"The Inheritance" will close March 15th; "Beetlejuice" eyes the Ethel Barrymore Theatre; "To Kill a Mockingbird" makes history with Madison Square Garden performance; Greg Kinnear is the next Atticus Finch; Tony Yazbeck to direct a Frank Wildhorn’s "The Civil War"; Sophia Anne Caruso abruptly departed “Beetlejuice"; NYTW’s "Three Sisters" will feature an adaption by Clare Barron; Cassie Beck will star in the next segment of the national tour of "What the Constitution Means to Me"; and "Ink" will be adapted for the big screen
All tagged Beetlejuice
"Beetlejuice" to close June 6th, making way for "The Music Man"; "Is This A Room" returns to the Vineyard Theatre; Red Bucket Follies raised $5.6M for BC/EFA; Chip Zien, Caissie Levy, John Cariani, and more join Sharon D. Clarke in "Caroline, or Change"; Adam Chanler-Berat, Tavi Gevinson, and Andy Grotelueschen join Judy Kuhn, Steven Pasquale, Will Swenson, Wesley Taylor, and Brandon Uranowitz in Classic Stage Company’s “Assassins”; "Slave Play" pioneers new ticket gifting program; "Little Shop of Horrors" will record a cast album; Rashidra Scott rounds out the principal cast of "Company"; Tony Goldwyn to step into "The Inheritance"; Samantha Barks to star in London bow of "Frozen"; RIP René Auberjonois, Ron Leibman, Danny Aiello, Richard Easton, and William Luce
FEATURE: Top 10 of 2019
By my count, I’ve attended 234 performances of theatre, dance, music, opera, and cabaret during 2019. Out of a field that large, it’s hard to pick just ten, but nevertheless, here are my top ten (ok, eleven) favorite shows I saw in 2019.
Ephraim Sykes will star as Michael Jackson in "MJ" the musical on Broadway; Martin McDonagh's "Hangmen" will play a limited engagement at Broadway's Golden Theatre; "Tootsie" will close on January 5th; "Hadestown" recoups; Imelda Staunton will star in "Hello, Dolly!" on the West End; Dominic Cooke will direct “Follies” film; The Drama Book Shop will reopen in a new location in 2020; RIP Laurel Griggs
REVIEW: “Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation”
After a five year hiatus, the Broadway parody revue “Forbidden Broadway” is back with a new edition that makes fun of Broadway shows, actors, and personalities through sketches that satirize the form. Mostly funny, this iteration is undercut by a tinge of bitterness and resentment toward shifting cultural mores and trends on Broadway. But, in the end, it’s still the same scrappy, low-budget comedy revue that’s been playing, off and on, since 1982.
"Mrs. Doubtfire" the musical will open at Broadway's Stephen Sondheim Theatre; the Broadway-aimed musical "Lempicka" will play La Jolla Playhouse; Tim Sanford will step down as Artistic Director of Playwrights Horizons; stars of "SpongeBob SquarePants" will reunite for a new TV adaptation that will premiere on Nickelodeon; Maria Dizzia to headline “Constitution” tour; Roger Bart joins "Back to the Future" musical; Warren Carlyle to direct and choreograph Barry Manilow's "Harmony"; first look of Carolee Carmello as Dolly Levi in the national tour of "Hello, Dolly!"
"MJ The Musical" will play Broadway's Neil Simon Theatre; Martin Scorsese's new film, "The Irishman", will screen at Broadway's Belasco Theatre; TimeOut's Helen Shaw is the new theater critic for New York Magazine/Vulture; "Slave Play" extends by two weeks; "A Christmas Carol" and “Evita” casting announcements; Joe Mantello to receive prestigious “Mr. Abbott” Award; Kerry Washington joins “The Prom" movie; "A Night with Janis Joplin" will screen; "The Life of Pi" might be headed to Broadway in 2021; Kathleen Marshall tapped to direct and choreograph "Sideways" musical; RIP Bruce Anthony Davis
"Beetlejuice" plans events for every day of October; "Sea Wall/A Life" to be audio-recorded for Audible; Jason Robert Brown and Robert Horn's "13" musical will be made into a film; "Saturday Night Fever" 20th anniversary reunion event CSC’s "Assassins" casting announced; "Between the Lines" musical to play Off-Broadway; transgender actor Alexandra Billings will join the Broadway company of "Wicked" in January; Caissie Levy and Patti Murin will leave “Frozen” in February; MCC Theater announces a new musical development initiative
"Company" on Broadway will star Katrina Lenk as a female Bobbie and Patti LuPone as Joanne; Richard Linklater will make a movie adaption of "Merrily We Roll Along" filmed in real time over the next 20 years; "The Lehman Trilogy" books Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre; Tony Award winners Jayne Houdyshell, Jefferson Mays, Shuler Hensley, and Marie Mullen join the Fall 2020 revival of "The Music Man"; Solea Pfeiffer and Maia Reficco will share the title role in "Evita" at New York City Center; Rob McClure will star in the world premiere of "Mrs. Doubtfire" the musical in Seattle; Ryan Murphy is developing a ten-part Netflix adaptation of "A Chorus Line"; Tony Award winner André de Shields will receive the York Theatre Company's Oscar Hammerstein Award for lifetime achievement; RIP: Isabel Toledo, Valerie Harper, and Ken LeRoy
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.
"The Ferryman" and "What the Constitution Means to Me" are New York Drama Critics Circle’s best plays; "Carmen Jones" tops the Lortel Awards; Broadway.com "Audience Choice" award nominees; "Jagged Little Pill" books Broadway's Broadhurst; Diane Paulus to direct a 2021 Broadway revival of "1776"; "All My Sons" extends; Vanessa Carlton to make Broadway debut in "Beautiful"; "The Prince of Egypt" to open in London; "Pretty Woman" to tour; Roundabout to present Adam Gwon's musical "Scotland, PA"; RIP Harlan Bengel, David Winters, Terry Allen Kramer, and Dave Bova
Tony nominations and Drama Desk nominations; Laura Linney to star in "My Name is Lucy Barton"; "Oklahoma!", "What the Constitution Means to Me", and "Ink" extend; "To Kill a Mockingbird" recoups; "Bandstand" and "The Ferryman" to tour; "Rock of Ages" will return to New World Stages; New York Theatre Workshop season to include a stage version of the film "Sing Street"; "Beetlejuice" and “The Hello Girls” to record cast albums; Moliere in the Park; Rick Lyon's puppets from "Avenue Q" donated to the Smithsonian; Sarah Silverman's memoir "The Bedwetter" is being adapted as a stage musical; RIP Mark Medoff and Jo Loesser