End of June Grosses for Broadway

The top-grossing Broadway productions have been calculated for last week, and once again Wicked rules the pack, coming in as the highest-grossing Broadway musical from June 22-June 28, 2009. Last week, the Gershwin Theatre’s Wicked topped out at $1,606,120, coming in atop Imperial Theatre’s Billy Elliot, which grossed $1,424,911. The third-highest grossing Broadway musical from last week was Palace Theatre’s West Side Story, which came in with $1,382,611. Not far behind West Side Story was The Lion King at Minskoff Theatre with $1,371,436, and rounding out the top five highest-grossing musicals of the week was Jersey Boys at the August Wilson Theatre, grossing $1,151,195.

As far as plays go, God of Carnage (Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre) took the cake last week as the top-grossing Broadway play, raking in $972,967. The second highest-grossing play of the week goes to Sam S. Shubert Theatre’s Blithe Spirit, which ended the week with $597,662. The third highest-grossing play of the week from last week went to Studio 54’s Waiting for Godot with $563,210, while August: Osage County at Music Box Theatre grossed $414,600 and Irena’s Vow at Walter Kerr Theatre came in at $337,100. What will the opening numbers for the first week in July be? Stay tuned to find out!

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 30, 2009 - Post a comment

Avenue Q Set to Close This Fall

The crowd-pleasing puppet show Avenue Q will officially close on Broadway on September 13, 2009, marking the end of a six-year romp that has brought all kinds of crowds to tears of laughter since its inception.  After grossing more than $117,009,852 million and playing 22 previews and 2,534 performances, the hilarious puppets of Avenue Q will be laid to rest, even if temporarily. In a recent statement released from producer Robyn Goodman, “We will miss our furry friends on 45th Street but are very proud of their longevity.” Goodman added that Republican puppet Rod took the closing news hard, saying, “A disappointed Rod was hoping for an Obama bailout and swore he would turn Democrat if it happened.”

The hilarious Avenue Q will reach its sixth anniversary on Broadway on July 31 and will close on September 13 at the John Golden Theatre. The puppet-centered production features music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx with a book by Jeff Whitty and direction by Jason Moore. After premiering at the Golden Theatre on July 31, 2003, Avenue Q garnered three Tony Awards in 2004 for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical (Jeff Whitty) and Best Original Score (Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx).

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 29, 2009 - Post a comment

Dreamgirls Solidifies Cast for Upcoming Production

Director/choreographer Robert Longbottom’s upcoming production of the Motown classic musical Dreamgirls is coming into the spotlight, and names have just been announced for the actors and actresses set to star in the upcoming national tour. Moya Angela will take over the coveted role of Effie White in Longbottom’s Dreamgirls, stepping into the shoes of standouts Jennifer Holliday and Jennifer Hudson, who have both made Effie one of the most memorable characters of all time. American Idol finalist Syesha Mercado will join Angela onstage as Deena Jones, and a supporting cast of Adrienne Warren as Lorrell Robinson, Margaret Hoffman as Michelle Morris, Chaz Lamar Shepherd as Curtis Taylor Jr., Chester Gregory as James “Thunder” Early, Trevon Davis as C.C. White and Milton Craig Nealy as Marty Madison will complete the main characters for the production of Dreamgirls.

The Robert Longbottom-directed running of Dreamgirls will premiere at the Apollo Theatre in New York on November 7 and officially open on November 22, playing through December 6 before going on a national tour that will include dates in Baltimore, Pittsburg, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Chicago, Boston, Columbus, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Costa Mesa, Cincinnati and Philadelphia.

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 26, 2009 - Post a comment

Nichols Set for Broadway Debut

Country music superstar Joe Nichols has already built a fine reputation in the country music industry thanks to Billboard hits like “Brokenheartsville,” “Size Matters (Someday)” and “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” and now this inventive country crooner will spread his talents outside of Nashville and to the Big Apple, as he’s set to star in the upcoming Broadway musical Pure Country. The musical, based off the 1992 film starring George Strait, will open on Broadway in 2010, and recently Nichols got some expert advice from fellow country icon Reba McEntire, who made her Broadway debut in 2001 in the musical Annie Get Your Gun: “She told me, ‘On your day off you think you’re going to go sightseeing, you think you’re going to go to the Statue of Liberty, you think you’re going to do all this fun stuff. You won’t. What you will do is laundry and then you’ll sleep.’”

Not one to be scared off, Joe Nichols is embracing the opportunity to go on Broadway, saying, “I’m looking forward to it. It’s probably the only Broadway show I will ever land, but it’s really cool to get this one opportunity. It will be my first time actually living in New York City for an extended period of time.” While Pure Country won’t open until 2010, a sneak peek of the show can be seen this summer, thanks to the “Broadway in Bryant Park” series put on by the New York radio station 106.7, which will feature a slew of Broadway and off-Broadway shows on starting July 9 at the midtown greenery. Pure Country will get its time to shine on July 16, alongside The Little Mermaid, 9 to 5 and The Toxic Avenger.

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 25, 2009 - Post a comment

Broadway Bares Collects over $800,000

The charity production Broadway Bares 19.0: Click It! took place Sunday night (June 21) in two sold-out performances, allowing all 5,902 patrons to see the hottest Broadway dancers in nothing but their skimpies as the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS charity benefit raised an overwhelming $808,819 from the bare-naked event. Billed as one of the most sizzling must-see Broadway shows of the year, Broadway Bares boasted its promo in the following: “Broadway’s hottest boiz are grabbing their hard drives and the grlz are ready to play with some brand new software for what is sure to be a Broadway Bares that will fry more than your mother board. Broadway Bares 19.0 will have over 200 of Broadway’s hottest dancers bringing the information superhighway to life and will surely have all of New York a-’twitter.’”

The 19th annual Broadway Bares event was directed by Peter Gregus (Jersey Boys) and produced by creator Jerry Mitchell, and some of the smokin’ hot actors and actresses who took part in the much-anticipated bare-all event include Sutton Foster (Shrek the Musical), Gavin Creel (Hair), Daniel Reichard (Jersey Boys), Heidi Blickenstaff ([title of show]), Kevin Chamberlin (The Addams Family), Allison Janney (9 to 5), Norm Lewis (The Little Mermaid) and more.

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 24, 2009 - Post a comment

Spotlight: “God of Carnage”

The incredible play “God of Carnage” raked in several Tony Awards earlier this month, making the production one of the most talked-about and most seen plays of the entire year. The Yasmina Reza comedy has been an absolute crowd-pleaser ever since its opening on Broadway on March 22, and after extending its run through November 15 (originally scheduled to end July 19), “God of Carnage” has officially hit a landmark, having reached 100 performances already as part of its magnificent tenure on Broadway.

“God of Carnage” features the incredible starring actors and actresses Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden, and the production has absolutely lit up the theatrical scene over the past several months, even earning three Tony Awards earlier this month for Best Play, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play (Marcia Gay Harden) and Best Direction of a Play (Matthew Warchus). The hilarious stage comedy revolves around the plot of a playground squabble between two boys and the resulting meeting between their parents, and the extension of the Yasmina Reza classic will take place until November 15 (the theater will go dark for six weeks beginning July 27 before starting up again.)

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 23, 2009 - Post a comment

Memphis Goes Broadway

The rock musical Memphis is the newest production to go Broadway, as the radiant musical is set to open at the Shubert Theatre in New York City in mid-October. Memphis previously played at Southern California’s La Jolly Playhouse and Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre, and it has already been announced that the Tony-nominated Christopher Ashley (Xanadu) will lead direction for the upcoming Broadway play, while Sergio Trujillo (Next to Normal, Jersey Boys) will choreograph the production. Casting is yet to be announced.

As stated from the production, Memphis follows the storyline of a white DJ in the ’50s in Tennessee. The press release states, “In the smoky halls and underground clubs of the segregated ’50s, a young white DJ named Huey Calhoun fell in love with everything he shouldn’t: rock and roll and an electrifying black singer. Memphis is an original story about the cultural revolution that erupted when his vision met her voice, and the music changed forever.”

Memphis will begin showing previews at the Shubert Theatre (225 West 44th Street) on September 23, officially opening on October 19. The performance schedule will tentatively run Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Wednesday and Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 22, 2009 - Post a comment

‘Bye Bye Birdie’ Revival Announced, Details Revealed

The Charles Strouse/Lee Adams Broadway classic Bye Bye Birdie is back onstage after 48 years away from the musical scene, and the full cast of the upcoming Broadway revival has just been announced. The Roundabout Theatre Company just released details concerning the revival of this musical must-see, and none other than John Stamos, Gina Gershon and Bill Irwin will take lead roles in the upcoming production of Bye Bye Birdie. The revival is set to take place at the new Henry Miller’s Theatre (at 124 West 43rd Street) as the venue’s inaugural performance, and the production is set to run from Thursday, September 10, 2009 through January 10, 2010 with the official opening taking place on Thursday, October 15, 2009.

Aside from Stamos, Gershon and Irwin, other actors and actresses to take key roles in the upcoming musical Bye Bye Birdie include Jayne Houdyshell, Dee Hoty, Matt Doyle, Molly Ephraim, Allie Trimm and Nolan Gerard Funk. Direction and choreography will be handled by the great Robert Longbottom, and the electrifying rock ‘n’ roll musical comedy is expected to be just as exuberant as it was in 1960, when the musical first opened on Broadway.

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 19, 2009 - Post a comment

T.R. Knight to Broadway, Too?

Ashton Kutcher may not be the only television actor to join Broadway in the upcoming months. T.R. Knight, best known as Dr. George O’Malley on the ABC drama Grey’s Anatomy, may soon be making his Broadway comeback very shortly, as it was recently announced that the actor has made a request to producers of Grey’s to release him from his contract with the show three years early due to a lack of storyline for his character. His request was granted this week, and signs are pointing to Broadway for Knight’s next endeavor.

T.R. Knight is said to be looking into a revival of the Ken Ludwig comedy Lend Me a Tenor, for which he recently did a reading alongside Alfred Molina, Tony Shalhoub and Marian Seldes. Should he take a role in the upcoming revival of the Ludwig production, it will not be Knight’s first romp with Broadway. The actor made a cameo in Broadway’s Tartuffe and also appeared in the revival of Noises Off in 2001. He’s also had roles in several other major plays and productions, so while he may not be George O’Malley anymore, T.R. Knight may indeed be headed back to the spotlight very soon.

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 18, 2009 - Post a comment

Is Ashton Kutcher Broadway Bound?

He’s proven his public stature by becoming the first person to have more than one million followers on Twitter, and Ashton Kutcher is now scoring headlines across the country once again, said to be contemplating an upcoming offer to join the ranks of film actors to go Broadway. The New York Post broke the story that Kutcher, star of the television comedy That ’70s Show and several comedy films in the 2000s, is considering taking the lead role in the Broadway production Fat Pig, a Neil LaBute-directed and produced show. Should Ashton Kutcher seize the opportunity to make his Broadway debut with Fat Pig, the Post reported he would take the role of Tom, a suave younger gentleman who courts the genuine but heavyset Helen.

LaBute’s Fat Pig opened off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in 2004 and featured the all-star cast of Keri Russell, Jeremy Piven, Andrew McCarthy and Ashlie Atkinson. Its run with Broadway has yet to garner a timeline, still attracting speculation of whether or not Ashton Kutcher will star in the production.

Kutcher’s recent endeavors in the film industry include What Happens in Vegas, My Boss’s Daughter, The Butterfly Effect, A Lot Like Love and Dude, Where’s My Car?, among several others.

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 17, 2009 - Post a comment


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