Podcast appearances and mentions of robert longbottom

Monkeys and Playbills heads to the circus in this week’s episode on Side Show: directed and choreographed by Robert Longbottom and co-starring friend of the podcast, Alice Ripley. We ask the big questions about the big top, like why is this show such a sausage fest? Whatever happened to Robert Longbottom? And why does Paul like seizure-inducing light shows so much?If you have a show you’d like us to cover, you can get in touch with us at @monkeysandplaybillspod on Instagram and by emailing monkeysandplaybillspod@gmail.com.

Robert Longbottom is a director, choreographer and director, primarily for theatre and opera. He made his Broadway debut as a director and choreographer with the original Broadway production of the Tony Award-nominated musical, Side Show in 1997. Other Broadway works include the reconceived revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and the 2009 revival of Bye Bye Birdie. He conceived, directed and choreographed the musical, Pageant in 1991 Off-Broadway. Other works include: Disney’s On The Record, Carnival!, The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, Show Boat in concert at Carnegie Hall, Mister Roberts, and Hay Fever. He was the director and choreographer for the tour of Dreamgirls, which premiered at the Apollo Theater in 2009, prior to a US national tour. We talked about the importance of entrepreneurship in this business as well as . . . How to make a transition from one career to another inside the Broadway biz (which isn’t always the most supportive of that kind of change). The origins of Side Show. How he convinced people to give him a shot . . . when they really shouldn’t have (according to him) The process of choreographing a great big, fat, opening number – what do you do first? Why things take so long to develop in 2018 and what we can do about it? The Book of Merman is a diva-driven journey featuring original songs and show-stopping ballads. Check it out at: broadway.com/shows/book-merman Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway www.theproducersperspective.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At its 2002 Musical Theatre Symposium, SDCF hosted a panel on the writer-director relationship featuring "Urinetown" composer/lyricist Greg Kotis, "The Wild Party" composer Andrew Lippa and director Gabriel Barre, "Violet" composer Jeanine Tesori, bookwriter/lyricist Brian Crawley and director Susan H. Schulman, "Side Show" director Robert Longbottom, "Jelly's Last Jam" lyricist Susan Birkenhead, and "tick, tick...BOOM!" and "Bat Boy" director Scott Schwartz, moderated by Manhattan Theatre Club Musical Theatre Program director Clifford Lee Johnson. The panelists discuss the formation of their writer-director relationship on each of these shows: how the initial connection and trust happened, the barriers they had to overcome, and working on an unfinished show with a living writer vs one who has already passed. The conversation is followed by a lively Q&A session about new musical development programs, the director's role in the development of a musical and how to know when a relationship doesn't work. Filled with many humorous stories, this panel offers great insight into this vital relationship as told by some of today's top Broadway talent.

Guest host Ted Chapin, chairman of the board of the American Theatre Wing, talks with director Robert Longbottom about his current Broadway production of "Bye Bye Birdie" at The Roundabout, including the challenge of auditioning 1400 teenagers, as well as his new revival of "Dreamgirls", which like the story itself. starts its national climb to fame at New York's Apollo Theater, but only after a truly out of town tryout in South Korea. Longbottom also talks about how he managed to get his Equity card at age 10, despite being raised in Maine; his years as a dancer in Broadway ensembles and national tours; developing the piece that ultimately became "Pageant" while on tour with "42nd Street"; the joy of both workshopping and rehearsing "Side Show" directly on Broadway stages, as opposed to rehearsal rooms; his work on plays including "Hay Fever" and "Mr. Roberts" (asking when first approached about the latter, "Who wrote music for it?"); and why he thinks the "revisal" of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Flower Drum Song" was such a success in Los Angeles but didn't work as well in New York. Original air date - November 23, 2009.

Guest host Ted Chapin, chairman of the board of the American Theatre Wing, talks with director Robert Longbottom about his current Broadway production of "Bye Bye Birdie" at The Roundabout, including the challenge of auditioning 1400 teenagers, as well as his new revival of "Dreamgirls", which like the story itself. starts its national climb to fame at New York's Apollo Theater, but only after a truly out of town tryout in South Korea. Longbottom also talks about how he managed to get his Equity card at age 10, despite being raised in Maine; his years as a dancer in Broadway ensembles and national tours; developing the piece that ultimately became "Pageant" while on tour with "42nd Street"; the joy of both workshopping and rehearsing "Side Show" directly on Broadway stages, as opposed to rehearsal rooms; his work on plays including "Hay Fever" and "Mr. Roberts" (asking when first approached about the latter, "Who wrote music for it?"); and why he thinks the "revisal" of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Flower Drum Song" was such a success in Los Angeles but didn't work as well in New York. Original air date - November 23, 2009.

The panel -- director Scott Ellis ("That Championship Season"), director Robert Falls ("Death of a Salesman"), playwright David Marshall Grant ("Snakebit"), director/choreographer Robert Longbottom ("The Scarlet Pimpernel"), playwright Paul Rudnick ("The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told"), and director John Tillinger ("Night Must Fall") -- discuss working with rewrites, revisions and multiple versions of a script, the playwright's input during rehearsals, and the role of a dramaturg.

The panel -- director Scott Ellis (That Championship Season), Tony-winning director Robert Falls (for Death of a Salesman), playwright David Marshall Grant (Snakebit), director/choreographer Robert Longbottom (The Scarlet Pimpernel), playwright Paul Rudnick (The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told), and director John Tillinger (Night Must Fall) -- discuss working with rewrites, revisions and multiple versions of a script, the playwright's input during rehearsals, and the role of a dramaturg.