypsy for the better part of next year and enjoying the fantastic reception that I hope that we get. I don't know, it's just a dream. Things come in waves. I had the enormous sadness of my mom's death last week, but then the enormous joy of walking onto the St. James Theatre as a working actress in a really, really exciting and honored project. It's a really incredible rollercoaster.
[Gypsy begins previews at the St. James Theatre, 246 West 44th Street, March 3 with an official opening March 27. Tickets, priced $42-$117, are available by calling (212) 239-6200 or by visiting www.telecharge.com.]
 |  | |
| David Archuleta |
| ©FOX |
I've been watching "American Idol" for the past six years (I missed the first season), and during that time there have been only a handful of performers who I thought truly stood out: Clay Aiken (whose pure, clear, rangy tenor was the highlight of the second season), Fantasia (one of the few "Idol" contestants able to imbue her singing with raw emotion and dramatic honesty), Jennifer Hudson (whose big voice was eventually put to wonderful use in her Oscar-winning turn in the "Dreamgirls" film), and last season's always-dependable Melinda Doolittle (who, with her lush alto, managed to breathe new life into "My Funny Valentine," offering one of the finest versions of the Rodgers and Hart standard I've yet to hear). I have to admit, however, that this is the first season to feature a performer — the 17-year-old David Archuleta — whose performances have moved me to tears. After his wonderful rendition of "Shop Around" on the Feb. 19 broadcast of "Idol," I spent some time watching the various youtube video clips of the young singer (a former "Junior Star Search" winner) and was completely bowled over by his gloriously beautiful, rich tones on the Christmas song "Mary, Did You Know" (search youtube and see what you think). This past week, Archuleta's version of John Lennon's "Imagine" — a song he's performed previously on local television — was simple, heartfelt and utterly moving. And, when you combine his beautiful vocals with his innocent, sweet, good-natured personality and his infectious smile — he seems genuinely surprised and appreciative of the reactions of the audience and the judges — Archuleta seems the clear front-runner in the competition. Do I think he's reached the pinnacle of lyric interpretation? Not yet — unfortunately, I think one needs to get kicked around by life and have his or her heart broken before a certain lyrical interpretative genius kicks in, but it may actually be Archuleta's lack of "drama" that makes him so surprisingly appealing. In fact, for me, no one comes close, although I am looking forward to hearing more from the easy-going, guitar-strumming Jason Castro (whose Week One rendition of "Daydream" was terrific) and the high-belting Carly Smithson. But Archuleta's star quality is undeniable.
|  | |
| Lea Michele |
| photo by Aubrey Reuben |
What an exciting cast director Richard Jay-Alexander has assembled for Les Misérables in Concert, which will be presented at the Hollywood Bowl Aug. 8-10. Featuring direction by Jay-Alexander with musical direction by Kevin Stites, the starry mix of stage and screen actors includes J. Mark McVey as Valjean, a role the actor has played both on Broadway and in London's West End; Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell, the star of Broadway's Ragtime, Man of La Mancha and Kiss Me, Kate, as Javert; Melora Hardin, the singer-actress who plays Jan Levinson on TV's "The Office," as Fantine; Spring Awakening's Lea Michele, who played the young Cosette in the original Broadway production of Les Miz, as Eponine; Emmy Award winner and former Grease, Seussical and Fiddler on the Roof star Rosie O'Donnell as Madame Thénardier; and Aaron Lazar as Enjolras, a role the actor played to much acclaim in the Les Miz revival. Additional casting is expected shortly. Show times at the Bowl are Aug. 8 and 9 at 8:30 PM and Aug. 10 at 7:30 PM. The Hollywood Bowl is located at 2301 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood, CA. For tickets, call (323) 850-2000. Visit www.hollywoodbowl.com for more information.
Kerry Butler, who plays Kira/Clio in Broadway's Xanadu and Reese on NBC's "Lipstick Jungle," will release her debut solo recording on the PS Classics label. Entitled "Faith, Trust & Pixie Dust," the new recording will feature songs from the Disney canon and is scheduled to arrive in stores May 13. Butler headed into the recording earlier this week under the supervision of music director Michael Kosarin, who is also producing the CD. The recording will feature orchestrations by Tony winner Michael Starobin and Spamalot's Larry Hochman. Among the songs that will be heard on "Faith, Trust & Pixie Dust" are "Baby Mine," "I'll Try" (from "Return to Neverland"), "This Only Happens in the Movies" (a song from a proposed sequel to "Roger Rabbit") and "God Help the Outcasts" (from "Hunchback of Notre Dame). The latter was suggested by several fans after Butler invited her admirers to help pick one song for the CD. In a statement Butler said, "I've wanted to do an album for a long time, and with the success of Xanadu, the timing seemed right. Recording the Xanadu recording for PS Classics was such a joyous experience, we decided to continue our relationship on my solo album. I knew I wanted to keep the album personal and intimate, and in thinking of songs that made me smile, or had a theme of hope or optimism that I felt was so important, I kept coming back to songs that were Disney-related. I love so many of the Disney themes – when I'm sad or stressed, I know I need a dose of Disney! The challenge for me was to see if I could rediscover the Disney catalog in a very personal way, because for me, Disney World isn't about the rides, it's about the message." For more information visit www.psclassics.com.
Eden Espinosa — whose Broadway credits include the title role in Brooklyn and Elphaba in Wicked — will star in the Reprise! Broadway's Best upcoming staging of John Kander and Fred Ebb's Flora, the Red Menace. Directed by Philip Himberg with choreography by Christopher Pilafian, Espinosa will portray Flora with Sweeney Todd Tony nominee Manoel Felciano as Harry. The limited engagement will run May 6-18 at UCLA's Freud Playhouse; opening night is May 7. The UCLA Freud Playhouse is located in Macgowan Hall. Tickets for Reprise! productions are available by calling (310) 825-2101. For more information visit www.reprise.org.
Actress Maxine Linehan will star in Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black and Richard Maltby Jr.'s song cycle, Tell Me On a Sunday, at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. Presented by The Alloy Theatre Company, the musical about the adventures of a British hat designer in America will play the intimate theatre March 30 and April 6, 13, 20 and 27. Show time each night is 7 PM. Jeff Talbott will direct; Chris Tilley will be the musical director. Irish actress Linehan, a MAC nominee who studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, previously presented her cabaret act, So Far, at Helen's in Manhattan. Her regional and international stage credits include Fates and Furies, Nunsense, The Sound of Music, Oliver!, Crazy for You, Nunsense II, A Kind of Loving, Lovers, The Children of Lir and The Man of La Mancha. The Laurie Beechman Theatre is located within the West Bank Café at 407 West 42nd Street. For reservations call (212) 695-6909.
The UTEP Dinner Theatre's 25th anniversary concert will honor Tony and Academy Award-winning lyricist Sir Tim Rice. The April 12 concert at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, TX, will feature the UTEP Dinner Theatre Band, the UTEP Symphony Orchestra, a 150-voice choir and several Broadway favorites. Among those scheduled to interpret the lyrics of Rice — who will be in attendance — are Ron Bohmer, Nikki Renee Daniels, Deborah Gibson, Annie Golden, Andrea McArdle and Hugh Panaro. Show time is 8 PM. For tickets call (915) 747-5234 or (915) 544-4444 or visit www.ticketmaster.com. For more information click here.
And, finally, Bob and Jim Walton, the veteran Broadway actors, have penned a new musical entitled Mid-Life! The Crisis Musical. Originally presented during the 2004 New York Musical Theatre Festival, the musical is currently licensed by R&H Theatricals, and has been performed throughout the U.S. and Canada. A new recording of the two-act musical, featuring a host of New York theatre actors, is now available for purchase on-line. The studio cast boasts David Hibbard, Mylinda Hull, Karen Mason, Marcus Neville, Kevin Pariseau and Laurie Walton. The actors are backed by musical director Mat Eisenstein on piano, Mike Levy on keyboards, David Young on flute, clarinet and alto sax, Mark Vanderpoel on bass and Eric Halvorson on drums. For more information or to purchase the CD, visit www.midlifethecrisismusical.com or cdbaby.com.
Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.
| View article on single page | Previous Page 1 | 2 Next Page |
