Dark Monday • Neil Patrick Harris

Top: Neil Patrick Harris with Christina Hendricks. Bottom: The cast of 'Company'.

To mark the occasion of the wedding this coming Saturday of my niece Amanda to her wrestling madmen, Mark, I thought I would bring up a little Stephen Sondheim, for it is impossible to go wrong with Sondheim. When I combine Stephen Sondheim with Neil Patrick Harris, it only gets better, right? And when I start off with a shirtless picture of NPH, it is beyond good, and into the levels of tasty that shouldn't be allowed, at least not in respectable blogs. Well, thankfully, this blog is not the kind of blog that might keep you from enjoying a little Stephen, a little Neil, and a little "Marry Me A Little" from the 2011 production of 'Company'.

Neil Patrick Harris was just the cherry on top of this star-studded production. Also in the cast were Stephen Colbert, Craig Bierko, Jon Cryer, Katie Finneran, Christina Hendricks, Aaron Lazar, Jill Paice, Martha Plimpton, Anika Noni Rose, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Jim Walton, Chryssie Whitehead, and the always amazing Patti LuPone. You can purchase the DVD of 'Company' starring Neil Patrick Harris from Amazon. You can also rent of buy 'Company' from Amazon Instant Video. The production can also be found on iTunes, where you can rent or buy it!

Dark Monday • Elaine Stritch

This evening's taste treat comes from Elaine Stritch, The veritable Broadway generator, capable of lighting up any stage with with just the first words of any Sondheim song. Well, a song by any of the great songwriters who have written for the some of the most talented men and women around. Earlier this year, Stritch announced to the world she would be moving out of New York City, to Birmingham, Michigan, to be closer to family. The following clip was at the Royal Variety Performance in 1979, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London. Someone was smart enough to ask Elaine to sing "It's Today" from 'Mame', with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman.

Stritch starred in the national touring company of 'Mame' back in the late 1960s. She made her Broadway debut in 1946 in a show 'Loco'. Elaine went on to appear on Broadway in 'Angel in the Wings', 'Pal Joey', 'Bus Stop', Noel Coward's 'Come Sail Away', 'Wonderful Town', 'Company', and many others. In 1972, she moved to London for a decade, returning after the passing of her husband. Upon her return, she slowly lipped back into the New York theater scene, making a big splash in the 1993, appearing in a concert version of Sondheim's 'Company'. This is a clip from the performance, as Elaine sings "The Ladies Who Lunch".

Stritch now lives in Michigan, but has not ruled out returning to Broadway if the right role came along. But if not, there are plenty of ways she can still entertain us all. If you don't have the recording of 'Elaine Stritch At Liberty', her one-woman-show from 2001, you should. The recording is filled with wonderful stories from Elaine's life, both professional and personal. And, of course, some truly amazing performances. You can purchase 'Elaine Stritch At Liberty' from iTunes and Amazon. If you are a fan of the theater, or of this courageous lady, it is worth having. I can tell you I love my copy!

Dark Monday • Raúl Esparza

I decided I wanted a little bit of Sondheim for this post, and started checking out his shows. I opted for 'Company' and was exploring for more inspiration, and then it hit me, like a ton of bricks. How have I managed to go this long and not feature the very talented and sexy Raúl Esparza? I mean, come on. Look at that picture up there! And he was born in my home state, in Wilmington, Delaware! And his voice is really kind of amazing. And he come out in an interview in the New York Times as a bisexual, meaning I stand a chance. Well, I'll come back to that thought later, much later. He has starred in several Broadway shows, both musical and dramatic. In the 2006 Broadway Revival of the Sondheim classic 'Company', Esparza took on the role of Bobby, and did so with élan. Here is a clip of Raúl singing "Being Alive", one of the several iconic songs from the show. He is performing at the 2007 Tony Awards telecast, where he as nominated for a Tony Award, but inexplicably lost out to David Hyde Pierce. Enjoy.

While checking things out, I also came across this performance by Esparza when he was a guest of Seth Rudestky's show. It seems Raúl had sung a particular song written by Stephen Schwartz in some performances he had, even though he had not sung the song as part of the stage musical. Well, it would not be likely that he would be cast as Elphaba, so he would not have the chance to sing "Defying Gravity" from 'Wicked' on Broadway, or any touring company, any time soon. Thankfully, we have this video in place of the cast album.

For more about Raúl Esparza, visit his official website. You can also "like" him on Facebook, and "follow" him on Twitter. And to the best of my knowledge, Esparza has no album of his own, although he can be heard on original Broadway Cast albums, including the wonderful 2006 'Company' Revival release that includes "Being Alive". That Original Cast album is available from iTunes and Amazon.

Dark Monday - 65th Annual Tony Awards

By the 20 minute mark of the show, I knew I was watching something incredible. Neil Patrick Harris was proving to be the consummate showman, handling song, dance and comedy with a deft hand. His opening number, Not Just For Gays Anymore, should go down in history, and he did it so damn well. Give it a chance, and take a look.



It was not long before the first performance was given, by the cast of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Many were astonished the Broadway community refused to acknowledge the polished and powerful performance of Daniel Radcliffe, although when he & John Larroquette performed as part of the Brotherhood Of Men collective, I would say I forgot about Harry Potter and just registered a very talented young man!



In April of this year, a special concert version of Stephen Sondheim's Company hit the stage in New York with music my the New York Philharmonic and starring Neil Patrick Harris as Bobby, Craig Bierko as Peter, Stephen Colbert as Harry, Jon Cryer as David, Katie Finneran as Amy, Christina Hendricks as April, Aaron Lazar as Paul, Jill Paice as Susan, Martha Plimpton as Sarah, Anika Noni Rose as Marta, Jennifer Laura Thompson as Jenny, Jim Walton as Larry, Chryssie Whitehead as Kathy, and Patti LuPone as Joanne. It was filmed, and will go into limited release starting this week. The cast were together again at the Tony Awards, and performed Side By Side By Side.





I was also captivated by the brilliant use of puppetry in the Broadway production of War Horse. As someone who lives on a farm with horses, they had the mannerisms and movement down to a tee.



In yet another clever idea, NPH and Hugh Jackman had their own little Broadway Gypsy-style battle to see who was the better show host. Of course, my money sticks with NPH. But the real winner was the audience.



I was unsure what was going on when Paul Schaffer was out to speak of his own Broadway moment, but soon, as he began to play the opening bars of a song he wrote with Paul Jabara, the 1984 mega-hit, It's Raining Me, I knew it was time for a Priscilla, Queen of the Desert moment. However, special guest Martha Wash made it so very special!



I did wish I saw more of the cast of Priscilla, who got a bit lost in the "Weathergirl" shuffle, I fear. After all, the three leads, Tony Sheldon, Will Swenson and Nick Adams, are incredibly talented. That said, for me, those were the highlights of the show, most involving NPH. But it was an excellent show. OK, I was a bit put off that the technical and creative awards were tossed aside to make room for promotion of the anemic ballad from Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark and attempt to gain more attention for the 2010 Best Musical Tony winner, Memphis. At the end of the show, NPH proved to be versatile as could be, utilizing his impeccable sense of timing when he brought the show to a close with a rap written on the fly by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who shot to acclaim a few seasons ago for his work on The Heights.



NPH Out.