Highest Grossing Broadway Season on Record Reported

Broadway saw its highest grosses on record last season with revenue up 5.9 percent and attendance up 5.4 percent, according to the Broadway League.

End-of-season statistics for the 2010-2011season, which began May 24, 2010 and ended May 29, 2011.  For the2010 – 2011 season, show $1,080,562,880 in grosses, and a total attendance of  12,534,595.

To account for variances in the calendar year and in an effort to maintain an end-of-May end to the season, a 53rdweek is added every seven years. (The last 53-week year was 2004; nextone will be 2018). 

As a point of reference, attendance through week 52 was 12.26 million, which was up 3.1% over last year’s 52-weekseason. Grosses as of last week totaled $1.057 billion and were still thehighest grossing of any season on record (up 3.6% over last year).

“The diversity of shows currently on Broadway succeeds in providing something for everyone, so it's no accident thatwe're having the biggest season in our history and even in the toughesteconomic times have over a 5-percent increase in attendance year-over-year,"commented Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of The League.

In the 2010-2011 season,  42 shows opened (14 musicals, 25 plays and 3 specials).

Broadway Godspell Revival Gets Closer Day By Day

The 40th anniversary production and first-ever Broadway revival of Godspell will play Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre with premieres beginning Oct 13. Opening night will be on Nov. 7. Ken Davenport (Altar Boyz, Oleanna, Blithe Spirit) is lead producer. Danny Goldstein will direct the production with choreography by Christopher Gattelli.
Group tickets are available at http://www.godspell.com/group-tickets.html or by calling 877-943-2929.
Single tickets go on sale July 11. For more information, visit Godspell.com.

View a video by composer Stephen Schwartz at http://www.godspell.com/?utm_source=Godspell&utm_campaign=100b6285a8-2011_05_26_Godspell_newsletter&utm_medium=email#.

A Christmas Story Announces Tour

Photo credit: Don Ipock and Kansas City Rep

This holiday season, one of America’s favorite Christmas movie comes to life on stage as a hilarious holiday musical. A Christmas Story, The Musical! features a bright holiday score by composer/lyricist team Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Joseph Robinette based on the writings of radio humorist Jean Shepherd and the 1983 holiday film favorite.

Acclaimed director/choreographer Warren Carlyle (Broadway’s Finian’s Rainbow, Follies at The Kennedy Center, An Evening With Hugh Jackman) will helm the production. Peter Billingsley, who starred as Ralphie in the original 1983 film, serves as a producer for the holiday tour.

After acclaimed, sold-out, record-breaking runs at Kansas City Rep in 2009 and Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre in 2010, A Christmas Story, The Musical! will launch a five-city National Tour for the 2011 holiday season with engagements in Hershey, PA (Hershey Theatre, Nov. 8 – 13); Detroit, MI (Fisher Theatre, Nov. 15 – 27); Raleigh, NC (Memorial Auditorium, Nov. 29 – Dec. 4); Tampa, FL, (Straz Center, Dec. 6 – Dec. 11); and Chicago, IL (Chicago Theatre, Dec. 14 – 30).

A Christmas Story, The Musical! chronicles young and bespectacled Ralphie Parker as he schemes his way towards the holiday gift of his dreams, a Red Ryder Action Air Rifle BB Gun (“You’ll shoot your eye out kid!”). A kooky leg lamp, outrageous pink bunny pajamas, a maniacal department store Santa, and a double-dog-dare to lick a freezing flagpole are just a few of the distractions that stand between young Ralphie and his Christmas wish. Produced by the film’s original Ralphie, Peter Billingsley, It’s a perennial holiday classic that will entertain the whole family.

A Christmas Story, The Musical! features scenic design by Walt Spangler  (Desire Under the Elms); costume design by Elizabeth Hope Clancy (Passing Strange, The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?); lighting design by Tony Award winner Howell Binkley;  orchestrations by Larry Blank ; musical supervision by Ian Eisendrath; dance arrangements by August Eriksmoen.

For more information, visit www.aChristmasStoryTheMusical.com or the links below.

A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL! - 2011 HOLIDAY SEASON TOUR
November 8 – 13
Hershey, PA
Hershey Theatre
www.hersheytheatre.com

November 15 – 27
Detroit
Fisher Theatre
www.broadwayindetroit.com

November 29 – December 4
Raleigh, NC
Memorial Auditorium
www.progressenergycenter.com

December 6 –11
Tampa, FL
Straz Center
www.strazcenter.org

December 14 – 30
Chicago
Chicago Theatre
www.thechicagotheatre.com

The Lights Are Bright on Broadway Awards

It's time to let us know which people and shows you think have made a difference through their Christian faith.

Masterwork Productions, Inc. bestows the annual The Lights Are Bright on Broadway Awards each year on individuals and organizations reaching out in the Broadway community. Has someone touched your life? Did a show make you think about God or faith differently? Let us know.

Send us your nominations, along with information links to masterworkproductions@yahoo.com. While many individuals or organizations may be having an impact in other theater community, this award is for those making a difference in the Broadway community only.
Nominations EXTENDED THROUGH JUNE 3. Award recipients will be announced June 15.

Last year's recipients were Max McLean for his interpretation of C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters Off-Broadway and Kia Corthron, author of A Cool Dop in the Barren Saharan Crick at Playwrights Horizons. In 2009, recipients were Dan Gordon, author of Irena's Vow on Broadway and Cheryl Cutlip, founder of Project Dance in Times Square.

2011 Drama Desk Award Winners

The 56th Annual Drama Desk Awards for excellence in New York theater were presented Monday night at a gala awards ceremony at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan Center, hosted by Harvey Fierstein.

The Book of Mormon and Anything Goes each won five Drama Desk Awards to lead the parade of winners, followed by The Normal Heart and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo which won two awards each. Cast members of The Normal Heart also took home special non-competitive Outstanding Ensemble Awards which were bestowed earlier by the Drama Desk nominating committee. No other production won more than one award.

War Horse by Nick Stafford and The Book of Norman with music and lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone were voted Outstanding Play and Outstanding Musical, respectively, and The Normal Heart and Anything Goes won as Outstanding Play and Musical Revivals. The team of Parker, Lopez and Stone also won the Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Music and Outstanding Lyrics for their collaboration on The Book of Mormon
.
Bobby Cannavale (The Motherf**ker With the Hat) and Frances McDormand (Good People) were chosen as Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Play, and Norbert Leo Butz (Catch Me If You Can) and Sutton Foster (Anything Goes) won as Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Musical. The Outstanding Featured Actor and Featured Actress in a Play awards went to Brian Bedford (The Importance of Being Earnest) and Edie Falco (The House of Blue Leaves), and the Outstanding Featured Actor and Actress in a Musical awards were won by John Larroquette (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) and Laura Benanti (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown).

The Outstanding Direction winners were Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe (The Normal Heart) and Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker (The Book of Mormon); and the Outstanding Choreography award was given to Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes). Adam Mathias (See Rock City & Other Business) won for Outstanding Book of a Musical. Larry Hochman and Stephen Oremus (The Book of Mormon) won for Outstanding Orchestrations and Wayne Barker (Peter and the Starcatcher) won for Outstanding Music in a Play.

The Drama Desk for Outstanding Revue was given to Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles on Broadway. John Leguizamo won the Drama Desk for his Outstanding Solo Performance (Ghetto Klown). The Unique Theatrical Experience award was presented to Sleep No More.

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo won two Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Lighting Design (David Lander) and Outstanding Sound Design (Acme Sound Partners and Cricket S. Myers). Derek McLane (Anything Goes) won for Outstanding Set Design and Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner (Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical) won the Outstanding Costume Design award.

Each year the Drama Desk votes special awards to recognize excellence and significant contributions to the theater:

Outstanding Ensemble Performances
This year the nominators chose to bestow special ensemble awards for acting to
the casts of two shows. Therefore, individual cast members for these shows were not
eligible for acting awards in the competitive categories.

• In Transit
• The Normal Heart

Special Awards
Each year, the Drama Desk votes special awards to recognize excellence and
significant contributions to the theater. For 2010-2011, these awards are:

• To A.R. Gurney for his enduring, keenly observed portraits of American life over
  a prolific four-decade-long career.
• To Reed Birney for his versatile and finely nuanced performances over the past
  thirty-five years, and for his exceptional work this season in Tigers Be Still, A Small Fire and The Dream of the Burning Boy.
• To The New Group and Artistic Director Scott Elliott for presenting contemporary
  new voices, and for uncompromisingly raw and powerful productions.
• To The Pearl Theatre Company for notable productions of classic plays and
  nurturing a stalwart resident company of actors.
• To the creative team of War Horse for thrilling stagecraft: Paule Constable,
  Marianne Elliott, 59 Productions, Adrian Kohler with Basil Jones for Handspring
  Puppet Company, Tom Morris, Rae Smith, Christopher Shutt, Toby Sedgwick,
  Adrian Sutton and John Tams.

Presenters at the 56th Annual Drama Desk Awards ceremony included (in alphabetical order): Ellen Barkin, T.V. Carpio, Tyne Daly, Jennifer Damiano, Montego Glover, Jonathan Groff, Katie Holmes, Cheyenne Jackson, Larry Kramer, Marsha Mason, Karen Olivo, David Hyde Pierce, Colin Quinn, Daniel Radcliffe, Liev Schreiber, Annabella Sciorra, Christian Siriano, Holland Taylor and Tom Wopat.

The 56th Annual Drama Desk Awards highlights special will premiere on Ovation, the only network dedicated to arts culture, Saturday, June 4 at 9:00 pm ET/7:30 pm PT.   In addition to the June 4 premiere, Ovation will broadcast encore presentations on Sunday, June 12 at 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT and 2:00  pm ET/5:00 pm PT. 

Full List
2010/2011 DRAMA DESK AWARD WINNERS

Outstanding Play:	War Horse by Nick Stafford
Outstanding Musical:	The Book of Mormon
Outstanding Revival of a Play:	The Normal Heart
Outstanding Revival of a Musical:	Anything Goes
Outstanding Actor in a Play	Bobby Cannavale (The Motherf**ker With the Hat)
Outstanding Actress in a Play:	Frances McDormand (Good People)
Outstanding Actor in a Musical:	Norbert Leo Butz (Catch Me If You Can)
Outstanding Actress in a Musical:	Sutton Foster (Anything Goes)
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play:	Brian Bedford (The Importance of Being Earnest)
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play:	Edie Falco (The House of Blue Leaves)
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical:	John Larroquette (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying)
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical:	Laura Benanti (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown)
Outstanding Director of a Play:	Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe (The Normal Heart)
Outstanding Director of a Musical:	Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker (The Book of Mormon)
Outstanding Choreography:	Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes)
Outstanding Music:	Trey Parker, Robert Lopez & Matt Stone (The Book of Mormon)
Outstanding Lyrics:	Trey Parker, Robert Lopez & Matt Stone (The Book of Mormon)
Outstanding Book of a Musical	Adam Mathias (See Rock City & Other Destinations)
Outstanding Orchestrations:	Larry Hochman & Stephen Oremus (The Book of Mormon)
Outstanding Musical Revue:	Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles on Broadway
Outstanding Music in a Play:	Wayne Barker (Peter and the Starcatcher)
Outstanding Set Design:	Derek McLane (Anything Goes)
Outstanding Costume Design:	Tim Chappel & Lizzy Gardiner (Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical)
Outstanding Lighting Design:	David Lander (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo)
Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical:	Brian Ronan (Anything Goes)
Outstanding Sound Design in a Play:	Acme Sound Partners and Cricket S. Myers (Bengal Tiger at Baghdad Zoo)
Outstanding Solo Performance:	John Leguizamo (Ghetto Klown)
Unique Theatrical Experience:	Sleep No More

Non-Competetive Awards

Outstanding Ensemble Performances
This year the nominators chose to bestow special ensemble awards for acting to the casts of two shows. Therefore, individual cast members for these shows were not eligible for acting awards in the competitive categories.

• In Transit
• The Normal Heart

Special Awards
For 2010-2011, these awards are:

• To A.R. Gurney for his enduring, keenly observed portraits of American life over a prolific four-decade-long career.
• To Reed Birney for his versatile and finely nuanced performances over the past thirty-five years, and for his exceptional work this season in Tigers Be Still, A Small Fire and The Dream of the Burning Boy.
• To The New Group and Artistic Director Scott Elliott for presenting contemporary new voices, and for uncompromisingly raw and powerful productions.
• To The Pearl Theatre Company for notable productions of classic plays and nurturing a stalwart resident company of actors.
• To the creative team of War Horse for thrilling stagecraft: Paule Constable, Marianne Elliott, 59 Productions, Adrian Kohler with Basil Jones for Handspring Puppet Company, Tom Morris, Rae Smith, Christopher Shutt, Toby Sedgwick, Adrian Sutton and John Tams.

Theater Review: The Normal Heart

Joe Mantello and John Benjamin Hickey. Photo credit Joan Marcus

After Almost Three Decades, the Message Still is Relevant
By Lauren Yarger
HIV continues to infect a growing numbers of people every year. There is no cure. Those statements, true in 2011, haven’t changed since we first heard them uttered three decades ago about a then new and mysterious disease.

The Normal Heart, Larry Kramer’s play about efforts to educate the gay community about the dangers of having sex and about trying to get governmental funding to study the disease is just as relevant in today’s Broadway production as it was when it was staged in New York back in 1985.

The play chronicles the efforts of Ned Weeks (Joe Mantello), urged by Dr. Emma Brookner (Ellen Barkin) to get the message out about the AIDS plague she is witnessing to those in his homosexual community and to the New York Times. The victim of another plague, polio, which has left her in a wheel chair, Bookner isn’t sure what she is dealing with, but she’s pretty sure the disease is being transmitted sexually and she wants to keep it from spreading.

No one is paying attention, however, since the disease only seems to be targeting gays – a term The Times won’t even use except in quoted text. Gays are a political hot potato too and the mayor’s office won’t meet with Ned or the members of the advocacy group he forms (in real life, Kramer founded the Gay Men’s Health Crisis).

Ned is the most outspoken of the group, and the most willing to be identified with a gay cause, but board members Bruce Niles (Lee Pace), Tommy Boatright (Jim Parsons) and Mickey Marcus (Patrick Breen) feel he is too militant and offensive in his blunt speaking to serve as their president. Ned’s message that there is a need for abstinence doesn’t sit well with them either and it becomes even more personal when Ned finds himself falling in love with a fashion writer at the Times, Felix Turner (John Benjamin Hickey), who also contracts the disease.

Also unable to lend his full support to Ned’s cause is his brother, Ben (Mark Harelik), a high-powered attorney who loves his brother, but who is embarrassed by the lifestyle he has chosen. Some great dialogue between the two ensues when Ben can’t give Ned the personal validation of his lifestyle he so desires or even a statement that gays are just as “normal” as he.

“Please stop trying to ring an admission of guilt,” Ben pleads.

“You still think I am sick,” Ned counters. “And I can’t accept that any more.”

Sounds like a conversation two brothers could have today. In fact, a lot of the piece is very relevant – maybe even more so now, with its references to gay marriage which must have seemed almost an impossibility when the play was written.

When the disease first reared its head, and when Ned becomes aware of it in 1981, 41 people had died. Today, the number stands at more than 35 million worldwide. Drugs have slowed, but not defeated the disease. Names of those who have died are projected onto the white, phrase-chiseled walls (David Rockwell, scenic design) linking the past with the present. It’s a stark reminder that while a lot of time has passed, some of the most compelling issues around the disease still bring a lot of hurt, division and questions.

The Normal Heart plays through July 10, 2011 at the Golden Theatre, 252 West 45th St., NYC. Discounted tickets are available at http://www.givenik.com/show_info.php/Masterworks/313/individual.

Christians might also might like to know:
Show posts a MATURE advisory
Language
God’s name taken in vain
Homosexual activity
Sexual dialogue

Quick Hit Theater Review: Picked

Mark Blum and Michael Stahl-Davi​d. Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg.

Picked

By Christopher Shinn

Directed by Michael Wilson

Summary:

A young actor, Kevin (Michael Stahl-David) is “picked” by famous Hollywood director, John (Mark Blum) to star in his next project, a film that will feature the hero and an unseen villain being played by the same actor. John’s script will be created after studying neurological images of Kevin’s brain taken during their interview sessions. Kevin’s a little skeptical, but with the support of his girlfriend, Jen (Liz Stauber), he heads out to Hollywood where he starts to bond with the odd, but friendly director. Suddenly John tells Kevin that he’s brought another actor, Nick (Tom Lapinski) in to play the villain and suddenly life imitates art as unseen villains emerge in a rival for John’s and Jen’s attention, Kevin’s shot at fame and from deep down within as Kevin comes to terms with some deep-rooted demons from his past.

Highlights:

Nice performances and an interesting script. Blum makes the shallow John believable as well as likable. Stahl-David and Lapinski have a genuine rapport that comes through as their characters become friends and adds to the tension when one feel betrayed by the other. Wilson gives tight direction on Rachel Hauck’s sand-toned paneled set which makes a lot of use of a sectional sofa to define rooms. At one point a light pattern on the floor evokes images of motion pitcure film, as though the action in the lives of the characters is being captured for the big screen-- which it is (very clever).

Lowlights:

Some annoying incidental music (Jill BC DuBoff, sound design). The action loses momentum and the conclusion seems anticlimactic.

Information:

Picked plays at the Vineyard Theatre, 108 East 15th St., NYC through May 22, 2011.

Christians might also like to know:

• Language
• Lord’s name taken in vain