A Steady Rain Opens On Broadway

There's A Steady Rain on Broadway, of the theatrical kind. The new play by Keith Huff is opening at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, where it is scheduled to play a strictly limited engagement through December 6. Although Huff is undoubtedly a fine playwright, the fact is that the big draw of this two-person Chicago cop drama is that it features two major movie stars, Hugh Jackman (X-Men, Wolverine, Australia) and Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Layer Cake, The Golden Compass). Neither are new to the stage. Jackman's big breakout in the theater world was his role as Curly in a London revival of Oklahoma! in the late '90s, and he went on to win a Tony Award for his Broadway debut, the Peter Allen musical The Boy From Oz. Craig, known as the new James Bond on the big screen, did London stage work early in his career and was trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, but A Steady Rain marks his first appearance on Broadway.

New York Musical Theatre Festival Begins

It's NYMF-o-mania in midtown New York City starting today, as the New York Musical Theatre Festival kicks off its sixth year presenting a fresh slate featuring dozens of brand new musicals. The largest festival of its kind in the country, NYMF has quickly become the place to scope out new musicals. The festival always includes a wide range of productions, from spoofy type shows like Gay Bride of Frankenstein to more serious fare like the African-set Mo Faya. At the same time that the festival manages to give a platform to rising musical theater writers, it also attracts big name talent - as a result, many shows have already started selling out, so we'd advise looking into getting tickets sooner than later. In addition to the two dozen or so productions in the New York Musical Theatre Festival, there are also readings, concerts, and other special events that will appeal to musical theater fans. Find out more at www.nymf.org.

Broadway Flea Market Takes Over Shubert Alley Today

One of the most unique Broadway events of the year comes to Shubert Alley this Sunday, from 10am to approximately 6pm, and that is the annual Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction. A fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the flea market features two streets full of tables where the cast, crew, and staff of Broadway shows and theater-related organizations hawk their wares. These items include standard fare such as show posters, old Playbills, and merchandise like mugs and t-shirts. More coveted items include autographed memorabilia, props and costumes actually used onstage, and even baked goods made by cast members of Broadway shows. (Tip: Get there as soon as the flea market begins in the morning to get a shot at nabbing the best stuff.) A large number of Broadway and television celebrities will also be signing autographs throughout the day, but be prepared to wait in line for a little while. The highlight of the event occurs in the mid-afternoon when some of the flea market's most impressive items are auctioned off. The auctions typically include things like rare autographed posters, dinners with celebrities, and walk-ons for TV shows and Broadway shows. Shubert Alley is located in Times Square, between 44th and 45th streets, between 7th and 8th avenues.

Broadway Legend Tommy Tune To Be Named Landmark

New York City will be honoring one of Broadway's most renowned talents, Tommy Tune, in a rather unusual way on November 4. Tune will be designated as a "Living Landmark" by the New York Landmarks Conservancy, an organization that for over 35 years has been working to preserve the great architecture of New York. With the "Living Landmark" honor, the Conservancy has also been acknowledging some of the state's most distinguished human contributors (past honorees include Lauren Bacall, Harry Belafonte, Whoopi Goldberg, and more). A nine-time Tony Award winner, Tommy Tune is an actor, director, and choreographer whose work includes Broadway musicals such as Nine, My One & Only, Grand Hotel, and The Will Rogers Follies.

Bring It On To Become A Broadway Show

Bring It On: The Musical is now in the works. Set in the world of competitive cheerleading, the musical will have an all-star creative team, including composer Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights), bookwriter Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q), composer Tom Kitt (Next To Normal), lyricist Amanda Green (High Fidelity), and choreographer Andy Blankenbuhler (In the Heights). The 2000 film of the same name spawned a whole franchise, and it seems that those movies have served as the inspiration for the forthcoming Broadway show, though the musical will not be using the plots from any of those movies.

Memphis Begins Performances On Broadway

The new rock 'n' roll musical Memphis starts performances at Broadway's Shubert Theatre today, where it is scheduled for an official Broadway opening on October 19 and an open run. Set in the era when rock 'n' roll was just emerging, the show stars Montego Glover (whose credits include The Color Purple and Ragtime) as a black songstress who is having difficulty furthering her career because she can't break into segregated clubs. Chad Kimball (previously on Broadway in Lennon and Into the Woods) plays a white DJ who uses his radio station to bring her music to a broader audience. Memphis has a book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro (the man behind the Off-Broadway smash I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change) and music by Bon Jovi's David Bryan. The duo are currently represented Off-Broadway by a very different kind of musical, the New Jersey-set satire The Toxic Avenger.

Catherine-Zeta Jones Will Star In Broadway Revival of Night Music

Rumors have been flying about the upcoming Broadway revival of A Little Night Music for some time, but at last details are getting finalized, notably the production's star. Catherine Zeta-Jones (who showed off her musical skills in the film of Chicago) will play Desiree Armfeldt in the charming Hugh Wheeler/Stephen Sondheim musical, based on the Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night. Playing Madame Armfeldt will be legendary stage and screen star Angela Lansbury, who recently appeared on Broadway in Blithe Spirit. The production is scheduled to open at the Walter Kerr Theatre on December 13.

The 39 Steps To Close In January 2010

The producers of The 39 Steps announced today that the play will be ending its Broadway run in January 2010. It is rare that a Broadway play can manage to run even a year on Broadway, but when The 39 Steps closes, it will have spent two whole years on the Great White Way, making it the longest running Broadway play in several years. The four-person comedy, based on the Alfred Hitchcock thriller of the same name, played other cities before being produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company on Broadway in their American Airlines Theatre. Due to its success, The 39 Steps transferred to the Cort Theatre for an open run, and then transferred yet again to the Helen Hayes Theatre, where it's been playing since the beginning of this year. The Helen Hayes was recently taken over by Second Stage Theatre to be used for its productions.

Broadway Folks Clean Up At The Emmy Awards

Once again, some of Broadway's best talent proves that it can bring the goods to the screen as well as the stage. Wicked's Kristin Chenoweth was the first of the Broadway babies to nab an Emmy, winning the Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series award for her role in Pushing Daisies - an impressive win, considering the show was canceled last year. Not long after, Toni Collette (Broadway's The Wild Party) took Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for United States of Tara. A particularly unexpected win came for Ken Howard, whose best-remembered musical role is probably as Thomas Jefferson in the film version of 1776 - he took an Emmy for Supporting Actor in the TV movie Grey Gardens (not to be confused with the Broadway musical version). Later in the evening, Michael Emerson (Off-Broadway's Gross Indecency) won Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work on ABC's Lost, followed by Cherry Jones (Broadway's Doubt, Faith Healer, and much more) winning Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role in 24. And kudos have to go to the excellent Emmy emcee himself, Neil Patrick Harris, who Broadway fans have seen in such shows as Proof and Assassins.

Regina Spektor To Write Music For Grimm Broadway Show

Regina Spektor, the alternative folk-rock songwriter that has been a darling of the music scene of late, is going to be writing the music for a new Broadway musical called Beauty. Based on the Grimm's fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty (also well-known from the Disney animated film version), Beauty will have lyrics by Michael Korie (Grey Gardens) and book/direction by Tina Landau, whose 2002 one-act play is the basis for the new musical. The production team is hoping to bring Beauty to Broadway in the 2011-2012 season.

Phantom of the Opera Hits Major Broadway Milestone

The Phantom of the Opera, Broadway's longest running musical, hits a major milestone tomorrow when it has its 9,000th performance at the Thursday night performance. This makes The Phantom of the Opera the first Broadway show ever to play 9,000 performances, a pretty stunning achievement. The history-making performance was actually celebrated today following the matinee in a special curtain call presentation. Phantom opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre in 1988 and was an immediate smash hit, but nobody could have imagined that the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical would still be running over 20 years later. Now in its 22nd year, the show continues drawing both Broadway newcomers and fans who enjoy seeing the musical again and again.

Despite Troubles, Spiderman Musical Still Selling Tickets

The last few months have been trying times for the people behind the new Spider-man Turn Off the Dark musical. Delays, major money woes, and work stoppages have plagued the highly anticipated Broadway production directed by Julie Taymor (The Lion King). However, optimistic fans take note - tickets are nonetheless still on sale for Spiderman through Ticketmaster. The show is still in the midst of its AmEx presale period, so you do have to have an American Express card to purchase tickets. You don't, however, have to have a presale password to get the tickets. For American Express Premium or American Express Preferred seats you do have to have a password, but providing you don't have your heart set on either of those options, you can still get regular tickets. Just go to Ticketmaster, search for Spider-man Turn Off the Dark to find the Spiderman page, request the number of tickets you want, and then when you get to the pay page, you'll see that the only type of credit card you are allowed to select is American Express, so make sure you or a willing friend or family member has one on hand that you can use. Though there is still some doubt that the Spiderman musical (with a score penned by U2's Bono and The Edge) will actually open on Broadway, assuming that the production does open at the Hilton Theatre in early 2010 as currently planned, it will likely be the hot ticket of the spring. In which case it may be advantageous to have your tickets in advance. In the event that the production is ultimately canceled, Ticketmaster will issue refunds to Spiderman ticket holders.

Avenue Q To Return To Off-Broadway!

It appears that we may have eulogized Avenue Q too soon. At the closing performance at the John Golden Theatre on September 13, the show's producers announced that though the beloved puppet musical may be leaving Broadway, it won't be leaving New York City. The show will re-open on October 9 at the Off-Broadway theater complex New World Stages. So Avenue Q fans need only walk five blocks north to see their favorite Sesame Street-inspired satirical musical now. This kind of move, taking a show from Broadway to Off-Broadway, is highly unusual, but actually makes a lot of sense for this particular show. Avenue Q already proved that it can do well Off-Broadway with its pre-Broadway Vineyard Theatre run, and even the long-running Broadway production never completely ran out of steam - the show still has many fans and still draws a fair number of tourists. Moving Avenue Q to a smaller Off-Broadway space, which will be easier to fill and likely has far cheaper rent, could be a very smart, innovative move. It will be interesting to see if any other smaller Broadway shows might try the same strategy in the future. Casting for the Off-Broadway production has not been announced yet, but tickets are already on sale.

Avenue Q Ends Lengthy Broadway Run Today

The little show that could, Avenue Q, finally ran out of steam today, ending its six-year Broadway run at the John Golden Theatre today. Although the puppet musical eventually succumbed to the lowering ticket sales that inevitably bedevil most long-running shows, it remains a great Broadway success story. The modest one-set musical comedy began with a hit run at Off-Broadway's Vineyard Theatre, surprising many when it made the move to Broadway in 2003. Naysayers didn't think that a hip and snarky little musical like Avenue Q, which is a kind of satirical post-college take on Sesame Street, would fit in on big-and-glittery Broadway. But the show won over audiences of all ages, who were too busy laughing at songs like "If You Were Gay" and "The Internet Is For Porn" to be concerned about the fact that it didn't have big sets or big stars. Empowered by its popularity, Avenue Q launched a major campaign to win the Best Musical Tony Award, and it ultimately nabbed the trophy, beating mega-musical Wicked. At its closing, Avenue Q played over 2,500 performances for Broadway audiences.

Jude Law Returns To Broadway In Hamlet

The new production of Hamlet starring Jude Law began performances at the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway this evening. The Donmar Warehouse production, directed by Michael Grandage, enjoyed sold-out runs in London's West End and at Kronberg Castle in Elsinore (where the legendary Shakespearean tragedy takes place) earlier this year. This Broadway run will be a limited engagement playing through December 6, so Jude Law fans had best get their tickets before they sell out. This production of Hamlet marks Law's first time on Broadway since he appeared in Indiscretions in 1995 (a role that earned him a Tony nod). Though he is no stranger to the stage, Law is best known as an international movie star, with notable films including The Talented Mr. Ripley, Alfie, Cold Mountain, and the upcoming Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes movie.

Bye Bye Birdie Begins Broadway Performances

There are a lot of firsts happening on West 43rd Street tonight. This evening will mark the first Broadway performance of the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of Bye Bye Birdie. It will also mark the first time that the classic 1960 musical about an Elvis-style rocker has had a Broadway revival, which is quite surprising given that Bye Bye Birdie has become such a mainstay at regional theaters and high schools everywhere. And then there's the theater itself. Tonight's show will be the first public performance given at the newly refurbished Henry Miller's Theatre, which hasn't been in use for many years. Furthermore, it will mark the opening of Roundabout's third Broadway home - up until now, Roundabout has merely had two Broadway theaters for its productions, the American Airlines Theatre and Studio 54. This production of Bye Bye Birdie stars John Stamos, Gina Gershon, Allie Trimm, and Bill Irwin, and is scheduled to run until January 10, 2010. The show's official Broadway opening at Henry Miller's Theatre will be on October 15.

The Jersey Boys Drop By America's Got Talent

Check out the TV show America's Got Talent tonight on NBC and see a performance by the leads in the Las Vegas company of the smash hit Broadway musical Jersey Boys. Deven May (Bat Boy: The Musical), Rick Faugno, Erich Bergen, and Jeffrey Leibow, who play '60s pop group Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, will perform a medley of songs from the musical on the latest episode of the popular television talent show, which is hosted by Nick Cannon and features celebrity judges David Hasselhoff, Piers Morgan, and Sharon Osbourne. "Sherry," "Walk Like a Man," Big Girls Don't Cry," "Oh, What a Night," and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" are just a few of the memorable Frankie Valli/Four Seasons hits featured in Jersey Boys, which the medley is likely to include.

9 To 5 Musical Closes on Broadway

9 To 5, the musical version of the 1980 film starring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin, closed at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway today. With a book by Patricia Resnick, 9 To 5 featured a brand new slate of songs written by Dolly Parton, along with Parton's hit title song for the movie. The Joe Mantello-directed musical comedy starred Allison Janney (The West Wing), Stephanie J. Block, Meg Hilty (in the Parton role), and Marc Kudisch as their sexist pig boss. Despite having a known title, a big screen star in the cast, and the talents of Dolly Parton, 9 To 5 scored low with the critics and didn't manage to get a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical. Audience reaction was more positive, but not enough to keep the show alive on Broadway for more than five months. However, a tour is being planned.

Tyler Perry To Take Shange's Play To Film

Variety has reported that Tyler Perry (creator of numerous stage, television, and film properties, many featuring his famous "Madea" character, as well as the upcoming film I Can Do Bad All By Myself) will be writing, directing, and producing a film version of Ntozake Shange's "choreo-poem" play for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf. The 1975 play, which was supposed to have a Broadway revival starring India.Arie last season (later postponed), is a series of poetic monologues from black women about everything from love and youth to abuse and abandonment.

Angels In America Coming Back to New York

Considered one of the defining American plays of the late 20th century, Tony Kushner's two-part Angels in America (Part I: Millennium Approaches, Part II: Perestroika) is returning to the New York City professional theater scene for the first time since it closed on Broadway in 1994. The new production will be among the Off-Broadway Signature Theatre Company's 2010-2011 season, which will honor Kushner by staging an entire season of his work. Although Angels in America hasn't been seen in New York City in 15 years, the play is produced regularly around the country and was also seen by a wider audience when it was made into a television movie in 2003 with an all-star cast including Meryl Streep.

Cate Blanchett Sustains Minor Injury Onstage

Australian actress Cate Blanchett, currently playing Southern Belle Blanche DuBois in the Sydney Theatre Company production of A Streetcar Named Desire, literally stopped the show on September 2nd following an onstage injury. During a fight scene with actor Joel Edgerton (playing Stanley Kowalski), Blanchett was accidentally hit by a prop radio. Though she continued with the scene, her head was bleeding and shortly thereafter the performance was stopped and the audience was asked to leave. Fortunately the injury was minor and Blanchett is fine - performances of the Tennessee Williams play are set to resume tomorrow. Although Cate Blanchett has plenty of stage experience, the beautiful actress is perhaps best known for her work in films such as Elizabeth, The Lord of the Rings, I'm Not There (in which she played an incarnation of Bob Dylan), and The Aviator, for which she won an Academy Award playing Katharine Hepburn.

More Happenings in Spider-ville

At the risk of becoming the All Spiderman News Network, we feel we must report on a couple of the latest developments of the ongoing saga of the Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark musical that is supposed to be coming to Broadway in February 2010. The latest news came on Monday when it was announced that Disney is buying out Marvel Entertainment - a very intriguing development considering that Marvel owns the Spider-man brand, and Disney is no stranger to success on Broadway (furthermore, Disney has a pre-existing relationship with Spiderman director Julie Taymor, who also helmed The Lion King on Broadway). The announcement immediately started tongues wagging that perhaps Disney will be able to solve Spiderman's financial woes, which necessitated work stoppage on the production earlier last month. Then today the New York Times reported that work is set to resume at Spidey's home, the Hilton Theatre, tomorrow. The Times cautioned that it is only "modest" construction that is resuming, and not to be taken as a sign that Spiderman is out of trouble yet. Reportedly the show's performers were already told in August that the production may be canceled, so Spiderman the musical's fate is still in the air.