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Today on Broadway: Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025
00:20:46
Linda Lavin Dies, Shuberts Hope to Renovate Imperial, DeBose in Talks to Play Evita in London Since 2016, “Today on Broadway” has been the first and only daily podcast recapping the top theatre headlines every Monday through Friday.
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- [00:02]
A
Welcome to Today on Broadway for Tuesday, January 7, 2024. I'm Broadway Video's Matt Tamaneni and I'm.
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B
Tell Me on a Sunday podcast and sleep Goblin Grace Aki.
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A
Grace, you messed up your sleep cycle a little bit from these past couple weeks, huh?
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B
You know, loved having a glorious break. Thank you all for, I hope you enjoyed those episodes if you were able to listen to the ones that we had prerecorded, obviously, and really got to have a nice break in. Your girl stayed up late and slept in and got a lot of great, great personal growth on. But one of those things was not regulating a sleep schedule. And for that I am paying dearly. So it's, it's, it's bad. It's bad, Matt. But we're, we're, you know, pressuring on. It feels like it's 9am for me, but it's not. It's not.
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A
It's not. We are not recording at 9:00am of course, as Grace said, we had a ton of episodes over the past couple of weeks in the podcast feed. Some of them were with you. We had resolutions and predictions and the best of the past year, Jan Simpson had a new episode of all the drama that dropped. We had a couple this week on Broadway's Jennifer Ashley Tepper was a guest. They did their best of 2024. I had a couple interviews with stars of a production of Frozen down here in Florida, the stars of a production of Mystic Pizza that's going to be here in Florida and then up at Paper Mill Playhouse. So tons of content. Make sure you head to the podcast feeds. But we are back looking back at the news that we missed over the past couple weeks. And unfortunately, we do have to start with the Sad news of 20 winner Linda Lavin, dying at the age of 87. She passed away on December 29. So it has been over a week since this happened. So I'm not going to dive into all of the news and all of the background of Linda Lavin, as I'm sure you have heard all about this by now. But she passed away from complications dealing with lung cancer, and I'd interviewed her back in 2020 here on an episode of Tell Me More just a couple weeks after the pandemic started. But she started her Broadway career back in 1962 in a family Affair. She went on to do tons of Broadway shows, including It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Broadway Bound. She was a replacement rose in the 1989 production of Gypsy. She did the Diary of Anne Frank, the Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Collected Tales, the Lions. And her last Broadway credit was in 20 Our Mother's Brief Affair. She was nominated for six Tony Awards, winning in 1987 for Broadway Bound. She also had eight Drama Desk nominations, winning three. But she was, of course, more than just a stage star. She was an icon of television. She made her television debut in Rhoda, had a recurring role on Barney Miller, but she gained the most fame for playing the title role in the TV version of Alice, which was originally a Martin Scorsese film called Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. This was the TV version of that. The show ended in 1985, but I remember that show being on Nick at night all the time. And she was just an icon. So many people sharing memories of her when she passed away a week or so ago. But Linda Lavin, dead at the age of 87, to be remembered for a long time. And I would assume at some point, however, the Broadway League and the League of Theater Owners decides to honor people in 2025. She will be at the front of that list. Grace, unfortunately, we had another death in the theater community that happened over the break, and it actually happened a little bit earlier. We found out that poet, playwright and TV writer Aziza Barnes died at the age of 32. They had most recently been working on the TV show A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, had also worked on Snowfall and Rap Shit and Teenage Bounty Hunter. They died by suicide at their home, as it was confirmed by their family. But their work in theater was most known for the show Blacks that happened in 2019 at MCC. It was one of the best reviewed shows of that entire season, Directed by Robert O'Hara and like I said with Linda Lavin, that happened a week ago. This happened at this point three weeks ago with Aziza. So we will have information in the notes about both of their passings, but we want to send our best to everybody who knew and loved these two artists, either personally or professionally. All right, Grace, getting into some other interesting news. It was reported over the break that the Imperial Theater might be going through some pretty big renovations. On Dec. 17, the Shubert Organization that owns the Imperial Theater filed plans with New York's Landmarks Preservation Commission in order to update the inside of the theater. So what's interesting about this, most Broadway theaters that are preserved by the lpc, that is applicable to both the inside and the outside. The Imperial, for whatever reason, is only protected on the inside. So the Shuberts can Do whatever they want to the outside. And presumably whatever renovations they do will also impact the outside. But the inside has to be approved by the commission. Who knows how long that takes to get approved? But the plans that the Shuberts put forth were extensive. Not only do they have to do with renovating the inside of the space, but they also are going to take over the empty lot now next door to the Imperial, so that they are going to put in a new ticket lobby, a new commercial space, and most importantly, if you've ever been to the Imperial and had to go to the bathroom, all new bathrooms as well. So this would be a huge change for that space and for that part of the theater district as that kind of eyesore next to the Imperial is just kind of ugly. This doesn't sound too dissimilar, Grace, to what the court did with taking some space next to it. That theater has now become the James Earl Jones, but they have this amazing structure that was just kind of an alley before. You know the James Earl Jones very well. And it's a great addition where they've got a bar, restrooms, lounges. I think they even have some rehearsal space there. So if the Imperial is able to do something similar to this and perhaps even bigger because of how big that empty lot is, that would be a huge boon, not only for the Shuberts, but also for theatergoers as well.
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B
Yeah, I've been thinking a lot about a lot of these like kind of extra facility spaces and if anyone has like the, the money and infrastructure to develop them into other things. I think with like the renovation and literal physical upward movement of the Palace Theater, a lot of different theater owners might be looking at strategizing things in different ways. But I'm excited by the potential of a lot. Listen, I want a food cafe. What's wrong with that?
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I want like a food court.
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Yes.
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Okay.
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I, I want, I want a 24 hour diner that is like built right there that I know it's like not juniors, you know what I'm saying? Like that's. I mean juniors is great though, don't get me wrong. But I think that like having. Because there used to be City Kitchen, I think right there, and it closed during the pandemic and it had like 10 different food spots in it and there are some like on the, the east side, but I just think that that to me is the white whale. Like that. Why aren't I want to do that?
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A
That sounds great. So if the commercial space that ends up happening where the lot is now ends up having a food court. I think that would be one. Awesome. But also two. Very, very crowded. But everything in that area is crowded. I, you know, I know this might be sacrilegious to actual New Yorkers, but I really like. What is it? The carve little cafes because they have a little bit of everything. It's not great.
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No, I agree with you.
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Yeah, the pizza's not bad.
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Yeah, there's lots of good stuff.
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But they've got sandwiches and salads and stuff, so adding a little something else like that would be awesome. All right. Grace, on Sunday night, I know you were very busy watching the Golden Globes. You were not only doing your always expert, hilarious insight fashion takes, but you were also getting very emotional about some of the Golden Globe winners. The big one, from a theatrical standpoint at least, is the fact that Wicked won what I think was the very first cinematic and box office achievement Golden Globe awards. This is something that was new to kind of, you know, ring in this new era of the Golden Globes. They are now under a new organization that runs them no longer with the Hollywood Foreign Press. They're no longer on NBC. They happened on cbs. So that was a big win for this movie musical. Other theater stars who also won things. Jean Smart won the best performance by a female actor in a television series, musical or comedy for hacks Baby reindeer won for best television limited series or motion picture made for television. That, of course, was based on Richard Gad's autobiographical solo stage show that originally premiered at the Edinburgh French Festival. And then, Grace, most importantly for you, the best performance by a male actor in a supporting role went to a real pain star, Kieran Culkin. The floor is yours.
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B
Listen, my boy. Nothing was funnier than the cutaway on the CBS telebroadcast of Kieran Culkin winning. And they cut to Jeremy Strong. And I said, who's the eldest boy? Who's the eldest boy? It was so funny. I love them both dearly and I think that they're both incredible stage and screen actors. And I actually, I do want to shout out the fact that I was floored by Jeremy's performance in the Apprentice. It was staggeringly good. Like, I'm sorry, he should have won.
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A
But what was he wearing, though?
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And you know what he was wearing? A fun, gorgeous, custom made outfit. And I really liked it. And I liked a silly little bucket hat. But he was in velvet. And I always like it when people dress in velvet. Look it up if you don't know what we're talking About. But I will say that Kieran is such a free spirit. And what's funny is, like, he has been on this press tour with Jesse Eisenberg, another also great stage and screen actor.
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He was. He was his co star and wrote.
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The film as well and directed it.
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Directed it, yeah. Yeah.
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And so their press tour has been hilarious. Like, it's the most Odd Couple thing you've ever seen. Like, if there's a Jack Lemmon and Walter matthau of the A24 era, it's them. Like, what a couple of weirdos. But yeah, it's been. It was just a. It was a great performance and I'm excited. I can't wait to see him in Glengarry Glen Ross. Like, the amount of, like, Denzel Washington was nominated. He's an Othello this season. Like, the amount of people that were there last night. Ali Cravalio, who you can see this week in Cabaret. I mean, it's. It's kind of. It's kind of crazy. I think we take a lot of this. Like, we kind of forget. It's like part of the cultural phenomenon is Broadway still. Sometimes I often think. I mean, and I know this is true. It's like, it's so segregated and it's like its own little niche beast. Like, we think it's so global, but it's not. It's. It is small and mighty. But then you look at this, like, global scale of like the Golden Globes and it's like, those are our boys. Like little Eddie Redmayne and his. He said that his. His suit was custom and it's made to look. He was like, I was inspired by Chess musical. And it's like, yeah, you know, I mean, it's sweet. I don't know. There were a lot of little moments that I really loved. And I loved all the ad placements for all the Broadway shows during the broadcast.
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A
I have to say, maybe for you, I don't think I got as many down here in Florida, but no, I got all.
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I got the Othello ad. I got the other. Yeah.
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Speaking of that Wicked win that they had, I just wanted to mention that over the holidays, Wicked became the number one stage musical adaptation ever at the global box office. It overtook Mamma Mia 1. Currently it has 4. $450,752,000 domestically, $230.5 million internationally, to come in at a total of $601,256,000. Will it get to a billion? Ah, that's probably pretty tough. But it is certainly doing well and it is already available to rent or buy digitally if you would like. And of course I will have an article that I did early on Monday morning where you can stream all of the Golden Globe winners, either TV or film if they are available. Obviously some of the films haven't made it to stream, but they will eventually. All right, one other thing that I'm going to throw in here because it actually comes from the Golden Globes afterparty and Deadline's Baz Bama Boy is reporting that it was confirmed to him by the woman herself. Ariana DeBose is currently in conversations to lead the previously announced Jamie Lloyd directed production of Tim Rice and Andy Lloyd Webber's Evita at the London Palladium this summer. In the conversation between Baz and Ariana, she said that it's about 70% close to being done. The only thing that has to happen now is she has to like get approval between all of the people that she is working with on other projects, presumably. She is currently filming a show for Amazon with Jamie Lee Curtis and Nicole Kidman. She plays Jamie Lee Curtis's daughter and Nicole Kidman's niece. It has already been picked up for a second season, so I'm guessing that is what has to be worked out. But she said that she is in Conversations and fingers crossed that it will happen that she will lead that production when it opens for a 14 week run later this year. Now moving back to theater Grease, we got a number of little things that I want to mention. If you want to jump in on any of them, please let me know, but this actually did happen. On Monday, the Roundabout Theater Company revealed the cast for the upcoming world premiere of Bess Wolves Liberation. It'll begin performances later this month on January 13th off Broadway and is currently scheduled to run through March 30th. It is directed by Whitney White. It features a really fun, fantastic cast. It includes Betsy Adam, Kayla Davion, Susanna Flood, Kristalyn Lloyd, Irene Sophia Luccio, Adina Verzen, Audrey Corsa and Charlie Thurston. This show centers on a group of women who gather to talk only for their conversation quickly to become about changing their own life and the world 50 years later, one of their daughter looks at the past for answers when she finds history repeating itself. This one is a bit of a bummer, Grace, because I think you and I had both kind of been looking forward to Brendan Fraser, I believe, making his Off Broadway debut in Samuel D. Hunter's Grangeville, which was scheduled to begin performances on February 4th at the Signature Theater. That show will still happen, but Brendan Fraser will not be a part of it. He will be replaced by stage and screen star Paul Sparks who will join Brian J. Smith in the two hander show. No real reason was given for why Frasier has departed the production other than it was due to unforeseen circumstances. In other news, Frozen and Company Star as well as I Can get it for your Wholesale and tons of other things. Greg Hildreth has joined the production of Chicago on Broadway. He had his first performance on Monday night. So congratulations to Greg and now Grace. Have you ever been to the Hollywood Bowl?
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No. I've been to la, literally once. Okay twice technically, but I don't remember it because I was 4. But no, and I'm obsessed with it every time. I mean I've watched hundreds of YouTube videos on the Hollywood Bowl. Don't know what it looks like except a bowl.
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Yeah, it's a bull. I've never been, I've never been to California, let alone the Hollywood bowl, but this is something that very well might get me to be there. The Hollywood bowl has announced that they are going to be returning to doing big star studded musicals over the summer. We do not know exactly when this will happen, but they will be doing a production of Jesus Christ Superstar later this year. No dates, casting, creative team or anything else has been announced as of now, but normally their full seasons of summer programming happen in February. I love Jesus Christ Superstar. I love this show. I think this is one where we could have some really incredible stars being a part of this. When they did these more frequently, they used to call them like, what'd they say? Like it was like theater camp for a listers. So it could be a really, really fun production and this might be an opportunity for me to, I don't know, finally, finally make it to California, which I've never done before, but this certainly could be something that would get me there later this year.
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B
This is just also though one of those shows that I am, and you know me, I am never this person. I never am this person. But how come they always, they're always casting people that can't sing the roles? What? In so many. Jesus Christ. Super.
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It's a hard show to sing.
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It's a really hard saying. I mean Paul Alexander Nolan is the blueprint for me. Like his modern guys.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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Oh my God. So it's like, you know, I don't know if they would call him, but I don't. I, I need them to. I don't I don't need. I don't need soft. You know, they're going to call Shawn Mendes and I. And I love Shawn, but you know what I'm saying? Like, I need. I want to hear. I want to hear those top notes. Yeah, that's my one thing.
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A
I want to. I want to hear Ted Neely, Carl Anderson, Murray Head type vocals on those. And with all due respect to John Legend and Brandon, Victor Dixon and even Sarah Bareilles, I loved Jesus Christ Superstar live in concert on NBC in 2018. I know you probably do quite as well like I do, but they just weren't the type of voices that like, that's a rock thing. Like, can we get Adam Lambert to be Judas?
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Like, that was literally what I was about to say was like, call Adam Lambert, for Christ's sake.
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Yeah, he would be great. And I think he's done. I don't know if he ever did a production of it before, but I've seen him sing what's the. I think it was either what's the buzz or maybe it was blood money. I can't remember. But I think Adam Lambert needs to be involved. He's gotten his musical theater vibes back after Cabaret and let's get him out to the Hollywood bowl to do this. All right. We're wrap up the show with a recommendation. And this is another show that I will very likely have to travel to see because it is not coming down here to Florida. But coming up this month, the new tour of Parade will be kicking off. It begins official performances on January 11th in Schenectady, New York. That is like its preview performances before officially opening at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis. They have wrapped up their rehearsal in the studio and are getting ready to head to Schenectady to do all of the tech. But before they did, they invited folks in for a little bit of a rehearsal promo footage shoot. And we have some video of Trevor James and the cast singing the Old Red Hills of Home, as well as stars Talia Suskower and Max Chernin singing this is Not over yet, which I think is just one of the great musical theater songs ever written. So check that out in the show notes. Get tickets if it is coming anywhere near you or not coming anywhere near you as I am very much willing and able and ready to travel to see this show. Grace, anything from the holiday break that we didn't hit that you want to put on people's radars or anything coming up that people need to be on the. On the lookout for if you are.
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B
In Florida, go see Mystic Pizza. If you are in New York City or New Jersey, go see Mystic Pizza. That is the only way you can hear the power of love. Because the power of love was beating in the heart of rock and roll. And Back to the Future, those shows are closed. This is your only opportunity.
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A
Does somebody who was in one of those shows sing that song?
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B
Yes. Okay, it's. And by the way, it's the third time.
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The third time. Wait, so Heart of Rock and Roll. Are you talking about the two different Heart of Rock and Roll productions, or was there another production?
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No, the original workshop, somebody played Marty. And in Back to the Future, so this is the third time.
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I didn't know that.
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Yeah. Yeah. For F. Michael Haney singing the Power.
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A
Well, it's a good thing F loves Huey Lewis, like, personally and as an artist. But, like, personally is that much, because otherwise it might get a little redundant. But I know f we love. All right, everybody, that's all we have for today. Thanks for listening to today on Broadway. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at broader radio. Follow me on Instagram @bww. Matt. Grace. Where can people find you?
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B
You can find me at. It's Grace, Aki. And hopefully asleep.
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A
All right, everybody, have a wonderful Tuesday, and we'll be back to talk to you tomorrow.