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Today on Broadway: Wednesday, March 5, 2025
00:19:37
‘Mamma Mia’ Coming Back to Broadway, Immersive NYC ‘Phantom’ Teases Details, Caroline Bowman Sings ‘They Just Keep Moving the Line’ Since 2016, “Today on Broadway” has been the first and only daily podcast recapping the top theatre headlines every Mond...
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- [00:02]
Matt Tamminetti
Welcome to Today on Broadway for Wednesday, March 5, 2025. I'm Broadway Radio's Matt Tamminetti and I'm.
- [00:07]
Grace Aki
Telling me on the Sunday podcast, Grace.
- [00:08]
Matt Tamminetti
Aki Grace, we're going to dive into the news because there was a big story that we've been teasing and talking about a little bit that hit the news yesterday and that is that in honor of its 25th anniversary on Broadway coming up, Mamma Mia. Will be returning to the main stem coming up later this year. In fact, it is returning to its original home at the Winter Garden Theater. Mamma Mia. Will return to the Winter garden for a six month run. Beginning performances on August 2nd. Opening night is set for August 14th. This of course is going to be following the run of Good Night and Good Luck which is only technically running through June at this point. We will see if that extends. I would not be surprised if the George Clooney led show decides to extend a little bit, but they do have about a month buffer to where if Good Night and Good Luck wants to go until July, wants to add three, four weeks, there's still plenty of time to load out and load in. What they are not saying right now, Grace is what I have been hearing for months is that this will be a transfer of the current national tour production. To what extent I don't know. This is not something that I've been able to really confirm. I believe it will be the physical production that has been on tour, but I do not yet know about the casting if anyone from the tour is going to join the production on Broadway. As I've said before, I saw the tour a couple months ago and I thought it was tremendous. I thought it was a great cast. But I do feel like Grace, if they're going to bring this show back to Broadway, celebrate the 25th anniversary. It premiered in October and 2001 on Broadway, originally premiered in London in 1999. I feel like they might want to try to have some bigger names in this show. Maybe it doesn't matter, maybe Mamma Mia is the name. But when you look at the success of the movies that was on the back of Meryl Streep and I mean maybe Meryl will want to do it on Broadway. But aside from that, you know, there's probably some pretty decent Broadway names that they could get to do that. If not, if it does end up being the tour cast, I do not think you'll be disappointed because I saw it twice here in Orlando and it was fantastic. But Grace, me and basically my entire family, including my niece Courtney are die hard Mamma Mia. Fans. So whatever this ends up being when it comes to the Winter Garden Theater, I think is very, very exciting.
- [02:28]
Grace Aki
No, I fully agree. And this is kind of like crazy. I feel like the timing is a little. It feels politically like, oh, post 9 11, now we're getting like this very weird 2025 era politically and what have you. So like us. Mamma Mia, here we go again. For real. And I'm very excited for whomever is cast in that. I know that this is a big crowd pleaser. ABBA has like even more, you know, surfaced with the fact that like, you know, in London, you've got ABBA voyage, you've got Mamma Mia. The experience, you've got Mamma Mia. Still running. Like it's still very much in the zeitgeist. So I'm very excited for, for whatever happens with this one.
- [03:10]
Matt Tamminetti
What is it about abba? Is it just like, hey, this music is fun and catchy and people like it. But like, like I said, My 14, 14 year old niece Courtney, like even before she saw Mamma Mia, like she loved abba. Like she has vinyls, she knows all the songs. Like the first time Mamma Mia. She. I sat next to her, she sang every song like, is this like a Gen Z thing? Is this a TikTok thing? Why? Where is this love in younger generations for ABBA and then subsequently Mamma Mia. Coming from, do you know?
- [03:39]
Grace Aki
Oh, I think it's very much so rooted in the fact that disco music is nostalgic by nature, but also very like it's an earworm and people either really love it or they really hate it. It's very polarizing. I have never met somebody who was on the fence with ABBA or disco. I have always heard people being like, oh my God, I love them. I would go to anything that played their music or when it plays, you know, people start dancing and then there's other people that I know that would rather kick rocks. So yeah, it just depends.
- [04:08]
Matt Tamminetti
All right, so if we are going to go something in the vein of the movie versions for casting, take Meryl aside, you know, obviously if Meryl wants to play Donna again, she is probably welcome to. But if you're going to go that route, not bring the tour in, do you have a, a fan cast, Donna or even Sophie in mind that you would, you would like to see?
- [04:31]
Grace Aki
I'll say this. Annelise Scarpachi sure commented real quick when they had that announcement and I said, she either wants it or she's in it. Or maybe I'm crazy and she just loves the music. But wouldn't she be a wonderful Sophie? I'm just saying she would.
- [04:45]
Matt Tamminetti
She. They might have to wig her up for the girl with the golden hair part. Or not. You could just ignore that. You know, it's interesting because Carol Lee Carmelo played Donna forever. And I don't know if maybe that role is behind her now, but if I'm thinking of somebody who could be like, the next person to, like, step into that, that is kind of in the Caralee vein. Like, I wonder if Carmen Cusack would be a good Donna. Like, I could see that. And also, the first name that came to my mind for a Sophie was Anna Zavilson, who was just recently in the Notebook and did Light in the Piazza at City Center a couple years ago. I think she would be tremendous. Whatever happens, whether this is the tour cast, whether this is a completely new cast, whether it is a combination of the two, I will be sat at the Winter Garden Theater probably multiple times to see Mamma Mia back on Broadway. All right, Grace, let's go from New York over to where there are multiple Mamma Mia's and multiple ABBA things happening, as you just mentioned over in London, because yesterday the 2025 Olivier nominations were announced. Both you and I have been to London to see some shows during this season. So let's run through the nominations. The best new musical nominees are the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, MJ the Musical, Natasha Pierre in the Great Comet of 1812 and why am I so Single? Best new play. The nominations were the fear of 13 giant Kyoto shifters and the years best Musical revival are Fiddler on the Roof, hello Dolly, Oliver and Starlight Express. Best revival, the Importance of Being Ernest Mackinaw, Oedipus Waiting for Godot. Best Actor in a Musical. I'll just run through these real quick. John Daglish for Benjamin Button, Adam Danheuser for Fiddler on the Roof, Miles Frost for MJ Simon Lipkin for Oliver, Jamie Moscato for Great Comet. Best actress in a Musical, Jamisa Dornford May for Great Comet, Lauren Drew for Titanique, Claire Foster for Benjamin Button Button, Laura Pulver for Fiddler and Imelda Staunton for hello Dolly. Best actress. The nominees are Heather Agapong for Shifters, Leslie Manville for Oedipus, Rosie Sheehy for Mackinaw, Mira Sayel for A Tupperware of Ashes and Indira Varma for Oedipus. Keep that in mind. We'll come back to that. Best actor Adrien Brody for the fear of 13. Recent two time Oscar winner Billy Crudup, your Boy for Harry Clark, Papa Acidu for Death of England, Delroy, John Lithgow for Giant and Mark Strong for Oedipus. Noticed I mentioned Oedipus multiple times in there. Those are not all the same production. The production with Mark Strong and Leslie Manville closed and then the production with Indira Varmar and Rami Malek opened almost immediately after. Within a few weeks. I have heard that the former one of those might be getting another run somewhere on this side of the Atlantic. So we will see what happens with that. But Grace, did you see, I don't remember. Did you see shows this season or was that last season the last time you were in London?
- [07:47]
Grace Aki
I think technically they were last season. But yeah, these were ones that I definitely missed, which makes me sad.
- [07:54]
Matt Tamminetti
Yeah, I've talked on my travelogue episode, I loved the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. That's a show that I have kind of like fallen madly in love with. So to see it get a ton of nominations, including for its two leads, I'm happy about that. So we will see what happens with these awards. The winners will be announced on a ceremony on April 6 from Royal Albert Hall. All right, Grace, let's take a moment real quick to talk about our sponsor for this week Factor, as we are all heading into this incredibly busy spring season of theater going. Whether you work on Broadway like Grace does or whether you're going to see a bunch of Broadway shows like I am, you need to make sure that you are eating right. You can't just sustain yourself on snacks and stuff that you get at the concession stand at every Broadway theater. You have to have real hearty, sustaining meals. And that's why Factor is absolutely perfect. They have chef made gourmet meals that are dietitian approved that you can heat up and have ready to eat in just two minutes. You can get the fuel you'll need. You will feel great and it doesn't have to derail your incredibly busy schedule.
- [09:00]
Grace Aki
The thing about Factor for me is the fact that it's so quick. Within two minutes I can actually fuel right and fuel feel great no matter what is going on in my life. And as you all know, I am far too busy to even cook. The fact that it comes fully prepared, it's fresh, it's ready to go, and it's perfect for that active, busy lifestyle with 40 plus options. With eight dietary preferences on the menu every single week, I actually get to have a diverse palate it's not the same meal every day. I can go Calorie Smart Protein plus or Keto.
- [09:28]
Matt Tamminetti
Earlier this week I talked about how much I love the sun dried tomato chicken and also the filet mignon that I get on the gourmet side of things as well. But I also want to talk about one of the things that I have gotten quite a bit here recently and that is the four cheese tortellini and Italian sausage pizzoli. But they come with these garlicky green beans that I absolutely love. So that is a meal that you do not want to miss. So if you're looking for things to add to your Factor meals that you're coming up, check that one out. So eat smart with Factor. Get started@factormeals.com FactorPodcast and use code Factor Podcast to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping. That's Code Factor Podcast podcast at Factor Meals.com Factor Podcast to get 50% off plus free shipping on your first box all right, let's get into the news again here, Grayson. Let's start with last week's Broadway grosses. There were 27 shows on Broadway with some leaving and then some coming in. So we got some things with their first few previews under their belts, but there were 27 shows total and they made just over $27 million. So an average of just a smidge over $1 million a piece. At 27 million DOL, total attendance came in at 228,794 bucks and the average ticket price was down a bit to $118.14. However, there is a new king at the top of the Broadway grosses ladder and that is because the star studded Othello has climbed up top and I do not see it going anywhere anytime soon. Greece because Othello did $2,637,158 in seven performances and keep in mind that it has about half the capacity of the Gershwin Theater playing at the Ethel Barrymore. So this one is going to be a tough ticket. As we have talked about, if you extrapolate this week's total from seven performances out to an eight show week, it will come in at just over $3 million if it is able to maintain this. Wicked of course still doing very well at 2.34 million. Hamilton is at 1.55, the Lion King is at 1.53 and the Outsiders rounds out the top five with 1.29. The rest of the shows in a pretty small list this week that were north of 7. Figures included Gypsy, Aladdin, MJ, Cabaret, Sunset Boulevard, and Death becomes Her. Lot of down numbers here on Broadway with new shows opening. Obviously, we're getting a little bit deeper into the winter months, but things are getting a little nice from what I understand up there. But all of promotions that we had with Broadway Week, all of the holidays have kind of worn out. So things are settling down a little bit in terms of all the extra opportunities they have to sell tickets. But overall, Broadway a little flat. But with new shows coming in, things are looking to spice up very quickly. In total, 16 of Broadway's 27 shows played a 90% capacity or more. Three of them were right at 100%. Wicked, Othello and Operation Mincemeat. And the Outsiders was at number one at 101.09%. All right, speaking of like, like, rock solid IP, there's something afoot here. Grace. We've talked about it a lot. There's been casting notices, so we've known that it's coming. But it sounds like we might have some information here coming up pretty soon. Because for anyone who goes over to masqueradenyc.com, which masquerade certainly rings a lot of bells for Broadway fans, they have an opportunity to sign up for a mailing list. This is what they get when they sign up. It says, quote, fondest greetings, you submitted your name to my ledger, and for that, you shall be among the first to glimpse the strange new world beyond the mirror. Oh, there's a mirror with a masquerade. Okay, that makes sense though. The veil is drawn, the stage is being set, and the masquerade will begin soon. Your host, a corresponding Instagram page that has a very familiar looking mask as its profile picture. Masquerade NYC just has something that says, did you think that I had left you for good? Of course. This is that immersive production of Phantom of the Opera that we had talked about previously. We don't know when an announcement is coming, but it certainly looks like they are getting ready for an announcement. Grace, have you heard much about this? Because I've started to hear some casting rumors. Have you heard any details here?
- [13:48]
Grace Aki
No, I haven't heard any casting rumors, but I've just been aware of this production happening. So I'd love to hear whatever these rumors are, but no, no, none on my friends.
- [13:58]
Matt Tamminetti
Okay, so what I've heard is that because this is an immersive thing, it is not going to be like your standard show that they are going to have multiple Christine Daes and multiple phantoms, maybe multiple Rauls and Carlotta's for all I know. But I know multiple Christines, multiple phantoms. And the two phantoms that I've heard, one of them has played a prince, one of them has played a knight. In terms of the Christines, one of them was mentioned earlier in this show. So that's all I've got. I think all of these castings are very, very interesting. So we'll see what happens when this is officially announced. I'm assuming fairly soon. I think the original casting stuff was for a spring launch, so maybe performances will begin in May, maybe maybe April. It seems a little late for that, but we'll have to see certainly an exciting thing. And I think a lot of people will be interested to reexamine and revisit the Phantom of the Opera in a very. All right, real quick. We've talked about all of these things happening before, but PBS and Great Performances have officially released the dates for their spring Broadway shows. They're going to be airing throughout the month of May. Starting on May 16, David Henry Wong's yellowface will air on PBS. Check your local listings. Then a week later on May 23 will be Girl from the north country, which was filmed back in 2022 just before it reopened Post Pandemic. And then finally, Kiss Me Kate from London's Barbicon Theater, starring the great Stephanie J. Block, will air on May 30th. Again, local listings, local times, all that stuff with your PBS station. Now, Grace, we talked about this yesterday. You now have a second chance to see the Swept Away Boys in concert together, unless this one has sold out as well, because they have now added a second Late Night Show, 9:45 on April 28th at the Bowery Ballroom. No guarantee that by the time you hear this, there will be tickets available, but the first one sold out. So if you haven't had an opportunity, if you didn't get an opportunity to check that out, you can try this one if tickets are still available. What do you think, Grace? Are they available? Do you know if this one's sold out yet?
- [16:05]
Grace Aki
I think no, I don't think it's sold out yet. So that means I really need to go.
- [16:09]
Matt Tamminetti
Yeah, you need to get there. One little Off Broadway bit of news. The 20 sided tavern, which is the Dungeons and Dragons like Live Game, has announced that it will close on May 11th off Broadway. It has been playing at stage 42 and it will go out on a national tour later this year. And then finally, Grace, I have two videos One real quick maybe. Happy Ending made its late night TV debut singing a pair of songs, why Love and When youn're in Love. And then the thing that I'm sure you want to talk about. Most smash on Broadway released a video of Caroline Bowman singing. They just keep moving the line in the recording studio. It's. She's not in costume. This is not like a sneak peek of, like, what the costumes are. This is just her in the recording studio. But Grace, she sounds pretty damn good.
- [17:09]
Grace Aki
Yeah, she's pretty good at stuff. Between that video going live today and the rehearsal footage of Real Women have Curves, where I got to see Mason Reeves do a song that, like, I hadn't seen before. Like, I'm sorry, but the Frozen family is killing it right now. Like, I'm. I'm so excited. I'm so obsessed. I can't wait till we have a clip of Austin Colby as Tom Buchanan in Gatsby. Like, it's only a matter of time. Lauren Chapman. Da, da, da. Like, let's go. You know, you just saw Mike Starr, her husband in Singing in the Rain, and I saw those clips go live the other day, and they were so good. So I'm. I'm happy, honestly. The friends are doing well. Good for them.
- [17:49]
Matt Tamminetti
I just saw a picture on f social media. There it was. It was an Olaf a Hans A and Anna and. And Kristoff. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. I couldn't remember all who was in that picture. So a nice little. Was that. Was that at Gatsby? Was that at the Gatsby new opening night?
- [18:07]
Grace Aki
Yes. Mackenzie Kurtz, who was in Anna and then Hans, who currently running Gatsby, Ryan McCarten and then Noah Ricketts, who famously was in Broadway's Frozen as well as Kristoff and F. So none of those people did the show all at the same time, but they could.
- [18:25]
Matt Tamminetti
No.
- [18:25]
Grace Aki
If they wanted.
- [18:26]
Matt Tamminetti
Yes, they probably could. 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. Follow me on Instagram @bww. Matt. Grace. Where can people find you?
- [18:35]
Grace Aki
You can find me at. It's Grace Hockey.
- [18:37]
Matt Tamminetti
All right, everybody, have a wonderful Wednesday and we'll be back to talk to you tomorrow. I posed for all the men but before I got my trophy well, the race began again so I made friends with rejection I straightened up my spine I'll change each imperfection Till it's time to drink the wine I chose to resurrection but they just keep moving the land Please give me some direction. Cause they just keep moving the.