All tagged Alison Fraser

Put On Your Understudy Clothes: Who Should Be Bette Midler’s Understudy for Dolly?

Put On Your Understudy Clothes: Who Should Be Bette Midler’s Understudy for Dolly?

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

With the forthcoming Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! starring Bette Midler breaking records at the box office, we have to take a minute to think about who is going to fill the Divine Miss M’s shoes when she is not performing. We already know they are going to need someone to cover matinees, and God forbid Ms. Midler gets sick and needs an understudy to go on her place. It’s going to require someone of either star caliber or of great talent to fill these shoes, and the producers know that audiences are not going to accept just anyone to fill her shoes. With that in mind, here is a list of people I think could pull it off nicely.

Falsettos: Still Holding to the Ground

Falsettos: Still Holding to the Ground

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

With the recently-confirmed Lincoln Center revival of Falsettos set to bow at the Walter Kerr Theatre this October, and with original director and librettist James Lapine (once again) at the helm of this William Finn masterpiece, it is interesting to look at how the world has changed in the 23 years since its original Broadway production. Is Falsettos as relevant today as it was back in the early 1990s? This story of a gay man named Marvin who leaves his wife and son for a male lover, and then loses him to a spectral illness that is presumably AIDS, was cutting edge and timely musical theatre for 1992, but does that translate for contemporary American audiences where gay marriage is now arguably a societal norm and AIDS, despite its continued threat, has somehow become a marginalized disease that doesn’t inspire quite the same fear? The answer is an astounding yes, but for very different reasons than in 1992.

Theatres We Love: Remembering My Times Visiting the St. James

Theatres We Love: Remembering My Times Visiting the St. James

Mark Robinson
Theatres We Love

Most people who attend Broadway plays and musicals on a regular basis have established a certain affection for a particular venue. Maybe we had a wonderful experience at a particular theatre, or maybe we have had several. Perhaps a certain theatre is more comfortable, more conveniently located, or maybe it just glows with the wonderful ghosts of shows gone by? For me, my favorite theatre will always be the St. James, owned and operated by Jujamycn Theatre and the home of a long line of Broadway hits that have been ensconced within its walls on 44th street, between 7th and 8th Avenues.

Dream Casting Sondheim Musicals

Dream Casting Sondheim Musicals

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

I was sitting the other night, catching up on this season of Orange is the New Black, and I was struck by just how terrific an actress Annie Golden is on the program. What makes her all-the-more special is the fact that her character doesn’t speak, but says so much with her eyes and her facial expressions. In one particularly thoughtful moment I found myself asking “Has she ever played Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd?” I think this would be an inspired casting choice, and Golden is no stranger to Broadway musicals or playing psychotic Sondheim characters, having originated the role of Squeaky Fromme in the original Playwrights Horizon’s production of Assassins (1990).    

This got me thinking: If I could cast some roles in Sondheim musicals, who would I choose and why? We all love a little speculative casting, so why not play that game right here. Today’s blog features some of my favorite choices for people I would cast in Sondheim roles. 

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