"The Prom" gets a starry cast for its film version.

by Nathaniel R

Two girlfriends in the midwest just want to go to their prom in "The Prom"

The Prom, running through August 11th at Broadway's Longacre Theatre, has defied expectations more than once in its short life. That starts with the plot synopsis which reads like a lecturing social justice message play (Broadway stars fight against discrimination to get a young lesbian to her prom when her school balks at the idea) but is in reality a sweet often hilarious comedy which has more targets than just homophobes in its sights. The musical began previews last October on Broadway and while it wasn't expected to be a big hit (given the sad state of Broadway where branding is all important - it came with no bankable stars, no jukebox score, wasn't based on a movie) it managed to stay open for months, snag high profile Tony nominations, and secure both touring and movie adaptation deals. (It is also a total delight, as Dan told us in his review which we co-sign.)

As you've undoubtedly heard, Netflix snapped it up some time ago. Originally we thought it was going to be a straight to streaming situation, given what Netflix is planning for the new Boys in the Band (with the all-gay Broadway cast reprising their roles for the camera), but it turns out they have an Oscar run in mind. And with that a starrier cast and some degree of a theatrical release in 2020 (so we'll have at least two musicals in the mix that year given Spielberg's West Side Story remake).

But are The Prom's days of defying expectations over?

Click to read more ...

Box Office Special - Broadway Grosses Post Tony Nominations

by Nathaniel R

With the movie box office being so boring these past two weeks (surprise: Avengers: Endgame is still sucking up all the money in the world) we're turning to Broadway grosses, which we never discuss, for a detour. Why? Well, just to see how quickly the Tony nominations make a difference. This is purely anecdotal but on the various discount apps and sites that you can belong to you start noticing the shows that fared poorly on each year's nomination morning almost immediately popping up at discounted rates. If a show sells out, even through heavily discounted tickets, it surely kills the sting of being shunned for awards.

If you aren't well-versed in Broadway the grosses are a bit complicated so bear with us as we try to explain...

Click to read more ...

73rd Tony Awards: "Hadestown" and "The Ferryman" lead the nominations

by Nathaniel R

Tony nominee Brandon Victor Dixon and Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth announced the nominations this morning for Broadway's top honor. "Hadestown" led the nominations for musicals with 14 (wow) while "The Ferryman" and Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of "To Kill a Mockingbird" led the plays with 9 nominations each. In a surprise twist though, "To Kill a Mockingbird" was NOT nominated for Best Play despite such a wealth of nominations across the board; it's even nominated for Original Score (a category usually reserved for musicals only).

 A full list of nominations with trivia and commentary is after the jump though you should refresh your screens on ocassion as we're still adding photos and commentary...

Click to read more ...