Broadway Fun 9: Future Stars

These actors (and 1 director) are stellar and (relatively) young. The actors are famous often for non-Broadway, but are great.

I do love this first guy, Cory Michael Smith. He was rising on Broadway, but got some famous roles in TV (will show) and hasn't been back in a while. He is gay, but that isn't why I love him. He is a GREAT actor.

• Utopia: An Amazon mini-series where he is cleaned up.
• Cock (in England) The Cockfight Play (in New York). Staged in an intimate circular theater (like a cockfight), in this drama, Cory is torn between two lovers, one male and one female. He is shattering. (my review)
• Breakfast at Tiffany's. A musical that never had a chance because Holly (Emilia Clarke from Game of Thrones) couldn't act her way out of a paper bag!
• Gotham City: He plays the Riddler in over 100 episodes so far. He has a comlicated love/ate relationship with The Penguin.

Ed and I have followed Russel Tovey since he was a kid in The History Boys. He was in the stage versions from London then New York and the movie version. His stage work is almost all in London, but these were in New York.

• Russel at a premiere 
• View From a Bridge. This was almost the complete London staging, but Russell was added in New York. He was great, but everyone was overshadowed by Mark Strong in this show. (Strong int he still with him.)
• The History Boys: This was his first big break. The show travelled around the world (London,  Hong Kong, Wellington, Sydney and New York) with the original cast.
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe: This was very sad. I had tickets to this show (with Laurie Metcalf, Rupert Evertt and Patsy Ferran!). But Covid stopped the show 9 days into Previews and my tickets were dor after that. This was one of only a few shows that will not return. This cast is too busy to reschedule what was already a limited run.

Finally, Ivan Van Hove. He is a director and visionary (okay maybe only to me) that takes shows and usually reimagines them for the sage. Often stripping them to their barewst forms to let the acting shine through. Some people hate him, I adore him.

• Publicity shot. I had never seen an image of him before.
• The Crucible with Ben Whishaw and Saoirse Ronan (Acadmey Award winner). A haunting version of the witch-trials - meant as a commentary on McCarthyism.
• Latest Angels In America. Van Hove restaged it with Lee Pace, Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane. It was powerful and the angels were both more realistic and more frightening.
• A View From a Bridge. The stage, minimalist, let some fantastic acting by Mark Strong and Russell Tovey shine through.