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Tags: Broooaaadwaaaaaaay / Broadway Shows / Culture Travel / Hugh Jackman / Daniel Craig / Celeb Travel / Theatre Travel / → All Tags
Proof That Hugh Jackman And Daniel Craig Are Really On Broadway Together
Having trouble distinguishing between movies and plays? In a movie, the characters don't berate you if your cell phone goes off, as one Broadway audience member found out this week while watching Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig tread the boards together.
Jackman and Craig are currently starring in "A Steady Rain," a Chicago-imported drama about two cops who get into some off-duty trouble. Last Wednesday, they didn't even break accent (Jackman's is better, for the record) to call out an etiquette-challenged patron who didn't turn off a ringing cell phone (which proceeded to go off again). Thanks to TMZ, you can watch the video here, and we beg you, do not be that guy. Or, for that matter, the guy videotaping an entire show from his seat—this isn't U2 at Giants Stadium!
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Hugh Jackman And Daniel Craig On Broadway Makes For A Theatre-Crazy August
The glitz and the glamour of the Great White Way has dazzled many a visitor to New York CIty, but you want something... more. You don't mind seeing a little of the magic dissipated if it means you get a glimpse into what goes on when the show must go on. Prove you're not the average Playbill-collecting fan with these New York theater excursions:
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The Show Can't Go On: '9 To 5' Joins Musical Closures On Broadway
Now they can stay in their pajamas all day: The cast and crew of Broadway's movie-to-musical version of "9 to 5," cowritten by Dolly Parton, will be out of work by Labor Day as the poorly attended musical is scheduled to close. Based on the 1980 female-empowerment comedy costarring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, "9 to 5" opened April 30 but never found its audience, failing to break 70 percent capacity in the house this past week.
Our recessionary theory: A depressed job market has no place for fantasies about getting revenge on your sexist boss. After all, he could read your mind (or your tweets) and fire you, and then where would you be? More likely, the show's producers wildly overestimated the popularity of the movie (and Parton's drawing power when she's not onstage) when they sunk $14 million into the show; without marquee names either for Broadway or the movies—Allison Janney, we still love you—tourists steered clear.
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Recession Hits Disney as Broadway's 'Little Mermaid' To Close
The Mouse just couldn't mint that money fast enough: The Broadway production of "The Little Mermaid," one of three Disney shows currently running on the Great White Way, will close August 30 and seek its fortunes on a national tour.
"The Little Mermaid" opened in November 2007 after a very mixed out-of-town try-out in Denver and never gained the hearts and minds of critics, while its siblings were either mostly ignored ("Mary Poppins") or unduly celebrated ("The Lion King"). Stung by the stagehands' strike and widespread mockery of the production's use of rollerskates to make its actors "swim" about the stage, the show nonetheless outlasted box office predictions and as of last week was still at 85 percent capacity, while the critically acclaimed play "Mary Stuart" languished at 55.3 percent. (The second-last show in grosses, "Blithe Spirit," is closing this week.)
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Endless Tony Awards Honor Europeans, Hippies; 'Billy Elliot' and 'Hair' Triumph
Hippies, small children and unstable couples were probably not tuning into the Tony Awards last night, so why reward them? But this year's top Broadway honors managed to draw a decent television audience, give people still angry about Prop 8 something to cheer and piss off theatre connoisseurs as tales of economic woe and marital dysfunction took home major laurels.
Chipper '80s strike story "Billy Elliot" with songs by Sir Elton John (who appeared) was named best new musical, with its three teenage stars sharing the Best Actor statuette. (No, actually, they each got their own.) Best revival went to the '60s free-love musical "Hair," also known as the show at which baby-boomer parents are most likely to accidentally expose their children to nudity of both sexes.
Both host Neil Patrick Harris and presenter Will Ferrell made jokes about how high everyone in the cast was, but it was Public Theater director Oskar Eustis who got cheers for accepting with the words "Peace now, freedom now, equality now, and justice forever," pointing at his own wedding band (although he is straight).
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If You Could Only See One Broadway Musical Right Now, What Would It Be?
It's summer in New York and tourists are descending in droves, including us. Kind of. While we're here on a three-week tour to visit family in the Jerz, we've been spending quite a lot of time in the city. One thing we've yet to do however is see a Broadway musical.
As a kid, our school classes took regular field trips to NYC to take in Broadway shows and plays. (There are some advantages to growing up Bridge and Tunnel.) Later on in life, we worked in Times Square (not that kind of work) and we could see a show whenever we and our wallets felt like it. But now that we've moved away, seeing shows is not as easy as it once was. We're here for one more week and we can't decide which show to see. So we thought we'd ask you guys.
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Will Ferrell Brings Back Bush Impression in "You're Welcome America"
Jaunted's Ellen managed to score a ticket to the new Will Ferrell show on Broadway while it's still in previews. Here's her review.
One of the first entries on the blog at WhiteHouse.gov yesterday was President Barack Obama's call for "A National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation" on the occasion of his inauguration. As Will Ferrell took the stage last night at the Cort Theatre and, as former President George W. Bush, basked in what he mistook for enthusiasm about his two terms, we wondered if it was such a good idea to go back into the past.
Oh, there's time to heal later. "You're Welcome America" is a ribald wound-salter and, in terms of the Bush legacy, everything Oliver Stone's tepid "W." wasn't. The largely solo show incorporates several of Ferrell's "SNL" impersonations as Bush, including the classic brush-clearing moment, but sandwiches it in between acres of new material -- like a slideshow rundown of the Bush administration's co-conspirators, none of whom come out remotely well. (But if anyone's going to sue it'll be Condoleezza Rice.)
"You're Welcome America" isn't perfect -- the five or so transitions where Ferrell isn't onstage are a drag despite the antics of his pet Secret Service agent (Patrick Ferrell). But if you're a fan, it's definitely worth your while. After all, Ferrell rarely performs live; he made an exception for last year's Funny or Die Tour, but that played to Radio City-sized crowds. At the end of the night, we were really ready to put the Bush years behind us.
Currently in previews; opens February 5, running through March 15. Prices range from $61.50-$116.50. If you go for the cheap balcony seats, try to get in the first four rows so you'll be able to see the video screens.
Related Stories:
· Last Chance For Several Mainstage Hits This Month [Jaunted]
· Lest We Forget: Ferrell Keeps W. Onstage [NYTimes]
· Broadway coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Harvard Gazette]
Tags: Broooaaadwaaaaaaay / Broadway Shows / Katie Holmes / Jeremy Piven / Daniel Radcliffe / → All Tags
Last Chance For Several Mainstage Hits This Month
It's closin' time! New York visitors hoping to catch up on some recent Broadway hits better hurry up in this record month of shuttering shows.
Already in January, top earners like "Hairspray" and "Spamalot" and seasonal hits like "Slava's Snowshow" and "White Christmas" have closed their doors. This week, the much-TONY'd "Gypsy" and the Katie Holmes vehicle "All My Sons" joins them; next week, it's time for Best New Musical winner "Spring Awakening." Judging by last week's grosses, Best Play winner "August: Osage County," Daniel Radcliffe nudie pick "Equus" and Piven's folly "Speed-the-Plow" will be next.
On the bright side, now that you know these are not long for this world, you can stop by the new TKTS booth--now accepting credit cards for the insolvent!--in Times Square for some last-minute sales. Given flexibility, theater crazies might indeed find it to be the most wonderful time of the year after all.
Related Stories:
· All Together Now: A Month of Big Finales on Broadway [NYT]
· Jeremy Piven Flees Sinking Ship [Jaunted]
· Broadway coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: somethingstartedcrazy]
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Jeremy Piven Flees Sinking Ship
As show closings have rippled through the Great White Way this winter, one actor may have decided he's had enough. "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven got middling-to-good reviews in his role as a producer with a conscience in the revival of David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow," but Piven abruptly dropped out of the show this week, citing... high levels of mercury?
Was the travel show-making Piven really under doctor's orders to stop doing the show, for which he had signed a contract through February 22? Author Mamet apparently doesn't think so, joking to Variety that Piven "is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer." Producers are disappointed that Piven has been spotted partying around town and is chronically late to his own show--which would explain why the play started 20 minutes late when we attended.
"Speed-the-Plow" outlived the other Mamet revival on Broadway this fall, the doomed-before-it-started "American Buffalo" starring Cedric the Entertainer and Haley Joel Osment, but the loss of star power will undoubtedly hurt ticket sales. If you're holding tickets, you may be able to get a refund, but we'd actually urge you not to: **UPDATE 4:30PM** William H. Macy and TONY winner Norbert Leo Butz have stepped up to replace Piven through the run of the show. These guys may actually make better Mametians and more congenial sparring partners with costar Raul Esparza. (Macy, of course, cofounded a theater company with Mamet in N.Y.C.) Having seen the show back in the Pivenian days, we're considering seeing it again. Think of it as doing your bit for Broadway.
Related Stories:
· Piven Speeds Away from "Plow" [Variety]
· Star Power Boosts 2 Shows [Jaunted]
· A Journey of a Lifetime with Jeremy Piven [Jaunted]
· Broadway Shows coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: nyconstage.org]
Tags: Broooaaadwaaaaaaay / Celeb Travel / Katie Holmes / Suri Cruise / Naycation / → All Tags
Star Power Boosts 2 Shows
Katie Holmes carries daughter Suri Cruise out of their New York apartment en route to work on her Broadway show, "All My Sons." (Katie's, not Suri's.)
Theatre snobs who had doubts about Holmes' chops when she signed on to the Arthur Miller adaptation must have been disappointment when the producers announced Monday they had recouped their initial investment in the show. A hit! A palpable hit! That puts "All My Sons," financially speaking, ahead of other celeb vehicles like "Speed-the-Plow" (Jeremy Piven, Elisabeth Moss from "Mad Men") or "Equus" (Daniel Radcliffe) and blockbusters like "Young Frankenstein," which recently posted its closing notice. Not to mention shows whose planned Broadway debuts were canceled due to the recession like "Godspell" and "Brigadoon."
The other show that just announced it made bank, "The Seagull," also had star power on its side -- although the tabloid-scarce Kristin Scott Thomas and Peter Sarsgaard. Like "All My Sons," its limited run ends in January, which means Broadway may be asking for a bailout from its New York audience members when the year of the "naycation" takes hold. Our advice: Cast Nick Spangler, "Amazing Race" co-winner and current Off-Broadway actor, in your show. Can't lose.
Related Stories:
· Producers of Broadway's All My Sons Recoup Capitalization [Playbill.com]
· 9 reasons ’09 will be the year of the ‘naycation’ [MSNBC]
· Fantasticks Actor Is "Amazing Race" Winner [Playbill.com]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Just Jared]
