Of the 14 shows opening on Broadway in April, the most anticipated, according to my poll so far, are
1. Fun Home
2. Something Rotten
3. The King and I
Last week, Skylight opened. This week, it’ll be:
Hand to God
Gigi
Wolf Hall, Parts 1 and 2
And we’re only getting started. I’ll be reviewing them all, which makes me a theater critic, although I don’t say things like the critic depicted in Birdman:
Why are critics villains? — which links to my larger piece in Howlround:
Are Theatre Critics Critical? An Update
Below, news about a new musical by David Bowie, a new play about Maya Angelou, a stage adaptation of a Bill Murray movie
The Week in New York Theater News
Honeymoon in Vegas ends its run today, Sunday April 5, less than three months after it opened
Gene Saks, actor and director of 33 Broadway shows, best-known as Neil Simon’s director, has died at age 93.
New artistic director at the Flea Theater, replacing founder Jim Simpson: Niegel Smith, long Taylor Mac’s director. (I went on one of his unorthodox “Elastic City” walking tours.)
Cory Finle
y is the first playwright to be awarded the Flea Theater’s new Gurney Playwrights Fund, a $100,000 annual prize funded by playwright A.R. Gurney, who has a longstanding relationship with the theater. (He is also one of this season’s Signature Theater playwrights.)
“3C, ” playwright David Adjmi’s parody of the sitcom “Three’s Company”, does not violate copyright, a federal judge rules, permitting any and all future productions.
The Wiz” will be the next NBC live musical (December 3), in partnership with Cirque de Soleil, and directed by Kenny Leon. Then it’s on to Broadway! This is not normal. (Cinderella did that, sort of, but different productions 56 years apart) Harvey Fierstein will create new material for the production, which originated on Broadway in 1975, winning seven Tonys, including best musical, then was turned into an all-star, widely ridiculed movie in 1978 (pictured.)
Kenny Leon is also working on a play about Maya Angelou, a stage adaptation of Tavis Smiley’s new book, My Journey with Maya
Lazarus,by David Bowie and Enda Walsh (Once), inspired by The Man Who Fell to Earth, and directed by Ivo van Hove, will be presented by the New York Theatre Workshop sometime before the end of 2015. Bowie played the lead character in the 1976 movie director Nicholas Roeg made of the novel by Walter Tevis, a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to get water for his dying planet. Lazarus will feature new songs composed by David Bowie as well as new arrangements of his old songs.
Actors Equity has created a new website to determine if a “Broadway tour” employs the cast under the Broadway Equity contract. The website is: AskIfItsEquity.com
Groundhog Day, a musical based on the Bill Murray movie, put together by the Matilda team, including Tim Minchin, is heading to Broadway in 2017
Week in Theater-Related Developments
2015 Lucille Lortel Award Nominations
Tommy Tune to receive Special @TheTonyAwards for Lifetime Achievement this year – his 10th Tony! pic.twitter.com/tjApgv3Ibi
— Jonathan Mandell (@NewYorkTheater) April 2, 2015
New reality series on Discovery Family to feature animal trainer William Berloni, whose animals have been in 19 Broadway productions
Week in Theater Arguments
It’s time for a better Sound of Music, writes Lawrence Downes, which emphasizes its cruelty and carnality.
