Bradley Belongs on Broadway

Posted by Bruce Miller
Corey Bradley made his Broadway debut in the recent revival of Ragtime. But he made his stage debut 18 years earlier playing a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz at Theatre IV. I think I'm right about that. Corey was in a lot of Theatre IV shows during his formative years in Richmond. I'm not completely sure which one came first. I'll have to do some checking.

Hannah and I had the chance to visit Corey at the stage door of Ragtime last weekend, after enjoying his terrific performance at the Neil Simon Theatre. Ragtime was on our list of shows to see because:
* it was scheduled to close on Sunday, our final day in town,
* neither Hannah nor I had ever seen Ragtime on Broadway before, and
* Chase had let us know, after his earlier trip north to catch this revival, that Corey was in the cast.

After curtain call, we went to the stage door as soon as we could clear the crowds. We figured Corey would probably be leaving early, as ensemble members often do. I didn't want to miss him.

The stage door was jammed, so I almost didn't see Corey as he made his exit onto the sidewalk and then turned right, slipping past the crowd-control barricades into the open air rather than turning left to run the gauntlet of autograph hounds.

As soon as I saw him break away from the pack, I grabbed Hannah and we dashed out onto 52nd Street to avoid the crowds, chasing Corey as he walked down the sidewalk. When we were close enough, I hollered out his name, and he turned and saw us.

It's been a few years, and I have the extra pounds and gray hair to prove it. Also the last time Corey saw Hannah, she was probably in first grade. So as we walked up, I held out my hand and said, "Bruce Miller, Theatre IV."

Corey's face lit up, he knocked my hand out of the way and gave me a big hug. "I'm so proud of you," I said. "You cast me in my first show," he beamed. "It's so good to see you. How's everything at Theatre IV?"

I know this is the exact conversation that takes place somewhere on Broadway every night, as proud teachers and directors unexpectedly visit former students and actors who've now made it to the big time. No matter how many times I have this conversation, it always tears me up (feel free to pronounce the word "tears" whichever way you choose). I'm a sentimental slob, I know, but there's something endlessly affirming about seeing kids you've enjoyed working with turn out so well.

I think Corey's last role with us was playing Tommy Djilas in The Music Man during one of our summer seasons at Collegiate. After graduating from high school, Corey earned his BFA in Musical Theatre / Dance at Elon University in North Carolina. Since then, he's achieved non-stop success, appearing in the national tours of Mamma Mia!, Fosse, Chicago, and West Side Story. In Las Vegas, he appeared in We Will Rock You and with Hugh Jackman in Hugh Jackman: In Time, directed by George C. Wolfe and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall.

In addition to The Music Man (Theatre IV), Corey's regional credits include Hot Mikado (Westchester Broadway Theatre), Showboat (North Show Music Theatre), La Cage aux Folles (North Carolina Theatre), Joseph... (Downtown Cabaret Theatre), and Ragtime (Kennedy Center).

Film and television credits include being a principal dancer in Disney's Enchanted, Sex and the City, and Spike Lee's He Got Game.

Corey asked me to send greetings to all his friends in Richmond, which I'm more than happy to do. I assured him that all of us at Barksdale and Theatre IV send all best wishes right back to him.

So many talented actors make their way through Richmond each year, and a great many of them (I'm thinking now of Matts Polson and Shofner, who close in Putnam County Spelling Bee this afternoon) return to appear in subsequent shows even as they build careers in major markets. Few theatre communities can claim this degree of success. With all the talk on other blogs of what's professional and what isn't, we should all be very proud to be exactly what we are.

I hope to see you soon at a Richmond theatre, as we all catch the current performance, perhaps, of one of Broadway's future stars!

--Bruce Miller

My Favorite Musical

Posted by Bruce Miller
Ask anyone who knows me to name my favorite musical and they will say A Little Night Music. It's held the number one spot, with no serious competition, since that spring night in 1973 when I sat on the first row of the mezzanine, slightly house right of center, swept away by the original production and the original cast.

I was 22 years old. This, I thought, is what Broadway is all about.

The images that were burned into my psyche that evening will last, I hope, my lifetime. Glynis Johns, sitting alone on her white bed in that red dress singing Send in the Clowns absolutely broke my heart. And what followed on stage thereafter not only repaired my lovelorn passions, it all sent me out into the balmy night on a song, feeling wiser and deeper than I had felt when I walked into that theatre expecting only the opportunity to see a show.

I thought the entire cast, the direction and the design were exceptional. Mostly, the script, music and lyrics connected more deeply with my soul than any other musical before or since.

When I heard that Night Music was being revived on Broadway this season with Catherine Zeta-Jones as Desiree and Angela Lansbury as her mother, I really wanted to go. Most particularly, I really wanted to take my daughter Hannah, the other theatre LOVER in my family. (Terrie and Curt put up with my passion for the stage, and faithfully attend play after play, but they have passions of their own that far outweigh theatre.)

This past weekend, Hannah and I spent four days and three nights seeing five Broadway shows, including A Little Night Music. I have no time to write about the trip or the show this morning, but let me say this. We both LOVED the revival.

Watching this very different production, I completely remembered everything that once captured my heart. Best of all, Hannah left the theatre saying this was now her favorite Broadway production. And meaning it. And she's seen a lot.

I look forward to writing more later, about the revival of Night Music, and our other visits to A View from the Bridge, Ragtime, God of Carnage and the new Donald Margulies play, Time Stands Still.

I'll also write about our visits with Barksdale/Theatre IV friends Zak Resnick, Mark Ludden, Hunter Herdlicka (starring as Henrik in A Little Night Music) Corey Bradley (making his Broadway debut in the ensemble of Ragtime, which closed on Sunday), and Lizzie Holland.

--Bruce Miller