Fisher, Warren, Criss, and more tapped for this year’s return of ELSIE FEST!!!

by | Aug 2, 2021 | Blog, Broadway, Casting, Gleeks Fan Tour (Times Square), News, Shows

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BREAKING NEWS: This year’s headlining lineup has been revealed for the return of Darren Criss‘ annual Elsie Fest concert this month!! What an exciting lineup of Broadway’s best reunited, taking center stage, and celebrating the return of Live Performance in the Big Apple!!! This year’s headlining performers will include….
Emmy Award winner Darren Criss himself (TV’s Glee and American Horror Story and Broadway’s How to Succeed, HEDWIG, and was slated to return in the revival of American Buffalo),
Stage and Screen favorite Jordan Fisher (Disney’s Teen Beach, TV’s Rent and Grease Live, Dancing with the Stars, and of course Broadway’s Hamilton and set to rejoin the cast of Dear Evan Hansen when it reopens this holiday season),
2 time Tony and Olivier Award nominee Adrienne Warren (Broadway’s BRING IT ON, Shuffle Along, and set to return this Fall in her critically acclaimed performance in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical),
and
upcoming new Musical Theater songwriting duo Barlow & Bear.
The lineup will also feature special guests….
2 time Tony nominee Alex Brightman (Broadway’s WICKED, Glory Days, School of Rock, and of course Beetlejuice),
and
Pentatonix favorite Kristin Maldonado (previously made her Broadway debut in Kinky Boots).
ELSIE FEST 2021 is set for August 29th, 2021 at the Prospect Park Bandshell (now set to be renamed the Lena Horne Bandshell) in Brooklyn. It will also be part of the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn Festival.
Who is excited?!!!

West End Shows to not have POST-SHOW Stage Door at this time!!

by | Aug 2, 2021 | Blog, News, Shows

A few stage doors

Due to ongoing COVID-19 / Delta Variant cases rising, there are ongoing extreme safety protocols that still have to be dealt with. These last few weeks, some of the hottest tickets in London’s West End sadly will NOT be doing the popular post-show stage door. Some of these shows included….
The updated and inaugural London company of Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre,
The West End return of Heathers – The Musical at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.
The West End company of the groundbreaking 9/11 musical Come From Away,
and more.
In case anyone may not know, stage door following a performance of any show whether on Broadway, in London’s West End, or on tour. There, audience members / fans can wait outside to meet members of the cast. As they emerge, they’ll sign autographs and takes photos. In addition, super fans give gifts.
Usually with stage door, it gets very tight. With COVID-19 and Delta Variant still spreading, this is to make sure everyone is healthy, safe, and no one gets sick.
Please take a moment to RESPECT all companies members of every show you see that cannot stage door. We know its hard to NOT get to meet your idols. However at the end of the day, always remember that an actor is just a person. They are all human beings just like you and me. No ranting!!
With Stage Door not happening at this time, there are alternative ways on how you can stay connected to your favorite Broadway and West End performers. When they are not doing 8 shows a week, your favorite performers LOVE to give back to their fans. Throughout this previous past years of the COVID-19 pandemic, they are able to stay connected with you virtually including….
Q&A opportunities – Have a 101 time or get a bunch of friends together on ZOOM to talk about your favorite performer’s careers and life,
Instagram Live chats – Many of them do their best to read ALL comments depending on how fast people type,
Cameo Video Greetings – You can get your favorite performer to send you or someone a HAPPY BIRTHDAY greeting, a piece of advice, and/or to cheer you up,
and
Master Classes – Many of Broadway and West End’s biggest fans are also aspiring performers. Many of them dream to sing for their idols. Now, you can!! Let them teach you the ropes on how to make that perfect impression in the room and get the YES of one day making your Broadway or West End debut. They also give great industry advice, tips with mental health, coping with rejection, and so much more.
Thoughts?!!

Natalie Mendoza replaces Karen Olivo as newest SPARKLING DIAMOND in MOULIN ROUGE when Broadway returns next month!!

by | Aug 2, 2021 | Blog, Broadway, Casting, News, Shows

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Natalie Mendoza Will Star As Satine In MOULIN ROUGE On Broadway

SPECTACULAR, SPECTACULAR NEWS: Acclaimed stage and screen star Natalie Mendoza (Broadway’s first OG “Arachne in Spider-Man along with the West End revival of Miss Saigon and TV’s Hotel Babylon) has been tapped as the newest SPARKLING DIAMOND in the 14 time Tony nominated smash hit Moulin Rouge when the show reopens on the Great Bright Way this Fall. She takes over the role of “Satine” replacing the show’s original leading lady Tony winner Karen Olivo.
Olivo (who was nominated for her performance in this) played her final performance in MOULIN ROUGE back in March 2020 at the time when Broadway was shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this past Spring, Olivo announced her departure from the show in protest of the Broadway community’s silence on the allegations against producer Scott Rudin. On Instagram, she explained that “Social justice is more important than being the sparkling diamond.”
For Natalie Mendoza, she is no stranger to the world of the hottest CAN CAN nightclub in Paris. Her journey with Moulin Rouge goes back to its early beginnings as the Oscar winning Baz Luhrmann film we know in love. In the original 2001 film, Mendoza played one of the main can-can dancers known as “The China Doll”. She also reunites with director Alex Timbers after previously working together on the West End production of Here Lies Love. Full circle moment.
She joins many of the show’s still on-going original Broadway cast members expecting to return including….
it’s singular Tony nominated leading actor and Broadway heartthrob Aaron Tviet the young aspiring we “Christian”,
Tony nominee Danny Burstein as the owner & ringmaster of the Moulin Rouge himself “Harold Zilder”,
Tony & Olivier Award nominee Sahr Ngaujah as head performer “Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec”,
Broadway and West End favorite Tam Mutu as the rich, vain, and abusive psychopathic “Duke of Monroth”
Ricky Rojas as the sexiest tango dancer all of Paris himself, “Santiago” aka “The Narcoleptic Argentinean”,
Tony Award nominee Robyn Hurder as the jealous “Nini Legs-in-the-Air”,
and
a fully newly announced Ensemble.
In addition, Ashley Loren will continue to serve as the alternate for the role of “Satine” performing 1-2 times a week. Yup, Mendoza is expecting to do 6-7 shows a week.
Mendoza’s first night with MOULIN ROUGE will be the very same day as the show is expecting to CAN-CAN its way back to Broadway’s Al Hirschfeld Theatre starting September 24th, 2021.
Along with the Broadway production, MOULIN ROUGE is also set to launch long awaited new companies around the world including….
London’s West End at the Piccadilly Theatre,
a North American National Tour,
and
an Australian company (where it all began) playing Melbourne’s Regent Theatre.
COME WHAT MAY & WELCOME BACK TO THE MOULIN ROUGE!!!
CONGRADULATIONS NATALIE! WELCOME BACK TO BROADWAY!!
Who is excited?!!!

BRUCE, new musical about the making of JAWS from BANDSTAND creators premieres in Seattle starting Spring 2022;

by | Aug 2, 2021 | Blog, News, Shows

BRUCE, New Musical Based On THE JAWS LOG, to Have World Premiere At Seattle Rep Summer 2022
BREAKING NEWS: One of the most thrilling films of all time Jaws is making its way to the Musical Theater stage….. however with a twist. Many people don’t know about some Behind the Scenes drama that went into making it.
It has just been announced that Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor (the creators of the Tony winning Bandstand) are joining forces to create a new musical entitled BRUCE. But first, the Broadway-bound show will have its world premiere in Seattle, Washington next year. It will play the Seattle Rep from May 27th-June 26th, 2022.
BRUCE takes place at a fishing Island in Cape Cod. It tells the behind the scenes story of a then-unknown Steven Speilberg as he sets out to create a film adaptation of the best-selling novel JAWS. However despite bad weather, hostile locals, delays, and an exploding budget, Spielberg and the team have to deal with a highly dysfunctional star named…. “Bruce” who happens to be a mechanical great white shark who is cast as the titular role.
The show will BOTH be directed and choreographed by Donna Feore.
Who is excited?!!

 

Bruce, New Musical About the Making of Jaws From Bandstand Creators, Sets Seattle Premiere | TheaterMania

FIRST LOOK: Cusack, Paton, and Yazbeck in FLYING OVER SUNSET; Tickets on sale now

by | Aug 2, 2021 | Blog, Broadway, Casting, News, Shows

Flying Over Sunset
FIRST LOOK: One of the most promising powerful new shows expecting to finally make its long awaited Broadway debut is Tom Kitt, James Lapine, and Michael Korie’s new musical Flying Over Sunset. Tickets officially go on sale starting today!!! You get them either on Telecharge or through Lincoln Center Theater’s webite (they’re even including a limited amount of $32 tickets for each and every performance through their LincTix program).
That’s not all, we are so enthused this morning to share with you an early sneak peak of the new show in action. A production photo was released today of the musical’s leads in costume consisting of Tony nominated stars….
Tony Yazbeck as celebrated film actor “Cary Grant”,
Harry Hadden-Paton as English writer and philosopher “Aldous Huxley”,
and
Carmen Cusack as American author and politician “Clare Boothe Luce”.
This photo was taken while FLYING OVER SUNSET was still in tech rehearsals prior before its initial Spring 2020 debut. However, it was abruptly shutdown on March 12th, 2020 (the date it initially was supposed to start previews) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cusack, Paton, and Yazbeck are expecting to continue when FLYING OVER SUNSET is set to make its long awaited Broadway debut this Fall 2021 at The Vivian Beaumont at Lincoln Center Theater. Previews will now begin November 11th, 2021 and will have its official Opening Night on December 13th, 2021.
Who is excited?!!!

PASS OVER company moves into Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre; Tech Rehearsals begin!!!

by | Jul 31, 2021 | Blog, Broadway, News, Shows

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VIDEO: Get an Inside Look at Tech Rehearsal For PASS OVER on Broadway
Broadway reopens its doors this upcoming week with the first NEW play to open for the first time in 17 months. We are talking about the Broadway transfer of Lincoln Center Theater / LCT3‘s critically acclaimed production of Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s play Pass Over. Earlier this week, the cast, crew, and full creative team have moved into their upcoming 9 week engagement home at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre just in time to start tech rehearsals.
In tradition for all shows playing a Jujamcyn-owned house, producer Jordan Roth always takes in a beautiful special moment with welcoming the companies of new shows into their new Broadway Theater. Check it all out below.
This video makes our hearts so happy to see the magic of a Broadway show beginning to work once more!!!
PASS OVER will play Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre for 9 weeks only. Previews begin August 4th, 2021. The official Opening Night is set for September 20th, 2021 and will run through October 10th, 2021.
WELCOME PASS OVER!!
HAPPY RE-RUNNING AUGUST WILSON THEATRE!!!
Who is excited?!!!