Late start to the day in NYC after a huge night. Enjoyed watching Shuffle Along Or The Making of the Musical Sensation and All That Followed with Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Billy Porter. The show has 10 Tony nominations including acting noms for Brandon Victor Dixon for Featured Male Performance as Eubie Blake and Adrienne Warren for Featured Female in the duel role of Gertrude Sanders and Florence Mills, The show is also nominated for Best New Musical and choreography from Savion Glover.
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the spectacular performance and were then fortunate enough through the efforts of Richard Riaz Yoder (who is in the cast and is marvelous), former teacher Rose Mary Baker and her former student Erin McCracken to get backstage after the show.
As a result we met and/or spoke with cast members including Brain Stokes Mitchell who introduced himself as "Stokes". I said later Mitchell was cooler in that introduction than I will be my whole life. Here's me and Kristy meeting the Broadway legend:
We also had the good fortune to meet someone who was in the audience watching the show along with us (actually one row back and about half a dozen seats to my right). I told Kristy that I thought it was very likely that our fellow audience member was likely to go backstage after the show as well and he did. Consequently we also got to meet and speak with another Broadway legend: Mr. Tommy Tune:
Both gentlemen were gracious and kind. We exchanged words with Mitchell about our profession as teachers which lead him to reveal that an incredible number of his family are teachers as well, Tommy Tune and I talked about Oklahoma. His mother was born in a small, small town about 35 miles from were I grew up.
Kristy and I were dizzy. She also spoke briefly with Billy Porter and I got to rub elbows briefly with Audra McDonald who regular readers may remember that I have a crush on and have had for years. You might recall that I met her here in NYC two years ago:
Finally, here's a shot of our host last night who is phenom in the show and was so generous to bring a couple of small town teachers behind the scenes for one of the most moving and thrilling experiences of their lives. Thank you again a million times over Richard Riaz Yoder:
Admittedly, it's not Telluride related but it was very, very cool.
ANDERSON AND DAY LEWIS: TOGETHER AGAIN?
PTA and DDL via Indiewire/Shutterstock
Now to Telluride-y stuff. The interweb went crazy yesterday as news seeped out that Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day Lewis who collaborated so brilliantly together in 2007 on There Will Be Blood may be getting ready to work together again.
Details from multiple sources suggest that the two are working on a film that would be set in the New York fashion world of 1950. Word also is that Megan Ellison's Annapurna Films will be producing.
The film, if it comes to fruition, would certainly be in high demand for any big name festival. Anderson and Day Lewis were in Telluride in 2007 for a tribute to Lewis that included a preview for TWBB.
Would they return to Telluride? That's unclear. Day Lewis has been a couple of times at least. 2007 as mentioned above and also 1989. Anderson has been rumored not have been enamored of his 2007 experience but who knows?
It would be a great "get" and I'll watch anything PTA does. we'll be keeping track of the buzz as the film goes forward...assuming that it does.
Here's coverage of the story from yesterday:
That's a wrap for Friday. MTFB returns Monday. Have a great weekend!
Contact me at:
michael_speech@hotmail.com OR
mpgort@gmail.com OR
via Twitter @Gort2
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