Broadway Plays

Wicked is a now renown musical that premiered on Broadway's George Gershwin Theatre in October of 2003. It is touted as the untold story of the witches of Oz and based on the best selling novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.

The musical features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, a book by Winnie Holzman, musical staging by Tony winner Wayne Cilentoa and directed by Tony winner Joe Mantello.

The original cast featured Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, and Joel Grey as The Wizard. A good buzz and very good word-of-mouth increased popularity and the box office exploded when the show was nominated for ten Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

I can recommend Wicked as a great theater experience, very visually spectacular with a moving plot and very nice musical performances.

More Information on Wicked The Musical

The hilarious 1968 film, The Producers, was adapted as a critically acclaimed Broadway musical by Mel Brooks in 2001. It originally starred Nathan Lane (who reprised that role during the show's first few months on London's West End) and Matthew Broderick and won 12 Tony Awards, breaking the record held for 37 years by Hello Dolly!

The replacement cast starred Richard Kind and Steven Weber in Lane and Broderick's respective roles and had a detrimental effect on the success of the show, prompting the show's producers to briefly re-hire Lane and Broderick for another run. Although the musical has many scenes and jokes taken directly from the film, there are still many differences.

Ulla has a much larger role, as does Springtime for Hitler director Roger DeBris. The character Lorenzo St. Dubois (LSD), a hippie who played Hitler in the 1968 movie, does not appear in the new version. Overall the musical is much more upbeat and ends more happily, with even the Nazi character Franz Liebkind being portrayed more sympathetically and getting a happy ending.

The humour of the show is accessible to a wide range of audiences, and draws on ridiculous accents, caricatures of homosexuals and Nazis, and many showbusiness in-jokes.

I found the Producers to be very entertaining but I really don't think that the performances rendered by Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder in the original film will ever be eclipsed.

The Producers is playing in New York City from Jan 20, 2007 thru Mar 4, 2007 at the St. James Theater.

Find The Producers Tickets Here

Monty Python's Spamalot is a comedic musical "lovingly ripped off from" the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many other ways, especially its parodies of Broadway theatre.

Eric Idle, a member of the Monty Python team, wrote the musical's book and lyrics, and collaborated with John Du Prez on the music. Running since March 17, 2005, it was directed by Mike Nichols, and won the Tony Award for Best Musical of the 2004-2005 season.

Spamalot's plot follows King Arthur as he journeys to find the Holy Grail. Arthur, travelling with his servant Patsy, recruits several knights to accompany him on his quest, including Sir Bedevere, Sir Robin, Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad. Along the way, they meet the Lady of the Lake and a host of other odd characters, including Prince Herbert, The French Taunter, Tim the Enchanter, Not Dead Fred, the Black Knight and the Knights who say Ni.

The original production has been both a financial and critical success. Variety reported advance ticket sales of $18 million, with ticket prices ranging from $36 to $101. The advance made Broadway box office history.

The show proved to be an early success when moving to London's West End. After high advance ticket sales the show's run was extended by four weeks - four months before the show's run commenced. The play makes many references to the film and other material in the Python canon, including a line from "The Lumberjack Song", nods to "Ministry of Silly Walks," the Election Night Special and "Dead Parrot Sketch" routines, a rendition of the song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from the film Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979

If you are a Monty Python fan you'll love this inspired musical adaptation, and if you are too young too remember the TV series this will give you a loving introduction to a revolutionary comedy troupe

Monty Pythons Spamalot is touring the following cities:

Atlanta
Baltimore
Buffalo
Ft Lauderdale
Houston
Kansas City
Memphis
New York
Philadelphia
Rochester
Tampa

Check for Tour Dates and Tickets in your City