Brian d'Arcy James To Join Next To Normal on Broadway

Brian d'Arcy James will be rejoining the Tony Award winning musical Next To Normal, this time on Broadway. James originated the role of Dan Goodman in the Off-Broadway premiere of Next To Normal at Second Stage Theatre, but was unavailable when the show eventually went on to its Broadway production at the Booth Theatre. Now that he's no longer playing the title role in Shrek, and his limited run engagement in Time Stands Still has ended, Brian d'Arcy James is now free to succeed J. Robert Spencer (Jersey Boys) when he exits the show on May 16. James will start his run in the show the following day, May 17.

Broadway Star Sutton Foster To Go On Tour

Sutton Foster, the talented actress who has played lead roles in such Broadway shows as Thoroughly Modern Millie, Young Frankenstein, Shrek, and Little Women, will be hitting the road soon. She will be presenting An Evening with Sutton Foster at both big cities (Chicago, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Dallas, and San Francisco) and smaller towns as well (Midland, MI; Morristown, TN; Springfield, OH; and more). The concerts will feature Foster performing songs from her solo album Wish, as well as numbers from her Broadway shows.

Broadway Closings Now, Soon, and Postponed

As usual, today, the first Sunday after New Year's, brings a rash of New York show closings. Some are the limited-engagement holiday shows (Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Cirque du Soleil's Wintuk, and Irving Berlin's White Christmas) that will no longer have an audience with Christmas come and gone. Other closings are struggling Broadway shows (Shrek the Musical and Superior Donuts) that could no longer afford their running costs because of low ticket sales. Meanwhile, Ragtime, a Broadway musical revival that was just recently scheduled for the January 3 chopping block, received a last-minute extension to January 10. If ticket sales increase, perhaps it could receive yet another reprieve before next Sunday. It was also just announced that the Broadway musical revival Finian's Rainbow will be closing this month, on January 17.

Broadway Death Row: See Them While They Last

As always, January is a brutal month for Broadway, which unfortunately gets a chilly reception from the ticket-buying public. The tourists have all gone home following the December holiday season, and locals are staying in the warmth of their homes as they recover from the financial blow dealt by all that Christmas and Chanukah merriment. Knowing this, Broadway producers frequently decide in advance that they will close their more monetarily troubled shows in early January. This year, those doomed Broadway shows include Burn the Floor and The 39 Steps (closing January 10), and Shrek the Musical and Superior Donuts (closing January 3). The limited-run shows In the Next Room and Irving Berlin's White Christmas will also be shuttering in January. So if you have been dragging your feet on seeing any of these Broadway shows, be sure to get tickets while you can. Even these plays and musicals might not be discounting right over the Christmas holiday, but for most of them you can get good discounts on tickets for January performance dates.

Several Broadway Show Albums Nominated For Grammys

The Grammy Award nominations were announced yesterday, and the Best Musical Show Album category was almost entirely made up of Broadway musicals. The nominated show recordings were: Ain't Misbehavin' (30th anniversary cast recording featuring American Idol's Ruben Studdard and Frenchie Davis), Hair (Broadway revival cast album), 9 To 5 The Musical (featuring a score by country music superstar Dolly Parton), Shrek The Musical (Original Broadway cast recording), and West Side Story (new Broadway revival cast recording). If you want to hear what the fuss is about, three of the musicals - Hair, Shrek, and West Side Story - are still playing on Broadway. The winners of the Grammy for Best Show Album will be announced in January.

Shrek To Conclude Its Broadway Run In January

It's a hard life for an ogre on Broadway. Shrek, the new musical version of the book-turned-film franchise, has been struggling to bring in audiences since it opened to tepid reviews last season. You would think that the fact that the musical is both clever and family-friendly, and a much-needed alternative to Disney on Broadway, would have helped it, but apparently that was not enough - the show has announced that it will be closing up swamp on January 3, 2010. Based on William Steig's book, the Shrek musical starred Brian d'Arcy as grumpy green ogre Shrek, Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona, and Daniel Breaker as Donkey when it first opened at the Broadway Theatre last year. The show's book was written by playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole, Fuddy Meers) and features songs by Jeanine Tesori (Caroline, or Change, Thoroughly Modern Millie).

Shrek Starts Broadway Performances

The new stage musical version of Shrek starts performances on Broadway today. Brian d'Arcy James, who has been on Broadway in many shows including Titanic and Sweet Smell of Success, stars as Shrek himself, and Sutton Foster (most recently seen on Broadway in Young Frankenstein) plays Princess Fiona. The big green musical will have its official opening at the Broadway Theatre on December 14.

Cirque Dreams Closes On Broadway

Today is the last day of Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy's Broadway engagement at the Broadway Theatre. The limited run show will now continue a national tour that will take it to Texas next. As for the Broadway Theatre, its next tenant will be what is almost sure to be a giant Broadway hit, the new stage musical version of Shrek.

Casting For Broadway Shrek Announced

At last, after a long casting process, Broadway has its Shrek. Broadway and New York theater regular Brian d'Arcy James (Titanic, Sweet Smell of Success) will play the big green ogre -- presumably with some sort of fat suit and make-up, as James is neither large, nor green. Chester Gregory II (Cry-Baby, Tarzan, Hairspray) will play Donkey, the character voiced memorably by Eddie Murphy in the Shrek films. And John Tartaglia, best known for playing puppets Princeton and Rod in the original Off-Broadway and Broadway companies of Avenue Q, will be Pinocchio. As previously announced, Sutton Foster (currently on Broadway in Young Frankenstein) will play Princess Fiona.

Shrek Will Open At The Broadway Theatre On 12/14

The new Broadway musical version of Shrek has announced its official opening date and theater. Shrek will start preview performances at the Broadway Theatre (currently occupied by The Color Purple) on November 8, with a December 14 opening. So far, Young Frankenstein's Sutton Foster has been cast as princess Fiona and Broadway regular Christopher Sieber will be playing Lord Farquaad, but it is not yet known who will be playing Shrek himself.

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.