Anybody seen my Cheeto bag???

 Brooklyn The Musical

opened on Broadway in 2004,

a play within a play,

sort of American Idol meets Rent under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Music by Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson.

Our old NYTimes pal, Ben Brantley said THIS about THAT:

 "Try to imagine "Hair" without the dirty parts 

and with more goopy songs like "Good Morning Starshine," 

or a secular "Godspell,"

 with a bittersweet sprinkling of Jacques Brel-esque romance.

 Now throw in a helping of funky disco à la LaBelle 

and a soupçon of Motown as it was reinterpreted in the 1981 musical "Dreamgirls"...and there, you've got Brooklyn.

 The original production starred Eden Espinosa,

Karen Olivo, Kevin Anderson,

Ramona Keller,

and Cleavant Derricks. 

 The recycled-trash costuming was supposedly a high point of the show...

Cheeto bag headdresses, duct tape tailoring,

and stoles made out of bubble wrap.

 It ran for 8 months!

 The first show Howard Ashman

and Alan Menken ever worked on together:

Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You Mr. Rosewater. 

The songwriting team would of course go on to 

create Little Shop of Horrors, Aladdin, 

Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, et.al,

but in 1979 it was Rosewater! 

The show starred Jonathan Hadary, Frederick Coffin and 

Janie Sell.

It lasted 49 performances.

 Of course, nothing waves a red flag at Encores!

like a historical (wet puppy) flop.

In 2016, they produced a shiny new Rosewater with

Santino Fontana (above),

Brynne O'Malley (below, surronded by "Cheese Nips")...

and below THAT, James Earl Jones.

Two pics from the original 1979 production.

Actor/Vocalist Max Von Essen

had his Broadway debut in a revival of Jesus Christ, Superstar (2000),

and has been performing on stage, on national tours,

television and films

ever since!

Les Mis, Evita, Dance Of The Vampires...

both musicals AND plays on Broadway.

 2 On The Aisle listeners have heard him as Henri

in An American In Paris and

Anastasia (above).

 He hails from Long Island, and if you can imagine your first job

post-college was going on tour with Liza Minnelli,

well, then you'll know...Max!

 

Max has recently released an album of Broadway standards,

"Call Me Old Fashioned",

and we'll hear 2 selections from that recording on Sunday.

Backstage at (I think!?) Anastasia?

Plus he's gorgeous...just LOOK at that jawline! :)