All Entries Tagged With: "Chicago Theatre"
The Addams Family Broadway Takes Final Bow
The Addams Family played its final Broadway performance on Sunday, December 31 after 725 performances and 34 previews.
Since beginning previews on March 8 2009, The Addams Family has been seen by more than 748,000 people. Prior to Broadway, The Addams Family played an 8 week engagement at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago, where it grossed more than $12 million, making it the most successful Broadway tryout in Chicago’s history.
The national tour of The Addams Family launched on September 15 at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre for the Performing Arts in New Orleans and is booked in more than 30 cities through 2012.
Get a look back at the production, from Chicago to Broadway and beyond, below!
Photo Credit: Joan Marcus (Broadway, Chicago); Jeremy Daniel (Tour)
The current Broadway cast of The Addams Family starred Brooke Shields as Morticia, Roger Rees as Gomez; Brad Oscar as Fester, Rachel Potter as Wednesday, Jackie Hoffman as Grandma, Zachary James as Lurch, Adam Riegler as Pugsley, Heidi Blickenstaff as Alice Beineke, Adam Grupper as Mal Beineke and Jesse Swenson as Lucas Beineke; the original Broadway cast included Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth as Gomez and Morticia, Terrence Mann as Mal Beineke, Carolee Carmello as Alice Beineke, Kevin Chamberlin as Uncle Fester, Jackie Hoffman as Grandma, Zachary James as Lurch, Adam Riegler as Pugsley, Wesley Taylor as Lucas Beineke and Krysta Rodriguez as Wednesday.
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.”
Brickman and Elice’s Jersey Boys Chicago Run Comes To An End
Sunday was a sad day for the Chicago theater community, not to mention to Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman. Not only did they say goodbye to The Addams Family Musical, which finished up its eight week pre-Broadway try-out, but they also bid farewell to the Chicago run of Jersey Boys at the Bank of America Theatre. At its closing, the show had played 27 months – a total of 951 performances – and been seen by 1.3 million patrons.
Chris Jones, of the Chicago Tribune, Theater Loop Blog had this to say about the Jersey Boys closing: “…while all closings are emotional, there’s no question that Jersey Boys, which has been kept in top form and looked as good Sunday as on its opening night, exceeded all reasonable expectations in Chicago and proved that shows other than Wicked could sit down here and thrive.
Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman, the authors of (conveniently) both Jersey Boys and The Addams Family, took the stage at the Jersey Boyscurtain call, with Elice noting that ‘what we thought was going to be a 10-week stint’ had, in fact, turned into a run seen by 1.3 million people. ‘This has to be the most spectacular opening night I have ever experienced,’ Brickman joked, clearly moved by the emotion of the occasion.”
Congratulations to Rick and Marshall on the successful run of Jersey Boys in Chicago. May all their endeavors be so blessed!
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.
Making The Most of Christmas On The Road
by Misha Davenport, The Chicago Sun-Times (excerpt); December 23, 2009
Krysta Rodriguez (left) and Adam Riegler, members of "The Addams Family" cast, peruse holiday items during their Christmas stay in Chicago.
OK, the stockings hung by the chimney with care are just her socks taped to the wall of her apartment. But Krysta Rodriguez, currently starring as Wednesday Addams in the pre-Broadway tryout of the new musical “The Addams Family,” wouldn’t have it any other way.
“These are the kind of holidays I remember more even than the ones from my childhood,” Rodriguez says.
Like many actors in touring productions or out-of-town tryouts, Rodriguez finds herself away from home for the holidays. Though she and the rest of the cast of “The Addams Family” have both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, they’ll be back to work for a matinee at the Oriental Theatre on Saturday.
Two days isn’t much time to get out of town (especially in unpredictable weather) and as a result, most of the “Addams” family will be having a Chicago Christmas.
Rodriguez says she’s fine with it.
Wesley Taylor Has Been A Busy Boy
It’s been an exciting year for young Wesley Taylor. Exciting and busy. Not just because he was cast as Lucas Beineke (Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend) in the broadway-bound new musical The Addams Family, although that may have been the icing on the cake. Just take a look at some of the things Wesley has been up to in 2009….
…Wesley made his Broadway debut as Franz in Rock of Ages (which garnered him this comment from Raven Snook, Time Out NY: He may not get top billing, but whenever Wesley Taylor takes the stage as Franz … he’s the star of the show)…
…his role in ROA landed him an OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE nomination for outstanding featured actor in a musical…
…Wesley won the THEATRE WORLD AWARD for OUTSTANDING BROADWAY DEBUT…
…he and ROA castmates Lauren Molina and Mitchell Jarvis developed a webseries called “ROA productions,” a glimpse into the backstage life of Rock of Ages…
The Addams Family Musical Review “Recap”
Broadway In Chicago’s pre-Broadway world premiere presentation of The Addams Family, a new musical based on the bizarre family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams, opened Wednesday, December 9 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts’ Oriental Theater. The production continues in Chicago through January 10, and will play Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre beginning March 4, with an anticipated opening date of April 8.
The musical stars Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth as Gomez and Morticia Adams, with Kevin Chamberlin (Uncle Fester), Jackie Hoffman (Grandmama), Zachary James (Lurch), Adam Riegler (Pugsley), and Krysta Rodriguez (Wednesday) rounding out the “Family”. Playing the “family who comes to dinner” are Terrence Mann and Carolee Carmello as Mal and Alice Beineke, and Wesley Taylor as Lucas Beineke, Wednesday’s love interest.
The production features direction and design by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch, book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, and choreography by Sergio Trujillo.
Wednesday night’s performance was attended by many critics whose reactions are mixed, but the consensus is decidedly positive. Excerpts of some of those reviews follow:
By Hedy Weiss, Theater Critic, The Chicago Sun Times
“…there is rarely a dull moment as each grand shock of the new, each adjustment to change, each recognition of aging and each surprising rebirth wraps its arms itself around the characters of “The Addams Family.”
By Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
Addams Family Insight from Andrew Lippa
Andrew Lippa
Playbill.com’s Robert Simonson had a “BRIEF ENCOUNTER With Andrew Lippa” recently in Chicago, during which Lippa offered this intriguing insight into the writing of the lyrics for The Addams Family Musical:
Playbill.com: … So how do you write music for characters who are “creepy and kooky”? Did you have to employ a whole new lyrical vocabulary?
Andrew Lippa: (Laughs) Writing the lyrics has been a great joy, because these characters get to say things that other people don’t get to say. There are mentions of certain ailments and certain personality defects, and yet you have to be careful. Ultimately, you don’t want to offend anyone. During development, we all probably crossed a line or two trying to sort out that really, really fine Charles Addams line between funny and not funny. That’s been a real challenge. Musically, we’re writing a musical about a family. We underscored the word family in the Addams Family. And this family is multi-generational. I decided the score was going to represent that notion. The score’s very character-based, and each of the characters sings in [his or her] own language. Gomez is represented by Flamenco-style Spanish music; and Wednesday is represented by a certain amount of contemporary pop music; and Uncle Fester is old vaudevillian in our show, and he’s sort of the host of our evening, so he speaks in a vaudeville presentation style.
Click here to read Playbill.com’s article in it’s entirety.
Addams Family Musical Blows Into Chicago
“The Addams Family,” a new musical take on the beloved Charles Addams cartoons, blows into Chicago’s Ford Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, November 13. Starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth, and featuring a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice (Jersey Boys), The Addams Family is perhaps the most anticipated show of the 2009-10 Broadway season.
