A Band And A Diva: 2 Hot Tickets!

 

The Band's Visit,

with the tantalizing music of David Yazbek,

and a book by Itamar Moses,

stars Tony Shaloub and Katrina Lenk, above.

A plot that reminds me of an Agatha Christie set up:

a group of people "marooned" (wrong bus!) in a place with

a whole OTHER group of people,

with no chance of "escaping" til tomorrow (right bus!).

No deaths by curare,

but a lovely, intimate show,

called by the NY Times,

 "one of the most ravishing musicals you will ever be seduced by".

 It's based on an Israeli film of the same name from 2007.

 The musical, which is the 4th Broadway show 

in the David Yazbek cannon

(The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, 

Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown came before it)

began off Broadway in 2016,

and has already won Obies, Drama Desk, and other awards

for that initial run.

Composer/lyricist David Yazbek, born in NYC in 1961,

wrote for David Letterman for a time (and garnered an Emmy for it),

has released 5 rock albums (!),

written commercial jingles...and the theme song for 

"Where in the World is Carmen Sandiago?"

Below with Dean Sharenow, music coordinator for the show.

 If you are a Patti LuPone nut,

like you SHOULD BE,

you'll want to add her most recent album to your collection:

Don't Monkey With Broadway.

Lots of incredible classics on this,

along with plenty of Patti trivia

 which means juicy Broadway nuggets galore. 

And while you're listening,

pick up Patti LuPone: A Memoir,

which has 17 times more stories!

 The list of shows (and awards) that came Patti's way

is as long as both of your arms put together.

Above, with John Houseman,

when she was part of The Acting Company 

in the 1970s.

As Eva Peron in Evita...

which brought her a Drama Desk and a Tony Award 

for Best Actress (1979)

 As Fantine,

in the original London cast of Les Miserables.

An Olivier (1985)!

As Norma Desmond

in the London cast of Sunset Boulevard (1993)

 As Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes (1988),

and below

as a tuba-toting Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd (2006).

 Above and below,

in David Yazbek's 

Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown (2010)

As Helene Rubenstein

in War Paint (2017).

Now what I wanna know,

is... what's next?