Who Are The Most Powerful People On Broadway?

 

 

 

Jordan Roth

Backstage.com has picked the twenty-five most powerful people on Broadway. While not an easy task, they have done well in picking the power brokers but have not included the entertainers. The first star/writer to appear on the list is Harvey Fierstein at number twenty-three.

Here are the top ten:

1. Phil Smith (Chairman) and Bob Wankel (President), The Shubert Organization

Phil Smith was bound for Broadway greatness, especially after coming up with the idea of the Telecharge ticketing system. Now, Smith and Wankel are in charge of the largest theater syndicate in America, comprising 17 Broadway houses and one Off-Broadway.

2. Jordan Roth, President, Jujamcyn Theaters (see photograph above)

This year Roth became the primary shareholder of Jujamcyn Theaters when Rocco Landesman sold most of his stake in the company to him. At 37, Roth is the youngest principal owner of a Broadway theater chain. With five theaters, Jujamcyn is home to “Kinky Boots,” “Jersey Boys,” and smash hit “The Book of Mormon.”

3. James “Jimmy” Nederlander and James L. Nederlander, The Nederlander Organization

The father-son duo own and operate nine theaters in New York and 15 other venues around the world, which makes the organization the second-largest theater syndicate of Broadway theaters. Both have made their mark on Broadway and national theater: Jimmy has produced more than 100 shows, and the National High School Musical Theater Awards are named the Jimmy Awards after him. His son is active in the theater community; he serves on the Broadway League Board of Governors as well as the Actors Fund board of trustees.

Thomas Schumacher of Disney

4. Thomas Schumacher, President, Disney Theatrical Group(photograph above)

“Mary Poppins” closed on Broadway this March, but Schumacher’s schedule hasn’t lightened; he will fill that small Disney void with a musical adaptation of “Aladdin,” set to debut on Broadway in 2014. With “Aladdin” joining the successful “The Lion King” and “Newsies,” Disney continues to prove its Broadway prowess—and collect those Tony Awards.

5. George P. Lane, Agent, Creative Artists Agency

Actors who complain about how star-studded Broadway has become can blame Lane. The CAA agent was instrumental in bringing such clients as Tom Hanks and Alec Baldwin to the Great White Way this season.

6. Scott Rudin, Producer

Rudin had a pretty awesome 2012, joining the elite crowd of award winners who have garnered Emmy, Oscar, Grammy, and Tony awards. 2013 looks to be just as amazing for him. Not only is this the producer behind the Tony-winning Broadway powerhouses “Fences” and “The Book of Mormon,” but he produced some heavy hitters this year, including “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” starring Scarlett Johansson, and “The Testament of Mary.” Also, he will produce a revival of Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal” in the fall

7. Todd Haimes, Artistic Director, Roundabout Theatre Company

One of the most successful not-for-profit theater companies in the country, Roundabout has under Haimes’ stewardship become a Broadway mainstay and continues to pull in big names for its shows, such as Bobby Cannavale in this season’s “The Big Knife.”

8. Michael Riedel, Columnist, New York Post

When he wasn’t stealing scenes on “Smash” this season, Riedel proved the power of his pen with influential columns on the infamous “Ghost Skipper” in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and the “Lucky Guy” poster. It’s tough to say whether it’s all because of Riedel, but Skipper disappeared and the poster changed.

9. Nick Scandalios, Executive Vice President, The Nederlander Organization

Scandalios has been the executive vice president of the Nederlander Organization—which owns and operates nine Broadway theaters—for more than 25 years. Scandalios is active in the theater community; last year he was appointed to the Broadway League Board of Governors, and he serves as vice chairman on the board of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

10. André Bishop, Artistic Director, Lincoln Center Theater

With a passionate flair for new works and playwrights, Bishop has made Lincoln Center Theater a creative hotbed that turns new works into classics, such as the Tony Award winners “Contact” and “The Light in the Piazza.” This season Lincoln Center has already put up a few fan favorites, including Holland Taylor’s “Ann” and Douglas Carter Beane’s “The Nance”—along with the recently anointed Pulitzer Prize winner “Disgraced,” which debuted at LCT’s Off-Broadway theater.

SEE THE REMAINDER OF THE TOP TWENTY-FIVE >>>>

'Outer Critics Circle Awards' Makes 'Pippin' and 'Kinky Boots' Big Winners

 

 

The Broadway Award season is moving full steam ahead toward the Tony Awards in early June. Last night the critics presented the Outer Critic Circle Awards and made Pippin a big winner with seven wins and presented the coveted 'Outstanding Musical' to Kinky Boots!

There were big surprises among the awards including Nathan Lane defeating Tom Hanks for the 'Outstanding Actor in a Play'. Holland Taylor of Ann defeated both Bette Midler and Michael Urie for 'Outstanding Solo Performance'.

One of the great joys of the announcement of the winners was talented Billy Porter winning for "Outstanding Actor in a Musical" for his astounding acting in Kinky Boots.

Here are some of the major winners announced:   

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL

Kinky Boots

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY

My Name is Asher Lev

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL

Here Lies Love

OUTSTANDING BOOK OF A MUSICAL (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

Matilda the Musical

OUTSTANDING NEW SCORE (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

Kinky Boots

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

Pippin

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A PLAY

Jack O'Brien The Nance

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL

Diane Paulus Pippin

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHER

Chet Walker Pippin

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A PLAY

Nathan Lane The Nance

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Cicely Tyson The Trip to Bountiful

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Billy Porter Kinky Boots

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Patina Miller Pippin

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY

Tom Sturridge Orphans

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Kristine Nielsen Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Terrence Mann Pippin

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Andrea Martin Pippin

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE

Holland Taylor Ann

TO SEE ALL WINNERS AND NOMINESS JUST CLICK HERE>>>>>

Five Questions For........Harvey Fierstein

 

 

 

Perhaps more than anyone on Broadway, Harvey Fierstein has pioneered the way for actors on the Great White Way to be open about their sexuality. Consistently over the years he has shown great courage and sometimes at great cost. Despite the risks he took being out and proud, he is one of the most successful actors/writers on Broadway.

Harvey was born in Brooklyn to conservative Jewish parents. His mother, Harriet was a school librarian and his father Irving was a handkerchief manufacturer.

The deep voice became a trademark and was perfect for the stage. In 1982, as an out gay man, Fierstein burst unto the stage in a big way writing and acting in the famous Torch Song Trilogy.  For that production, he won two Tony Awards for Best Actor and Best Play. The play was a huge hit and later turned into a movie. The film won him a nomination for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor.

"Tony" loves this man! He won a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for La Cage aux Folles in 1983. He was also nominated as the writer for the Broadway hit "Newsies". Who can forget this Tony Award winning performance as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray (below)? Currently he has received another nomination this June for Kinky Boots for Best Book of a Musical!

Harvey also has won an Emmy Award for narrating "The Life and Times of Harvey Milk" and an Emmy nomination for his appearance on 'Cheers' Most importantly who can ever forget his role in the hysterical "Mrs. Doubtfire" with Robin Williams?

The list of films, television appearances and voice overs can go on and on. Harvey has never stopped working, acting and writing. For so many people, like myself, Harvey is one of the great heroes of the LGBT community. He stood tall and proud when so few in the entertainment industry were out. He is a pioneer and role model for young LGBT actors. He proved you could be a success and out in show business.

If you need evidence of his articulate bravery watch the interview by Barbara Walters at the end of this article done in 1982!

Harvey is special, a beautiful man and one of the great legends.

Here are the "Five Questions For Harvey Fierstein"

1. You came out at a time when most all performers were deeply in the closet. How do you think it impacted your career for better or worse?

I am more than aware that I fucked a lot of commercial opportunities that may have been available had I been, shall we say, circumspect. However, I never considered money or fame as goals. To me they were by-products of a life in the arts. I can't say that I haven't watched fellow closeted artists getting big gigs and wondered if they did it right and I wrong. But living ingenuously was simply never an option. I guess I was just brought up right. (Or wrong)

2, Do you believe there is any professional reason for an actor to stay in the closet today? What advice would you give someone in the industry who is closeted?

Every career is completely individual. Different for every one of us. I have no crystal ball. I give young gay actors the same bullshit advice that old farts have been handing out since the dawn of time, "You get one life. LIve it, as hard as you can, full out, and with no regrets. Don't leave anything in the locker room."

3.. You are one of the hardest working people in show business as a Tony Award winning Actor and Playwright. What projects have been the most challenging to you over the years?

What you would call challenging I would call joyous. I LOVE to get in there and get dirty and create and try stuff… To me the "challenging" work are the bullshit jobs you take to pay the rent. It's a real challenge to sit around a movie set for twelve hours just to get in front of the camera and say, "Would you like a cocktail?", and then go home.

4. As a living legend yourself, what was it like to work with icon Director Jerry Mitchell and Cyndi Lauper in the new amazing Broadway hit 'Kinky Boots'.

Jerry and I had already worked together on Broadway's HAIRSPRAY and several other incarnations of the same.We knew we wanted to do something new together. Cyndi and I had talked about writing a show together years earlier. So I guess when we finally all got together to work there was some relief that the wait was over. I love them both. We are family. We created a beautiful joyous miraculous baby together that will, I have no doubt, be around years after we are gone. Working don't get better than that!

5. What is the most embarrassing or funny incident to happen to you as an actor?

I was touring as TEVYE in the road company of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. We were in Toronto and I was told, just before the curtain went up, that two of my favorite performers were in the house; legendary Captain Von Trapp himself - Mr Theodore Bikel, and the original star of MAMA MIA! - Louise Pitre. I entered the empty stage to begin the show with the famous monologue to the audience when suddenly I felt something wrong. I put my hand to my face and realized that the dry winter air had given me a very bad nosebleed. So there I stood, center stage, the audience waiting…. I pulled out my handkerchief, held it up to my face and went on with the show making certain that the audience never saw the blood gushing from my nose. Unfortunately, neither did they see much of a performance! Both of my idols left the theater without visiting me. But i could never fault them. They didn't know. Somehow I am both ashamed and proud of that

This is an extraordinary interview with Barbara Walters from 1983! You must watch this amazing man educate a nation when most people were still deeply in the closet! LGBT Americans should never forget contribution in our epic struggle for freedom!

VIDEO: Dame Helen Mirren Tells LGBT Drummers To 'Shut The F**k Up!

 

 

 

Mail Online is reporting that LGBT drummers were outside the theater where Dame Helen Mirren is playing the Queen in "The Audience". The huge number of drummers were promoting an upcoming festival. Evidently the drumming could be heard inside the theater and was bothering the audience.

Dame Helen Mirren would have none of it.

Here is the Mail Online report:

But when Dame Helen Mirren’s latest performance was disturbed by the noise of a drumming troupe outside the theatre, her language was far from regal.

She stormed out of London’s Gielgud theatre – still dressed as the Queen in pearls and tiara – and screamed at them to shut up.

Reports of her exact words differ, but it is clear the 67-year-old was, like Queen Victoria, not amused.

Some said she told the group to ‘shut the **** up’.

Others said she ‘stomped out and shrieked “Quiet! I’m trying to do a play in here!” ’

Dame Helen is playing the Queen in The Audience, a play about the monarch’s private weekly meetings with various prime ministers at Buckingham Palace.

Last week the role earned her an Olivier award for best actress.

The play’s writer Peter Morgan also scripted the 2006 film The Queen, for which Dame Helen won an Oscar.

But Saturday night’s West End performance of the play was disturbed by the sound of drums five minutes before the interval.

A troupe of performers marched past the theatre in a parade designed to promote As One In The Park, a festival for gay and transgender people due to take place in East London this month.

Followed by a crowd of around 200, the musicians and dancers stopped outside a bar to perform a drum crescendo – unaware they were drowning out Dame Helen’s lines.

Audience member Ben Scotchbrook told the Daily Mail that the actress finished the first half without letting the noise affect her performance.

When the second half was interrupted by a lighting blackout, she went on stage and revealed she had dealt with the source of the noise.

‘She was a real pro, she saved the day,’ said Mr Scotchbrook, a 43-year-old communications consultant from Buckinghamshire.

‘The noise was really irritating, but she didn’t get ruffled on stage.

‘In the interval I went out and tried to ask the drummers to move on, to no effect. I don’t think they realised they could be heard inside the theatre.

‘I went back in without realising Dame Helen had also been out. Then in the second half the performance was halted for several minutes by a technical failure.

‘Dame Helen came on stage and said, “We’re having a bad night”.

'She apologised for the noise and said, “I went outside dressed as the Queen and told them, not too politely, to ‘go away’ as they were spoiling the play”.’

Mr Scotchbrook added: ‘I have since heard that she was even less polite than we had imagined.’

Writing on Twitter, Lucy Lumsden said: ‘Brilliant – Helen Mirren, dressed as the Queen, stormed off stage last night and told a bunch of drummers to “shut the **** up”.’

Miss Lumsden could not be contacted to verify whether she heard the exchange first-hand.

One of the parade organisers said: ‘She stomped out and shrieked, “Quiet! I’m trying to do a play in here! People have paid a lot of money for tickets”.’

Yesterday a spokesman for As One In The Park offered Dame Helen a free ticket to the event to apologise for the disturbance.

'Kinky Boots' Deserves To Clean Up At The Tony Awards!

 

 

 

The purpose of a good musical is to entertain, have you humming afterwards and demanding that your friends go see it as soon as possible. If that fits your definition of a good musical then you should be heading over to see Kinky Boots which is the classic Broadway hit!

You will recognize all the ingredients for a ' Best Musical' nominee with a wonderful collection of talent at all levels of the production giving us their personal best. If this hit does yield a truck load of Tony Awards it will be criminal.

Most importantly, the audience gets to see the work of four great masters who work in perfect collaboration.

Legendary Director/Choreographer Jerry Mitchell gives us a gift of a musical that has so much energy you wonder how the cast can do two shows on Wednesday's and Saturdays. The cast should be walking around with canes from expending that much explosive energy on stage. Mitchell maintains a firm grip on the pacing and gives us lavish production numbers that left you breathless and in awe.

Harvey Fierstein is a legendry Broadway pioneer for LGBT Americans as an actor and writer. Personally, he has always had my respect and admiration not only for his considerable talent but also his courage. The book for Kinky Boots is sharp and in tune with the production and the music. Harvey has a great gift for story telling and he might just seize his second Tony Award for writing.

Who knew that Cyndi Lauper could hit it out of the park in her first Broadway musical as a composer and lyricist? She matches Fierstein's skill in story telling with one anthem after another that inspires everyone to feel empowered and good about themselves. Lauper took this challenge and has created music for this show that will be sung in high schools, universities, cruise ships and yes, even 'American Idol'! What joy it is to see her talent at its best and to be inspired by her music.

Now she can add a Tony Award to her Grammy and Emmy. Calling the Oscars?

Billy Porter and Stark Sands

Finally the ever talented and extraordinary performer Billy Porter has his moment! From his first appearance on stage until the end, Porter owns the stage - in fact he tears it up! With endless energy, respect for other performers and a sexiness that defies all genders, he is a power house that won't be stopped by anything. Porter has his long time fans (including me) and to see him in a starring glamorous role is so damn rewarding to not only his fans but every member of the audience.

Porter's genius should not overshadowed the incredible performance by his talented co-star Stark Sands who plays 'Charlie' with a likable charm and an excellent voice. Sands rise to every challenge and holds his own when with Porter on stage and that is no small achievement.

Other highlights includes "Lola Angels', the spectacular set of David Rockwell and really excellent lighting by Kenneth Posner.

This is the show for everyone from tourists to theater snobs, from Jersey blue hair ladies to cowboys from Wyoming and from LGBT Americans to .....well, really they standing alone should be enough! See Kinky Boots now at the Al Hirschfeld Theater.

LGBT Favorites Win Tony Award Nominations!!!

 

 

 

Judith Light Nominated for Third Tony Award

The Tony Awards were announced this morning and they bring with them great news for fans of Broadway.

Actress icon Judith Light received her third nomination (she won for 'Other Desert Cities') in a row for The Assembled Parties. Broadway pioneer Harvey Fierstein won a nod this time for writing the book of Kinky Boots. Director Jerry Mitchell won a nomination for the same musical. The amazing Billy Porter won for his tour de force performance as the lead in Kinky Boots. Earning a nomination for Best Actor for The Nance was Nathan Lane. Out actor David Hyde Pierce will compete against Lane for Best Actor for his role in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike!

The battle for Best Musical will be between Kinky Boots (13 nominations) and Matilda the Musical (12 nominations).

The Best Play Award could be won by any of the five nominees.

Gravely overlooked this year by the Tony Awards were Jessica Hecht for The Assembled Parties and Alan Cumming for MacBeth. What were they thinking???

Alan Cumming Talks To Colbert About His Astounding Show 'MacBeth'

 

 

 

For those of us who saw Alan Cumming at Lincoln Center last year in his extraordinary 'MacBeth', it was the theater experience of a life time. You see my review here of that performance. Now it is being moved to Broadway and is opening on April 21st at the Ethel Barrymore Theater. The play is directed by John Tiffany and Andrew Goldberg.

Cumming appeared on Colbert Report to discuss the play!

The Colbert Report
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Young LGBT People Who Are Changing The World

 

 

 

The Advocate has selected forty LGBT young people under forty who are making a difference in the world. They are "accomplished leaders in politics, sports, science, religion and the arts.". You can't help but look at this list and feel great hope for the future. Here are five of them..

Ryan Spahn
32 / New York
Actor and Student

Ryan Spahn happily acknowledges that his partner of four years, Michael Urie (of Ugly Betty fame), has the more recognizable face of the couple. In fact, he’s banking on it. Spahn’s first feature film, in theaters this May, is sardonically titled He’s Way More Famous Than You. He wrote the film with Halley Feiffer, with Urie in the director’s chair. Both Spahn and Urie star in the film, along with Tracee Chimo, Jesse Eisenberg, and But I’m a Cheerleader’s Natasha Lyonne.

While completing preproduction for Famous in 2011, Spahn penned a screenplay for another upcoming film, Grantham & Rose, a coming-of-age story featuring Feiffer as a filmmaker willing to lie, cheat, and steal to get her way, foiled by The Jeffersons’ Marla Gibbs as a feisty 81-year-old woman named Rose.

Spahn is also a third-year drama student at Juilliard. Urie, a Juilliard alum, encouraged his partner to attend, promising the education would change his life. Indeed, Spahn says he’s found funding for and self-produced all three of his feature film and a short film projects since enrolling.

“It was unexpected and thrilling,” says Spahn. “So it was more of a juggling act of scheduling the films to fall during my holiday breaks. I am a hard worker, so I managed to balance the workload of Juilliard against these filming schedules.” @ryan_spahn

Harper Jean Tobin
31 / Washington, D.C.
Director of Policy, National Center for Transgender Equality

As a young transgender woman coming of age in Louisville, Ky., Harper Jean Tobin was grateful for her supportive family and friends within her community. But while she describes Louisville as “the least conservative place in Kentucky,” she was still aware of the discrimination and transphobia that runs deep in many Southern states. That awareness led the lawyer — recently named among the best 40 LGBT attorneys under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association — to actively fight to improve the lives, visibility, and equality of transgender people by creating inclusive federal policy. And that’s exactly what she’s done in her four years with the National Center for Transgender Equality.

“Gears sometimes turn slowly in this town,” says Tobin of the Washington infrastructure. “But we have seen tremendous progress over the past four years.”

Tobin cites 2010 revisions to federal policy that allowed transgender people to obtain passports that reflect their authentic gender without a requirement for surgical procedures. Tobin also highlights ongoing work to protect transgender prisoners and immigration detainees. Tobin says such efforts have been “quite successful” thus far, but notes that there is still much to do. She hopes NCTE’s efforts signal the beginning of “a larger and very critical conversation in our movement about the ways in which so many of our transgender youth are funneled into these harmful systems by poverty, unemployment, rejection, and discrimination.” @transequality

Alex Morse
24 / Holyoke, Mass.
Mayor

When your high school gay-straight alliance faces censorship by the school board, it helps to have the town’s mayor on your side. To be fair, Mayor Alex Morse of Holyoke, Mass., founded that group back in his high school days, which weren’t that long ago. He’s only 24.

The Holyoke High School GSA planned an assembly against bullying in February, and in response a board member wanted to move it after school or require an opt-out provision because of its supposed sexual nature. Morse spoke strongly against the idea, arguing that the kids most likely to opt out would also be most in need of training. When he won and the assembly happened, the mayor was a guest speaker.

Morse shows that even a mayor for a city of about 40,000 can make a difference for LGBT Americans. “Legal protections are one thing,” he says. “Changing the hearts and minds of people is another challenge.” @mayormorse

Amir Dixon
23 / Boston
Filmmaker

Amir Dixon recently made history when his film Friend of Essex screened at Atlanta’s Morehouse College, one of the nation’s preeminent historically African-American colleges. The documentary drama explores the lives of young black gay men today and “looks at how we are seen in the black community through the scope of religion, how we are seen in the [larger] LGBTQ community, and in turn how we see ourselves,” Dixon says. The film has prompted discussions on race, masculinity, identity, and sexuality. This is what he hopes to achieve wherever Friend of Essex screens. “[I hope to set a] national agenda for LGBTQ people of color that is inclusive of all of our experiences,” he says. “This isn’t about me but about us.” @amirnow

Danielle Moodie-Mills
33 / Washington, D.C.
Director of Education Advocacy, National Wildlife Federation

If you think you’re busy, you haven’t met Danielle Moodie-Mills. She’s the director of education advocacy for the National Wildlife Federation, a board member for the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, and an adviser for LGBT policy and racial justice with Fighting Injustice to Reach Equality, an initiative of the Center for American Progress. In her spare time, she maintains a blog (ThreeLOL.com) and hosts a radio show (Politini at BLIS.fm), both of which she manages with her wife. But she doesn’t mind her industrious life. “I’m really passionate about all those pieces because they really reflect to my core, which is social justice and working for equality across the board for all people,” she says.

Moodie-Mills’s latest work with NWF centers on encouraging kids to put down the Xbox and get active, and her latest project with FIRE involves helping LGBT youth in the juvenile justice system. “I’m really proud to do the work I do,” she says. @deetwocents

SEE THE ENTIRE LIST BY CLICKING HERE........

Theater Review: 'Buyer and Cellar' Is Pure Genius

 

 

Jonathan Tolins, Michael Urie and Stephen Brackett

Doesn't make any difference if you are considering Michael Urie's astounding performance, Jonathan Tolins brilliant script or the perfect direction by Stephen Brackett, the word 'genius' applies to each of them. 'Buyer and Cellar' at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater is a work of art, an evening of entertainment and theater at its best.

The one man show is about a young actor who obtains a position in 'Barbra Streisand's 'private mall' in the basement of her home in Malibu. The famous Barbra is the only customer over the months. A purely fictionalized account (although the famous diva does have her own private mall!) that is filled with laughter and even a compassionate view of her life. Young 'Alex' sits waiting alone for her to appear and 'shop' and believes that Streisand and him are becoming friends.

Tolins has paced the play at the speed of a machine gun. Words pour forth from Urie who plays not only the young actor 'Alex' but shares with us his interpretation of the famous singer. Urie also channels Streisand's assistant and husband James Brolin. The script is a gift to any actor filled with belly laughs, insight into the human condition and rich in dialogue. Tolins who is most known for his "Twilight of the Golds', has written a play that can only make other writers green with envy. It is that good.

How fortunate Tolins is to have actor Michael Urie to play all the characters. Urie who is one of the entertainment industry's bright young stars gives perhaps his best performance ever in this gem. For an hour and a half, without a break, Urie commands the stage and refuses to allow the audience or himself to rest. His ability to own the rapid fire dialogue without total exhaustion is impressive to watch. You keep waiting for him to wind down and fortunately for us he refuses to let go.

Urie, who wowed critics in 'The Temperamental's', smartly does not attempt to resort to cheap and easy Barbra imitations but instead conveys her presence on stage with creative and brilliant energy, smart dialogue and movement. A simple flick of the hands will cause laughter. A cleaver look into the audience with wide eyes speaks a million words. Few actors could handle the intrinsic's of Tolins' play and Urie wraps it and presents it to the audience as a great gift of magnificent theater.

You leave the theater hoping that this talented actor will be on stage often in the future so we can selfishly watch him over and over in many different shows.

None of this would have been possible without the talented and incredible direction of Stephen Brackett. The young director is becoming one of the most sought after in New York theater. He doesn't resort to gimmicks or temptation to please an audience. Brackett is an actor's director who trusts his team's ability to convey the splendid words of the playwright. He has taken Urie's incredible talent with the playwrights words and given us an astounding evening of theater.

Brackett is one of the best directors in use of video projection design and with the talents of Alex Koch he uses it with great effect in creating 'The Streisand Mall".

'Buyer and Cellar' is likely to sell out in this small space so I would reserve my tickets now. Click here and treat yourself to an intelligent, funny and dynamic evening of theater.

Five Questions For .........Director Sean Mathias

 

 

Sean Mathias (R) chatting with Breakfast at Tiffanys stars Cory Michael Smith and Emila Clark

Actor, writer and director Sean Mathias is as close to a Renaissance man as you will find.

The talented British import to Broadway is directing the new Broadway version of Breakfast at Tiffany's. The play, based on the Truman Capote book, has just opened at the Cort Theatre (at 138 West 48th Street).

 

Mathias was selected by the Sunday Independent as one of the most influential LGBT people in Britain. The talented man worked closely with Sir Ian McKellen and was also his partner in life for a number of years.

While having acted in several plays in the West End of London, it is as a director that Mathias has achieved the most acclaim.

Many people around the globe will best know him for brilliant direction of the film Bent. Both the stage version and film about homosexual inmates in a Nazi Concentration Camp moved people to tears.

When he directed a revival of Bent by Martin Sherman as a benefit, the production became legendary in the theater community. The play that night starred Sir. Ian McKellen, Ian Charleson and Ralph Fiennes. They young handsome Charleson, who was the star of Chariots of Fire, was dying of AIDS.

The film version starred Jude Law, Rupert Graves, Clive Owen, Sir. Ian McKellen, Mick Jagger,and Lothaire Bluteau. The Cannes Film Festival bestowed the "Prix de la Jeunesse'.

 

The credits for Mathias role as director are international. There is hardly a major star of the stage that has not clamor to work with him. Among those who he has directed on stage are Sir Ian McKellen, Jude Law, Judi Dench, Rupert Graves, Kathleen Turner, Cynthia Nixon, Billy Crudup, Alan Rickman, Helen Mirren and so many others.

Mathias has been honored for his work both with nominations and awards. Born in Wales, he lived in South Africa for awhile but has returned home to his native United Kingdom.

Here are Five Questions For...........Sean Mathias: 

1. When did you come 'out' and what was that experience for you?

When I wrote the screenplay for the BBC film The Lost Language of Cranes. It is a story about coming out. In order to promote it in the press, I described how I had come out at home. It is never easy.

2. You have been an actor, writer and director. Which one has given you the greatest satisfaction and why?

They have all fed each other. Romantically I am a writer but pragmatically I am a director.

3. You directed the film and stage versions of 'Bent' to great acclaim. There was a famous benefit performance in 1989 for Stonewall in London. The famous actor Ian Charleson (Chariots of Fire) was in that production and in the last stages of HIV/AIDs. What was it like that night to see his courage on the stage? Can you share a little about that legendary night?

Ian was a very close friend and I knew he was dying of AIDS. He played Greta, the Drag Queen, and had to change from female costume to male costume on stage. I placed screens all around the set to give him privacy. His body was covered with KS but his spirit was so beautiful, brave and true. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

Ian Charleson

4. What project would you give your left arm to direct?

I am hanging on to my left arm.

5. What is the most embarrassing or funny event to happen to you as a director or actor?

When I made my debut in Hair on tour and they inserted a naked bath scene to be extra provocative, and I was the boy in the bath being bathed by two girls. We played my home town and my parents came to see, and my mother yelled out "Oh no, I can see his dick-dock!"