Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: A man goes to make a movie about a shark. He decides to shoot on the ocean instead of a tank on a soundstage, to give it that extra sense of realism. Virtually everything that can go wrong does go wrong, including …
Read More »The 'Back to the Future' Musical (Mostly) Cuts Marty's Appropriation of Chuck Berry
Movies or life stories that are transformed into Broadway musicals always take a degree of liberties with their source material. Sometimes they’re egregious (Hey, Cher musical people, Gregg Allman didn’t sing “Ramblin’ Man” — Dickey Betts did!); other times they may be an improvement. The latter is sometimes the case …
Read More »Lin-Manuel Miranda to Adapt 'The Warriors' Into a Stage Musical
Lin-Manuel Miranda is writing a stage musical version of The Warriors, Sol Yurick’s 1965 novel, which inspired the 1979 cult thriller film by director Walter Hill. According to The New York Post, which first reported the news, not many details on the project are know at this point, but Miranda’s …
Read More »Hollywood Actors Are Striking. But on Broadway, the Show Must Go On.
Actors have now taken to the streets, walking shoulder to shoulder on picket lines with members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) after failing to secure an equitable contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). We are one week into the SAG-AFTRA strike, and, as …
Read More »Betty Who Will Make Her Broadway Debut in 'Hadestown'
Changes are coming to the Greek underworld — at least as it appears on Broadway. Australian pop musician Betty Who and Tony nominee Phillip Boykin are set to take over the leading roles of Persephone and Hades, respectively, in the hit musical, Hadestown, starting Sept. 5. The complex, fraught relationship …
Read More »Don't Ask Ben Platt This One Question
In many ways, Ben Platt is one of the most successful theater kids of our time, third only to Lin-Manuel Miranda and Taylor Swift (proof of this ignominious past can be found here and here). The prodigiously talented tenor grew up with fellow L.A.-based theater kid Molly Gordon and BFF …
Read More »Tony Awards Behind the Scenes: All the Tea You Didn't See on TV
J. Harrison Ghee started their day eating a bacon, egg, and cheese McGriddle. They ended the night making history as the first non-binary performer to win a Tony Award for best leading actor in a musical for their role as Jerry/Daphne in the new musical comedy Some Like It Hot, …
Read More »David Byrne's 'Here Lies Love' Reaches Agreement, Now Hiring Live Musicians
David Byrne has reached an agreement with musicians’ union, Local 802, for the upcoming production,Here Lies Love,his play about the former First Lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos. The musical, which Byrne co-wrote with Fatboy Slim, had previously planned to use pre-recorded tracks. Per the agreement, the show will hire …
Read More »Alicia Keys Announces Opening of Musical Loosely Based on Her Life, Featuring Her Hits
Alicia Keys serves as the inspiration for a new musical, Hell’s Kitchen. On Thursday, Keys announced that a musical loosely based on her life and featuring her hits will open at New York’s Public Theater later this year on Nov. 19. The show will tackle “societal issues facing young people …
Read More »David Byrne's Musical Faces Opposition From Broadway Union for Not Using Live Band
David Byrne‘s upcoming production, Here Lies Love, is facing opposition from a labor union that represents Broadway musicians. American Federation of Musicians are taking issue with the production’s decision to use pre-recorded tracks instead of a live band in the musical, which is set to have previews next month. Local …
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