Tag Archives: Broadway

Broadway Stagehands Strike Affects Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

You’d think it was the night before Christmas around our home given how excited my daughter is for tomorrow to “get here already.” She’s 3 years old and a huge Hello Kitty Supercute (the cape- and tiara-wearing feline superhero) fan. The same Hello Kitty that will be floating down Broadway Thanksgiving morning during the Macy’s Parade. Hello Kitty, Sesame Street’s fairy-in-training Abby Cadabby, and 12 other giant helium balloons will fill the skies over New York City tomorrow as part of the 81st annual parade. But besides the character balloons, 2,000 cheerleaders and 11 marching bands, the famous Turkey Day … Continue reading →

Back to the Bargaining Table

Could an end to both the Broadway stagehands and the Writers Guild of America strikes be in sight? In just a few hours striking stagehands and Broadway producers are going back to the bargaining table, exactly one week after the work stoppage began and less than a week before the start of the lucrative Thanksgiving holiday weekend when most plays and musicals rake in millions of dollars. According to representatives from both sides, negotiations will resume this weekend “at an undisclosed place and time.” The good news even prompted New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to weigh in about the move. … Continue reading →

Elvis Finds a New Home and Broadway Still Dark

And the winner is… Elvis fans who think the King is still alive. In a previous blog I discussed an interesting item I saw on eBay—-the contents of the Elvis is Alive Museum. The museum’s 81-year-old owner decided it was time to pass on his expansive collection of Elvis memorabilia–including an inordinate amount of photographs, books, FBI files, and DNA reports that aimed to support the theory that Presley never died—–to someone who could keep the debate alive for decades to come. Enter Andy Key who offered a winning bid of $8,000. The die-hard Elvis fan who insists the King … Continue reading →

Broadway Going Dark?

How this for a travel nightmare: You spend hours trying to secure tickets for your family of six to see “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical,” on Broadway. You fly from Ohio to New York with your spouse and four children; spend thousands of dollars on airfare, hotel, and meals only to find out that a work stoppage by Broadway stagehands means you will not be getting into today’s show. Can you imagine? I made up the aforementioned scenario, but I have no doubt that right now there are hundreds of disappointed children walking around the Big … Continue reading →

“Super” Celebrity Broadway and Movie News

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. Hold on. (Cue the screeching tires.) Wrong superhero. Movie fans know by now that “Spider-Man 3” opens in just a few short weeks. The film reunites actors Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson and is expected to be one the summer’s hottest releases. If you’ve seen the trailer for the movie (I just saw it for the first time last night during “Dancing with the Stars”), then you know that the sequel features a black clad Spidey. A bit of irony, I thought, after hearing Spider-Man the musical … Continue reading →

Grease (1978)

“Grease,” first a Broadway hit and then a movie in 1978 starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, has recently been resurrected and is enjoying even more popularity than before. DVDs of the film are being sold wearing little leather jackets, a great marketing ploy, for sure. Danny Zucko (Travolta) and Sandy Olssen (Newton-John) met over the summer at the beach, and fell in love. When they separated, Sandy believed she was moving back to her home in Australia and would never see Danny again. But then her family’s plans change, and she enrolls in high school in the states. As … Continue reading →

Into the Woods (1991)

I have heard many good things about this play over the last several years, and when I saw it on the shelf at my library, I snatched it up. I may have exclaimed, too; it’s all a blur and I don’t quite remember. The DVD is a recording of the play, done with the original Broadway cast, headed up by Bernadette Peters as the witch. Stephen Sondheim did all the music, for which he has been highly praised, and rightly so. The premise is great. We begin with four of the major fairytales. We see Cinderella wishing to go to … Continue reading →

Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)

A friend recommended “Thoroughly Modern Millie” to me, saying that it is her favorite play. When I saw it listed on Blockbuster.com, I added it to my queue, excited to see it. I don’t know if it wasn’t staged quite right, or what, but I just wasn’t impressed. (Wow, this is starting to sound a lot like my review of “HMS Pinafore.”) Unlike “Pinafore,” though, “Millie” was filmed as a movie, with Julie Andrews in the starring role and Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Channing as supporting actors. Perhaps that should have been my clue right there – I don’t … Continue reading →

Shelter Pup Wins Starring Role On Broadway

It’s a better success story than you could find on America’s Next Top Canine Model — a dozen shelter dogs from New York City got a shot at a walk-on role in a December production of ANNIE on Broadway! The winner was Whiskey, a ten year old caramel colored cocker spaniel who had been living in the shelter for four months. In June, Whiskey and his pup Cocoa were surrendered to the Humane Society of New York because their owners could no longer care for them. The Humane Society’s director hopes that Whiskey’s stage role and the surrounding publicity will … Continue reading →