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Monday, March 31, 2008

Sweeney Todd DVD In Stores

Sweeney Todd, the Broadway musical turned Tim Burton film, comes out on DVD tomorrow, April 1. There is a two-disc deluxe edition available with lots of extra features, including a special on composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim's involvement with the movie and footage of the original Broadway production of Sweeney Todd.

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Sunday, March 30, 2008

The Seafarer Concludes Its Broadway Voyage

The Seafarer, Conor McPherson's dark comedy about the devil coming for his due, closes on Broadway today. Starring David Morse and Ciaran Hinds, the production had an acclaimed run in London before coming to Broadway for a limited engagement. At its close, The Seafarer will have played 19 preview and 133 regular Broadway performances at the Booth Theatre.

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Thursday, March 27, 2008

Gypsy Starring Patti Lupone Opens on Broadway

It's one of those Big Event productions that the die-hard Broadway lovers live for: Patti Lupone in Gypsy. Ever since her turn as Eva Peron in Evita on Broadway, big-voiced Patti Lupone has been a favored diva, a modern Ethel Merman. And Gypsy, with its powerhouse creative team (Stephen Sondheim, Jule Styne, Arthur Laurents, and Jerome Robbins), is a classic musical of Broadway's Golden Age. To bring Lupone and Gypsy together ... well, what could be better? The audience response has been tremendous, with people giving Ms. Lupone standing ovations at the end of her solo "Rose's Turn" (it's very rare to see a standing O during a show). With the show now open, the reviews are pouring in, and already the New York Times has given it a rave. Better get your tickets now!

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Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Rent Extends Its Lease On Broadway

The Broadway musical Rent, which previously announced that its closing date would be June 1, has extended its Broadway run until September 7. Many people predicted this extension would happen as soon as the June 1 date was announced, because ticket demand tends to shoot way up anytime a long-running Broadway show posts its closing notice. Rent, in particular, has a devoted fan base that no doubt bought up numerous tickets when they found out their favorite Broadway musical would be closing soon. In fact, the show's producers have endeavored to do right by the fans who specifically bought tickets for what was to be the final week of Rent's run by allowing them to exchange those tickets for performances during the extension period.

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Tuesday, March 25, 2008

A Catered Affair On Broadway Tonight

Harvey Fierstein and John Bucchino's musical adaptation of the film A Catered Affair started performances on Broadway this evening. The show about a couple who are planning their daughter's wedding stars Faith Prince and Tom Wopat as the parents of the bride, and Fierstein himself plays a funny uncle in the family. The official Broadway opening at the Walter Kerr Theatre will be on April 17. For info on getting discount tickets to A Catered Affair, see this page.

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Sunday, March 23, 2008

There Will Be Dancin' on Broadway in 2009

The Roundabout Theatre Company has announced that one of its musical revivals for the 2008-2009 Broadway season will be Bob Fosse's Dancin'. Originally produced on Broadway in 1978, the show -- which features a wide variety of music including pop, jazz, and classical -- is a study of and tribute to the art of dance. Graciela Daniele, whose Broadway credits as director and choreographer include Ragtime and Once On This Island, will direct this new production of Dancin', which will play at the Roundabout's Studio 54.

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Saturday, March 22, 2008

Casting For Broadway Shrek Announced

At last, after a long casting process, Broadway has its Shrek. Broadway and New York theater regular Brian d'Arcy James (Titanic, Sweet Smell of Success) will play the big green ogre -- presumably with some sort of fat suit and make-up, as James is neither large, nor green. Chester Gregory II (Cry-Baby, Tarzan, Hairspray) will play Donkey, the character voiced memorably by Eddie Murphy in the Shrek films. And John Tartaglia, best known for playing puppets Princeton and Rod in the original Off-Broadway and Broadway companies of Avenue Q, will be Pinocchio. As previously announced, Sutton Foster (currently on Broadway in Young Frankenstein) will play Princess Fiona.

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Friday, March 21, 2008

Broadway's Hottest Show To Go National

It has been announced that a national tour of the 2007 Tony-winning Broadway musical Spring Awakening will launch this summer on the West Coast. San Francisco, Washington D.C., Portland, Tampa, East Lansing, Louisville, and Seattle are among the cities scheduled to host the tour in its first year. Spring Awakening continues to go strong on Broadway -- you can get discount tickets to see the Broadway production here.

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Thursday, March 20, 2008

From Broadway To Hollywood: Andrew Lloyd Webber To Mentor American Idol Contestants

On last night's broadcast of American Idol, it was announced that West End/Broadway composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (along with Dolly Parton, Neil Diamond, and Mariah Carey) will serve as a "celebrity mentor" on the hit Fox TV show this season. It's a bit of a surprise, considering judge Simon Cowell frequently uses the phrase "Too Broadway!" as a slam to contestants whose singing sounds more legit than pop. And Lloyd Webber of course has had multiple hits on Broadway, including Evita, Cats, and the still-running Broadway phenomenon The Phantom of the Opera. But maybe Cowell decided to make an exception for a fellow Brit? In any case, Andrew Lloyd Webber's appearance on the show is bound to be a "Broadway week", giving the nation exposure to some (hopefully) terrific Broadway tunes.

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Wednesday, March 19, 2008

It's Curtains For David Hyde Pierce Musical

Curtains, the murder-mystery musical that opened on Broadway in March 2007, has announced that it will have its final Broadway performance at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on June 29. That still leaves you plenty of time to catch David Hyde Piece (who won a Tony for his performance as a Broadway-obsessed detective) and company in this Kander & Ebb tuner. Get your discount tickets here.

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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Broadway To Set Up Fences Later This Year

A revival of Fences, by the late August Wilson, is going to be coming to Broadway early next season. Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog) will direct this production of the Tony-winning play, which was originally produced on Broadway in 1987.

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Monday, March 17, 2008

39 Steps Transfers To Another Broadway Theater

The 39 Steps, the well-received Hitchcock spoof currently being presented by the Roundabout Theatre Company, will be transferring from the American Airlines Theatre to the Cort Theatre on April 29. This new engagement of the farcical play, which comes courtesy of a slew of new producers, will include a second opening night for the show -- on May 8. All tickets for The 39 Steps's first Broadway preview performance at the Cort will cost $39.

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Sunday, March 16, 2008

Come Back Little Sheba Leaves Broadway

The Manhattan Theatre Club's revival of William Inge's Come Back, Little Sheba, starring S. Epatha Merkerson (Law & Order), closed on Broadway today. This was the first time that the domestic drama had appeared on Broadway since its original Broadway run in 1950.

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Saturday, March 15, 2008

Cry-Baby Is Born On Broadway Tonight

The new 1950s-set musical Cry-Baby, featuring a score by David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger, started preview performances on Broadway tonight. Like the Broadway (and Hollywood) hit Hairspray, Cry-Baby is also based on a John Waters movie, and it also has a book by the Hairspray writing team, Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell. Cry-Baby will have its official Broadway opening at the Marquis Theatre on April 24. To get your discount tickets to see this show, click here.

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Friday, March 14, 2008

Tales Of The City Musical Aiming For Broadway

Jason Moore and Jeff Whitty, the director and bookwriter behind the Tony-winning Broadway musical comedy Avenue Q, have announced that they're teaming up again for a new musical based on Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City books. Jason Sellards and John Garden of the rock band the Scissors Sisters will write the show's score. Avenue Q's producers are attached to the project, and hope to be bringing it to Broadway the season after next.

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Thursday, March 13, 2008

Billy To Bow On Broadway In October

It seems like we've been waiting forever for Billy Elliot, a huge hit in London, to finally make its way to Broadway. At last, the musical about a working-class lad with ballet dreams has a Broadway opening date -- October 16, 2008. Based on the film of the same name, Billy Elliot has music by Elton John and book/lyrics by Lee Hall. The show will begin its Broadway preview period at the Imperial Theatre on September 17.

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Wednesday, March 12, 2008

K-Fed To Deliver On Broadway???

US Magazine is reporting today that Britney Spears' ex, Kevin Federline, is in talks to join the Broadway cast of Legally Blonde. Federline would be playing the role of the hunky UPS man, originated by Andy Karl. Broadway is notorious for its stunt casting, but casting a guy who is best known as the father of a famous pop star's two children is slightly unusual. Nothing's definite yet, though. Stay tuned ...

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Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Forbidden Broadway Going On Hiatus

The long-running Off-Broadway musical revue Forbidden Broadway is taking a break for a few months, starting March 25. The Broadway-skewering spoof-ical will be vacationing in Miami at the Arsht Center for Performing Arts, and then will return to New York to resume performances at the 47th Street Theatre on June 28. Created by Gerard Alessandrini, the frequently-updated Forbidden Broadway has been creating hysterical parodies of Broadway musicals and beloved Broadway performers since 1982.

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Monday, March 10, 2008

R&B Artist India.Arie Coming To Broadway

Acclaimed singer/songwriter India.Arie will star in a new Broadway production of Ntozake Shange's 1977 play for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf this summer. Details on the exact opening date and theater have yet to be announced, but the production is expected to arrive on Broadway in July.

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Sunday, March 9, 2008

Rock 'N' Roll Is Dead, Is He Dead Is Buried, And In The Heights Is Open On Broadway

Broadway lost two plays today when Tom Stoppard's Rock 'N' Roll and the Mark Twain comedy Is He Dead? closed. But Broadway gained a hot new musical with In the Heights, which just had its official opening at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. A couple of rave reviews have already come out, and if the ecstatic audience response for the show is any indication, there will be more to follow.

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Friday, March 7, 2008

Lincoln Center Theater Goes Off-Off-Broadway

The prestigious Lincoln Center Theater, currently represented on Broadway by the Vivian Beaumont Theatre and Off-Broadway by the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, has just announced that it will be introducing a new Off-Off-Broadway initiative. Called "LCT3," this new program is dedicated to producing the work of emerging playwrights and theater artists. The first LCT3 production, Clay, will open in late 2008 at the Duke Theatre, an Off-Broadway space on 42nd Street. However, ultimately, the plan is for a permanent 99-seat theater to be built near the Lincoln Center complex. The tickets to all LCT3 productions will be a modest $20.

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Thursday, March 6, 2008

All-Black Cat Opens On Broadway Tonight

The latest Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' Southern drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opens on Broadway tonight at the Broadhurst Theatre. This is the first Broadway production of the play to have an all African-American cast -- and what a cast! James Earl Jones stars as family patriarch Big Daddy, and Phylicia Rashad as his wife. Their miserable, alcoholic son Brick is played by Terrence Howard, with Anika Noni Rose starring as Brick's wife "Maggie the cat". Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is scheduled for a limited Broadway run, which will end on June 15 (Terrence Howard will be out April 15-May 22 due to film commitments).

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Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Broadway Revival Of West Side Story To Premiere In D.C. Before Hitting NYC

A new revival of the American musical theater classic West Side Story is coming to Broadway in February 2009, at a theater yet to be announced. This production of the Romeo & Juliet-inspired musical will be directed by the show's own bookwriter, Arthur Laurents. But before landing on Broadway, West Side Story will have an engagement at the National Theatre in Washington D.C., from December 2, 2008 to January 4, 2009.

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Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Television Star Mario Lopez To Make Broadway Debut In A Chorus Line On April 15

Actor Mario Lopez, who came to fame on the teen sitcom Saved By The Bell and became even better known more recently on Dancing with the Stars, will take the Broadway stage for the first time on April 15. Lopez will play the role of Zach in the Broadway revival of the legendary dance musical A Chorus Line through September 7. But if you're heading to the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre expressly to see Mario Lopez make his Broadway debut, bear in mind that he will be out from May 11 to June 3. To get discount tickets for A Chorus Line, click here.

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Monday, March 3, 2008

Broadway Meets Reality TV Again. Sort Of.

Another musical is going to feature on a network reality TV show soon. But this time it's not a Broadway musical, like this season's Grease. Instead, it's a TV musical -- High School Musical, to be exact. The Disney Channel TV movie has become a ubiquitous brand name, spawning a sequel, stage shows, a forthcoming feature film, and more. It is now coming back to its roots on television.

Many details of the new ABC reality TV show are yet unknown, but Variety has reported that the summer series will involve a national talent search which will have the contestants competing in High School Musical-themed challenges. Exactly what they're competing for is still unknown, but stars of the HSM movies are expected to appear on the program.

Now that this little Disney TV movie has exploded into an inescapable cultural phenomenon, could High School Musical: The Broadway Musical be far behind?

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Sunday, March 2, 2008

Farnsworth Says Goodbye To Broadway

Aaron Sorkin's engaging drama The Farnsworth Invention, starring Hank Azaria and Jimmi Simpson, ended its Broadway run today. The play had a total of 34 preview performances and 104 regular Broadway performances at the Music Box Theatre.

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Saturday, March 1, 2008

Rent's Original Broadway Leads To Go On Tour

Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, who starred as Roger and Mark in the original Broadway company of Rent, will be reprising the roles they originated in a new national of tour of the musical starting early 2009. In addition to creating the roles of Roger, the HIV-positive rocker, and Mark, the aspiring filmmaker, on Broadway, Pascal and Rapp also played the parts in the recent film version of Rent. Last year, the pair even briefly returned to the Broadway production. With the Broadway incarnation of Rent now scheduled to close in June, fans of the musical can have this new tour to look forward to.

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