Month: February 2015

Film Stars and Oscar Nominees Bring Broadway Grosses Up

by Paul Mroczka

Emma Stone Cabaret and Oscar nominee

Emma Stone Cabaret and Oscar nominee

With Stone’s Oscar nod, ticket sales for cabaret have risen.

Emma Stone and Bradley Cooper, both Oscar nominees this year, are doing big box office on Broadway. Stone, who has been appearing as Sally Bowles opposite Allan Cumming in Cabaret, was nominated for her work on Birdman, which starred Michael Keaton. Cooper, who is playing the lead in The Elephant Man on Broadway in a production that will transfer to London, is nominated for American Sniper.

Time Running Out to Catch Their Performances

Stone finishes her run this week and Cooper will be done some time prior to the February 22 Oscar telecast. With the Oscar nods and little time left to see these two stars, there’s been a lot of pressure on those selling tickets. Both shows are selling well.

For the week ending Feb 8, Cabaret sold at 98.2% of capacity, while The Elephant Man topped off at 100.2%. Cabaret was up 3.6% from the week before and The Elephant Man saw an increase of 4.7%. The musical brought in close to $36, 500 more than the week prior and the play did over $255,000 more in business.

Cabaret Replacement

Sienna Miller in Cabaret on Broadway

Sienna Miller , who is in American Sniper and Foxcatcher, takes over for Stone.

Staring February 17, Cabaret will welcome film actress Sienna Miller to the cast. Miller, who can be seen in the films American Sniper and Foxcatcher, will be making her Broadway debut as Stone’s replacement. She’ll perform with Alan Cumming, who has been playing the emcee since the Roundabout production opened in April. Miller is scheduled to be on the boards until March 29.

Broadway at the NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden

by Paul Mroczka

NBA ALL STAR GAME Mamma Mia

NBA ALL STAR GAME Mamma Mia

Mamma Mia cast members perform at the NBA All-Star Game.

Broadway comes to Madison Square Garden as the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets host the NBA All-Star game this year. There’s a lot of glitz and glamour associated with the exhibition contest, which offers basketball fanes three days of sports and entertainment.

The All-Star Break

The NBA All-Star break tips off tomorrow with two games: the Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at 7 pm and the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge at 9 pm. On Saturday there are four big competitions. The action starts at 8:30 am as the State Farm All-Star Saturday Night gets into gear. The first event offers Degree Shooting Stars, while the second is the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. The final two events are considered to be the biggest of the night with the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest (3rd Event) and Sprite Slam Dunk (4th Event) being presented.

Broadway Entertainment

The All-Star Game takes center court at 8:30 Sunday night. Performing during the telecast, which may be seen on TNT, will be the casts of Chicago, Jersey Boys and Mamma Mia! Other entertainers include Queen Latifah and Tamia singing the U.S. and Canadian anthems, and Christina Aguilera and the Rockettes. Ariana Grande will perform at half-time.

Full Service Entertainment

If you get the chance to see the NBA All-Star Game, you see some great basketball action as well as some wonderful all-star entertainment from The Great White Way just down the street. Enjoy the shows!

Audra McDonald to Play in Spamalot at Hollywood Bowl

by Paul Mroczka

Audra McDonald 6 time tony winner concert tour

Audra McDonald 6 time tony winner concert tour

McDonald will make at least 50 appearances from Feb 13 through Sep 5.

Audra McDonald, who won her sixth Tony for her portrayal of Billie Holliday in Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar And Grill, performs at a pace that would be daunting to most. He schedule is all encompassing and diverse. McDonald has earned plaudits for her roles in various Broadway shows, including Ragtime, A Raison in the Sun, and Porgy and Bess. Here’s a look at a few of the appearances that are upcoming.

32-City Concert Tour

If you would like to see this great performer live on stage, you’ll have plenty of opportunities. She starts her winter tour, which will play Boston, New York, and Los Angeles, on February 13 at the University of Connecticut. Her final “winter tour” date is July 15, 2015 at Tanglewood in Lenox, MA.

Other Projects

Audra McDonald as Billie Holliday.

McDonald won her sixth Tony portraying Billie Holliday.

After her 32-city tour, McDonald will appear in Spamalot, which is part of the Hollywood Bowl’s 2015 summer season. She opens July 31 and closes August 2. After her run in Spamalot, she will appear at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in the Eugene O’Neill classic A Moon for the Misbegotten from Aug. 5-23. The six-time Tony-winner will star with Tony Award nominee Will Swenson.

Plus, McDonald will perform in a Sing-A-Long Sound of Music on June 26, which will pay homage to the 50th anniversary of the Academy Award winning movie starring Julie Andrews. On September 1 and 3, she will perform American Classics with the American Ballet Theatre and the L.A. Philharmonic.

Prolific Performer

The multi-award winning McDonald always seems to be involved in five or six upcoming projects. The ultimate performer, McDonald is equally at home in plays and musicals. Try to see her, as she will perform across America at least 45 times from February through September. She is one of out finest performers.

Broadway Grosses and Capacity for Week Ending February 8

by Paul Mroczka

Fish in the Dark by Larry David

Fish in the Dark by Larry David

Larry David should be smiling as his show is selling beyond capacity.

It’s been an interesting week on Broadway, as four of five top shows in terms of capacity were plays and not musicals. Musicals topped the list of grosses, with four of the top five being tuners, but that’s partly because musicals tend to be playing in larger houses and tickets to these shows are pricier. You might think that a majority of the plays at the top of the list would be comedies, but only one, Fish in the Dark, is.

Fish in the Dark

The play by and starring Larry David, Fish in the Dark, seems to be an instant hit with a ready-made cult following who love his show Curb Your Enthusiasm and are big fans of his co-creation Seinfeld. A Fish in the Dark grossed just under one million last week and filled the theatre beyond seating capacity, coming in at 101.05%. The River, which stars Hugh Jackman, sold at 102.42% capacity, leading all shows, as The Book of Mormon, which was second to The Lion King in gross, selling $1,455,237 worth of tickets, was also second in capacity at 102.19%. Fourth and fifth in capacity were The Elephant Man (100.15%) and Constellations (98.69%).

Top and Bottom Grossing Show

This week the top grossing show, The Lion King, brought in $1,463,314. As noted, second was The Book of Mormon, while Wicked was third at $1,262,017, Aladdin fourth at $1,203,871, and Fish in the Dark fifth at $993,940.

Shows that are struggling at the box office include the musicals On the Town, Mamma Mia!, and Honeymoon in Vegas. All of these shows offer fairly light entertainment. Disgraced, which had a solid Off-Broadway run, seems to be unable to find an audience, as it is last in grosses, selling $333,741. Finishing close to Disgraced is the classic American comedy You Can’t Take It with You, starring James Earl Jones. It grossed just $334,224.

Top and Bottom Five for the Week

Here’s a quick summary of high and low grosses and capacities.

Tops (Gross)

  1. The Lion King ($1,463,314)
  2. The Book of Mormon ($1,455,237)
  3. Wicked ($1,262,017)
  4. Aladdin ($1,203,871)
  5. Fish in the Dark ($993,940)*

Bottoms (Gross)

  1. On the Town ($379,914)
  2. Mamma Mia! ($362,236)
  3. Honeymoon in Vegas ($359,163)
  4. You Can’t Take It With You ($334,224)
  5. Disgraced ($333,741)

Tops (Capacity

  1. The River (102.42%)
  2. The Book of Mormon (102.19%)
  3. Fish in the Dark (101.05%)*
  4. The Elephant Man (100.15%)**
  5. Constellations (98.69%)

Bottoms (Capacity)

  1. Les Miserables (60.09%)
  2. Mamma Mia! (55.29%)
  3. You Can’t Take It With You (52.50%)
  4. Honeymoon in Vegas (51.63%)
  5. On the Town (36.15%)

Williamstown Theatre Festival Announces 2015 Season

by Paul Mroczka

Mandy Greenfield Williamstown Theatre Festival

Mandy Greenfield Williamstown Theatre Festival

Mandy Greenfield, Williamstown’s new Artistic Director, announces the 2015 season.

Williamstown Theatre Festival’s, new artistic director Mandy Greenfield has announced the theatre’s 2015 season. The Tony Award-winning summer theatre, which is mounting its 61st season, has been responsible for sending many shows to Broadway, including the new Kander, Ebb and McNally musical The Visit, starring Chita Rivera, which will open this April.

Main Stage

As usual, the Williamstown Theatre Festival’s season includes a combination of new works and some classics. The season, which begins June 30 and ends Aug. 23, includes the world premiere of Off the Main Road (June 30-July 19) by William Inge. She play will be directed by Evan Cabnet and will star Kyra Sedgwick. Sedgwick is both a Golden Globe and Emmy winner. Another world premiere will follow the Inge play. The play, written by Dominique Morisseau, is entitled Paradise Blue (July 22-Aug. 2). Paradise Blue will be directed Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Santiago-Hudson, who is an actor, director, and playwright, won the Tony for his performance in Seven Guitars. The main stage will bow with a reimagined production of the Eugene O’Neill classic A Moon for the Misbegotten (Aug. 5-23). It will star Audra McDonald, winner of six Tonys, and Tony Award nominee Will Swenson.

The Nikos Stage

Less than a week after the first opening on the main stage, the Williamstown Theatre Festival offers the world premiere of Daniel Goldfarb’s Legacy (July 1-12) on the Nikos Stage. The show features Jessica Hecht and Eric Bogosian. Also occupying the Nikos Stage boards is the American premiere of Kinship (July 15-25) by Carey Perloff’s. Jo Bonney directs and Cynthia Nixon, who is a Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner, stars. Next up is another world premiere; this time of the musical Unknown Soldier (July 30-Aug. 9), which offers music and lyrics by Michael Friedman and book and lyrics by Daniel Goldstein. Trip Cullman directs the new show. The Nikos Stage season ends with the American premiere of various British works, including a one-hander by Michaela Coel entitled Chewing Gum Dreams and An Intervention (Aug. 12–23) by Mike Bartlett.

Greenfield Excited about Season

New A.D Greenfield said in a statement, “I am beyond excited for the upcoming summer at WTF – I am grateful to each artist who has committed to make bold, innovative work at the Festival this year” She also observed, “I imagine that the theater we’ll create, together with the devoted staff and the Non-Equity and Apprentice Companies, will engage and satisfy audiences hungry for artistic adventure, meaning, and fun.”

Greenfield announced the theatre’s season at it annual gala last night. Rebecca Naomi Jones, Katie Finneran and Martin Short were some of the stars who performed at the gala.

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Scores Grammy Award

by Paul Mroczka

Jessie Mueller, in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, wins Grammy.

Jessie Mueller, in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, wins Grammy.

Mueller, in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, wins Grammy.

This time it’s a Grammy for Jessie Mueller and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Muellar, along with album producers Jason Howland, Steve Sidwell, and Billy Jay Stein, received the honor at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Mueller also won the 2014 Tony for her portrayal of King in the biographical musical.

Other productions nominated for the award were A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Aladdin, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and the San Francisco Symphony’s West Side Story.

Mueller received another honor of a different sort recently, as her caricature was hung on one of Sardi’s fabled walls on January 23, 2015. When she was nominated for a Tony for Beautiful that marked her second Tony nod, as she also had been nominated for her fine performance in the revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.

Mueller, who will leave Beautiful: The Carole King Musical as of March 6, is next slated to work on Waitress, a musical Sara Bareilles. The Gammy winner has also appeared on Broadway in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Nice Work If You Can Get It.

On Broadway

by Matt Kizer

Festus Claudius "Claude" McKay (September 15, 1889 – May 22, 1948)

Festus Claudius “Claude” McKay (September 15, 1889 – May 22, 1948)

About me young careless feet
Linger along the garish street;
Above, a hundred shouting signs
Shed down their bright fantastic glow
Upon the merry crowd and lines
Of moving carriages below.
Oh wonderful is Broadway — only
My heart, my heart is lonely.

Desire naked, linked with Passion,
Goes trutting by in brazen fashion;
From playhouse, cabaret and inn
The rainbow lights of Broadway blaze
All gay without, all glad within;
As in a dream I stand and gaze
At Broadway, shining Broadway — only
My heart, my heart is lonely.

Patti LuPone on Broadway in Shows for Days by Douglas Carter Beane

by Paul Mroczka

Patti LuPone to star in Shows for Days by Douglas carter Beane.

Patti LuPone to star in Shows for Days by Douglas carter Beane.

Patti LuPone, star of numerous Broadway shows and Tony winner, returns to Broadway in a new play by Douglas Carter Beane. The play is an autobiographical piece entitled Shows for Days. Jerry Zaks will direct the play, which opens June 29 at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. Previews will begin June 4.

LuPone on Stage

LuPone with Winger in The Anarchist.

LuPone with Winger in The Anarchist.

LuPone, who last appeared on Broadway with Debra Winger in David Mamet’s The Anarchist, is now performing in The Ghosts of Versailles at the L.A. Opera. Her Broadway stage credits include two Tony winning performances, one for her portrayal of Mamma Rose in the revival of Gypsy and the other for her creation of the role of  Eva Perón in the Broadway premiere of Evita. Other stage appearances include leads in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Sweeney Todd, and Anything Goes. She also had a 68-performance run with Evita co-star Many Patinkin in An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin, which ran at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre from November 21, 2011 to January 13, 2012.

Shows For Days

The autobiographical stage rendering by Beane is drawn from his experience as a teen in Reading, Pennsylvania. The play focuses on a 14-year-old named Car who becomes inspired by a woman running a community theatre group at the Prometheus Theatre. The woman, played by LuPone, has dedicated her life to the theatre group, producing, directing, designing, and starring in their productions. Further casting and creative team members will be announced at a later date for Shows for Days.

Broadway Revival of On the Twentieth Century Delays First Preview

by Paul Mroczka

On the Twentieth Century preview postponed. until Feb 13

On the Twentieth Century preview postponed. until Feb 13

On the Twentieth Century preview postponed until Feb. 13.

The weather has not been kind to On the Twentieth Century, the Roundabout’s revival starring Kristin Chenoweth and Peter Gallagher. The musical farce, which won five Tonys when it premiered on Broadway in 1978, is now in rehearsals for its first Broadway revival. The first preview has been postponed by one day and is now set for February 13.

The show, which is scheduled to open March 12 at the American Airlines Theatre, is to have a limited run and will close on July 5, 2015. Along with Chenoweth and Gallagher, the Roundabout production also includes Andy Karl (Bruce Granit), Mark Linn-Baker (Oliver Webb), Michael McGrath (Owen O’Malley), Mary Louise Wilson (Letitia Primrose), and an ensemble of 18.

The Show

Gallagher and Chenoweth.

Gallagher and Chenoweth.

With music by Cy Coleman and lyrics and book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, the show, which is set on the luxury train The Twentieth Century, involves a desperate Broadway producer, Oscar Jaffe (Gallagher), attempting to convince a former Broadway now Hollywood star, Lily Garland (Chenoweth), to return to The Great White way in an epic drama about Mary Magdalene. The show does not exist, but Jaffe, who has had four flops in a row, is desperate to re-establish his reputation on Broadway, and he needs his former lover and muse under contract in order to have the juice to do so. Add to the mix a young, jealous, and not so bright Hollywood leading man, a religious fanatic, and a whole lot of other folks who simply complicate everything and you’ve got a screwball comedy.

The Production

The Broadway premiere of On the Twentieth Century opened on February 19, 1978 at the St. James Theatre and ran for 11 previews and 448 performances. It starred John Cullum, Madeline Khan, Imogene Coca, and Kevin Kline. Hal Prince directed, as the show won Tonys for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. Cullum and Kline also won Tonys.

The Roundabout production includes additional lyrics by Amanda Green, direction by Scott Ellis, and choreography by Warren Carlyle.

An Act of God on Broadway with Jim Parsons

by Paul Mroczka

An Act of God on Broadway with Jim Parsons

An Act of God on Broadway with Jim Parsons

Parsons, in Harvey, will star in An Act of God.

Emmy winner and Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons will play the ultimate roe, God, in the Roundabout production of An Act of God. An Act of God, which is being adapted by David Javerbaum, who wrote the book of the same name, will preview May 5, 2015, at Studio 54 and will open on May 28 for a limited run. Parson played Elwood P. Dowd in the Roundabout’s crucially acclaimed revival of the comedy Harvey.

About the Author

Neal Patrick Harris singing "It's not just for gays anymore."

Neal Patrick Harris singing “It’s not just for gays anymore.”

As a former executive producer and writer of The Daily Show with John Stewart, Javerbaum won 11 Emmys. He won two more for his work with co-writer Adam Schlesinger in creating two songs for Neil Patrick Harris for two different Tony telecasts, including the opening number for the 2011 show, which featured the hook that Broadway’s “not just for gays anymore.” Javerbaum with co-writer Schlesinger was also nominated for a 2008 Tony for the score of the musical Cry-Baby.

Javerbaum commented on his upcoming production of the play An Act of God, saying, “I am deeply disappointed that Jeffrey Finn has decided to produce this show. It will force me to continue my unwanted professional association with God, an abstract entity who has given me nothing but discomfort and agita. It is my desperate hope that we close out of town.”

The Play

Not a lot is presently known about the show except that it is not a musical and it will certainly be a comedy. When it was initially published in 2011 the book was described by the Washington Post as being “like The Bible, if The Bible were narrated by Mel Brooks on crack-laced manna,” while the New York Times said that it was “fearless…. A recklessly funny series of gags about all things religious and quite a few things secular too.”

More information will be forthcoming about An Act of God.