In here life is beautiful.

My dude bff, Ben, turns 30 today and since I a out of the city, I surprised him with tickets to see Emma Stone (one of his long time actress crushes) in Cabaret on Thursday. I was a bit nervous that she would be out since she was out on Sunday but luckily she was in that night. We sat the bar stools in the orchestra – pretty much the same seats that I sat in when I first saw the show in 2000. Great seats – barely any obstruction (though admittedly there is a little).

I could hear a bit of sickness in Emma’s voice that night but she was really solid, fantastic even. She’s gotten more into the character since I saw her in her first week. She’s a great dancer too. Alan Cumming was on fire, as usual, and Linda Emond and Danny Burstein were incredible too. I adore them both.

Emma Stone is a great asset to this production and I only wish she were staying at the rest of the run. Ben was even more in love with her afterward.

Emma is in Cabaret through early February. Catch her while you can.

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Cabaret, part deux… aka Cumming a Second Time.

On Saturday the 15th, Kristen and I went to see one of Emma Stone’s first shows as Sally Bowles in Cabaret. I’d broken down and listened to a couple of MP3’s from her first performance and it was a bit shaky but it sounded like she had potential. 

Long story short: She blew us away. She had a totally fiesty, gritty, and strong take on the character which was very different than Michelle William’s. She was totally into and blowing the roof off the title number (Cabaret). She was just brilliant.

I’m going back to see her again soon.

Cumming was great too, as per usual. As was Danny Burstein and Linda Emond. They’re both just so fantastic. 

Like I said, Stone was amazing and I’m going to go see her again ASAP. 

When shall we three meet again?

I love Macbeth. It’s my favorite of Shakespeare’s dramas. I studied it while I was abroad in London. I worked at the last broadway revival starring Patrick Stewart (I watched that production 13 times in all it’s 3 hour and 15 minutes of glory). I was excited but honestly skeptical when I learned it would be coming back again this season.

As a one-man show. That was one act and an hour and forty five minutes long. What?! But the silver lining was that Alan Cumming would be the star. He’d be playing all the characters. Still: the prospect was intimidating.

But yesterday I went to see the recent revival and I was absolutely blown the fuck away.

The premise is that Alan Cumming is a patient in an institution playing all these characters in his padded cell. They make full use of the three cameras and screens watching him. In all fairness, there are two actors in the show with him but they are there mostly to watch over him occasionally and sedate him when necessary.

The concept is truly heartbreaking to watch. Any time Cumming gets a little too into the action he’s imagined, the doctors rush in to sedate and put him back into his bed where he curls up in the fetal position and cries briefly.

Alan Cumming is a force to be reckoned with. He’s incredible. During the curtain call, he seemed very humbled and surprised to be receiving so much attention for his out-of-this-world performance.

I love Macbeth and if you do too, this is a production not to be missed.

Disclosure: My company works on this show, but I am in no way shilling for them. 

Alan Cumming Will Bring Toil and Trouble to Broadway in Solo Macbeth; John Tiffany Directs

I can finally talk about how excited I am for this! Mainly because it’s simply Macbeth (my favorite of the Bard’s g) but also because it sound incredibly interesting. 

And Alan Cumming? I’m pretty unable to picture him playing Macbeth, but since he’s done it before and received rave reviews, I’m sure he’ll kill it again.

This will be completely different from the 2008 Patrick Stewart revival of Macbeth, which I was completely in love with (I worked there and watched it 13 or so times), but I’m open to a new interpretation. 

Alan Cumming Will Bring Toil and Trouble to Broadway in Solo Macbeth; John Tiffany Directs