Broadway Green - Sculpture with Nature by Patricia Leighton and Del Geist at the Fashion District

Six elevated green cubes have been installed in the Fashion District's Broadway Plazas from 36th to 41st Streets. Created by environmental artists, Patricia Leighton and Del Geist, the sculptures with nature represent an elevation of nature in an urban space. The elevated steel frames also blend with the surrounding architecture. The art installation continues through the end of summer.

Broadway Marquee: EVITA starring Ricky Martin

Evita is back on Broadway! TIM RICE and ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER's Tony Award®-winning musical returns to Broadway at last, starring Grammy® Award winner RICKY MARTIN (Les Misérables), Olivier Award winner ELENA ROGER (Piaf), and Tony Award winner MICHAEL CERVERIS (Sweeney Todd). Previews begin March 12 at the Marquis Theatre located at 1535 Broadway between 45th and 46th Streets.

Peter Woytuk's Whimsical and Captivating Sculptures on the Broadway Malls

Kiwi (72nd Street Subway Station)

The Acorn Bench (73rd Street)

Balancing Bearcat (64th Street, DantePark)

The Falling Apples (at 63rd Street, Dante Park)

The Broadway Mall Association is presenting eighteen sculptures of PETER WOYTUK for public view on the Broadway Malls from Columbus Circle to 168th Street. The Malls are a 5.5 mile-long park from the Upper West Side through Harlem to Washington Heights. Peter Woytuk is a well known American sculptor whose is known for small and grand pieces depicting an interplay of convex and concave form, space, color and shadow. Animals are a vehicle for expression, usually birds of varying sizes, colors and shapes. He also uses huge, gracefully composed animals such as bulls and elephants as subjects. Some figures are solitary, but many sculptures are compositions with fruit of vibrant colors, stone and other materials. Many of the pieces for the New York exhibition were created in China and Thailand, where he lives part of the year, and then were shipped to his studio in Connecticut. Pictured above are just some of the sculptures on public display at the Broadway malls on the Upper West Side. The sculptures will be on public view until April next year.

Minskoff Theatre

This is the walkway through the Minskoff Theatre, home of the long-running Broadway musical, "The Lion King." Captured with an Apple iPhone 4, the photo shows visitors entering the theatre minutes before curtain time of a matinee performance. Architectural designer Mariuca Brancoveanu created the terrazzo walkway through the promenade into the theatre. The Minskoff Theatre opened in 1973. It was named for Sam Minskoff and Sons, one of New York's distinguished real estate families. The theatre is located at 1515 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan.

Playing Paparazzi With Broadway's "That Championship Season" Cast - Kiefer Sutherland, Brian Cox, Jim Gaffigan, Chris Noth and Jason Patric

Chris Noth

Chris Noth

Chris Noth

Kiefer Sutherland

Kiefer Sutherland

Kiefer Sutherland

Jason Patric

Brian Cox

Jim Gaffigan

"That Championship Season", is a new Broadway play that is now in previews at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. The play tells of "four starters from a state champion basketball team (Catholic schools) arriving on the twentieth anniversary of their triumph to reminisce and look for guidance from their ailing coach. Instead, secrets and long-ignored truths are revealed." (from Playbill.com). The cast includes Kiefer Sutherland, Brian Cox, Jim Gaffigan, Chris Noth and Jason Patric, all of whom greeted their fans and theatre goers outside the stagedoor after the matinee performance. The play opens on March 6 and will run until May 29. The Jacobs Theatre is located at 242 West 45th Street. 

Up On The Broadway Marquee: PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT The Musical

A new Broadway musical is arriving later this month at the Palace Theatre. "Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical" from the hit 1994 movie, follows the adventures of a trio of drag queens who journey across the Australian Outback. Previews begin on February 28 at the Palace which is located at 1564 Broadway.

A Memorable Night "In The Heights"

Set Design of "In The Heights" at the Richard Rodgers Theatre

The other night, I caught a performance of the Tony Award winning Broadway musical, "In The Heights" at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. It was a treat to see the performance of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the charismatic actor-writer who created the original lead role, and also wrote the songs. He has returned to the show during its final two weeks on Broadway. The high energy of the audience certainly made the experience more enjoyable that evening. It closes on January 9. The show tells of how the immigrant dreamers in the Latino-populated Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights discover what it means to be a community. Mr. Miranda plays the role of Usnavi, a Dominican bodega owner who guides the audience through a couple of days in the life of friends, family and lovers. The show features a salsa, merengue and hip-hop-inspired score that won Mr. Miranda a Tony Award. The show itself won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical.

Manolo Valdes Sculptures on Broadway

Sixteen bronze sculptures by MANOLO VALDES are currently on display along Broadway from Columbus Circle to 166th Street. Shown above are Dama II (2003) at Dante Park at 63rd Street and Reina Mariana (2005) at the south entrance to the 72nd Street subway station. The sculptures will be on exhibit until January 23, 2011.

From nycgovparks.org:

Manolo Valdes is one of the most important and respected Spanish artists working today. Best known for his passion for past masters from Zurbaran to Velazquez, Matisse to Lichtenstein, Valdes uses their work "as a pretext" ("como pretexto") to create an entirely new aesthetic object. For example, six massive sculptures entitled Reina Mariana, each over eight feet in height and weighing over two thousand pounds, depict Queen Mariana as immortalized by Velazquez. Four of these sculptures with their abstract and simplified forms will grace the famous city landmark, Columbus Circle, as well as two at the south entrance to the 72nd Street subway station. Also sited at the subway station is Odalisca, 2006, a sculpture whose subtle forms refer to works of Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Another highlight of the exhibition is the series of six monumental bronzes – all over 12 feet in height – depicting female heads, their calm facial composure and structured equilibrium offset rhythmically by dynamic ornamental head-pieces. The exhibition will also include the New York debut of Valdes' two equestrian sculptures Dama a caballo V, 2008 and Caballero V, 2008, which were inspired by Velazquez's seventeenth-century portraits.

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES Has Arrived!

The photos above were taken outside the Longacre Theatre (220 West 48th Street) where the revival of the musical LA CAGE AUX FOLLES opened last night. Starring five-time Emmy Award winner KELSEY GRAMMER in his Broadway musical debut, and Olivier Award winner, DOUGLAS HODGE, this high-kicking musical comedy is a touching tale of one's family's struggle to stay together and stay true to themselves. La Cage features Jerry Herman's Tony Award-winning score, with such fabulous songs as "I Am What I Am," "The Best of Times" and "Song on the Sand," and a Tony Award-winning book by Harvey Fierstein.

Here is a review roundup:

From the New York Times (Ben Brantley)
Their plumage is wilting, their wigs are askew, and their bustiers keep slipping south to reveal unmistakably masculine chests. Yet the ladies of the chorus from “La Cage aux Folles” have never looked more appealing than they do in the warm, winning production that opened Sunday night at the Longacre Theater. Terry Johnson’s inspired revival ofJerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein’s musical, starring a happily mismatched Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge (in a bravura Broadway debut), delivers the unexpected lesson that in theater, shabby can be not just chic but redemptive. This deliberately disheveled show, incubated at the tiny hit-spawning Menier Chocolate Factory in London, is a far cry from the high-gloss original production of 1983 or the glamorous, soulless revival that opened less than six years ago.
The Riviera nightclub of the title — run by Georges (Mr. Grammer) and the setting for a popular racy transvestite revue starring his partner, Albin (Mr. Hodge) — looks as if it could do with a coat of paint and perhaps a delousing. Georges, whose dapper evening jacket is definitely not bespoke, has a worn-down, worn-out appearance. And no matter how much rouge and mascara Albin applies, the dumpy, jowly chanteuse he becomes onstage will never resemble the screen siren of his mind’s eye.
As for the Cagelles, the revue’s scrappy six-member corps de ballet (pared down by half from their last Broadway incarnation), let’s just say that even the most myopic club patron isn’t going to mistake them for real live girls. “We are what we are, and what we are is an illusion,” they sing in gravelly chorus in their opening number. But the deception being peddled so adroitly here isn’t one of mistaken sexual identity.
What makes this version work — transforming a less-than-great musical into greatly affecting entertainment — is its insistence on the saving graces of the characters’ illusions about themselves and, by extension, the illusions of the production in which they appear. As presented here “La Cage” is (you should pardon the expression) a fairy tale, a sweet, corny story that asks us to take people (the good-hearted ones, anyway) at their own valuation.
Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press: "Is there a more appealing, entertaining argument for motherhood than "La Cage aux Folles"? Especially when mother is a quixotic, neurotic but undeniably goodhearted drag queen played by Douglas Hodge, who, by the way, is giving the most exuberant musical-comedy performance of the season."

Steve Suskin, Variety: "Why bring back "La Cage aux Folles" -- a major hit musical of the 1983-84 Broadway season, but certainly not a classic like "Gypsy" or "Fiddler on the Roof" -- only five years after its first Broadway revival? Especially when that 2004-05 stint proved a tired and unnecessary affair, suggesting that the original production (with its six Tony Awards) was stronger than the material. The producers of this new edition, which premiered at London's Menier Chocolate Factory in 2007, have a convincing answer: It's funny, heartwarming and terrific."

Thom Geier, Entertainment Weekly: "Hodge and Grammer provide a solid grounding for the show, but the rest of the cast offers all the flourishes you'd expect from a show rooted in drag performance. The six Cagelles are an impressively lithe and acrobatic ensemble (the choreography is by Lynne Page), and Robin de Jesus (In the Heights) is uproarious as Albin's devoted butler/maid who aspires to be Cagelle himself. By the end of this well-paced production, it's hard not to concur with the refrain of Albin's second-act number: The best of times is now. A-"

David Sheward, Backstage: "Why mount another Broadway production of "La Cage aux Folles" when we just had one in 2004? The answer is that Terry Johnson's London staging and its Olivier Award-winning star, Douglas Hodge, inject this 1983Jerry Herman-Harvey Fierstein musical version of the 1978 French film with ingenious razzmatazz and a heartbreaking humanity that its immediate predecessor lacked."

Michael Sommers, NJ Newsroom: "Brightly performed by a nine-member musical ensemble, Jason Carr's colorful orchestrations do well by Herman's happy, heartfelt score. It's easy to fall in love with this diminutive charmer of a production."

Scott Brown, New York Magazine: " Hodge adds something new: a touch of sputtering rage that's neither heroic nor pathetic. Too agitated to hold stage center, he jerks himself around, looking for release, but finding only an audience. And for once, the performer delivering this fight-song doesn't seem to assume his listeners share his feelings or his fight. For all the spittle and vibrato on display, Hodge's number feels strangely like a private moment. This Albin is not articulating a credo. He's simply furious."

Linda Winer, Newsday: "BOTTOM LINE seedier, funnier 'Cage'"

Jeremy Gerard, Bloomberg News: "Hodge, who is built like a long-haul trucker but still looks reasonably good in a gown, makes Albin vulnerable and a little pathetic, in addition to being endearingly funny."

Broadway Marquee: LA CAGE AUX FOLLES

The Menier Chocolate Factory's acclaimed revival of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES is now in previews at the LONGACRE THEATRE located at 220 West 48th Street. The revival stars DOUGLAS HODGE (Olivier Award) as Albin, a drag performer with a heart of gold, and KELSEY GRAMMER as his partner Georges. The musical opens on April 18.

CORBIN BLEU: From High School Musical to Broadway

Film and television star CORBIN BLEU marks his Broadway debut in the Tony Award winning musical, IN THE HEIGHTS. He plays the role of Washington Heights bodega owner and musical powerhouse, Usnavi through April 25 only. These photos were taken outside the stagedoor of the Richard Rodgers Theatre at 226 West 46th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue) on March 21, 2010. 

Mr. Bleu's stage credits include Off-Broadway's Tiny Tim is Dead and Brothers of the Knight. He attended the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and the LA County High School for the Arts. Bleu played Chad Danforth in "High School Musical," "High School Musical 2," and the film High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Other feature films include Free Style, Catch That Kid, Soldier, Galaxy Quest, Mystery Men. Bleu starred in the TV shows "The Beautiful Life" and "Flight 29 Down." He has two solo albums, Speed of Light and Another Side, which both led to national tours. 

Video posted by InTheHeightsBroadway

In the Heights tells the universal story of a vibrant community in Manhattan's Washington Heights – a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It's a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind. In 2008, the musical won 4 Tony Awards (Best Musical, Best Score, Best Choreography, and Best Orchestrations). 

@ the stagedoor: JUDE LAW, star of Shakespeare's HAMLET on Broadway

Video posted by newyorkanna

English actor, producer and director Jude Law returns to Broadway for the first time since 1995 when he made his Tony Award-nominated debut in Jean Cocteau's Indiscretions (Les Parents Terribles). He plays the title role in William Shakespeare's HAMLET for a limited run of twelve weeks at the Broadhurst Theatre (235 West 44th Street). Directed by Michael Grandage, Hamlet opens on October 6. I took these photos at the stagedoor after a preview performance on September 13.

Jude Law was born in Lewisham, South London, as second child to teachers Peter Law and Margaret Heyworth. He grew up in Blackheath, a village in the Borough of Lewisham and he was educated at John Ball Primary School in Blackheath and Kidbrooke School in Kidbrooke, before attending the Alleyn's School in Dulwich. He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989. After starring in films directed by Andrew Niccol, Clint Eastwood and David Cronenberg, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1999 for his performance in Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley. In 2000 he won a Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award for his work in the film. In 2003, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in another Minghella film, Cold Mountain. In 2006, he was one of the top ten most bankable movie stars in Hollywood. In 2007, he received anHonorary César and he was honoured with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres conferred by the French government; he was named a "Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres". (biography notes from wikipedia)

STUDENT RUSH TICKETS:

“Hamlet” on Broadway has sold out all of its $25 seats for the 12-week run, but producers today announced the availability of $35 student-rush tickets.

The Donmar Warehouse production of the tragedy is currently in previews with opening night set for Oct. 6. It will play through Dec. 6. The student-rush “Hamlet” tickets will be sold at the Broadhurst Theatre box office, only on the day of the performance, one-ticket per student ID. The number of available tickets may vary for each performance. If the performance is otherwise sold out, standing room tickets will be sold for $21.50. Regular tickets are $116.50 with premium seats fetching $201.50 to $251.50. The box office is open from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The Broadhurst Theatre is located at 235 W. 44th St.