BROADWAY MAGAZINE – Fall is slowly working its way into New York City, and with it comes the new Broadway season. There are few more exciting months on Broadway than September (with a harvest of new shows starting) and few more exciting events than the famous (and free) Broadway on Broadway concert in Times Square.

With a solid line up of old favorites and new productions, musical fans pack into the warmth of Times Square to cheer, dance, and even sing-a-long to their favorite shows. With exciting productions like Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson set to open and eagerly awaited revivals like How To Succeed In Business with Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe in the lead, there could be plenty of surprises at this year’s concert.

Plus, they flood Times Square with confetti.

Official line: Produced by The Broadway League and The Times Square Alliance the free outdoor concert, presented by HUE Leggings and Continental Airlines and proudly sponsored by AT&T and The New York Times, will take place on Sunday, September 12th at 11:30am in Times Square (entrance on 43rd Street and Broadway).

Of course, September has been declared Back2Broadway Month by The Broadway League with much is being planned for the occasion.

Photo of last year’s event by William Town.

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Exclusive Interview With Sparks Right After Opening Performance

Tonight we had the chance to interview Jordin Sparks who joined the cast of In The Heights tonight. Sparks is known for being on American Idol and her successful career after. We saw Nick Jonas leaving the theater tonight who came to support Sparks . Also, some cast members from the reality series The Real Housewives of New Jersey were on hand.

Sparks told us that tonight was an emotional night for her and that being on Broadway is something she has always wanted to do. Watch the video above to see our interview with her.

Get Tickets to In The Heights

 Robin and Hoods Hit Big at Old Globe

Review by Linda Hodges, Broadway Magazine

Just as the great Sammy Cahn wrote, “Love is lovelier the second time around,” the 1963 Rat Pack film “Robin and the 7 Hoods” is so much lovelier its second time around as the stage musical of the same name by Rupert Holmes. This show dazzles.

The film was a prop piece with a collapsible plot trumped up for Sinatra and the gang to have an excuse to work and play together. But this new musical spin is another story altogether. Literally. Holmes kept the Robin Hood theme, the rat pack cool, and the swinging sounds of Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen – and nothing else – creating a story and a show that is entertainment at its freshest, funniest and most spectacular.

Summoning the chic, the swagger and the swing of the early 60’s, the show opens with Chicago club and restaurant owner Robbo (Eric Schneider), singing the classic song, “My Kind of Town (Chicago is).” You simply couldn’t ask for a classier opening number. Taking a drag from his cigarette, Schneider delivers the piece with an easy pizzazz as the ensemble joins him to finish out the tune. Fully clad in the sophisticated fashion of the day the costumes alone (Gregg Barnes) are enough to make you nostalgic for that smooth and sultry time.

Robbo is a somewhat reformed hood, now trying to make good by going legit, but having a little trouble with the transition. He and his boys, including second-in-command Little John (played to absolute comedic and charming, bad-boy perfection by Will Chase), are confounded in this effort time and time again by police lieutenant Nottingham (Adam Heller) who continuingly trumps up charges as an excuse to shut down Robbo’s club and force him out of business. The lieutenant is on the payroll of one P.J. Sullivan (Rick Holmes), another club owner and local gangster boss who runs the town and is willing to do whatever it takes to run Robbo and his merry men out of town!

Enter local TV anchor, and crusader against crime and corruption, Marian Archer (Kelly Sullivan). Determined to expose Sullivan for the hood he really is, Marian uses her television show, Target Chicago, and her connections, in her effort to put the boss behind bars. Seizing on Sullivan’s next target – Robbo – she works to get him on her show. Robbo would like P.J. out of the way as well – but chooses more nefarious means at his disposal. He and Little John hatch a heist, robbing P.J.’s club (located directly behind Robbo’s) and then giving away the loot so the crime can’t be traced back to them - and in the process becoming unwitting local heroes promptly compared to the legendary Robin Hood.

What follows is a terrific tap dance number, lead by hood Willie Scarlatti (flawlessly and amazingly played by Jeffrey Schecter), who has been instructed to walk the streets of Chicago dispensing the dough.

In these tough economic times there was something very satisfying about seeing money handed out to the working stiffs on the street and something even sweeter about knowing that it was taken from toadies who take advantage of the poor. As money rained down like confetti in a ticker-tape parade the audience flipped over this show-stopping number.

The talented, Tony nominated director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw outdid himself in both of these roles giving direction and focus to actors and dancers alike and creating a synergy that was nothing less than theater magic.

Love and romance, intrigue and incomparable music abound, as the story continues. Amy Spanger is positively marvelous as Alana O’Dell, the long-suffering, longing-for-a-ring girlfriend of Will Chase’s Little John. Their tottering romance is played for laughs as the at-odds couple sing “Call Me Irresponsible” – but her slow and angst-ridden reprise reveal her emotional depth and passion for this man with a wandering eye. Kelly Sullivan is also particularly good as the do-good Marian whose emotions are also taken for a ride by the charming, ready-to-reform Robbo.

In a Broadway-bound show of this caliber, the whole production team deserves credit for creating the magic that happens on stage. Sound Design by John Shivers was a joy; clear and balanced. Lighting design by Kenneth Posner was inspired and scenic design by Robert Brill could not have been more creative. The versatile set made good use of the space, while the colors, textures and fabrics of the sets worked together to enhance the show. Costume design by Greg Barnes captured the era but went several steps further with its whimsical quality and fun interpretations. The 60’s stewardess costumes alone were worth the price of admission.

John McDaniel (Music supervisor/Vocal and Incidental Arrangements), Bill Elliott (Orchestrator) Mark Hummel (Music Director) and David Chase (Dance Music Arranger) all deserve credit for adapting the superb Cahn/Van Heusen songbook to the theatrical stage.

Tony award winning book writer Rupert Holmes seamlessly melded the music to the story and made it seem as if it was always meant to be that way.

The legend of Robin Hood lives on in this swank and swinging show. For those too young to know the songs first-hand, you’re in for a treat! And for those for whom these songs are old nostalgic friends, I’m here to tell you that Sammy Cahn was right. Love (as well as this book and score) are lovelier the second time around.

Book by Rupert Holmes
Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Music by Jimmy Van Heusen
Directed and Choreographed
by Casey Nicholaw
WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL

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BROADWAY MAGAZINE – Will Stella start getting’ jiggy with it? One of the Broadway producers of Fela! (and an international star in his own right) Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith are in talks to bring Tennessee Williams’ masterwork A Streetcar Named Desire to Broadway.

The report comes from the New York Post-er Michael Riedel. In the article, Mr. Riedel takes pains to say it is far from a done deal. Check it out here.

Set in New Orleans, Williams’ drama is one of the greatest American plays ever written. Though in the past actors have shied away from the play because of the long shadow of the Brando film, the fact is a Streetcar revival should always be welcome news on Broadway.

The most recent Broadway revival of Streetcar was in 2005 and featured John C. Reilly and Natasha Richardson. In 1992, Alec Baldwin played Stanley to Jessica Lange’s Blanche.

Another fun highlight of the Riedel column is the story about Aretha Franklin turning down a short stint in the Broadway musical Fela! because her character would have to go up a ladder every night.

“I’m not climbing that ladder every night,” Ms. Franklin is quoted as saying. R-E-S-P-E-C-T, indeed.

Follow us on Twitter and see if you (or we) can name all the Broadway Stanley’s in 140 characters or less.

BROADWAY MAGAZINE – The prehistoric scene-stealers known as Dinosaurs are the kings of Broadway next week as the audience favorite Walking With Dinosaurs arrives at Madison Square Garden July 21-25 for 12 performances only.

To herald their arrival in Herald Square, the 7 foot tall baby Tyrannosaurus Rex led a crowd of young and young-at-heart fans in an attempt to break the world record for “loudest dinosaur roar” by an outdoor crowd.

On had was an actual Guinness official to confirm the success of the attempt to set a world record. We suspect the official wouldn’t tell a T-Rex he missed the record. Remember, these dinosaurs move and roar and fight and eat too…

For those new to the show, Walking With Dinosaurs features live (and enormous) Dinosaurs in Madison Square Garden. Based on the hit BBC show, this is one you have to see to believe.

The production packed them in two summers ago at Madison Square Garden, and will likely do so again this year. Part science, part spectacle, all amazing. Visit http://www.thegarden.com/dinos for more information.

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BROADWAY MAGAZINE- Listen to the music of the… afternoon. Broadway fans can join The Phantom and other Broadway Blockbuster shows for a free concert today (Thursday July 15) in New York City in Bryant Park.

The event kicks off at 12:30 with performance scheduled from The Phantom of the Opera, Billy Elliot, Memphis, South Pacific, and Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Yes ,that is a lot of Best Musical Winners all in one place.

If you can’t make it on Thursday, you can try again next week. Different shows, same magic. Visit here for details on the free Broadway concerts in Bryant Park.

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BROADWAY MAGAZINE- President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have shown a genuine passion for the art of live theatre. From seeing Joe Turner’s Come And
Gone on Broadway for a date night, to bringing Sasha and Malia to this year’s Tony Award winning musical Memphis, a touring production of Mary Poppins, or The Addams Family…the Obamas know Broadway.

Now, reports are that an army of Broadway stars will visit the White House on Monday including Nathan Lane, Audra McDonald, Idina Menzel, Chad Kimball, Brian d’Arcy James, Tonya Pinkins, Karen Olivo and Assata Alston. PBS will broadcast the concert as “A Broadway Celebration: In Performance at the White House” on Oct. 20.

To celebrate, we invite you to enjoy our Presidential Broadway gallery and check out the issue of Broadway Magazine when the First Couple first came to Broadway.

BROADWAY MAGAZINE- Experiencing a play at the Globe Theatre in London is a must-do for any theatre fan. The combination of theatrical scale and human intimacy defies description, and seeing Shakespeare’s plays produced in their natural habitat is not-to-be missed.

Now, theatre fans can get their Globe Theatre experience on their own time (and without a trip to London).

Opus Arte DVD has begun releasing Blu-rays/DVDS of select Shakespeare productions from the Globe. Both As You Like It and Romeo and Juliet are now available, with Love’s Labour’s Lost coming out in the fall. Seeing these productions in HD goes a long way toward capturing the actual experience of being in the Globe and watching the performance.

While filmed productions often fall flat of the live experience, both As You Like It and Romeo and Juliet prove the exception to the rule. The HD experience capture audience and actor in vivid detail, and the productions are remarkably alive.

To celebrate the new releases, they are holding a video contest and giving away over $150 of Shakespeare music, audioboks, and DVDs to the winner. You can check out the details on their facebook page or click here.

BROADWAY MAGAZINE- Perhaps Comics and Broadway will never mix. First, the dramas of Spider-Man The Musical and now this. Fans of the production of Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson were eager to see it move to Broadway. The stars seemed to favor the musical from The Public Theatre with the Shubert Theatre folks offering up the venerable Jacobs Theatre as a home for the show. Now, however…the X-MEN have arrived.

According to The New York Times, Bloody star Benjamin Walker has been offered a part in the global hit movie franchise “X-Men”s upcoming project. So, the Bloody arrival on Broadway may have to wait for a few months.

Oh well. Pundits guess is it will still arrive in Broadway before Spider-Man does. Any news about the Hulk Musical?

Follow us on Twitter and tell us if Super Heroes and Broadway will ever mix.

BROADWAY MAGAZINE- With the finale on Sunday at Radio City Music Hall, the 2010 Tony Awards entered the history books. Now, there is news that the 2011 Tony Awards will not take place at historic Radio City Music Hall. According to multiple reports, the Tony Awards are nomads next season.

According to the New York Times, Radio City has a sustained booking for June 2011…perhaps the Barney and Friends Spectacular? According to the same report, the Tony Awards seekers have a list of venues in consideration, including the elegant Beacon Theater or Madison Square Garden.

Looks like a great opportunity to re-imagine the ceremony. Follow along with us on Twitter as the 2011 Tony Home Hunt continues.