[Source]
Best Play(s): 'House & Garden'
Thursday, December 22, 2011
By Christopher Rawson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
--snip--
Best solo show: Jessica Dickey was magnificent in her own "The Amish Project" (City). Keith Bunin's "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir" (also City) is a cabaret that morphs into a drama, with the charming Luke Macfarlane as Sam. And of Alan Cumming's cabaret for the 25th annual Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force benefit (Public), I predicted, "it's going to take an awful lot of great theater to keep this evening off my annual list of the Top Ten theater evenings."
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Thursday, 15 December 2011
An article from post-gazette.com
[Source]
Bright Lights, New City: Out-of-town actors share experiences of getting to know Pittsburgh
Thursday, December 15, 2011
By Sharon Eberson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Actors who live in other cities come and go through our many local companies, but they take a little bit of Pittsburgh with them. How they experience the area for the first time may depend on where they are housed, the intensity of producing the show and their curiosity. Three actors performing at Pittsburgh Public Theater and City Theatre this month discussed the challenges and joys of getting to know a new city while working onstage.
Luke Macfarlane made it to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob and The Andy Warhol Museum within the first weeks of coming to City Theatre on the South Side, where he is performing the marathon one-man show "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir." The native of Canada has a home in Los Angeles, where he filmed the ABC drama "Brothers & Sisters," and recently stayed in New York while on Broadway in "The Normal Heart."
The Public's two-man team in "Red," Jeff Still as Mark Rothko and Jack Cuthmore-Scott as his assistant, come at Pittsburgh from two very different starting points.
Mr. Still, a New Jersey native, celebrated his 52nd birthday by working out at the Downtown Y before a performance of the show, which ended its run Dec. 11. The stage veteran who understudied the title role in "Lombardi" on Broadway spent a week here last year with the touring company of "August: Osage County" and took his son, Luke, to PNC Park for a ballgame.
Mr. Cutmore-Scott, 23, grew up in the Chelsea section of London and attended Harvard before making his way to Broadway as an understudy in the revival of Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" from March through June. This is the first regional theater job for Mr. Cutmore-Scott, who settled in New York four months ago.
Mr. Macfarlane, 31, and his partner in exploration, "Sam Bendrix" playwright Keith Bunin, came here having worked on and workshopped the show for almost two years. Exploring has been a respite from the intensity of performance days.
He has been out and about so much, Mr. Macfarlane wondered, "Where shall I start?" when discussing his Pittsburgh experiences.
"I am very interested in buildings and houses, and here in the city I've just discovered an architect of yours, Frederick Scheibler. So I've been doing sort of drive-abouts looking at his buildings from the outside. He did this building in Shadyside called Highland Towers. It's incredible, this 1913 building. I live in this 1915 house that was considered modern for its time but then I look at Highland Towers and I have this whole other sense of what 'modern for its time' means. So I've really enjoyed looking at buildings in the city whenever possible. Some of them are really, really well kept up, and some of them aren't at all, and it creates this amazing potential energy of possibilities everywhere."
On performance night, though, Mr. Macfarlane doesn't stray far from the South Side theater at 13th and Bingham streets. He eats dinner every night at Dish Osteria and Bar on 17th Street.
The stars of "Red" are staying Downtown, within blocks of the Public's O'Reilly Theater, and so far have not wondered too far since they arrived to rehearse for a Nov. 10 opening.
"I've walked around certainly and as a result I've gotten to know Downtown and the walk to Mount Washington is something I do quite often, and I walk up to the Strip District," Mr. Still said. "But it is a pretty monastic life, which may be something particular to this play. I go to the Y and I go here, that's mainly what I do."
When the weather and time have allowed, Mr. Still makes the climb up McArdle Roadway to see the sights from the Mount Washington overlook.
"Then Becky [Rickard, the Public's group sales manager] recommended another way to go which is a much steeper climb, and I did that on Thanksgiving. I haven't been up there yet at night to see the lights, which I have to do."
Mr. Still had that week here last year to know he wanted to come back and give Pittsburgh a closer look. In the role of Ken, Mr. Cutmore-Scott came here for his first road experience in theater and for the first time onstage suppresses his natural English accent in favor of an American one. He won the role and came to Pittsburgh sight unseen.
"I didn't know much about what to expect," he said. "I'd looked the Public up and delved as much as I could online. I wish I'd known that one of the actors [in Broadway's "Arcadia"] had worked here; I didn't know until she sent me a message that said congratulations on getting the part and 'Oh, say hi to Ted [Pappas, head of the Public]. It was Bianca Amato, who played Titania [in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" last year]. She was highly complimentary ... I knew Pittsburgh was pretty sizable, I knew the Public had a beautiful space and had a good reputation. And I knew the play pretty well by the time I got cast."
Getting to know the area was a little harder. He had been to the top of Mount Washington, gone skating Downtown and joined friends for drinks in Squirrel Hill, but he had a long list of places to see that had very few checked off. He'd had been told he had to have a meal at Pamela's, and The Andy Warhol Museum was high on the list for both "Red" actors.
Mr. Macfarlane, meanwhile, checked museums off his list with every passing day.
"There's so much I want to say about your city. The museums here, I haven't even talked about them," he said. "I met with the three people who are doing the [Carnegie] International show, and that is amazing. I am coming back for that. The history of that is incredible. And the Mattress Factory? It's one of the most unique museums I've ever been to."
After the Bon Soir closes shop on Sunday, he will spend holidays with his family and meet his new niece. "I'll be in Canada for New Year's, and then I'll be in L.A. for this crazy thing they call pilot season."
Although he is well-traveled, this is Mr. Macfarlane's first time at a regional theater. He has points of comparison from going back and forth twice from New York, where he was on Broadway in "The Normal Heart" last year, and his L.A. home.
"I love taking in all the different cities," he said. "Something that really struck me ... is that Pittsburgh has its own identity, but it's really like a secret to everyone else. If you showed a lot of Americans a picture of the skyline they wouldn't have any idea what city you are talking about. It hasn't locked into minds as an identifiable city."
It was suggested that anyone who watches "Monday Night Football" would know the Pittsburgh skyline, and he laughed. "Or when we'll see Gotham Tower, which could be the Cathedral of Learning, or Inspector Gadget ..." He laughed again.
All three actors were aware of the high-profile films being shot in Pittsburgh this year, and all brought up the city's intersection of culture and sports.
Mr. Still looks for opportunities to see day games when he is on tour, and that's how he came to visit PNC Park last year. "It's obvious from what I know about Pittsburgh is that fans here love their football and hockey ... but the Pirates have a history of winning and it is a great ballpark," he said, adding that he enjoyed the view of PNC from the Downtown building that was his home for more than a month.
Mr. Still's co-star heard from friends who lived here that "I could expect a pretty healthy arts scene, which I've found to be true. Other than that I didn't know a lot about the city, except that sports is really big, which I've also found to be true."
He may not have gotten out as much he'd like, but he seems to figured us out.
"Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir" ends Sunday at City Theatre (412-431-CITY; citytheatrecompany.org).
Sharon Eberson: seberson@post-gazette.com
First published on December 15, 2011 at 12:00 am
Bright Lights, New City: Out-of-town actors share experiences of getting to know Pittsburgh
Thursday, December 15, 2011
By Sharon Eberson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 |
| Luke Macfarlane |
Luke Macfarlane made it to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob and The Andy Warhol Museum within the first weeks of coming to City Theatre on the South Side, where he is performing the marathon one-man show "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir." The native of Canada has a home in Los Angeles, where he filmed the ABC drama "Brothers & Sisters," and recently stayed in New York while on Broadway in "The Normal Heart."
The Public's two-man team in "Red," Jeff Still as Mark Rothko and Jack Cuthmore-Scott as his assistant, come at Pittsburgh from two very different starting points.
Mr. Still, a New Jersey native, celebrated his 52nd birthday by working out at the Downtown Y before a performance of the show, which ended its run Dec. 11. The stage veteran who understudied the title role in "Lombardi" on Broadway spent a week here last year with the touring company of "August: Osage County" and took his son, Luke, to PNC Park for a ballgame.
Mr. Cutmore-Scott, 23, grew up in the Chelsea section of London and attended Harvard before making his way to Broadway as an understudy in the revival of Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" from March through June. This is the first regional theater job for Mr. Cutmore-Scott, who settled in New York four months ago.
Mr. Macfarlane, 31, and his partner in exploration, "Sam Bendrix" playwright Keith Bunin, came here having worked on and workshopped the show for almost two years. Exploring has been a respite from the intensity of performance days.
He has been out and about so much, Mr. Macfarlane wondered, "Where shall I start?" when discussing his Pittsburgh experiences.
"I am very interested in buildings and houses, and here in the city I've just discovered an architect of yours, Frederick Scheibler. So I've been doing sort of drive-abouts looking at his buildings from the outside. He did this building in Shadyside called Highland Towers. It's incredible, this 1913 building. I live in this 1915 house that was considered modern for its time but then I look at Highland Towers and I have this whole other sense of what 'modern for its time' means. So I've really enjoyed looking at buildings in the city whenever possible. Some of them are really, really well kept up, and some of them aren't at all, and it creates this amazing potential energy of possibilities everywhere."
On performance night, though, Mr. Macfarlane doesn't stray far from the South Side theater at 13th and Bingham streets. He eats dinner every night at Dish Osteria and Bar on 17th Street.
The stars of "Red" are staying Downtown, within blocks of the Public's O'Reilly Theater, and so far have not wondered too far since they arrived to rehearse for a Nov. 10 opening.
"I've walked around certainly and as a result I've gotten to know Downtown and the walk to Mount Washington is something I do quite often, and I walk up to the Strip District," Mr. Still said. "But it is a pretty monastic life, which may be something particular to this play. I go to the Y and I go here, that's mainly what I do."
When the weather and time have allowed, Mr. Still makes the climb up McArdle Roadway to see the sights from the Mount Washington overlook.
"Then Becky [Rickard, the Public's group sales manager] recommended another way to go which is a much steeper climb, and I did that on Thanksgiving. I haven't been up there yet at night to see the lights, which I have to do."
Mr. Still had that week here last year to know he wanted to come back and give Pittsburgh a closer look. In the role of Ken, Mr. Cutmore-Scott came here for his first road experience in theater and for the first time onstage suppresses his natural English accent in favor of an American one. He won the role and came to Pittsburgh sight unseen.
"I didn't know much about what to expect," he said. "I'd looked the Public up and delved as much as I could online. I wish I'd known that one of the actors [in Broadway's "Arcadia"] had worked here; I didn't know until she sent me a message that said congratulations on getting the part and 'Oh, say hi to Ted [Pappas, head of the Public]. It was Bianca Amato, who played Titania [in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" last year]. She was highly complimentary ... I knew Pittsburgh was pretty sizable, I knew the Public had a beautiful space and had a good reputation. And I knew the play pretty well by the time I got cast."
Getting to know the area was a little harder. He had been to the top of Mount Washington, gone skating Downtown and joined friends for drinks in Squirrel Hill, but he had a long list of places to see that had very few checked off. He'd had been told he had to have a meal at Pamela's, and The Andy Warhol Museum was high on the list for both "Red" actors.
Mr. Macfarlane, meanwhile, checked museums off his list with every passing day.
"There's so much I want to say about your city. The museums here, I haven't even talked about them," he said. "I met with the three people who are doing the [Carnegie] International show, and that is amazing. I am coming back for that. The history of that is incredible. And the Mattress Factory? It's one of the most unique museums I've ever been to."
After the Bon Soir closes shop on Sunday, he will spend holidays with his family and meet his new niece. "I'll be in Canada for New Year's, and then I'll be in L.A. for this crazy thing they call pilot season."
Although he is well-traveled, this is Mr. Macfarlane's first time at a regional theater. He has points of comparison from going back and forth twice from New York, where he was on Broadway in "The Normal Heart" last year, and his L.A. home.
"I love taking in all the different cities," he said. "Something that really struck me ... is that Pittsburgh has its own identity, but it's really like a secret to everyone else. If you showed a lot of Americans a picture of the skyline they wouldn't have any idea what city you are talking about. It hasn't locked into minds as an identifiable city."
It was suggested that anyone who watches "Monday Night Football" would know the Pittsburgh skyline, and he laughed. "Or when we'll see Gotham Tower, which could be the Cathedral of Learning, or Inspector Gadget ..." He laughed again.
All three actors were aware of the high-profile films being shot in Pittsburgh this year, and all brought up the city's intersection of culture and sports.
Mr. Still looks for opportunities to see day games when he is on tour, and that's how he came to visit PNC Park last year. "It's obvious from what I know about Pittsburgh is that fans here love their football and hockey ... but the Pirates have a history of winning and it is a great ballpark," he said, adding that he enjoyed the view of PNC from the Downtown building that was his home for more than a month.
Mr. Still's co-star heard from friends who lived here that "I could expect a pretty healthy arts scene, which I've found to be true. Other than that I didn't know a lot about the city, except that sports is really big, which I've also found to be true."
He may not have gotten out as much he'd like, but he seems to figured us out.
"Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir" ends Sunday at City Theatre (412-431-CITY; citytheatrecompany.org).
Sharon Eberson: seberson@post-gazette.com
First published on December 15, 2011 at 12:00 am
Friday, 9 December 2011
A review from Talkin' Broadway
[Source]
Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir
City Theatre
 |
| Luke Macfarlane |
Spend an evening away from the holiday hustle and bustle, and step back in time with Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir and the songs of Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Vernon Duke and Jerome Kern (to name a few). Luke Macfarlane is Sam Bendrix, the "man you came to see when you can't see the man you really came to see," at the 1958 New York nightclub Bon Soir. As it is outside the Hamburg Studio doors, it's a cold winter night in the Bon Soir, and it's truly a delight and a respite to immerse yourself in the cozy little world created by Macfarlane, author Keith Bunin, director Mark Rucker, and a snappy 3-piece band (music director Douglas Levine, Jeff Mangone & Paul Thompson alternating on bass, and R.J. Heid on drums). This is not a cabaret show, though there are an impressive number of songs performed by Macfarlane and the band (I counted 16, but I may have missed a couple of titles), but a rich musical story about Sam Bendrix, who came of age in World War II, made a life in New York bartending and singing, and found friendship, romance and family with the women and men he met.
It might be best to break this show down into components. Let's start with the superb list of songs performed. These are standards, nightclub songs of the '40s and '50s, but not the typical mix you might expect to hear. And each one is a gem. Yes, they start with Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," and there's the Gershwins' "Nice Work If You Can Get It," but we're also treated to Burt Bacharach and Hal David's lovely "The Story of My Life," "The Land Where the Good Songs Go" (Jerome Kern and P.G. Wodehouse), "Too Close For Comfort" (Jerry Bock, George David Weiss, and Larry Holofcener), "Blame It On My Youth" (Oscar Levant and Edward Heyman) and beautiful "The Folks Who Live on the Hill" (Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II). You could strip away the story, and this would make a fine cabaret show, but here, each song fits within the story, but neatly so (no hitting over the head with symbolism). I'll credit the song selection to Bunin and Levine, and say that it is a key part of the success of this show.
The story is another key component done well. It's not an earth-shattering story, but neither is it predictable. It's compelling, expertly placed in period and, except toward the end where maybe things get a wee bit maudlin, it's impossible not go along with the ride. Besides a telling of Sam Bendrix's backstory, there's also a lesson in bartending (Martinis 101, delivered to the band, of course, and a demonstration on how to make the beautiful pousse-café—made in a glass or, when necessary, a vase), as well as a deeper story of what it was like to be gay in 1958, or at least what it was like for Sam. Keith Bunin has carefully crafted this show (like that pousse-café); it's a treat to be able to sit back and enjoy a show without being distracted by plot holes or anachronisms.
Great songs and a great story, of course, are nothing without someone to put it all across. And Luke Macfarlane is absolutely sublime as Sam Bendrix. His work on television, and a part in the accomplished ensemble of the recent Broadway production of The Normal Heart, didn't quite prepare me for what he does here. Yes, he sings (and plays the cello!) just fine, but what is really impressive is how he carries the show for 100 minutes. It's not that it's a burden, and the band does play a part, but it really is all Sam (and all Luke), and the energy never flags. Not to mention how the charm factor is off the charts. A handsome guy, who is very natural and appealing as a club singer of the era—not a Rat Pack ring-a-ding club singer, but a sincere, earnest real guy singer who is comfortable with a microphone and an audience. The moves are all there; he doesn't seem to be acting like a nightclub singer—he just is one. The connection Macfarlane has with the audience, right from the start, is palpable. How well does he sing? In a local feature piece, it was stated that he hasn't sung since performing with a band in high school. But it's hard to believe he hasn't trained for this role. His style comes off a little like Tony DeSare, but Sam isn't "the guy you came to see," and Luke seems to fit right in character there: not a headliner, but he would be a pleasant surprise perfectly capable of erasing the disappointment if you had to "settle." Some songs are delivered solidly, with a great balance between strong and smooth. A few songs seem a bit out of his range in places, but it's not unreasonable to think he'll work out those details.
The sweetening components of the show are the expert band—great players always in character—and the cozy nightclub set by Tony Ferrieri. There's fine work from Angela M. Vesco (costume), Andrew David Ostrowski (lighting), and Brad Peterson (sound). The pieces all fit together so well, it's amazing that this is the first post-workshop production. With a little trimming of the last half hour (but don't cut any of the songs!), Sam Bendrix's gig at the Bon Soir has a great future.
Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir, a world premiere with music. By Keith Bunin. At the City Theatre
through December 18. For performance and ticket information, call 412.431.CITY (2489) or visit www.citytheatrecompany.org/. The City is also hosting a one-night After Hours at the Bon Soir! following the December 16 performance of Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir at 9:45pm. Billy Porter will host and special guests include Luke Macfarlane, Lenora Nemetz, Daphne Alderson, Chris Laitta, Bria Walker. Tickets for that event include a free drink and are $30 each ($25 for City subscribers).
Photo: Suellen Fitzsimmons
See the current Schedule of Pittsburgh Theatre.
-- Ann Miner
Thursday, 1 December 2011
TRIB LIVE | A & E - 01/Dec/2011
[Source]
Review: 'Sam Bendrix' a tribute to dreams of a bygone era
By Alice T. Carter, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Playwright Keith Bunin arrived in Greenwich Village long after the Bon Soir and the era in which it lived had passed into history.
So, his play "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir," which is playing at City Theatre through Dec. 18, is woven from threads of fact and fiction, reality and creativity.
"I guess Sam Bendrix is a version of the person I might have been," writes Bunin in his program notes. The play, Bunin explains: "is my attempt to pay tribute to the men and women who walked the streets of downtown New York long before I got there: the people who paved the way."
The play is set in 1958 in the fondly remembered Bon Soir, a tiny basement club that featured up-and-coming performers who included Barbra Streisand and Phyllis Diller, as well as lots of others like the fictional Sam Bendrix, who tends bar while hoping to grab a moment in the spotlight. "I'm the man you see when you can't see the man you came to see," he announces ruefully.
In an era when morals seemed as rigid as Sam's crisply starched button-down shirt and as narrow as his fashionably skinny tie, cabarets and their employees could lose their licenses for voicing an incautious word or opinion or showing too much skin. The Stonewall riots and marches against the Vietnam War or for racial equality were unimaginable.
So, when Sam takes the stage on his last night before leaving New York, it's not surprising that he's 45 minutes into the show before he gets to the heart of the matter.
Those familiar with the era and its coded language will already have realized where this tale of almost-requited love is leading.
But that in no way diminishes its poignance and anguish.
Playing Sam is Luke Macfarlane, whom some know from his role on ABC's "Brothers & Sisters."
Macfarlane's Sam is a slim, cool, attractive young man you might find in an episode of "Mad Men." As he waits for that special someone to fill the empty seat at the front-row table, he's alternately vulnerable, hopeful, resigned and cautious.
As he reveals himself and his story over an intermissionless 100 minutes, he engages the audience with a songbook of 20 songs of the era, such as "Blame It on My Youth," "It Never Was You," "That's Him" and "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To." He also demonstrates how to customize a martini and construct a multilayered pousse-cafe cocktail, and plays the cello.
He's a pleasant and intelligent singer who uses the songs to advance the journey of his story, which is the central mission.
Scenic designer Tony Ferrieri and lighting designer Andrew David Ostrowski provide the proper setting -- a dimly lit basement cabaret space with wood paneling and floors, tiny tables and the subtle haze once generated by cigarette-smoking patrons.
Offering musical support is drummer R.J. Heid, musical director and pianist Douglas Levine and -- depending on the performance you see -- either Jeff Mangone or Paul Thompson on bass. The musicians, most notably Levine, provide cameo performances during the proceedings.
The production at City Theatre marks the play's world premiere. Although some trimming and tightening is likely, it's already a tender, sensitive tale of love and loss that should have a future.
Review: 'Sam Bendrix' a tribute to dreams of a bygone era
By Alice T. Carter, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Playwright Keith Bunin arrived in Greenwich Village long after the Bon Soir and the era in which it lived had passed into history.
So, his play "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir," which is playing at City Theatre through Dec. 18, is woven from threads of fact and fiction, reality and creativity.
"I guess Sam Bendrix is a version of the person I might have been," writes Bunin in his program notes. The play, Bunin explains: "is my attempt to pay tribute to the men and women who walked the streets of downtown New York long before I got there: the people who paved the way."
The play is set in 1958 in the fondly remembered Bon Soir, a tiny basement club that featured up-and-coming performers who included Barbra Streisand and Phyllis Diller, as well as lots of others like the fictional Sam Bendrix, who tends bar while hoping to grab a moment in the spotlight. "I'm the man you see when you can't see the man you came to see," he announces ruefully.
In an era when morals seemed as rigid as Sam's crisply starched button-down shirt and as narrow as his fashionably skinny tie, cabarets and their employees could lose their licenses for voicing an incautious word or opinion or showing too much skin. The Stonewall riots and marches against the Vietnam War or for racial equality were unimaginable.
So, when Sam takes the stage on his last night before leaving New York, it's not surprising that he's 45 minutes into the show before he gets to the heart of the matter.
Those familiar with the era and its coded language will already have realized where this tale of almost-requited love is leading.
But that in no way diminishes its poignance and anguish.
Playing Sam is Luke Macfarlane, whom some know from his role on ABC's "Brothers & Sisters."
Macfarlane's Sam is a slim, cool, attractive young man you might find in an episode of "Mad Men." As he waits for that special someone to fill the empty seat at the front-row table, he's alternately vulnerable, hopeful, resigned and cautious.
As he reveals himself and his story over an intermissionless 100 minutes, he engages the audience with a songbook of 20 songs of the era, such as "Blame It on My Youth," "It Never Was You," "That's Him" and "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To." He also demonstrates how to customize a martini and construct a multilayered pousse-cafe cocktail, and plays the cello.
He's a pleasant and intelligent singer who uses the songs to advance the journey of his story, which is the central mission.
Scenic designer Tony Ferrieri and lighting designer Andrew David Ostrowski provide the proper setting -- a dimly lit basement cabaret space with wood paneling and floors, tiny tables and the subtle haze once generated by cigarette-smoking patrons.
Offering musical support is drummer R.J. Heid, musical director and pianist Douglas Levine and -- depending on the performance you see -- either Jeff Mangone or Paul Thompson on bass. The musicians, most notably Levine, provide cameo performances during the proceedings.
The production at City Theatre marks the play's world premiere. Although some trimming and tightening is likely, it's already a tender, sensitive tale of love and loss that should have a future.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Pittsburgh CityPaper - 23/Nov/2011
[Source]
NOVEMBER 23, 2011
Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir
While the show at present isn't what playwright Keith Bunin wants it to be, what it is is swell.
BY TED HOOVER
Boy -- if there was ever a show with my name written all over it, it's Keith Bunin's Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir, now world-premiering at City Theatre. Mark Rucker directs Luke Macfarlane (late of TV's Brothers & Sisters) in the role of Sam Bendrix -- a bartender at the legendary New York cabaret in 1958 -- who has coerced the owners into letting him perform for one night only. And thanks to a few too many cocktails, his between-song patter turns into self-confession.
Tony Ferrieri has designed the sumptuous recreation of the Bon Soir, made even more atmospheric by Andrew David Ostrowski's moody and expressive lighting.
Pittsburgh's musical genius, Douglas Levine, is not only music director but plays the nightclub pianist, and his terrific jazz combo runs through a list of American Songbook standards which could have been lifted directly from my iTunes.
So I was totally prepared to fall in love.
And yet I have to say that I was less than enthralled. It's not bad, certainly, and never less than entertaining. But on the whole, the show feels generic and unmoored.
Bunin has set his play in the '50s and, for the life of me, I can't tell why. Nothing in the show's plot or attitude is either necessary to, or even formed by, that time. The character of Bendrix processes the world around him with a sensibility so firmly rooted in the 21st century that there's no way to emotionally locate him in Bunin's chosen period.
But while the show at present isn't what Bunin wants it to be, what it is is swell. And a lot of that is because Macfarlane is just about as charming as anyone has a right to be; with his honest vulnerability, there's not a second we're not cheering him on. He also happens to be quite a good singer -- but, like the script, his voice is out of place. This was an era of brooding crooning (think Sinatra), not the bright, clear, unshaded singing Macfarlane provides.
As it stands, the show needs to amp up the authenticity. But until they get that, they've got the entertainment part covered.
Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir continues through Dec. 18. City Theatre, 13th and Bingham streets, South Side. 412-431-2489 or www.CityTheatreCompany.org
NOVEMBER 23, 2011
Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir
While the show at present isn't what playwright Keith Bunin wants it to be, what it is is swell.
BY TED HOOVER
 |
| Luke Macfarlane in City Theatre's Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir. Photo courtesy of Suellen Fitzsimmons. |
Boy -- if there was ever a show with my name written all over it, it's Keith Bunin's Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir, now world-premiering at City Theatre. Mark Rucker directs Luke Macfarlane (late of TV's Brothers & Sisters) in the role of Sam Bendrix -- a bartender at the legendary New York cabaret in 1958 -- who has coerced the owners into letting him perform for one night only. And thanks to a few too many cocktails, his between-song patter turns into self-confession.
Tony Ferrieri has designed the sumptuous recreation of the Bon Soir, made even more atmospheric by Andrew David Ostrowski's moody and expressive lighting.
Pittsburgh's musical genius, Douglas Levine, is not only music director but plays the nightclub pianist, and his terrific jazz combo runs through a list of American Songbook standards which could have been lifted directly from my iTunes.
So I was totally prepared to fall in love.
And yet I have to say that I was less than enthralled. It's not bad, certainly, and never less than entertaining. But on the whole, the show feels generic and unmoored.
Bunin has set his play in the '50s and, for the life of me, I can't tell why. Nothing in the show's plot or attitude is either necessary to, or even formed by, that time. The character of Bendrix processes the world around him with a sensibility so firmly rooted in the 21st century that there's no way to emotionally locate him in Bunin's chosen period.
But while the show at present isn't what Bunin wants it to be, what it is is swell. And a lot of that is because Macfarlane is just about as charming as anyone has a right to be; with his honest vulnerability, there's not a second we're not cheering him on. He also happens to be quite a good singer -- but, like the script, his voice is out of place. This was an era of brooding crooning (think Sinatra), not the bright, clear, unshaded singing Macfarlane provides.
As it stands, the show needs to amp up the authenticity. But until they get that, they've got the entertainment part covered.
Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir continues through Dec. 18. City Theatre, 13th and Bingham streets, South Side. 412-431-2489 or www.CityTheatreCompany.org
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
post-gazette.com - 22/Nov/2011
[Source]
'Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir' charms at City Theatre
Stage review
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
By Bob Hoover, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
'Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir' charms at City Theatre
Stage review
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
By Bob Hoover, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 |
City Theatre has discovered an effective time machine and finely tuned it to 1958 to re-create the mood and music of that year for its charming "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir."
It's the premiere of Keith Bunin's emotional biography of a gay man looking for love in the wrong decade framed with evocative romantic show songs of the mid-20th century.
Reminding us a bit of "Mad Men's" Don Draper in his white shirt, narrow tie and slick hair, Luke Macfarlane plays Sam with an understated tenderness and regret tinged with hope. Bartender and fill-in singer at the tiny Bon Soir club in New York's Greenwich Village, Sam is saying farewell to his unhappy Manhattan history with a final performance.
Blending great songs by Gershwin, Porter, Kern, Weill and even Pittsburgh's Oscar Levant with his sad tale of searches for a lover in the closeted '50s, Sam risks all by baring his soul to the habitues of the cozy club.
Once inside City Theatre's second stage, the intimate Hamburg Studio, audiences pass through that time machine into a genuine New York basement dive. All that's missing from scenic designer Tony Ferrieri's nicely realized set is a cloud of cigarette smoke.
From the cramped bar to the small tables and the cheap wood paneling behind the band, his Bon Soir immediately evokes the feel of the times. Add the hip music from the combo led by pianist Douglas Levine and the world is 53 years younger.
Credit Brad Peterson for sound design and Andrew David Ostrowski for lighting as well.
Under the direction of Mark Rucker, City Theatre's " 'way back machine" works its magic, transporting its audiences in a way only live theater can do. Mr. Macfarlane, who logged hours on the TV prime-time soap "Brothers & Sisters," gracefully holds center stage for most of the one-act show, which is probably 20 minutes too long.
While he movingly tells the ups, but mostly downs of his character's love life in the Big City, Mr. Macfarlane as a singer seems more comfortable in the lower registers. He and the band have a great rapport, however, a tight relationship that draws the audience in on the performance.
Playwright Bunin's vision of what gay men faced in the 1950s echoes the writing of Christopher Isherwood and more closely the fine Tom Ford film with Colin Firth, "A Single Man." It's a familiar story, told afresh thanks to the great musical framework that saves the story from mawkish sentimentality.
It's the premiere of Keith Bunin's emotional biography of a gay man looking for love in the wrong decade framed with evocative romantic show songs of the mid-20th century.
Reminding us a bit of "Mad Men's" Don Draper in his white shirt, narrow tie and slick hair, Luke Macfarlane plays Sam with an understated tenderness and regret tinged with hope. Bartender and fill-in singer at the tiny Bon Soir club in New York's Greenwich Village, Sam is saying farewell to his unhappy Manhattan history with a final performance.
'Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir'
Where: City Theatre, 1300 Bingham St., South Side.
When: Through Dec. 18; Tuesday-Wednesday, 7 p.m.; Thursday-Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 5:30 and 9 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.; Nov. 30 and Dec. 7, 1 p.m. matinees.
Tickets: $35-$60. 412-431-2489 or www.citytheatrecompany.org.
When: Through Dec. 18; Tuesday-Wednesday, 7 p.m.; Thursday-Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 5:30 and 9 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.; Nov. 30 and Dec. 7, 1 p.m. matinees.
Tickets: $35-$60. 412-431-2489 or www.citytheatrecompany.org.
Once inside City Theatre's second stage, the intimate Hamburg Studio, audiences pass through that time machine into a genuine New York basement dive. All that's missing from scenic designer Tony Ferrieri's nicely realized set is a cloud of cigarette smoke.
From the cramped bar to the small tables and the cheap wood paneling behind the band, his Bon Soir immediately evokes the feel of the times. Add the hip music from the combo led by pianist Douglas Levine and the world is 53 years younger.
Credit Brad Peterson for sound design and Andrew David Ostrowski for lighting as well.
Under the direction of Mark Rucker, City Theatre's " 'way back machine" works its magic, transporting its audiences in a way only live theater can do. Mr. Macfarlane, who logged hours on the TV prime-time soap "Brothers & Sisters," gracefully holds center stage for most of the one-act show, which is probably 20 minutes too long.
While he movingly tells the ups, but mostly downs of his character's love life in the Big City, Mr. Macfarlane as a singer seems more comfortable in the lower registers. He and the band have a great rapport, however, a tight relationship that draws the audience in on the performance.
Playwright Bunin's vision of what gay men faced in the 1950s echoes the writing of Christopher Isherwood and more closely the fine Tom Ford film with Colin Firth, "A Single Man." It's a familiar story, told afresh thanks to the great musical framework that saves the story from mawkish sentimentality.
Bob Hoover: bhoover@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1634.
First published on November 22, 2011 at 12:00 am
Friday, 18 November 2011
Luke and Keith Bunin was on Pittsburgh TODAY
Luke Macfarlane and Keith Bunin was on Pittsburgh TODAY on the 16th of November.
Original clip was posted on facebook.
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Various News
Post-gazette.com A&E / THEATER & DANCE - 17/Nov/2011
TRIB LIVE | A & E - 16/Nov/2011
Playbill.com - 16/Nov/2011
Playbill.com - 12/Nov/2011
Broadway World.com - 12/Nov/2011
An announce from City Theatre - 11/Nov/2011
Photo by Justin Merriman - 10/Nov/2011
POP City - 09/Nov/2011
An announce from City Theatre - 09/Nov/2011
TRIB LIVE | A & E - 16/Nov/2011
Playbill.com - 16/Nov/2011
Playbill.com - 12/Nov/2011
Broadway World.com - 12/Nov/2011
An announce from City Theatre - 11/Nov/2011
Photo by Justin Merriman - 10/Nov/2011
POP City - 09/Nov/2011
An announce from City Theatre - 09/Nov/2011
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
Sam Bendrix at The Bon Soir starring Luke Macfarlane
♪You'd be so nice to come home to
You'd be so nice by the fire
While the breeze on high, sang a lullaby
You'd be all that I could desire
Under stars chilled by the winter
Under an August moon burning above....(fade out)
Monday, 7 November 2011
Ask Luke Macfarlane: City Theatre's Backstage Blog
[Source]
Ask Luke Macfarlane.
Published November 7, 2011
ASK LUKE.
.Luke Macfarlane, star of ABC’s Brothers & Sisters joins City Theatre for the world premiere of Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir by Keith Bunin.
He will be doing lots of interviews with the Pittsburgh media, but we thought it would be fun to let our Facebook fans have a chance to ask him questions!
All you have to do is click the “submit a question” button below and add your question in the comment box on the facebook page. It’s that easy! We will shoot an interview with Luke where he answers your questions. Look for it on our Facebook page!
Ask Luke Macfarlane.
Published November 7, 2011
.Luke Macfarlane, star of ABC’s Brothers & Sisters joins City Theatre for the world premiere of Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir by Keith Bunin.
He will be doing lots of interviews with the Pittsburgh media, but we thought it would be fun to let our Facebook fans have a chance to ask him questions!
All you have to do is click the “submit a question” button below and add your question in the comment box on the facebook page. It’s that easy! We will shoot an interview with Luke where he answers your questions. Look for it on our Facebook page!
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
An article from City Theatre’s Backstage Blog
[Source]
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.
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-20th 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!
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. |
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!
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Broadway World.com - 07/Sep/2011
[Source]
Luke Macfarlane Joins City Theater's SAM BENDRIX AT THE BON SOIR 11/12-12/18
Wednesday, September 7, 2011; Posted: 11:09 AM - by BWW News Desk
City Theatre has announced that Luke MacFarlane, star of ABC's hit series Brothers & Sisters, will perform the title role in the world premiere of Keith Bunin's Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir. Mark Rucker will direct the play, also featuring music by legendary songwriters like Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein and the Gershwins. Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir plays on City Theatre's intimate Hamburg Studio Stage November 12 - December 18, 2011. The Opening Night performance is Friday, November 18 at 8 pm.
Mr. Macfarlane recently played Scotty Wendell on ABC's Brothers & Sisters and appeared in the 2011 Broadway production of The Normal Heart. Audiences will also recognize him from FX's Over There and the feature film Kinsey.
"Sam Bendrix requires an actor loaded with charisma and charm," states City Theatre Artistic Director Tracy Brigden, "someone who can tell an emotional story, and - most importantly - someone who can perform these wonderful songs. Luke's magnetic star power on the very intimate Hamburg stage is going to make for an unforgettable evening of theatre."
City Theatre will announce the entire production team, including musicians and designers, shortly.
The drinks and the music flow at the legendary Bon Soir. In 1958 Greenwich Village, a young singer and his band take the stage for a final performance before he quits New York City forever. While a chair he's holding for a special someone sits empty all night, Sam Bendrix tells a classic tale of an era not yet ready for the revolutionary changes on the horizon.
CITY THEATRE PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir
When: November 12 - December 18, 2011
Preview Schedule
Saturday, November 12 at 5:30 pm; Sunday, November 13 at 7pm;
Tuesday, November 15 and Wednesday, November 16 at 7pm;
Thursday, November 18 at 8 pm
PRESS / OPENING NIGHT
Friday, November 18 at 8 pm
Regular Run Schedule
Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 pm; Wednesday at 1 pm;
Thurs. and Fri. at 8 pm; Sat. at 5:30 & 9 pm; Sun. at 2 pm
Where: City Theatre, 1300 Bingham Street on Pittsburgh's South Side
Single tickets start at $30.
Students and age 26 and younger may reserve $15 tickets, subject to availability.
Seniors (age 60 and older) may purchase $22 rush tickets at the Box Office beginning two hours before show time, subject to availability.
Groups of 10 or more are eligible for discounts.
Call Kari Shaffer at 412.431-4400 x286.
Tickets are available at 412.431.CITY (2489) or CityTheatreCompany.org.
City Theatre is Pittsburgh's largest producing company located outside of downtown's Cultural District. Now in its 37th year and settled on Pittsburgh's historic South Side, City Theatre specializes in contemporary and new plays and has brought to Pittsburgh playwrights such as Adam Rapp, Christopher Durang, Eric Simonson, and Jeffrey Hatcher. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Tracy Brigden, Managing Director Mark R. Power, and a 45-member Board of Directors, City Theatre's mission is to provide an artistic home for the development and production of contemporary plays of substance and ideas that engage and challenge a diverse audience. www.citytheatrecompany.org
Luke Macfarlane Joins City Theater's SAM BENDRIX AT THE BON SOIR 11/12-12/18
Wednesday, September 7, 2011; Posted: 11:09 AM - by BWW News Desk
Mr. Macfarlane recently played Scotty Wendell on ABC's Brothers & Sisters and appeared in the 2011 Broadway production of The Normal Heart. Audiences will also recognize him from FX's Over There and the feature film Kinsey.
"Sam Bendrix requires an actor loaded with charisma and charm," states City Theatre Artistic Director Tracy Brigden, "someone who can tell an emotional story, and - most importantly - someone who can perform these wonderful songs. Luke's magnetic star power on the very intimate Hamburg stage is going to make for an unforgettable evening of theatre."
City Theatre will announce the entire production team, including musicians and designers, shortly.
The drinks and the music flow at the legendary Bon Soir. In 1958 Greenwich Village, a young singer and his band take the stage for a final performance before he quits New York City forever. While a chair he's holding for a special someone sits empty all night, Sam Bendrix tells a classic tale of an era not yet ready for the revolutionary changes on the horizon.
CITY THEATRE PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir
When: November 12 - December 18, 2011
Preview Schedule
Saturday, November 12 at 5:30 pm; Sunday, November 13 at 7pm;
Tuesday, November 15 and Wednesday, November 16 at 7pm;
Thursday, November 18 at 8 pm
PRESS / OPENING NIGHT
Friday, November 18 at 8 pm
Regular Run Schedule
Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 pm; Wednesday at 1 pm;
Thurs. and Fri. at 8 pm; Sat. at 5:30 & 9 pm; Sun. at 2 pm
Where: City Theatre, 1300 Bingham Street on Pittsburgh's South Side
Single tickets start at $30.
Students and age 26 and younger may reserve $15 tickets, subject to availability.
Seniors (age 60 and older) may purchase $22 rush tickets at the Box Office beginning two hours before show time, subject to availability.
Groups of 10 or more are eligible for discounts.
Call Kari Shaffer at 412.431-4400 x286.
Tickets are available at 412.431.CITY (2489) or CityTheatreCompany.org.
City Theatre is Pittsburgh's largest producing company located outside of downtown's Cultural District. Now in its 37th year and settled on Pittsburgh's historic South Side, City Theatre specializes in contemporary and new plays and has brought to Pittsburgh playwrights such as Adam Rapp, Christopher Durang, Eric Simonson, and Jeffrey Hatcher. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Tracy Brigden, Managing Director Mark R. Power, and a 45-member Board of Directors, City Theatre's mission is to provide an artistic home for the development and production of contemporary plays of substance and ideas that engage and challenge a diverse audience. www.citytheatrecompany.org
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Saturday, 28 May 2011
Playbill and NY1’s Talkback With the Cast of The Normal Heart (Video)
[Source]
The Normal Heart’s May 26 performance gave the opportunity for theatregoers under the age of 30 to see the performance for a special discounted price. The night also featured a pre-party at Sardi’s as well as a talkback with the cast after the performance, hosted by NY1 theatre producer and reporter Frank DiLella and Playbill magazine editor in chief Blake Ross.
If you missed out on The Normal Heart’s big night, you can check out the entire talkback here on Playbill.com. DiLella and Ross were joined on stage by cast members Jim Parsons, Luke Macfarlane, Lee Pace and Wayne Wilcox. Joe Mantello, John Benjamin Hickey and Ellen Barkin also made special appearances, and author Larry Kramer was on hand to distribute a “Please Know” note that informs audiences that the HIV/AIDS crisis is an issue that our society still faces.
The actors talked about how they got involved with the show, the themes of Kramer’s work, and the impact the play has had on their own lives and the lives of others.
The play is described as “the story of a city in denial.” The Normal Heart “unfolds like a real-life political thriller—as a tight-knit group of friends refuses to let doctors, politicians and the press bury the truth of an unspoken epidemic behind a wall of silence. A quarter-century after it was written, this outrageous, unflinching, and totally unforgettable look at the sexual politics of New York during the AIDS crisis remains one of the theatre’s most powerful evenings ever.”
The limited engagement runs until July 10.
To watch the entire talkback, look below:
The Normal Heart’s May 26 performance gave the opportunity for theatregoers under the age of 30 to see the performance for a special discounted price. The night also featured a pre-party at Sardi’s as well as a talkback with the cast after the performance, hosted by NY1 theatre producer and reporter Frank DiLella and Playbill magazine editor in chief Blake Ross.
If you missed out on The Normal Heart’s big night, you can check out the entire talkback here on Playbill.com. DiLella and Ross were joined on stage by cast members Jim Parsons, Luke Macfarlane, Lee Pace and Wayne Wilcox. Joe Mantello, John Benjamin Hickey and Ellen Barkin also made special appearances, and author Larry Kramer was on hand to distribute a “Please Know” note that informs audiences that the HIV/AIDS crisis is an issue that our society still faces.
The actors talked about how they got involved with the show, the themes of Kramer’s work, and the impact the play has had on their own lives and the lives of others.
The play is described as “the story of a city in denial.” The Normal Heart “unfolds like a real-life political thriller—as a tight-knit group of friends refuses to let doctors, politicians and the press bury the truth of an unspoken epidemic behind a wall of silence. A quarter-century after it was written, this outrageous, unflinching, and totally unforgettable look at the sexual politics of New York during the AIDS crisis remains one of the theatre’s most powerful evenings ever.”
The limited engagement runs until July 10.
To watch the entire talkback, look below:
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Monday, 23 May 2011
The 2011 AfterElton Hot 100!
[Source]
6. Luke Macfarlane
Sadly Brothers & Sisters has been canceled, so that means we won't be seeing any more of the adorable Scotty Wandell. But you can bet this won't be the last you see of handsome, out Canadian actor Luke Macfarlane. Five years on Brothers & Sisters showed us his talents as an actor, a singer (did you see the episode where he sang that touching Irish funeral song?), and even a potential underwear model-- at least based upon what we saw in a few brief briefs scenes. Hubba hubba.
Further reading...
6. Luke Macfarlane
Rank last year: 4
Sadly Brothers & Sisters has been canceled, so that means we won't be seeing any more of the adorable Scotty Wandell. But you can bet this won't be the last you see of handsome, out Canadian actor Luke Macfarlane. Five years on Brothers & Sisters showed us his talents as an actor, a singer (did you see the episode where he sang that touching Irish funeral song?), and even a potential underwear model-- at least based upon what we saw in a few brief briefs scenes. Hubba hubba.
Okay, he's probably too serious an actor to pursue underwear modeling, but keep your options open, Luke. And come back to television soon, we're going to miss you!
Further reading...
52. Matthew Rhys
Rank last year: 34
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
The GAYS Of DAYTIME- The Blog.: GOOD BYE, MY FAVORITE TV FAMILY!
The GAYS Of DAYTIME- The Blog.: GOOD BYE, MY FAVORITE TV FAMILY!: "I waited a while to post on this so I could calm down. Otherwise this post would have consisted mainly of expletives pointed in the direct..."
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Marriage ends with "Brothers & Sisters" cancellation
[Source]
Matthew Rhys, Luke Macfarlane Marriage Ends With 'Brothers & Sisters' Cancellation
On Top Magazine Staff
Published: May 15, 2011
ABC split apart Matthew Rhys and Luke Macfarlane on Friday with the announcement that it has canceled Brothers & Sisters.
According to Michael Ausiello's TV Line, the show won't return next year.
“Though, as Deadline [Hollywood] reported, the network was trying to find a way to bring back B&S for an abridged final season, in the end, the suits elected to free up their post-Desperate Housewives time slot for a new show. As a result, last Sunday's B&S season finale is now, retroactively, the series' finale.”
Rhy's Kevin Walker and Macfarlane's Scotty Wandell married on the season 2 finale of the family drama and remained the show's most durable couple.
During the show's fifth and final season, producers capped off Kevin's evolution from a down-with-love closeted corporate lawyer to a family man by giving the couple two children: daughter Olivia and son Daniel.
The men adopted Olivia after their surrogate claimed she had miscarried their baby. But in the show's final episodes, its revealed that Daniel wasn't lost and he joins his fathers.
On Top Magazine Staff
Published: May 15, 2011
ABC split apart Matthew Rhys and Luke Macfarlane on Friday with the announcement that it has canceled Brothers & Sisters.
According to Michael Ausiello's TV Line, the show won't return next year.
“Though, as Deadline [Hollywood] reported, the network was trying to find a way to bring back B&S for an abridged final season, in the end, the suits elected to free up their post-Desperate Housewives time slot for a new show. As a result, last Sunday's B&S season finale is now, retroactively, the series' finale.”
Rhy's Kevin Walker and Macfarlane's Scotty Wandell married on the season 2 finale of the family drama and remained the show's most durable couple.
During the show's fifth and final season, producers capped off Kevin's evolution from a down-with-love closeted corporate lawyer to a family man by giving the couple two children: daughter Olivia and son Daniel.
The men adopted Olivia after their surrogate claimed she had miscarried their baby. But in the show's final episodes, its revealed that Daniel wasn't lost and he joins his fathers.
Friday, 13 May 2011
An article from AfterElton
[Source]
ABC Cancels "Brothers & Sisters"
Posted by Michael Jensen, Editor on May 13, 2011
When it comes to the television shows that had the biggest impact on AfterElton.com readers in this site's early days, there are two series that truly stand out in terms of GLBT visibility.
I totally agree with Michael Jensen. For the moment, I don't know where I can see Luke again except a theatre where I can't go. I hope he will appear soon on some TV shows.
ABC Cancels "Brothers & Sisters"
Posted by Michael Jensen, Editor on May 13, 2011
When it comes to the television shows that had the biggest impact on AfterElton.com readers in this site's early days, there are two series that truly stand out in terms of GLBT visibility.
The first is Torchwood. The second is Brothers & Sisters, which makes it just that much sadder to announce that according to TVLine.com B&S has just been canceled. While the show was never a ratings juggernaut, it had done well enough this season that there was much speculation that the show would be given an abbreviated sixth and final season.
Kevin and Scotty
But that's not to be. It's hard to overstate what an impact the show first made on many gay viewers when it debuted back in 2006. Created by Jon Robin Baitz, an out gay man, the show included Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys) an out and proud gay character who would go on to date, have a love life, and eventually a family with his husband Scotty Wandell (Luke Macfarlane).
To my mind, the show really marked the start of what has been a pretty strong resurgence in the development of fully fleshed out, complicated GLBT characters and it deserves credit for making same-sex affection and relationships normal for millions of viewers who might otherwise never see gay people falling in love, getting married and having kids.
No, the show wasn't perfect by a longshot, but I'll certainly miss seeing Kevin and Scotty cuddling on their couch.
==========================================================
AE >> No, the show wasn't perfect by a longshot, but I'll certainly miss seeing Kevin and Scotty cuddling on their couch.
I totally agree with Michael Jensen. For the moment, I don't know where I can see Luke again except a theatre where I can't go. I hope he will appear soon on some TV shows.
Brothers & Sisters... Cancelled
As almost all of us expected, Brothers & Sisters is cancelled. I really loved to see Luke as Scotty though, I guess it's time to move on.
[Source]
UPDATE: 'Brothers & Sisters' Canceled, As Is 'V'
By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday May 13, 2011 @ 11:48am PDT
UPDATE: It's official, there will be no sixth season of ABC's family drama Brothers and Sisters. And V won't return for a third season either. ABC just made the calls.
PREVIOUS: Barring any last-minute miracle, it looks like this is the end of the road for ABC's veteran family drama Brothers and Sisters. There had been a serious effort by ABC and producing studio ABC Studios to find a price point at which they could bring the show back for an abbreviated sixth and final season. There have been talks with star Calista Flockhart to return for six episodes next season. Last May, Brothers and Sisters clinched a last-minute 18-episode order that was subsequently expanded to 22 episodes. But the indications are, with so many drama pilots scoring high in testings and screenings this year, ABC is ready to say good-bye to the Walker clan.
Monday, 9 May 2011
Side Dish - 9th May
Side Dish from ABC, Brothers & Sisters.
A New FamilyThat has been my theme this year. I’m sure last week’s Renegade Editor would even have to agree with that (thanks for the commentary, Kevin!). These last months have flown by and I can’t wait to see what the next few hold in store for us.
Which brings me to something that is hard to write. I took one other hiatus from blogging after I was in that car crash and, sadly, I think that’s what I need to do now, too. Thank you so much for being loyal readers -- and my fingers are crossed that I’ll be back to write more soon – but for now I need to take a break and spend some time with my new family.
Yesterday was Sarah’s wedding and it was really a wonderful day all around. (Although any family function where I am not stuck in the kitchen the whole time is a wonderful day in my book!) But as Kevin and I danced at the reception we both realized that we haven’t had a lot of time to ourselves lately. When we kissed it felt like we hadn’t kissed in months!
So that’s the reason for taking this blog sabbatical. I hope to be back before you know it sharing my stories and recipes. But until then, I’ll share with you something better than a recipe. Here’s a photo Kevin took of me, Daniel, Evan and Seth at the wedding. I had to laugh when I saw this photo. It looks like we could be on the cover of “Gay Parents Weekly.” J
Until next time...May 9, 2011 12:46 AM
Sunday, 8 May 2011
Friday, 6 May 2011
The Week in Gay TV: Lady Gaga Brings the Monster Ball to HBO, and a Walker Wedding Concludes The "Brothers & Sisters" Season
Posted by Lyle Masaki on May 6, 2011
It's time for another Walker family celebration Sunday when Sarah and Luc get married on Brothers & Sisters' season finale. The long-running drama has been on the bubble for most of the season, so this week's finale looks like it'll try to end the season on a satisfying note if it is the last we see of the Walker clan.
Posted by Lyle Masaki on May 6, 2011
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Another picture from The Normal Heart
Anthony Rapp, Matthew Bomer and More Show Some Love for The Normal Heart
Celebs visit The Normal Heart the weekend of April 29-May 1, 2012.
Celebs visit The Normal Heart the weekend of April 29-May 1, 2012.
Monday, 2 May 2011
No new season?
Rachel Griffiths talked about Brothers & Sisters on a show. It sounds like Brothers & Sisters has been cancelled.
[Source]It's unlikely having a new season.
Did Rachel Griffiths announce Brothers & Sisters is axed?
By David Knox on May 2, 2011
Last night surprise Logie presenter Rachel Griffiths appeared to indicate US drama Brothers and Sisters is about to be axed.
During a chat with host Shane Bourne, she was asked about her plans to direct her first feature length movie in Australia next year, called B-Model.
“I’m soon to be unemployed so I checked in with Centrelink and I don’t know if anybody’s noticed they’re cracking down on the whole welfare thing. So I went to see Centrelink and said, ‘Looks like I’m out of a job and wanna sign up.’
“And they said, ‘You have to be looking for work.’ So I said I’m trying to direct a movie, and it’s all gone crazy.”
When joking about her attempts to find work she added, “I looked them in the eye and said, ‘I think I am going to be unemployed,’ and they didn’t seem to be very warm.”
ABC drama Brothers and Sisters is yet to be renewed for the US Fall season and is one of the shows tipped to go under the axe.
Side Dish - 2nd May
Side Dish from ABC, Brothers & Sisters.
Featuring...
Hello. This is Kevin. Scotty left this blog post unpublished on his computer so I went through and added a few small tweaks and posted it for him. I even uploaded a picture from my phone that I’m pretty sure he didn’t want everyone to see.
You’re welcome. ;)
What I write will be in BOLD….
Being a father is, without a doubt, one of the best things to ever happen to me. Besides marrying Kevin Walker, of course.
And being a father twice over in such a short time is nothing short of a miracle. But between the restaurant, the husband and the two children, I haven’t found the time to write as much as I’d like. Or kiss my husband as much as he’d like. But that’s another story for another day.
If I get an inspiration for a recipe I’ll write it down immediately no matter where I am.
Recipes have been scrawled on cocktail napkins, dry cleaning receipts and once, on my hand as I tried to change a diaper. (Gross… and I hope it didn’t inspire the recipe below.)
I had always sort of imagined this blog turning into a cookbook: “From Scotty’s Kitchen” or “Café 429 Classics.” (But you can’t leave Saul out! Let’s write a Saul cookbook!! We can call it “Saul and Oats.”)
So many dreams have come true: I’ve met the man of my dreams (he wrote that himself! Awww! How sweet!), have two beautiful kids and a restaurant of my own. Is it too much to ask the universe to give me a book deal too? (Yes, probably, but dream away, babe. I know you hate this picture, but I like it. We can use it for the book jacket cover.)
Well I can always dream… (Here comes an awkward transition. Not your best work, Scotty) And if you want to taste something dreamy, come by Café 429 and enjoy a warm and frothy mug of Mexican Hot Chocolate. It’ll make you quickly forget that instant hot cocoa.
MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE
Per Serving
INGREDIENTS
- ½ disc of Mexican chocolate*
- 1 cup milk
If Mexican chocolate is unavailable, substitute 1 ½ squares (1 ½ ounces) semi-sweet baking chocolate and ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Cut the chocolate into wedges along the indentations. Place them and the milk in a deep saucepan. Heat over low heat until the chocolate is softened and the milk is steaming. Whisk (or blend with an immersion blender) until the chocolate is completely dissolved and the liquid is frothy. Pour into a mug and serve immediately.
May 2, 2011 3:35 AM
Sunday, 1 May 2011
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Friday, 29 April 2011
The Normal Heart Video
[Source]
Highlights From The Normal Heart
Larry Kramer's groundbreaking drama about "a city in denial" during the beginning of the AIDS epidemic finally receives a Broadway production after 26 years. Tony-winning director Joe Mantello makes a rare return to acting as Ned Weeks, a hot-headed activist trying — along with a tight-knit group of friends — to get doctors, politicians and the press to address the impending AIDS crisis in 1980s New York City. Tony and Oscar-winning actor Joel Grey (who starred in the original Public Theater version of The Normal Heart in 1985) co-directs with Tony-winning director George C. Wolfe.
Highlights From The Normal Heart
Larry Kramer's groundbreaking drama about "a city in denial" during the beginning of the AIDS epidemic finally receives a Broadway production after 26 years. Tony-winning director Joe Mantello makes a rare return to acting as Ned Weeks, a hot-headed activist trying — along with a tight-knit group of friends — to get doctors, politicians and the press to address the impending AIDS crisis in 1980s New York City. Tony and Oscar-winning actor Joel Grey (who starred in the original Public Theater version of The Normal Heart in 1985) co-directs with Tony-winning director George C. Wolfe.
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Pics from S5E22 via AfterElton
[Source]
Pic Post! A First Look at the "Brothers & Sisters" Finale
Posted by Dennis Ayers, Managing Editor on April 28, 2011
Well, Justin has cleaned up his act, and from the photos below, looks like a spark is still there between these two characters. Maybe she'd be a good love interest for him to ride off into the sunset with?
From ABC's official description, here's what else to look forward to in this episode: "After Sarah confronts Brody about his being her father, she decides she no longer wants him to be a part of her life or Nora's, but Nora just can't seem to let him go. Meanwhile, Olivia struggles with the new addition of baby Daniel to the family."
Pic Post! A First Look at the "Brothers & Sisters" Finale
Posted by Dennis Ayers, Managing Editor on April 28, 2011
There are only two episodes left of the fifth season of Brothers & Sisters, and we still haven't heard if the show will be returning for a sixth. The series has been on a creative roll of late and the ratings are okay... and yet with 109 episodes in the can and major characters departed, it's starting to feel like the end of the road for this shows. (Thank goodness snicks will probably soon have Days of Our Lives to liveblog. Idle recappers are the devil's work.)
If the end of Brothers & Sisters is indeed upon us, then judging from these advance photos of the May 1st and May 8th episodes at least, longtime fans will be getting some closure.
For instance, in "For Better or for Worse" (to air May 1st) we see actress Marika Dominczykreturn as Tyler. She and Justin were a couple way back in season one. Remember, she was a hotel manager and got him that job as a bellhop-- which he promptly lost. Justin really loved her, but she sensibly had to break up with him because of his depression and drug addiction. Well, Justin has cleaned up his act, and from the photos below, looks like a spark is still there between these two characters. Maybe she'd be a good love interest for him to ride off into the sunset with?
From ABC's official description, here's what else to look forward to in this episode: "After Sarah confronts Brody about his being her father, she decides she no longer wants him to be a part of her life or Nora's, but Nora just can't seem to let him go. Meanwhile, Olivia struggles with the new addition of baby Daniel to the family."
The photos that follow are all from the May 8th finale, "Walker Down the Aisle:" As Sarah and Luc's nuptials approach, plans go horribly awry and the Walkers learn several surprising lessons about the real meaning of family.
Yes, they're totally laughing at your bridesmaid dress, Kitty.
Looks like Sarah might be getting some closure with bio Dad Brody (Beau Bridges) before the episode is over.
Either impromptu musical number...
or all the Walker men have become zombies.
or all the Walker men have become zombies.
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