Broadway Archives

Haylie Duff (pictured with the bouffant wig) started her run on Broadway last night in Hairspray as the snotty Amber Von Tussle.  Aaron Tveit also started performances yesterday as the fellow nicest kid in town Link Larkin.  Haylie, 21, sister Hilary, and the rest of the Hairspray cast celebrated the night away at The Palm West restaurant. The Palm’s GM Chris Gilman said, "Haylie was delightful … and a most welcomed addition to our Broadway community."    More pictures in the gallery! 

UPDATE :: I had the whole "Haylie Duff Experience" last night.  I ate at The Palm West restaurant (Audrey and I shared the 5 lb. lobster and it was AMAZING) and got to see Hairspray again.  Amazing as usual. I listen to the soundtrack all the time, so I sang along this time.  And if I was allowed to stand in the aisles, I would have danced all of the choreography too.  Haylie did a medicore job filling the role of Amber… the dancing definitely needed a lot more work. On a side note,  I really missed Diana DeGarmo in the role of Penny Pingleton…  Caissie Levy didn’t seem as gawky to me.  Anyway, buy your tickets now or wait until Diana returns on September 8th.

Six months after its premiere, "High School Musical" rolls on, a singing and dancing juggernaut. Almost 37 million viewers have watched the $4.2 million production at least once since its first airing, and the musical—a pop confection that makes "Grease" look like "Rebel Without a Cause"—surged back into the spotlight this month, grabbing six Emmy nominations. The soundtrack, a top-10 hit since its January release, is the year’s biggest-selling CD, at 2.7 million copies. After five weeks, the DVD has sold an eye-popping 2.1 million copies.

Six Emmy nominations!  SIX!  I love me some High School Musical… And if you missed the last announcement, Zac Efron joined the cast of Hairspray, playing the role of hearthrob Link Larkin. Hairspray will also feature John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Amanda Bynes, Billy Crystal, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Brittany Snow. Speaking of Hairspray, I’m seeing it again tonight!  WOOT! More pictures in the gallery from Newsweek July 24, 2006!

The Lieutenant of Inishmore is one of those shows you have to see to believe.  Its more gruesome than you can imagine and quite possibly the bloodiest production in the history of Broadway. And you will laugh your panties off. The Lieutenant of Inishmore is a bloody hysterical take on rabid patriotism and ailurophilia, featuring Salem the cat — the one from Sabrina, the Teenage Witch!– and more body parts than you can shake a stick at.  Okay, it’s just a plain old black cat.  But seriously, this play is FECKIN’ HILARIOUS. Miss it you should not.

And if you were curious… five gallons of fake blood (a blend of chocolate, corn syrup, food coloring, and creamy peanut butter)  is spilled every performance.  The stage is cleaned with squeegees, mops, and a garden hose after each curtain call. And because I’m such a procrastinator, I must apologize.  This review is coming at you two months late.  But as they say, better late than never.

READ :: Inishmore Review by: The New York Times

The Producers DVD only came out last week and here’s your chance to snag a free copy.  Based on the Broadway smash-hit, The Producers is about a scheming producer Max Bialystock (Nathan Lane) and his mousy accountant, Leo Bloom (Matthew Broderick), who discover that under the right circumstances they could make more money by producing a Broadway flop than they can with a hit.  The Producers also stars sexy Uma Thurman and comedy genius Will Ferrell. If you never caught The Producers on Broadway with the original cast, the film version is the next best thing.  Bialystock and Bloom!!!!!!

HOW TO WIN A FREE COPY ::  To win The Producers DVD, leave a comment in this entry correctly identifying the below celebrity caricatures.  The first two (2) comments with the correct six answers will win.  Be sure to include a valid email address (not published).  Entries must be made before by May 24 @ 7PM EST.  Good luck!

UPDATE :: Congratulations Gerd and anon on winning The Producers DVD!  I’ll be sure to make the contest a little bit harder next time!  The correct answers were Mariah Carey, Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson, Prince Charles, Marilyn Monroe, and James Dean.

Celebrity Caricatures #1, #2, #3

Celebrity Caricatures #4, #5, #6

GO FOR :: English accents! A farcical French brothel scene! Dominic Cooper as the dreamy Dakin! Samuel Barnett as the uncomfortably homosexual Posner! Two actors from the Harry Potter movies! A smattering of song and dance (accompanied by the very talented Jamie Parker-as-Scripps on the piano)! Unusually perceptive (yet still hilarious) one-liners!

THE GIST :: 8 smart (and smart-assed) boys at grammar school in the North of England return to school for extra cramming and classes to prep themselves for the rigorous entrance exam that will get them accepted at Oxford and Cambridge. They’re guided in this by Hector (played by Harry Potter’s Uncle Vernon, Richard Griffiths), who is filled with deep appreciation of literature, culture, and motorbiking (among other things); Irwin, a young teacher hired because he knows just how to twist history into a standout essay; the Headmaster who’s only interested in the bottom-line; and Frances De La Tour (HP6’s Madame Maxine) as the sensible female voice.

THE TAKEAWAY :: Well-acted (and well-staged if you do not sit in the first 20 rows on the far-right), History Boys shouldn’t be missed while it’s on Broadway with its current cast. It’s a really wonderful play that illuminates what our views on culture have become in a way that is both perceptive and witty, heartbreaking and hopeful.  And no, you don’t have to go see the play twice like I did! 

Dominic Cooper makes his Broadway debut as the dreamy Dakin.
Many more pictures of The History Boys in the gallery!

The Wedding Singer opens on Broadway tonight!  I was lucky enough to see it earlier this month while it was still in previews and I definitely had a blast, especially with all of the 80’s references. Rita Gardner, who plays Robbie’s grandmother, gives a standout performance in a knee-slapping rap called "Move That Thang".  Watch for that. I was on the floor the whole time!  I wouldn’t go as far to say that The Wedding Singer is the new Hairspray but it comes close. Great set and costumes, memorable music and a good cast make it a solid show.  I really enjoyed the songs "It’s Your Wedding Day", "Get Out Of The Dumpster", "Saturday Night In The City" and "Grow Old With You."  You can’t go wrong with 80’s-pop, can you?  The Wedding Singer soundtrack hasn’t been released yet but for now, you can sample two of the songs –

DOWNLOAD :: The Wedding Singer - Wedding Day [ mp3]
DOWNLOAD :: The Wedding Singer - Grow Old With You [ mp3]

Stephen Lynch plays the lead as rockstar wanna-be
 Robbie Hart (Adam Sandler in the film version).

A musical version of "Legally Blonde," based on the hit movie starring Reese Witherspoon and the novel by Amanda Brown, will open on Broadway in April 2007. The show, which has music and lyrics by Nell Benjamin and Laurence O’Keefe and a book by Heather Hach, tells the story of a determined young woman, who, when dumped by her boyfriend, goes to Harvard Law School, which her ex also attends. No casting was announced, but the show will mark the Broadway directorial debut of Jerry Mitchell, who won a 2005 Tony Award for his choreography for the revival of "La Cage aux Folles." Mitchell, who also created the dances for "Hairspray" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," also will do the choreography for "Legally Blonde." The show will open April 26, 2007, at a Broadway theater to be announced. Preview performances begin March 30. San Francisco will see the musical first, with a five-week engagement at the Orpheum Theatre beginning in late January.

YES, PLEASE.  And in other good news, Penelope co-starring Reese Witherspoon and Christina Ricci will premiere at this year’s New York Film Festival on November 24th.  Above are pictures of Reese in Brentwood, CA, carrying around iced-tea-coffee-whatever drinks yesterday morning.  More pictures in the gallery!

O-M-G. P-U. Tarzan stuuuuuuuuuuuuuunk!!!!!!!  Unlucky me watched the musical Tarzan earlier this week while it was still in previews at the Richard Rodgers Theater. Worst. Musical. Ever. The set was horrendously ugly (neon green ropes acted as vines).  The costumes were vile (the gorilla costumes literally looked like bodysuits with dangling yarn attached to it).  And the choreography was uninspiring (maybe five more weeks at "aerial lab" would have helped).   With a $15-$20 million budget, I expected much much more.   The weakness of the show is that it’s trying to smoosh De La Guarda and an overextended Disney-fied plot together into a whole that has too much going on. Broadway doomsday, aka opening night, is May 10. Check out the Tarzan article in this Sunday’s edition of the NYT that has Broadway message boards buzzing –

• When the Times invests three pages on set design rather than music, book, or cast, you know you ‘re in trouble.
• Sorry, maybe its just the picture, but he looks NOTHING like Tarzan should. He looks more like a skinny emo kid rather that an ape-man. Here’s hoping thats just a really bad picture…
• He looks, um, dainty.

UPDATE :: Tarzan Broadway cast pictures added!

22-year-old Josh Strickland, an American Idol finalist
 from the second season, plays the title role of Tarzan.
 Jenn Gambatese plays young explorer Jane Porter.