The Broadway show thread where we discuss all things Broadway

[Fantasmic23]

I like to compare the original stage versions and the movie adaptations too!

It is amazing how different they can be!

I've heard that Hugh Jackman has the movie rights to "Oklahoma" and has been wanting to redo an updated movie version. I think he wants to change some of the domestic abuse/battered woman elements, which I have to admit, make me uncomfortable.

Don't know when it will be filmed or out though.

Could Hugh possibly have the rights to "Carousel"? I know "Carousel" has some domestic abuse/battered woman elements - Billy hitting Julie. That always made me uncomfortable, too.

So excited he has the movie rights, whether it be "Oklahoma!" or "Carousel"!

 

[Deb in IA]

Could Hugh possibly have the rights to "Carousel"? I know "Carousel" has some domestic abuse/battered woman elements - Billy hitting Julie. That always made me uncomfortable, too.

So excited he has the movie rights, whether it be "Oklahoma!" or "Carousel"!

Oh, you are right! I'm getting my R & H musicals mixed up!

Yes, I'm excited he has the rights and I'm hoping he can get around to filming it soon!

 

[MissDisney121]

I just won two tickets to Next to Normal in Pittsburgh tomorrow night! Can't wait to see it.

Awesome! I hope you had a great time. I just saw that show twice a couple of weeks ago and I LOVED it!

 

[AllisonK]

Has anyone seen anything lately? My friend and I went to the first preview of "The People in the Picture" with Donna Murphy and Nicole Parker (from MadTV) last week and we really enjoyed it! It needs a lot of work but it has the potential to be great! And then we saw "Love, Loss and What I Wore" off-Broadway two days later! It was really great, I've seen it before and there's a different rotating celebrity cast every month and this month's cast was GREAT. (It was Donna McKechnie from the original production "A Chorus Line," Sonia Manzano - Maria on Sesame Street, Fredi Walker-Browne from the original cast of "Rent" and then Annie Starke who is Glenn Close's daughter and Rumer Willis, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis' daughter. They were FANTASTIC!)

I don't have tickets to anything else just yet but my same friend and I planning to do a two-show day in May to see "Million Dollar Quartet" and "Sister Act" to see my friend who's in the show. And then I'll see at least one show between now and then so I have something to write about for my drama paper!.

 

[JenM]

Could Hugh possibly have the rights to "Carousel"? I know "Carousel" has some domestic abuse/battered woman elements - Billy hitting Julie. That always made me uncomfortable, too.

So excited he has the movie rights, whether it be "Oklahoma!" or "Carousel"!

It's definitely Carousel. Supposedly it's ready to go, but they're having trouble finding a studio willing to finance it. Nothing to do with the abuse elements...it's just an old-school musical and they're not sure it will be a hit.

Hugh played Billy in a concert version of Carousel at Carnegie Hall back in 2002. It wasn't officially recorded, but there are some grainy clips on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NLJ4hq0Sg0

Audra McDonald played Julie in that concert, there's another clip of her and Hugh singing "If I Loved You": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEXpilQYN5E&feature=related

Hugh's also doing a two-week concert gig in San Francisco in May. Hopefully that makes its way to NY soon too.


As far as Broadway...I'm planning to see American Idiot one night this week. Gotta see it one more time before it closes.

 

[donac]

In late February I saw La Cage aux Folles with Harvey Fierstien and Jeffrey Tamblor. I read that Jeffrey Tamblor quit the show a few days after I saw it. Yet his name is still on the large billboard for the show in Times Square.

Jim, We must have seen La Cage the same week. We saw it on a Thursday night and a week later dh was reading the paper about Kelsey grammer's wedding and they mentioned about Jeffrey. we were surprised also. we enjoyed him.

 

[Kimberle]

Girls night out, , we are seeing Billy Elliot next week. We've dinner reservations at a little French place after. Can't wait!

 

[*Flower*]

Saw the final performance of "Driving Miss Daisy" last night- it was FANTASTIC!!!
DH had never seen Vanessa Redgrave in anything and he was totally blown away!
Left home yesterday morning and got back this evening- spent our free time walking Manhattan and picking up show tickets for our annual July trip. We already have the plane tickets and our hotel reservation is in place- we just needed to decide what to see. I LOVE saving all that service charge $$$ by not buying online... and not being at the mercy of the ticketing agent when I'm trying to get decent seats.

Hope everyone has a great week!! BTW, TDS has antenna toppers (our American Flag Mickey topper is looking kind of tired) and although they were marked $3.50, they rang up for $1.99! We finally have a replacement...

 

[TimeforMe]

We have tickets to see The House of Blue Leaves on my birthday (4/21)--girls night out. Two of my very good friends, DD23 and I--can't wait. Ben Stiller, Edie Falco and Jennifer Jason Leigh are all in it, so it has to be pretty good, right?

 

[*Flower*]

What a great cast! Give us a report when you get back...

 

[MissDisney121]

As far as shows coming up I have "Rock of Ages" in two weeks and "Les Miserables" in 3 weeks. I can't wait for both. I am excited to see Constantine Maroulis in Rock of Ages. I have loved him since American Idol and I am so glad he is actually making a good broadway career for himself.

 

[ashleybea]

Went on friday night to see How to Succeed in Business without really trying. It was amazing. I was so surprised by Daniel Radcliffe. He is a good singer and dancer.
I also got to meet him after the show. It was my birthday so he wrote that out on my playbill and signed it. He was such a sweet person.
The show was great. It was very funny and I can't wait till I go again on the 27th

 

[PrincessKsMom]

As far as shows coming up I have "Rock of Ages" in two weeks and "Les Miserables" in 3 weeks. I can't wait for both. I am excited to see Constantine Maroulis in Rock of Ages. I have loved him since American Idol and I am so glad he is actually making a good broadway career for himself.

Are you seeing the touring version of Rock of Ages? According to this article: http://broadwayworld.com/article/ROCK_OF_AGES_Announces_New_Broadway_Cast_with_NY_Tour_Alum_20010101 Constantine is not in the NY production anymore.

 

[JenM]

Went on friday night to see How to Succeed in Business without really trying. It was amazing. I was so surprised by Daniel Radcliffe. He is a good singer and dancer.
I also got to meet him after the show. It was my birthday so he wrote that out on my playbill and signed it. He was such a sweet person.
The show was great. It was very funny and I can't wait till I go again on the 27th

That's awesome! I loved the show too, I'm definitely going to see it again soon.

There's some great footage from the show's press reel on YouTube right now for anyone who wants to see how well Harry Potter can sing and dance (and he really can!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AL3qpCbJqM

That Grand Old Ivy scene is my favorite part of the show.

 

[gometros]

It's definitely Carousel. Supposedly it's ready to go, but they're having trouble finding a studio willing to finance it. Nothing to do with the abuse elements...it's just an old-school musical and they're not sure it will be a hit.

Hugh played Billy in a concert version of Carousel at Carnegie Hall back in 2002. It wasn't officially recorded, but there are some grainy clips on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NLJ4hq0Sg0

Audra McDonald played Julie in that concert, there's another clip of her and Hugh singing "If I Loved You": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEXpilQYN5E&feature=related

Hugh's also doing a two-week concert gig in San Francisco in May. Hopefully that makes its way to NY soon too.


As far as Broadway...I'm planning to see American Idiot one night this week. Gotta see it one more time before it closes.

As much as I love Rogers and Hammerstein musicals and maybe a bit partial to the originals, I can't see Carousel or Oklahoma doing well in with today's movie audiences. Movie musicals in general have not held up well, since they either cast actors who can't sing or singers who cannot act. Chicago, Dreamgirls and Hairspray are the only musicals in recent memory that fared well at the box office. They also had more modern themes. Sweeney Todd, as great as Johnny Depp is, he didn't have the musical chops. Rent didn't translate as well to the screen, despite using most of the original Broadway cast. Should I even bother to mention Phantom? Did anyone see it? I feel like I'm overlooking another musical that didn't fare well, but can't recall at the moment.

 

[Missy1961]

Went on friday night to see How to Succeed in Business without really trying. It was amazing. I was so surprised by Daniel Radcliffe. He is a good singer and dancer.
I also got to meet him after the show. It was my birthday so he wrote that out on my playbill and signed it. He was such a sweet person.
The show was great. It was very funny and I can't wait till I go again on the 27th

That's awesome! I loved the show too, I'm definitely going to see it again soon.

There's some great footage from the show's press reel on YouTube right now for anyone who wants to see how well Harry Potter can sing and dance (and he really can!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AL3qpCbJqM

That Grand Old Ivy scene is my favorite part of the show.

Me three--I loved it. I'll have to show my 2 HP crazy nieces those youtube videos. thanks!

 

[TifffanyD]

As much as I love Rogers and Hammerstein musicals and maybe a bit partial to the originals, I can't see Carousel or Oklahoma doing well in with today's movie audiences. Movie musicals in general have not held up well, since they either cast actors who can't sing or singers who cannot act. Chicago, Dreamgirls and Hairspray are the only musicals in recent memory that fared well at the box office. They also had more modern themes. Sweeney Todd, as great as Johnny Depp is, he didn't have the musical chops. Rent didn't translate as well to the screen, despite using most of the original Broadway cast. Should I even bother to mention Phantom? Did anyone see it? I feel like I'm overlooking another musical that didn't fare well, but can't recall at the moment.

Well there was The Producer's remake. I loved it - despite Matthew Broderick - but I love the original so much!

 

[MissDisney121]

Are you seeing the touring version of Rock of Ages? According to this article: http://broadwayworld.com/article/ROCK_OF_AGES_Announces_New_Broadway_Cast_with_NY_Tour_Alum_20010101 Constantine is not in the NY production anymore.

Yes I am seeing the touring production here in Des Moines.

 

[MissDisney121]

As much as I love Rogers and Hammerstein musicals and maybe a bit partial to the originals, I can't see Carousel or Oklahoma doing well in with today's movie audiences. Movie musicals in general have not held up well, since they either cast actors who can't sing or singers who cannot act. Chicago, Dreamgirls and Hairspray are the only musicals in recent memory that fared well at the box office. They also had more modern themes. Sweeney Todd, as great as Johnny Depp is, he didn't have the musical chops. Rent didn't translate as well to the screen, despite using most of the original Broadway cast. Should I even bother to mention Phantom? Did anyone see it? I feel like I'm overlooking another musical that didn't fare well, but can't recall at the moment.

I know what you mean. Although I did like both the Rent and Phantom movie versions I know that the stage versions of both are way better. A big example of casting actors who can't really sing would be Mamma Mia. Pierce Brosnan was just a joke and Meryl Streep (who I'm a huge fan of btw) wasn't much better. Period pieces in dramas do well all the time though so I don't see why a period piece in a musical couldn't do well also. I am looking forward to the more modern musicals being made into movies though such as Rock of Ages (though the rumored casting makes me a little sad) and In The Heights.

 

[gometros]

Well there was The Producer's remake. I loved it - despite Matthew Broderick - but I love the original so much!

That's the one I was forgetting. I don't think it translated as well to the screen either and didn't do all that great at the box office.