Sunday, May 8, 2011

TheatreScene: May 2 - 8

LOOKING FOR THIS WEEK'S POLL?  SCROLL DOWN FOR DETAILS ABOUT THE 1ST ANNUAL AWARDS THAT TONY FORGOT!

LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? BECOME A "FOLLOWER"!

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS WEEK!

UPDATE/INFO ON THE 1ST ANNUAL AWARDS THAT TONY FORGOT AWARDS:
Many of you have written, and I hope I answered all of you.  If not, here are some answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the awards:
  1. Why is the nominations ballot in two parts?  Well, I know it is inconvenient to have to go back and forth to do both parts of the survey, and I am sorry for that.  But believe it or not, I found the Zoomerang survey format the easiest to navigate, so I chose that platform.  The down side is that to use it for free, I am limited to 8 questions per survey.  Call me cheap, if you must, but I can't afford to join something I'll use maybe once a year, when free will give me the same results with minimal extra work for you.
  2. I haven't seen many/any/all of these shows.  Can I still vote?  Sure!  First of all, you do not have to answer every question, so if you don't feel qualified, don't answer some of the questions.  Second, I tried to include some topics for everyone: musical lovers, play lovers, theatre Internet geeks, and theatre geeks in general (like me!).  Everyone has access to the websites for shows, theatre sites and You Tube, etc. so you can, with a little research vote in those categories at least.
  3. I have some ideas for awards you didn't list.  Is it too late to give them to you?  For the 1st Annual Awards, yes, I'm afraid that ship has sailed.  But I can pretty much guarantee there will be a 2nd Annual Awards, thanks to the huge response I've gotten so far, so save your ideas (or email them to me now) for next year!
  4. When will we know who the nominees are and be able to vote for the award winners?  The nominations ballots will close 1 week from today, Sunday, May 15th at 4PM EST.  The final ballot for voting will be posted on Wednesday, May 18th at noon EST, and votes will be accepted through Friday, June 10 at noon EST.  The award winners will be announced on Tony Awards Day, Sunday, June 12 at noon EST.
  5. Can't you think of a better name for these awards?  I couldn't agree with you more!  So I am asking all of you to think about just that and suggest titles!  Email them to me at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet them to me!
I hope that clears things up for you!  Please don't forget to vote for nominees through next Sunday, May 15!  Click HERE for links to the surveys.

TOPS AND BOTTOMS (April 25 - May 1)
  • Top Gross: The Lion King ($1.75M)
  • Bottom Gross: Lombardi ($155K)
  • Top Attendance: The Book of Mormon (102.4%)
  • Bottom Attendance: Arcadia (42.4%)
  • $1M Club: The Lion King, Wicked, The Book of Mormon, Jersey Boys, Mary Poppins
  • SRO Club: The Book of Mormon, War Horse, Wicked

BROADWAY BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK!
  • May 2: Actor Christine Baranski (Boeing Boeing, Rumors)

  • May 3: Actor Bobby Cannavale (Tony nominee for the Motherfucker with the Hat)
  • May 4: Actor/Singer Lance Bass (Hairspray)
  • May 5: Actor Ann B. Davis (Crazy for You, TV's The Brady Bunch)
  • May 6: Actor Roma Downey (The Circle)
  • May 7: Late Actor Anne Baxter (Applause)
  • May 8: Actor Janet McTeer (God of Carnage, Mary Stuart)

COMINGS AND GOINGS ON BROADWAY
Casting


  • Tom McGowan, of the original production of La Bete, joins the cast of Wicked as the Wizard of Oz beginning May 3.
  • Hunter Foster and Robert Britton Lyons return to the cast of Million Dollar Quartet May 3.  Why is this still running?  Anyone?
  • Frank Langella's return to Broadway has been announced.  He will star in a revival of Man and Boy.
  • Shows
  • Tony nomination-less Wonderland released its Original Broadway Cast Recording on May 3.
  • After garnering her show's only Tony nod, Beth Leavel of Baby It's You missed both May 4th performances.  Did the chaperone get too "drowsy" celebrating the night before?  Probably not, as Ms. Leavel is a notorious 8 shows a week gal.  She must have really been sick.  Get better!
  • Fresh off a Tony nomination for Best Musical, Sister Act announces a National Tour and several "international productions."  Go figure.
  • Too little too late or better late than never?  The Scottsboro Boys with Broadway cast members and direction/choreography by Susan Stroman, announces a California tour, plus regional stops.  According to producer Barry Weisler, Broadway "is a goal for 2012."
  • Will Peter and the Starcatcher make it to Broadway this season?  I hope so.  I love the Peter Pan story no matter how you tell it.

  • On May 6, Arena Stage in Washington, DC had the premiere of the Broadway-bound A Time to Kill, based on the novel by John Grisham.  It stars Sebastian Arcelus and Dion Graham, and is written by Tony Award winner Rupert Holmes.
  • The Book of Mormon announced a first for Broadway on May 7th.  The July 3rd performance will be free for fans who have tried the lottery.  Producers recognize that most of the 300 -400 people who show up at each performance for the lottery go away empty-handed, so they are giving all of them a shot at a free ticket!  Man, those Mormons sure are nice guys!
Milestones
May 3:
  • The 2011 Tony Awards Nominations were announced by Matthew Broderick and Anika Noni Rose.  The Book of Mormon got the most nominations for a musical and overall with 14.  The Merchant of Venice got the most for any play with 7.  The big shocker was the 12 nominations for The Scottsboro Boys.  It is going to be very interesting.
May 4:

  • The first to go: Lombardi, the largely overlooked play by the Tony committee (except the nod for the terrific Judith Light) announced it will be closing on May 22.  A shame, but a great run for an unlikely Broadway topic: football!
May 5:
  • Marian Mercer passed away today.  She won the Tony award for playing Marge MacDougal in the original Broadway production of Promises, Promises. Movie goers would probably recognize her as Dabney Coleman's wife in 9 to 5.
  • Christopher Tierney returned to rehearsals for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and completed the very same stunt that caused his near-fatal injury back in December.  Tierney will be in the production when it resumes previews next week.
May 6:
  • Broadway's lights were dimmed in honor of the late Arthur Laurents.

IMPORTANT BROADWAY OPENINGS IN HISTORY THIS WEEK

May 6, 2008: Glory Days

May 2:
  • Sunday in the Park with George opened at the Booth Theatre in 1984.  The Pulitzer Prize winning musical would play there for 604 performances.
May 3:
  • Kiss of the Spider Woman opened at the Broadhurst Theatre in 1993, winning the Tony for Best Musical.  It ran 904 performances, and had 2 original cast recordings!
May 5:
  • On 5.5.55, Damn Yankees opened at 46th Street Theatre.  It went on to win the Tony for Best Musical and ran 1019 performances.
May 6:
  • Had the theatre gods been kinder, Glory Days would have turned 3 today.  Instead the show opened and closed on this date in 2008.
May 8:
  • 1962 was the year, the Alvin Theatre was the place.  A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum opened, won scads of awards, moved twice, and closed after 964 performances.

Comments?  Leave one here, email me at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet me!
Jeff
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