Oct 31: Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty

Once on This Island Mama Will Provide , Kecia Lewis Evans/The Storytellers
Once on This Island (London) The Human Heart, P.P. Arnold
Lucky Stiff Nice , Janet Metz, Malcolm Gets
Times Like This , Janet Metz
My Favorite Year If the World Were Like the Movies , Tim Curry
Professional Showbizness Comedy , Andrea Martin
Ragtime Gettin' Ready Rag , Brian Stokes Mitchell
Henry Ford , Original Broadway Cast
Christmas Carol, A Link By Link , Original Cast
Schoolhouse Rock Interplanet Janet , Lynn Ahrens
Anastasia Journey to the Past , Liz Callaway
Seussical The Thinks You Can Think , Original Broadway Cast
The Glorious Ones Opposite You, Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley

'High School'ers Get Ready for Spokane's INB

Big news for fans of Disney's High School Musical. WestCoast Entertainment landed the live stage show based on the mega-hit Disney Channel movie, and it comes to the INB Center April 29-May 4. I misspoke on the air - I said that it was the concert version. Boy was I wrong. This is a fully-staged version, similar to what Spokane Children's Theater just produced, but with professional performers and the full Disney budget behind it.

According to the website highschoolmusicalontour.com Spokane is one of only a dozen or so cities booked so far. Those other cities are much bigger than Spokanloo, including D.C., L.A. and San Diego. I'd say Best of Broadway landed a pretty impressive deal for Spokane kids.

And a personal note of thanks to WestCoast for NOT announcing before SCT's production of High School Musical ended. I have no clue if that was even an issue, but the timing honestly couldn't have been better. I know a couple of kids who wanted to go to SCT's show but couldn't get tickets, and SCT had a sold-out show. Sure it was a little community theater production but the kids in the audience and on the stage seemed to have a wonderful time, which in my opinion is what really counts (again, I could be wrong but I'll say it anyway.)

Dirty Rotten Fun

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a hoot. Of course I'm talking about the stage version visiting Spokane this week. Beyond the cute plot ("My Fair Scumbag"?) and the why-am-I-laughing-this-is-soooooo-gross moments, there is a lot to like about this production. Jeff Essex is completely charming as Andre. The ensemble is extremely strong, and each lead has at least one fabulous moment.

And now for something no other theater blogger or reviewer will touch on because it's such a theater geek thing. This production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a must-see for every director and would-be director in town for one simple element: the scene changes. I swear I wanted to applaud the ensemble for their well-timed, entertaining execution of an excellently-choreographed and interesting transition. In my big-mouthed opinion, THAT is what a scene change is about. It's a mini-show in itself, with singing (okay, they're do-do-do-ing, but it sounds GREAT) and characterizations (I loved the gossiping maids) while moving set pieces.

Not to say that it's a brand-new thing to area theaters. Specifically, Kathy Doyle-Lipe used the same idea in the Spokane Children's Theatre staging of Pinocchio several years ago that won a place at the national community theater awards (AACT). Which goes to show that a fabulously-thought out transition from one scene to another can do more than keep an audience totally engaged in the production. It can enhance the overall show to the point where it becomes one of the best things the audience has seen in a while. Kudos to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Oct 24: October Showcase

Stars of the stage and screen born in this month. There are far too many to include in an hour, my apologies to Kevin Kline, Hugh Jackman, Gary Beach, Karen Akers, Jodi Benson, Judy Blazer, Cleo Laine, Ethel Waters, David Ogden Stires, Glynis Johns, Jane Krakowski, Tom Bosley, Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, June Allyson, and a lot more...

Fanny Brice - Second Hand Rose Star Spangled Rhythm [Smithsonian] Disc 1
Groucho Marx - Lydia the Tattooed Lady At the Circus
Stanley Holloway - Get Me to the Church on Time My Fair Lady [Original Broadway Cast] [2002 Bonus Tracks]
Alfred Drake - So in Love Golden Memories of Stage & Screen 2
Julie Andrews - I Loved You Once in Silence A Little Bit of Broadway
Jerry Orbach - Try to Remember The Fantasticks [1960 Original Off Broadway Cast]
Angela Lansbury & Ken Jennings - Not While I'm Around Golden Memories of Stage and Screen #4
Lotte Lenya - It Never Was You [From Knickerbocker Holiday] Lotte Lenya Sings American & Berlin Theater Songs of Kurt Weill
Barbara Cook - Chain of Love Star Spangled Rhythm [Smithsonian] Disc 4
Georgia Brown - Why Him? Carmelina
Jennifer Holliday - And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies
Marin Mazzie - Back to Before Broadway Divas
Michael Rupert - Multitudes of Amys [From Company] Unsung Sondheim
Brian Stokes Mitchell - Some Enchanted Evening South Pacific in Concert from Carnegie Hall

Thanks for your Support of Spokane Public Radio

Wednesday was the final day of the Fall Pledge Drive, and Matinee listeners did a wonderful job. Thank you for your support, Matinee listeners raised more than $1000 for KPBX in that hour. (If you still haven't donated, please consider making a pledge today.

Why pledge for something you can hear for free? Cladwell B. Cladwell of Urinetown would say giving it away isn't a good business plan. But that's the principle behind public radio. Public radio stations like KPBX don't air commercials to pay the bills. (Underwriters do support programs, but they get a 10-second announcement with none of the "buy now" stchick.) There are no parent organizations - no universities or school groups to foot the bills. This is community public radio. Without public radio, there would be no local voice for musical theater. After all, KPBX has been the gathering place for the region's artistic folks since 1980.

I would have posted the playlist of pledge-drive show songs sooner but my computer's motherboard decided to die. Gotta love technology... Thanks to Scott Davis for the loaner computer!

Oct 10: Bernadette Peters

Counting the hours until Saturday night's concert with the Spokane Symphony....

Star Tar - Dames at Sea [Original Cast] That's Entertainment
Raining in My Heart - Dames at Sea [Original Cast] That's Entertainment
Oh, You Wonderful Boy George M! [Original Cast]
Time Heals Everything (Mack and Mabel) - Sondheim, Etc.: Live at Carnegie Hall
Sunday in the Park with George - Sunday in the Park with George
Unexpected Song from Song and Dance - Hey Mr. Producer!: The Musical World of Cameron MacKintosh Disc 1
Stay with Me - Into the Woods
Last Midnight - Star Spangled Rhythm Smithsonian
No More - The Goodbye Girl [Broadway Cast] Columbia
You Can't Get a Man With a Gun - Annie Get Your Gun [1999 Broadway Revival Cast] Angel
Some People - Sondheim, Etc.: Live at Carnegie Hall Angel
The Gentleman is a Dope - Bernadette Loves Rodgers and Hammerstein Angel
I Haven't Got a Worry in the World - Bernadette Loves Rodgers and Hammerstein Angel
Not a Day Goes By - Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall Varese Sarabande

Auditions at Spokane Civic Theatre

Civic began doing musicals in the downstairs Firth Chew Studio Theatre some years back: small unusual musicals that probably wouldn't fill the Main Stage but deserve to be heard. The one slated for this year is so intimate it seems made for the Studio space. The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown is like two solo shows for one man and one woman. He tells the story of the unsuccessful five-year relationship beginning to end, she tells it end to beginning. The press release says Yvonne has wanted to direct this show for a long time, and is looking for two strong performers to look ages 28 - 32. Auditions are Nov. 5 & 6 at 6:30p in the Studio Theatre.

The following week (Nov. 12 & 13) are auditions for Laughing Stock for Civic. It's not a musical, but it is a show parodying summer stock theater. Director Troy Nickerson is looking for nine men (look ages 18-75) and five women (look ages 18-65).

Auditions at Lake City Playhouse

Coeur d'Alene's Lake City Playhouse is presenting two more musicals this season, and has announced the dates of all of their auditions (talk about planning ahead!) The information isn't on their website yet, but here are the dates and locations of upcoming auditions:
(M) denotes musical, (CH) denotes children’s theater
* The Littlest Angel (CH) Oct 15 & 16 6:30 pm Lake City Playhouse
* The Gift of the Magi (M) Oct 15 & 16 6:30 pm Harding Family Center
* The Cripple of Inishmaan Nov 12 & 13 6:30 pm Lake City Playhouse
* An Evening of Vaudeville Dec 10 & 11 6:30 pm Lake City Playhouse
* Charlotte’s Web (CH) Jan 7 & 8 6:30 pm Harding Family Center
* On Golden Pond Feb 4 & 5 6:30 pm Lake City Playhouse
* Into the Woods (M) Mar 3,4 & 5 6:30 pm Lake City Playhouse

Oct 3: I Know Things Now

Those "a-ha!" moments in song.
Beautiful, Beautiful World - Alan Alda The Apple Tree [Original Broadway Cast] Sony
The Beautiful Land (Reprise)/Sweet Beginning - Anthony Newley/Cyril Ritchard The Roar of the Greasepaint-The Smell of the Crowd [Original Broadway Cast] RCA
I Know Now - Carla Manning/Pamela Myers/Roxann Pyle Snoopy [Original Cast] DRG
I Know Things Now - Danielle Ferland Into the Woods [Original Broadway Cast] RCA
First Midnight/Giants in the Sky - Benjamin Wright/Joanna Gleason/Kim Crosby Into the Woods [Original Broadway Cast] RCA
Everybody Says Don't - Cleo Laine Cleo Laine Sings Sondheim RCA
The Wizard and I - Idina Menzel Wicked Decca
(Walking) Among My Yesterdays - Robert Goulet The Happy Time RCA
I Didn't Know What Time It Was - Dawn Upshaw Sings Rodgers & Hart Nonesuch
Come Alive Again - Phyllis Somerville Spitfire Grill Triangle Road
I'm Going Back - Judy Holliday Bells Are Ringing [Original Broadway Cast] [Bonus Tracks] Sony
I Resolve - Judy Kuhn She Loves Me [1993 Broadway Revival Cast] Varese Sarabande
Adelaide's Lament - Vivian Blaine Guys and Dolls [Original Broadway Cast] [Bonus Tracks Decca Broadway
It's Love - Thomas Hampson, Audra McDonald Wonderful Town [1999 Studio Cast] EMI Classics
Marry Me a Little - John Barrowman Putting It Together Image Entertainment