Scanning the pages of Broadway ensemblists on social media, its hard not to take stock of the number of performers who are moving out of New York City. While some of these moves are temporary and others seem more permanent, what I’m struck by is the fact out performing artists have a reason or means to stay in one of the most expensive cities in the country.
“The Dress Rehearsal” premiered on April 13th, 2013. It was written by Julia Brownell, who last penned episode 6 of this season, and was directed by Mimi Leder, who last directed episode 7 from LAST season. The viewership of Smash hit its all-time run-of-show low this week, bottoming out at 1.80 million, which was down from the previous week by 80,000 viewers. Silver lining: it only goes up from here!!
No matter if watching the filmed performance of Hamilton on Disney+ is your first time viewing or your tenth, one thing is clear when watching: this is a very good show. Numbers like “Schuyler Sisters” and “The Election of 1800” not only tell story and develop character, they are also thrilling to watch. On stage and on screen, Hamilton is chockablock with good musical theatre moments. And as will be a surprise to no one, those thrilling moments of stagecraft are due in part to the show’s ensemble.
This month, we are resharing our favorite episodes from our 2017 season on Ensemblist Essentials. Think of them as the essential essentials. That spring, our co-creator Nikka Graff Lanzarone and I spoke to some of Broadway’s most venerable performers about the most monumental moments in the creation of a Broadway musical.
One of the most important reasons anyone pursues a career in theatre is because they had a teacher that inspired them. Through tough love, intense compassion, or a combination of the two, that one person can be the spark for an artist to believe in themselves, their voice and their abilities.
“The Surprise Party” premiered on April 6, 2013. It was written by Julie Rottenberg & Elisa Zuritsky, whose work was last week in the second episode of the second season, “The Fallout,” and it was directed by S. J. Clarkson. The viewership dipped again this week, this time by 1.1 million, bringing the total viewers to 1.88 million.