Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Broadway Box Office: 01.23 - 01.29.12


 HOT/HOTTER: CLICK ON THE ICON TO YOUR LEFT AND VOTE BY FRIDAY!
CONTEST ENDS WEDNESDAY - 
CLICK ON THE HOW TO SUCCEED LOGO TO ENTER!


The Broadway Box Office Top Ten 
for the 35th week of the 2011 - 2012 season 
(January 23 - 29; 26 productions):


#3 - The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess

1. The Book of Mormon (Musical) Eugene O'Neill Theatre (1)
2. War Horse (Play) Vivian Beaumont Theatre (2)
3. The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (Musical Revival) Richard Rodgers Theatre (10)
4.  Jersey Boys (Musical) August Wilson Theatre (6)
5.  Wicked (Musical) Gershwin Theatre (5)
6. Disney's The Lion King (Musical) Minskoff Theatre (4)
6. tie Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (Musical) Foxwoods Theatre (7)
8. Rock of Ages (Musical) Helen Hayes Theatre (9)
8. tie Other Desert Cities (Play) Booth Theatre (-)
10. Anything Goes (Musical Revival) Sondheim Theatre (-)

#8  - Other Desert Cities
(To find out how this is calculated, please click HERE.)
(-) - Last week's position in the Broadway Top Ten


Chinglish - Closed 01.29.12

  • Biggest Increase in Attendance: Chinglish (+25.5%)
  • Biggest Decrease in Attendance: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (-14.7%)
  • Biggest Increase in Gross Receipts:  Chinglish  (+$115,960)
  • Biggest Decrease in Gross Receipts: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying        (-$636,945)
  • Highest Average Paid Admission: The Book of Mormon ($162.88)
  • Lowest Average Paid Admission: Wit ($42.48)

#5 - Wicked

  • SRO Shows: The Book of Mormon
  • $1M Club: The Book of Mormon, The Lion King, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Wicked


Jeff
3.154

Monday, January 30, 2012

CASTING: Carrie


If the much-anticipated revival of Carrie fails as its original production did, it certainly won't be because of a lack of talent on both sides of the footlights.  After reviewing the cast and creative team, I am even more excited to see this show, which begins performances tomorrow at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in the Village.

TOP NOTCH DESIGNERS
The current kings of lighting and projection design, Kevin Adams and Sven Ortel, respectively, are on board to work their magic in a tiny, no-frills space.  Adams, with 3 Tonys and a host of credits including next to normal, Spring Awakening and American Idiot, and Ortel, a pioneer in the art of theatre projection (The Woman in White, The Little Mermaid, Women on the Verge), are at the top of their game and should be able to transform the space into the dual worlds of Carrie White with style and finesse.

With a space that is smaller than some walk-in closets, David Zinn is a great choice for set designer.  Having created an excellent design in the same space with The Submission, Zinn has proven to me that he can really make the most of very little.  Considering his most recent sound design, On a Clear Day, where even legendary crooner Harry Connick, Jr. was difficult to understand, I think that the one potential weakness for the design team might be sound designer Jonathan Deans, who was also responsible for the muddy sound of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.  Maybe he'll do better in a small space.


The Carrie Company with director Stafford Arima

BROADWAY VETERANS AND NEW YORK DEBUTS
I've never seen Molly Ranson perform at all, but I've never heard a bad thing about her, either.  Anyone that young who can hold her own against the powerhouse performances in the casts of both August: Osage County and Jerusalem certainly deserves our attention.  And they say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I only need two when I look at her in the promo shot: haunting and heart-breaking.  What could be better for Carrie or Carrie?


Mazzie and Ranson

My love affair with the great Marin Mazzie began in 1986 when I saw her as Mary Jane Wilkes in Big River, and I've thrilled to her Clara in Passion, her Mother in Ragtime, and was emotionally spent by the end of her triumphant turn as Diana in next to normal.  I can't wait to see what she does with the role of Margaret White.  But she sure has some big shoes to fill, following the legendary performance of Betty Buckley.  I'm not too worried...

The supporting company is also very exciting - a terrific combination of experience to keep everyone grounded and the energy of New York debutantes.

I really enjoyed Christy Altomare in Spring Awakening's National Tour, and she shows great chemistry with her co-star Derek Klena (NY debut, American Idol) in the press-released new song from Carrie.  And could they be any more all-American and sexy?  The adult roles - it appears, anyway - are being handled by Carmen Cusack (National Tour of South Pacific, a number of productions of Wicked) as the gym teacher, and Wayne Wilcox (The Normal Heart, Priscilla Queen of the Desert).  Bad girl Chris is being played by Jeanna de Waal, who made a huge impression on me in American Idiot, while bad boy Billy will be played by RENT's Ben Thompson, who was also on Broadway in American Idiot.




Altomare, Klena, Wilcox, Cusack, Thompson, de Waal

And the ensemble includes: Corey Boardman (Altar Boyz, NYMTF's Billy the Kid), Blair Goldberg (Annie Get Your Gun), F. Michael Haynie (debut), Andy Mientus (Spring Awakening National Tour),   Elly Noble (York Theatre's Greasepaint/Crowd), and Jen Sese (Hair, Mamma Mia - Vegas).




Boardman, Goldberg, Haynie, Mientus, Noble and Sese


No matter what, this Carrie will be exciting!

Jeff
3.153

Sunday, January 29, 2012

TheatreScene: You Asked For It

As those of you who follow this blog know, I try to constantly keep things fresh.  These Sunday blogs are the perfect example.  "TheatreScene" each week has changed probably a dozen times over the years.  I still am not 100% sure what I want it to be each Sunday.  From what I've heard from you about it, you like the most recent changes, so, I'll probably keep it they way it currently is for awhile.  So, it'll be like it usually is next week.

I love hearing from all of you.  I know there are A LOT of theatre blogs out there (I read a ton of them myself), and I know that you must really feel strongly when you take the time to write to me.  Thankfully, a lot of you have written to say very nice things and to share your personal experiences with different shows.  In fact, that is probably the number one thing I've come to learn about theatre through this blog: when the houselights go down, attending live theatre becomes such a profoundly personal experience for all of us.  I love that unique bond between audience member and live performance.  What I have learned from writing this blog is that those of us who feel that singular bond love to share that most personal experience, even when sharing means opening yourself up to the scrutiny of others who share your passion.   I am so grateful that so many of you care what I have to say, and am just as grateful to those of you who share your thoughts.


Of course, with that caring and sharing also comes its share of criticism.  Isn't it great when people see a work of art and have such completely different emotional responses to it?  I've often said that I'd rather absolutely hate a show than leave it not caring one way or another.  So it is perfectly OK with me that you hated Lysistrata Jones and I loved it.  (Though I have to say that had the actual attendance at that show been proportional to the number of emails I got about it, it would still be running...)

But my favorite emails and Tweets are those that offer suggestions about what to include, what to stop and what to keep, but maybe do a little less of.  And that is what the rest of today will be about.

BROADWAY BOYS AND LADIES
This monthly feature is by far the most popular feature of this blog.  It will stay as is, no worries.  And you have asked for more pictures.  I do my best.  As for more "shirtless" pictures, I will post what I can find that still maintains the dignity of the person being profiled.  This not a porn site.  (Please stop asking for the Spider-Man actor who regularly posts pictures of his penis.  You obviously know where they are; I don't need to post them here, too.)

What a lot of you have asked for has been for more ways to "interact" with the blog - not just stuff to read, but to do and think about as far as Broadway theatre.  Let me point out some features of this blog that allow you be interactive.  And then, take advantage of them!


JKTS INTERACTIVE:

  • Rate each blog.  You can rate each and every entry at the bottom of each entry.  One click is all it takes.
  • Leave comments.  Just below the rating is a place for you to leave your comments.  Unless you are spamming me or are profanely critical, I post anything you write there.  And, in case you are worried about security, I cannot see your email or personal information.
  • Email me directly.  My email address is posted at the end of most of my blogs.  Say what you want there, and I'll write back.  Nothing you write there will be posted on this blog without your permission.  It is just between us!  And I do not give out or sell email addresses.
  • Tweet me.  Follow me and I'll follow you!  And if we both follow each other we can "chat" privately.  And I can send you poll questions and special offers.
  • Contests.  The  more of you who participate, the more contests I get offered.  It is simply supply and demand.  Nothing is really free, of course, which is why I ask you to follow the blog over several days or click on icons to answer questions to enter.  It's more fun that way!
  • Take the monthly poll.  I found a really cool new poll function that I can embed.  It will be on the left column, and will run from the 1st to the last of each month.  You can only vote once, but please do!
  • Use the links.  There are links to great stuff all over this blog.  Embedded in the blog entries, links are usually like this: Click HERE. There are also links on the thinner columns to the left and right of the daily blog entry.  To the left: Contest Icons to click for contest info, the HOT and HOTTER Icon (see below for more about that), links to my reviews of currently running shows, CDs, books and DVDs, the monthly/yearly archive list and keyword search function, and at the very bottom, links to what I think are the best theatre blogs out there.  On the right, icons to the monthly Mr. and Ms. Broadway, plus one-click links to most of the Broadway show websites, as well as a few of my favorite Broadway sites.  You can also become a follower there, as well as follow what I've Tweeted.
  • Use the pages.  At the top are tabs that link you to pages about several topics.  There, I have created pages with links to all related blogs.  The good news is that Blogger allows me more pages than it used to, so I can add things you like as they come up.
  • Like the pictures?  Double-click them.  Within each blog, if you double-click a photo, you can see - usually - a larger version AND a slideshow of all the pictures in that blog.



THE BIG NEWLY ADDED FEATURE: UNCONVENTIONAL BEAUTY - HOT and HOTTER
As popular as Mr. and Ms. Broadway is, the one thing I keep hearing from you is that I seem to pick people that are "Hollywood pretty" or pin-up girl in looks.  Well, I'd be lying if I didn't say that sex appeal is part of my choice, but the truth is that talent trumps looks.  Still, I try to focus on up and comers, mostly, and they tend to be the "lookers."  But in the interest of full disclosure, I don't pick people just because I find them attractive, but I do consider selecting people that will appeal to most of you.

That said, I have begun the search for Broadway's most uniquely hot guy!  Objectifying, sure, but all in good fun.  Each week, I'll post a pair of guys that are not your typical Aaron Tveit or Jeremy Jordan, and ask you to rate their "hotness."  (The poll will post each Saturday and end the following Friday at noon.  The idea is that they are ALL super guys, super talented and charismatic, but not your typical guy, either.  It will work like a bracket system for sports.  I'll have 8 pairs.  Then the winners from those pairs will go against each other, and so on until we are down to one pair, then one winner.  The first pair of hot/hotter guys are American Idiot's John Gallagher Jr. and Van Hughes.  Click on the picture under "Hot or Hotter" in the left column to rate these guys.


So, you asked for more "to do" and I'm giving it to you!  Please:

  • send in your nominees for Mr. and Ms. Broadway
  • send in your ideas for "Hot/Hotter"
  • take advantage of everything on the list above
  • enter the contests
  • take the polls
  • and continue to share your love of the theatre with all of us!



Jeff
3.152

Saturday, January 28, 2012

JKTS INTERACTIVE: HOT and HOTTER: Round 1: Dueling IDIOTS

Recently, I Tweeted all of my Twitter followers asking them: Darren Criss and Jeremy Jordan are cute guys!  BUT which Broadway Boys do YOU think are HOT, that others might not?  


Actually, as one of my followers thought, I was not asking people to name someone on Broadway who is unattractive.  Instead, I was hoping to find the guys who aren't your conventional "pretty boys."  Well, the answers poured in with a few repeats, but all interesting names.  And the truth is ALL of them are hot in their own way - each unique in their looks and talents.  What a variety!

In an effort to make this blog more interactive - like so many of you have asked for - I thought it might be fun to honor these awesome men of Broadway by pairing them up and having you vote on who is the "hotter" of the two, until we narrow it down the number one uniquely exciting guy in the whole TheatreScene!

So here are the first two "HOT and HOTTER" candidates:

JOHN GALLAGHER, JR. and VAN HUGHES



  • What they have in common:  They both played Johnny in Green Day's American Idiot.  They both have the angsty-guy thing down pat, and they both wear that unclean scruffy look like a badge of honor.
  • NOTE: You are NOT voting for who you think played the part better!  You ARE voting for which of these great guys is hotter to you.



                    JOHN GALLAGHER, JR.                                        VAN HUGHES






Rate each guy below!  
Leave your thoughts about John and Van below or email them to jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com!  
And tell your theatre-loving friends!  The poll will close Friday, February 3 at NOON!



Looking for more ways to be a part of JKTS?
  • Take this month's poll to your left!
  • Enter the contest to win tickets to see NICK JONAS in How to Succeed on Broadway!
  • Email me the names of more uniquely hot Broadway guys for a new Hot and Hotter poll!
  • Nominate a Mr. Broadway and/or Ms. Broadway for February!
  • Are you the biggest fan of a certain show? Contact me for details on how I can interview you!
  • See a Broadway, Off-Broadway or Touring show that I haven't find out how to get your review posted here!
Jeff
3.151

Friday, January 27, 2012

PHANTOM Turns 24...Broadway Stars Who Aren't That Old


CLICK THE "HOW TO SUCCEED" LOGO TO YOUR LEFT TO ENTER TO WIN TICKETS TO SEE NICK JONAS!


TAKE THIS MONTH'S POLL (TO YOUR LEFT, TOO)!


Yesterday, The Phantom of the Opera celebrated its 24th birthday.  Yes, January 26, 1988 was the date history-in-the making began... unless you count its previews which started 17 days earlier on January 9.  Nearly 10,000 performances later (that milestone will be made on February 11, 2012), it is hard to imagine Broadway without it, right? Well, for a lot of Broadway fans, their lives have never know a day without the show on Broadway.  Literally.

The same goes for many of today's performers.  Not a single day in their lives has been lived without Phantom playing the Majestic Theatre.  I'll bet that for many of them, the show was the first, or among the first they ever saw.  So, who are some of these (literally) Broadway Babies?



Daniel Radcliffe


  • Adam Reigler - the original Pugsley in The Addams Family.
  • Anna Maria Perez de Tagle - currently starring as Anna Maria ("Day By Day") in Godspell.
  • Alexa Vega - she played Penny Pingleton in Hairspray.
  • Brittny Kissinger - she played Annie in the 1997 revival of Annie.
  • Daniel Radcliffe - most recently starred as Finch in How to Succeed and earlier as Alan Strang in Equus.


Kiril Kulish, David Alvarez and Trent Kowalik

  • David Alvarez, Kiril Kulish and Trent Kowalik - the three were the original (and all Tony-winning) Broadway Billys in Billy Elliot.
  • Emma Hunton - currently Maureen in RENT; most recently, Spring Awakening and the National Tour of next to normal.
  • Haley Joel Osment - the Oscar nominee starred in the short lived revival of American Buffalo.
  • Hunter Parrish - currently starring as Jesus in Godspell; previously in Spring Awakening.
  • Jennifer Damiano - Tony nominee for next to normal, most recently, she created the role of Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.
  • Jordin Sparks - the American Idol  winner recently starred in In the Heights.

Emma Hunton

Anna Maria Perez de Tagle and Hunter Parrish

Jennifer Damiano

  • Kelsey Fowler - most recently, Young Bonnie in Bonnie and Clyde, plus Grey Gardens and Mary Poppins.
  • Mackenzie Mauzy - most recently, next to normal  and A Tale of Two Cities on Broadway, and the leading role in Broadway-bound White Noise.
  • Madeleine Martin - most recently in August: Osage County and The Pillowman.
  • Matthew Gumley  - his credits include Elf, The Addams Family, Mary Poppins and Beauty and the Beast.
  • Mitchel Federan - Theatre World Award winner for his role as Young Peter Allen in The Boy from Oz.
  • Nick Jonas - currently starring as Finch in How to Succeed, also, Annie Get Your Gun, Beauty and the Beast, Les Miserables.

Richard Fleeshman

  • Richard Fleeshman - about to star as Sam Wheat in Ghost: The Musical.
  • Taylor Trensch - he started performances THIS WEEK as Boq in Wicked.  Welcome!
  • William Ullrich - co-starred in the revivals of Nine and The Music Man.


These are just a few of the many under-24 Broadway performers.  Playbill Vault lists 48 actors born between January 1988 and today.  And that doesn't even include most of the late-in-the-run Beauty and the Beast Chips, most of the Young Simbas and Young Nalas in The Lion King, all of the Broadway Billy Elliots, and all of the Broadway Janes and Michaels in Mary Poppins.

Makes you wonder how many future Broadway stars who aren't even born yet will be able to say they've never known Broadway without a 10,000+ performance Phantom!

Jeff
3.150



Thursday, January 26, 2012

CONTEST: Win Tickets for NICK JONAS in HOW TO SUCCEED!


You may have heard the news... there's a new guy cleaning the windows at World Wide Wickets (aka the Al Hirschfeld Theatre)!  He's teen heartthrob Nick Jonas, and he just put on the green bow tie this week as J. Pierrepont Finch  in the hit 50th Anniversary revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.


He and his family were on hand to celebrate his opening and his new giant billboard in Times Square.



To help celebrate hie return to Broadway - and to also welcome his new co-stars Beau Bridges and Michael Urie - JK's TheatreScene is giving away tickets to the show!  And they are pretty easy to win, too!

THE PRIZE:
  • Win a pair of tickets to How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on Broadway, starring Nick Jonas.
  • The winner will receive a voucher good for two tickets to a performance during February or March.  Some blackout dates will apply.  
  • Winners must reserve tickets at least one week in advance in accordance with the guidelines set by management of the production.
  • There will be two winners of a pair of tickets each.

JUST FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS:
  • CLICK the How to Succeed logo to your left, just above this month's poll.
  • ANSWER the 5 How to Succeed trivia questions.
  • E-MAIL your name, city and state, and the 5 answers (letter AND answer or TRUE/FALSE) to jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com.  
  • TYPE NICK JONAS HOW TO SUCCEED CONTEST in the subject heading.
  • All entries must be received by NOON Eastern time on Wednesday, February 1, 2012.

THE FINE PRINT:
  • ONE entry per email address.
  • Entries that do not meet all of the requirements will be disqualified.
  • Contributors to this blog, How to Succeed company members, and anyone who WON tickets from THIS WEBSITE for Follies, Lysistrata Jones or the previous How to Succeed contest are ineligible for this contest.  IF YOU ENTERED BEFORE AND DID NOT WIN, YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO ENTER THIS CONTEST.
  • This blog and its writers are not responsible for entries that do not arrive on time, entries that are not received or do not meet all requirements.  Further, this blog is not responsible for the location or availability of the seats for the prizes.  Finally, the blog is not responsible for actors who are not in any given performance.

REMEMBER:
  • Click the How to Succeed logo to your left to get started!
  • All entries must be received by NOON on Wednesday, February 1, 2012.

GOOD LUCK!


Jeff
3.149

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

BOOK REVIEW: The Broadway Musical Quiz Book

BE SURE TO TAKE THIS MONTH'S POLL (TO YOUR LEFT)!


  1. Name five currently running shows have had more than one Playbill cover that reflect changes in the show's logo (not color vs black and white) during its original run.
  2. What was the original title of next to normal?
  3. Name the actor and actress who were originally signed to play The Green Goblin and Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.
  4. What show was the last to play the Majestic Theatre before The Phantom of the Opera opened there? (Bonus if you can name the theatre it moved to!)
  5. What theatre did Kurt and Rachel sneak into and sing on the stage of during the New York Nationals episode of Glee? (Bonus what two Glee guest stars sang the same song on the same stage, and what was the song?)


Theatre Book Review: The Broadway Musical Quiz Book.  By Laura Frankos.  Foreward by Peter Filichia.  Published by Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, an Imprint of Hal Leonard Corporation, New York.  Paperback.  Copyright 2010. 271 pages.

Grade: A+

Trivia is a fun and funny thing, especially when it centers around something you are passionate about.  Obviously, my passion is theatre - musical theatre, especially - and my friends know it.  That's why I got a really cool book for Christmas that I think you'd like, too.  It's called The Broadway Musical Quiz Book by Laura Frankos, with a foreword by one of my favorite theatre columnists, Peter Filichia.

I have one word to describe this book: HUMBLING.  Boy, I thought I knew my musical theatre - plots, songs, composers, lyricists, even a fair amount of history about many shows through the years.  But it is amazing - and humbling - to realize that there is so much out there still to fill my head with.

Ms. Frankos has done an incredible job constructing more than 80 different quizzes that cover the Broadway musical by decade (1900-2000), by major composers (Kern, Comden and Green, the usual suspects), by major theatre artists (Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse, Carol Channing, Patti LuPone and the Merm).  And she has some really fun ones that cover such varied (and specific) subjects like "Musical Theatre Addresses, the four seasons - 1 quiz, each, Jukebox Musicals, Songs with Numbers, Sports and musicals, and dozens of others.

If you are particularly well versed in musical lyrics, you will do well.  If you know the history of productions - firings, hiring, out of town changes and the like - you will do well.  There are fill in the blanks, multiple choice and some true/false. There are a great variety of quizzes here, something for everyone, as they say.  Even the cover is quiz of sorts - can you identify the famous musical theatre characters who are pictures reading the book?

But the very best part of the book is that each question is a full paragraph of facts about the show in question, BEFORE the question, AND the answers (in the back of the book, naturally) are also full of interesting tidbits and fun facts.  So even when you are stumped by a topic you thought you were an expert in, you find out a ton of truly information about your favorite topics!  PLUS, sprinkled about are "Broadway Bonus" questions, mostly things you'd never know unless you were there.  (For example, p.47 - What happened to John Gallagher, Jr. during the opening night of Spring Awakening at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre during "The Bitch of Living"?)  You'll have to get the book to find out the answer to that one!

In short, no matter how much you know, how much you think you know, or even if you are new to this business we call show, this book is a must for lovers of Broadway musicals.  It will keep you entertained from start to finish - I've had the book for almost a month and haven't even scratched the surface.

And so to those 5 questions at the top of the blog - those are mine, not the author's.  They are the kind of questions we might ask each other at a party.  Some stumpers, others really easy if you know just a little about current shows.  But no more!  Watch out, friends, I am coming armed with some REAL Broadway trivia questions!


  1. There are actually nine: The Phantom of the Opera, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Lion King, Chicago (Revival production), Sister Act, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Memphis, and Mary Poppins.
  2. Feeling Electric
  3. Alan Cumming and Evan Rachel Wood
  4. The original production of 42nd Street.  BONUS: It moved across the street to the St. James Theatre.
  5. The Gershwin Theatre.  They sang "For Good," which was originally sung by Glee guest stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth.



Comments?  Below, email: jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com, Tweet me!
Jeff
3.148

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Broadway Box Office: 01.16 - 01.22.12


BE SURE TO VOTE IN THIS MONTH'S POLL (TO YOUR LEFT)!


The Broadway Box Office Top Ten 
for the 34th week of the 2011 - 2012 season 
(January 16 - 22; 28 productions):


#8 - The Mountaintop

1. The Book of Mormon (Musical) Eugene O'Neill Theatre (1)
2. War Horse (Play) Vivian Beaumont Theatre (4)
3. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Musical Revival) Al Hirschfeld Theatre (4)
4.  Disney's The Lion King (Musical) Minskoff Theatre (3)
5.  Wicked (Musical) Gershwin Theatre (2)
6. Jersey Boys (Musical) August Wilson Theatre (8)
7. Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (Musical) Foxwoods Theatre (6)
8. The Mountaintop (Play) Jacobs Theatre (-)
9. Rock of Ages (Musical) Helen Hayes Theatre (9)
10. The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (Musical Revival) Richard Rodgers Theatre (10)


#3 - How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying



(To find out how this is calculated, please click HERE.)

(-) - Last week's position in the Broadway Top Ten

Chinglish
  • Biggest Increase in Attendance: Chinglish (+11.2%)
  • Biggest Decrease in Attendance: Sister Act (-13.4%)
  • Biggest Increase in Gross Receipts:  War Horse  (+$346,480)
  • Biggest Decrease in Gross Receipts: Wicked (-$258,866)
  • Highest Average Paid Admission: The Book of Mormon ($162.88)
  • Lowest Average Paid Admission: Wit ($38.54)
The Book of Mormon
  • SRO Shows: The Book of Mormon
  • $1M Club:   How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Book of Mormon, The Lion King, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Wicked
Jeff
1.147

Monday, January 23, 2012

Puzzles: 3 Shows Coming Soon!

BE SURE TO TAKE THIS MONTH'S POLL (TO YOUR LEFT)!

Here are three puzzles to enjoy during the dreary days of mid-winter.  Three Broadway logos for three shows coming this spring, and all from different beginnings and all from a similar source: a film version came first!

Click on the "Jigsaw" links to open up each puzzle, and enjoy!


JIGSAW #1: The show that started off-Broadway... (80 pieces)



JIGSAW #2: The show that started in London... (77 pieces)



JIGSAW #3: The show that started in a regional theatre... (100 pieces)


Jeff
3.146

Sunday, January 22, 2012

TheatreScene: 01.16 - 01.22.12

BE SURE TO TAKE THE JANUARY POLL TO YOUR LEFT!


BROADWAY VIDEO OF THE WEEK:


Looks like they are giving away the ghost over at Ghost: The Musical!  On January 24th, the show will broadcast the first of its "Ghost Light Sessions" via Facebook.  Here is a teaser of what you can expect.  What I see is some serious talent, a pretty song, and most of all some pretty nice chemistry between leads Caissie Levy and Richard Fleeshman.  I can't think of a more important quality for the story of Ghost!






NOW IN PREVIEWS ON BROADWAY:



  • Wit, Samuel Friedman Theatre.  Previews: January 5, 2012; Opening Night: January 25, 2012


CLOSING ON BROADWAY TODAY:



  • The Mountaintop at the Jacobs Theatre.  24 previews, 114 performances.
  • Follies at the Marquis Theatre.  38 previews, 152 performances.


CLOSING ON BROADWAY NEXT WEEK:



  • On a Clear Day You Can See Forever at the St. James Theatre.  29 previews, 57 performances.
  • Relatively Speaking at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.  35 previews, 117 performances.
  • Chinglish at the Longacre Theatre.  19 previews, 119 performances.


BROADWAY'S WINNERS AND LOSERS THIS WEEK:




WINNER: Fans of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying!  Three great Finches in one excellent production, right?  For now, it's "Goodbye, Darren!", "Hello, Nick!"  I have to admit I was dubious about Nick Jonas, but this video posted by Broadway.com makes me want to see the show again!  And BONUS: Micael Urie making his Broadway debut!  Very cool!  Break a leg, guys!


WINNER:  The film version of The Normal Heart!  It will be directed by Ryan Murphy, and star Mark Ruffalo, Julia Roberts, Matt Bomer, Alec Baldwin and from the Broadway revival, Jim Parsons.  More details HERE.




WINNER: Fans of Spring Awakening!  Fans of that show should DEVOUR this book, A Purple Summer: Notes on the Lyrics of Spring Awakening, which will explicate the lyrics of the Tony-winning show by Steven Sater, and it will include a look at the entire creative process from readings to Broadway.  And even more of a bonus: photos from the 2nd National Tour of the show!



WINNER: Andrew Rannells!  He signed with Fox for a potential pilot developed by Ryan Murphy, who will also direct.  It involves a gay couple and a woman who will be their surrogate.

WINNER: Fans of Anything Goes!  The boat will continue to sail at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre through September 9 now.  Who will be on that boat after April is anyone's guess at this point.



LOSERS: The Producers of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark:  Just pay Julie Taymor what you owe her and then stop and be thankful that you have a hit show and no one dead to show for it.  To say that the current show owes nothing to Taymor is laughable.  It wouldn't exist without her.

Jeff
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