Happy Birthday Christian Borle!

One of the most in-demand Broadway Leading Men celebrates his birthday today.

That's right, it's the versatile Christian Borle's 44th birthday.  Let's take a look back and some of his most memorable and award-winning roles.

Borle (R), with Delta Burke and Angela Christian(L)
Photo Credit: Getty Images

1. Jimmy Smith in Thoroughly Modern Millie

A few years after his Broadway debut, Borle stepped into the leading male role in Millie, after Gavin Creel, playing opposite of his then-girlfriend Sutton Foster's Millie.


2. Multiple Roles in Spamalot

Just two years after Millie, Borle played the roles of Prince Herbert, Minstrel, French Guard, Not Dead Fred and Historian in the hilarious musical adaptation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  These roles led him to his next starring role.

Borle and Bundy bow in Legally Blonde.
Photo Credit: Pinterest

3. Emmett Forrest in Legally Blonde

Borle was just the guy for the musical adaptation of Legally Blonde and he played perfectly opposite Laura Bell Bundy's Elle.  This role earned him a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.  His performance was filmed and broadcast on MTV.









4. Black Stache in Peter and the Starcatcher

Borle won a Tony Award for his portrayal of the most feared pirate captain on the high seas, terrifying and captivating audiences at the same time.

5. Shakespeare in Something Rotten!

It's not easy to play the Bard, but someone had to in Something Rotten, and who better to cast than Christian Borle.  He embodied this role so well that he won his second Tony Award, delighting the audience with his witty and sexual humor.

6. Marvin in Falsettos

While most of Borle's roles are on the comical side, Borle took on the role of Marvin, a gay father trying to balance a teenage son, ex-wife, and boyfriend in the 1980s.  While Falsettos is not devoid of comedy, the amount of versatility an actor needs to portray Marvin is immense and Borle did it beautifully.

And last but not least, you can currently see Christian Borle on Broadway.

7. Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The witty musical adaptation of the same name opened on Broadway in April of 2017, with Borle in the beloved role of Willy Wonka, the quirky and curious candy inventor.  To purchase tickets to see this show and Borle, click here.

Borle in his current role, Willy Wonka.
Photo Credit: YouTube

Once again, Happy Birthday Christian!

Break Legs,
Sydney

Waitress Goes Pink!

Waitress' Maia Nkenge Wilson, Stephanie Torns, and Caitlin Houlahan
show off their new uniforms.
Photo Credit: Broadway.com

The baby blue uniforms of Broadway's Waitress are pinking up for the next month!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Waitress company is showing their support and raising money for Susan G. Komen NYC.

Fans are extremely excited  about this change remarking on Facebook, "I love this so much," and "It looks like an entirely new show."

This change is definitely not a "Bad Idea" and fans can't wait to head to the Brooks Atkinson to see "What's Inside."

Break Legs,
Sydney

Broadway HD: Is it worth it?

We all love Netflix, so what if there was one for Broadway plays and musicals?

Well, now there is: Broadway HD.

Users pay a subscription fee, equal to the price of a Broadway ticket, in order to view musicals and plays.

When I first heard about this, I was super excited because it can save you money in the long run.

I went onto the website and saw that it had a very limited selection of shows, which was very disappointing.

Also, most of the plays were Shakespeare, which is personally not my cup of tea.

I checked the website again a few months later and saw that they added more musicals and some more variety within the play section, but it still was not amazing or anywhere near the caliber of Netflix.

Most of the musicals are already on DVD and have been available for a long time.

The plays are still mostly Shakespeare, but the others are pretty much from BBC and/or very dated.

Subscription cost around $150, so I can't say that it is worth it to pay to watch plays and musicals no one really wants to see.

I hope that in the future, Broadway HD will add more titles to their selection.

I can only give them time since this is a relatively new website.

If you would like to check it out, click here.

Break Legs,
Sydney

Why You Should Watch The Tony Awards

There is only one awards show I will watch from start to finish and then watch over nad over again: The Tony Awards.

It is the best awards show out there and here is why you should be watching it, too.

1) The Hosts Are the Best

From Neil Patrick Harris to Hugh Jackman to Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming to now James Corden, these amazing hosts all brought something different to the show and made sure to entertain audiences between awards and performances.  They pull out all of the stops when it comes to the show's opening number, something every fan looks forward to.

James Corden will host the Tony Awards this year.
Photo Credit: Tony Awards

2) Full-on, Live Theatrical Performances

If you can't get to New York or can't afford a Broadway ticket, have no fear.  The Tony Awards gives performances from the musicals and even some of the plays currently on Broadway.  They are also archived on YouTube, so they can be enjoyed year-round.

The performances are always huge.
Photo Credit: The New York Times

3) The Acceptance Speeches

It is extremely hard to land a role on Broadway, so when you are recognized with a nomination or even bigger, an actual Tony Award, it is very overwhelming.  The actors and actresses get so emotional and are so thankful for the awards that they give the most genuine acceptance speeches I have ever seen.  If you don't believe me, check out Kelli O' Hara's speech when she won a Tony after being nominated six times.

Catch the Tony Awards June 12 at 8 p.m. on CBS.

Break Legs,
Sydney

Why Broadway's 'Fun Home' is Revolutionary

The winner of the 2015 Tony Award for Best Musical, Fun Home, is more than just a show.

Based on the autobiographical graphic novel of the same name written by Alison Bechdel, Fun Home tells the story of Alison who recounts her life after her father's suicide and when she found out that he was gay, as well as herself.

This show has often been called "the first mainstream musical about a young lesbian."  Audiences are taken through the Bechdel's life, from the time she was 10, to college-aged to an adult.  The character of Alison is played by three different actresses in order to accurately portray each age.

Fun Home tackles the issues of homosexuality, death, family issues and coming-of-age. It is also presented in the round, allowing audiences to sit onstage and be in the middle of the action.

While this show is entertaining, it is also informative.

It allows audiences to see the private struggles of a family dealing with change and loss.

Nowadays, LGBTQ issues are in the forefront, but they are usually stigmatized.  Fun Home lets us into the private thoughts of people struggling with their sexual identity in a time where it was not as accepted as it is today.

This show also showcases talented, young actors, like Sydney Lucas (no longer in the show), who was nominated for a Tony at the age of eleven.

Michael Cerveris, who played Bechdel's father, won a Tony for his performance.

Fun Home presented something completely new and revolutionary on Broadway in 2015.

Even though some of the topics are uncomfortable and upsetting, it is important to show that this is something that many families go through.

Just because it is a musical, Fun Home has changed the Broadway game and is definitely revolutionary.


Break Legs,
Sydney Cheuvront

Why Tours Need to be More Appreciated

I love tours of Broadway shows.  I live in Maryland which is about a three and a half to four-hour drive to New York, plus I go to school in North Carolina.  It is not alway easy to get to New York to see a show plus ticket prices can be outrageous.

That is why I love tours.  They bring the magic of Broadway to the entire country.  But, many people see them as less than the actual show from when it was on Broadway.  I'm here to disprove that.

1) The original writers and directors are in on it

When a show announces that it is going on tour, the director, writer, choreographer, etc. all work on the tour to get the tour actors ready and to make sure it is as close to the original as possible.  While a show may have to be changed a little to make it easily moveable, it is the same quality as a Broadway show.

2) The actors and crew have it harder

Can you imagine having to live out of a suitcase for a year, move around every week and still have to rehearse and perform one to two times a day?  Well, that is what the tour cast and crew have to do.  Tours can last for years, like The Phantom of the Opera tour has.  It is not easy to constantly be flying or driving and then performing.

3) Tours allow people to experience live theater

Like I said before, tours bring Broadway magic to everyone across the country.  For example, I saw A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder on Broadway right after it won the Tony Award for Best Musical.  A year later, I saw it on tour in Durham and loved listening to the audience's reactions and then talking to the people sitting around me about it.  For one, the tour was just like the Broadway show.  Secondly, the audience was delighted to see such a great show, especially since New York is over 10 hours away from here.

While the tour of a show doesn't usually feature the Broadway stars, it doesn't mean that it isn't good.  So, if a show is coming to your town, but a ticket and enjoy a night at the theater.

Why High School Theater is Just as Hard as Sports

I started doing theater when I was in the fifth grade and continued it throughout high school.

When I got to high school, the theater department was always shunned in favor of the various sports teams we had.

This made me very angry because us theater kids were busting our butts just as hard as the atheletes and yet we received no acknowledgment.

So here are a few reasons why theater in high school is just as hard as being on a sports team.

1) Theater is usually more completitive than sports

The first show I auditioned for my freshman year of high school had 10 people in it: five women and five men.  Around 40 people auditioned.  Cuts have to be made and we are just as if not more competitive than sports teams because we are fighting for a very small number of spots.  Plus, these roles are not equal.  You have lead roles, secondary roles, walk-on roles and ensemble roles.  Of course, we want the lead role so we are going to fight tooth and nail for it.

2) We put in long hours, too

Rehearsals were usually two to two and a half hours long, but we would also come in on the weekends to build and paint sets or use our free period during the day to rehearse or put something together for the show.  When it got close to tech week and opening night, we could be rehearsing until eight or nine o' clock at night, sometimes later.  Then during performances, the show wouldn't be over until around 10 at night so we were always exhausted.

3) We get hurt, too

Many atheletes may consider theater to be a "sissy" thing, but it can actually be dangerous.  My drama teacher would always tell us of how a set caught on fire during one of her shows and the whole auditorium had to be evacuated.  I sprained my foot during a rehearsal and then performed the show on it two days later.  I've seen people fall and hit their heads and then go on performing.  Playing sports is dangerous, but theater has its risks too, and we usually perform through the pain.


Break Legs,
Sydney