Broadway in 2014. 2013 Byes. Spider-Man Flies. Backstage Lies. The Week in New York Theater.

January2014Broadwayopeningsandclosings

Five shows have already closed on Broadway in January, but three others are opening this month, the beginning of what looks to be an exciting season.

Broadwayclosings

The Week in New York Theater

Monday, December 30, 2013

Broadway veterans we lost in 2013:
Gonein2013Eileen Brennan
Joan Fontaine

James Gandolfini

Julie Harris

Peter O’Toole

Jean Stapleton
‪#RIP

de Blasio family First Family of NYC

What kind of arts patron will Mayor ‪Bill de Blasio be? His wife is a poet, they frequent “upstart museums”

What IS a playwright in residence? Nine reply, offer definitions and opinions. (“I don’t find they work very well”

NewYorkTheaterDecember2013QuizDecember 2013 Quiz

Lady Gaga as Gogo?

Now that Carly Rae Jepsen is going to make her Broadway debut as the title character in Cinderella, what other pop singer would you like to see on the Rialto?

31

Motown: Valisia LeKae portrayed Diana Ross in Motown, in dozens of wigs and dresses. In the scene that recreates Diana’s first solo concert, apart from the Supremes, LeKae invited members of the audience to come sing “Reach Out and Touch” with her, and a magical fusion took place: Diana Ross was there but so was LeKae, graceful and gracious, funny and charismatic.
Motown: Valisia LeKae portrayed Diana Ross in Motown, in dozens of wigs and dresses. In the scene that recreates Diana’s first solo concert, apart from the Supremes, LeKae invited members of the audience to come sing “Reach Out and Touch” with her, and a magical fusion took place: Diana Ross was there but so was LeKae, graceful and gracious, funny and charismatic.

Magical Moments on Stage in 2013

Wednesday, January 1, 2014: New Year’s Day

#HappyNewYear. For a billion people, the new year begins in NYC’s theater district! You think that’s a coincidence? No-siree-bob!

Kyle Riabko and Burt Bacharach
Kyle Riabko and Burt Bacharach

Ring in the New Year – and Keep the Old: My review of What’s It All About? Burt Bacharach Reimagined

2

BroadwaySpring2014logos
Broadway Spring 2014 Season Preview Guide

Tony n Tina’s Wedding, 1988 “immersive” comedy, returns to NYC in March, performed in Jacqueline Onassis High School for the Performing Arts on 46th Street,then Shubert Alley,then at Guy Pierce’s Restaurant

David Brooks on Marijuana vs. The Arts

Laws profoundly mold culture, so what sort of community do we want our laws to nurture? What sort of individuals and behaviors do our governments want to encourage? I’d say that in healthy societies government wants to subtly tip the scale to favor temperate, prudent, self-governing citizenship. In those societies, government subtly encourages the highest pleasures, like enjoying the arts or being in nature, and discourages lesser pleasures, like being stoned.

3

Smilesnow
Broadway and the Blizzard of 2014

BulletsOverBroadwaycastphotoshoot

Bullets Over Broadway first look

God is my producer, my doctors are the directors. I am the star of the show – ‪Valisia LeKae on her cancer. ‪

“First off, make sure people can get into your fucking theater”~actor/director/disabled activist Michael P. Thornton. Everyone’s story is worth telling, but reducing the marginalized to an Issue is an exercise in empathetic tourism

What To Say BackStage*

“I LOVED your hair!”
“You were working so hard up there!”
“That was so brave!”
“YOU!”
“That was really different!
You’ll never know what you did up there tonight!”
“Always so great to see you on stage.”
I am looking for the words–there are none!”
It’s everything I hoped it would be!
I loved that moment you had.
“The typeface in the program made it really easy to read!”
“I can’t tell you what I think of your performance!”

4

SpiderManmontage
Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark ends.

5

“Whoever told you that “if you just follow your bliss, the money will follow” was full of shit…. I netted about $2,000, after expenses, from playwriting in 2013. The money probably isn’t coming. The sooner you accept that, the happier you’ll be and maybe you can get on with your work. –Patrick Gabridge.

First  Date Krysta Rodriguez and Zachary Levi

The sun will not come out tomorrow for Annie, and First Date is having its last date. Both end their runs on Broadway today.

Annie Palace Theatre

Betrayal also ends its run.

And the year is young.

* The sources of the nice things to say backstage, in order:

Peter Marks @petermarksdrama

SeekingTheExit ‏‪@blackoutpete

Peter Marks

Blackout Peter

klange@klange

that was really different!

Stuart Elliott ‏ @stuartenyt

Pippin Parker ‏‪@PippinParker

Peter Marks

Rachel Manteuffel ‏‪@RachelMan2

Warren Leight ‏‪@warrenleightTV

Peter Marks quoting Tina Fey

Charles McNulty @CharlesMcNulty

Author: New York Theater

Jonathan Mandell is a 3rd generation NYC journalist, who sees shows, reads plays, writes reviews and sometimes talks with people.

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