2012 Tony Awards Results

It’s over! The winners have been announced! After parties ran into the wee hours. So, how did I do with my predictions? Read more »

Tony 2012 Predictions

Here are my predictions in the categories most people care about, plus the ones I think are neat.

Best Play – Peter and the Starcatcher
Best Musical – Newsies
Book of a Musical – Newsies
Score – Bonnie and Clyde
Play Revival – Death of a Salesman
Musical Revival – Porgy and Bess
Scenic Design – Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark
Orchestration – Nice Work If You Can Get It

I don’t know whether to make predictions about actors based on talent, performance or popularity, so I’m going to wait a bit before I post those.

Pre-Tony Award Special

The pre-Tony Award special on Show Tunes in the Afternoon is fast approaching. I’ll be playing tunes from all the nominated musicals, plus our old favorites, of course!

Don’t forget you can make your predictions at this special page anytime between now and June 10, the ceremony date. The person(s) will the most accurate predictions will win WUMD bling.

Oh, and by bling I mean WUMD coffee cups and other assorted items, and a CD or two from one of the nominated musicals.

But, you can’t win if you don’t enter! Don’t delay!

Tony 2012 Nominations

The Tony Nominations were announced today. Topping the list with the most nominations (11)  is the musical “Once”, with nominations in “Best Musical”, “Best Book of a Musical”, and several “Best Performance” categories. Opposite “Once” in many categories is “Newsies” making a prediction difficult to call, but “Newsies” is also nominated in “Best Original Score” which it has a great chance of winning, even up against “Bonnie and Clyde”.

Also in “Best Original Score” is “One Man, Two Guvnors” the adaptation of “Servant of Two Masters”.

Surprisingly, “Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark” only received two nominations, and not surprisingly, they are in “Best Scenic Design of  a Musical” and “Best Costume Design of a Musical”. I am glad to see that this troubled show did not garner a nomination for best direction of a musical.

Under “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play” we find James Earl Jones (“The Best Man”) and John Lithgow (“The Columnist”), among other fine actors. Lithgow has a good chance of taking the award, but the choice is made difficult with Philip Seymour Hoffman in the list for “Death of a Salesman”.

“Nice Work If You Can Get It” is up for “Best Musical”, but being that it is a show of old Gershwin songs mixed with a few unknown ones, I don’t expect it to take the prize.

Tune in on Monday’s at 3pm for three hours of Broadway, off-Broadway and London show tunes, including songs from the nominated productions, and learn more about my Tony Winner predictions. You will soon be able to make your own predictions online here and qualify for prizes. I’m having a special “Pre-Tony” show on June 4th, and we’ll announce the winners of my Tony Prediction Contest on June 11th, and celebrate and congratulate the award winners.

The Tony’s are Coming!

On June 10, the Tony Awards, a 3-hour ceremony live from Beacon Theatre on CBS at 8pm. On June 11, Show Tunes in the Afternoon will review the winner list and play music from the nominated shows during our 3-hour broadcast starting at 3pm. Don’t miss it!

Also, the Monday before (June 4), we’ll be presenting the nominations, and making our own predictions, and we’ll keep score! You can join in the fun! We’ll have our own specially prepared ballot HERE that you can download, print and fill-in to mail in, or enter your choices online! We’ll be giving away WUMD bling, and you could win!

The official nominations announcement happens on May 1 live from Lincoln Center in New York City. By May 7th, we’ll have our own ballot ready. Listen for the announcement, on WUMD FM 89.3, Mondays from 3pm-6pm.

Show Tunes 7th Anniversary

Dartmouth, MA — WUMD FM 89.3 is proud to announce that Monday, February 13 is the seventh year anniversary broadcast of “SHOW TUNES IN THE AFTERNOON” hosted by “‘Lectric Lar'”.

The show first aired on February 14, 2005 at 3 P.M. and has been on the air every Monday from 3 P.M. to 6 P.M. The broadcast features music from Broadway and London musical theatre as well as the occasional movie.

The show also features interviews with local theatre groups. The interviews draw out the secrets behind the scenes. Many times the groups provide a couple of free tickets for listeners to win on the air.

Each week the show also presents a list of theatrical productions that are currently running or will be opening soon in the “What’s On Stage” segment.

Larry Houbre, AKA ‘Lectric Lar’, conceived the idea for the show during the summer of 2004. Having been involved with theatre since 1974 when he was in high school, he is familiar with the music, which includes up-lifting, emotion provoking, and just plain fun songs. Tidbits and trivia about the shows are interspersed between sets, revealing the rich history of the genre.

WUMD FM 89.3 Hosts Show Tunes Bingo

Dartmouth, MA — WUMD FM 89.3’s popular Monday afternoon radio program, “SHOW TUNES IN THE AFTERNOON” is hosting an “on the air” bingo game, “Show Tunes Bingo with ‘Lectric Lar'”.

Listeners fill their special Show Tunes Bingo card squares by listening to the weekly broadcast, and jotting down the date and time a particular Show Tune is heard. Once they have five squares in a row filled in any direction, they send in the card with their name, address and phone number. Verified winning cards will be eligible to win prizes during the “Big Bingo Day” broadcast on Febuary 13, 2012, the 7th anniversary of the show. Winners will be drawn from all verified submissions received by Feb 10, 2012.

Cards should be mailed to: SHOW TUNES in the AFTERNOON, WUMD FM 89.3, 285 Old Westport Rd., Dartmouth, MA 02747.

Cards can be downloaded and printed from http://www.lectriclar.net/music1_lectric/.

The show first aired on February 14, 2005 at 3 P.M. and has been on the air every Monday from 3 P.M. to 6 P.M. The broadcast features music from Broadway and London musical theatre as well as the occasional movie. Interviews with local theatre groups have also been a regular feature of the show.

STA Post Card

Have you been looking for a little something special to give a friend, or include in a gift package, or to display on your dashboard? Read more »

I Hate Hamlet – Interview

I had a couple of the actors from Your Theatre’s production of I Hate Hamlet on the radio with me the other day (Monday, September 5, 2011). Michael McGill who plays Andrew, and Robert Duquette who plays John Barrymore.

We had a great talk about this hilarious comedy. You can hear the audio, go to the past guest list for a listen.

WUMD Show Host Directs Your Theatre, Inc. 65th Season Opener

This was originated by YTI:

WUMD Radio’s “Show Tunes In The afternoon” host ‘Lectric Lar’ is directing Paul Rudnick’s hilarious comedy I Hate Hamlet, the first major production of Your Theatre, Inc.’s 65th continuous season which opens on Thursday September 15 for an eight performance run at The YTI Playhouse.

The play will run Thursdays through Saturdays September 15–17 and 22-24 with Sunday Matinees on September 18 and 25. Curtain time is 8:00 p.m. for all performances except for 2:30 p.m. Sunday matinees.

The cast for I Hate Hamlet features Peter Ashworth and Elizabeth Rapoza of New Bedford, Cheryl Day and Linda Landry Pires of Fairhaven, Robert Duquette of Somerset and Michael McGill of Tiverton. Scenic and lighting design are by Lawrence R. Houbre, Jr., set dressing is by Mark Fuller, both of New Bedford, with David Pelletier of Fairhaven as Stage Manager.

The play revolves about Andrew Rally who seems to have it all: celebrity and acclaim from his starring role in a hit television series, a rich beautiful girlfriend, a glamorous, devoted agent, the perfect New York apartment, and the chance to play Hamlet in Central Park. There are, however, a couple of glitches in paradise. Andrew’s series has been canceled, his girlfriend is clinging to her virginity with unyielding conviction, and he has no desire to play Hamlet. When Andrew’s agent visits him, she reminisces about her brief romance with John Barrymore many years ago, in Andrew’s apartment. This prompts a séance to summon his ghost. From the moment Barrymore returns, dressed in high Shakespearean garb, Andrew’s life is no longer his own.

I Hate Hamlet was successfully produced on Broadway in 1991 garnering such notices as: “…unapologetically silly and at times hilarious… affectionately amusing about the theatre…” -The New York Times; “… fast-mouthed and funny…It has the old-fashioned Broadway virtues of brightness without pretensions and sentimentality without morals” -The Village Voice

For non-subscribers, ticket prices are $15.00 for all performances. Discounts are available for senior citizens, students, and military personnel.

Ticket and other information about the production are available by calling YTI at 508-993-0772, or E-mail ytinc@verizon.net. The theatre is located in St. Martin’s Episcopal Church Auditorium, 136 Rivet St. (at County St.), New Bedford, MA.