Happy Anniversary, Avenue Q!

Avenue Q celebrates its fourth year on Broadway today. The Sesame Street-inspired musical comedy about twentysomething angst began Off-Broadway, but after rave reviews and lots of buzz, the show moved to the John Golden Theatre on Broadway and subsequently won the Tony Award for Best Musical.

Original Stars Return to Rent on Broadway

Rent-heads rejoice! Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, the actors who created Mark and Roger in the original Broadway production of Rent over 10 years ago, are returning to the Nederlander stage tonight to reprise their roles. Rapp and Pascal are expected to remain with the musical for a six-week run.

In the Heights Finds Broadway Home

The Off-Broadway hit In the Heights, which recently closed in preparation for a Broadway transfer, has just announced its opening date and theater. The vibrant musical, set in the New York neighborhood of Washington Heights, will start previews at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on February 14, with an official Broadway opening date of March 9, 2007.

Three Broadway Shows Close This Sunday

This weekend is your final opportunity to see three shows that will be having their final bow on Sunday, July 29. One of them, 110 in the Shade, was a limited run, so the closing was scheduled. Grey Gardens opened on Broadway this past season, after transferring from Off-Broadway, but was unfortunately not able to sell enough tickets to keep going. Beauty and the Beast, on the other hand, has had a smash run of 13 years - it was the first of the Disney-on-Broadway musicals, and will be closing to make way for Disney's latest, The Little Mermaid.

Grease Begins Performances on Broadway Tonight

Tonight, the new Broadway production of Grease will have its first official performance. Stars Max Crumm and Laura Osnes won the lead roles of Danny and Sandy on the reality TV series Grease - You're the One That I Want, which aired earlier this year.

A Good First Day for Hairspray

Hairspray made over $11 million at the box office on its opening day, beating out behemoth Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (though, just barely, losing the top spot to I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry). The reviews for the Hairspray movie have been outstanding, registering an impressive 94% positive review rate at RottenTomatoes.com. And thanks to all the publicity for the film, the Broadway show has been getting a big boost in attendance as well.

Hairspray (the movie) Opens Today!

It's always exciting when a Broadway musical is made into a film, especially since the age of the movie musical has long since passed. The Broadway community always holds its collective breath, waiting to find out whether or not the film will be well-received. Unfortunately the track record has been a little hit-or-miss lately. When Chicago won the Academy Award a few years ago, everybody was proclaiming that Hollywood musicals had made a comeback. However, The Producers and Rent movies didn't do very well, and even Dreamgirls was considered a little disappointing. So will the new film version of the musical Hairspray be the next Broadway-to-Hollywood smash? For that matter, will it be a creative success? Head to the movie theater this weekend and find out!

Guess Who's Coming to Broadway?

The 1967 Oscar-winning film Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? will be coming to Broadway in 2008 in a production directed by Kenny Leon and adapted for the stage by Todd Kreidler (from William Rose's screenplay). The movie starred Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as a married couple who are surprised to find that their daughter is marrying a black man, famously played by Sidney Poitier.

Legally Blonde CD Signing in Times Square on July 17

The cast and members of the creative team from the Broadway musical Legally Blonde will be at the Times Square Virgin Megastore (1540 Broadway at 45th Street) on July 17 for the official release of the show's original cast recording. The cast will perform a couple songs from the musical and will also sign copies of the CD. The event starts at 5pm, and the first 100 people in line will get a gift bag with items from Godiva, Elle Magazine, and more.

R&B Singer Brian McKnight To Join Chicago on Broadway

Following in a long line of celebrities from the world of popular music (Huey Lewis, Usher, etc.) who have taken on the role of lawyer Billy Flynn in Broadway's Chicago, R&B singer Brian McKnight will be joining the cast of the show on October 8. The role is currently being played by TV star Harry Hamlin.

Columbo Investigates Broadway

Yesterday in his New York Post column, Michael Riedel reported that TV detective Lt. Columbo may be bowing on Broadway in a new mystery soon. William Link, co-creator of the iconic character, has written a play called Columbo Takes the Rap, which was well received at the International Mystery Writers festival recently and is now expect to come to Broadway. Actor Norm Boucher has taken on the role of Columbo, which was played on TV so memorably by Peter Falk.

First Show of the New Broadway Season Opens to Raves

Xanadu, the first show of the 2007-2008 Broadway season, opened to mostly positive reviews on July 10. A musical that both celebrates and lampoons the camp film classic starring Olivia Newton-John, Xanadu had some setbacks during previews. The show's buzz was mixed, and its leading man, James Carpinello, was injured after only a few performances. But with a largely enthusiastic reaction from the Broadway critics, Xanadu may have a bright future on the Great White Way.

Claire Danes To Make Broadway Debut

Roundabout's upcoming Broadway revival of the George Bernard Shaw classic Pygmalion (which inspired the beloved musical My Fair Lady) will star Claire Danes as Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle. The production will begin performances on Broadway at the American Airlines Theatre on September 14.

London's Drowsy Chaperone Closes on August 4

The London production of The Drowsy Chaperone will close on August 4, after only a few months of performances. After it closes, star and co-creator Bob Martin will head to Toronto to kick of the North American tour, which will hopefully have better luck. Drowsy continues to delight audiences on Broadway, where it has been playing since May 2006.

Lance Bass To Join Hairspray on Broadway

Lance Bass, member of the now-defunct boy band 'N Sync, will be joining the Broadway cast of Hairspray on August 14. He will play the role of Corny Collins, the host of the TV dance show that is all the rage with Baltimore teens. Bass is just the latest in a long line of young music stars who have been making their Broadway debuts in Hairspray. Others include Tevin Campbell, Ashley Parker Angel, and Haylie Duff.

B'Way Stars To Appear at Broadway Barks! on July 14

The annual cat and dog adopt-a-thon known as Broadway Barks! will take place on Saturday, July 14, and packs of Broadway stars are scheduled to appear at the event.

Among the animal lovers on hand will be Bernadette Peters, Mary Tyler Moore, Angela Lansbury, Audra McDonald, Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna, David Hyde Pierce, Edward Hibbert, Debra Monk, Karen Ziemba, Jerry Mathers, Priscilla Lopez, Christine Ebersole, Maureen Moore, Cheyenne Jackson, Kerry Butler, Michael Cerveris, John Glover, Ashley Brown, Daniel Jenkins, Gavin Lee, Marin Mazzie, Charlotte D'Amboise and Michael Berresse, Christian Hoff, John Lloyd Young, Laura Belle Bundy, Orfeh, Andy Karl, and many many more. The adorable dogs Rufus and Bruiser from Legally Blonde will also appear.

Broadway Barks! will take place in midtown's Shubert Alley (between 44th and 45 Streets, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue) starting at 3:30PM on July 14. Pets from New York City animal shelters will be presented by celebrities from 5:30 to 6:30. The event, which is sponsored by the ASPCA and produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, will benefit NYC animal shelters and adoption agencies. (In case of rain, Broadway Barks! will be rescheduled on July 28.)

Grey Gardens To Close on Broadway July 29

Rumors have been flying all weekend, but it was finally confirmed today that Grey Gardens will end its Broadway run on July 29. The announcement comes on the heels of a press release stating that the 29th would be Tony winner Mary Louise Wilson's final performance in the musical, but now it appears that the show itself will have its final performance that day. The summer has been tough for Broadway, as it often is, but hopefully this will be the last unplanned closing for awhile.

Broadway's Company Goes From Stage to Screen

The Broadway revival of the Stephen Sondheim/George Furth musical Company closed today, but the production will live on. On June 30, both performances of the show were filmed so that the musical can be aired as a part of the "Great Performances" series on PBS. The air date has not yet been announced.