TheatreScene: May 9 - 15

LOOK TO YOUR RIGHT FOR DETAILS ABOUT THE 1ST ANNUAL AWARDS THAT TONY FORGOT!  FINAL VOTING STARTS WEDNESDAY AT NOON EASTERN!

 

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WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS WEEK!

• May 9: REVIEW: Memphis (Film)
• May 10: LOGOS: War Horse
• May 11: 2011 Theatre World Awards
• May 12: Spider-Man 2.0: Return of the P.R. Machine
• May 13: The Art of James McMullan and the Logos of FRAVER
• May 14: Broadway on TV: The Pilot Season

 

TOPS AND BOTTOMS: MAY 2 - 8

• Top Gross: The Lion King ($1.6M)
• Top Attendance: The Book of Mormon (102.4%)
• Bottom Gross: Lombardi ($148K)
• Bottom Attendance: Born Yesterday (44.9%)
• $1M Club: Jersey Boys, The Book of Mormon, Wicked, The Lion King
• SRO Club: The Lion King, War Horse, The Book of Mormon

 

PREVIEWING THIS WEEK ON BROADWAY

• Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark - Previews from May 12; Opens June 14

 

BIRTHDAYS ON BROADWAY THIS WEEK!

• May 9: Composer/Lyricist Billy Joel (Movin' Out)
• May 10: Composer/Lyricist Bono (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark)
• May 11: Late Actress Natasha Richardson (Cabaret - revival)
• May 12: Actress Jennifer Damiano (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, next to normal)

• May 13: Late Actress Bea Arthur (Mame, Fiddler on the Roof)
• May 14: Actor Carlos Lopez (Grease! - 1994, Grand Hotel)
• May 15: Actor Cleavant Derricks (Dreamgirls - original cast, Brooklyn)

 

COMINGS AND GOINGS ON BROADWAY
Casting

• Broadway Impact, the grassroots organization of the theatre community and its fans, mobilizing in support of marriage equality, will participate in the May 15 NYC AIDS Walk.  Among those who will walk the more-than six miles through Central Park and the Upper West Side to help raise awareness and bring in much-needed funds for AIDS service organizations are co-founders Gavin Creel (Hair) and Rory O’Malley (Book of Mormon) along with Nick Adams, James Brown III, Keala Settle, Nathan Graham, Kyle Brown, Joshua Buscher (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), Alysha Umphress (American Idiot), Courtney Wolfson (The Addams Family), Hillary Elk (Memphis), Vanessa Ray (Hair), Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Brian Letendre, Tia Altinay (Mary Poppins) and David Gregory ("One Life to Live").
• Oprah Winfrey hopes to trod the boards soon after her talk show ends.  The Queen of All Media already has stage cred as a producer - Oprah Winfrey Presents The Color Purple - was once the official title.  She could sit on a bare stage and not utter a word for 2 hours and sell out the show.  Can you imagine two whole hours with Oprah keeping her trap shut?  I'd create a Tony Award just so she could have it and go away.  Far away.  I'm not a fan...
• Speaking of Queens of All Media, Barbra Streisand issued a public statement regarding her place in the history of the still non-existent film of The Normal Heart.  It is, perhaps, the most cogent, well-stated statement of its kind I have ever read.  Now why can't SHE want to come back to Broadway?

 

• Inspired!  Douglas Sills and Sarah Gettlefinger, hilarious both, with be Gomez and Morticia in the national tour of The Addams Family!

Shows

• [title of show] fans rejoice!  The whole gang (Heidi, Hunter, Susan, Jeff, Larry and Michael) is back with a new show they are developing: Now.  Here.  This.  I, for one, can't wait!
• The Motherfucker with the Hat will now play through July 17.  Fans of the ** can now use them for three extra weeks!

Milestones
May 9:

• The 2011 New York Drama Critics Circle Awards were announced: Best Play: Good People, Best Foreign Play: Jerusalem, and Best Musical: The Book of Mormon.  Special citations were given to the cast of The Normal Heart, actor Mark Rylance, and the puppetry of War Horse.

May 10:

• Wonderland announces it will close on May 15.
• It was announced today that Neil Patrick Harris will be the returning host to the 2011 Tony Awards on June 12!  He's terrific!  Let the Spider-Man jokes begin.  Again.

May 12:

• Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark 2.0 began previews today, with almost no hitches, and absolutely no injuries.  Happy Birthday, MJ!

 

• The revival of Godspell appears to be on track for a September opening at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.  Have $1,000?  Become a producer!

May 15:

• The winners of the 2011 Astaire Awards will be announced today.
• After 33 performances, Alice went down the hole one last time.  Wonderland closed at the unlucky Marquis Theatre.

 

HISTORIC BROADWAY OPENINGS (MAY 9 - 15)
May 9:
Three Tony-winning Best Musicals opened on this date:

• 1978: Ain't Misbehavin' opened at the Longacre Theatre and play three theatres before closing after 1,604 performances.
• 1982: Nine opened at the 46th Street Theatre and played 729 performances.

 

• 1994: Passion opened at the Plymouth Theatre and played 280 performances.

May 10:
Two Broadway flops opened on this date:

• 1994: The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public opened at the Lunt-Fontanne and ran for 16 performances.
• 2006: Tarzan opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre and lasted 486 performances, a low for Disney Theatricals.

May 11:

 

 

• 1994: Grease! opened at the Eugene O'Neill to lines even The Book of Mormon wishes it had.  It ran 1,505 performances, and starred just about every A, B and C list celebrity of the time.  It was an unwitting precursor to Dancing with the Stars.

May 12:

• 1988: Everyone's favorite "I-was-there-but-really-wasn't" flop, Carrie, opened on this date and ran for 5 performances at the Virginia Theatre.

May 13:

• 1954: The Pajama Game opened at the St. James Theatre on this date, and closed, after 1,063 performances, across the street at the Shubert Theatre.

 

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Jeff
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