“Not only do I have to deliver the most difficult piece that Sondheim has ever written, but I am also running around the stage and throwing myself into the set,” explains “Company” star Matt Doyle. The song in question is the infamous Stephen Sondheim tongue twister “Getting Married Today,” which the actor must perform at an alarmingly fast clip. The daunting number has the audience at the Jacobs Theatre roaring every night. Watch the exclusive video interview above.
The character spouting off the hyper-speed lyrics is normally named Amy, but director Marianne Elliott has altered the genders of many characters in this musical. Thus, Doyle inhabits the part as Jamie, a neurotic gay man overcome with wedding day jitters when his nuptials to Paul (Etai Benson) approach. Doyle reveals that Elliott originally brought him in to audition for Paul, but stopped him mid-song so she could hear him read for Jamie instead.
The character spouting off the hyper-speed lyrics is normally named Amy, but director Marianne Elliott has altered the genders of many characters in this musical. Thus, Doyle inhabits the part as Jamie, a neurotic gay man overcome with wedding day jitters when his nuptials to Paul (Etai Benson) approach. Doyle reveals that Elliott originally brought him in to audition for Paul, but stopped him mid-song so she could hear him read for Jamie instead.
- 4/19/2022
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
If there’s a better, more vital way to honor the late, incomparable Stephen Sondheim than Marianne Elliott’s superb production of Company, Broadway hasn’t invented it. This gorgeous revival of the Sondheim-George Furth masterwork at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, is, from across-the-board excellent performances and thoughtful revisions to the visual delight of a lovely and ingeniously clever set design, a gift both to and from the genius we lost last month.
With its attention-getting gender-switching premise bringing a freshness and nuance that’s nothing short of near-miraculous for a much-revived 51-year-old musical, Elliott’s Company challenges Broadway’s current production of 1955’s Trouble in Mind as the most dizzying time-warp experience on stage this season. Like that Alice Childress play, this Company feels both absolutely of the moment and timeless.
Starring Katrina Lenk as the defiantly single Bobbie – in the original, of course, the bachelor Bobby,...
With its attention-getting gender-switching premise bringing a freshness and nuance that’s nothing short of near-miraculous for a much-revived 51-year-old musical, Elliott’s Company challenges Broadway’s current production of 1955’s Trouble in Mind as the most dizzying time-warp experience on stage this season. Like that Alice Childress play, this Company feels both absolutely of the moment and timeless.
Starring Katrina Lenk as the defiantly single Bobbie – in the original, of course, the bachelor Bobby,...
- 12/10/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Patti LuPone will miss this weekend’s performances of Broadway’s Company due to a non-Covid-related illness.
Press had been invited to both of Saturday’s performances – matinee and evening – but the production rescheduled the press nights for early next week after LuPone’s return. The actress also missed last night’s and tonight’s performances.
Opening night remains set for Thursday, December 9.
LuPone stars in the revival of the classic Stephen Sondheim/George Furth musical, directed by Marianne Elliott, along with Katrina Lenk, Matt Doyle, Christopher Fitzgerald, Christopher Sieber, Jennifer Simard, Terence Archie, Etai Benson, Bobby Conte, Nikki Renée Daniels, Claybourne Elder, Greg Hildreth, Manu Narayan, and Rashidra Scott.
During last night’s performance, the show was briefly halted when a section of the moving set malfunctioned, prompting the evacuation from the stage of the performers. Tonight’s performance was to proceed as scheduled.
Press had been invited to both of Saturday’s performances – matinee and evening – but the production rescheduled the press nights for early next week after LuPone’s return. The actress also missed last night’s and tonight’s performances.
Opening night remains set for Thursday, December 9.
LuPone stars in the revival of the classic Stephen Sondheim/George Furth musical, directed by Marianne Elliott, along with Katrina Lenk, Matt Doyle, Christopher Fitzgerald, Christopher Sieber, Jennifer Simard, Terence Archie, Etai Benson, Bobby Conte, Nikki Renée Daniels, Claybourne Elder, Greg Hildreth, Manu Narayan, and Rashidra Scott.
During last night’s performance, the show was briefly halted when a section of the moving set malfunctioned, prompting the evacuation from the stage of the performers. Tonight’s performance was to proceed as scheduled.
- 12/4/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Producers of Broadway’s Company have completed casting with the hiring of Manu Narayan, who takes over the role of Theo previously filled by Kyle Dean Massey.
Narayan’s Broadway credits include Gettin’ the Band Back Together, Bombay Dreams and Lincoln Center Theater’s My Fair Lady revival. He appeared in Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2019 Off Broadway production of Merrily We Roll Along, like Company a classic Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical.
Narayan joins a production headed by Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone. Other principal cast members include Matt Doyle, Christopher Fitzgerald, Christopher Sieber, Jennifer Simard, Terence Archie, Etai Benson, Bobby Conte, Nikki Renée Daniels, Claybourne Elder, Greg Hildreth and Rashidra Scott.
Company, which was in previews when the Covid pandemic shutdown hit in March 2020, resumes performances Monday, Nov. 15 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, with an official opening on Thursday, Dec. 9.
Massey said in June that he would not return to the show,...
Narayan’s Broadway credits include Gettin’ the Band Back Together, Bombay Dreams and Lincoln Center Theater’s My Fair Lady revival. He appeared in Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2019 Off Broadway production of Merrily We Roll Along, like Company a classic Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical.
Narayan joins a production headed by Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone. Other principal cast members include Matt Doyle, Christopher Fitzgerald, Christopher Sieber, Jennifer Simard, Terence Archie, Etai Benson, Bobby Conte, Nikki Renée Daniels, Claybourne Elder, Greg Hildreth and Rashidra Scott.
Company, which was in previews when the Covid pandemic shutdown hit in March 2020, resumes performances Monday, Nov. 15 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, with an official opening on Thursday, Dec. 9.
Massey said in June that he would not return to the show,...
- 9/14/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Company, Marianne Elliott’s reimagined production of the Stephen Sondheim/George Furth musical starring Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone, will begin Broadway performances a month earlier than previously announced, with the new preview date now set for Monday, Nov. 15.
The official opening night is now Thursday, Dec. 9 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, a full month earlier than the previously announced opening.
Producers today also confirmed the return of nearly the entire cast from the show’s shutdown-interrupted run in March 2020. A replacement for original cast member Kyle Dean Massey will be announced in the coming weeks, producers said.
In addition to Lenk and LuPone, the Company cast will include Matt Doyle as Jamie, Christopher Fitzgerald as David,...
The official opening night is now Thursday, Dec. 9 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, a full month earlier than the previously announced opening.
Producers today also confirmed the return of nearly the entire cast from the show’s shutdown-interrupted run in March 2020. A replacement for original cast member Kyle Dean Massey will be announced in the coming weeks, producers said.
In addition to Lenk and LuPone, the Company cast will include Matt Doyle as Jamie, Christopher Fitzgerald as David,...
- 7/6/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Kyle Dean Massey has announced that he will not return to the Broadway revival of Company when it resumes performances post-shutdown this December.
In a since-expired Instagram story, Massey, who, with husband Taylor Frey is expecting the couple’s first child this fall, wrote that he feels “very sad about withdrawing” from the Sondheim musical, but “I will be getting something pretty spectacular in return.”
“I loved getting to work with the entire group of creatives, actors, musicians and crew,” Massey wrote. “But as you may be aware, Taylor and I are expecting our first child this fall and I want to be 100% present for that.”
Company, the Marianne Elliott-directed revival of the classic Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical starring Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone, will resume performances at Broadway’s Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Dec. 20, with an official opening on Jan. 9.
Prior to Broadway’s Covid...
In a since-expired Instagram story, Massey, who, with husband Taylor Frey is expecting the couple’s first child this fall, wrote that he feels “very sad about withdrawing” from the Sondheim musical, but “I will be getting something pretty spectacular in return.”
“I loved getting to work with the entire group of creatives, actors, musicians and crew,” Massey wrote. “But as you may be aware, Taylor and I are expecting our first child this fall and I want to be 100% present for that.”
Company, the Marianne Elliott-directed revival of the classic Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical starring Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone, will resume performances at Broadway’s Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Dec. 20, with an official opening on Jan. 9.
Prior to Broadway’s Covid...
- 6/18/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Company, the Marianne Elliott-directed revival of the classic Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical starring Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone, will resume performances at Broadway’s Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in December, producers announced today.
The production will being previews on Dec. 20, with an opening night planned for Jan. 9, 2022.
Company is a show about connecting, about the necessity of having other people in our lives,” Sondheim said in a statement. “This past year, with its isolation, has reminded us all of that need for togetherness, so I’m happy that Marianne Elliott’s startling and exhilarating production is coming back to Broadway.”
Tickets for the musical go on sale tomorrow. Company played nine preview performances before the March 12, 2020 Broadway shutdown.
As with the other shows announcing Fall returns – Come From Away, Six, Phantom of the Opera, Chicago and Mrs. Doubtfire and Clyde’s – Company will comply with Covid safety...
The production will being previews on Dec. 20, with an opening night planned for Jan. 9, 2022.
Company is a show about connecting, about the necessity of having other people in our lives,” Sondheim said in a statement. “This past year, with its isolation, has reminded us all of that need for togetherness, so I’m happy that Marianne Elliott’s startling and exhilarating production is coming back to Broadway.”
Tickets for the musical go on sale tomorrow. Company played nine preview performances before the March 12, 2020 Broadway shutdown.
As with the other shows announcing Fall returns – Come From Away, Six, Phantom of the Opera, Chicago and Mrs. Doubtfire and Clyde’s – Company will comply with Covid safety...
- 5/10/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Monday, March 22, was Stephen Sondheim’s birthday, his 91st, and it came and went without one of the star-packed concert extravaganzas that marked previous milestones in the composer’s life, musical celebrations that were staged at Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center and are still racking up views on YouTube.
Even last year, as Covid-19 was in its first months of devastating New York City and had already scotched the planned opening night of the 50th anniversary Broadway production of Company –– an opening night that also would have marked the composer’s 90th birthday — the theater community came together, virtually and a month after the fact, to sing the great man’s songs in a remarkable, precedent-setting Zoom-style benefit event. Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Celebration was livestreamed on April 26 as a sort of pandemic rain date for Company‘s stolen night.
None of which is to say...
Even last year, as Covid-19 was in its first months of devastating New York City and had already scotched the planned opening night of the 50th anniversary Broadway production of Company –– an opening night that also would have marked the composer’s 90th birthday — the theater community came together, virtually and a month after the fact, to sing the great man’s songs in a remarkable, precedent-setting Zoom-style benefit event. Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Celebration was livestreamed on April 26 as a sort of pandemic rain date for Company‘s stolen night.
None of which is to say...
- 4/1/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Stars in the House continues tonight 8pm Et with a COMPANYGame Night with Etai Benson, Matt Doyle, Greg Hildreth, Jennifer Simard and Chris Sieber Company was previously set to open on Broadway on March 22, 2020 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, but never officially opened due to the pandemic shutting down theatres on March 12, 2020. An official resume date for Broadway shows has yet to be announced.
- 3/30/2021
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
The early weeks of spring 2020 and Broadway’s pandemic shutdown already seemed like a distant, bygone era by summertime. Initial hopes for a two- or three-week hiatus had morphed into talk of maybe a few months and then even that seemed like wishful thinking. Near the end of April, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, at the height of a newfound popularity built on the image of righteous truth-teller, openly mocked the possibility of an imminent Broadway reopening. “I wouldn’t use what Broadway thinks as a barometer of anything…,” he sniped at a press conference. New productions that had planned fall 2020 openings re-set their sights on winter or spring 2021, at least publicly. Within the theater community, private conversations and gut feelings were even darker.
Greg Hildreth, cast as Peter in the much-anticipated Broadway revival of the beloved Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical Company, remembers it this way: “Every time the...
Greg Hildreth, cast as Peter in the much-anticipated Broadway revival of the beloved Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical Company, remembers it this way: “Every time the...
- 3/18/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
To hear the cast of Broadway’s Company tell it, the industry’s shutdown one year ago today was perhaps more shocking than surprising, arriving swiftly but maybe not swiftly enough. For at least a couple of the musical’s preview performances leading up to the city’s historic closing of March 12, 2020, the stage jitters had little to do with the usual pre-opening night nerves. In fact, the show was doing very well – the revival and its biggest star Patti LuPone had been a hit in London, Broadway performances with LuPone and an otherwise new American cast were falling into place, advance ticket sales were strong, audiences were delighted, and the spring Tony Award season had its most anticipated pairing in LuPone and The Band’s Visit‘s Katrina Lenk, one a true icon of the theater, the other one of two or three more recently arrived stars with the talent,...
- 3/12/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Rashidra Scott (Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations) has been cast in the role of Susan for Marianne Elliott’s upcoming Broadway revival of the Stephen Sondheim/George Furth musical Company.
Scott will join a cast headed by Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone, and will play opposite Greg Hildreth’s Peter as “the couple that seems to have the perfect marriage, until perfection proves impossible.”
Company will begin performances at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Monday, March 2, 2020 with an official opening night set for Sunday, March 22.
Elliott & Harper Productions and The Shubert Organization announced Scott’s hiring, completing principal casting. The principal cast, previously announced, also includes Matt Doyle, Christopher Fitzgerald, Christopher Sieber, Jennifer Simard, Terence Archie, Etai Benson, Nikki Renée Daniels, Claybourne Elder, Kyle Dean Massey and Bobby Conte Thornton. Casting for the ensemble will be announced in the coming weeks.
Scott’s other Broadway credits include Beautiful,...
Scott will join a cast headed by Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone, and will play opposite Greg Hildreth’s Peter as “the couple that seems to have the perfect marriage, until perfection proves impossible.”
Company will begin performances at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Monday, March 2, 2020 with an official opening night set for Sunday, March 22.
Elliott & Harper Productions and The Shubert Organization announced Scott’s hiring, completing principal casting. The principal cast, previously announced, also includes Matt Doyle, Christopher Fitzgerald, Christopher Sieber, Jennifer Simard, Terence Archie, Etai Benson, Nikki Renée Daniels, Claybourne Elder, Kyle Dean Massey and Bobby Conte Thornton. Casting for the ensemble will be announced in the coming weeks.
Scott’s other Broadway credits include Beautiful,...
- 12/11/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Broadway’s upcoming revival of the Stephen Sondheim landmark musical Company starring Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone has nearly rounded out its cast, with Nashville‘s Kyle Dean Massey, The Book of Mormon‘s Matt Doyle and The Prom‘s Christopher Sieber among the new arrivals.
The additional casting for director Marianne Elliott’s gender-reversed Company was announced today by producers Elliott & Harper Productions and The Shubert Organization. The production, an Oliver Award winner in its West End bow, recasts the 1970 musical’s lead character, the bachelor Bobby, as the bachelorette Bobbie, to be played by Lenk (The Band’s Visit).
As previously announced with Lenk, LuPone will play Joanne, the “Ladies Who Lunch” role famously created by Elaine Stritch.
Company will begin performances at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Monday, March 2, 2020 with an official opening night set for Sunday, March 22 (Sondheim’s 90th birthday). Sondheim and Elliott collaborated to update the musical.
The additional casting for director Marianne Elliott’s gender-reversed Company was announced today by producers Elliott & Harper Productions and The Shubert Organization. The production, an Oliver Award winner in its West End bow, recasts the 1970 musical’s lead character, the bachelor Bobby, as the bachelorette Bobbie, to be played by Lenk (The Band’s Visit).
As previously announced with Lenk, LuPone will play Joanne, the “Ladies Who Lunch” role famously created by Elaine Stritch.
Company will begin performances at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Monday, March 2, 2020 with an official opening night set for Sunday, March 22 (Sondheim’s 90th birthday). Sondheim and Elliott collaborated to update the musical.
- 10/21/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
We've just learned that an NYC reading is taking place this week, led by Emily Skinner as Miranda Priestly, Krystina Alabado as Andy Sachs, Helene Yorke as Emily, Mario Cantone as Nigel, Etai Benson as Nate, Jo Lampert as Lily and Nicholas Christopher as Christian. The reading also stars Sydney Charles, Britney Coleman, Dayna Dantzler, Tyrone Davis Jr., Henry Gottfried, Molly Hager, Katie Lee Hill, Anne Hollister, Jessie Hooker-Bailey, Liana Hunt, Christopher Innvar, Blaine Krauss, and Nikka Graff Lanzarone.
- 7/2/2019
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
David Yazbek will return to Feinstein's54 Below on July 1 with special guest Etai Benson, known for portraying Papi in the original Broadway cast of The Band's Visit Here's a rare opportunity to see one of the theater's most innovative composers do what he's actually best at- thrilling a live audience. The New York Times has called his live performance A thrill-ride at a volcano's edge. Together with a band of the most exciting musicians in NYC including a mighty full horn section, Yazbek will perform songs from his albums and shows- old, new, and upcoming.
- 6/13/2019
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
There’s definitely a new quick path to Egot — or at least three-quarters of it. First Cynthia Erivo won a Tony, Grammy and Emmy for “The Color Purple.” Then Ben Platt and Rachel Bay Jones achieved the same triple play for “Dear Evan Hansen.” And on Friday night, May 3, Katrina Lenk and Ari’el Stachel accomplished the same rare feat for their performances in “The Band’s Visit.” It’s thanks to a relatively new category at the Daytime Emmys: Best Musical Performance in a Daytime Program. Check out the complete list of Daytime Emmy Creative Arts winners here.
The Tonys honor the best musicals on Broadway. The Grammys have long done the same with their Best Musical Theater Album category. And since 2016 the Daytime Emmys have honored musical performances on daytime programs, which means singers and theater performers are now able to win for promoting their work on a talk show or morning show.
The Tonys honor the best musicals on Broadway. The Grammys have long done the same with their Best Musical Theater Album category. And since 2016 the Daytime Emmys have honored musical performances on daytime programs, which means singers and theater performers are now able to win for promoting their work on a talk show or morning show.
- 5/4/2019
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
This week's performers will include Come From Away Petrina Bromley, Geno Carr, Alex Finke, De'Lon Grant, Joel Hatch, Tony LePage, Lee MacDougall, Julie Reiber, Caesar Samayoa, Pearl Sun, Astrid Van Wieren, and Sharon Wheatley Kinky Boots Mia Gentile, John Jeffrey Martin, and Stephane Duret The Band's Visit Katrina Lenk, John Cariani, Ari'el Stachel, and Etai Benson This Ain't No Disco Will Connolly, Tony d'Alelio, Hannah Florence, Chilina Kennedy, Peter Laprade, Krystal Mackie, Nicole Medoro, Ian Paget, Theo Stockman, and Samantha Marie Ware...
- 7/26/2018
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
This week's performers will include Come From Away Petrina Bromley, Geno Carr, Alex Finke, De'Lon Grant, Joel Hatch, Tony LePage, Lee MacDougall, Julie Reiber, Caesar Samayoa, Pearl Sun, Astrid Van Wieren, and Sharon Wheatley Kinky Boots Mia Gentile, John Jeffrey Martin, and Stephane Duret The Band's Visit Katrina Lenk, John Cariani, Ari'el Stachel, and Etai Benson This Ain't No Disco Will Connolly, Tony d'Alelio, Hannah Florence, Chilina Kennedy, Peter Laprade, Krystal Mackie, Nicole Medoro, Ian Paget, Theo Stockman, and Samantha Marie Ware...
- 7/26/2018
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
This week's performers will include Come From Away Petrina Bromley, Geno Carr, Alex Finke, De'Lon Grant, Joel Hatch, Tony LePage, Lee MacDougall, Julie Reiber, Caesar Samayoa, Pearl Sun, Astrid Van Wieren, and Sharon Wheatley Kinky Boots Mia Gentile, John Jeffrey Martin, and Stephane Duret The Band's Visit Katrina Lenk, John Cariani, Ari'el Stachel, and Etai Benson This Ain't No Disco Will Connolly, Tony d'Alelio, Hannah Florence, Chilina Kennedy, Peter Laprade, Krystal Mackie, Nicole Medoro, Ian Paget, Theo Stockman, and Samantha Marie Ware...
- 7/26/2018
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
This week's performers will include Come From Away Petrina Bromley, Geno Carr, Alex Finke, De'Lon Grant, Joel Hatch, Tony LePage, Lee MacDougall, Julie Reiber, Caesar Samayoa, Pearl Sun, Astrid Van Wieren, and Sharon Wheatley Kinky Boots Mia Gentile, John Jeffrey Martin, and Stephane Duret The Band's Visit Katrina Lenk, John Cariani, Ari'el Stachel, and Etai Benson This Ain't No Disco Will Connolly, Tony d'Alelio, Hannah Florence, Chilina Kennedy, Peter Laprade, Krystal Mackie, Nicole Medoro, Ian Paget, Theo Stockman, and Samantha Marie Ware...
- 7/24/2018
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Shortly after the nominations for the 72nd Tony Awards were announced on May 1, Gold Derby contributing writers Sam Eckmann and David Buchanan chatted via webcam about their first impressions of the Musical categories (Watch our analysis above).
“Mean Girls” and “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” both earned a whopping 12 nominations each, and while Sam thinks both of those shows will see a competitive boost from their nomination tallies, he and David still think “The Band’s Visit” is the frontrunner despite falling one nomination short of its two main competitors. Even if “Mean Girls” doesn’t win the top trophy of the evening, Sam and David both think Tina Fey could take home the award for Best Book, though David warns that “just because it’s chock full of jokes does not a Best Book make.”
See 2018 Tony Awards nominations: Full list in all 26 categories
The Best Musical Revival category is a nail-biter.
“Mean Girls” and “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” both earned a whopping 12 nominations each, and while Sam thinks both of those shows will see a competitive boost from their nomination tallies, he and David still think “The Band’s Visit” is the frontrunner despite falling one nomination short of its two main competitors. Even if “Mean Girls” doesn’t win the top trophy of the evening, Sam and David both think Tina Fey could take home the award for Best Book, though David warns that “just because it’s chock full of jokes does not a Best Book make.”
See 2018 Tony Awards nominations: Full list in all 26 categories
The Best Musical Revival category is a nail-biter.
- 5/3/2018
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
Ari’el Stachel had to audition seven times before landing the role of the womanizing Haled in “The Band’s Visit.” That could turn out to be a lucky number for him on Tony Awards nominations morning as he is tipped to reap a bid for his scene-stealing turn in this acclaimed musical. This Broadway newcomer has already contended at both the Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Awards for the off-Broadway production of this tuner.
Stachel’s character is the catalyst for the story as his misguided travel plans get his fellow Egyptian musicians stranded in a small Israeli town overnight. Haled ventures out looking for love, or at least a little companionship, trotting out his trite pick-up line, “Do you know Chet Baker?,” at often inopportune times. As Sara Holden (Vulture) observed, “the sensitive, self-aware Ari’el Stachel’s deliciously humorous attempts at flirtation contain their own bitter pill:...
Stachel’s character is the catalyst for the story as his misguided travel plans get his fellow Egyptian musicians stranded in a small Israeli town overnight. Haled ventures out looking for love, or at least a little companionship, trotting out his trite pick-up line, “Do you know Chet Baker?,” at often inopportune times. As Sara Holden (Vulture) observed, “the sensitive, self-aware Ari’el Stachel’s deliciously humorous attempts at flirtation contain their own bitter pill:...
- 4/27/2018
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Do you know Chet Baker? Among its other achievements, Broadway’s acclaimed musical The Band’s Visit has handed the theater community its best pick-up line in ages. Repeated with faux-debonnaire panache and minor variations to great comic effect by actor Ari’el Stachel in the supporting role of Haled, the self-styled ladies man and trumpet player in the tale’s Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra, the show’s unplanned catchphrase – equal parts earnestness and desperation – neatly encapsulates the soulful mash-up of cultures that gives The Band’s Visit, written by David Yabek and Itamar Moses and directed by David Cromer, so much of its appeal.
That message of cultural understanding isn’t lost on Stachel, who talks in this Q&A about his years of hiding his Middle Eastern heritage from even his closest friends and schoolmates. The 26-year-old actor, who’d done a couple small roles on CBS’ Blue Bloods...
That message of cultural understanding isn’t lost on Stachel, who talks in this Q&A about his years of hiding his Middle Eastern heritage from even his closest friends and schoolmates. The 26-year-old actor, who’d done a couple small roles on CBS’ Blue Bloods...
- 4/18/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Matthew Morrison, Rachel Bloom, Wayne Brady and cast members of Hamilton, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and The Band’s Visit will be among the Broadway and TV performers in a one-night-only Florida benefit concert for victims and survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Some of the songs have been written by Msd students in collaboration with pro composers.
From Broadway With Love: A Benefit Concert For Parkland, USA, announced today, is set for Monday, April 16 at the Bb&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The benefit follows similar From Broadway With Love concerts held after the Pulse nightclub and Sandy Hook shootings.
This time, though, the concert will include some songs that were written by Stoneman Douglas students in collaboration with such pro composers as Joe Iconis, Bobby Cronin, Zoe Sarnak and Drew Gasparini. Additional songs were written solely by the students.
Also planned is a special performance by the...
From Broadway With Love: A Benefit Concert For Parkland, USA, announced today, is set for Monday, April 16 at the Bb&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The benefit follows similar From Broadway With Love concerts held after the Pulse nightclub and Sandy Hook shootings.
This time, though, the concert will include some songs that were written by Stoneman Douglas students in collaboration with such pro composers as Joe Iconis, Bobby Cronin, Zoe Sarnak and Drew Gasparini. Additional songs were written solely by the students.
Also planned is a special performance by the...
- 4/3/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Etai Benson is currently charming audiences on Broadway with his portrayal of the young and terribly relatable Papi in The Band's Visit, not at all bleak and beige and blah, blah, blah... Benson has previously been seen as Boq in Wicked and Adam Hochberg in An American in Paris. Yet it's this project, he says, that he fought the hardest for describing the film as very striking for him as an Israeli and Papi as something of a dream role. BroadwayWorld got to speak to him about the his journey with The Band's Visit and more.
- 2/24/2018
- by Julie Musbach
- BroadwayWorld.com
On Broadway and beyond, a curtain can rise as quickly as it can fall; a star can be swapped as easily as Bernie Telsey can say, “That’s enough.” Theater is the beating heart of New York show business and, if you want to make it here, it’s crucial you’re up to date on incoming projects, latest castings, and other industry news. Don’t worry, Broadway baby, Backstage has your back. Every week, we’re rounding up the can’t-miss stories no thespian should live without, so you can focus on important matters like hitting your high F. Curtain up and light those lights! Welcome new citizens to Oz.Fellow Ozians: Beginning Jan. 30, Broadway’s long-running hit “Wicked” will welcome two new cast members. Tony-nominated Isabel Keating will take over the role of Madame Morrible and Martin Moran will assume the Doctor Dillamond track. The duo joins a...
- 1/18/2018
- backstage.com
From Amy Schumer to Danny DeVito, there was no shortage of great, breakthrough performances on the Broadway stage. If these performances are any indication of what’s to come, then audiences are seeing the beginnings of successful theater careers -- and we can’t wait to see more!
Alex Newell, Once on This Island
Alex Newell and Hailey Kilgore. Joan Marcus
As Mother of the Earth in the revival of Once on This Island, Newell filled the Circle in the Square Theatre with his bombastic and vibrant performance of “Mama Will Provide.” It’s a show-stopping moment that literally brought audiences to their feet in rapturous applause. And his co-star, Hailey Kilgore, should not be overlooked. As Ti Moune, she carried the story about a peasant girl in love with a wealthy boy from one side of the island to the other and enjoyed her own standout moment, leading a rapturous dance during a ball scene. [More]
Amy Schumer, Meteor...
Alex Newell, Once on This Island
Alex Newell and Hailey Kilgore. Joan Marcus
As Mother of the Earth in the revival of Once on This Island, Newell filled the Circle in the Square Theatre with his bombastic and vibrant performance of “Mama Will Provide.” It’s a show-stopping moment that literally brought audiences to their feet in rapturous applause. And his co-star, Hailey Kilgore, should not be overlooked. As Ti Moune, she carried the story about a peasant girl in love with a wealthy boy from one side of the island to the other and enjoyed her own standout moment, leading a rapturous dance during a ball scene. [More]
Amy Schumer, Meteor...
- 12/18/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
The stage door opens and, just as Ari’el Stachel is about to leave the Ethel Barrymore Theatre for the night, a young girl throws her arms around him for a hug to say ‘Thank you.’ “I feel like myself, but then realize I’m having this seismic impact on [her life], and it’s tremendous,” the 26-year-old tells Et of the response from audiences for his Broadway debut as Haled, one of the Egyptian police band members who gets stranded in a remote Israeli town in The Band’s Visit.
A year and half ago, Stachel, who’s had small roles on Blue Bloods and Jessica Jones, was on his couch waiting for the phone to ring with any acting job offer. After seven rounds of auditions within nine months, he landed the part in The Band’s Visit, which first premiered Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre in November 2016 before transferring to Broadway this fall. The musical, based...
A year and half ago, Stachel, who’s had small roles on Blue Bloods and Jessica Jones, was on his couch waiting for the phone to ring with any acting job offer. After seven rounds of auditions within nine months, he landed the part in The Band’s Visit, which first premiered Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre in November 2016 before transferring to Broadway this fall. The musical, based...
- 12/14/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
Yesterday, Jeremy Jordan, Lea Michele, Alan Cumming, Keala Settle, Norm Lewis, Eva Noblezada and cast of Miss Saigon, Ari'el Stachel and Etai Benson of The Band's Visit, and Auli'i Cravalho joined Darren Criss at the third annual Elsie Fest...
- 10/9/2017
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Tony Award nominee and one of the stars of the upcoming Twentieth Century Fox film The Greatest Showman, Keala Settle, as well as cast members of Broadway's Miss Saigon, and Drama Desk nominee Ari'el Stachel and Etai Benson of The Band's Visit, have been added to the line up of this year's Elsie Fest - the first outdoor music festival celebrating the songs from the stage and screen.
- 10/5/2017
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
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