Tag: Smash

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Creative

Musicals Coming to Broadway This Spring

There is a slew of new musicals headed to Broadway this season. With thriving revivals already in performances like Sunset Boulevard and Once Upon a Mattress alongside Broadway first-timers like Maybe Happy Ending and Tammy Faye, the fall season is already well underway. Elf will come knocking in time for the holidays, with Swept Away, Death Becomes Her, and Gypsy to open and join the fray before New Year’s Day. 

Let’s look ahead here to 2025, where an astonishing 11 musicals are currently scheduled to begin performances:

Redwood

Idina Menzel will return to Broadway in Redwood, a deeply personal new musical directed and co-written by Tina Landau, premiering at the Nederlander Theatre. This production explores the journey of Jesse, a seemingly successful woman who embarks on a transformative road trip through the forests of Northern California after her personal life begins to unravel. Previews begin January 24, 2025, with the official opening on February 13, 2025.

Buena Vista Social Club

This new musical will transport audiences to 1950s Havana, where a group of musicians create a revolutionary sound, only to be disrupted by the Cuban Revolution. Decades later, they reunite to record an album that becomes a world music sensation. Directed by Saheem Ali with choreography by Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, the show blends Afro-Cuban rhythms with a story of survival, redemption, and music’s lasting power. Previews begin at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on February 21, 2025, with an official opening set for March 19, 2025

Operation Mincemeat

This Olivier Award-winning musical makes its Broadway debut at the Golden Theatre in 2025. Set in 1943 during World War II, it tells the absurd and true story of a British intelligence operation that used the corpse of a homeless man to deceive the Nazis. Known for blending farce with espionage thrills, the musical is written and performed by the UK comedy group SpitLip. Directed by Robert Hastie with choreography by Jenny Arnold, it begins previews on February 15, 2025, and officially opens on March 20, 2025.

BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical

This vibrant new musical brings the iconic cartoon flapper Betty Boop to life on Broadway, with previews starting March 11, 2025, and an official opening set for April 5 at the Broadhurst Theatre. Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell (known for hits like Kinky Boots and Legally Blonde), and featuring a score by Grammy-winner David Foster, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, and a book by Bob Martin, the show explores Betty’s whimsical journey from her black-and-white world to the colorful streets of New York City, where she embarks on an adventure of self-discovery.

The Last Five Years

Jason Robert Brown’s beloved musical The Last Five Years will make its long-awaited Broadway debut in 2025, with Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren leading the cast. Directed by Whitney White, this limited engagement will run at the Hudson Theatre. Previews begin on March 18, 2025, and the official opening is set for April 6, 2025. The musical chronicles a couple’s five-year relationship, told from two perspectives: Jamie’s story moves forward in time, while Cathy’s unfolds in reverse. With its intricate structure and emotional score, this production promises a fresh, heartfelt take on a fan-favorite story. The run is scheduled to conclude on June 22, 2025.

Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends

This musical revue, celebrating the legacy of Stephen Sondheim, will arrive on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Previews begin March 25, 2025, and the official opening follows on April 8, 2025. The production features an all-star cast, including Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga, reprising their acclaimed roles from the West End. Additional cast members include Beth Leavel, Gavin Lee, and Ryan McCartan, among others.

Smash

The Broadway adaptation of the NBC series Smash will begin previews at the Imperial Theatre on March 11, 2025, with its official opening on April 10, 2025. This musical takes audiences behind the scenes of the fictional production Bombshell, chronicling the chaotic journey of creating a Marilyn Monroe musical. The production is helmed by director Susan Stroman and features a score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, known for their work on Hairspray. Robyn Hurder and Caroline Bowman lead the cast, promising high-energy performances and a love letter to Broadway itself.

Floyd Collins

The long-anticipated Broadway debut of Floyd Collins, a musical by Adam Guettel and Tina Landau, will open at the Vivian Beaumont Theater under the direction of Landau. Previews start on March 27, 2025, with an official opening on April 21, 2025. This production marks a milestone in Lincoln Center Theater’s 40th-anniversary season. The musical, featuring a haunting score by Guettel, first premiered Off-Broadway in 1996 and has since developed a devoted following. The upcoming Broadway staging will revive the original creative vision while introducing new design elements for a contemporary audience

Just In Time

The upcoming musical Just In Time will feature Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff as the legendary singer Bobby Darin. Directed by Alex Timbers, this immersive production will transport audiences to an intimate nightclub setting, complete with a live band performing Darin’s greatest hits. Previews begin on March 28, 2025, at Circle in the Square Theatre, with the official opening on April 23, 2025.

The Pirates of Penzance

A new revival of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance will debut on Broadway at the Todd Haimes Theatre. Directed by Scott Ellis, with choreography by Warren Carlyle, this updated production will feature a jazzy, New Orleans-inspired setting, bringing fresh rhythms to the beloved operetta. The show stars Ramin Karimloo as the Pirate King and David Hyde Pierce as the Major General. Previews begin April 4, 2025, with the official opening set for April 25. The limited run will continue through June 22, 2025.

Real Women Have Curves: The Musical

Real Women Have Curves: The Musical will premiere on Broadway at the James Earl Jones Theatre this spring. Previews are scheduled to begin on April 1, 2025, with an official opening night set for Sunday, April 27, 2025. This musical adaptation of the beloved play and film will explore themes of body positivity, family dynamics, and cultural identity. It follows a group of Latina women working in a Los Angeles garment factory, finding strength and pride in their shared experiences.

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Creative

Where’s That Cast Now? The Producers Edition

Mel Brooks’s musical comedy, which held the record for the most Tony Awards ever received by a single production for 15 years (in 2016, Hamilton tied with 12 Tony Awards), opened on Broadway in 2001. The musical, based on Brooks’s 1967 Oscar-winning film, which constantly broke box-office records at the St. James Theatre, ran for 6 years and was adapted into the 2005 hit film of the same name. Come with Broadway’s Best Shows as we look into the careers of the original Broadway cast since their departures from the show.  

Nathan Lane (Max Bialystock)

After his Tony Award-winning performance in The Producers, Nathan Lane has continued to be a prominent figure in entertainment. On Broadway, Lane has appeared in The Odd Couple (Alongside Matthew Broderick), Butley, November, Waiting for Godot, The Addams Family, The Nance, It’s Only a Play, The Front Page, Angels in America (Tony Award Win), Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, and Pictures From Home. He has appeared in TV shows like “Only Murders in the Building”, “Modern Family”, “The Good Wife”, “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels”, and “Gilded Age.” On Film, Lane has been in the A24’s “Beau is Afraid” and “Dicks: The Musical.” 

In 2006, Lane received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2008. 

The Producers" at Arizona Broadway Theatre
Photo by Paul Kolnik

Matthew Broderick (Leo Bloom)

Broderick has remained an active entertainer since his acclaimed run as Leo Bloom. He starred in the 2005 movie adaptation of the musical alongside Nathan Lane. On Broadway, Broderick has starred in The Odd Couple (with Nathan Lane), It’s Only a Play (also with Nathan Lane), The Philanthropist, Nice Work If You Can Get It with Kelli O’Hara, Sylvia with Annaliegh Ashford, and most recently, Plaza Suite alongside his wife, Sarah Jessica Parker. He appeared in TV series like “Better Things”, “30 Rock”, “Bojack Horseman”, “Rick and Morty”, and “Modern Family”, and did voice work in the films “The Lion King 1½”, “Good Boy!”, “Bee Movie”, and “The Tale of Despereaux.” In 2006, Broderick also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and has also been inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. 

Gary Beach (Roger De Bris)

After his Tony-winning performance as Roger De Bris, Beach starred as Albin in the 2004 Broadway revival of La Cage Aux Folles, as well as the 2006 Broadway revival of Les Misérables. Beach also starred alongside Lane and Broderick in the 2005 film adaptation of the musical.

Unfortunately, Gary Beach passed away in 2018.

Gary Beach, Tony Winner for 'The Producers,' Dies at 70 - The New York Times
Photo by Paul Kolnik

Cady Huffman (Ulla)

Since The Producers, Cady Huffman continued her career in theater and appeared in various productions, including alongside Nathan Lane in the Broadway play The Nance. She has also had appearances in the TV series “The Good Wife”, “Frasier”, and “One Life To Live.” Huffman was a regular judge on Food Network’s competition show, “Iron Chef America.”

Roger Bart (Carmen Ghia)

Following his departure from the show, Bart returned in 2004 as a replacement for Leo Bloom. Bart’s other Broadway appearances since The Producers include Stephen Sondheim’s The Frogs, as Dr. Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein, Disaster!, and currently Back to the Future: The Musical at the Winter Garden Theatre. Bart has had TV appearances in “The Blacklist”, “The Good Fight”, “Grace and Frankie”, “Modern Family”, “How I Met Your Mother”, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, “30 Rock”, and many more. Bart has a cameo in the 2021 film adaptation of Tick, Tick… Boom!. 

Brad Oscar (Franz Liebkind)

After his successful run as Franz Liebkind, Oscar replaced Lane as Bialystock.  In 2008, Oscar returned to Broadway as Sir Bedevere in Spamalot, and has since appeared in The Addams Family, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Big Fish, Something Rotten!, and Mrs. Doubtfire. Recently, Oscar was a replacement in the Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors. Oscar has had appearances in TV series including “Law & Order”, “The Good Wife”, and “Smash.”

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Creative

Where’s That Cast Now? Spamalot Edition

Photo by Joan Marcus

With Spamalot having returned to Broadway 18 years after its debut, readers may be curious about what the original 2005 cast is up to now. Below, Broadway’s Best Shows is celebrating the original cast of the spoof-filled musical and the careers they’ve enjoyed since.

Hank Azaria

A voice acting legend for his 30+ years of work on The Simpsons, Azaria made his Broadway debut as Sir Lancelot in Spamalot. He later appeared in the 2007 Aaron Sorkin play The Farnsworth Invention on Broadway and has appeared in many TV shows and movies, most recently starring in Brockmire and The Idol, while continuing on The Simpsons.

SNL alum Taran Killam plays Lancelot in 2023, with Beetlejuice’s Alex Brightman set to take over the part in January 2024.

Photo by Joan Marcus

Christian Borle

Borle had maybe the craziest track in a show where everyone played 2-5 characters. In the program, he was listed as “Historian, Not Dead Fred, French Guard, Minstrel, Prince Herbert.” He went on to Legally Blonde, and Falsettos, two performances seen far and wide after they were recorded for television, and has two Tonys, for Peter and the Starcatcher and Something Rotten. He was nominated again for 2023’s Some Like It Hot. Oh yes, and he was on Smash. 

Spongebob’s erstwhile simple sponge Ethan Slater steps into the track in 2023. 

Photo by Joan Marcus

David Hyde Pierce

Pierce was possibly the most famous actor coming into Spamalot, after eleven years on Frasier. While he had acted on Broadway before, he learned to sing and dance for the production. After his turn at the Round Table, he won a Tony for his performance in Curtains, appeared in Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike, and worked opposite Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly! He can currently be seen at The Shed in the final Sondheim musical Here We Are, and on the MAX series Julia. 

Michael Urie plays his role in the 2023 production. 

Photo by Joan Marcus

Sara Ramirez

Ramirez has recently reentered the zeitgeist with their attention-grabbing role as Che Diaz on And Just Like That, but theater fans know them as the Tony-winning Lady of the Lake in Spamalot. In the intervening period, they worked on eleven seasons of Grey’s Anatomy as Callie Torres, breaking barriers for queer representation in television. 

Beetlejuice’s Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer steps into the part for 2023. 

Photo by Joan Marcus

Christopher Sieber

After his Tony-nominated stint as Sir Galahad in the original Spamalot, Sieber did a series of impressive physical comedy roles, including originating the role of Lord Farquaad in Shrek, garnering another Tony nom, replacing as Miss Trunchbull in Matilda, and rolling around the floor of the Jacobs doing martial arts with Jennifer Simard in 2022’s Company revival. The role of Trent Oliver in The Prom was written specifically for him.

Broadway stalwart Nik Walker takes over the role in 2023.

Tim Curry

Tim Curry made his fourth Broadway appearance, as King Arthur, in Spamalot. His post-Spamalot work is sadly limited, due to a stroke in 2012, although he did make a winning turn narrating the 2016 Rocky Horror Picture Show remake. He has also worked extensively as a voice actor, including in the critically acclaimed animated series Over the Garden Wall.

James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin, Hamilton) plays the part in 2023.

Photo by Joan Marcus

Michael McGrath

McGrath, Spamalot’s loyal Patsy and a beloved New York character actor, appeared in an incredible nine Broadway shows afterward. Most recently he understudied Matthew Broderick in Plaza Suite, and starred as Ladislav Sipos in Roundabout’s 2016 revival of She Loves Me, among many other credits. Sadly, McGrath passed away in fall 2023.

Christopher Fitzgerald (Waitress) plays Patsy in 2023. 

And a special bonus…

Hannah Waddingham

Waddingham starred as the Lady of the Lake when the production moved to London, and also came to New York near the end of its run. In 2020, Waddingham vaulted to stardom as football club owner Rebecca Welton on Ted Lasso, winning an Emmy for her performance. She was also the “Shame Nun” on Game of Thrones and a helicopter parent on Sex Education. 

Waddingham is releasing a Christmas special on Apple TV, and an accompanying album, both out on November 22nd.

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Broadway's Best

Broadway’s Best “Broadway Week” Shows

The Mayor’s Office for Tourism and Conventions’ annual Broadway Week promotion is almost upon us, which means that you can now get 2-for-1 tickets to select Broadway shows for performances between September 4-17! (Yes, Broadway Week is actually two weeks long. Lucky us!) 

Unlike TDF’s Half Price Ticket Booth, which only offers same-day discounts, the Broadway Week tickets can be purchased up to a month in advance. Use code BWAYWK23 to access this exciting offer today. Participating shows are also offering premium orchestra seats, usually $250-$400, for just $125 with code BWAYUP23. Check the official website for full details. 

Here are some of the shows we recommend catching while this offer lasts:

HADESTOWN

The 2019 Best Musical Tony Award winner recently welcomed new cast member Solea Pfeiffer in the lead role of Euridyce! Betty Who and Philip Boykin join the company Sept. 5 as lovers Persephone and Hades, respectively. See them alongside Lillias White as Hermes and Reeve Carney as Orpheus.

SOME LIKE IT HOT

This toe-tapping big band musical is from Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman (the composer-lyricist duo behind Hairspray!, Catch Me If You Can, and Smash) and book writers Matthew López and Amber Ruffin. With direction and Tony Award-winning choreography by Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Aladdin, The Prom), this one is not to be missed!

KIMBERLY AKIMBO

Last season’s Best Musical stars two-time Tony Award winner Victoria Clark as Kimberly herself, with music by Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home, Caroline, or Change, Shrek: The Musical) and a book & lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire in an adaptation to his 2001 play of the same name.

PURLIE VICTORIOUS: A NON-CONFEDERATE ROMP THROUGH THE COTTON PATCH

Leslie Odom, Jr. (of Hamilton Tony-winning fame) stars as the titular role in this first ever revival of Ossie Davis’ landmark 1961 satire, directed by Kenny Leon. Two-time Tony Award nominee Kara Young co-stars as Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins. Performances begin Sept. 7!

HERE LIES LOVE

The immersive disco bio-musical with music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim tells the life story of former Filipino first lady Imelda Marcos. Here Lies Love is a fascinating parable about fascism, the media, and the effects of 20th century American cultural dominance and empire on so-called “Third World” countries like the Philippines. We recommend using your Broadway Week discount to splurge on a Dance Floor ticket, where you’ll be inches away from the actors and part of the storytelling. Good luck getting the title song out of your head. 

SIX

This UK export retells the story of the six ex-wives of King Henry VIII, with a pop concert twist. The Tony-winning score by Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow features pop-powered showtunes such as ‘Heart of Stone,’ ‘Don’t Lose Ur Head,’ and the iconic ‘Megasix’ encore to wrap it all up.

THE COTTAGE

Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) makes his directorial debut with this brand new England countryside-set comedy by Sandy Rustin. The cast features Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) in his Broadway return since appearing in 2012’s Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, Laura Bell Bundy in her Broadway play debut after leading the 2007 musical Legally Blonde, Lilli Cooper (POTUS, Spring Awakening), Nehal Joshi (Flying Over Sunset, All My Sons), Alex Moffat (Saturday Night Live), and Dana Steingold (Beetlejuice the Musical).

BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL

Time travel back to 1985 (and beyond) for this musical adaptation of the classic film, straight from its hit world premiere in London’s West End! Casey Likes (Almost Famous) is Marty McFly and Roger Bart (The Producers) is Doc Brown, reprising his acclaimed performance on the other side of the pond.