Marks & Vincentelli: A Theatre Podcast

The premiere of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s “Chicago” enjoyed a decent run in 1975- 77 (though it didn’t win any of the 12 Tonys it was nominated for). But what really turned that musical about the fame-hungry murderers Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly into a modern classic was the revival that debuted at Encores! in May 1996, then moved to Broadway a few months later. And it’s still there!So we decided to dedicate our first two-part episode to that revival, and invited four key people to talk about it: director Walter Bobbie; producer Barry Weissler; James Naughton, who played the sleazy lawyer Billy Flynn in the revival’s original cast; and Charlotte d’Amboise, who’s played Roxie countless times over the decades. Incidentally, unlike the O.G. production, the revival did win several Tonys, including best revival. Naughton took best supporting actor in a musical and Bobbie taking best direction of a musical.Peter and Elisabeth both saw the show at Encores!, then again on Broadway — many times over the years, which was easy because there was a new cast to check out. Indeed, Fran and Barry Weissler pioneered the “out of the box” casting that is common on Broadway nowadays. Melanie Griffith in a musical? Bring her on! Pamela Anderson? Yes, and way before her cultural rehabilitation. Real housewives and influencers? The Weisslers know all about them, too. So buckle up, because part one of our jam-packed two-parter starts now! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marksvincentelli.substack.com/subscribe

“Les Miserables” may be a war horse, but dang, that old thoroughbred is spry. The musical by Claude Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil and Herbert Kretchmer opened in London in 1985 (after being birthed in Paris) and two years later, on Broadway. As new productions are springing up across the country, we turned to Powell, who has staged “Les Mizzes” all over the world, to talk about his history with the show and about its bottomless appeal. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marksvincentelli.substack.com/subscribe

I saw Damien Warren-Smith perform his 80-minute hit show last month at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe — a show that epitomizes the spirit of fringe. Here, we talk about the clown tradition that the British born, Australian-bred Warren-Smith champions, in a show he built around the titles of Penguin Classic books. It’s a conceit that you really have to hear more about to fully appreciate. And Warren-Smith unravels it all here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marksvincentelli.substack.com/subscribe

Is there a provocative button that our guest Jonathan Spector doesn’t like to push? Mind you, this makes him sound like David Mamet or something, which is very much not his style. Jonathan’s play “Eureka Day,” which won the Tony Award for best revival last year, was about the debate around vaccines at a Bay Area school in the middle of a mumps outbreak.Now he’s back with “Birthright,” at MCC Theater through Aug. 23, about six people who met on a birthright trip to Israel (some knew each other before, but the trip was the binding agent for them as a group). The play follows these three women and three men over the course of 18 years, through relationships and jobs, domestic politics and international conflicts — the action ends in 2024 so you can probably guess what figures in the show’s explosive third act.“Birthright” is very much a play of ideas and there’s something highly satisfying about watching a writer stretch them over a big canvas — Teddy Bergman’s production is three hours and 20 minutes. We asked Jonathan about the genesis of “Birthright,” tackling a very fraught subject, writing for an ensemble and a lot more.To wraps things up, Elisabeth brought up the Adult Film company’s “Woyzeck,” which she’d recently seen in Queens (it’s included in this roundup of reviews of Off Off Broadway shows).Thanks to Christian Huygen for our theme music. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marksvincentelli.substack.com/subscribe

Once again a Washington, DC, institution is in trouble, but unlike with the Kennedy Center, this time the call came from inside the house. We welcomed Nicole Hertvik, editor-in-chief of DC Theater Arts, for her take on what’s unfolded at the storied Arena Stage, which artistic director Hana Sharif left in what appears to be acrimonious circumstances — the New York Times announced the news on June 26. Nicole’s own reported piece came out on July 5, and there have been more since (including this one by Rebecca Ritzel in NOTUS on July 6 and this one by Trey Graham in Washingtonian on July 8).We discussed the events with Nicole on the podcast, but we also used the opportunity to take a bird’s eye view of Arena Stage’s history as a historical leader of regional theater in the U.S. and the challenges of running an institution in the current arts environment. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marksvincentelli.substack.com/subscribe