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Peter Filichia, James Marino, and Michael Portantiere talk about Stereophonic, Uncle Vanya, Suffs, The Wiz, Patriots, Mary Jane, and The Heart of Rock and Roll (Inspired by the Songs of Huey Lewis and The News)
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Panel:
Peter Filichia | [email protected] | Facebook
PETER FILICHIA is a playwright, journalist, and historian with a number of books. His new book, Brain Teasers for Broadway Geniuses, is now available wherever finer books are sold. Peter also has columns at Masterworks Broadway, Broadway Select, and many other places.
Michael Portantiere | [email protected] | Facebook
MICHAEL PORTANTIERE is a theater reviewer and essayist. He is the founder and editor of CastAlbumReviews.com. He is also a theatrical photographer whose photos have appeared in The New York Times and other major publications. You can see his photography work at FollowSpotPhoto.com.
Matt Tamanini | [email protected] | Twitter | Instagram
MATT TAMANINI is a theatre, entertainment, and sports journalist who has been covering theatre for more than a decade. He is the news editor for TheStreamable, the co-managing editor for Land-Grant Holy Land, and is a host and producer for multiple shows on BroadwayRadio
James Marino | [email protected] | Twitter | Facebook
BroadwayStars
Note: This week we had listeners join us while recording. These listeners are Patreon members who support BroadwayRadio. If you would like to join us in the future, become a supporter at Patreon.com/BroadwayRadio.
Pre:
End of the season madness.
Reviews:
The cast of STEREOPHONIC Photo by Julieta Cervantes.jpg
PF + MP: Stereophonic @ John Golden Theatre, through August 18, 2024
Stereophonic mines the agony and the ecstasy of creation as it zooms in on a music studio in 1976. Here, an up-and-coming rock band recording a new album finds itself suddenly on the cusp of superstardom. The ensuing pressures could spark their breakup — or their breakthrough. In Stereophonic, Adjmi invites the audience to immerse themselves—with fly-on-the-wall intimacy—in the powder keg process of a band on the brink of blowing up.
PF + MP: Uncle Vanya @ Vivian Beaumont Theater, through June 16, 2024
In UNCLE VANYA, Sonia (Alison Pill) and her uncle Vanya (Steve Carell) have devoted their lives to managing the family farm in isolation, but when her celebrated, ailing father (Alfred Molina) and his charismatic wife (Anika Noni Rose) move in, their lives are upended. In the heat of the summer, the wrong people fall in love, desires and resentments erupt, and the family is forced to reckon with the ghosts of their unlived lives. Director Lila Neugebauer and playwright Heidi Schreck collaborate on the premiere of this Lincoln Center Theater production of UNCLE VANYA, which pairs Chekhov’s enduring masterpiece with one of America’s most celebrated contemporary playwrights in a strikingly immediate new translation.
JM + MP: Suffs @ Music Box Theatre
From the singular mind of Shaina Taub, Suffs boldly explores the victories and failures of a struggle for equality that’s far from over. It’s 1913 and the women’s movement is heating up in America, anchored by the suffragists — “Suffs,” as they call themselves — and their relentless pursuit of the right to vote. Reaching across and against generational, racial, and class divides, these brilliant, flawed women entertain and inspire us with the story of their hard-won victory in an ongoing fight. So much has changed since the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment over a century ago, and yet we’re reminded sometimes we need to look back, in order to march fearlessly into the future.
Kyle Ramar Freeman as Lion Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy Phillip Johnson Richardson as Tinman Avery Wilson as Scarecrow. Photo by Jeremy Daniel
PF + MP + JM: The Wiz @ Marquis Theatre, tickets on sale through August 18, 2024
Nichelle Lewis. Wow. Nichelle Lewis! Instagram | TikTok
8/14/23 — Producers Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Brian Anthony Moreland, and Ambassador Theatre Group are thrilled to announce Broadway newcomer Nichelle Lewis will star as “Dorothy” and lead the cast of The Wiz in the national tour this fall and Broadway return in the Spring of 2024. Ms. Lewis who hails from Virginia was discovered via a TikTok video, and selected from more than 2,000 submissions for the coveted role.
Nichelle Lewis (Dorothy) is a 24 year old native of Virginia, and thrilled to portray Dorothy in the revival of The Wiz, marking her Broadway debut. The New York based singer-songwriter has performed in the national tour of Hairspray (Dynamite/Cindy Watkins); Little Shop of Horrors (Chiffon/Crystal); Bare: A Pop Opera (Ivy); and most recently Labelless, a new musical.
Nichelle always felt she had a calling much bigger than herself. It wasn’t until she was asked to sing a solo tribute to her late father at age 10 that she realized what that calling was. She mustered up as much courage as she could to sing, “My Help,” and by the end of the song the whole church was crying, not tears of sadness but of love and joy. In that moment, she knew she was called to inspire others through song. Nichelle truly believes that the voice she sang with that day could have only been a gift. A gift she continues to hone and discover new things about over the years. She started her career singing in church and show choir, and booking gigs at weddings before “American Idol” reached out to her on Instagram to audition her on the show last summer.
Nichelle says all of this to say that she is unbelievably grateful for the amazing opportunity to portray Dorothy. A character, who much like herself and others, overcomes many trials and tribulations in life that only help to make her stronger, wiser, and more determined. Nichelle is grateful to her mother who raised her children with a will like no other and encouraged Nichelle to stay on the path, to remain hardworking and kind, and to never stop listening to her heart. And finally, she would like to thank her friends and family, both present and looking down from above, for their love and immense support. TikTok & IG @iamnichellelewis.
PF + MP: Patriots @ Ethel Barrymore Theatre, through June 23, 2024
Set in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union, the new Russia belongs to its oligarchs – and no one is more powerful than billionaire Boris Berezovsky (Stuhlbarg). “If the politicians cannot save Russia,” he insists, “then we businessmen must.” When an eventual successor to President Boris Yeltsin is needed, Berezovsky turns to the little-known deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin (Keen). But soon Putin’s ruthless rise threatens Berezovsky’s reign, setting off a confrontation with far-reaching consequences between the two powerful, fatally flawed men.
PF + MP: Mary Jane @ Samuel J. Friedman Theatre @ June 16, 2024
Academy Award nominee Rachel McAdams stars in the Broadway premiere of Mary Jane, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog (4000 Miles, the recent Tony-nominated adaptation of A Doll’s House). Captivating, affecting and compassionate, it’s the story of a single mother in an impossible family situation. Faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, Mary Jane relies on unflagging optimism and humor, along with the wisdom of the women around her who have become a makeshift family, to take on each new day. But will inner strength and newfound friendships be enough to see her through? The New York Times calls Mary Jane “the most profound of Herzog’s many fine plays.” And The New Yorker raves, “beautiful and remarkable… Herzog has made theatre that shines.” Directing is the acclaimed Anne Kauffman (The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window).
Rachel McAdams will be in the running for awards season`
PF + MP: The Heart of Rock and Roll @ James Earl Jones Theatre
Inspired by the Songs of Huey Lewis and The News
Set in 1987 and jam-packed with Huey Lewis megahits like “Do You Believe in Love”, “Hip to Be Square”, and “If This Is It,” The Heart of Rock and Roll centers on a couple of twenty-somethings on the cusp of their futures—Bobby, a rock and roller who’s traded his guitar for the corporate ladder and his boss Cassandra who’s always put the family business first. When they both get a second shot at their dreams, it’ll take “The Power of Love” and a little help from their friends to figure out what kind of life they really want.
Jan Simpson’s Stagecraft: Jonathan Abrams for “The Heart of Rock and Roll”
News:
Next Week:
PF + MP + JTF: Cabaret
PF + MP: The Great Gatsby
PF + MP: Mother Play
PF: Sally & Tom @ The Public Theater, through May 26, 2024
By Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Steve H. Broadnax III
Peter’s Brainteaser:
He won a Tony medallion – medallion — in a leading category.
Although he didn’t appear in the stage iteration of a musical that won not one but two prestigious prizes, he was in the film version.
Who is he?
Michael’s Musical Moments
Nichelle Lewis performs “Home” from THE WIZ on The View. For the opener,
you can use the first part of the song, beginning around 0:25, and for
the closer, you can pick it up somewhere towards the middle or the end:
Music Opener & Closer:
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