Off-Broadway Adding Machine To Close July 20

The Off-Broadway production of The Adding Machine, the new musical version of Elmer Rice's expressionist play, has announced that it will close at the Minetta Lane Theatre on July 20. The unusual musical by Joshua Schmidt and Jason Loewith is about a man called Mr. Zero who, after 25 years of service, is replaced by a machine - and then murders his boss in a moment of blind rage. Dark and strange, the Off-Broadway musical is also surprisingly sweet and funny. The Adding Machine originated at the Next Theatre Company in Chicago, and thanks to its healthy Off-Broadway run of roughly 150 performances, the musical will likely go on to a good life in regional theatre.

Three Broadway Closings Today

It's curtains for Curtains, Top Girls fall, and this is the last Sunday for Sunday in the Park with George. All three of these shows have their final Broadway performances today. Curtains announced its Broadway closing date months ago, Top Girls is finishing its scheduled Broadway engagement, and Sunday in the Park with George is finally closing after several extensions.

Danity Kane's Aubrey O'Day On Broadway

Singer Aubrey O'Day, a member of the all-girl pop/R&B group Danity Kane, is coming to Broadway on July 18. She will be taking on the part of Amber Von Tussle in the hit Broadway musical Hairspray. O'Day, who will be assuming the role when Ashley Spencer leaves Hairspray to join the Broadway company of Grease, is expected to stay through August 31.

Cirque Dreams Opens On Broadway Tonight

The colorful, acrobatic show Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy opens on Broadway tonight at the Broadway Theatre. Music, costumes, and impressive physical feats combine to make Cirque Dreams a circus with a theatrical flair. The kid-friendly show is playing a limited Broadway engagement set to end on August 24. Get discount tickets to see Cirque Dreams at the Broadway Theatre by clicking here.

Finalists Spencer and Keeling From Grease Reality Show To Be Broadway Replacements

Ashley Spencer and Derek Keeling, who were both finalists on the NBC reality TV show Grease - You're the One That I Want, are set to finally play the roles of Sandy and Danny on Broadway after the winners of the TV show (Laura Osnes and Max Crumm) depart the Broadway revival on July 20. Keeling has had a good warm-up, having played Danny in a national tour of Grease. And Spencer has been getting plenty of Broadway experience in another show, Hairspray. The pair will assume their long-awaited roles in Broadway's Grease on July 22.

for colored girls Comes To Broadway August 19

The new Broadway revival of Ntozake Shange's for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf, starring singer/songwriter India.Arie, will begin Broadway previews at the Circle in the Square Theatre on August 19. The official Broadway opening will be on September 8. Directed by Shirley Jo Finney and choreographed by Hinton Battle, this production of the poetic 1970s play is produced by Whoopi Goldberg and DreamTeam Entertainment Group.

Cat and Cry-Baby Close On Broadway Today

Two Broadway closings today, one planned and one sudden. The all-star Cat on a Hot Tin Roof headed by James Earl Jones is ending its limited run today. And unfortunately the rockin' satire Cry-Baby is also shutting its doors, due to lack of ticket sales. Happily, Cry-Baby will live on in a national tour next year, and there is talk that this production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (presumably not with the entire Broadway cast intact) could turn up in London.

A Catered Affair To End Broadway Run

A Catered Affair is the second Broadway musical to announce its closing following last Sunday's Tony Awards. The under-the-radar Broadway show had been struggling to sell tickets from the very beginning, though it appeared to finally be finding its audience, so the closing announcement is a little bit of a surprise. Given that it wasn't nominated for a Best Musical Tony, and its musical performance didn't come off especially well on the Tony Awards, A Catered Affair probably didn't experience much of a jump in ticket sales following the ceremony, so that likely accounts for the announcement. It is also possible that the show's producers are hoping the closing announcement will generate more ticket sales, which often happens. Unlike Cry-Baby, which is ending its Broadway run this weekend, A Catered Affair will not be closing until July 27. This gives the intimate Broadway show some extra time to continue building an audience and increasing ticket sales - if successful, it is possible that they could end up postponing the Broadway closing date further. But just in case it doesn't, get your discount tickets to see A Catered Affair on Broadway now by clicking here.

Broadway's Biltmore Theatre To Be Renamed

The Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) has announced that its Broadway house, the Biltmore Theatre, will be renamed the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in honor of the Broadway publicist (MTC was just a recipient of a substantial financial gift from the Dr. Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman Foundation). The date for the new name dedication has not been set yet, but it is expected to occur right before MTC's new Broadway theater season begins.

Cry-Baby To Close On Broadway This Sunday

Cry-Baby is to be the first casualty of the post-Tony period - the John Waters musical will have its final performance on June 22. It's one of several struggling Broadway shows that stuck it out until the Tony Awards, in the hopes that the telecast would drum up ticket sales. But apparently Cry-Baby didn't see enough of a boost in ticket sales to justify keeping it open on Broadway any longer. However, the good news is that the show does have plans to tour, starting in late 2009. Click here to get discount Cry-Baby tickets now - see this fun musical satire before it leaves Broadway!

LaBute Play Coming To Broadway In 2009

Neil LaBute, who usually has one or two plays on New York's Off-Broadway stage every year, will finally make his Broadway debut next year when his play reasons to be pretty transfers to a Broadway theater yet to be announced. reasons to be pretty, a four-person play that has won over many of LaBute's harsher critics, has enjoyed a successful Off-Broadway run at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in a production by the MCC Theater. The comic drama starring Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Piper Perabo, and Pablo Schreiber will begin previews on Broadway on February 13, with its original cast intact.

In The Heights and August Take Top Tonys

Most of Broadway dressed up and headed to Radio City Music Hall last night for the annual Tony Awards. Some awards went exactly as expected, with Patti Lupone taking Best Actress in a Musical for Gypsy, South Pacific grabbing Best Musical Revival, and August: Osage County winning Best New Play and Best Play Direction. There were no big upsets, though a few slight surprises, such as Stew taking Best Book of a Musical (many predicted Xanadu's Douglas Carter Beane would win) and Rondi Reed being awarded for her outstanding supporting work in August (she was up against critic's darlings like Martha Plimpton and Sinead Cusack). There were many, many close contests: In the Heights got the Best Musical and Best Score prizes (which Passing Strange took in many other awards contests), Paulo Szot took Best Actor in a Musical against all-around strong competition, Deanna Dunegan got Best Actress in a Play (her biggest rival being co-star Amy Morton), and Andy Blankenbuehler's wonderful In the Heights choreography won over Rob Ashford's impressive work for Cry-Baby.

Whoopi Goldberg was a great host for the night, and the show moved at a brisk pace. The fact that such major awards as Best Play Revival, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Choreography were not handed out during the televised broadcast was an embarrassment, but on the upside it did allow more time for musical performances. No doubt many viewers will be anxious to head to Broadway to see shows like Cry-Baby, Gypsy, Passing Strange, Xanadu, and Young Frankenstein after seeing their energetic performances on TV. To get discount tickets to see these Broadway shows, and many others, click here.

Broadway's Best On Tonys Tonight

The Tony Awards, the annual honoring of Broadway's best achievements, begins at 8pm on CBS tonight in a three-hour show hosted by Whoopi Goldberg and broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall. Some of the creative awards are being left off the TV telecast tonight, so Broadawy fans should point their browsers to www.TonyAwards.com at 7:15pm to see those being handed out. Visit that site at 6pm to watch the red carpet arrivals being webcast.

Legally Blonde Reality TV Show Winner To Begin Playing Elle On Broadway On July 23

The MTV reality TV show about the search for a new lead for the Broadway musical Legally Blonde is only on its second episode, so the winner is still unknown. However, it has been announced that the lucky lady will start performance in the Broadway show on July 23. The current Legally Blonde star, Laura Bell Bundy, will end her Broadway run on July 20.

Thurgood To Stay On Broadway A Little Longer

Thurgood, the one-man play starring Laurence Fishburne, is extending its Broadway run. Originally scheduled to have its final Broadway performance on August 3, Thurgood will now play an additional two weeks at the Booth Theatre and close on August 17. Get discount tickets to Thurgood on Broadway here.

[title of show] Celebrates Broadway Arrival By Selling All Tickets For Half Price on June 18

The new Broadway musical [title of show], which begins Broadway performances on July 5, is kicking off its Broadway box office opening with a ticket extravaganza on Wednesday, June 18. From 11am to 1pm at the Lyceum Theatre, [title of show] tickets will all be sold at half price, and free cast recordings will be given to anybody who buys a pair of show tickets. There will also be free refreshments, and the [title of show] cast will be on hand to say hello.

Broadway Plays Going On Tour

Didn't manage to catch Chazz Palminteri in his one-man play A Bronx Tale on Broadway this past season? Well, he's taking the show on the road starting in September. See BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com for details. And if you're dying to see the Broadway hit August: Osage County in your own town, you might have a chance when the Pulitzer Prize-winning play goes on tour in the summer of 2009. Details will be forthcoming.

November To Close On Broadway July 13

The new David Mamet play November, which previously announced that its star Nathan Lane would play his final performance on July 13, is now officially set to close on Broadway that day. Presumably the comedy could not locate another Broadway star with sufficient weight to carry the play about a fictional U.S. president up for re-election. Get discounted tickets to see November on Broadway before July 13!

Broadway's Catered Affair Offers Thurs Matinee

In a nod to its popularity with the older "matinee lady" audience, the new Broadway musical A Catered Affair is introducing a Thursday matinee to its weekly schedule. But to keep its schedule to the standard eight shows a week, A Catered Affair will no longer be doing Wednesday night shows. Given that Wednesday nights are usually one of the least popular nights on Broadway, and that A Catered Affair will be one of just a few (and possibly the only) Broadway show offering an afternoon performance on Thursdays, this seems to be a very smart move for the musical drama. To get discount tickets to see A Catered Affair, starring Faith Prince and Harvey Fierstein, click here.

Classic Broadway Musical My Fair Lady Will Be Turned Into A Brand New Big Screen Movie

The Lerner & Loewe musical My Fair Lady, based on the George Bernard Shaw play Pygmalion, was an instant Broadway classic that quickly became an instant film classic with the movie version starring Rex Harrison (reprising his Broadway role) and Audrey Hepburn. But West End and Broadway producer Cameron Mackintosh has announced his intention to bring the Broadway favorite to the screen once more in a brand new version, possibly starring Keira Knightley as Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle. It may seem a strange idea to remake one of the best film musicals of all time, but Mackintosh indicated that he felt the original film, excellent as it is, is perhaps more theatrical and more faithful to the original Broadway show that necessary. In this new My Fair Lady movie, he aims to give the story more realism by doing on-location filming in London and by taking more inspiration from Shaw's play.

CD Signing With Broadway Cast of In the Heights

The newly-released original Broadway cast recording of In the Heights will be celebrated at a CD signing in the Times Square Virgin Megastore (1540 Broadway) this evening at 5pm. The cast - headed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mandy Gonzalez, Priscilla Lopez, Robin De Jesus, and Andrea Burns - will perform musical numbers from the show and then sign CDs for fans. The In the Heights Broadway cast album is a two-disc set, released by Ghostlight Records.

A Chorus Line To Close On Broadway

It has been announced that the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line will be closing on August 17. The production opened on Broadway in October 2006, and it will have played nearly 800 performances when it closes later this summer. Although the critical reception was somewhat lukewarm, the revival of A Chorus Line has been a great success, recouping its investment back in early '07. The original Broadway production of A Chorus Line remains one of the longest running Broadway musicals of all time. Get discount tickets to see the current Broadway production, starring Mario Lopez, while you still can by clicking here.

Collins and Lachey To Join Broadway's Spamalot

TV stars Stephen Collins (7th Heaven) and Drew Lachey (Dancing With the Stars) will both be joining the Broadway cast of Monty Python's Spamalot on June 24. Collins will take on the role of King Arthur, while Lachey will play Arthur's trusty sidekick Patsy. Although Collins may be better known for his television and film roles, and Lachey came to fame as a member of the pop band 98 Degrees, both men have Broadway theater experience. Collins has appeared in such Broadway plays as Moonchildren, The Ritz, and Beyond Therapy; Lachey made his Broadway debut in Rent in 2004.

Legally Blonde TV Show Debuts on MTV Tonight

Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods debuts on MTV at 10pm tonight. The new summer reality TV series documents the process of finding and casting a new lead for the Broadway musical Legally Blonde. The TV program, which will air in a total of eight installments, is hosted by Haylie Duff (who has appeared on Broadway in Hairspray).