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      André De Shields Isn’t Done With ‘King Lear’ (or ‘Hadestown’)

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      The actor is performing the coveted role for a second time, and is already aiming for a third. But first: He’s returning to Broadway in September.A throne fit for André De Shields: The actor is portraying “King Lear” at the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival. “The lesson we learn about empathy is for 21st-century America still going through the woes of the pandemic,” he said of the play.Whitney Curtis for The New York TimesST. LOUIS — It takes André De Shields two and a half hours to lose his mind.His turbulent descent into madness, as King Lear at the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival in Forest Park here, comes with the moments of grandiosity we now expect from the man who won a Tony Award for playing a god, Hermes, in “Hadestown” on Broadway. He dances onto the stage in one early scene, jubilantly waving an automatic weapon in the air alongside the Afrofuturistic soldiers of his North African nation; later he stumbles through the park in a leafy makeshift crown, hollering in the face of an unsuspecting patron seated in the grass.But De Shields’s towering presence is somehow more captivating in the quiet beats — perhaps most strikingly when he carries the corpse of his daughter in his arms, unwavering, halfway across the stage.“André has a natural majesty and regality in his being that to me denotes majesty and command, just the way he moves through time and space,” the director, Carl Cofield, said in an interview. “And I’m happy to report that he brings it.”De Shields, 75, has kept remarkably busy through the pandemic: When Broadway theaters were shuttered, he portrayed Frederick Douglass in a one-man performance at Flushing Town Hall in Queens, starred in “Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical,” did a virtual reading at Red Bull Theater, narrated a Greek mythology-inspired audio series. And between his closing-night performance of “King Lear” on June 27 and his return to “Hadestown” on Broadway on Sept. 2, he has concert performances lined up at the Cabaret in Indianapolis and Feinstein’s/54 Below.During a recent phone interview, De Shields discussed returning to Broadway, the importance of believability in storytelling and playing Lear a second time. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.How do you have the strength and stamina to pull off the kind of physically demanding performance you’re giving in “King Lear”?We had a long discussion about, first of all: Was André De Shields fit enough, strong enough, to carry his daughter Cordelia, who is actually taller than he is? I convinced my collaborators that is not the question to be asked — because I am strong at 75, I’m physically fit.The real question is: Considering the emotional roller coaster that King Lear has to ride in this play, how could you even consider that he wouldn’t have the delicious burden of having to carry the corpse of his daughter that he so mistreated? To have the king not carry the body, you’d have the entire audience questioning the validity of the performance. I use as my evidence the film version of King Lear that was done by the master Lear, Sir Laurence Olivier. He does the “howl, howl, howl” speech, and he’s holding Cordelia in his arms, but cinematic technology had not advanced so much then that if you looked very hard, you could see the piano wires holding up the body.Even then as a young person, I thought, this is outrageous. It absolutely undoes the excellence of the performance to know that any part of it is false. Now, I had no dreams of doing “King Lear” at the time, but it was a lesson that I took into my toolbox about the believability of storytelling. So when it came for my first experience in assaying the role of Lear, which was in 2006 with the Classical Theater of Harlem, the director said to me, “As much as I want you to play the role, if you cannot carry Cordelia’s body onstage, I can’t cast you.” And I said, “Well, you’ve chosen the right guy. Because not only can I carry her body onstage; I can do the entire monologue with her in my arms.”That was during the marking of my 60th birthday, and I thought then, I’d like to revisit Lear in about 10 years. So this was 15 years later, and the question comes up again. And my response was the same. I must. I can, but it must happen.From left, Brian McKinley, André De Shields, Nicole King and Michael Tran in an Afrofuturistic “King Lear.”Phillip Hamer PhotographyIt is believed that Shakespeare wrote this play on the heels of a pandemic. Has that been on your mind in preparing for this show during such a unique time?Yes. It is informed by that bubonic plague, where the ordinary citizen, if you will, was reacting to the same things we were reacting to: fear, outrage, chaos, stasis, all of the rules of society that come to bear when the playing field has been finally leveled. What the pandemic did was to create a kind of society where everyone had to obey the same rules — whether you’re rich or poor or white or Black, you have to wear the face mask, you have to practice physical distancing, you have to shelter in place. And this drove people nuts. It drove me nuts.So part of what we are revealing here is that the king that we are encouraged and taught to have so much empathy for is probably one of the most specific illustrations of unmitigated white male supremacy, and all of the evils that go with it — like homophobia, misogyny — that’s all part of the king’s character. You can’t see it immediately because it’s hidden by so much language. But when you strip that language away, you see exactly that this is a man, to put it mildly, who does not like womanhood and blames everything on what he sees as the evil of his daughters. So the lesson that he knows at the end, when he bemoans the death of Cordelia, is a lesson for us in the 21st-century world. The lesson we learn about empathy is for 21st-century America still going through the woes of the pandemic.Did you approach this role differently than you did 15 years ago?The first thing I did was to forget that I had done “King Lear” before. I had to look at this man through the eyes of someone who was now closer to his specific age. That’s why I mentioned that the first time I did it, I was 60. The second time I’m doing it, I’m 75. So the next time I do it, I will be age-specific: King Lear is remembered to be 83. And I am going to do it a third time.But what is more important than the relativism of age is the curiosity that is lodged by doing the play a second time. One of the things we lose as we mature is curiosity: being interested in things other than yourself, other than your corner of the world. But returning to “King Lear” during a pandemic has actually opened me up. And that muscle of curiosity is stronger than it’s ever been — which is one of the reasons why, for two and a half hours, I can assault the stage the way I do.“I want to get to the pinnacle of ‘Hadestown’ and then look up and keep climbing,” André De Shields said of why he’s eager to return to Broadway in September.Whitney Curtis for The New York TimesIn a year in which many of us have struggled with staying productive and creative, how have you kept this busy?I’ve been answering the call that is obvious, to me anyway, that the zeitgeist, the paradigm, is changing. And it’s calling for healers, those of us who see the malady, who want to look for the people who understand that this is the time for coordination, cooperation, communication, collaboration. We need one another.The need now is those of us who want to build bridges, not destroy them. Those of us who want to help the new world come to life, not those of us who look over our shoulders and say, “Oh, wasn’t that a better time.” And that would keep you busy. There’s a lot of work to be done.How does it feel to be coming back to “Hadestown”?I don’t know if you’re familiar with my Tony Award acceptance speech — I received my award and shared with the audience what I called my three cardinal rules for sustainability and longevity. Because they tell you if you’re fortunate enough to receive the award, you have only 90 seconds to speak — and I’ve seen too many of my colleagues try to thank 100 people in 90 seconds. You can’t do it. So I thought, let me drop a wisdom bomb.The first thing I said was, surround yourself with people whose eyes light up when they see you coming. Rule No. 2 was: Slowly is the fastest way to get to where you want to be. And then the third, which is why I’m bringing this whole thing up: The top of one mountain is the bottom of the next. As you achieve different pinnacles, don’t ever think you’ve made it. Don’t ever think you’ve arrived. Take a few moments, take in the view, the vista, the panorama, then lift your chin and see there is another mountain that you have to ascend. That’s called life.The pandemic interrupted the timing of that particular mountain. So I want to get to the pinnacle of “Hadestown” and then look up and keep climbing. Now I’ve already mentioned, but one of the other mountains is the third time that I play the role of King Lear — and then I want to direct it.But here’s my mountain of mountains: I want to break the Methuselah Code. Methuselah is the longest living individual in the history of mankind. He lived to be 969 years. I want to live to be 970. More

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      in Television

      When Covid Dropped the Curtain on Broadway Actors, TV Kept the Lights On

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      New and returning TV series like “The Gilded Age” and “The Good Fight” have been a lifeline for celebrated theater actors during the pandemic. Will TV, or theater, ever look the same?Back in March, the actress Kelli O’Hara arrived on Rhode Island’s Gold Coast. A company of theater heroes, with enough combined Tonys to crowd a mansion’s mantels, met her there. “It was almost like Broadway said, ‘We’re shutting down,’” O’Hara recalled during a recent telephone interview. “So 20 of us got together and said, ‘Let’s go do a play in a seaside town.’”But O’Hara — and colleagues like Christine Baranski, Nathan Lane, Debra Monk and Cynthia Nixon — hadn’t come to Newport to for a summer stock job. Or even for the clam cakes. They were on location for “The Gilded Age,” a robber baron costume drama from Julian Fellowes that will premiere on HBO in 2022.With Broadway theaters closed since last April, “The Gilded Age” joins current series like “The Good Fight,” “Younger” and “Billions” and upcoming ones like “The Bite” and a “Gossip Girl” reboot in providing a glitzy refuge for theater stars during the shutdown. Broadway performers have always appeared here and there on scripted series. (No 2000s Playbill bio was complete without a “Law & Order” credit.) But this past year, television work — which is typically better paid than theater and more luxurious in its perks — was pretty much the only show in town.Benton as Natasha in the musical “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812,” which earned her a Tony nomination. Sara Krulwich/The New York Times“People are just really excited to be working and to have human contact and to be on set and telling a story again,” Allison Estrin, the casting director of “Billions,” said. “Every actor I’ve talked to has just expressed nothing but gratitude and excitement for being able to work right now.”And because every stage actor was suddenly available, television has never seemed so theatrical. (You could cast a credible Sondheim revival with actors on “The Good Fight” alone.) Will television ever look the same? Will Broadway?A year or so ago, casting directors would have had to compete with — or maneuver around — Broadway commitments. “It was always a scheduling nightmare to work around people’s curtain times,” Robert King, a creator of “The Good Wife” and “The Bite” said.“Sorry to say it, but it worked for us,” he added about the shutdown, “because we could schedule more freely.”Tavi Gevinson.The CWAdam Chanler-Berat.The CWTavi Gevinson and Adam Chanler-Berat, stars of the new “Gossip Girl,” had both committed to a revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical “Assassins.” “We were going to work overtime and do back flips to make it work for them,” Cassandra Kulukundis, the “Gossip Girl” casting director, said. The pandemic put an end to back flips. Did that make Kulukundis’s life easier?“It made my life sad,” she said. “I want to see those people working.”Although some shows had completed casting before Covid-19 hit New York, many have stepped up with an express desire to employ stage actors. “Everyone’s aware that it’s a horrible time,” Warren Leight, the showrunner for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” said. “And if you can help out, you do.”“So I just made the call early on,” he continued: “Let’s make this the year where the first pool of actors we go to is a Broadway actor, the Off Broadway actors.” He estimates that he has employed an average of 10 theater actors — Jelani Alladin, André De Shields, Adriane Lenox and Eva Noblezada among them — per episode this season.Robert and Michelle King conceived the goofy horror comedy “The Bite,” in part, to keep stage actors working. “Employing people that were out of work from the theater was uppermost in our mind,” Michelle King said. She doesn’t think that the six-episode show, which debuts May 21 on Spectrum, would have worked without stage performers. Filmed comparatively early in the pandemic, it was mostly shot remotely, in actors’ homes.“Because people are acting by themselves, you really need people that are at the very top of their craft,” she said. “If we hadn’t had access to those people, the show wouldn’t have come together creatively.”Like Gevinson and Chanler-Berat, Steven Pasquale (as seen in “The Bite”) was committed to a revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical “Assassins” before Covid-19 hit New York.Spectrum Originals/CBS StudiosFor Steven Pasquale, a Broadway veteran who was also slated for the “Assassins” revival, “The Bite” provided a welcome alternative. “It felt a little bit like we were making theater, even though we were making a TV show, because there were so many theater people involved.”“The Gilded Age,” which employs 17 Tony winners and nominees in its cast, had a similar put-on-a-show ethos. “There is something about theater actors on a television set,” said Audra McDonald, a six-time Tony winner and a star of “Gilded,” “The Bite” and “The Good Fight.” “It feels like it’s a repertory company.”Nixon said that “Gilded” had brought her back together with theater co-stars from her 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. During a recent shoot, Nixon recalled, she looked at the cast members in the scene and said to Baranski, “We could totally do ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ right here.”This isn’t to suggest that casting stage performers is an act of charity or an excuse for an impromptu reunion. Yes, Broadway actors may have less on-camera experience than some of their Hollywood counterparts. But they bring an ease with stylized language, as well as a professionalism and can-do attitude that inures them to the hectic rhythms and sudden changes of a television set, especially a set operating under Covid-19 precautions.From left, Audra McDonald, Christine Baranski and Cush Jumbo in “The Good Fight.” “There is something about theater actors on a television set,” McDonald said. “It feels like it’s a repertory company.” Patrick Harbron/CBS“People who work in live theater, where anything can go wrong, they’re always on their toes,” said Kulukundis, the “Gossip Girl” casting director. Christine Baranski, a Tony winner and a star of “The Good Fight” and “The Gilded Age,” put it this way: “We have a skill set and a respect for process. You hire a theater actor and they’ll come in prepared.”Theater actors are unruffled by specialized jargon. Estrin can always tell when a stage actor walks into the audition room for “Billions.” An exuberant drama set among financiers and the regulators who love-hate them, its current season includes the Tony nominees Daniel Breaker, Stephen Kunken and Sarah Stiles.“It isn’t easy dialogue to say,” Estrin said. “They walk in the door and make it look easy.”Brandon Victor Dixon and McDonald in the Broadway musical “Shuffle Along.” McDonald tried for years to get a song written into “The Good Fight,” finally succeeding in Season 3.Sara Krulwich/The New York Times“Younger,” a pacey comedy set in the world of Manhattan publishing, often relies on musical theater stars to deliver its zingers. “These are actors that are able to make the words sing,” said Steven Jacobs, one of the show’s casting directors.When it comes to words that people might have used a century ago, stage actors typically have an advantage. Not every film or TV actor has done period work, but theater-trained actors usually have at least a few Shakespeare plays and Shavian comedies under their era-appropriate belts.“We tend to have experience with having to wrap our mouths around different types of texts,” Denée Benton, a Tony nominee who stars in “The Gilded Age” said. “I’ve spent my entire career in corsets. So when this show came around, I was like, ‘Yeah, I know how to do this.’”Doing this without giving up theater wasn’t always an option. Back in the ’90s, when Baranski needed to earn more money and decided to seek television roles, she had to move to Los Angeles.“There wasn’t enough TV work in New York back then,” she said. “Now there is, and it’s a great thing for the theater community. God, I wish it had happened earlier.”The Emmy- and Tony-winning actor André De Shields in scene from “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” The show employed an estimated 10 theater actors per episode this season.Virginia Sherwood/NBCDuring this lost Broadway season, New York-based series have allowed Broadway talent to keep their health insurance and pay their mortgages without having to uproot their lives. Television has also provided a spiritual solace, a means to practice their art when other modes were unavailable. (Or as in the case of Zoom theater, glitchy and not always satisfying.)“The creative safety of knowing I’m going to get to use my gifts, the financial safety of knowing that I’m going to be able to pay my bills for a time period, it’s priceless,” Benton said. O’Hara put it even more feelingly. “It’s the most beautiful gift I’ve ever had,” she said of her work on “The Gilded Age.” “It fooled me into thinking I’m still doing theater.”Mandy Patinkin, a Broadway legend and a series regular in the coming season of “The Good Fight,” tried out retirement last year, after a nearly decade-long run on “Homeland.” He hated it. Returning to television gave him a renewed sense of purpose.“Part of what Covid taught me, among so many things, was the appreciation of the privilege of having a vocation that would structure my day and my life and my evenings and my time on Earth,” he said.De Shields won a Tony for his performance in the Broadway production of “Hadestown.”Sara Krulwich/The New York TimesSlowly, Covid’s heavy curtain is starting to rise. Most of New York’s capacity restrictions, including those governing live theater, are scheduled to end on May 19 with social distancing requirements still in place; Broadway theaters, which depend on tourists and are too expensive to operate with limited audiences, have been cleared to reopen at full capacity beginning on Sept. 14.But with so many actors having found comfort and health insurance in television in the past year, will they return to the stage?Even before the pandemic, casting plays and musicals had become more difficult, said Bernard Telsey, a casting director for “The Gilded Age” and a co-artistic director of MCC Theater. “Everyone is wanting to do television now,” he said. This applies as much to younger stage actors as to seasoned ones. “They’re five minutes out of Juilliard, and they’re looking at a television show,” he said.But there are pleasures — for actors and audiences — that television can’t offer, at least not often and not without a lot of begging first. There are few high Cs on TV, and fewer kick lines. But “Younger” has included a few songs, among them a blissful “9-to-5,” led by Miriam Shor, an original cast member from “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” There’s also a scene this season in which the series lead, Sutton Foster, dances to a song from “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” a show she starred in.“I’m always looking for little excuses to see her really step out and perform a little bit,” Darren Star, the creator of “Younger,” said.McDonald tries to make TV just a little more theatrical. For years, she asked the Kings to write a song into “The Good Fight.” They finally agreed and in the third season, McDonald and Baranski’s characters break into “Raspberry Beret” during late-night case prep.“We had a ball doing that,” McDonald said. “Because we knew it was as close to a musical number as we would ever get.”Matt Stevens More

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      ‘We’ll Be Back,’ Broadway Says, on Shutdown Anniversary

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }At HomeRoast: Thick AsparagusVisit: National ParksRead: Shirley HazzardApologize: To Your KidsAndré De Shields, singing in Times Square at the “We Will Be Back” pop-up performance.Credit…Vincent Tullo for The New York Times‘We’ll Be Back,’ Broadway Says, on Shutdown AnniversaryA pop-up performance in Times Square on Friday, featuring stars like André De Shields, was full of excitement as reopenings may be on the horizon.André De Shields, singing in Times Square at the “We Will Be Back” pop-up performance.Credit…Vincent Tullo for The New York TimesSupported byContinue reading the main storyMarch 12, 2021, 5:50 p.m. ETOne year ago, the grim news that Broadway was shutting down was sweeping through the theater district. Performers were packing up their things and heading home; theater staff were stationed in lobbies to intercept ticket holders and explain to them that the show was canceled.As a return date was pushed further and further, performers and theater staff resigned themselves to finding work elsewhere.But on Friday, the anniversary of the day their beloved industry shut its doors, Broadway singers, dancers, actors and front-of-house staffers gathered in Times Square, just across from the TKTS discount ticket booth, to perform live for a small audience of industry insiders and passers-by.Chita Rivera spoke about the power of theater to heal society, at the pop-up show.Credit…Vincent Tullo for The New York TimesDancers at the show, on the anniversary of the theater shutdown in New York.Credit…Vincent Tullo for The New York TimesThe pop-up show was part concert, part rally. The Broadway legend Chita Rivera spoke about the power of theater to heal a beleaguered society, and then André De Shields, decked out in a glittering gold suit and a transparent face shield, sang the opening song from “Pippin” along with an array of Broadway stars, backup singers and dancers.“I’m just happy that we’re all trying to remind the world that we’re still here, and we will be back,” said Bre Jackson, a singer who belted out a solo in the “Pippin” number.One year ago, Jackson, 29, was returning to New York from a national tour of “The Book of Mormon,” and preparing herself for five auditions. Within 12 hours, she said, the auditions were all canceled, and suddenly she was thrust into a job market without much need for professional singers and actors. Jackson eventually found work as an office manager for a therapy practice, finding performing gigs every so often.Jackie Cox was in Times Square as Broadway singers, dancers, actors and front-of-house staffers gathered to perform for a small audience of industry insiders and passers-by.Credit…Vincent Tullo for The New York TimesA dancer at the show. Bre Jackson, a singer who belted out a solo in the “Pippin” number, said, “I’m just happy that we’re all trying to remind the world that we’re still here.”Credit…Vincent Tullo for The New York TimesHeath Saunders, singing at the show. The performance was funded by several organizations, including the nonprofits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and NYCNext.Credit…Vincent Tullo for The New York TimesOne of the main purposes of these pop-up performances — of which there have been dozens across the city — is to provide paying gigs for people in the industry who have lost their entire incomes during the pandemic, said Blake Ross, one of the event’s producers. The performance was funded by a collection of organizations, including the nonprofits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and NYCNext.Although they aren’t likely to perform inside theaters again until after Labor Day, the message of the show was that the end of the industry’s nightmare seemed to be getting closer. Last night, President Biden asked states to make all adults eligible to be vaccinated by May 1, a hopeful sign that shows might be able to start rehearsals over the summer.Lillias White, right, who, with Nikki M. James, Peppermint and Solea Pfeiffer, joined in “Home” from “The Wiz.”Credit…Vincent Tullo for The New York TimesJoel Grey, giving a speech in between numbers.Credit…Vincent Tullo for The New York TimesThe performance landed on one of the first warm springlike days of the year in New York City, adding a jolt of excitement. It felt like a reunion of sorts: After a long time working from home, some people shrieked when they saw each other, keeping their distance, but air-hugging or elbow-bumping. To make sure that crowds didn’t form in Father Duffy Square, the event planners made no public announcement of the performance, but passers-by gathered on the edges of the makeshift stage and stood on elevated surfaces to get better views.The actor Charl Brown, among the participants in the event, which was part rally.Credit…Vincent Tullo for The New York TimesCostumes from shows including “Wicked” and “Phantom of the Opera” lined the stage edges, glittering and gleaming on mannequins.Credit…Vincent Tullo for The New York TimesThere was no formal announcement of the pop-up show, and passers-by moved around to get better views, capturing it on cellphones.Credit…Vincent Tullo for The New York TimesPeppermint, center, taking a photo with Nikki M. James, left, and Lillias White.Credit…Vincent Tullo for The New York TimesThe cast started with a topical classic, George Benson’s “On Broadway,” with a group of high-energy sneaker-clad and masked backup dancers. (There had been barely any time to rehearse beforehand, so just before showtime, the dancers ran through their choreography just offstage on the concrete.) Next, the singers Lillias White, Nikki M. James, Peppermint and Solea Pfeiffer joined in “Home” from “The Wiz.” And a choir sang an original song written about the pandemic hiatus, “We Will Be Back,” by Allen René Louis. Costumes from shows like “Wicked” and “Phantom of the Opera” lined the stage edges, glittering and gleaming on mannequins.During the pandemic, two musicals, “Mean Girls” and “Frozen,” announced that they would not be returning to Broadway, as well as two plays that were in previews, Martin McDonagh’s “Hangmen” and a revival of Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” On Friday, several shows promised that they would indeed be back, including “Mrs. Doubtfire,” which got through three performances before it was forced to close, and “Six,” which had been scheduled to open on March 12, 2020.Nikki M. James, in Times Square. She is among those who sang “Home” from “The Wiz.”Credit…Vincent Tullo for The New York TimesMembers of the media and other onlookers, capturing the midday show.Credit…Vincent Tullo for The New York TimesThat day, Judi Wilfore, the house manager for the Imperial Theater, remembers standing in the lobby before the scheduled evening performance of “Ain’t Too Proud” and breaking the news to ticketholders. Even though Broadway shut down on a Thursday, Wilfore came to work that weekend, too, in case any audience members showed up.Over the summer, Wilfore decided that she needed to find work elsewhere, so she took an online course at Health Education Services, to get certified as a Covid compliance officer. At Friday’s event in Times Square, it was her job to make sure people were following safety guidelines and to manage a team of front-of-house theater staffers who were hired to help run the event.Wilfore has been a compliance officer for gigs here and there — including the load-out of the “Beetlejuice” set from the Winter Garden Theater — but like many in the industry, she yearns for the eventual return to indoor theater, where she oversaw the bustling movements of staffers and audience members.“We love what we do,” she said, “and the fact that we haven’t been able to do it in a year is unfathomable.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      ‘Live From Mount Olympus’ Review: Oh My Godsss, Who Am I?

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }At HomeBake: Maximalist BrowniesListen: To Pink SweatsGrow: RosesUnwind: With Ambience VideosAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyCritic’s Pick‘Live From Mount Olympus’ Review: Oh My Godsss, Who Am I?This audio series translates the Greek myth of Perseus for teens, making its hero a young man still figuring out his destiny.The cast, crew and producers of “Live From Mount Olympus.”Credit…via the Onassis Foundation and PRX’s TRAX podcast networkFeb. 17, 2021, 4:54 p.m. ETPuberty, curfews, fights with parents: Adolescence is hard enough without having to face down a Gorgon. Perseus has his work cut out for him.In the delightful new six-part audio series “Live From Mount Olympus,” a classic Greek myth is translated into a story for teens — and for adults who fancy a lively reimagining of the tales they learned in English class.Bulfinch? Hamilton? Eat your heart out.Presented by the Onassis Foundation and PRX’s TRAX podcast network, and produced with the Brooklyn theater ensemble TEAM, “Live From Mount Olympus” tells the tale of Perseus, the demigod hero who killed Medusa, the Gorgon with deadly peepers and a reptilian hairdo.This Perseus, though, isn’t the macho beefcake hero often portrayed in artworks and other adaptations of the story; here, he is an eager and naïve young man just figuring out his destiny. When he can focus enough to do so, that is. Divine Garland plays the excitable demigod with boyish charm and touches of the same brand of arrogance the Greeks loved to grant their mighty male protagonists.Perseus must travel to the far reaches of the human world to battle Medusa; good thing he’s got gods on his side. Libby King’s Athena, goddess of war and wisdom, comes off as an exasperated older sister — well, half sister, as she pointedly reminds Perseus, who is also a child of Zeus. “Let’s not get carried away, mortal,” she says, clearly irked by their kinship.The series’ biggest treat is a crossover from another work of mythic translation: André De Shields, who was the fleet-footed Hermes in “Hadestown,” appears as the messenger god again, and also serves as the suave narrator of the tale.Open-armed, fleet-footed: André De Shields plays the messenger god Hermes in “Mount Olympus,” as he did in “Hadestown.”Credit…Erik Tanner for The New York TimesDirected by Rachel Chavkin (“Hadestown”) and Zhailon Levingston (“Tina: The Tina Turner Musical”), “Mount Olympus” is an accessible entryway into mythology. Running just about 15 to 20 minutes each, the episodes (written by Alexie Basil and Nathan Yungerberg) are snappy yet satisfying; the dialogue is set at a contemporary clip, with modern-day language. “Oh my godsss,” Perseus exclaims repeatedly, like a teen running into his crush at the mall.The grittier bits of the stories (violence, assault) are softened and maneuvered around gracefully without losing a sense of the problematic relationships and themes at work, especially when it comes to gender.David Schulman’s appropriately cartoonish sound design rises to the pep of the action and gameness of the dialogue, like the shuffle and flutter of Hermes making a hasty exit (he has to check on his “godcast” subscribers; popularity comes with a cost). And speaking of cartoons, this may be an audio production, but Jason Adam Katzenstein — whose often punny, sometimes droll and always comic illustrations make regular appearances in The New Yorker — provides eye-catching art for each episode.Perseus isn’t the only classic hero who’s gotten a teen makeover; theater makers have already been using Greek myths to appeal to this demographic. “The Lightning Thief,” based on Rick Riordan’s popular YA “Percy Jackson” series, targeted younger audiences on Broadway when it opened in September 2019. That same month, Public Works premiered “Hercules,” based on the 1997 Disney animated movie.Between the rivalries and the affairs, it’s everything tweens catch between the morning bell and sixth period, with the added bonus of fantastical landscapes and magical happenings. But there is also heft to these stories, which represent a belief system and vision of the world that no longer exists as a reality for a community of people, but nevertheless survives.So why not try on a pair of winged sandals and venture to a “cavern of serpent doom” as this young hero does? Grab your phone, too, in case you want to drop a quick TikTok with some nymphs on the way. Just be back by 10 p.m.: When in the heavenly realm of Mount Olympus, the worst thing you can do is get grounded.Live From Mount OlympusNew episodes through March 23; onassis.org.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Ways to Enjoy Theater Virtually

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }At HomeMake: BirriaExplore: ‘Bridgerton’ StyleParent: With ImprovRead: Joyce Carol OatesAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyRevel in the Power of TheaterMissing live performances during the pandemic? Get your theater fix with a handful of online stellar productions (new and old).The Tony winner André De Shields will deliver a one-man performance in “Frederick Douglass: Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory,” on Feb. 26.Credit…Lia ChangFeb. 13, 2021In another time, the highly anticipated spring season of Broadway would be beginning. Performers would be dropping their scripts, fans would be planning their show schedules and reviewers would be sharpening their pencils. Sadly, Broadway and many theaters around the world are in the longest pause in history, but an effort to keep the industry alive has major stars taking to the virtual stage and much-lauded past productions available for streaming. These productions can’t compare with the energy of a full theater, but what they make up in accessibility is something that can’t be underestimated. The theater community is experiencing a devastating loss right now, but its ability to innovate, invent and continue to create joy gives great hope for what will return.‘Medea’The startling exclusion of Michaela Coel’s “I May Destroy You” from the Golden Globe nominations has only drawn more attention to the once-in-a-generation talent of the performer, director and writer. Among the current streaming offerings of the National Theater in London is its 2014 production of “Medea,” which stars Coel as the nurse to Helen McCrory’s title character in the celebrated story of a wife’s revenge on her straying husband. The production also features an intense score from Will Gregory and Alison Goldfrapp, the pairing behind the musical duo Goldfrapp. Available to stream for three days for $9.99. ntathome.com/products/medea‘25 Years of Rent: Measured in Love’ If your kids think “Hamilton” was the first musical to transcend the genre, introduce them to the 1996 cult success that ran for over a decade. New York Theater Workshop’s annual gala will celebrate the 25th anniversary of “Rent” with a virtual concert that brings together an impressive assemblage of the show’s original cast, including Idina Menzel, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jesse L. Martin and Anthony Rapp. They’ll be joined by an all-star lineup of “Rent” fans including Neil Patrick Harris, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Billy Porter and Jeremy O. Harris. The program will also honor the “Rent” creator Jonathan Larson, who died at 35 on the morning of the show’s first performance. March 2, 8 p.m. Eastern, and available to stream until March 6. Tickets begin at $25. nytw.org/‘Elaine Stritch at Liberty’The streaming service BroadwayHD has hundreds of live performances (available for a monthly fee of $9 or $100 for the year). But a particular gem in the mix is Elaine Stritch’s raucous 2001 autobiographical show, which combines stories about her unique life with some of her most adored songs, most notably “The Ladies Who Lunch” from “Company.” This bio show, which was filmed at London’s Old Vic in 2002, recounts her Broadway victories, as well as her struggle with alcoholism and her many rocky romances. broadwayhd.com/movies/AW2GxBd-px3F9_4Aqe1K‘Frederick Douglass: Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory’As part of Black History Trilogy, a series of virtual productions from Flushing Town Hall, in Queens, the 2019 Tony winner André De Shields will portray Frederick Douglass in a stirring one-man performance. The transcendent “Hadestown” star also wrote the show, which explores the achievements and ingenuity of the abolitionist leader, as well as the darkness and horror that he experienced. The program comes after Flushing Town Hall’s “Divine Sass: A Tribute to the Music, Life and Legacy of Sarah Vaughan” from Lillias White on Feb. 18. All performances are free. February 26, 7 p.m., flushingtownhall.org/black-history-trilogy-iii‘An Evening with Ali Stroker from Enlow Recital Hall’Ali Stroker, who dazzled in her performance in the 2019 revival of “Oklahoma!,” winning a best featured actress Tony for the role of Ado Annie, will appear on the stage of Kean University, in New Jersey, for a night filled with classics from the Great American Songbook. Stroker, the first person who uses a wheelchair to win a Tony, will sing favorites from Stephen Sondheim, Carole King, Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lin-Manuel Miranda during the livestreamed event. February 27 at 7:30. Tickets $25, kean.universitytickets.comAdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      ‘Ratatouille,’ the Musical: How This TikTok Creation Came Together

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best ComedyBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest MoviesBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story‘Ratatouille,’ the Musical: How This TikTok Creation Came TogetherWe talked to the Broadway stars behind a virtual performance of the animated film. Inspiration started with quirky TikTok segments circulating this fall.A screenshot of “Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical,” from left: Joy Woods; Tituss Burgess as Remy the rat; and J.J. Niemann.Credit…“Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical”Dec. 31, 2020, 12:37 p.m. ETBeginning in October, thousands of TikTok creators who were bored at home and missing Broadway created elements of a show that didn’t exist yet: a musical based on Disney Pixar’s “Ratatouille,” an animated film about a rat with culinary aspirations.In 60-second increments, people contributed their own songs, dances, makeup looks, set designs, puppets and Playbill programs inspired by the 2007 movie. Without any leadership, the virtual show materialized organically from a crowdsourced jumble of content.It was a musical conceived like no other. Many creators thought it was a long-shot before it could coalesce in real life. But on Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern time, “Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical” will take shape as a virtual benefit performance, with Tituss Burgess starring as Remy the rat. About 80,000 tickets have already been sold for the pre-filmed show, put on by Seaview Productions to raise money for the Actors Fund. It will be available to stream for three days.The musical follows, more or less, the plot of the movie: Remy, who’s blessed with a refined palate, teaches the lowly kitchen worker Alfredo Linguini how to cook by hiding under his chef’s hat. Linguini rises to the top of his restaurant in Paris, only to be judged by the imperious critic Anton Ego.We spoke to its creators about the challenges of making a virtual show adapted from TikTok segments adapted from film. These conversations have been edited for clarity and condensed.Andrew Barth FeldmanThe actor, who was in “Dear Evan Hansen,” playing Alfredo Linguini.How did you get involved?My friend Nathan asked me to sing one of the songs on TikTok. People have been telling me that I looked like this character for years. I love the movie, and I always felt that this character resonated with me. I think we’re both generally anxious people with an undying optimism. He’s clumsy in a cartoony way, and he’s so unabashed in what he does. He has a passion for wanting to do right by everyone. The nervousness paired with the optimism feels very me.How long have you been rehearsing?This is the quickest turnaround for a Broadway show that I’ve ever seen in my life. That first conversation had to have been three weeks ago. This has all moved so, so quickly. It’s all one big romp of a time.What’s one challenge to presenting a show online?It’s funny because we’re doing this remotely. I’m not looking at any of these people. There was one point where it was the end of the day, and I was having trouble. I found this stuffed animal of Remy I have and put him off camera to film the scene — to feel the stakes of the story and remember it’s about a rat whose controlling a hat.André De Shields recording his part as the restaurant critic.Credit…Emily MarshallAndré De ShieldsThe actor, who was in “The Wiz,” playing Anton Ego.Any similarities between you and Anton?There was no time to do any research, so I had to trust the casting director who said, “This is for you. We want you to do this.” I haven’t seen the film, but in terms of playing Anton Ego, who is this snooty food critic, you learn he has turned his nose up at the ratatouille that’s served to him in the restaurant. You learn that’s how he grew up. That’s what his mother gave him as a child. When he tastes the ratatouille, he regresses to his childhood. You see he’s been wearing a mask all his life, and all he needed was a reminder of how happy he was as an ordinary kid.How is this show different from live ones performed onstage?We don’t improvise very much in the theater because there’s a script for us to run, and everyone’s expecting you to say what’s in the written thing. In terms of the distance between all of the collaborative people involved, if something didn’t come out exactly right, than we made use of that spontaneous inspiration. There’s no mistake in jazz. You say, “That’s what I intended to do, now the rest of you follow along.” That’s what “Ratatouille” is all about.Lucy MossThe director, who previously co-directed and co-wrote “Six: The Musical.”What was your vision for the show?The thing that’s really interesting about the original TikTok materials and submissions is that the aspiration for it was so broad. Despite being on a format on the cutting edge of tech and the most Gen-Z thing in the world, people were aspiring to be like a classic musical. The challenge of doing that in the least theatrical space ever — online — was trying to remain true to that aspiration. The aim is a Zoom reading or an online concert that drank 20 Red Bulls and spit on the screen.A screenshot of a ProTools session around 3 a.m. on Christmas Day, from top: the orchestrator Macy Schmidt; the music supervisor and arranger Daniel Mertzlufft; the sound mixer Angie Teo; and the music director Emily Marshall.Credit…Daniel MertzlufftDaniel MertzlufftThe music supervisor and arranger, who wrote some of the “Ratatouille” songs.Tell me about your role on the show.Basically my job was to take the nine songs we were pulling from TikTok and create some kind of story and a full cohesive score. That was the challenge because some of the songs we’re only a minute long, and we had to expand them. We had to write new songs to fill in some spots. We wrote part of a new opening number and an “I want song,” where the character sings what they want and hopefully they get it.What’s been your biggest challenge?I had my first meeting Dec. 4 with the folks at Seaview. They gave me a call and said, “Hey, we have this crazy idea. Disney has given us the allowance to do a benefit for the Actors Fund of ‘Ratatouille.’” They said, “Yeah, we’d like to do this on Jan. 1,” and I took a deep breath and said, “Yeah, that’s possible.”All of us were working 24/7 the first few weeks of December trying to finish all this. It was a return to normalcy for theater and the collaboration. Although the deadline was insane, of course I said yes. Who else can make insane deadlines like that happen besides theater people? I would do a song a day. This is months, if not years, of work that we did in two weeks. Even though it was a challenge, I loved being up until 3 a.m. Christmas morning mixing songs. We’ve all missed the feeling.“Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical” in a shoe-box set created by Christopher Routh.Credit…Christopher RouthChristopher RouthThe set designer, who works as a photographer.Tell me about your shoe-box set models.“Ratatouille” takes place in Paris, so how can I create a Paris backdrop for an actual stage? How can I create different drops for different scenes?The very first “Ratatouille” set model that I posted [on TikTok] and designed a set for, I got the idea from a picture from Pinterest. It was just a silhouette of Linguini with a chef’s hat, and it had a shadow of Remy. I took that, cut that out, lit it up using projections. Then I made sure that the hat was transparent so Remy could come from the back of it, and that’s when the whole set building started. It’s crazy to look at these TikToks again and see where I was and where I am now.This event really highlights a lot of the TikTok creators, and we’re very happy we got this recognition. We can take our content and do something good with it, not only raise money for the show but make sure that Broadway comes back stronger than ever.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More