Sunday, March 31, 2019
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Friday, March 29, 2019
My Fair Lady 🎭 on Broadway I
My Fair Lady
🎭 on Broadway 🎭
Laura Benanti on Playing Her Dream Role in 'My Fair Lady
The Tony Award winner (and Melania Trump imitator) talks returning to Broadway as Eliza Doolittle in the Lerner and Loewe classic.
Laura Benanti has wanted to play Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady since she was 4 years old. Her mother would play the Broadway cast album for her, leading her to fall in love with both original star Julie
Andrews and the role of the Cockney flower seller who gets an upper-class makeover.
But when casting began for the 2018 Broadway revival of the Lerner and Loewe classic based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, Benanti had a new baby at home and couldn't find the time to prepare.
"It was a beautiful lesson in letting go because I genuinely had let
it go," she says. "I had to make peace with the fact that this was the
part I've wanted to play my whole life, but it wasn't going to happen
because I have also wanted to be a mom."
However, it was also a lesson in "what's meant to be yours, will be yours," as Benanti is now lighting up the Lincoln Center stage as the titular lady in the revival, having stepped into the production once original lead Lauren Ambrose finished her contract. Benanti's daughter Ella, now 2 years old, often joins her backstage, while "Mommy sings for the people." (They share a love of Andrews, as evidenced by a recent Instagram video, in which Ella commands the Amazon Echo to play Mary Poppins by Julie Andrews.)
Benanti recently went Off Script with The Hollywood Reporter to chat about why Eliza is a heroine for the #MeToo era, passing down her own dramatic side to Ella and the potential similarities between her Melania Trump impersonation on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and My Fair Lady.
Benanti recently went Off Script with The Hollywood Reporter to chat about why Eliza is a heroine for the #MeToo era, passing down her own dramatic side to Ella and the potential similarities between her Melania Trump impersonation on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and My Fair Lady.
You've
wanted to play this character for such a long time. Were there any surprises now that you've finally gotten to tackle the role?
There was nothing that shocked me truly because I have been preparing for this since I was 4. For me, the thing that is most challenging is the vulnerability of it. Through the years, in order to be a functioning human in the world, I've had to learn to manage my emotions a little bit. And so getting back to the vulnerability of someone who is at the mercy of society, that has been the most challenging part.
One of the reasons I wanted to play this character is I've admired her resilience my whole life. This is a woman who has tremendous resilience and agency at a time where women, and especially women of her class, did not. I really admire how Shaw points out the disparity between classes and genders, and that is really discussed within this musical. She's the one who hears he can help her, and she goes to his house to ask for help. It's not like he bullies her into it; she chooses to go to him and says. "Help me, I want to be a lady in a flower shop." And the thing that I love that [director] Bart [Sher] has done with this production is to bring it back to the Pygmalion ending. It really is a My Fair Lady for a Time's Up generation.
There was nothing that shocked me truly because I have been preparing for this since I was 4. For me, the thing that is most challenging is the vulnerability of it. Through the years, in order to be a functioning human in the world, I've had to learn to manage my emotions a little bit. And so getting back to the vulnerability of someone who is at the mercy of society, that has been the most challenging part.
🎭 Video 🎭
Laura Benanti
"Wouldn't It Be Loverly"
"Wouldn't It Be Loverly"
(Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade NBC 2018)
What do you admire about Eliza?One of the reasons I wanted to play this character is I've admired her resilience my whole life. This is a woman who has tremendous resilience and agency at a time where women, and especially women of her class, did not. I really admire how Shaw points out the disparity between classes and genders, and that is really discussed within this musical. She's the one who hears he can help her, and she goes to his house to ask for help. It's not like he bullies her into it; she chooses to go to him and says. "Help me, I want to be a lady in a flower shop." And the thing that I love that [director] Bart [Sher] has done with this production is to bring it back to the Pygmalion ending. It really is a My Fair Lady for a Time's Up generation.
Does playing the role during the #MeToo and Time's Up era have special significance?It
feels important; it feels really powerful. There was a woman in the front row last week, and at the very end of the play, when it's a little unclear what's going to happen, I could hear her breathing change. When I did what happens at the end of the show, she audibly said, "Yes." There have been so many young women who have come to see the show who say that they never really connected to it before because they couldn't fathom why this person would stay with someone who's treated her that way. It's really gratifying to feel the palpable sense of heads nodding that happens in the audience when she makes the choice to respect herself.
I feel like the ending can be interpreted in a myriad of ways.
It can. Some people choose to believe there's hope for them. I choose a different outlook. It's so funny because Bart is very esoteric about it. I asked, "Where am I going?" He's like, "You're going into the future." Okay, cool, so I'm going to where a woman is president. That's my dream.
You've been very vocal politically on social media, particularly when it comes to families separated at the border. Can you talk about the album you put together alongside artists like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth and Ingrid Michaelson?
It's called Singing You Home, and it's children's songs for family reunification. It's a dual-language children's album, and all the proceeds go to reuniting the families separated at the border, and you can get it wherever music is streaming. You can buy it on iTunes or Amazon or you can go to ghostlight.com, which is the label. I think it's a really important venture, and it's an all-star cast. Unfortunately, this issue is only getting worse. It's a humanitarian crisis created by our government and I just feel like it's vitally important that we all do what we can.
I feel like the ending can be interpreted in a myriad of ways.
It can. Some people choose to believe there's hope for them. I choose a different outlook. It's so funny because Bart is very esoteric about it. I asked, "Where am I going?" He's like, "You're going into the future." Okay, cool, so I'm going to where a woman is president. That's my dream.
You've been very vocal politically on social media, particularly when it comes to families separated at the border. Can you talk about the album you put together alongside artists like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth and Ingrid Michaelson?
It's called Singing You Home, and it's children's songs for family reunification. It's a dual-language children's album, and all the proceeds go to reuniting the families separated at the border, and you can get it wherever music is streaming. You can buy it on iTunes or Amazon or you can go to ghostlight.com, which is the label. I think it's a really important venture, and it's an all-star cast. Unfortunately, this issue is only getting worse. It's a humanitarian crisis created by our government and I just feel like it's vitally important that we all do what we can.
READ MORE:
The Cast of My Fair Lady Perform
@ The 2018 Tony Awards
@ The 2018 Tony Awards
The cast of the My Fair Lady revival perform "The Rain in Spain / I Could Have Danced All Night / Get Me to the Church on Time" at the 72nd annual Tony Awards
This is My Fair Lady
🎭 2018 Tony Awards 🎭
🎭 2018 Tony Awards 🎭
See: 
My Fair Lady 🎭 Broadway II
My Fair Lady
2018 🎭 Tony Awards
"I Could Have Danced All Night"
"The Rain in Spain"
New My Fair Lady Trailer
Featuring Laura Benanti and Danny Burstein
Featuring Laura Benanti and Danny Burstein
"Get Me to the Church on Time"
A new view
"On the Street Where You Live"
The Cast of My Fair Lady at The 2018 Tony Awards
"The Rain in Spain / I Could Have Danced All Night / Get Me to the Church on Time"
"The Rain in Spain / I Could Have Danced All Night / Get Me to the Church on Time"
Harry's House Tour🎭 at My Fair Lady
Laura Benanti
"Wouldn't It Be Loverly"
(Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade NBC 2018)
My Fair Lady🎭 Broadway Montage🎭
My Fair Lady🎭 Broadway Montage🎭
The most beloved musical of all time, Lerner & Loewe’s MY FAIR LADY, returns to Broadway in a lavish new production from Lincoln Center Theater, which brought you the Tony®-winning revivals of South Pacific and The King and I. Directed by Tony winner Bartlett Sher, the stellar cast - led by Lauren Ambrose, Harry Hadden-Paton, Norbert Leo Butz, Diana Rigg, Allan Corduner, Jordan Donica, Linda Mugleston and Manu Narayan - tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady.” But who is really being transformed?
The classic score features “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” and “On the Street Where You Live.” The original 1956 production won six Tony Awards including Best Musical, and was hailed by The New York Times as “one of the best musicals of the century.”
The classic score features “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” and “On the Street Where You Live.” The original 1956 production won six Tony Awards including Best Musical, and was hailed by The New York Times as “one of the best musicals of the century.”
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkLimRXN6NKzuuJKVSrPbQtnoCC01jxMb
My Fair LadySoundtrack 1964
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Green New Deal 🌳Not an Elitist Issue🌴 AOC
'People Are Dying'
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Defends Green New Deal
NBC News
AOC on Republican inaction on climate change
After members of the Republican Party called the Green New Deal “elitist,” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tore into them for being callous, shallow, and hypocritical monsters.
Her response was beautiful and it was the kind of response that we’ve been waiting for Democrats to deliver in the face of Republican obstruction for quite some time.
Ocasio-Cortez’s righteous - and accurate - anger about poverty and the environment
‘This is not an elitist issue’
The occasion was the marking up of legislation aimed
at addressing homelessness. Rep. Sean P. Duffy (R-Wis.) introduced an
amendment to the bill aimed not at improving it but, instead, at
demonstrating how addressing climate change can increase the cost for
things like housing.
“I think it’s rich that we
talk about how we care about the poor, but all the while we’ll sign on
to bills that dramatically increase the cost of a family to get into a
home,” Duffy said, criticizing Democratic colleagues for joining
Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal
effort. The Green New Deal proposes a sweeping approach to combating
climate change, including retrofitting existing buildings to improve
energy efficiency — at great expense in the case of affordable housing,
according to Duffy.
“I don’t think we should not focus on the rich,
wealthy elites who will look at this and go, ‘I love it, because I’ve
got big money in the bank; everyone should do this. We should all sign
onto it,’ ” Duffy said. “But if you’re a poor family, just trying to
make ends meet, it’s a horrible idea.”
“It’s
kind of like saying, ‘I’ll sign on to the Green New Deal, but I’ll take a
private jet from D.C. to California,’ ” he continued. “A private jet!
Or ‘I’ll take my Uber SUV, I won’t take the train. Or I’ll go to Davos,
and I’ll fly my private jet.’ The hypocrisy!”
Rep.
Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Financial Services
Committee, asked Ocasio-Cortez whether she would like to respond.
Ocasio-Cortez did.
“I am very encouraged by the
sudden concern on the other side of the aisle about climate change, and
it makes me feel as though our efforts have been effective,” she began,
“at the very least in distancing between the dangerous strategy of
climate denial, which we know is costing us lives — at least 3,000 in
Puerto Rico in Hurricane Maria.”
But concerns about the environment, she continued, were hardly “elitist.”
“You
want to tell people that their concern and their desire for clean air
and clean water is elitist?
Tell that to the kids in the South Bronx
which are suffering from the highest rates of childhood asthma in the
country,” she said.
“Tell that to the families in Flint whose kids have —
their blood is ascending in lead levels. Their brains are damaged for
the rest of their lives. Call them elitist.
You’re telling them that
those kids are trying to get on a plane to Davos?
People are dying. They
are dying.
“And the response across the other
side of the aisle is to introduce an amendment five minutes before a
hearing in a markup?” she continued.
“This is serious. This should not
be a partisan issue. This is about our constituents and all of our
lives.
Iowa, Nebraska, broad swaths of the Midwest are drowning right
now. Underwater. Farms, towns that will never be recovered and never
come back."
She added:
“If we tell the American public that we
are more willing to invest and bail out big banks than we are willing to
invest in our farmers and our urban families, then I don’t know what
we’re here doing. I don’t know what we’re here doing.”
‘This is not an elitist issue’:
AOC on Republican inaction on climate change
Ocasio-Cortez
is addressing two points at once: the effects of air and water
pollution on poorer communities; and the effects of climate change on
those same communities. Both are accurate, according to scientific
research.
Both globally and in the United States, poorer people are more likely to be exposed
to air pollution. This makes sense: Housing in industrial areas or near
major roadways is less expensive, meaning it is more accessible to
low-income Americans — who are then exposed to particulates and other
pollutants like nitrogen dioxide. The American Lung Association has robust documentation of this link.
Polluted water, as with the lead-tainted water in Flint, Mich., has a similarly uneven effect. Heavy industry can pollute local waterways, and smaller and poorer communities are less able to afford proper systems for filtering out contaminants.
Ocasio-Cortez also noted the flooding that has affected Iowa and Nebraska in recent weeks, flooding that bears the hallmarks
of being related to the warming climate. Those floods have revealed
another way in which poorer rural communities are affected by water
pollution, as the Associated Press reported
Wednesday: A million privately owned wells in the region are at risk of
being tainted by polluted floodwaters. Well owners are responsible for
doing their own decontamination once the floods recede, an expensive
proposition. Flooding aside, rural areas were already more likely to be affected by water pollution.
The
broader Duffy-Ocasio-Cortez debate, though, focused on climate change.
There, too, Ocasio-Cortez’s arguments about the relevance of the subject
to poorer communities is accurate.
In November, the U.S. government released
its fourth National Climate Assessment, looking at the likely effects
of the warming climate on the country. Its findings support
Ocasio-Cortez’s point directly: Climate change is more problematic for
poorer Americans, not less.
For example:
Multiple
lines of evidence demonstrate that low-income communities and some
communities of color are experiencing higher rates of exposure to
adverse environmental conditions and social conditions that can reduce
their resilience to the impacts of climate change. Populations with
increased health and social vulnerability typically have less access to
information, resources, institutions, and other factors to prepare for
and avoid the health risks of climate change.
Across all climate-related
health risks, children, older adults, low-income communities, and some
communities of color are disproportionately impacted.
Why?
Disrupted access to public transportation. Disruptions to food systems.
Lower ability to prepare for and deal with extreme heat or increased
mosquito-borne diseases. Changes to agricultural and fishing patterns.
Living in more risk-prone areas such as isolated rural regions or places
with poor infrastructure.
The report also gets
to Duffy’s point about the need to upgrade housing across the board. It
recommends that planners consider “green gentrification” — making
community upgrades that increase property values but might then drive
out lower-income individuals. It warns at another point specifically
about upgrading housing stock and, therefore, making it unaffordable.
One way to potentially avoid that problem is to do
precisely what Duffy disparages: upgrade public housing, as well.
Focusing on upgrades only where residents can pay for them means an
uneven distribution of upgrades.
“If urban
responses do not address social inequities and listen to the voices of
vulnerable populations, they can inadvertently harm low-income and
minority residents,” the National Climate Assessment reads.
“This
is about our lives. This is about American lives, and it should not be
partisan,” Ocasio-Cortez said Tuesday. “Science should not be partisan.”
She could point to a climate report released under President Trump to reinforce her argument.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/03/27/ocasio-cortezs-righteous-accurate-anger-about-poverty-environment
Anderson Cooper mocks lawmaker's
use of props on Senate floor
AOC Blows Up Republicans
For Calling Green New Deal “Elitist”
Jazz Vocals ♫ Playlist
Jazz Vocals ♫ Playlist
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