Macy's Thanksgiving Parade

Here are some of the performances from Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Enjoy!


Natalie Cortez and the girls of West Side Story


Sutton Foster and the cast of Shrek


The Cast of Ragtime


Trent Kowalik and the cast of Billy Elliot performing Shine


Gavin Creel and the cast of Hair performing Aquarius

I'm a Believer

With the most recent announcement that Shrek will close on Jan. 3, 2010, the cast goes to the recording studio to lay down the tracks to their curtain call song I'm A Believer. Check them out rocking to the song from this video from Broadway.com

A Morning Person

Sutton Foster and the cast of Shrek The Musical performed Morning Person on the Today Show. With the tap dancing, it's probably my favorite part of the show.

Commercial Break At The Tonys

During the commercial breaks, Tony audiences at Radio City Hall were treated to magic tricks by Neil Patrick Harris and some humorous videos. Here's one made by the cast members of Shrek. It's an audition tape by the fairy tale characters in the show. HILARIOUS! I wished we got to see them instead of the actual tv commercials.

Shrek Webisodes

Shrek The Musical has launced a new series of webisodes. It's entitled This is Our Story: From Swamp to the Stage. It follows the creative process of bringing this fun musical to the stage. Check it out!

(photo from ShrekTheMusical.com)

Big Bright Beautiful World

Brian d'Arcy James' vocal talent lets his inner human out of his ogre-y facade. "Who I'd Be" which concludes Act I is just beautiful. Daniel Breaker is well-cast as the ornery sidekick Donkey.
But of course I have to sing my praises to triple threat Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona. Her "Morning Person" number alone is worth the price of admission, plus the "I Think I Got you Beat" duet with Mr. James. Her comedic timing is impeccable, her voice pure, her dancing, flawless.
Christopher Sieber is fun, hamming it up as the vertically challenged Lord Farquaad. The role literally brought Mr. Sieber down on his knees.
Shrek the Musical was better than I expected. The recent spate of film-to-stage adaptations left me wary (yes I'm talking to you Mermaid) but Shrek didn't disappoint. The sets and costumes are beautiful and there are no surprises plot-wise because it stays faithful to the movie. In addition to pop culture jokes that the movie is known for, they also throw in a dash of Broadway references. The show sticks to the film's original themes of inner beauty, self-acceptance, tolerance for and taking pride in our differences, and finding commonality with others who seem to be our polar opposites. But it was the remarkable performances that I truly enjoyed.

Broadway Celebrity Sightings

Billy Elliot's Trent Kowalik
The Stage door gods were smiling upon us this past weekend. We all went to see different shows but converged upon 46th street. We managed to hit 3 stage doors on Saturday, and then Shrek the Musical the next day. Here's proof of our productive weekend.
Greg Jbara
Trevor Braun as Flounder in The Little Mermaid
Eric LaJuan Summers as Jetsam
Jon Rua from In the Heights
Doreen Montalvo
A real treat: Andrea Burns and her son
Robin de Jesus
Shrek's Jennifer Cody
Lord Farquaad himself, Christopher Sieber
John Tartaglia, a real class act
Reviews of Hedda Gabler, The Little Mermaid and Shrek the Musical to follow...

Ogres and Princesses

Next month, we're watching Shrek the Musical (not Sherk as the caption on the video says). Here's a little preview from yesterday's The View.

It's Me, Princess Fiona.....umm, x 3

Part 2 of Shrek on the Today show brings the 3 Princess Fionas featuring Sutton Foster, Marissa O'Donnell and Leah Greenhaus. The song is "I Know It's Today".

An Ogre on the Today Show

Monday, 12.8.08, The Today Show did a behind the scenes look at Shrek The Musical which will open Dec. 14. Meredith Vieira met with Brian D' Arcy James (Shrek), John Tartaglia and director Jason Moore.

DVR alert for today 12.9.08 as the cast of Shrek will be back on the program to sing "I Know it's Today" live.

Broadway Goes Green

First it was the green girl Elphaba, then came the Monster in Young Frankenstein. Now Broadway is bracing itself for another green hero.......Shrek! Check out the first pics of Brian D'Arcy James as the ogre himself in Shrek the Musical courtesy of Playbill.com. Really cool make-up!