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Made of Flecks of Light. And Dark. And Parasols.

@oppreciate / oppreciate.tumblr.com

"I can't seem to stop singing whereever I am. And what's worse, I can't seem to stop saying things - anything and everything I think and feel." Musings on musical theatre, with particular focus on Julie Andrews, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, and - where the twain shall meet - the great Stephen Sondheim. Doris Day, literature, and P.G. Tips are also fair game.
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trying-to-get-somewhere-real
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broadwaydivastournament

Broadway Divas Tournament: 2A

Judith Light (1949) JUDITH lIGHT (Madame Raquin). A graduate of Carneige Mellon University, Judith Light currently co-stars in the Golden Globe-winning series "Transparant." She received a Tony nominatino for the play Lombardi, followed by two consecutive Tony and Drama Desk wins for Other Desert Cities and The Assembled Parties. In the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Wit she was awarded Helen Hayes and Eliot Norton awards. A star of the hit TV series "Who's the Boss?," she also received two consecutive Emmy Awards for her work on "One Life to Live." Light has been a longtime champion for LGBTQ and human rights and is an active participant in a variety of organizations including Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the Point Foundation." - Playbill bio from Thérèse Raquin, November, 2015.

Marin Mazzie (1960-2018) “MARIN MAZZIE (Clara). 1994 Drama Desk and Tony Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. B’way: Into the Woods (Rapunzel, Witch, Cinderella), Big River (Mary Jane Wilkes). Off-B’way: …And the World Goes Round. Nat’l tour: …And the World Goes Round (L.A. Drama-Logue Award), Doonesbury (Boopsie). Regional: Merrily We Roll Along (Beth), La Jolla Playhouse and Arena Stage; South Pacific (Nellie), Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and Birmingham Theatre; Guys and Dolls (Sarah), Denver City. Other Regional: Born Yesterday (Billie); Anything Goes (Reno); Lend Me a Tenor (Maggie); Romance (Josephine/Monica); How to Succeed…(Hedy). Love and thanks to Mom and Dad." - Playbill bio from Passion, February, 1995.

NEW PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA UNDER CUT: ALL POLLS HERE

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broadwaydivastournament

Each year, the Tony committee decides on four special non-competitive awards: the Regional Theatre Tony Award, the Special Tony Award, the Isabelle Stevenson Award, and the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre.

Three of our 64 Divas have been bestowed one of these honors. In the same year, Judith Light and Marin Mazzie were both awarded the Isabelle Stevenson Award and the Special Tony Award, respectively.

The Isabelle Stevenson Award is a philanthropic honor awarded to an individual who "has made a substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations." Other notable recipients include: Bernadette Peters, Julie Halston, David Hyde Pierce, and Rosie O'Donnell.

Judith received this award in 2019 for "impassioned advocacy to end HIV/AIDS and her support for LGBTQ+ and human rights," and was present at the Tony Awards to accept her honor.

Marin Mazzie was not.

The Special Tony Award category is a non-competitive honor that includes the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Special Tony Award. The Committee presents the later at their discretion. In 2019, Marin was one of three awardees. Costume and puppet designer Sonny Tilders and Creature Technology Company were recognized for their creation of the King Kong puppet in the titular musical (big flop). Jason Michael Webb received the award for his outstanding arrangements for Choir Boy.

Marin Joy Mazzie, who passed away nine months prior, was given a posthumous award for "her advocacy and leadership within the theatre community as a brave and dedicated voice for women’s health issues and organizations such as the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation." The Award was accepted on her behalf by her husband of twenty-one years, Jason Danieley.

In death, at last, she was Tony-winner Marin Mazzie.

#it is an unusual punishment to have to decide between these two lights
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hobgoblinns

so. so you’re telling me tim rice cheated on his wife with elaine paige. and then got upset when the news broke to the press. and then wrote a song called “argument” for chess in which a character yells at her partner for their affair being on the news. and decided to have that character played by elaine paige.

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trying-to-get-somewhere-real
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broadwaydivastournament

Broadway Divas: Obscure Sondheim

To highlight how vast and varied Sondheim's roles and shows are, these five Divas have a singular Sondheim credit to their repertoire that are a little more obscure than most. So obscure that my dream of finding pictures to dazzle you all with was quickly shattered.

  1. Bebe Neuwirth as Cinderella's Stepsister, Florinda, in a reading of Into the Woods for a 1994 movie that never came to fruition. This reading took place at director Penny Marshall's house and had a truly breathtaking cast: Robin Williams (The Baker), Goldie Hawn (The Baker's Wife), Steve Martin (The Wolf), Danny DeVito (The Giant), Carrie Fisher (Lucinda), and fucking CHER as The Witch. Bebe Neuwirth and Carrie Fisher as catty sisters tormenting Cinderella and getting their eyes pecked out. And then Cher trying to feed them to Danny DeVito. We were robbed of a masterpiece.
  2. Judith Light as Joanne in a Reprise! presentation of Company at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. Though not known for her singing abilities, Judith was nevertheless part of an all-star cast for this two-week run in 2004. The only review I could find was...not favorable. It's been twenty years, and I, for one, think Judith Light deserves her chance at redemption.
  3. Linda Emond as Mary in Merrily We Roll Along, 1988. The Seattle-based ACT company produced Sondheim's biggest flop musical through the month of May in 1988. Linda, then in her late twenties, played the female lead in a rare musical role for her. And I do have a picture thanks to ACT's fantastic archival system.

Pictured: Linda Emond (Mary) center, surrounded by Joseph Dellger (Franklin Shepherd) and Joseph McNally (Charley). And no, I cannot tell which man is which...

4. Susan Blackwell as The Giant in a 2019 one-night-only staged concert of Into the Woods. If you thought the recent Broadway revival was bare-bones, it had nothing on this staged concert at the Town Hall in NYC. There is one singular photo that includes Susan, and without knowing she was meant to be there, you'd never be able to identify her.

Pictured (L to R):

5. Paula Leggett Chase as Stella Deems in Follies, a one-night-only special event in Tangier, Morocco featuring a transcontinental cast of Divas. Since 2013 (excluding pandemic years), Rob Ashford has staged fundraising productions of shows such as A Little Night Music, The Crucible, and Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. Confusingly, though Paula sang Stella Deems' song "Who's That Woman," she was credited in the program as Emily Whitman (presumably they just combined the roles for this production and gave them to the dancer in the cast?)

Pictured (L to R): The late Haydn Gwynn (Phyllis Rogers Stone, my beloved), Marisa Berenson (Solange LaFitte), Harolyn Blackwell (Heidi Schiller), Jenna Russel (Sally Durant Plummer), Paula Leggett Chase (Emily Whitman), Harriet Harris (Hattie Walker).

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broadwaydivastournament

Friends of Steve, I have put on my investigator's hat and I've done some deep digging in the archives of the world wide web. And I have discovered a few (surprisingly high-quality) photographs of Judith Light as Joanne. Oh, I am deeply, deeply obsessed with the costume design.

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droughtofapathy

@trying-to-get-somewhere-real I saw your comment and a wave of determination swept me off my feet. Here are the fruits of my labor just for you.

For more production photos of the rest of the cast, please visit the wayback machine here.

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oppreciate

I've never seen pictures of Judith in this before - love it, thank you so much for sharing! In the spirit of sharing, here's an audio of her singing "Ladies Who Lunch" from this production.

#judith light
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