All tagged Kristin Chenoweth
The composing team of Kander and Ebb were often attracted to properties that allowed them to tell a show-within-a-show story, often using the show or entertainment style within to provide commentary on the show the theatre audience is watching. Cabaret (cabaret), Chicago (vaudeville), Kiss of the Spider Woman (film), Curtains (musical theatre), The Scottsboro Boys (minstrel shows) and, even to a degree the village storytellers in Zorba employ this conceit. It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that the team found a way to utilize the dance marathons in Atlantic City of the 1930s to similar effect in the short-lived musical Steel Pier.
Last week, I wrote a piece about Broadway divas who showed exemplary acting skills. It got me thinking about some of our greatest living actresses of the musical stage and what classic musical theatre role I would most like to see them tackle next. Playing casting director is always a great deal of fun, and I hope you will chime in with your thoughts as well. For me, this is where I'd like to see some of our favorite leading ladies of the stage try their talents.
With Lin-Manuel Miranda poised to host Saturday Night Live, our nation’s most well-known and enduring sketch comedy show, I thought it might be interesting to suggest a few other faces from the Great White Way who would make fabulous hosts of the show. Broadway stars so seldom get the opportunity to show off their comedic talents to a larger viewing audience than the mere numbers a Broadway theatre can hold. Many great television and movie comedians of yesteryear have also spent time on Broadway AND appeared on SNL. But who of the contemporary theatre world would be good for a night of riotous laughter and a great opening monologue? Though it is very unlikely to happen to many (Hamilton is, after all, a national phenomenon and pop culture anomaly that has lifted Miranda and Hamilton into the stratosphere of iconic stardom), here are a few Broadway stars who I think would be up to the challenge:
Live from New York, it’s Saturday night… starring…
Generally, I am a proponent of the trend in producing musicals “live” on television, with the proviso that they are done well and that they don’t besmirch the reputation of musical theatre. The renaissance of live musicals started a few years ago with The Sound of Music starring Carrie Underwood. It was an underwhelming effort to say the least, but it was popular enough with audiences for NBC to turn live musicals into a perennial event. Peter Pan came next and that was even more painful than The Sound of Music, especially with an under-rehearsed Christopher Walken wending his way through the role of Captain Hook. Then something miraculous happened: Musicals Live! suddenly came up with a great idea and chose a musical that didn’t already have a beloved film version and then cast it with powerhouse talent. The Wiz Live! was a exciting, bursting with energy and heart, and was also just plain good.
