Seth Rudetsky Deconstructs Broadway

Seth Rudetsky, Broadway actor, comedian, musical director, and Sirius/XM Radio host, brought Deconstructing Broadway to the Durham School of the Arts.  As in the style of his videos, he deconstructs recordings of everyone from Patti Lupone to Bea Arthur, with a sprinkle of Carly Simon and Cher.

The event was a sort of  lecture on how to deconstruct Broadway videos and audio, that is if lectures were incredibly hilarious and entertaining.  All learning should be so enjoyable; we learned as we laughed so hard that our sides ached.

Seth knows Broadway backward and forward, as he lip synched every song perfectly, stopping only to point out vibrato, head voice, chest voice, whether the singer was on key, and other technical details.  And, as his listeners know, his show would not be complete without his use of "amahzing," explaining the two proper uses of the term and providing examples for each.  The show was hilarious, and informative and we plan to deconstruct every song we have ever loved, but only after we spend hours deconstructing The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.

Aside from deconstructing Broadway, Seth is also an author.  He has penned three books, the most recent of which is an amazing novel.  The Q Guide to Broadway is the ultimate insider's look to Broadway, as Seth demonstrates his incredible knowledge of musical theatre, Broadway Nights, and My Awesome (Awful) Popularity Plan are novels that capture the reader's instant attention and leave them wanting more. Even in those two works, his love of musical theatre shines through.

If you get the chance to see Seth deconstruct Broadway live or have the chance to take a master class with him, do it! You won't be disappointed!

Keep up with all of the amazing things Seth has going on with Twitter, Seth TV, and Sirius/XM channel 72.

Theater People: Katie Finneran

Episode 11 of Theater People brings us two-time Tony Award-winning Katie Finneran.  While she is most known for her performances of Marge MacDougall in the 2010 revival of Promises, Promises and Brooke Ashton in Noises Off, she has also performed as Sally Bowles in Cabaret.  She even participated in the 2011 New York Philharmonic concert version of Company, alongside Neil Patrick Harris, Patti Lupone, Stephen Colbert, and Martha Plimpton - just to name a few.  In 2012, she originated the role of Miss Hannigan in the revival of Annie.

      

One thing that Katie and Patrick talk about is Katie's performance in Company.  She is phenomenal in her performance as Amy.  The one song that they, obviously, kept referring to was "Not Getting Married." Check out Katie's performance here!

Along with her performance in Company, Katie also shares stories about Noises Off, Promises, Promises, and Annie.  While Noises Off garnered her a Tony Award and "overnight success," she had been performing for twelve years before that.  During that time, she had taken on the role of Sally Bowles in Cabaret.  After her first Tony win, she moved on to other projects.  However, she was recognized, again, for her work in Promises, Promises when she won the 2010 Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.  

Not only has she had a successful career in theatre, but she has also had a great film career.  She has made appearances in films such as Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, Chicken Little, and You've Got Mail. She also starred in the remake of Night of the Living Dead.  She has been seen on television shows like Wonderfalls, I Hate My Teenage Daughter, The Michael J. Fox Show.  She even made some guest appearances on shows like Sex and the City and Fraiser.

And if you listen to the podcast, you might hear about a new project that Katie has coming up.  Is anyone else excited about a new Netflix series with Katie and Norbert Leo Butz?

As Patrick mentions in the podcast, be sure to check out Katie at 54 Below! Buy your tickets here.

If you haven't already, follow Theater People on twitter and facebook.  Be sure to check out all the podcasts on iTunes and subscribe!

Billboard Music Awards 2014

The biggest stars from all genres of music come together to celebrate the year's achievements and musical milestones in the musical showcase that is the Billboard Music Awards. This year's show say performances from everyone from Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez to Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood to a hologram performance by Michael Jackson.  Every year the show tries to top the previous year's show and this year succeeded.

The BBMAs are about celebrating music and the show can usually be mistaken for a concert with myriad interruptions for commercials and the occasional award.  This year, however, the show had a more balanced lineup of awards and musical performances.  Some of the night's big highlight performances included: 5 Seconds of Summer singing their smash "She Looks So Perfect", Imagine Dragons performing "Tiptoe", hologram Michael Jackson's rendition of "Slave to the Rhythm", and the premiere of Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood's "Somethin' Bad".  All of the performances were interesting, to say the least, but thankfully there was no major publicity stunt that caused pandemonium and mayhem.

Lambert and Underwood performing "Somethin' Bad"

Full Winners List
A more concise winners list can be found here.

The night's big winners were Lorde with Top New Artist and Top Rock Song, Carrie Underwood who took home the Billboard Milestone Award, Jennifer Lopez who was the first female to be awarded the Icon Award, Imagine Dragons with five wins including Top Hot 100 Artist and Top Rock Artist, and Justin Timberlake with his 7 wins including Top Artist and Top Billboard 200 Album.

Fashion

Carrie Underwood wore the lemon yellow Oriett Domenech Goddess Desire Gown.  The Milestone Award winner  looked classy and elegant as she walked the carpet in the gown. While it may have been overdressed for the BBMAs, the color helped to add a layer of playfulness and Underwood overshadowed all of the other styles on the carpet.

Kesha wore a black and gray gown with an elaborate mermaidesque train.  Her dress was overstated and too elegant for the atmosphere of the Billboard Music Awards, but she looked healthy and gorgeous on the carpet.

Nikki Minaj walked the carpet in a black Alexander McQueen gown. She brought a serious and sultry style to the carpet with the dress' strappy element.

Jennifer Lopez wore a sheer gown by Donna Karen to walk the red carpet.   The sexy see-through scarlet gown featured a high slit and a plunging neckline.

Theater People goes Cabaret with Bridget Everett and Maude Maggart

In episode 10 of the amazing podcast Patrick and Vonia bring us an interview with two powerhouses of the NYC cabaret scene! Bridget Everett has a standing gig at Joe's Pub, travels the country opening for Amy Schumer (as well as being on Inside Amy Schumer), and is currently working on a solo musical with Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman.  Maude Maggart is one of today's most compelling international concert artists, she is a part of an acclaimed show business family: her grandfather was the star vocalist for the Harry James Big Band, her grandmother and parents were Broadway stars and her sister is Fiona Apple, and she recently made her debut at Cafe Carlyle.

Bridget Everett

Over Chardonnay, Patrick and Bridget discuss Bridget's style of cabaret: cabaret meets comedy meets last call, all of the things she currently has going on and how she met and became close with Patti Lupone - which is a great story and no one tells it better than Bridget.  At a cabaret show Bridget sang "Just a Tip" and brought Patti on stage, they sang together another time and a short time later Patti asked her to sing with her at Carnegie Hall.



She studied opera, she trained her voice and has a great appreciation for classical musical, but also for Chardonnay.  She left Arizona when she was 27, moved to New York and landed a children's theatre tour. She auditioned for Broadway every once and a while but she didn't really feel like there was a place on Broadway for her.  She has a fierce relationship with karaoke, the only outlet she had to sing at one time. Once while singing karaoke, an artistic director of a cabaret club saw her doing karaoke and told her she should book a show and the rest fell into place from there. New York is a very expensive town in which to live, however, and Bridget does still wait tables uptown and then go and do her show downtown on occasion to fill in the money gap.

On stage, she plays a character and it feels out of body for her and almost a superhero version of herself. Her shows are like conversations with the audience, so she tries to tell stories that the audience will connect with, and that will transition well into a song. She writes, or co-writes, all of her own songs, and interestingly enough she has a Beastie Boy, Adam Horovitz, in her band. He has helped Bridget gain exposure, encouraged her to write her own songs, introduced her to some amazing new people, and there is much more on the horizon.

Downtown cabaret is blossoming with so many exciting things happening right now.  The shows are inexpensive to see and the star quality is amazing! Some of the downtown venues include: Joe's Pub, Dixon Place, Laurie Beechman Theatre, The Duplex, among others. Cabaret shows are incredible and well worth the money for the level of entertainment they provide! Go see a show next time you get a chance.

Follow Bridget on twitter for more amazingness and hilarity!

Maude Maggart

She just made her debut at the Cafe Carlyle, a dream come true for her given its status as such a legendary and intimate stage. She defines cabaret as "an intimate space, usually with no windows, one or more performers and it is an open space to define what you want it to be as the performer".  For her cabarets, she typically chooses more obscure songs from little known black and white movies and musical theatre productions before the big coming of theatre in the 1940's.    

She discusses her beginnings at LaGuardia High School, including how Andrea Marcovicci became her mentor.  She helped Maude understand how to put together an elegant and intelligent act. Maude discusses her grandparents' and parents' work in the business and how that has influenced her work in cabaret.

What's the next step for her after the Cafe Carlyle debut? She says she would love to take the show to other cabaret theatres and of course her upcoming album.  The album is taken directly from a show she performed at the Algonquin, "Speaking of Dreams".  The show centered around the idea of dreams and how love exists in a dream state and vice versa. It is all live and recorded at the Algonquin Oak Room.

She ends the podcast with a story about Marshall Barer when she stayed at his house on her way through New Mexico.  It is an amazing story and completely worth the listen! 

Check out Maude's website for more information.

Don't forget to follow Theater People on twitter and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! 

Keith Urban and Vince Gill's All For The Hall

Starting in 2009, Keith Urban has brought together some of the biggest names in Country Music to pay homage to Country greats who have come before them and support the Country Music Hall of Fame.  The Country Music Hall of Fame has been a prominent part of the downtown Nashville landscape, and Country Music in general, since the announcement of its creation in 1961.  The Hall of Fame ensures that the circle of Country Music remains unbroken and new generations can grow and learn in the experiences of those who came before them.

This year, Keith Urban and Vince Gill brought together the very best that country music has to offer.  Reba, this years Hall of Fame inductee Ronnie Milsap, Lee Ann Womack, Deana Carter, Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood, and many others came together to raise money to support the programs of the Hall of Fame.  Each artist sang two songs and the only stipulations were that the songs had to either be a song that the artist themselves wrote, or a classic song.  Full set list can be found here.

Every single artist was phenomenal and brought together the best songs and voices in Country Music. Some of the night's highlights included Reba bringing the house down with "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" and "Survivor", Keith Urban singing "Somewhere in My Car", Carrie Underwood paying tribute to Dolly Parton by singing "I Will Always Love You", and the finale in which almost every artist came out to help Darius Rucker sing "Wagon Wheel".

It is well worth a trip to Nashville to see the amazing performers and all of the money goes to the amazing institution that is the Country Music Hall of Fame! Next year it is sure to be even bigger and better, so if you get a chance to go you won't regret taking it!

If you don't live in Nashville and can't come to town for the event, there are still lots of other ways that you can support and be a part of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Watch Carrie Underwood sing "I Will Always Love You" here.
Watch the "Wagon Wheel" finale here.