12 Days Of Broadway 2009

BROADWAY MAGAZINE - Happy Holidays! ‘Tis the season again to celebrate another calendar year on Broadway, and the man in red has delivered some of the lists for this year’s 12 Days of Broadway. Today, it is the 12 Biggest Star Turns on Broadway this season. Ranked in no particular order, Mr. Ferrell. Let us know what you think…and Happy Holidays.

1. Will Ferrell - Playing George W. Bush, Mr. Ferrell not only earned a Tony nomination, but he also helped pull the entire Broadway box-office out of a January slump. He made a snowball melt in a hellish January on Broadway.

2. Hugh Jackman - With A Steady Rain co-star Daniel Craig, Mr. Jackman reigned on Broadway. The pair set  box-office records, made headlines with cell phones, and gave 2 excellent performances.

3. Daniel Craig - See above. The real question now is will both Mr. Jackman and Mr. Craig earn Tony nominations…or will the curse of the Tony short memory span hold firm?

4. Jude Law - Not only did he put Shakespeare back in the top 10 box office performers on Broadway (no small feat), he also gave an outstanding performance that was more nuanced than Ralph Fiennes rapid fire Hamlet that won Tony Awards a decade or so ago. Could Mr. Law be too popular to earn the proper credit for his excellent performance?

5. Catherine Zeta-Jones - Beautiful and talented, her work in A Little Night Music is earning praise and attention. Radiant and wonderful, let’s hope she keeps coming back to the Broadway stage!

6.  Jane Fonda - She was outstanding in a production that earned Tony nominations (including one for Ms. Fonda). Celebrated by critics and audiences, Ms. Fonda gave Broadway a truely classic star-turn.

7. Laurie Metcalf - Captivatingly honest and strong in Brighton Beach Memoirs. Ms. Metcalf and company left Broadway too soon. While she may have made her name as Roseanne’s neighbor on television, Ms. Metcalf showed why she continues to hold a reputation as one of the best actresses on the stage in our generation.

8. James Spader - Lawyers have captured the Broadway imagination this season, and Mr. Spader’s work in David Mamet’s RACE is generating Broadway buzz. With David Alan Grier, Kerry Washington, and Richard Thomas too…well keep the star-power of RACE here, but acknowledge that it is a Broadway planetarium of stars.

9. Casts of God of Carnage - Tony Award for Marcia Gay Harden and  noms for Jeff Daniels, and  James Gandolfini and Hope Davis. Now, they’ve brought Jimmy Smitts to the Broadway stage too.  Safe to say this is also like a Broadway planetarium for stars.

10. Geoffrey Rush - He wiggled and giggled and made Ionesco the talk of Broadway with Exit The King. Earning a well-deserved Tony Award for his imaginative and energetic performance, what will Mr. Rush do on Broadway next time?

11. Sienna Miller - Took on the challenge of making Strindberg’s Julie palatable, and had to most talked-about foot on Broadway! Could Hedda be next?

12– Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles? John Stamos and Gina Gershon? Nathan Lane and Bill Irwin? Angela Lansbury and Angela Lansbury? Ashlee Simpson in Chicago? Michael McKean in Superior Donuts? Carrie Fisher as Carrie Fisher? Tell us what you think!

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Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber Gives The Thumbs Up

(BROADWAY MAGAZINE) We love Sir ALW ( that’s Andrew Lloyd Webber, not to be confused with Adam Lloyd Winbrook).  Big news to end 2008 on Broadway, the King is back and he’s brought a sequel with him. Set 10 years after Phantom of the Opera, the new musical is called Phantom: Love Never Dies.The story apparently unites Christine and The Phantom on Coney Island…though there will probably not be a hot dog eating contest at Nathan’s. “It was the place,” Sir ALW said in an interview with The Times of London. “Even Freud went because it was so extraordinary.”

Well, if there is anyone who can restore the romantic sheen of Coney Island, it would be Sir Andrew. See you at Nathan’s, Christine!

11 Stars A-Shining On Broadway In 2008

(BROADWAY MAGAZINE) On the 11^thDay of Broadway, my true love gave to me…11 Stars A-Shining. We continue our 12 Days Of Broadway celebration with Broadway Magazineand Broadway.tv with our list of the 11 Top Celebrity Turns on Broadway in 2008. Some stars shone more than others on Broadway this season, and here is our choice for 11 of the top. For purposes of this list, only one person per show, and only celebrities without a long Broadway tenure are eligible. We are defining celebrity as those who are largely famous for work in medium other than the stage. Our apologies to Liza Minnelli, who tops most anyone’s Broadway list this season.

1.      Diane Wiest in All My Sons.Katie Holmes got the headlines, but Weist is completely fascinating to behold. She is our favorite celebrity on Broadway this season. John Lithgow, Patrick Wilson,  Katie Holmes and the entire ensemble have made this production of Arthur Miller’s play one of the must-see dramas of the season.

2.      Kristin Scott Thomas in The Seagull. She helped make Chekhov profitable on Broadway. A selfless star who was not afraid to show the selfish side of a complex iconic character. We have three words for Ms. Thomas and producers as they consider her next stage project-The Cherry Orchard!

3.      Daniel Radcliffe in Equus.A dark play, but a totally committed performance from a star who seems to have the DNA of the great British stage stars of the past. Richard Griffiths and Kate Mulgrew are also more than exceptional.

4.      Laurence Fishburne in Thurgood.With depth and nuance, Fishburne brought a judicial titan to life.

5.      Clay Aiken in Spamalot. The new father may have made headlines with his outing, but he still is making audiences laugh with his sense of humor. Surely there are other musicals that would fit him like a glove.

6.      Taylor Hicks in Grease. Soul Patrol fans and Broadway fans unite in cheering the good-natured and smooth singing soul stylist as he transitions from American Idol to Broadway’s Rookie-of-the-year.

7.      Cedric The Entertainer in American Buffalo. A short run, but a bright future for Cedric on Broadway in the right vehicle…if he gets over his anger at Ben Brantley of The New York Times.  Tony nomination for featured actor?

8.      Marisa Tomei in Top Girls.This was a great production of a difficult play. Tomei was absolutely fascinating as the Scottish explorer who had ailments, passions, and liked the bread plate. Her change to the contemporary mother was equally solid.

9.      Elisabeth Moss in Speed-The-Plow.Please stay away from the sushi, Ms. Moss. While the departed Jeremy Piven walked in and out as the headliner of this Mamet revival, Moss has left audiences wanting to see the AMC Mad Men star in other roles on-stage.

10.  S. Epatha Merkerson from Come Back, Little Sheba. The star of Law and Order was riveting as Lola in William Inge’s haunting play.

11.  Patrick Stewart in Macbeth. While he has a substantial Broadway resume, we’ve broken our own rule to include Stewart for his entertaining and soulful portrayal of Shakespeare’s Scottish King. So much blood!

12 Days Of Broadway Celebration

On the 12^th Day of Broadway, my true love gave to me…12 memorable Broadway Quotations! To start our celebration of the 12 Days of Broadway, we offer the follow selection of memorable Broadway quotations. Some are more poignant than others, but all came out of the wonderful world that was Broadway in 2008. Join us at Broadway Magazine and Broadway.tv in our 12 Days of Broadway. Enjoy the quotations:

1.      “So my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer.” -David Mamet in Variety on Jeremy Piven’s abrupt exit from Speed-The-Plow due to Mercury poisoning.

2.      “Tough thing about Broadway is (it’s) eight shows a week. It’s slavery. That needs to be adjusted. It’s wrong.” -Terrence Howard from Cat On A Hot Tin Roof in Cindy Adams column in the New York Post.

3.      “I’m having a great time…and it’s certainly interesting to be working with people who talk about ‘Hello, Dolly!’ as if it opened three months ago.” - Rocker Stew from Passing Strange talking about working with the Schubert Organization’s Elizabeth I. McCann and the late Gerald Schoenfeld, from Michael Riedel’s article in the New York Post.

4.      “Now, the question becomes ‘what’s the next project? And I think there’s no where to go but down. I think disappointment and alcoholism are right on the horizon. So, see you in the New York Post.” -Tony Award Winner Lin-Manuel Miranda of In The Heights at the Carnegie Hall Notables event.

5.      “When you’re in town wearing some kind of a uniform is helpful. Policeman, priest, etc. Driving a tank is very impressive or a car with official lettering on the side.” -Mark Rylance from Boeing-Boeing, starting his amazing acceptance speech at the 2008 Tony Awards.  The words are actually by poet Louis Jenkins.

6.      “Oh, those wacky Tony nominators - can you believe they didn’t kiss me first? You don’t have to buy me dinner, but at least kiss me first!”  Harvey Fierstein creator and star of  A Catered Affair after co-stars Tom Wopat and Faith Prince received nominations, and he didn’t. From Michael Riedel’s column in The New York Post.

7.      “When you’ve done it twice, it doesn’t matter anymore.” -Daniel Radcliffe Broadway star of Equus and Harry Potter film star on being naked on stage from Details Magazine.

8.      “Yes, I’m gay.” - Clay Aiken star of Spamalot on the cover of People Magazine.

9.      “”We are not boycotting Katie, we are not boycotting the play, we are protesting Scientology. It is evil. Scientology kills people. It follows you home at night. It is perverted,”.” Scientology protest group Anonymous quoted in Glamour Magazine regarding Katie Holmes in All My Sons.

10.  “It’s great to be drunk and below 14th Street!” -Stew from Passing Strange at the Village Voice Obie Awards.

11.  “Mr. Sondheim, look, I made a hat. (a reference to a lyric in Sondheim’s ‘Sunday in the Park with George’) But there never was a hat - it’s a Latin hat at that!” -Lin Manuel Miranda of In The Heights during his Tony Award acceptance speech.

12.  “That, I suppose, is the danger of shock. Or schlock.” -Final line of the final review written by critic Clive Barnes in the New York Post on October 31, 2008. The celebrated critic died November 19, 2008.

Best Broadway Wishes To All

Tis the season, and on behalf of Broadway Magazine and Broadway.tv, we want to wish everyone a happy holiday, as Irving Berlin wrote. As we recap the past calendar year on Broadway  and look ahead to the delights of 2009, we want to take a moment to extend greetings and good wishes to everyone who has been a part of making this year such a successful one for us. As you can see in the picture, the postman has delivered the Holiday Broadway lists…so stay tuned to www.Broadway.tv for the 12 Days of Broadway from Broadway Magazine and Broadway.tv.

–Christopher Moore, Broadway Magazine