Thoughts on the 2012 Tony Nominations

First of all, congratulations to all the 2012 Tony Award nominees!

The Tony Awards are my absolute favorite of all the award shows so getting up this morning to see who had been nominated was the very first thing I did. What, you didn’t think I’d actually get up at 5:30am LA time, did you?

Since I didn’t make my regular April trek to New York to see the shows, I can only rely on what I saw this past December, my love of the actors in the shows and all the buzz surrounding them. Will I know what the hell I’m talking about?

Absolutely not.

And with that, let’s begin! Read more

Nominations for the 2012 Tony Awards (with video)

Best Play

Clybourne Park
Author: Bruce Norris
Producers: Jujamcyn Theaters, Jane Bergère, Roger Berlind/Quintet Productions, Eric Falkenstein/Dan Frishwasser, Ruth Hendel/Harris Karma Productions, JTG Theatricals, Daryl Roth, Jon B. Platt, Center Theatre Group, Lincoln Center Theater, Playwrights Horizons

Other Desert Cities
Author: Jon Robin Baitz
Producers: Lincoln Center Theater, André Bishop, Bernard Gersten, Bob Boyett

Peter and the Starcatcher
Author: Rick Elice
Producers: Nancy Nagel Gibbs, Greg Schaffert, Eva Price, Tom Smedes, Disney Theatrical Productions, Suzan & Ken Wirth/DeBartolo Miggs, Catherine Schreiber/Daveed Frazier & Mark Thompson, Jack Lane, Jane Dubin, Allan S. Gordon/Adam S. Gordon, Baer & Casserly/Nathan Vernon, Rich Affanato/Peter Stern, Brunish & Trinchero/Laura Little Productions, Larry Hirschhorn/Hummel & Greene, Jamie deRoy & Probo Prods./Radio Mouse Ent., Hugh Hysell/Freedberg & Dale, New York Theatre Workshop

Venus in Fur
Author: David Ives
Producers: Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Barry Grove, Jon B. Platt, Scott Landis, Classic Stage Company Read more

Broadway Continues to Turn to Movies For New Musicals

It used to be that a Broadway show would be a hit on stage, then be made as a movie. But as anyone who has followed Broadway in the last twenty years knows, with the success of Disney Theatrical Group and the the success of Mel Brooks‘ The Producers at the turn of the twenty-first century, that trend has been mostly reversed — hit movies are now becoming Broadway shows, with a significant amount of Broadway shows of the last dozen years being based on popular movies.

This trend is more evident than ever, with Newsies, Once, Leap of Faith, Ghost: The Musical, Sister Act and Priscilla Queen of the Desert all currently on the Great White Way.  And in the works are Broadway shows based on movies that one would likely never suspect of making a good musical: Rocky, Back to the Future, and Animal House. Read more

Watch: The Cast of ‘Newsies’ Perform ‘King of New York’

Here’s the cast of Disney’s Newsies performing ‘King of New York.’

The show was just extended till August but everything I’m hearing is that it’ll likely run… forever. People are loving the show.

Starring Jeremy Jordan and Andrew Keenan-Bolger, the musical features a score by Academy Award-winning composer and songwriter Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman and book by Harvey Fierstein.

 Click here for our interview with one one of the stars of Newsies, Andrew Keenan-Bolger!
Read more

Listen to the Original Cast Recording of ‘Newsies’ Here!

Disney’s new Broadway musical Newsies is about to release its original cast recording (iTunes on April 10, CD on May 15) but they’ve released a streaming version of the entire cast album and you can listen to it right here!

Starring Jeremy Jordan and Andrew Keenan-Bolger, the musical features a score by Academy Award-winning composer and songwriter Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman and book by Harvey Fierstein.

Click here for our interview with one one of the stars of Newsies, Andrew Keenan-Bolger!

Listen below!  Read more

Watch: Bits of ‘Newsies’ Tech Rehearsal

The new Disney musical, Newsies, is such a hit with audiences that it’s limited run was just extended through August 19th. Which, for me, means I can see it the next time in in New York.

USA Today got a chance to film some of the tech rehearsal and also a bit of an actual performance of the show.

Looks pretty good to me. Can’t wait to see it!

Click here for our interview with one one of the stars of Newsies, Andrew Keenan-Bolger!

Read more

Interview: Andrew Keenan-Bolger Talks ‘Newsies’, ‘Submissions Only’ and How To Dance With a Crutch

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:03 — 11.7MB)

After talking to Andrew Keenan-Bolger, who play’s ‘Crutchie’ in Disney’s new Broadway musical, Newsies, I feel like a slacker.

Andrew created the role of ‘Crutchie’ from it’s first read-through to it’s run at the Paper Mill Playhouse and now in it’s limited engagement at the Nederlander Theatre. And if starring in a Broadway show wasn’t enough, he’s also the co-creator, producer, director and star of the incredibly hot web-series, Submissions Only. The show follows a group of friends in New York City as they go on auditions and callbacks and is always fun to watch with generally laugh out loud moments.

All of his time is spent on both shows and various other projects that he’s juggling, and he even told me that when he’s not on stage in the second act of Newsies, you can find him on his computer editing video. “I perform better, I think, when there’s a lot going on,” he said. 

Andrew’s been in the Broadway productions of Mary Poppins, Beauty and The Beast, and Seussical, TV shows and film. He’s funny and quick and just talking to him gave me a huge jolt of energy.

I talked to him about auditioning, Submissions Only, Newsies and how to dance with a crutch. 

Follow Andrew on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube and check out his blog! Read more

Jeremy Jordan Officially Back in ‘Newsies’

Jeremy Jordan wasn’t unemployed for too long.

Jordan, last seen in Bonnie & Clyde (which closed December 30th), will recreate the role of newsboy leader Jack Kelly in Newsies, when the show moves to Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre this March. 

The new musical will play a strictly limited 101 performance run beginning March 15th; the final performance is scheduled for June 10th.

Newsies is inspired by the real-life ‘Newsboy Strike of 1899,’ when newsboy Kid Blink led a band of orphan and runaway newsies on a two-week-long action against Pulitzer, Hearst and other powerful newspaper publishers.

About Jordan: Following a series of acclaimed Broadway performances in just a few short years, Jordan is on the cusp on an exceptional career. His breakout performance in Newsies at Paper Mill Playhouse last fall earned him critical praise, prompting New York magazine to call it ‘a star-making turn by the one-man charm armada known as Jeremy Jordan’ and the New York Post to declare Jordan ‘a star in the making.’ While still performing in that run, he began rehearsals for the Broadway production of Bonnie and Clyde, earning praise for his performance as Clyde Barrow. He stars opposite Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton in the anticipated feature musical Joyful Noise in theatres this Friday, January 13th.   Read more

‘Newsies’ to Transfer to Broadway for Limited Engagement

For those of you who didn’t want to make the trek to New Jersey, it’s just been announced that Newsies, the hit musical that’s now playing at the Paper Mill Playhouse, will play at Broadway’s Nederlander Theater.

The show will begin performances March 15th, 2012 and open March 29th in what is being called a “strictly limited” 101 run. Only 101 performances!

No casting has been announced but I hope the original cast makes the full transfer to Broadway.

Set in New York City at the turn of the century, Newsies is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a ragged band of teenaged ‘newsies,’ who dreams only of a better life far from the hardship of the streets. But when publishing titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack finds a cause to fight for and rallies newsies from across the city to strike for what’s right.   Read more

Watch: The Cast of Paper Mill Playhouse’s ‘Newsies’ Perform on ‘The View’

I remember Newsies from when I was a kid (maybe I was a kid, I can’t remember) and loving it. I also remember that I was the only one of my friends who loved it.

Well, the Disney musical that starred a young Christian Bale has been turned into a stage musical.

The cast from the Paper Mill Playhouse production of Newsies were featured on ABC’s The View where they performed the songs “Seize The Day” and “Santa Fe” from the show.

Adapted for the stage from the film, the show is based on the 1899 true story of a courageous group of scrappy newsboys who become unlikely heroes when they rally forces to fight an unscrupulous newspaper tycoon. The musical features a book by Harvey Fierstein, lyrics by Jack Feldman, and music by composer Alan Menken.

The production runs until October 16th with Jeff Calhoun directing.

Read more

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