Broadway Journal

‘SUCCESSION’ STAR CREATES IMMIGRANT COURTROOM DRAMA: INTERVIEW

February 1, 2019 by Philip Boroff

Arian Moayed/ Miguel Amortegui

Fans of HBO’s Succession  might be surprised that Stewy, the conniving cocaine-snorting private equity operator, is played by an emigré from Iran who co-founded a civic-minded theater company that teaches drama to public school students at New York’s Professional Performing Arts School. Its graduates have gone on to Juilliard and Yale.

The Courtroom  is the latest project by Arian Moayed and his company, Waterwell. Created from courtroom transcripts that Moayed edited,  the play concerns a recent Filipino immigrant named Elizabeth Keathley (Kristin Villanueva) who, while getting a driver’s license, illegally registers to vote at the behest of a careless government bureaucrat. Issued a voter registration card, she votes in a congressional election and faces deportation.Continue Reading

‘DO NOT WORK’: ACTORS’ EQUITY AUTHORIZES MINI STRIKE

January 7, 2019 by Philip Boroff

Actors’ Equity Association, which has been negotiating a new contract for play and musical development, authorized a strike today to halt collaboration in rehearsal rooms known as developmental labs.

Continue Reading

RECORD WEEK CAPS RECORD YEAR — WITH HIGHEST PRICES FOR LONG-RUNNING HITS (TABLE)

January 2, 2019 by Philip Boroff

Hamilton composer Lin-Manuel Miranda & director Thomas Kail/Tammy Shell

Broadway celebrated 2019 with a slew of milestones: highest-grossing week and year in history and best-attended week and year since at least 1984, according to the Broadway League.

Long-running shows such as Wicked  ($3.4 million), The Lion King  ($3.7 million) and Hamilton  ($4 million) recorded their best sales last week and charged their highest average prices, with tourists continuing to flock to Broadway’s biggest brands.

Hamilton,  whose composer-lyricist, Lin-Manuel Miranda, returns to the show next week for a short engagement in San Juan, Puerto Rico, became the first Broadway show to clear $4 million over eight performances.Continue Reading

FROM ‘REBECCA’ TO RUMPELMAYER’S: PRODUCER SEEKS INVESTORS FOR REVIVAL OF DINING ICON

December 19, 2018 by Philip Boroff

Sundae from Rumpelmayer’s video

EXCLUSIVE: Ben Sprecher raised and spent millions on a Broadway musical version of Rebecca  that never opened. For his next act, he wants to recreate an Old World family restaurant, updated for the Instagram age.

Will investors pick up the tab?

Continue Reading

‘CHER SHOW’ SHINES WITH STEPHANIE J. BLOCK: REVIEW

December 3, 2018 by Philip Boroff

Stephanie J. Block/Joan Marcus

Early in The Cher Show,  Sonny Bono reprimands Cher when she complains about the rigors of stardom.  “You bought the ticket; take the ride.”

The target audience at the Neil Simon Theatre is onboard.

Book writer Rick Elice (Jersey Boys),  director Jason Moore (Avenue Q) and choreographer Christopher Gattelli have created a celebratory jukebox musical that has energy and style. Continue Reading

BROADWAY HAS RICHEST THANKSGIVING IN HISTORY

November 26, 2018 by Philip Boroff

Broadway sold $43 million of tickets in the week ending on Sunday, up 10 percent from a year ago for its best Thanksgiving ever.

In an ugly week for stocks but fine one for tourism and premium pricing, most shows bounced, especially musicals that performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.Continue Reading

IN ‘THE NEW ONE,’ BIRBIGLIA TAKES HILARIOUS DEEP DIVE INTO POSTPARTUM AGGRESSION: REVIEW

November 12, 2018 by Philip Boroff

The New One/Joan Marcus

Mike Birbiglia likes lists. Early in his irresistible one-man comedy The New One, he cites seven reasons why he never wanted a child.

“Number 1: I’ve never felt like there should be more of me in the world.” That leads to a roundup of his horrific medical history, which includes a life-threatening sleep disorder, which he depicted in an earlier show, book and indie movie called Sleepwalk with Me.Continue Reading

LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA TO PRODUCE & OCCASIONALLY STAR IN HIP-HOP SHOW

October 30, 2018 by Philip Boroff

Lin-Manuel Miranda & Tommy Kail/Tammy Shell

With a top-ticket (so far) of $119, Lin-Manuel Miranda and three co-producers are mounting an engagement early next year of Freestyle Love Supreme,  the improv hip-hop group that the Hamilton  creator has performed in since 2004.

“There is nothing like a live hip-hop show that is improvised from the first moment til the final curtain,” Miranda said in a statement. Previews begin on Jan. 30 at the tiny Greenwich House Theater. That’s three days after a run of Hamilton  is scheduled to end in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which stars Miranda in the title role.  Continue Reading

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD NAMED FOR REVERED YALE DESIGNER (VIDEO)

October 29, 2018 by Philip Boroff

Ming Cho Lee & Jeffrey Eric Jenkins/Monica Simoes

The set designer and Yale professor Ming Cho Lee is officially synonymous with excellence in theatrical design.

Last week at the Palm West Side restaurant, Lee was recognized for lifetime achievement as part of the annual Henry Hewes Design Awards. Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, a professor of theatre at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and the Hewes Design chairman, announced that future lifetime achievers will be given an award named after Lee.Continue Reading

‘THE FERRYMAN’ IS GREAT FECKIN’ THEATER: REVIEW

October 22, 2018 by Philip Boroff

Laura Donnelly/Joan Marcus

Ninety minutes, no intermission has its appeal. But Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman, with two dozen actors, a rabbit, goose, and a real-life baby dramatizing plot lines that explosively coalesce, makes the case for epic drama.

As directed by Sam Mendes, it has more humor and vitality than one might expect from a play set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.Continue Reading

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