Posts Tagged broadway

Dan Stevens: Broadway Papi


Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens at the stage door of The Heiress in NYC.

Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens at the stage door of The Heiress in NYC.

We have been jonesing for our very own photo of Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens.  But every time we have attempted a revisit of the The Heiress stage door we just barely miss him and are left bereft – it just doesn’t seem to go as envisioned.  That is until now.

Don’t get us wrong…  Sure, we are deeply grateful for his Heiress’ costar Jessica Chastain’s amenable disposition and beautiful smile but in the end gays’ will be gay – and Dan Stevens’ sparkling blue eyes is where our heart thaws.  Sorry Jess…

Our thanks to Stevens for extending us the opportunity for some great shots.

Alas, a fellow pap-ster had to go and drop the bomb on a impending twist contained in the 3rd installment of our beloved Downton series.  And after a little Googling, we happened upon further learning of its resounding truth.

We are crushed yet again.

But we will dutifully watch and mourn (again) when the time comes.  Until such time we will regress to complete ignorance and deeply rooted denial.

 

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Jessica Chastain: The Heiress Stage Door


Jessica Chastain flashes us a smile at The Heiress stage door in NYC on January 2, 2012.

Jessica Chastain flashes us a smile at The Heiress stage door in NYC on January 2, 2012.

There aren’t too many people that we come across, on an daily basis, that we couldn’t find something bad to say about.  It’s true – most folks are wretched, self-serving, duplicitous lot…  Get into the entertainment field and, well, that number expands exponentially.  Jessica Chastain, however, happens to be one of the exceptions.  She is just so damn nice we’d likely sprain something attempting to procure some manifested grievance.

Sure she once surfaced a la Bewitched, seemingly out of thin air, across the street from the trailers mind you, while we were visiting the set of the forthcoming film The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby which costars dream-boat James McAvoy and Viola Davis – during their Bronx set days – but we ultimately got a two shot after a brief sprint.  And the shots were exclusive!

No harm – exercise greatly appreciated.

We watched Chastain greet awaiting fans outside The Heiress stage door, post a matinee performance, and she took the time to accommodate each and every fans request, all the while chatting about whatever topics they brought up – at times nothing to do with the stage production.  And then she provided awaiting paps with a photo-op before saying her goodnight and disappearing.

And we have to say WOW.

That’s some type of gift right there.  To do so with an earnest interest in the stranger in front of you without that Halle Berry fake ass snarly smile creeping into the condescending ‘why are you talking to me’ facial expression creeping in. One that to Chastain’s credit, well, she could bank a fortune extending a how-to to other celebrities lesser talented, but with bigger egos.

Case and point:  A certain diva presently on The Great White Way goes thru immeasurable lengths to not only avoid photographers hoping to get a photo post her performance in a revival that she is getting horrible reviews for but also fans hoping to have her sign their programs.

Ain’t that some shit?

Well, we won’t dwell too much on the likes of ScarJo the wanna be serious actress’ and further praise Ms. Chastain’s humble disposition.

And don’t you just love the shoes?

James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain walk to the set of The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby in the Bronx.

James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain walk to the set of The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby in the Bronx.

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Katie Holmes: Last of The Dead Accounts Matinee


Katie Holmes makes like its Bring Your Daughter to Work Day with a schrieking Suri Cruise as they head to the stage door of Dead Accounts.

Katie Holmes makes like its Bring Your Daughter to Work Day with a shrieking Suri Cruise as they head to the stage door of Dead Accounts.

Katie Holmes is having a rough time of late – professionally speaking.  Her return to the Broadway stage, in the  Theresa Rebeck drama ”Dead Accounts” was universally panned by critics – something that resulted in a kiss of death for the show – and will come to an abrupt end on January 6th.  Way harsh given that it was slated to run for a limited engagement to start with.  Its final curtain will drop on Sunday after only running a reported 27 previews and  a total of 44 performances.

OUCH!

On a side note…  You would think that the suits behind the the production would’ve stepped it up & persevered – if only to save face.  Or have fired their PR team cuz lets be frank – Holmes may not be Maggie Smith but she sure as hell comes with a whirlwind of media attention all her own.  Say nothing of the public’s fascination with the now ex-wife of that Scientology action star who appropriated the one time Dawson’s Creek child star.

Yet Homes keeps on keeping on.  And one must admire her for it.

Her marriage ends with more media coverage than should be allowed – but she keeps on keeping on.  Her returns to the big screen tank one after the other – yet she keeps on keeping on.

And so it goes.

One must also admire the way she goes about attempting to keep it real.

Girl has been spotted trawling the streets of NYC, at times daughter Suri Cruise in tow, and even hopping on the subway regularly   That’s brazen given that she has an army of paps on her tail…

This brings us to reflect on what we witnessed yesterday.

Holmes played out her very own Bring Your Daughter to What Remains of Your Work Days by bringing Suri to the Music Box Theater for her matinee performance on Wednesday and, of course, a whirlwind of attention pursued her.

This in and of itself is not of what we are about to gripe on – OH NO.

The young mommy-dearest’s SUV stops some 100 feet from the stage door and proceeds to exit the car in full view of a swarm of people – photographers included – awaiting her arrival to her call time.

She then proceeds to make like she is still keeping it real by putting Suri down and walking the remainder of the way to the stage door.

Now, do y’all need us to tell you that this didn’t fair well?

Between the series of Paps who followed her car and the Paps who ran to “get the shot” as she walked down the street, all hell broke out as “fans” scrambled to get a better look with their cellphones.

And what does Suri take to doing in the midst of mayhem?

Little drama queen let out a shrieking cry – all the while covering her face with her mitten-ed left hand – until Holmes stopped and picked her much-too old to be carried self and carried her the rest of the way – all the while she was still audibly crying.

This drama which played out rather quickly begs the question:

If you take your security packed SUV to work with your child, knowing you are being tailed and awaited by further Paps, why wouldn’t you let your driver pull up to stage door entrance that has been set up by theater security for your very arrival to make your exit?

Why further fuel an already roaring fire?

It would be one thing if Holmes had been alone and done so – a rather smart move it would’ve been as it maximizes exposure, keeps it real and everybody gets something.

But having a child with you prone to dramatics at the mere surfacing of chaos start shrieking when the inevitable happens is just a bad decision and one documented for the folks at Child Protective Services.

Get your tickets to Dead Accounts while you still can!

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Dan Stevens: The Heiress in NYC


Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens moonlights in The Heiress on The Great White Way.

Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens is the stuff of dirty minded dreams.  This fact is undeniable.  All one must do is look into those blue sparkly eyes of his and moistness surfaces faster than the tide on The Jersey Shore.   And if you don’t believe that statement you are welcomed to stop by & feel our unmentionables.

That Stevens has crossed the pond  for a 16 week limited run starring in The Heiress alongside David Strathairn, Judith Ivey and Jessica Chastain, at the Walter Kerr Theater, made our desire to pull out the Sunday best a no-brainer.  Cuz 16 weeks isn’t a long time and lord knows when he may be back.

We were tickled to experience his prowess live.  Bravo!

But however grand Stevens and his cast mates were there is always a missing link in the otherwise 18k chain.

The honors in this production go to – drum roll please:

Ms. Jessica Chastain.

Chastain, to put it bluntly, was lackluster in the role.  So much so that our neighboring audience member a row behind quipped “she is playing the role as if she has Asperger syndrome,” as the show went into intermission.

Well, that is a bit highbrow of a statement, albeit not without merit.  But we don’t like to rush to assign a disorder to Chastain’s stage prowess.

She was flat in her delivery and appeared to have taken a role beyond her range is all to it really.

Just because you are playing a socially awkward, emotionally challenged character doesn’t mean you have to deliver lines with no vocal intonation.  And the wardrobe department might have tried a bit harder to dress down her elegant shape.

Steven’s and the remainder of the cast more than make up for the lack of delivery by Chastain in our book and if you are an ardent fan of Abbey, as we are, then this should be a must see for you as well.

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Darren Criss: Succeeds on Broadway and Jacks up Tix Prices


Glee's Darren Criss poses for an underwear pic at what appears to be a frat party

There is no denying that Glee’s Darren Criss is not only a fine piece of talented hotness but popular to boot!  And that comes with having made out with another dude on an internationally viewed prime time show.  That’s pure appeal for you!  So it should be of little surprise that Criss is capitalizing on said appeal and branching out on to the stage.  And it just so happens that there is a role damn near tailor made for his diverse skills just become available!

But as his bout on the Great White Way gets officially under way with a three week run in How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying – a role he inherited post Daniel Radcliffe’s revival – the nasty side of business goes and throws greed into the equation!

Never think that the suits are far behind, ready to take from you what you didn’t think you wanted to give…

Playbill reports that tix prices for premium seating for the limited three week engagement have been jacked up by $100 per ticket.  And it’s not like prices to a night of live entertainment were cheap to start with…  That is to say that if you were willing to pay the $302 price you will now have to fork out $402 – + ticket process and handling charges, cuz you know that pushing a button to have a machine print out a ticket if hard work.   And don’t even think that comes with any semblance of a “happy ending.”

So it appears as though the lesson here is how to truly succeed in business without having to much to try…  Cast an already on the rise talent and let the fans hock what they don’t have to raise your profit margins!  Et voila…

True that it has also been reported that there will be limited $30 rush tickets offered, but getting your hands on one of those – emphasis on being limited # of em available – could prove more difficult than finding Criss attending a party in your own hometown and drinking enough beer to end up in this here above kitschy ensemble!

But hell if it were to be part of his costume changes on stage (or backstage for that matter) we’d endure the bitter cold snap presently looming over Gotham to either work some oral magic and procure one of those said rush tix, or seriously consider handing over our lunch money for the pleasure of seeing his fine ass in those skivvies while doing what we know he can do so god darn well.

But it ain’t!  So we won’t!

We have little doubt that he will be stellar in the role – award nomination stellar even – but let’s keep it real, it’s about the money, honey.  We will simply catch him on the small screen and pretend that shit was live.

Break a leg Darren!

Curly haired Darren Criss at the Deathly Hallows NYC Premiere

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America Ferrera: Chicago Stage Bound


America Ferrera, most commonly associated with her Ugly Betty role as Betty Suarez, is heading for the West End stage, reports state.  The Latina actress who wowed critics and the public with her breakout role in “Real Women Have Curves” is now looking to expand her GV with the role of Roxie Hart in the long running musical “Chicago,” come November 7th.

Ferrera appears to be looking to shed her four-year small-screen stint altogether, along with a bevy of weight she has already left behind, by donning the skimpy costume of a scheming murderess wanna-be performer most notably played by Renee Zellweger in the big screen adaptation of the Fosse choreographed musical.

We don’t know what this makes y’all think but we sure as hell didn’t know Ms. Thing could dance and sing!

“Deep in rehearsals,” Ferrera’s Facebook page presently proclaims.

But if Ashley Simpson can give it a twirl why not Betty?

And that ain’t where her stage ambitions end.

No sir.

She is presently slated to star on the Great White Way in the revival of “The Miss Firecracker Contest,” presently scheduled for the 2012 season.

We wish the Emmy winning actress all the bestest.  ‘Break a leg girl!’

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Will Swenson: Priscilla Queen of the Desert Curtain Call


Priscilla Queen of The Desert Stage at the Palace Theater

On our dear friend Elodie’s last evening in NYC we dashed over post torrential rains to catch Will Swenson, Tony Sheldon & Nick Adams in “Priscilla: Queen of the Desert,” at the the Palace Theater.  And damn if the bodies aren’t tight!  We were on the verge of making a wild dash for a bathroom to attempt shedding a few lbs!

The staging is rather kitchy and the cast are talented.  The story however is an exact replica of the famed inde-film of the same title.

This caused us some problems…  We knew exactly where the story was heading and what the next lines were – albeit slightly worded differently.

We wondered why the creative folks behind the show didn’t take more liberties and rather than streamlining directly to over the top camp direct this fabulous group of thespians toward something more natural & gay!  (Yes gay can be natural – Dammit!)

But we ain’t hating – not in the least, we got our cackles in and walked out with our keep-sake sippey cup.

Knowing full well that the folks at the theater will be peaved something terrible – we gladly share with y’all out clips of the curtain call.  Note how close Swenson came to doing a Beyonce down the stilleto shoe…  Fabulous recovery though…

 

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Equus Revealed


Daniel Radcliffe’s stint in the Broadway revival of “Equus” has been talked about to deaf. Or rather his nude scene has – and this dates back to the London run of the show.
But now I can bring you a glimpse of it in action, thanks to the folks at OMG Blog who have surfaced some up-close and “personal” footage of the much talked bout scene – shot from the front row.

So close is the footage you can make out that Mr. Radcliffe has: a) growth potential; b) is BARE – and I don’t mean as in naked. We know that already! I mean bare as in not even a discernible amount of peach fuzz on that ripe bum of his. And c) it appears that he man-scapes his pubes.

That a boy… (no one likes to floss while going deep!) I have a new found respect for the young thespian.

I think a TONY is in the works!

I wonder if I could request a closer inspection…

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