Theater

Kinky Boots

© Kinky Boots

Producers Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig have announced that Kinky Boots, the winner of six 2013 Tony Awards, will kick off its national tour in Las Vegas in September 2014.

The tour will open at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Downtown Las Vegas, in response to overwhelming demand by locals to bring the show to the Vegas area.

According to Roth, "We are so excited to take Kinky Boots from coast to coast, so that the entire country can share in the joyousness that our audiences on Broadway experience every night." Luftig concurred, saying, "And what a privilege it is to be the first Broadway show to launch a national tour at the beautiful new Smith Center. We look forward to an exciting opening night in Las Vegas next September."

Written by Tony winner Harvey Fierstein and new Tony Award-winning composer Cyndi Lauper, Kinky Boots tells the true story of how one young man saves the family business by being open to change and taking a risk.

The original Broadway production of Kinky Boots opened April 4, 2013, and recently six won Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score for Cyndi Lauper, Best Choreography for Jerry Mitchell, Best Actor for Billy Porter, Best Orchestrations for Stephen Oremus, and Best Sound Design for John Shivers. The show also received the Best Musical trophies from the Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, as well as many other awards.

Stay tuned for updates about tour dates and cities!

 

Neil Patrick Harris

© Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Neil Patrick Harris will return to the Broadway stage in the 2014 Broadway premiere of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

Fans of the TV and Broadway star and fabulous Tony Awards host will be thrilled to learn Harris will grace the Great White Way once again. In a statement released by producers, Harris said, "I am simultaneously ecstatic and terrified to be stepping into 'Hedwig's' heels. It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime role, and I can't wait to begin the journey."

Composer Stephen Trask was elated to have Harris cast as the cult favorite "Hedwig": "It's like you're putting together a fantasy rock band and Paul McCartney agrees to play bass."

Hedwig and the Angry Inch was a favorite on stage and in the Sundance award-winning indie film written by and starring John Cameron Mitchell. Talk of a Broadway production has been circulating for years, and now with Harris in the lead, the show seems to finally be on track for a Spring 2014 opening.

The Broadway production is being produced by David Binder, who produced the original Hedwig Off-Off-Broadway in 1997. Says Binder:

"I'm so excited that everything has come into place to bring Hedwig to Broadway. I have always felt that John and Stephen's musical is a masterpiece and deserved to be seen by wider audiences. Neil Patrick Harris is a consummate stage performer who knows how to rock -- there is no one better to play the role of Hedwig on Broadway."

More news on creatives and theatre location will be announced soon. Stay tuned!

Tony Awards

© American Theatre Wing/ Broadway League

Ready to vote for Best Play?

Several famous Hollywood and television stars hit the boards this season, including Tom Hanks in Lucky Guy, Judith Light in The Assembled Parties, and David Hyde Pierce and Sigourney Weaver in Vasha and Sonia and Masha and Spike.

Tony voters might be a little-star-struck, so help them out! Vote in the poll below to name your pick to win the Tony Award for Best Play for the 2012-2013 season.

Further reading:

• POLL: Which Show Will Win Best Musical at 2013 Tony Awards?
• 2013 Tony Award Nominations Offer Surprising Nods and Snubs
• Neil Patrick Harris Returns to Host Tony Awards on CBS
• Bette Midler's 'I'll Eat You Last' Playing Limited Broadway Engagement

Tony Awards

© American Theatre Wing/ Broadway League

It's that time of year again! Time to put on our thinking caps and guess which shows will take the top trophies at this year's Tony Awards.

Think you know what show will snag Best Musical? Vote below! Then see how your prediction ranks with others.

Happy voting!

Further reading:

• 2013 Tony Awards - Musical Categories
• 2013 Tony Awards - Play Categories
• Shows on Broadway National Tour 2013
• Top 10 Broadway Cast Albums 2012

NBC's "SMASH"

© NBC

As I could have predicted, NBC has dropped the curtain on its Broadway-themed melodrama-palooza, "SMASH."

Citing poor ratings, "SMASH" has not been renewed for a third season. I reviewed the first season of "SMASH" and listed all that was good and bad about the production, and apparently, enough thespians felt the same, not bothering to tune in to the episodic for its sophomore season.

NBC had a great chance of presenting the trials and tribulations of life upon the wicked stage -- which is dramatic enough as it is, without the added soap opera stylings in an effort to sensationalize the road to Broadway for audiences accustomed to the staged antics of reality TV.

To see Broadway stars on TV, just watch "The Good Wife" on CBS, which is also hosting the 2013 Tony Awards on June 9th.

Further reading:

• Neil Patrick Harris Returns to Host Tony Awards on CBS
• Megan Hilty & Aaron Lazar in Broadway-bound 'Can-Can' by Cole Porter
• Bette Midler's 'I'll Eat You Last' Playing Limited Broadway Engagement
• Top 10 Broadway Cast Albums 2012
• REVIEW: Patti LuPone - Far Away Places: Live at 54 BELOW
• REVIEW: Chaplin ~ Original Broadway Cast Recording
• REVIEW: Norbert Leo Butz's Memory and Mayhem: Live at 54 BELOW

 

Neil Patrick Harris

© Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Producers of the annual Tony Awards have announced that Neil Patrick Harris will once again host the Tony Awards this June.

Harris can be seen on CBS in "How I Met Your Mother," but he is a true stage song-and-dance man. Hosting the 2013 Tonys will be Harris' fourth time center stage for this major theatrical event that will be televised live on CBS from the iconic Radio City Musical Hall. In a statement, Harris said:

"I'm very excited to be back hosting the Tony Awards at the legendary Radio City Music Hall. It'll be more impressive than ever - if my math is correct, it will be 267 times bigger than last year," said Neil Patrick Harris. "Oh, wait. No, that can't... hold on... carry the one... I'm awful at math. But rest assured, the show will rock!"

Several big names are up for Tonys this year, so tune in to CBS on June 9, 2013, to see the Tony Awards live!

Further reading:

• 'Jekyll & Hyde' to Close Broadway Revival Early
• Bette Midler's 'I'll Eat You Last' Playing Limited Broadway Engagement
• Julianna Margulies and Paul Rudd Star in Reading of 'The Mercy Seat'
• 'Nice Work If You Can Get It' to End Broadway Run
• Larry Kramer to Receive Tony Awards' Isabelle Stevenson Award

Megan Hilty of "SMASH" & Wicked

© Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

The producer of the upcoming staged reading of Cole Porter's Can-Can has announced the leads will be performed by Megan Hilty and Aaron Lazar.

The staged reading, produced by Jonathan Burrows, will feature Porter's 1953 musical Can-Can with the intent of a transfer to Broadway in 2014. The show features songs such as "I Love Paris," "C'est Magnifique," and "It's All Right With Me," telling the tale of a café owner, played by Hilty, who risks everything to bring the Can-Can dance to her patrons.

Megan Hilty currently stars in NBC's "SMASH," but got her start in Broadway's Wicked, also headlining in 9 to 5 on Broadway and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at Encores! Aaron Lazar is known to Broadway audiences from his work in Mamma Mia!, A Little Night Music, Les Misérables, and The Light in the Piazza.

The staged reading will be by-invitation-only on July 15, 16, and 17, 2013, in New York City.

Further reading:

• 2013 Tony Award Nominations Offer Surprising Nods and Snubs
• Julianna Margulies and Paul Rudd Star in Reading of 'The Mercy Seat'
• 'Gigi' Might Return to Broadway for 2013-2014 Season
• Broadway's 'Wicked' Gets a New "Elphaba" in May 2013

Orphans on Broadway with Alec Baldwin

© Orphans

Producers of Orphans starring Alec Baldwin have announced the Broadway production will close early.

Orphans tells the story of a young man who kidnaps another man for ransom, not realizing his victim is actually a mob boss. Tom Sturridge has been nominated for a 2013 Tony Award for his role as "Phillip," while the more famous Alec Baldwin was overlooked by the Tonys.

Conversely, Lucky Guy with Tom Hanks has been uber successful critically as well as financially. However, other household names in the leads of their productions were also snubbed by the Tonys, including Alan Cumming for Macbeth and Bette Midler in I'll Eat You Last....

Orphans will play its final performance on May 19, 2013, after only 37 regular performances. The show plays at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre located at 236 West 45th Street.

Further reading:

• 'Jekyll & Hyde' to Close Broadway Revival Early
• Bette Midler's 'I'll Eat You Last' Playing Limited Broadway Engagement
• Julianna Margulies and Paul Rudd Star in Reading of 'The Mercy Seat'
• 'Nice Work If You Can Get It' to End Broadway Run

Bette Midler in I'll Eat You Last - A Chat With Sue Mengers on Broadway

© Bette Midler

The Divine Miss M has returned to Broadway in a tour-de-force hilarious revelation that is I'll Eat You Last - A Chat With Sue Mengers.

Reigning from the comfort of a snazzy stage sofa, Bette Midler has returned to Broadway in an 80-minute one-woman show about Hollywood super-agent Sue Mengers who repped Tinseltown royalty for decades. The show was penned by three-time Academy Award nominee John Logan, who won a Tony for writing the Tony Award-winning Best Play Red, and is directed by Joe Mantello, who helmed Assassins and Wicked.

Midler was not honored with a 2013 Tony Award nomination in an otherwise stiff race, but she has been nominated for a Drama Desk Award in the category of Outstanding Solo Performance.

I'll Eat You Last - A Chat With Sue Mengers is on Broadway for only 89 performances, so catch the iconic Bette Midler on Broadway while you can!

Further reading:

• 2013 Tony Award Nominations Offer Surprising Nods and Snubs
• Shows on Broadway National Tour 2013
• Top 10 Broadway Cast Albums 2012

Jekyll & Hyde

© Jekyll & Hyde

Producers of the anticipated Broadway revival of Frank Wildhorn's Jekyll & Hyde the Musical have just announced the show will close on May 12, 2013, after only 30 regular performances.

Jekyll & Hyde was hyped because of Rock of Ages star Constantine Maroulis tacking the dramatic rock tenor stylings of the dual title character. The show even did a 25-week national tour as a Broadway-bound tryout. Listening to the concept cast album, I heard numerous problems in the casting of the female roles, which I detailed in my review of the album.

Theatre-goers will remember a similar sudden Broadway closing of Wildhorn's troubled Wonderland when it received no Tony nominations in 2011, but Wonderland deserved to close if for other reason than the terrible book and abominable set. However, I am one of those people still confused why the excellently scored Bonnie & Clyde closed suddenly as well.

Can Wildhorn get some "sympathy, tenderness" nowadays? Not on Broadway, apparently.

Further reading:

• 2013 Tony Award Nominations Offer Surprising Nods and Snubs
• Julianna Margulies and Paul Rudd Star in Reading of 'The Mercy Seat'
• Broadway's 'Wicked' Gets a New "Elphaba" in May 2013
• Shows on Broadway National Tour 2013
• Top 10 Broadway Cast Albums 2012
• REVIEW: Patti LuPone - Far Away Places: Live at 54 BELOW
• REVIEW: Chaplin ~ Original Broadway Cast Recording
• REVIEW: Norbert Leo Butz's Memory and Mayhem: Live at 54 BELOW