An article from City Theatre’s Backstage Blog

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SAM BENDRIX brings a song to our art
Published October 19, 2011

After a weekend of previews and a (well-deserved) day off, the Time Stands Still company was back in rehearsal yesterday afternoon on the Mainstage, continuing to refine the production for evening preview performances headed towards Friday’s opening. But yesterday we also welcomed Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir—the first music rehearsal for that show, next up in the season, was underway in the rehearsal hall as Time Stands Still was rehearsing onstage. Music director Doug Levine and actor/singer Luke MacFarlane (best known for his role on ABC’s Brothers and Sisters, recently in the cast of the acclaimed New York revival of The Normal Heart) are clearly relishing the standards of the American songbook, as well as some lesser known but no less wonderful pieces, that playwright Keith Bunin has assembled into the “cabaret” performance of the character Sam Bendrix. Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir will play in the Hamburg Studio, which we’ll be transforming into the legendary nightclub of the title.

Luke MacFarlane will be playing Sam in SAM BENDRIX AT
THE BON SOIR by Keith Bunin.

I intended to stay for just a few minutes at the beginning of the rehearsal yesterday but I ended up sitting and listening for a couple of hours. I noticed that playwright Keith Bunin was smiling along with me as we enjoyed the easy rapport that was quickly established between Luke and Doug, who will be playing Sam’s band leader, and the clear promise of a charismatic performance as Sam by Luke–who is a great singer. You can hear that for yourself by listening here to a couple of the tracks he recorded with his band “Fellow Nameless”  – I especially like “Ahead of Me,” “Bone Dry,” “Take You Home,” and “The Wild.” (By the way, you can find a link to purchase Luke’s album while you’re there.) Of course, Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir is much different stylistically — it takes place in 1958 and Sam, backed by a three-piece ensemble, performs songs that were written more or less around the mid-20^th century: classics from the American songbook by such musical giants as Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, and Oscar Hammerstein II, to name a few.

Buy your tickets to Sam Bendrix while you’re here to see Time Stands Still. Or before that at 412-431 (CITY) or online–before it sells out!

Brothers & Sisters 100th Episode Party

Clip: Victor Sampaio

An article from Spoiler TV

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Kevin & Scotty: A Strong Message To Society
Posted by dominic brown at Friday, October 29, 2010

Hello everybody, I wonder if you watched “Brothers & Sisters” last Sunday, and if you did, how did you react to Scotty’s confession. By the way, it looks like next episode “An Ideal Husband” is mostly concerned about the Kevin/Scotty issue. And that’s what we’re gonna talk about in this week’s article.

It’s nothing new that Kevin and Scotty relationship is one of the most representative for gay/lesbians couples. Their story went through the issues of every normal straight couple, showing that being married to a same-sex partner it’s nothing different than being married to a different-sex partner, and that’s what I think caught most of the attention of LGBT community, and not only it. Same-sex couples is one of the issues that are still opened in today’s society and it’s anything but easy to “deal with” and personally, I appreciate how the writers decided through these years to face this kind of matters. I think it’s a strong and important message to all the people that gays are normal, in the good and bad things.

Of course, some things are more difficult, like getting married and trying to have a baby and it’s something that Kevin and Scotty had to deal with during these years: they got married with a commitment ceremony, tried to have a baby through surrogacy, and dealt with discrimination (remember season 3?) on the workplace and of the parents. But all of this had the chance to teach something and to show something relevant.

Kevin and Scotty are loved by all “Brothers & Sisters” viewers because of the honesty, the clearness and the sweetness of their relationship, one of the best among the other Walker siblings (since Sarah divorced, Kitty almost divorced and cheated, Tommy divorced and cheated, Justin divorced). But now, the time has come for them to face one the biggest issue a couple could ever go through: cheating.

We must say that maybe the “cheating card” was overused on this show, but that opens up these characters to new horizons in terms of storyline and in terms of acting, and there’s no way they’re gonna let us down! Mostly because we know (and here I yell at you “SPOILER”) that they’re gonna adopt a baby girl, Olivia, and even this will lead to a stronger and more important message to society: gay couples can look after and raise a baby like all the other couples can!

LGBT community should be glad to these writers who made a hard choice in exploring so deeply these characters: it’s almost an experiment of how things can work out in a gay couple! I’m personally sure that all of this will help people who gone through issues like that and people who are still close-minded! On a personal note, I just would love to see Kevin and Scotty (maybe accompanied by the tremendous Nora) to a L.A. parade for gay rights! That would totally be as hilarious as important to show! And.. Since Proposition 8 got cancelled, we could get to see another Kevin and Scotty real marriage, who knows...

For now, just watch this Sunday, the brand new episode of “Brothers & Sisters”!


Dominic Brown

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Brothers & Sisters got extended by 4 episodes

I felt that Brothers & Sisters would be finished by this season because it was set only 19 episodes, but they ordered four more episodes so probably we will have another season.

ABC Orders More Scripts for No Ordinary Family, Off the Map, Brothers & Sisters
Oct 14, 2010 06:00 PM ET by Natalie Abrams

ABC has ordered additional scripts for No Ordinary Family, Off the Map and Brothers & Sisters, network reps confirm.
No Ordinary Family, which debuted to 10.5 million viewers, got an additional four scripts. Brothers & Sisters' previously shortened fifth season also has four scripts added, rounding out the total to an even 22-episode order.
Off the Map, the midseason medical drama from executive producer Shonda Rhimes and creator Jenna Bans, had one script added to its lineup. The series should debut in early 2011.

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