'Phantom of the Opera' & 'Chicago' Among Top Shows for Broadway First-Timers >>
One of the first questions Broadway fans tend to ask one another is, "What was your first show?" For many musical theater lovers, that first show was what hooked them on the spectacle and excitement of Broadway.
'Wicked' Banks a Billion >>
This week the musical Wicked achieved a milestone of monumentous proportions for a production on Broadway. It passed the billion dollar mark in box office sales. Previous to this accompliishment,only two other musicals had reached the billion dollar milestone and they are names for the ages, The Lion King and The Phantom of the Opera. As if earning this much money wasn't enough, Wicked earned another distinction by being the fastest production to eclipse the billion dollar mark, achieving that goal in only 13 years and 5000 performances.
Weekly Reprise: Alfie Boe Left 'Les Miserables' for 'Finding Neverland,' Jason Danieley Returns to ‘Chicago’ >>
The old theater adage says the show must go on, but that doesn’t mean every actor can. In this issue of the Classicalite Weekly Reprise we are looking at some of the recent cast shake ups on Broadway. Jean Valjean actor Alfie Boe has left 'Les Miserables' to join the cast of 'Finding Neverland' as J.M. Barrie. Boe will be replaced by former Jean Valjean actor and UK 'Phantom' John Owen-Jones. Boe will be replacing Tony Yazbeck. Meanwhile the Kander and Ebb classic, 'Chicago' has a new/old Billy Flynn. Jason Danieley ('The Visit,' 'Next to Normal,' 'The Full Monty') returned to the role this past Monday, February 29. replacing Eddie George.
Eddie George Exits ‘Chicago,’ Jason Danieley Returns >>
Jason Danieley ('The Visit,' 'Next to Normal,' 'The Full Monty') is returning to Chicago the Musical tonight, Monday, February 29. Danieley will reprise his role as the love obsessed Billy Flynn, replacing Eddie George.
‘SpongeBob’ Musical Opening in Chicago Before Heading to Broadway >>
“Are you ready kids?” 'SpongeBob the Musical' is coming to Chicago. The upcoming all-new Jukebox musical, with original music by The Flaming Lips, They Might Be Giants, John Legend and Lady Antebellum and many more, will open for a limited run this summer before heading to Broadwa
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway Hit ‘Hamilton’ Coming to Chicago, San Francisco, LA & Your Own Home >>
Lin-Manuel Miranda new musical 'Hamilton' is one of the hottest tickets on Broadway. If you don’t already have tickets to see it, than chances are you will be waiting a good long time before you make in the room. However, you might not be completely out of luck. Hamilton is gearing up to visit stages on the west coast, at SHN Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles as well as a sit down performance at Broadway in Chicago event series at the PrivateBank Theatre. Can’t make it to NYC, LA, San Francisco or Chicago? Well there is still some hope. 'Hamilton' will also be coming to your very own living room….sort of. It was recently announced that PBS’ Great Performances series, will feature a documentary based on the hit show, titled Hamilton’s America, later this fall. A previous documentary on Lin-Manuel Miranda's other hit musical 'In The Heights' titled, 'In The Heights - Chasing Broadway Dreams', also aired as part of 'PBS’ Great Performances' series.
The Boy is Mine: Brandy Norwood Making Broadway Debut in 'Chicago' as Roxie Hart >>
'Chicago,' the Tony Award-winning musical now in its 19th year at the Ambassador Theater, has pulled a coup and booked Grammy Award-winner Brandy Norwood in her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart. Beginning Tuesday, April 28, 2015, Norwood will star in an eight-week limited run there at the Ambassador through Sunday, June 21, 2015. A true triple-threat as a singer, songwriter and actress, at last count, "Brandy" has sold some 40 million albums worldwide. In fact, her dueling duet with Monica, “The Boy Is Mine,” remains the best-selling duo tune of all time. (And who could forget her historic role as the first African-American princess in Disney’s made-for-TV Cinderella, alongside the late Whitney Houston?)
"The Cardinals" Puppet Show to be Presented at the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival >>
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago will present Stan’s Cafe: The Cardinals, a story of three Catholic cardinals on an evangelical mission to broaden knowledge of the Bible through a puppet show.
'A Klingon Christmas Carol' Translates Dickens' Scrooge Fable to 'Star Trek' Universe for Fifth Chicago Season >>
'A Klingon Christmas Carol' is performed in the original Klingon with English supertitles, and narrative analysis from The Vulcan Institute of Cultural Anthropology.
'Billy Elliot,' 'Peter and the Starcatcher' and Irving Berlin's 'White Christmas' in Drury Lane's Upcoming Season in Chicagoland >>
'Deathtrap' and 'Bye Bye Birdie' are also on tap for the company, whose productions netted 21 Jeff Award nominations this year.
'Women at War' Opens in Chicago This Week >>
Rivendell Theatre Ensemble's original production is based on interviews with front-line woman warriors.
Bow Out: Chicago Radio Station WHPK-FM to Stream 'Death of Klinghoffer' After Met Opera Refuses >>
Since the big wigs at The Metropolitan Opera — cough, Pete Gelb — have been scared into submission, Chicago's WHPK-FM radio station will take on a simulcast of John Adams's controversial "The Death of Klinghoffer."
Fused Muse Ensemble Draws Attention to Environmental Issues Through Music, Dance and Video at Constellation in Chicago >>
The Fused Muse Ensemble will present “Breaking Ice,” a program of multimedia works that draws attention to climate change, melting icebergs and the fragility of nature, at Constellation in Chicago on October 16-18.
Police Drummer Stewart Copeland Joins the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to Perform His New Score to Silent Film ‘Ben-Hur’ >>
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra will perform Stewart Copeland's new score for the silent film 'Ben-Hur' during a screening of the film at Orchestra Hall on Tuesday, October 14.
PHOTOS: Chicago Prepares for the 'Great Chicago Fire Festival,' a Flamboyant Celebration of the City’s Rebirth after 1871 >>
The Great Chicago Fire Festival will culminate in a grand public spectacle on Saturday, October 4, involving fire cauldrons, a fireworks display and replicas of three 1871-era buildings set ablaze on the Chicago River.
