'The Sound of Music Live!' Tonight

i've listened to the cd. i watched 'the making of'. i loved julie andrews in the film. and i am here to say that carrie underwood does an exceptionally admirable job. audra mcdonald sings 'climb every mountain' better than anyone ever has. she is exceptional. she always is! stephen moyer ('true blood') has a surprising good 'light' baritone. laura benanti and christian borle, two broadway vets and tony winners sing the sophisticted 'no way to stop it' and 'how can love survive with panache. ms benanti has a beautiful beautiful voice and ain't to bad to look at either. the von trapp kids are just too damn good. i'm jealous.

Audra Mcdonald and Laura Benanti Join 'Sound of Music' Live NBC Production

audra mcdonald, laura benanti and christian borle, tony winners all, join carrie underwood and stephen moyer in the nbc live production of the original stage version of 'the sound of music' this coming december. 
(the film tweaked the original production by cutting and rearranging musical numbers)

audra will play the mother abbess once again breaking the 'color barrier' that she first did in the lincoln center production of 'carousel' that sent her career soaring. bravo to the network and producers for this brave casting. i am almost certain there were no black abbesses in austria in 1939. she will get to sing 'climb every mountain' and 'my favorite things' with carrie underwood's maria. this is how it was originally played but changed for the film.

laura benanti and christian borle will get to perform two songs that were unfortunately cut from the 1965 oscar winner: 'no way to stop it' and 'how can love survive'. they are two of my favorites from the score.

i don't know much about carrie underwood except that she has huge shoes to fill taking on the julie andrews role. i wish her well. 

but with audra and laura onboard there is no doubt i will be there.

stephen moyer will portray capt. von trapp and ms underwood the novice turned governess maria.

audra, laura and christian will portray the mother abbess, baroness schrader and uncle max respectively. they all fit these roles perfectly.

Tony Performances

this number with laura benanti, megan hilty and andrew rannells joining neil on stage was brilliantly funny. especially ms benanti.

mmmmmmm

and from 'cinderella'

From the Soundtrack of My Life: John Barrowman's 'Unusual Way'

i'm often asked to name my favorite pieces from the musical theater. it's a tough call because so many touch me. each piece generally holds something special and takes me to a memory. some happy so very very happy. some take me to a sadder place...perhaps even a darker place. but they nonetheless get to me each time i hear them.
some will always outshine the others always. 'being alive', 'on my own', 'what i did for love' 'storybook', 'somewhere', 'children will isten'' and 'far from the home i love' come to mind automatically.
and among these there is 'unusual way' from 'nine'. this is a happy memory, a better time, a great time. it was broadway 1982. i was mad for this tony winning musical. i still am. it ranks among my 'best'. the actress was shelly burch as claudia nardi. she got me and didn't let go. laura benati made it her own in the 2003 revival.

recently i was happy to hear john barrowman sing it. what i love about john is his daring. his 'i am what i am' attitude toward his career and musical choices. he also happens to be a really nice man. i first met him after a performance of 'sunset boulevard' in london. i then had the pleasure of sharing 'an american songbook' evening with him in new york. he was/is the most down to earth guy on the planet.

well anyway i digress....so here i share his brilliant 'unusual way' in a live version and a prerecorded version. i love the song and the man.

and just for the heck of it...ms laura benanti

Enter Lauren Ambrose in 'Funny Girl'

after 50 years 'funny girl' is getting a broadway revival. lauren ambrose of 'six feet under' has napped the role of fanny brice. who knew she could sing...belt? lauren beat out lea michelle and laura benati for the 2012 production. let's face it ms. michelle would have generated to many comparisons to barbra streisand. let's face it once again she's a streisand wanna be. ms. ambose may stand a chance. i wish her well.

'Sondheim: The Birthday Celebration'

How the hell did i miss this one. well now i own it on blu ray. a glorious birthday bash for stephen sondheim. hosted and written by an hilarious david hyde pierce it's a delightful romp for him. the artists sing the 'singable' sonheim songs fot the most part. okay let's be honest here: not all of sondheim is singable. the biggies are sung by the best assortment of diva's assembled in one place in a long long time. lupone, peters, mcdonald, strich, murphy, mazzie and benanti: it gets no better. throw in mandt patinkin, michael cerveris and george hearn and the world is momentarily blissful and at peace. bravo to all of them and the brilliant arrangements and conducting of paul gemigani and the mighty new york philharmonic. who could ask for more.

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bernadette peters and mandy patinkin: "move on'

patti lupone: 'the ladies who lunch'

donna murphy: 'could i leave you'

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