CMU School of Drama


Sunday, February 26, 2017

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

Here are the top five comment generating posts of the  past week:

Does Broadway Need Celebrities in Order to Stay Afloat?

OnStage: It was announced in the last few days that Sara Bareilles will be replacing Jesse Mueller in Waitress on Broadway. This was followed up by what has become a very predictable set of reactions from 4 mainstream groups. Group #1 rolls their eyes. Group #2 consists of the celebrity fans who are ecstatic for their idol. Group #3 contains the angry aspiring musical theatre performers who are ticked off that yet another not-necessarily-a-good-performer-star has “stolen” a role from one of them. And Group #4 consists of the Broadway businessmen who could each buy a Central Park West Penthouse with the money this will make them. I’m going to speak mainly to Groups 1 and 3, and give you the reasons we should celebrate celebrities on Broadway.

Composer Stephen Flaherty strikes a chord for 'Ragtime' at CMU

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Ragtime” seemed like an impossible dream of a musical for the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama until its Tony Award-winning composer, Stephen Flaherty, pointed out that the award-winning musical comes in all shapes and sizes.

The original 1998 Broadway production had a cast of 52 and a 28-piece orchestra, “but there’s actually many different ways to do it.”

La La Land Opening Number Rehearsal Video

The Mary Sue: Whether you’re a fan of the movie or not, you’ve got to admit that La La Land has at least a few catchy tunes and some inspired dance numbers straight out of classic Hollywood musicals. As you might imagine, there’s so much planning and preparation that goes into the creation of those huge dance numbers, and thanks to director Damien Chazelle and his iPhone, we get to take a peek into the full rehearsal for La La Land‘s opening number.

Stage review: 'Book of Mormon' continues mission to entertain

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: They had me at “Hello!”

It’s the rare musical that can shock and offend, yet leave you with a silly smile on your face. Throw in tales of faith, some rock-solid show tunes plus razzle dazzle choreography, and there’s ample reason to open the door to “The Book of Mormon.”

‘Hamilton’ educational program begins in Chicago this week

www.chicagolandmusicaltheatre.com: The innovative educational program that launched last year at HAMILTON on Broadway, in partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation, will debut in Chicago on February 22 when 1,900 students and teachers from 30 Chicago Public Schools (CPS) attend the matinee performance of the musical at Broadway In Chicago’s The PrivateBank Theatre (18 W. Monroe Street).

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