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In this episode of Half Hour, Jeff and Richie take a close look at the 2025 Broadway revival of Ragtime at Lincoln Center Theater's Vivian Beaumont Theater, with Joshua Henry, Caissie Levy, Brandon Uranowitz, and Colin Donnell leading the cast. They compare Lear deBessonet's Broadway staging to the earlier New York City Center presentation, weighing the strength of the performances, the impact of a more pared-back production, and how the material lands with today's audiences. The conversation covers the score by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, Terrence McNally's book, design choices that support or undercut the storytelling, and what this revival might mean for the upcoming Tony Awards. Jeff and Richie also discuss how Ragtime's mix of fictional and historical figures speaks to contemporary questions about race, class, immigration, and the American dream. Follow and connect with all things @HalfHourPodcast on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Share your thoughts on this Ragtime revival and your own experience at the Vivian Beaumont in the comments on Spotify, and let us know what you would like us to cover next. If you enjoy these post-show conversations, follow Half Hour and leave a rating and review so more theater lovers can find the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The long awaited Broadway premiere of the musical FLOYD COLLINS arrived at Lincoln Center this year as a Tony Award nominated revival.The musical, based on true events, features a book and score by Tina Landau and Adam Guettel, with Jeremy Jordan starring in this production as Floyd Collins.Check out this full review for Mickey-Jo's thoughts on the material, this production, and its performances...•00:00 | introduction02:14 | overview / material14:19 | this revival 22:49 | performances•get tickets to see MickeyJoTheatre LIVE at the Phoenix Arts Club:https://phoenixartsclub.com/events/mickeyjotheatre-live/About Mickey-Jo:As one of the leading voices in theatre criticism on a social platform, Mickey-Jo is pioneering a new medium for a dwindling field. His YouTube channel: MickeyJoTheatre is the largest worldwide in terms of dedicated theatre criticism, where he also share features, news and interviews as well as lifestyle content for over 80,000 subscribers. Since establishing himself as a theatre critic he has been able to work internationally. With a viewership that is largely split between the US and the UK he has been fortunate enough to be able to work with PR, Marketing, and Social Media representatives for shows in New York, London, Edinburgh, Hamburg, Toronto, Sao Pãolo, and Paris. He has also twice received accreditation from the world renowned Edinburgh Festival Fringe. His reviews and features have also been published by WhatsOnStage, for whom he was a panelist to help curate nominees for their 2023 and 2024 Awards as well as BroadwayWorldUK, Musicals Magazine and LondonTheatre.co.uk. He has been invited to speak to private tour groups, at the BEAM 2023 new musical theatre conference at Oxford Playhouse, and on a panel of critics at an event for young people considering a career in the arts courtesy of Go Live Theatre Projects. Instagram/TikTok/X: @MickeyJoTheatre
Hello, everyone, and welcome to The To Do List!In this episode, Camberley and Noah describe the opportunity they had to "Get Comfortable" in the Lincoln Center Theater at the Vivian Beaumont and see a preview performance of "Floyd Collins." We describe the show, give a few spoilers, drop some bits of historical trivia, and weigh in on the highlights and the challenges. You can make "The Call" to listen in for the details.The To Do List is always open to suggestions on future episodes, so please send them on over via email, Facebook, and Instagram.podcasttodolist@gmail.comhttps://www.facebook.com/PodcastToDoList/
The theatrical design community has spent the past two weeks all abuzz over the recently announced decision by the American Theatre Wing to eliminate the TONY awards for Sound Design. On this week's show we discuss that decision as well as the art and craft of Sound Design with the very first recipient of the TONY award for Sound Design of a Musical, Scott Lehrer. Scott discusses the importance and impact of being bestowed that honor and his reaction to the Wing's recent announcement. Cory and Scott chat about creating intimate moments in "South Pacific" at the cavernous Vivian Beaumont theatre, and the role of sound in theatre from amplification, to aural landscapes, to musical mixing and the paradoxical nature of trying to recognize an art form that by it's very nature, often strives for transparency. The podcast is back with a timely and opinionated episode. Enjoy!
Gregory Mosher: In May of 1988, Peter Van Zandt moderated a talk with director and Lincoln Center Theatre artistic director Gregory Mosher, just weeks after the opening of the Broadway production of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow. In a conversation that focuses on Mosher's longstanding relationship with Mamet, and Mosher's leadership of Lincoln Center Theater since 1985, topics include Mosher and Mamet's first meeting in Chicago in 1974; the ambiguity of Speed-the-Plow; Mamet's preference for working with the same company of actors and Mosher's desire to open up the casting to a broader range of actors, including the casting of stage neophyte Madonna in her Broadway debut; the issues involved in releasing an actor; why Mosher loves producing perhaps more than directing; how the then-new Lincoln Center membership model compares with the classic theatrical subscription model; whether he believes Lincoln Center Theater should have a resident acting company, as it did when the Vivian Beaumont opened in the 1960s; the process of moving Sarasin!; and what he had learned from his new partner at LCT, Bernard Gerstein. Originally recorded - May 25, 1988. Running Time - 1:27:21 © 1988 SDCF
In May of 1988, Peter Van Zandt moderated a talk with director and Lincoln Center Theatre artistic director Gregory Mosher, just weeks after the opening of the Broadway production of David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow". In a conversation that focuses on Mosher's longstanding relationship with Mamet, and Mosher's leadership of Lincoln Center Theater since 1985, topics include Mosher and Mamet's first meeting in Chicago in 1974; the ambiguity of "Speed-the-Plow"; Mamet's preference for working with the same company of actors and Mosher's desire to open up the casting to a broader range of actors, including the casting of stage neophyte Madonna in her Broadway debut; the issues involved in releasing an actor; why Mosher loves producing perhaps more than directing; how the then-new Lincoln Center membership model compares with the classic theatrical subscription model; whether he believes Lincoln Center Theater should have a resident acting company, as it did when the Vivian Beaumont opened in the 1960s; the process of moving "Sarafina!"; and what he had learned from his new partner at LCT, Bernard Gersten.
Bernard Gersten, Executive Producer of Lincoln Center Theater, takes listeners on a highly condensed tour of his 60-year career in the theatre, including his joining Maurice Evans' US Army Special Services Unit while stationed on Hawaii during World War II; his subsequent New York debut as assistant stage manager, ensemble member and understudy in Evans' "G.I." "Hamlet"; his years as a stage manager, including the threat to his job at the American Shakespeare Festival in Connecticut after he was called before the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee; how he met and came to work with Joseph Papp at the New York Shakespeare Festival, a tenure that included the construction of the "temporary" Delacorte Theatre, the opening of The Public Theater on Astor Place with the original "Hair", and the phenomenal success of "A Chorus Line"; his work with Frances Ford Coppola on four films, including the oft-discussed but little seen "One From the Heart"; how he signed on at the inception of Lincoln Center Theater in 1985 when the Vivian Beaumont was thought to be a highly undesirable venue; and his role in the selection of Andre Bishop as LCT's artistic director upon the departure of Gregory Mosher in 1991. Original air date - December 21, 2009.
Bernard Gersten, whose tenure as Executive Producer of Lincoln Center Theater has scored them numerous Tony Awards, including the recent revival of South Pacific, Coast of Utopia and Contact, takes listeners on a highly condensed tour of his 60-year career in the theatre, including his joining Maurice Evans' US Army Special Services Unit while stationed on Hawaii during World War II; his subsequent New York debut as assistant stage manager, ensemble member and understudy in Evans' "G.I." Hamlet; his years as a stage manager, including the threat to his job at the American Shakespeare Festival in Connecticut after he was called before the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee; how he met and came to work with Joseph Papp at the New York Shakespeare Festival, a tenure that included the construction of the "temporary" Delacorte Theatre, the opening of The Public Theater on Astor Place with the original Hair, and the phenomenal success of A Chorus Line; his work with Frances Ford Coppola on four films, including the oft-discussed but little seen One From the Heart; how he signed on at the inception of Lincoln Center Theater in 1985 when the Vivian Beaumont was thought to be a highly undesirable venue; and his role in the selection of Andre Bishop as LCT's artistic director upon the departure of Gregory Mosher in 1991.
Bernard Gersten, Executive Producer of Lincoln Center Theater, takes listeners on a highly condensed tour of his 60-year career in the theatre, including his joining Maurice Evans' US Army Special Services Unit while stationed on Hawaii during World War II; his subsequent New York debut as assistant stage manager, ensemble member and understudy in Evans' "G.I." "Hamlet"; his years as a stage manager, including the threat to his job at the American Shakespeare Festival in Connecticut after he was called before the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee; how he met and came to work with Joseph Papp at the New York Shakespeare Festival, a tenure that included the construction of the "temporary" Delacorte Theatre, the opening of The Public Theater on Astor Place with the original "Hair", and the phenomenal success of "A Chorus Line"; his work with Frances Ford Coppola on four films, including the oft-discussed but little seen "One From the Heart"; how he signed on at the inception of Lincoln Center Theater in 1985 when the Vivian Beaumont was thought to be a highly undesirable venue; and his role in the selection of Andre Bishop as LCT's artistic director upon the departure of Gregory Mosher in 1991. Original air date - December 21, 2009.