Broadway Journal

SCOTT RUDIN TAGS DUSTIN HOFFMAN FOR POST-COVID ‘OUR TOWN’ REVIVAL (EXCLUSIVE)

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When the pandemic gives way to live performance, producer Scott Rudin plans to present an American classic about the gift of being alive.

Rudin is assembling cast and creatives for the first Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town  in nearly two decades, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. It’s to star Dustin Hoffman, whose last Broadway credit was The Merchant of Venice,  in 1989, the same year he won the second of his two Academy Awards, for Rain Man.  In 1984, he starred on Broadway as Willy Loman in a revival of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.Continue Reading

CUOMO ORDERS BROADWAY SHUTDOWN AS MAYOR PREDICTS ‘LONG BATTLE’

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Broadway will go dark for at least a month — its longest shutdown in modern times — as U.S. performing arts and professional sports screech to a halt in an attempt to limit the public health threat of the coronavirus pandemic.

With Broadway in the thick of its annual spate of openings to qualify for Tony Awards, sixteen new productions — including Six, scheduled to have opened tonight — must reset as all eligible theaters go dark. Most off-Broadway shows also close beginning tonight.Continue Reading

A NERD’S GUIDE TO THE 2019 TONY NOMINATIONS

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Santino Fontana & Lilli Cooper/Matthew Murphy

It’s been a few years since an old-fashioned mainstream comedy won best musical at the Tony Awards. Tootsie  could change that.

Its primary challenger appears to be the acclaimed New Orleans-infused folk opera Hadestown. But don’t count out the thriving Temptations musical, Ain’t Too Proud,  or the inclusive comedy The Prom.Continue Reading

LAVISH ‘DOLLY!’ EARNS MODEST RETURNS

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Photo: Julieta Cervantes

EXCLUSIVE: Investors in Scott Rudin’s celebrated revival of Hello, Dolly! have earned a profit of 5 percent, according to two people familiar with the production.

In a flop-filled business, recouping is considered the benchmark for success, and investors months ago earned back their money. The musical was the talk of the 2016-17 season, won four Tony Awards, and last week was the third-bestselling musical, behind Hamilton and The Lion King. For angels seeking prestige, glamour and the satisfaction of helping to create a revival worthy of the iconic, 1964 original, Dolly delivered and made them money.

Others, however, expected more from a production that’s grossed $126 million.Continue Reading

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