The Broadway Ferret

This year the event was hosted by Michael McKean, star of the Broadway show Superior Donuts, which is now in previews at the Music Box Theatre.  He reminded the audience of this fact numerous times, memorably, “as the show across the street from Wolverine and James Bond which is right next to Tony Soprano”.  Sadly, this may be the only way some people would remember Superior Donuts, A Steady Rain (Schoenfeld Theatre) and God of Carnage (Bernard Jacobs Theatre).

Some of the shows were performed in costume, most likely due to proximity (Billy Elliot, In the Heights), 3pm matinees (Jersey Boys, The Fantasticks), no matinees (Chicago) and being in rehearsals (Ragtime, White Christmas, Fela!).

The audience appreciated all the shows as they were announced, especially the popular ones like Jersey Boys, which featured a performance by the “Jersey Girls” who sang “Walk Like a Man”.  I had to say, it was a nice change, though I’m sure that there were people who wanted the guys instead.

There seemed to be less people in attendance than last year, most likely due to the US Open.  At the end, when the confetti fell, you could tell that it was just tossed off the roofs of the buildings because they came down in clumps.

Check www.who.int or www.cdc.gov for the most accurate information regarding swine flu.

With the announcement that American Idiot is heading to the stage, I figured that it’s a good time as any to discuss other rock-centric shows coming or currently on and off-Broadway.

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I think the best way to close out the year is to list all the Broadway and off-Broadway shows closing in January (as of this posting).  If you’re currently in NYC and want to see something other than a giant lighted tree (and I’m sure that there are a few people who come here just for that) or just anything for that matter, then I suggest seeing the following shows before they close for good.  Or until their revivals come around.  I have reviewed most if not all shows but if you’re looking for more info on them, check out my links.  Have a Happy New Year!

Closing Dec. 28

What’s That Smell?: The Music of Jacob Sterling

Closing Dec. 30

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular

Closing Jan 4

Grease

Young Frankenstein

Boeing Boeing

Saturn Returns

Liza’s at the Palace…

Slava’s Snowshow

13

White Christmas

Rock of Ages (transferring to Broadway)

Hairspray

Closing Jan 11

All My Sons

Gypsy

Home

Spamalot

Streamers

Closing Jan 18

Spring Awakening

Information collected from Broadway.com

Image from www.culturevulture.com

Rating: 5 out of 5 masks

No, I’m not writing reviews to shows once they announce closing.  If I haven’t written a review yet for a certain show and they just announced their closing, then I choose to write about it.  And judging from the rumor mill more of these show closing reviews will come.  Now on to the review.

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This past Sunday was the Broadway on Broadway concert.  It’s a free concert showcasing musical numbers from shows that are currently on and coming to Broadway.  Each show performed one musical number with most of current cast and sometimes in costume.  The event was hosted by Drew Lachey who also performed with the cast of Spamalot for “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”.

The stage itself was located on the island that had the NYPD station, between 42nd and 43rd Street.  It was broadcast on various screens in the area, but strangely enough, not on MTV’s 44 1/2 screen.  I think it should have been included considering the size of the crowd and how far away the stage was at that point.

While every musical was represented, the plays were mentioned as well by John Leguizamo, who’s in the upcoming American Buffalo.  It was good to give the plays a shout out, especially when John Leguizamo added his opinion and insight into each of them.  I thought that made it more interesting than just reading the list of plays and it made the audience stick around a little.

Some of the show’s performances were done in costume, some not so much.  The ones that were in full costume were Spamalot, White Christmas, and [title of show].  It was kinda obvious that considering the location of the show, Spamalot would afford to take their costumes out of the theatre for one number.  And [title of show] had normal everyday outfits as costumes, so it wasn’t much of a stretch.

I had gotten to the event kind of late, but one of my favorite performances was from the upcoming White Christmas.  First of all, the performance was done in costume.  Thick “It’s gonna snow” winter costumes.  Second and most important, there was real snow blowing on them and throughout the audience.  I’m not kidding, I caught one of the flakes and it felt like water. 

Throughout the event, the were people handing out flyers advertising various shows currently on Broadway.  Some of them came in handy, especially the fans from Disney on Broadway, considering how sunny and hot it was getting.  The security for the area was, in my opinion, more than adequate.  There was no bag check that I was aware of, but they were making sure that people entered the area from a certain point only or stayed at a hotel in the area.

The concert was two hours long and ended with the quintessential song “New York” and confetti blasted from the rooftops in the area.  It was almost like New Year’s Eve, but during the day, warmer and more low-key.

Image from New York City Theatre

Rating: 3 out of 5 masks

It came to my attention on Wednesday that Jump was closed.  Key word: was.  Apparently, the producers saw how much money they were going to rake in in the future and just decided to cut their losses right then and there.  I think this is unfair to people who may have bought tickets on Sunday,  those who saw it on Sunday not knowing it will be the last performance and of course the actors.  Since I write reviews about shows currently running on and off Broadway, I thought I would make an exception. Read the rest of this entry »

I thought this was one of the most entertaining years in the history of the Tony Awards.  Here’s why:

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