Monday, July 31, 2000

Hey everyone! I am in New York City at the moment, seeing some shows, eating at great restaurants etc. I will probably write more formal reviews of the four shows I have seen so far, Chicago, Aida, Annie Get Your Gun and Swing, within the next few days. I plan on writing a restaurant reccomendation column, places you must go to shop, and a hotel reccomendation column.

If any of you own a restaurant, or just have a good reccomendation you think should show up here, e-mail me and I may go try it :)

~Olli

posted by Olli @ BroadwayStars 7/31/2000 2:33:02 PM
To reach Olli, email him at olli@broadwaystars.com

Tuesday, July 25, 2000

I haven’t written much lately, and even though I said it would be a weekly column, I wrote two columns in my first two days here at Broadway Stars. I leave to NY tomorrow, so that will give me some new opportunities for columns that I could type up and post at the Cyber Café by the Eugene O’Neill. That is, if I want to deal with the irate woman that works there who seems very annoyed by 13-year-old boys who have lots of questions, and drink a lot of water.

I was told by a certain Tracy, to whom I have recommended several CDs, that I should write my CD recommendations. So here I am. Writing my CD recommendations.

Broadway Bound: New Writers For The Musical Theatre (Varese Sarabande) -- Some of my favorite actors and actresses sing on this CD, and all of the writers of the songs are very talented. I especially like the two songs from the off-Broadway musical “No Way To Treat A Lady”, sung by Liz Callaway and Jason Graae; Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick’s track “Let’s Get Domestic”, and Andrea Burns’ “When The Rain Comes”. I don’t believe this CD is in print anymore, as I couldn’t find it on Amazon, but try your best to find it, as you won’t regret it.

The Wild Party by Andrew Lippa (RCA Victor) -- I really wish I saw this show. I didn’t even have a chance, but if this CD would have come out earlier, I would’ve done my best to go to NY and see this show. Julia Murney, is, in a word, amazing. Her voice really shines on “Out Of The Blue” and “Queenie Was A Blonde”, although any track she sings on is great. Her co-stars, Brian d’Arch James, Alix Korey, Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs are also of equal caliber. Many have complained that the musical does not have a real 1920s sound, but I personally do not mind. Every song on this CD is equally wonderful, and I, for one, can’t wait to hear what Andrew Lippa writes next.

Faith Prince: A Leap Of Faith (DRG) -- I love Faith Prince. I always have. She was the star of my second Broadway show, The King and I. We go way back, if you will, even though we never have met. I think she is a very versatile actress, and I’m glad she has a CD to show for it. In the linear notes, Charles Irsherwood writes “She’s a singer who can define a character in a few bars of music, a talent so rare and valuable that her absence from Broadway, however temporary, is a crime.” I agree, and simply based on her one track from her next musical, Bells Are Ringing, “Is It A Crime”, I cannot wait to see this musical.

the story goes on: Liz Callaway on and off broadway (Varese Sarabande) -- someone write this woman a musical. Now. She pours her heart into every song, and why she isn’t a huge star is beyond me. Her ideas for songs, such as a contemporary version of “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair”, combining “Promises, Promises” and “Knowing When To Leave”, and a duet version of “Where Is Love” all work successfully. Her renditions of “Meadowlark” (I have only heard this song sung by Susan Egan prior to this, which did not have the lovely introduction music on Liz’s CD) and “The Story Goes On” are all great, as are the rest of this CD. If you haven’t bought this, you must.

~Olli

posted by Olli @ BroadwayStars 7/25/2000 9:13:53 AM
To reach Olli, email him at olli@broadwaystars.com

Monday, July 17, 2000

Hello theatre fans!

Thank you for the compliments on my first column. I appreciate that alot. Since I am a supposed to be covering the Florida theatre scene, I thought I would try to compile a list of touring Broadway shows that are coming to Florida this season. I realize that this is a large list, and if I am missing anything, please e-mail me. This is what I have so far. I will very likely update this often.

Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa, FL: (tbpac.org)
Annie Get Your Gun with Marilu Henner and Rex Smith -- October 10-15

Cinderella with Eartha Kitt -- November 28 - December 3

The Phantom Of The Opera -- December 20 - January 13

The Scarlet Pimpernel -- January 30 - February 4, 2001

Les Miserables -- February 13 - 25

Fosse -- February 27 - March 4

Cabaret, I believe starring Kate Shindle -- March 20 -25

The Civil War starring Larry Gatlin -- May 8 - 13

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Van Wezel Performing Arts Center, Sarasota, FL (newly remodeled) -- vanwezel.org
Chicago -- October 17-22 note: this is the Equity tour of Chicago, not the new non-Equity company

Jekyll & Hyde -- December 15-17

Show Boat -- March 25, 2001

Annie -- April 17-19

note: the Van Wezel also schedules dance, concert and comedy performances. For more information, please check their website

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The Ruth Eckerd Hall - Clearwater, FL -- rutheckerdhall.com
The Music of Andrew Lloyd Weber -- October 7

It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues -- October 10

Chicago -- December 22-23 note: I am not sure which company this is, but I will try to find out

Copacabana -- December 26-31

Bernadette Peters -- January 13

If You Ever Leave Me..I'm Going With You starring Renee Taylor and Joe Bologna -- February 3


More dates for this venue will be announced soon.

------------- Bob Carr Performing Arts Center - Orlando, FL -- orlandocentroplex.com
Annie Get Your Gun with Marilu Henner and Rex Smith -- October 3-8

Macbeth -- November 17-21

Fiddler On The Roof -- November 28-December 3

Les Miserables -- February 7-11

Cinderella starring Eartha Kitt -- March 14-18

Cabaret (I think) starring Kate Shindle -- April 3-8

The Civil War -- May 1-6

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Naples Philharmonic - Naples, FL -- naplesphilcenter.org
The season is not announced yet, although I know that the following shows are coming: (I gathered this from the individual show websites)
Copacabana -- December 16-23

The Scarlet Pimpernel -- February 6 - 11

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Curtis M. Phillips Center For The Performing Arts -- Gainesville, FL (I am not aware of a website)
Peter Pan -- October 27

Jekyll & Hyde -- December 5-7

Footloose -- January 14

ShowBoat -- March 23 - 24

Annie -- April 20-21

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Lakeland Theatre Youkey Theatre -- Lakeland, FL -- again, I'm not aware of a website
Jekyll & Hyde -- December 3

Chicago -- December 27

Footloose -- January 4

Godspell -- February 28 (I'm not sure if this is a tour or not)

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As far as I know, the seasons for the Kravis Center For The Performing Arts (Palm Beach - kravis.org), Jackie Gleason Theatre Of The Performing Arts (Miami - gleasontheatre.com), and Broward Center For The Performing Arts (Ft. Lauderdale - curtainup.org) have not been posted yet.

I used Ticketmaster.com, Copacabanatour.com, and ThePimpernel.com to compile this list.

That's about it for now. If you know of anymore listings or theatres, please e-mail me


posted by Olli @ BroadwayStars 7/17/2000 1:57:02 PM
To reach Olli, email him at olli@broadwaystars.com

Sunday, July 16, 2000

Hello theatre fans! This is my first column for BroadwayStars.com, so I will begin by telling you a little bit about myself.

My name is Olli Haaskivi and I am 13 years old. That last sentence probably leads you to think "Why is a 13 year old writing a theatre column? What could he possibly know?" I'd like to think alot. I know alot about the profession, and I keep up with what is going on on Broadway and around the country. I really do love the theatre.

My first theatre experience was Sandy Duncan in Peter Pan when I was four years old. The lights went down, I started screaming, and my mom had to take me out.

The first time I actually sat down and watched an entire performance was Cats when I was about six years old, at the Palace Theatre in Cleveland, OH (where my family lived at the time). The memory of the performance is quite vague, but I do remember parts of it very vividly. After that performance, my desire to view more theatre became extremely large, and soon enough, I wanted to perform in the theatre.

We moved to Florida when I was about eight years old. The school I went to at the time did a musical every year. The year I was there they performed Fiddler On The Roof. Through that show, I found out about auditions for a community theatre production of The Will Rogers Follies. I went to the auditions and I got the show. I played the role of Freddy (the youngest son of Will Rogers - the one that dies). From sitting in the dressing room, I realized that this was something that the theatre did not have to be just something you do after school.

My next big job (and my first actual job) was that next summer. I read on Playbill Online about auditions for the Pre-Broadway production of Greenwillow that was going to happen right where I live. I did go to the open call, and after three call backs, got the job. It was my first professional job, and was probably one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I learned so much from the people involved with that production, and my drive to perform was stronger than ever.

As I mentioned earlier, I used the Internet to find out about the auditions for Greenwillow. I believe that the Internet is an important tool for the growth of theatre. The theatre was very 'big' before the Internet, but now, one can find up-to-date theatre news with the click of the mouse at such sites as Theater Mania, Playbill, Talkin' Broadway, and my personal favorite, Broadway Stars.

I have wanted to write for a theatre website for a while now, and I am honored that James Marino asked me to write for his site, and that he has given me the freedom that he has, because I realize that not too many websites will do that. I plan to write reviews of what I have seen, as well as news from my region. Please check back often to see what I write, and if you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me.

Also, before I'm done, I would like to thank Tracy and Bonnie for helping me with my first column.

~Olli

posted by Olli @ BroadwayStars 7/16/2000 8:12:13 PM
To reach Olli, email him at olli@broadwaystars.com