"The Cher Show”, "King Kong", and "Pretty Woman" will close on August 18th; West End “Betrayal” headed to Broadway; MCP to present concert of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”; Neil Diamond and Liberace musicals in development; casting announced for “The Prom” film, “Hercules” in the park, “Road Show” at City Center”, and “Scotland, PA” at Roundabout; West End’s “Present Laughter” and gender-swapped “Company” rumored for Broadway; “Waitress” becomes longest running show at the Brooks Atkinson; RIP Martin Charnin, William F. Brown, and Sid Ramin
All tagged King Kong
NOTES: Jason Robert Brown and Stephen Sondheim in concert at Town Hall
Two weeks ago, I attended what might long rank among the most magical and special concerts I will ever have the privilege to see: Jason Robert Brown in concert with Stephen Sondheim, featuring Katrina Lenk, special guests Shoshana Bean, Joshua Henry, and Rob McClure, and a cameo from Lin-Manuel Miranda
REVIEW: “Beetlejuice” is a ghoulishly good time
“Beetlejuice”, the last new musical of the 2018-2019 Broadway season, is a ghoulishly good time that pays loving homage to the mythology of the movie while fundamentally reorienting the story and lending it an unexpected punch of pathos amid its crass and crude mania. Gorgeously designed with a Tim Burton aesthetic, and featuring a relentless series of bawdy jokes and entertaining songs, this hyperactive musical comedy might not meet the elevated aesthetic standards of some, but I had a blast.
FEATURE: 2019 Tony Award Nominations
The 2019 Tony Award Nominations were announced this morning by Bebe Neuwirth and Brandon Victor Dixon. Take a look at the list and read my analysis of the surprises and snubs.
REVIEWS: “King Kong” and “The Making of King Kong”
In this comparative review, I take a look at the $35M “King Kong” musical on Broadway—complete with its thrilling stagecraft and lackluster material underneath—and the decidedly low-budget Off-Off-Broadway play, “The Making of King Kong”—a playful deconstruction of the “Kong” myth and its attendant problems of white patriarchy, colonialism, and sexism.
"Gettin' the Band Back Together" to close September 16th; "Mrs. Doubtfire" musical in development; "Cats" film to premiere on December 20, 2019; "Queen of New York" music video from “King Kong”; the debate over "jukebox musicals" continues; RIP Paul Taylor and Carole Shelley
Christiani Pitts and Eric William Morris to star in "King Kong"; Classic Stage Company announces its 2018-2019 season; a good read on classical music; Chita Rivera, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Sara Krulwich to receive special awards; nominees for the Outer Critics Circle Awards, Off-Broadway Alliance Awards, and the Drama Desk Awards; Soon-Tek Oh dead at 85; Jeanette Gertrude dead at 103
"1984" ineligible for Tonys; "Kiss Me, Kate" headed to Broadway in 2019; Lin-Manuel Miranda to play in Puerto Rico "Hamilton"; "King Kong" arrives in New York next fall; new technology coming for theatregoers with hearing and vision loss; columnist Liz Smith dead at 94