Pat's Notes from Broadway

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I just returned from New York where Broadway is the most important street in the city. I saw five productions in four days and was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed everything I saw.  As a TONY award voter they expect us to see everything and without a doubt all that are nominated for an award.

Here are my notes about what I saw recently:
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR – The music is the show and has always great. The story isn’t bad either but it always ends the same way, not good.  This production takes on a new high tech staging with a Wall Street ticker tape addition letting you know that you are Jerusalem on Wednesday as the story unfolds and on Thursday you are in the garden of Gethsemane. A novel approach but pushing the point.  And all of the bad guys are wearing long black leather coats and are sporting dreadlocks.
PETER AND THE STARCATCHER was the highlight of the five shows.  Had no idea what it was about and was blown away by the acting especially that of Christian Borle, from the TV show Smash, was fabulous.  Show moved so fast and dialog came at the audience at mach speed. I must see it again.
NEWSIES is a Disney musical and was much better than I thought it would be, since the movie was a flop.  I wasn’t expecting much but thought it far exceeded my pre-show bias. 
NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT was excellent. Take Gershwin Brothers, insert a funny story with a fabulous female lead, Kelli OHara, add Mathew Broderick and it’s an enjoyable night at the theater.
Last but far from the least was GHOST, the musical adaptation of the movie with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. The reviews have not been spectacular but I really enjoyed the show and it's another high tech addition to Broadway. I really liked how they had people appear to walk through walls. The opening scene is a film of a  super fast tour over the buildings of Manhattan, sort of like Harry Potter goes for a night out sans the broom.
Going back to NYC on the 31^st of May to see what I expect to be the  two TONY award shows one for the revival category – EVITA  and ONCE for best new musical. I think I’m saving the best for last. We’ll see. More later!
Pat HalloranPresident & CEOThe Orpheum Theatre

Inconceivable!... Rob Reiner's Fan Favorite Fairy Tale Celebrates Silver Anniversary & Makes Orpheum Summer Movie Premiere this Friday

To contact us Click HERE


Scale the cliffs ofinsanity, battle rodents of unusual size, face torture in the pit of despair,and join Princess Buttercup and Westley on their spell-binding journey to findtrue love when The Princess Bride makes its Orpheum Theatre summer moviedebut this Friday, July 20^th. A classic fairy tale complete with heroes, villains,trickery, mockery and death-defying miracles,  The Princess Bride captures audiences young and old with its brilliant, memorable dialogue,enchanting story line and bewitching characters. This year marks the film's 25^th anniversary of its debut in 1987.
From celebrated directorRob Reiner (The Bucket List) and Oscar®-winning screenwriter WilliamGoldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) comes "an enchantingfantasy" (Time) filled with adventure, romance and plenty of"good-hearted fun" (Roger Ebert).  Featuring a spectacular castthat includes Robin Wright (Forrest Gump), Cary Elwes (No StringsAttached), Mandy Patinkin ("Homeland") and Billy Crystal (When Harry Met Sally). Click through to see the cast then and now!

Billy Crystal

Carol Kane

Wallace Shawn

Christopher Guest

Cary Elwes and Robin Wright

Mandy Patinkin

Chris Sarandon

Fred Savage

In celebration of theanniversary event, all who wear their best pirate or princess costume willreceive $2 off admission.
Rated PG for Adventure Violence, Brief Language, and MildSexual Themes1987 - Family AdventureComedy - 98 Minutes
Doors open at 6:00 PM forpre-movie fun.

How 'bout some more beans, Mr. Taggart?

To contact us Click HERE





















 This Friday, July 27^th, The Orpheum Theatrewill host a “bean” drive for the Mid-South Food Bank in conjunction with thescreening of hilarious  Mel Brooks’western classic, Blazing Saddles.
Those familiar with the moviewill understand the bean reference. Yet, did you know that there are so manypositive nutrition facts when it comes to beans? Let’s start with the amazinglyhigh fiber count. One cup of black beans (2 servings) has more than 115% ofyour daily value of fiber, which gives beans the ability to satisfy yourappetite while seriously burning fat! Beans are also high in protein, which iswhy vegetarians aren’t the only ones eating beans in lieu of meat. With morethan 40 grams of protein in 1 cup of beans, you can see why they top the listof fat burning foods.
When it comes to nutritionfacts, beans are where it’s at.  Withlarge amounts of thiamin, folate, vitamin B6 and niacin, beans can provide youand your fat burning efforts with plenty of health benefits to promotewellness. You also get lots of nutrients when you add beans to your diet,including; calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc and manganese.
Beans have also  proven to provide many health benefits thatinclude lowering cholesterol and preventing spikes in blood sugar. This makesbeans even more appealing for diabetics, those suffering from hypoglycemia anda resistance to insulin. Furthermore, the soluble fiber in beans helps reduceyour risk of coronary disease and heart attacks.
If you can set aside thesometimes embarrassing side effects of eating beans, you’ll find that thehealth benefits far outweigh that small problem. Yet it’s the side effects thathave made beans the subject matter of countless jokes, children’s songs, and amemorable campfire scene in the Mel Brooks movie, Blazing Saddles. AlthoughWarner Brothers executives asked Mel Brooks to remove the famous campfirescene, he ignored the request and the film became a international success.
Can you imagine the BlazingSaddles without the beans?  Can youimagine your pantry without beans? Sadly, many Mid-South families can.
But you can do something to help.  ThisFriday night, bring a can of beans to The Orpheum’s showing of BlazingSaddles and you’ll save $2 off the price of admission while also helping The Mid-SouthFood Bank stock thepantries of needy families in our community. Donations are often slow inthe summer, and every can helps fight hunger in the Mid-South. 

The Mid-South Food Bank fights hunger through the efficient collection and distribution of wholesome food and through education and advocacy. It serves a network of partner agencies that includes food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, youth programs, senior programs, rehabilitation centers and other charitable feeding programs. The Mid-South Food Bank has distributed 10.3 million pounds of food and other groceries in its 31-county service area in 2011. For more information, please visit www.midsouthfoodbank.org.

Blazing Saddles @The Orpheum this Friday, July 27^th. Doors open at 6:15 PM forpre-movie fun.

Let's Dance: A Conversation with 'Billy Elliot' Choreographer Peter Darling

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Billy Elliot the Musical is a glorious celebration of dance – all kinds of dance.

Yes, it’s the story of a young boy who aspires to a career in ballet, which is why people are often surprised to discover the broad movement palette utilized by choreographer Peter Darling. The choreography encompasses tap, hip hop, jazz, acrobatics, and folk dancing; even a pedestrian activity such as walking – no pun intended – is used as a form of expression.

Kylend Hetherington (Billy) in “Billy Elliot the Musical.” Photo by Kyle Froman

That diversity was very deliberate. “I didn’t want to convey the notion that only one form of movement is of value,” says Darling. “I wanted to use as many different forms of movement as possible. We’re celebrating dance; dance is worthy of celebration and all forms of dance can tell a narrative. Ballet can tell a narrative. Tap can tell a narrative.”

Tap fuels the show at least as much as, if not more than, ballet. “Tap is rhythmically exciting and such an expressive kind of dance,” says Darling. “At the same time, it’s synonymous with show business and musicals. And Billy Elliot is very much a musical; it’s not a ballet.”

In most musicals, tap is a rapturous articulation of joy. Often, its raison d’etre is nothing more – or less – than to entertain the audience. That kind of tap exists in Billy Elliot, most notably in the exuberant finale. But Darling also uses tap in a dark and powerful way in the “Angry Dance,” Billy’s response when his father orders him to give up ballet.

“Tap actually lends itself extremely well to anger,” says Darling. “The ‘Angry Dance,’ in a way, is about Billy wanting to stop dancing. But the rhythm in his head keeps on going. If you want to stop your feet from moving, you slam them to the floor. So that’s where the idea came from: Billy would slam his feet to the floor, and there would be a rhythmic element to it. And it went from there.”

The dances in Billy Elliot either advance the narrative or reveal something about the characters. “Born to Boogie” takes place after Mrs. Wilkinson, Billy’s teacher, reads a letter from the boy’s dead mother. Rather than launch into a ballet, Darling upends expectations with a jazzy number. “When you study ballet, it’s non-stop classes,” he says. “It almost feels like wearing a straitjacket. When Billy gets upset by the letter, Mrs. Wilkinson decides to give him a present, to cheer him up. Instead of saying, ‘We’re going to do 24,000 tendus again,’ she says, ‘OK, let’s have some fun. Let me find out how you move.’ So Billy starts to do Michael Jackson moonwalking, and she starts to do a few old steps. It’s a conversation, a fun dance, which is what jazz is.”

Darling infused the ballet choreography with contemporary movement, steps that would be anathema to traditional classical dance. When Billy auditions for The Royal Ballet in the number “Electricity,” the ballet he performs includes street dance, hip hop and acrobatics. “The idea is that The Royal Ballet is looking for young dancers with potential, who are phenomenal movers,” says Darling. “And Billy shows that he’s a phenomenal mover who can also turn three pirouettes.”

That number, more than any other in the show, underscores the beauty and vitality of ballet. “Ballet can be one of the most thrilling things you’ll ever see, because of the amount of training, technique, and strength required to do it. The training enables the body to do things that are phenomenally difficult. You’re able to travel through the air. It’s got a great freedom to it.”

Billy Elliot the Musical @ The Orpheum Theatre September 18-23.

What A Glorious Feeling! The Orpheum Commemorates 60 Years of "Singin' In The Rain" This Friday

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In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of its release, Singin’ in the Rain has been added to The Orpheum's 2012 Classic Movie Series, and it will be dancing its way back into the theatre for a one-night-only event this Friday at 7:15pm. (Doors open at 6:15 for trivia and prizes!)

Dubbed "The Greatest Musical of Ever" by Time Magazine, Singin' In The Rain is a joyful piece of cinema set during the transitional period between silent films and "talkies" in the 1920s  a la The Artist (winner of the Oscar for Best Picture this year).

Here are a few things you might not know about this classic film:

1. The movie was mostly an excuse for Arthur Freed, the producer who made so many of the classic MGM musicals, to recycle songs that he'd written as a lyricist with composer Nacio Herb Brown two decades earlier for some of the studio's earliest musicals. As Betty Comden recalled, she and co-screenwriter Adolph Green were told by Freed, "‘Kids, you’re going to write a movie called “Singin' in the Rain”. Just put all of my songs in it.’ All we knew was there would be some scene where someone would be singing, and it would be raining."

2. The title number took seven days to film, with six hours of fake rain each day. The water was mixed with milk to make it show better on camera. The constantly drenched Kelly had a bad cold and fever the whole time, which makes his sunny demeanor during the piece all the more impressive.

3.  In an ironic case of double dubbing, when Debbie Reynolds (Kathy) was dubbing Jean Hagen (Lina)'s voice during the movie, the voice you hear is actually not Debbie Reynolds but Betty Noyes.

4. Debbie Reynolds (Kathy) was quoted as saying "The two hardest things I ever did in my life are childbirth and “Singin' in the Rain'." Although she praised Gene Kelly for his directing skills, he was a notoriously hard taskmaster when it came to the dancing routines. At one point she was so exhausted she curled up under a piano to cry, where Fred Astaire found her and offered to give her some pointers. She was only 19 when she was given the role.

5. O'Connor also worked himself to exhaustion on the "Make 'Em Laugh" number, which used bits of acrobatic comedy he'd done in vaudeville (including running up a wall and flipping into a somersault). O'Connor was a four-pack-a-day smoker, and after filming the number, he was bedridden for several days, only to learn that the footage had been accidentally destroyed. So he did it all again.
(Moviefone)

Inconceivable!... Rob Reiner's Fan Favorite Fairy Tale Celebrates Silver Anniversary & Makes Orpheum Summer Movie Premiere this Friday

To contact us Click HERE


Scale the cliffs ofinsanity, battle rodents of unusual size, face torture in the pit of despair,and join Princess Buttercup and Westley on their spell-binding journey to findtrue love when The Princess Bride makes its Orpheum Theatre summer moviedebut this Friday, July 20^th. A classic fairy tale complete with heroes, villains,trickery, mockery and death-defying miracles,  The Princess Bride captures audiences young and old with its brilliant, memorable dialogue,enchanting story line and bewitching characters. This year marks the film's 25^th anniversary of its debut in 1987.
From celebrated directorRob Reiner (The Bucket List) and Oscar®-winning screenwriter WilliamGoldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) comes "an enchantingfantasy" (Time) filled with adventure, romance and plenty of"good-hearted fun" (Roger Ebert).  Featuring a spectacular castthat includes Robin Wright (Forrest Gump), Cary Elwes (No StringsAttached), Mandy Patinkin ("Homeland") and Billy Crystal (When Harry Met Sally). Click through to see the cast then and now!

Billy Crystal

Carol Kane

Wallace Shawn

Christopher Guest

Cary Elwes and Robin Wright

Mandy Patinkin

Chris Sarandon

Fred Savage

In celebration of theanniversary event, all who wear their best pirate or princess costume willreceive $2 off admission.
Rated PG for Adventure Violence, Brief Language, and MildSexual Themes1987 - Family AdventureComedy - 98 Minutes
Doors open at 6:00 PM forpre-movie fun.

How 'bout some more beans, Mr. Taggart?

To contact us Click HERE





















 This Friday, July 27^th, The Orpheum Theatrewill host a “bean” drive for the Mid-South Food Bank in conjunction with thescreening of hilarious  Mel Brooks’western classic, Blazing Saddles.
Those familiar with the moviewill understand the bean reference. Yet, did you know that there are so manypositive nutrition facts when it comes to beans? Let’s start with the amazinglyhigh fiber count. One cup of black beans (2 servings) has more than 115% ofyour daily value of fiber, which gives beans the ability to satisfy yourappetite while seriously burning fat! Beans are also high in protein, which iswhy vegetarians aren’t the only ones eating beans in lieu of meat. With morethan 40 grams of protein in 1 cup of beans, you can see why they top the listof fat burning foods.
When it comes to nutritionfacts, beans are where it’s at.  Withlarge amounts of thiamin, folate, vitamin B6 and niacin, beans can provide youand your fat burning efforts with plenty of health benefits to promotewellness. You also get lots of nutrients when you add beans to your diet,including; calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc and manganese.
Beans have also  proven to provide many health benefits thatinclude lowering cholesterol and preventing spikes in blood sugar. This makesbeans even more appealing for diabetics, those suffering from hypoglycemia anda resistance to insulin. Furthermore, the soluble fiber in beans helps reduceyour risk of coronary disease and heart attacks.
If you can set aside thesometimes embarrassing side effects of eating beans, you’ll find that thehealth benefits far outweigh that small problem. Yet it’s the side effects thathave made beans the subject matter of countless jokes, children’s songs, and amemorable campfire scene in the Mel Brooks movie, Blazing Saddles. AlthoughWarner Brothers executives asked Mel Brooks to remove the famous campfirescene, he ignored the request and the film became a international success.
Can you imagine the BlazingSaddles without the beans?  Can youimagine your pantry without beans? Sadly, many Mid-South families can.
But you can do something to help.  ThisFriday night, bring a can of beans to The Orpheum’s showing of BlazingSaddles and you’ll save $2 off the price of admission while also helping The Mid-SouthFood Bank stock thepantries of needy families in our community. Donations are often slow inthe summer, and every can helps fight hunger in the Mid-South. 

The Mid-South Food Bank fights hunger through the efficient collection and distribution of wholesome food and through education and advocacy. It serves a network of partner agencies that includes food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, youth programs, senior programs, rehabilitation centers and other charitable feeding programs. The Mid-South Food Bank has distributed 10.3 million pounds of food and other groceries in its 31-county service area in 2011. For more information, please visit www.midsouthfoodbank.org.

Blazing Saddles @The Orpheum this Friday, July 27^th. Doors open at 6:15 PM forpre-movie fun.