A New Year... and a New Communications Director!

Many new projects are getting underway for the York Theatre in 2008. After 3 more hugely successful performances of Enter Laughing: The Musical in December, what will happen next with this fabulous gem? What new, fresh musicals will the York nurture and put on the mainstage this year? Who will participate in the all- star benefits, such as NEO? What great ideas will rising talents and established writers bring us for the Developmental Reading series? And what under- appreciated musicals of the past will Jim Morgan and the gang bring to life for us in the Mufti Series?

All this in due time, my friends. In due time. But excitement IS percolating!



Meanwhile, the York can now count as one of their full- time staff members the talented and beloved JOHN KENRICK! John Kenrick has come aboard as the new Communications Director of the York. After being the resident Musical Theatre Historian for years, his multiple talents have landed him this coveted position. Now, not only will you, as patrons, fancy guests, and theatre lovers, get to learn from his fascinating Musical Conversations, you will get to see his creative output concerning all endeavors and shows at the York.

(While I can't wait to see what John accomplishes as Communications Director, I also can't wait to see what he cooks up next for Musical Conversations! And I don't just flatter because he is my esteemed, glorious Musical Theatre professor at NYU! *wink*) If you want to learn more about Mr. Kenrick OR musicals in general, visit his website, musicals101.com.

Keep checking the York Theatre website at yorktheatre.org to find out what is going to be coming up at the only theatre in New York dedicated solely to producing musical theatre.

Enter Laughing... And Exit In Hysterics

Rarely have I ever seen audience members literally doubling over with laughter at a show. Repeatedly. However, this was the case time and again at this past September's Enter Laughing: The Musical.

I was psyched to see the show, formerly entitled So Long, 174th Street, but the Mufti production surpassed all expectations.



The legendary George S. Irving (who has appeared in 32 Broadway shows!) performed the infamous 'Butler's Song' (He's screwing Dolores Del Rio...) with aplomb. (He was reprising his original Broadway role!) But other than this magnificently vulgar gem of a song, little of the show has been prominent since its Broadway run in 1976. This Mufti did what the best of Muftis at the York do: it unearthed a true gem. The show has matured extremely well, and the audience ate up every bit.



My favorite overheard comments during intermission were:
A) "Oh Margie, why didn't we see this when it was on Broadway? It must have been a huge hit!"
B) "Oy, I don't think I've laughed this much since The Producers."
C) "These PMS Cookies are fabulous!"

Josh Grisetti was perfectly cast as David, a teenager growing up in New York in the 1930's who wants more than anything to be an actor. The hilarity that ensues when David follows his dreams involves pushy Jewish mothers, mistaken identities, disastrous stage debuts, typically adolescent love affairs, sassy belting, bossy bosses, songs about accidental breast- touching, and tongue- in- cheek fantasy sequences that aren't to be believed.



L.A. Law's Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker were the pushy parents, Tony nominee Bruce Adler was the bossy boss, Kaitlin (bare! Grinch! Bat Boy!) was the actress David meets who begins to tempt him away from his amorous girlfriend Wanda (Emily Shoolin)...

In fact, Emily Shoolin got to deliver one of the best songs of the evening: "Men". It's a "Wherever He Aint", goodbye- and- good- riddance- style tune, with lyrical twists that only a teenage girl character could deliver.



I truly wanted to recommend this, one of my fave Muftis ever, to a bunch of people. Sadly, I saw the final 7pm Sunday performance.

I always have my cast album!

Zorba and the Stars!

Rehearsals are underway for the first Mufti of the fall season... and it's Kander, Ebb, and Stein's ZORBA!!!

I have always wanted to see this show, nominated for Best Musical during the 1969 Tony season. And now I get to.

...And with Emily Skinner and Jeff McCarthy and Beth Fowler!





(It's like a Side Show reunion with another fab Broadway veteran thrown in!)

The cast sounds absolutely phenomenal, but I can't wait to see the finished product this weekend. I have been blown away by the bits and pieces of rehearsal I've heard... this should be a big one, folks!

Emily Skinner singing the opening number...butter.

Jeff McCarthy's booming voice is reverberating through the hallways.

Robin DeJesus found a corner to work out his bits of comedy.

And Beth Fowler...I just don't know what to say. She's so damn classy!

Who's excited? I am!

The Day Before Spring... ALL PERFORMANCES SOLD OUT!

I saw The Day Before Spring at the York twice yesterday.



And I wasn't bored once. What a fascinating time at the theatre... To see the way Lerner and Loewe expressed themselves creatively as they were just starting out. To hear a score by musical theatre legends that has never been recorded. To witness a musical from the '40s that explores the adult topic of adultery.



After the piece in the New York Times, all audience members at the talkback were eager to learn more about the reconstruction of the score. As Aaron Gandy, David Glenn Armstrong, Mark York and the cast shared the fascinating process, murmurs abounded concerning the future of this beautiful score.



As always, many important persons of the theatre community showed up to champion the show. Even Liza Lerner, Alan Jay's daughter, was present at opening night!



The New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/27/theater/27loew.html?ex=1186286400&en=0f96104f4095c2af&ei=5070&emc=eta1

A York Theatre State of Mind!

-Do you know which parts of HELLO DOLLY were written by Strouse and Adams?

-Do you know the great musicals by Joe Stein that deserved to run as long as FIDDLER?

-Do you know how Elaine Stritch is wearing her hair these days?

I know the answers to every single one of these fascinating questions (and so many more)... all because of my time working behind the scenes at the YORK THEATRE COMPANY.

The greatest living musical theatre artists pass through their doors. BRAND NEW worthy shows are produced every season. And fantastic overlooked musicals of the past are given another shot!



The York Theatre is, without a doubt, one of the most exciting theatre companies in New York. And I have known this since long before I became a part of it.



My adored cast albums of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG and THE "IT" GIRL came from a place called the York Theatre Company. I knew they did a "Mufti" series of great Broadway shows that were rarely revived. I had to check this place out!!!!!

The journey began.

I saw a show called MUSICAL OF MUSICALS- THE MUSICAL. It was a fantastic new show, rivaling FORBIDDEN BROADWAY in its style of insider theatre humor. It was my first time at the York, and I wanted to learn more.



As a student of musical theatre, I have been allowed to study at the York for the past year. I have seen rare musicals, learned from legends, and watched Jim Morgan nurture new shows, such as ASYLUM and THAT TIME OF THE YEAR.



BUSKER ALLEY was given a grand style benefit starring Glenn Close and Jim Dale! Great Broadway talents of today such as Nancy Anderson, Robert Cuccioli, Cheyenne Jackson, and Marla Schaffel have lent their talents to York shows. Theatre Historian John Kenrick was brought aboard to do a series of one- of- a- kind talks on topics in Musical Theatre. Sold- out readings of works in progress were performed to cheering crowds.



This was the same place that received a Drama Desk Award, and Time Magazine had listed the York's Mufti production of DARLING OF THE DAY as one of the Top Ten Theatrical Events of 2005.



Just like any theatre in NYC with this kind of backstage talent, there are plenty of exciting anecdotes and stories--- of things that occur onstage and off!

So welcome to the place where you can learn all about the York Theatre. Walking into our annual NEO concert last month, I saw Ana Gasteyer and Seth Rudetsky chatting over sandwiches. Robert Lopez and Ann Harada were discussing their hosting duties for the evening in the wings. And in the green room, Matt Cavenaugh and Jenny Powers were practicing their respective showstoppers for the concert. ONLY AT THE YORK, KIDS.



Get the scoop here.