← BroadwayRadio
BroadwayRadio
Today on Broadway: Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025
00:16:20
Dolly Parton Musical Coming to Broadway in 2026, Jennifer Nettles Musical to Have Premiere This Year, ‘Urinetown’ Rehearsal Footage Since 2016, “Today on Broadway” has been the first and only daily podcast recapping the top theatre headlines every Mond...
Loading summary
Transcript19 lines
- [00:02]
A
Welcome to Today on Broadway for Wednesday, January 29, 2025 on Broadway Radio's Matt.
- [00:06]
B
Tammanini and I'm Tell Me on the Sunday podcast, Grace Locke.
- [00:09]
A
Grace, by the time this episode is out, my first travel log will already be in the Patreon feed. I finally had an opportunity to edit it on Tuesday afternoon. So that will be in the feeds now at the Mezzanine Tier and above, talking about the first six shows that I saw on my trip. I will have a Patreon episode when I'm done with my trip, probably on Saturday, hitting the Patreon feed, talking about the rest of the shows. But I actually, you know, I threw in a little bit of a, a curveball yesterday on Monday because I saw a reading to go along with the other four shows that I'm seeing. So lots of great stuff in the podcast feeds. If you want to hear it all, head over to patreon.com broadwayradio broadwayradio.com patreon Now, Grace, I did not expect this announcement that we got on Tuesday, mainly because they had just started a social media campaign to try find somebody to play Dolly Parton in the upcoming musical hello, I'm Dolly. However, they've won changed the name of the show to now it's Dolly Colon, an original Musical, and they're already announcing when the show will premiere, and it's coming up in less than six months. The new musical that is based on life of Dolly Parton and features a whole bunch of new songs will premiere in Nashville this summer. The show will begin performances at the Fisher center for the Performing Arts on Belmont University's campus on July 18. It'll have an opening night on August 8, and then it will set its final performance as of now on August 17th. But what's interesting about this, Grace, is that's not just the only news that we heard. We also know that they are now planning to come to Broadway in 2026. I would imagine that is almost certainly the spring of 2026. So with this and Lost Boys, we now probably have two shows coming in the 2025, 2026 season that will be looking to compete for the best Musical award. I'm a little surprised at how quickly they are turning this around, Grace, because they did just kind of kick off the social media thing. You thought they would take a little bit of a while to get somebody in and do workshops and all that stuff. And I'm assuming that they're going to have, they're going to do the different ages of Dolly. I don't know if that's been confirmed, but have different people playing Dolly throughout the years. But they said that they are going to be making, you know, more announcements about this musical in the coming weeks. Dolly did a live stream from the actual stage of the Fisher center to make the announcement. Bartlett Shear, who's the director is there, was there as well. So I'm surprised. Like, I don't know, like I thought that we would hear about something happening maybe at the end of 2025, beginning of 2026 and then maybe coming to Broadway the next season. But it sure seems like they are ready to go and get this thing on stage as soon as humanly possible.
- [02:53]
B
Listen, you know, I'm excited about this. Not only is it just like the Dolly of it all, it's. They're doing it in Asheville. It's so exciting. I just, I can't wait to see it myself. But also, like, you know, we don't get to see. I mean, listen, we all know and love Dolly, but we don't know and we don't know her know her. And I think that this is going to be an exciting opportunity to see a little bit past the glitz and glamour, but also still revel in that exciting glamour that we all know and love about her. This is obviously very my alley and I'm very excited to hopefully be a part of it and work on it as well.
- [03:25]
A
What do you think of the whole social media search for Dolly or whatever it was that was all over TikTok and Instagram a few weeks ago or whatever? Is that just one good marketing for the show or do you really think that that's like a really viable way to find undiscovered talents?
- [03:45]
B
I think it's both. Like, I think it's, it's creating a moment, but it's also saying that like we're excited that people are having this convers and they're showcasing their talent online. And also, who knows, there could be more opportunities beyond just this out of town tryout. I mean, I saw incredible. I literally was bookmarking every single video that I saw. It was amazing.
- [04:06]
A
This show, as I mentioned, is directed by Bartlett Shearer and it features a book by Dolly herself as well as Maria S. Schlatter. And as I said, it will feature a bunch of new songs that Dolly has written, but also some of the iconic pieces that she has made famous throughout her incredible career. All right, Grace, that one will probably do very well at the box office when it eventually makes it to Broadway. But let's Talk about last week's Broadway grosses. Things continue to slow down from the highs of all of the holiday weekends, including MLK weekend, which probably had a little bit of a surge in tourism in and around New York City. But last week, Broadway's 29 shows grossed $29,614,804. That was down 11% from the previous week, but that was mostly because of the average ticket price dropping by almost $13 because attendance only Fe2% to come in at 246,230 people, the average ticket price was $120.27. That also corresponds with the beginning of Broadway week. So that also could have had an impact on keeping the attendance high, but the average ticket price a little bit lower since you were able to get buy one, get one free tickets for a lot of shows. Again, Wicked continues to just outpace everybody, leading the way at $2,415,881, even though that was down about $187,000 from the previous week. Gypsy was in second place coming in at 1.78 million, followed by the Lion King at 1.69, Hamilton at 1.61, and Sunset Boulevard at 1.45. The rest of the shows, in descending order north of seven figures, are all in Death becomes Her, mj, Aladdin, the Outsiders, Great Gatsby, Cabaret, Hell's Kitchen, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Now, I do want to point out the fact that we had the first few performances of Redwood on Broadway. They only did two previews over at the Nederlander Theater, and it pulled in a total of $197,117 over those two shows. If you extrapolate that out over to eight performances, that comes in at 1,588,468 bucks. Obviously, we always talk about those first few previews are going to be a little bit different because it is maybe a little bit higher price, maybe more people wanting to see it at the very beginning. Die hard Adena fans. But Grace, that certainly seems to lend to the idea that this could be a sizable show at the box office. It has obviously been has it been a decade since if then when Adina was on Broadway. But that show sold really well basically on the strength of Adina and when she left, it faltered significantly. But do you think being this far removed from Frozen, this far removed from kind of like the height of her mainstream popularity, that Adina is still a big enough star in and around Broadway to carry a show to $1.5 million on a regular week.
- [06:58]
B
I mean, I don't know, you know, I mean, there's. There are people that I'm like, I don't know how you know they're going to move those tickets and then they do. And then there's some people that, you know, it just. That feels like a surefire bet. And then all of a sudden you're surprised if there's like a sudden closure. So I really don't think that we always can guarantee any of those barometers. But, like, she has such star power and, like, people really adore her. I think with all the traction, the momentum of the Wicked film and all of these other things are they're going to certainly help that show. And being at the Nederlander, I know it's like, it's challenging, but I know a lot of people that are excited to learn what the hell the show is, and I'm certainly one of them. So I'm really excited and I'm glad that they've started performances and that people are buzzing about it.
- [07:38]
A
Yeah, the early. I mean, again, they've only had a couple of performances, but the early word on the street that I have seen and heard, and I don't know anybody that has gone directly, this is all secondhand information. It's been really good. So, like, I, like we talked about a week or so ago, like, I don't really can really know much of what it's about beyond the boilerplate information, but everything that I've seen and heard so far, people are pleasantly surprised with how good this show is. All right, last week, 20 of Broadway's 29 running shows played in 90% capacity or above at 100% were Wicked Redwood. Those two shows linked together, obviously, and all in. The Outsiders came in at 101.42% and Romeo and Juliet at 101.7. Obviously, a lot of these shows were helped by Broadway Week, which is the exact reason why that promotional two, three weeks is in place. All right, Grace, we have some show and casting news, and this one is interesting because we often talk about how great the casting is for Little Shop of Horrors. And I think that this casting is great. But I was talking with our friend Ashley Hufford, and she did not know who either of these people are. But yesterday they announced the new upcoming stars of Little Shop of Horrors. Playing Audrey will be 13, the musical and TV star Elizabeth Gillis. And playing Seymour will be Milo Manheim, who we just talked about fairly recently because he was one of the stars of Deaf West's American Idiot. He's also the star of the Disney Channel musical franchise Zombies. He's also the son of stage and screen star Cameron Manheim. So they're going to begin performances on February 25th. I think this is really interesting. They are going with a somewhat different demographic pool for both of these people than the ones that certainly are coming out with, like, Sherri Renee Scott, and Nicholas Christopher. But I think that the Milo part of this is really interesting because he has cultivated a fandom of younger people through the Zombies franchise. And I watched at least two of the three with my nephew back in the day. They're actually really good, and I think he's great in them. And he's kind of nerdy at times when he wants to be, and gawky. So I think he actually fits Seymour pretty well. And Elizabeth Gillis, we talked about, obviously, the connections with Ali Trim and Ariana Grande having a moment with Wicked. Having her back in a New York theater is also cool. So I'm interested to see how this plays because they aren't in the exact kind of range of stars that we've seen a lot with Little Shop, but I think they have, you know, really passionate fan bases that could show out over at the west side Theater.
- [10:19]
B
Absolutely. And I think that, you know, with all due respect to our friend Ashley, this is not for her. This is definitely that Gen Z audience. And a lot of people have talked about, like, when they can see Milo, like, on a stage in New York City, whether that's Broadway or off Broadway. I think this is really smart. Elizabeth, like, she's. She's also, like, such a fandom girly. This is really, really good casting for those younger audiences. Like, I see the people that go feral for Jordan Fisher are the same people that aren't going to go feral for this cast. So I think it's really smart. Not for us millennials, but it's definitely for a younger demographic, and I think it's great.
- [10:54]
A
Yeah. Not only was she in thirteen, the Musical, but she was also in Victorious, the TV show that Ariana Grande was in as well with Victoria justice, and then has done a ton of other things. Dynasty, she did a show with Denis Leary where she played Dennis Leary's daughter. I don't remember what that was called, but lots of good fandoms at play here. All right. Yesterday, we also got a couple of announcements about upcoming theatrical seasons that are part theater, but also have some other stuff. But let's start with Baryshnikov Arts, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary and it will start with a new show beginning in March that is actually based off of a Bertholdt Brecht show. It is called A Mother. It is written by Nina Beber and it was co conceived by her and Jessica Hecht who also happens to star in the show. It will run from Saturday March 29 through Sunday April 13 along with Hecht and the show will be Zane Pace, Portia Johnson, Delilah Napier and more. Then there's some dance things that are happening obviously with Baryshnikov Arts but the other show like theatrical thing that is really of note, it'll be a three day run of a show called Sissy which is a modern day reimagining of Sisyphus and it's going to star, get this, Ida Saki, Christopher Abbott, Aaliyah Shawkat and Marisa Tomei as well as a handful of dancers. It's only gonna run for three performances April 24th through the 26th. Marisa Tomei really getting back to those stage roots after the show last fall with new group and now doing this in the spring. So very fun to see her back on stage, especially with Christopher Abbott and Aaliyah Shawkat. That should be a really fun cast. Then the other one that I want to mention is we got more information about PAC NYC's upcoming season. The main piece of this from a theatrical standpoint won't be until the end of this year. It'll begin performances on November 25 and will run through December 21. But it is a new musical written by country music icon and Broadway vet Jennifer Nettles. It is called Julia. I believe that's how it's pronounced. Julia. G I U L I A colon the Poison Queen of Palermo. It is a musical that follows the true story about a prolific serial killer who starts her murderous rampage in an act of self defense. It is being directed by the great Rebecca Taichman and choreographed by Mandy Moore. Obviously not the pop star Mandy Moore, the choreographer Mandy Moore who was always one of my favorites on said thinking and dance and she choreographed Taylor Swift's Eras tour again that's gonna run beginning in November. And the other theatrically related thing that I wanna mention is on March 22 just coming up here in less than two months, Renee Lee Skoldsberry is going to do a concert at the Pack. So if you want more that as well as a circus show called Passengers, you can head over to the show Notes but Grace again with the Dolly announcement and then Jennifer Nettles. I've often said that country music people are underrepresented on Broadway. We've talked about this before with the shucked of it all, but like, it just makes sense for those artists who are so. Who have storytelling so ingrained into their art form to make the transition to the stage.
- [14:06]
B
No, this is so cool. And I think that you're so right. It's like we have to like bridge the gap somehow and this is the right way to do it.
- [14:14]
A
All right, one more little bit of casting news. It was announced that Erika Jayne has extended her most recent run in Chicago playing the role of Roxie Hart. She's added two extra weeks. She was originally supposed to play just through February 9th, but will now continue in the show through February 23rd. All right, Grace, I have feel good recommendations. The first one comes from the Tonight show on Monday night. And no, I am not talking about the fact that Ohio State head football coach Ryan Day was a guest on the Tonight show. But at the end of the show they had a performance from Death becomes her and Megan Hilty. She performed the show's opening number for the gays and gaze is spelled G a Z e but it is also not spelled G a z E if you haven't checked that out. It is an uproariously funny musical number. So check that out. And then the other one from the other late night show filming here in New York City, the Late show with Stephen Colbert. Nicole Scherzinger performed as if we never said goodbye. And then the final thing I want to talk about is they did the press meet and greet for Urinetown today and we have a ton of videos from that rehearsal including Keala Settle sans British accent singing It's a privilege to pee as well as some other things. So justice wants his wants too much.
- [15:30]
B
Because once they want still wanna once once more. I'm the only toilet in this part of town.
- [15:37]
A
You'll see.
- [15:39]
B
So if you gotta go, you got to go through be It's a privilege to pee.
- [15:51]
A
If you are very excited about your in town coming up at Encores, you definitely want to take a look at all of those videos that are going to be popping up throughout the next day or so. 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. Broadway reading. You can follow me on Instagram @bww. Matt Grace, where can people find you?
- [16:09]
B
You can find me at. It's Grace Hockey.
- [16:11]
A
All right, everybody, have a wonderful Wednesday and we'll be back to talk to you. Tomorrow it.