Broadway Theater News

When a Bare Stage Fills The Theater

2011-09-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

Theatergoers, especially the kind who regard Broadway as Mecca, expect their seats to come with a breathtaking view. I mean of scenic scenery that gives its own spectacular performance, regardless of what’s happening in front of it. Not for nothing is the longest-running musical ever on Broadway, “The Phantom of the Opera,” a major eye-filler, replete with fat Belle Époque designs, the occasional falling chandelier and a stage-crossing gondola.

But for me, the most visually magical productions are often those in which the stage is a blank canvas, waiting to be written upon by the performers who inhabit it. Consider the exquisite example of the Fiasco Theater production of Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline,” which was first seen in New York last January at the New Victory Theater and which reopens Thursday night at the Barrow Street Theater in Greenwich Village.

A labyrinthine, continents-spanning, battle-packed, credulity-taking romance, set in the time of the Roman Empire, “Cymbeline” would seem to call for the scale and accoutrements of a Cecil B. DeMille epic. Fiasco has responded to the play’s demands with a cast of exactly six, with support provided by a sheet, a trunk and a few other multifarious props. Yet, as directed by Noah Brody and Ben Steinfeld, this version of “Cymbeline” is the clearest and most truly enchanting that I’ve seen.

Doubling and trebling (and in some cases, quite a bit more-ing) in parts, the young actors here convey the authorial thrill of spinning substance out of air, of creating a world from within. From the beginning they implicitly ask us to participate in this process, to join them in their leaps of imagination. Theater, they remind us, is an act of collaboration between performers and their audiences, and the reality they conjure doesn’t exist without our willingness to believe in it.

A similar exchange of energy occurred (though with a bit more furniture) when Elevator Repair Service took its word-for-word production of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Great Gatsby” to the Public Theater last year. That show, “Gatz,” took place on a single, shabby set, which, through sheer force of the performers’ will (and ours, vicariously), was transformed into Gatsby’s pleasure place, the Plaza Hotel and the grungier environs that lay in between.

The central relationship here was between one great American novel and one average man (played by the brilliant Scott Shepherd), who reaches a point when Fitzgerald’s reality eclipses that of his own life. And in portraying that dialogue, “Gatz” suggested how much we contribute to our experience of any work of art. Mr. Shepherd’s gradual absorption into Fitzgerald’s worldview mirrored ours into that of Mr. Shepherd’s character. And it reminded us of how dynamic the relationship between art and its observers is. (Elevator Repair Service’s take on another epochal novel of the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway’s “Sun Also Rises” opens on Sunday night at the New York Theater Workshop.)

Of course, theater was relatively devoid of spectacle for long stretches of its history, from the Greek amphitheaters to Shakespeare’s “wooden o” of a stage. (Shakespeare’s Globe in London, the Thames-side facsimile of an Elizabethan theater, continues to remind of how complete a world can be summoned with Shakespeare’s language on bare boards.) In more recent years theatrical nakedness is more of a novelty, and it is often used to make a conceptual point. (Think of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town,” which in its scenic austerity evokes life as we live it as something ephemeral, a passing shadow on eternity.)

And sometimes a bare stage is to its actors what a little black dress is to a beautiful woman: a showcase for charms that require no camouflage. A 1995 adaptation of Graham Greene’s “Travels With My Aunt” featured four actors (including Jim Dale and Brian Murray), identically dressed, who took turns spinning Greene’s far-fetched narrative and becoming its various characters — in widely varying settings — through precise, virtuosic gestures and vocal inflections. When I think back on it, I can see – in physical detail – all sorts of scenes that were never visually present onstage. (It’s rather like converting a black-and-white film into specific colors when you recall it.)

Then there’s the current production of the John Kander and Fred Ebb musical “Chicago” – the longest-running revival in Broadway history – which uses nothing more than some smoke, a ladder, a few chairs and an onstage band to summon the jails, courtrooms and vaudeville houses of the bootleg era. What truly brings that world to pulsing life is the style of the singers and dancers (channeling the sensibility of Bob Fosse as recreated by Ann Reinking). Sometimes the razzle-dazzle (to borrow the title of one of the show’s songs) that is show biz requires nothing more than stark talent, and perhaps a pair of endless legs.

Many other examples come to my mind: the long-, long-running Off Broadway musical “The Fantasticks” or Richard Burton’s “Hamlet,” directed by John Gielgud (which I have seen only on film). And I’m sure you can add to that list endlessly. What are some of your memories of theater in which less was so much more?

Tony Yazbeck Is Billy Flynn in Broadway's Chicago, Starting Aug. 29

2011-08-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

The Tony-winning revival of John Kander, Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse's Chicago welcomes Tony Yazbeck to the cast at Broadway's Ambassador Theatre Aug. 29. With this performance, Chicago becomes the fourth longest-running show in Broadway history, surpassing A Chorus Line.

Yazbeck is stepping into the role of slick lawyer Billy Flynn for a nine-week engagement through Oct. 30. He succeeds Christopher Sieber, who played his final performance Aug. 26 in order to head out in the national tour of La Cage aux Folles.

Tony Yazbeck's Broadway credits include Phil Davis in Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Tulsa in the recent revival of Gypsy starring Patti LuPone (for which he earned an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), Al in A Chorus Line, Never Gonna Dance, Oklahoma! and Gypsy with Tyne Daly. His Off-Broadway credits include the City Center Encores! productions of On The Town, Gypsy, The Apple Tree, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Pardon My English, as well as the York Theatre production of Fanny Hill.

The Broadway production currently stars two-time Tony Award nominee Charlotte d'Amboise as Roxie Hart, Nikka Graff Lanzarone as Velma Kelly, Chris Sullivan as Amos Hart and Carol Woods as Matron "Mama" Morton.

The milestone performance beating A Chorus Line's run was to be the matinee of Aug. 27, but since that show was cancelled due to the hurricane, Monday's show is the history-maker.

As previously announced, former "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi will make her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in an eight-week engagement beginning Sept. 5. DioGuardi will be joined by longtime Chicago veteran Amra-Faye Wright as Velma Kelly. (Nikka Graff Lanzarone plays her final performance Sept. 4.)

The revival of Chicago began life as one of the three annual Encores! presentations offered by City Center. The musical opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in Nov. 1996 where it remained through Feb. 1997. The musical transferred to the Shubert Theatre on Feb. 11, 1997, and played that house through Jan. 26, 2003. The revival reopened at the Ambassador Theatre, its current home, on Jan. 29, 2003.

Chicago won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 1997 as well as awards for actors Bebe Neuwirth and James Naughton, director Walter Bobbie, lighting designer Ken Billington and choreographer Ann Reinking. The original production was directed and choreographed by the late Bob Fosse.

Show must go on !!!!! - Despite the Hurricane Irene !

2011-08-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

In spite of a hurricane warning for the New York City area, all Broadway shows are scheduled to go on as planned over the upcoming weekend. Hurricane Irene is expected to bring high winds and heavy rain on August 27 and 28, but as of August 26 there are no show cancellations in effect for those days.

"As of now, all Broadway shows in New York City for the coming weekend are playing as scheduled," Paul Libin, chairman of The Broadway League, said in a statement. "For questions about exchange or refund policies, theatergoers should contact their point of purchase. Broadway is a community and we work together very closely on the safety and security of our theatregoers and employees. In all emergencies impacting safety, we coordinate our efforts with the New York City Office of Emergency Management."

CAPA Announces 2011-12 Season, Kicks Off With David Sanborn Trio

2011-08-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

CAPA today announced its season lineup for 2011-12. Highlights include the Columbus premiere of Theatre Royal Bath's production of Harold Pinter's acclaimed play, The Caretaker, starring the Tony® Award-winning actor of stage and screen, Jonathan Pryce. Also making its Columbus debut is Ballet Maribor's Radio & Juliet, choreographer Edward Clug's interpretation of the world's greatest love story set to the music of alternative rock band Radiohead.

Columbus favorites returning in the 2011-12 season include the Dave Koz and Friends Christmas Tour, the ever-popular, riotous comedy of The Second City, and master of satire David Sedaris.

Tickets for most shows go on sale to the general public on Monday, September 12, (unless otherwise noted) at the Ohio Theatre Ticket Office (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and www.ticketwebsitehq.com.

David Sanborn Trio
featuring Joey DeFrancesco and Byron Landham
Sunday, October 2, 8 pm
Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.)

Richard Thompson
Wednesday, October 5, 8 pm
Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.)

Guitar Masters
Andy McKee, Stephen Bennett, & Antoine Dufour
Saturday, October 22, 8 pm
Lincoln Theatre (769 E. Long St.)

An Evening with David Sedaris ON SALE NOW
Sunday, October 23, 7 pm
Palace Theatre (34 W. Broad St.)

Laura Ingalls Wilder
Monday, October 24, 10 am & 1 pm
Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.)

Ballet Maribor's Radio & Juliet
Thursday, October 27, 8 pm
Palace Theatre (34 W. Broad St.)

Ailey II
Sunday, October 30, 7 pm
Capitol Theatre (77 S. High St.)

The King's Singers
Wednesday, November 2, 8 pm
Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.)

The Civil Wars ON SALE NOW
Thursday, November 3, 8 pm
Lincoln Theatre (769 E. Long St.)

Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real ON SALE NOW
Wednesday, November 2, 8pm
Lincoln Theatre (769 E. Long St.)

Disney's Phineas and Ferb: The Best LIVE Tour Ever! ON SALE NOW
Friday, November 4, 3 pm & 7 pm
Palace Theatre (34 W. Broad St.)

Ledisi
Tuesday, November 22, 8 pm
Lincoln Theatre (769 E. Long St.)

Charles Dickens ' A Christmas Carol
Thanksgiving weekend!
Friday, November 25, 7:30 pm
Saturday, November 26, 2 pm & 7:30 pm
Sunday, November 27, 2 pm & 7:30 pm
Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.)

Dave Koz and Friends Christmas Tour 2011
Saturday, December 3, 8 pm
Palace Theatre (34 W. Broad St.)

Judy Collins: Home for the Holidays
Monday, December 5, 8 pm
Lincoln Theatre (769 E. Long St.)

Over the Rhine
Wednesday, December 7, 8 pm
Lincoln Theatre (769 E. Long St.)

Cherish the Ladies
Friday, December 9, 8 pm
Capitol Theatre (77 S. High St.)

Frankie Vall i & The Four Seasons ON SALE NOW
Friday, December 9, 8 pm
Palace Theatre (34 W. Broad St.)

Harlem Gospel Choir
Thursday, January 26, 8 pm
Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.)

Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Wednesday, February 8, 8 pm
Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.)

Bill Blagg's The Science of Magic
Thursday, February 16, 10 am & 1 pm
Lincoln Theatre (769 E. Long St.)

Four Score and Seven Years Ago
Monday, March 5, 10 am & 1 pm
Lincoln Theatre (769 E. Long St.)

The Second City's Laugh Out Loud Tour
Saturday, March 10, 7:30 pm
Lincoln Theatre (769 E. Long St.)

Zakir Hussein & Masters of Percussion
Tuesday, April 10, 8 pm
Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.)

The Four Bitchin' Babes in Hormonal Imbalance... A Mood Swinging Musical Revue!
Sunday, April 15, 7 pm
Capitol Theatre (77 S. High St.)

Imagination Movers
Friday, April 20, 3 pm & 6:30 pm
Palace Theatre (34 W. Broad St.)

The Caretaker
Co-presented with CATCO-Phoenix
Thursday, April 26, 8 pm
Friday, April 27, 8 pm
Saturday, April 28, 2 pm & 8 pm
Sunday, April 29, 2 pm
Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.)

Simply Sinatra
Sunday, May 13, 3 pm
Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.)

Weinstein Co. Looks to Expand on Broadway With FINDING NEVERLAND, CHOCOLAT, CINEMA PARADISO & More

2011-08-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

With a history of bringing Broadway hits to film and vice versa, The Weinstein Co. - headed by Harvey Weinstein and brother Bob - is looking to bring even more shows to Broadway stages.

As with FINDING NEVERLAND, which is being adapted for the stage, a source tells The New York Post that "the plan is to mine the Miramax and Weinstein Co. vaults for material for eight to 10 projects."

Based on the 2004 Academy Award-nominated film - which in turn was adapted from librettist Allan Knee's play, The Man Who Was Peter Pan - FINDING NEVERLAND tells the story of the real boys who inspired a literary masterpiece.

"It's an expansion of the existing Weinstein Live Entertainment," Weinstein Co. Chief Operating Officer David Glasser told the Post. "Instead of investing in other shows, it's about original shows out of our shop."

The Weinstein Company's THE KING'S SPEECH is also headed to Broadway; word is that casting is underway by casting director Gabrielle Dawes and that the play will first run in the UK in the beginning of 2012. Guilford's Yvonne Arnaud Theater will host a three to five week engagement in January. After the run at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, "The King's Speech" plans to move to London's West End in March before moving to Broadway in the fall.

Also being considered are "Chocolat" and "Cinema Paradiso."

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN to Perform at JFK Airport, 8/11

2011-08-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

JetBlue Airways just announced that Broadway's high-Flying Musical CATCH ME IF YOU CAN will give a special performance on Thursday, August 11, post-security at Terminal 5 (T5) at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

"The next best thing to a JetBlue pilot is a singing Broadway pilot," said JetBlue manager of brand and partnerships Lisa Borromeo. "We look forward to this special live performance as we proudly display our love for local culture as New York's Hometown Airline right in our own home at T5."

JetBlue's Live from T5 Series is pleased to take the leap from vocal performances to include its premiere live theatre performance. Ticketed customers won't have to leave the airport to get their first taste of New York culture when the cast of CATCH ME performs key numbers from the Tony Award-winning show in the airline's performance-worthy T5 terminal. The cast will perform six acts from the musical including Jet Set and Don't Break the Rules.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN is the high-flying new musical comedy based on the hit DreamWorks film and the incredible true story that inspired it! Fast-rising Broadway headliner Aaron Tveit (Next to Normal, Wicked) stars as Frank W. Abagnale, Jr., a teenager who runs away from home in search of the glamorous life. With nothing more than a boyish charm, a big imagination and millions of dollars in forg Ed Checks, Frank successfully poses as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer - living the high life and winning the girl of his dreams (played by Tony® nominee Kerry Butler (Xanadu, Hairspray). Tony winner and Broadway fave Norbert Leo Butz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Wicked) plays Carl Hanratty, the dogged FBI agent who chases Frank to the end and finds something he never expected. And Tony nominee Tom Wopat (Annie Get Your Gun, Chicago) returns to Broadway as Frank, Sr., who sees his dreams of making it big lived out in his son's fantastic adventures.

CATCH ME features a Tony Award-winning creative team, with a book by Terrence McNally (The Full Monty, Ragtime), an irresistible score by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman (Hairspray), choreography by Jerry Mitchell (Hairspray, Legally Blonde) and direction by Jack O'Brien (Hairspray, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels).

JetBlue's Live from T5 concert series debuted in 2009 and was developed in partnership with Superfly Marketing Group. It has since grown into a concert series that transforms the travel experience by producing live entertainment for customers traveling through JetBlue's state-of-the-art Terminal 5 at JFK. Live from T5 features artists from around the world. Over the past three years the series has hosted performances by Robyn, James Blunt, Taylor Swift, Raphael Saadiq, Sarah McLachlan and rock band Daughtry, among others. All Live from T5 concerts take place post-security in the terminal marketplace.

Andrea Bocelli's September 15 Central Park Concert to Be Taped for PBS Broadcast

2011-08-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

Well renowned tenor Andrea Boceilli's previously announced September 15 Central Park concert with the New York Philharmonic will be taped in HD by Great Performances and broadcast as part of PBS' Fall Arts Festival on December 2 at 9pm.

The concert, conducted by Joe Miller and featuring music direction by Alan Glibert, will also feature the Westminster Symphonic Choir. Addditonal guest performers will be announced shortly.

Bocelli has performed classical recitals and opera on the stage of the Vienna State Opera, the New York Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Washington Opera, the San Antonio Opera, the Berlin's Deutsche Oper, and Florence's Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, among others, and he has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra.

For further information about the concert, including distribution of tickets that will be required for entry, click here.

Tony Winner and True Blood Star Denis O'Hare Ties The Knot With Longtime Partner Hugo Redwood

2011-07-29T06:49:00.000-07:00

Tony Award-winning actor Denis O'Hare married his longtime boyfriend, interior decorator Hugo Redwood, on July 28, according to the actor's Twitter page.

"Okay. It happened. Hugo and I just got married," O'Hare wrote. Earlier that afternoon his page also included a post that said, "Who thought I'd ever see this day?"

O'Hare received a Tony Award for Take Me Out and an additional nomination for Assassins. His other Broadway credits include Elling, Inherit the Wind, Sweet Charity, Major Barbara, Cabaret and Racing Demon. He is set to perfom a self penned solo show An Iliad at off-Broadway's New York Theatre Workshop during the 2011-2012 season. On television, O'Hare earned raves for his portrayal of murderous vampire Russell Edgington on True Blood, has been featured in the recurring role of an annoying judge in The Good Wife and starred in the pilot for Glee creator Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story, which was recently picked up by F/X.

The Help's Rising Star Emma Stone Hopes to Head to Broadway

2011-07-25T08:29:00.000-07:00

Hot young film actress Emma Stone hopes to add Broadway star to her growing resume, but notes a medical issue may sidetrack her musical dreams, according to Showbizspy.com.

"I would absolutely love to be on Broadway, but I have vocal nodules, so it's like a miracle I have made it through this week without my voice being gone," Stone said. "I lose my voice all the time. That would be the only thing that would be hard about doing live theater and projecting every night. When I was a kid doing theater, I lost my voice every other day, and it made the performances really difficult. If I could get a real handle on that, I would love to do theater."

Stone recently sought some advice about fixing her problem from a famous friend: "I was talking to Justin Timberlake and he had that surgery a couple of years ago and he was on vocal rest. And he thought he was never going to be able to sing again. But you have to have vocal rest for a month. A month of me not talking? That would be very hard!"

Stone will appear in the upcoming films Crazy, Stupid, Love and The Help as well as next year's The Amazing Spider-Man. Her many film credits include Superbad, Easy A, Zombieland, Friends With Benefits, The House Bunny, The Rocker and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.

Date Set For 2011 Broadway Flea Market

2011-07-22T06:41:00.000-07:00

The annual Broadway Flea Market will set up shop in Shubert Alley at 44th Street on September 25. Fans can enter the market from 10am to 7pm.

Each year at the Flea Market, merchant tables sell a variety of theater memorabilia such as costume pieces, scripts, photographs and more. A Grand Auction also takes place in which guests bid on prizes that often include walk-on roles in hit Broadway shows. Other highlights include a silent auction as well as a Celebrity Table, where prominent Broadway stars greet autograph-hungry fans. Participating stars will be announced at a later date. All proceeds from the event benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Last year's Grand Auction featured prizes including walk-on roles in The Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia!, In the Heights, Rock of Ages and Wicked as well as a meet and greet with Stephen Sondheim, dinner with Anthony Rapp, an autographed tank top worn by Daniel Craig, costume pieces worn by Brian d'Arcy James in Shrek, the chance to conduct The Phantom of the Opera and more.

Godspell: Tickets now on sale

2011-07-18T07:04:00.000-07:00

Tickets are now on sale for the 40th Anniversary production and first-ever Broadway revival of Stephen Schwartz's Godspell, produced by Ken Davenport, will arrive on Broadway in the fall, opening at the Circle in the Square on 7 Nov 2011, following previews from 13 Oct 2011.

The Broadway revival will reunite director Daniel Goldstein (Boradway debut) and choreographer Christopher Gattelli (Tony Award-winner: South Pacific), the creative team of the critically-acclaimed 2006 Paper Mill Playhouse production of Godspell.

Goldstein and Gattelli are the same team that were to have helmed the 2008 Broadway revival of Godspell by producer Adam Epstein that was set to open at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on 23 Oct 2008. In Aug 2008 Epstein announced that his production had been indefinately postponed. That revival was to have starred Gavin Creel in the title role of 'Jesus,' alongside 'American Idol' finalist Diana DeGarmo as 'Mary.'

The revival features scenic design by David Korins (Passing Strange, Bridge and Tunnel), costume design by Miranda Hoffman (Well), lighting design by Ben Stanton (Angels in America) and orchestrations by Michael Holland (Hurricane).

Godspell is a modern-day version of the gospel of Matthew. John the Baptist calls a group of young disciples to leave their daily lives and follow Jesus the Christ. Jesus explains the gospel to his followers, leading them in acting out the parables using song, mime and comedy.

Conceived and originally directed by John-Michael Tebelakwith, Godspell features music and new lyricss by Academy and Grammy Award winner and six time Tony Award nominee Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin), which includes recognizable songs, such as "Day by Day", that have become staples of both the American musical theatre and popular culture alike.

The original production of Godspell opened off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre on 13 May 1971 and in August of 1971 moved to the larger Promenade Theatre where it ran for 2,124 performances making it one of the longest running Off-Broadway musicals in history.

After five years of sold-out audiences Off-Broadway, Godspell made its Broadway debut on 22 Jun 1976 at the Broadhurst Theatre. The show moved to the Plymouth and the Ambassador before closing on 4 Sep 1977 after 527 performances. In all, the musical achieved more than 2,600 performances both on Broadway and off.

Conceived and originally directed by John-Michael Tebelakwith music and new lyrics by Academy and Grammy Award winner Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin), Godspell has continued to electrify audiences throughout the country since its original New York premiere in May 1971.

You can find tickets here

Maury Yeston Goes on Holiday

2011-07-15T06:18:00.000-07:00

from: TheaterMania.com

Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist Maury Yeston is a master of adaptation, having had major Broadway hits with such shows as Nine, Grand Hotel, and Titanic. His latest show,Death Takes a Holiday, now at the Roundabout's Laura Pels Theatre, features a book by the late Peter Stone and Thomas Meehan, and boasts a star-studded cast including Rebecca Luker, Julian Ovenden, Jill Paice, Michael Siberyy, and Max von Essen.

Based on Alberto Casella's 1928 play, the work imagines what would happen if Death took a weekend off and got to learn what life is all about. Yeston recently spoke with TheaterMania about the enduring power of the story, his creative process, and the particular challenges of adapting well-known works to the stage.

THEATERMANIA: What was the impetus for this show?
MY: About half a year after we did Titanic, Peter Stone and I realized that you couldn't do more of mega-musical than that show -- with 37 people on stage, 26 people in the band, and millions of dollars of scenery. So we thought, you know what, let's go in the opposite direction and write a chamber musical, an intimate and romantic, funny, ensemble piece with a maximum of 15 people. And then Peter said, "What about Death Takes a Holiday? It's a story that's been beloved for more than 80 years

TM: So you were instantly convinced that this was the right material?
MY: No, I said to Peter, "I don't know if I want to do that. It's death, death, death." And he said, "No, it's holiday, holiday, holiday." I realized that even though the show may seem to be about one thing when you read the title, in fact, it's really all about the joy of life. It's about Death taking the weekend off, and nobody dies. He just has the best time in the world, and he finds out why life is so wonderful because he falls deeply in love with a beautiful girl, and she with him. The last thing he thought of is he'd have to leave her Sunday night, and all of sudden he realizes why it is that men value life so much. We don't have all the time in the world, so we fill it with love and the best things in life, and that's why we so dearly want to hang onto it.

TM: What was the creative process like for you in creating this show?
MY: Peter and I used to meet two or three times a week and literally talk the show into existence. Come up with ideas of how this would sing, how we would change the story to magnify the exuberance and celebration of life and the romantic story while bringing great comedy to it. It's really a matter of talking the structure of the show. It's not so much that you look for lyrics or music or even scenes, you look for the idea of a premise. It's the same way when you have a guy like Tevye who has no money -- you come up with the premise "if I was a rich man." That's something to sing about. The same is true of this show. You start coming up with, "what wonderfully ironic way is there to get into this story that will delight the audience and surprise them?" That's really the genesis of the idea.

TM: What is it about the process of adapting material that excites you?
MY: The answer is you have to do two completely opposite things: you have to honor the original work, which is essential. But you also have to have the courage and the wisdom to change it, because a book can't be read onstage and become a play, and a movie cannot be transformed into a live theatrical work. No matter what the original inspiration is, it must change in order to adapt to the new form. You're constantly working towards two different goals at the same time. TM: How did you specifically accomplish that with Death Takes a Holiday?
MY: Our show takes place on a bare stage, and it's only music, lyrics, words, and underscoring that harness the imagination of the audience to believe they are in the northern Italian lakes with the Alps in the background. It's just all done with theater magic.

Marc Kudisch Will Help Test Broadway-Bound On a Clear Day Revision in NYC Lab

2011-07-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

Vineyard Theatre's developmental lab of the newly imagined, Broadway-bound musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever will be presented to an invited audience July 25-30 at Vineyard's home on 15th Street. Marc Kudisch steps into the leading-man role for this developmental chapter; Harry Connick Jr. will star on Broadway.

The musical has a score by Burton Lane (music) and Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics), and a new book by Peter Parnell based on the original book by Lerner. The show is reconceived and directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer.

The On a Clear Day lab is only open to Vineyard Theatre members. (Tickets are not on sale to the general public.)

Connick "was unable to participate in the lab due to prior scheduling conflicts," so Tony nominee Kudisch (9 to 5, Thoroughly Modern Millie) was asked to play with the material. The cast for The Vineyard's developmental lab of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever also includes Heather Ayers, Stephen Booth, Ben Eakley, Drew Gehling, Kendal Hartse, Paul O'Brien, Kerry O'Malley, Jessie Mueller, Zach Prince, Sarah Stiles, David Turner, Alysha Umphress and Lori Wilner. This cast does not necessarily reflect future casting.

The Broadway run is currently on sale to American Express cardholders.

The Vineyard launched its Developmental Lab Program in 1991 "in order to provide artists with a safe and creative way to develop new works of theatre," according to the Off-Broadway not-for-profit. "Labs are small in scale and perform for a limited run that is closed to press. Every lab at The Vineyard is tailored to the needs of the developmental process of the piece; in the case of On a Clear Day, the format will be a concert presentation and due to the limited number of performances, will be open to current Vineyard Theatre members only."

7 Fingers Acrobats to Return to New York

2011-07-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

from: New York Times

It’s turning out to be quite a summer for French-Canadian, hoop-diving, animal-free circus ensembles in New York City.

Cirque du Soleil recently opened its latest extravaganza, “Zarkana,” at Radio City Music Hall with a cast of 75 acrobats and performers. As a more downtown alternative, the seven cast members of the Montreal group 7 Fingers are bringing their own mix of acrobatics, music and dance to town with the show "Traces"

A fusion of circus and street performance, “Traces” is to begin a 10-week run starting July 29 at the Union Square Theater (where the comedy “Desperate Writers” recently closed). The show returns to New York after a run at the New Victory Theater in 2008; it recently had productions in Los Angeles, Denver and Chicago. The company’s cabaret-themed show “La Vie” was performed in New York in 2007.

7 Fingers (or Les 7 Doigts de la Main in French, translated as “The Seven Fingers of the Hand”) is currently collaborating with the producer Barry Weissler (“Chicago”) and the director Diane Paulus (“Hair”) on a revival of “Pippin,” in which the chorus is a circus troupe.

You can find the best tickets for all of them right here

Olivia Newton-John Visits Off-Broadway's Manipulation

2011-06-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

from: TheaterMania.com

Grammy Award-winner Olivia Newton-John attended a preview performance of the Off-Broadway production of Victoria E. Calderon's Manipulation at the Cherry Lane Theater on Friday, June 24. The show officially opens on June 28.

The production is helmed by Will Pomerantz, with the cast including Brendan McMahon, Saundra Santiago, Marina Squerciati, Jeremy Stiles Holm, Robert Bogue, Rafi Silver, Gabriel Furman and John-Patrick Driscoll.

The play centers on a woman coping with her husband's flagrant infidelities, her mother's suggestions that she have an affair herself, and her psychoanalyst's self-serving advice.

The production features scenic design by Bill Stabile, lighting design by Kirk Bookman, costume design by Alejo Vietti, sound design by Jeremy Lee, technical supervision by Jay Janicki, and fight direction by Rick Sordelet.

For tickets and more information, Click Here

"4000 Miles" by Amy Herzog

2011-06-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

from: TheaterMania

In her heartfelt if not always involving new work, 4000 Miles, now being presented by LCT3 at the Duke on 42nd Street, playwright Amy Herzog once again amply demonstrates her gift for creating the sort of acutely detailed conversations and finely crafted characters that immediately ring true for audiences.

Indeed, 4000 Miles proves to be something of a companion piece to her superior drama, After the Revolution, as we once again meet Vera Joseph (Mary Louise Wilson), now 91 and still feisty, still opinionated, and still dealing -- not always elegantly -- with bouts of memory loss and vocabulary confusion. Not surprisingly, the role proves to be an ideal fit for the superb Wilson, who imbues the part with plenty of sharp-tongued flintiness melded with a soupcon of human compassion and a dollop of leftist idealism.

As the play begins, the widowed Vera is awakened in the middle of the night by her 21-year-old grandson Leo (Gabriel Ebert), who has arrived unexpectedly in her pre-war West Village apartment after a cross-country bicycle trip. He's slightly disheveled and slightly defiant -- and apparently willing to walk out the second Vera begins asking too many questions.

As we soon come to learn, Leo is in crisis: his best friend, Micah, died during the journey; he is estranged from his mother and sister for a variety of reasons; and his brief reunion earlier that evening with his girlfriend Bec (the excellent Zoe Winters) has not gone as planned. Vera offers Leo some grandmotherly comfort -- as well as the occasional put-down -- and the two soon settle into a reasonably comfortable if likely temporary living arrangement.

As their weeks together pass, Herzog comes close at times to entering sitcom land, as in a well-played scene where the two smoke marijuana together. And she teases out the story of what actually happened to Micah a bit longer than necessary, for no discernible reason. (Nonetheless, the monologue in which the details are revealed is beautifully written.)

Still, Herzog's strength is her ability to deftly capture the truth of the characters' relationships, even Vera's love-hate friendship with her (unseen) neighbor, Ginny. The show's strongest scene is Leo's delayed reunion with Bec, which is full of confessions, recriminations, and genuine love. Conversely, a scene where Leo brings home Amanda, a kooky Asian girl (overplayed by Greta Lee), works far less well -- in part due to Daniel Aukin's unnecessarily frantic direction.

As might be expected, Leo learns to take responsibility for his life and his actions during his stay with Vera. But to both Herzog's credit and detriment, the reasons for this transformation aren't particularly spelled out. It doesn't appear to have anything to do with Vera's influence or any noticeable outside force; it merely happens.

While Ebert is a likeable and sometimes moving presence onstage -- and he exhibits strong chemistry with all three of his scene partners -- he seemingly lacks the ability to truly show us how or why Leo changes. Ultimately, the journey's end feels a bit too abrupt, even as the play seems to have taken a bit too long to get there.

Still Swinging ...

2011-06-16T06:31:00.000-07:00

from: TheaterNews Online

Tennessee Williams wrote plenty of plays in the later stages of his career that are rarely performed. But even theater junkies can be forgiven for being unfamiliar with One Arm, which is now being presented off-Broadway in a co-production between the Tectonic Theater Project and the New Group.

One Arm is based on a 1948 short story by Williams that he later turned into a screenplay that was never filmed. Moises Kaufman's production is presented in an unashamedly presentational format. A narrator even sits downstage and reads off descriptions of camera shots that were intended for the film.

Ollie, the handsome central character, is a former boxing champ who lost his arm in a gruesome auto accident. But actor Cladbourne Elder makes no attempt to hide Ollie’s missing arm, which remains in plain sight. It’s merely immobilized and attached to his torso.

The narrative is broken into flashbacks that are presented out of chronology. It begins with Ollie rotting away in jail just before receiving the death sentence for murder, and immediately jumps to him on the street as a hustler, the only work he could find after his accident.

At first, Ollie appears to have become emotionally dead. But at the last minute he finds redemption from the hundreds of letters sent to him from his former male customers.

Besides the fact that Kaufman (Laramie Project, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo) is known primarily for documentary theater, the only justification for the overtly theatrical style of One Arm would be the difficulty of realistically showing Ollie both before and after the loss of his arm.

But besides the irritating use of narration, this makes for an atmospheric and undeniably intense piece of theater based on long-lost writing from one of the 20th century’s premier playwrights.

You can find Tickets Now

June 8th in Theater history

2011-06-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

From Paybill

1925 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart make their lyric and songwriting debut in The Garrick Gaieties at Broadway's Garrick Theatre. In the cast are Sterling Holloway, Sanford Meisner, Philip Loeb and Romney Brent.

1934 Gordon Daviot's historical play Queen of Scots plays at London's New Theatre. Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies is Mary and Laurence Olivier is Lord Bothwell. It earns 106 performances.

1980 Chinese traditions vs. Americanization is the focus of FOB which opens at the Public Theatre today. David Henry Hwang's drama, set in a small restaurant in California will, win OBIEs for Best Play and for star John Lone.

1997 Michael Mayer directs a production of Peter Hedges' Baby Anger which opens at Playwrights Horizons tonight. The play stars Kristen Johnston and John Pankow as the stressed parents of a boy who gets cast in an award-winning commercial as a girl.

Today's Birthdays: Robert Preston 1918. Alexis Smith 1921. Jerry Stiller 1929. Joan Rivers 1933. Julianna Margulies 1966.

Spider-Man, Broadway's Favorite Money-Pit

2011-05-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

from NPR:

Taking a page from the comics, producers of Broadway's "Spider-Man" musical are hoping their battered hero can somehow return from the dead.

"Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," Broadway's most expensive and audacious show, emerges from a three-week hiatus Thursday night with what the creative team and producers say is a cleaner story, tighter music and more love story.

The $70 million musical with music by U2's Bono and The Edge reopens with most of the cast intact but without the visionary Julie Taymor as director. Reeve Carney, who plays Peter Parker, said the changes have been reinvigorating.

"There's an energy in the company because of having a clear direction, knowing where we're headed and knowing that it's going to be to a greater place," said Carney. The new script, he says, "jumps off the page at you."

Playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, director Philip William McKinley and choreographer Chase Brock cleaned up a story that had wandered into darker and mythological themes, while Bono and The Edge reworked the songs. More flying stunts were added and the romance between Peter Parker and Mary Jane returned to center stage.

The original show began previews in November and soon went bad. Performances were canceled and stunts went awry, leaving actors trapped hanging over the audience. There were five major accidents to cast members, including one to lead actress Natalie Mendoza, who left the show after suffering a concussion.

The worst accident happened to actor Christopher Tierney, who suffered a fractured skull, a fractured shoulder blade, four broken ribs and three broken vertebrae on Dec. 20 when he tumbled in front of a shocked preview audience after a safety harness failed. In April, only four months after the fall, he returned to the show and is expected to again execute the main Spider-Man aerial stunts on Thursday.

I'm glad they decided to go from "trying too hard to be meaningful" to "trying too hard to sell tickets."

Oprah Demands More Attention

2011-05-11T06:48:00.000-07:00

Oprah in the title role of "King Kong," holding a small blonde woman in her right hand

from Huffington Post:

Brace yourselves, New York: Oprah is coming to Broadway.

In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Oprah said that she has every intention of acting in a Boradway play once her talk show ends.

"I have a stack of plays in my bag right now that I am reading," she said. "And just this past weekend, I was in New York meeting with producers. We were just talking about what would be the best route to take. But yes, this is really going to happen." She said that an ensemble show would be the best route for her to take.

Of course, Oprah will have to fit a Broadway play into her already busy schedule. On Monday, she admitted that OWN, the network she created, "is not where I want it to be," and said she would be devoting much more of her time to ensuring its success.

Oprah is also not a Broadway—or acting—novice. She was intimately involved in bringing the musical adaptation of "The Color Purple" to the stage, and has acted in movies for nearly 30 years. She is also set to star in an HBO movie, "Ruined."

In her interview with the Tribune, Oprah seemed dead set on making sure she got to Broadway. (And really, what producer would turn her down?)

"This next phase of my life should be pure delight," she said.

For you, perhaps. For us, it'll be like, AAAAAAAAH, AAAAAAH, SAVE US, SAVE US, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES, and then Jack Black goes "Twas beauty killed the beast" aaaaaand curtain

Spider-Man Different, But The Same

2011-05-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

from NYT:

Bathed in green light, Patrick Page took center stage at the Foxwoods Theater on Broadway and hissed his lines with the sinister glee of a villain back from the dead.

Which he is. Playing the Green Goblin in the musical extravaganza “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” Mr. Page saw his character killed off in Act I during all 145 preview performances of Julie Taymor’s version of the show this winter. Yet there was the Goblin alive and well in Act II at Friday’s rehearsal of “Spider-Man,” cracking wise in a new scene lampooning telephone voice mail.

Resurrected at the urging of focus groups that the producers convened, the Goblin and his patter are among the signs that “Spider-Man” has largely abandoned Ms. Taymor’s Wagnerian ambitions and high-concept artistry, going for a comic-book sensibility instead. The musical is aiming to capture “the 8-to-88-year-old market,” in the words of Philip William McKinley, who is now overseeing the show’s direction, as the producers seek a strategy to make good on their record-setting investment of $70 million.

After a three-week performance hiatus to accommodate a creative overhaul, at a cost of $5 million, “Spider-Man” is set to resume previews on Thursday with what its producers said they hoped would be a lighter, circuslike spirit. Five flying sequences have been added to the previous two dozen. The roles of Aunt May, Uncle Ben and Mary Jane Watson — cherished characters from Spider-Man lore — have been expanded. The musical’s composers, Bono and the Edge of U2, have added a few new songs and rewritten several others.

Bono and Edge, in their first news media interview about “Spider-Man” since performances began in November, said on Monday that they loved much about Ms. Taymor’s version but felt it relied on spectacle rather than on story. Theater critics savaged that show in February, and Bono and Edge said that all of the original collaborators — not simply Ms. Taymor, who was fired in March — shared responsibility. But for “Spider-Man” to succeed, they said, it needed to stir people emotionally.

If all you need is to stir people emotionally, you can make it the story of a man getting dropped from the cable system and breaking his arm, and his ambition to continue being Spider-Man. Meta, but effective.

Rest In Peace, Arthur Laurents

2011-05-09T06:50:00.000-07:00

from Los Angeles:

Arthur Laurents, who died Thursday as an exceptionally young nonagenarian, was one musical theater writer who was impossible to overlook. Dismiss him — and how could you dismiss the man who wrote the books for "West Side Story" and "Gypsy"? — and you'd have your head handed to you, no matter if you were a lowly reviewer or a formidable diva.

Feisty, irascible, sharp-tongued and fearless, he had a reputation in the theater as someone who was always spoiling for a fight. Age hadn't mellowed him. Even in his late 80s and early 90s, when he was busy directing revivals of his classics on Broadway, he was still settling scores with a few choice quips.

As the news of his death spread Thursday evening, theater people were trading stories about the "holy terror" that was Laurents. Harvey Fierstein reminded his Twitter following of a joke he made on the occasion of Laurents' 85th birthday that his legendary colleague (who won a Tony for directing "La Cage aux Folles," for which Fierstein wrote the book) was "living proof that the good die young." At the intermission of "War Horse" at Lincoln Center, friends were speculating whether Barbra Streisand would at last get to star in a new film version of "Gypsy" now that Laurents was no longer around to block it from happening.

This might sound like sacrilege, but the truth is these comments were made by people who revere Laurents and wouldn't dream of questioning his hallowed place in the Broadway firmament. But Laurents was not just a great theater artist — he was also a great theatrical character. His bitchiness enlivened the Rialto, his feuds fed the tabloid columnists and his gossip kept the after-show drinks crowd at Sardi's, Joe Allen and Angus McIndoe tittering over a second martini. He didn't just kiss and tell in his memoir "Original Story By"; he indicted anyone who discriminated against him as a gay man or double-crossed him in showbiz.

Somebody set fire to some papers

2011-05-05T06:54:00.000-07:00

This is actually nothing to do with Broadway theater but here you go.

from Seattle:

Seattle police were documenting the evidence at Broadway and Thomas early Thursday morning at the scene of another suspicious small fire in the city. On the sidewalk near a set of newspaper boxes outside Julia's, another stack of free weeklies up in flames.

Early Wednesday morning, somebody torched a newspaper box in the U District.

Meanwhile on Capitol Hill on Tuesday night, CHS reported on a small fire set to flyers on the north side of the Sun Electric building at 11th and Pine. SPD said they were not yet investigating the E Pine fire as an arson.

In Thursday's Broadway incident, it appeared that the fire had been set to papers inside the Stranger's box. The kiosk at Broadway and Thomas is across the street from the area where buildings were recently demolished for the 230 Broadway project and the frequently targeted Broadway Chase bank.

Damage was minimal and there were no reported injuries in any of the fire incidents.

Call the FBI, this guy is a criminal mastermind

"Lombardi" to close on Broadway

2011-05-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

from New York:

“Lombardi,” the Broadway play that tried to draw men to the theater with a story about the legendary Green Bay Packers coach, will close on May 22 after a total of 30 preview performances and 244 regular performances, the producers announced on Tuesday night.

Previously scheduled to run through June 19, “Lombardi” is leaving the field after receiving only one 2011 Tony Award nomination, announced Tuesday morning, for best featured actress in a play for Judith Light, who plays the coach’s wife, Marie. The production grossed $155,898 for its eight performances through Sunday, just 21 percent of the maximum possible and the lowest dollar total earned by a Broadway show last week.

Despite mixed reviews from critics in October, “Lombardi” survived through the relatively fallow winter months on Broadway as the only brand-new drama of the fall 2010 season to keep running.

The producers, who included the National Football League, had hoped to capitalize on the Packers’ victory in the Super Bowl in February. The play was praised by game commentators, and the actor Dan Lauria, who plays Lombardi, made an appearance in character in a taped segment during the Fox Sports coverage of the game.

A spokesman for the show did not immediately reply on Wednesday to an email asking if the show would earn back its capitalization, believed to be in the $2 million range, before closing. Few Broadway plays turn a profit.

Some of the “Lombardi” producers are now working to bring another new sports-oriented play to Broadway in 2012: “Magic/Bird,” based on the lives of basketball players Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Lombardi was my favorite Broadway play since "Francona," a musical about a bald little man who spits constantly.

"The Book of Mormon" leads Tony noms

2011-05-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of "The Book of Mormon"

from LA:

"The Book of Mormon," the equal-opportunity-offending Broadway musical from the creators of "South Park," led the Tony Award nominations Tuesday with 14 nods. The musical "The Scottsboro Boys," which closed earlier this season, received 12 nominations, and the revival of "Anything Goes" had nine.

The nominees for best play included "Good People," "The Mother... With the Hat," "Jerusalem" and "War Horse."

This year's acting nominees include Al Pacino in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice," Edie Falco in "The House of Blue Leaves," Frances McDormand in "Good People," Mark Rylance in "Jerusalem," Ellen Barkin in "The Normal Heart" and Vanessa Redgrave in "Driving Miss Daisy."

The awards, organized by the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League, honor Broadway productions during the 2010-11 season. This year's ceremony will take place June 12 at the Beacon Theatre in New York. The show will be broadcast live on CBS, with a delay for the West Coast.

"The Book of Mormon," at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, is the creation of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the duo behind the popular animated series "South Park." The musical comedy, which was co-created by Robert Lopez, tells the story of Mormon missionaries who travel to Africa.
The show's 14 nominations fell just shy of the record 15 nominations earned by "The Producers" in 2001 and "Billy Elliot" in 2009.

"War Horse," adapted by Nick Stafford from the book by Michael Morpurgo, was first produced at the National Theatre in London before moving to the West End. The play, which uses life-size puppets to represent the equine characters, will come to the Ahmanson Theatre in 2012. A film version directed by Steven Spielberg is scheduled to open in December.

The year's most talked-about show, "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," was ineligible for awards consideration this season because its opening date has been delayed until June 14.

Broadway At The Movies

2011-05-02T06:48:00.000-07:00

from Philly:

This weekend through Tuesday, Broadway's current Tony-winning best musical - Memphis - is playing in about 530 cinemas throughout America, including 10 screens here, and it's not some Hollywood version. It's the actual show, taped in high definition with six cameras over a series of performances from the Shubert Theatre stage, where it's in its 670th performance Sunday.

Taking a cue from screened sporting events, concerts, and mostly from the unbridled success of New York's Metropolitan Opera Company - a weekend fixture at many movie theaters - live theater itself is going to the movies.

It has obvious benefits for consumers - even Philadelphians, a 90-minute ride away from real-life, reach-out-and-touch-it Broadway: Memphis at the movies will cost you $20, one-fourth the average Broadway ticket, and you don't have to go far to see it. For movie-house operators, on-screen theater means even more new content to put audiences into downtime seats and bring in additional revenue.

For show producers who depend on real bodies at a single venue when the curtain rises, film-house exposure is just that - a branding device and a potential for international audiences, plus another revenue stream. Although arrangements vary, exhibitors and producers often split cinema box-office receipts 50-50, and theater artists are paid extra by the producers.

Live theater wouldn't be taking this route if it weren't for the Metropolitan Opera, whose nine cinema simulcasts last season sold 2.4 million tickets, grossed $48 million, and put a net profit of $8 million into the opera company's coffers.

Coming soon: movies at the Broadway!

"Baby It's You" is apparently terrible

2011-04-29T06:46:00.000-07:00

from LA Times:

“Baby It’s You,” the jukebox musical that got its start in Los Angeles, opened at Broadway’s Broadhurst Theatre Wednesday night. The show revolves around the story of Florence Greenberg, who went from bored New Jersey housewife to record producer after discovering the ‘60s girl group the Shirelles.

...

So what did the critics think?

The New York Times’ Charles Isherwood, who praised Mutrux and Escott’s other Broadway jukebox offering, “Million Dollar Quartet,” found less to like in “Baby It’s You,” writing: “Mama said there’ll be shows like this. But she didn’t tell me there would be quite so many, or that any one of them could be this dismal.”

Over at the Chicago Tribune, Chris Jones also got straight to the point at the top of his review (and it's downhill from there): “Oh, the wretched unfairness of it all. Frankie Valli and th Seasons get a thrilling jukebox celebration. Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis at least had their music treated with respect and artistry. But the Shirelles, one of the greatest girl groups of all time (heck, they were covered by the Beatles), get a show of such total ineptitude and cynical profiteering that your mouth pretty much dangles open in disbelief for the duration of the entire tawdry proceedings.”

Under the headline “Baby It’s Not You,” Elisabeth Vincentelli of the New York Post lamented that the Shirelles “deserved a better showcase”: “Written by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, the team that brought us the lame rockabilly fest 'Million Dollar Quartet,' 'Baby It's You!' wavers uneasily between Greenberg's life story and the Shirelles' career arc. As such, the show is neither fish nor fowl, but neither is it as foul as its authors' pedigree would suggest.”

New York Daily News critic Joe Dziemianowicz gave the production 2 out of 4 stars, noting: “The show opened Wednesday night at the Broadhurst and boasts nearly three dozen hit songs. Among them, 'I Met Him on a Sunday,' 'He's So Fine,' 'Dedicated to the One I Love' and 'Walk on By.' The title of that last hit is my advice for this production, considering that the songs are so blandly performed they don't make an impression.”

David Rooney, writing for the Hollywood Reporter, also had issues with the music in the jukebox musical: “Biggest disappointment is the music. Songs are dropped in with the randomness of a late-'50s/early-'60s playlist set to shuffle mode. The show takes some of the great American pop tunes of the 20th century and homogenizes their transcendent joys and heartaches into bland karaoke. Numbers almost invariably are chopped into fragmented presentations, interrupted by dialogue or repurposed as Broadway-ized musical soliloquies.”

Scott Brown at New York magazine suggests “There’s a remarkable story here, but you’d be forgiven for missing it: The writers certainly have. They’re more interested in reminding you when the story’s taking place, with help from LED screens that drip with clip-art nostalgia and scene-setting screen savers…. Even Leavel’s Greenberg, the show’s ostensible focal point, takes a backseat to the set list. Mutrux (working with his 'Million Dollar' collaborator Colin Escott) is just trying to pack in as many K-tel hits as he can.”

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talents, new creations. The new needs friends.

Dionne Warwick sues musical about herself

2011-04-28T06:47:00.000-07:00

from The Rolling Stone:

The producers of Baby It's You, a new Broadway musical about the Shirelles, are being sued for using the names and likenesses of the original members of the early Sixties girl group without permission. Three of the four original Shirelles -- including surviving member Beverly Lee, who owns the trademark to the group's name, and the estates of the deceased Doris Coley Jackson and Addie Harris McPherson -- have filed the lawsuit along with Dionne Warwick, who is also portrayed in the musical.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Dionne Warwick liked attention. I guess she likes money a little more.

Counterfeit Tickets Discovered at "The Book of Mormon"

2011-04-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

from WNYC:

Tickets for "The Book of Mormon" on Broadway are selling like hotcakes, but some of them are fake.

The show's staff has come across five sets of counterfeit tickets in the last two weeks. All of the fake tickets were bought on Craigslist, picked up at different locations around the city, and are believed to have been forged by a single individual.

According to company manager Adam Miller, the first case came to light two weeks ago when a party of eight arrived with false tickets. “When the ticket takers scanned the tickets, they knew there was something going on,” said Miller.

For somebody who handles tickets all day, it's easy to tell a counterfeit ticket from a real one. “The colors are off, and the fonts are wrong. The back is sort of pixilated, and the weight and texture of the tickets are different,” he said.

Still, Miller said the tickets were relatively sophisticated and he could see how buyers were fooled—especially since the false tickets scanned the same way as a real ticket to a mezzanine seat would. That led the show’s producers to believe the counterfeits were produced by copying a legitimately purchased ticket.

Although counterfeit tickets on Broadway are rare, they are not unheard of for popular shows. In 10 years working on shows, Miller said he hadn't seen a case of people trying to enter the show with fake tickets yet—until now.

Case in point: Never buy anything from Craigslist. Once, I bought a dog off of Craigslist, only to discover that it was a cat in a dog costume. Clever little cat.

Ben Stiller returns to Broadway

2011-04-26T08:02:00.000-07:00

Apparently he has been there before.

From the beeb:

Hollywood star Ben Stiller has returned to the Broadway stage for the first time since 1986 to act in the same dark comedy he previously appeared in.

He stars opposite Sopranos actress Edie Falco in The House of Blue Leaves, as a zookeeper whose musical ambitions are stymied by his mentally ill wife.

Jennifer Jason Leigh also stars in the revival of John Guare's play, which had its official opening night on Monday.

The production is scheduled to run at the Walter Kerr Theatre until 30 June.

Stiller, 45, had a supporting role in The House of Blue Leaves when it was staged in New York in 1986 alongside Frasier star John Mahoney in the lead role.

I predict that the box of Corn Flakes will win a Tony next year.

Injured Broadway 'Spider-Man' actor rejoins show

2011-04-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

The only thing that drops more frequently than this show's reputation are its performers.

Still, it's good to see an actor get back in that diamond-encrusted saddle.

http://www.centredaily.com/2011/04/25/2668730/injured-broadway-spider-man-actor.html

An actor seriously injured at the Broadway musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" has returned to work only four months after he plummeted 35 feet from an onstage platform.
Christopher Tierney said he felt "amazing" as he reported for rehearsals Monday at the Foxwoods Theatre. He said the accident in December didn't leave him fearful. Said Tierney: "I'm ready to put on the harness right now and fly around."
The 31-year-old actor who did most of Spider-Man's aerial stunts suffered a fractured skull, four broken ribs and three broken vertebrae. He had to wear a back brace and had eight screws put in his back.
The $65 million show is on hiatus and reopens June 14. In March, director Julie Taymor was replaced and the show is being reworked.

Good luck... you'll need it.

Post One

2011-04-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

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