Tag: Broadway (91-100 of 167)

Aug 8 2012 07:37 PM ET

Rodger & Hammerstein's version of 'Cinderella' to debut on Broadway, with a twist ending

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Image Credit: Everett Collection

Cinderella is set to make her Broadway debut this winter — but it won’t be the Walt Disney version with which the majority of fans are familiar. Instead, the Rodgers & Hammerstein telling of the classic fairy tale will premiere at NYC’s Broadway Theatre for preview performances starting Jan. 21, 2013, and an opening night set for Feb. 21, 2013, EW has confirmed.

The show comes with a new book based on the original by Hammerstein, written by Douglas Carter Beane (The Little Dog Laughed). And apparently in this updated version there’s a twist — Cinderella gets to save the Prince in the end — although details beyond that are scarce. The show will include songs such as “In My Own Little Corner” and “Ten Minutes Ago,” as well as tunes from the Rodgers & Hammerstein catalog.

READ FULL STORY »

Aug 8 2012 01:32 PM ET

Recreating the 'bread roll ballet' for Charlie Chaplin musical -- EXCLUSIVE VIDEO

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Before the Tramp makes his Broadway debut, the cast and crew of Chaplin has to recreate famous scenes from Charlie Chaplin’s most iconic movies frame by frame. EW has an exclusive green screen video of star Rob McClure shooting the famous “bread roll ballet” from 1925′s The Gold Rush (complete with an imitation set with the newspaper tablecloth with heart cut-outs).

In the video below, McClure and director/choreographer Warren Carlyle discuss the difficulty of recreating such a simple scene.

READ FULL STORY »

Aug 1 2012 04:28 PM ET

Broadway theaters will dim lights to honor Gore Vidal

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Image Credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Broadway will dim its lights Friday night in honor of Gore Vidal, The Broadway League announced today.

The marquees of all Broadway theaters will be dimmed for one minute at 8:00 p.m. in his memory. Vidal, a prolific author and playwright, passed away Tuesday at age 86.

A revival of his play, The Best Man, is currently on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre starring James Earl Jones, Cybill Shepherd, John Larroquette and others. The show was originally performed in 1960. A movie version, which Vidal wrote the screenplay for, was released in 1964.

“For over six decades, Gore Vidal never stopped writing novels, memoirs, plays, essays and screenplays, and was a ubiquitous cultural commentator,” Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League, said in a press release. “His plays were timely and timeless, as evidenced by the current production of The Best Man now playing on Broadway. Our thoughts go out to his friends, family, and fans.” READ FULL STORY »

Jul 26 2012 04:08 PM ET

Starring in 'Newsies' for one night only! Behind the scenes of the Broadway smash -- VIDEO

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Image Credit: Deen van Meer

Here at EW, we’re all pretty big fans of Disney’s Broadway musical Newsies (deal with it, Christian Bale!), but I don’t think anyone in the office would dare suggest that he or she is a bigger fan than me. I mean, I’m sort of obsessed.

Having grown up watching the movie, I saw the show back in April and fell in love. I proceeded to talk every one of my co-workers’ ears off about it, and then wrote a feature story on the show’s success. After that, I posted some online articles, and then, whythehecknot? I posted some more. Hey, I know what I like.

So when Disney offered me the chance to step onto the Broadway stage for a cameo performance — with a line and everything! — in Newsies for a night, I wasn’t about to say no.

Of course I documented the whole experience (well, except the initial wardrobe fitting… that would just be awkward), and you can watch it all below. Part 1 chronicles my rehearsal and “performance,” and Part 2 features backstage interviews with the cast talking about their lives on the Broadway stage. Check it out below! READ FULL STORY »

Jul 24 2012 04:45 PM ET

'Ghost The Musical' to close on Broadway

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Image Credit: Joan Marcus

The ghost is leaving the theater.

The producers of Ghost The Musical announced today that the show will play its final Broadway performance on August 18. The show opened on April 23 this year and played 136 regular performances.

The musical, based on the Oscar-winning movie starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, was first a London West End hit, and original stars Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy reprised their roles as Sam and Molly for the New York show. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 10 2012 10:29 AM ET

Broadway box office report: Without Ricky Martin, do cry for 'Evita'

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It seems that the hit Broadway revival of Evita needs more than just a little bit of star quality. In fact, it very much needs a star of the caliber of Ricky Martin — whose vacation last week had a huge impact on the musical’s box office. The show, which has grossed at least $1.1 million per week since its first preview performance in March, managed only $643,663 for the week ending July 8, according to figures from the Broadway League. That’s a drop of nearly 46 percent. Luckily, Martin’s holiday is a brief one (he’ll also be out Aug. 5 – 11), and he’s signed onto the Andrew Lloyd Webber tuner through January.

Over at Peter and the Starcatcher, which had seen a box office boost since picking up five Tony Awards last month, sales fell 24 percent to $520,608 in the first week since Tony winner Christian Borle left the show to shoot the second season of NBC’s Broadway-set drama Smash. Without the swash of Borle as over-the-top pirate Black Stache, audience interest seems to have buckled.

Overall, box office was down 2.5 percent from the previous week, to $22.4 million. Even without Evita, six shows managed to hold their standing in the Great White Way’s million-dollar club: The Lion King ($1.998 million), Wicked ($1.92 million), Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark ($1.7 million), The Book of Mormon ($1.6 million), Newsies ($1.03 million), and Once ($1 million).

Related:
‘Once,’ ‘Porgy and Bess’ both get big post-Tony box office bumps
‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ gets box office bump even before Tony wins
EW’s Stage Hub

Jun 27 2012 09:24 PM ET

Alec Baldwin returning to Broadway in 'Orphans'

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Alec Baldwin has already lined up his first post-30 Rock gig: The actor will star in the Broadway debut of Orphans, directed by Daniel Sullivan and produced by Frederick Zollo and Robert Cole.

“I have dreamed, for a long time, of doing this play with this director,” Baldwin said in a statement that was put out with the announcement. “It’s an honor to work with Dan Sullivan in Lyle Kessler’s Orphans.”

The play features three characters. At the center of it all are two orphaned brothers who live in a run-down row house in North Philadelphia. There’s Treat, the eldest, who supports his damaged younger brother Phillip by stealing. The house turns into a prison for Phillip, who appears to be simple-minded. On one particular occasion, Treat kidnaps a rich, older man, Harold — this is the role Baldwin has been cast in — who, as it’s revealed, has his own motives and becomes a father figure for the boys. The roles of Treat and Phillip have not yet been cast.

An exact location for the play has yet to be set, but Orphans will be staged at one of the Shubert theaters in New York City. Orphans first premiered in 1983 at The Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles, before heading off for a Steppenwolfe Theatre engagement in Chicago in 1985 and a successful runs in off-Broadway in New York and in London. A film version was made in 1987.

Baldwin’s last hit the New York stage in 2006, when he starred in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Off Broadway production of Joe Orton’s Entertaining Mr. Sloane. More recently, he appeared on stage in the 2010 Guild Hall production of Peter Shaffer’s Equus, directed by Tony Walton, in East Hampton, N.Y.

The upcoming seventh season of 30 Rock will be the NBC comedy’s last and, although Baldwin has a tradition of wavering before returning for each season, he will appear in the series’ final 13 episodes, including a one-hour season finale. 30 Rock will likely wrap its shooting for the season before Orphans debuts.

Tanner on Twitter: @EWTanStransky

Read more:
Alec Baldwin says he’s staying on ’30 Rock’…and that the show is ending next season
NBC Chief: ’30 Rock’ WILL end next season
Alec Baldwin renews ’30 Rock’ deal

Jun 26 2012 03:00 PM ET

'Motown the Musical' headed to Broadway

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Stop! In the name of Broadway. Motown is coming to the Great White Way!

Motown the Musical will be based on the life of legendary Motown founder Berry Gordy and feature hits from Diana Ross and The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, and Michael Jackson and The Jackson Five. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 25 2012 01:08 PM ET

Billy Ray Cyrus to make Broadway debut in 'Chicago'

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Image Credit: Larry Busacca/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus may be headed to the altar, but her dad is headed to the big stage. Country singer and actor Billy Ray Cyrus will make his Broadway debut in Chicago for a seven-week stint beginning Nov. 5., the AP reports.

Cyrus will play Billy Flynn, a lawyer who defends the musical’s murderesses Velma and Roxie by using their celebrity status to win over the public in Prohibition-era Chicago.

Known for his 1992 hit “Achy Breaky Heart” and for his role on Miley’s television series, Hannah Montana, Cyrus isn’t the first celebrity to try out the Broadway musical. R&B singer Usher played Billy Flynn in 2006, and other stars such as Ashlee Simpson, Chandra Wilson, Sofía Vergara and Michael C. Hall have all been a part of the cast. Richard Gere played the role of Flynn in the 2002 film adaptation.

Read more:
The Obamas saw ‘Do the Right Thing’ on their first date — VIDEO
Channing Tatum strips to YMCA — VIDEO
On the scene: ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ in Brooklyn

Jun 23 2012 09:00 AM ET

This Week on Stage: 'Godspell,' 'Priscilla' depart

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Image Credit: Joan Marcus

It’s closing time for a host of Broadway favorites, some of which had long planned their exits and others of which will reluctantly face the music (well, not anymore). Venus in Fur, Other Desert Cities and Don’t Dress for Dinner welcomed their closings this past Sunday (June 17), while Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Godspell and Million Dollar Quartet will depart their theatres on Sunday, June 24. Barring business improvement, Jesus Christ Superstar will stop rocking on July 1 (alongside Linda Lavin’s The Lyons), while producers of Sister Act announced that Raven-Symoné and her cadre of nuns will finally hang up their habits on August 26.

But you know what they say: when the ghost of Ethel Merman closes a dud, she opens a winner (or something like that). New casts are forming for the upcoming Broadway season, which will include another revival of Glengarry Glen Ross starring Al Pacino and Bobby Canavale; The Other Place, a medical-marital drama led by Laurie Metcalf; and, though it only plays for six days this summer, Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth, the one-man show from boxing’s most infamous individual.

Unless you’re too busy tapping your high heels to our exclusive first listen from Cyndi Lauper’s upcoming musical Kinky Boots, take a hot second to peruse this week’s offering of Off Broadway reviews: READ FULL STORY »

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