Highlights From Seth Rudetsky's Big Fat Broadway Cruise to the Dominican Republic | Playbill

Seth Rudetsky Highlights From Seth Rudetsky's Big Fat Broadway Cruise to the Dominican Republic

Hear about the time Tony Yazbeck made Arthur Laurents cry, and how much Barbara Cook liked to curse.

I’m back on dry land after a fantastic Seth's Big Fat Broadway Cruise to very warm climes.

My next cruise in August goes to much colder weather, aka Alaska. And then my cruise in October sails through temperate, delicious weather…from England to the Canary Islands! Details for all these cruises, including how to book, are available here. And now, to tempt you to join us, here is my rundown of our recent cruise to the British West Indies and the Dominican Republic!

First, we flew to Florida to board the ship in Ft. Lauderdale. All the Broadway stars who perform on the cruise can bring a plus one and Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer brought her friend, Lisa, who she met in improv class years ago. Well, Lisa flew in from the West Coast and her luggage got lost. Leslie and Lisa were resigned not to going out to dinner with us because the hold time for Delta’s customer service phone line was hours, and they wanted to make sure Lisa would get her suitcase. The good news was, because I have so many miles on Delta, I have a special number I can call that works faster than the regular one. I got through to an agent quickly and had amazing news for Lisa: Her luggage was in Atlanta and on the next flight to Ft. Lauderdale! Well, unbeknownst to me, even though the Delta app already listed that her luggage was in Atlanta and about to fly to Ft. Lauderdale, Lisa had spoken to one person who worked at the airport who told her, “No planes are flying in to Atlanta.”

Since that person was apparently an expert at aviation (she was not), Lisa completely believed her. When I was still talking to the rep, I ran over with my phone on speakerphone to Lisa and excitedly told her, “There’s a Delta rep on the phone. She’s about to tell you the info about the flight with your luggage, which is about to leave Atlanta.”

Instead of writing down the flight number, or asking what time it lands, or asking how she can retrieve the luggage from the airport, she asked, “How can it be in Atlanta? There are no flights going into Atlanta.” That was her response? I had just told her it was in Atlanta! 

I reacted impulsively and yelled, “You are just like my mother! That question is irrelevant!”

Suffice it to say, Leslie and Lisa were completely obsessed with my reaction and couldn’t stop laughing about it the entire week. If you’re wanting the end of the story, planes were flying into Atlanta and Lisa did get her luggage back. And if you’re wondering why my immediate reaction was having a fit, it’s because of my mom’s singleminded-ness. Right after I moved to NYC after college, I music directed the show Midsummer Nights. My mom was coming to see a matinee. This coincided with my childhood dog, Shoshana, being very sick. I knew Shoshana was not going to make it much longer. Let it also be known that my mom is always obsessed with time.

Thus, the following phone call:

Me: "Mom! How is Shoshana?"

Mom: "Wait a minute! What time is the matinee tomorrow?"

Me: "It starts at 3 PM. How is Shoshana?"

Mom: "Oh. She passed away."

Why did she need to know the time of the matinee before updating me on my dog? The show wasn’t until the next day!

Anyhoo, back to the cruise. All the stars and the 90 passengers from our group boarded and got settled on Saturday afternoon. After unpacking, we had a cocktail party where everyone mingled and, as an ice breaker, I put people into groups: those who had seen their first Broadway show before they turned 10, those who had seen their first one before they turned 20, and everyone after. There were some amazing answers for the people who had seen a show when they were super young. One of my guests had seen the original run of Hello, Dolly! when it starred Ethel Merman. That reminded me of a story that the late, great Marcia Lewis told me.

The first Broadway show that Marcia performed in was Hello, Dolly! and she always said, “Merman taught me to plant it.” That meant she learned how much power there was from firmly standing in one spot, instead of randomly moving or shifting side-to-side. I use that line all the time when I teach master classes. The other Dolly! story she told me was about the time when Betty Grable starred in the title role. Betty was having some vocal problems, and Marcia asked if she was concerned about her voice. Betty replied, “Marcia, I’m famous for two things and I’m standing on both of ‘em!”

1st night of Seth's Big Fat Broadway Cruise Stephen Spadaro

Back on the ship, everyone had dinner together that night and then it was time for the first show, my concert with Liz Callaway! One of the passengers had written to us beforehand saying it was her dream to hear Liz sing “What More Do I Need?” live. So, of course, we had to put that in the show. Liz sang it on the A Stephen Sondheim Evening album and I remember listening to it all the time in college. Liz never quite knew how she got the gig singing in that concert until the she figured it out years later.

Liz was in the original company of Merrily We Roll Along and only had a few lines to sing as part of the ensemble (aka “How did you get there from here, Mr. Shepard?”). However, she also understudied Ann Morrison who played Mary. During previews, they were making tons of changes, and instead of Ann singing all day long and then doing the show, Ann would learn the changes during the day but stay silent. Liz would sit in the audience and sing the role while Ann acted it out onstage. Liz now realizes that the entire time she was singing, Sondheim was in the house, listening. That’s why she got asked to do this fabulous recording! He must have loved her voice.

Speaking of Liz and Sondheim, her Sondheim album got nominated for a Grammy Award! You have to purchase it, and you can do so here

Liz talked about her many Broadway shows and she also recalled her early years working as a singing waitress. There was one song she loved to sing but could only sing it one day a week because there was only one day a pianist was there who could actually play it! Here she is singing it with much more than a piano-- a full orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

The next day on the ship, we all started rehearsals for our variety show. At the end of the week, all the stars perform solos, duets, and trios and they also each do a group number with the passengers as their back-up singers. The songs we started rehearsing were “What More Do I Need” from Baby for Liz, “Lucky To Be Me,” which Tony Yazbeck sang in On The Town and “Find Your Grail,” the big 11 o’clock number from Spamalot that featured Leslie.

A few hours after rehearsal, we played Broadway Bingo, which is so much fun! It’s like Bingo, but instead of me calling B5 or G64, the whole board is titles of Broadway shows that I pull out of a hat. All the passengers pick what Broadway show titles we’re going to use. It’s really fun because instead of just calling out the name of the show, I give clues like naming the stars of the Broadway show or playing a snippet of song from the show, so people have to guess which one it is.

Well, Liz was playing with us, so when we were picking shows, we would often choose one of her shows. B was Baby, C was Cats, M was Miss Saigon and, when we got to T, she yelled out The Three Musketeers. That was a show she did on Broadway which ran for a solid nine performances. For whatever reason, every time we started a new Bingo board, I kept pulling that show title out of the hat. The show I knew nothing about and which had no songs anyone would know. I was seething!

Liz Callaway Corey Seeman

The next day, we docked in Saint Kitts, and I took passengers to visit the local animal shelter. We brought various things the shelter needed and got to play with so many sweet doggies. Watch!

We then had two master classes, which I led alongside Paul Castree and Leslie. A lot of passengers do community theatre, or used to perform or want to start again, so it’s always a great mix of people singing. One woman named Rita Stein sang “Maybe This Time” and both Leslie and Paul flipped out after Rita’s performance. It was one of those “No notes! Just keep doing what you’re doing!” performances. We all couldn’t believe this woman from Palm Desert could nail such a great performance. Later on, she was mentioning her former co-worker Donna. Donna who? Well, I soon found out she meant Donna McKechnie! Yes Rita, who now lives in Palm Desert, was in the original run of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying! We all thought she was a lovely older woman trying her hand at singing. Turns out, she’s a card shark!

P.S. I do master classes all over the country and have some signature tips I always give, so many of which are based on the fantastic book David Craig wrote and was taught brilliantly by Sara Lazarus.

The next big show was with Leslie, and she was hilarious and sounded amazing as usual. Leslie was in Sondheim on Sondheim at the Roundabout and I remember Vanessa Williams telling me about Barbara Cook cursing up a storm during those rehearsals. The Sondheim intervals were so difficult to learn and often Barbara would let out a stream of expletives towards Sondheim when she’d clunk a note. Vanessa thought the juxtaposition of sweet soprano Barbara Cook having a filthy mouth was so hilarious that she would write the curses down in her vocal score!

And, speaking of that juxtaposition, Leslie told me about the time she was about to enter the stage with Barbra Cook and sing a very adorable “Love is in the Air.” Barbara was not a fan of surprises. Right before they entered, Barbara whispered, “Who are those people in the corner?” Leslie explained that there were sign language interpreters for that performance. Barbara hissed, “Why the f*ck didn’t anyone tell us there were going to be signers?” And then one second later, they were onstage with cloying smiles singing, “Love is in the Air.” From the f-word to a pretty melody!

Seth Rudetsky and Leslie Kritzer Corey Seeman

I had Leslie tell her hilarious story about Liza Minnelli seeing her star in Funny Girl at the Paper Mill Playhouse and Liza’s “compliment” which was anything but. After the performance, Liza told her, with a big smile, “I’ve never seen anyone work harder!” Thanks?

I had Leslie sing lots o’ Funny Girl songs and they were so great. I have this video from when she was on Seth Speaks, my SiriusXM radio show, when she sang “I’m the Greatest Star.” Note: the bemused gentleman loving the performance is Will & Grace co-creator, Max Mutchnick!

The next night, I did a full video deconstruction show for all the passengers, which is one of my favorite things to do because I love showing people brilliant performances. One of the videos I showed related to Paul Castree, who was on the cruise helping me out. He told everyone the story of his audition for Saturday Night Fever. He went in for the role of Bobby C. and, during the dance audition, he began to be overwhelmed by the technique that was required. He felt it was out of his league and decided to get the H out before embarrassing himself. But he didn’t want his leaving to be obvious, so he just began to slo-o-wly walk to the door while feigning he was learning the dance. When he was almost out, the associate choreographer loudly said, “Paul! You seem to be doing less and less…”

Everyone looked at Paul, standing by the door. Paul admitted that he was going to leave because the combination looked too difficult for him. The associate choreographer told him to at least try it and then proclaimed, “Paul! Don’t be a quitter!” All the other people auditioning then applauded to cheer him on. Paul felt he had to stay because the other option was to proudly proclaim, “I am a quitter!”

Immediately, the dancers were put into groups, and Paul realized that when he was slowly leaving and pretending to learn the combo…he was literally pretending! He didn’t know the combination at all. His group was called, and he did his version of the choreography, which was basically improv and sass, and, no surprise, he was not asked to stay. However, Arlene Phillips, the director/choreographer went to see Footloose on Broadway, which Paul was in at the time. She liked what she saw, and Paul got another audition but, this time, he kept getting called back until he did get the role of Bobby C.!

Paul always claims he’s not a dancer, but I showed everyone this amazing clip (featuring Sean Palmer, Richard Blake and future multi-Tony Award winner, Andy Blankenbuehler) where Paul is a disco king!

Tony Yazbeck’s concert was on the second to last night of the cruise. He sang and danced up a storm. Holy cow, what a triple threat! He told some incredibly exciting showbiz stories, like trying out to be a newsboy in the 1989 revival of Gypsy and being in one of the very first groups of boys. Right after he auditioned, he was brought downstairs and told he got the gig!

Meanwhile, there were still a ton of boys auditioning. Tony was a combo of ecstatic he got cast and empathetic to the boys who were right upstairs, singing and dancing and thinking they had a chance. It reminds of the time that Christine Ebersole auditioned for Hal Prince and was told on the spot that she got the gig. She left the audition and walked past throngs of women who were still waiting to sing….even there wasn’t a role available anymore.

P.S. The role was to replace Judy Kaye, who took over the lead role in On the Twentieth Century after Madeline Kahn left the production!

Tony then told that classic tragic fear of being a child performer: growing. After Gypsy closed with the late, great Linda Lavin playing Rose, he got a call around six months later telling him the show was coming back with Tyne Daly. They wanted him to reprise his role, but they were nervous that he got too tall. He was told he had to audition again at the St. James Theatre. Gypsy was such a magical time for him because his home life was not great, so he yearned to have his theatrical family back. The fear of being rejected because of his body changing was so overwhelming that on the way to his audition, he literally threw up on the street! Thankfully, he still was small enough to be cast.

Tony always felt connected to the role of Tulsa and was so excited when the 2003 Bernadette Peters revival was announced because he was finally old enough to play it. He went in to audition and…didn’t even get a callback. He was pretty upset because he assumed that was his last chance to ever play the role on Broadway. After all, there couldn’t possibly be another revival just a few years later.

Or could there be?

Seth Rudetsky and Tony Yazbeck

Yes, after the 2003 Gypsy with Bernadette Peters, they suddenly announced a version with Patti LuPone was coming to New York. This time, Tony was determined to do anything he could to get that gig. Unfortunately, this time, he couldn’t even get an audition. That’s right, he tried and tried to get seen but was kept out. Finally, he called up one of his 1989 castmates. He asked her if she knew how to contact Bonnie Walker. Bonnie had worked on the Tyne Daly production and was connected to this upcoming revival. His fellow castmate told him that she actually happened to have Bonnie’s number!

Tony called Bonnie and said, “Hi! I’m Tony Yazbeck, and I was a kid in the 1989 production of Gypsy.” Well, before he could say anymore, she immediately told him she didn’t remember him and wanted to know why he was calling. She basically tried to end the conversation. He tried a different tactic and told her that maybe she remembered his mother (!). He mentioned that she used to come to rehearsal with his sisters and she was kind of wacky. Immediately, Bonnie remembered his mom and the fact that Tony was a replacement newsboy! Tony asked if she could somehow get him an audition to be Tulsa. She told him she could coach him for a half hour the next day and if she thought he was up to snuff, she would get him in.

Well, the next day was the audition and, turns out, it also happened to be the final callback! Bonnie worked with him on fine-tuning the dance (which he already knew), and suddenly he was lined up with the fellow Tulsa wannabes who’d been coming in from the beginning of the audition process. He was the last one in line and was chilling out because he knew it would take a while to go in, when suddenly his name was called! Ah! He was totally not expecting to go in so soon. Tony pulled himself together and did the scene and song for librettist and current director, Arthur Laurents.

When Tony was finished, Arthur Laurents was crying and told him that he was exactly what they were looking for. Yes, after being denied the chance to even audition, he wound up getting the gig! It’s a great message for actors out there. The so-called powers-that-be don’t always know if you’re right for a role, and you sometimes need to fight your way into an audition.

Watch how fantastic Tony was and see the beautiful connection he had with Laurie Benanti during the number.

The final day of the cruise was the Variety Show, and the passengers finally got to do three numbers with the three stars!

Here’s the aforementioned Tony Yazbeck doing the beautiful “Lucky to Be Me” with harmonies by our cruisers and a ballroom dance break. Bill and Karen Bess have been married for 50 years and, even though Karen is almost completely blind, they can still dance up a storm!

Then we had Liz Callaway reprising her performance as Lizzie in Baby with Paul Castree as Danny. I love this song so much!

Liz Callaway and Paul Castree Corey Seeman

And finally, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer doing “Find Your Grail” from Spamalot featuring all her riffs and crazy high notes.

One of my passengers was Donna Rubin who was in the 1994 revival of Carousel, and I realized I saw her in the Phantom of the Opera Toronto production with Colm Wilkinson. Back in the '90s, I was doing Forever Plaid with Paul Castree in Toronto and we went to see my friend Gay Willis who was playing Christine Daée, opposite Colm. Turns out, Donna was playing Meg Giry at the time! Because I knew Donna was a “bunhead,” I asked her to do a dance solo in the middle of the song to cover the time Leslie was offstage (as well as irritate Leslie’s character).

Leslie Kritzer Corey Seeman

P.S. We wanted the passengers to look like they were in choir robes, so naturally they wore the bathrobes that were in their cabins. Brava on the uniformity! And brava on Leslie’s “Defying Gravity” ending!

Watch then peace out!

And don’t forget to come on one of my cruises! To join us on board, you can send us an email or get more info here.

 
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