Author Archive for Catherine
The Addams Family Musical An Entertaining Afternoon of Theatre
Catherine (me) and Rick Elice
Last weekend was a whirlwind of friends, parties, and great Broadway entertainment! AND I was able to spend some time with my favorite Broadway writer, Rick Elice. Rick is that rare breed of celebrity who is unassuming, humble and completely genuine. He is such a pleasure to know – one would never guess he has two of the top 10 shows currently running on Broadway.
While Saturday was all about Jersey Boys, Sunday was reserved for The Addams Family. I had second row center seats for the matinee – up close and personal - and I was a little bit nervous. There have been mixed reviews, not only from the critics, but from a few of the readers here on the blog, and I didn’t want to go in with any preconceptions about the show. So, I went in with an open mind, and I had a blast!
From the opening number “When You’re An Addams”, to the final curtain, I had a smile on my face and a laugh in my throat. I don’t want to get into a scene by scene analysis – that’s been done to death. I just want to share my thoughts.
Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth were wonderful as Gomez and Morticia, two parents facing what all parents face when they realize that their baby is all grown up and about to leave the nest. Of course, not all parents face it in quite the same way! Bebe was gorgeous! Her flawless skin and deadpan expression were classic Morticia. She danced beautifully, and her “Just Around The Corner” was one of my favorite numbers. Nathan definitely lived up to the hype. His comedic timing is impeccable, and he had the audience in stitches.
Kevin Chamberlin was hilarious as the “moonstruck” Uncle Fester. He really got into his oddball personae, and the audience loved him.
Jackie Hoffman as Grandma was as hysterical as everyone says. Although her role was small, she made the most of each and every line, leaving the audience doubled over in laughter. At one point during “dinner”, she was obviously ad-libbing, talking about running the mara…mara…mara..thon (NY marathon was run that day), and the cast was laughing so hard, Bebe actually had to lay her head on the table so the audience wouldn’t see. Of course, being in the second row, I could see her head shaking!
As the tormented young couple, Wednesday Addams and Lucas Beineke, Krysta Rodriguez and Wesley Taylor were fantastic. They portrayed just the right amount of teenage angst, mixed with a craziness that comes with young love. Krysta’s voice was crystal clear, with a bit of a rock edge to it, and Wesley was a perfect accompaniment. Their “Crazier Than You” was another of my favorites. I’ll be keeping an eye on their careers, I’m betting they go far.
Carollee Carmello and Terrence Mann played Alice and Mal Beineke, Lucas’s “normal” parents from Ohio. If that’s normal, I’d hate to see odd. She with her bright yellow dress and rhyming speech, and he with his tough-guy “I won’t be pushed around” act (until I meet the right squid), were very entertaining, and they played the roles to perfection.
As Lurch, the mostly silent butler, Zachary James was brilliant. And Adam Riegler was terrific as Pugsley. He had a fantastic voice for such a young age, and was very enjoyable to watch. His sadness at realizing his sister was growing up and wouldn’t be around to “play” with him much longer was very touching.
And last, but certainly by no means least, the Ancestors were all superb. Each one had his/her own personality, they danced beautifully, and the way they were utilized onstage was ingenious.
On the top of my list of ”high points” has to be the set design. Congratulations to Julian Crouch and Phelim McDermott for a tremendous job! Basil Twist’s puppetry was also spectacular, adding a layer of creativity not seen in many shows. And, as usual, Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman wrote a great story, with a perfect mix of humor, seriousness, and Charles Addams absurdity.
“Just Around The Corner” and ”Crazier Than You” were my favorite musical numbers, with “When You’re An Addams” and the tango scene following close behind. Gomez had two ballady numbers that dragged a bit (for me), but Nathan performed them beautifully. And Uncle Fester and the moon, and Mal Beineke and the squid were a bit over the top, but hey, this is the Addams Family - they are over the top!
Please bear with me while I vent….I know this is a family friendly show, and yes, they sell candy at the concession stand, but people, this is a high dollar Broadway show, not a movie theater. Please have the courtesy to NOT open loud candy wrappers, slurp noisily on lollipops, or rifle through your shopping bags in the middle of the performance (yes, I experienced all of this within two rows of me, and the perpetrators were all adults.) This is not only rude to your fellow audience members, but most especially to the cast.
I would like to say a huge thank you to the entire Addams Family ‘family’ for an exciting and entertaining afternoon of theatre!
Colin Cunliffe Works With Broadway Workshop Campers
In the “city that never sleeps,” it seems Broadway performers never rest. Take for example Colin Cunliffe (pictured below), whose duties with The Addams Family musical include Swing, Puppet Performance Captain, Assistant Dance Captain, and Understudy for Lucas Beineke. In his spare time, Colin recently took the opportunity to share his Broadway knowledge with musical theatre-loving children from all over the United States who had come to New York City this past August for the Broadway Workshop’s Camp NY. It’s people like Colin, who share their time and talents with others, that make Broadway the great “community” it is.
photo from broadwayworld.com
Another Look At Merwin Foard
I’ve posted a couple of interviews/articles on Merwin Foard, understudy for Gomez and Mal Beineke in The Addams Family Musical, but I think my readers can stand one more. I find Foard truly fascinating, and anyone who can go on in the lead role of a show, without a single cast rehearsal, is a hero in my book!
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Understanding Broadway: The Standby
By Frank DiLella, Theatre Producer for NY1 News
01 Jul 2010
Merwin Foard observing the performance from the backstage monitor at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
There’s a chameleon lurking in the wings over at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. No, I’m not talking about the Basil Twist creature that lives under Pugsley Addams’ bed.
Eight times a week this chameleon, known as actor Merwin Foard, sits patiently backstage, prepared to step in for Nathan Lane’s Gomez or Terrence Mann’s Mal Beineke — just in case anything goes wrong with either performer.
Foard, a longtime musical theatre vet, has spent the last few years standing by for some of Broadway’s biggest stars, from Michael Cerveris’ Sweeney in Sweeney Todd to Brian Stokes Mitchell’s Fred in Kiss Me, Kate. Foard’s new home is now with The Addams Family.
“I arrive at the theatre an hour before curtain and go to the green room, where we have a video screen of the stage,” said Foard during a recent matinee. “Once the performance begins, I watch the monitor and check for differences in choreography and blocking. Physically, I perform the show with the performers while watching it on the screen.”
Unlike a typical understudy in a Broadway musical, who also appears as a minor role in the show or in the chorus, Foard is called a standby — a role that demands an actor to literally stand by — in case a leading performer needs to miss a show or leave mid-performance.
“It’s a tricky thing to take on,” added Foard. “You have to do it all on your own. You’re subject to watch the rehearsal…but you’re rarely physically on your feet…so it requires a lot of homework you need to do privately.”
That homework came in handy out of town last fall in Chicago, where The Addams Family had its world premiere.
“It was Thanksgiving weekend and Nathan came down with bronchitis,” said Foard. “I had no rehearsal and we were in previews. All the rehearsal time had been afforded to the actual cast, so when it was announced that Nathan was going to have to miss a show, we all went into emergency mode.”
He added, “I worked with our musical director, choreographer and director to get me as physically prepared as I could be in a rehearsal studio so that I could do the next three performances.”
As for his initial reaction when he was told he was going on for the first time as Gomez? “Shock. It was so early on in the process and you can’t fault Nathan for being ill. I got into this laser focus. You say to yourself: ‘[I] have to do it’ — because the only other option is to cancel the performance.”
It also helps to get support from the show’s leading lady, Bebe Neuwirth. “Bebe was fantastic. She was there to rehearse scenes and choreography.”
And while this chameleon, who calls himself “the Swiss army knife of Broadway,” has made a career of standing by for some of Broadway’s finest, he says he hopes to continue to shed layers, looking forward to new experiences on The Great White Way.
“Of course it’s nice to be thought of as a dependable back-up. But I’m anxious to have a role outright and not have to split focus.”
Wesley Taylor at the Duplex
music direction by
Will Van Dyke
Pit orchestra musicians rock on their day off under the musical direction of Will Van Dyke. With Greg Germann (drums), Jon Price (bass), Allison Seidner (cello), Jake Ezra Schwartz (guitar) and Erica Von Kleist (sax).
June features the music of Elton John performed by Alex Brightman (Wicked), Michael Buchanan (Cry-Baby), Celina Carvajal (Cats), Preston Sadleir (Mrs. Sharpe) and Wesley Taylor (The Addams Family).
$20 Cover at the door, plus 2 Drink Minimum
$15 with reservation or for AEA, plus 2 Drink Minimum
Mon, Jun 28 @ 9:30 PM
Reservations STRONGLY ADVISED!!!
The Addams Family Heads to the Recording Studio
The cast of Broadway’s The Addams Family (which stars Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth as Gomez and Morticia, and includes Terrence Mann as Mal Beineke, Carolee Carmello as Alice Beineke, Kevin Chamberlin as Uncle Fester, Jackie Hoffman as Grandmama, Zachary James as Lurch, Adam Riegler as Pugsley, Wesley Taylor as Lucas Beineke and Krysta Rodriguez as Wednesday) will head to a Manhattan sound studio on April 19 to record the cast album of the new musical, with an expected release date of June 8.
According to Composer/Lyricist Andrew Lippa, the cast recording will include bonus tracks (yet to be revealed) that will be available digitally.
The opening night Playbill reveals the following list of musical numbers for The Addams Family:
ACT ONE
Overture
“When You’re an Addams”
“Pulled”
“Where Did We Go Wrong?”
“One Normal Night”
“Morticia”
“What If”
Full Disclosure”
“Waiting”
“Full Disclosure” – Part 2
ACT TWO
Entr’acte
“Just Around the Corner”
“The Moon and Me”
“Happy/Sad”
“Crazier Than You”
“Let’s Not Talk About Anything Else But Love”
“In the Arms”
“Live Before We Die”
“Tango de Amor”
“Move Toward the Darkness”
Critics Aren’t Raving, but Audiences Love The Addams Family!
Yes, it is every producer’s goal to win the approval of the critics, but ultimately it’s up to the “real” people, the audiences, the ticket purchasing public to make or break a show. And from what I’ve read, audiences are LOVING the kooky Addams Family musical. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what makes a successful show - audiences that walk out of the theatre smiling and humming and happy? So if the creative team of the Addams Family musical can’t rely on the critics, then it’s up to the fans to show their support through WORD OF MOUTH.
Below is the “Word of Mouth” Review from Broadway.com, where REAL people review the show.
If you’ve seen the show, or just want to offer your support of the show, please leave a comment here and let the world know how you feel about The Addams Family on Broadway. And if you have pictures you’d like to share, please e-mail them to afblog@comcast.net, and I’ll get them put up here.
(Comments are threaded, so you can leave a “stand alone” comment, or reply to someone else’s comment.)
Bebe Neuwirth Thrilled to be Playing Morticia
Bebe Neuwirth Revels in Playing the Macabre Matriarch in The Addams Family
By Beth Stevens,
BroadwayWorld.com
If you expect to encounter someone uptight and humorless when meeting Bebe Neuwirth, you will be surprised. She is not half as harsh as the characters she plays. With her loose curls (as opposed to the tight bun her character Lilith wore on Cheers and Frasier and the severe black wig she sported as Velma Kelly in Chicago) and easy laugh, the two-time Tony winner looks fresh and relaxed and she sips a Diet Coke on a chaise in her dressing room at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. It’s obvious that the recent newlywed is reveling in her return to Broadway in the deliciously fitting role of Morticia Addams in The Addams Family. The new musical, in which Neuwirth stars opposite Nathan Lane, opens on April 8, 2010. The actress took time out of her busy schedule of rehearsals and previews to chat with Broadway.com about being a dancer first and foremost, imagining how cartoonist Charles Addams’ macabre matriarch might move and the possibility of a wardrobe malfunction.
You seem born to play this role.
I have loved this character ever since I was a kid. I think I probably was exposed to Morticia via the sitcom first because I was a little girl in the ‘60s and watched it. Then sometime when I was a kid, I also saw the cartoons, so it’s thrilling for me to play this part that I’ve always wanted to play.
Did you look at the original Charles Adams cartoons a lot as you thought about playing Morticia?
Yes, I did. I tried to see what I could emulate about her physicality and what I could find that is useful in informing me of who she is. A lot of actors work from the inside out, but I think—probably because I’m a dancer first—that I’m an actress who works from the outside in. Frequently—not always. In the case of Morticia, I think it’s been very helpful to me to see how she sits and how she holds her arms [in the cartoons]. It makes you wonder how she would move.
New And Improved Addams Family Musical Hits Broadway Running
photo by Matt Hoyle
“Charles Addams New York” Exhibit Opens at the MCNY
Last night was opening night for the new Charles Addams exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York. And I happened upon this fantastic post on the EditouristNYC blog, which I have copied here verbatim – right down to the pictures. I hope you enjoy it - I know I did!
The Addams Family (image © the Tee & Charles Addams Foundation)
Andrew and I were lucky enough to score an invite to the Charles Addams’ show opening tonight, and I couldn’t be happier that we went. The exhibit is well-designed, interesting, pertinent, and extremely entertaining. I suspect I’ll be back before it ends in May.
The macabre comedic genius that is Charles Addams will never, in my opinion, be topped in the world of the print cartoon. It may seem strange to place the words “macabre” and “comedic” in such close proximity to each other, but if you have any awareness of the
Addams Family, you know what I’m saying. The exhibit places the Addams Family into a surprising context. Addams used these characters and their relations to each other to comment on the ideal nuclear family of the time. His work comments on other societal and political norms as well, from the “battle of the sexes,” to pop culture and media, to technology, to the economy, and so on.
Addams’ cartoons can easily be taken for granted: a timely joke here, an ironic, postcard-worthy cartoon there. Of course, the creation of the Addams Family was no small task. However, it wasn’t until tonight, seeing so many of his creations in one place, that I truly felt I understood the overwhelming impact of his work: It forces New Yorkers to stand back and look at themselves, for better or for worse.
And stand back and look at themselves they did. Almost as intriguing as viewing Addams’ cartoons was watching the others guests’ reactions and listening in on their discussions. It seemed that every person found something of themselves in one image or another. My favorite reactions of the night revolved around Addams’ depiction of a harried man carrying his jewelry-drenched wife into a pawn shop: “Oh, that’s horrible,” one older woman said to another, passing quickly by. Less than two minutes later, two men stopped in front of the cartoon and let out full-on belly laughs. Like it or not, Addams strikes a chord.
(image © the Tee & Charles Addams Foundation)
What I find truly amazing is how his pieces take on such contrasting tones. As Andrew and I walked around the room tonight, we found ourselves continually surprised. One image made us laugh, while the next on the wall caused us to think, “Yeah, I can relate to that,” in a sad sort of way. Specifically, Addams’ series of wind-up men, roboting around the city until winding out of energy, comes to mind. He depicts them big and small, alone on the side of the street or shuttling around in huge masses. Sure, the comparison between people and machines has been made before—who hasn’t suffered the rat-race rush through Penn Station in the morning? I know I have—but the idea of people as wind-up toys is something different, and deflating. So much of his work that was relevant during his time remains relevant today and, I suspect, will remain relevant for ages to come.
(And speaking of relevant, this night has absolutely upped my anticipation level for the new Addams Family musical.)
A Look At What’s “Troubling” The Addams Family
Hiring Jerry Zaks as a “creative consultant” to the Addams Family team (see Tony Award Winner Jerry Zaks Joins Addams Family Creative Team) has left the door open for speculation that the bound for Broadway show is in trouble. And while the producers emphasize that the show is not in trouble, they do acknowledge that the musical needs changes to improve its hopes for a long run and a potentially lucrative life as a touring production. That makes perfect sense to me, and I feel confident that the hugely talented creative team of the Addams Family Musical will happily make the changes necessary to bring a smash hit show to Broadway on April 8.
But it does make one wonder….what causes what many believed to be a sure-fire hit not so sure-fire? Many have jumped at the opportunity to answer that question, and an article earlier this month by Patrick Healy of the NY Times, in my opinion, does a great job of getting to the meat of the issue: “What works brilliantly in morbidly hilarious cartoons …is a tougher trick to translate to live theater…” And he doesnt’ stop there. Healy did his research and put together an article that takes an in depth look into the challenges of transforming “… a series of darkly witty moments — some even without captions…” into a successful Broadway musical.
That Old Black Magic, So Hard to Recapture
By PATRICK HEALY
Published: January 5, 2010, NY Times
CHICAGO — Among the dozens of cartoons that Charles Addams drew of his devilishly subversive Addams family is one in which Gomez and Morticia; their daughter, Wednesday; son, Pugsley; and manservant, Lurch, are admiring the view from their new picture window. The view is of a cemetery crowded with tombstones.
A cemetery is also the setting of the first scene of the new “Addams Family” musical, now finishing a tryout here before its scheduled arrival on Broadway in March. In that opening number, “Clandango,” the family dances and sings about loyalty to the Addams way of life; a chorus rollicks around the stage carrying gravestones; and Morticia and Wednesday team up for a mother-daughter tap dance atop a coffin.
What works brilliantly in morbidly hilarious cartoons, however, is a tougher trick to translate to live theater, as the producers of “The Addams Family” have learned.While the musical has drawn huge audiences here, it has received mixed reviews from critics and raised enough concerns for the producers that last week they took the unusual step of hiring the Tony Award-winning director Jerry Zaks to take over and work with the creative team to make 11th-hour fixes to the production, which stars Nathan Lane as Gomez and Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia.
Unlike most musical adaptations for Broadway, which come from movies or books, the producers of “The Addams Family” musical chose to base their show on Addams’s cartoons, mainly published in The New Yorker magazine in the 1940s and ’50s. Preferring to eschew the slapstick humor of the popular “Addams Family” television show of the 1960s and three movies in the ’90s, the producers have said their goal was to create a musical that reflected the mordant wit of the cartoons, like the famous one of Gomez, Morticia and Lurch preparing to pour a cauldron of boiling oil on a group of Christmas carolers.
The Tee and Charles Addams Foundation, which holds the copyrights to all of Addams’s works, granted the rights for a Broadway musical to one of the show’s lead producers, Stuart Oken, because he shared the foundation’s desire “to ignore all previous interpretations of the characters known as the Addams family and to create a new story based solely upon the cartoons by Charles Addams,” H. Kevin Miserocchi, the executive director of the foundation and one of its two trustees, said in an e-mail message.
The challenge is undoubtedly steep, given Addams’s ingenuity.
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre Hits The Century Mark
Today, January 10, 2010, The Addams Family Musical will play its final show in Chicago. And while the Chicago theater community laments that fact, the Broadway community celebrates. More specifically, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre celebrates. And what a celebration it is. For not only is it a celebration of the anticipated arrival of Addams Family, but a celebration of a century of Broadway Theater.
Lunt-Fontanne current marquee, photo by Matthew Blank
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre Turns 100
by Robert Viaga, playbill.com
Happy 100th birthday Jan. 10 to a grand old lady of Broadway, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
According to Louis Botto’s “At This Theatre,” “This beautiful theatre opened on January 10, 1910, as the Globe, named after Shakespeare’s theatre in England. It was built by the illustrious producer Charles B. Dillingham and originally had its entrance on Broadway between Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh streets. Dillingham, who spared no expense on his projects, hired the famed architects Carrère and Hastings to design his theatre. According to a report in the New York Dramatic Mirror on January 22, 1910, the new theatre had a large stage, a compact auditorium, Italian Renaissance decor with draperies of Rose du Barry and walls of old gold, blue, and ivory white. One feature of the theatre that attracted much attention was a large oval panel in the ceiling that could be opened when the weather permitted. The Mirror called this ‘a complete novelty in American theatrical design.’”
The inaugural production was the musical The Old Town, starring Dave Montgomery and Fred Stone (who had played the Tin Man and the Scarecrow in the original 1903 The Wizard of Oz).
Among the great stars and shows that followed: Montgomery and Stone in Chin-Chin (1914), George White’s Scandals (1920 and 1921) with a score by George Gershwin that introduced “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise,” the Ziegfeld Follies of 1921 with Fanny Brice and W.C. Fields, No, No, Nanette (1925) and Jerome Kern’s The Cat and the Fiddle (1931).
The Globe spent the years 1932 to 1957 as a cinema, but it was refurbished as a legitimate house and reopened May 5, 1958 as the Lunt-Fontanne, named after the acting couple Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. The ceiling opening was sealed and the entrance relocated to 46th Street. Lunt and Fontanne rechristened the stage with the original Broadway production of Friedrich Duerrenmatt’s The Visit.
Among hits that played at the theatre after its renaming: the original The Sound of Music with Mary Martin (1959), Sid Caesar in Little Me (1962), the Duke Ellington musical revue, Sophisticated Ladies(1981), Maury Yeston and Peter Stone’s Titanic (1997) and the theatre’s record-holder, Beauty and the Beast, which moved from the Palace in 1999 and ran here for eight years. Disney’s Little Mermaid played more than a year, and the Lunt-Fontanne is currently being prepared for its next big musical, The Addams Family with Nathan Lane as Gomez and Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia.
Addams Family In Its Final Days In Chicago
Only a few days left to see The Addams Family Musical in Chicago! The Broadway-bound show, starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth, will blow OUT of the windy city on January 10th. Visit the show’s official website for ticket information.
Broadway previews begin on Monday, March 8th at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, with opening night scheduled for Thursday, April 8th. Tickets are on sale now.
Lane and Elice react to Riedel’s Comments
In a recent New York Post article entitled “‘Addams Family’ Vacation,” columnist Michael Riedel … accused Nathan Lane of gossiping about the show at the Four Seasons Spa … made sarcastic comments about the creative team’s holiday travel plans … and referred to the show as “troubled.” Now, I’ve never been a fan of Riedel’s style of “journalism” (using gossip gathered by his so-called “spies” for his “reporting”), but this was particularly irritating to me, especially since he hasn’t even seen the show himself.
Imagine my delight when I saw this article posted the very next day – “Lane’s World – excellent!” – in which Riedel shares Lane’s and Rick Elice’s reactions to his article.
In a letter to Riedel, Lane writes:
Dear Michael,
Just for the record, I am not a fixture at the Four Seasons spa, nor would I discuss the show in public in the manner you described . . .
Everyone on the creative team is working very hard to bring the best possible show into New York. I don’t have to tell you, but I’m going to anyway: Birthing a new musical is no day at the beach. As Larry Gelbart said, “If Hitler’s alive, I hope he’s out of town with a new musical.”
After your column today, I feel [Hitler] might be working for the New York Post.
‘Tis the season of giving, so give us a break! …
The article goes on to share Rick Elice’s reaction to the article:
… “We are not casually lounging in the tropics, nor even visiting tanning salons on the Upper West Side…We’re at work every day, amidst the snow and the shoppers, which is precisely where we want to be. It’s not easy work, but it’s a glorious challenge [and] I wouldn’t trade anything for it. Certainly not the beach, a tan or a mai-tai. Yes, it means we must share your pasty complexion, but we wear ours as a badge of honor.
Hope your holidays are filled with the leisure time about which you seem to enjoy writing. As for me, back to work.’”
I am SO glad to see Rick and Nathan taking up for themselves and the show, and tactfully letting Riedel know that they don’t appreciate being the butt of his “jokes.” Seeing that article yesterday made it a merry Christmas, indeed.
Bebe Neuwirth Brings To Life The Macabre Morticia
- Photo: Mark Hanauer; Photo Illustration: Jamie DiVecchio Ramsay
Surely the decision took all of two seconds: Whom to cast as Morticia in the new musical The Addams Family? Who else but pale, raven-haired, two-time Tony Award–winner Bebe Neuwirth? The musical-theater vet stars opposite Nathan Lane in the musical based on the Charles Addams cartoons, which, after premiering in Chicago, will make its Broadway debut in March. Neuwirth recently called before a day of tech rehearsal.
Time Out Chicago: I was at a drag show last night, and the very first performer was Morticia Addams. You must realize your Morticia will inspire drag queens for years to come.
Bebe Neuwirth: [Laughs] Morticia is archetypal, so I’m not at all surprised somebody’s doing her. She’s—somebody said something about being goth, but I thought, Well, she’s goth before there was goth. People expect me to wear black nail polish, but that’s more what goth has become. That’s a little bit too obvious.
TOC: Well, I’m sure you’ll at least be a much more attractive Morticia than this guy was.
BN: Oh, I don’t know. I’ve seen some very beautiful drag queens.
TOC: It did raise a larger question: What’s it like to create a character who’s already so deeply etched in the popular imagination?
If you’re gonna play an archetype, you have to make her specific for you: What specific qualities are there for you to play?
TOC: So how do you answer that question here?
BN: Well, that’s a question I would prefer not to answer. [Laughs]
TOC: Why’s that?
BN: Because when you’re working on a character, there are aspects that, for me as an actress, I prefer not to talk about with anyone because it dissipates the energy and the focus…. I actually haven’t told my husband anything about the show because—
TOC: Your own husband?
BN: Yeah. That’s really hard.
…Sergio Trujillo gives new meaning to multitasking
I found this fantastic article on newcitystage.com and had to share. I knew after seeing Jersey Boys that Sergio Trujillo was special, but I didn’t realize just how amazing he really is.
Broadway Boundless: “Addams Family” choreographer Sergio
Trujillo gives new meaning to multitasking
Sergio Trujillo has a talent for continuing a conversation exactly at the point where he left off, something that serves the choreographer well during an extended interview at the Argo Tea near the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre. It’s where his latest project, the highly anticipated musical version of “The Addams Family,” is in previews for a December 9 world premiere.
It’s the day after Thanksgiving, and he’s in the middle of relating how Debbie Allen (of “Fame” fame) became his sponsor for his Green Card in the early nineties—Trujillo is Canadian by nationality and Colombian by birth—when he leaves briefly to retrieve a tomato-goat-cheese quiche and nonfat latte. He is describing his collaboration with “Addams Family’”s innovative co-directors/designers Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (“amazing but a new way of working for me”) when he answers his iPhone to clarify a note to an assistant. There is the time Trujillo has to excuse himself for twenty minutes in order to run back to the Oriental to give notes to the cast. Later, at the brand-new Puma flagship store across from the theater (“I’ve been dying to check this place out,” he says), he begins telling me how he had been mugged two weeks earlier on State Street following a late-night production meeting, then stops to admire a pair of black Pumas. “I love these,” he says.
