Saturday Matinee

I’m currently trying to put my thoughts together to write about John Doyle’s version of Sweeney Todd, which I saw a few nights ago on its national tour. It is an insurmountable task, because in short, it was the most original piece of theater that I have probably ever seen. It doesn’t help that my respect for this show multiplied several times with the Q&A session with John Doyle, the amazing Tony-award winning director, before the performance. He is a creative genius and the way that he thinks is just… really cool. I love how he thinks about the details, and uses a lot of symbolism and forces the audience to get fully involved in the production. I also love how he started out in small community theaters, and so with that comes a set of practical skills that still manages to fit in with the production at hand, on many different levels. It also helps that he is humble and very charming.

In the meantime…

A press meet occurred with the cast of Pygmalion, which is being done on Broadway in New York. Starring Claire Danes (blatantly obvious from the poster), Jefferson Mays, and Boyd Gaines, it’s being directed by the same director (David Grindley) of Journey’s End, one of my favorite shows on Broadway this past spring. Claire Danes is definitely an unusual choice to play Liza, but I certainly hope that she can meet the challenge. She really needs to have a flair for comedy, and I hope Claire Danes can rise above her usual portrayal of a pouty ingenue. I would go see this show in NY because of the rest of the cast, especially Jefferson Mays and Boyd Gaines, both of whom were absolutely brilliant in Journey’s End. I loved how a critic described Boyd Gaines’ performance as “quietly devastating”; his character was portrayed in such an understated way that was piercingly heartbreaking. And Jefferson Mays is just amazing; I would go see him to play the smallest role, in any show.

Stunt casting at its best. You’d think this was a one-woman show…

Who’s making love to the camera??

David Grindley, Boyd Gaines, Jefferson Mays, Claire Danes, and Jay O. Sanders

Also, Billy Elliot is dancing its way onto Broadway in Sept 2008! It was announced unconventionally via a poster in Shubert Alley. With music by Elton John, it’ll be a fun show to see this fall.