Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Amy Sherman-Palladino Next Project After “Mrs. Maisel”: Bringing Sutton Foster to Broadway Encores in Carol Burnett Role by Roger Friedman

Amy Sherman-Palladino has her first new assignment after co-writing, producing, and directing “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” to acclaim for five years on

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 07:06PM
Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Tony Awards Get a Waiver from Writers Guild: Show Will Go On, But Exactly How No One Knows by Roger Friedman

The Tony Awards can proceed with their show on Sunday, June 11th. It can be broadcast on CBS thanks to a waiver

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 01:42AM
Saturday, May 13, 2023

Britney Spears Cinderella-Themed Musical Starts Performances Tonight on Broadway, See Video by Roger Friedman

Yes, there’s a musical with songs associated with Britney Spears starting performances tonight on Broadway., “Once Upon a One More Time” opens

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 12:42PM

Tony Awards Nix Show for June 11th, Must Choose Between Likely Delay or Non-Broadcast Dinner, Marginal Shows in Peril by Roger Friedman

You can scratch the Tony Awards for June 11th. The Writers Guild rejected giving CBS and the American Theater Wing a waiver

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 12:32AM

Review: It’s Sultry Judith Owen’s Turn To Jazz Up New York with Her Gentleman Callers Band from New Orleans by Roger Friedman

The McKittrick Hotel in Chelsea dates back to 1939, so it’s the perfect place for Judith Owen and her Gentlemen Callers —

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 12:32AM
Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 34 Year Run on Broadway Will End June 4th When “Bad Cinderella” Closes by Roger Friedman

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has been represented on Broadway with some show since 1979. But that will end June 4th when his

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 11:42PM
Monday, May 8, 2023

Writers Guild Strike Claims AFI Tribute to Nicole Kidman, Tony Awards Next to Be Delayed, “Wire” Writer David Simon Sees HBO Contract Suspended by Roger Friedman

The fall out from the WGA strike is getting worse. The American Film Institute is postponing its June 10th tribute to Nicole

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 05:06PM
Friday, May 5, 2023

Tony Nominees Meet Each Other and Some Meet the Press At The Annual Post-Nomination Get Together by Regina Weinreich

“Mazel tov.” You could hear Ben Platt in the Sofitel Hotel corridor congratulate Jessica Hecht, both nominated for Tony Awards. She was

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 10:12PM

Ex-Broadway Star Laura Osnes, 6 Time Tony Nominee, and Anti-Vaxxer Compares Her Ostracism to Jesus, Says Settled NY Post Defamation Lawsuit by Roger Friedman

We first learned that former Broadway star Laura Osnes was putting her career in jeopardy in the summer of 2021. She refused

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 04:06PM
Thursday, May 4, 2023

Review: Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan Deserve a Better Play Than “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” by Roger Friedman

During the winter, a revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s “other play,” called “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window,” came to BAM. I didn’t

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 10:02PM

Writers Strike Affects MTV Awards as Drew Barrymore Backs Out as Host: Will Ariana DeBose Exit Tony Awards? Who Will Write It? by Roger Friedman

Drew Barrymore is out as host of the MTV Movie and TV Awards this weekend. The reason? She’s in sympathy with the

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 10:02PM
Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Broadway: Andrew Lloyd Webber Snubbed by Tonys for “Bad Cinderella,” Bob Fosse’s “Dancin'” Closing After No Nominations by Roger Friedman

The Tony Awards are the great leveler for marginal shows. Without any nominations, Bob Fosse’s “Dancin'” will now close on May 14th.

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 09:12PM

Tony Nominations: “Leopoldstadt,” “Some Like it Hot,” Actors Include Wendell Pierce, Sean Hayes, Annaleigh Ashford, Brian d’Arcy James by Roger Friedman

Stand by for full list… BEST MUSICAL Some Like it Hot, & Jullet, New York New York, Kimberly Akimbo, Shucked BEST PLAY

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 09:02AM
Monday, May 1, 2023

Tony Nominations Are Coming on Tuesday with Some Big Names in the Races Including Sean Hayes, Wendell Pierce, Jessica Chastain, Danielle Brooks, Josh by Roger Friedman

Tony Awards nominations are coming on Tuesday. There are some hot races expected among big stars. There are also the categories for

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 02:32AM
Friday, April 28, 2023

Broadway Review: Ben Platt, Micaela Diamond Don’t Let the “Parade” Pass Them By In Stunning Revival of Controversial Musical by Regina Weinreich

Looking mild-mannered, even Evan Hanson-ish, Ben Platt plays the real-life historic figure Leo Frank, a Jew who was lynched in the early

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 07:54PM
Thursday, April 27, 2023

Broadway: “New York, New York” Is a Musical Without a Book Or Any Idea What It’s Supposed to Be About by Roger Friedman

Listen: Martin Scorsese’s 1977 film, “New York, New York” wasn’t easy to begin with. It was so long and unwieldy that a

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 01:12AM
Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Broadway: Outer Critics Circle Weird Nominations, Snubs Josh Groban, Annaleigh Ashford, Wendell Pierce Among Others by Roger Friedman

Last year I wrote about the Outer Critics Circle and how they lost all credibility with their kooky nominations. A couple of

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 07:06PM
Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Review: Star Studded Audience Turns Out for Sean Hayes’s Sensational Broadway Play, “Good Night Oscar” by Roger Friedman

“Will & Grace” star Sean Hayes has a secret life as an accomplished pianist besides being a terrific comic actor. If we

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 06:36AM
Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Broadway: Tom Stoppard Is On His Way to Win a Tony Award and (Hopefully) A Pulitzer Prize for “Leopoldstadt” by Roger Friedman

British-Czech playwright has six Tony Awards for writing the Best Play on Broadway. This June should come his 7th statue, and maybe

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 10:32PM
Monday, April 10, 2023

Broadway’s Biggest Annual Charity Gala Challenges Anna Wintour’s Met Ball on Same Night Next Month With Actual Talent by Roger Friedman

Game on! Broadway’s biggest annual charity gala will take on Anna Wintour’s Met Ball on May 1st. I’m rooting for Broadway. The

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 01:24PM
Monday, March 27, 2023

Broadway: Revived “Sweeney Todd” Scores a Triumph with Josh Groban, Annaleigh Ashford, “Stranger Things” Star Gaten Matarazzo, and 43 Piece Or by Roger Friedman

Josh Groban, you know, has always wanted to be a rock star. With his gorgeous deep baritone, he’s released several hit albums

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 02:06AM
Friday, March 24, 2023

Broadway: Andrew Lloyd Webber Faces Rare Financial and Criticial Bomb as “Bad Cinderella” Musical Decimated by Roger Friedman

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has had hit after hit with “Phantom of the Opera,” “Cats,” “Evita,” and other musicals that have been

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 01:12PM
Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Aaron Sorkin Tells NY Times He Had a Stroke, Paper Strangely Omits His Perilous History with Drug Addiction by Roger Friedman

I like Aaron Sorkin very much and admire his plays and movies. But still, today he tells the New York Times he

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 03:22PM

Watch President Joe Biden Give National Medal of Arts to Gladys Knight, Bruce Springsteen, Amy Tan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, More by Roger Friedman

Twenty three deserving Americans received Presidential Medals of Honor yesterday from Joe Biden. A lot of press was given to Bruce Springsteen,

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 10:39AM

Broadway Cult TV Show “Smash” Coming to Broadway in 2024 Directed by Susan Stroman by Roger Friedman

So you know “Smash” was a TV series about a Broadway show that finally opened on fictional Broadway after many soap opera

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 09:29AM
Thursday, March 16, 2023

Sad Obit: The Friars Club is Padlocked Shut, Closed After Years of Mismanagement and Malfeasance Comes End of Era by Roger Friedman

The Friars Club is closed. It’s padlocked shut with a gate blocking the entrance. In truth, the Friars Club has been gone

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 07:53PM

Broadway: No Room for “Room” As Adrienne Warren-Led Musical Version of Oscar Film Pulled for Lack of Dough by Roger Friedman

It’s not easy to put on a Broadway show, especially when it’s a new play with tricky marketing. And so “Room,” the

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 05:31PM
Thursday, March 2, 2023

Broadway: “Funny Girl” Revival with Lea Michele Will Close in September After 18 Roller Coaster Months by Roger Friedman

“Funny Girl” has had a funny time on Broadway. But now, it’s planning a farewell. The first revival ever of the famed

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 10:47AM
Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Netflix Maximizes Brand with “Stranger Things” Live Stage Play Prequel Story Coming to London’s West End by Roger Friedman

I was watching the great film, “The Reader,” the other night and wondering what its director, Stephen Daldry, was up to. Now

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 09:25AM
Wednesday, February 15, 2023

The Other Funny Girl: Julie Benko, Broadway’s Most Valuable Player, Jazzes It Up with a Little Birdland Gumbo by Regina Weinreich

Julie Benko: she’s not a marquee name unless you’re a fan of “Funny Girl” since it opened on Broadway almost a year

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 07:29PM
Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Broadway Theater Merger We Told You About 2 Weeks Ago Happens: Jujamcyn and Ambassador Marry by Roger Friedman

I told you on January 31st that Jujamcyn Theaters would merge with Britain’s Ambassador Theater Group. And it has happened this morning.

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 10:40AM

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