Latest news with #MCCTheater
New York Times
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘Trophy Boys' Review: The Nerds' Case Against Feminism
Has feminism failed women? That's the uh-oh question facing the Imperium School's senior debate team when asked to argue the affirmative in the finals of their league competition. But asserting that proposition against the girls from St. Gratia feels deeply uncomfortable to the four teenage boys who make up the team. Worse, it feels like a sure way to lose. And losers are not what Imperium's debaters, no matter how nerdy, are expected to be. How will they get into Yale or Harvard — or 'maybe … like … N.Y.U.?' — if they're caught defending the patriarchy? How will Owen, their best speaker, run for president one day, as he intends to, with video of him vivisecting feminism in the ether forever? That's the setup for Emmanuelle Mattana's 'Trophy Boys,' whose title suggests that what's at stake is more than a contest. Regardless of their protestations of love for their mothers and sisters, the team members are mostly concerned with preserving their privilege as preppies and men. Their feminism is the kind that crumbles the moment it asks something of them beyond lip service. 'Trophy Boys,' which opened Wednesday at MCC Theater, addresses their bad faith in many ways but not, alas, in the most important one: a convincing narrative. Mattana begins with satire so broad it's indistinguishable from burlesque, as the Imperium team arrives at St. Gratia for their power hour of prep time. How stoked they are by the posters of feminist thought leaders — Oprah, Malala, Yoko — plastering the walls! (The classroom set is by Matt Saunders.) 'I am at my most inspired when surrounded by inspiring women,' Owen says. Owen is portrayed by the playwright, who has made the casting of female, queer, trans and nonbinary actors 'nonnegotiable.' Not that Danya Taymor's production asks us to read their gray flannel, blue blazer, repp tie drag as real. (The costumes are by Márion Talán de la Rosa.) Especially when they roughhouse, leaping on desks and licking their notebooks, the cast overplays the characters' youthfulness, making them seem less like a delivery system for gender commentary than a cartoon version of 'Newsies.' But if those choices take some of the sting out of the boys' masculine cluelessness and bro-y vulgarity, they also amp up the ambient camp. Jared (Louisa Jacobson) is a sendup of WASP obliviousness, disowning his advantages while pulling a gold watch and Tesla keys from his backpack. Scott (Esco Jouléy) is clearly in love with him, even as he overcompensates with casually sexist remarks. And David (Terry Hu) is an arrogant incel whose most salient contribution to feminism is calling his father a cuck. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Broadway's Eva Noblezada, Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, Ben Platt and Kelli O'Hara star on album
NEW YORK (AP) — Lea Salonga stepped onto a Manhattan stage last spring and sang something unusual for her — 'Edelweiss' from the musical 'The Sound of Music,' a song usually performed by the paternal Captain von Trapp. It was part of MCC Theater's annual 'Miscast' gala that's celebrating 25 years with an album of top musical theater stars performing songs from roles in which they would not traditionally be cast. It drops March 28. In addition to Salonga, the album has performances by an A-list of Broadway: Eva Noblezada, Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, Ben Platt, Kelli O'Hara, Katrina Lenk, Stephanie J. Block, Rachel Zegler, Raúl Esparza, Heather Headley, Aaron Tveit and Gavin Creel. Zegler channeled her inner green ogre for 'Who I'd Be' from 'Shrek,' and Lenk borrowed Tevye's 'If I Were a Rich Man' from "Fiddler on the Roof." Headley, who originated the role of Nala in 'The Lion King,' instead sang Simba's moving ballad 'Endless Night.' 'We have some that are just funny and silly. We have some that actually change the meaning of a song when someone sings them. We have some that's just a phenomenal person singing a phenomenal song and that's enough,' says Scott Galina, manager of musical programming and development at MCC. 'So it really feels like it captures the breadth of the way a 'Miscast' performance can land.' Other highlights include a live version of 'Take Me or Leave Me' from 'Rent' by Tveit and Creel, a capture made more special because of the death of Creel last year. And Groff and Jordan sing the two divas' anthem 'Let Me Be Your Star' from 'Smash.' Noblezada gets muscular singing 'Go the Distance' from 'Hercules,' and Platt gets in a green mood to sing Elphaba's 'The Wizard and I' from 'Wicked.' O'Hara submits a tender 'Beautiful City' from 'Godspell,' while married couple Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robinson sing 'The Human Heart' from "Once on This Island." 'There's not a track on the album that you get to and you're like, 'Oh, this is a skip,'" says Will Van Dyke, musical director for 'Miscast" for the past six years. 'That's like my goal in everything — you never want to have a skip track on there.' MCC Theater is a nonprofit, off-Broadway company that delights with its spring gala 'Miscast' surprises, which started in 2001 and went online for a few years during the pandemic. To make the new album, the performers were asked to recreate their live songs in the studio, giving engineers a cleaner sound. Whittling down the various performances over the decades to fit on a 12-album collection — called 'MCC Theater's Miscast: The Studio Sessions' — wasn't easy but some songs popped out for having made a lasting impact. 'Katrina Lenk is still hearing about people who talk about her singing 'If I Were a Rich Man,'' says Galina. 'These are moments that have become bigger for these people than we certainly ever could have intended.' MCC Theater will celebrate its 25th anniversary on April 7 with a 'Miscast' gala at the Hammerstein Ballroom. It will honor Sheryl Lee Ralph and MCC Youth Company alum and artist Travis Raeburn. The 'Miscast25' lineup will feature performances by Tituss Burgess, Cole Escola, Jordan Fisher, Steven Pasquale, Nicole Scherzinger, Britton Smith, Phillipa Soo, Ephraim Sykes, Jordan Tyson, Michael Urie and Tveit. Funds raised by the gala and the album go back to MCC Theater. Over the years, 'Miscast' has seen the landscape of Broadway change with more unconventional choices in race, gender and age. Galina points to a recent gender-swapped version of Stephen Sondheim's 'Company' that transformed the male lead Bobbie into a woman. 'A lot of years before my time at 'Miscast,' you would have women singing 'Being Alive' from 'Company' or 'Mary Me a Little' from 'Company,'' he says. 'And now there's been a production on Broadway with a woman playing Bobbie. So, there are no rules around that anymore, which is amazing.'
The Independent
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Broadway's Eva Noblezada, Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, Ben Platt and Kelli O'Hara star on album
Lea Salonga stepped onto a Manhattan stage last spring and sang something unusual for her — 'Edelweiss' from the musical 'The Sound of Music,' a song usually performed by the paternal Captain von Trapp. It was part of MCC Theater's annual 'Miscast' gala that's celebrating 25 years with an album of top musical theater stars performing songs from roles in which they would not traditionally be cast. It drops March 28. In addition to Salonga, the album has performances by an A-list of Broadway: Eva Noblezada, Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, Ben Platt, Kelli O'Hara, Katrina Lenk, Stephanie J. Block, Rachel Zegler, Raúl Esparza, Heather Headley, Aaron Tveit and Gavin Creel. Zegler channeled her inner green ogre for 'Who I'd Be' from 'Shrek,' and Lenk borrowed Tevye's 'If I Were a Rich Man' from "Fiddler on the Roof." Headley, who originated the role of Nala in 'The Lion King,' instead sang Simba's moving ballad 'Endless Night.' 'We have some that are just funny and silly. We have some that actually change the meaning of a song when someone sings them. We have some that's just a phenomenal person singing a phenomenal song and that's enough,' says Scott Galina, manager of musical programming and development at MCC. 'So it really feels like it captures the breadth of the way a 'Miscast' performance can land.' Other highlights include a live version of 'Take Me or Leave Me' from 'Rent' by Tveit and Creel, a capture made more special because of the death of Creel last year. And Groff and Jordan sing the two divas' anthem 'Let Me Be Your Star' from 'Smash.' Noblezada gets muscular singing 'Go the Distance' from 'Hercules,' and Platt gets in a green mood to sing Elphaba's 'The Wizard and I' from 'Wicked.' O'Hara submits a tender 'Beautiful City' from 'Godspell,' while married couple Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robinson sing 'The Human Heart' from "Once on This Island." 'There's not a track on the album that you get to and you're like, 'Oh, this is a skip,'" says Will Van Dyke, musical director for 'Miscast" for the past six years. 'That's like my goal in everything — you never want to have a skip track on there.' MCC Theater is a nonprofit, off-Broadway company that delights with its spring gala 'Miscast' surprises, which started in 2001 and went online for a few years during the pandemic. To make the new album, the performers were asked to recreate their live songs in the studio, giving engineers a cleaner sound. Whittling down the various performances over the decades to fit on a 12-album collection — called 'MCC Theater's Miscast: The Studio Sessions' — wasn't easy but some songs popped out for having made a lasting impact. 'Katrina Lenk is still hearing about people who talk about her singing 'If I Were a Rich Man,'' says Galina. 'These are moments that have become bigger for these people than we certainly ever could have intended.' MCC Theater will celebrate its 25th anniversary on April 7 with a 'Miscast' gala at the Hammerstein Ballroom. It will honor Sheryl Lee Ralph and MCC Youth Company alum and artist Travis Raeburn. The 'Miscast25' lineup will feature performances by Tituss Burgess, Cole Escola, Jordan Fisher, Steven Pasquale, Nicole Scherzinger, Britton Smith, Phillipa Soo, Ephraim Sykes, Jordan Tyson, Michael Urie and Tveit. Funds raised by the gala and the album go back to MCC Theater. Over the years, 'Miscast' has seen the landscape of Broadway change with more unconventional choices in race, gender and age. Galina points to a recent gender-swapped version of Stephen Sondheim 's 'Company' that transformed the male lead Bobbie into a woman. 'A lot of years before my time at 'Miscast,' you would have women singing 'Being Alive' from 'Company' or 'Mary Me a Little' from 'Company,'' he says. 'And now there's been a production on Broadway with a woman playing Bobbie. So, there are no rules around that anymore, which is amazing.'
Associated Press
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Broadway's Eva Noblezada, Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, Ben Platt and Kelli O'Hara star on album
NEW YORK (AP) — Lea Salonga stepped onto a Manhattan stage last spring and sang something unusual for her — 'Edelweiss' from the musical 'The Sound of Music,' a song usually performed by the paternal Captain von Trapp. It was part of MCC Theater's annual 'Miscast' gala that's celebrating 25 years with an album of top musical theater stars performing songs from roles in which they would not traditionally be cast. It drops March 28. In addition to Salonga, the album has performances by an A-list of Broadway: Eva Noblezada, Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, Ben Platt, Kelli O'Hara, Katrina Lenk, Stephanie J. Block, Rachel Zegler, Raúl Esparza, Heather Headley, Aaron Tveit and Gavin Creel. Zegler channeled her inner green ogre for 'Who I'd Be' from 'Shrek,' and Lenk borrowed Tevye's 'If I Were a Rich Man' from 'Fiddler on the Roof.' Headley, who originated the role of Nala in 'The Lion King,' instead sang Simba's moving ballad 'Endless Night.' 'We have some that are just funny and silly. We have some that actually change the meaning of a song when someone sings them. We have some that's just a phenomenal person singing a phenomenal song and that's enough,' says Scott Galina, manager of musical programming and development at MCC. 'So it really feels like it captures the breadth of the way a 'Miscast' performance can land.' Other highlights include a live version of 'Take Me or Leave Me' from 'Rent' by Tveit and Creel, a capture made more special because of the death of Creel last year. And Groff and Jordan sing the two divas' anthem 'Let Me Be Your Star' from 'Smash.' Noblezada gets muscular singing 'Go the Distance' from 'Hercules,' and Platt gets in a green mood to sing Elphaba's 'The Wizard and I' from 'Wicked.' O'Hara submits a tender 'Beautiful City' from 'Godspell,' while married couple Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robinson sing 'The Human Heart' from 'Once on This Island.' 'There's not a track on the album that you get to and you're like, 'Oh, this is a skip,'' says Will Van Dyke, musical director for 'Miscast' for the past six years. 'That's like my goal in everything — you never want to have a skip track on there.' MCC Theater is a nonprofit, off-Broadway company that delights with its spring gala 'Miscast' surprises, which started in 2001 and went online for a few years during the pandemic. To make the new album, the performers were asked to recreate their live songs in the studio, giving engineers a cleaner sound. Whittling down the various performances over the decades to fit on a 12-album collection — called 'MCC Theater's Miscast: The Studio Sessions' — wasn't easy but some songs popped out for having made a lasting impact. 'Katrina Lenk is still hearing about people who talk about her singing 'If I Were a Rich Man,'' says Galina. 'These are moments that have become bigger for these people than we certainly ever could have intended.' MCC Theater will celebrate its 25th anniversary on April 7 with a 'Miscast' gala at the Hammerstein Ballroom. It will honor Sheryl Lee Ralph and MCC Youth Company alum and artist Travis Raeburn. The 'Miscast25' lineup will feature performances by Tituss Burgess, Cole Escola, Jordan Fisher, Steven Pasquale, Nicole Scherzinger, Britton Smith, Phillipa Soo, Ephraim Sykes, Jordan Tyson, Michael Urie and Tveit. Funds raised by the gala and the album go back to MCC Theater. Over the years, 'Miscast' has seen the landscape of Broadway change with more unconventional choices in race, gender and age. Galina points to a recent gender-swapped version of Stephen Sondheim's 'Company' that transformed the male lead Bobbie into a woman. 'A lot of years before my time at 'Miscast,' you would have women singing 'Being Alive' from 'Company' or 'Mary Me a Little' from 'Company,'' he says. 'And now there's been a production on Broadway with a woman playing Bobbie. So, there are no rules around that anymore, which is amazing.'
New York Times
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Explore the Met Museum With Gavin Creel and More Theater to Stream Now
'Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice' When Gavin Creel died of a rare form of cancer last fall, at the age of 48, he left behind an artistic and emotional hole — he was a beloved presence onstage, especially in musical theater, with an easy wit, a sure flair for physical comedy and an old-fashioned elegance. One of his last large-scale endeavors was the musical 'Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice,' for which he wrote the book and score, and which he performed in a run at MCC Theater in 2023. The show, which The New York Times's Michael Paulson described as 'a passion project' in his obituary for Creel, allowed the actor to venture into soul-searching as he explored his (very new) relationship with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Fortunately, that institution, which had commissioned the project, keeps a capture of an October 2021 performance on YouTube. '[Untitled Miniature]' As a theater maker, Joshua William Gelb fully came into his own with his Theater in Quarantine productions, which he performed and streamed live from a closet in his home, often displaying uncommon technical mastery. From Tuesday through March 25, he continues to explore the live-digital hybrid with a new project that sounds closer to the experiments of such artists as Marina Abramovic than to traditional theater, and in which he will push the boundaries of his own endurance. In '[Untitled Miniature],' Gelb will spend 24 nonconsecutive hours (in 45-minute segments spread over eight days) naked inside a box that's about 3 feet wide by less than 2 feet tall. Despite (or perhaps because of) the limited space, his movement will be choreographed. Audience members can buy tickets for either the physical performances, to be held at HERE, or for a live feed. 'Beckett Briefs' Irish Repertory Theater has been among the most proactive New York companies when it comes to making its productions available online. Right after its omnibus 'Beckett Briefs' closes its live run, it will be available on demand for an extra couple of weeks, from Sunday through March 30; the cost is $39 (Irish Rep members get 20 percent off). Directed by Ciaran O'Reilly, the 75-minute show is made up of three relatively short pieces — 'Not I,' 'Play' and 'Krapp's Last Tape' — which are 'about mortality and memory,' as Laura Collins-Hughes wrote in The New York Times. The last, in particular, stars 'an understatedly masterful F. Murray Abraham.' We can only wish more companies would follow Irish Rep's example in making parts of a run available online. 'Who Am I This Time?' As 'A Streetcar Named Desire' pays one of its regular visits to the New York stages (this time starring Paul Mescal and Patsy Ferran, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music), now is a good time to check out this film that the director Jonathan Demme made for public television's American Playhouse in 1982. Christopher Walken plays Harry, a hardware store clerk so shy that he's barely verbal. Put him onstage, though, and he comes to charismatic life — he needs to play a role to fully express himself. When new-to-town Helene (Susan Sarandon) is cast as Stella opposite Harry's Stanley in an amateur company's production of 'Streetcar,' sparks fly. But what happens when they need to interact outside, or when they play other roles? Based on a story by Kurt Vonnegut, 'Who Am I This Time?' is a lovely miniature that is very perceptive about the transformative power of acting. Walken and Sarandon are surprisingly simpatico as two loners who blossom onstage, and as a bonus the Velvet Underground's John Cale wrote the original score. 'Grounded' On March 21 at 9 p.m., the long-running PBS series Great Performances premieres the Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori ('Fun Home,' 'Kimberly Akimbo') and the librettist George Brant's 'Grounded,' which was captured at the Metropolitan Opera. Based on Brant's own play of the same name, the opera follows the emotional and psychological travails of Jess, a former fighter-jet pilot who now wages war at a distance by operating a drone. Although the one-woman original (an Off Broadway production in 2015 starred Anne Hathaway) has been beefed up to feature more characters, Jess remains its center and the weight of the show falls on Emily D'Angelo's shoulders — happily, she is up to the task. In his review for The New York Times, Zachary Woolfe praised her as 'the best thing about 'Grounded,'' and also noted the 'melted-gold tenor and easygoing charm' of Ben Bliss as Jess's husband. Another Broadway regular, Michael Mayer (most recently behind 'Swept Away'), handles the staging, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.
