Musical Theatre Mondays

Audra McDonald is so beautiful, so charming and witty and kind (from what I can tell via YouTube videos like this one and this one ), and I think one of the greatest actors to ever live. And I'm not even hyperbolizing - the awards speak for themselves. She has won SIX Tony Awards - that's more performance wins than any other actor AND the only person to have won an award for all four acting categories. If you ever want to see a lot of little green boxes, visit her Wikipedia page where it lists all of the awards she's won. I feel like nothing I can write would do justice to what your ears will tell you when you listen to her, so I posted a bunch of goodies for you below. Make sure to listen to "Your Daddy's Son" from Ragtime - it's the first time I ever heard her voice and I still love it as much today as I did then.

via Getty This week's post focuses on someone whose influence wasn't just in the theatre world, but has inspired those working in film and pop/jazz music as well. Lena Horne was an activist and an artist with a 70+ years long career. She was in movies. She was an activist. She was one of the first black performers in The Empire Room in the Waldorf-Astoria. She retired in 1980 and then went on to be in her own one-woman Broadway show that won her a Tony award - Live On Broadway Lena Horne: The Lady And Her Music . After reading story upon story of this fierce, 5'5" lady, it seems to me that she was unstoppable, but she had to be because of the world around her. She had to fight harder than those half as talented just to be seen and cast. Lena's career started in the chorus at The Cotton Club - a Harlem nightclub popular with celebrities during prohibition. After she had gained notoriety in the chorus, she participated in shows at Cafe Society in New York ...

Bert Williams It's Black History Month, and I don't know much, but I want to learn more about how The Civil Rights Movement not only helped shape our nation culturally and politically, but especially how it shaped the arts. I thought it would be best to start at the "beginning" of modern musical theatre with someone who I've found really interesting through my research. Egbert Austin Williams was born in 1874 in The Bahamas and came to be one of the most influential black American entertainers of all time. As you look at the timeline of musical theatre's evolution, you come upon minstrel shows which grew in popularity in the 1800s. Minstrel shows, in short and shameful summary, were white entertainers in blackface caricaturing black people in song, dance and skits. But by the later half of the century, black entertainers were starting their own minstrel troupes and performing for white audiences. In 1893, Bert joined Martin and Selig's Mastodon Minst...

I've been in callback land this week which means I usually obsess and listen to the same show over and over again. So I thought it was high time to write about one of the funnest Golden Age musicals - The Music Man . If you are just coming out of a 60 years long coma - here's a quick synopsis. Harold Hill is a con man who convinces a bunch of naive Iowans that he will save their young folk from the sin of pool by putting together a marching band. Conveniently he sells instruments and preaches the effectiveness of "The Think System" where you don't have to play the notes, but simply think of them. Of course he plans to leave town with the money from the instruments before the band can really take shape, but instead he falls for Marian Paroo, the town's librarian. He gets caught in his huge lie, but it all works out in the end - as most musicals of this time period are wont to do. It's just fun and has some of the best characters:  A fast talking con man...

Last night I had one of the best theatre experiences in my whole life - I saw Bright Star at Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City. Through a special arrangement with Center Theatre Group and the original Broadway production, Pioneer Theatre is the third city since the show left Broadway to be able to host the touring company. The same company that includes many members of the original Broadway cast and the INCREDIBLE Carmen Cusack. Bright Star (music, book & story by Steve Martin and music, lyrics & story by Edie Brickell) follows the story of Billy Cane as he's just returned home from WWII and "waiting for his life to begin." Billy heads to Asheville, North Carolina in hopes of becoming a published writer at The Asheville Southern Journal. This is where he meets Alice Murphy, a shrewd editor who, against normal protocol and because of a clever lie, agrees to take a look at Billy's stories. It's here that we begin to follow Alice's story to...

In an article by The Washington Post titled "In some musicals of yore, female characters deserve better," journalist Peter Marks discusses just that: older musicals and their treatment of women characters. These shows, in the wake of things like the #metoo and Time's Up movements, can leave those of us watching it now feeling uncomfortable or angry. How can this art form, that is often used as a way of discussing hard to talk about issues, betray us by bringing some harmful ideas and ugly words right to the mouths of these beloved characters? Is there a difference when shows use misogyny as a character flaw to be corrected? This week, as I was thinking about this article and what I wanted to say about it,  Seven Brides for Seven Brothers  kept coming to mind. I kept feeling like this show was somehow exempt from being labeled misogynistic because Adam and his brothers change their ways by the end of the show! They learn to respect their brides and become the gentl...

When I decided to get back into theatre after a 10 year break, I had no idea where to start or what to do. I had never done community theatre and never had to choose my own audition song (oh the days of high school theatre where they had you sing from the show, I miss thee!). I was really scared and I remember scouring the internet for any tips and tricks on auditioning that I could find. Now I'm not saying that I'm a pro. I still talk to anyone I can about tips for a better/smoother audition experience and I still get SO nervous, but in case there are any people out there feeling too "washed up" or too scared to try out OR if it's your first time trying out (WELCOME!) - I'm here to be your cheerleader. You can do it! And here's some tips on how: First, find a show you want to be in and sign up! There a ton of ways to find shows and it all depends upon your area, but Backstage can usually give you some good ideas of where to start. If you...