Meet The Cast Currently Defying Gravity In WICKED On Broadway!
Meet the Oz-some current cast of Wicked on Broadway
6 Ways to Get Tickets to Broadway’s Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge! The Musical is the latest Broadway show to become an unofficial member of the “tough ticket” club. Since officially opening July 25 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, audiences have been clamoring for the chance to the stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s hit film, directed by Alex Timbers. Full-price tickets are available for purchase at the theatre box office and online via Ticketmaster and Ticketmaster re-sale (which are verified as legitimate tickets). Tickets are currently on sale for performances through July 5, 2020. Because of its popularity, the show is unlikely to appear on the boards of the TKTS booth run by TDF, or as part of TDF’s membership discount tickets. But there are a few other clever ways to score tickets to the spectacular:
ENTER THE DIGITAL LOTTERY
If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to see this opulent extravaganza, the lottery is your best bet. Enter the online lottery via Lucky Seat; this is the same platform used by Broadway’s Mean Girls, Frozen, Hadestown, Hamilton, and The Book of Mormon. If you’ve entered lotteries for any of these other shows, use the same account. Sign-up for an account is free. You’ll only pay if you win tickets through the lottery and wish to purchase them. Interested entrants can submit for online drawings for up to two tickets for the upcoming week of shows. Entries close at 11 AM ET the day before the performance. You will be notified at 12PM ET the day before the performance. If you are a winner, you have until 4 PM ET the day before the performance to purchase the tickets online. Tickets are $34.
STAND BACK
When the performance is sold out, Moulin Rouge! offers Standing Room Only tickets for $50 each. The box office sells these on a first-come, first-serve basis at the theatre box office. Standing spots are located at the back of the orchestra of the theatre, and you will have to stand for the duration of the show, but you’ll also have a great wide view of the full Moulin Rouge.
READ: Broadway Rush, Lottery, and Standing Room Only Policies
DONATE TO BROADWAY CARES/EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS
Broadway Cares is one of the country’s leading industry-based non-profit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations, and one of the best-known charities in the theatre industry. You may have heard of Broadway Cares during the big fall and spring fundraising seasons, when the casts of Broadway shows and national touring companies compete to see which show can raise the most money for the cause. Cast members collect donations in their signature red buckets and auction off signed Playbills, posters and more to raise money. The winning shows are crowned in the fall at the annual Red Bucket Follies and in the spring at the annual Easter Bonnet Competition. Broadway Cares runs a program called Care-Tix. Through the program, supporters can get house seats to Moulin Rouge!. Care-Tix has dedicated seats to every performance of the production. To make a house seat request, click here. Not only do you get to see the show and donate to a worthy cause, Care-Tix operates like any other high level concierge service with customer service reps providing tailored assistance.
BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ACTORS FUND
The Actors Fund is a national organization that provides social services for those working in the performing arts and entertainment industry.By becoming a member of The Actors Fund at the $100 level and up, you can gain access to their house seat program. For every performance of every commercial production on Broadway, two pairs of house seats are reserved for The Actors Fund to sell at cost plus an additional tax deductible donation. This long-standing arrangement (started by Hal Prince) between theater owners, producers and The Actors Fund means that our members have access to purchase hard-to-get tickets in prime locations with the added benefit of supporting the performing arts and entertainment community. At the $100 level, members can purchase two house seats once a year (higher membership levels offer more access). With a $100 membership, you can purchase a house seat to Moulin Rouge! for face value and an additional $100 tax deductible donation. The total single ticket cost (not inclusive of membership fees) typically ranges from $299–349, though prices are subject to change based on the box office.
TRY THE CANCELLATION LINE
At times, there are people who bought tickets in advance and (for one reason or another) can no longer use them, so they return their seats to the box office. These tickets are then available for purchase at the theatre box office. This is for last-minute availability only for day-of performances. It is a first-come, first-serve system—and there is no guarantee that tickets will be available. But it’s worth the ask. Tickets are sold at face value.
USE YOUR MASTERCARD
Moulin Rouge! has a partnership with MasterCard. Limited seats are available at each performance specifically for MasterCard holders. Find offers for cardholders on the Mastercard offer page on Ticketmaster and via MasterCard’s own channels.
Production Photos: Moulin Rouge! on Broadway
BWW Flashback: WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME Will Take Final Broadway Bow Today
As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the two-time Tony Award-nominated, Pulitzer Prize Finalist, and Obie Award-winning Best New American Play What the Constitution Means to Me will play its final Broadway performance today,August 24th at the Helen Hayes Theater.
Inside Pip’s Island—the New Immersive Theatre Experience for Kids
Set in a 15,000-square-foot, custom-built space in Times Square is Pip’s Island. The completely original theatrical experience transferred from its temporary home at Skylight Modern in Chelsea, to the massive $20 million theatre-set-meets-playground this past May—and has quickly become go-to theatre for families.
While celebrities such as Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, Cynthia Nixon, Megyn Kelly, and more have brought their families, Pip’s Island has welcomed hundreds of “explorers” with a thirst for immersive theatre.
READ: 14 Broadway Shows Great for Families
On Pip’s Island, explorers must travel through nine regions—from the woodland to the deep sea to the polar range—to save the land from the villainous Joules Volter, who has taken over the island’s energy source: the lighthouse. In every room, adventurers must perform a task that will ultimately lead them to conquer Volter and rescue the day. “During the experience, kids are asked to steer Pebble’s flying ship by wrangling handles and levers, decorate faux cakes in Grumble’s bakery, and find hidden crystals to activate a transmission device,” says Rania Ajami, one of the founders who conceived of Pip’s Island.
And though Pip’s Island shares the scale and imagination of a children’s museum, the original story and actors who bring it to life elevate the experience to a new type of children’s theatre. The settings combine live performance, puppets, animation, and objectives to conquer in this vibrant, sensory world conceived by brother-sister duo Rania and Rami Ajami. Designed for kids ages four to 10, the hour-long journey is a transportive one.
“At Pip’s Island, children are not simply being told a story, but they are active participants in the narrative,” says Ajami. “Unlike children’s museums and traditional theatre experiences, Pip’s Island takes you on a live adventure. Children step inside the story and go on an expedition through a magical world.”
Here, creative director Walter Krudop takes us inside the Meadow of Pip’s Island with secrets behind the innovative design.
Dear Evan Hansen Star Ann Sanders’ 6 Most Memorable Nights Onstage
On August 6 the Broadway production of the Tony-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen welcomed Ann Sanders to the company at the Music Box Theatre, where she succeeded original cast member Jennifer Laura Thompson in the role of Cynthia Murphy. Sanders, who was most recently seen as Queen Iduna in Disney’s Frozen, is scheduled to continue in the part through October 20. The actor, whose Broadway credits also include If/Then, Leap of Faith, and Avenue Q, has the distinction of being the first Asian-American performer to play Anna Leonowens in The King and I and Belle in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway.
We recently asked Sanders to pen a list of her most memorable nights in the theatre; her responses follow.
Beauty and the Beast
My whole introduction to the New York theatre community started with Beauty and the Beast. It was the first Broadway show I saw, and later I was able to make my Broadway debut in the show. There were lots of shenanigans and backstage antics, from cast and crew kidnapping my Stuart Little doll (ask me about this in person), to mishaps like my wig getting caught in the Beast’s horns (visual required!). To this day some of my closest friends are people I met in that show.
There is a particular week that stands out in my mind—it was shortly after I joined the company when the unspeakable happened: September 11. In the days following we felt helpless, we weren’t sure if we should or could do the show. Then Disney Theatricals began offering free tickets to the relief workers, their families, people stranded in NYC. We would come out of the stage door each night talking with these people, and they thanked us for the respite, laughter, and humanity we shared together. I always knew the power of live theatre, but experiencing it in that way solidified my desire to make it my life’s work. Prior to those events I wasn’t sure I was going to make NYC my home, but that experience confirmed that I had to pursue theatre here.
2004 Tony Awards
As a little kid, I watched the Tonys on television and never dreamed I could actually be inside Radio City Music Hall seeing the performers I always looked up to in person. I was so grateful to be there with Avenue Q, celebrating all theatre artists. We were certainly proud of the show, but had no expectations. And then, wow!
However, the moment I remember the most is the second after “The Tony Award for Best Musical goes to… Avenue Q,” my phone started ringing, and it was my dad calling me. This surprised me because I knew he was nowhere near a TV at the time… I later learned that he was huddled up with a radio listening to a live broadcast of the Tonys with his phone in hand, as if he knew that we would win. Later that year I lost my dad to leukemia, but the idea of this sports-loving man putting everything aside to listen to his daughter’s Tony Awards broadcast will stay with me forever.
The King and I
The opportunity Bart Sher and Lincoln Center gave me in performing the role of Anna Leonowens was a unique experience, learning about her heritage (of being mixed race) and her bravery in choosing to do what she needed to do to support her family and educate people who she deemed marginalized. Working on that role made me a braver, more compassionate person.
The first night I went on, I was walking down the hall going to the stage, and it dawned on me that the King (Hoon Lee), Tuptim (Ashley Park), Lady Thiang (Ruthie Ann Miles), and I were all of Korean descent. I was proud and terrified…
In the moment before Anna enters on the ship, I thought, “What am I doing?”—perhaps what Anna must have felt when she first arrived in Siam. My dear friends, Fran and Patrick, from the wardrobe department, had taken a photo of my husband and placed it in my locket; I remembered that and clutched onto it, just as Anna may have done, remembering her husband Tom.
Plenty at The Public
I had long been a fan of the work of The Public Theater and hoped to work there one day. They have a tradition there that on the first day of rehearsals for each show, every single person who works in the building, from all departments, gathers in the lobby and forms a massive circle… We introduce ourselves to each other, and we are able to see all the faces of the people who contribute toward a single purpose—doing the best work possible. It’s no surprise to me that their mission is “Theatre of, by, and for all people.”
Working at the Old Globe and talking with George Takei for hours about his life growing up was a true privilege. In 1942, he and his family were taken from their Los Angeles home and placed in an internment camp and stripped of all of their belongings. They spent three years there, and when they were finally released, they received a one-way bus ticket within the United States, plus $20. The commitment he has to make sure people know this history is inspiring.
There is a small Star Trek reference in Dear Evan Hansen…and it brings a smile to my face every time I hear it… remembering those talks with George.
Dear Evan Hansen
For me, very often, the most memorable moments are in the rehearsal room. Most recently, this was happening at Dear Evan Hansen rehearsals—working with paragons of theatre like Michael Greif, the stage managers, cast, crew, musicians, choreographers, designers, everyone is collaborating at the top of their game—that are filled with joy and laughter. It is exhilarating to be in the room learning from them.
At night, I’m able to walk out with audience members and hear kids say they want to come back with their parents and parents saying they are coming back to the show with their kids. This is what I believe theatre can do best: speak honestly about the truest, most difficult situations. It’s not lost on me that it takes a commitment to diversity to cast me in some of the shows of which I’ve been a part. However, for me, storytelling is the fabric of our society, and when we choose to celebrate diversity, it tells every member of the audience they are a part of this tapestry.
VIDEO: LES MISERABLES Concert Cast & Composers Celebrate With A Special Encore Performance
Producer Cameron Mackintosh and composers Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schnberg addressed the crowd after yesterday’s gala premiere of Les Misrables in concert in London, followed by a special encore of ‘One Day More’ from the star-studded cast
See Tom Kitt, Jenn Colella, and More Celebrate the Broadway Screening of Brittany Runs a Marathon
After debuting at the Sundance Film Festival, Paul Downs Colaizzo’s new film Brittany Runs a Marathon is set to premiere August 23. To commemorate the occasion, Colaizzo, the film’s writer and director, welcomed Tom Kitt, Jenn Colella, and more for a Broadway screening with a pre-screening celebration at Café Fiorello August 14.
Starring Jillian Bell (22 Jump Street), with Beth Malone (Angels in America, Fun Home) and Micah Stock (The Front Page, It’s Only a Play), Brittany Runs a Marathon tells the story hard-partying millennial who attempts to transform her life with a major run.
Flip through photos of the celebration below:
See Tom Kitt, Jenn Colella, and More Celebrate the Broadway Screening of Brittany Runs a Marathon
BWW Album Review: Opening Up WAITRESS’s Bonus Tracks from WHAT’S NOT INSIDE
Luckily for fans of Waitress, the creative team has released What’s Not Inside, a delightful mini-album of songs that were scrapped on the road to Broadway. It’s a charming addition to one of the 21st century’s surprise smash hits.