Tomorrow, we at New York Broadway Tours will be following along the Tony Awards and sharing you all the gossip of what’s happening with the performances, winners, and more. Who is ready?
#TonyAwards #ThisIsBroadway #CountdownToTheT
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OK BROADWAY FANS!! Tomorrow is the big night we've all been waiting for…. The 73rd Annual Tony Awards. We at New York Broadway Tours are proud to present the # 1 performance for our TOP 40 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN. Here it goes….
At # 1 on our countdown is another one of Broadway's most beloved hot tickets. If you think you know the story of The Wizard of Oz so well, think again. Get ready to experience the story from the perspective of 2 girls…. one blonde and the other one green long before a little girl from Kansas named Dorothy crashed the scene. You guessed it, this is WICKED The Musical. With a score by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, the show is based on a novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire.
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From the 2004 telecast, the show's original Witches who started it all… Tony winners Idina Menzel as "Elphaba", Kristin Chenoweth as "Glinda", and the entire original Broadway cast perform the show's iconic Act 1 finale anthem DEFYING GRAVITY.
WICKED was first conceived by top Hollywood producer Marc Platt who was adapting Gregory Maguire's acclaimed novel WICKED: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST as a film for Universal Pictures. At the time, composer Stephen Schwartz was reading the novel and knew that the story would be a unique musical. However after finding out the rights were given already, Schwartz thought of an "impassioned plea" to Marc Platt to collaborate together on the production. Fell in love with it being a stage musical adaptation instead, Platt signed on as joint producer of the project with Universal Studios and David Stone. In addition, Schwartz collaborated with book writer Emmy winner Winnie Holzman expanding the flow of the story about the political, social and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil in the Land of Oz. They took inspiration from both the L. Frank Baum books and the beloved 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz. With director Joe Mantello and Choreographer Wayne Cilento on board, the show went into many stages of readings and workshops.
The show originally had its world premiere in San Francisco at the Curran Theatre in the Spring of 2003 earning initial mixed reviews (due to technical problems and several moments that confused the audiences). Following the world premiere out of town tryout as the company headed back to New York City, they spent 8 weeks updating the scripts with scenes being cut, new dialogue and songs written, and 4 parts being recast including the role of "The Wizard of Oz" himself.
WICKED officially opened on Broadway in the Fall of 2003 (opening the day before Halloween) at the Gershwin Theatre earning rave reviews and it broke its box office records. The Broadway production continues to run at the Gershwin and sell out every single night. It's made over $1 billion ever since. The show most recently celebrated its 15th Bewitching Anniversary on Broadway. Under the direction of Joe Mantello and choreography by Wayne Cilento, the original cast consisted of…
Tony winner Idina Menzel as "Elphaba",
Tony and Emmy winner Kristin Chenoweth as "Glinda",
Tony and Oscar winner Joel Grey as "The Wizard of Oz",
Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz as "Fiyero",
The late Carole Shelley as "Madame Morrible",
Tony nominee Christopher Fitzgerald as "Boq",
Michelle Federer Butz as "Nessarose",
and William Youmans as "Dr. Dillamond".
With the Broadway production still open and playing to packed houses every night, there have been a huge lineup of numerous replacements on Broadway for the past 15 1/2 years.
The show was nominated for 10 Tony Awards in 2004 winning 3 including Best Leading Actress in a Musical (for Idina Menzel). It went to receive many more Awards as well including the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater album.
In addition to its Broadway success, WICKED went on to become a worldwide Blockbuster hit with productions continuing to play everywhere from Chicago, 2 National Tours, London's West End, Japan, Germany, Holland, Mexico City, Korea and much more.
Isn't this show so THRILLIFYING?!!
Well, that's it!! We hope you all enjoyed our selection of Broadway shows on our TOP 40 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN. Tomorrow is going to be a really exciting morning to tune in to Broadway's Biggest Night of the Year… The 73rd Annual Tony Awards. We are excited to be celebrating the best of the 2018-2019 season. So many shows nominated this year, exciting talked about most likely winners, presenters, and musical performances.
Be sure to tune in to CBS tomorrow night at 8pm for the Tony Awards live from Radio City Music Hall and hosted by James Corden.
We cannot wait to do this countdown next year as we countdown 365 days till the 2020 Tony Awards.
And of course if you want to learn more about some of Broadway's Award winning and nominated shows, be sure to join us on one of our Walking Tours this summer or anytime if you're coming to NYC. We will visit the Broadway houses where many of your favorite musicals were in, learn about theater traditions, and belt out several showtunes at the top of our lungs. PLEASE BOOK YOUR TICKETS!!
WE BROADWAY!!
#NewYorkBroadwayTours #TonyAwards #CountdownToTheTonys #ThisIsBroadway #BroadwaysBiggestNight #NYBTCountdownToTheTonys #ComeOnATour #BookYourTickets #WalkingTour #WeLoveBroadway
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BREAKING NEWS: Last night's performance of the 14 time Tony nominated Hadestown came to a halt within the first 30 minutes of the show's first act.
During the big showstopping number LIVIN' IT UP ON TOP, a woman in the audience experienced a heart attack. The show was stopped or the staff of the Walter Kerr Theatre to call 911. Meanwhile while waiting for the EMT to arrive, a medical professional who was also in the audience started to do CPR. 5 minutes later, the EMT arrived, the woman was taken on a stretcher and headed to a nearby hospital. From there, the show continued from where it left off.
Tony nominee Patrick Page who stars as the wicked "Hades" himself took to social media to talk about the experience and applauded the professionals who helped.
Thoughts?
Medical Emergency Halts Performance of HADESTOWN
Last night's performance of Hadestown came to an abrupt halt when a medical emergency arose in the audience.
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BREAKING NEWS: You might know her by her alter-ego Miranda Sings spoofing off all things in Theater, Film, and TV and now Colleen Ballinger is about to fulfill her lifelong dream of starring on Broadway. It has just been announced that the YouTube comedic sensation will be joining the company of the Tony and Grammy nominated smash hit Waitress the Musical later this summer.
For a limited engagement from August 20th – September 15th, 2019 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Ballinger will be taking on the role of the musical's scene stealing, nerdy, and quirky co-waitress "Dawn".
Current and long running "Dawn" herself Caitlin Houlahan will clock out of her 2nd shift at the diner on August 18th, 2019.
Who is excited?
Colleen Ballinger Joins WAITRESS as Dawn This August
Waitress announced today that Colleen Ballinger, best known for her character 'Miranda Sings,' will make her Broadway debut as Dawn on August 20th. Ms. Ballinger will play a limited four-week engagement through September 15th.
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BREAKING NEWS: The most iconic entertainer of all time is making her way to the most iconic venue of all time. Yup, the legendary Barbra Streisand will be coming to New York's famed Madison Square Garden for a one night only concert event this summer. Her first show at The Garden in 13 years is scheduled for August 3rd, 2019 at 8pm. Tickets go on sale Monday, June 17th, 2019.
Under the direction of Richard Jay-Alexander (Streisand's lifelong friend and tour director) super fans of the reknown entertainer can expect to hear a mix of songs of Musical Theater, The Great American Songbook, Pop, and new songs. Yup, you can expect to hear all the signature hits including DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE from Funny Girl, EVERGREEN from the 1976 version of A Star is Born, PAPA CAN YOU HEAR ME from Yentl, and of course the moving title song from The Way We Were.
Who is excited?
Barbra Streisand to Perform at Madison Square Garden
Barbra Streisand will bring her legendary live performance home to New York City's Madison Square Garden for the first time in 13 years, it was announced today by her longtime manager Marty Erlichman. There are no fans like New York Fans! said Streisand and I can't wait to return to Madison Square G…
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