Review Roundup: The Critics Are Welcomed to the Rock at COME FROM AWAY in Melbourne
Come From Away had its Melbourne premiere at the Comedy Theatre on Saturday 20 July. Let’s see what the critics are saying…
What’s It Like to Be a Teenager on Broadway?
On July 11, Beetlejuice’s Sophia Ann Caruso turned 18, but rather than celebrate the way most adolescents her age would—hanging out with friends or feasting at her favorite restaurant—she spent the evening doing what she does just about every night: performing onstage as Lydia at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre.
“I love birthdays and just to be able to get my close friends together and be happy that I have them is all I really wanted, and that doesn’t need to be in the evening,” Caruso says. “My friends and family keep me grounded and I keep my circle of friends really close. It doesn’t matter to me that I can’t do things at specific times.”
Case in point, a week earlier, New York City was experiencing one of its beautiful summer days and—being a Wednesday—Caruso was booked all day.
“The weather was super nice but we had two shows, and I had to be at the theatre from 1:30 until 10,” she says. “But I do try to use my time to do things that I like to do. I like to go see films and I make time for that during the daytime and my friends will give up seeing something at night so we can go together. I don’t ever feel like I am missing out on things because I have a good balance of using my spare time.”
Off days, Caruso will do a lot of the same things as any young woman in the creative arts enjoys.
“I like to play my guitar, I like to write poetry, read, and paint,” she says. “I also like to run and sleep when I can.”
Most of her friends are older and even as a young teen, she never had much of a desire to hang out with people around her age, so the fact that the cast of Beetlejuice (sans her understudy 15-year-old Presley Ryan) are all at least 15 years older than her doesn’t bother her in the least.
Caruso’s been performing since she was a young girl, and had dreams and aspirations of getting to Broadway, and was very determined to do what she had to do to get there. She achieved her goal in 2016 with the play Blackbird, but when she got the script for Beetlejuice at the age of 15, she knew it would be something special and was looking forward to singing the role.
“I kept doing the readings and labs of it until it became this full-scale production and now here we are on Broadway,” she says. “I love when teenage girls tell me I inspire them. That’s reason enough for me to work hard. My job is to make people feel things doing the things I really love to do, and making that impact means a lot to me.”
Caruso is one of a handful of adolescents working on Broadway today, and though each is living their dream at a younger age than most, they do give up a part of their life they will never get back.
Take Andrew Barth Feldman, the 16-year-old starring in the title role of Dear Evan Hansen. Since taking the role, he’s missed out on “normal kid” fun like movies, dances, parties and just hanging out at someone’s house when everyone decides to get together.
“It can be really hard, especially with this role, because I don’t get to do much outside of the show. I sit in silence 90 percent of the time and I don’t get to go out much,” he says. “At the same time, I’ve always been surrounded by theatre people, and there’s a certain maturity that I think comes with that. I surround myself with friends my age who have that emotional maturity and they understand that I am not as available to do things.”
In terms of education, Feldman has tutors that he works with daily and he still plans on going to college when the time comes. Since he’s been doing shows most of his life, he has no problem with doing school work during the day and then performances at night.
One of his least favorite parts of the job—and he envies his friends—is refraining from chips and ice cream and other staples of the teen diet.
“My diet is very restrictive, but on Sundays after the show, I have been given permission by Liz Caplan (the show’s vocal consultant) that I can have something a little sugary, since I would be able to digest it before the Tuesday show, which is nice to look forward to as the week goes along,” Feldman says. “But this is what I’ve always wanted. And sometimes it’s hard to keep sight of that when it can be overwhelming all the things I may be missing out on, but when I get to be Evan at the end of the day. I remember how special this opportunity is and how lucky I am to be here.”
Feldman clears his mind by watching TV or writing, and tries to conserve his voice and energy as best he can. He’s also a big fan of theme parks and looks forward to heading to his next one once he has a break from the show.
Rosdely Ciprian is another teen who has tasted the lights of Broadway while still in high school, appearing in What the Constitution Means to Me.
“It’s so fun because so many people are watching me and I love the attention,” the soon to be 10th-grader says. “I was never a normal kid and didn’t have much of a social life anyway, so before the show, mostly I would just listen to music and dance around my living room. I’d do homework and then watch Netflix.”
When she is off, Ciprian sleeps in as late as possible, turns the air conditioner on full blast and then heads out to shop. And Netflix is almost always on. She’s currently re-watching Jane the Virgin and Vampire Diaries and also loves watching the latest rom-coms.
Since it’s summer, school isn’t in session, but when it was, Ciprian woke up every day at 6:30AM, go to her normal school, and then head straight to the show once the school-day ended and her homework was complete.
“The kids think it’s really cool, which is fun, but they all think I’m really rich now, and I laugh,” she says. “I want to continue acting but education will always be a priority for me.”
These days, when texts come in from friends asking her to go to a party or the park, Ciprian admits she’s often bummed because she’s too busy with the show.
“It has been happening a lot lately, especially now that it’s summertime,” she says. “But it’s worth the sacrifice. This is something I love doing.”
Harmonia Brings Broadway to China With KING KONG, TITANIC and More
Broadway producers have been expanding their interest in China as a potential marketplace for productions, according to Deadline.
Playbill Vault’s Today in Theatre History: July 19
1951 Dolores Gray and Bert Lahr lead a cast of 75 in the revue Two on the Aisle, opening on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theatre for a run of 276 performances. Abe Burrows directs the show with sketches and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Jule Styne. In his review for The New York Times, critic Brooks Atkinson calls Two on the Aisle “genuine entertainment, full of brains, talent, wit, humor and splendor.”
1966 David Wayne, Constance Towers, and Barbara Cook are on-board the Cotton Blossom in a revival of the Oscar Hammerstein II–Jerome Kern musical, Show Boat, at the Music Theater of Lincoln Center. Lawrence Kasha directs and Ron Field choreographs the production, which runs 63 performances.
1990 Got a dime? The John Houseman Theatre becomes the Broadway Jukebox as Ed Linderman‘s musical revue opens Off-Broadway. The show is new every night as audience members pick 30 songs to be performed from a collection of 90 Broadway showtunes from relatively obscure musicals. The impromptu players include Robert Michael Baker, Susan Flynn, Beth Leavel, Gerry McIntyre, Amelia Prentice, and Sal Viviano.
1999 Pretty in… Blues. Film star Andrew McCarthy takes over the role of Clifford in Warren Leight‘s 1999 Tony Award-winning jazz drama, Side Man. McCarthy, known for roles in movies such as Pretty in Pink, Mannequin, St. Elmo’s Fire, and Weekend at Bernie’s, replaces Scott Wolf (from TV’s Party of Five).
2002 Billy Joel‘s musical Movin’ Out opens its tryout at the Shubert Theatre in Chicago. Mixed reviews prompt director/choreographer Twyla Tharp to overhaul the production, bringing it to Broadway three months later to acclaim, and to Tony Awards for both the primary creators.
2010 Husband-and-wife actors Jason Danieley and Marin Mazzie join the cast of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Next to Normal at the Booth Theatre. Mazzie and Danieley succeed Tony winner Alice Ripley and Brian d’Arcy James, respectively, as Diana and Dan Goodman.
2011 Ghost – the Musical, a stage version of the Academy Award-winning 1990 non-musical film, opens in London at the Piccadilly Theatre. Directed by Matthew Warchus, the show features music and lyrics by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard, and a book by Bruce Joel Rubin. The production, including original stars Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy, transfers to Broadway in spring 2012.
Today’s Birthdays: Pat Hingle 1924. Helen Gallagher 1926. Dennis Cole 1940. Mark O’Donnell 1954. Kim Criswell 1957. Campbell Scott 1961.
Watch highlights from the 2011 London production of Ghost – the Musical:
THE RANDY RAINBOW SHOW Earns First Emmy Nomination
The critically acclaimed YouTube comedy from viral favorite, Randy Rainbow, ‘The Randy Rainbow Show,’ has been honored with a 71st EMMY Award nomination for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series.
11 Must-Read Theatre Books to Bring to the Beach This Summer
Break the typical beach read mold with these 13 theatre-related reads. Below are musical retrospectives, biographies, and more that will strike any fan’s fancy.
Mitchell and Trask’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch, by Caridad Svich
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is examined through the lens of rock ’n’ roll performance, American musical history, and LGBTQ+ culture. The show, written by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask, broke boundaries by having one of the first genderqueer protagonists on stage. (Out now from The Fourth Wall)
Zippy and Me: My Life Inside Britain’s Most Infamous Puppet, by Ronnie Le Drew with Duncan Barrett & Nuala Calvi
Ronnie Le Drew has been a puppeteer for over 30 years, working on films like A Muppet Christmas Carol and Labyrinth. The role for which Le Drew is best known, however, is that of Zippy on ITV’s Rainbow (the British equivalent of Sesame Street). Now, the puppet master tells his own story intertwined with the inside scoop on Rainbow, from performer in-fighting to ridiculous TV execs, and even a love triangle. (Out July 25 from Unbound)
Barnum: An American Life, by Robert Wilson
Lovers of The Greatest Showman won’t want to miss this new biography of the co-creator of the Barnum & Bailey Circus, which takes a deep dive into the life of P.T. Barnum from his upbringing in Connecticut through his career as a ringleader (and mayor for a year!) until his death. (Out August 6 from Simon & Schuster)
The Short Plays of Harold Pinter, by Harold Pinter with foreword by Antonia Fraser.
British playwright and Nobel prize winner Harold Pinter is widely regarded as one of the world’s finest playwrights. Ahead of the Broadway revival of Betrayal comes this collection of short plays, from The Room to 2000’s Celebration. (Out August 6 from Faber Drama)
Ensemble: An Oral History of Chicago Theater, by Mark Larson
New York tends to get all the credit when it comes to theatre, but Chicago is just as bustling and vibrant, with over 250 theatres. Compiled from over 300 interviews, this book takes a look at how theatre evolved in the Windy City thanks to stories from Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ed Asner, George Wendt, Michael Shannon, Tracy Letts, and more. (Out August 13 from Agate Midway)
Sam Wanamaker: A Global Performer, by Diana Devlin
This biography of the actor, playwright, and director focuses on his 25-year project reconstructing William Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre near its original site. Author Diana Devlin spent 20 years as Wanamaker’s partner, giving readers an insider’s point of view to this theatre visionary. (Out August 13 from Oberon Books)
Dearest Lenny - Letters from Japan and the Making of the World Maestro, by Mari Yoshihara
Two unique relationships in Leonard Bernstein’s life are revealed through the letters of two fans in Japan, one of whom would go on to become his business representative and the other a close family friend. Dearest Lenny highlights how Bernstein’s work had a global impact through personal connections. (Out September 3 from Oxford University Press)
The Show Won’t Go On: The Most Shocking, Bizarre, and Historic Deaths of Performers Onstage, by Jeff Abraham and Burt Kearns
Certainly the most morbid book on our list this season, this is for fans of the weird and obscure. With stories like the magician who unexpectedly expired on live TV and the actor who died on stage in a play called The Art of Murder, The Show Won’t Go On is a collection of some of the weirdest occasions in which a performer went beyond the veil. (Out September 3 from Chicago Review Press)
The Prom: A Novel Based on the Hit Broadway Musical, by Saundra Mitchell with Bob Martin, Chad Beguelin, and Matthew Sklar
One of last season’s most LGBTQ+-friendly shows gets a novelization. The Prom follows Emma, a teenager who just wants to bring her girlfriend to a dance. When the PTA steps in, her hopes are dashed. Could a narcissistic group of Broadway actors swoop in to save the day while trying to reach their own dreams of super-stardom? (Out September 10 from Viking Books for Young Readers)
It’s Always Loud in the Balcony: A Life in Black Theater, from Harlem to Hollywood and Back, by Richard Wesley
Stage and screen writer Richard Wesley started in Newark before making a splash in the black theatre scene in Harlem and eventually working with Sidney Poitier on films. This is both Wesley’s memoir and a look at the historic works the black community has contributed to theatre from Amiri Baraka to Hamilton. (Out September 15 from Applause)
Come From Away: Welcome to the Rock: An Inside Look at the Hit Musical, by Irene Sankoff, David Hein, and Laurence Maslon
This Broadway musical companion book to Come From Away is sure to be as fun as a night in Gander. With an introduction by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the book includes illustrated complete music and lyrics, backstage anecdotes, photos from productions all over the world, and even some songs that didn’t make it to the stage. (Out September 24 from Hachette Books)
And while it won’t be summer anymore, here’s one more book to make you excited for fall!
Jerome Robbins, by Himself: Selections from His Letters, Journals, Drawings, Photographs, and an Unfinished Memoir, by Jerome Robbins and edited by Amanda Vaill
Writings from Robbins’ personal archives give readers a deep dive into the life of this theatrical titan. A dancer, choreographer, director and producer, Robbins is known for his work on West Side Story, Gypsy, and The King & I among countless others. In addition to journal entries, drawings, and mementos are letters with other well-known artists like Leonard Bernstein, Laurence Olivier, and Stephen Sondheim. (Out October 1 from Knopf)