2011 Travel Club - Musical Theatre West

2011 Travel Club
To New York City
Background Information Which You Might Find Useful
SHOWS:
Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Anything Goes
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Catch Me If You Can
Sister Act
Wonderland
SIGHTSEEING:
Tour of Lincoln Center
THE RIDE trip
Backstage Tour of the Metropolitan Opera
The Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
Priscilla Queen of the Desert
(No, there is no comma in the title)
PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL is the feel-good theatrical experience of the year!
Based on the smash-hit movie, PRISCILLA is a stage musical with a book written by Australian film
director/writer Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, using well-known pop songs as the score. The musical premiered
in Australia in 2006 and has since gone on to play in New Zealand, the West End and Toronto. The heart-warming,
uplifting adventure of three friends who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship and end up
finding more than they could have ever dreamed of. With a dazzling array of outrageous costumes and a hit parade
of dance-floor favorites, this wildly fresh and funny new musical is a journey to the heart of FABULOUS!
What Is the Story of Priscilla Queen of the Desert?
Based on the popular 1994 film of the same name, Priscilla Queen of the Desert
follows two drag queens and a transsexual who buy a run-down old bus (they call it
Priscilla) and set out on a road trip across the Australian Outback when one of them,
Tick, is invited by his ex-wife to perform his drag show at her far-away resort.
However, Tick is hesitant to tell his friends, Bernadette (a former performing icon
who’s best days are behind her) and Adam (a rambunctious young troublemaker), his
own personal reasons for taking the trip. During their journey, the trio encounters an
array of Australian citizens, some of who aren’t receptive to their lifestyle, while
strengthening their own friendship.
Featuring dance and disco tunes from the likes of Madonna, Cyndi Lauper and Donna Summer, Priscilla is filled
with incredibly imaginative and over-the-top costumes, drag makeup and dance numbers that maintain an energetic
pulse throughout the show. A life size bus even moves around onstage. The drag queens alternate between
providing their own vocals and lip-synching to the music, which is then sung by the shows “Divas,” a talented trio
of beautiful and wildly costumed women. Despite the show’s campiness (be prepared for lots of glitter and boas),
Priscilla still provides a deep story about the importance of friendship and family.
Is Priscilla Queen of the Desert Good for Kids?
While Priscilla features messages of tolerance and acceptance, certain scenes may be inappropriate for young
children. The witty trio enjoys hurling friendly insults at each other, several of which are filled with sexual
innuendo and sexual language.
Broadway Production
The musical opened on Broadway on 20 March 2011 at the Palace Theatre with previews beginning 28 February
2011.The original Broadway cast includes Will Swenson as Tick (Mitzi), Tony Sheldon, again, reprising his role of
Bernadatte, and Nick Adams as Adam (Felicia). Choreography is by Ross Coleman, set design by Brian Thomson,
lighting design by Nick Schlieper and costume designs by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner. Producers include
Bette Midler, who joined the production team after seeing the London production;
Music – You’ll be surprised at how many of these songs you are probably familiar with!
Musical numbers (Broadway)
Act I
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Act II
It's Raining Men - The Divas, Tick and Company
What's Love Got to Do with It? - Miss Understanding
I Say a Little Prayer - Tick
Don't Leave Me This Way - Bernadette, Tick, etc
Material Girl - Felicia and the Boys
Go West - Bernadette, Tick, Adam and Company
Holiday / Like a Virgin - Adam, Tick and Bernadette
I Say a Little Prayer (reprise) - Tick and The Divas
I Love the Nightlife - Shirley, Bernadette, Mitzi,etc.
True Colors - Bernadette, Mitzi and Felicia
Follie! Delirio vano è questo! Sempre libera (from La
Traviata) - Felicia and the Divas
Colour My World - Adam, Tick, Bernadette
I Will Survive - Bernadette, Felicia, Mitzi, Jimmy, etc.
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Thank God I'm a Country Boy - The Company
A Fine Romance - Young Bernadette and Les Girls
Shake Your Groove Thing - Mitzi, Bernadette, Felicia
Pop Muzik - Cynthia and Company
A Fine Romance (reprise) - Bob
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Adam and the Divas
Hot Stuff - Felicia, The Divas, and Bernadette
MacArthur Park - Bernadette, Tick, The Divas Boogie
Wonderland - The Company
The Floor Show - Mitzi, Bernadette, Felicia Always
On My Mind - Tick, Benji
Like a Prayer - Felicia and Company
We Belong - Felicia, Mitzi, Bernadette and Company
Finally (Finale) - The Company
Critical reception - In reviewing the West End production, the London Evening Standard reviewer wrote: "From the first
moments when three divas hang suspended high above a silver-spangled bridge and belt out Downtown, the show never loses
its spectacular, helter-skelter momentum of songs to which the drag queens lip-sync."
Reviews for the Toronto production include praise for the costumes from the Globe and Mail: "The costumes designed by Tim
Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, the same team that won an Oscar for the movie, are a fabulous mix of Village People meet Tim
Burton culminating in, at the curtain call, a whole crass menagerie of dragged-up koalas and 'roos." The Star favorably wrote:
"This eye-popping, ear-pleasing, toe-tapping honey of a show moves like a cyclone from start to finish and will leave you
gasping for breath on numerous occasions, thanks to its spectacular spectacle, its raunchy humour and its virtuoso
performances."
Awards and nominations - The Sydney production won the 2008 Sydney Theatre Awards for Best Production Of A Musical
and Best Performance By An Actor In A Musical - Tony Sheldon. The West End production of Priscilla received three
nominations at the 2010 Laurence Olivier Awards for Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (Tony Sheldon) and Best
Costume Design (Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner). Chappel and Gardiner won the award for Best Costume Design. The West
End production was nominated for a further eight awards at the BroadwayWorld.com UK Awards and won two: Best Costume
Design (Chappel and Gardiner) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Thornton).
Two fun Media Articles about the show to read:
1) Costumes fit for a 'Queen' Heels, wigs no drag for B'way cast By BARBARA HOFFMAN
Five-hundred costumes, 200 hats, 150 pairs of shoes, 72 wigs . . . Broadway's "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert"
doesn't travel light. Everything about this disco-driven, drag-queen odyssey from Down Under screams excess,
from those 3½-inch false eyelashes to Will Swenson's size 12, 5-inch-tall platform heels.
"When we started, back in Toronto, we didn't think we'd be able to do costume changes in 30 seconds," says
Swenson of his and his co-star Nick Adams' baptism by glitter. Luckily, Australia's Tony Sheldon, who plays the
show's world-weary transsexual, Bernadette, has been with "Priscilla" since it began 1,200 performances ago.
From left, Will Swenson, Tony Sheldon and Nick Adams parade their groove things in a number from "Priscilla,
Queen of the Desert." Sheldon was only too happy to give the new drag queens on the bus some tips.
First, he assured them that yes, 30-second -- and even 15-second -- costume changes were not impossible once
practiced. He also told them to stoke up on vitamins and glucosamine pills, "because high heels," Swenson reports
ruefully, "can really mess up your joints." He's since learned that the best way to dab on a mouthful of glitter lip
gloss in a hurry is to kiss it off the lid it's kept on -- and that the best way to remove it is with packing tape
("Tissues don't do a thing").
Even so, Swenson says, his 7- and 10-year-old sons check him for
stray bits of glitter when he comes home. Granted, for an actor whose
last gig was the recent revival of "Hair," Swenson's had to adjust to a
lot of things, including seeing himself in Tim Chappel and Lizzy
Gardiner's sequin-encrusted creations. "I looked so mean," he says of
his first look at himself as Mitzi. "I looked like a bitch!" Luckily, his
girlfriend, Tony winner Audra McDonald, gave him a tentative
thumb's up: "I'm a little disturbed," she told him, "but strangely
stimulated by you in a dress." Theatergoers may feel the same way...
2) This is from the NY Times about the opening night party for the show…..
IT wasn’t easy to tell which was campier, the show or the opening party. “Priscilla Queen of the Desert,” the gaudy
musical about three Madonna-loving drag queens who sashay through the Australian Outback, opened on
Broadway Sunday night, followed by a party that attracted its own share of sequins, fishnet stockings and gravitydefying wigs.
The cocktail chatter was not about the reviews (mixed), how closely it adhered to the 1994 film (mostly) or whether
Liza Minnelli would show up (she was expected, but her representative explained that she went to London on short
notice). Rather, it was that classic gay-bar parlor game: choosing a drag name.
Guy Pearce, the square-jawed actor who went on to Hollywood stardom after creating the role of Priscilla’s buffed
trouble-maker, Felicia Jollygoodfellow, offered an easy shortcut. “What’s the name of your first pet, and what’s the
name of the street you grew up in?” said Mr. Pearce, wearing a crisp white shirt and black-framed glasses. “I lived
in Foxhow Court, and my first cat was Biscuit. So Biscuit Foxhow would be a good drag name.”
By those rules, Joan Rivers would be Angus Oxford, though Ms. Rivers was quick to point out at the party that she
has already spawned untold numbers of drag impersonators. “My drag name would probably be Joan of Arc: I
would come out with a flame costume,” said Ms. Rivers, who looked lip-sync ready in a shimmery black ensemble
and a cocktail ring the size of a walnut.
The party was held at Pier 60, a glass box perched over the Hudson, that was decorated with slot machines, gaming
tables and Swarovski crystals to evoke the casino in the show’s final scene. A five-foot-tall pink pump, courtesy of
Manolo Blahnik, set the tone. The cast trickled into the party around 11 p.m., as the D.J. played diva-friendly
anthems like Diana Ross’s “I’m Coming Out.” Nick Adams, who is cast in Mr. Pearce’s role of Felicia, explained
that he had to lose 10 pounds for the part (“I looked like a pro wrestler in a dress”). Neither had very funny drag
names, but Tony Sheldon, who has been with the production since its Sydney debut in 2006, playing the transsexual
Bernadette, renamed himself after the color of his dressing room: Fuchsia Shock.
Surprisingly, Bette Midler, the show’s lead producer, couldn’t come up with a drag name, but she is no stranger to
them. She’s been going to gay bars since she was 12. “One of the funniest drag names I ever heard was Bertha
Thenation,” she said, as fans thronged her for pictures. “I never forgot that one.”
The party wound down around 1 a.m. Among the last to leave was Flotilla DeBarge, a downtown performer from
the early ’90s, who was invited to lend some local drag cred. She wore a large blue dress of indeterminate designer.
“Honey, my label is ‘whatever fits,’ ” she said.
Anything Goes
All aboard for this saucy and splendid new production of Cole Porter’s
musical romp across the Atlantic, starring Tony Award winner Sutton Foster
(Thoroughly Modern Millie and The Drowsy Chaperone), Tony award winner
Joel Grey (Cabaret, Wicked) and directed and choreographed by Tony Award
winner Kathleen Marshall (Pajama Game, Grease). When the ocean liner
S.S. American heads out to sea bound from New York to London, etiquette
and convention head out the portholes as two unlikely pairs set off on the
course to true love. Billy Crocker is a stowaway in love with heiress Hope
Harcourt, who is engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Nightclub singer Reno
Sweeney and Public Enemy #13 Moonface Martin aid Billy in his quest to
win Hope. Peppering this hilariously bumpy ride are some of musical
theater’s most memorable standards including “I Get a Kick Out of You”,
“It’s De-Lovely” and “Anything Goes.”
Sutton Foster
Joel Grey and Sutton Foster
Concept for the original Broadway production starring Ethel Merman: The original idea came from producer
Vinton Freedley, who was living on a boat, having left the US to avoid his creditors. He selected the writing team,
and the star, Ethel Merman. The first draft of the show was called Crazy Week, which became Hard to Get, and
finally Anything Goes. Hard to Get was set on a mid-ocean liner that was in danger, but, just a few weeks before
the show was due to open, a fire on board the passenger ship SS Morro Castle caused the deaths of 137 passengers
and crew. According to one version, Freedley judged that to proceed with a show on a similar subject would be in
dubious taste and he insisted on changes to the script. But theatre historian Lee Davis maintains that Freedley
wanted the script changing because it was "a hopeless mess." Bolton and Wodehouse were no longer available, so
Freedley turned to his director, Howard Lindsay, who recruited Russel Crouse as his collaborator, beginning a
lifelong writing partnership. The roles of Billy Crocker and Moonface Martin were written for the well-known
comedy team, William Gaxton and Victor Moore, and Gaxton's talent for assuming various disguises was featured
in the libretto.
According to theatre legend, the show's new title, along with the title number, was born from the haste with which
the show was revamped: at a late-night production meeting, an exasperated and over-worked member of the
production team cried out "And just how in the hell are we going to end the first act?" "At this point," responded
one of the producers, being more helpful than he realized, "anything goes!"
COLE PORTER (Music & Lyrics) was born in Peru, Indiana, in 1891. He graduated from Yale, where his football
songs are still popular. After the failure of his first Broadway show, he lived in Europe, where he married legendary
beauty Linda Lee Thomas. Returning to New York in the late 1920s he gained renown for many great songs,
including “Night and Day,” “Begin the Beguine,” “You’re the Top” and “I Get a Kick Out of You.” His 1930s were
highlighted by such Broadway offerings as Anything Goes, Gay Divorce and Jubilee. A crippling riding accident in
1937 left him in constant pain, yet he continued to write memorable scores, among them Can-Can, Silk Stockings
and his masterpiece, Kiss Me, Kate. He died in 1964.
GUY BOLTON (1884-1979) and P.G. WODEHOUSE (1881-1975) – (book) were both born in England. They
were introduced by Jerome Kern, and he suggested they all work together. They did, tirelessly, and in the beginning
of their collaboration wrote nearly one show per month — the famed Princess Theatre musicals. Bolton and
Wodehouse went on to write more than 20 musicals together. Usually, they collaborated on the book, and
Wodehouse wrote the lyrics. Both lived into their nineties, and both, together and individually, were astoundingly
prolific. Bolton, with one collaborator or another, or on his own, had a hand in well over 100 musicals and straight
plays as well as numerous film scripts and novels. Wodehouse wrote 97 books — most notably the “Jeeves” novels
— and countless short stories, articles, essays and films, and in 1975 was knighted side by side with Charlie
Chaplin. In addition to Anything Goes, their work together includes Have A Heart; Oh! Boy; Leave It to Jane; Oh,
Lady! Lady!!; Sitting Pretty; Oh, Kay! and Rosalie.
About this 2011 Broadway revival
The Roundabout Theatre Company is reviving a new Broadway production of the 1987 rewrite, which began
previews on March 10, 2011 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre and will officially open on April 7, 2011. It will be
directed by Kathleen Marshall, with musical direction by Rob Fisher, The new book is written by Timothy Crouse
and John Weidman.
This revival retains much of the 1987 orchestrations by the late Michael Gibson. The show stars Sutton Foster as
Reno Sweeney and Joel Grey as Moonface Martin. The revival also features Laura Osnes as Hope Harcourt, Jessica
Walter as Evangeline Harcourt, Colin Donnell as Billy Crocker, Adam Godley as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, John
McMartin as Elisha Whitney, Jessica D. Stone as Erma, Robert Creighton as Purser, Andrew Cao as Luke,
Raymond J. Lee as John, and Walter Charles as the Captain.
KATHLEEN MARSHALL (2011 Director & Choreographer). For the Roundabout, Kathleen directed and
choreographed The Pajama Game and choreographed Follies and 1776. Other Broadway credits include Wonderful
Town; Grease; Boeing-Boeing; Little Shop of Horrors; Seussical; Kiss Me, Kate; and Swinging on a Star. OffBroadway: Two Gentlemen of Verona (New York Shakespeare Festival), Saturday Night (Second Stage), Violet
(Playwrights Horizons) and As Thousands Cheer (Drama Dept). City Center Encores!: Bells Are Ringing,
Applause, Carnival, Hair and Babes in Arms; Artistic Director for four seasons. For ABC/Disney: “Once Upon a
Mattress” and Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man” (Emmy nomination). She has received two Tony Awards, two
Drama Desk Awards, two Outer Critics Circle Awards, the Astaire Award, the George Abbott Award, the Richard
Rodgers Award and the Pennsylvania Governor’s Award for the Arts.
ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) was founded in 1965 and has
grown from a small 150-seat theatre in a converted supermarket basement to become one of America’s
most significant producers of theatre. This not-for- profit company, with more than 40,000 season
subscribers, is committed to producing definitive productions of classic plays and musicals alongside new
plays by today’s writers. Roundabout has the unique opportunity to showcase these works in a venue
perfectly suited to enhance the production. Roundabout also programs the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
Since moving to Broadway in 1991, Roundabout productions have received 162 Tony nominations, 147
Drama Desk nominations and 169 Outer Critics Circle nominations. Production highlights include Anna
Christie; Nine; Assassins; Intimate Apparel; Twelve Angry Men, which toured for two years , and The
Pajama Game , one of the longest-running musical revivals in Broadway history.
Memorable Actresses playing the Character of Reno Sweeney: Ethel Merman, Eileen Rodgers and Patti LuPone
are previous Reno Sweeneys who have made the role their own.
Characters
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Reno Sweeney — an evangelist turned nightclub singer and an old friend of Billy's
Billy Crocker — assistant to Elisha, love-struck would-be suitor to Hope
Hope Harcourt — American debutante and the object of Billy's affection
Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt — Hope's haughty and overbearing mother
Sir Evelyn Oakleigh — Hope's wealthy and handsome English fiancé
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Moonface Martin — a second-rate gangster, "Public Enemy Number 13", soon to not be thought as a public
enemy at all
Bonnie/Erma (1987 revival) — sidekick to Moonface
Elisha J. Whitney — Ivy league Wall Street banker, Billy's boss
Reno’s Angels (Purity, Charity, Chastity and Virtue) (1934 original and 1962 revival/2002 concert)
Ritz Quartette (1934 original)/Lady Fair Quartet (1987 revival)
Ching and Ling — Two Chinese 'Converts' and reformed gamblers who accompany Bishop Dobson
Captain, Steward, Purser on the ship
The Rite Reverend, Bishop Henry T. Dobson
Ships crew, Passengers, Reporters, Photographers and F.B.I. Agents
Musical numbers
Cole Porter wrote the majority of Anything Goes in the Rosecliff mansion in Newport, RI while staying
as a houseguest there.
Note: The show has been professionally produced numerous times throughout the years. Songs listed
below have been added into and some taken out of subsequent productions. We will see which numbers
are “in” and which numbers are “out” when we see this production!
Act 1
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Act 2
I Get a Kick Out of You—Reno Sweeney
Bon Voyage (There's No Cure Like Travel) -Sailor, Girl and Ship's Crew and Company
All Through the Night -- Billy Crocker, Hope
Harcourt and Men
You'd Be So Easy to Love -- Billy Crocker
I Want to Row on the Crew -- Elisha J. Whitney
Sailor's Shanty—Quartet
Where Are the Men?
You're the Top—Reno Sweeney and Billy
Crocker
Friendship (first in 1962 revival) -- Reno
Sweeney and Moonface Martin
It's De-Lovely (first in 1962 revival) -- Billy
Crocker and Hope Harcourt
Anything Goes—Reno Sweeney and Company
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Public Enemy Number One—Captain, Purser,
Company
Let's Step Out—Bonnie
What a Joy to be Young -- Hope
Let's Misbehave) -- Reno and Sir Evelyn
Blow, Gabriel, Blow—Reno Sweeney and
Company
Goodbye, Little Dream, Goodbye -- Hope
Harcourt
Be Like the Bluebird—Moonface Martin
All Through the Night (Reprise) -- Billy Crocker,
Hope Harcourt and Men
Buddie, Beware -- Erma and Sailors
I Get a Kick Out of You (Reprise) (finale for
1987) -- Company
The Gypsy in Me—Hope Lord Evelyn Oakleigh
Take Me Back To Manhattan -- Reno Sweeney
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
A Musical Comedy with a Heart as Big as Manhattan.
Starring the acclaimed international stage and film actor Daniel Radcliffe (Equus on Broadway, the Harry Potter
film series) and five-time Emmy Award winner John Larroquette (Night Court, The Practice) in their Broadway
musical debuts, this Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning “Best Music” is the hilarious fable of executive dreams and
office romance.
With a magnificent score that moves to the rhythm of the city by Academy Award and Tony Award winner Frank
Loesser (Guys and Dolls), this 50thAnniversary revival brings one of Broadway’s funniest and best-loved musical
comedies back to the stage in a spectacular new production from Tony and Emmy award-winning director and
choreographer Rob Ashford (Promises, Promises)
What Is the Story of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying?
As the show begins, J. Pierrepont Finch, a young window washer, is poring over a how-to book entitled "How to
Succeed in Business" in hopes of transforming himself into a tycoon. He soon bluffs his way into a job in the mail
room at World Wide Wicket Company and begins a meteoric rise from the mail-room to Vice President of
Advertising at the World-Wide Wicket Company where he catches the eye of secretary Rosemary Pilkington. With
a mixture of innocence and smarts, our hero continues to climb the ladder of success, impressing boss J.B. Biggley
while overcoming opposition from Biggley’s lazy nephew, Bud Frump. Meanwhile, Biggley is trying to keep his
sexy mistress, Hedy La Rue, happy, and Rosemary is dreaming of an idyllic suburban life with her future husband
“Ponty” Finch. Will everyone at World Wide Wicket get their version of a happy ending? Finch’s unorthodox and
morally-questionable business practices jeopardize not only his career but also his romance with Secretary
Rosemary Pilkington. With a score by Frank Loesser, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying songs
include “I Believe in You,” “Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm,” “The Company Way,” “Been a Long Day,”
“Rosemary,” and “Brotherhood of Man.”
What is How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Like?
How to Succeed is a delightful musical satire of corporate life and office politics, packed with memorable songs
such as “I Believe in You,” “Brotherhood of Man” and “Been a Long Day.” The big draw of
director/choreographer Rob Ashford’s revival is the exhilarating musical debut of Daniel Radcliffe as Finch. With
impish charm, Radcliffe sings and dances his way through this big, bright production, which features Ashford’s
signature high-energy musical numbers and design elements perfectly in sync with the show’s early ’60s setting.
Winner of both the Tony and Pulitzer Prize for its 1961 debut, How to Succeed has earned its status as a classic,
not-to-be-missed musical treat.
Be sure to watch/listen for: In Act II, when Finch is in the staff washroom singing “I Believe in You” into the
mirror, the company executives are in the Executive Washroom worried about what Finch is up to. As the
executives start to shave their faces, you’ll hear the sound of electric razors. But it’s really a clever device – the
members of the orchestra in the pit are actually playing kazoos to make the sounds of the razors. It’s always been
performed this way, and I hope it is in this production, too. (Lucy)
Daniel Radcliffe - aka Harry Potter to millions around the world - will make his
Broadway musical debut as 'J. Pierrepont Finch' in a new production of the Tony and
Pulitzer Prize-winning How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying,
which is to be directed and choreographed by Tony and Emmy Award winner Rob
Ashford.
Radcliffe starred as 'J. Pierrepont Finch' in a reading of the musical in Dec 2009 in
Manhattan, which Rob Ashford was attached to as director and choreographer.
How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying will follow Daniel Radcliffe’s
completion of filming 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,' the final film of the largest grossing
franchise in motion picture history. Further casting and a Broadway theater for this new production will
be announced shortly. Daniel Radcliffe made his Broadway debut when he starred as 'Alan Strang' in
'Equus,' which played at the Broadhurst Theatre from 5 Sep 2008 - 8 Feb 2009. The actor made his
London debut in the same production when it played in the West End earlier in 2008.
Rob Ashford is director and choreographer of the recent Broadway revival of 'Promises, Promises'
starring Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth (which our MTW group saw last year). He won a Tony
Award for Best Choreography for 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' in 2002 (which we also saw), and was
recently awarded an Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for his work on the 81st Annual
Academy Awards.
How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying has a book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and
Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead’s satirical self-help book How To Succeed In Business Without
Really Trying, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser.
The Original Broadway Production: How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying opened to critical
acclaim at the 46TH Street Theatre (Richard Rodgers) on Broadway in Oct 1961, running for 1,417 performances.
The cast starred Robert Morse as Finch, Bonnie Scott as Rosemary, Charles Nelson Reilly as Bud Frump, and Rudy
Vallee as the President of the World-Wide Wicket Company. The show won seven Tony Awards including best
musical and best book, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best musical, a Grammy for best original cast
show album, and is one of only eight musicals to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In 1967, a film based on the
musical was released by United Artists, with Morse and Vallee recreating their Broadway roles and Michele Lee as
Rosemary. It is this show which made Robert Morse “a star.” In 1995, a revival directed by Des McAnuff starring
Matthew Broderick as Finch and Megan Mullally as Rosemary ran for 548 performances at the Richard Rodgers
Theatre.
Personal Note: Lucy was cast in her first leading role in How To Succeed (in the role of Rosemary) when she was
23 years old, for Downey Civic Light Opera. Shortly after that she began performing in many MTW shows.
CAST
J. Pierrepont Finch
Daniel Radcliffe
CREATIVE TEAM
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Rose Hemingway
John Larroquette
Tammy Blanchard
Christopher J. Hanke
Rob Bartlett
Mary Faber
Ellen Harvey
Michael Park
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Rosemary Pilkington
J.B. Biggley
Hedy La Rue
Bud Frump
Twimble/W. Womper
Smitty
Miss Jones
Bert Bratt
Music and Lyrics
Frank Loesser
Book
Director/Choreog
Set Designer
Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Sound Designer
Orchestrations
Abe Burrows
Rob Ashford
Derek McLane
Catherine Zuber
Howell Binkley
Jon Weston
Doug Besterman
WS Journal Review of How To Succeed (sounds great!)
Rose Hemmingway and Daniel Radcliffe
The professionals are back. Well into one of the dimmest
Broadway seasons in recent memory, Rob Ashford has lit
the lights with a smart and satisfying production of "How
to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," the Frank
Loesser-Abe Burrows musical that taught a generation of
viperine office politicians how to stick a shiv into their
bosses without leaving any fingerprints on the handle.
Needless to say, it's Daniel Radcliffe, better known as
Harry Potter, who's filling the seats, but it's Mr. Ashford
who deserves most of the credit for the artistic success of
this hard-charging, high-flying revival of a show whose
gleaming craftsmanship is as self-evident today as when it
opened on Broadway a half-century ago.
Surely little need be said about the oft-celebrated virtues of
"How to Succeed." For openers, it features a perfect score
by Loesser in which every song pushes the action along
briskly. Burrows, who also collaborated with Loesser on
"Guys and Dolls," another entry on the short list of all-time
great musicals, was primarily responsible for the book,
which is put together with immaculate skill. And that
brings us back to Mr. Ashford, who with "How to
Succeed" establishes himself as one of the best comic
choreographers on Broadway today. Not only are his
dances full of perfectly realized visual punchlines, but they
have an exhilarating momentum that serves the show
without overwhelming the plot. Each number builds on its
predecessor until you want to stand up and yell with
delight—which, at show's end, is what you'll do.
In addition to all this, Mr. Ashford has the brains and taste
to trust his material. Des McAnuff, who staged the last
Broadway revival of "How to Succeed" in 1995, took care
to render the show politically correct by scissoring out a
whole song, "Cinderella Darling," and neutering various
other snippets of "sexist" language. Not so Mr. Ashford.
Operating on the sensible assumption that "Mad Men" has
taught the under-30 crowd to be properly ironic about the
vices of their parents and grandparents, he leaves the script
intact—and it works, the same way that Derek McLane's
superslick sets and Catherine Zuber's colorful costumes are
flawlessly integrated into a wicked parody of the
international style in Kennedy-era big-business décor. No
sooner does Mr. Radcliffe make his entrance in a white
seersucker suit with a turquoise bow tie than you know
you're in good hands.
Of course you'll be wanting to know all about Mr.
Radcliffe, and the answer is that he's a pretty good singer
and an unexpectedly good dancer. His small voice is
plaintive, well-tuned and rather sweet, which puts a fresh
spin on the familiar character of J. Pierrepont Finch, who
ascends from the mailroom to the boardroom with
vertiginous speed. Mr. Radcliffe's Finch is a twinkly,
huggable gent whose ruthless unscrupulosity is positively
endearing.
The problem with this approach is that Mr. Radcliffe
doesn't have the vocal firepower needed to put his big
number, "I Believe in You," all the way across the
footlights, which causes the second act to sag briefly in the
middle. But not to worry, for Mr. Ashford's staging of
"Brotherhood of Man" is so propulsive that the energy
level soars again, and Mr. Radcliffe is on top (literally) of
every step. No, he's not Robert Morse, who created the role
on Broadway, then filmed it in 1967. But who is—and so
what?
John Larroquette, formerly of "Night Court," is making his
Broadway debut as J.B. Biggley, the brainless president of
World Wide Wickets. Rudy Vallee's performance in both
the original-cast and the film version remains indelibly
memorable, but Mr. Larroquette, though he really can't
sing, is still charming. Rose Hemingway, Tammy
Blanchard and the other women in the cast are zesty, and
Rob Bartlett is downright sensational in the double role of
Mr. Twimble, the ultracautious company man who runs
the mailroom, and Wally Womper, the I'm-just-a-regularguy chairman of the board. (The singing of the chorus, by
the way, couldn't be better.)
It being a critic's job to pick nits, here are three: Mr.
Ashford is somewhat better at making dances than staging
straight dialogue scenes, which probably explains why
several of the small-part male roles feel a teeny bit
undercharacterized.
The stringless school-of-Nelson-Riddle big-band
accompaniment will likewise seem undernourished to
anyone familiar with the original-cast album, which
features the swing-for-the-fences orchestrations of Robert
Ginzler. (Riddle himself scored the film version, whose
soundtrack is wonderful in its own distinctive way.)
Anderson Cooper is bland and anachronistically
contemporary-sounding as the Voice of the Narrator.
That's it with the nits. Otherwise "How to Succeed" hits all
the marks. Whatever the rest of the season may hold in
store, we now have a show in which nearly every shot goes
straight to the center of the theatrical target. How good can
a Broadway musical be? This good.
Catch Me If You Can
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN is the high-flying new musical comedy based on the hit DreamWorks film and the
incredible true story that inspired it!
Fast-rising Broadway headliner AARON TVEIT (Next to Normal, Wicked) stars as Frank W. Abagnale, Jr., a
teenager who runs away from home in search of the glamorous life. With nothing more than a boyish charm, a
big imagination and millions of dollars in forged checks, Frank successfully poses as a pilot, a doctor and a
lawyer - living the high life and winning the girl of his dreams (played by Tony nominee KERRY BUTLER
(Xanadu, Hairspray). Tony winner and Broadway fave NORBERT LEO BUTZ (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,
Wicked) plays Carl Hanratty, the dogged FBI agent who chases Frank to the end and finds something he never
expected. And Tony nominee TOM WOPAT (Annie Get Your Gun, Chicago) returns to Broadway as Frank,
Sr., who sees his dreams of making it big lived out in his son's fantastic adventures. We're off on a jet-setting,
cat-and-mouse chase, as a jazzy, swinging-sixties score keeps this adventure in constant motion. In the end,
Agent Hanratty learns he and Frank aren't so very different after all, and Frank finds out what happens when
love catches up to a man on the run.
CATCH ME features a Tony Award-winning "dream team," with a book by TERRENCE McNALLY (The Full
Monty, Ragtime), an irresistible score by MARC SHAIMAN & SCOTT WITTMAN (Hairspray), choreography
by JERRY MITCHELL (Hairspray, Legally Blonde) and direction by JACK O'BRIEN (Hairspray, The Full
Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels).
In announcing the Broadway production, Shaiman and Wittman issued a statement explaining that they met with
Catch Me If You Can film director Steven Spielberg to ask for the stage rights to the popular movie comedy,
which starred Leonardo di Caprio, Tom Hanks and Christopher Walken. “Our idea was to musicalize Catch Me
with a score that would use as its inspiration the idea of a classic Ed Sullivan Show (since that was the time you
might see and hear Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Judy Garland and Aretha Franklin all on one evening's
entertainment) and he said yes right away! As we began writing, we immediately involved our favorite
collaborators Jack O'Brien and Jerry Mitchell, who made the exciting suggestion of inviting Terrence McNally
in, as well.”
The 'Catch Me If You Can' showgirls posing at the Neil Simon
Theatre on 3/7/11.
Sexy. Classy. Gorgeous. That's the trio of traits the creators of "Catch
Me If You Can" were chasing after as they cast chorus girls for the
show. They got what they wanted. At a recent rehearsal, 10 tall
women in stewardess uniforms stood like long-stemmed roses ready
to be arranged by choreographer Jerry Mitchell. And ready to fuel a
young con artist's elaborate fantasies.
True Background: In the 1960s, Frank Abagnale Jr. passed himself
off as a pilot, doctor and lawyer and made a bundle before getting
caught. His unbelievable-but-true adventures inspired Steven Spielberg's 2002 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the con
and Tom Hanks as the G-man on his trail.
Years later, the story cried out to songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman ("Hairspray") to be a musical — but one with
an intriguing twist in perspective. In the show, now in previews and opening April 10 at the Neil Simon Theatre, Abagnale,
played by "Next to Normal" star Aaron Tveit, recalls his checkered past as though he's on a TV variety show. Those popular
programs were famous for lavish production numbers.
Which is where the sexy stews (as well as some hunky hoofers dressed as pilots) come in to strut their stuff. The show
celebrates the Broadway chorus — dangerous curves, smooth moves and lots of legs melting together into one singular
sensation. To add sizzle, costume designer William Ivey Long sent the miniskirt hemlines up, up and away to an altitude far
above airline regulation. "This is fantasy length," he says, "not exactly historically accurate. And wait till you see the nurses'
outfits."
The actual Frank Abagnale, who has been involved during the show's long development, apparently isn't squawking about
hemline inaccuracy. "He actually loves it," says Mitchell. So do the showgirls, who represent a mix of Broadway newcomers
and vets ranging in age from 20s to 40s.
CREATIVE TEAM
MARC SHAIMAN COMPOSER AND CO-LYRICIST enjoyed composing the music and co-writing the lyrics for Hairspray
with Scott Wittman. For their score, the pair won the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Awards. As a composer/lyricist/arranger,
Marc’s film credits include When Harry Met Sally, Beaches, Misery, City Slickers, The Addams Family, A Few Good Men,
Sister Act, Sleepless in Seattle, The First Wives Club, Patch Adams, The American President, George of the Jungle, South
Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, and The Bucket List.
SCOTT WITTMAN CO-LYRICIS, has created and directed two Broadway shows, three recordings, and two sold out
Carnegie Hall concerts for Patti LuPone. On television he has conceived and directed performances for Nathan Lane and Sarah
Jessica Parker. He has co-written Neil Patrick Harris’ musical numbers for The Oscars (Emmy Nomination), The Emmy’s, and
the Emmy winning Tony’s!!!! He has also co-created Christine Ebersole’s successful nightclub appearances. He has received
the Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Evening Standard and London’s Olivier Award for his work as co-lyricist on
Hairspray.
TERRENCE MCNALLY BOOK . Terrence McNally’s plays include Love! Valour! Compassion! (Tony Award), Master
Class (Tony Award), Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, Corpus Christi, A Perfect Ganesh, The Lisbon Traviata, Lips
Together, Teeth Apart, Deuce, It’s Only a Play, The Ritz, Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams, Some Men, Unusual Acts of
Devotion, Next, Bad Habits, Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone? and The Stendhal Syndrome. For the musical theatre, his
librettos include Ragtime (Tony Award), The Kiss of the Spider Woman (Tony Award), The Full Monty, The Rink, The Visit, A
Man of No Importance and the opera Dead Man Walking.
JACK O'BRIEN DIRECTOR. Broadway: Impressionism; The Coast of Utopia (Tony Award); Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Tony
nom.); Henry IV (Tony Award); Hairspray (Tony Award); Imaginary Friends; The Invention of Love (Tony nom., Drama Desk
Award); The Full Monty (Tony nom.); More to Love; Getting Away With Murder; Pride’s Crossing; The Little Foxes;
Hapgood (Lucille Lortel Award, Best Director); Damn Yankees; Two Shakespearean Actors (Tony nom.); Porgy and Bess
(Tony Award).
JERRY MITCHELL CHOREOGRAPHER; made his Broadway and West End debuts as Director with Legally Blonde, for
which he also served as Choreographer and was nominated for the Tony Award for his choreography and the Drama Desk
Award for his direction. Jerry received Broadway's Tony Award as Choreographer of the 2005 Tony-Award winning Best
Revival of La Cage Aux Folles. Previously, Jerry had received Olivier, Tony and other nominations for
choreographing Hairspray and The Full Monty. For Broadway, Jerry also choreographed Never Gonna Dance and the revivals
of Gypsy (starring Bernadette Peters.
DAVID ROCKWELL SCENIC DESIGN, designed the sets for Hairspray (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle
nominations), Legally Blonde The Musical (Drama Desk nomination), Free Man of Color; The Rocky Horror Show (Drama
Desk Nomination), All Shook Up (Drama Desk Nomination) and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. . Rockwell was honored with the
Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt’s National Design Award for Interior Design in 2008.
WILLIAM IVEY LONG COSTUME DESIGNER, Pal Joey; Young Frankenstein; Curtains; Grey Gardens (Tony); The
Frogs; The Boy From OZ; Little Shop of Horrors; Hairspray (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle); The Producers (Tony,
Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle); The Music Man; Contact (Hewes); Swing (Hewes); Cabaret; 1776; Steel Pier; Chicago;
Smokey Joe's Cafe; Guys and Dolls (Drama Desk); Crazy For You (Tony, Outer Critics Circle); Six Degrees of Separation;
Assassins (Obie); Lend Me a Tenor (Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle); Nine (Tony, Drama Desk, Maharam), recent
production of Dreamgirls at the Apollo Theatre. Mr. Long was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2005.
KENNETH POSNER LIGHTING DESIGN, has more than 40 Broadway play and musical credits. He is the recipient of the
TONY, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards. As the lighting designer for HAIRSPRAY he feels very fortunate to be
re-united with the team on Catch Me If You Can. Broadway (selected): The Merchant of Venice, Mrs. Warren’s Profession,
The Royal Family, Lend Me A Tenor, The Coast of Utopia (ShipWreck),Wicked, Tom Sawyer, The Homecoming, Legally
Blonde, The Odd Couple, Glen Garry Glenross, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, , and The Little Foxes.
Sister Act
In 1992, crowds lined up at local movie theatres to see Whoopi Goldberg play Deloris Van Cartier, a lounge singer
hiding out from the mob in a quaint nunnery, in the surprise film hit of the summer, Sister Act. Now Goldberg is
hoping that magic strikes again as producer of the upcoming Broadway musical version, which already delighted
theatergoers in London's West End.
THE STORY
When disco diva Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder, she is put in protective custody in one place the cops are
sure she won't be a found: a convent! Disguised as a nun, she finds herself at odds with both the rigid lifestyle and
uptight Mother Superior. Using her unique disco moves and singing talent to inspire the choir, Deloris breathes new
life into the church and community but in doing so, blows her cover. Soon, the gang is giving chase only to find
them up against Deloris and the power of her newly found sisterhood.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HISTORY: Pasadena, CA Try-out
Directed by Peter Schneider and choreographed by Marguerite Derricks, the musical premiered at the Pasadena
Playhouse in Pasadena, California on October 24, 2006 and closed on December 23, 2006. It broke records,
grossing $1,085,929 to become the highest grossing show ever at the venue. Patina Miller, who would later go on to
play the role of Deloris when the show opened in London, was in the ensemble and understudied Deloris. The role
of the Mother Superior was originally played by MTW favorite, Elizabeth Ward Land (Kate in Kiss Me Kate and
others).
Pasadena Critical Response: Charles McNulty of the Los Angeles Times stated it has "Broadway blockbuster
written all over it," and Laurence Vittes described it as "hugely entertaining... likely to become a classic" in The
Hollywood Reporter. Jonas Schwartz (Theatremania.com) was less enthusiastic, saying it "suffers from a bit of an
identity crisis. When focused within the confines of the church and the convent, the show is heavenly, singing
loudly and confidently. However, the scenes that take place in the outside world are painted with unnecessarily
broad strokes.
Pasadena to Atlanta, Georgia
The production then moved to the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, where it ran from January 17 to February
25, 2007. The cast included Dawnn Lewis as Deloris, Elizabeth Ward Land as the Mother Superior, and Harrison
White as Curtis.
Original London Production
Sister Act opened in the West End at the London Palladium on June 2, 2009. The production was directed by Peter
Schneider and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast. Following a year-long search, 24-year-old actress Patina
Miller was cast as Deloris, alongside Sheila Hancock as the Mother Superio. Whoopi Goldberg joined the cast as
the Mother Superior for a limited engagement.
Critical response in London:
Charles Spencer in The Telegraph wrote Sister Act "proves more enjoyable on stage than it did on film" and "the
cheers and standing ovation at the end were both genuine and deserved." He added, "The book, by Cheers writers
Cheri and Bill Steinkellner, is strong, funny and touching. And the disco-inspired score by Disney favourite Alan
Menken, with neat lyrics by Glenn Slater, is a cracker. Frankly, what’s not to like, especially when you’ve got a
chorus line of jiving nuns singing their hearts out ecstatically?"
In the Evening Standard, Fiona Mountford rated it four out of five stars and stated, "Whether or not divine
intervention is involved, it’s a wimple-wibbling, habit-forming triumph."
The Times critic, Benedict Nightingale rated the show three out of five stars, observing that "a rather sweet,
sentimental film has been hyped up, coarsened, given what — were the Palladium flown to Times Square — we’d
call the big, brash Broadway treatment . . . There’s less deft comedy, but much more music, most of it indebted to
the 1970s, where the action is now set. That lets Alan Menken, the composer, have a lot of catchy fun with period
rock and disco."
David Benedict of Variety cited its "slow start" and "clunky storytelling" but thought "the cumulative effect is
shamelessly and irresistibly entertaining."
Original Broadway Production (This is what we’ll be seeing.)
A new Broadway adaption of the show is scheduled to open on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre on April 20,
2011, with previews beginning March 24, 2011. Jerry Zaks is the director. Douglas Carter Beane has also signed on
the rewrite the book. Patina Miller, who originated the role of Deloris in the West End company, reprises the role
on Broadway. Miller is also making her Broadway debut in this production.
BROADWAY CAST
Deloris Van Cartier
Mother Superior
Monsignor
Sister Mary Patrick
Joey
TJ
Eddie
Curtis
Patina Miller
Victoria Clark
Fred Applegate
Sarah Bolt
John Greacy Egan
Demond Green
Chester Gregory II
Kingsley Leggs
CREATIVE TEAM
Music
Lyrics
Book
Director
Choreographer
Set Designer
Costume Designer
Sound Designer
Alan Menken
Glen Slater
Cheri and Bill Steinkellner
Jerry Zaks
Anthony van Laast
Klara Zieglerova
Natasha Kata
Mick Potter
Wonderland
The most magical journey ever written continues...
WONDERLAND is the delightful, soaring musical that takes a new kind of Alice into a world of kaleidoscopic
fantasy and romantic adventure. As a newly single mom whose life is spinning out of control, Alice’s yearning for
happier times leads her on a quest far below the streets of New York City, to the other side of the looking glass.
There, she meets a marvelous cast of familiar but phenomenally re-imagined characters who help her navigate this
impossibly peculiar universe, and change her life forever.
With a fresh, contemporary pop score from the creator of Jekyll & Hyde Frank Wildhorn, and dazzling dancing
from multiple Emmy Award winner and Austin Powers choreographer Marguerite Derricks, WONDERLAND
arrives in New York following a sold-out, two-city national premiere.
Wonderland, the new musical that reinvents "Alice in Wonderland" for the 21st century,
begins Broadway previews March 21 at the Marquis Theatre. Janet Dacal, of In the
Heights, plays a modern-day Manhattan mom named Alice who sings a score by Frank
Wildhorn and Jack Murphy.
Opening night is April 17. Gregory Boyd directs the original musical, billed as "a new
spin on the classic story of Alice and her Looking-Glass world," inspired by the tales of
Lewis Carroll. This time, Alice is "a modern-day woman who goes on a life-changing
adventure far below the streets of New York City, where a colorful cast of strange but
familiar characters help her rediscover what's really important."
Wonderland stars Darren Ritchie (Little Shop of Horrors, Thoroughly Modern Millie) as
White Knight, E. Clayton Cornelious (The Scottsboro Boys, A Chorus Line) as
Caterpillar, Jose Llana (Spelling Bee, Flower Drum Song) as El Gato, Karen Mason
(Hairspray, Mamma Mia!) as Queen of Hearts, Kate Shindle (Legally Blonde, Cabaret,
Jekyll and Hyde) as Mad Hatter, Carly Rose Sonenclar (Les Misérables, Little House on the Prairie) as Chloe,
Edward Staudenmayer (Spamalot, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me) as White Rabbit and Danny Stiles (regional
productions of Guys and Dolls and Sister Act The Musical) as Morris.
Kate Shindle as the Mad
Hatter
"It's my most eclectic score by far," Wildhorn told Playbill.com earlier this year. "It's also the score that brings me
back to my real pop roots…what I used to do for a living in the '80s. If you're going to go to a place called
Wonderland, it's a phantasmagorical place, so you really can set your own rules, and in fact, if you establish that the
rules are going to be a rule of eclecticism, and you're consistent with that, you can go anywhere from Latin to jazz,
from literally classical to boy-band. You can do all of those things because each of these characters has their own
musical identity and musical vocabulary. Again, you can't do that in any other show because you have to be
consistent with the musical's vocabulary of the place and time that you're in. But once you go into Fantasyland, that
changes."
How the Show was Conceived: Wildhorn, the composer of the musicals The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Civil War,
Dracula, Jekyll & Hyde and Camille Claudel, among others, explained the first seed of the show. "I came up with
this concept when I was running a division of Atlantic Records in the early 2000s," he said. "[My former wife]
Linda [Eder] and I used to live on 87th and Riverside, and there was an elevator and the elevator was always
broken, and I always used to joke that if the elevator worked, it would go down a thousand floors under the
apartment and we'd find Wonderland. I love Lewis Carroll, and I realized that once you went into a fantasy world,
you could make your own rules," he recalled. "Most of the songs came out of ideas to make records, because of my
pop chops -- like Pink would be the Mad Hatter, Santana the Cheshire Cat, Luther Vandross the Caterpillar." The
show had tryout engagements in Tampa, FL (twice) and Houston, where director Boyd is artistic director of the
Alley Theatre.
Broadway Production (2011)
The musical is expected to premiere on Broadway on April 17, 2011, with previews beginning March 21,
at the Marquis Theatre. The cast includes Janet Dacal as Alice, Darren Ritchie as White Knight and
Jack/Lewis Carroll, Jose Llana as El Gato, Karen Mason as the Queen of Hearts, Kate Shindle as the Mad
Hatter, Carly Rose Sonenclar as Chloe, and Edward Staudenmayer as the White Rabbit. The show is
directed by Gregory Boyd, choreography by Marguerite Derricks, set design by Neil Patel, costume
design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Paul Gallo, sound design by Peter Hylenski, and video and
projection design by Sven Ortel.
Background on Frank Wildhorn (Music)
Multi-Grammy and Tony Award-nominated composer/producer, Frank Wildhorn's works span the worlds
of popular, theatrical and classical music. In 1999, Wildhorn became the first American composer in 22
years to have three shows running simultaneously on Broadway: Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel,
The Civil War. Also for Broadway: Dracula, Victor/Victoria, Bonnie & Clyde (opening Fall 2011).
Wildhorn produced Harlem Song at the famed Apollo Theatre. International: Cyrano, The Count of Monte
Cristo, Carmen, Rudolf, Mitsuko, Never Say Goodbye, Camille Claudel and Tears of HeavenHe wrote the
song "Gold," the opening number for the 2002 Winter Olympics. He received the prestigious Charles
Dickens Award from USC, where there is a scholarship under his name. Among the artists who have
recorded and performed Wildhorn's works: Whitney Houston (no. 1 international hit "Where Do Broken
Hearts Go?"), Natalie Cole, Kenny Rogers, Sammy Davis, Jr., Liza Minnelli, Julie Andrews, Hootie & the
Blowfish, The Moody Blues, Johnny Mathis, Linda Eder, Freddie Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Stacy
Lattisaw, Molly Hatchet, Blues Traveler, Trace Adkins, Patti LaBelle, Jeffrey Osborne, BeBe Winans,
Stanley Turrentine, Amy Grant, Anthony Warlow, to name a few.
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Overview
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of superb artistic
programming, international leader in arts and education, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. As a presenter
of over 400 events annually, LCPA complements the offerings of the 11 other Lincoln Center resident
organizations through a variety of popular series: American Songbook, Great Performers, Lincoln Center
Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, Mostly Mozart Festival, and the White Light
Festival. The Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center extends the reach of Lincoln Center's stages to
millions of Americans across the country. As an international leader in arts and education, LCPA takes a wide
range of activities beyond its halls through its educational cornerstone, Lincoln Center Institute, as well as offering
arts-related symposia; family programming; accessibility; and other community initiatives.
What is Lincoln Center, and what is a resident organization?
The 16.3-acre Lincoln Center complex, the world's leading performing arts center, is home to the 12 resident arts
organizations listed below, representing the highest standards of excellence in symphony, opera, chamber music,
theater, dance, film, and arts education. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. (LCPA) serves three primary
roles: a resident organization with its own series of artistic programming; a national leader in arts and education and
community relations; and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. LCPA presentations (called "Lincoln Center
Presents") include American Songbook; Great Performers; Lincoln Center Festival; Lincoln Center Out of Doors;
Midsummer Night Swing; the Mostly Mozart, Tully Scope, and White Light Festivals; and the Emmy Awardwinning Live From Lincoln Center. Clicking on a resident organization's name below will take you to that
organization's web site which provides event listings, ticket information, contacts, and organizational background.
Resident Organizations: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Film Society of Lincoln Center, Jazz
at Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center Presents (officially Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts,
Inc), Lincoln Center Theater, The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, New York
Philharmonic, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, School of American Ballet
History and facilities: A consortium of civic leaders and others led by, and under the initiative of John D.
Rockefeller III, built Lincoln Center as part of the "Lincoln Square Renewal Project" during Robert Moses's
program of urban renewal in the 1950s and 1960s. Seventeen blocks of ethnic tenement neighborhoods were
demolished through eminent domain, forcing out 7,000 families. Respected architects were contacted to design the
major buildings on the site, and over the next thirty years the previously blighted area around Lincoln Center
became a new cultural hub. Rockefeller was Lincoln Center's inaugural president from 1956 and became its
chairman in 1961. He is credited with raising more than half of the $184.5 million in private funds needed to build
the complex, including drawing on his own funds. The Lincoln Center complex was the first gathering of major
cultural institutions into a centralized location in an American city.
While the center was named because it was located in the Lincoln Square neighborhood, it is unclear whether the
area was named as a tribute to Abraham Lincoln. The name was bestowed on the area in 1906 by the New York
City Board of Aldermen, but records give no reason for choosing that name. One speculation is that references to
Abraham Lincoln were omitted from the records because the mayor in 1906 was George B. McClellan, Jr., son of
General George B. McClellan who was general-in-chief of the Union Army during the Civil War and a bitter rival
of Lincoln.
Performance Spaces
Avery Fisher Hall, home of the
NY Philharmonic in Lincoln Center.
Auditorium of the Metropolitan Opera House
at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
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The David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center,
home of the NY City Opera and NY City Ballet
Interior of the David H. Koch Theatre
Alice Tully Hall: 1,095-seat concert hall located within the Juilliard School building; home stage of The
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Avery Fisher Hall: 2,738-seat symphony hall; home stage of the New York Philharmonic; formerly
Philharmonic Hall
The Metropolitan Opera House: 3,900-seat opera house; home stage of the Metropolitan Opera. This is
the second Metropolitan Opera House; the original one opened in 1883 and was demolished in 1966, the
year of the opening of the new Metropolitan Opera facilities at Lincoln Center.
David H. Koch Theater: 2,713-seat theater; originally known as the New York State Theater and
constructed to be the home of the New York City Ballet, now also serves as home to the New York City
Opera. Many Broadway musicals have also been revived there.
Vivian Beaumont Theater: 1,080-seat Broadway-style theater operated since 1985 as the main stage of
Lincoln Center Theater. Previously occupied by The Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center (1965–1973) and
The New York Shakespeare Festival (1973–1977).
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Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (originally known as the Forum): intimate 299-seat theater operated by
Lincoln Center Theater for its Off-Broadway-style productions. See Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at the
Internet off-Broadway Database for a list of productions in the venue.
The Walter Reade Theatre: 268-seat movie theater; used by the Film Society of Lincoln Center; features
a raised dais used for post-screening filmmaker discussions.
Jazz at Lincoln Center, while a part of Lincoln Center, is located separately in the Frederick P. Rose Hall
complex within the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. It consists of the following performance and
related facilities:
o The Allen Room: 508-seat amphitheater with 50-foot (15 m) glass wall overlooking Central Park;
part of Jazz at Lincoln Center's facilities.
o Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola: nightclub-style venue in the Jazz at Lincoln Center facility; allows jazz
to be performed in its traditional venue.
o Rose Theater: 1,094-seat concert hall designed for jazz performances.
o Irene Diamond Education Center: rehearsal, recording, and classroom
What will we see on the tour?
Learn more about Lincoln Center’s iconic landmarks—including the Revson Fountain, the newly
transformed Alice Tully Hall, and the Metropolitan Opera House—which have been showcased on Sex
and the City and in movies like Black Swan, Moonstruck, and Ghostbusters.
Go behind the scenes at venues where a spectacular range of artists have performed, including Luciano
Pavarotti, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leonard Bernstein, Renée Fleming, and Bruce Springsteen. The tour
doesn’t include backstage areas, but sometimes includes parts of the auditorium.
Each tour is unique, and you never know what might happen. You might sit in on a rehearsal, walk out
onto a stage, or meet a star. Whether you’re just visiting New York City and want a glimpse of
performing arts history, or you’re a Lincoln Center regular who wants to see your favorite venues from a
new perspective, a guided tour will bring you closer to the world’s premier performing arts center.
One of New York’s great collections of modern art and architecture isn’t in a museum, it’s at Lincoln
Center, where paintings, sculpture, limited-edition prints, posters, and buildings by the leading artists and
architects of this and the last century can be found outside and inside the theaters on our world-famous
16-acre campus.
Begin your exploration of Lincoln Center at the David Rubenstein Atrium, the new starting point for all
guided tours. Get an inside look at what happens on and off the stages of our prestigious venues, which
include the Metropolitan Opera House, Avery Fisher Hall, David H. Koch Theater (previously New York
State Theater), Vivian Beaumont Theater, and the dramatically transformed Alice Tully Hall.
THE RIDE
What is THE RIDE?
THE RIDE is a brand new New York “event” which takes everything that makes New York, New York
and kicks it into overdrive. Riders will board THE RIDE, a super-sized, technologically amped-up
vehicle that travels the streets of New York. With stadium-style, sideways seating and massive windows,
Riders have front row seats to the big city. As the tallest mode of transportation allowed on the streets of
New York City by federal law, THE RIDE will make you look twice.
The custom-made vehicles feature stadium-style seating that turns Riders sideways. As THE RIDE
moves along, Riders look out massive windows to famous NYC landmarks-turned-backdrops to THE
RIDE’s amazing entertainment experiences. THE RIDE is fully loaded with the best in audio, video and
wireless technology to amp up whatever is happening on board, while keeping Riders connected to what’s
going on outside. From performers to passersby, THE RIDE can interact with anyone and everyone it
meets along the way.
You never know what you’ll see or who you’ll meet along the 4.2-mile route. No matter how many times
you take THE RIDE, it’s never the same show twice. From Grand Central to Central Park, THE RIDE
provides a look at New York and its people in a way that you’ve never seen before. You’ll laugh, you’ll
be wowed, you might even learn something.
THE RIDE provides its interactive approach through its four 49-seat, $1.3 million retrofilled Prevost
motorcoaches. The three-tier stadium seating, glass-sided vehicle features 40 video screens with moviequality sounds and images.
Where does THE RIDE travel?
THE RIDE audiences see Times Square, the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Station, Bryant Park, NYC
Main Branch of the Public Library, Empire State building, 42nd Street, Shubert Alley/Broadway theaters,
6th Aven7ue Skyscrapers, Carnegie Hall, Columbus Circle and Central Park. All in about 75 minutes.
Meet THE RIDE
While on THE RIDE, you’ll meet your hosts Scott and Jackie. You’ll also meet a cross section of new
Yorkers…some of them part of the show and others simply part of the city. Half the fun is figuring out
which is which.
NY’s locals, visitors, dreamers, schemers and people from every corner of the Earth are what make NYC
unlike any other place you’ll ever experience. On THE RIDE, they celebrate that and understand that no
matter what time it is or where in the city you happen to be, exciting things are happening.
Reviews:
“The Ride appears to be anything but. It is a roadie-worthy ensemble marrying of an off-Broadway
production, city tour and reality television with the comfort of a motor coach.”
“It’s really part Broadway, part tour, party reality TV.”
“FIND OUT WHAT IT MEANS TO TURN HEADS!”
Carnegie Hall Tour
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between
West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park.
Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1891, it is one of the
most prestigious venues in the world for both classical music and popular music. Carnegie Hall has its own artistic
programming, development, and marketing departments, and presents about 250 performances each season. It is
also rented out to performing groups. The hall has not had a resident company since 1962, when the New York
Philharmonic moved to Lincoln Center's Philharmonic Hall (renamed Avery Fisher Hall in 1973).
Andrew Carnegie’s Words:
“It is probable that this hall will intertwine itself with the history of our country,” said Andrew Carnegie in 1890,
when he laid the cornerstone of the what is now Carnegie Hall. He lived to see his words come true: Within 25
years, Carnegie Hall became one of the world’s most important stages—not only for great music, but also for
theater, dance, and the exchange of ideas.
Three Great Stages, One Great Hall
The Main Hall (Isaac Stern Auditorium)
Isaac Stern Auditorium / Ronald O. Perelman Stage
The largest hall at Carnegie Hall has been the premier classical music
performance space in the United States since its opening in 1891, showcasing
the world's greatest soloists, conductors, and ensembles. The Main Hall is
enormously high, and visitors to the top balcony must climb 137 steps. All
but the top level can be reached by elevator.
The hall was dedicated the Isaac Stern Auditorium in 1996, and the stage was
dedicated the Ronald O. Perelman Stage in 2006. Throughout its century-plus
history, the space has been the forum for important jazz events, historic
lectures, noted educational forums, and much more. Designed by architect
and cellist William Burnett Tuthill and renovated in 1986, the auditorium's striking curvilinear design allows the
stage to become a focal point embraced by five levels of seating, which accommodates up to 2,804. The
auditorium's renowned acoustics have made it a favorite of audiences and performers alike. "It has been said that
the hall itself is an instrument," said the late Isaac Stern. "It takes what you do and makes it larger than life."
The main hall was home to the performances of the New York Philharmonic from 1892 until 1962. Known as the
most prestigious concert stage in the U.S., almost all of the leading classical music, and more recently, popular
music, performers since 1891 have performed there.
Zankel Hall, which seats 599, is named for Judy and Arthur Zankel. Originally called
simply Recital Hall, this was the first auditorium to open to the public in April 1891.
Following renovations made in 1896, it was renamed Carnegie Lyceum. It was leased
to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1898, converted into a cinema around
1959, and was reclaimed for use as an auditorium in 1997. The completely
reconstructed Zankel Hall, which is flexible and can be reconfigured in several different arrangements, opened in
the space in September 2003.
Weill Recital Hall Located on the third floor of Carnegie Hall, the Joan and
Sanford I. Weill Recital Hall is an intimate auditorium ideal for recitals,
chamber music concerts, symposia, discussions, master classes, and more.
Seating 268 people, the elegant auditorium evokes a Belle Epoque salon and is
"remarkable for the symmetry of its proportions and the beauty of its
decorations," according to a review from 1891, when the hall was known as the
Chamber Music Hall. In 1986, the Chamber Music Hall was renamed in
recognition of the generosity of the Chairman of the Board of Carnegie Hall, Sanford I. Weill, and his wife, Joan.
Other facilities The building also contains the Carnegie Hall Archives, established in 1986, and the Rose
Museum, which opened in 1991. Studios above the Hall contain working spaces for artists in the performing and
graphic arts including music, drama, dance, as well as architects, playwrights, literary agents, photographers, and
painters.
Architecture Carnegie Hall is one of the last large buildings in New York built entirely of masonry, without a
steel frame; however, when several flights of studio spaces were added to the building near the turn of the 20th
century, a steel framework was erected around segments of the building. The exterior is rendered in narrow Roman
bricks of a mellow ochre hue, with details in terracotta and brownstone. The foyer avoids contemporary Baroque
theatrics with a high-minded exercise in the Florentine Renaissance manner: white plaster and gray stone form a
harmonious system of round-headed arched openings and Corinthian pilasters that support an unbroken cornice,
with round-headed lunettes above it, under a vaulted ceiling. The famous white and gold interior is similarly
restrained.
History
Andrew Carnegie -- 1913 Carnegie Hall is named after Andrew Carnegie, who paid for its
construction. Construction began in 1890, and was carried out by Isaac A. Hopper and
Company. Although the building was in use from April 1891, the official opening night was
on May 5, with a concert conducted by maestro Walter Damrosch and composer Peter Ilyich
Tchaikovsky. Originally known simply as "Music Hall" (the words "Music Hall founded by
Andrew Carnegie" still appear on the façade above the marquee), the hall was renamed
Carnegie Hall in 1893 after board members of the Music Hall Company of New York (the
hall's original governing body) persuaded Carnegie to allow the use of his name.
The hall was owned by the Carnegie family until 1925, when Carnegie's widow sold it to a
real estate developer, Robert E. Simon. When Simon died in 1935, his son, Robert E. Simon, Jr. took over. By the
mid-1950s, changes in the music business prompted Simon to offer Carnegie Hall for sale to the New York
Philharmonic, which booked a majority of the hall's concert dates each year. The orchestra declined, since they
planned to move to Lincoln Center, then in the early stages of planning. At the time, it was widely believed that
New York City could not support two major concert venues. Facing the loss of the hall's primary tenant, Simon was
forced to offer the building for sale. A deal with a commercial developer fell through, and by 1960, with the New
York Philharmonic on the move to Lincoln Center, the building was slated for demolition to make way for a
commercial skyscraper. Under pressure from a group led by violinist Isaac Stern and many of the artist residents,
special legislation was passed that allowed the city of New York to buy the site from Simon for $5 million (which
he would use to establish Reston, VA), and in May 1960 the nonprofit Carnegie Hall Corporation was created to
run the venue. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962.
The NBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Arturo Toscanini, frequently recorded in the Main Hall for RCA
Victor. Several of the concerts were televised by NBC, preserved on kinescopes, and have been released on home
video. Most of the greatest performers of classical music since the time Carnegie Hall was built have performed in
the Main Hall, and its lobbies are adorned with signed portraits and memorabilia. Many legendary jazz and popular
music performers have also given memorable performances at Carnegie Hall including Benny Goodman, Judy
Garland, Shirley Bassey, Harry Belafonte, James Gang, Nina Simone and Stevie Ray Vaughan, all of whom made
celebrated live recordings of their concerts there.
On 15 June 1892 Sissieretta Jones became the first African-American to sing at the Music Hall (renamed Carnegie
Hall the following year). Carnegie Hall was the first major concert venue in the U.S. to hold a biracial music
performance On January 16, 1938, the Benny Goodman Orchestra gave a sold-out swing and jazz concert that also
featured, among other guest performers, Count Basie and members of Duke Ellington's orchestra.
Rock and roll music first came to Carnegie Hall when Bill Haley and his Comets appeared in a variety benefit
concert on May 6, 1955. Rock acts were not regularly booked at the Hall, however, until February 12, 1964, when
The Beatles performed two shows during their historic first trip to the United States. Promoter Sid Bernstein
convinced Carnegie officials that allowing a Beatles concert at the venue "would further international
understanding" between the United States and Great Britain. Since then numerous rock, blues, jazz and country
performers have appeared at the hall every season. Ike and Tina Turner performed a concert there April 1, 1971,
which resulted in their album "What You Hear is What You Get". The Turners' album featured their bombastic
twelve minute rendition of "Proud Mary". The Beach Boys played concerts there in 1971 and 1972, the last of
which has since been heavily bootlegged. Chicago recorded their mammoth 4 LP box set "Chicago at Carnegie
Hall" in 1971. Pink Floyd played Carnegie Hall on May 1 and 2, 1972, performing selections from what would
become The Dark Side of the Moon. A bootleg recording from these performances has been widely circulated.
Renovations and additions
Carnegie Hall Tower In 1987–1989, a 60-floor office tower, named Carnegie Hall
Tower, designed by Cesar Pelli & Associates, was completed next to the hall on the
same block. New backstage space and banquet spaces, contained within the tower,
connect with the main Carnegie Hall building.
The Carnegie Hall Archives Unexpectedly, for most concert-goers, it emerged in 1986 that
Carnegie Hall had never consistently maintained an archive. Without a central repository, a
significant portion of Carnegie Hall's documented history had been dispersed. In preparation
for the celebration of Carnegie Hall's centennial (1991), the Carnegie Hall Archives was
established.
Carnegie Hall joke -- An old joke has become part of the folklore of the hall. One of the earliest print versions of
the joke runs as follows:
Rumor is that a pedestrian on Fifty-seventh Street, Manhattan, stopped Jascha Heifetz and inquired, "Could you tell
me how to get to Carnegie Hall?" "Yes," said Heifetz. "Practice!" The Directions page of the Carnegie Hall Web
site alludes to the joke. Various performers have told variations of the joke, including Emmylou Harris and The
Roches. The pop band Sparks have a song called "How Do I Get to Carnegie Hall?" on their 2002 album Lil'
Beethoven based on the joke. The joke is also referenced in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds when Brad
Pitt's character Aldo says "You know how you get to Carnegie Hall, don't ya? Practice".
Finances - The hall's operating budget for the 2008-2009 season was $84 million. For 2007-2008, operating costs
exceeded revenues from operations by $40.2 million. With funding from donors, investment income and
government grants, the hall ended the that season with $1.9 million more in total revenues than total costs.
The hall's employee who oversees props was paid $530,000 in salary and benefits during the fiscal year that ended
in June 2008. The four other members of the full-time stage crew—two carpenters and two electricians—had an
average income of $430,000 during that period. By comparison, the top highest paid non-union employees were the
Artistic and Executive Director, Clive Gillinson, who was paid $946,000 in salary and benefits; the Chief Financial
Officer, at $352,000, and the General Manager, at $341,000.
The New York Metropolitan Opera Backstage Tour
NOTE: For security reasons, backpacks, briefcases, shopping bags, luggage, and other packages are not permitted
on the tour, though a small ladies’ handbag/wallet may be carried. Tourists with bags and packages will be
turned away from the tour and not refunded or rescheduled. Checkroom facilities are not available, so please
plan accordingly. Refunds will not be made. Photography is not permitted while in the Metropolitan Opera House.
The Metropolitan Opera Guild Backstage Tours are held during the Met performance season. Tours are not held on
days of final dress rehearsals, or other special events in the opera house. Backstage tours offer a fascinating
behind-the-scenes look at the Met, including the expansive scenic and carpentry shops where sets are built and
painted; the costume, wardrobe, make-up and wig departments that prep and primp today’s star singers for the
stage; rehearsal rooms where productions first take shape; the massive stage complex where the action comes to
life; and the crown jewel auditorium.
Background: The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded April 28, 1880, is a major
presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Peter Gelb is the company's general manager. The music
director is James Levine.
The Metropolitan Opera is America's largest classical music organization, and annually presents some 220 opera
performances. The home of the company, the Metropolitan Opera House, is considered by many to be one of the
premier opera stages in the world, and is among the largest in the world. The Met, as it is commonly called, is one
of the twelve resident organizations at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Now in its 127th season, is a
vibrant home for the most creative and talented artists, including singers, conductors, composers, orchestra
musicians, stage directors, designers, visual artists, choreographers, and dancers from around the world. Known as
the venue for the world’s greatest voices, the Met has been under the musical direction of James Levine since
1976. Maestro Levine is credited with having created one of opera’s finest orchestras and choruses.
The Met presents a wide array of about 27 operas each year in a season which lasts from late September through
early May. The operas are presented in a rotating repertory schedule with seven performances of four different
works presented each week. Performances are given in the evening Monday through Saturday with a matinée on
Saturday. Several new opera productions are offered each season. Sometimes these are borrowed from or shared
with other major opera houses. The rest are given in revivals of productions from previous seasons.
The Met's huge performing company consists of a large symphony-sized orchestra, a chorus, children's choir, ballet
company, and many supporting and leading solo singers. The Met's roster of singers is drawn from the ranks of the
world's most famous artists. Some of its singers' careers have been developed by the Met itself through its young
artists programs. Others have been engaged from companies around the world. Many, such as Luciano Pavarotti
and Anna Netrebko, have achieved world fame while singing at the Met, and a number, such as Renée Fleming and
Plácido Domingo, are longtime regular members of the Met's roster (Domingo has sung at the Met since 1968).
The Met's artistic standards are considered to be among the highest in the world. The company's stage facilities and
technical staff offer leading directors and designers a state of the art environment in which to create any kind of
production. The Met's production designs range from elegant and traditional to highly innovative and avant-garde.
Beyond performing in the opera house in New York, the Met has gradually expanded its audience as new
technologies have become available. It has broadcast live weekly on radio since 1931 and has regularly presented
performances on television since 1977. In 2006, the Met introduced live satellite radio broadcasts three times a
week and live high-definition video transmissions presented to audiences in cinemas throughout the world.
The Metropolitan Opera was founded in 1883, with its first opera house built on Broadway and 39th Street by a
group of wealthy businessmen who wanted their own theater. In the company’s early years, the management
changed course several times, first performing everything in Italian (even Carmen and Lohengrin), then everything
in German (even Aida and Faust), before finally settling into a policy of performing most works in their original
language, with some notable exceptions.
Almost from the beginning, it was clear that the opera house on 39th Street did not have adequate stage facilities.
However, it was not until the Metropolitan Opera joined with other New York institutions in forming Lincoln
Center for the Performing Arts that a new home became possible. The new Metropolitan Opera House, which
opened at Lincoln Center in September of 1966, was equipped with the finest technical facilities.
Many great conductors have helped shape the Met, beginning with Wagner’s disciple Anton Seidl in the 1880s and
1890s and Arturo Toscanini who made his debut in 1908. There were two seasons with both Toscanini and Gustav
Mahler on the conducting roster. James Levine made his debut in 1971, celebrating his 40th anniversary in the
2010–11 season, and has been Music Director since 1976. (He held the title of Artistic Director between 1986 and
2004.)
The Met has given the U.S. premieres of some of the most important operas in the repertory. Among Wagner’s
works, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Das Rheingold, Siegfried, Götterdämmerung, Tristan und Isolde, and
Parsifal were first performed in this country by the Met. Other American premieres have included Boris Godunov,
Der Rosenkavalier, Turandot, Simon Boccanegra, and Arabella. The Met’s 31 world premieres include Puccini’s
La Fanciulla del West and Il Trittico, Humperdinck’s Königskinder, and several recent works. An additional 37
operas have had their Met premieres since 1976.
Hänsel und Gretel was the first complete opera broadcast from the Met on Christmas Day 1931. Regular Saturday
afternoon live broadcasts quickly made the Met a permanent presence in communities throughout the United States
and Canada.
In 1977, the Met began a regular series of televised productions with a performance of La Bohème, viewed by more
than four million people on public television. Over the following decades, more than 70 complete Met
performances have been made available to a huge audience around the world. Many of these performances have
been issued on video, laserdisc, and DVD.
In 1995, the Met introduced Met Titles, a unique system of simultaneous translation. Met Titles appear on
individual screens mounted on the back of each row of seats, for those members of the audience who wish to utilize
them, but with minimum distraction for those who do not. Titles are provided for all Met performances in English,
Spanish, and German.
Each season the Met stages more than 200 opera performances in New York. More than 800,000 people attend the
performances in the opera house during the season, and millions more experience the Met through new media
distribution initiatives and state-of-the-art technology.
The Met continues its hugely successful radio broadcast series—now in its 80th year—the longest-running classical
music series in American broadcast history. It is heard around the world on the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera
International Radio Network. In December 2006, the company launched The Met: Live in HD, a series of
performance transmissions shown live in high definition in movie theaters around the world. The series expanded
from an initial six transmissions to 12 in the 2010–11 season and today reaches over 1,500 venues in 46 countries.
The Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum, located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, is the second-largest art museum in
New York City, and one of the largest in the United States. Arnold L. Lehman is the museum's Director.
One of the premier art institutions in the world, its permanent collection includes objects ranging from ancient
Egyptian masterpieces to contemporary art, as well as the art of many other cultures. Housed in a 560,000 square
foot Beaux-Arts building, approximately 500,000 patrons visit the museum each year. Located in Central Brooklyn,
the museum is a half-hour from midtown Manhattan and about fifteen minutes from downtown Brooklyn. It is
served by the Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum subway station on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line (2 and 3), and
the nearby Botanic Garden station of the Franklin Avenue Shuttle.
History - Opened in 1897 and founded by Augustus Graham, the Brooklyn Museum building is a steel frame
structure—built to the standards of classical masonry—designed by the famous architectural firm of McKim, Mead,
and White and built by the Carlin Construction Company. The initial design for the Brooklyn Museum was four
times as large as the actualized version; actualized plans reflect a compromise to the specifications of the New York
City government. Daniel Chester French, the noted sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial, was the principal designer of
the pediment sculptures and the monolithic 12½ foot figures along the cornice. The figures were carved by 11
different sculptors. French was also the designer of the two allegorical figures Brooklyn and Manhattan currently
flanking the museum's entrance .
The Brooklyn Museum changed its name to Brooklyn Museum of Art in 1997, shortly before the start of Arnold
L. Lehman's current term as director. On March 12, 2004, the museum announced that it would revert to its
previous name. In April 2004, a new entrance pavilion, designed by James Stewart Polshek and facing Eastern
Parkway, opened at the Brooklyn Museum.
Art and exhibitions- The Brooklyn Museum exhibits collections that seek to embody the rich artistic heritage of
world cultures. The museum is well-known for its expansive collections of Egyptian and African art, in addition to
17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th century paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts throughout a wide range of schools.
Egyptian Art - Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern Art -The Brooklyn Museum has been
building a collection of Egyptian artifacts since the beginning of the twentieth century, incorporating both
collections purchased from others, such as the collection of American Egyptologist Charles Edward
Wilbour, and objects obtained in archeological excavations sponsored by the museum. The Egyptian
collection includes objects ranging from statuary - including the well-known "Bird Lady" terra cotta
figure - to papyrus documents.
American Art -The museum's collection of American art dates back to its being given Francis Guy's
Winter Scene in Brooklyn in 1846. Items in the American Art collection include portraits, pastels,
sculptures, and prints; all items in the collection date to between circa 1720 and circa 1945.
Represented in the American Art collection are works by artists such as William Edmondson), John
Singer Sargent Georgia O'Keeffe (, and Winslow Homer (Among the most famous items in the collection
are Gilbert Stuart's portrait of George Washington and Edward Hicks's The Peaceable Kingdom.
Arts of Africa - With over five thousand items in its collection, the Brooklyn Museum boasts one of
the largest collections of African art in any American art museum. Although the title of the collection
implies that it includes art from all of the African continent, in reality works from Africa are subcategorized into a number of collections. Western and Central sub-Saharan works are collected under
the banner of African Art, while Northern African and Egyptian art are grouped with the Islamic and
Egyptian art collections, respectively.
Arts of the Pacific Islands-The museum's collection of Pacific Islands art began in 1900 with the acquisition of
one hundred wooden figures and shadow puppets from New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia);
with that hundred items as its foundation, the collection has grown to now encompass close to five thousand works.
Art objects in this collection are crafted from a wide variety of materials; the museum lists "coconut fiber, feathers,
shells, clay, bone, human hair, wood, moss, and spider webs" as among the materials used make artworks including
masks, tapa cloths, sculpture, and jewelry.
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art -The museum’s center for feminist art opened in 2007 and is
dedicated to preserving the history of the movement since the late 20th century as well as raising awareness of
feminist contributions to art and informing the future of this area of artistic dialogue. Along with an exhibition
space, and library, the center features a gallery housing a masterwork by Judy Chicago, a large installation called
The Dinner Party.
Our Group Tour: We will be taking a docent-guided “Highlights of the Brooklyn Museum” tour. It is the perfect
tour for first-time visitors and explores various objects throughout the Museum’s vast collections.
This is the beautiful space where we will be eating lunch at the museum!
Beaux-Arts Court - This magnificent space, measuring 10,000 square feet
and two stories high, rises 60 feet above the floor to culminate in a
dramatic skylight. Reopened in 2008 following a ten-month renovation
period, this timeless space boasts historic features such as original
archways, a large brass chandelier, and an updated glass-tile floor
originally completed in 1927. While rich in history, the court offers
modern-day amenities including air-conditioning, a contemporary lighting
system, and a recently completed bridal suite.
Other Special Exhibits showing while we’re there:
reOrder: An Architectural Environment by Situ Studio
March 4, 2011–January 15, 2012
Great Hall, 1st Floor
Thinking Big: Recent Design Acquisitions
March 4–May 29, 2011
South Gallery, 1st floor
Tipi: Heritage of the Great Plains
February 18–May 15, 2011
Schapiro Wing, Cantor Gallery, 5th Floor
Lorna Simpson: Gathered
January 28–August 21, 2011.
Sackler Center for Feminist Art, 4th Floor
Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera
November 19, 2010–April 10, 2011
Robert E. Blum Gallery, 1st Floor
Body Parts: Ancient Egyptian Fragments and Amulets
November 19, 2009–November 27, 2011
Special Exhibitions Hall, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor
The Brooklyn Botannical Gardens
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is a botanical garden in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. The
52-acre garden includes a number of specialty "gardens within the Garden," plant collections, and the Steinhardt
Conservatory, which houses the C.V. Starr Bonsai Museum, three climate-themed plant pavilions, a white cast-iron
and glass aquatic plant house, and an art gallery. Founded in 1910, the Garden holds over 10,000 kinds of plants
and each year welcomes over 900,000 visitors from around the world. BBG has about 165 full-time and 90 parttime employees along with 600 volunteers. Its annual operating budget is $16.2 million.
We will be visiting the garden for the opening day of the Annual Plant Sale, one of the most popular
events of the year. While this public event is going on, we are free to roam around the spectacular
collection and enjoy looking the hundreds of plants for sale.
Specialty gardens and collections
Cherry Esplanade
The Garden has more than 200 cherry trees of forty-two Asian species
and cultivated varieties, making it one of the foremost cherry-viewing
sites outside of Japan. The first cherries were planted at the garden
after World War I, a gift from the Japanese government. Each spring
at BBG, when the trees are in bloom, a month-long cherry blossom
viewing festival called Hanami is held, culminating in a weekend
celebration called Sakura Matsuri. Cherry trees are found on the
Cherry Esplanade and Cherry Walk, in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond
Garden, and in many other locations in the Garden. Depending on weather conditions, the Asian
flowering cherries bloom from late March or early April to mid-May.
The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden
BBG's Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden was the first Japanese garden to be created in an
American public garden. It was constructed in 1914-15 at a cost of $13,000, a gift of
early BBG benefactor and trustee Alfred T. White, and it first opened to the public in
June 1915. Widely considered by numerous landscape architects, to be the masterpiece
of its creator, Japanese landscape designer Takeo Shiota (1881–1943). Shiota was born
in a small Japanese village about 40 miles (64 km) from Tokyo, and emigrated to the
United States in 1907.
The garden is a blend of the ancient hill-and-pond style and the more modern strollgarden style, in which various landscape features are gradually revealed along winding
paths. Its 3 acres (1.2 ha) contain hills, a waterfall, a pond, and an island, all artificially
constructed. Carefully placed rocks also play leading roles. Among the architectural
elements of the garden are wooden bridges, stone lanterns, a viewing pavilion, a torii or
gateway, and a Shinto shrine.
The Cranford Rose Garden
In 1927, Walter V. Cranford, a construction engineer whose firm built
many of Brooklyn's subway tunnels, donated $15,000 to BBG for a
rose garden. Excavation revealed an old cobblestone road two feet
below the surface and tons of glacial rock, which had to be carted away
on horse-drawn barges.
The Cranford Rose Garden opened in June 1928. It was designed by Harold
Caparn, a landscape architect, and Montague Free, the Garden's horticulturist.
Many of the original plants are still in the garden today. There are over 5,000 bushes of nearly 1,400 kinds of roses,
including wild species, old garden roses, hybrid tea roses, grandifloras, floribundas, polyanthas, hybrid perpetuals,
climbers, ramblers, and miniature roses.
The Shakespeare Garden
A donation from Henry C. Folger, founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. paved the way
for the construction of BBG's original Shakespeare Garden in 1925. Since moved to a different location in the
Garden, this English cottage garden exhibits more than 80 plants mentioned in William Shakespeare's plays and
poems. Plant labels give the plants' common or Shakespearean names, their botanical names, relevant quotations,
and, in some cases, a graphic representation of the plant.
You may also wish to look for the Alice Recknagel Ireys Fragrance Garden, the Plant Family Collection and
the Steinhardt Conservatory Desert Collection, among others.
Plant science and research - Less apparent to the casual visitor are BBG's diverse programs in scientific
research, youth education, and community horticulture. Scientists at Brooklyn Botanic Garden are undertaking a
comprehensive study of the plants of metropolitan New York, called the New York Metropolitan Flora project, or
NYMF. The purpose of NYMF is to catalog and describe all vascular plants growing in the region.
The BBG Herbarium houses about 300,000 specimens of preserved plants, particularly plants from the New York
metropolitan area. These specimens, some from as early as 1818, create a historical record and aid BBG scientists
in tracking species, analyzing the spread of invasive plants, and modeling changes in the metro region's vegetation.
There are also holdings from the western United States, the Galapagos Islands, Bolivia, and Mauritius.
Education programs
Greenery in early July at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
The Garden's Education department runs a full range of adult and children's classes
and events, and also educates thousands of school and camp groups throughout the
year.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a founding partner of the Brooklyn Academy of Science
and the Environment (BASE), a small public high school dedicated to science,
environmental studies, and urban ecology that was launched in 2003. The school is operated by a partnership
between BBG, Prospect Park Alliance, and the New York City Department of Education. BASE graduated its first
class in 2007.
BBG's Garden Apprentice Program (GAP) provides internships for students in grades 8 through 12 in gardening,
science education, and environmental issues. The program offers students training and volunteer placements with
increasing levels of responsibility for up to four years. Project Green Reach is a science-focused school outreach
program which annually reaches nearly 2,500 students and teachers in public and nonpublic schools in underserved
neighborhoods.