Miss Paula

Local history nerd. Currently working on a book about a local cemeteryand managing Hugh Panaro's web site.

[gracie-p8-officialblog]

Hugh Panaro would make an amazing King George III

That's it.

[misspaula74]

I haven’t posted here in forever, but it’s still one of my go-to places to read Phantom things.  And I had a serious Leroux moment this week.

I’m working at a cemetery now and, for the first time, I had to sign out cremated remains to funeral directors.  Before we release them, we have to actually open the box or urn and check the metal tag with a number stamped on it to make sure they get the right ones.  It’s not as awful as it sounds and I love my office.

Well, after opening about a half dozen over the course of the morning, I realized that, even though the ashes are sealed in bags, an odd smell clings to my hands.  And my first thought was, “Oh...wow...my hands smell like...death?”

My second thought was, “OMG ERIK.”

Also, it takes a lot of soap and a LOT hand sanitizer to get rid of that smell.

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Visit Original Link

“I will have vengeance.  I will have salvation.”

This is a brilliantly intense (read: demented) performance by Hugh Panaro of “Epiphany.”  He collapses at the end of this rant right in front of where I was sitting.

Liz Pearce was also terrific as Mrs. Lovett.  Just a great show on a Sunday evening in February.

Hugh Panaro as Sweeney Todd and Liz Pearce as Mrs. Lovett.

Sunday, 11 February 2018, evening performance, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” Barrow Street Theatre, New York City

[cinema-phantom]

what he says:  be my guest, sir! what he means: yOuR fLy Is OpEn!1! (X)

[misspaula74]

He totally acted this out in a Seattle restaurant late one night.  Including yanking the front hem of his t-shirt from under his sweater, half-jumping from his chair, and doing the gesture.

[twelvephoneboxes]

you said memories become stories when we forget them. maybe some of them become songs.

[hughpanaronet]

[hughpanaronet]

Autograph Table and Photo Booth Participants | Broadway Cares

Hugh will be taking part in this year’s Autograph Table & Photo Booth at the 2017 Broadway Cares Flea Market.  Details at the link.

[hughpanaronet]

Hugh Panaro and Carolee Carmello as Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett

Photos by Joan Marcus

[hughpanaronet]

Carolee Carmello on Twitter

“Thanks to @KristinHottin for sending us all these hand-painted flutes! #fanart #creative #talent @realhughpanaro @sweeneytoddnyc 🥂”

[hughpanaronet]

[hughpanaronet]

Instagram post by Carolee Carmello • Aug 29, 2017 at 5:53pm UTC

600 Likes, 14 Comments - Carolee Carmello (@caroleecarmello) on Instagram: “Reunited, and it feels so good. @realhughpanaro joins @sweeneytoddnyc today! I was his girlfriend,…”

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It has been a year ago today (August 22) since Hugh’s concert with the Cape May Pops, and as we stand on the exciting cusp of his first appearance as “Sweeney Todd,” I look back on that concert with special fondness.

Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” has become one of my favorite recordings of Hugh. The song was completely unfamiliar to me, so I did a Google search for information about it—its title, lyrics, composer, etc.  I found recordings of it on YouTube by Harry Connick, Jr. and Tony Bennett, and as accomplished and talented as they are, to me Hugh’s interpretation is so much more stylish and beautiful than theirs. I have not been able to stop listening to this over the last year.

I love this performance.  Posted last year, it flew under the radar.  So, here goes a second time.

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To celebrate the news that Hugh will soon assume the title role in “Sweeney Todd” in New York City, here is his performance of “Johanna” from last year’s concert with the Cape May Pops.

Hugh Panaro and the Cape May Pops, 22 August 2016, Cape May Convention Hall, Cape May, New Jersey

[misspaula74]

“Johanna” was one of the first couple of non-Phantom songs I’d heard Hugh sing after I met him (has it really been TWELVE!!! years now) and it will always be a sentimental favorite.

[hughpanaronet]

Hugh Panaro to Succeed Norm Lewis in Off-Broadway’s Sweeney Todd | Playbill

See who else is joining the immersive staging in the upcoming cast switch.

[misspaula74]

The story behind the Van Rensselaer family tomb and the crime that led to the removal of the graves to Albany Rural Cemetery.

Margaret “And Peggy” Schuyler Van Rensselaer is buried here, too.

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In his soft-spoken introduction to “I Will Never Leave You,” Hugh reveals that this performance is the first time he will ever have sung this song by himself.  When he announces that he is about to sing from “Side Show,” the audible gasp is mine.

8 April 2017, Broadway Voices, Garner, North Carolina

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In this excerpt, Hugh identifies Jesus in “Jesus Christ Superstar” as his favorite role that he has ever played.  “Quite frankly, once you’ve played God, where do you go from there?”

As you can tell from our reaction, the audience was in awe of this performance.

8 April 2017, Broadway Voices, Garner, North Carolina