Saturday, December 29, 2001

"You must support talented people
Because untalented people will make it without your support."
- Russian Proverb recited by Wolfe and Stritch on Theater Talk

Time Runs Out For '45 Seconds'
"45 Seconds From Broadway," Neil Simon's most recent offering, will close at the Richard Rodgers Theater on W. 46th St. after the Sunday matinee on Jan. 13.

FORSOOTH! LIEV'S BICOASTAL by DEBORAH SCHOENEMAN
FEW New York actors have one foot in theater and the other in Hollywood as consistently as Liev Schreiber.

OOB's Gay Unity Fest Ends Dec. 30

Dreamgirl Holiday and Twilit Smith Set for National Black Arts Fest, July 23-July 28 in Atlanta

Last Chance: Stewart's Solo Christmas Carol Leaves Marquis, Dec. 30

Bubbly Black Girl to Have Chicago Premiere in Fall 2002

Last Chance to Try Curried Scrooge: MSG Christmas Carol Ends Dec. 29

Playbill On-Line's Goofy Play Titles 2001

Critic and Professor Jan Kott Is Dead at 87
posted at 12/29/2001 10:33:31 AM by James Marino | Item Link

Friday, December 28, 2001

Peter Filichia's Diary
High hopes and warm wishes for the new Belding Theatre at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford and for the center�s new executive director.

Brooklyn�s Best Kept Secret
Mary Ruth Goodley, president of The Gallery Players, talks about this fairly obscure but extraordinarily eclectic company.

Baranski and Cumpsty Are Beatrice and Benedick for Shakespeare Society Jan. 28

Stritch, Producers, Metamorphoses Top Year-End Lists

Frankie and Johnny Were Waitin', Waitin' `til August to Play

Simon's 45 Seconds is 16 Days From Closing, Jan. 13 at Bway's Rodgers

DIVA TALK: The Joys of Divas

Frankie and Johnny Delays until August

45 Seconds From Broadway to Close January 13

2001 Highlights: Part Three by Ken Mandelbaum
posted at 12/28/2001 01:05:35 PM by James Marino | Item Link

"45 Seconds" to Close
posted at 12/28/2001 10:12:27 AM by James Marino | Item Link

2001: FIGHT TO SURVIVE by MICHAEL RIEDEL
THEATER news, by its very nature, is lighthearted fare, consisting for the most part of backstage feuds, Tony Award horse races and box-office winners and losers.

B'WAY FARE PRETTY FAIR by CLIVE BARNES
SO what kind of a year was it on Broadway?Broadway had a pretty good to average year, with its customary quota of winners and losers at the box office, saints and sinners in the souls and minds of our noble critics, blasts and bombs in the view of the public.

BRIGHT & DIM LIGHTS OFF-B'WAY by DONALD LYONS
OFF-BROADWAY offered a gutsy, crazy mix of old veterans and new voices, the classics and the innovative in the taut year of 2001.

'Lune' tunes summer
'Sopranos' gig affects Falco's availability
It's going to be a hot August on Broadway. "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" looks to join the new musical "Hairspray" as late summer entries. Producers of the tuner have marked a pre-Labor Day opening at the Neil Simon Theater.

The Elephant Man Books the Royale
Bernard Pomerance�s The Elephant Man, starring Billy Crudup, is set to begin performances at the Royale Theatre on March 26.

Broadway Grosses: 'Tis the Season
Last week Broadway scored a cumulative gross of $12,271,973, which beat last season�s figure at this time of the year by $161,143.

Will Brittany Murphy Take On Sally Bowles?
Rising star Brittany Murphy has been offered the role of Sally Bowles in the Broadway revival of Cabaret.

Jennifer Holliday to Star in Dreamgirls in Atlanta
Jennifer Holliday is returning to the role that made her famous--Effie White in Dreamgirls. The actress will star in a production of the musical as part of the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta.

Pach Up Your Troubles: Crudup's Elephant Man Reaches Royale, March 26

Elaine Stritch and George C. Wolfe Appear on 'Theater Talk,' Dec. 28

Ring Around Target Margin: Obie Winner Considers Wagner Jan. 23-Feb. 10

Sondheim Rendered as Poetry at Joe�s Pub, Jan. 6

NYC�s Inverse Says Happy New Year With Free Shows and Party, Dec. 28-31

Snowed Out: Buffalo's Studio Likely to Cancel Rest of Run for Dudzick's Tavern III

Smell of the Kill Wafts Into Bway's Hayes Feb. 27; Opens March 17

Topdog Is Set for Ambassador Theatre in March 2002

Broadway Grosses: December 17-23
$224,765

ON STAGE AND OFF
Little Things That Count by JESSE McKINLEY

Cratchit While You Can
Patrick Stewart's one-man version of "A Christmas Carol" struck me as astounding when he first did it 10 years ago. It seems no less so now, the first time he has done it in New York in seven years.
posted at 12/28/2001 01:38:55 AM by James Marino | Item Link

Thursday, December 27, 2001

Sh-K-Boom Message Board: Rent movie script explanation and review
An interesting summary of the movie script, but it ends with this:

"The big-screen production of Rent fell apart due to budgetary problems barely a week ago"Thanks to those who pointed out to me that we linked to the Variety article back in August. I forgot(!).

Do you get PBS's Theater Talk where you are? If you would like to have it broadcast in your area, please go to the Theater Talk website and voice your request. Tomorrow night's edition of Theater Talk features discussion with Elaine Stritch and George C. Wolfe. Perhaps Mr. Riedel can ask Mr. Wolfe to "Show Me The Money!"

2001 Highlights: Part One by Ken Mandelbaum

2001 Highlights: Part Two by Ken Mandelbaum

Footlights: Onstage at Yale by LAWRENCE VAN GELDER

Nigel Hawthorne, Schemer of Television's 'Yes, Minister,' Dead at 72
Nigel Hawthorne was also nominated for an Academy Award as best actor for his title role in the 1994 film "The Madness of King George."

Turning the Camera on a Life Marred by a Deadly Prank by JOYCE WADLER
Nearly 20 years ago Peter Wade was part of a late-night prank that caused the death of a Conrail conductor. Now he is an American success story.

B'way holiday blahs
Tiny B.O. bump still improves on 2000
Broadway marked time in its penultimate session of the year. Box office rose a mere $10,086, or less than 1%, from the previous week, with 27 shows producing $12,229,474. On the surface, those figures would appear to be more ho-hum than ho-ho if not for this fact: The final cume is a marginal improvement over last year's numbers at this time.

POSITIVE DIRECTION FROM NEW DIRECTORS by V.A. MUSETTO
YOU wouldn't know it from the dreck turned out in Hollywood, but there are a lot of young new filmmakers with fresh ideas.

Stritch Continues to Feature in Year-End Top Ten Lists

Shawn's Designated Mourner to Gently Weep on WNYC Radio, Jan. 13

Malina n' McCourt Join Curtin in Castle, Jan. 8-Feb. 17 at OB's M.E.T.

Permanent Visitor Welcome at NYC's 78th St. Theater Lab Jan. 18-March 9

Satiric Wise Guise Bring Craig, Scott, Juan and Dan Show to NYC Dec. 27-Jan. 13

Felix Pire Wins AZ Theatre's Latino Playwriting Award; 2002 Entries Due Dec. 28

Three Hot Models and a Racing Car Fill Foreman's Latest, Maria del Bosco, OOB Dec. 27

Heart and Music: Michael Hammond Takes Over NEA

Sir Nigel Hawthorne, Esteemed British Actor, Is Dead at 72

Peter Filichia's Diary
Filichia is enchanted by the Boston Children�s Theatre production of Honk!

Follow Spot
The New York City Gay Men�s Chorus does Christmas right, this year with special guests like the fabulous Sam Harris.

Newsday: PLAY BY PLAY by Patrick Pacheco
Tony Prognostication: A 'Sweet' Victory
[Thanks to Wayman Wong for the link!]
posted at 12/27/2001 10:08:48 AM by James Marino | Item Link

Wednesday, December 26, 2001

ARTS IN AMERICA
Onstage, Hedda Gabler Was Anti-Heroine of the Year by STEPHEN KINZER
When the Broadway run of "Hedda Gabler" ends next month, the final curtain will be the culmination of this play's recent sweep across the United States.

Wire Walker In Benefit For Artists Hurt Sept. 11
In an eclectic program billed as "Arts on the High Wire," artists of various stripes will converge on the Hammerstein Ballroom on West 34th Street on Jan. 11 for a night of celebrating the arts and raising money for an arts-recovery fund started after Sept. 11.
New York Foundation for the Arts

Discount days on Broadway
Closings, winter doldrums lead to fear of B.O. blahs
"By Jeeves," "The Rocky Horror Show" and "Kiss Me, Kate" will shutter at year's end, with "Dance of Death," "Hedda Gabler," "The Women" and "Thou Shalt Not" to close shortly thereafter. Which leaves the sobering prospect that three shows -- "The Producers," "The Lion King" and "Mamma Mia" -- could very well produce one-third of Broadway's total gross.

Lane still on short sked
Thesp to continue six-perf indefinitely

Revival wrap
'Fair Lady' recoups, recasts

WOMEN WE REALLY, REALLY LIKE

Something is up with the Playbill server. Getting random errors, so don't worry, it is not you.

Fantasticks Tix All Sold Out for Show's Last Three Weeks Off-Bway

Kennedy Center Honors Celebrate Andrews, Pavarotti, Nicholson, On CBS Dec. 26

Linda Eder Makes Merry in Concert at Bway's Gershwin, Dec. 26-30

Richard Crawford Steps into Soho Rep [sic], Dec. 26

People Magazine: Most Intriguing People 2001

Happy Boxing Day to our friends up north!

posted at 12/26/2001 09:04:40 AM by James Marino | Item Link

Tuesday, December 25, 2001

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
Music and Lyrics by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
Next year all our troubles
Will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the Yule-tide gay
From now on our troubles
Will be miles away

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Will be near to us once more

Someday soon we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now

From the movie, Meet Me In St. Louis

---------------------

Footlights: Curtain Call by LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
Opening its doors to a new set of inductees is the Theater Hall of Fame on Broadway at the Gershwin Theater.

Inheriting an Uneasy Truce Between Art and Government

Best of Shows: The Theater's High
If at some point a social historian looks back to see where the New York theater was headed in the fateful year 2001 � with an eye, of course, to how it changed � he might find it useful to consult one theatergoer's 10 Best list.

OB's Promenade Goes Out of Shape, Jan. 20

Amas' Little Ham Poised to Extend at OB's Hudson Guild

Just a Cigar? Levy Brings Psychotherapy Live! to OOB's HERE, Jan. 28, Feb. 25

PHOTO CALL: Kirshenbaum, Jennings Grant and Foster Celebrate Summer Dec. 18

PHOTO CALL: Driscoll Parties With Summer of '42 Creator Raucher

PHOTO CALL: It's Summer of '42 for the Culkins

Carols Ring Throughout the Land (And Twice in NYC)

Kabul Ka-ching! Kushner's Epic Extends at NYTW Thru March 3

Branagh Guests in His Own What I Wrote

Peter Filichia's Diary
Wouldn�t it be nice to have some lovely scenery to complement the magnificent words of William Shakespeare?
posted at 12/25/2001 12:21:26 AM by James Marino | Item Link

Monday, December 24, 2001

Interview with Danny Zolli

Interview with Craig Schulman

Inheriting an Uneasy Truce Between Art and Government by ROBIN POGREBIN
When Michael Hammond assumes the helm of the National Endowment for the Arts he will find himself in the historically stormy relationship between the arts and government.

ARTS ONLINE
Driven by a Higher Calling, Not Dot-Com Dollars by MATTHEW MIRAPAUL
The collapse of countless e-commerce ventures in 2001 may have prompted many to dismiss the Internet as a viable economic platform, but it certainly remains vital as a creative medium.

THEATER REVIEW | 'LITTLE HAM'
Crime and Comeuppance With a Sassy, Jazzy Heart by BRUCE WEBER
Just when all that seems left in the holiday theater stocking are lumps of coal, there, stuffed deep in the toe (actually the Hudson Guild Theater), is a nearly overlooked gift: "Little Ham," a jazzy musical bauble with nothing to recommend it but fine songs, a cast with sass and charm and an attractive, modest production that is too modest for the material. This is one show that a little lavish pizazz, the kind that costs a lot, wouldn't hurt at all. It deserves the celebratory noise of a few bells and whistles.

Broadway seeks B.O. gifts in holiday frames
Three shows to close before New Year's
Depending on what days of the week Christmas and New Year's Day fall, the B.O. largesse can sometimes spill over into a second week. Historically, Thursday holidays provide the biggest B.O. bump, while a Saturday or Sunday holiday sked compresses the theatergoing bonanza into a mere seven days.

CDs: Everybody Loves Leona by Ken Mandelbaum
There is some random AIDA casting news in the front of this CD review.

PHOTO CALL: I Wanna Be an Investor: Broderick, Parker Eat at Angus'

Matthew Broderick and Rachel Weisz Guest on Conan O'Brien, Dec. 25

Maggie Smith Appears on 'Rosie O'Donnell,' Dec. 24

Patrick Stewart Brings Christmas Carol Back to Bway, Dec. 24-30

Flicker is a Play and a Film Rolled into One Jan. 3 - Feb. 3

PHOTO CALL: Light the Lights! Hamilton and McClanahan Light Bway's Tree

PHOTO CALL: Broadway Inspirational Voices Bring Christmas to Times Square
posted at 12/24/2001 11:07:30 AM by James Marino | Item Link

Sunday, December 23, 2001

CARYN JAMES'S PICKS
At Its Absolute Best in a Time of Terror
Network and cable news coverage on Sept. 11 and the days following were defining moments in the year in television.

Leaping From One Void Into Others by HERBERT MUSCHAMP
New York is far from absorbing the piece of world history that crashed into it in September. But the pressures to make sense of Ground Zero are great.

Walking Onto a Bare Stage (and Into Scrooge's Skin) by PATRICK STEWART
WHAT compels actors whose work is customarily an ensemble or collective activity to venture out onto an empty stage and face an audience quite alone, and often with material personal and personally devised? Wouldn't it seem that our profession is insecure and exposed enough?

A NIGHT OUT WITH
George Hamilton: Glowing in the Dark

Confronting the Zeitgeist When Life Overtakes Art by JACK HITT
ART imitates life. That's been the working theory, anyway. The artist is supposed to find a way into the realm of the imagination and, there, transmute messy quotidian reality into coherent sublime beauty. From ancients to moderns, the timeline of art was straightforward: Life Art.

The Mysterious Gift of a Voice, Here and Then Gone by CRAIG WOLFF
IN the uneasy passing of her childhood hour, Julie Andrews loved to watch her mother practice the piano. Her mother's playing had both a vigor to it, and grace. She could play hell-bent, the vaudevillian that she was, or she could play slow, and over her face would visit a stray look of sadness, something blowing past. She would begin to sing.

Sweet Smell Wafts in Windy City Beginning Dec. 23; Bway Tryout Lasts to Jan. 27

Eric Grode's STAGE TO SCREEN: Beauty and the Stomp

4 QUESTIONS FOR MARLA SOKOLOFF

OFF-BROADWAY'S ON THE MONEY AGAIN by CLIVE BARNE
Broadway always ends the year with a whimper - it expires around mid-November and doesn't stir until early March. Off-Broadway, on the other hand, goes out with guns blazing.

TIME Magazine: TIME's 2001 Person of the Year: Rudy Giuliani

Once again, we look to Andy Propst's outstanding website, The American Theater Web for the following stories:

Pssst...
SHOWBIZ SCRIBBLER GOES FROM BOFFO TO BUST
Sweet Smell of Success

Chicago Tribune: Multiplicity: When one role just isn't enough

Seattle Times: A winning formula: tales tied to science on stage and screen

L.A. Times: YEAR IN REVIEW: THEATER
It Was a Season for All Tastes
The good-time "Flower Drum Song" offered a song and a smile; the unrelenting "Joe and Betty" was a dark pleasure.

The Arizona Republic: Lighting expert turns spotlight on others
All Michael Eddy wants for Christmas are 300 stage lights, a really good light board, a coordinated follow-spot operator...

Denver Post: 'Skull,' Titanic' top list
It was a year of change at The Denver Post with the Sept. 1 retirement of longtime theater critic Sandra C. Dillard, but some good can come out of chaos. For Post readers, it created a unique opportunity to consider a variety of voices. In 2001, four scribes, including staff writer Ed Will and contributor Dianne Zuckerman reviewed an average exceeding 25 productions each.

Houston Chronicle: The Alley's Everyman
From Scrooge to Nixon, actor James Belcher shows his versatility in all roles

The Plain Dealer (Cleveland): Leguizamo finds himself in an unusual state: happy

Detroit Free Press: Dee Hoty is almost a Detroiter

Detroit Free Press: ACTING TO ABBA: Swedish pop group's songs form the framework of hit musical 'Mamma Mia!'

Minneapolis Star Tribune: Theater review: An electric, splendid 'Prince & Pauper'
What a rewarding surprise. "The Prince & the Pauper," which opened Friday in St. Paul, is perhaps the most electric and resonant musical to grace the Ordway Center stage in several years -- and a welcome new family treat in this season of recycled holiday shows.

posted at 12/23/2001 09:03:18 AM by James Marino | Item Link

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[Past News]

BROADWAYSTAR'S FIVE DAY FORECAST

2007-08
Broadway Season

June 28 - Old Acquaintance (AA)

July 10 - Xanadu (Hayes) [Robert Ahrens, Dan Vickery, Tara Smith/B. Swibel and Sarah Murchison/Dale Smith]

Aug 19 - Grease (Atkinson)

Oct 4 - Mauritius (Biltmore) [MTC]

Oct 11 - The Ritz (54)

Oct 18 - Pygmalion (AA)

Oct 25 - A Bronx Tale (Kerr)

Nov 1 - Cyrano de Bergerac (Rodgers)

Nov 4 - Rock 'N' Roll (Jacobs)

Nov 8 - Young Frankenstein (Hilton)

Nov 9 - Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (St. James)

Nov 10: Local One Strike Begins

Nov 28: Local One Strike Ends

Dec 2 - Cymbeline (Beaumont)

Dec 3 - The Farnsworth Invention (Music Box) [Dodger Properties with Steven Spielberg, Dan Cap Productions, Fred Zollo, Latitude Link and the Pelican Group]

Dec 4 - August: Osage County (Imperial) [Jeffrey Richards, Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler, Jerry Frankel, Steppenwolf]

Dec 6 - The Seafarer (Booth)

Dec 9 - Is He Dead? (Lyceum)

Dec 16 - The Homecoming (Cort) [Richards, Frankel]

Jan 10 - The Little Mermaid (Lunt)

Jan 15 - The 39 Steps (AA)

Jan 17 - November (Barrymore)

Jan 24 - Come Back, Little Sheba (Biltmore)

Feb 21 - Sunday In The Park With George (54)

Feb 28 - Passing Strange (Belasco)

Mar 6 - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Broadhurst) [Stephen C. Byrd]

Mar 9 - In The Heights (Rodgers)

Mar 27 - Gypsy (St. James)

Mar 29 - Macbeth (Lyceum)

Apr 3 - South Pacific (Beaumont)

Apr 17 - A Catered Affair (Kerr) [Jujamcyn Theaters, Jordan Roth, Harvey Entertainment / Ron Fierstein, Richie Jackson and Daryl Roth]

Apr 24 - Cry Baby (Marquis)

Apr 27 - The Country Girl (Jacobs)

Apr 30 - Thurgood (Booth)

May 1 - Les Liaisons Dangereuses (AA)

May 4 - Boeing-Boeing (Longacre)

May 7 - Top Girls (Biltmore)

TBA - Godspell

2008-09
Broadway Season

Oct 16 - Billy Elliot (Imperial)

Nov 08 - Dividing the Estate (a Shubert theater)

Dec 14 - Shrek: The Musical (Broadway) [DreamWorks]

Talked About
Not Scheduled Yet

TBA - 50 Words

TBA - Addams Family (Elephant Eye)

TBA - American Buffalo

TBA - An American Vaudeville [Farrell, Perloff]

TBA - The Beard of Avon [NYTW]

TBA - Being There [Permut]

TBA - Benny & Joon [MGM]

TBA - Billy Elliot

TBA - Brave New World [Rachunow]

TBA - Breath of Life [Fox]

TBA - Busker Alley [Margot Astrachan, Robert Blume, Kristine Lewis, Jamie Fox, Joanna Kerry & Heather Duke]

TBA - Broomhilda

TBA - Bye Bye Birdie [Niko]

TBA - Camille Claudel [Wildhorn]

TBA - Camelot

TBA - Carmen [Robin DeLevita and The Firm]

TBA - Catch Me If You Can

TBA - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [Bob and Harvey Weinstein]

TBA - Cry Baby [Grazer, Gordon, McAllister, Epstein]

TBA - Designing Women [Alexis]

TBA - Don Juan DeMarco [New Line]

TBA - Dreamgirls [Creative Battery]

TBA - Duet

TBA - Equus

TBA - Ever After [Adam Epstein]

TBA - Fallen Angels (Shubert) [Kenwright]

TBA - Farragut North [Richards]

TBA - Father of the Bride

TBA - The Female Of The Species (TBA)

TBA - Fool For Love (AA) [Roundabout]

TBA - Girl Group Time Travelers

TBA - Golden Boy

TBA - Harmony [Guiles, Karslake, Smith, Fishman]

TBA - Hitchcock Blonde

TBA - The Importance Of Being Earnest

TBA - Jerry Springer: The Opera! [Thoday, McKeown]

TBA - Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train (Circle)

TBA - Josephine [Waissman]

TBA - Leap of Faith

TBA - A Little Princess [Ettinger, Dodger]

TBA - Midnight Cowboy [MGM]

TBA - The Minstrel Show - Kander and Ebb and Stroman

TBA - Moonstruck [Pittelman, Azenberg]

TBA - Mourning Becomes Electra [Haber, Boyett]

TBA - Monsoon Wedding

TBA - The Night of the Hunter

TBA - The Opposite of Sex [Namco]

TBA - Orphans

TBA - Pal Joey [Platt]

TBA - Paper Doll

TBA - The Paris Letter

TBA - The Philadelphia Story

TBA - Peter Pan

TBA - Porgy and Bess [Frankel, Viertel, Baruch, Routh, Panter, Tulchin/Bartner]

TBA - The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert

TBA - The Princess Bride

TBA - Princesses [Lane, Comley]

TBA - Poe the Musical

TBA - Rain Man [MGM]

TBA - Robin Hood

TBA - Secondhand Lions

TBA - South Pacific

TBA - Speed-the-Plow

TBA - Stalag 17

TBA - Starry Messenger

TBA - Syncopation

TBA - A Tale Of Two Cities

TBA - Torch Song Trilogy

TBA - Turn of the Century

TBA - West Side Story

TBA - The Wall [Weinstein, Mottola, Waters]

TBA - Will Rogers Follies [Cossette]

TBA - The Wiz [Dodger]

TBA - Zanna [Dalgleish]

This list is compiled from various sources. If you have corrections to the Broadway Season, please contact us.

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2007-08Broadway Season

2008-09Broadway Season

Talked AboutNot Scheduled Yet

2007-08
Broadway Season

2008-09
Broadway Season

Talked About
Not Scheduled Yet