Hit Broadway Show Soaks Up Sun, Delights Audience In Bryant Park
Continuing our coverage of Broadway in Bryant Park, yesterday we had the chance to catch up with Jarrod Spector who plays Frankie Valli in the smash hit musical Jersey Boys. Jersey Boys is one of those Broadway productions that gives you a smile with songs that appeal to almost everyone. The show profiles the life of Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons and how hope and a dream made them wildly successful.Speaking of hopes and dreams, the story of Jersey Boys and how the show came to Broadway is also very inspiring. Check out this interview with the Jersey Boys producers who talk to us about feeling down and out, only to see Jersey Boys become a Broadway musical sensation.
Oh What A Broadway Night! Get Tickets To Jersey Boys
The Summer Broadway Festival has begun it’s 3rd year, staring off with a bang last night, Broadway music that has won Tonys, Oscars, and Grammys was celebrated at Town Hall (123 W 43rd in NYC). Scott Siegel the creator and narrarator hosted a bevy of Broadway stars, like Megan Hilty of 9 to 5, and Tovah Feldshuh star of Irena’s Vow, and many more… Broadway’s Rising Stars will be the next show for the summer festival on July 20th at 8pm, featuring student actors from schools like AMDA, Cap 21, Marymount, NYU’s Steinhardt and Tisch, Carnegie Mellon, CCM, and The New School. Emily Skinner of Side Show and Scott Coulter will direct. The festival ends on July 27 with All Singin’ All Dancin’, choreographed by Shrek’s Josh Prince.
BROADWAY MAGAZINE—This is war…or anti-war…or something. Tonight, those crazy, love-loving kids from the hit revival of the revolutionary Broadway musical HAIR officially had their opening night. It was a big one, and the critics couldn’t have been more harmonious in their praise for the show. The result is that there is now a battle of two shows for the best musical revival nod…and we’re not talking about Guys and Dolls.
This is a Broadway battle between the Arthur Laurent’s warring gangs from WEST SIDE STORY against the peace-loving nudies from HAIR. The prize is nothing less than Tony Awards, affection, audience, and a box of mints from Andes (though we are unable to confirm the last item). West Side Story has had fantastic box-office numbers, and is the more “traditional” of the two shows. HAIR seems to have the advantage of retaining its credibility both as an anti-establishment show (complete with corporate sponsorships?) and as a relevant exploration of the complications of youth.
Both shows are stunning Broadway, and it will be a battle worth watching as the two shows compete for the hearts and minds of Tony voters, and audiences. What an amazing season on Broadway this is. Photo Joan Marcus.
BROADWAY MAGAZINE – Marc Chagall did it. The MOMA respects it. You should visit it! In the sea of things to see in New York City, we hope that you will take a few hours to stop by The Museum of Modern Art and catch the drawing exhibit Stage Pictures: Drawing For Performance. With a combination of works from Fernand Léger, Edmond Jones, Robert Wilson, David Hockney, Marc Chagall, Jim Dine, Diego Rivera, Lincoln Kristein and many more, it is a must-see. The exhibition is on the third floor. Though it may not be grand in scale, it is significant. We’ve long felt that designers for the theatre deserve a greater place in the archives of the world’s museums. As the MOMA catalogue state “These works demonstrate how artists have used drawing strategies to, as one critic put it, “anticipate an event”: interpreting texts to create dramatic mises-en-scène, imagining bodies in space and motion, and manipulating illumination and shadow.”
If you want to catch the work of an innovative designer in action check out the mix of charming whimsy and meticulous detail in the Rock N Roll Oz design of Beowulf Boritt’s set for Broadway’s Rock Of Ages. For those who can’t make it to MOMA, check out the video and images from this interesting on-line exhibit of great designers. Image is Raoul Pène Du Bois set for Wonderful Town in 1953 from the Ohio Channel exhibit not from the MOMA exhibit.
Today our Broadway Magazine team shares snapshots from New York’s Metropolitan Opera red carpet. Kanye West is someone who probably would not be characterized as the typical opera goer. However, don’t judge the book by his cover as West was joined by several other stars such as Mary Kate Olsen and Brooke Shields. Click here to see the photos. Photos by Kambouris/WireImage.com.
Susan Lucci is admired by many. Being on ABC’s All My Children Lucci has earned the title of “Daytime’s leading lady” for playing Erica Kane. Lucci and other actors from daytime TV in the United State will be part of early benefit to help fight HIV/AIDS which has already raise over a million dollars. Click here or on the image to see what Lucci had to say about the benefit and Broadway.
Our Broadway Magazine team took some time to capture images around live performances today. However, it is not the traditional view of what an actual live performance is. While Broadway IS live performance, there is also a unique angle when Broadway stars interact with the community in a more intimate setting. Take a look at Rosie O’ Donnell, Liza Minelli, Kathleen Turner and Chita Rivera who all took some time to interact with the community latley.
(BROADWAY MAGAZINE) For those who love to laugh, today is a triumph. Broadway news is breaking that a stage musical version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller is on the way. At the same time, MTV has the Broadway scoop of the week…again! In a conversation with Jane Lynch, the actor let slip a bit of inside news. Apparently, Waiting For Guffman, one of the best comedies ever filmed may soon come to Broadway. According to the Jane Lynch in the interview, Christopher Guest is working on taking Guffman to Broadway…it would be the ultimate irony…and a great way to bring Guest’s talents to Broadway, where his gifts seem particularly suited.
As for Thrillerthe musical, Playbill reported that the coup goes to the Nederlanders, who have acquired the rights to produce the Michael Jackson musical. According to thrilled producer James L. Nederlander, “I love the idea of making ‘Thriller’ a musical. Girl meets boy, they fall in love, boy has big secret, now what…”
‘Now what’ or ’so what?’ said a smirking bystander.
No opening dates or creative teams for either show announced yet, but we’ll tell you as soon as we hear. In the meantime, over-excited fans are invited to bring their walkman to Soul of Shaolin during its closing week of performances and listen to Michael Jackson on their earphones while enjoying your My Dinner With Andre action figures. Or, if you want to be sure you’ll laugh, check out Avenue Quntil you hear more about Guffman and Thriller. Nothing ever happens on Mars…but something always happens on Broadway.
(BROADWAY MAGAZINE) With the opening of Soul Of Shaolin on Broadway this week, China has made its first official volley into the Broadway market. This special event show features a “new Kung-Fu story” that is built around an ancient martial art.
The story of a one-armed monk who rescues a baby abandoned during a village raid by hoodlums in ancient China may not give the Brits cause to worry…their pipeline to Broadway will not be threatened by China at this point.
Still, the new show does offer a unique experience for fans of Broadway, a singular experience that stands alone with its combination of the ancient cloaked in the external flash and spectacle that is the hallmark of Broadway.
With its unique blend of athletic skill, melodramatic narrative, and quiet confidence, Soul Of Shaolin is an aggressive and entertaining entry on the Broadway landscape.
What is most remarkable is that these are not stage effects, this flying is real. Very real. Ironically, the show is most effective when it is least “Broadway.”
We’d gladly put the “Soul” men up against Mary Poppins and her flying strings any day of the week…of course, she would never leave a child in the wilderness either.
Well, if Mary Poppins would take on the soaring monks of Soul of Shaolin, we predict it would be a tremendous hit on Broadway. Photo by Joan Marcus.
(BROADWAY MAGAZINE) It is official, Broadway director John Rando will be bringing the comic hit Toxic Avenger into New York following the successful run in New Jersey this fall. Given that the musical comes from Joe DiPietro, who created the long-running I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and is directed by Rando (Urinetown), the production has a monster good vibe. Music comes from Bon Jovi’s David Bryan, who will also be represented on Broadway when Rock Of Ages opens. 2009 could be a big year for Bon Jovi and Broadway. Toxie arrives in Off Broadway in NYC when performance start March 18 at New World Stages. Official opening on April 6. Welcome Toxie!
BROADWAY MAGAZINE—This is war…or anti-war…or something. Tonight, those crazy, love-loving kids from the hit revival of the revolutionary Broadway musical HAIR officially had their opening night. It was a big one, and the critics couldn’t have been more harmonious in their praise for the show. The result is that there is now a battle of two shows for the best musical revival nod…and we’re not talking about Guys and Dolls.
(BROADWAY MAGAZINE) For those who love to laugh, today is a triumph. Broadway news is breaking that a stage musical version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller is on the way. At the same time, MTV has the Broadway scoop of the week…again! In a conversation with Jane Lynch, the actor let slip a bit of inside news. Apparently, Waiting For Guffman, one of the best comedies ever filmed may soon come to Broadway. According to the Jane Lynch in the interview, Christopher Guest is working on taking Guffman to Broadway…it would be the ultimate irony…and a great way to bring Guest’s talents to Broadway, where his gifts seem particularly suited.
