Way down in Hadestown, as the musical goes, the god of the underworld is stewing.
Married to Persephone for ages, he knows his wife is deeply unhappy and that she longs for the six months out of the year when she gets to “live it up on top” on Earth, bringing with her springtime. But hopelessly in love with her, Hades needs to figure out a way to keep her with him. Thus follows Broadway’s original musical Hadestown, which currently plays at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
Written by Anaïs Mitchell and directed by Rachel Chavkin, the musical intertwines the love story between Hades and Persephone with the romance of young lovers Orpheus and Eurydice. When Eurydice goes to the underworld, Orpheus will do anything to get her back, and so he travels to Hadestown on his quest for love.
While the stories of the quartet have been told for centuries in Greek (and Roman) mythology, actors Eva Noblezada, Reeve Carney, Amber Gray, Patrick Page, and André De Shields imbue Eurydice, Orpheus, Persephone, Hades, and Hermes, respectively, with a fresh take for the stage.
Shinbone Alley, the musical adaptation of Don Marquis’ archy and mehitabel stories, opened at the Broadway Theatre April 13, 1957, starring noted singer and actor Eartha Kitt. Featuring a book by Mel Brooks and Joe Darion, lyrics by Darion, and music by George Kleinsinger, the production played a six-week run before closing on May 25.
Shinbone Alley tells the story of a cockroach’s misadventures, particularly his love for a self-involved alley cat who has a series of unfortunate romances with other cats.
Flip through photos of the production below:
Production Photos: Life Sucks Off-Broadway
Production Photos: Life Sucks Off-Broadway
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Austin Pendleton and Nadia Bowers Russ Rowland
Barbara Kinglsey and Kimberly Chatterjee Russ Rowland
Jeff Biehl, Michael Schantz, and Stacey Linnartz Russ Rowland
Kimberly Chatterjee, Jeff Biehl, and Barbara Kingsley Russ Rowland
Kimberly Chatterjee, Michael Schantz, Stacey Linnartz, Austin Pendleton, Nadia Bowers, Barbara Kinglsey, and Jeff Biehl Russ Rowland
Kimberly Chatterjee and Nadia Bowers Russ Rowland
Michael Schantz and Jeff Biehl Russ Rowland
Following Shinbone Alley, Kitt would continue her Broadway career with celebrated turns in Timbuktu! in 1978 and The Wild Party in 2000, as well as thrive as a film actor, cabaret performer, and recording artist.
‘At its birth, Oklahoma was to its America what Hamilton has been to ours both an unexpected record-smashing box-office phenomenon and a reassuring portrait of our past that lifted up theatergoers at a time of great anxiety about the country’s future’. Frank Rich, New York Magazine
Lights up in Washington Heights As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the movie adaptation of the Tony-winning musical In the Heights has officially found its cast In honor of the occasion, we’ve getting to know the film’s residents of Washington Heights Check it all out below
Playbill Travel returns to France with Broadway on the Rhône River 2 April 7–14 with a host of unforgettable Broadway talent on board. Norm Lewis, Rebecca Luker, Marc Kudisch, Melissa, Errico, and Seth Rudetsky join Playbill Travel guests on a journey on the Rhône River, exploring some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world while enjoying the spectacular food and wine of the Rhône Valley.
Flip through photos of the cruise below:
Photos: A Look Inside Playbill’s Star-Studded Broadway on the Rhône River 2 Cruise
Check out the first official full-length trailer for Disney’s upcoming remake of The Lion King, featuring several familiar felines, voices, and musical refrains, above. (Watch the previous teaser trailer here.)
The look at the CGI take on the 1994 animated blockbuster shows us Simba as both cub and king, as well as such iconic scenes as the wildebeest stampede and Scar’s Elephant Graveyard. And be sure to watch until the very end to hear from your favorite meerkat and warthog duo.
The Jon Favreau-directed film, featuring Tony and Oscar winner Elton John’s songs from the original, is set to arrive in theatres July 19.
The all-star cast includes Donald Glover as Simba, James Earl Jones reprising his voice performance as Mufasa, Beyoncé as Nala, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, John Kani as Rafiki, John Oliver as Zazu, Billy Eichner as Timon, and Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, with Amy Sedaris as a new character written specifically for this adaptation.
The stage adaptation of the Disney title continues its Broadway run at the Minskoff Theatre, having celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2017.
1926 Actor-manager Henry Miller dies in New York at age 66. He acted opposite many of the leading ladies of the time, including Helena Modjeska. As a leading man with the Empire Stock Company he starred in many productions including Pasteur. In 1918 he opened his own theatre in New York City.
1928Mae West writes, stages, and stars in Diamond Lil. Lil helps a Salvation Army captain break up a white slavery ring. The salvationist is also a police captain. What next for Lil? There are 323 performances at the Royale Theatre on Broadway to find out.
1972 From the movie that made men turn into mush over Marilyn Monroe and made Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon turn into…women, comes the musical Sugar. The 1959 film Some Like It Hot, in which Monroe played a girl named Sugar, is remade for the stage with the help of Jule Styne and Bob Merrill. The show opens at the Majestic Theatre and plays 505 performances with Tony Roberts and Robert Morse donning dresses and Elaine Joyce in the title role.
1978 It started out as an intimate revue at the Manhattan Theatre Club, but Ain’t Misbehavin’ moves to a new home at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway. The evocation of Fats Waller‘s work and style wins the Tony Award for Best Musical, and runs into the next decade
2015Wolf Hall and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies, based on the Hilary Mantel history novels about the bloody reign of Henry VIII, open on at the Winter Garden Theatre. Titled Wolf Hall, Parts 1 and 2, the RSC production stars Ben Miles as Thomas Cromwell, Lydia Leonard as Anne Boleyn, and Nathaniel Parker as King Henry VIII.
2016Billy Elliot: The Musical closes at London’s Victoria Palace Theatre after an 11-year run. The Elton John–Lee Hall musical played 4,600 performances, during which it was seen by more than 5.25 million people.
