Broadway Theatre Has Small Fire

The sparks always fly in the musical Xanadu, and now with Whoopi Goldberg in the cast the sparks not only fly, they actually catch fire. According to New York 1 News, “an elevator motor caught on fire around 9:15 p.m. in the Helen Hayes Theater…The electricity was turned off, the fire was put out and the theater was ventilated.”  The theater was dark on Monday night with no performance, and as far as we can tell the show must go on tonight. It was recently announced that Second Stage has plans to purchase the Helen Hayes for its Broadway home. They may want to have that inspection check done soon. Glad to hear all are safe. Xanadu may have had its share of tough luck at times, but overall it continues to have a charmed life on Broadway. Photo by Paul Kolnik.

-Broadway Magazine, Broadway.tv

Classic Musicals Go Head To Head

It is a Broadway battle that puts the Jets of “West Side Story” against the thugs of Damon Runyon’s “Guys and Dolls” in what promises to be another Golden season on Broadway. The announcement today was that Jersey Boys director Des McNuff will be staging “Guys and Dolls” on Broadway this season. The greater implications of the news is that the upcoming Broadway season has now one of the fullest slates of classic musicals of all time. With Gypsy, South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, Godspell, West Side Story, Brigadoon, possibly Hair, Pal Joey, and more this is already going to be quite a season. Oh yes, writers Arthur Miller, Anton Chekhov, Charles Dickens, Friedrich Schiller are also on hand…and don’t forget Billy Elliot and Harry Potter in Equus. Everything old is new again this season. More good news on the way.

-Broadway Magazine, Broadway.tv

New Broadway Star On Red Carpet

Bailey Hanks won MTV’s Legally Blonde Search For Elle Woods last week, and this week she is on the red carpet with Hannah Montana actor Cody Linley (who used to date Demi Lovato) and is friends with the gang from Camp Rock. The event was the J-14 In-Tune Concert at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York. Before the rumors start, Bailey also posed for pictures with singer Karina as well. No doubt she was in early, as she has performances this week.

Photo: Bailey Hanks,Winner of Legally Blonde the Musical:the Search for Elle Woods and Singer Karina attend the J-14 magazine In-Tune concert at the Hard Rock Caf‚ on July 28, 2008 in New York City. J. McCarthy/WireImage.com

-Broadway Magazine, Broadway.tv

Soul Patrol Doing a Money Thang?

Why is this man smiling? Is it Greed Lightening?! Not really. Taylor Hicks has made a splash on Broadway, and now comes word that fans are able to purchase “meet and greet” tickets to see him. According to fan blogs, the “meet and greet” package is offered to members of Talyor Hicks fan site through Taylor Hicks’ My Space page and it reportedly costs $475 which includes 2 Grease tickets, plus a meeting with  Taylor Hicks in his dressing room or backstage. We didn’t pay the fee to join the fan site, so are not able to confirm the official fan price. We can confirm that for $999, the general public is now able to participate in the Hicksation through the Hicks My Space page with a package that includes 2 show tickets, 2 nights at the Grand Hyatt, a meeting with Taylor Hicks, and an autographed Playbill…those Hicks Grease Travel packages come through consideritdan.com if you are inclined. We’re not sure what to make of the offering. Not sure that there’s been anything like that before on Broadway. I think maybe, perhaps, once or something,  Laurence Olivier charged $25 to shake hands? And, maybe, the late Richard Burton charged well-wishers $45 to sign a playbill?…of course neither of them ever won American Idol. If anyone has actually done the “meet and greet” let us know, we’d love to hear more about it.  Of course, as the photo shows, Taylor Hicks happily greets fans and signs autographs for free at the stage door as well, just like most of the other Broadway stars.

Photo: Taylor Hicks signs autographs after Laura Osnes and Max Crumm’s final performance in “Grease” on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on July 20, 2008 in New York City. J. Pellegrini/WireImage.com.

-Broadway Magazine, Broadway.tv

Much To Cheer In Symphony Space Season

The eclectic mix that is New York City’s Symphony Space season is always refreshing. Now, they have announced their upcoming season and it includes old favorites and new faces. Included in the mix is Wall to Wall Broadway, Bloomsday on Broadway, a film salute to Mel Brooks (The Producers and Young Frankenstein no doubt), and special guests like Salmon Rushdie and Tom Wolfe, as well as dance tribute to Jerome Robbins, and musical performances from Robyn Hitchcock, Ethel, and Sharon Isbin among others. For info visit Symphony Space. Photo by Paul Kolnik.

-Broadway Magazine, Broadway.tv

Lopez Continues To Conquer All Media

With a successful Broadway run in his pocket and a hit exercise book on the shelves, Mario Lopez is ready to re-take television as the new host of the long-running hit TV entertainment magazine EXTRA! According to the news release, Lopez will take over for Mark McGrath, who is leaving to continue his musical career with Sugar Ray.

“We are excited to name Mario Lopez as the new host of ‘Extra’s’ weekday show. Mario has done a great job as the host of our weekend show and has established himself as a highly engaging, likeable and sought-after host and personality. He will be a fresh and dynamic presence for the show, and we can’t wait for him to assume his new role and get to work with Senior Executive Producer Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey, who has made ‘Extra’ one of the most highly regarded programs of its kind on television,” enthused Hilary Estey McLoughlin, President, Telepictures Productions.

Broadway couldn’t agree more. Though he’ll leave A Chorus Line and Broadway for now, we hope Mario and “Extra” will be back often! He starts on September 15.

-Broadway Magazine, Broadway.tv

Musical To Feature Music From U2

The new U2 and Julie Taymor musical based on the hit comic Spider-Man is holding auditions today at the Knitting Factory in Manhattan. Check out the details here. Good wishes to all auditioners. From the notice:

Monday, July 28th, 2008
The Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard Street, New York, NY 10013
10:00am - 5:00pm
(Sign-in begins at 9:30am. Do not arrive prior!)

Please prepare 16 bars of a pop/rock song that shows range. Please bring sheet music. Also a photo/resume stapled together, IF YOU HAVE ONE. IT’S COOL IF YOU DON’T!

New Musical “13″ Sets Broadway Dates

Producers of the new all-teen cast musical “13″ have set a date. The show tells the story of a young man who moves to Indiana after his parents divorce. Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, a book by Robert Horn and Dan Elish, with direction by Jeremy Sams, and choreography by Christopher Gattelli…all bode well for the show. Producers for the show include Bob Boyett,Roger Berlind, Tim Levy, Stacey Mindich, maverick Ken Davenport, Jane Bergère, Carl Moellenberg, Sharon Karmazin, just to name a few. The show was a hit in Los Angeles, and has been on a long road to Broadway. With an all teen-age cast and band…could it grab the “High School Musical” crowd, or end up as the next “Metro” on Broadway? With all the talk of an all teen-age cast and a teen-age band, could this mean the Jonas Brothers or Demi Lovatoor a few other teen stars could soon be making Broadway debuts? No announcement even remotely suggesting that, but in this case idle or perhaps (American) idol speculation is harmless fun. Previews start September 16. Real casting will be announced soon.

Photo: Musicians Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas and Kevin Jonas from the band Jonas Brothers attend the “Camp Rock” premiere on June 11, 2008 at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York. Credit Dimitrios Kambouris/Wireimage.com

-Broadway Magazine, Broadway.tv

Camp Rock Star Rocks Camp

“Camp Rock” with the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato is a major summer musical hit. How big is the movie musical? Well, so big that the red-hot Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana felt threatened enough to take aim at the Disney’s Camp Rock star Demi Lovato with some critical comments. You don’t put Demi Lovato in a corner. She rocked out this weekend in a fire-red Ramones Shirt at the impressive New Jersey Balloon Festival. Demi took on comments from Cyrus by giving a rousing and rocking performance. If you couldn’t be there, click on the thumbnails to see what you missed. The Star Wars balloon was one of many impressive creations that actually filled the sky.

Photo: Disney artist Demi Lovato perfoms at the 2008 Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning at Solberg Airport on July 26, 2008 in Readington, New Jersey. B. Bank/WireImage.com

-Broadway Magazine, Broadway.tv

First Weekly Winner Emerges from Vault

Congratulations to Daniel M. from New York for winning last week’s Great American Broadway Summer Giveaway. Daniel emerged from the prize vault with a pair of tickets to a Broadway show. We’ll have winners every week…and will notify our next winner shortly. Each winner will  walk away with a prize from our celebrated Broadway Prize Vault which includes books, CDs, DVDs, posters, and more. You do not need to be in New York City to win a Broadway  prize. This week’s winner will get a “Supercalidisneyishiousnesspoppinsmermaidkingadocious” themed prize choice as well. It’s easy to sign up right here. Each week we have another winner. Congratulations Daniel, let us know how you liked the show!

-Broadway Magazine, Broadway.tv