These photos are already inspiring my ridiculous love for this new musical. I’m so excited that I’ll be able to hear the cast recording before I get to see it in May.

Check out Once’s official website.

If you haven’t listened to the music from the movie, then listen to a few of my favorites below:

“Falling Slowly”

“If You Want Me”

“When Your Mind’s Made Up”

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And watch a few clips from the recent Off-Broadway production:

Buy tickets to Once

By now, you’ve heard that new Broadway revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever will be closing up shop on January 29th, 2012. Maybe you are wondering: Why is this show closing?

Here’s the top 5 reasons I think On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is closing:

5. Shortage of Tony Nominations Come May - I have a feeling that the Tony committee might be overlooking this revival come May. With other huge revivals like Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar I don’t think that On a Clear Day… stands a chance. You also have to throw in the newly refreshed and revamped Godspell and Porgy & Bess into the mix and both of those shows are still running. There might be a few nominations in the technical categories but not for Harry Connick, Jr. or anyone else, though we have heard so many positive things about Jessie Mueller’s Broadway debut. Actually, come to think of it, that’s the only positive thing that I’ve heard about this production. (Watch a video of Mueller performing below.) If the producers don’t think they are going to get any Tony buzz, then it’s a lot easier to close a show “early”.

4. Not Enough Starpower to fill the St. James Theatre  - We can all agree that Harry Connick Jr. has been very successful on Broadway. Generally, the critics have loved him and his fans have flocked to the theatre to see him perform. The question is, can he fill a 1300-seat theatre eight times a week? That’s a total of 10,400 people a week, 41,600 (roughly) a month. That’s a crazy amount of people! I think he has enough draw and appeal to fill seats, just not enough seats in this case. (Check Playbill Vault for all of the stats.)

Photos by Krissie Fullerton - Playbill.com

3. The St. James Theatre is the Wrong Theatre - The St. James Theatre was selling out when The Producers opened April 2001. Since then, it hasn’t really had a hit. Recently, Hair (the touring cast), American Idiot and Finian’s Rainbow have all struggled trying to fill seats. All three of those shows probably could have ran for a longer time in a smaller theatre. (I’ve been saying all along that American Idiot should have never been produced at the St. James Theatre.) Though producers thought On a Clear Day, with a huge star, could sell seats, I think they continue to under think the power of “selling out” in a smaller theatre. (See The Book of Mormon as an example of pure genius when it comes to marketing and selling a show.) Overall, it has done fairly well, but an average of 75% attendance over the last two months just isn’t enough to keep the show afloat during the Broadway winter slump.

2. The Critics Hated It - There are some shows out there that the critics, regardless of what they say, can’t kill like The Addams Family. Other shows, the critics have an easier time swaying the public. I think On A Clear Day falls in the latter category. People knew that On a Clear Day… didn’t do very well the first time on Broadway (even though it ran for a year), so they were waiting to hear what the critics had to say. Ben Brantley of The New York Times said, “This wholesale reconception of a fluffy, muddled 1965 musical about reincarnation appears to have given everyone who appears in it — including its charismatic star, Harry Connick Jr. — a moaning case of the deep-dyed blues.” Ouch. Stage Grade gave the entire production a C- overall. The Broadway Critic Blog posted some of their thoughts back in previews, and anticipated the nasty reviews and early closing. With iffy reviews and okay word-of-mouth, the ticket sales just weren’t at the producer’s expectations.

1. Make Way for Leap of Faith -  When a show is not living up to expectations and there’s another show in the pipeline, then producers jump on the chance to push another show into the theatre. This happened with On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Leap of Faith was eyeing Broadway for a fall 2012 opening, but when they heard that On a Clear Day… wasn’t doing as well as predicted, then they jumped on the chance to put Leap of Faith into the centrally-located St. James Theatre. They even announced it’s opening before On a Clear Day… posted its closing notice. (Tacky, if you ask me.) But let’s see if Leap of Faith can do what On a Clear Day… couldn’t.

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Why do you think On a Clear Day You Can See Forever closed so soon?

Did anyone else see the new Rebecca Broadway poster and think of The Pirate Queen? Because, I did. I’m having a hard time thinking they aren’t the same “type” of musical.

The only music I’ve heard from Rebecca is “She’s Invincible” that plays on repeat on the website. I will say it’s catchy but the song is now playing on repeat in my head (and I’m not too thrilled about it).

We all love Stephanie Block, but she couldn’t keep The Pirate Queen from planking, so it looks like Sierra Boggess (another Broadway leading lady everyone loves) will have to keep Rebecca alive until word-of-mouth kicks in and hopefully really positive reviews. And who knows, maybe the Tony Awards will love Rebecca.

There’s probably no more similarities between the shows, but some how I’ve equated Rebecca as the new The Pirate Queen of this season. Let’s hope that it makes it past The Pirate Queen’s 32 previews and 85 performances.

What do you think?

There’s a few shows this Spring that you can not miss! Here are my top five Broadway shows that I’m most looking forward to this upcoming season:

5. Evita

Starting previews on April 10th, this is a musical revival that I’ve been waiting for an extremely long time. Out of all of the Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals, Evita is my absolute favorite. I fell in love with it a long time ago, and I’ve never seen it produced professionally. Pop star Ricky Martin and Olivier Award-winning actress Elena Roger portray Che Guevara and Eva Perón and it also stars Michael Cerveris as Peron — can’t get much better than that!

4. Leap of Faith

It has Raul Esparza in it. What else do you want? I’ve seen him in Tick, Tick Boom, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Company (twice). And luckily, Brooke Shields is not part of the project anymore!! Leap of Faith received mixed reviews during its out-of-town tryout, but it looks like they’ve revamped it for Broadway and they are ready to go. They only announced this Broadway production yesterday, when it was announced that On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is closing at the end of January.

3. Ghost

Straight from the wildly successful West End production, Cassie Levy and Richard Fleeshman are starring in this new musical. It apparently has some incredible stage illusions that I’m dying to see. Generally, I’m not too thrilled in seeing 80′s movies reimagined for the theatre but every once in awhile it works (like Hairspray). We will see though. This show’s success will come from two main things: brand recognition (just like how Addams Family ran on Broadway a lot longer than it should have) and reviews. Let’s hope they are good reviews, because if not, I could see it running through the summer months and dying off. I’m still very excited to see it.

2. Once

If you had to turn a movie into a musical, then Once is the perfect choice. Straight from its hugely successful, sold-out run at the New York Theatre Workshop, Once is going to be a huge hit on Broadway. I’m dying to see this for a number of reasons, but mainly because the music is absolutely fantastic. And from what I’ve heard from clips, the new arrangements sound gorgeous. Lucky for us, the cast recording is being recorded fairly soon and will be released this Spring. So even if you don’t get a chance to go to New York City, you’ll be able to get your hands on the CD. I have a feeling that Best Musical will either go to Once or Newsies – either way I’m happy.

1. Newsies

If you have read my review of Newsies when it premiered at Papermill Playhouse, then you’ll know that I’m absolutely crazy for it. The music, choreography, set, and performances were all sensational. I was on the edge of my seat the entire show. The audience was eating it up, clapping mid-number, and hollering like it was a concert! This stage adaptation is absolute gold! Currently, it’s being sold as a limited run, but after the reviews come out and winning a few Tony Awards (namely for Jeremy Jordan, choreography and score), this show will sell and sell and sell. This is going to be a huge hit! Make sure you get your tickets early, because it will sell out in the small Nederlander Theatre.

Honorable Mentions:

• Rebecca - It has Sierra Boggess attached, so I am interested in seeing her once again. (I loved her in Love Never Dies in London.) But, I don’t know anything about the show besides there is suppose to be a huge fire on the stage. It seems to be an epic show like The Pirate Queen, but hopefully it will be a lot better.
• Nice Work If You Can Get It - I love Kelli O’Hara and Gershwin’s music, but I’m not that excited about this one. Maybe after some word-of-mouth hits the blogosphere, I might jump on the bandwagon, but right now, I’m playing it safe and will wait.
• Jesus Christ Superstar - If I had a 6th place, this is the show that would be in that slot. I’ve heard great things about this production and it’s gotten rave reviews! I just don’t have any personal attachment to this show, yet. Maybe after seeing it, I will see what all the fuss is about.

What musical are you most excited to see this upcoming season? Be sure to take the poll below.

Nothing works, except for the real cheerleaders that are in the production. They fly to new heights, quite literally and amazingly. And because of this, Bring it On ended with huge cheers from cheerleaders (young and old) in the audience when they leapt to their feet and gave it a standing ovation.

Finally, someone put their life on the stage.

I sat there annoyed and felt cheated that some of my musical theatre idols delivered a sugar-coated passionless production of a movie musical that isn’t really based on the movie (except the subject manner). It is, after-all, only “inspired” by the original movie, written by Jessica Bendinger. Can we say, false advertising?

Maybe my expectations were high, but come on, Tom Kitt (Next to Normal) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights) wrote the music and Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q) wrote the book and they have all won Tony Awards for their previous works on Broadway. This should have been the musical theatre “dream team”. Yet, the style was disjunct and the music is split between Miranda’s signature rapping (which didn’t work into this production at all, especially when the white girls are rapping at the beginning of Act 1) and Kitt’s (usually) brilliantly through-composed compositions. I left not being able to remember a single melody. The only few good songs in the show were the ones that were pre-recorded: “Legendary”, “Don’t Drop” and “Cross the Line”. And those are not even close to anything I would listen to on my iPod.

Opening Night at "Bring it On" - photo by SHNSF

Then, there’s the other pre-recorded tracks. To be honest, the whole show was mostly tracked. They left a few songs, mostly in the second act, that aren’t pre-recorded, I guess, to give the musicians in the pit something to do. There’s even pre-recorded singers on these tracks. Are we serious? With a cast of 30, you’d think you wouldn’t need to pre-record singers, but you do when it sounds like there are only 10 people singing on stage during the big group numbers.

The vocal stylizations by Taylor Louderman (Campbell), a character fashioned after Elle Woods but without any of the charisma or charm, was so bright that is was borderline screaming at points. She could obviously belt notes that most girls only dream of, but song after song sung in these high belts were absolutely obnoxious. I don’t fault her because she had nothing to work with. Even her character’s arc was uninteresting. She does her damnest to carry the show, but it’s hard when the material you are given is spiritless.

One of Campbell’s best bits in the show, is when she shows up to the dance crew in her new high school’s mascot: the leprechaun. She dances the hell out of it and gets the girls on the dance crew to be her friend because she dances so well. But the best part is that Louderman isn’t the one wearing the leprechaun costume, it’s another cast member (supposedly unbeknownst to the audience), so she doesn’t even know the dance. Totally unfortunate.

The best part of the show was the “chubby” sidekick, Ryann Redmond (Bridget). She’s the only one that kept landing her lines and bits consistently throughout the night. While, there were a few good oneliners in the show (“I got google. Bitch.” and “No cheerleading squad? What’s the point of school?”), Redmond was the only character that felt fresh and new. The rest of the characters were a colliding mess of Legally Blonde, In the Heights and Next to Normal. (Three really awkward shows to put together.) And, of course, none of it fit.

"Bring it On" cast during opening night bows - photo by SHNSF

The set design (David Korins) and lighting design (Jason Lyons) were pretty spectacular. The set used four different LCD screens that moved around the stage extremely well and created some very cool stage pictures. It was unlike anything I have seen. And the lighting was perfectly amped up for all of the big production numbers. Overall, both elements were extremely impressive.

The producers were right not to transfer this to Broadway. Besides, the huge overhead that it would cost to run nightly on Broadway and the fact that the musician’s union would probably boycott the show since everything is pre-recorded, the critics would rip it to shreds in New York City. Instead, Bring it On will bring cheer and happiness to cheerleaders all around the country. People will go, enjoy themselves, laugh at the silly jokes, and walk away entertained. But, Bring it On will never land in the same category as Wicked which is the very demographic they are trying to sell this show to.

And the show will not even be readily produced on the regional/community/high school musical theatre circuit because of the cast demands, technical difficulty and pre-recorded tracks. There’s not even life after this national tour for this show.

The creative team had the opportunity to mold pop music, cheerleading and musical theatre together all into one amazing package, but instead it was just a big tug-of-war and no one won. Instead, it just ended up being a unenthusiastic mess that the creator’s worked on to pass the time, waiting until their next stroke of genius will come. And God, I hope it’s soon, for everyone’s sake.

But interestingly enough, there has been no closing notice that has been posted.

The actors now are in limbo — is it closing? or is it staying open past December 30th? When all of this news broke last week, Jeremy Jordan (Clyde) tweeted, “There is no truth to Bonnie and Clyde closing on December 30th. We’re still fighting. It ain’t over til its over, folks. #bcforever“

The New York Times reported on December 8th that the producer, Kathleen Raitt wanted to keep the show open but ticket sales were low. “We’re already seeing a groundswell of support on Facebook and Twitter and elsewhere, and we’re trying to get the word out there that people should come see the show soon,” she said. “If we see a huge groundswell of support, maybe we’ll be able to run longer. But we’re not rolling over and playing dead.”

Now, the actors are basically “pimping” out their show on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks to get people to come see it. It’s not very different than when actors tell me to see their regional/community theatre production on Facebook. It’s almost a daily occurrence when all of your friends are connected to the theatre community. But, I’ve never seen it in the Broadway community.

I can understand why the actors want their show to stay open. It’s their job! No one wants to be laid off right after Christmas.

Tad Wilson, who is also in the show, tweets, “Want to support @BonnieClydeBway but not in the city? Buy tickets for any performance THIS WEEK in my name. I’ll pass them to people in need.” He continues, “Put your @BonnieClydeBway tickets in my name if you can’t use them. Many people can’t afford to see a show. Supporting 2 causes at once”. Is Broadway really becoming a charity case?

Other actors are getting in on the “Save Bonnie & Clyde” movement. Natalie Hill, a Broadway performer who was last seen in Wildhorn’s Wonderland last season, writes on her blog:

at this point, it is not closing but is not selling tickets past 12/30….
unless YOU help.
if they can pack the houses for the next two weeks and show that people want to see this show, the investors will keep it open.

WE can prove that critics don’t always get it right.
WE can choose what we want to see.
and WE can save hundreds of jobs for actors/stagehands/ushers/musicians.

Her point-of-view is very interesting and I want to support the movement, but I’m still not sure why I should. All of this information is very confusing to me. Why would a producer pull tickets, if they want the show to succeed?

The entire reason all of this started was because I wanted to buy 15 tickets for my students in February. After I had already paid for the tickets, Telecharge.com sent me the email stating it was closing and that they would be returning the money (minus the fees). That was $700.00 worth of tickets. It seems completely counterintuitive to the entire “movement” to return purchased tickets!

If the ticket sales are the only reason this started, then let’s look at Bonnie & Clyde’s numbers since they started previews back in November. (All stats are taken from Playbill.com’s weekly summaries.)

December 5th – 11th, 2011 – Gross: $404,289, $59.38 Average Ticket Price, 81.6% Capacity

November 28th – December 4th, 2011 - Gross: $341,908, $45.32 Average Ticket Price, 90.4% Capacity

November 21st – 27th, 2011 – Gross: $395,637, $60.17 Average Ticket Price, 78.8% Capacity

November 14th – 20th, 2011 – Gross: $346,744, $52.92 Average Ticket Price, 78.5% Capacity

November 6th – 13th, 2011 – Gross: $415,841, $56.83 Average Ticket Price, 87.7% Capacity

October 31st – November 6th, 2011 – Gross $265,147, $59.84 Average Ticket Price, 85.0% Capacity (Only 5 performances that week)

Since it started previews, Bonnie & Clyde’s numbers have stayed relatively the same — around a $400,000 in take each week. (I wonder what their weekly running costs are, as that would shed some light on the financial situation Bonnie & Clyde is in.) We will have to wait until next week to see if the “Save Bonnie & Clyde” campaign will positively affect their numbers, but overall, it’s doing much better than the other new Broadway musical this season, Lysistrata Jones, which had a $19.00 average ticket price last week. (Can we say, industry comps?)

This entire campaign/stunt/media blitz, is all very confusing to the Broadway community. Everyone is up in limbo, but no one knows why?

Was it the critics?

Or is the show just not good enough?

From what I’ve heard, (unfortunately I haven’t seen it, so I can’t comment), it sounds like a pretty great show with some script issues. There are plenty of shows on Broadway that have played for months, even recouped, that have major script issues. So why can’t Bonnie & Clyde do the same thing?

What is your take? Are you going to help “save” Bonnie & Clyde and buy a ticket? Or do you think it’s a huge media blitz to fill houses before December 30th, their “non-posted” closing date.

The unfortunate news is out! Bonnie & Clyde, Frank Wildhorn’s newest Broadway show, is closing on December 28th.

I was planning on seeing it with my students this upcoming February, and that is why I received the email above.

At least, Jeremy Jordan can re-attach himself to Newsies, because he was amazing in it!

Follow @abroadwaycritic on Twitter for any other breaking news…

One of my favorite things about any Broadway show (especially revivals) is the new graphic design that is used to market the show. The design can be very important to the show’s success and it tells audiences what they should expect from the production. The recent revival of Godspell, interestingly enough, is using the old 1974 graphic design for the new 2011 revival. But the new revival of Anything Goes uses a splashy photo of the star, Sutton Foster, as their main focus. It looks fresh, new and very appealing.

In the past, Jesus Christ Superstar has kept the original image throughout all of the revivals and most of the national tours, except the most recent 2000 Broadway revival, which focuses heavily on a photo of Jesus, rather than the two-angels halo image. Below, you can see the images of three different Jesus Christ Superstar Broadway playbills and show posters from the past.

1971 Playbill

1977 Playbill

2000 Playbill

"Jesus Christ Superstar" Posters - Credit: Broadway Direct

The new Broadway poster (seen above on the top left) is completely different from anything else that has been seen in the past. The huge block letters gives us the impression that Jesus Christ is/was a true superstar. It also fits the “feel” of this new revival. As you can see below, they use the oversized block letters as a part of the production as well.

In a Broadway season that is heavy in revivals (especially shows from the 1970′s), is it better to look toward the past like Godspell did or create something new? Are you nostalgic for the 1970′s imagery or do you like the new, updated, fresh look better?

And for the most important question: Does it make you want to see the show?

Be sure to tell us what you think in the comments.

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Official Website

Buy Tickets

I Kissed a Girl Track-list:
“Fing Perfect” (P!nk) – Blaine & Kurt
“I’m The Only One” (Melissa Etheridge) – Puck
“Girls Just Want To Have Fun” (Cyndi Lauper) – New Directions (boys)
“Jolene” (Dolly Parton) – Dot Marie Jones
“I Kissed A Girl” (Katy Perry) – New Directions (girls)
“Constant Craving” (KD Lang) – Santana & Shelby

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“Fing Perfect”

“I’m the Only One”

“Girls Just Want to Have Fun”

“Jolene”

“I Kissed a Girl”

“Constant Craving”

However, I’m here to deliver a bit of good news for those other producers, who are undoubtedly biting their fingernails…. The Walter Kerr Theatre should be open by Christmas!

Lysistrata Jones, the new musical from Douglas Carter Beane (Sister Act, Xanadu, The Little Dog Laughed), is the season’s early front-runner for the “Glory Days Memorial Trophy” for the shortest run in Broadway history. An updated retelling of the Greek comedy, Lysistrata, the show centers around the plight of the Athens University basketball team, who hasn’t won a game in 30 years. A perky cheerleader and revolutionary named Lysistrata Jones tries to change their fortune by convincing the rest of her squad to not “give it up” until the boys wins a game. The show had a well received tryout at the 100 seat Judson Memorial Church in Washington Square that was successful enough to convince producers to transfer to Broadway.

And oh, where do I even start with this…

First of all, the press release for the show promises that Lysistrata Jones “takes student activism to a whole new level”. Herein lies the first problem. In an age of the “Occupy” movement, where young people are getting pepper sprayed in the face for protesting a hierarchy of power that they feel is oppressive to the “99 percent”, it feels a little shallow to sit through a two-and-a-half hour musical about college athletics, packaged as a tale about “activism”. Of course, the production team cannot be blamed over the current political landscape. It’s more an issue of “the wrong show at the wrong time”. However, there are numerous other problems that do fall on their shoulders.

Case in point, it’s completely unclear to me as to when this show is really taking place. I mean, I walked into a curtain with an Athens University logo that read “411 B.C.”.  Yet, all of the students are carrying Macbooks, and spitting out “jokes” about Siri and Herman Cain. So is the show set in the present day? Is our heroine using the tale of Lysistrata for inspiration on how to fix the basketball team?  Or is this show really set in 411 BC and we are to believe that we are watching a different spin on Aristophanes’ characters? If it’s the latter, why are they making so many references to 2011 pop culture?

The same device is used (far more effectively) in Godspell, where they riff on Steve Jobs, Lindsay Lohan, and Donald Trump. At least in the case of that show, they establish early on that we are seeing a present day retelling of the parables and applying them to life in 2011. In Lysistrata Jones, the pop culture references do little to advance the story or prove a point. They just seem forced in to get cheap laughs for a script that isn’t that funny on its own.

Perhaps I would have better understood the context of the show if I could have understood anything that happened in the first 15 minutes. Sadly, I was left to my own devices as 3rd row center wasn’t good enough to hear anything due to the muddiest sound mix ever. Shouldn’t this be fixed after 8 days of previews?? Liz Mikel, as the one-woman Greek chorus, Hetaira, was nearly inaudible as she raps through the opening number of the show.

If Mr. Beane, who successfully punched up the Sister Act book after its West End run, fails to work any magic with this script, the songs aren’t helping either. Almost every number in the first act of Lewis Flinn’s score sounds like that “Getcha Head In The Game” song from High School Musical. At one point, a character actually sung the lyric “What’s The Word? Tweety Bird”, which is just flat-out indefensible. The only two musical highlight’s are Lysistrata’s act one ballad “Where Am I Now?”, and the show’s closing number “Give It Up”, which is quite catchy. The rest of the songs are pedestrian, at best.

There are many instances over the last few seasons where great, veteran, stage actors, can lift up bad material. For instance, for all of it’s problems, I was able to still enjoy The Addams Family, due mostly to the work of Nathan Lane and Carolee Carmello. Brian D’arcy James and Sutton Foster made Shrek the Musical far more watchable in New York than it was with a less seasoned touring cast. Unfortunately, Lysistrata Jones does not have this luxury. Patti Murin, as the title character, has a nice voice and a perky personality, but she doesn’t have the star power to carry the show on her back. Josh Segerra, who has no Broadway resume to speak of, is a hard bodied, uninteresting, piece of wood as basketball captain, Mick. Lindsay Nicole Chambers, despite being a more capable performer, looks ten years older than the rest of the cast, making her the Lyssie Jones equivalent of Gabrielle Carteris in 90210.  The only cast member that shines in their role is Ms. Mikel, who doubles as the narrator and madam of the local brothel. She gets the most consistent laughs quite honestly deserves to be in a better show than this.

At the end of the day, “Lyssie Jones” will go down as the single worst show I’ve ever seen in New York. I have no problem with fluff pieces, as long as they are done well. I continue to be closet fans of Xanadu and Legally Blonde. Lysistrata Jones lacks the charm and fun of both of those shows. It’s the first time I have ever paid full price for a Broadway show and wanted to leave during the second act. While the reviews for the off-off Broadway version of this show were favorable, perhaps it would have made more sense to move the production to an Off-Broadway venue like New World Stages, because it’s not a show that is a fit for a 1000 seat house.

I will set the over/under for a closing date at January 3rd and take the under.