New York Musical Theatre Festival Tickets Go Onsale Tomorrow

Tickets for the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) go on sale tomorrow, September 1st. To learn about the musicals playing at the festival this year, and to purchase tickets, visit www.nymf.org. Now in its fourth year, NYMF has become a major event for the Broadway community, where New York theater fans get to see fresh new musicals and producers get to scout for shows. The festival has had numerous success stories, the two most significant so far being Off-Broadway hits Altar Boyz and [title of show].

Mamma Mia, It's a Movie!

With the excitement of the Hairspray movie come and gone (though not completely -- the film is still selling tickets), Broadway fans can now look to the future. There is Sweeney Todd coming to theaters in December, but for those looking for something a bit lighter, get ready for Summer 2008. That's when the movie version of the ABBA musical Mamma Mia, starring Meryl Streep (!) and Pierce Brosnan (among many others), opens. USA Today has a "First Look" at the movie musical here. If you still want to catch the show on Broadway before seeing it on the big screen, get your tickets now.

Lance Bass To Host Broadway On Broadway

Current star of Hairspray on Broadway, and former member of boy band phenomenon 'Nsync, Lance Bass will host the "Broadway on Broadway" outdoor concert in Times Square this year. The annual free event, which features performances by cast members from current and upcoming Broadway shows, will take place on September 16 at 11:30am.

U.S. National Tour of Chicago Closes

After 10 years on the road, the Broadway national tour of Chicago will end in San Diego on September 9. Meanwhile in New York, the Broadway production is still going strong. But even if you aren't in NYC, you still may have a chance to see Chicago in your own town because there are already plans to launch a new national tour of the musical in 2008.

To Kill a Mockingbird Takes the Stage

First it was a classic novel, then a classic film starring Gregory Peck, and now Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is becoming a play. The stage adaptation by Christopher Sergel will open at the Intiman Theatre in Seattle on September 19 and play through October 28. Patti Cohenour, who recently understudied the lead role in The Light in the Piazza on Broadway, headlines the cast.

Broadway Flea Market To Take Place September 23rd

The annual Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising flea market will be held on Sunday, September 23rd this year. Several Broadway luminaries will be taking part in the event, including Bernadette Peters, Vanessa Redgrave, and Brian Stokes Mitchell. The yearly event -- in which Broadway memorabilia is sold and Broadway stars sign autographs for fans -- takes place in Shubert Alley on West 44th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues.

The Year of Magical Thinking Closes

The Year of Magical Thinking, starring Vanessa Redgrave, is having its final Broadway performance this Sunday, August 25. The one-woman play is based on Joan Didion's recent memoir recounting the death of her husband and her daughter's illness.

Broadway Doc Coming to DVD

ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway, the recent documentary that covers the 2003-2004 Broadway season, will be released on DVD on October 16. The Dori Berinstein doc charts the progress of four Tony Award-nominated Broadway musicals -- Avenue Q, Caroline or Change, Taboo, and Wicked -- from pre-production all the way to Tony night.

Opening Night Out West

Two of the season's biggest Broadway shows are opening tonight -- just not on Broadway. The new Mel Brooks musical, Young Frankenstein, is opening in Seattle, where it is having its pre-Broadway tryout. Meanwhile in Denver, Disney's The Little Mermaid opens this evening as well. Out-of-town tryouts are common for Broadway-bound musicals as a way to fine tune the production before getting within earshot of merciless New York theatergoers. Frankenstein and Mermaid will have their official Broadway openings in November and December, respectively.

As You Like It On HBO Tonight

Kenneth Branagh, the actor/director behind accomplished film adaptations of Shakespeare classics like Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing, now brings his take on another of the Bard's romantic comedies to the small screen. As You Like It premieres tonight, August 21, on HBO. The movie stars such Broadway (and Hollywood) regulars as Kevin Kline, Alfred Molina, and Bryce Dallas Howard.

Grease Opens on Broadway

The new revival of the musical Grease opened on Broadway last night, and it looks like the reviews have (predictably) been largely negative. However, the critics -- and the rain -- couldn't dampen the spirits of the celebs who showed up on opening night, the enthusiastic audience, and the cast itself. nytix was there to record all the Broadway buzz, and soon we will have the footage up on our site. In the meantime, check out our stage door footage from the first Broadway preview performance of Grease here.

Broadway at the Movies

The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, which is the magazine's "Fall Movie Preview" special, has a couple items of interest for Broadway lovers. One of the featured films is Tim Burton's big screen adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim/Hugh Wheeler/Christopher Bond musical masterpiece Sweeney Todd, which stars Johnny Depp as the murderous barber. The other movie with a Broadway connection is the new film adaptation of Anthony Shaffer's mystery play Sleuth starring Jude Law, which is adapted by Harold Pinter and directed by Kenneth Branagh, stage veterans both.

Broadway Cast of A Raisin in the Sun Revival Reprise Roles For TV

The 2004 Broadway revival of Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun, headlined by Sean "Diddy" Combs, was not videotaped for posterity during its limited run, but it got the next best thing: A made-for-TV movie featuring the revival cast. Filmed in late 2006, this television version of the Broadway production will air on ABC on February 25, 2008. In addition to Combs, multiple Tony Award-winning Broadway favorite Audra McDonald and beloved stage and TV actress Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show) also star.

Final Bows for a Trio of Plays

This Sunday, August 19, is your last opportunity to see three star vehicles on Broadway. The first is Deuce, a play about two former tennis players played by Angela Lansbury and Marian Seldes. The second is Peter Morgan's Frost/Nixon, starring Frank Langella and Michael Sheen as former U.S. President Richard Nixon and British journalist David Frost, respectively. And the last is Old Acquaintance, a Broadway revival featuring the marvelous Harriet Harris and Margaret Colin.

Law & Order Star Coming to Broadway

S. Epatha Merkerson, who for many years has played the role of a sympathetic but no-nonsense New York City police chief on TV's Law & Order, will be coming to Broadway early next year. Merkerson will star in the Manhattan Theatre Club production of William Inge's play Come Back, Little Sheba. Performances begin at the Biltmore Theatre on January 3, 2008, with an official Broadway opening on January 24.

Broadway Divas Patti and Mandy Together Again!

Modern Broadway legends Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin are planning to do a series of concerts called An Evening with Patti Lupone & Mandy Patinkin. The pair gained fame on Broadway 25 years ago when they starred together as Eva Peron and Che Guevera in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's bio-musical Evita. So far the duo are planning to do their concert in Philadelphia and Palm Desert, California, but more dates are likely to follow.

Dirty Dancing Musical To Tour U.S.

The Dirty Dancing musical (bafflingly subtitled "The Classic Story on Stage") will finally be coming to America in September when it kicks off its U.S. national tour in Chicago. This musical version of the 1988 Patrick Swayze film premiered in Australia and is currently playing in London, but it appears that the producers preferred to bypass Broadway entirely and go straight for a tour. Not a bad idea considering that the sharp-tongued Broadway critics aren't too likely to give Dirty Dancing a warm welcome.

Tony Awards Nominating Committee Announced

The Tony Awards Nominating Committee for the 2007-2008 season, the people who will be in charge of seeing all of the Broadway shows and picking the best, has been announced. Among the many distinguished Broadway performers and theater professionals on the committee are producer Sue Frost, actress Joanna Gleason (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), actor Brian Stokes Mitchell (Ragtime), actress Phyllis Newman, playwright Lynn Nottage, actor Roger Rees, choreographer Donald Saddler, and theater writer Steven Suskin.

Finalists From Grease -- You're The One That I Want To Appear in NYMF Show

They didn't make it to Broadway, but they're close: Grease - You're the One That I Want finalists Austin Miller and Kate Rockwell will be in a new musical at the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) this autumn. Miller and Rockwell will star in Tully (in no particular order), which plays at The Sage Theater in midtown on selected dates in late September. For show tickets and other info, see www.tullymusical.com.

Cry-Baby Plans for Broadway Opening in April '08

The last time a John Waters movie was made into a musical, it made a tremendous splash on Broadway and went on to spawn a successful movie that is still raking in the bucks. So no doubt that the producers of Cry-Baby, the new musical based on Waters' 1990 movie of the same name, are hoping to meet with similar success. A send-up of old Elvis films and other "bad boy" flicks of the '50s, Cry-Baby starred Johnny Depp as a juvenile delinquent who falls for the classic good girl. The musical version, which has a book by Hairspray scribes Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell, is expected to start previews on Broadway in March 2008, with an April opening.

Fringe Festival Kicks Off Today

The 11th Annual New York International Fringe Festival starts today. The Off-Off Broadway festival, which features nearly 200 shows in numerous theaters (mostly downtown), is an explosion of off-beat shows ranging from experimental dance pieces to full-blown musicals. The madness goes until August 26, so the question is: How many shows can you see in 16 days?

15 Performances a Week?!?!

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! - The Musical, which was a holiday season hit during its Broadway engagement last year, is coming to Broadway again this Christmas for a limited run at the St. James Theatre. The 90-minute show based on the beloved Dr. Seuss book will play a staggering 15 performances (rather than the traditional eight-show Broadway schedule) each week from November 1st to January 6th.

Grease Opens in London

Broadway isn't the only place feeling the heat of greased lightin' right now. Tonight is the opening of the latest London revival of Grease, which, like the current Broadway production, cast its two leads with the help of a reality TV show. The viewers of British television show Grease Is the Word chose Danny Bayne and Susan McFadden to play Danny and Sandy in the London production. Maybe somebody should create a reality show that pits all of the winners of Grease reality shows against each other to see who comes out on top?

Are You Broadway's Biggest Fan?

Think you love Broadway more than anyone else? Then prove it! The three top entries in the "Are You Broadway's Biggest Fan?" competition will win a free trip to New York City and Broadway show tickets. And how do you show that you are Broadway's biggest fan? Make a 60-second video, submit it by August 19, and then the public will vote to decide the winners. The top three videos will be shown at the annual "Broadway on Broadway" concert in Times Square, which will be taking place on September 16. For all the details on the competition, check out www.broadwaysbiggestfan.com.

Stars Set To Appear in Broadway Cabaret Festival

Betty Buckley will headline the third annual Broadway Cabaret Festival, which will take place at New York's Town Hall October 19-21. Other Broadway stars and cabaret favorites taking part in the festival include Len Cariou, Judy Kuhn, Alan Campbell, and George S. Irving. For more information on the Broadway Cabaret Festival, including how to get tickets, see www.the-townhall-nyc.org.

The Dream Is Postponed

The first performance of Shakespeare in the Park's second offering, A Midsummer Night's Dream, is being postponed a day because director Daniel Sullivan was injured during rehearsals. So the first preview will now be on August 8, to give Sullivan a little extra time for recovery. Dream, which will have its official opening at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park on August 23, has a terrific cast of Broadway regulars, including Martha Plimpton, Jason Antoon, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Daniel Oreskes, Laila Robins, and Jay O. Sanders.

Grease Is the Word!

nytix was at the very first performance of the new Broadway revival of Grease, and fans of Max Crumm and Laura Osnes, the winners of NBC's reality TV show Grease - You're the One That I Want, will be happy to know that the young Broadway debutantes acquitted themselves nicely. With a naturally sweet demeanor and a lovely voice, Laura makes an ideal Sandy. Max still strikes one as ever-so-slightly miscast as leather-clad leader-of-the-pack Danny, but the kid is so confident and talented that he's a joy to watch perform.

As it opens with the guys and gals of Rydell High School crooning the seductively hip "Grease is the Word," this Kathleen Marshall-directed production of the perennial American favorite looks like it might finally put the "cool" back in Grease. But it doesn't take long before the show's inherent bubble gumminess starts to ooze out, and the fact that the storyline isn't always coherent doesn't help. However, in addition to Max and Laura, Marshall has assembled a strong cast that -- even in their first performance -- were full of energy and assurance and had no problem whatsoever revving up the audience. When these kids break into classics like "Summer Nights," "Greased Lightnin'," and "We Go Together," you can't help but get caught up in the fun.

To hear the audience, which undoubtedly was full of fans of the TV show, you would have thought it was a Beatles concert. The hooting, wild applause, and at times even screams (yes, screams!) made the show more than just another performance of a Broadway musical -- this show is an event. The official opening of Grease is not until August 19, so what kinks the production has will likely be ironed out. The fact remains that the show itself is far from the strongest in the musical theatre canon, but this production still makes it a silly good time.

Hairspray Sing-Along: The Next Best Thing To Being on Broadway

Starting tomorrow, Friday, August 3, select movie theaters across the country will be screening special "sing-along" prints of the Hairspray movie. To find out more about where you can take part in this interactive Hairspray experience, see the film's blog here.