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#AdventwithClowns Day 20 – tick, tick…BOOM! (2021)

Lin-Manuel Miranda directs a fantastic new version of tick, tick…BOOM!, making a theatrical nerd’s wet dream out of this Jonathan Larson musical 

“Everything you’re about to see is true…apart from the bits Jonathan made up”

Some musicals you see and you think yeah, this could possibly change a sceptic’s mind about the artform. And then some you see and you think, this really is just playing to the crowd. tick, tick…BOOM! definitely falls into this latter category, hugely enjoyable but so densely suffused in the world of musical theatre that it might be too much for newbies to unpick.

It is directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) and adapted by Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen) from Jonathan Larson’s (Rent) semi-autobiographical musical about writing a musical. And structurally, we follow Andrew Garfield’s Jonathan as he delivers a one-man-show (called tick, tick…BOOM!) whilst flashing back to his attempts to finish his magnum opus, a musical called Superbia. Continue reading “#AdventwithClowns Day 20 – tick, tick…BOOM! (2021)”

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12th Critics’ Choice Television Awards nominees

Best Drama Series
Evil (Paramount+)
For All Mankind (Apple TV+)
The Good Fight (Paramount+)
Pose (FX)
Squid Game (Netflix)
Succession (HBO)
This Is Us (NBC)
Yellowjackets (Showtime)

Best Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us as Randall Pearson (NBC)
Mike Colter – Evil as David Acosta (Paramount+)
Brian Cox – Succession as Logan Roy (HBO)
Lee Jung-jae – Squid Game as Seong Gi-hun (Netflix)
Billy Porter – Pose as Pray Tell (FX)
Jeremy Strong – Succession as Kendall Roy (HBO)

Best Actress in a Drama Series
Uzo Aduba – In Treatment as Dr. Brooke Taylor (HBO)
Chiara Aurelia – Cruel Summer as Jeanette Turner (Freeform)
Christine Baranski – The Good Fight as Diane Lockhart (Paramount+)
Katja Herbers – Evil as Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Paramount+)
Melanie Lynskey – Yellowjackets as Shauna (Showtime)
Mj Rodriguez – Pose as Blanca Rodriguez-Evangelista (FX) Continue reading “12th Critics’ Choice Television Awards nominees”

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#AdventwithClowns Day 5 – Hamilton, Disney+

Only a year and a half behind the curve, I finally get around to the immense pleasures of the filmed version of musical behemoth Hamilton

“We are waiting in the wings for you”

I don’t think there can be many people left who want to see Hamilton on screen who haven’t done so yet. I held out though, not having really felt too much of the online watching experience that made up theatregoing in lockdown. Plus, I also knew that it wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon, unlike so much of the time-limited offerings from theatres.

It is a show I do enjoy, having caught first night and opening night in London, plus making a trip to the Richard Rodgers Theatre beforehand to see this original US cast in action. And I also made a trip once the show reopened this side of lockdown so in some ways, I didn’t really feel the imperative to see it in a non-live context. Obviously, I was wrong. Continue reading “#AdventwithClowns Day 5 – Hamilton, Disney+”

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73rd Primetime Emmy Awards nominees

Outstanding Comedy Series
Black-ish (ABC)
Cobra Kai (Netflix)
Emily in Paris (Netflix)
The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
Hacks (HBO Max)
The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
PEN15 (Hulu)
Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

Outstanding Drama Series
The Boys (Prime Video)
Bridgerton (Netflix)
The Crown (Netflix)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Lovecraft Country (HBO)
The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Pose (FX)
This Is Us (NBC) Continue reading “73rd Primetime Emmy Awards nominees”

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News: Hamilton film to premiere on Disney+

It wasn’t meant to be airing until late 2021 but the filmed version of the Broadway production of Hamilton will now be airing this summer. With the cinematic release of In The Heights being pushed back to next year, it means that Lin-Manuel Miranda will still get his chance to take over our households once again.

The film was made with the original Broadway cast (whom I was lucky enough to see) just two weeks before Miranda left the cast. And as it turned out, I saw Javier Muñoz as Hamilton so this means I’ll finally get to see Miranda delivering the music, lyrics and book he wrote and for which he has subsequently won every award going. Continue reading “News: Hamilton film to premiere on Disney+”

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10 of my top moments of the decade

Ever behind the curve, I present 10 of my top moments in a theatre over the last ten years (plus a few bonus extra ones because whittling down this list was hard, and it will probably be different tomorrow anyway!)

© James Bellorini

Extraordinary Public Acts for a National Theatre

The establishment of the Public Acts programme at the National Theatre offered up something sensational in Pericles, an initiative designed to connect grassroot community organisations with major theatres, resulting in a production that swept over 200 non-professional performers onto the stage of the Olivier to create something that moved me more than 99% of professional productions.  A truly joyous and momentous occasion. 

Honourable mention: this year’s musical take on As You Like It proved just as heart-swellingly beautiful over at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch. Continue reading “10 of my top moments of the decade”