#joel grey

[vintagehomecollection]

Apartment of actor Joel Grey. The artwork over his fireplace is by Richard Tuttle, which the actor, now 91, still owns today.

Rooms by Design, 1989

#vintage #vintage interior #1980s #80s #interior design #home decor #living room #New York #apartment #piano #fireplace #wicker #black and white #Richard Tuttle #Joel Grey #contemporary #modern #style #home #architecture

[citizenscreen]

Joel Grey in the original Broadway production of “Cabaret” in 1966.

#joel grey #cabaret #broadway #1960s

[idinamenzel]

💚

#wicked #wicked20 #broadway #kristin chenoweth #idina menzel #joel grey

[gifs-of-puppets]

The Muppet Show (1976-1981)

#the muppet show #gonzo #gonzo the great #joel grey #tonys 2023 #muppet #muppets #the muppets #jim henson #gif #muppet gif #muppets gif #gifs of puppets

[eddie-redmayne-italian-blog]

Last night after a performance of the thrilling new production of Cabaret we sang Happy Birthaday to the original Emcee Joel Grey who was there in the audience and celebrating his 92nd birthday. It was the kind of New York night you dream about with incredible New Yorkers everywhere you looked.(Yes that is John Kander). Won't ever forget it.

Thanks to https://www.instagram.com/p/C5qb1uiO747/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

#eddie redmayne cabaret #eddie redmayne #john kander #joel grey #new york #kit kat club #nyc #cabaret #august wilson #theatre #happy birthday joel grey #the emcee #the original emcee #cabaret new production

[broadwaydivastournament]

Joel Grey, Bebe Neuwirth, and John Kander photographed at Cabaret on Grey's 92nd Birthday (April 11, 2024).

#bebe neuwirth #joel grey #john kander #cabaret #now someone explain to me why none of the photos on any of the socials or press coverage of this includes bebe neuwirth?

[oldshowbiz]

what kind of freaks

#cranks #letters to the editor #joel grey #liza minnelli #cabaret #bad reviews

[bespokeredmayne]

Historic ‘Willkommen’

Eddie Redmayne welcomes original Emcee Joel Grey to the Kit Kat Club NYC on his 92nd birthday, along with Cabaret composer John Kander.

Repost @susie_babani on IG: “best musical I’ve seen so far - Cabaret (which has always been a favourite of mine) currently in previews - partially transplanted from the London version I was meant to see back in December 2021 but the cast all got covid and the performance was cancelled - so I’ve had to wait a long time and cross an ocean to see #EddieRedmayne as the Emcee and #bebeneuwirth…It’s going to be a smash hit. But more surprises in store as #JoelGrey who starred in the movie was in the audience (it was his 92nd birthday today) and so was John Kander who wrote all the original music. Plus a fair bit of star spotting in the audience - Anderson Cooper, Molly Ringwald, Candace Bergen and I think Katie Couric (only got snaps of the latter two and the special guests).”

And a special treat:

#eddie redmayne #cabaret at the Kit Kat club nyc #Joel grey #John Kander

[eddieredmayneargentinablog]

Celebrating Joel Grey's Birthday at Cabaret at the kit kat Club NYC, last night > Eddie Redmayne, Gayle Rankin and Joel Grey.

📷 Cr: iHeartRadio Broadway on IG

#eddie redmayne #eddieredmayne #redmayne #cabaret 2024 #the emcee #gayle rankin #happy birthday #joel grey

[fluxationsart]

I keep forgetting to post on tumblr

#kiss of the spider woman #cabaret #cabaret movie #joel grey #brent carver #the emcee #luis molina #kander and ebb #i think we're gonna have to kill this guy #caricature #fluxations art

[davidhudson]

Happy 81st, Michael York.

With Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey.

#michael york #liza minnelli #joel grey #cinema #film #movies

[citizenscreen]

Bob Fosse’s CABARET hit theaters on February 13, 1972

#cabaret #liza minnelli #joel grey #bob fosse

[vibe-stash]

Cabaret (1972) Director: Bob Fosse Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth Production Design: Rolf Zehetbauer

#film stills #cinematography #cabaret #cabaret 1972 #bob fosse #liza minnelli #joel grey #michael york #70s film #70s cinema #70s aesthetic

[hollywoodlady]

Liza Minnelli with Joel Grey, her co-star in the film 'Cabaret', at the film's premiere in Paris, 1972.

#liza minnelli #joel grey #cabaret #70's #premiere #by lady hollywood

[fayegonnaslay]

Liza Minnelli at party following Cabaret premiere, New York, February 6, 1972. Photo by Sal Traina.

#liza minnelli #cabaret #1970s #new york #nyc #candid #new hollywood #halston #bob fosse #marisa berenson #gloria vanderbilt #joel grey

[droughtofapathy]

Cabaret's Shifting Lead Placement

Welcome to another rambling theatre history lesson with DroughtofApathy. Today we're going to examining the fascinating history of Cabaret's ever-changing lead roles.

Ground rule: Tony eligibility for Lead Actor/Actress is first determined by "above-the-title" billing in the show's opening night Playbill. It was a far stricter guideline in the past, as you'll see. These days, many lead roles aren't put above the title (ex. Hadestown, Kimberly Akimbo, etc.) but will be placed in lead categories either because it's obviously a lead, or because producers lobby for it. Conversely, actors can have "above-the-title" billing and be in featured roles, usually because they're major names like Angela Lansbury and Elaine Stritch, who were both Madame Armfeldt in the 2009/2011 revival of A Little Night Music. In which case, producers will usually submit them as featured.

When Cabaret opened on Broadway in 1966, Jill Haworth (Sally), Jack Gilford (Herr Schultz), and Bert Convey (Cliff) got top billing with Lotte Lenya (Fraulein Schneider) in the coveted "and" slot just below. Note who's missing. That's right. When the show premiered, Joel Grey (Emcee) was just a regular old featured role.

Left: opening night playbill billing. Right: post-Tony rebilling with Joel Grey's ascension.

At the 1967 Tonys, Jack Gilford (Herr Schultz) and Lotte Lenya (Fraulein Schneider) were nominated as Leading Actor/Actress, respectively, while Joel Grey and Edward Winter (Ernst Ludwig) were both in Featured. Jill Haworth (Sally) was not nominated, but would have been eligible for Lead as she had "above-the-title" billing. At the time, Joel Grey was just another working actor. Not so after Cabaret. His performance elevated both the role and his billing, thus transforming the Emcee into a Leading Role from then on.

Subsequent productions would focus more on Sally and the Emcee, while Schultz and Schneider (and the non-singing Cliff) would become featured roles. However, the "above the title" Tony ruling was far stricter back in the day, leading Sally (this time Alyson Reed) to once more be featured in the 1987 revival.

Left: opening night Playbill billing. Right: poster billing

In 1987, Joel Grey was given the sole "above-the-title" billing with Alyson Reed in the next featured spot. Though Sally was, like 1966, technically a lead role, she was nominated in featured at the Tonys that season. (Grey was not eligible as he was reprising his role.) In this production, Regina Resnik (Schneider) and Werner Klemperer (Schultz) both got fancy featured billing and nominations in their respective categories. As Cliff, Gregg Edelman got the "and" billing, but in this case it was less elevated than either Resnik or Klemperer (note the boxes). Edelman was still early-career at this point, and not yet a "name" but Cliff was still considered an elevated role in the company.

By 1998, however, the roles as we currently think of them had finally slotted into place. Alan Cumming (Emcee) won for Best Actor, Natasha Richardson (Sally) for Best Actress and Ron Rifkin (Schultz) for Featured Actor. Mary Louise Wilson (Schneider) was nominated in Featured Actress. Richardson also received left-side billing, as she was a larger name (arguably) than Cumming at the time.

Left: opening night Playbill billing. Right: lobby poster billing

But though nominations seemed to make sense, it still didn't jive with billing placement. In the 1998 production, Richardson, Cumming, and Rifkin all had "above-the-title" with Wilson in the featured "and" slot. Despite this placement, Rifkin went in for Featured. Producers can lobby the Tony committee for actor placement if they think it fitting, and these days we're a lot more fast-and-loose with the definitions. Note however, how Wilson has "above-the-title" billing in the lobby board. This was presumably a contractual renegotiation that happened post-Tonys. Note how Denis O'Hare (Ernst) and Michele Pawk (Kost) have their own line below John Benjamin Hickey (Cliff). All three were/are modest, but known, names in the theatre world, about equal to one another, at least at the time.

By 2014, the old couple (Schultz and Schneider) no longer would get top billing. Alan Cumming only built upon Joel Grey's foundation to fully elevate the Emcee role into the undisputed leading man, with Sally the star-vehicle leading lady. Between the 1998 and up until the recent revival, the older couple's story--and Cliff's importance--had taken a backseat.

Left: opening night Playbill billing. Right: poster billing.

In 2014, the revival won no Tonys, but was nominated for both Featured Actor and Actress (Danny Burstein and Linda Emond, respectively). Cumming was not eligible as, like Joel Grey before him, he was reprising his role. This time, with a Tony in his pocket, and a much bigger name than 16 years prior, he got left-side billing. Emond and Burstein received equal line billing below the title, with Emond getting the left. Though they were roughly equal in the theatre world, and Burstein had a slight edge in terms of Tony noms, I'd guess Emond got the left owing to her larger screen presence/notoriety. In the poster, Bill Heck (Cliff) is left out of featured billing entirely, as are Aaron Krohn (Ernst) and Gayle Rankin (Kost).

Now we come to our latest revival, number four. Though it's still too early for nominations, we can assume Eddie Redmayne (Emcee) and Gayle Rankin (Sally) will be leads with all others featured. Historically, Schultz and Schneider are roles that receive nominations, and the Emcee a role that wins. Will that hold in a wildly over-crowded season?

Left: first preview Playbill insert. Right: billing poster outside the theater.

Once more deviating from past productions, the roles of Cliff (Ato Blankson-Wood), Ernst (Henry Gottfried), and Kost (Natascia Diaz) are plucked back out of the company to be given featured billing. This time, Steven Skybell (Schultz) is on even footing with Cliff, even slightly under with his right-side billing. This would be the least "elevated" billing any Schultz has ever gotten. Skybell is a respected theatre veteran but not quite a household name, even in theatre circles. Blankson-Wood, meanwhile, is a recent Tony nominee. It's all politics when it comes to billing.

Here, Bebe Neuwirth (Schneider) is given the coveted "and" poster billing, no surprise. Of the featured roles, she's inarguably the biggest name. A few decades ago, that might have been enough to get her above the title, but these days it's less common that a solidly featured role would get that (unless you're Patti LuPone in Company, and Bebe doesn't have quite the same sway or ego).

This, to me, seems like the most obvious case of industry politics and agent negotiation at play, and usually actors (and egos) aren't even involved in the conversation. Skybell and Neuwirth aren't on the same level, though their characters are. My guess here is that producers want to bill their sole two-time Tony winner separately, and Skybell's agents know he isn't big enough to dispute that.

Now, let's take a look at this marketing design. Redmayne's name is left-billed despite being above Rankin's head. While annoying for those of us audience members who might just see this as a design flaw, this is all contractual, negotiated to death. Redmayne also gets front-and-center positioning, while Rankin is in the background, off-center, but she gets left-side position, which isn't as minimizing as right-side would. Left-billing is given to the bigger name because English reads left to right. These are the kinds of things I think about when I see marketing ads and playbills.

#cabaret #cabaret broadway #history lessons with doa #ask me about the sweeney todd teaser key art please it's an even better example of contracts at play #yeah i *did* stalk the ebay pages until someone put a playbill picture up for listing i'm just that dedicated to the craft #bebe neuwirth #joel grey #alan cumming #it's 9:30 a.m. but we're going live with this because why the fuck not?