Beautifiul - The Carole King Musical on Tour

The writing duos of Carole King & Gerry Goffin and Cynthia Weil & Barry Mann wrote many of the top hits of the 1960s and 1970s.  Beautiful- The Carole King Musical tells the story of a sixteen year old girl  from Brooklyn who becomes one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time.  The story is exciting and fun but also very real and emotional, and it is coupled with an incredible B-plot of the relationship between Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann.

I had the privilege to see the original Broadway cast including Jessie Mueller as Carole King, who won a Tony for the role, and it was one of the best musicals I had ever seen (and the first time I saw the show I had a standing room only ticket, so I sincerely mean that).  When it was announced that the show would be going on tour I knew I would have to make it a point to see it!

My excitement was further escalated by the announcement that Abby Mueller would be playing Carole King! Yes, she is the sister of Jessie Mueller, but that's not the only reason it's great that she's playing Carole King.  She is also a fantastic musical theater performer in her own right, and she brings her own unique aspects to the portrayal of Carole King.  The rest of the cast is also incredible! Liam Toby plays Gerry Goffin, Ben Fankhauser, who was recently seen as 'Henry' in North Carolina Theatre's production of Next to Normal, plays Barry Mann and Becky Gulsvig plays Cynthia Weil.  And you can't forget about the excellent ensemble of actors who bring the music to life in a big way!

I can't say much of anything that's new about why this show is so incredible and truly a must-see, but I will tell you I got my mom tickets for her birthday and had to basically drag her to see the show with me, but I chose to drag her because I knew she would thoroughly enjoy it. Since we saw the show, she has told every single person she has encountered that they need to get to DPAC immediately and see this fantastic show!

Here are just a few of the local reviews Beautiful - The Carole King Musical has received:

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical is playing at DPAC through October 4 and then moves on to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C..  You can find all of the upcoming tour dates here. Don't miss this incredible show when it comes to a city near you!

Theater People - Anika Larsen

This week's podcast features Anika Larsen. You may not know her name, yet,  but if you frequent the theater you have probably seen Anika Larsen on stage and you're bound to remember her.  She was in the Original Broadway Cast of Xanadu, she covered multiple roles in Rent, she was a replacement for Kate Monster in Avenue Q and then opened the off-Broadway show at New World Stages and in her first originating role she plays Cynthia Weil, Carole King's best  friend in Beautiful the Musical at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.

Photo credit: Broadwaybox.com

She had actually decided to quit the business the day before she got the call to play her part in Beautiful. After the multiple readings of the Beautiful script, the long process made her assume that she hadn't gotten the part and, along with all of the other pains that come along with working in the business, it was the straw that broke the camel's back.  The next day she received a call that she had gotten the part and she accepted it.  Then, four days after rehearsals began she had terrible stomach pains that turned out to be her colon flipping over on itself and creating a blockage.  She had to have surgery and was back in rehearsal a mere six days later.  The cast and crew were incredibly supportive of her and even said they would have recast for San Francisco but had her back for the Broadway run if she had needed to be out.  If you didn't already love the cast and creative team of Beautiful you will after listening to the podcast!

She extensively recounts the plot, and B-plot, of Beautiful and if you wanted to know more about the show this podcast will answer all of your questions and more! Carole King and Cynthia Weil's friendship is so real and they discuss how, had it been fictionalized, it would most likely be portrayed as catty,  but because it is a biographical story the musical portrays a wonderful friendship between the two women.

Her take on being able to tailor a role and create a role when you are the first person to play it is insightful and clever.  The way that the songs and jokes are tailored to the original cast because this person can land this joke every time or this actor can't sell this song here.

Anika Larsen is a lovely and intriguing person. She is one of ten children, six adopted. She discusses her parents who were incredibly supportive and her upbringing.  She went to the Yale School of Drama and gives her experience of going through the program and actually not being a big fish in a little pond.  She talks about working with her friend to start Jaradoa Theater which is no longer around, but was an amazing outreach program that affected the lives of many people, young and old alike.  

Anika Larsen is a beautiful person, and if you get a chance you must see her tell Carole King's Beautiful story along with the incredible Jessie Mueller! Purchase tickets to see Beautiful here.

Be sure to subscribe to the Theater People Podcast on iTunes! Patrick and Vonia are the greatest and they have many more amazing theater people coming up on the Podcast!

56th Annual Grammy Awards

The Grammys is the biggest awards show in the music industry. It is as much about the legendary performances that happen live as it is about who wins the coveted awards.  Tonight saw performances from everyone from the surviving members of The Beatles to Miranda Lambert and Billie Joe Armstrong paying tribute to the Everly Brothers.  


Beyoncé and Jay-Z opened this year's show with "Drunk in Love" in a spectacular and sexy display.  Lorde sang her hit song "Royals" in a display that was strange, to say the least (and was that a weeping angel on the screen behind her?).  Hunter Hayes premiered a powerful new song entitled "Invisible" and Taylor Swift played the piano and sang a wonderful rendition of "All Too Well".  Imagine Dragons and Kendrick Lamar collaborated and brought the house down! Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr performed "Queenie Eye". Carole King and Sara Bareilles performed a mash-up of "Beautiful" and "Brave" that was sensational! Metallica paid an inspired and rocking tribute to the late Lou Reed. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis performed "Same Love" accompanied by Madonna as Queen Latifah officiated the wedding of couples lining the aisle of the audience. The performances tonight were phenomenal as a whole and created a show that was worth watching! 

COMPLETE WINNERS LIST

Macklemore came into the show as a three-time Grammy winner from the awards presented pre-telecast and added another Grammy to his collection during the show for Best New Artist.  "Cut Me Some Slack", which was written by Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, Krist Novoselic & Pat Smear, won Best Rock Song and was interestingly enough recorded using the original Sound City equipment.  Lorde and Daft Punk took home multiple awards, Best Song of the Year and Record of the Year & Album of the Year respectively. 

FASHION

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Anna Kendrick looked stunning in a strapless Azzaro gown.  She walked the red carpet with a classy air of style and grace.  She is definitely my choice for best dressed of the night! 

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Taylor Swift sparkled down the carpet in this gown by Gucci.  She looked stunning, but I have to say I would have liked this dress even more if it had been homogeneous in color and omitted the see-through part at the top of the gown, but it was gorgeous regardless.

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Pink showed off her amazing body in  Johanna Johnson and Rauwolf.  I could have done without the V in the middle of the dress which led to a curtainy look at the bottom, but Pink looked stunning regardless. 

New Year, New Broadway Shows

Current Shows on Broadway: Closings or Cast Changes

The end of 2013 comes with show closings, such as Big Fish which had its final performance at the Neil Simon Theatre on December 29, as well as, cast changes most notably the one’s coming to Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.  It is typical for cast members’ contracts to be up in January or early February.  The actors may choose to renew their contracts or they may pursue (or even already be cast) in other roles.  Cinderella has recently announced changes of this kind.  Laura Osnes, Santino Fontana, Marla Mindelle, and Harriet Harris are all leaving, or presumed to be leaving Cinderella in the following weeks. It was just announced that Carly Rae Jepsen will step into the role of Cinderella starting February 4 for a 12 week run.  A lot of patrons hate to see Laura go but she will begin the workshop for Dames at Sea early in the new year so they are sure to see more of her soon.  Santino has been cast, along with Tony Shalub, as Moss Hart in the upcoming play Act One.  Roald Dahl’s Matilda also recently announced the inclusion of new cast members as the four original girls who played Matilda will leave the production and four new Matildas, Paige Brady, Gabriella Pizzolo, Ripley Sobo and Ava Ulloa, were cast in early December. 

Upcoming Broadway Season

Looking ahead at new shows coming to “The Great White Way” in early 2014, there are many shows that sound phenomenal and your average theatre lover will most likely want to see them all! 
Here are a few of the shows that will be opening early in the new year:

BEAUTIFUL:THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL began previews November 21, 2013 and opens January 12, 2014 at Stephen Sondheim Theatre.  It is the story of Carol King, or rather Carol Klein, the tenacious girl from Brooklyn who fought her way into the record business to become one of the recording industry’s most enduring icons.  Jessie Mueller plays Carol King in this acclaimed musical directed by Marc Bruni.

IF/THEN starring Idina Menzel, LaChanze, Anthony Rapp, James Snyder, Jerry Dixon, Jenn Colella and  Jason Tam begins previews at Richard Rodgers Theatre on March 4, 2014 and opens March 27.  Idina Menzel plays a woman named Elizabeth who is on the verge of turning 40 and moves to NYC to make a fresh start. “It is a new musical about how choice and chance collide and we learn to love the fallout”.

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY is a new musical based on the novel by Robert James Waller written by Jason Robert Brown, book by Marsha Norman.  It is a new take on the love affair between a photographer and American housewife in 1965 Iowa.  Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale play the leads in the new musical directed by Bartlett Sher.  It begins previews at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on January 17, 2014 and opens on February 20.

OUTSIDE MULLINGAR opens at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on January 23, 2013 with previews starting January 3.  This new play, written by John Patrick Shanley and directed by Doug Hughes, tells the story of two introverted misfits, Anthony and Rosemary, who live next door to each other.  Anthony is painfully shy and Rosemary is determined to have him.  It is an Irish story about two people finding their way toward solid ground. It stars Brían F. O’Byrne and Debra Messing. 

ALADDIN is a stage adaptation of the 1992 Disney film starring Adam Jacobs, Courtney Reed, James Monroe Iglehart, and Jonathan Freeman. This new adaptation is directed by Casey Nicholaw.  It begins previews February 26, 2014 and opens March 20 at New Amsterdam Theatre. 

BULLETS OVER BROADWAY is a musical adaptation of the Woody Allen film.  It stars Zach Braff, Brooks Ashmanskas, Betsy Wolfe, and Vincent Pastore, and is directed by Susan Stroman.  Previews begin on March 11, 2014 and the musical opens April 10, 2014 at St. James Theatre.

LES MISERABLES the 25^th anniversary production of the musical featrues new orchestrations, as well as, fresh scenic and narrative elements.  This production stars Ramin Karimloo, Will Swenson, Nikki M. James, Caissie Levy, and Andy Mientus, and will be directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell.  It is currently playing a pre-Broadway engagement in Toronto and will begin Broadway previews on March 1, 2014 and open on March 23, 2014. 

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH will bring Neil Patrick Harris back to Broadway in the landmark 1998 musical about a fictional rock 'n' roll band fronted by a transgender singer by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask's.  This production begins previews March 29, 2014 and opens April 22, 2014 at the Belasco Theatre.  It will be directed by Michael Mayer.

VIOLET brings Sutton Foster back to Broadway in the story of a young woman’s “quest for beauty amidst the image-obsessed landscape of the 1960s."  This Roundabout theatre production of the musical will be directed by Leigh Silverman and will begins previews March 28, 2014 with an opening night scheduled for April 20, 2014 at American Airlines Theatre.

Here is a complete list of upcoming Broadway shows from Playbill.com.

Here is Broadway.com's look ahead at the near year of Broadway.

Tony Awards Spotlight on 2013-2014 as it currently stands