- Lempicka, Starring Eden Espinosa, Comes to Vivid, Vibrant Life Tonight on Broadwayby Darryn King on March 19, 2024 at 4:00 AM
Lempicka, the new musical about famed Art Deco painter Tamara de Lempicka, begins performances March 19 ahead of an April 14 opening at the Longacre Theatre. Eden Espinosa stars in the title role, with direction by Tony Award winner Rachel Chavkin. Inspired by history, Lempicka tracks the life of Tamara de Lempicka, a Polish painter who navigates political and personal turmoil following the Russian Revolution. “The real Tamara was known for eating food off the naked bodies of both men and women at parties,” Chavkin told The Broadway Show. The musical is written by Carson Kreitzer (book, lyrics and original concept) and Matt Gould (book and music), with choreography by Raja Feather Kelly. In addition to Espinosa, the cast includes Amber Iman as Rafaela, Andrew Samonsky as Tadeusz Lempicki, George Abud as Marinetti, Natalie Joy Johnson as Suzy Solidor, Zoe Glick as Kizette, Nathaniel Stampley as the Baron and Tony Award winner Beth Leavel as the Baroness. Lempicka also features scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez, costume design by Paloma Young, lighting design by Bradley King, sound design by Justin Stasiw and Peter Hylenski, projection design by Peter Nigrini, music direction by Charity Wicks and orchestrations by Cian McCarthy. …
- Jon Jon and Isa Briones Are Set to Make Broadway's Hadestown a Family Affairby Hayley Levitt on March 19, 2024 at 4:00 AM
The father-daughter acting duo of Jon Jon and Isa Briones join the Broadway cast of Hadestown at the Walter Kerr Theatre on March 19. Isa takes on the lead role of Eurydice while her father Jon Jon assumes the role of Hermes. Eurydice and Hermes were most recently played on Broadway by Lola Tung and Lillias White, respectively. Jon Jon was last seen on Broadway as the Engineer in the 2017 revival of Miss Saigon, led by original Hadestown star Eva Noblezada. He is also known for his series regular roles on Ryan Murphy’s Ratched and Class of ’09. Isa, who previously performed in the Angelica tour of Hamilton and is best known for her series regular roles on Star Trek: Picard and Goosebumps, makes her Broadway debut. They join a cast that currently stars Jordan Fisher as Orpheus, Grammy Award winner Ani DiFranco as Persephone and Grammy Award nominee Phillip Boykin as Hades. The cast also includes Belén Moyano, Kay Trinidad, and Brit West as the Fates, along with a chorus of Workers played by Emily Afton, Malcolm Armwood, Chibueze Ihuoma, Alex Puette, and Grace Yoo. The cast includes swings Sojourner Brown, Brandon Cameron, …
- Dee Roscioli to Play Céline Dion in Titanique Off-Broadwayby Darryn King on March 18, 2024 at 6:50 PM
Dee Roscioli will take over the role of Céline Dion in Titanique, beginning April 3 at the Daryl Roth Theatre. She replaces Nicole Parker, who will play her final performance March 31. Roscioli has played Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway, in Chicago and on tour. She also performed in the 2015 Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof and served as a standby in the 2018 Broadway musical The Cher Show. "I’m so ready to set sail," Roscioli wrote in a post on Instagram. "What a privilege to be a part of such a kOoKy KrAzY show." She joins a cast that includes Lindsay Heather Pearce as Rose, Michael Williams as Jack, Brandon Contreras as Cal, Russell Daniels as Ruth and Elliott Mattox as Victor Garber, with Anne Fraser Thomas as The Unsinkable Molly Brown and Marcus Antonio as The Iceberg. Cayleigh Capaldi, Chani Maisonet, Tess Marshall, Garrett Poladian, and Terrence Williams Jr. round out the current acting company. Titanique is a campy comedic reimagining of the blockbuster movie Titanic—itself based on the true story of the 1912 maritime disaster—this time with Canadian icon and gale-force vocalist Céline Dion at the helm. The show features such …
- Ben Platt to Perform Concert Residency at Broadway's Refurbished Palace Theatreby Hayley Levitt on March 18, 2024 at 2:00 PM
Tony Award winner Ben Platt will play the newly refurbished Palace Theatre in a three-week concert residency from May 28 through June 15. Offering 18 performances only, the concert celebrates Platt's third album, Honeymind, to be released on May 31. Tony Award winner Michael Arden, who directed Platt in the 2023 revival of Parade, will direct the concert, featuring songs from Honeymind, as well as selections from Platt's past albums and additional "surprises for fans." The Palace, originally built in 1913, has been under construction since 2018 as part of the $2.5 billion TSX Broadway development project. Poster for Ben Platt's Palace Theatre residency (Art c/o DKC/O&M) A Tony Award winner for his title performance in Dear Evan Hansen, Platt was last seen on Broadway as Leo Frank in Parade, earning a second career Tony nomination. He released his debut studio album, Sing to Me Instead, in 2019, followed by a second studio album, Reverie, released in 2021. In May 2020, the concert film Ben Platt Live from Radio City Music Hall debuted on Netflix. Platt is also well known for his work in films such as Pitch Perfect, Pitch Perfect 2, the screen adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen, Theater …
- Elaine Paige on Sunday Presents an Hour of Lucky Tunes for St. Patrick's Dayby Broadway.com Staff on March 17, 2024 at 2:00 PM
Olivier-winning actress Elaine Paige is giving Broadway.com listeners a chance to hear her BBC Radio 2 show Elaine Paige on Sunday. This week, Paige is feeling the luck of the Irish for St. Patrick's Day, and is offering a whole hour of lucky show tunes and movie songs. Listen for favorites from An American In Paris, Guys and Dolls, My Fair Lady, Hamilton and more. Catch the full episode by clicking the link below!
- The Outsiders Are Ready to Rumble on Broadwayby Darryn King on March 16, 2024 at 4:00 AM
The Outsiders, based on the novel by S.E. Hinton and the 1983 film that starred Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze, begins performances on March 16 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, opening April 11. The new musical follows misfits Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade and their chosen family as they fight to survive in 1967 Oklahoma. The show stars Brody Grant as Ponyboy Curtis, Sky Lakota-Lynch as Johnny Cade, Joshua Boone as Dallas Winston, Brent Comer as Darrel Curtis, Jason Schmidt as Sodapop Curtis, Emma Pittman as Cherry Valance, Daryl Tofa as Two-Bit Matthews, Dan Berry as Paul Holden and Kevin William Paul as Bob Sheldon—all of whom recently told Broadway.com a little about themselves. The company also includes Jordan Chin, Milena J. Comeau, Barton Cowperthwaite, Tilly Evans-Krueger, Henry Gendron, RJ Higton, Wonza Johnson, Sean Harrison Jones, Maggie Kuntz, Renni Anthony Magee, SarahGrace Mariani, Melody Rose, Josh Strobl, Victor Carrillo Tracey and Trevor Wayne. Dayna Taymor directs the production, bringing it to Broadway from La Jolla Playhouse where the musical made its world premiere in spring 2023. The book is co-written by Tony Award nominee Adam Rapp with Tony winner Justin Levine; the score is …
- Ingrid Michaelson and The Notebook Family Toast the Long and Winding Road of Life and Broadway on Opening Nightby Hayley Levitt on March 15, 2024 at 10:10 PM
The Notebook celebrated its Broadway opening on March 14 at the Schoenfeld Theatre, and The Broadway Show was on the red carpet ready to celebrate with the cast and creative team. Singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, who penned her first Broadway score for this show, shares the joy of watching other artists interpret her music, while co-directors Michael Greif and Schele Williams describe the unique stamp the whole team set out to put on Nicholas Sparks' already iconic romance. Meanwhile, Jordan Tyson, the youngest of the show's three Allies, is still pinching herself about the artistic company she's had the privilege to keep throughout this experience. "Baby Jordan would have not even dared to dream that she'd be singing Ingrid Michaelson's music." Joy Woods, the musical's Middle Allie who gets the honor of frolicking in the rain eight times a week, personally loves the show's message of "choosing what's right for you, no matter what circumstances try to convince you otherwise." And naturally, she gives a special shoutout to her defining blue dress. "I think it's so moving, and it's more than a love story," adds Ryan Vasquez, the Noah to Woods' Allie. "It's really a story of life and …
- The Stars of The Notebook Celebrate a Many Splendored Opening Nightby Darryn King on March 15, 2024 at 8:05 PM
The new musical The Notebook, based on the Nicholas Sparks novel and the 2004 romantic film, opened on Broadway on March 14 at the Schoenfeld Theatre. Broadway.com was there to toast the cast, creative team and special guests. Composer Ingrid Michaelson, book writer Bekah Brunstetter and directors Michael Greif and Schele Williams were there, along with the stars of the show: John Cardoza and Jordan Tyson (Younger Noah and Allie), Ryan Vasquez and Joy Woods (Middle Noah and Allie) and Dorian Harewood and Maryann Plunkett (Older Noah and Allie). It was a clear, blue night of music, love and celebration—so look inside a night on Broadway written in the stars. The Notebook's three Allies, Jordan Tyson, Maryann Plunkett and Joy Woods (Photo by Jenny Anderson for Broadway.com) Ryan Vasquez, Dorian Harewood and John Cardoza play The Notebook's three generations of Noahs (Photo by Jenny Anderson for Broadway.com) Andréa Burns plays Allie's mother in The Notebook on Broadway (Photo by Jenny Anderson for Broadway.com) Ingrid Michaelson makes her Broadway composing debut, penning the score for The Notebook (Photo by Jenny Anderson for Broadway.com) The Notebook book writer, Bekah Brunstetter, on opening night (Photo by Jenny Anderson for Broadway.com) …
- Playwright Amy Herzog Gambles Her Soul in Mary Jane but Seizes the Pen in An Enemy of the Peopleby Hayley Levitt on March 15, 2024 at 6:03 PM
For Amy Herzog, there are two distinct perks of adapting an existing property over writing an original play—a dichotomy that’s top of mind for her in a Broadway season featuring both her deeply personal play Mary Jane and her new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 drama An Enemy of the People. Pragmatically, adapting solves the issue of writer’s block. “It's very comforting to be able to turn to the next page and have something there to begin from,” says Herzog, who envies the disciplined writer who can produce new ideas on command. “I don’t think if I sat down for two hours a day, I would have a play,” she says. The second benefit is emotional: “It feels safer to adapt than to write a new play,” Herzog freely admits. “I feel like my soul is a little bit less on the line.” As if this Broadway season were designed specifically to test that appraisal, An Enemy of the People opens March 18 at Circle in the Square Theatre, just a few blocks north of the Friedman Theatre where, just two weeks later, Rachel McAdams starts performances in Mary Jane. In An Enemy of the People, Jeremy …
- Dear Evan Hansen Will Tour North America Again in 2024by Darryn King on March 15, 2024 at 4:10 PM
A new North American tour of Dear Evan Hansen will launch in September. The tour will kick off in Houston, Texas, and proceed to stops in Dallas, Texas; St. Paul, Minnesota; Lincoln, Nebraska; Melbourne, Florida; Sarasota, Florida; Eau Claire, Wisconsin and more cities to be announced. The tour is expected to run more than 30 weeks. Dear Evan Hansen tells the story of its title character, a high school senior with social anxiety, whose quest for acceptance spirals out of control. It features music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and a book by Steven Levenson, and boasts such beloved tunes as “You Will Be Found,” “Waving Through A Window” and “For Forever.” It is the winner of six Tony Awards—for Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, Best Orchestrations, Best Actor for Ben Platt and Best Featured Actress for Rachel Bay Jones—and was adapted into a 2021 film, starring Platt. The musical opened on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre in December 2016 and closed on September 18, 2022. The show's first North American tour launched in October 2018 and ran through July 2023.
- Step Right Up with Water for Elephants' Isabelle McCalla, Episode 2: A Random and Chaotic Day in the Lifeby Hayley Levitt on March 15, 2024 at 2:00 PM
Isabelle McCalla has been flying high at the Imperial Theatre where she stars—and trapezes—as Marlena in the new Broadway musical Water for Elephants. Now, she's giving audiences an inside look at Broadway's most death-defying production, filled with circus tricks, love triangles and backstage bromances. In episode two of Step Right Up, McCalla documents a full preview day in all its chaotic glory. After launching into the vlog with a morning homage to Risky Business, McCalla takes us through a day of costume fittings, 40 pages of script changes and a vocal warm-up that will forever change how you look at a martini glass. Plus, she catches a few of the show's incredible acrobats rehearsing their Broadway circus tricks—and of course, carves out time for our French lesson of the week. Episodes air on Broadway.com every Friday. You can also catch highlights on The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal.
- Preview 'Leave the Light On' from Ingrid Michaelson’s Score for The Notebook; Cast Album Drops in Aprilby Darryn King on March 14, 2024 at 5:37 PM
The original Broadway cast recording of the new musical The Notebook, based on the Nicholas Sparks novel and 2004 romantic film, will be released by Atlantic Records on April 19. Before then, to coincide with the show’s March 14 opening night at Broadway’s Schoenfeld Theatre, the production has released “Leave the Light On,” performed by Ryan Vasquez, who plays the character of Middle Noah, along with a video of Vasquez’s in-studio performance. The score for the show is by multiplatinum singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson. “Writing this musical has been one of the greatest joys in my life,” Michaelson said in a statement. “I am beyond excited to welcome everyone into our world.” Grammy-winning The Notebook producer Kurt Deutsch added, “Bringing this cast recording to life, along with Ingrid and our dream team of actors and musicians, is a dream come true." In addition to Vasquez, the cast of The Notebook includes Tony Award winner Maryann Plunkett as Older Allie, Dorian Harewood as Older Noah, Joy Woods as Middle Allie, Jordan Tyson as Younger Allie and John Cardoza as Younger Noah. The book is by playwright Bekah Brunstetter, a writer and producer on NBC’s This Is Us. Michael Greif and Schele …
- Back on Broadway in Moulin Rouge!, Boy George Is Having More Fun This Timeby Darryn King on March 14, 2024 at 5:30 PM
Last year, Boy George, the former Culture Club frontman, songwriter, fashion designer, producer and global queer icon, found himself being roundly and routinely booed on stage. He loved it. George was playing Captain Hook in a large-scale pantomime version of Peter Pan in the U.K. “Panto was a real revelation to me,” he told Broadway.com Editor in Chief Paul Wontorek on The Broadway Show, “in terms of playing a baddie and having the kids booing me. That was amazing. It was so invigorating. Who knew being booed would be so much fun?” "I really love playing this character. And it's important to remind yourself that it's fun." –Boy George In a way, it was useful preparation for his next role. Since February 6, Boy George has been playing the top-hatted impresario Harold Zidler in Broadway’s Moulin Rouge! In honor of George’s presence, the megamix score of the show has been updated to incorporate Culture Club hits “Karma Chameleon” and “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me.” “People love it,” said George. “It wouldn't have been something I would've suggested because, whatever. Nostalgia. But then the show's full of everything so it kind of makes sense.” Boy …
- Alicia Keys and the Stars of Broadway’s Hell’s Kitchen on the Musical's 'Wild Freedom' and Family Inspirationby Hayley Levitt on March 14, 2024 at 5:00 PM
Hell’s Kitchen, the new Broadway musical scored by Alicia Keys’ R&B hits, begins performances at the Shubert Theatre on March 28. Inspired by Keys’ upbringing in the title New York City neighborhood, Keys shared with The Broadway Show where the roots of this story are planted. “This is not autobiographical,” Keys said of the book, written by Kristoffer Diaz, “but it is inspired by real-life experiences.” At its core, a story of a mother and daughter, the singer-songwriter went on to describe how her own mother made her way into this production. “My mother was raised in Toledo, Ohio, and she is the quintessential New York story,” explained Keys. “She is the girl that escaped the small town to come to New York to pursue her dream of acting and dancing. So much of my childhood was really based around watching and experiencing her in this space. In the theater. In this creative universe. And so I think that was the reason why doing this story for the theater, as a musical, felt so right.” Maleah Joi Moon leads the show as Keys’ proxy, a teenage girl named Ali, and she confirms that she’s been an Alicia Keys fan …
- With The Heart of Rock and Roll, Huey Lewis Is Feeling the Power of Love on Broadwayby Darryn King on March 14, 2024 at 4:30 PM
The Heart of Rock and Roll, the new Broadway musical built around the music of Huey Lewis and the News, is set in the 1980s. Of course it is. Slick, positive and as garishly, irresistibly catchy as a Koosh ball, the band’s recorded output—“The Power of Love,” “Stuck On You” and “If This Is It,” just for starters—ruled the airwaves and MTV that decade, earning them Grammy Awards along with multi-platinum sales. (Last September marked the 40th anniversary of Sports, the album that American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman called “a flawless masterpiece.”) It was a great time for music lovers. “Music was a much larger part of our lives,” Lewis told Tamsen Fadal on The Broadway Show, speaking at the Rum House. “There was only one avenue to success if you were a musician and wanted to play your own music—and that was a hit top 40 record.” The new musical follows Bobby, the frontman of a struggling rock band who gives up his rock-star dreams and gets a job at a corrugated box company. (Cue: “Hip to Be Square.”) He falls in love with the boss’s daughter, Cassandra, and moves up in the company. …
- Steve Carell, Alison Pill and More on Broadway's Newly ‘Relevant and Resonant’ Uncle Vanyaby Darryn King on March 14, 2024 at 4:00 PM
The Lincoln Center Theater production of Uncle Vanya, newly translated by Heidi Schreck and directed by Lila Neugebauer, begins performances on April 2 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, with an official opening set for April 24. At a recent press event for the production, The Broadway Show asked star Steve Carell, who plays Vanya, what will most surprise audiences about Schreck’s translation of Chekhov's text. “Well, she translated it into Dutch, which to me was weird,” he said. “It’s a real surprise,” agreed Carell’s co-star Alison Pill, who plays Vanya’s niece Sonya, not missing a beat. “So we’ve all been spending the week learning Dutch and it’s difficult.” Kidding aside, Carell and Pill were obviously enjoying themselves during their second week of rehearsals. (The pair previously worked together in the comedy Dan in Real Life.) “Everyone was so kind and smart and funny,” said Carell of the first week's table work, “but devoted to unearthing every ounce of this script that we can. Because it’s a lot. And it’s fun to do that.” He added, “There are millions of different ways that this show could be presented. And I liked Lila and Heidi’s take on it.” …
- Director Jessica Stone Goes Big with Water for Elephants But Doesn’t Forget the Heartby Broadway.com Staff on March 14, 2024 at 3:00 PM
Jessica Stone made her Broadway directorial debut with last season’s Tony Award-winning musical Kimberly Akimbo, displaying her talents for delicacy, specificity and just-right levels of sentiment. She’s kept all of those tools handy, but Water for Elephants, running just across the street from Kimberly at the Imperial Theatre, demands a different bag of tricks. In Stone’s own words, “The minute you introduce a train and a stampede and an elephant, you’re just in different territory than sweet Kimberly Levaco’s living room.” Jessica Stone (Photo: Evan Zimmermana and Tyler Gustin) Kimberly Akimbo, ending its run at the Booth Theatre on April 28, traces the inner churnings of a late-‘90s teen who’s running out of time to experience all life has to offer. Water for Elephants, meanwhile, tells a story of mythic proportions, centered around a circus troupe traveling the country during the Great Depression (the musical is scored by PigPen Theatre Co. with a book by Rick Elice). Of course, there’s also simple a human story at the heart of the show: “It's about the joy of being on this planet, and it's about the joy of your chosen family,” says Stone. But per Sara Gruen’s original …
- Find Out What It Feels Like for Chicago's Max Clayton to Get Killed By Ariana Madix Nightlyby Hayley Levitt on March 14, 2024 at 2:30 PM
In his ninth Broadway turn, Max Clayton has moved into the Ambassador Theatre in the long-running musical Chicago. He plays the faithless furniture salesman Fred Casely, who winds up at the wrong end of Roxie Hart’s pistol. And until April 7, that means he gets murdered by Ariana Madix eight times a week. Watch as Clayton enjoys a walk-and-talk with Broadway Show correspondent Charlie Cooper, who accompanies him to his latest Broadway home while chatting about what it’s been like joining this musical theater “time capsule.” The actor also gushes over his new dog Monty that he shares with his partner, Tony winner Matt Doyle, and proudly admits that his typical walks to work are set to a Kelly Clarkson soundtrack.
- Corey Cott, McKenzie Kurtz and Huey Lewis Promise a ‘Roaring Good Time’ at The Heart of Rock and Roll on Broadwayby Hayley Levitt on March 14, 2024 at 2:00 PM
If you’re a child of the ‘80s, weaned on John Hughes romcoms and musicians who wore sunglasses indoors, The Heart of Rock and Roll will feel like coming home. Set to the songbook of Huey Lewis and the News, Corey Cott and McKenzie Kurtz will lead the new musical at the James Earl Jones Theatre, starting performances March 29 ahead of an April 22 opening. The Broadway Show caught up with the cast and creatives at rehearsal, getting a sneak peek at a few musical numbers while hearing from Lewis himself about how this whole project came together. “I knew nothing about Broadway,” admits the California rocker, speaking about his West Coast upbringing. In a charming revelation, Lewis shares that Mamma Mia! was the show that finally made him a musical theater fan. Nearly 20 years ago, he also took his turn as Billy Flynn in Chicago on Broadway, planting the seed for his return. Jonathan A. Abrams, the book writer responsible for finding the story in Lewis’ music, tells The Broadway Show how he landed on his romantic coming-of-age narrative. He explains how his process started with a wall full of notecards with lyrics scribbled all over them. “As …
- Liev Schreiber, Amy Ryan and Zoe Kazan Hit the Red Carpet to Talk Broadway’s Doubtby Darryn King on March 13, 2024 at 6:55 PM
The first Broadway revival of John Patrick Shanley’s Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play Doubt: A Parable celebrated its return to the New York stage at Roundabout Theatre Company’s Todd Haimes Theatre, and The Broadway Show was there to speak with the stars. “My Broadway return is nothing,” said Tony winner Liev Schreiber, who plays Father Flynn, a priest who has taken an unusual interest in a student. “I think what is significant here is John’s play coming back 20 years after the Catholic Church scandal and surprising me with its depth and its ability to transcend the issue that you thought it was about and you thought was timely.” “It’s called Doubt: A Parable and I think that parable is about something really different in 2024 than it was in 2004,” said Zoe Kazan, who plays the dewy-eyed Sister James. “In 2004, all of these allegations about the Church had just come out. So it had this really ripped-from-the-headlines feeling. Now we’re 20 years past that and our relationship to the truth has been really challenged over the last decade with what’s been happening in the world politically.” “It is a freight train and you jump on it …