Broadway.Com Headlines

Newcomers Kyle Riabko and Alexandra Socha Land Leading Roles in Spring Awakening

Sat, 10 May 2008 22:20:31 GMT

Two Broadway newcomers will take on the lead roles in Spring Awakening later this month after original cast members Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele play their final performance in the Tony-winning musical on May 18. Canadian recording artist Kyle Riabko will assume the role of Melchior on May 23, with current ensemble member Alexandra Socha moving up to the role of Wendla on May 20.

"I am thrilled to be a...[read more]

Cast Member Adrian Bailey Injured Onstage at The Little Mermaid

Sat, 10 May 2008 22:14:02 GMT

The Little Mermaid cast member Adrian Bailey was injured prior to the start of the May 10 matinee performance of the musical. The actor fell through a trap door, falling 20 feet onto the stage. Bailey broke both wrists during the fall but was conscious and taken to Bellevue Hospital for evaluation, according to a press representative for the show.

Bailey, who appears in the ensemble of The Little Mermaid and...[read more]

New Musical Saved Postpones First Preview Performance

Fri, 09 May 2008 22:00:31 GMT

Previews for the Playwrights Horizons world premiere production of the new musical Saved have been postponed one night due to a longer than expected technical process. Previews will now begin on May 10 at 8pm at the Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage. Opening night is still set for June 3.

Saved features music and lyrics by Obie Award winner Michael Friedman with book and lyrics by two-time Olivier Award nominee...[read more]

John Altieri, Jersey Boys National Tour Player, Dead at 38

Thu, 08 May 2008 22:26:17 GMT

John Altieri, who played Bob Crew and other parts throughout the first national tour of Jersey Boys, died in Las Vegas on May 4. The cause was complications due to pneumonia. He was 38.

Born in Brockton, Massachusetts, Altieri performed in school plays before studying dramatic literature and acting at Duke University and UCLA, respectively. His regional credits include David Mamet's Romance with San Diego Rep and Long Beach Opera's The Threepenny Opera. He...[read more]

Tony Committee Makes Final Eligibility Decisions for 2007-2008 Season

Thu, 08 May 2008 21:56:23 GMT

The Tony Awards Administration Committee has released its fourth and final batch of decisions concerning eligibility of shows opening during the 2007-2008 Broadway season. Typically, actors who are billed above the title are considered in the leading acting categories, while below-the-title performers are featured. However, producers can campaign to go against such billing decisions, or the Tony committee itself can decide shift things around.

Below are highlights of the decisions, by...[read more]

Nominate the Best of Broadway for the 2008 Broadway.com Audience Awards

Thu, 08 May 2008 16:11:24 GMT

CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE!

In a season flooded with theater awards, Broadway.com is once again offering you a chance to be in control. We are turning to our readers to determine the nominees for the 9th Annual Broadway.com Audience Awards. Nominate your favorites in each category and later vote for the winners of this annual prize. Your last chance to nominate...[read more]

Whoopi Goldberg Will Host 2008 Tony Awards

Thu, 08 May 2008 15:32:23 GMT

Tony award winner Whoopi Goldberg has signed on as host for the 62nd annual Tony Awards, which will be broadcast live on June 15 from Radio City Music Hall. She made the announcement on May 8 on the The View, which she co-hosts on ABC. The Tonys are presented by the Broadway League and The American Theatre Wing.

"I'm very excited to be hosting the Tony Awards," Goldberg said in a statement. "I love Broadway and I'm thrilled to be doing anything for the first time. ...[read more]

Curtis Holbrook to Play Xanadu's Sonny in July

Wed, 07 May 2008 23:19:44 GMT

Curtis Holbrook, an original cast member of Xanadu, will return to the show on July 1 for a limited run in the leading role of Sonny. He will stay in the part through July 27 allowing star Cheyenne Jackson to take a break to star in the City Center Encores! staging of Damn Yankees.

Holbrook is currently in rehearsals for the off-Broadway musical Saved, which starts performances at Playwrights Horizons on...[read more]

The Sound and the Fury Extends Off-Broadway Through June 1

Wed, 07 May 2008 21:30:58 GMT

A stage version of William Faulkner's celebrated novel The Sound and the Fury, now playing at New York Theatre Workshop, has extended its run through June 1. The show, directed by John Collins amd created by Elevator Repair Service, opened to rave reviews on April 29.

The Sound and the Fury follows the fictional Compson family of Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi. A once noble clan descended from a Civil War hero, the family falls victim to racism, greed and selfishness,...[read more]

Opening Night Becomes Closing Night for New Musical Glory Days

Wed, 07 May 2008 20:50:01 GMT

Producers of the Broadway musical Glory Days have announced that the show played its final performance on opening night at the Circle in the Square. The youthful musical, which began performances on April 22, played 17 previews and one regular performance.

Glory Days transferred to Broadway after a successful run at the Signature Theatre of Virginia and was directed by Signature artistic director Eric Schaeffer. A coming-of-age story written by a pair of 23-year-olds, Nick...[read more]

Oh, Mother! Broadway's Best and Worst Moms

Wed, 07 May 2008 19:55:21 GMT

With that day looming once again, it's time to round up Broadway's best Moms…and the ones we mercifully did not grow up with!

Ahhh, Mother's Day. A day that triggers any number of emotions in any number of people, be it...[read more]

LuPone, Baranski, Busch & More to Present Drama League Awards

Wed, 07 May 2008 15:28:42 GMT

Christine Ebersole, Patti LuPone, Christine Baranski, Charles Busch, Sierra Boggess and James Snyder are among the presenters who will appear at the 74th annual Drama League Awards ceremony and luncheon on May 16, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel. The event will be hosted by Harvey Fierstein, librettist and star of A Catered Affair.

Ebersole, who was honored with the Drama League's Distinguished Performance Award in 2006 for Grey Gardens, will present this year's...[read more]

Megan Sikora Joins Carnegie Hall Show Boat; Casting Complete

Wed, 07 May 2008 14:58:31 GMT

Casting is complete for Carnegie Hall's gala benefit production of Show Boat on June 10, directed by Francesca Zambello. Joining previously announced stars Becky Ann Baker (Parthy Ann Hawks), Carolee Carmello (Julie LaVerne), Nathan Gunn (Gaylord Ravenal), Gavin Lee (Frank Schultz), Jonathan Hadary (Cap'n Andy), Alvy Powell (Joe) and Celena Shafer (Magnolia Hawks) will be Curtains star Megan Sikora as Ellie May Chipley (replacing previously announced Jessica Bogart),...[read more]

Robert Petkoff Joins Spamalot, Replacing Clay Aiken

Tue, 06 May 2008 15:36:22 GMT

Robert Petkoff is set to join the Broadway cast of Spamalot at the Shubert Theatre on May 6. Petkoff will play Sir Robin, a role he performed in the national tour of the Tony Award-winning musical, replacing the departing Clay Aiken.

Petkoff's Broadway credits include Fiddler on the Roof with Alfred Molina and Epic Proportions. He appeared with Judi Dench in the West End production of The Royal...[read more]

Broadway-Bound Brigadoon Sets Boston Dates

Tue, 06 May 2008 15:23:34 GMT
The previously announced Broadway-bound production of Brigadoon will have its world premiere at Boston's Colonial Theatre this fall. In preparation for a Spring 2009 opening in New York, the show will be mounted in Boston from October 14 to November 9, directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford. No casting has been announced.
One of Broadway's most fabled musicals,Brigadoon is the story of two disillusioned Americans on vacation in Scotland who wander into a...[read more]

Adding Machine Wins Four Lortel Awards, Including Best Musical

Tue, 06 May 2008 13:17:40 GMT
Adding Machine was the big winner at the 23rd annual Lucille Lortel Awards, which honor outstanding achievement off-Broadway, taking home prizes in four of the 14 competitive categories. The 2007-08 awards were presented on May 5 at the Union Square Theatre. A complete list of winners follows:
Outstanding Play:
Betrayed
By George Packer; produced by Culture Project
Outstanding Musical
Adding Machine
Original Music by Joshua...[read more]

Harry Connick Jr. Headed Back to Broadway in Nice Work If You Can Get It

Mon, 05 May 2008 21:37:32 GMT
Harry Connick Jr. will return to Broadway in a new Gershwin musical in March 2009. The show, titled Nice Work if You Can Get it, will reunite Connick with director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall, who guided him to a Tony-nominated star performance in the 2006 revival of The Pajama Game. Theater, preview and opening dates and additional casting will be announced at a later date.
Nice Work If You Can Get It will feature music and lyrics by the legendary team of George...[read more]

Broadway Grosses: Numbers Dip Across the Boards

Mon, 05 May 2008 21:20:45 GMT
It was a mediocre week on Broadway, as the hits stayed steady and the middle of the pack experienced some unhappy dips (November and Legally Blonde dropped more than $150,000 from the previous week's grosses, and several other shows were down more than $50,000 from the week before). Bucking the trend: South Pacific, which continued to do near-capacity business at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre, and Macbeth, also up from the week before at the...[read more]

Len, Asleep in Vinyl to Kick Off Second Stage's Uptown Series

Mon, 05 May 2008 20:11:50 GMT
Second Stage Theatre will kick off this summer's Uptown Series with the world premiere of Carly Mensch's Len, Asleep in Vinyl. Directed by Jackson Gay, the play will begin previews on May 13open June 2 at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre in the Upper West Side.
This dark comedy will feature Michael Cullen (Bus Stop), Daniel Eric Gold (subUrbia), Megan Ferguson (BOOM), Leslie Lyles (Ah, Wilderness!) and Dan McCabe (The Dear Boy).
In...[read more]

Backstory: The Young and Restless Broadway Journey of Glory Days

Mon, 05 May 2008 19:54:55 GMT
Growing up ain't easy: Fights happen, friends grow apart and everyone copes differently. Some people get angry. Some just move on. Nick Blaemire and James Gardiner, both 23, turned their youthful insights into a musical, Glory Days, which opens at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre on May 6 to cap off the 2007-08 season.
Musical Therapy
Until very recently, Maryland natives Blaemire and Gardiner...[read more]

Tony-Winning Costume Designer Alvin Colt Dies at 91

Mon, 05 May 2008 15:37:01 GMT
Alvin Colt, one of Broadway's most renowned and prolific costume designers, passed away in Manhattan on May 4. According to his niece, he was 91.
Born July 15, 1916, in Louisville, Kentucky, Colt attended Yale's school of design with the intention of becoming a set designer. After moving to New York, he worked a series of odd jobs in summer theater and ballet companies that sparked an interest in costuming.
In 1944, Colt's designs debuted on Broadway in the Leonard...[read more]

Backstory: How Boeing-Boeing Became a High-Flying Hit of a Sex Farce

Fri, 02 May 2008 22:37:18 GMT
"The Big Comedy of Nineteen-Sexty-Sex!" trumped the tagline for the swinging 1966 film version of Boeing-Boeing, the French sex farce that has been titillating and tickling audiences around the world for close to 50 years. It even holds the record for the most-performed French play in the world. Now that Marc Camoletti's comedy is back on Broadway, Broadway.com decided to figure out what it is about this play, centering on...[read more]

David Hyde Pierce and Sara Ramirez to Announce Tony Noms

Fri, 02 May 2008 20:09:25 GMT
Tony Award winners (and former Spamalot co-stars) David Hyde Pierce and Sara Ramirez are set to announce the 2008 Tony Award nominations. The pair will name the nominees live from The New York Public Library for Performing Arts at Lincoln Center on May 13.
Hyde Pierce, who is currently starring in Curtains, is famous for his Emmy-winning portrayal of Niles Crane on the long-running sitcom, Frasier. Ramirez, known for her role on TV's Grey's Anatomy,...[read more]

Jackson, Gasteyer and Graff Join Cast of Encores! Damn Yankees

Fri, 02 May 2008 16:30:37 GMT
Cheyenne Jackson, Ana Gasteyer and Randy Graff will join the previously announced Sean Hayes and Jane Krakowski in the Encores! production of Damn Yankee this summer. The show, directed by John Rando, begins previews on July 5 and is set to open on July 10 at City Center.
Damn Yankees has a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and is based on Wallop's novel...[read more]

Broadway.Com Headlines

Newcomers Kyle Riabko and Alexandra Socha Land Leading Roles in Spring Awakening

Cast Member Adrian Bailey Injured Onstage at The Little Mermaid

New Musical Saved Postpones First Preview Performance

John Altieri, Jersey Boys National Tour Player, Dead at 38

Tony Committee Makes Final Eligibility Decisions for 2007-2008 Season

Nominate the Best of Broadway for the 2008 Broadway.com Audience Awards

Whoopi Goldberg Will Host 2008 Tony Awards

Curtis Holbrook to Play Xanadu's Sonny in July

The Sound and the Fury Extends Off-Broadway Through June 1

Opening Night Becomes Closing Night for New Musical Glory Days

Oh, Mother! Broadway's Best and Worst Moms

LuPone, Baranski, Busch & More to Present Drama League Awards

Megan Sikora Joins Carnegie Hall Show Boat; Casting Complete

Robert Petkoff Joins Spamalot, Replacing Clay Aiken

Broadway-Bound Brigadoon Sets Boston Dates

Adding Machine Wins Four Lortel Awards, Including Best Musical

Harry Connick Jr. Headed Back to Broadway in Nice Work If You Can Get It

Broadway Grosses: Numbers Dip Across the Boards

Len, Asleep in Vinyl to Kick Off Second Stage's Uptown Series

Backstory: The Young and Restless Broadway Journey of Glory Days

Tony-Winning Costume Designer Alvin Colt Dies at 91

Backstory: How Boeing-Boeing Became a High-Flying Hit of a Sex Farce

David Hyde Pierce and Sara Ramirez to Announce Tony Noms

Jackson, Gasteyer and Graff Join Cast of Encores! Damn Yankees