Dr. Blackwell's BLOG

Although the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Ragtime was short-lived in its Broadway bow, it received heavy accolades on Tuesday when it received 5 Helen Hayes Awards. The Helen Hayes Awards are the Washington, DC version of the Tony Awards. With over 53 resident theaters in the Capitol, Washington DC has a very vibrant and thriving performing arts district, including the Kennedy Center, which has been named as the most outstanding theater in the United States. Ragtime earned five Hayes Awards including Outstanding Resident Musical, Outstanding Director Resident Musical (Marcia Milgrom Dodge), Outstanding Lead Actress Resident Musical (Christiane Noll) and Outstanding Costume Design Resident Musical (Santo Loquasto and Jimm Halliday). I was unbelievably lucky to be able to see the Kennedy Center’s Ragtime last Summer with my best friend Annie on our trip to DC. The show was incredible! Although it was heavily scaled-down compared to its original 1996 production at Broadway’s Ford Center for the Performing Arts (now the Hilton Theater), the show was beautifully staged, well-acted, and just as moving as that 1996 spectacle. It is sad that it did not succeed on its return to the Broadway stage during a harsh economic climate where shows were closing on a near-daily basis. Nonetheless, Ragtime is well-deserved of the honors it has earned! Congratulations to all involved with the amazing Kennedy Center production!

The Phantom: Love Never Dies, the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, which opened at London’s Adelphi Theatre on March 9th, has been temporarily postponed because of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ongoing battle with prostate cancer. Although Webber’s cancer was diagnosed early and its growth halted, he has been suffering from complications related to his treatment. In addition, long flights Webber would need to take to travel back and forth from New York City to London is contraindicated for him at this time. An April 6 statement from the show’s producers says that the original date was set prior to Lloyd Webber’s diagnosis with prostate cancer last fall. “Although the cancer has been eradicated, there have been post-operative problems,” according to the statement. “These have been aggravated by recent air travel and Lloyd Webber’s doctors have requested that he does not take any further long-haul flights for the time being and until the problem has been investigated. This prevents him attending auditions and being part of the pre-production process in New York on the original schedule.” A date has not yet been set but Love Never Dies will now be scheduled to open at Broadway’s Neil Simon Theater in the Spring of 2011.