Broadway
Broadway Extends Shutdown Through Spring 2021
Broadway has been entirely shut down since March 12th of this year, and it doesn’t look like the lights will be coming back up anytime soon. Today, it was announced the iconic theater district will remain shuttered well into 2021. The Broadway League, a trade association of producers and theater owners, announced that they’re officially suspending all ticket sales for New York City productions until May 30th of next year. However, the League’s president, Charlotte St. Martin, expressed skepticism that the city’s 41 theaters will even be operating by the summer. “Certainly a lot of shows are making their plans, and some think we will open in the summer, and I hope they are right,” she said in an interview with the New York Times. “But I think people’s bets are the fall of next year.” An add...
Broadway Extends Shutdown Through May 2021
The extension means that Broadway will be closed for more than a year by the time it reopens in 2021. “With nearly 97,000 workers who rely on Broadway for their livelihood and an annual economic impact of $14.8 billion to the city, our membership is committed to re-opening as soon as conditions permit us to do so. We are working tirelessly with multiple partners on sustaining the industry once we raise our curtains again,” Broadway League president Charlotte St. Martin said in a statement. New York was initially hit hard by the pandemic, with as many as 11,000 new cases a day in April, before a robust response led to a drop below 1,000 new cases a day for three months from June-September. In recent weeks, however, a number of zip codes in New York City and the state as a whole have seen sp...
Disney+ Tackling Adaptation of Broadway Musical ‘Once On This Island’
With Hamilton on Disney+ being a runaway sensation, The Hollywood Reporter has learned that the streaming service is working to bring another Broadway musical to the screen. Playwright Jocelyn Bioh and director Wanuri Kahiu are developing Once On This Island, a feature adaptation of the 1990 Broadway musical that is based on the Rosa Guy novel, My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl. Marc Platt, the producer behind Broadway’s Wicked as well as movies ranging from Legally Blonde to La La Land, is producing. As opposed to Hamilton, which was a recording of a stage performance, Island will be a more traditional adaptation. Disney’s live-action division is running point on the project. The story is set in the French Antilles in the Caribbean Sea and tells of a peasant girl who falls in l...
37 Times Parody Singer Randy Rainbow Roasted Donald Trump
Shady singer extraordinaire Randy Rainbow is well-known for his politically charged parody videos. Although they started off as mock interviews with politicians and celebrities, Randy eventually showed off his singing abilities in parody music videos based on Broadway tunes and pop hits. In these videos, Randy has taken a particular interest in President Trump and his administration. Not only does he have incredibly versatile vocals, Randy is also a hilariously talented lyricist. His sharp wit and tongue are the perfect tools that allow him to create the most scathing videos, guaranteed to make you laugh. Here are 36 times Randy Rainbow has read Trump for filth since the start of his 2016 presidential campaign. “Ya Got Trump Trouble” “Ya Got Trump Trouble” was Ra...
Broadway Stars Patti Murin & Colin Donnell Welcome First Child — Check Out Her Musical Name
Broadway couple Patti Murin and Colin Donnell welcomed their first baby girl, Cecily Philips Donnell, earlier this week — and her name might sound familiar. “Meet Cecily Philips Donnell, born on July 14th. She’s strong as heck and ready to change the world, and we have never loved anything more in our lives,” Murin wrote an Instagram Friday (July 17) along with a picture of the family of three in the hospital. “‘Life is not the things that we do, it’s who we’re doing them with.'” Murin quoted a lyric from “Cecily Smith” by Will Connolly, a bonus track from the 2014 original Off-Broadway production Fly By Night: A New Musical, which she starred in. The new mother did not explicitly explain whether they named their daug...
‘Hamilton’ Hits No. 2 on Billboard 200, Is Highest-Charting Cast Album Since 1969
Set also captures biggest streaming week ever for a cast album. The original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton: An American Musical surges to a new peak on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as the set vaults from No. 14 to No. 2 in the wake of the show’s Disney+ premiere on July 3. The album earned 102,000 equivalent album units (up 294 percent) in the U.S. in the week ending July 9, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. Of that sum, 32,000 are in album sales (up 592 percent). The last cast recording to reach the top two on the chart was the original cast album of Hair, which spent 13 weeks at No. 1 in 1969. The Hamilton album is basking in the glow of the Disney+ streaming premiere of the filmed version of the Broadway stage show, with most of the original Broadway cast. T...
Amanda Kloots Cries While Thanking Fans For Support After Nick Cordero’s Death, Shares Family Movies
Amanda Kloots documented her late husband Broadway star Nick Cordero’s three-month battle against COVID-19, frequently posting updates about his condition and, sadly, confirming his passing over the weekend. On Monday (July 6), she broke down in tears in an Instagram Live video while discussing the Tony-nominated star’s career highlights. “Nick’s dream of becoming a rock star definitely happened and it’s because of you guys and your support,” Kloots said in the video, posted one day after she confirmed that Cordero had died at age 41. “There were days when I did not think I could get on social media and sing but I always felt better after I did… It always made me feel better. Singing and dancing is an amazing way to have some therapy in your life.” While thanking fans wor...
R.I.P. Nick Cordero, Celebrated Broadway Actor Dies at 41 From Coronavirus
Nick Cordero, an accomplished Tony Award-nominated Broadway actor, has died at the age of 41 due to complications from coronavirus. Cordero’s wife, Amanda Kloots, announced her husband’s passing in a statement posted to Instagram on Sunday, July 5th. “God has another angel in heaven now. My darling husband passed away this morning. He was surrounded in love by his family, singing and praying as he gently left this earth,” Kloots wrote. “I am in disbelief and hurting everywhere. My heart is broken as I cannot imagine our lives without him. Nick was such a bright light,” Kloots added. “He was everyone’s friend, loved to listen, help and especially talk. He was an incredible actor and musician. He loved his family and loved being a father and husband. Elvis and I will miss him in everything w...
Original ‘Hamilton’ Cast to Team Up With Jimmy Fallon & The Roots For ‘Global Goal’ Performance
Global Citizen and the European Commission’s all-star lineup for their “Global Goal: Unite for Our Future” concert just got even better. Lin-Manuel Miranda and the original Broadway cast of Hamilton will team up with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots to perform together during the June 27 event, which will shine a light on how the global coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately impacted marginalized communities. The announcement follows exciting news that the original Broadway production of Hamilton, filmed live on stage, will be streaming exclusively on Disney+ on Friday July 3. Miranda, the Hamilton cast, Fallon and The Roots join previously announced performers Miley Cyrus, Shakira, J Balvin, Justin Bieber and Quavo,&n...
Nick Cordero’s Wife Amanda Kloots Gives Update on His Condition: ‘Things Are Moving in the Right Direction’
Nick Cordero’s wife, Amanda Kloots, gave a hopeful update on the actor’s condition on Sunday (June 7) as he battles the coronavirus. “S0 I think this weekend was a good weekend, it was uneventful,” she said in a series of videos posted to her Instagram Stories. “Which, uneventful in the ICU is a good weekend. I think he had a weekend of rest, a weekend of growing, strength in his body and recovering a little bit. … Not too many changes were made, which is also a good sign, but one really good sign is his white blood count number is way down. So it has been as high as 65,000; we are now at 30,000. A frame of reference: a normal healthy person is around 15-20,000, even lower sometimes. So 30,000 is a great sign that things are moving in the right direction...
Barenaked Ladies’ Steven Page on a Potential New Album
Kyle Meredith With… Steven Page Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Barenaked Ladies singer-songwriter Steven Page gives Kyle Meredith a call to discuss his new single “Isolation”, in addition to Here’s What it Takes, the musical he’s been working on for the past seven years that was about to open right before the global pandemic. He also dives into his history of theatrical writing, recently teaming up with Broadway stars for an online collaboration, and performing a show with his own son. Page also talks about the success of his home shows over Zoom, and says he has an album’s worth of songs that could hopefully see the light of day sooner than later. Kyle Meredith With… is an ...
Steven Spielberg-Produced Musical ‘Smash’ Headed For Broadway
The stage production is inspired by the TV series of the same name, which ran for two seasons on NBC. New musical Smash, inspired by the NBC series of the same name, is headed for Broadway. Steven Spielberg, who is among the show’s lead producers, wrote in a statement that he is “personally thrilled” to be a part of this project. “Smash is near and dear to my heart, and it seems fitting that a new musical inspired by what we did on the show would eventually come to the stage,” continued the filmmaker. “I’m beyond thrilled to be working with this incredible creative team and my producing partners, who began the Smash journey with me over ten years ago.” Tony winner Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone, The Prom) and Tony nominee Rick Elice (Jersey...
