FROM ‘WICKED’ TO ‘DEAR EVAN HANSEN’: THE LESSONS OF PRODUCER-INVESTOR CARL MOELLENBERG by Philip Boroff

INTERVIEW: Is the moderately successful commercial Broadway production in danger of extinction? “There are still many shows doing exceptionally well, but it seems there are more show…

‘SUNSET BOULEVARD’ STORMS THE PALACE IN PREVIEWS by Philip Boroff

Broadway audiences can’t get enough of Glenn Close or Andrew Lloyd Webber. A new revival of Sunset Boulevard grossed an impressive $834,000 in its first five previews last week at the Pa…

CHARLES ISHERWOOD EXITS NEW YORK TIMES by Philip Boroff

EXCLUSIVE: The rumors are true. Charles Isherwood, the influential theater critic who’s been at the New York Times since 2004, has left the paper, a person familiar with the situat…

ECONOMICAL ‘IN TRANSIT’ SEEKS BOOST FROM CLINTON ENDORSEMENT by Philip Boroff

 In Transit, the low-grossing new musical that Bill and Hillary Clinton saw Wednesday night, is losing less money than you might think. As Broadway’s first acapella musical, it doe…

OSCAR BOUNCE FOR ‘DEAR EVAN HANSEN’? by Philip Boroff

Dear Evan Hansen, the new show by the lyricists of La La Land, had a record week on Broadway as their movie musical got 14 Academy Award nominations. With music and lyrics by Benj Pasek an…

THE GRANT WHERE IT HAPPENS: BROADWAY PRIZES THE N.E.A. (AS DOES NEW SECRETARY OF STATE) by Philip Boroff

EXCLUSIVE: Hamilton, Next to Normal, War Horse and South Pacific have something in common besides acclaim and awards. They share a patron in the federal government. The National Endowm…

HISTORIC BROADWAY SEASON PRODUCES MUSICAL DELUGE by Philip Boroff

EXCLUSIVE: For anyone in need of a diversion, Broadway is presenting its busiest season for musicals in 36 years. Nineteen new musicals and revivals have opened or are scheduled to open …

BRYAN CRANSTON ON DECK FOR ‘DAMN YANKEES’ REVIVAL by Philip Boroff

EXCLUSIVE: A star of the new heyday of television is taking a swing at a golden age musical. Bryan Cranston, the Breaking Bad actor who loves baseball and theater, is in talks to hea…

HELLO MIDLER! ‘DOLLY’ INTRODUCES $525 TICKET by Philip Boroff

The producer of Hello, Dolly! starring Bette Midler recently raised its top ticket to $525, the most expensive seat on Broadway that isn’t for Hamilton. Introduced after runawa…

BROADWAY ACTIVISTS: RESISTANCE TO TRUMP ISN’T FUTILE by Philip Boroff

Broadway’s unofficial post-election strategy: hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Citing Donald Trump’s campaign statements, commercials and recent appointments, many the…

BROADWAY RECOILS AT TRUMP UPSET by Philip Boroff

Broadway performers and writers, who lampooned Donald Trump and his wife during the presidential campaign and raised millions for Hillary Clinton, expressed despair and defiance as  the de…

PATTI LUPONE, JESSE TYLER FERGUSON DERIDE TRUMP IN ‘SPAMALOT’ MEETS ‘WE ARE THE WORLD’ by Philip Boroff

Patti LuPone and Jesse Tyler Ferguson have taken themselves out of the running for a Presidential Medal of Freedom in a Donald Trump administration. LuPone (War Paint) and Ferguson (Fully C…

RUDIN SEEKS TO SILENCE ANGELS by Philip Boroff

EXCLUSIVE: While expanding Broadway’s boundaries, Scott Rudin is reining in his investors. The daring and powerful producer is requiring backers to sign away their right to critici…

RUDIN PAPERS DEFINE NON-DISPARAGEMENT, NEGATIVE ACT by Philip Boroff

EXCLUSIVE: The first investor non-disparagement clause we found was for the  Scott Rudin-produced revival of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. (Click on the text for easier reading.) Ope…

CRITICS SHOW LIEV LITTLE LOVE & SPLIT ON ‘LIAISONS’ by Philip Boroff

The Associated Press raved, the Hollywood Reporter was mixed and Ben Brantley at the Times panned while questioning whether Christopher Hampton’s adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereu…

‘HAMILTON’ SETS PRICE RECORD (AGAIN) WITH $998 TICKETS by Philip Boroff

EXCLUSIVE: The producers of Hamilton are selling a new block of tickets for performances around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays for $998 each, setting a Broadway record four months…

CLINTON BACKER BENANTI ON TRUMP & TWITTER TROLLS by Philip Boroff

Laura Benanti gained 8 million YouTube views and the wrath of Donald Trump’s angriest devotees when she satirized his wife on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert during the Republic…

BROADWAY SHRUGS AT TRUMP PRODUCING CREDIT, COALESCES BEHIND CLINTON by Philip Boroff

Donald Trump may be the only major-party presidential candidate in history with a Broadway producing credit, but that hasn’t won him much support in theater circles. “All he was …

JASON ROBERT BROWN DECRIES ‘INSANE’ GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC AHEAD OF ‘LAST FIVE YEARS’ BENEFIT by Philip Boroff

Jason Robert Brown said a tweet from a fan inspired the Sept. 12 benefit concert of his two-character musical The Last Five Years. The composer, lyricist and performer has worked independent…

SECOND STAGE BORROWED $16.5 MILLION FOR HELEN HAYES, BACKED BY PROSPECTIVE ‘FROZEN’ LANDLORD by Philip Boroff

  EXCLUSIVE: Second Stage Theatre has less than two years to repay a $16.5 million mortgage on its new Broadway home. In April 2015, the nonprofit completed its long-awaited purchase…

PRESERVING CAST RECORDINGS IN THE AGE OF FREE MUSIC by Philip Boroff

As ticket prices for Broadway musicals consistently rise, independent record labels like Sh-K-Boom, which preserves musical theater scores, must grapple with the proliferation of free musi…

BROADWAY STANDS UP FOR FREEDOM, DUMPS ON TRUMP by Philip Boroff

Jayne Houdyshell was okay missing Melania Trump’s live speech at the Republican National Convention Monday night. It conflicted with the New York Civil Liberties Union’s su…

‘HAMILTON,’ ‘EVAN HANSEN’ PERFORMERS EXPLORE PRISON & POLICE ABUSE AT CIVIL LIBERTIES BENEFIT by Philip Boroff

Summer is the off-season for Manhattan fundraising. But with headlines consumed by hate crime, police conduct and race relations, the New York Civil Liberties Union says its July 18 Broadway…

CULTURE PROJECT, DOWNTOWN INSTITUTION, FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY by Philip Boroff

EXCLUSIVE: The Culture Project, a 20-year-old, perennially cash-strapped East Village theater company that’s best known for the anti-death-penalty drama The Exonerated, filed for bankr…

BISHOP EARNED $912,000 IN 2014 ATOP LINCOLN CENTER THEATER by Philip Boroff

EXCLUSIVE: Andre Bishop, Lincoln Center Theater’s longtime leader, earned pay and benefits of $911,670 in 2014, one of the richest compensation packages at a U.S. nonprofit theater. A…

ANOTHER CRITIC SILENCED (FOR NOW) AS JEREMY GERARD EXITS DEADLINE.COM by Philip Boroff

Jeremy Gerard, a prolific and widely read arts reporter and critic, was laid off by Deadline.com two years and two months after the news outlet hired him to oversee its expansion of New Yo…

‘HAMILTON’ WINS 11 TONYS AS ‘HUMANS,’ ‘COLOR PURPLE’ TRIUMPH by Philip Boroff

 Hamilton won the Tony Award for best musical and dominated the evening as Scott Rudin joined Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeffrey Seller in the winner’s circle. It was indeed a corona…

TONY AWARDS DEDICATED TO ORLANDO SHOOTING VICTIMS & FAMILIES by Philip Boroff

THEATERGOERS, BROKERS SCOOP UP $849 ‘HAMILTON’ SEATS by Philip Boroff

Ladies and gentlemen, start your bots. Hamilton tickets go on sale to the general public at 11:10 PM, according to Ticketmaster, presumably minutes after it wins the Tony Award for best new …

BREGLIO ON PLANNED ‘CHORUS LINE’ REVIVAL, INVESTOR RISK & REWARD, PRODUCER EXCESSES by Philip Boroff

As Hamilton prepares for a long run and potentially earning hundreds of millions of dollars in profits, joining the ranks of The Book of Mormon and Wicked, Broadway appears to be richer…

‘HAMILTON’ SETS BROADWAY RECORD WITH $849 TICKETS by Philip Boroff

On a bet that Hamilton will remain red hot after composer Lin-Manuel Miranda leaves the cast and a second company opens in Chicago, Broadway producers raised the top ticket price by $3…