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[George]

And one for Mahler!

[vixmom]

And now for the news

SYDNEY, Australia - There must have been something fishy about the way she walked. Customs officials said Monday they stopped a woman as she arrived Friday in the southern city of Melbourne on a flight from Singapore and found 51 live tropical fish allegedly hidden in a specially designed apron under her skirt.
 
"During the search customs officers became suspicious after hearing 'flipping' noises coming from the vicinity of her waist," the Australian Customs Service said in a press release. "An examination revealed 15 plastic water-filled bags holding fish allegedly concealed inside a purpose-built apron."

The species of fish was not immediately known, but customs officials warned they could carry diseases that could decimate Australian fish if they escaped into local rivers.

Customs officers will charge the woman once they establish what species the fish are. If convicted of smuggling wildlife, she faces a fine of up to U.S. $83,617 and could also get a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

[vixmom]

and

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - A man who says he was severely burned when a portable toilet exploded after he sat down and lit a cigarette is suing a general contractor and a coal company, accusing them of negligence.

John Jenkins, 53, and his wife, Ramona Jenkins, 35, of Brave, Pa., filed the suit Tuesday in county circuit court seeking $10 million in damages from Chisler Inc. and Eastern Associated Coal Corp.

The lawsuit claims Jenkins’ face, neck, arms, torso and legs were severely burned last July after the cigarette ignited methane gas leaking from a pipe underneath the toilet unit.

“When I struck the lighter, the whole thing just detonated — the whole top blew off,” said Jenkins, a methane power plant operator with North West Fuels Development Inc. “I can’t tell you if it blew me out the door or if I jumped out.”

Eastern Associated owns the Blacksville property where the explosion occurred. Jenkins alleges that heavy equipment from Chisler Inc. ran over the pipelines before the explosion, causing the methane gas leak.

A call to the Charleston office of Peabody Energy, the parent company of Eastern Associated Coal, was not returned.

A man who answered the phone at Chisler’s office in Fairview said the company would have no comment.

[JoseSPiano]

It will be interesting to see which shows will have staying power post-Tony night.

I have a feeling The Light in the Piazza may not have as long a life as Lincoln Center would like it to have.  I'm afraid it will follow the same path that Passion did it after it's Tony wins - closing within a year.  It truly - and sort of self-admittedly - has a limited appeal.

Even Spamalot does not seem like a likely candidate for a multi-year run.  Maybe two or three... but not beyond that.  As DR Ben pointed out - and as I've heard from many others - the show is really for the diehard Monty Python fans.  And once that initial built in fan base has seen the show... Who knows?  But they have a good advertising/press company, so as long as they keep coming up with good ads, that will help.  I also, unfortunately, expect some stunt casting as the run goes along.

I've also heard some "complaints" from people who have seen the show, that the set looks cheap.  Yes, there's lots of it, but it looks cheap.  These people weren't that familiar with the original "Flying Circus" programs and the very identifiable Monty Python style.  So....

*And I have to admit that I was shocked that The Who's Tommy closed as early as it did.  It ran and ran and ran, and then the audience just seemed to drop out.  I still remember all those promotions they were running during the closing months trying to get people into those seats.  Free books.  Free CDs.  Buy One Get One Free offers.

Spelling Bee did one very smart thing last night - it proved that the show could work in a large house.  Hopefully, the show will be tweaked enough for it's tour when it goes from playing the relatively intimate Circle In The Square to the cavernous road houses it will undoubtedly get booked into.

And I think the run of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels will depend on the contracts of it's two leading men.  But they're advertising campaign has been very fun and smart too.  I think it's main strike is the fact that is not a family show, and, thus, not one that all tour operators could book groups into when they come to New York.

For that, they now have Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Any other thoughts, obervations?

[Dan (the Man)]

Last night I decided to throw away some 20 year old magazines that I dug out of the trash barrel at the Phoenix Theatre.  Issues of THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY and THEATRE CRAFTS.  I saved the "show covers" and stories of the TC's and some of the "how-to" stories from TD&T.  Wow have things changed in the last 20-25 years!

I wonder if there is a single piece of wood used in scenery construction these days.

[MBarnum]

I have a question regarding SPELLING BEE. Is Al Sharpton in it? Or do they have a different celebrity in each show as a joke?

[Dan (the Man)]

It will be interesting to see which shows will have staying power post-Tony night.

I have a feeling The Light in the Piazza may not have as long a life as Lincoln Center would like it to have.  I'm afraid it will follow the same path that Passion did it after it's Tony wins - closing within a year.  It truly - and sort of self-admittedly - has a limited appeal.

I think I heard that The Light In The Piazza was a limited run that's already been extended through to the end of summer.

I have tickets for Spamalot the weekend after next and I'm trying to decide which of the other three shows I will also take in.  In some ways, I wish I could see something different other than Spamalot, except I don't want to miss Hank Azara before he goes on his summer hiatus from the show.

[George]

It will be interesting to see which shows will have staying power post-Tony night.

I have a feeling The Light in the Piazza may not have as long a life as Lincoln Center would like it to have.  I'm afraid it will follow the same path that Passion did it after it's Tony wins - closing within a year.  It truly - and sort of self-admittedly - has a limited appeal.

<SNIP>

Any other thoughts, obervations?

I don't know if it's an indicator, but according to THIS article on Playbill.com, "Sales of Broadway Cast Recordings Soar After Tony Awards."  It says:

Within the past 24 hours, sales of several Broadway cast recordings have skyrocketed, most likely due to the hoopla surrounding and the broadcast of the 2005 Tony Awards.

According to a spokesperson for Amazon.com, sales for the cast recording of The Light in the Piazza — which received six Tony Awards, including one for Adam Guettel's score — have climbed 175 percent. The CD is currently ranked as "Soundtrack No. 4" on the Amazon.com Top Sellers list of CDs.

The sales of the Spamalot CD have climbed 140 percent during the past day, and the recording is now listed as "Soundtrack No. 5." Sales for William Finn's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, now listed as "Soundtrack No. 10," have climbed a whopping 240 percent. Similarly, sales of the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels cast recording have climbed 237 percent, and the CD is now ranked No. 16. The Little Women recording, starring Tony winner Sutton Foster, is now listed as No. 56. Its sales have climbed 108 percent in the past 24-hour period.

Visit www.Amazon.com for more information.

[Ben]

Other thoughts:

Having seen Chitty I don't think it will be the multi-year success it was in London. I think it still has life in it and will run perhaps through the rest of the year but I think that's it. The car really is the star of the show and I didn't feel that way when I saw it  in London. There was something more to it.

You're right about Scoundrels. If they don't get good replacements, especially for Butz, then the show won't last. It's nice that there is an adult musical comedy playing right now but since Broadway has become something of a family theme park the risque bits in the show (hummers in my hummer, etc.) do not bode well.

Unless I'm mistaken I don't think All Shook Up will close very soon. It's not selling out every night but I think it's doing respectable business, better business than Brooklyn has been doing and it's not a "bad" show. Granted, it's not a "great" show, but Broadway has always had that mid-level show which opens to mixed or decent reviews and everyone knows it's not top of the line but it runs a respectable amount of time and makes some audiences happy. Not everything that opens on Broadway will be a Night Music or [Death of a Salesman[/i] and, IMHO (in my humble opinion) even in the difficult economic climate of Broadway today, it's OK if these shows run for more than a week. If the producers are willing to spend/lose the money, so be it.

Jose, BTW, Anthony thinks Nick (at Mill Mountain) is a great guy.

[JoseSPiano]

I have a question regarding SPELLING BEE. Is Al Sharpton in it? Or do they have a different celebrity in each show as a joke?

That was a "special apperance" last night.  During the regular run of the show, they recruit a couple of audience members to be "guest spellers".  There was a nice article in the New York Times about the whole process - and the "dangers" inherent in audience participation.

[Ben]

Michael, no Al Shaprton isn't in the show and they don't have a different celebrity. They do ask for volunteers at each performance and if you want to be considered as a speller you can give your name and have a very quick interview for possible consideration as an on-stage contestant. They choose two men and two women from all the folks who volunteered and they get words (some hard, some easy, the night I saw the show one of the audience members got elephant and another got Mexican) to spell through the course of the show. If you spell your word correctly, you're still on stage, although at some point they do pull out the obscure words so you will inevitably lose, get your juice box and a hug from the Comfort Counselor and be sent back to your seat.

[JoseSPiano]

Other thoughts:

Having seen Chitty I don't think it will be the multi-year success it was in London. I think it still has life in it and will run perhaps through the rest of the year but I think that's it. The car really is the star of the show and I didn't feel that way when I saw it  in London. There was something more to it.  

Agreed.  Unless they start offering "family packs" of tickets.
it.  Some of my friends in the pit mentioned that the past couple of weeks have sort of been light audience-wise.  Not bad-bad, but lots of visible empty seats.

Jose, BTW, Anthony thinks Nick (at Mill Mountain) is a great guy.

And Nick does have beautiful legs too!

Be sure to tell Anthony to give Nick a big hug and a squeeze (or two or three) for/from me!

[S. Woody White]

Ob #9:  Let people finish their speeches, CBS.  Gee, so you go over a minute or two, big deal.  People actually watching the Tonys aren't impatiently waiting for the local Sunday night late news.  They want to see the Tonys.  You want it under three hours...cut a promo or two for the Tommy Hilfinger reality show. Who needs that?

Except...

The time the show runs over into the local Sunday night late news is exactly that, LOCAL.  It isn't CBS' time that is being eaten into, it's the local affiliates time, and much of their revenue comes from advertising during the local news broadcasts.  Apples and oranges, CP.

[vixmom]

How was your first day at work DR SWW?

[vixmom]

Michael, no Al Shaprton isn't in the show and they don't have a different celebrity. They do ask for volunteers at each performance and if you want to be considered as a speller you can give your name and have a very quick interview for possible consideration as an on-stage contestant. They choose two men and two women from all the folks who volunteered and they get words (some hard, some easy, the night I saw the show one of the audience members got elephant and another got Mexican) to spell through the course of the show. If you spell your word correctly, you're still on stage, although at some point they do pull out the obscure words so you will inevitably lose, get your juice box and a hug from the Comfort Counselor and be sent back to your seat.

I wonder what they would do if an audience member turned out to be abn ex spelling chmapion and NEVER got one wrong!?

[vixmom]

I wonder what they would do if an audience member turned out to be abn ex spelling chmapion and NEVER got one wrong!?

as you can see from the abpve i of course am not speaking about myslef... I will not be enteringany tuping contests int he near future either!

[vixmom]

That was a "special apperance" last night.  During the regular run of the show, they recruit a couple of audience members to be "guest spellers".  There was a nice article in the New York Times about the whole process - and the "dangers" inherent in audience participation.

 I would like to read this article.. any idea when it ran? Thanks!

[vixmom]

Oh, DR Mbarnum the husband was expressing some interestthis past weekend  in seeing a Bollywood movie, any suggestions for  "first timers?"

[MBarnum]

Oh, DR Mbarnum the husband was expressing some interestthis past weekend  in seeing a Bollywood movie, any suggestions for  "first timers?"

DR Vixmom, it would all depend on what genre he would be most interested in...action, adventure, dramatic, tearjerker, thriller, comedy, war...new or vintage.

[Jrand73]

PAHKEEZAH....but I am sure MBARNUM will have other selections.

DrM - I think the saying now is, if it burns, don't use it.

WSS in true Stereo...hmmmm.....maybe my albums are just NOT.  And I think I have the OCR on CD....hmmmmmmm.  I will check tonight, if so, I know what I will be playing.

ANYWAY...off to the theatre - the FAMOUS Putnam County Playhouse - to set up my rehearsal space, sell tickets for OLIVER!, and then block Act One.

[vixmom]

I would like to read this article.. any idea when it ran? Thanks!

I think I found it, on the NY Times site, May 11.....now when I go  to the  library tonight I shall have to look it up.


Speaking of going to the library, the reason I am tonight going is that the Vixter is joining the "Battle of The Books" team. This will be her second year on the team., and I have been "volunteered " as a coach.


DR Ginny, do you have any programs like this at your library? This the link to ours http://www.suffolk.lib.ny.us/youth/bb/index.html
for anyone who is interested.

Its a nice program and the kids get to keep the books and  the library also provides team T shirts and they all get trophies for particpiating.

[Jrand73]

My Fancy Schmancy Putnam County Playhouse rehearsal space:

a cement slab in front of the small barn containing the dressing rooms and storage areas.  

These are the auditions for my 2001 production of JOSEPH/DREAMCOAT.    We sunburned several people in the process.

[Jrand73]

DR CP - one of the TC magazines, Jan/Feb 1979 has a cover and nice technical story w/some photos of the Broadway CRUCIFER OF BLOOD.  I know you did that show, if you would like this, I saved the ENTIRE issue for you.  Drop me an email.  It was free to me....so free to you.

[Matt H.]

I like the original KISMET very much, but the revival at Lincoln Center with Alfred Drake recorded in RCA stereo is superb. They changed the overture (not to my liking), but the songs themselves sound simply gorgeous on the revival recording, and since both feature Alfred Drake, well, you can't go wrong.

[Jrand73]

I go now.

[Matt H.]

I think WEST SIDE STORY was the first full stereo OCR released by Columbia (or any other label). BELLS ARE RINGING had some songs in stereo, I think, but maybe not the entire album.

[Matt H.]

Did anyone else notice the scowl on Sherie Rene Scott's face when her nomination was announced? She seemed to be disgusted or disapppointed that DRS hadn't won any Tonys to that point.

[Matt H.]

DR Ron, you know my knowledge of modern pop music (including the ultra famous CEline Dion) is negligible. No prodding is going to change that fact.

[elmore3003]

...And at least it wasn't that arrangement of "Somewhere" that Barbra Streisand used on her first Broadway album... well, you know what I mean...  -And I still remember my jaw-dropping to the ground in disbelief when I saw Kiri Te Kanawa in concert, and she used that same arrangement.

When we recorded Ms Te Kanawa's album, KIRI SINGS GERSHWIN, she was listening to Streisand's Broadway album over and over again in her headphones.  Since she couldn't remember some of the tunes she was recording, she should have been listening to them.

[S. Woody White]

How was your first day at work DR SWW?

The day went fairly easily.  There are a few difficult places, such as keying the payment type in correctly (cash, check, credit/debit card), and learning all the codes for fresh produce and bakery goods is going to be tricky, but it's all do-able.  I'm off tomorrow (time for a haircut); second day on a new job is always worse than the first!