DID YOU KNOW?

To raise funds for the upcoming productions, a benefit concert featuring songs from Broadway's most notorious flops will be held Dec. 4. The 7 PM concert, titled When I'm Drunk, I'm Beautiful: A Celebration of Flops to Benefit Beautiful Soup, will take place at The TAI Group.

The evening will feature songs from Prettybelle, A Doll's Life, Carrie, The Baker's Wife, Merrily We Roll Along and So Long, 174th Street. Mallory Berlin and Steven Carl McCasland will host; performers will include Mallory Berlin*, Nikki Van Cassele, Cristina Carrion*, Thomas Dolan*, Emily Floyd, Anne Richmond, Ellyn Stein, Laurie Strickland, Kymberly Tuttle, Roxy Arrojo, Seanna Burke, Mario Castro*, Margaret Dietrich*, Kathleen Gubitosi, Dot Mitzvah, Alex Pagels*, Purvi Parmar, Cara Picone, Jordan Shaner, Kymberly Tuttle*, and Tal Yardeni*. Jeremy Robin Lyons and McCasland accompany on piano.

A '*' indicates performer is a member of the NORA IN REP company.

The TAI GROUP is located at 150 West 30th Street, 14th floor. Tickets are available at the door, cash only, for $20. Students with a valid ID will receive a $5 discount. To reserve tickets, e-mail BeautifulSoupTheater@gmail.com.

But if you're reading this blog, then guess what! You can get $10 tickets by saying "Mock Turtle Soup" at the door! But remember. We recommend reserving your tickets ahead of time!

MEET TAL YARDENI

Meet Tal Yardeni, who makes her Beautiful Soup debut as Selma in A DOLL'S LIFE: the musical. Check out her interview with our Nora bloggers below:

With hundreds of casting calls a week in this city, what attracted you to this project? Steven got in touch with me about the project after seeing a show that I was in. I had never heard of the musical before and was intrigued by the story!

What do you hope audience members come away with after seeing the show? How beautiful this music is!

Who or what inspired you to go into theatre? A teacher of mine who really opened my eyes the arts. She heard me singing one day and took me under her wing. I will never forget Ms. Lopez.

What's your dream role?  Mamma Rose in Gypsy

Who is your hero and why? Patti Lupone...are you seeing a pattern here? Haha. She is electrifying on stage.

What's the greatest experience you've had on stage? Delivering the line" Can the adults please smoke"...classic!

Who is the one person you haven't worked with that you would like to? Hal Prince are you out there? Call me!

What's your favorite musical/play and why? Cabaret. I'm a big Kander and Ebb fan and I love that the show has some really dark elements to it.

What's your favorite ice cream?  

Pistachio

Nora or a Torvald? Nora!

MEET SETH KOPROSKI

With a special background in puppetry, Seth Koproski makes his Beautiful Soup debut as the Helmer family servant in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House. Check out his interview with us below!

With hundreds of casting calls a week in this city, what attracted you to this project? The play, of course! Who wouldn't want to be a part of A Doll's House? It's one of those great shows that's an iconic part of theater.

What do you hope audience members come away with after seeing the show? The same thing I hope they come away with after any show I'm in: a different perspective or understanding of the world around them.

Who or what inspired you to go into theatre? Shakespeare, really. We read A Midsummer Night's Dream in 8th grade English and my teacher said I had a knack for it, so I went for it.

What's your dream role?  Right now? A working actor.

Who is your hero and why? Oh God, that's a hard question... let's see... probably Batman.

What's the greatest experience you've had on stage? Strangely enough, a completely ensemble-created six person movement piece based on Hitchcock's The Birds staged on a four-by-eight platform.

Who is the one person you haven't worked with that you would like to? Julie Taymor, despite the bad rap she's gotten from Spider-Man. Maybe The Lion King-era Taymor.

What's your favorite musical/play and why? King Lear, and I don't think a 'why' is necessary.

What's your favorite ice cream? Peanut butter. In anything.

Nora or a Torvald? I think I'm more likely to forsake things than to be forsaken. In general.

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!

Tickets are OFFICIALLY ON SALE for NORA, IN REP! And through November 27th at midnight, you can get yours with a $7 discount. Regularly priced at $25, our patrons can take advantage of our Early Bird special by using the code "EarlyB27" before next Sunday [11/27 at midnight] and receive a ticket for only $18!

Strike now while the iron is hot (and cheap, too, of course)!

For tickets to Ibsen's A DOLL'S HOUSE, please visit: http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showcode=nor5E9&ss=1

For tickets to the musical A DOLL'S LIFE, please visit: http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showcode=nor2C4&ss=1

For the $45 marathon package (a ticket to both shows, save $5 when buying tickets to both), please call SmartTix at (212)-868-4444.

Remember, act before November 27th at midnight using the code "EarlyB27" and get $7 off the price of admission! 

MEET LISA WIPPERLING

Meet Lisa Crosby Wipperling, yet another Beautiful Soup newcomer, who is featured as Jaqueline in A Doll's Life for NORA, IN REP. Check out her interview with us below:

With hundreds of casting calls a week in this city, what attracted you to this project? A friend of mine studied the show recently for a class project and I fell in love with Nora's solo to her children. The show took hold. I also have been interested in Henrik Ibsen's work and, though this is loosely based on his play I still feel it's a way to study the characters he envisioned with a creative team. 

 

What do you hope audience members come away with after seeing the show? That even though women's liberation is a specific vein in the show, I think all people can relate to the moments we all have had being unequal in some way, shape or form and worked to overcome. Struggle is part of the human condition and questioning our limits at a moral level is something some of us have to face daily but all of us face at some point. To question is to be alive, to be static is to be dead. I hope this show makes you question and breathes new perspective into your life. 

 

What's your dream role? The Mother in Ragtime, The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods, Lizzie in 110 in the Shade (or Rainmaker), Diane in Next to Normal, Avery in Sin, and too many to mention. 

 

Who is your hero and why? There are many.  Meryl Streep, her versatility as an actor on and off stage is unending. Audra McDonald, her groundedness and vocal ease while being intense.

 

What's the greatest experience you've had on stage? The thrill of not knowing what's next because every night it's different. 

 

Who is the one person you haven't worked with that you would like to? Raul Esparza. Watching Company on a DVD I was drawn in. Then being front row for Arcadia, his presence resonated so strongly I now crave being on a stage and interacting with him. 

 

What's your favorite musical/play and why? Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart is my new favorite.  

 

What's your favorite ice cream? Ben and Jerry's Phish Food

Nora or a Torvald? Nora. No Contest.

Meet Jordan Shaner, who makes his Beautiful Soup debut in the ensemble of A Doll's Life this coming January. With an extensive background in opera, Jordan returns to the musical theater stage to work on this rare revival. Learn more about him in his interview below...

With hundreds of casting calls a week in this city, what attracted you to this project? The opportunity to work with colleagues around my own age on a project that was focused on in depth ensemble work.

What do you hope audience members come away with after seeing the show? A new perspective on ANYTHING. Coincidentally, I also hope for it myself. 

Who or what inspired you to go into theatre? I always loved pretending. 

What's your dream role? Sweeney Todd, or Figaro. I've always secretly wanted to be a barber.

Who is your hero and why? Honestly, my grandfather, who came to this country a survivor, but never allowed himself to become a martyr or victim. He put the past behind him and he prospered in the moment.

What's the greatest experience you've had on stage? I was in a "viewpoints" production of Robert Ward's opera The Crucible. It changed the way I approach the work.

Who is the one person you haven't worked with that you would like to? Anne Bogart 

What's your favorite musical/play and why? I love the old classics and Sondheim. Can't pick a favorite. 

What's your favorite ice cream? Ben and Jerry's Mint Chocolate Chip.

Nora or a Torvald? Torvald.

Have you seen our teaser trailer yet?

Watch it and let us know what you think! Are you getting excited to see the shows?