The Oscars are over. . . .IT'S TONY TIME!! Sure, I dig movies, but theatre is my passion. I've been in love since I picked up my first 33 1/3 LP of "Bye, Bye Birdie" from the Monroe County Library and saw that jungle gym that has gone down in history as one of Gower Champions phenomenal staging efforts! I wait for that second Sunday in June with anticipation of what will be performed on that Tony stage.
This year I am going to make an effort to take my bite out of the apple and witness "Anything Goes" with Sutton Foster and Joel Grey; plus, "Catch Me If You Can". I am fortunate this year to have a different angle on things; my friend Brisa, who is as equally geeky about the musical theatre art form, has thrown her chips in and is part of the producing team. You can follow her efforts at makemusicals.com.
Catching lightning twice has sometimes been a strenuous experiment. Two writing teams that come to mind both had failed attempts; Charles Strouse, Michael Stewart and Lee Adams with "Bye, Bye Birdie" and "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman; and Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan with "The Producers" and "Young Frankenstein". BUT, Rodgers and Hammerstein hit it out of the park with both "Oklahoma" and "Carousel". What makes it work?
There's a lot of reasons. I encourage you to keep coming back and follow as I throw a bit of history and some humor into a form that is truely us.
Watch a musical, let the emotion take you somewhere; it's what us dreamers live for.
Until next time, whistle a happy tune and tap your troubles away; show the world a musical can be real!
