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 Nine, Girl Crazy and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz.

• According to the rumor mill, Ragtime might be closing on January 3rd. This is a major disappointment since I have tickets for January 16th. Let’s hope the producers pull a stunt like the Bye Bye Birdie producers and announce that the show is closing on the 10th and then extend the run till the 24th. I’m very happy that Bye Bye Birdie is closing early (they had originally extended the run into the Spring). It’s quite a disaster. Hopefully, American Idiot takes Bye Bye Birdie‘s theatre; that would be fantastic, even if they are eyeing the St. Jame’s Theatre. In order for that to happen, Finian’s Rainbow would have to close which would be a major travesty.
• Oleanna is history on December 6th – poor Julia Stiles and Bill Pullman.
• If you missed the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade then check out the videos we posted from the performances by: Hair, West Side Story, Shrek, Bye Bye Birdie, Ragtime and Dreamgirls. I understand that they want to have shows that the general American public will recognize, but why can’t they help promote new shows (or revivals) like Memphis, Fela and Finian’s Rainbow. The extra coverage would certainly boost ticket sales. (And Shrek is closing… what the hell.)
• Big news! Kelsey Grammer is going to co-star in the upcoming Broadway revival of La Cage aux Folles. Pretty awesome if you ask me! Previews start April 6, 2010.
• It’s becoming quite the fad among Broadway stars to perform in a sort of a “cabaret” act. It’s all the rage – Jason Robert Brown is doing it next at the Beechman on December 15th. Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele just performed at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency on November 29th. I heard they did a mash-up of some Spring Awakening songs. And even the lovely, Kate Baldwin, will be performing at Feinsteins on December 13th. Love this!

Until next time…