My Broadway Review

Mya, the sweet and sultry songstress who was slated to make her grand Broadway debut in May playing Velma Kelly, one of the leads in “Chicago” was forced to temporarily call of the show due to a broken foot. This was officially announced by Barry Weissler, producer of “Chicago” recently on Monday. Weissler did not appear perturbed even though the elaborate Broadway production was cancelled. He expressed his opinions and said that accidents are not uncommon in the Broadway scene and that the entire incident was beyond their control. He was also quick to wish her a speedy recovery and will be glad to welcome her back to the production soon as she has recuperated.

For those not in the known, Mya was best known for her chart topping hits such as “Ghetto Superstar” and “Lady Marmalade”, sang alongside Christina Aguilera. Currently no one has been named to replace Mya as yet.

The “Bridge Over Land” written and directed by Gilbert Girion has already started its performance at the Interart Theater Annex from April 18^th and will be entertaining the audiences with its captive stories till the 10^th of May. Girion has three different short plays which do not have character resemblance, but are woven in such a manner that it has a cohesive feeling. The three short plays talks about bridges between people over a course of time and highlights issues like longing, loss and hope.

The Broadway showing of Bridge Over Land is sure to bring in many more theater lovers to the Interart Theater as it has been receiving good reviews from both the masses as well as the classes. Girion has been very careful in choosing the artist to play the different characters in his play and some of the artists are Lisa Chess, Kati Rediger, David Gelles and Ed Setrakian.

Houdini, magician extraordinaire and one of the world’s most prolific escape artists probably needs no introduction. Although he has a small part being mentioned in a Broadway musical show in the year 1988 called “Ragtime”, he has yet to star in his very own Broadway production.But come 2010, Scott Sanders is hoping to make Houdini even larger than life when he brings him to Broadway. He is doing so out of awe and respect for the iconic symbol of creativity and imagination, an outstanding figure who should always be remembered for his contributions. Scott Sanders will be aided by architect David Rockwell who has stepped up with his offer to design the sets and stage as well as implement the heart stopping stunts. Another addition to the team is director Jack O’Brien as well as Danny Elfman, composer extraordinaire who made Tim Burton’s “Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Corpse Bride” successful hits.

The most eagerly awaited Broadway entertainer “Top Girls” has just finished its premiere showing at the Biltmore Theater last Tuesday and the good reviews that the premiere show is carrying will augur well for the show when it opens its limited engagement from May 7^th. A host of award winning artists like Jennifer Ikeda, Marisa Tomei, Mary Catherine Garrison, Martha Plimpton, Ana Reeder and Elizabeth Marvel are performing the characters in the famous show “Top Girls”.

Top Girls is directed by none other than James McDonald who has earlier directed plays like ‘A Number” and “Drunk Enough To Say I Love You”. Top Girls is making its Broadway debut at the Manhattan Theater Club’s Biltmore Theater and the show is produced by Caryl Churchill. The costumes in the Top Girls are beautifully woven by costume designer Laura Bauer and it blends well with the artistic designed sets of art director Lynne Meadow.

While Salt Lake City and Sandy are both vying to feature a Broadway-styled theatre that boasts of 2500 seats capacity, critics are wondering if this is really necessary at all.

Salt Lake City claims that they are in need of a bigger venue for Broadway productions but the fact remains that they already have two venues that are more than enough to accommodate Broadway fans. The Capitol Theatre and Kingsbury Hall each boast their own unique selling points and to date, every major touring musical productions were presented in these two venues.

People have enjoyed “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Les Miserables,” “Hairspray” and “Mama Mia” at  Salt Lake City, and next season “Wicked” will play for five weeks at the Capitol Theatre.

The problem with building these large capacity structures is that other venues already built must be compromised. For sure, a new 2,500-seat venue in Sandy won’t generate better tourism and hotel business for the county but it will simply direct away business that is currently occurring in downtown Salt Lake City.

MyBroadwayReview.com is highly excited over the fact that “Dirty Dancing” is coming to LA at the Pantages Theatre soon!

“Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage” is enjoying world wide phenomenal success and has previously broken box office records, especially in Australia, UK, Canada and Holland. Most recently, it vowed the crowd during the US premiere in Chicago.

The world class production, made possible by Eleanor Bergstein, writer and co-producer will feature an expanded storyline created solely for this stage play. Fans of Baby and Johnny will be glad to know that more heartwarming scenes between the two leads. New music such as “Save the Last Dance”, “This Magic Moment” and “Stubborn Kind of Fellow” will also be enhanced and introduced into the popular production. Through this production, writer extraordinaire Eleanor Bergstein proclaimed her love for dancing, and was the main reason why she wrote the movie in the first place.

“Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage” is produced by Jacobsen Entertainment.

“A catered affair” is a new Broadway musical that has been released recently. This has been written by four time tony award winner Harvey Fierstein. He also stars in the movie as well. The musical centers on the theme of family and love. It explores the need and meaning of a family and the need of love among the people.

 The cast of the musical includes some of the best names including Tony Award winner Faith Prince, and Tony nominee Tom Wopat. This funny and heartwarming play revolves around the story of a ’50s Bronx mother’s desire to arrange an elaborate wedding for her daughter-something that she never had herself. The daughter however never asked for such a grand wedding. The play has been written by Fierstan and John Bucchino, famous songwriter. It has been directed by John Doyle, another tony award winner.  It is one of the best musicals this season and has earned good reviews.  

Broadway viewers are offered an attractive deal by the producers of The 39 Steps. The production is offering 39 tickets at $39 for each show of this humorous play. The show will have its premiere in Broadway on April 29th at the Cort Theatre. For the preview show all the tickets will be rated $39. The opening night of the play is on May 8th. The offers are available through phone as well as in person at the Cort Box office.

The reviews say that Maria Aitken has directed this comedy in an appreciable way. This Broadway production is based on the joint concept of Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon. Some of the Broadway reviews describe this play as the most “absurdly enjoyable and “a fast paced fun ride”. The play features Charles Edwards, Cliff Saunders, Arnie Burton, Jennifer Ferrin etc. The costumes and sets are made blending with the mystery mood of the play by Peter McKintosh.