Mel Brooks Working on Blazing Saddles Musical

Mel Brooks, the comic filmmaker who has gone Broadway the last few years, says he is currently at work penning new songs for a Blazing Saddles musical. The 1974 parody of film Westerns starred Cleavon Little and Madeline Kahn, and it is generally considered to be one of Brooks' best movies. Mel Brooks went from a big screen funnyman to a Tony-winning Broadway sensation when the musical version of his film The Producers became a Broadway hit. But the follow-up, Young Frankenstein, was not as a big of a Broadway success and led some to speculate that Brooks would give up turning more of his movies into stage musicals. So far Blazing Saddles is very much in the early stages, with Brooks having only written two or three new songs, but time will tell if it eventually gallops its way onto Broadway.

The Addams Family Set Up House On Broadway

The Addams Family, a new musical based on the famed cartoons by Charles Addams, starts performances at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater on Broadway today. The show had a try-out in Chicago in late 2009 and brought in director Jerry Zaks to sharpen up the production. Is The Addams Family now ready to face Broadway? Audiences will decide tonight, and critics will decide on April 8, when the creepy and kooky musical has its official Broadway opening. The Addams Family stars Nathan Lane (The Producers) and Bebe Neuwirth (Chicago) as Gomez and Morticia Addams, Kevin Chamberlin as Uncle Fester, and Jackie Hoffman as Grandma, all members of a ghoulish but loving family of misfits who live in a haunted mansion. The musical has a book by Jersey Boys writers Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman and an original score by Andrew Lippa (Off-Broadway's The Wild Party).

Frank Wildhorn's Bonnie & Clyde Musical Bound For Broadway

Prolific composer Frank Wildhorn (Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde, The Civil War, and The Scarlet Pimpernel) has plans to bring his new musical Bonnie & Clyde to Broadway. Although no specific plans for the show's Broadway berth have been announced yet, Bonnie & Clyde will be produced at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in November, presumably to get the show in shape before coming to New York. The musical, which has lyrics by Don Black and a book by Ivan Menchell, is about the famed outlaws of the Depression-era and the score includes flavors of that time period.

South Pacific To Close On Broadway This Summer

Lincoln Center Theatre has announced that it will be closing its much-acclaimed Broadway revival of the classic Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II musical South Pacific on August 22nd. The Tony Award-winning production, which will have played more than 1,000 performances when it ends its run at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, was a tremendous hit for LCT and will live on as the national tour continues through 2011 (London and Australian productions are also in the works). South Pacific, which originally appeared on Broadway in 1949 and is based on James Michener's stories "Tales From the South Pacific," is about a Navy nurse who finds love with a French plantation owner during World War II. The current cast of the show features Laura Osnes (Broadway's Grease) as nurse Nellie Forbush and David Pittsinger as her love interest Emile de Becque.

New Showtime TV Series To Be About Creating a Broadway Musical

Variety has just reported that playwright and television writer Theresa Rebeck (Mauritius on Broadway, The Understudy Off-Broadway, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent on TV) will script the pilot for a new Showtime TV series about all the drama surrounding the creation of a new Broadway musical. The idea is that each season of the show will cover the development and creation of a fictional Broadway musical, culminating in a final episode where we see the musical in its entirety. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray) will write the songs for the series. Depending upon the success of the TV show, it is possible that the musical created in the show will even be developed for a live production on Broadway.

There's a Rainbow on the Great White Way

The brand new revival of the 1947 musical Finian's Rainbow opened on Broadway this evening. The production, which is playing an open run at the St. James Theatre, began as a part of the City Center Encores! series. Because of its success during that limited run, producers decided that they wanted to transfer it to Broadway. The Broadway production, re-imagined and expanded from the Encores! version, stars Tony Award winner Jim Norton (The Seafarer) as the title character and Christopher Fitzgerald (Young Frankenstein) as the leprechaun who chases him from old Ireland to America's Deep South. Also starring is Cheyenne Jackson (Xanadu), Kate Baldwin, Chuck Cooper, Terri White, and William Youmans. A whimsical, satirical, romantic romp, Finian's Rainbow has a score by Burton Lane and E.Y. Harburg that features songs such as "How Are Things In Glocca Morra?" and "Old Devil Moon".

Shrek Is Coming To Broadway In November 2008

One book and three successful film incarnations later, Shrek is finally hitting Broadway this Fall in the form of a stage musical. Shrek The Musical will premiere at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre in an engagement from August 14 to September 21 before arriving on Broadway in November. Directed by Jason Moore, Shrek has a book by playwright David Lindsay-Abaire and a score by Jeanine Tesori.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Xanadu Postpones Broadway Opening

Xanadu, the newest musical to hit Broadway, has had to postpone its opening due to the injury of lead actor James Carpinello. Starting June 22, Cheyenne Jackson (All Shook Up, Altar Boyz) will take over the role of Sonny until Carpinello heals. A new opening date has yet to be announced for Xanadu, which began Broadway previews on May 23.

In the Heights to Transfer to Broadway

The new musical In the Heights, an Off-Broadway favorite this year, will be transferring to Broadway in the coming season. Featuring a hybrid of hip hop and Latin rhythms, In the Heights tells the story of several inhabitants of the Manhattan neighborhood Washington Heights. The current Off-Broadway production at 37 Arts will close on July 15 so that authors Lin-Manuel Miranda (music/lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) can revise the show for a Broadway bow in the 2007-2008 season.

Addams Family To Become Broadway Musical

They're creepy and they're kooky, and soon they'll be on Broadway! Charles Addams' spooky cartoon family are going to become the subject of their own musical, which will have a book by Jersey Boys scribes Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice and a score by Andrew Lippa. Although Lippa wrote a few songs for another cartoon musical (the Broadway revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown), none of them seem like obvious choices. But no doubt director/designers Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch, the masterminds behind the super eerie Shockheaded Peter, will provide the darkly comic sensibility that the Addams Family requires. Currently the show is expected to arrive on Broadway during the 2009-2010 season.