Kids' Night on Broadway tickets go on sale for February

Tickets go on sale at noon today for the February installment of Kids’ Night on Broadway, which allows a full-paying adult to get an additional ticket for free as long as it’s used by a child ages 6 through 18.

Broadway’s “Billy Elliot,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Chicago,” “Fela!,” “Finian’s Rainbow,” “Hair,” “In the Heights,” “Lion King,” “Mamma Mia!,” “Mary Poppins,” “Memphis,” “Next to Normal,” “Oleanna,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Ragtime,” “South Pacific,” “Superior Donuts,” “West Side Story” and “Wicked” are all scheduled to take part. Off-Broadway’s “Stomp,” Altar Boyz” and “Avenue Q” will also offer the buy-one, get-one-free deal.

The Kids’ Night on Broadway offer is available February 2, 3 and 7. Expect the popular shows to sell out quickly. Not all shows are appropriate for all ages.

Kids’ Night on Broadway, which was previously an annual event, switched to a monthly schedule, but that only lasted a few rounds before the program went on haitus.

Image source: Kids’ Night on Broadway

November 9, 2009 10:38 AM Comments (0)

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'Present Laughter' to sell Broadway tickets from $10

Tickets go on sale today for the Broadway revival of Noel Coward’s “Present Laughter” with Victor Garber.

And since the comedy is a production of the Roundabout Theatre Company, 100 tickets will be sold for only $10 each, but only to the first four preview performances starting Jan. 2. Tickets may be purchased online, via phone (212) 719-1300, or at the box office.

“Present Laughter” will play the American Airlines Theatre, 227 W. 42nd St., map. Opening night is set for Jan. 21; the play is set to close March 21.

Image source: Roundabout Theatre Company.

Earlier: ‘Hamlet’ starts $35 student rush after $25 seats sell out
$10 Broadway tickets for ‘Miss Julie,’ ‘Wishful Drinking’

November 9, 2009 8:35 AM Comments (0)

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Shakespeare in the Park '10 'Merchant,' 'Winter’s Tale'

“The Merchant of Venice” and “The Winter’s Tale” have been chosen as the two free plays for Shakespeare in the Park for the summer of 2010, The Public Theater announced today.

Daniel Sullivan will direct “Merchant” while Michael Greif will direct “Winter’s Tale.” Casts will be announced later.

Normally Shakespeare in the Park stages one play at the begging of summer, takes a break and starts a second. But in 2010, they’ll play in rotating repertory from June 9 through Aug. 1. The same company of actors will perform in both plays.

Image source: Official website for Shakespeare in the Park.

Earlier: Tragic reviews for ‘The Bacchae’ in Central Park
‘Twelfth Night’ in Central Park draws excellent reviews

November 2, 2009 4:36 PM Comments (0)

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'Brighton Beach Memoirs' may close Sunday - Playbill

Update: “Brighton Beach Memoirs” closed Nov. 1 and “Broadway Bound” has been scrapped.

The new revival of Neil Simon’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” which opened less than a week ago to pretty good reviews, may close as soon as Sunday, according to Playbill.

Producers issued a provisional closing notice and will decide Monday whether the show will go on, Playbill reported.

But as of Saturday morning, tickets remain on sale through Jan. 30 via the show’s official sales outlet, Ticketmaster.

On Friday, the New York Times quoted one of the show’s producers who said the reviews were not strong enough to boost ticket sales. “Broadway Bound,” another Simon play scheduled to play in repertory with “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” may not begin performances at all, according to both Playbill and the New York Times.

The most recent Broadway grosses, for the week ending Oct. 25, shows the theater for “Brighton Beach Memoirs” was at 61 percent capacity, but with a shockingly low average ticket price of only $21.32.

The semi-autobiographical play, set in 1937 Brooklyn, is both comedy and drama under the direction of David Cromer. Laurie Metcalf, Dennis Boutsikaris and Noah Robbins star.

“Brighton Beach Memoirs” plays the Nederlander Theatre, 208 W. 41st St., map. Regular tickets are priced from $63.50 to $98.50. Premium seats are $148.50. Student rush tickets are $30.

Image source: The official website for “Brighton Beach Memoirs.”

October 31, 2009 9:35 AM Comments (0)

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Excellent Broadway reviews for 'Finian's Rainbow'

The revival of “Finian’s Rainbow” opened on Broadway on Thursday night and tumbled into the surprisingly warm reviews from the critics.

Set in the fictional state of Missitucky, the New York Times notes — approvingly — the plot seems “cooked up by somebody hitting the whiskey bottle a little too hard.” It takes on issues of race relations to easy credit and throws in a wacky leprachaun to boot.

A 24-member orchestra backs the cast, which features Kate Baldwin, Jim Norton, Cheyenne Jackson, Christopher Fitzgerald, Alina Faye, David Schramm and Terri White. The production is directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle. The music credits goes to Burton Lane with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. The book is by Harburh and Fred Saidy.

“Finian’s Rainbow” has an open-ended run at the St. James Theatre, 246 W. 44th St., map. Regular tickets are on sale through march 28 and are priced from $35 to $115. Premium and aisle seats sell for as much as $250 each. Wednesday evening prices are a bargain for Broadway, ranging from $25 in the balcony to only $57.50 for orchestra.

Children under the age of 4 are not allowed in the theater.

The “Finian’s Rainbow” Broadway reviews:

Daily News - “What makes the show a gem is the beautiful score by Harburg and Burton Lane. It’s wall-to-wall ear candy and director/choreographer Warren Carlyle’s witty staging, joyful dancing and fine cast showcase the music to the max.”

New York Times - “All the comforting pleasures of the genre — infectious song, exuberant dancing, jokes both lovably corny and unexpectedly fresh, and of course the satisfying pairing of a him and a her — are on abundant display in this thoroughly winning production, a welcome picker-upper in an uneven Broadway season.”

Wall Street Journal - “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more musically satisfying Broadway show than ‘Finian’s Rainbow.’”

Hollywood Reporter - “But whatever one thinks of the story, there’s simply no disputing that this is one of the greatest musical comedy scores ever written. Here’s but a partial listing of the classic numbers: ‘Old Devil Moon,’ ‘Look to the Rainbow,’ ‘If This Isn’t Love,’ ‘When I’m Not Near the Girl I Love’ and, of course, ‘How Are Things in Glocca Morra?’”

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October 30, 2009 10:02 AM Comments (0)

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Broadway's 'Next to Normal' to debut a 'Twitter song'

Broadway’s “Next to Normal,” which in May tweeted its entire show online, today will premiere a “Twitter song,” written in collaboration with its social media followers.

The song, “Something I Can’t See,” will make its debut tonight at 7 p.m. at 92Y Tribeca — and on Twitter.

“‘Next to Normal’ has solicited suggestions from the Twitter followers on all aspects of the new song, from which characters are performing it and where it takes place in the musical’s storyline, to song structure and lyric suggestions,” producers said in a news release. “The song will not be incorporated into the Tony-winning musical.”

Picture credit: The company of “Next to Normal.” Picture by Joan Marcus/Hartman Group.

Earlier: Broadway’s ‘Next to Normal’ to Twitter full performance
Broadway parody: CollegeHumor’s ‘Web Site Story’

October 28, 2009 11:12 AM Comments (0)

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'Brighton Beach Memoirs' Broadway review roundup

The revival of Neil Simon’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs” opened on Broadway on Sunday night, drumming up several rave reviews from the critics.

Set in 1937 Brooklyn, the semi-autobiographical play is staged as much for drama as the laughs in this production directed by David Cromer. It stars Laurie Metcalf and Dennis Boutsikaris as the parents of the Simon character, played to raves by 19-year-old Noah Robbins. They share the stage with Santino Fontana, Jessica Hecht, Gracie Bea Lawrence and Alexandra Socha.

“Brighton Beach Memoirs” has an open-ended run at the Nederlander Theatre, 208 W. 41st St., map. Regular tickets are priced from $63.50 to $98.50. Premium seats are $148.50. Student rush tickets are $30.

The “Brighton Beach Memoirs” on Broadway reviews:

Variety - “The first installment of a Simon double that continues with ‘Broadway Bound,’ opening Dec. 10, the revival strikes an exquisite balance between comedy and pathos, its impeccable ensemble landing every laugh while exploring every emotional nuance to build a tremendously moving portrait of family life.”

New York Times - “In trying to subvert the cliché of the screaming Jewish family dinner, Mr. Cromer hasn’t come up with an alternative connective sensibility. I was often aware of a host of individual performances — some of them very artful — that didn’t necessarily link into the others. And there were times I felt an intellectual distance between the performers and their roles.”

Daily News - “Neil Simon’s ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’ is back on Broadway 26 years after its original run in a production that’s warm and funny (which was expected) and uninspired (which wasn’t).”

Newsday - “‘Brighton Beach’- the Depression-era memories of a teen named Eugene and his extended family in 1937 - is the first of an audacious coupling of two of Simon’s four substantial plays from the ’80s. ‘Broadway Bound,’ about many of the same people after World War II, opens Dec. 10, after which both will run in repertory for what deserves to be - oh, I don’t know - maybe forever.”

USA Today - “As a precocious, sweetly mischievous nerd, this kid is spot-on, so natural and funny that you’ll leave the theater wishing you had seen his Max Bialystock.”

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October 26, 2009 8:40 AM Comments (0)

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'After Miss Julie' reviews not as bad as you might think

“After Miss Julie” opened on Broadway last night, a spectacle writ large due to tabloid-bait Sienna Miller. The reviews — which are literally all over the map — may say as much about the state of our celebrity-obsessed, Schadenfreude-snarfing culture and the arts’ and media’s unwary dependence on it.

The New York Daily News calls the play’s lead character “one seriously hot mess” but frankly, almost none of the reviewers say the same about Miller’s acting. True, some say she’s in over her head in a difficult role, but several legit reviewers have some very nice things to say about her. It’s hardly as bad as you might conclude after seeing the supposed review roundups in People (“Broadway Critics Applaud Sienna Miller – for Her Looks”) or England’s picture-heavy Daily Mail (“Nice legs, shame about the acting! Sienna Miller gets Broadway bashing.”)

This Roundabout Theater Company production of “After Miss Julie” is penned by Patrick Marber based on August Strindberg’s original. Moved to post-WWII England, it’s still about race and class, but sexed up. Miller plays the entitled Miss Julie who seduces her daddy’s driver, played by Jonny Lee Miller. They both make their Broadway debuts in this production. The cast is rounded out by Marin Ireland. Mark Brokaw directs.

“After Miss Julie” plays through Dec. 6 at the American Airlines Theatre, 227 W. 42 St., map. Regular tickets are priced from $66.50 to $111.50.

Playbill lists the show as appropriate only for mature audiences.

The “After Miss Julie” Broadway reviews:

New York Times - “Playing the title role in Mr. Marber’s adaptation of ‘Miss Julie,’ August Strindberg’s love-and-death shocker from 1888, Ms. Miller registers as a healthy, sane young woman with good diction, good posture and great legs. Commendable as these attributes are, they are of limited use in portraying a tautly wound, death-courting neurotic who is eaten alive by her own demons.”

Daily News - “Miller, making her Broadway debut, is improbably beautiful, every inch the ‘fine-looking filly’ John calls her. She’s committed and competent, but her performance is a shade monochromatic, not modulated enough to make Miss Julie’s jagged edges sharp.”

Variety - “Sienna Miller looks smashing as the wayward aristocrat, but this is a complex character fraught with contradictions, and she comes off simply as a loony tart whose cat-and-mouse games careen out of control.”

Associated Press - “And there is a relentless quality to Sienna Miller’s performance, not terribly subtle or vulnerable, but compelling in its obsessiveness.”

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October 23, 2009 7:20 AM Comments (0)

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'Shrek: The Musical' to end Broadway run January 3

Broadway will get a little less green after the holidays, as “Shrek: The Musical” will stage its final performance January 3, producers announced Wednesday.

By the time it closes, “Shrek” will have played 441 performances plus 37 previews.

At this year’s Tony awards, “Shrek” was nominated in eight categories, but only snagged best costume design of a musical, for Tim Hatley.

“While we were hopeful that the show would have had a longer run on Broadway we believe it will continue to create financial value for the company and deliver profits beyond our initial investment,” Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, said in a statement.

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October 22, 2009 8:37 AM Comments (0)

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'Memphis' opens on Broadway: Does it have soul?

The new musical “Memphis” opened on Broadway on Monday, mightily impressing some of the critics, with others concluding it lacks soul.

Set in 1950s Tennessee, a white DJ (Chad Kimball) falls in love with a black singer (Montego Glover) he wants to put on the radio. The book is by Joe DiPietro; music is by David Bryan; they share the lyrics credit. Christopher Ashley directs and Sergio Trujillo handles choreography.

Tickets are on sale through July 4 for “Memphis” at the Shubert Theatre, 225 W. 44th St., map. Regular tickets are priced from $41.50 to $121.50. Premium seats are $251.50.

Producers advise the material is appropriate for children 12 and older.

The “Memphis” on Broadway reviews:

New York Times - “Dare I suggest that ‘Memphis’ is the Michael Bolton of Broadway musicals? I do.”

Variety - “The show is entertaining but synthetic, its telepic plotting restitching familiar threads from ‘Hairspray’ and ‘Dreamgirls,’ while covering fictitious ground adjacent to that of recent biopic ‘Cadillac Records.’”

Daily News - “Nice to know a new musical can actually surprise you. Though it starts on a familar note and sparks deja vu at other points, ‘Memphis’ eventually finds its own voice and beat, and wins you over with its sheer enthusiasm and exuberant performances.”

Hollywood Reporter - “Kimball, coming across like an older, Southern-twanged version of Christian Slater in ‘Pump Up the Volume,’ makes for an offbeat but unforgettable leading man, and his hilarious and ultimately deeply moving performance will be well remembered come awards time.”

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October 20, 2009 8:40 AM Comments (0)

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