Archive for September, 2006
Video Extra: Parcells as Pageant Pocahontas
September 30, 2006 2:52 pm
In A Chorus Line, she’s number 23, Judy Turner. In this exclusive Video Extra, the delightful Heather Parcells is just another beauty pageant contestant pouring her heart into a passionate dance/song performance of “The Colors of the Wind” from Disney’s Pocahontas. Check out the clip below and then also be sure to watch her On the Line video interview as well, featuring even more fun footage.
Off the Cuff: Capathia Jenkins
September 29, 2006 6:46 pm
So how does it feel to stop the show eight times a week on Broadway? I was going to ask Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me standout Capathia Jenkins just that, but decided on some stupid questions instead. If you haven’t seen Jenkins bring down the house with her Act Two power song “Stop the Show” (sample lyric: “Just get a big black lady to stop the show”), then get over to the Jacobs theater ASAP (And be sure to catch her Joe’s Pub gig for three Sundays at 7PM starting October 29). Onto the questions:
First things first. Any nasty Martin Short gossip?
[Laughs.] No. I mean, it’s all good over here!
Fame becomes Martin Short. What becomes Capathia Jenkins?
Hmm. I would say almost-fame becomes me!
Were you insulted to be cast as the “big black lady”?
It’s very interesting. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman wrote the song for me. When Marc called me up, I had just finished a conversation with my agent where I told him I didn’t want to go in for the calls asking for a big black gospel lady to sing a song. Then Marc called and said to me, “We wrote a song. We know you have a sense of humor. Please listen to it.” When I heard the first stanza, I was like, “I was just talking about this. I’ll do it!” I was completely on board from the beginning.
Have they warned you that you can’t get all skinny while you’re in the show?
[Laughs.] You know there’s the typical clause in the Equity contract 
that says you can’t change your appearance. But I haven’t had anyone say, “You gotta stay this size.” Since 2003, I’ve lost 90 pounds so when we first got into rehearsals for the workshop, Marc was like, “Are you gonna stay a big black lady?” I’m still exercising and eating right so who knows?
Have you ever not stopped Fame Becomes Me by singing your solo about bringing a big black lady on to stop the show?
No, I haven’t. Listen, if it didn’t stop the show, I’d be packing my stuff up. 
It is my job to stop the show.
Do you remember the first time you saw a big black lady stop a show?
I have so many friends who have done just that. I’ve seen Lillias [White] do it many times. Sharon [Wilkins] did it in All Shook Up. BJ [Crosby] did it in Smokey Joe’s. They’re all my friends. I’ve seen them all do it.
Ever seen a little white lady stop the show?
Oh yes. One of the performances that really took my breath away… I saw Patti LuPone do Sunset Boulevard in London and I was the first one on my feet. I was sitting third row center. I was so struck by her power. It was unbelievable. So yeah, I have seen a little white lady stop the show!
Did you ever stop and think at any point during the summer of 2004: “What the hell am I doing playing a washing machine?!?”
Oh my God, never! I had the best time doing Caroline, or Change. When I auditioned, I went in for the radio and my agent called back and said, “Good news. You didn’t get the radio, you got the washing machine.” And we were like, “Well, what is that?! What is going on?” But I had the best 
time figuring that stuff out. And then [costume designer] Paul Tazewell put me in a fierce dress so I was hot. I was a hot washing machine!
Caroline is starting up in London now. Has the British washing machine called you for advice?
[Laughs.] No! But Hope Clarke, the choreographer, came over here before she left and we went through my moves for her video camera so she could teach it to someone new. I couldn’t remember what I did. I was like, “Miss Hope, I don’t remember!”
Were there any wars backstage at The Civil War?
No, no. There weren’t any wars. And pound for pound, those were some of the best singers I’ve ever worked with. That was a rough journey. It was my debut and I didn’t know what to expect. Then to have it open and then close… I was sort of devastated. There were people from Nashville in the cast who had relocated for the show. That was one of the tough ones.
I see that you were honored by Kiss FM as a 2005 Phenomenal Woman alongside people like Audra McDonald, Fantasia, Gayle King, Maya Angelou and Alicia Keys. Who needs a Tony after that?
I do! What actor doesn’t want a Tony? Come on! I would be such a liar if I said to you, “Oh no. Awards mean nothing.” I would be jumping up and down. I would do the whole thing—I’d write a thank you list, I’d write out a speech, I’d practice it in front of the mirror. I would love it.
You have a new CD with composer Louis Rosen called South Side Stories. Are South Side stories better than West Side stories?
[Laughs.] I don’t know if they’re better, but they definitely are different! South Side Stories are about growing up on the south side of Chicago. I have to say this is a really busy time in my life, working with Marty and then working with Lou on this project, but I’m having the most fun. I love my job and I love the music that Lou writes for me. I’m just a lucky little black girl from Brooklyn.
What is a Capathia anyway?
Carpathia is the closest name I can find to mine that has a meaning. She’s the Greek goddess of water. It’s also the name of the ship that picked up the survivors of the Titanic.
So if Car-pathia is the goddess of water, what is Ca-pathia the goddess of?
Hmm. The goddess of everything that’s fun and not too deep! [Laughs.] And of not taking herself too seriously!
The cast of Eric Bogosian’s subUrbia at Second Stage Theatre celebrated opening night with a bash at Planet Hollywood Times Square last night. Here are some advance pics from photographer Bruce Glikas.
Members of the cast cram for a photo with
playwright Eric Bogosian and his wife Jo Bonney,
director of the new staging.
Left: subUrbia star Kieran Culkin and mom Patricia Brentrup.
Right: Playwright Jules Feiffer and daughter Halley, making her
New York stage debut in the show.
Looks like Lucy the Slut has broken another heart on the Great White Way. After leading him on with some hot and heavy flirting, the buxom beauty of Avenue Q blew off Broadway newcomer Bob for last night’s opening of his show Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! Despite the seemingly permanant smile on his face, Bob was pretty broken up. Good thing co-star and close confidant Jay Johnson was on hand to wipe away the tears. (You should be ashamed of yourself, Lu!) Photos by Bruce Glikas for Broadway.com.
An Audience with The Queen
September 28, 2006 6:00 pm
Hello? Evelyn Storch? You’ve won tickets to see me!
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner in our trivia contest. In slightly more than 24 hours, Miss Storch of West Orange, NJ and a guest will be sitting down to take in the sold-out screening of the hot new film The Queen, the opening selection of the 2006 New York Film Festival. The film stars the fabulous Helen Mirren of stage and screen as Elizabeth II and opens in theaters on Saturday. Evelyn won the prize (which includes invites to the very VIP after-party at Tavern on the Green) by answering the following trivia question correctly:
When Helen Mirren was making her Broadway debut, which fellow future Golden Globe winner in the cast was doing the same?
The answer? Jennifer Garner! That’s right, the former Alias star and current Mrs. Affleck made her Broadway debut as an understudy in the company of Roundabout Theatre’s 1995 revival of A Month in the Country, the very same production that marked Mirren’s Broadway debut. Talk about a fun fact!
Congrats Evelyn!
Maddie and Mama on a Mag
3:05 pm
Well, it’s quite a departure from her FHM cover story back in March! Tony winner and Broadway favorite Kristin Chenoweth has landed on the cover of another magazine, but this time she’s got a potentially cuter co-model to compete with: her Maltese Maddie! The mag is hot new glossy The New York Dog and there’s also a fun Q&A with KC on the inside. Some choice cuts:
On Choosing Maddie: “[I] went to Staten Island, to a Maltese breeder… I saw two dogs there, one was perfect coifed—you know a Marily Monroe type, beautiful dog. The other was a little bit hyper, had a funny eye and her tail had been chewed by her brothers and sisters. But she looked like Fanny Bruce so I went with her… I named her after my idol, Madeline Kahn.”
On Intimacy: “She’s the light of my life. Sometimes we just make out, we can’t help it. We just kiss and kiss and I rub her belly. She’s a spoiled brat—spoiled rotten in fact.”
On Maddie the Critic: “Maddie doesn’t like it when I sing. Anything coming out of my mouth other than speaking she hides from and covers her ears. I tell her people pay lots of money to hear me sing but she doens’t care. It’s very distressing. You know my dog really loves me just for me because she certainly doesn’t love my voice!”
Chenoweth also talks about the fact that ex-boyfriend Aaron Sorkin based a character on her on his new show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (”Some parts are verbatim me, and I wonder if I’m going to get any money—10 percent!”) and talks up The Apple Tree, her next Broadway venture. It’s all very cute and cuddly and a nice boost for little Maddie, who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in person backstage at Wicked. It’s nice to see her sharing (stealing?!) a bit of mama’s spotlight!
Get The New York Dog on newstands next week.
Green Carpet Report from a Wicked Bash
September 27, 2006 9:08 pm
This just in from Theatre.com’s Beth Stevens, fresh from Wicked’s opening night bash in London.
Hi Paul—It’s the witching hour here (literally the middle of the night), but I just came from the “green carpet” at the opening of Wicked and had to share. The party was at the gorgeous and enormous Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. I interviewed all of the principals—you will adore the witty and silly Madame Morrible, Miriam Margolyes. What a trip! Helen Dallimore (Glinda) wore white and our own lovely Idina wore black. Taye Diggs flew in from L.A. to be with her. They were adorable together—waving at each other while she did her press duties, which included posing with the original Billy Elliot boys! Only one—Liam Mower—is left in the show (through the end of the week only), so that in itself was historic. Oh, and Tonya Pinkins and George C. Wolfe—in town working on Caroline, or Change—were also there. (I saw Tonya leaving the bash munching on green cotton candy!) Anyway, I MUST got to sleep but I knew you’d want to see some of my snapshots. I’m no photographer, but I couldn’t wait to share these with you. The official coverage will be on Theatre.com tomorrow. This is just my late-night shout-out for you and all of our readers who adore Idina as much as all of London now does!—Beth
Helen and Idina.
The Wicked girls meet the Billy Elliot boys.
Heard about the new Stephen Frears film The Queen, in which stage and screen grande dame Helen Mirren stars as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, grappling with the aftermath of the death of Princess Di? Well, of course you have. Critics can’t stop raving for the thing, which seems sure to bring Mirren her third Oscar nomination next year. The Queen opens in New York City on Saturday but the VIPs will all be seeing it on Friday when it premieres as the opening film of the 2006 New York Film Festival. Want to hear something cool? YOU could be in the house for the big all-star screening. One of my lucky readers is going to win two passes to both the film and the after-party at Tavern on the Green. All you have to do is e-mail me the answer to the following trivia question and I’ll pick a winner at random tomorrow at 6PM. OK, here’s the question:
When Helen Mirren was making her Broadway debut, which fellow future Golden Globe winner in the cast was doing the same?
E-mail me your name, phone number and the correct answer now! Good luck! The winner will be announced here tomorrow at 6PM.
Complete contest rules on the next page.
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There is nothing I’m more excited about this fall than the return of The Wiz, the joyful, soulful retelling of The Wizard of Oz by Charlie Smalls and William F. Brown that first made Broadway history during a four-year run starting in 1975. Last night, a brand spanking new production by director Des McAnuff started up at the La Jolla Playhouse where it opens on Sunday, October 8. If I have anything to do with it, Broadway is next! Photos by Kevin Berne.
Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road!
Tituss Burgess as Lion, Nikki M. James as Dorothy
and Rashad Naylor as Scarecrow.
“You can’t win, chile!”
Naylor on his resting post.
Heather Lee (a kooky Tessie Tura in the last
Broadway revival of Gypsy) stars as good witch Addaperle.
Definitely not in Kansas anymore.
James makes an emergency landing in Munchkinland.
David Alan Grier as The Wiz.
Michael Benjamin Washington as Tinman takes to
the sky after his new friends slide some oil to him.
Audra Enjoys The View
September 26, 2006 11:26 pm
Excuse the tardiness of this post but I don’t watch The View until evening when I catch up with my DVR selections. So let me say it now, 11 hours after the fact: Audra McDonald was a brilliant guest co-host on this morning’s show. Not only did she look and sound (singing “Bein’ Green” off her new Build a Bridge CD) great, she held her own for the entire hour alongside co-hosts Rosie O’Donnell, Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. And that, my friends, isn’t easy. Just ask Sara Ramirez, who filled the same slot last Tuesday, joking at the show’s end that she was proud of herself for getting a few words in edgewise. Looking cool and relaxed, McDonald was a natural presence for the show, which has gone noticably Broadway since the arrival of O’Donnell earlier this month, with high-profile plugs for shows like Beauty and the Beast, Chicago, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me!, Spamalot, The Drowsy Chaperone and The Wedding Singer. McDonald came as smart and knowing but also able to laugh at the antics of her showier co-hosts—she even handled a segment featuring precocious kids with aplomb! In fact, the producers of the show should just offer McDonald the 5th slot permanantly based on today’s performance.
Be on the look out for more stage stars on The View, including Victor Garber, who is awkwardly set to appear on the show tomorrow to talk up his brand-new law show Justice. Why awkward, you ask? Because it was temporarily pulled from the FOX schedule earlier today after just one airing! Just come back to Broadway, Victor!
Stage Notes
