In the lead-up to this evening's long anticipated opening night for The Scottsboro Boys on Broadway, the marketing efforts in support of the musical just continue to innovate.
On Friday, representatives from the production alerted me to their website's new "reaction wall," which not only enables audience members to post their thoughts regarding the show, but aggregates the key words used most often in a cloud at the top of the page. Words like "history," "brilliant," "great" and "amazing" pop up with great prominence.
That the audience response is this potent comes as no surprise to me. After seeing John Kander and Fred Ebb's stunning musical during its Minneapolis tryout, I had many of the same reactions. And the positive buzz I continue hearing from those who have seen the production already at the Lyceum Theatre have me enthusiastically anticipating my return to the tuner on the Great White Way within the next few weeks.
It's a rare thing for me to use this space to tell those associated with any production to "break a leg," but in the case of The Scottsboro Boys, it comes from the heart.
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Exactly seven years ago this evening, the global theatrical phenomenon known as Wickedfirst opened on Broadway.
Despite mixed reviews, the musical not only defied gravity, but also expectations with a reign at or near the top of the Great White Way's weekly box office for most of those years. To this day, the show still regularly plays to a capacity crowd. Over the past year, Wicked has also surpassed all box office gross records, being the first Broadway show to ever take in over $2 million in a single week.
As the production celebrates around the world with Wicked Day 2010, it's safe to say that no one mourns the Wicked. Here's to the next lucky seven.
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Beginning November 2, playwright Simon Bent's Ellingstarts previews on Broadway. The comedy is based on the Ingvar Ambjørnsen novel and Academy Award-nominated Norwegian film from 2001.
Elling appears to be purposely be marketing itself as enigmatic. Witness the puzzle pieces on its website, Facebook and Twitter pages. It's such a puzzle, that each are surprisingly bereft of any real information regarding the show. To find a description, you must turn to Telecharge, the official ticketbroker for the play, which describes the comedy as follows:
Set in the current day, Elling is a comedy about a wildly mismatched pair of roommates trying to embrace life, love, friendship, pizza, poetry and women. Denis O’Hare plays obsessive/compulsive Elling. Brendan Fraser, plays the wildly enthusiastic gentle giant Kjell. Jennifer Coolidge plays Reidun, the object of Kjell’s considerable affection, and Richard Easton plays Alfons, Elling’s unlikely poet mentor.
When produced in London a few years back, the West End Whingers hailed the show as "A feel good story of the first degree. It's also utterly charming and very funny." Broadway.com described the London incarnation of Elling as follows:
Mummy's boy Elling and his roommate, the uncouth, reluctant virgin Kjell Bjarne, are the Odd Couple of Oslo: a pair of confused souls taking their first steps in the outside world after years of an isolated and institutional life. Given a flat in the city by social services, their mission is to either re-assimilate themselves into society or be forcibly returned to the asylum. All they have to do is convince their social worker that they really are "normal" -- even if it does feel safer sleeping in a wardrobe.
O'Hare and Coolidge alone were enough to compel me to get my tickets early. Those two were responsible for some truly memorabletheatricalexperiences, but I'm also thrilled that Easton will be back on Broadway and can attest to Shamos' stage work. The wild card certainly is Fraser, who appears to be the producers' movie star insurance card for selling tickets. Starting Tuesday, we'll see whether he has the mettle.
The limited run of Elling opens at Broadway's Ethel Barrymore Theatre on November 21 and is scheduled through March 20, 2011.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
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Lombardi (The SOB Review) - Circle in the Square Theatre, New York, New York
**1/2 (out of ****)
Want to see a grown man cry?
I'm talking about the type of guy who religiously spends each and every Sunday afternoon watching pro football, either in person or in the comfort of his own living room. You know the kind. One who likely never had Broadway, let alone live theatre, on his radar screen.
That is, until the NFL-produced Lombardientered the field of new shows opening on the Great White Way this fall. The outpouring of emotions all around me in the audience from those very types of grown men was palpable. So choked up was one gentleman seated behind me that he began sobbing near the end of the play as it became clear that -- just as in real life -- there would be no happy ending for Vince Lombardi. And when the lights came on, there were plenty of other men with red eyes in the house.
If there's one lesson to be gleaned from the sturdy, yet astonishingly vincible Lombardi, which opened last week on Broadway, it isn't that someone other than Vince Lombardi coined the phrase, "Winning isn't everything -- it's the only thing." No, it's that the revered football coach who turned around the Green Bay Packers isn't some outlandish hagiographic caricature. Instead, to his credit, playwright Eric Simonson offers a Lombardi who is very human and highly fallible.
Fortuanately, director Thomas Kail has the winning Dan Lauria on his team tackling the title role. So effective is Lauria that his imposing presence is felt onstage even when he's not on it. Additionally, his uncanny resemblance to Lombardi is astounding. As the coach's long-suffering wife Marie, the intoxicatingly droll Judith Light pours wry observations along with wit that's every bit as dry as the martinis she's constantly swilling.
Yet somehow, this likable Lombardi feels incomplete. If Lombardi is not quite the touchdown Simonson and Kail have strived for, it's largely because they haven't provided a level playing field. Much, perhaps too much, attention in this playbook is given to the coach's fierce devotion to teamwork, but it comes at the expense of providing any real nuance to Lombardi himself. The very heart of what made this coach a true champion is fumbled, relying too heavily on exposition from the huddle of Marie and team members, as well as a fictitious journalist, to fill in what few blanks the playwright allows.
But ask the guys around me at Lombardi if all that matters, and I'll bet they'd insist I simply made a bad call on the play.
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This morning, it was announced that Lin-Manuel Miranda's In The Heights would close January 9, 2011, after 1,185 regular performances on Broadway. In tandem with the closing notice, it was also announced that Miranda will return to the role of Usnavi on December 25 for the last two weeks of performances.
While the Tony-winning Best Musical of 2008 has been hovering in the 60-plus percent capacity range over the last month, a story posted yesterday by The New York Times' Patrick Healy underscored the ongoing challenges In The Heights and a handful of other shows face:
Most plays need to earn 40 percent to 45 percent of their maximum possible gross to cover weekly running costs....
Other musicals that were under the 55 percent threshold last week were two shows that opened last spring, American Idiot (at a modest 39 percent) and Million Dollar Quartet (47 percent), as well as long-running hits Chicago, In the Heights, Mary Poppins, Next to Normal and West Side Story (which previously posted a closing notice for January 2).
I can't help but wonder how many of the other shows on Healy's list will post their closing notices in the weeks to come. Currently, 15 Broadway shows are scheduled to close during the month of January 2011. Although to be fair, 10 of them were only originally slated as limited runs.
This year, In The Heights resorted to stuntcasting, first with Corbin Bleu of "High School Musical" fame taking on the role of Usnavi, and more recently with "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks joining the cast as Nina. Unfortunately, Sparks' addition hardly ignited any additional box office for the show, and she's currently set to depart the production on November 14.
Personally, I admired and certainly liked In The Heights when I saw it in April 2008, but didn't think it rose to the lofty heights of a Broadway musical. I wrote:
While Miranda & Co. deserve enormous credit for wearing their ginormous hearts on their sleeves, pants legs and virtually everything else in sight including via an impressive 11 o'clock graffiti-cum-work-of-art, I discovered even I'm capable of finding a mushy musical just a tad too treacly.
Despite the promise of something new, including Miranda's hotter than salsa hip-hop funk, In The Heights never quite soars, even with the ebullient energy infused through Andy Blankenbuehler's joyous choreography. Instead, it's a hackneyed pastiche of storytelling we've seen too many times before.
On the plus side -- and it is a huge plus -- is that In The Heights provides a significant and positive yet all too rare depiction of a slice of our Hispanic community on stage. In that respect, it remains a solid winner.
In addition to opportunities to see the show on Broadway through January 9, a touring production is winding its way through the United States and Puerto Rico through April 2011 (its next stop is Sacramento in early November).
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Just as the British invasion led by The Beatles basically ended the reign of the Four Seasons at the top of the pop charts back in early 1964 -- and we all know who wonthatbattle -- the invasion of West 52nd Street by the vastly superior Rain deserves to do the same on Broadway. Too bad it's just a limited run.
Rain: A Tribute To The Beatles is performing just two blocks away from the storied Ed Sullivan Theater, from which the four lads from Liverpool launched their opening salvo in a campaign for American airwave supremacy. But ironically, Rain is also directly across the street from Jersey Boys, which, let's be totally honest, has always been much more about the music than its hackneyed storyline.
Unlike that Tony Award-winning Best Musical of 2006, Rain makes no pretense of having a book, and that's in part what makes this so much more satisfying. Instead, it delivers an incredibly solid, straight-forward and absolutely enthralling concert with some of the Fab Four's greatest hits almost exactly, note-for-note, the way they were originally performed. Yet, the score is packaged as a fascinating history lesson neatly encapsulating the turbulent sixties.
Close your eyes, and you'll likely think you're listening to a recording. But open them up, and you'll see performers who bear more than a passing resemblance to the real deal, particularly Joey Curatolo as Paul McCartney and Steve Landes as John Lennon. Possessing practically all of McCartney's mannerisms, looks and even voice, Curatolo nails the most prolific Beatle perfectly. Landes blew my mind in eerily channeling Lennon. (And it isn't lost on me that Rain takes a rest on December 8, the 40th anniversary of Lennon's murder, which occurred not too far north of the Neil Simon Theatre.)
If Rain is not a complete re-creation of The Beatles, it's because try as he admirably might, Joe Bithorn only gets George Harrison about half the time (which may be partially explained by obvious issues he was having with his ear-piece during the performance I attended).
If you're a regular reader of Steve On Broadway, you'll know that I count myself among the fans of the Four Seasons, but you'll also know that I'm one of millions who think The Beatles are the greatest band of all time. After being spellbound by the officially-sanctioned The Beatles Love in Las Vegas, I profess I was extremely skeptical that any other tribute show could ever compare. But like the rest of The Beatles fans there the night I attended Rain, I was up on my feet cheering this live music feast, wishing only that it could last a little longer.
While it may be among the unlikeliest of Broadway shows, Rain: A Tribute To The Beatles easily offers one of the most enjoyably entertaining evenings you're likely to experience here, there or everywhere.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
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A Life In The Theatre (The SOB Review) - Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
** (out of ****)
In recent years, Atlantic Theatre Artistic Director Neil Pepe has been with his theatre's co-founder David Mamet through thick and through thin. And for that, I'm grateful, given the works Pepe has breathed exciting new life into.
But nothing has been nearly as thin as Mamet's A Life In The Theatre, a mildly amusing, intermittently humorous and even potentially poignant play about two actors at the opposite ends of their careers. If this work was a real life, you'd think it had overdosed on plavix, making its blood so thin that its veins are left as brittle as Mamet's surprisingly stilted dialogue -- an unfortunate coincidence that has rendered this inert revival as surprisingly lifeless.
How thin can this show be? Running at an exasperatingly long 90 minutes, A Life In The Theatre is divided into dozens of short, distinctive vignettes punctuated by what seems like at least 15 minutes worth of changes in scenery. In fact, Santo Loquasto's scenic design and the stage hands who move it essentially become this revival's third character.
All of what little action there is takes place in the same theatre. However, it's drawn out over an endless, if unlikely, series of plays in which both Robert (Patrick Stewart) and John (T.R. Knight) are continually cast opposite one another.
At first, budding thespian John seems eager to accept the sage advice of Robert, an actor in the twilight of his career. The interplay between Stewart and Knight is at its best when the two are backstage, even if most of the play's funniest moments are reserved for the mishaps onstage.
What makes A Life In The Theatre particularly thin is that Mamet never seems interested in going beyond the superficial relationship between the two actors. Beyond painting one actor's ascent and the resulting jealousies of the other, Mamet misses the opportunity to explore who these men beneath the greasepaint are. Leaving them rather one-dimensional, Mamet deprives the audience the chance to become invested in who Robert and John are.
There is A Life In The Theatre lurking somewhere in this revival, but it's pulse is just too faint.
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.
Tony Winner Rondi Reed Returns To Prime Time TV Tonight
If you're like me and have enjoyed the relative abundance of Broadway/theatre folks on television lately, you may have been enjoying seeing Tony-winning actress Swoosie Kurtz blissfully playing against type as Joyce, the sexpot mother of Molly Flynn on CBS' new hit comedy "Mike & Molly."
This evening, Rondi Reed, who won our hearts and a very well-deserved Tony as Mattie Fae Aiken in August: Osage Countymakes her debut on the series as Mike's mom Peggy.
CBS describes tonight's episode as follows:
When Mike invites Molly over to his apartment, his plans for romance are interrupted by an untimely call from his mom, Peggy on the next episode of "Mike & Molly."
But this short teaser has left me, well, breathless:
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In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.
At the beginning of October, I noted how eight new shows were starting on Broadway this month and asked you to vote for the show you most wanted to see.
Credit certainly goes to Paul Reubens aka Pee-wee Herman for truly getting the viral nature of blogging, Facebook and Twitter. He mobilized his fans to vote and they turned out in droves. Other Broadway shows could learn a thing or two from his "get out the vote" campaign!
And is it saying something that two shows couldn't even muster enough votes that they earned a place on the list below "I don't want to see any of these shows"?
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When I took in David Lindsay-Abaire's solidly-crafted Rabbit Hole when it played on Broadway back in 2006, I thought it merely OK. It was poignant to be sure, especially with uniformly good performances, yet I didn’t think it rose to any great heights, nor did I think it deserving of its Pulitzer Prize win.
Of course, never mind what I think. Especially now that that John Cameron Mitchell has directed the big screen adaptation by Lindsay-Abaire. The film, set for a limited release on December 17 in time for Oscar consideration, will star Nicole Kidman as Cynthia opposite Aaron Eckhart as Howie -- grieving parents mourning the loss of their son (the roles were played on Broadway by Cynthia Nixon and John Slattery, with Nixon earning a Tony).
But after viewing this trailer for the movie, I found myself strangely moved in ways I didn't feel four years ago. Interesting that the clip barely even hints at the film's very title. Take a look and let me know what you think.
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At the beginning of Septem-ber, I noted how seven new shows were starting on Broadway that month and asked you to vote for the show you most wanted to see.
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.
I love my mother. With all my heart. And I make no bones about it.
So you, dear reader, should know that when I first started Steve On Broadway and quickly figured out that the acronym spelled out SOB, well, I decided to latch onto it and append my blog name with it before anyone else had a chance to lob that name at me.
I also knew it would only be a matter of time before my mother found my site. And trust me, she did. And when she did, her first response was, "What's with this SOB thing, anyway?"
Suddenly, I found myself reassuring her that it was just a little play on Steve On Broadway and that she should most definitely not take it personally. It had nothing to do with her.
But I also know that my dear mother is one of those many potential theatregoers who finds vulgar language an assault on her ears (and thus, she avoids shows that she knows contain it gratuitously). And since she raised me very well and even visits this site on a fairly regular basis, if only to keep tabs on me ("Hi Mom! Love you!!"), I have chosen over the last four and a half years to keep this site safe for all ages.
The play had been slated to have its world premiere at The Public Theater in New York. In fact, their website still lists the production as coming in "Spring 2011," along with this description:
A new high-octane, verbal cage match about love, fidelity, and misplaced haberdashery from Stephen Adly Guirgis (Little Flower Of East Orange; The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot). Jackie and Veronica have been in love since the 8th grade. But now, Jackie is on parole and living clean and sober under the guidance of his sponsor, Ralph D, while still living and loving with his volatile soul mate Veronica who is fiercely loving, but far from sober. Still, their love is pure. And true. Nothing can come between them- except a hat. Guirgis, as always, provides an eclectic and lively cast of characters seeking to "put away their childish things," and their collective quest- and missteps-result in his most open-hearted, laugh-out-loud and poignant plays to date.
If the biggest news weren't the title that The New York Times certainly won't print (can you imagine all the fun they'll have at the Tonys repeating the title over and over ad nauseum just to see who can slip it by the censors?), the casting certainly is. It will mark the Broadway debut for comedian Chris Rock. Casting for the play also includes Bobby Cannavale (Jackie), Elizabeth Rodriguez (Veronica), Annabella Sciorra (Victoria) and Yul Vazquez (Julio).
Previews for the play begin at the Schoenfeld on March 22 (yes, mom, I know it's my sister's birthday), and the show opens April 11, 2011.
Word to my mother ... want to go with me?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
*Because as near as I can tell, it's supposed to have asterisks included.
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Up until yesterday, all we knew was that Brian Bedford would reprise his turn doing double duty directing and starring as Lady Bracknell. Bedford's production of this social farce involving mistaken identities and love was first performed north of the border at Canada's Stratford Shakespeare Festival in 2009.
Roundabout's upcoming production will mark the eighth Broadway revival for the comedy first produced in 1895 and then again in 1902, both at the Empire Theatre. While Bedford is not the first male actor to portray Lady Bracknell, he is the first on Broadway, following a long line of actresses including Estelle Winwood (1936), Margaret Rutherford (1947) and Elizabeth Wilson (1977).
Perhaps the most revered Broadway revival of Wilde's classic work came from stage icon John Gielgud, who initially directed and starred as John Worthing in a British version staged in 1939. It took him eight more years (and World War II) before he mounted his 1947 revival on Broadway in which every cast member earned the Tony Award for Outstanding Foreign Company.
The Importance Of Being Earnest will begin previews at the American Airlines Theatre on December 17, with an opening date set for January 13, 2011. The limited run is currently scheduled to close on March 6, 2011.
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But the gasps may have been further induced by something beyond just that simple announcement. Countless tweets in the twitterverse were incredulous about Hoffman's casting, saying he is too young to play Willy Loman, the titular salesman.
Nonesense, I immediately retorted. Hoffman is an actor who is wise beyond his years, and to be honest, has an appearance that can easily belie his 43 years. And just as fast as I could say that, my friend with the encyclopedic mind -- the ever resourceful Kevin Daly of Theatre Aficionado At Large -- quickly pointed out that the legendary Lee J. Cobb was a mere 37 years when he created the iconic role in the first Broadway production in 1949.
While Cobb didn't even receive a Tony nod for his Willy, that premiere production would sweep Tonys in each of the six categories for which it was nominated. First opening at Broadway's Morosco Theatre on February 10, 1949, Death Of A Salesman would win Tonys for Best Play, Best Author (Arthur Miller), Best Director (Elia Kazan), Best Featured Actor (Arthur Kennedy), Best Scenic Design (Jo Mielziner) and Best Producers (Kermit Bloomgarden and Walter Fried). Perhaps even more prestigious was that the production -- which closed November 18, 1950 after 742 performances -- was honored with the 1949 Pulitzer Prize.
Little wonder this is among Miller's most revered works. And little wonder that so many other great actors hold out no greater hope than to sink their enterprising teeth into Willy Loman.
Yet surprisingly, the first Broadway revival didn't come for another 25 years when George C. Scott took on the role at age 47. With Scott also directing, Death Of A Salesman opened at the Circle in the Square Theatre on June 26, 1975. Although the cast included James Farentino as Biff and Harvey Keitel as Happy, the production would earn exactly one Tony nomination: for Scott's acting. The production closed after 71 performances.
The second revival came about just nine years later, opening at the Broadhurst Theatre on March 29, 1984. A then 46 year old Dustin Hoffman portrayed Willy alongside John Malkovich as Biff and Stephen Lang as Happy. The revival would earn the Tony for Best Reproduction. While it closed on July 1, 1984, after only 97 performances, the production would enjoy a return engagement at the Broadhurst for another 88 performances (September 14-November 18, 1984).
Perhaps the reason why so many think that Willy Loman is a man closing in on the twilight of his years is because of the last exceptional actor to make the role his own, Brian Dennehy. When the last Broadway revival of Death Of A Salesman was mounted by Robert Falls in 1999, Dennehy was already 60. But that didn't stop the theatre world from showering his performance with praise and accolades. Dennehy would win both the Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his portrayal.
That Death Of A Salesman first opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on February 22, 1999. Packing a punch at the box office, the revival would enjoy 274 performances before closing on November 7, 1999. Its cast included Kevin Anderson as Biff, Ted Koch as Happy, Elizabeth Franz as Linda, Howard Witt as Charlie, and also Kate Buddeke (The Woman). All totaled, the revival earned six Tony nominations and scored wins for Best Revival, Falls, Franz and Dennehy.
Since that landmark production has become the gold standard by which most contemporary audiences judge Miller's play, it stands to reason that many can't conceive of Philip Seymour Hoffman as Willy Loman. Also, considering that Death Of A Salesman will herald Hoffman's first time back on Broadway's boards since earning a Tony nod for his effective portrayal as Brian Dennehy's son, James Tyrone, Jr. in 2003's Long Day's Journey Into Night, and it's no wonder the theatre world was gasping.
Of course, since that appearance, Hoffman has gone on to win an Academy Award for his breathtaking work as Truman Capote. I have little doubt he'll do just fine with Willy Loman.
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The singing siblings already possess Broadway musical credits. Donny Osmond made his Rialto debut in the failed 1982 revival of Little Johnny Jones before taking on the role of Gaston in Beauty And The Beast in 2006. Marie Osmond served as one of the replacements for Donna Murphy in the last revival of The King And I in the late 90s.
In the holiday tradition of the “Osmond Family Christmas” television specials, Donny and Marie invite you and your family to join them to celebrate the joy of the season in true Osmond fashion, in person, as the pair share a Broadway stage for the first time. With their trademark show-stopping Christmas production numbers, Donny & Marie - A Broadway Christmas features your favorite hits mixed with the irresistible chemistry that made them international stars.
2008 marked the 50th anniversary for the Osmonds as a performing family.
The 12 performance run of Donny & Marie: A Broadway Christmas is scheduled to begin on December 9 before dashing through the snow on December 19. Tickets go on sale this morning at 10 a.m. EDT. UPDATE: The show has now been extended through December 30, 2010.
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If you live around the Big Apple and you've seen a certain dapper dude sporting a gray suit, red bow tie and white loafers all over town during the past couple weeks, chances are you've spotted a loner, Dottie, a rebel. You've seen the resurgent Paul Reubens as his alter-ego Pee-wee Herman.
The fact he's been all around Manhattan proves he's no fool. No, he's one of the savviest marketers to hit the Great White Way in a long time.
In addition to clearly having fun, whether it's riding the subway or visiting some of New York's neighborhoods and restaurants, he's not only spreading immense joy, but ingeniously spreading the news about The Pee-Wee Herman Show that begins previews on October 26 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. Proving he's a master of social networking, he even chronicled his tracks over Manhattan via FourSquare.
Personally, I've been astounded by how well he's utilizing social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Even though his ever-adoring fan-base had largely been dormant for years, he's attracted 258,861 fans via Facebook (as of this writing) and counts 600,323 followers on Twitter. Plus, he's mobilizing them to buy tickets.
Reubens has also succeeded in encouraging his fans to visit Steve On Broadway (SOB). Recently, I conducted a poll to find out the new Broadway show beginning this month that you most wanted to see. While Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown held an early lead over The Scottsboro Boys, once Pee-wee tweeted and wrote about it on his Facebook page, the contest was over. Even after I reached out to each of the other shows recommending they follow Pee-wee's lead in engaging their audiences just to make it fair, no show came close to The Pee-Wee Herman Show, which logged a whopping 63.7% of the votes out of 857 cast.
Some people know how to work a room. Pee-wee Herman knows how to work a city and network socially. Will his genius translate at the box office? I'm betting it will. I already have my ticket and can't wait to see his show.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.
Their big scoop was that Robin Williams is already prepping to make his dramatic debut on the Great White Way.
Not so fast, says The New York Times' Patrick Healy, who noted late yesterday that a New York City mounting of the work -- that appeared at Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum earlier this year -- is "not yet a sure thing." Healy says director Moisés Kaufman has made it clear that much depends upon the continuing negotiations, including with Robin Williams to portray the titular tiger, but that he's optimistic.
UPDATE: On October 21, Robin Williams confirmed to The New York Times's David Itzkoff that he'll be portraying the titular tiger on Broadway. While a venue has yet to be announced, the show will begin previews March 10, 2011, then open March 31.
Fortunately for those unfamiliar with this Iraq War-themed play, Center Theatre Group has posted a video the previews the show:
It's worth noting that Williams' last planned appearance on Broadway -- to deliver stand-up comedy in Weapons Of Self-Destruction-- were scuttled due to necessary heart surgery for a valve replacement.
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.
Rain: A Tribute To The Beatles Limited run extended through May 31, 2011 (Show will go on hiatus starting January 15 and reopen at Brooks Atkinson Theatre on February 8)
Rock Of Ages - Open-ended run (Show will go on hiatus starting January 9 and reopen at Helen Hayes Theatre in March)
As someone who has been involved in both politics and public relations, it's no wonder I love watching theatre. Good or bad, it's the raw energy of seeing a live performance that gets my adrenaline pumping. From the moment I saw my very first Broadway show ("Annie" in London in 1979), I was hooked. Now I see as many as 70 shows each year ranging from soaring musicals to two-hander plays. And these eyes just may be in an audience near you!
