And other Valentine’s Day sentiments from Broadway songbooks Broadway boasts a canon of funny romantic songs, some thinly veiled innuendos (see title of this blog, a lyric from “Baptize Me” in The Book of Mormon) and others outrageously explicit (“You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want” from Avenue Q). Here are just... Continue Reading →
By now, Hamilton’s meteoric rise from Broadway musical to cultural phenomenon fills many-a-page from magazine articles to blog posts to Instagram accounts. Its singular effect was solidified last year as the Kennedy Center decided to award the musical an unheard-of special Honors for being such a groundbreaking work of art. What remains unfathomable – even... Continue Reading →
Chazz Palminteri took a moment of his childhood and parlayed it into the cultural phenomenon known as A Bronx Tale. We’ve seen him in The Usual Suspects, Bullets Over Broadway, Analyze This and as a cop, mobster or some form of tough guy in a ton of other film and TV roles. We caught up... Continue Reading →
Here we go, Strazzers. The public on-sale for HAMILTON starts Friday morning at 9 a.m. This handy FAQ guide tells you what to do to get ready and what to expect the day-of. Whether you’re planning to buy online, in-person or on the phone, this official information will help you be as prepared as possible... Continue Reading →
Conventional wisdom holds that if you say something three times you’ll remember it. The safest, most affordable tickets to Straz Center shows come from only one place: “Strazcenter.org” “Strazcenter.org” “Strazcenter.org” With sold-out season ticket packages for the huge Broadway season ahead featuring a four-week run of Hamilton, we’re trying to get you the best information... Continue Reading →
Our new Broadway season opens in two weeks with the side-splitting comedy The Play That Goes Wrong. To celebrate, we found this collection of Broadway and musical theater blooper reels. Crying. We were crying by the time we picked out this video mash-up of Broadway mishaps for your viewing pleasure for the Straz Center blog... Continue Reading →
The true story of the accused but acquitted Chicago beauties who inspired musical legends Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly The Bob Fosse masterpiece we know and love today as Chicago the musical actually started with two real women and two real murdered men. In Chicago. In the Roaring 20s. 1924 to be exact. In March... Continue Reading →
It’s hard to imagine wearing any article of clothing made from a substance known for its ability to puncture and shred flesh. And yet. Who’s Cinderella without a glass slipper? The basic idea of the Cinderella story—young woman, bad circumstances, objects incite a change of fate—dates back thousands of years to many, many cultures spanning... Continue Reading →
We love Julie Andrews. Naturally, she’s on our mind since The Sound of Music opens tonight, June 5, and runs through the weekend. No, Ms. Andrews doesn’t make an appearance in the new staging of this masterpiece, but for many of us, we can’t even see the words “the hills are alive” without picturing her sweeping,... Continue Reading →
FAME Academy at River Ridge High School won its first ever Critic’s Choice for One Act after students studied with touring Broadway actors from FUN HOME at The Straz. SETTING: An Army hospital CHARACTERS: Three Vietnam veterans SYNOPSIS: The war survivors befriend each other while recuperating from tours in Vietnam. They tease, torment and often... Continue Reading →
Musicians and actors who make the leap to Broadway Kill Bill super-assassin Uma Thurman skillfully executed a Broadway debut in The Parisian Woman in November 2017, as did rock ‘n’ roll superstar Bruce Springsteen in September, when he broke box office records and added Boss of Broadway to his long list of artistic credentials with... Continue Reading →
Hot onstage kisses from the land of Broadway in honor of Valentine’s Day Love is often a many-splendored thing on Broadway. Equally often, it is a non-splendored thing (oh, Alexander Hamilton … but we’ll endure that moment next season). And, not quite as often, love is turned inside-out, upside-down and simultaneously ridiculed and held to... Continue Reading →
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opens on Broadway on April 22, 2018. But if you want tickets, you must register first (here’s why). Online registration opens this Sunday, Oct. 1. One of the most enduring cultural phenomena of our time is the wizarding world conjured up by British author J.K. Rowling. From the best-selling... Continue Reading →
September is Women’s Friendship Month. So, how does that play out on Broadway? Let’s take a look. The Sisterhood is real. So is Women’s Friendship Month, which happens to be September. In honor of the totally rad relationships women create, maintain and sustain, we decided to take a look at the way women’s friendships are... Continue Reading →
The original cast of RENT twenty years later … where are they now? The raw yet elegantly composed story of young people scrabbling to make their dreams come true in an AIDS-rattled New York City shadowed by a growing moral hypocrisy from the political establishment, RENT resonated with Generation X. A young composer, a young... Continue Reading →
The 71st annual Tony Awards air June 11, 2017 from Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The ceremony honors achievement on Broadway for the 2016-17 season, and we’ll certainly be tuned-in and on-edge as they announce the big winners. Like us, perhaps you’ve wondered “why are they called the Tonys?” We did some... Continue Reading →
James Earl Jones receives the Lifetime Achievement in Theater recognition at the Tony Awards this year. In 1957, during his first week in New York as a wannabe actor, James Earl Jones saw these shows: Night one: Tosca starring Leontyne Price Night two: Swan Lake starring Margot Fontaine Night three: Pal Joey Night four: Arthur... Continue Reading →
The fascinating story of Clark Transfer In 1948, Henry Fonda gave up a Hollywood contract to star in a Broadway play about sailors in the South Pacific. That play, Mister Rogers, won the Tony® for best play that year. One year later, it garnered another place in theater history: it was the very first Broadway... Continue Reading →
Fly systems, rigging systems, whatever you want to call them, just know there’s a very serious show happening in the 60-plus feet of air above the show on stage. One of the wondrous aspects of theatrical life, even from its beginnings, is the delightful mix of labor, craft and personalities required to pull off a... Continue Reading →
It all started with Rent. When that show blew up and became the hottest ticket in town, the producers tried a radical idea to make the show more accessible to as many theatergoers as possible: sell the first two rows of orchestra seats for a scant $20 a pop on a first-come-first-served basis. In no... Continue Reading →
