Broadway News Round Up #3

Each week, The Broadway Critic will be featuring the news that you don’t want to miss! A lot has happened since we posted about The Addams Family opening in Chicago and Denzel Washington’s return to Broadway.

• The musical Nine (the movie) is coming out in theatres on December 25th – a perfect gift. People are getting very excited because it features Academy Awards winning actors Daniel Day Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, and Sophia Loren, with Academy Award nominee Kate Hudson, and Grammy winner Fergie. Quite an impressive line-up! It doesn’t have an official website, but you can see the trailer above. Here’s an interview with Maury Yeston, the composer.
• Sutton Foster released her new website this past week. It’s quite impressive and sleek. Ron Bohmer needs to get on the bandwagon and update his next because it’s looking kind of 90′s – in a real bad way. Sutton Foster’s fans can purchase limited edition prints of her artwork on her site as well.
• The original cast recording of the musical Glory Days, which closed on Broadway following its opening night, will arrive in stores Nov. 24 on the Ghostlight Records label. Glory Days is a musical with music and lyrics by Nick Blaemire, and a book by James Gardiner. The musical premiered at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, in 2008, before moving to Broadway later that year. Yes, the show was a total flop, but with this CD they are hoping to win over Regional, Community, and high school theatre companies/departments across the country. (We think they might!) Pre-order here.
• The stars of God of Carnage – Marcia Gay Harden, James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels and Hope Davis – gave their last performance on November 14th. If you missed this one, then this is something you’ll regret. This cast was all nominated for a Tony (while Harden won the Tony). It was a gripping 90 minutes that I won’t soon forget. Playbill.com gives us the new cast: “Succeeding the original Broadway company (starting Nov. 17) will be original London God of Carnage cast member Ken Stott as Michael with Oscar nominee Christine Lahti (The Heidi Chronicles, “Chicago Hope”) as his wife Veronica. “Designing Women” favorite Annie Potts will make her Broadway debut as Annette alongside Jimmy Smits (Anna in the Tropics, “NYPB Blue”) as her husband Alan.” I’m thinking about seeing the new cast in January. It’s just that good.
• So Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is coming to Broadway as Roxie Hart in Chicago. I know Chicago just hit it’s 13th birthday this past week, but honestly why do they have to hire Simpson-Wentz as Roxie? Isn’t there anyone else that’s better? Or that will sell more tickets? Come on Chicago, you can do better than that.
• “Academy Award nominee Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Grammy winner Jay-Z have joined the producing team of Broadway’s Fela!, which is scheduled to open at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Nov. 23,” Playbill.com reports. It seems like an Oprah move. Is she gonna jump on the bandwagon as well? Unfortunately this makes me want to see this production less, not more. What other Hollywood stars are gonna become producers?
• Girl Crazy opens this weekend at City Center Encores in NYC. It stars Ana Gasteyer, Wayne Knight, Marc Kudisch and real-life couple Chris Diamantopoulos and Becki Newton. Wish I was there!!

In honor of Nine, listen to: “Unusual Way” from The New Broadway Cast Recording (with Laura Benati and Antonio Banderas)

Posted in News Tagged: Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, Becki Newton, Chicago, City Center Encores, Fela!, Girl Crazy, Glory Days, Jay-Z, News, Nine, Playbill, Round Up, Sutton Foster, Will Smith