Broadway Sergey - the fan of Broadway number 1 in the World!

The Ragtime musical.

2009-12-25T02:12:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-25T02:07:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-25T01:59:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-25T01:51:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-25T01:34:00.000-08:00

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?

2009-09-05T18:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

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.

John Tartaglia and Shrek news

2009-08-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

John Tartaglia who is known from Broadway’s Avenue Q and Shrek had some bad luck. According to his Facebook, his dogs, Dora and Parker, got into some brownies and could have gotten very sick, but thanks to the staff of the 55th street vet clinic, his dogs will be okay! I pray that John’s dogs will feel as good as new soon.

Other news, John took a leave of absence from Shrek, but, luckily, he will be back in December. I am so sad because he is one of the reasons I wanted to see Shrek. So, Shrek will be losing Tony nominee Brain d’Arcy James (Shrek) and John Tartaglia (Pinocchio), and it is very sad.

By David Perry.

The opinion of the author is not necessarily the opinion of Broadway Sergey.

Cody Green left West Side Story

2009-08-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

On the picture: Dave Perry with Cody Green

As everyone knows, I was not at all impressed by the new revival of West Side Story. One of the best actors in the show Cody Green is now leaving. It’s just not right how one of the best parts in the show has to leave. I could talk all day about how much I didn’t like West Side Story, but in a few short words, Cody Green was my favorite part of the show and now my decision of not going back to West Side Story has been reinforced by a million.

As good as his replacement may be, his replacement is only an understudy and should not take over the role. They should just put him in the role until they find a new replacement. Cody Green’s leave is unknown and, seeing in a way he is a celebrity for winning Bravo’s “Step It Up & Dance”, he could have gotten a better offer. But if I were Cody Green. . .I WOULD HAVE LEFT THAT SHOW TOO!

By David Perry.

The opinion of the author is not necessarily the opinion of Broadway Sergey.

Billy Elliot and South Pacific tours. Yay!

2009-08-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

If you cannot make it to NYC to see two amazing Tony Award winning shows South Pacific and Billy Elliot, don’t worry, they will be going on national tour! South Pacific will start in September and Billy Elliot will start in 2010.

Casting has not been announced for the Billy Elliot yet, but the South Pacific tour announces that former tour Elphaba Carmen Cusack will be portraying the role of Nellie Forbush. Also Matthew Saldivar who you may have seen play Sammy in The Wedding Singer, Kenickie in Grease and White Dude in The Toxic Avenger, will be portraying the role of Luther Billis. I have seen plenty of tours and all have be equivalent to the thrill of a Broadway show. Make sure you see the tours of South Pacific and Billy Elliot.

By David Perry

The opinion of the author is not necessarily the opinion of Broadway Sergey.

Meet the first guest blogger for BroadwaySergey.com

2009-08-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

(On the picture: David Perry with Cody Green.)

Hello, my name is David Perry, I am the newest guest blogger for BroadwaySergey.com! It is such an amazing experience to be writing for a real Broadway blog.

I discovered Sergey from his West Side Story review. My first impression of him was, "This is a boy with a dream, to be a Broadway Producer, I can tell he loves Broadway more than he loves his red shoes," and, after watching more of his videos, I realized I had to be a part of this dream. I have always had a desire to be a Broadway Producer also, and, after talking to him for a while, he gave me this amazing opportunity writing on his website. I think writing for BroadwaySergey.com will help make me the best producer in the world!

Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Sergey.

By David Perry.

The opinion of the author is not necessarily the opinion of Broadway Sergey.

Why do West End producers never publish shows' grosses?

2009-07-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

To those of us who live in the States and love Broadway, it is absolutely usual to know how much money one or another Broadway show makes every week. We can just go to the “New York Times” Theatre section and see the top ten most profitable shows of the last week.

For example, the top 3 shows from the last week are: Wicked ($1,634,385), Lion King ($1,445,842) and Billy Elliot ($1,443,565).

Recently, I was wondering what the top 10 most profitable shows in London are. I was trying to find the information online, but didn’t find anything. Guess why? Because West End doesn’t publish shows’ grosses!

I didn’t find any particular reason why exactly West End shows don’t publish the grosses, except a couple of rumors. One of them says that a long time ago one newspaper in London managed to get grosses from West End producers; the producers often submitted fake amounts to make think that their show is popular. There were a lot of arguing between producers and, eventually, they stopped publishing grosses and the newspaper was closed several months later.

So, now we can only guess what are the top ten most profitable shows on London. Like, we can go to a London theatre breaks web site, or any other web site which sells West End shows tickets, and click on the “top 10 shows”, maybe they are also the most profitable? Let’s see: Billy Elliot, Mamma Mia!, Wicked… Looks like true. :)

Playing Baseball on Broadway and Interviewing Gregory Jbara.

2009-07-22T22:18:00.000-07:00

Recently, I learned how to play baseball (well, at least I was trying to learn) at the weekly Broadway League games in Central Park. I had a lot of fan.

I interviewed a lot of people from Broadway shows, such as Billy Elliot, Hair, Little Mermaid. I even interviews Gregory Jbara, who won Tony Award for the role of Billy’s father in Billy Elliot the musical this year! He told me he saw my videos and knows me.

Enjoy the video:

Find more videos like this on BroadwaySpace

Are you dying to see “Love Never Dies”?

2009-07-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

More and more facts are starting to appear about Phantom of the Opera sequel, which is expected to open in London in Spring 2010.

We almost know for sure that the role of Christine will be played by Sierra Boggess, who was original Little Mermaid on Broadway. I really like the actress and her voice, so, I think, it is a great choice. She played Christine in the Las Vegas production of the “Phantom of the Opera”, so besides her amazing voice and acting skills we can say that she has the “Phantom” experience, which is always a plus.

As for other characters, the role of Erik will be played by Ramin Karimloo, who is currently starring as the Phantom at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London; and the role of Raoul will be, most likely, played by John Barrowman.

But there are a lot of things which are remain unclear. Like, is “Love Never Dies” really going to be opened in 3-4 cities at the same time (well, at least in London and New York City at the same time)? And, if yes, who will be original Broadway cast?

The official “Love Never Dies” site doesn’t say anyhthing about opening dates in London and New York. But it’s quite interesting and interactive. You can watch there all the tweets from people around the world who mention Phantom of The Opera in their short Twitter messages.

Just, let’s hope that soon we will find out opening dates and cities and book our Love Never Dies tickets right away!

Gambling on Times Square a-la “Guys and Dolls”.

2009-07-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

“Guys and Dolls” already closed on Broadway. I remember, after I saw the show I decided to gamble a bit on Times Square. In this video for BroadwaySpace I am gambling a-la “Guys and Dolls” style right in the centre of Manhattan – Times Square.
One woman even gave me a cap as a present. So I won something. I had a lot of fun, and I really hope you will enjoy the video.

It’s sad “Guys and Dolls” closed, because it was a good revival of an amazing classic musical. So, let’s just wait for the new one!

Once again, enjoy the watching!

Oh no, it’s happening again – great Broadway shows are closing!

2009-07-05T02:35:00.000-07:00

It is starting to happen again. Good shows are closing. Ehh. “Avenue Q”, then “Little Mermaid”, and all of them by the end of the summer. I saw Avenue Q 2 times (or 3, I don’t even remember), but I haven’t seen the Little Mermaid yet. I better buy a student rush ticket as soon as I get extra money.

Tony Awards by Broadway Sergey

2009-06-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

My official Tony Awards video for BroadwaySpace is ready. I interviewed a lot of people hanging around Radio City Music Hall. Some of them were regular people, some of them were really jealous that they didn’t get a ticket, some of them were true Broadway actors!

I started from Time Square where a lot of chairs were placed for people who wanted to see Tony on the giant screen. It was quite empty there and I went to Radio City where Red Carpet ceremony had already started. It was more interesting, there were a lot of beautiful people in amazing outfits, but, of course none of them couldn’t compare my sexy orange tuxedo.

Enjoy the video:

Tony Awards 2009 or Billy Elliot rocks!

2009-06-08T00:20:00.000-07:00

I went to Tony Awards 2009. It was an amazing experience. I am glad Billy Elliot won 10 Tonys including the Best Musical of 2009! Congratulations!

Watch my video review of Tony Awards 2009 on YouTube right now:

I predicted that Susan Boyle would sing the “Memory” right at Britain Got Talent!

2009-05-24T18:33:00.000-07:00

I predicted one month ago that Susan Boyle would sing “Memory” from the “Cats” (Which song and from which musical Susan Boyle will perform next time?). And guess what, this Sunday she performed it!!! I am so proud of her and myself because I predicted it right and it shows I am good at show business.

So please, if someone needs such a good person at show business as me you can contact me at my email and offer me a job. You won’t regret! :)
me@BroadwaySergey.com

Britain Got Talent rules! Go go go go Susan Boyle!

Rock of Ages: are you serious?

2009-05-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

I saw “Rock of Ages” recently and was really disappointed. I have only one question: is it joke they got nominated for Tony Awards for the best musical? A bunch of rock hits from the 80s (or somewhere from long long time ago, whatever), which is barely connected with the plot.

It’s the first show in my life I wanted to leave during the intermission ever. I even threw away my Playbill for the first time in my life. Well, I guess that’s because I was born in the 80s, but wasn’t teenager that time. So most of the songs are not familiar to me. Perhaps people over 40 who liked (and/or like now) rock music in their teens would like it, or younger folks who just like rock music of the 80s. But for me it was just a bunch of unfamiliar and extremely loud songs.

These shows are still running on West End!

2009-05-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

Do you miss “Hairspray”, “Spring Awakening”, “Grease”, “Legally Blonde” or “Les Miserables” on Broadway or do you want to see those shows again so badly? Not a problem! These shows are still running in London and you can catch them there!

I would love to see “Legally Blonde” again. And I haven’t seen the “Grease” live on stage yet! Shame on me! Oh well, I hope by the time I am actually in London those shows still will be running.

If you don’t know what show(s) you want to see you can browse the web site West End Theatre Tickets where you can find information about all the West End shows and choose one or a couple you like more.

As I already said I would chose “Legally Blonde” because I saw it only once and just fell in love in that musical! Such an inspiring show, so much feelings end emotions! And unbelievable catchy music and lyrics! And “Grease” because I missed it on Broadway and just want to see it live on stage. Oh and I often sing “Hopelessly devoted to you”, because my heart is broken so often. Ehhh…

Actually I want to see “Hairspray” again too, because very often I wake up with the song “Good morning, Baltimore” in my head and then play it loud on my computer and then all the neighbors and roommate wake up. :)

I am for Billy Elliot! Tony Awards 2009.

2009-05-08T04:08:00.000-07:00

So nominees for the best musical of the year are: Billy Elliot, Next to Normal, Rock Of Ages and Shrek the musical!

I haven’t seen Rock of Ages and Shrek yet, but I don’t think even if I see the shows my opinion will change. Rock of Ages doesn’t have original songs, I am sure I will like it (I love rock musicals) but for the Best Musical of the year I need something more. Shrek – it’s Shrek. Next to normal is good, very good and very depressing for me.

No, it’s good - Broadway has to have different types of musicals (like there are different types of movies) - like musical comedy, drama, thriller, physiological drama and so on. And I agree that”Next to normal” is good in its own genre. I would call it “physiological drama”. But again, it doesn’t have choreography and it’s too heavy, too depressing.

Billy Elliot, on the other hand, has everything Broadway Musical should have: Great touching and inspiring story, a lot of amazing dancing numbers, great songs which make you dance on your seats. And a lot of moments where you can cry. And by the way it’s drama too. Sometimes it’s even emotionally similar to “Next to normal” – I mean relationships of Billy with his mother (who knows the story and watched both of the musicals those people will understand me).

I think that Billy got 15 nominations (and shared the record with the musical “Producers”) for reason and I hope it wins.

Watch my video blog on YouTube: Tony Awards Best Musical 2009

I want to visit London so badly!

2009-05-05T22:15:00.000-07:00

I love musical theatre as you know, and I saw a lot of show on Broadway, but looks like New York City is getting small for me. I want to visit London and see all the best West End musicals there. London has so many interesting shows I want to see that you can’t even imagine. And it’s not that expensive as I thought before. For example, recently I have found one web site which offers West End shows and hotel packages called "West End Theatre Breaks", and discovered a lot of interesting shows there. So let me introduce you 5 West End shows I want to see:

Oliver!

I always wanted to see a professional production of this amazing musical on Broadway or West End, but since there is no any production on Broadway, I really want to see it in London. I hear the production of the musical in West End is just amazing.

Joseph And the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Another great classic musical I want to see live. I already mentioned love to this musical in one of my previous posts. My love to musical theatre started from Andrew Lloyd Webber, and tunes of that musical will always be in my head. Especially such songs like “Any Dream Will Do” or “Prologue” or “Close Every Door”. This show closing on May 30st 2009, but I am sure there will be a lot of revival of that musical and I will see it live on stage.

Sunset Boulevard.

This musical was among first musicals that inspired me (yeah, not surprising, it’s Andrew Lloyd Webber too). I like a lot of songs from that musical, but my favorite (and I bet not only my) is “With one look”. And another song – “As if we never said goodbye” – it’s so touching and emotional that my soul flies away every time when I listen it.

We Will Rock You.

I saw this musical in St. Petersburg, Russia, in Russian language and it was exciting experience. I am sure that West End production of that musical is even much more exciting. It really rocks and I would like to watch it on West End some day!

Les Miserables.

I saw the last revival of the show on Broadway 2 times. But I want to see it also in London. I heard from some people that West End Production is much better than the last revival on Broadway. So if I liked what I saw on Broadway can’t even imagine how I will like what I will see on West End! All the time I see the musical I cry. It’s beautiful, tragic and touching story and definitely worth to see in London!

That was the list of 5 musicals I would see first in London. I hope soon my little dream will come true and I’ll be able to compare the magic of Broadway with magic of West End!

Ideal way to celebrate your birthday on Broadway.

2009-04-29T18:58:00.000-07:00

Do you want to see an ideal Birthday party for musical theatre lover? Then you have to see my new video for BroadwaySpace. They gave me a couple of tickets to watch “9 to 5” on Broadway. Because this is Times Square, where anything is possible I decided to present one ticket to just a random stranger! And I really didn’t want to go alone, to be honest.

Enjoy the party:

Find more videos like this on BroadwaySpace

Which song and from which musical Susan Boyle will perform next time?

2009-04-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

It’s so amazing how press and just regular people in their blogs and YouTube videos are being crazy about Susan Boyle – the most amazing surprise of the “Britain Got Talent 2009”. Now you can’t go through a site about entertainment without noticing a note, blog post or a whole article about her.

As you know she sung “I dreamed a dream” from “Les Miserables”. I like this musical. I saw it on Broadway 2 times. If you saw the performance of the Susan I am sure you were amazed too, like me and literally everyone. I wish every performer on Broadway and West End has the same talent in singing.

Now press discuss change of her style: she wears make up, good designed clothes and really trying to look great. Most people think it will hurt her image and charm and it won’t be the same next time. But I think it’s interesting. It’s interesting to watch how a person changes after success, when a person has a new hope, when a person gets so much attention like never in life. And by the way, I think that she has right to be pretty and it won’t hurt her charm, maybe even will improve it.

But, I am thinking about another question: what song she is going to perform next time? I think it will be on May 23rd. I almost sure it will be another song from a musical. She really loves musicals. I am thinking, maybe the next song will be “Memory” from “Cats”? Do you have any ideas? I can’t wait to see her next performance and wish her good luck in winning the competition!

I am in “9 to 5” promo video! Watch 20-23 seconds! :)

2009-04-13T21:37:00.000-07:00

Watch first 30 seconds of this new promo video of “9 to 5”, around like 20ish seconds I am performing my “9 to 5” dance there! :))

We were shooting my “Broadway Sergey birthday video” (coming soon) and had an idea just to dance around “9 to 5” because the melody was so energetic. A “9 to 5” person was shooting the promo video for the musical. So we decided to make everyone happy and I danced for 2 cameras! It was cool, I felt like a celebrity during a movie shooting or something.

But then it became even funnier - tourists walking around with video and photo cameras started stopping and shooting me dancing! At one point when I looked in front of me there was like 5 cameras aiming me!

So it was good start for the video and I felt excited all day! I am glad I am a little part of “9 to 5”promo now :)

Is it really that hard to find a person to see a Broadway show for free?

2009-04-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were shooting a new video for BroadwaySpace.com. It was my birthday party video, although my birthday was a couple of weeks earlier. Broadway Space gave me 2 tickets for a new Broadway musical “9 to 5”for my birthday, so I decided to share experience of watching a new Broadway musical with just a random stranger I would find in the theatre district.

If you think it was really easy to find a person who would agree to watch a Broadway show for free – you think wrong. It’s not that easy. First of all Times Square full of tourists who travels in groups or at least in couples. So nobody wants to leave his or her friend(s), even to watch a Broadway show with me. And at the second, even several single persons we found there were scared or something that they refused to see “9 to 5” for free. Like, common, it’s not a joke and there is no catch. I offer you a free ticket which would cost $120 for you. Whatever, I guess they just weren’t big theatre fans.

Finally, we went to a bar and found a person there. You will see everything in my next BroadwaySpace video really soon. I can’t wait to see it, because I had a lot of fun, it was a great birthday party for me!

And ones again I want to thank BroadwaySpace.com for the tickets!

“Hair” Broadway Review.

2009-03-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

I remember the event very clearly. August 2008, Central park, 5 30 - 6 am. I came to the one of Central Park entrances which is situated not far from the Museum of National History. There were already standing a lot of people. Well, like 40-50 people. It’s not a lot if compare with the amount of people that would be in the line just in a few hours. The line was well-organized. Around 6 am the leader of the line (who looked like and probably was true hippie) waved his hand and the line started moving towards the box office. In several minutes we were near the box office, people started to sit and lie on the grass, someone brought blankets and chairs. I got a large blue beach towel with me. I spent there around 8 hours to get a couple of tickets to the “Hair” in Central Park. And it was totally worth it.

At the end of the performance, during the curtain call I was among the first people who danced on stage with the actors. It was so much fun, so much energy, so much excitement. When I found out the revival of “Hair” was coming to Broadway right from Central Park I was excited and at the same time I didn’t hope for anything because I know that it would be hard to watch the show after such an amazing Central Park nature fresh air scenes in the closed Broadway theatre (even if it’s the same production).

On the second preview during the shooting of the new “Broadway Sergey” Episode for BroadwaySpace.com I saw “Hair” on Broadway. And what can I tell – it was amazing! Since I already have an interesting video on BroadwaySpace about “Hair” and I even interviewed there some of the cast members, I’ll try to make this review short but informative.

Here is the BroadwaySpace video:

Find more videos like this on BroadwaySpace

Interaction with audience.

It’s definitely the most interactive musical on Broadway these days. By this term I mean the actors really interact with audience members, talk with them, touch them, dance with them. You feel yourself like a part of the show, especially if you seat in the orchestra. I think because the Broadway house where they’re performing is quite small compare to the theatre in Central park where they performed before it feels like audience member even more involved. So I want to give you some advises where to seat first. You should really get tickets to orchestra level. Closer to stage – better. If you seat in an aisle you have a chance to be one of the couple of audience members (one from the left, and one from the right side of the orchestra) to dance almost one song during the second act with a cast member. Like it happened with me that day! I’ll tell you the story.

We were shooting the video for BroadwaySpace as you already know and we had to do final footages with audience exiting theatre, and ask them their opinions (you can watch all this on the video). We had to exit the theatre right before the curtain call. I knew I wouldn’t be able to dance on stage with the cast members! I was really upset because of it. But during the second act one of the cast members picked me from my seat and we started to dance right in the aisle! It was really great experience, especially for me, because I would miss the final dancing on the stage. And it was even better because it was sort of exclusive dance – only me and the cast member. So if you want to experience something like this – seat close to stage an on the aisle.

Energy.

The show has an amazing energy. You can feel it. And it’s not only because it’s a rock musical. Even on the slow songs like “Easy to be hard” or “Where do I go” you experience this amazing feeling, the same feelings like characters in the show, and that’s truly amazing experience.
All cast members perfectly match together, they all great, they all one tribe. I don’t even want to criticize someone form the tribe, because all of them has an amazing energetic voices and spirits. I believed them and I felt the same way as characters.

Sets, lights, costumes, choreography.

The show looks great on the Al Hirschfeld Theatre’s stage. Yeah, not so much room like it was in the central park, but sets and lights are beautiful. You probably know that I like good light design, and it this show it’s really good. Kevin Adams set up light design for my favorite show in 2008 Passing Strange and also for Spring Awakening. And you know lights were good there. It truly expresses the situation and feelings of the characters. Costumes look…hippie, which is good. And choreography rocks!

Still actual theme.

A lot of years passed since 1967, but “Hair” still bears actual message and thematic: freedom, peace, freedom of love. With all these wars all over the world, with all these struggles with gay marriage in the States, it’s still actual today like it was before. I am sure even young people who never heard about “Hair” before will love and understand this show.

So far it’s the best revival I have ever seen this season! I really recommend you to watch the show. But remember, if you want to feel all the interaction and if you want to dance on stage at the curtain call with all cast members, you should seat in the orchestra!

This is my video Hair Broadway Review on YouTube:

March 27th is my birthday and the World Theatre Day!

2009-03-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

Today I have accidently found out that I was born on the World Theatre Day (International Theatre Day). This is great, because I am the fan of Broadway number 1 in the World! It’s like a sign for me that’s all what I’m trying to do is right.

That’s description of the World Theatre Day from the site of the International Theatre Institute(http://www.tcg.org/international/events/theatreday.cfm?CFID=14364738&CFTOKEN=63532728):

World Theatre Day was created in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute, and is celebrated annually on March 27 by ITI Centers and the international theatre community, with the reading of a World Theatre Day Message and various national and international theatre events being organized to mark this occasion.

Isn’t it amazing to know? I am very excited about this fact! Now I am going to celebrate 2 things on March 27th: my birthday and the World Theatre Day! And it’s great to combine these two celebrations and go to see a nice show on Broadway! Yay!

10 tips how to see Broadway musicals for cheap or free. Recession special.

2009-03-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

On the picture: Me after “Passing Strange” which I saw only for $20 something from Standing Room Only.

1. Ask in the box office of the show you want to see for partial view seats or discounted tickets. Both usually are not available online, so most of the people don’t know about it.

2. Some of the shows have ticket lotteries. If you win it, you’ll be seating close to stage for less than $30.

3. If the show you want to see is sold out Broadway hit, there are good chances that standing room available in the performance. You have to ask about it in the day of the performance in the box office. Usually it’s 20$ something. And here is the plus of the Standing Room Only – you can dance there!

4. Are you a student? A lot of Broadway shows have the student rush tickets (from $20 to $40 average). Ask in the box office of the show! If you are not a student became one and enjoy the student rush lines. :)

5. Never buy tickets online! Both Ticketmaster and Telecharge have a lot of extra fees, so you end up with paying an extra $10-$15. And it’s noticeable if your ticket is not very expensive.

6. Find the codes for Broadway tickets discounts online. You can save up to 50%. But remember – do not purchase online! Go directly to the box office and show them the print of the offer with the code!

7. Go to TKTS booth the day of the performance and buy half price tickets (not all shows available).

8. Find a job on Broadway or Broadway-related sphere (producing office, Broadway web-site, ticket sales e.t.c.).

9. Some organizations and schools offer corporative discounts for the Broadway shows. Find out in your school or organization about it. If no, you can always change the job or school.

10. Finally, become a theatre professional (famous actor, producer, light designer and so on) and probably you will be seeing all the shows totally free :).

How I would make “West Side Story”.

2009-03-24T04:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I picked up amNewYork newspaper and found there a review of “West Side Story” on Broadway. In my surprise the reviewer (Matt Windman) had the same opinion with me at many points. Especially about one of the lead roles- the role of Tony.

Let me quote what Matt Windman wrote about Matt Cavenaugh as Tony: “Matt Cavenaugh is miscast as Tony, looking far too clean-cut and aged for the role and singing in an ugly vocal style”.

Well, as we can see there is not me the only person who thinks that Tony doesn’t match the role and has problems with vocal.

The next quote: “West Side Story” is a dated but great show. Unfortunately, Laurents’ ego ruined it”.

Director Arthur Laurents also wrote the show’s book. Yes he knows the show and he’s part of the show (one of the creators). But why he directed it so badly? I remember I saw an article in Playbill about the production of “West Side Story”. So he (Laurents) told there he wanted to do some changes because he didn’t see the point of doing a revival unless something was changed in the show. Well, changes definitely were made. But what kind of changes? Wrong lead actor, bad directing, unnecessary Spanish, no energy, fell of the emptiness on stage because of the sets and uninspiring lights. Maybe this production should have been offered to direct to some young and fresh director who could make real changes which would be a plus, but not a minus?

What would I do if I were producer or director? First of all I would cast great actors who look (at least) as teenagers with great vocal and dance skills. Then I would make sure that the sets look great and there is no feel of emptiness on stage. I would make sure that directing is good so audience can feel this youth energy, passion, feel of being in love for the first time, this time full of emotions and desperate acts. Then I would add amazing light design which can increase these feelings. After this I would make sure that when I watch the show I feel this energy for which I love live Broadway musicals (and other audience members feels the same). And only then I would set up preview dates.

I live “In the Heights” by the way.

2009-03-23T08:21:00.000-07:00

Lights up on Washington Heights, up at the break of day
I wake up and I got this little punk I gotta chase away
Pop the grate at the crack of dawn, sing
While I wipe down the awning
Hey ya'll good morning

Have I ever mentioned that I live In the Heights? Yes, for almost a year I live in Washington Heights. I like it here. Very interesting and vibrant place. I liked it even more after I had found out about musical “In the Heights”.

I saw “In the Heights” only once and from the Standing Room Only. I remember I got the job in catering that day. You see, I like to watch Broadway musicals on special for me days. Like for example my first day in the States I watched “Wicked”. My last birthday I saw opening night “Gypsy” (now you can guess when my birthday is). So I got a job in a catering company and decided to celebrate this occasion. I liked it a lot. Yes, it definitely deserves Tony for the best musical of 2008. Although my favorite musical of 2008 is “Passing Strange” I have to admit that “In the Heights” it’s an amazing theatrical experience, it has a great touching story, interesting music and lyrics, great choreography and beautiful sets.

I don’t have any video about “In the heights” on YouTube yet. But I guess now I have an idea. So perhaps this show should be mentioned somehow in my videos. It deserves it, ahahahahahh! :)

“Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” or “Any Dream Will Do”!

2009-03-22T03:58:00.000-07:00

As I already said the other day, musicals for me are the great anti-depressants. Today I felt really sad and lonely, but I remembered a wonderful musical - “Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”. When I feel sad this amazing musical of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice gives me hope that “Any Dream Will Do” and that:

We all dream a lot - some are lucky, some are not

But if you think it, want it, dream it, then it's real

You are what you feel

Amazing lyrics, huh?

I wish the revival of the musical will be on Broadway soon, like it is in London right now. This musical is one of the musicals I dreamed to see live for a long time. And if some of my little dreams already came true (Like Wicked, Billy Elliot or West Side Story, for example) this one (Joseph) is still pending.

I have been watching and listening the “Prologue” and “Any Dream Will Do” on YouTube like all day and night, and going to keep listening it.

I like the movie version of the musical with Donny Osmond and Maria Friedman. I bought it on DVD in Saint-Petersburg (Russia) several years ago. It’s such an interesting and inspiring production. I like the set of the whole production. The stage situated in a school gym, and they are performing in front of kids (they are audience and the chorus at the same time). The show starts with the famous “Prologue”, which is one of my favorite songs from the musical theatre of all times. In the beginning it looks like the “Narrator” (Maria Friedman) is going to do some kind of lecture on the stage. We see her, kids, even some teachers. It’s very funny. Then the famous music starts, the first words of the lyrics are sung and the magic begins. I like Maria Friedman in this production a lot. She’s just an amazing actress. I can watch her performance over and over thousands times. Such an interesting face expressions, such an amazing acting, such an energy that I really believe that “if you think it, want it, dream it, then it's real, You are what you feel”.
Then she goes to the end of the school gym and opens the doors. Huge amount of stage fog fills the space and we see a figure of a man in the doors – that’s Joseph (Donny Osmond). “Any dream will do” begins. I like Donny as a Joseph a lot too (not as much as Maria Friedman as a Narrator though).

So that’s how this amazing production begins. I hope someday I will be able to see it live on Broadway or West End and make a review of the show. But now all I can do is to watch the movie version of the show again and again and… DREAM:

But all that I say can be told another way

In the story of a boy whose dream came true
And it could be you…

West Side Story Broadway Review

2009-03-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

I’ve been dreaming to see West Side Story live on Broadway a long time (like many other great Broadway musicals). So when I found out that the revival of West Side Story comes to Broadway I was really excited.

I remember time when I lived in Russia and some kind of great production of West Side Story (la Scala production perhaps) was coming to our city, I asked my mother to buy me tickets to the show several months in advance. But when we came to the theatre we found out that the show was cancelled. They didn’t explain why (but I suppose because they didn’t sell enough tickets or something). I was really upset about it, because I was just about to see really big and professional West Side Story production in my city and just in a second it all disappeared.

So I was coming to the first preview of West Side Story on Broadway with big hopes. I saw it 2 times: 1st and 5th previews. First time I sat in the balcony (partial view) and the second time I sat in the orchestra and close to stage (but partial view again).

You are probably wondering where to seat in such a big theatre. Let’s begin with the good news for everyone. If you short on money or if all “good” seats in the house are sold out you probably still will be able to enjoy the show from the partial view balcony seats for approximately $26 (a half price of the regular ticket). As you know choreography in West Side Story is beautiful and there are a lot of people in the cast. So as for me the choreography looks even more amazing from the last row of the balcony than from the orchestra.

Let me tell you my first impression. So I was fascinated of the choreography until the Tony (Matt Cavenaugh) started to sing “Something’s coming”. I didn’t like something, and this something was… the voice of Tony. And also I didn’t feel much energy of the youth full of hope that’s something good is coming. But I though like “Ok, maybe it’s just his first song and it will be better during the “Maria”. But it wasn’t. It looked (and sounded) even worse. During the performance of “Maria” voice of Tony (Matt Cavenaugh) was ok, but too dim and not sonorous. It sounded like a bad opera singer for me. Sometimes too high, sometimes too quiet that I couldn’t hear beginning and the end of some words in the song. His acting wasn’t perfect-pitching also. I know, perhaps it was the director’s wish, but during “Maria” he was just standing the first part of the song at one spot, then stepped forward a little bit and finished the song. It wasn’t believable and it didn’t look for me like a young guy in love. Not enough emotions, not enough feelings, a little bit boring. And when he yelled “Maria!” at the end of the fight scene under the highway it sounded weird and unnatural, so the couple of viewers sitting next to me even laughed a little bit. I didn’t but, it still sounded very unnatural and not believable. No, I am not telling it was totally horrible. I just think this actor is not completely suitable for this role: his voice doesn’t match this role and his acting is not perfect.

I know, a lot of people will say if I can sing (or act) better and he (Matt) did a great job. Well, I am not an actor or singer and don’t want to be one, so of course I can’t do it better. I am just telling you my personal opinion based on my experience as a big fan of musical theatre. I usually don’t pay attention on the voices and acting skills of the actors – I trust casting companies and casting directors, seriously. But, when I don’t feel much excitement after a song, then after another song I don’t feel anything again, I am starting to think what’s wrong and why it is wrong. And this time I realized that there is something wrong with the voice and the acting skills of the one of the main characters – Tony. I even watched it second time, from the seventh row of the orchestra – but result was the same. Ooops!

The other main characters were pretty good for me: Maria (Josefina Scaglione), Anita (Karen Olivo), Riff (Cody Green), Bernardo (George Akram). Although I enjoyed the songs performed by them think there is absolutely no chemistry between Maria and Tony. They don’t look like lovers together.

In the beginning I couldn’t get where Jets and where Sharks are. The second time when I saw it from the orchestra close to stage there was the same problem. I guess it’s because of the costumes, it look the same on the both gangs (on males especially). So in the beginning it’s a little bit confusing who is who. But Bernardo looked weird and funny in this lilac color costume. Is that how the leader of the “Sharks” should look like?

Now a little bit about Spanish. Some people were afraid that there would be like half of the songs in Spanish. When I was standing in the box office line there was a guy who was telling to his friend on the phone: “You know it looks like it sold out. But almost half of the show in Spanish, so you wouldn’t like it anyway”. The other people didn’t know about Spanish in the show at all and it was totally surprise for them. Well, I want to relieve those who think that there are a lot of songs in Spanish. No, only 2 songs are completely in Spanish language: “I feel pretty” (“Siento Hermosa”) and “A boy like that” (“Un Hombre Asi”). And there are several songs in which Spanish appears in some parts like for example “Tonight” reprise. Other than that Spanish can be heard just a little bit, like a word or short phrase in some songs and lines.

As for me I find it pretty realistic. I can compare it with myself. My first language is Russian. Sometimes I speak Russian with my Russian friends, but sometimes we speak English. It depends on the mood. I am young and I want to improve my English skills so I try to speak English more, older people speak Russian more (it’s more comfortable for them). So, yes, it’s realistic and interesting decision. But for those people who haven’t seen West Side Story before (well, if such people exist), or saw it only a couple of times long time ago and don’t remember lyrics, or for the people who don’t speak Spanish at all (like me) it can be not really comfortable because they (at least on the previews) don’t have supertitles in the house.

Talking about showstoppers, the best songs where audience members go wild, applause and whistle in excitement are the songs performed by a lot of cast members. I really liked “America” (Anita, Rosalia and Shark Girls) – so much energy and excitement; “Gee, Officer Krupke” (Action and the Jets) – very funny and entertaining; “Somewhere” (Kiddo, Tony, Maria and Company) – this will make anyone cry, very touching; “Siento Hermoza” (“I Feel Pretty”) (Maria, Rosalia, Consuela and Fernanda) – you don’t have to know Spanish to feel what Maria feels there; and perhaps “Tonight” (Quintet) was pretty good too.

Set and light design did not really impress me. Especially light design. In my opinion there should be some more colors in West Side Story. Through play of colors light designer and director can express the feelings of the characters, the whole situation, can make it more powerful, emotionally, touching. But this production of West Side Story was colorless. And that’s definitely a big minus. As for sets, it was big, but not really impressive; there was feeling of some kind of emptiness on stage (which, again, could be illuminated by proper light design).

What can I recommend. In spite of all the minuses it is still West Side Story. And it’s still must see show for all fans of musical theatre. It just could have been done better. I would recommend to see it from mezzanine or even from balcony, perhaps like me for half price (partial view seats). The choreography scenes are amazing from mezzanine and balcony, and you really don’t have to see all the face expressions of the actors. But I wouldn’t pay full price for center orchestra seats for this production.

My West Side Story Review on YouTube:

I Love New York!

2009-03-01T07:35:00.000-08:00

More I live in New York City more I understand that I love it.

I like the air of New York, I like sights of New York, I like the smell of New York. And I still can’t get what type of the smell it is: some kind of mixed smell of the Atlantic Ocean, Hudson River, concrete walls and roads, Laundromats, pizzerias and restaurants. Like any other place in the world New York has its own very special flavor and it’s beautiful.

I like all seasons in New York City, except when it’s too hot and humid or too cold. Well, some people may say it’s always or too hot and humid either too cold. But that’s not true - try Miami during the summer or Chicago at winter and you will feel the difference.

And of course I love New York City for Broadway. I’ve been dreaming to see a show on Broadway since I was really young. And now I understand how happy and lucky I am living in this city and being able to watch all these musicals and plays on Broadway! Musical theatre it’s an amazing form of art and very often I feel myself like a character of a musical, my soul sings and I want to dance. It doesn’t matter if I am happy or if I am sad. I think a lot of people feel the same, and that’s why the art of the musical theatre is so popular – this art can express “inside” feelings and thoughts like no other form of art on stage.

Times Square accumulates so much energy from the millions of people visiting it every year. It’s such an amazing feeling when you just walking there in an evening and feel the energy of all the people, enjoy sightseeing of the amazing musicals’ logos and lights, those giant skyscrapers, large screens with advertisements. I know, some people don’t like Times Square and think it’s only for tourists. But when I come there, I feel a lot of different emotions, it fulfills me, and I am thinking: “Hey, maybe everything is not so bad! Everything will be ok, just believe!”

My name is Sergey and I love New York.

Tips how to win the Wicked Broadway Tickets Lottery from Broadway Sergey.

2009-02-26T06:27:00.000-08:00

So 3rd Episode of Broadway Sergey is ready!

Broadway tickets lotteries – it’s real fun for those who likes musicals and want some thrill and adrenaline in the veins! :)

I won the ticket lottery (with some help, you will see in the video) 4TH time and I saw the show 5 times totally. And I am sure a lot of times are coming!

So enjoy the video with a lot of funny and serious tips how to win Broadway Wicked Lottery.

See you on Broadway!

YouTube version:

BroadwaySpace version:

Find more videos like this on BroadwaySpace

Wicked on Broadway :) That's cool :)

2009-02-12T18:31:00.000-08:00

OK, I saw Wicked on Broadway my 5th time 2 weeks ago. The 3rd episode of BroadwaySergey will be about me winning the Wicked tickets lottery.

In the meantime I made this review for YouTube.

Enjoy :)

Broadway Sergey Episode 2: Final Performance of Spring Awakening.

2009-02-03T18:59:00.000-08:00

As I promised, the second episode of my show on BroadwaySpace.com – Broadway Sergey - is ready!

I camped out overnight to wait in line for student rush tickets for the final performance of Spring Awakening. I spent around 15 hours on the cold at night, and I don’t know how I survived this. But it definitely worthed it, because I got row C for the final performance! It was great!

Now, you able to watch what I was through on my new video! Enjoy! And add me as a friend on BroadwaySpace.com :)

BroadwaySpace version:

Find more videos like this on BroadwaySpace

YouTube version:

See you on Broadway! :)

How it feels like to have own Broadway Internet-show :)

2009-01-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

Oh my God!!

I can’t believe it’s happening with me :))

I am like in my own musical now! I got featured on BroadwaySpace.com and this is my first episode of my new show for the site - Broadway Sergey!

I like it so much, and I just love the intro song, which was recorded specially for me by the “Altar Boyz” (the musical) cast members!!

I had really big fun doing this video and a lot of videos are coming!!

Waiting for your comments and thanks for watching,
BroadwaySergey :)

BroadwaySpace version:

Find more videos like this on BroadwaySpace

YouTube version:

Thanks for watching again!

Phantom of the Opera sequel… Do I care?

2009-01-23T20:40:00.000-08:00

Everyone is talking about ‘Phantom of the Opera’ sequel – ‘Phantom: Love Never Dies’. To be honest I don’t know what to think about it. I really like Andrew Lloyd Webber but his last (was it last?) musical ‘Woman in White’ totally disappointed me. It doesn’t mean the sequel will be bad though.

I know that there are 3 types of people: those who really hope that it will be new super megahit musical, those who think that it will be failure like the ‘Woman In White’ and those who don’t care. I think I just don’t care now, but my logic says to me that even if it’s not a failure it won’t last long on Broadway or somewhere else. I don’t know, I mean I can’t even imagine how new Phantom will be as good as current one. But of course I and nobody can't judge the show before it is released. And I am not trying too.

So, let’s wait and see what new Phantom of the Opera will bring to us. I hope I will like it, I really want to like it and enjoy new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, I want to feel the same feelings when I listened original Phantom first time, or Cats or Starlight Express… It would be wonderful to feel that feelings again.

So, good luck Mr. Lloyd Webber!

No musical movies nominated for Oscar this year… And good :))

2009-01-22T15:44:00.000-08:00

So we know all the Oscar nominees today. All the great movies I liked last season in it (especially the “Reader” and “Slumdog Milioner”). Personally I like the “reader” more, and I even cried like 2 or 3 times during the film. Want to see it again and hope it will win Oscar!

No musicals this year. And good. Because I would be really surprised if “Mamma Mia” was nominated for the best picture. I didn’t like the movie version of the Mamma Mia! Theatre one is much better. LOL

It’s not like the last year when amazingly beautiful and great musical Sweeney Todd was nominated in several nominations (including the best picture) and actually won one of them!

So this year won’t be a musical year for Oscars but I really like this year movies!

High School Musical 3 parody in the South Park.

2009-01-21T19:49:00.000-08:00

Oh my God! I am ROFLMAO right now :)))

Watching new episode of the South Park about High School Musical 3. It’s just hilarious! Especially I liked what Eric Cartman said: “If it’s the most popular show among kids of our age I am going to kill myself”. I haven’t seen first two High School Musicals (thank goodness), but I watched High School Musical 3 in a movie theatre when it came out. Well, of course I didn’t feel anything except “when these early teenage girls stop screaming and sobbing every time when they see Zac Efron”.

I personally think it’s a great movie (and musical) for kids and it’s ok to watch one time. I agree with a lot of things they said and showed at this episode of South Park and it was really funny. But I think we need HSM 3 to promote art of musical theatre among kids, so maybe later they will be interested in real theatre and want to see some good stuff on Broadway.

P.S. And I really like South Park. It’s really funny and they even sing almost in every episode :)

Spring Awakening final performance or my crazy weekend!

2009-01-21T00:34:00.000-08:00

Find more photos like this on BroadwaySpace

It was really crazy weekend!

I was waiting in the student rush line to get tickets for final performance of Spring Awakening! I got there around 9 pm on January 17th and left the line around 12 20 pm on January 18th. It was very cold night, like 5-10 F. I thought I would die, but I survived. But even after 16 hours on the cold I wasn’t able to sleep because I had to be earlier near the theatre to keep shooting video for BroadwaySpace about Spring Awakening’s last night.

The performance was great! It looked like all people were crying during almost all performance, dancing, singing, and laughing when it was time to laugh. There was unbelievable energy, that’s why I like closing nights! They performed the reprise of “Totally Fucked” right after the first (original) time. It was great! All viewers were jumping and singing “Blah blah blah blah blah” with the cast members, including me! Yeah, it definitely worth waiting in line 16 hours during one of the coldest nights in New York City!

After the show I went to the stage doors to interview cast members and all people connected to the show somehow. It was cool too! So I haven’t been sleeping I guess more than 30 hours that day but I obtained great memories for all my life and made a great video, I hope you will it see soon!

I will be missing you, Spring Awakening!

Passing Strange the movie opens on Sundance Film Festival!

2009-01-16T13:17:00.000-08:00

The picture was taken from the official Sundance Film Festival Web Site.

One of my favorite musicals in the last year was the Passing Strange. It lasted not too long on Broadway – only several months. But I was happy to visit it 2 times before it was closed.

I was hoping that the Passing Strange would win Tony Awards 2008, if it did maybe it would last longer on Broadway. I am not telling that In the Heights does not deserve Tony. I really like the show and will watch it again with a pleasure. But as I said I felt really big sympathy to Passing Strange. First of all, I think because it’s about a young man, who is trying to find himself, travel away from the family to foreign countries and trying to do something with his life. It’s kinda my story, because I moved to the States from Russia a year and a half ago, and I am pretty young too, and I am just trying to do what I like and I hope I will succeed someday.

The second reason, I really like the music and lyrics, and the show really rocks! All the time I saw it (including the song performed on Tony Awards, which I visited and saw live) I literally danced right on my seat on the many songs. I hope I wasn’t to annoying for people who seated next to me and behind. LOL. But I was just literally jumping on my seat and dancing at the same tame when they performed finale of “It’s all right (My keys)” every 3 times I saw it live.

When I found out that it was going to close on Broadway I was disappointed, but it was not so bad after I found out that Spike Lee was going to film the show and it’s going to be a film soon.

And yesterday on the Sundance Film Festival there was an opening night for the movie. I wish I was there and watched it! It’s going to play on the Sundance till January 24th. They don’t know yet if it will be released in the movie theatres or they show it only on premium cable channels like HBO. Well I wish it will be in the movie theatres! Because I don’t have HBO and its expensive, and it will be rally beautiful to watch the show on the big screen with good image and sound! Well, in any case I think they will release it eventually on DVD and I will definitely buy it!

I am glad that a lot of people (including famous people like Spike Lee) really liked the musical; only because of it I will enjoy my favorite show of 2008 watching it again and again on the screen!

Plane crashes to Hudson River in Manhattan near the Theatre district!

2009-01-15T14:17:00.000-08:00

Watching news for already half hour. As you know a plane crashed (Flight 1549 US Airways) to Hudson River, just right next to Midtown Manhattan. I am totally shocked!

All people seem to survive, but a lot of them were in the extremely cold Hudson River (especially today) so maybe there will be several hard cases of hypothermia, but I hope they will be ok. There were a lot of water ferries and circle boats so help was near the plane just in time.

The pilot of course did his job great and landed plane on the water smoothly (as witnesses and passengers say in the news).

Yeah, you never know what you can see in Manhattan Midtown in New York City. Can you imagine you just walking in Midtown and thinking about what Broadway musical you are going to watch tonight and then you seeing the plane flying very low (just right above your head) and then landing to Hudson! I bet right after this scene you will be thinking only about it and forget about all musicals you was planning to see.

I hope there will be happy end in this story and all passengers and crew and pilots will be ok. A lot of people already call this story a miracle. I think I agree with it. Plane crashes happens not often, but when they do usually there are no or almost no survivors. In this case all people (at least at this point) all right, and this is miracle without doubt!

I wish to all people that were on the board of the plane good luck and watch a lot of Broadway shows in the future with their family and friends!

Tips for surviving the cold weather for Broadway fans.

2009-01-15T11:26:00.000-08:00

Omg it’s so cold in New York City.

The only way warm up is to listen “Totally Fucked” from Spring Awakening, jumping around your bedroom and singing, pretending that you on stage. I think this is the only way to feel a little bit warm. Because it’s quite chilling even in my bedroom, I am not even talking about outside.

Tomorrow it’s going to be even colder. That’s why I want to share with you 5 songs from Broadway musicals I dance to survive cold:

1. Totally Fucked – from Spring Awakening
2. Good morning Baltimore – from Hairspray
3. In the Heights – from In the Heights
4. Out tonight – from Rent
5. Bitch of living – from Spring Awakening

I hope my list will help you to survive the cold weather.

I miss live Broadway!!!

2009-01-14T17:52:00.000-08:00

I have just realized that I haven’t seen a Broadway show almost for 2 months. And I really want to see a Broadway musical again so badly. I miss live Broadway!

Sometimes I think that I shouldn’t have gone to Hawaii, I could see a lot of Broadway shows for that money! But what’s done is done. OMG I could see like 10 Billy Elliot and 10 Wicked, aaahhhh!!

Well, I hope I will have a chance to see a Broadway musical soon again, I remember times when I saw 2 shows a day for free, and I remember when I won Wicked tickets lottery 3 times also :) It’s really not necessary to pay $120 even for sold out shows.

It happens with me quite often – I can don’t watch a show for 2 months, and then watch like 5 shows for a week. And I hope that week will come soon, lol. Because I know one thing for sure – if you really believe and follow your goal – you will succeed! :)

Broadway videos, 90210 and Spring Awakening :)

2009-01-13T18:09:00.000-08:00

We have been shooting my first video for BroadwaySpace today. It was a lot of fun for me, can’t wait to see it online!

Now what I am doing is relaxing at home before hard working day tomorrow. And of course thinking about things I’ve always thinking about: Theatre and Business. And watching Beverly Hills 90210 at the same time.

In the first several episodes of 90210 there were a lot of scenes with “Spring Awakening” the musical. They were rehearsing it for school theatre, and then performing it. It was fun to watch. And as I said in previous posts I am going to miss this show. When I was watching it 3rd time last month on Broadway I remember I was thinking like “yeah, that’s the reason I want to be a producer – to take a chance to create a cultural phenomenon like this”.

Ok, guess I’ll keep thinking and watching, see you soon :)

Free theatre experience and new theatre economics.

2009-01-12T17:38:00.000-08:00

My roommate told me about a web site where he look for free events in New York City. A lot of these events in the theatre sphere. Like yesterday when I met him at the 59 street subway station he was returning from a free show in the New World Stages called “For lovers only: 100 love songs”. He told me he liked the performance a lot. And also recommended me to check other free events in New York City.

Actually this information very actual for me now, because I like a lot of others I was affected by this economical situation. And it looks like there is really a lot of stuff to do for free in the city. But it’s little bit disturbing me like a prospective producer, because I understand if I open any show in the city it will be really hard to recoup it, not even talking about making any profit.

Thank goodness one of my strongest hobbies is marketing. Before I didn’t think a lot about off-Broadway and off-off Broadway shows, but now I understand that in this situation an interesting and original off-off Broadway show with huge untraditional marketing efforts can be successful and profitable. I already have a couple ideas of shows in mind that can be started from as low as several thousands of dollars (let’s say under ten). Well some people will say it’s impossible. I will answer – there’s nothing impossible in the world.

I think we should consider stage show business like new so-called web 2.0 internet economics. Before there were only sites with huge budgets, sometimes several dozen millions of dollars! And a lot of them had died before they brought any profit (looks like Broadway shows with 15 million dollars budget, right?). Right now I see and read about a lot of cases where one person starts a web site for 1 or 2 thousand of dollars and in a several months only this site brings him several hundred thousand a month and has a lot of visitors every day. Is it possible to create a show with such a low budget and be completely sold out and make huge profit in several months? Well, I think there is a lot of room to think about.

Today my roommate has gone for other free event (some kind of comedy show), and then he will go to another one. He told me he really like Broadway shows but not ready to pay for a show more than $30 even if it’s Lion King or Wicked….

Huge unemployment and Theatre.

2009-01-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

When nation economy in a terrible situation, when unemployment rate is 7.2% which is 16-year-old-hight, definitely theatres all over the states are going to face really big problems.

Even those who have a job can’t afford go to theatre, because their hours or salary have been cut, or just because they want to save extra money for so unclear future. Speaking about Broadway, it mostly depends on tourists, and let’s face it’s not a great time to travel now.

I walk around Times Square very often. Right before New Year it was impossible to move there faster than a turtle, because of huge, no HUGE amount of tourists! And the line near the TKTS booth looked 3 or 4 times as big as the line in JFK security check-in. I don’t know how many hours you should have stayed there to reach a window to find out that the last half price ticket to the show you was planning to see was sold 20 minutes ago. I walked around Times Square yesterday, and it was really empty! And there was absolutely no line near TKTS. All that looked a little bit creepy. I remember I thought like thank goodness I am not a producer of any show (even off-off Broadway) at this time.

Of course people still visit shows. But if you want to spend $60-$130 for one ticket, you want to see really great show. That’s why such shows like Wicked, Lion King or Billy Elliot are always sold out. People know that they are going to see a great production, with great costumes, special effects, music, song and dance, really touching and really Broadway. People (especially who visit New York City for several days) don’t want to spend $120-$260 (and this if they buy only 2 tickets) for show they are not completely sure about.

Oh well, let’s hope that sun will come out tomorrow. But I definitely wouldn’t put my bottom dollar that tomorrow there’ll be sun :)
By the way, that’s how Times Square looked like at the end of November:

Local theatre experience at the end of the last year.

2009-01-09T21:41:00.000-08:00

When I decided to visit Hawaii I was thinking about visiting a local theatre. I didn’t know what theatre or what show I was going to see, but I had a strong feeling that I would do it.

When I came to Hawaii I totally forgot about my theatre idea. I was fascinated by the beautiful views, warm ocean and calm climate. But during my first tour I noticed a theatre from the bus window, and there were letters “Peter Pan” on the façade of it. Next day I opened a local newspaper and found out about Diamond Head Theatre and opening night of a musical “Peter Pan”.

So I ended up watching this musical in the theatre. The role of Peter played a boy, instead of a girl or woman like in many other productions (including Broadway). Actually I liked this idea until the boy started to sing. :) But it was fun, and I enjoyed the musical a lot.

And Hawaii is perfect place to see “Peter Pan”. Because it reminds me Neverland, well, at least summer part of it. :)

It was great trip in the end of the year. And I think it’s great sometimes to see something different from Broadway and New York City.

You can watch lots of pictures from my trip on my MySpace page. And also here is the video for you if you haven’t seen it yet.

Black Broadway January…

2009-01-08T15:26:00.000-08:00

13 shows are closing this month!

Yep, January 2009 will be written in history books like the worst month for Broadway ever since September 11.Well, maybe not everything is so bad. But when 9 shows are closing in one day it really sucks and scary.

We were shooting my first video for BroadwaySpace.com on January 4th. I really had a lot of fun, although I didn’t feel well because I missed like 6 shows from the 9. Can you name all nine of them? During the interviews on the streets no one could also. Well, almost no one. Yeap, here is the list January 4th closed shows:

• Hairspray (I saw it once almost a year ago, really wanted to see again before closing but unfortunately couldn’t make it).
• Grease (I haven’t seen it but wanted to see for a change, oh well).
• 13 (I saw it 2 times and you actually can watch my reviews in this blog below or on my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/BroadwayProducer)
• Young Frankenstein (To be honest I haven’t seen this show and never wanted to see it. Don’t know why, but songs I heard from it never really touched me, even a bit).
• Boeing-Boeing (Well, I don’t really watch straight plays often. Mostly for money reason).
• White Christmas (Although I like the song “White Christmas” it’s not enough for me to spend last $60 for the show).
• Liza at the Palace (I would see it with a pleasure, but again, money money money…)
• Dividing the estate (Haven’t seen and heard about it).
• Slava’s Snow Show (I saw it in Russia, St Petersburg. It was cool. I would see it again on Broadway. I am sure it’s not the last time this show on Broadway during the Christmas time!).

Which show from the list above I’ll be missing more? Hmm, I think I can survive without all of them. I think I really gonna miss Spring Awakening, which is closing January 18th. Because it was really nice to buy a stage seat ticket for around $30 only and enjoy a great show right in front of your nose! :)

No more rock musicals on Broadway?

2008-11-02T22:14:00.000-08:00

There were times where as many as 3 or 4 rock musicals on Broadway were playing. I could choose between “Rent”, “Passing Strange” and “Spring Awakening”. Now no more “Rent”, “Passing Strange” lasted only several months (and I liked it so much, visited 2 times) and “Spring Awakening” is closing (January 18, 2009). So as I understand there is no rock musical on Broadway until “Hair” production somewhere in 2009.

And I like “We Will Rock You”. Why it’s in London only? I listened English soundtrack and even watched it live in St. Petersburg, Russia (in Russian language). It was great, but I am sure English production even better!

Theatre should be different; musicals should be different, with different music. So it sucks that every day our choice is smaller and smaller. So let’s wait for a new and original rock musical that will rock Broadway for at least several years. Ehh.

Listening ShowTunes

2008-11-01T16:47:00.000-07:00

What a great activity to lie on the bed and listen Showtunes on cable TV.

Just song from “Sound of music” has ended to play. What a nice classic musical. And before was “Maria” from ‘West Side Story”. I can’t wait to see revival of the West Side Story on Broadway!

Now “On the street where you live” from “My Fair Lady” is playing. Beautiful. There are so many classical musicals I like. Hm, interesting what will be next? Oh! “Oklahoma”! And quess what song – “Oklahoma”! I love this show and especially this song. OOOOOooooklahoma, every night my honey lamb and I… LOL.

And there are so many musicals I am not familiar with. I love to discover new shows for myself. And it’s great when you open for yourself a new musical. For example now “Seesaw” is playing. I don’t know this musical. I can’t know all musicals, but I will discover more about the musical someday, I am sure.

I am not in rush and ton in hurry, I am just lying on my bed and listening showtunes.

The magic of Musical Theatre

2008-10-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

If you like musical theatre you know this feeling.

You starting to listen your favorite song from a musical and something is starting to move deep in your soul. You starting to breathe more frequently and your heart is beginning to beat faster and faster. Then, when a character in the show is starting to sing, you are jumping out of your chair (bed) and beginning to dance and maybe even sing with him(her) and imagine yourself in the place of that character. And you perfectly understand what he or she is singing about. It’s like song about you, about your feelings, about your thoughts, about everything you believe in this world. And suddenly you are becoming so inspired, so happy, so positive thinking and optimistic that you believe that everything is up to you in this world and there is nothing impossible, you just got to believe!

The song is over, but something deep in you has changed, you know it, you feel it. Yes, you listened this song thousands of times, you watched this show dozens of times, and you will be listening and watching this musical again and gain. But you know, every single time you watch it you will be changed a little bit in a better way.

And you know that no matter what happens in your life, no matter what difficulties in life you are having right now, this song will keep you in a positive way as it always did.

That’s the magic of the musical theatre, that’s what you know about if you like it.

13 Broadway Musical Review or BAD BAD News! :)

2008-10-15T05:03:00.000-07:00

I watched first preview and then I saw it a couple of weeks ago. The show has been definitely improved but still has the same problems which are impossible to correct, unless rewrite the whole show.

During the first previews it was unbearable because there were 2 acts and it was really really boring (especially for adults, lol). But recently they got rid of intermission as well as of a couple of songs (“Here I come” – it was the last song of the act 1, and “Opportunity” – first song of act 2). And I guess they did some changes in book and some other changes and it looks much faster and not so boring like it was before. So you won’t be bored to the dead definitely. BUT, the minuses the same:

1. The lyrics is really simple, silly and sometimes stupid. Like for example “A friend won’t smoke when she’s in your room…. A friend won’t go and start kissing your brother the minute you’re out of sight”. It was in the song “What means to be a friend”. I mean have you seen “Hamlet 2” in the movie theater? Do you remember the musical they produced? Well the lyrics reminds me that musical because it was so silly and you laugh not because it is really funny, but because of the words in the lyrics.

2. The book is very bad.

3. The jokes really not funny but inappropriate. I don’t think it’s funny to laugh abut a boy with terminal illness (the whole song about it) and different religious (it’s not very original) and so on.

4. The story and the whole action are like you are watching another episode of another kids show on Disney channel. The plot hardly can touch any person older then 15-16.

5. Choreography was not good and rocked only in first song (13) and very last song (Brand new you). In between it was colorless and not interesting except few moments.

What I liked:

1. Kids played great and I liked the voices with some little exceptions.

2. I like only 3 songs so far. Opening song (“13”) – it really rocks and entertains. “Little more homework” – it’s just amazing when the whole cast are singing the song. Really touching.
Perhaps the best song in the musical (lyrics and performance are great). And final song “brand new you” because it really rocks too.

Looks like creators targeted for both kids and adults audience. But it appeared to be too rough for kids (all these inappropriate jokes) and too silly and boring for adults.

You also can watch my video reviews on YouTube:

Part 1:

Part 2: