"Pre"-rush Tickets for Broadway?

Most adventurous Broadway lovers are aware of rush ticket policies for many Broadway production. Playbill.com even keeps an up-to-date list of these available for people who have the flexibility to try again and again for tickets to their favorite shows.

A lot of rush policies are good day of meaning you buy the rush ticket an hour or two before the show (if you are one of the lucky people who waited in line). Usually these rush tickets are heavily discounted ($20 - $35 in most cases) and you take your chances as to whether you'll get into that particular performance.

But what if you could buy a "pre"-rush ticket even further in advance? Here me out...

What if you could pay a little bit more, say $40-50, weeks in advance but not for a particular day? Imagine it as a sort of "standby" ticket or pass (similar to a gift certificate). It guarantees that you have a ticket for that show some day but that day is up to you. You could call or visit the box office on the day you wish to attend and, pending availability, they would exchange your pass for the actual ticket. Done!

Benefits for you:

1. Your ticket is paid for. You took care of that already. You don't have to stand in long lines and pray you'll get it.
2. You still take your chances but your whole day doesn't hinge on whether you get in or not... it's done that morning.

Benefit for the show:

1. They have your money. Granted, there are some accounting questions here. The show can't really count your purchase until you've received the goods in exchange but they could earn interest off of it... couldn't they?
2. They can worry less about further discounting tickets day-of because they will have a group of committed consumers who will be happy to call or visit day of and exchange their slightly higher priced pass for a ticket to the show that day.

Issues:

What happens if the show closes and you still have this pass? Well, it could happen. But if the show isn't considering your pass income until you've seen it (which they shouldn't) then the income could pass on to the show you do choose. For example, if you bought your "pre"-rush ticket at a Shubert box office it is conceivable that you could use it at another Shubert box office if your show closes. Or, worse case scenario, you get a refund.

I'm curious to know if you have any thoughts on this. Would you buy a "pre"-rush ticket/pass/standby voucher for a little more if it meant you didn't have to worry about rush day-of? Is this even necessary? Just throwing an idea out there to initiate a conversation. Share your thoughts!

Drag Him to Broadway!

Patrick's submission for the La Cage
aux Folles photo contest.

So this weekend my friend Patrick found out that he is a finalist in the La Cage aux Folles photo contest.  SWEET!!  Several friends (including me) have been actively asking people to vote for him so that he can win a walk on role in this amazing Broadway production.

Which brings me back to this blog... I'd love for any (and all) readers to click his photo on the La Cage Facebook page and click the "like" button beneath it.  Now, if you don't see the "like" button just go to the top of the page, click La Cage Broadway's Profile link and "like" that first... then come back to the photo of Patrick and the "like" button should appear.

Whichever contestant has the most "likes" by Tuesday, November 23rd at noon will win the walk on role.

So, go, "like" and then "share" the photo with your friends on your Facebook wall and encourage them to vote for him too.

Thanks folks!  And don't forget to go see La Cage on Broadway.  It is a truly spectacular show and one you definitely do not want to miss.  Promise!

"Heathers: The Musical" or "Why I Love a Moviecal"

I had the best time last night at Joe's Pub.  Months ago I heard that a team of creatives including Tony Award nominee Laurence O'Keefe (Legally Blonde) and Kevin Murphy (Reefer Madness) were putting together Heathers: The Musical, based on the 1989 film, and immediately got on the horn (in this case, Facebook) and declared that everyone in my circle was going to go with me.

With the kind of expectations I had set for the event it was entirely possible that I was going to be disappointed.  But this amazing cast, which featured Annaleigh Ashford (Legally Blonde, Wicked) as Veronica and Jeremy Jordan (West Side Story) as J.D. along with an amazing trio of Heathers played by Jenna Leigh Green (Wicked) as Heather Chandler, Corri English as Heather McNamara and Christine Lakin (Reefer Madness) as Heather Duke, totally lived up to everything I had hoped for. And while Director Andy Fickman (Reefer Madness) wasn't part of the cast per se, he did provide biting and witty stage directions while periodically reminding the audience that "it will look awesome in a fully-staged Equity production."

Fully-staged or not, the show was a blast.

Several friends scoffed at the prospect of seeing "another movie turned musical" and complained that "there's no new stories" and "I don't want to see what I've already seen... done poorly".  Well friends, I scoff at that notion.

Movies-turned-musicals are a part of the fabric of the American theatre. Take for instance the following:

• All things Disney - Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Tarzan, The Little Mermaid
• Billy Elliot
• Catch Me If You Can*
• Cry Baby
• High Fidelity
• Legally Blonde
• Nine
• Nine to Five
• Shrek
• Sister Act*
• The Wedding Singer
• Xanadu
• Young Frankenstein
*planned for Broadway

And of course, many of our Broadway classics were based on other material to start too.

• Cabaret was based on John Van Druten's play I Am a Camera which was based on Christopher Isherwood's novel Goodbye to Berlin
• Damn Yankees is Faust
• Guys and Dolls came from Damon Runyon's short story The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown
• Hello, Dolly! came from Thornton Wilder's The Merchant of Yonkers which he later retitled The Matchmaker
• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying came from a how-to book of the same name
• Kiss Me, Kate was inspired by and uses the original Shakespeare play The Taming of the Shrew within its own story
• Man of La Mancha came from Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote
• My Fair Lady comes from Shaw's Pygmalion which Shaw took from Greek mythology
• Oklahoma! came from Lynn Riggs's 1931 play Green Grow the Lilacs
• South Pacific came from James Michener's Tales of the South Pacific
• The Pajama Game came from Richard Bissell's The novel 7 ½ Cents
• The Wiz came from The Wizard of Oz (with references to both the MGM film and the original Baum stories)
• West Side Story comes from Romeo and Juliet which Shakespeare himself based on the story of Pyramus and Thisbe from Ovid's Metamorphoses
• and of course, Wicked came from Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

In the end, the old adage may prove true, that there are no "new" stories to tell... just variations on old ones that we revisit, reorder and retell from time to time.  

Aside from the problem of "we already saw that" there is the second issue that many commercial producers have to consider.  If you're piling tens of millions of dollars into a Broadway musical, you want as close to a guarantee as possible that some people will want to see it... and the familiar starts to look like a safe bet.  "Did you like the movie Legally Blonde?  Then you'll love the Broadway musical!"  I believe it is far easier to get people into a show if you're offering them something that they can relate to.

So go buy a ticket to a "moviecal" and enjoy.  I'm pretty sure you will... if you liked it's predecessor.  

Tony Award Noms - and a few guesses

June 13 is just over a month away, and that means that the race is really on for the Tony Award nominees. You can check out the Red Carpet webcast beginning at 6:00PM (ET) and then at 7:00PM (ET) you can catch the webcast of the non-televised awards. At 8:00PM (ET) on CBS the fabulosity will begin.

The nominees are listed below along with my pick (in some cases "guess") in orange for who will take home the prizes. You can fill out a ballot of your own on The New York Times site by clicking here.

So, what are your thoughts? Who will win, who SHOULD win... and who got shafted?

Nominations for the 2010 American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards®

Presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing

Click below to read more!

Living Inside a Song: Part 1

Tonight, for the second time (first on Broadway) I experienced the miracle of luck and the perseverance of faith (at moments, literally) that is Sheri Rene Scott and she brings, as promised, your opportunity to achieve Everyday Rapture right there with her.

In her "true-ish story of a young woman's journey from Mennonite to Manhattanite"... well, I won't bore you with my "book review" of her work, but I can promise you it's a delightfully neurotic walk (hand-in-hand at times... it feels that intimate) down a very strange path that leads from cloistered and confined to creative and crazy... crazy, the good kind, like your favorite cousin or your cooky coworker.  Not the crazy-kind-of-crazy that puts you in a jacket (excuse me, it's a bit tight) and then says goodbye to your family from a thin, slightly frosted window as they wave goodbye riding from the back of a dirty green and beige station wagon. Jesus, enough reminiscing... this was supposed to be a beautiful night full of fun, songs, a step out of Broadway and up the ladder of the roof!

Point being before I either give away too much OR before you decide I'm too much of a kook to really think this through... you really have to see Sheri and her team go full out.  It's told almost in fairy tale fashion: evil queens (Becky), great wizards (Mr. Rogers), unreachable Gods (Judy Garland) and a fabulous hero, a shining Knight name Jerome who is lost too soon in the battle for good.

If you ever feel torn between two forces.... a speck of dust... or the receiver being handed the world created just for you... just remember, that in your pockets are both and someday you pull out the dust and others, you get to enjoy the crown and throne.

I'm rambling, I know.  It happens when I get excited about something that speaks to much to me.  Something that says, "Hey you..." (are you talking to me Sheri?)  "...yes... you with the glazed over look that says you are drooling in the glow of my Broadwayness... or you just came in from the Dunkin' Donuts across 42nd Street, save me one please and then please stop rambling and just enjoy."


You are so right.  And so I write, the end.  Go see this show and wait for the moment when the magic coming from the stage floats out over the audience and it hovers, waiting to pop over the person who needs it most.  And when it falls onto your fingertip, you'll know it is for you... and pop!  You're been blessed with a moment of Sheri Rene Scott.

Now, go order a ticket (from this link or your favorite discount service.... just do it and feel the miracle soon.

And P.S. Everyday Rapture has been nominated for two 2010 Tony® Awards! Sherie Rene Scott received a nomination for Best Actress in a Musical, and, along with Dick Scanlan, she also received a nomination for Best Book of a Musical.

(Part 2 to come)

Sweet Fanny Madam (or Butt the Show was Excellent)

Photo from the official
Red website.

We were privileged to see Red at the John Golden Theatre on Broadway the other night. It's an intriguing look at Rothko's work as he painted (and thought) about his commissioned work for the Four Seasons in NYC's (at the time) newly constructed Seagram's Building. It appealed to the former studio art student in me and made me pine for the days when I smelled of turpentine, was covered in gesso and would spend hours in front of a canvas wondering what was living underneath the white that I could reveal through layers of acrylic.

But the 11 o'clock number of this not-a-musical was moments after the performance.

Molina and Redmayne had made their bows and were no off stage, the house lights were warming and people were standing (either because they had been during their ovation or because they were ready to leave... or both). I was turned to my right, talking to Ren, Patty and Trevor about the show ("D'you like it? What'd you think?") when a very light tap tap happened on my back. I turned to find a very small, elderly woman with intensely thick glasses staring up at me. She had been seated next to me the whole show and had stayed quiet and focused. She only moved a few times and that was to draw out her binoculars so that she could zoom in on the performances.

But now she was focused on me. "You're very tall." Odd, I thought, surely I didn't disrupt her ability to see the show... sitting next to her and all. "I'm sorry," I said, offering an apology for something I wasn't sure I caused. "No no, it's fine," she replied, "It's just that your fanny was right there... right there in my face when I was getting up from my seat."

Gasp! Had I backed up into this poor, frail woman and offended her?? "I am so sorry!"

"No no, it's fine," she said again. "I'm not complaining. I just didn't expect it. But it's fine. You're just so tall and your fanny was just right there in my face." She smiled. Did she like this uncomfortable moment that we were having? Was she relishing in the fact that my rear was, likely, super-sized through her Coke-bottle lenses?

"Ok," was all I could mutter. I turned to my party, bug-eyed, and flipped my hands, shooing them out of the row and onto the street so that I could reveal this bizarro encounter. Being awkwardly hit on my little old ladies is best left to the Max Bialystocks of the world.

P.S. Go see Red. It's a limited run (closing June 27th) but well worth the time and money. Now shoo!

Everyone's Favorite Game: "Creative Team or Cuckoo Pants?"

I'm not going to go into WHY Elinor Burket went nuts on the Oscars last night but I am going to offer up a new game for all of us to play: Creative Team or Cuckoo Pants!

There are no rules really... you just have to pick someone on a creative team (i.e. your favorite Broadway director, music producer, lighting designer, playwright/screenwriter, etc) and decide, based on their behavior, if they are simply creative or if they are a bat-ass crazy cuckoo pants.

In a fun twist to the game, you can watch an awards show and, when you've decided that someone is simply cuckoo pants, take a shot.  By the end of the night you will, no doubt, be so  inebriated, that you too will be cuckoo pants... at least briefly.

Ready... set... go... May the cuckoo games begin!

If you want to read the whole story of Ms. Burket's Kanye moment, check out either Salon's piece or a more fun-filled, jaunty exposé on my friend Mark's blog, The Critical Condition.  Don't take my word for it!

Waitin' for the day your ship'll come in...

They're heeeerreee!

I can hardly contain my excitement. Last week, Violet Newstead, Judy Bernly and Doralee Rhodes stepped out of the office and onto the Great White Way.

9 to 5 is now a Broadway musical. Couldn't you just pass out from the giddiness? This movie is one of my all-time childhood favs. Could I, a simple - yet gifted - 5 year old, really have understood the complexity of this romp through working class women's struggles?

Um... of course I could! I imagined that I would one day reap the rewards of their hard-fought battle with Franklin Hart.

Thanks Violet, Judy and Doralee! Because of your fight (albeit fictional) I don't have to worry about changing anyone from a rooster to a hen in one shot... but don't think I can't do it!

Tony Awards 2009

Broadwayworld.com revealed the poster for the 2009 Tony® Awards today. Hot!

So, buzz has been boiling across the web, in particular at All That Chat, about which shows and artists will be nominated this year.

The favored categories and their probably-eligible participants are below. Any thoughts out there from the peanut gallery? Keep in mind that this list may not be complete, is not any official word from the Tony® committee and is by no means a reflection of my opinion... yet. That will come later.

Best Musical
[title of show]
13
Billy Elliot: The Musical
Irving Berlin's White Christmas
9 to 5
Next to Normal
Rock of Ages
Shrek The Musical
A Tale of Two Cities
The Story of My Life

Best Revival of a Musical
Pal Joey
Guys and Dolls
West Side Story
Hair

Best Play
Dividing the Estate
The American Plan
God of Carnage
Impressionism
33 Variations
Irena's Vow
reasons to be pretty
Accent on Youth
To Be Or Not To Be

Best Revival of a Play
Equus
The Seagull
All My Sons
Speed-the-Plow
American Buffalo
Hedda Gabler
Blithe Spirit
Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Mary Stuart
Desire Under the Elms
Waiting for Godot
The Philanthropist
A Man for All Seasons
Exit the King
The Norman Conquests

Commence discussion in 4... 3... 2... GO!

Finally! Yeesh. -OR- Do Critics Have This Much Power?

Yes, finally, a new post. How did I let this go for nearly two months? Who knows. Life gets busy, you prioritize and then remember... CRAP... I have a blog.

My bad.

Anyhow, back to the basics. There has been a lot of debate the last year asking for an answer to the following: Do theatre critics really have the power to close a show or is their reign of power is ending?

Exhibit A: The Story of My Life
The musical just opened this last Thursday and was drowned in negative reviews. Now, let me first state that I have not seen the show but I've heard mixed reviews from friends and colleagues who have. So, I'm not taking a stand on the quality of the show... just presenting it as an example in the hopes of starting a dialog about the above question.

Last night, it was announced that today would be the show's closing performance.

All signs point to the negative reviews. And while that may be valid, what are we missing here. I'd love to have your comments to discuss this. Ready... on your mark... get set.... GO!

The good and the bad of the new world!

Today is amazing... we have a new president-elect who will (I believe) make amazing changes to the way this country takes care of its resident and neighbors. This is "the good." I unfortunately passed out from a severe migraine during the hubbub last night, but did manage to wake up in time for the official announcement and to watch McCain's concession speech.

However, there is some bad news. It seems that James Nederlander plans to produce a Broadway musical based on Michael Jackson's Thriller. Seriously? No... SERIOUSLY? (In case you missed it, that qualifies as "the bad."

It's like an Agatha Christie novel over here!

Yep, as the news has posted, HAIRSPRAY will likely be the next victim of the de-gaying of Broadway. (Of course, I'm being silly about the de-gaying. The gay is here for good.) According to Broadwayworld.com, the hit musical will close on January 18, 2009 after more than six years.

A moment of silence please.
(shhh)

Ok, enough silence. Besides, rumor has it that La Fierstein will return as Edna for the final round. EEEK! I think I just got so excited that my jeans burst into flames.

Legally Brown: Episode 2

Episode 2 of "Legally Brown: The Search for the Next Piragua Guy" is on Youtube. It is so FRICKIN' funny I could just spit. But that's nasty. Instead, I did a little dance on the sofa. For $40 I'll do it at parties. Until you have $40, watch the clip below and enjoy with me.

Suddenly, the wheels are in motion... straight outta town!

(Photo by Paul Kolnik. Courtesy of Playbill.com)

It is officially the saddest day in the theatre industry. Xanadu has announced its closing.

I love this show. I mean, I could eat this show for breakfast, lunch, dinner and a midnight snack. Fourth meal? Screw you Taco Bell! Serve me up some Xanadu in a to-go bag and I'm set.

But alas, the fires of Hephaestus will soon be snuffed. Sigh. But it will at least skate across America in it's national tour, starting in LaJolla.

So, point being... if you haven't seen it, go NOW. If you have seen it and loved it, go NOW. If you saw it, didn't care for it, go BACK!

Hell, it would even make the Lehman Brothers forget there current woes. (Although this probably didn't make them laugh.)

Ogre My God!

Today, DreamWorks Theatricals released the first photo of Brian D'Arcy James as Shrek... the upcoming Broadway stage musical based on the first film and the children's book by William Steig.

Not too bad. I was a touch nervous about this adaptation but BDJ actually looks pretty cool.

According to this article it took 2 hours and 15 minutes to transform him for the first time. That's a LOT of time in a chair. After 10 minutes at the salon I'm ready to bolt.

Until then, follow the show at www.shrekthemusical.com. Let the battle of the green guy vs. the green girl begin.

Photo credit: Andrew Eccles, DreamWorks Theatricals

BRIGADOON postpones...

Does this mean that Broadway won't have a revival of Brigadoon for 100 years?

From Playbill.com:
To read the full article please visit http://www.playbill.com/news/article/119942.html.

"The new Broadway-aimed production of Lerner and Loewe's Brigadoon, directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Rob Ashford and scheduled to play in Boston this fall, prior to a Broadway opening, has been postponed. The reason given is..."

Sorry for the long delay in posting... more details about the new life in NYC are forthcoming. Patience is a virtue... so is internet access. But until I get to that, be sure to check out the new TKTS Booth opening in Brooklyn next week! Enjoy!

Show choir and Bridezillas!

So, I follow several Broadway themed blogs... including Andrew Keenan-Bolger's. He recently posted a clip of the failed (maybe?) MTV series SHOW CHOIR and it made me (for about ten minutes) obsessively look up other YouTube videos of show choirs in all their sequined glory. I found this... and about died. No offense to anyone in it, or anyone who was ever involved in show choir. Trust me, I'm a cheesy, musical theatre obsessed goon and only wish the show had made it to MTV... my DVR would have a new responsibility.



In other news... one of my dearest friends, Angela, is featured in the new (new to me anyway). You can check it out below. Angela's the one to your right of the center bride. Love it!

GREASE to get Speared?

I'm incredibly conflicted. Broadwayworld.com posted this news piece about 3 hours ago and I've been struggling with this ever since.

On the one hand, I loved Britney up through (and including) her STRONGER phase. She was fun, we all enjoyed her. We thought, "Now that is a good 2.5 minutes of pure bubble gum pop." It was almost (repeat... almost) as fun as Debbie Gibson and Tiffany.

On the other hand, she's gone bat ass crazy it seems and her stock has plummeted, risen a tad, plummeted, split shares with Cheetos, inched up, dove, yada yada. Now this.

So... I offer two scenarios:

A) This is an ingenious move by the producers to generate buzz for a show that has received generally negative reviews. In doing so, they generate sales, could possibly offer super-priced premium seats, run the show longer, yada yada. (The risk here is in turning the show into the revolving door of TV celebs like the 90s revival.)

or

B) This is a train wreck waiting to happen and the show will crumble under the weight of craziness, the paparazzi, the... you get the idea.

So, this will either be a major coup for the show... or the biggest disaster on Broadway since Bobbi Boland.

Stay tuned!