The Ragtime musical.

I really enjoyed the musical. It was long epical musical, with a lot of characters and a lot thing that were going on. There was immigrant theme, racism theme, love, hate – everything and even more you need for an epic tragic musical. The main theme was reaching your dream, fighting for your rights, freedom. Which is really close to me, because I moved to the USA only a little bit more then 2 years ago.

Sets were quite impressive. Huge three level construction on stage. Reminded me “Next to Normal” sets for some reasons. When the curtain went up and people saw that massive three-level construction full of people they started applauding. It was really gorgeous. I heard that original Broadway production was very expensive and that they even had an original working car from the beginning of the 20st century. Now they only have frames of a car, so audience has to put their imagination to work to see what is inside. The light design also impressed me. The colors of the “sky” were changing from one to another which definitely added impression to the story and helped to imagine different scenes.

It was the first show of this season which made me cry at the end. The end of the musical was very tragic and full of hope at the same time. The finale reprise “On the wheels of a dream” stuck in my head, maybe because it was final reprise and the end was so tragic and inspiring. Although, I can’t really recall other songs. I don’t think this type of musical which I would listen as a soundtrack in my I-pod. But, still, it was an amazing theatre experience and I really enjoyed it.

Toxic Avenger Musical.

I like musicals more than plays. I guess, because I was hungry for musicals a long time while I lived in Russia, St Petersburg (musical theatre is not really popular there). I have my own philosophy about musicals. Musicals can show what a person is feeling inside at a particular moment of his or her life; when the person is sad, or happy, or depressed, or bored, or just absolutely anything. Some people think musicals are not real. Like, people don’t sing or dance on the streets. But actually they do, in their minds and in their hearts. Although I like musicals that much, I didn’t like the musical Toxic Avenger. Let me explain why.

It is not that I didn’t enjoy the process of watching the musical. But it didn’t touch me much. It was too silly for me, too unserious. I know this is a comedy. But, even in every comedy there are several touching songs and pretty “serious” main idea. Say, “Avenue Q”, it’s a comedy, but it has some important points about the meaning of life, struggling of young people after college, finding your place, love, coming out… I mean it full of a deep meaning. I didn’t find any deep meaning in Toxic Avenger, unfortunately. From the positive moments, it was fun to watch once, and I definitely didn’t want to leave the show (like I wanted while watching “Rock Of Ages”).

To sum this up, the Toxic Avenger was a fun show to watch, but if I were producer of the show (or an author) I would definitely worked more on emotions and feelings of the characters, and added some extra meaning to it.

The Understudy.

I was expecting to see a play somehow connected to theatre life, because I know that understudy is an alternate person for an actor in theatre. But I didn’t expect to see such a banal and boring play. The classing problems of struggling actors, high budget movies with low quality of acting, relation of true art and money. Common, give me a break! I have seen it all before and, unfortunately I didn’t see anything new or interesting in this play.

I know this is a comedy, but the acting was too unrealistic, I just didn’t believe the characters. Especially I didn’t t like the acting of the Julie White. I know she it Tony Award winner, but it was annoying; I have seen high school productions better than this. I call it overacting. I mean, common, it was too much even for a comedy.

What I liked in this play is fictional play of Kafka. It was the only interesting moment with some food for thoughts.

Perhaps, from all the plays and musicals I saw this season I didn’t like this play most. I guess it is just not for me. I hope people who paid money for this play enjoyed it at least a little bit. But I will be looking forward to the new Off-Broadway play experience.

Night Watcher.

Sometimes it is interesting to watch a one-person play for a change. Being tired of Broadway musicals with huge cast and expensive sets, I really was looking forward to see the “Night Watcher”. This play is about relationships of a woman and children, although she had never had children. This play is funny sometimes, sometimes it is sad. It shows a huge gap between generations. It also shows a lot of problems of teenagers, such as pregnancy, or like their parents don’t care about them.

It also shows how children naïve, and although nowadays they have serious “adult” problems, they probably more naïve then previous generations at their age. Like, it was really touching, when one of the girls reminded four or five times to her “aunty” that her dog died, and then, asked “Aunty, can I be your doggy now?” It shows that children these days, despite they look mature, have adult problems, and sometimes act aggressive, need more attention and love.

Charlayne Woodard’s performance was amazing. When she played a child I believed that this was the child. No doubt, she is very talented actress, and she carried her role in “Night Watcher” well.

I expected that two hours would be boring, because I love big Broadway musicals and it was one-person Off-Broadway play. But two hours went so fast that I wanted more. I really enjoyed the play and I am glad I started discovering the world of Off-Broadway theatre.

Memphis Broadway Musical.

On a Tuesday night, September 29th, I saw a new Broadway musical “Memphis” and attended a discussion with creative and cast members afterwards. I would have probably skipped this musical, if it wasn’t a part of a BroadwaySpace.com event, the site where I free-lance from time to time as a video correspondent. You can see my video report about this show from the main page of the site (I am featured there).

This show about a disk-jockey (Huey) who tries to promote the black music on a local radio (and later on a local TV station) of Memphis and falls in love to an African-American singer. The only problem is that it is 50s and music performed by African Americans is not a common thing on the radio. Mixed (white and black) couples are also rare phenomenon. Hence, a lot of problems appear on the way of Huey and his supporters.

From the beginning of the Act 1, the first thing I noticed – it is similarities to the “Hairspray”, in such things as style of music, the approximate time period (50s-60s), and the plot (African Americans on TV and radio). It even has the same energy level, sometimes I even danced along with the actors on my seat (I always do it as long as I enjoy the music and do not disturb people around). A thing that touched me is that the marriages between black and white people were forbidden in the fifties and it is a part of the plot. It is easy to make a parallel between that issue and today’s Gay Marriage problem. At the end of the second act I almost cried, because this problem (mixed marriage) was really affecting the main characters.

The second act was a little bit undeveloped in my opinion. Everything finished too fast, like they just wanted to wrap it up fast. But there were some amazing dancing numbers and a couple of dramatic moments too.

Speaking about sets, light design and choreography I want to say that the sets gave an impression of the Memphis Streets in the 50s, and other locations, such as a radio office, a night club, or a shop. I sat too far though, so I can’t fully review it. The same thing about acting, it looked good from the balcony level, but I can’t tell more, because I haven’t seen all the face expressions and emotions. I really enjoyed the choreography; it was really beautiful and energetic, even from the balcony level.

To sum all this up, I want to say that I enjoyed the “Memphis” experience. Although, it really reminds me the “Hairspray” at many points. The score and songs were good, but I didn’t really remember any of them. In other words, it was a good experience, but not great. I think Broadway needs fresh ideas and fresh music to bring young people to the theaters. Producers (writers, composers, and lyricists) should really stop doing analogs of the commercial successful shows, like “Hairspray” and create something new, modern and suitable for modern audience.

No more Spanish in West Side Story. How do we feel about it?

To be honest, the Spanish language has not been bothering me a lot in “West Side Story”. Even though I don’t speak Spanish at all, I was able to understand the tone of the performance. But it is definitely will be much easier for me to feel the show when such wonderful songs as “I feel pretty” or “Boy like that” are performed in English.

I don’t think that the language was the worst problem of the show. And, you can read my West Side Story review to see what I don’t like about the show. I just have read several opinions at different online forums and blogs, and the most of people there agree, that the original lyrics in English is much better. So, probably producers made the right decision to change it back to the origins.

Despite any changes and mixed-to-negative reviews after opening night, it looks like "West Side Story" is doing great on Broadway. I mean, financially. It earned a slightly more than one million of dollars for the last Week. This is pretty good. I am sure any Broadway show would want such popularity among tourists! I would definitely want if I were a producer!

By Broadway Sergey

Steve Rosen Exclusive Interview for BroadwaySergey.com

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of talking to Broadway star Steve Rosen (The Farnsworth Invention, Spamalot and New Revival of Guys and Dolls) and got an interview, he is such an amazing performer and entertainer, THANK YOU STEVE!

Dave: You are from the beautiful city of Rochester but you now live in NYC, what one do you like better?

Steve: Both have their plusses and minuses. NY is the center of the universe. The most interesting art, theatre and people in the world are here, no question. Rochester is a bucolic escape from all of this. It's quiet and cultured. It's still a little "red state" for my taste, but I am equal parts city and country mouse. I can't say I like one better, it's like my Yin and Yang.

Dave: Out of every show you've ever done, what is your favorite and why and you HAVE TO pick ONE, you have no choice?

Steve: My favorite show I've ever done was probably The Farnsworth Invention by Aaron Sorkin at The Music Box Theatre on Broadway. It was a play about the invention of television. I loved the play and we didn't run nearly as long as we deserved, but I had more fun with the cast of that show than any other I've done. Ever. The people you work with are the ones that make long runs tolerable.

Dave: Do you have any other things you consider talents other than acting and singing?

Steve: I'm also a writer and a comedic improviser. I co-created a show called Don't Quit Your Night Job (www.dontquitnyc.com) which is a monthly benefit where Broadway stars get to goof off on stage for charity. I also am working on writing a TV pilot with my friend and DQ collaborator David Rossmer.

Dave: When you were young what actors did you look up to and inspired you?

Steve: When I was a kid I was obsessed with Zero Mostel, who was a big theatre star in the 50s, 60s and 70s. I really liked listening to the soundtrack of Fiddler on the Roof and played Tevye in high school and just kind of got interested. I read his biography and learned about his political history (getting blacklisted) and actually own an oil painting that he painted that I bought on eBay.

Dave: You been in quite a few Broadway shows, has there ever been a time when you've said "I just don't feel like performing tonight?"

Steve: I do. But then when you walk by the crowd of people waiting to get into the theatre, that feeling instantly subsides.

Dave: Are there any negatives to being an actor?

Steve: There are LOTS of negatives about being an actor. Actually, most of being an actor are negatives. Constant rejection, career pitfalls, having to work enough to get health insurance, shows closing without notice...etc. At any time, 10% of all of the members of the Actors Equity Association are working. That means 90% are unemployed. It's especially tough for those trying to raise families. Many actors (even ones who are "famous" on Broadway) have side jobs to help make ends meet.

Dave: If you could be in any musical movie what would it be?

Steve: I would love to be in a Spamalot movie if they ever made one.

Dave: Where is your favorite place to eat in NYC?

Steve: El Faro. It's a Spanish restaurant in the West Village where my parents used to date. Chicken Villaroy is my favorite.

Dave: What are your plans for the future?

Steve: I'm doing a Don't Quit Your Night Job this Thursday night, then heading to LA for a few months to try and find some television work.

Dave: If you were stuck on an island what 5 people would like to be with?

Steve: Um..is my dog a person? I've got some very close friends, I don't want anyone to feel left out. :)

Steve Rosen was interviewed by David Perry exclusive for BroadwaySergey.com.