CATS Film Expected to Suffer $100 Million Loss
According to Variety, the new Cats film is expected to suffer a 100 million loss, after making just 38 million globally in its first two weeks in theaters.
VIDEO: Michael Mott and Nathan Wright Discuss The Song ‘Her Embrace’ From New Musical IN THE LIGHT With Jeremy Jordan
It was recently announced that composer Michael Mott and book writer Nathan Wright plan to create a full-length concept recording for their new musical, In The Light, A Faustian Tale, inspired by the classic Faust legend. The show’s 11 o’clock number, Her Embrace, was recorded by Jeremy Jordan. Now, the show’s writers are bringing you behind the song in an all new video.
Broadway Will Dim Its Lights for Tony-Winning Composer-Lyricist Jerry Herman
Broadway theatres will dim their marquee lights January 7, 2020, at 6:45 PM for one minute in memory of Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist Jerry Herman, who died December 26 at the age of 88.
Mr. Herman, who, with Hello, Dolly! and Mame, wrote two of the most popular and tuneful Broadway musicals of the 1960s—to say nothing of La Cage aux Folles in the 1980s and a handful of musicals and rousing show tunes in between—was the recipient of four Tony Awards, including a 2009 Special Award for Lifetime Achievement.
In a statement Broadway League Chairman Thomas Schumacher said, “To be a Broadway fan is to be a fan of the great Jerry Herman. And each of us who had a chance to know both him and his remarkable catalog of songs feels a great loss today. We celebrate his range from the deceptively simple tunes to the anthems for which he is justly famous. And most of all we celebrate the man who cared deeply about Broadway from his remarkably early success to his enduring legacy.”
Read the full Playbill obituary for Mr. Herman here.
Look Back at the Shows Jerry Herman Brought to Broadway
Meet the Cast of A SOLDIER’S PLAY – Now in Previews on Broadway!
A Soldier’s Play is officially in previews on Broadway A Soldier’s Playopens officially on January 21, 2020. This is a limited engagement at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway 227 West 42nd Street.It starsDavid Alan Grier,Blair Underwood,Nnamdi Asomugha,Jerry O’Connell,McKinley BelcherIII,Rob Demery,Jared Grimes,BillyEugene Jones,Nate Mann,Warner Miller,J. Alphonse NicholsonandLee Aaron Rosen.
Playbill Vault’s Today in Theatre History: December 26
1904 Maude Adams returns to Broadway with a revival of J.M. Barrie‘s The Little Minister. It runs just 73 performances. A year later she returns with a better Barrie play, the original Peter Pan.
1921 Opening night for the original production of Bulldog Drummond, starring A. E. Matthews as the relentless sleuth.
1925 Walter Hampden and Ethel Barrymore are Shylock and Portia in The Merchant of Venice at Hampden’s Theatre in New York. The production is part of a limited season for Hampden and Barrymore, which also includes the pair as Hamlet and Ophelia in Hamlet.
1926 With pressure from both New York Governor Alfred E. Smith and Mayor James Walker regarding a reformation by theatre owners of the moral quality of certain productions, a committee is formed to view “morally questionable” shows. Made up of actors, authors, and producers, the committee surveys current shows and comes up with the NY District Attorney’s list of such titles. The first three to be raided are Sex, The Virgin Man, and The Captive.
1931 George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind create Wintergreen, the presidential candidate running on a platform of love. Of Thee I Sing, the Pulitzer Prize–winning musical with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin, stars William Gaxton, Grace Brinkley, and Victor Moore. The campaign runs for 441 performances, first at the Music Box Theatre and then at the 46th Street Theatre.
1935 Helen Hayes is Victoria Regina at the Broadhurst Theatre. Laurence Houseman’s history of the Queen runs for 515 performances.
1960 Phil Silvers stars as a guy whose latest get-rich-quick scheme involves jukeboxes in the musical Do Re Mi from Jule Styne, Garson Kanin, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green. Nancy Walker plays Silvers’ long-suffering wife, who stops the show with the song “Adventure.” It runs 400 performances and introduces the standard “Make Someone Happy.”
1962 Writer S. J. Perelman and comedian Bert Lahr may sound like a unbeatable combination, but their collaboration The Beauty Part runs just 85 performances at the Music Box.
1999 Broadway’s long-running The Phantom of the Opera celebrates an impressive 5,000 performances.
2016 Actor George S. Irving, a Tony winner in 1973 for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in Irene opposite Debbie Reynolds, dies at age 94. With 32 Broadway credits, Irving performed in such classics as Oklahoma!, Gentleman Prefer Blondes, Can-Can, Bells Are Ringing, the 1981 revival of The Pirates of Penzance, and Me and My Girl, for which he earned a Tony nomination.
Today’s Birthdays: Dion Boucicault 1822. Richard Widmark 1914. Donald Moffat 1930. Mabel King 1932.
Watch a cast led by Bryce Pinkham and Denée Benton rehearse for a 2017 concert staging of Of Thee I Sing:
BWW Exclusive: Stage Santa 2019! The Perfect Holiday Gifts for Your Favorite Broadway Characters
It’s Christmas on Broadway and to celebrate we’ve decided to do some metaphorical gifting to all of our favorite Broadway characters.
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas… On Broadway
There’s a Christmas party on Broadway and everyone is invited
Media Theatre Will Host Memorial Service for Ann Crumb, Star of Aspects of Love and Anna Karenina
Pennsylvania’s Media Theatre will host a memorial service December 29 for Ann Crumb, who created the role of Rose Vibert in the London and Broadway productions of Aspects of Love and subsequently earned a Tony nomination for her title performance in Anna Karenina. The acclaimed actor passed away October 31 at the age of 69.
A Memorial for Ann Crumb will begin at 5 PM with a reception followed by an onstage service at 6 PM.
In addition to her Broadway work, Ms. Crumb performed in several productions at the Media, including Master Class, Souvenir, Wings, Spamalot, The Who’s Tommy, and Sunset Boulevard.
In a statement Artistic Director Jesse Cline said, “She was an actress of immense talent and grace. She was a gift to The Media Theatre.”