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Today on Broadway: Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025
00:14:50
‘Lost Boys’ Musical Announces Broadway Plans, Culkin Change ‘Glengarry’ Schedule, Reviews for JLo’s ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ Movie Since 2016, “Today on Broadway” has been the first and only daily podcast recapping the top theatre headlines every Mon...
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- [00:02]
Matt Tammanini
Welcome to Today on Broadway for Tuesday, January 28, 2025 on Broadway radio's Matt.
- [00:06]
Grace Aki
Tammanini and I'm Tony on a Sunday podcast.
- [00:08]
Matt Tammanini
Grace Aki Grace, we are diving into a new week. I have a Patreon travelogue episode ready to be edited. I was going to do it on Monday afternoon, but I ended up going to a reading instead. I got to go see a reading of a musical adaptation of the book and I think it might have actually been a movie at some point too called City of Ember. Are you familiar with that book or whatever at all?
- [00:33]
Grace Aki
No, it just sounds like something that's real.
- [00:36]
Matt Tammanini
It is. It's like a 2003 YA fantasy book. I'd never heard of it, but it was the very first. It's a 29 hour workshop. First time it had ever been on its feet. I got to see the very first performance of it ever had some really great people. So I'll add that onto a future travelogue episode, but I will get the first one edited and out as soon as humanly possible. But head over to patreon.com broadwayradio broadwayradio.com patreon@the mezzanine Tier and above if you want to hear all about all of the shows that I'll be seeing this week. Now, Grace, on Monday we did get some news about a show that we will be seeing at some point on Broadway, but not for a while because yesterday we got news that the upcoming Michael Arden directed musical adaptation of the iconic film the Lost Boys will be coming to Broadway. That we already knew, but now we know it will be playing the Palace Theater in the spring of 2026. So we know that this spring Glengarry Glen Ross is going to be there. So from June 8th or whenever any extensions wrap up through the spring of 2026, there is nothing scheduled there. I guess. Grace, anything could be thrown in there for a limited run in the fall. Potentially another star studded play could go in there for a limited run, but then also with Michael Arden. I have not heard much about what the thought process is behind this show, Grace, but with Michael Arden, wouldn't be surprised if he wants to do something crazy with it. Although they just renovated the palace so it's not like they're going to take out a bunch of seats and you know, go immersive. But maybe Michael will want to do something that requires some extra work to be done on the Palace Theater. But this is a show, of course, that is Based on the 1987 cult vampire film of the same name. The music was written by the band the Rescues, and it features a book by David Hornsby and Chris Hoke Arden directs. We do not know anything about who is going to be in the show, although there are some rumblings about some people who have been cast. And somebody who just finished up his second lead in a Broadway show. I mean, I don't even think he's 22 or 23 yet. He's getting ready to go back to his hometown and do a show. I've heard he might be the lead in this one, so some pretty interesting stuff. It is interesting, though. Grace, what do you think now in January 2025, what is the advantages of announcing that you have your house 12, 13, 14, 15 months before you actually began performances?
- [03:03]
Grace Aki
Yeah, I think that there's a number of things that are potentially here. You know, one, they're looking at investors for getting something of this magnitude into that theater. But I also think this is going to be the first time where there's a big music. I mean, look, are they doing an out of town tryout at all?
- [03:19]
Matt Tammanini
Nothing has been announced.
- [03:21]
Grace Aki
Yeah. So I, you know, I'm curious, I wonder if that's part of it to say, like, hey, you can obviously see the road ahead. We're doing this big blockbuster kind of event here at the Palace Theater. But in the meantime, we might do this in Chicago or somewhere. I haven't heard anything. So this is not inside baseball. But I do think that it's really smart of them to have a clear Runway and that they've been building a lot of really exciting hype around it. So I think it's smart.
- [03:45]
Matt Tammanini
While we do not know anything about what the road lies between now and the Palace Theater in spring of 2026, we do know that previous industry presentations had been held that starred Casey Levy, Casey Likes, who obviously fits the description of the person that I mentioned a minute ago. Nathan Levy and Lorna Courtney were all involved. So who knows what the cast looks like moving forward? But there will be an additional industry presentation happening in March. So perhaps we will have a little bit more information about this after that. All right, Grace, your boy is in the news again. Kieran Culkin revealed some details about the upcoming Glengarry Glen Ross Broadway revival that we just mentioned. And it was in an interview with Vulture, and it's a longer piece about just him and his career in general. But he was talking about the fact that one of the reasons he was excited to come back to Broadway and to do a show is because he thought that because working nights and having his days free would allow him a little bit more of an opportunity to be a dad. And then as he started to talk to his parent friends who worked on Broadway, they said, no, it's actually pretty tough. You don't get to see your kids at night. You can't tuck them in and do bath time and put them to bed. So as he was kind of realizing, oh, I might have made a mistake, Kieran Culkin went to the producers of Glengarry Glen Ross and said, hey, can we rework the schedule so that we have Sundays off? Which is something that is not normal on Broadway, but is very common in London. And so the Broadway production of Glengarry Glen Ross will not have shows on Sundays. So if you go through and look over at Broadway Direct, where they're selling all their tickets, every week is a Monday through Saturday week. And of course, they have some different matinees mixed in there. Like, as I'm scrolling through, there's even, like, I see a Friday matinee in here once or twice. But as they get ready for performances, there aren't going to be any Sunday shows, which gives Kieran and everybody else in the show an entire day off with their family, because it's not a day where the kids are going to have school or whatever. So I think this is awesome. I mean, we talk so much about the work life balance, Grace, and, you know, when we're talking about parental responsibilities for people working at theater, you know, a lot of times that has to do with women. But it is nice also to see that a star of Kieran's magnitude and obviously on a really hot streak in terms of awards, he would just ask and it happened. I know it's not that easy for a lot of people who don't have the star power that he does, but I think this is awesome. And it also gives people like me, who try to cram in as many things as possible, an extra Monday night or even a Friday matinee to figure out while we're putting our schedules together.
- [06:22]
Grace Aki
Yeah, listen, if you can do it, do it. Obviously, you know, with a. With a limited run, with like a big, big, big, like, cast that is going to sell this show. And they are. I think that you're kind of the opportunity of, you know, I wonder if, you know, he would have still done the project, who knows? But, like, I think that it's really great. And it also offers the rest of the company and the crew that time off without it hopefully affecting Their pay. I don't know. You know what I mean? So, yeah, I just think it's a great. It's a great precedent, and I'm glad that he got to do that. And look, if he wants every day off but one day, give it to him. It's Karen Culkin. He's got to win an Academy Award. I'm going to cry. It'll be fine.
- [07:08]
Matt Tammanini
Can you imagine if he goes in this, like, you know, six, seven month period? Golden Globe, yes. Oscar, Tony. Like, no.
- [07:18]
Grace Aki
That's literally what I want this year. I tweeted it. I was like, I'm not fucking around, you guys. I'm getting Kieran Culkin from my sheer energy. A Tony, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar. And this is all due to the fact that I bought that one VHS of Dangerous Lies of Altar Boys when I was 13 years old.
- [07:37]
Matt Tammanini
Oh, the decisions you make at 13. All right, Grace. Moving on to another show, we found out, like, kind of at the last minute that Tony nominee Joshua Boone would be playing his final performance as Dallas Winston in the Outsiders on Sunday. He wrapped up his run in the musical on January 26 because he is getting ready to head out and do a screen project. He didn't say exactly what that is. He said, quote, while I'm leaving to be of service to a story on screen, the stage has my heart and I'll most definitely be back to collect it. Until then, in his stead, understudies Aramie Payton and Daryl Topa will play the role until a permanent announcement has been announced. We do not know as of now what this screen project is, but it certainly seems like it came fairly quickly. I mean, they perhaps could have known and they just didn't make an announcement. But when I think when you have a Tony nominee who is as popular within the fandom of this show, like Joshua Boone, I feel like they would have tried to publicize that as much as possible, but he said he'll be back. Whether that's in the Outsiders or not, who knows? But I thought he was magnetic and dynamic in this performance and certainly worthy of that Tony nomination. So hopefully we get to see him on screen and whatever this is soon and back on stage even sooner. All right, Grace. Speaking of things on screen, at the Sundance Film Festival this year, one of the most highly anticipated movies that is going to be presented is the screen adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman. It stars Jennifer Lopez and it was written and directed by Bill Condon. The cast also includes Diego Luna, Tonata Josefina, Scaglione and many others. Oh, including Aileen May Godia. We just talked about her. Is she gonna be in Real Women have Curves. Real Women have Curves, Yeah. So a very nice little run for her. It made its premiere this past weekend and is running at the film festival. And the reviews have been pretty great. Not all Universal, which I don't expect film people to always love musical adaptations, but Peter Hammett of Deadline said, quote, it's nice to report that the stunning new film adaptation of their 1993 Tony winning musical Kiss of a Spider Woman joins Cabaret in Chicago as a masterclass in how to find the cinematic soul of a Broadway musical while still doing it justice on screen 30 years later. And in a very different time culturally. David Rooney of the Hollywood Reporter said, quote, those scenes give Jennifer Lopez one of the best roles of her career as Luna, putting her singing and dancing bona fides to excellent use. She looks sensational in Colleen Atwood's stunning costumes, and the verb she brings to her songs lifts the entire movie. It's a part that calls for a larger than life presence and Lopez supplies it. And we'll wrap up with Ryan Lattanzio from Indiewire, who was a little bit more muted, but he said, quote, but what's a star making performance when the package surrounding the actor is otherwise so ordinary and uncosmic? Lopez, while impressive as a vamping, dreamed up screen star in the silhouette of Rita Hayworth or any other pinup you'd too have plastered on the walls of your prison cell if you were a gay Hollywood movie obsessive, doesn't get the chance to do anything risky or vulnerable. Kiss of the Spider Woman is a flashy ode to the fairies and the rascals, the maracones who've repurposed their oppression and media literacy into an outsize, fuck if I care what you think, political identity. Yet there's nothing revolutionary about the movie that contains them. I am fascinated that somebody made a movie version of Kiss of the Spider Woman. In general, the fact that they got a star like Jennifer Lopez to do it is incredible to me. This is obviously her still upset about not getting an Oscar nomination for Hustlers. So I think she's trying to find a project that can get her an Oscar or at least a nomination. But I, I think this show is great, some of the best songs ever written. So whenever this film eventually gets purchased and gets distributed, I will be at the front of the line to check it out. But these reviews, Grace, are pretty, pretty exciting because I don't know that it was guaranteed to be a hit like I think Wicked always was.
- [11:43]
Grace Aki
I'm not gonna lie to you. I don't know this at all. I don't know this show at all. I'm very excited. I always thought it was Spider man slash Sunset Boulevard. It sounds like that's what it is. No, I. Yeah, it's not. But I'm. I'm excited to finally learn what the hell it is. It's just one of those blind spots. So I will be watching this.
- [12:04]
Matt Tammanini
Yeah, it's. It's crazy. Like when you think about how long ago Kander and E.B. wrote this show and it's based on a, you know, a pre existing property. So it's not like Kander and E.B. came up with a story, but just the fact that it feels like I saw. I saw it in Orlando a couple years ago, two years ago, and it felt very modern even then. So I think it is going to resonate with audiences whenever it makes it to the big screen and streaming services. All right, Grace, real quick, let's head over to the Circle in the Square theater because the. Because the new show, Just in Time has a very special offer for when its box office opens in celebration of 1959, the year that Bobby Darin, the central character in this musical, released his album that's all, which featured songs like Mack the Knife and beyond the sea. The first 59 people to purchase tickets, that's in person at Circle in the square on January 30th. So that's what Thursday will receive. A commemorative limited edition window card signed by Tony winner Jonathan Groff will be playing Bobby Darin in the show. The box office will open at 1pm Eastern time, so a little bit later than normal. And there will be a limit of one window card per transaction and one transaction per person. So you can't be like, I want to buy 59 tickets, be in the front of the line, and then get 59 window cards. It's not how it works. But this is another thing, Grace, where shows are trying to figure out opportunities to not only create some buzz about them, but also to get people to jump on tickets early. And with the rabid fandom of Jonathan Groff, I think that there will probably be more than 59 people looking to take advantage of that on Thursday. Over at Circle in the Square.
- [13:45]
Grace Aki
If you are a person that likes that shows do this, please share that on social media. You know, this is the more shares and the more activations and the more engagement that those types of opportunities can bring, the more likely that future one will happen for, you know, other shows and other properties. So I always want to say, if that's something that you like that shows are doing right now, please continue the encouragement by one, showing up or two sharing about all those things because we want to be able to offer more ticket discounts and incentives and fun opportunities. But it only works if people talk about it and it actually makes sense and people buy tickets. So there you go.
- [14:26]
Matt Tammanini
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. Oddwayradian. You can follow me on Instagram @bww. MattGrace, where can people find you?
- [14:34]
Grace Aki
You can find me at gracelocky.
- [14:35]
Matt Tammanini
All right, everybody, have a wonderful Tuesday. We'll be back to talk to you to.