Grace Aki (3:16)

Yeah, I think this is so it's so smart of them to have held off to do this for their big 10 year anniversary. It both feels like it's been more than 10 years and it feels like I can't believe it's 10 years. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's, it's somewhere between both because we've had, you know, a four year pandemic in between. And. Yeah, so I think that this is a really smart move for everybody. I think that, you know, when we saw Wicked 20 and then maximizing all of that promotion for their anniversary, I was curious what would happen with shows like Hamilton, which is I guess like our next long runner would be Hadestown. And then there they've recorded right in London. I really wish it was cheaper and more doable to record in the US with Broadway. I'm wondering if some union things will change to accommodate that just because I think that we're really losing out on some of the magic of. And there's no shade to any, you know, alternate cuts at all. There's. There's just something about, you know, being able to see the people who originated some of those haircuts in those parts, you know, and, and I, you know, you know what I'm saying? Like, but every show tries to replicate even the ensembles. And so I think that like, you know, I'm hopeful that for the future, for the preservation of the art in all frankness, besides the amazing Lincoln center archives that we are looking to more of these opportunities that we're building into the overall strategy and budgets of these amazing Broadway shows.

Matt Tamanini (4:52)

You mentioned Hadestown being the next one. There's actually one other longer running show in between Hamilton and Hadestown and it's one that was only open for a year before Hadestown but it is one that I'm interested to see whether or not it ever gets filmed or whether it is just turned into a movie. And that's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Because, you know, with all of the acrimony around J.K. rowling, I, I don't necessarily want there to be any huge success coming out of this, but I do wonder from a strategic standpoint if this is something that will be filmed either in the US or in London. Probably in London, where it is still running as two parts or if they just do it as a film version at some point. I think that would lose some of the stage magic. But that is interesting to consider what that will all be. All right, so let's move into some show and casting news. And this is a new play that is going to be coming to the Pershing Square Signature center in October. It'll begin performances on the 29th of that month with an official opening on November 17th that is being directed by David Cromer. This is a play called Meet the Cartosians. It is written by Taleen Monaghan and it has a number of fantastic stars, including two Tony winners. The first Tony winner in this cast is the two time Tony honoree Andrea Martin. And then the other one is Will Brill, who also happens to be the playwright's real life partner. Joining them in the cast is Rafi Barasumian as well as Nael Nasal and Tamara Sivants. The play follows two sets of Armenian Americans, one man fighting for legal recognition in the 1920s, while a century later his descendant fights for followers. And a complete glam team. A wildly imaginative and deeply compelling story of culture and heritage. The show is going to be running over at Signature and Grace, I saw you posted about this. Are you working on it? Are you just a fan of it? What are your insights into this show?

Grace Aki (6:49)

I'm very excited to be working on it. I really love Second Stage. Like I'm a huge fan of their programming. I don't get paid to say that. I just genuinely have always felt like that. There are so many incredible nonprofit and Broadway slash off Broadway season, you know, subscription houses that we get to work with in New York City. And I just think that Second Stage really picks interesting plays, even if it's not always something that you're like, oh, I loved this. Sometimes you're like, oh, I'm grateful that they put this play on. Like this was interesting. This sparked a conversation. There was, you know, I just think that there's a lot to be said for that Especially in a time where, and I put this out on Twitter where it's like, you know, I don't know the state of nation in terms of play selections right now. A lot of people are just like, well, we need to do the hits, we need to do Shakespeare, we need to do a Shakespeare adaptation. And I just, I'm, I'm always excited by what they're doing over at Second Stage. I think it's very great moving on.

Matt Tamanini (7:46)

To another Off Broadway show that honestly, I probably would normally just skip over this. But there's something about this story that really is interesting to me and we'll get into that, but. Jamie Jackson is going to star in the world premiere of a new play called Murdoch the Final Interview. It is being directed by Christopher Scott and will begin performances at Theater555 on September 12th. It is currently scheduled to play through December 28th. In the show, Jamie Jackson plays media magnate Rupert Murdoch as he faces the cameras, a live audience, and a mysterious interviewer as he attempts to secure his legacy. The topics of conversation include his family members, different presidents, newspaper controversies, Fox News, all of those things. But what is interesting to me about this specifically and made me kind of look at it a little bit differently, is that we don't know who the playwright is. It's a new American play, so written by an American, by, quote, an unnamed source. So that could just be marketing. But anytime somebody is gonna do a play off Broadway in New York City and the author doesn't want to or can't put their name on it, I'm intrigued. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing, but I'm at least intrigued by it.

Grace Aki (8:58)

That's wild. And I totally get it because there's a lot of work that I don't feel like I can put my name on right now. So I really do get this. I'm very excited by that. I am curious as well.

Matt Tamanini (9:10)

We had previously talked about long running Broadway shows that were filmed and coming to screens at some, maybe Disney screens. Well, Grace, last night, on Wednesday, Aladdin became the 14th longest running show in Broadway history. It passed Miss Saigon. They had been tied at 4,092 performances and Aladdin pulled ahead. They have done all of those performances at the New Amsterdam Theater. As we know, Aladdin was filmed over in the UK with some Broadway stars. But I think at this point we all believe that it is never going to see the light of day. But what's interesting about this is, Grace, is that we have Aladdin sitting there in 14th place, it probably has sometime maybe towards the beginning of 2027, it will pass Jersey Boys. Then sometime in 2028 it'll pass Rent. And then in the top 11, Book of Mormon is currently in 11th. Later this year it'll pass Beauty and the Beast to get into the top 10. But three of the top four shows, longest running shows in Broadway history are currently running. Number 2, 3 and 4 are Chicago, Lion King and Wicked. Now, Chicago, Chicago is still a few years away from Phantom, so it'll take a while for these shows to surpass the number one spot. But I do think it's interesting that we think of how hard it is for shows to run for a long time on Broadway now, how difficult it is for shows to recoup. And obviously Wicked, Lion King and Chicago are exceptions to that rule. But it is kind of fascinating to me that three of the top four shows in terms of the longest runs on Broadway are still running. So obviously someone is doing something right and people are still finding value in going and seeing those shows. Speaking of a show that I never fail to find value in, this week we got information about a very cool 20th anniversary concert of in the Heights. Now you might be thinking in the Heights didn't come to Broadway until 2008, but before that it not only had an Off Broadway run, but it actually had its world premiere at the Eugene O' Neill Theater center in Connecticut. So the Eugene O' Neill will be doing a 20th anniversary concert on September 8th and it is going to be directed by Tony Award winner and original in the Heights star Ko, formerly known as Karen Olivo. They are going to be directing that production that features a number of very, very cool stars, including some folks who are in the original cast. Robin Jesus, who played Sonny in the original Broadway company, will be playing usnavi. Alicio Roman, who was the original Piragua guy. He is going to be playing Kevin. Also joining them in the company is Florencia Quince, most recently of Real Women have curves, and Katerina McCrimmon, who was most recently seen as Eva Perrone in the Munis production of Evita. This is very co And Ko has some really nice comments about the history of the show and having it being done at the at the Eugene o' Neill Center. They said, quote, it's an honor to be returning to Heights with the o' Neill's support. For me, this play recontextualized how Latina people were portrayed on commercial musical stages while centering the power of community. This interpretation honors those who were present and those who came before us. If you want more information on how you can purchase tickets, we will have that information in the show notes. And then finally here, Grace got some news that is probably important to people in your household because yesterday we found out that coming up on August 29, the original concept album of mystic the Musical will be released on digitals and streaming platforms. You are now able to pre save that album, which we'll have a link to in the show notes. The ensemble is fantastic in this show. I saw it down here in Florida going through just some of the members of the cast are Christina Alabado, Ben Fankhauser, Gianna Giulietti, F, Michael Haney, James Hindman, Vincent Michael, Jake Swain and more. A really great group of talents singing some just honestly iconic songs. So I know F did a lot of content around recording that album, so very much looking forward to hearing it when it is finally available later this month.

Grace Aki (13:30)

I'll also say this is Brian who started Joy Machine Records. This is his second album with F singing Power of Love. I think that that's twice in one year F has sung on two Joy Machine records. Huey Lewis music that's the heart of rock and roll and Mystic Pizza. And I don't know what a legacy is, but that to me is a legacy.

Matt Tamanini (13:53)

Yeah. And F was involved with some early incarnations of the Back to the Future musical, right?

Grace Aki (14:00)

Yes. But that was not recorded, nor was it with Joy Machine. What a travesty for all of us. But there's still time, Matt. There's still time. Nothing like going from Marty to being called back for the doc. That really is range.

Matt Tamanini (14:15)

Yeah. F doing the original readings as Marty and it taking so long to get it to stage that they are now aging out and into the old man role. That's good. Grace, you recently went and saw a show. You can't talk about it yet, but we're going to have a review for it on tomorrow's episode. So what was that show? Just so people can be prepared to hear your thoughts on it.

Grace Aki (14:40)

This is Bubba Weiler's new play, well, I'll Let yout Go, which I am very much looking forward to talking about.

Matt Tamanini (14:47)

Okay, that's enough. No embargo is broken here, but we'll have that on tomorrow's episode. All right, everybody, that's all that we have for today. Thanks for listening to Today on Broadway. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Rodrigue. And if you want more BroadwayRadio, head over to patreon.com broadwayradio Grace where can people find you?

Grace Aki (15:01)

You can find me at Graceaki.

Matt Tamanini (15:03)

All right, everybody, have a wonderful Thursday. We'll be back to talk to you tomorrow.

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