We love a list! On this week’s show, Rob and Jamie discuss Rob’s top ten favorite shows from 2019 (plus a few of his honorable mentions) as reviewed on Stage Left. Tweet us your top ten @fabulousInvalid!
FEATURE: Top 10 of 2019
By my count, I’ve attended 234 performances of theatre, dance, music, opera, and cabaret during 2019. Out of a field that large, it’s hard to pick just ten, but nevertheless, here are my top ten (ok, eleven) favorite shows I saw in 2019.
"Little Shop of Horrors" extends to March with Gideon Glick; "Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation" to play the York Theatre Company; Johnny Depp producing another Michael Jackson-themed musical in LA; Beth Leavel and Taylor Iman Jones to star in Broadway-bound musical "The Devil Wears Prada"; Jordan Fisher is Broadway’s next Evan Hansen; "Soft Power" will get a cast album; Jo Ellen Pellman will star as Emma in the Netflix film adaptation of "The Prom"; Camille A. Brown joins “Aida” development lab; cast of "Hangmen" announced; "Hustlers" musical might be in the works; RIP Marion McClinton, Valerie Taylor-Barnes, and John Simon
REVIEW: “The Inheritance”—who are we and who will we become?
Playwright Matthew Lopez’s “The Inheritance” is a an epic, novelistic, and enjoyably consumed two-part, six act, six and half hour long play that is a loose adaptation of E. M. Forster’s “Howards End” set among a contemporary group of gay men living in New York contending with the legacy of AIDS and what it means to be gay today. Flaws are overcome by the strength of the staging, and the play is humorous, heartbreaking, and deeply memorable. A must see.
PODCAST: "The Fabulous Invalid" Episode 54: Michael R. Jackson: A Strange Loop
On this week’s show, Rob and Jamie are back at Orso Restaurant. They sit down with composer, lyricist, and playwright Michael R. Jackson, creator of "A Strange Loop”, a fantastic new musical that played Off-Broadway last summer. “A Strange Loop” is a “self-referential” musical by and about “a black, queer man writing a musical about a black, queer man who’s writing a musical about a black queer man”. Together, they talk about the fascinating development and construction of the show.
PODCAST: "The Fabulous Invalid" Episode 53: Kate Reinders: Thank Goodness
On this week’s show, Jamie, Rob, and Jennifer are joined by the delightful Kate Reinders. Kate has starred on Broadway in the 2003 revival of “Gypsy”, “Something Rotten”, “Beautiful”, and as Glinda in "Wicked”. She can currently be seen on the new Disney+ show, “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”. Before Kate joins the group, they talk about theatre etiquette; following the interview, Rob counts down the top 10 most produced high school musicals.
Ephraim Sykes will star as Michael Jackson in "MJ" the musical on Broadway; Martin McDonagh's "Hangmen" will play a limited engagement at Broadway's Golden Theatre; "Tootsie" will close on January 5th; "Hadestown" recoups; Imelda Staunton will star in "Hello, Dolly!" on the West End; Dominic Cooke will direct “Follies” film; The Drama Book Shop will reopen in a new location in 2020; RIP Laurel Griggs
REVIEWS: Mining the quiet conversations of American life in “The Michaels” and “Dr. Ride’s American Beach House”
Here I take a look at “The Michaels” and “Dr. Ride’s American Beach House”, two Off-Broadway plays of very different substance that trade in the same, refreshing approach of eschewing bombast and declaration for delicacy and introspection.
NOTES: MasterVoices’ “Let ‘Em Eat Cake” at Carnegie Hall
“Let ‘Em Eat Cake”, a forgotten Gershwin musical, was presented in a MasterVoices concert at Carnegie Hall; a political satire that’s still on point in 2019, the show is a less-successful sequel to “Of Thee I Sing” with an unremarkable score and a jumbled book, but nonetheless remains a delicious treat from a bygone era of musical comedy.
FEATURE: Look Left – London Dispatch
Last week I hopped about Europe and landed in London, where I caught three plays: Annie Baker’s “The Antipodes” at the National Theatre, Peter Nichols’ “A Day in the Death of Joe Egg” at Trafalgar Studios, and the Young Vic’s production of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”.
Jessie Mueller, Tracy Letts, Armie Hammer, and Austin Pendleton will star in Letts' "The Minutes" on Broadway; Donmar Warehouse's "City of Angels" will transfer to the West End; Lear deBessonet will replace Jack Viertel as artistic director of City Center Encores!; Katharine McPhee will return to close "Waitress" on Broadway; Ariana DeBose will play Alyssa Greene in the Netflix film adaptation of "The Prom"; Andrew Garfield will star in "Tick, Tick ... Boom!" film; Spencer Liff will direct and choreograph the premiere of "Spring Awakening" in China; "Jagged Little Pill" to release a cast album on December 6th; "Wicked" is now the fifth longest running show in Broadway history; RIP Andile Gumbi and Ann Crumb
REVIEW: Adrienne Warren’s star turn in “TINA: The Tina Turner Musical”
Adrienne Warren gives a spell-binding, jaw-dropping, star turn in “TINA: The Tina Turner Musical”. There’s nothing earth-shattering about the show’s conception, construction, or execution—but not much that offends, either. “TINA”, among the best of its sub-genre of bio-musicals, is a rather unremarkable musical as far as the form is concerned but a terrific entertainment that tells a good story and does it well. See it for Adrienne Warren’s transcendent performance.