All Entries Tagged With: "Broadway"
The Addams Family Broadway Takes Final Bow
The Addams Family played its final Broadway performance on Sunday, December 31 after 725 performances and 34 previews.
Since beginning previews on March 8 2009, The Addams Family has been seen by more than 748,000 people. Prior to Broadway, The Addams Family played an 8 week engagement at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago, where it grossed more than $12 million, making it the most successful Broadway tryout in Chicago’s history.
The national tour of The Addams Family launched on September 15 at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre for the Performing Arts in New Orleans and is booked in more than 30 cities through 2012.
Get a look back at the production, from Chicago to Broadway and beyond, below!
Photo Credit: Joan Marcus (Broadway, Chicago); Jeremy Daniel (Tour)
The current Broadway cast of The Addams Family starred Brooke Shields as Morticia, Roger Rees as Gomez; Brad Oscar as Fester, Rachel Potter as Wednesday, Jackie Hoffman as Grandma, Zachary James as Lurch, Adam Riegler as Pugsley, Heidi Blickenstaff as Alice Beineke, Adam Grupper as Mal Beineke and Jesse Swenson as Lucas Beineke; the original Broadway cast included Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth as Gomez and Morticia, Terrence Mann as Mal Beineke, Carolee Carmello as Alice Beineke, Kevin Chamberlin as Uncle Fester, Jackie Hoffman as Grandma, Zachary James as Lurch, Adam Riegler as Pugsley, Wesley Taylor as Lucas Beineke and Krysta Rodriguez as Wednesday.
Roger Rees talks “RSC” with Michael Riedel
Rees’ ‘Royal’ reminiscences
Recalling spears and beers from early days
by Michael Riedel, New York Post, On Broadway
Last Updated: 10:24 AM, July 22, 2011
Posted: 10:27 PM, July 21, 2011
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s in town — performing five shows in repertory at the Park Avenue Armory — so it seemed a fine time to talk with Roger Rees about the 22 years he spent there.
Rees, now in “The Addams Family,” won a Tony in 1982 for his star turn in the RSC’s “The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby,” and wide acclaim for his “Hamlet” in 1985.
But he began, as all actors do at the RSC, by carrying a spear.
“And a shield,” says Rees, now 67. “The shields were enormous. In ‘Julius Caesar,’ I died early in the scene and used to fall asleep under the shield until I was woken up by applause. You didn’t have any lines — other than ‘The Queen!’ or ‘Ah, my Lord’ — for four years.”
As a young man, Rees trained to be an artist. One day, while he was painting scenery 40 feet above the stage of the Wimbledon Theatre, Arthur Lane called up to him: “Would you like to be in a play the week after next?”
Lane was one of the last of the actor-managers — larger-than-life personalities who ran the theater and directed and starred in all the plays. There wasn’t much time to learn lines.
“Arthur tore up the script and distributed pages of it around the set,” Rees recalls. “Page 36 would be on the mantelpiece. ‘See here!’ he’d say, then move to the coffee table looking for Page 37.”
Rees’ agent got him a 10-minute audition for the RSC in 1965.
“They weren’t really looking for actors — they were looking for young, strong men who could push the scenery,” he says. “I auditioned and they said, ‘Go away. Your voice is no good.’ ”
A year later, after learning major roles at a theater in Scotland, Rees auditioned again. This time he was invited to join the company.
Brooke Shields IS Morticia
On Tuesday, June 28, THE ADDAMS FAMILY welcomed stage and screen star Brooke Shields in the role of Morticia. Ms. Shields joined current Broadway cast members Roger Rees as Gomez, Brad Oscar as Fester, Rachel Potter as Wednesday, Jackie Hoffman as Grandma, Zachary James as Lurch, Adam Riegler as Pugsley, Heidi Blickenstaff as Alice Beineke, Adam Grupper as Mal Beineke and Jesse Swenson as Lucas Beineke. Here is a first look at Shields and the cast!
The Addams Family’s Rachel Potter chats with Broadway.com
Rachel Potter on Her Country Music Ambitions and Going Grim as The Addams Family’s Wednesday
- photo by Jenny Anderson for Broadway.com
Age & Hometown: “Old enough to drink”; Seminole, FL
Get a Peek at Brooke Shields as Morticia
Access Hollywood chats with Brooke Shields as she transforms into Morticia. (sorry for the commercials)
Addams Family Cast Members Shine at ‘At This Performance’
excerpt from the “Stage Rush” website, posted February 14, 2011
The latest installment of the At This Performance concert series brought big laughs Sunday night. The concert that gives Broadway understudies and standbys the spotlight saw performers choosing hilarious song selections and telling stories of their careers that had the audience in stitches.
The night kicked off with At This Performance’s youngest performer ever—11-year-old Logan Rowland from The Addams Family. He sang Pugsley’s solo “What If” with polish and confidence while his parents video taped and took pictures from the audience. Rowland told the story of his first time going on in the role—co-star Nathan Lane made an announcement to the audience during the show’s curtain call that they had just witnessed his Broadway debut.
Rowland’s Addams co-stars Mo Brady and Lisa M. Karlin duetted with “Crazier Than You,” and each had a follow-up solo. Karlin sang “See What I Want to See” from See What I Want To See. Brady’s solo was a song called “I Won’t Have To Anymore.” Easily the night’s most emotional performance, Brady sang the story of a young man preparing to flee the home of his verbally and physically abusive father. Showing great emotional depth and vocal range, Brady’s performance was among the night’s most memorable.
Rick Elice Takes A Trip Down Memory Lane
A trip down memory lane for ‘Jersey Boys’ co-author
Posted by Don Aucoin, January 5, 2011 03:18 PM, Boston.com
The Colonial Theatre, Boston
When ”Jersey Boys” coauthor Rick Elice read in the Globe yesterday that his show had broken a weekly box-office record at the Colonial Theatre, pulling in $1.1 million for the week that ended Sunday, he got very excited - and not just for the financial reasons you’d expect.
It turns out that the Colonial has occupied a rather substantial place in Elice’s heart for decades.
“The Colonial is a theater that, for me, is one of the great places in the world,” Elice said today in a telephone interview. “It’s a beautiful, beautiful theater. I never dreamed that ‘Jersey Boys’ would play there, so I was very happy to hear that it broke the record.”
In the early 1970s, when he was a stage-struck teenager and Boston was still a significant tryout town for productions on their way to Broadway, Elice used to take the train from New York to catch shows at the Colonial. He remembers seeing Stephen Sondheim’s “Follies” there in 1971, and Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music” a couple of years later.
By 1980, Elice had become an actor, joining Robert Brustein’s brand-new American Repertory Theatre. He played Lysander in the ART’s inaugural production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” directed by Alvin Epstein, with a cast that included Cherry Jones and Tony Shalhoub.
After its ART run, Elice says, the “Dream” production moved to the Wilbur Theater, which gave him a chance to walk up to Boylston Street and take frequent peeks at the Colonial. He recalls a production of “Sugar Babies,” starring Carol Channing, at the Colonial at the time.
He left the ART in 1981 to embark on a career in advertising, serving as creative director at a New York ad agency until 1999, then spent a decade as a creative consultant at Walt Disney Studios. One of his poker buddies was Marshall Brickman, a renowned comedy writer (Brickman co-wrote “Annie Hall,” “Sleeper,” and “Manhattan” with Woody Allen). Eventually, Elice and Brickman teamed up to write “Jersey Boys.”
Next month, “Peter and the Starcatcher,” Elice’s adaptation of an adventure novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, will open in New York.
But today, Elice had Boston on his mind. He noted that “Jersey Boys” also enjoyed a solid run last year at the Shubert Theatre, saying “Boston has been very good to us.” He added: “Whatever show is in the Colonial is somehow better because it’s at the Colonial. The show seems like the icing on a very beautiful cake that’s there all the time.”
It’s been two decades since he was last inside the Colonial (for a production of the musical adaptation of “Grand Hotel.”). But he plans to rectify that soon. “I’m going to Boston before the end of the month to see my ‘Boys,’ ” said Elice.
“A Christmas Carol – The Concert” Available From Amazon
“A Christmas Carol – The Concert”, featuring the voices of Merwin Foard (The Addams Family) and Daniel Reichard (Jersey Boys, The Midtown Men), is available for purchase from Amazon.com. This is what people are saying about the CD:
… I loved the music. It is very contemporary with a broadway musical flair. Any generation would love it. Merwin Foard is an amazing talent who plays Scrooge with a vengenance!! His baritone voice reaches the soul…
…This is the best Christmas Carol I have ever jheard, bar none, Merwin Foard’s voice is fabulous as Scrooge and the score and lyrics are clever and memorable. This deserves to be heard on the radio…
…This is a beautiful CD. The music is rich and varied and the lyrics are downright inspirational. One song brought me to tears. I can’t wait to listen to it again…
…I purchased this because I love the story. I’ve listened to it over and over because the music is so amazing! The narration and vocals are wonderful and the music is like no other version I have heard.
Click here to visit amazon.com and purchase your copy now.
Zachary James Will Teach One-Day AF Workshop
The Addams Family Workshop with Star, Zach James (Lurch), Logan Rowland (Pugsley u/s) & an Ashley Gonzalez of CESD Talent Agency!
Join Zach James (Lurch), Logan Rowland (Pugsley u/s) and Ashley Gonzalez of CESD Talent Agency for an Addams Family theme workshop!
The workshop will focus on:
•Dance Combination& Song from Addams Family
•Song Interpretation & Vocal Coaching
•Scene Work from Addams Family
•Musical Theatre Audition Technique
•Mock Audition for a Talent Agent
When: Sat., Dec. 4th
Time: 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Ages: 7 – 16
Where: Ripley -Grier Studios – 520 8th Ave – 16th Fl. – between 36th & 37th St.
Normally: 150.00 Sale Price: 135.00
Replacement Named for Nathan Lane in The Addams Family Musical
Well, it’s been discussed at length here on the Addams Family Blog….who will replace Nathan Lane when his contract expires in March? Readers weighed in, with suggestions all over the place - from Danny DeVito to Antonio Banderas. But the guessing game is over, for it has been announced that Tony winner Roger Rees will take over the role of Gomez Addams on March 22, 2011. And to add to this piece of good news, it has also been announced that Bebe Neuwirth will continue in her role as Morticia into the summer months. Congratulations to Mr. Rees, and to the entire cast of The Addams Family!
Mr. Rees, who is recognizable from many venues – he won a Tony Award for best actor in 1982 for the play “The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby”…he played the Sheriff of Rottingham in Mel Brooks’ 1993 film, “Robin Hood: Men in Tights”…he appeared in “The West Wing” from 2000-2005 as Lord John Marbury – is no stranger to The Addams Family family. He is currently working with Rick Elice, co-directing Elice’s Peter and the Starcatchers as part of the New York Theatre Workshop’s 2010-2011 season. And Mr. Rees is close friends with Bebe Neuwirth. The two are perhaps best known for their overlapping work on the NBC series “Cheers.” Mr. Rees was a frequent guest star on “Cheers” as Robin Colcord, a British playboy and love interest of bar manager Rebecca Howe, played by Kirstie Alley; Ms. Neuwirth played the chilly psychiatrist Lilith Crane on the show.
Nathan Lane fans, rest assured your favorite Gomez will continue in his role until March 6, giving you plenty of time to get yourself to the theatre! After Mr. Lane’s final show, understudies will play Gomez opposite Ms. Neuwirth until Mr. Rees joins the show on March 22.
Un-Happy Hour with The Addams Family
This sounds like fun!!
Un-Happy Hour with the Addams Family Cast
| When | Wed, October 20,6:00 pm – 7:30 pm |
|---|---|
| Where | Village Pourhouse, Restaurant Row |
| Admission | Ticketed Event |
| Description |
Who: Join Krysta Rodriguez (Wednesday Addams) and other cast members for 2 for 1 Pugsley Rum Punch, Jim Beam “Black” and Cokes and “Black” and Blue Beer Cocktails until 7:30pm The first 25 people to RSVP will receive a Free Pugsley Rum Punch What: Bring your ticket stub from THE ADDAMS FAMILY any Wednesday for 15% off your bar tab and make sure you ask for the limited edition $19.95 Pre-Show ADDAMS FAMILY Menu that includes a Complimentary Pugsley Punch (non-alcoholic version available) Where: Village Pourhouse Restaurant Row 366 West 46th St RSVP: Emily@Yourpartyplanning.com When: 6PM – 730PM
|
| Website | (click here) |
Rockers On Broadway – Dance Party at BB King Blues Club
The PATH Fund and The Frye Company Present: ROCKERS ON BROADWAY-Dance Party
Broadway stars and Rock stars will join the audience to dance the night away when Rockers on Broadway returns to BB King Blues Club on Monday, November 8th at 8pm.
The latest edition of ROCKERS ON BROADWAY returns to BB King’s for another great evening of music but this time with a twist–they’ve cleared the dance floor so the audience can rock out to their favorite dance hits. Directed by Donnie Kehr, ROCKERS ON BROADWAY–Dance Party features some of the hottest dance tunes from Elvis to GaGa, performed by Broadway stars and the Rock stars who made them famous. The concert will benefit Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS, Broadway Dreams Foundation, Broadway in South Africa, and The Bendheim Performing Arts Center Scholarship Fund.
Starring:
Chris Barron from Spin Doctors; Randy Jones from The Village People; Fred Schneider from The B52s, and Sirius Radio Star “Cousin Brucie” Morrow. Plus, Tony Award Winners Alice Ripley (Next to Normal) and Wilson Jermaine Heredia (Rent) and Tony Nominees Chad Kimball (Memphis) & Daphne Rubin Vega (Rent, Anna in the Tropics).
Featuring From Broadway:
Kathy Brier (Hairspray, TV’s Boardwalk Empire), Tituss Burgess (Guys & Dolls, Little Mermaid, Jersey Boys), Ben Cameron (Wicked, Aida), Te’Rea Campbell (Lion King), Jessica Dillan (Thoroughly Modern Millie), Anika Ellis (The Color Purple), Felicia Finley (The Wedding Singer), John Arthur Greene (West Side Story), Steve Gouveia (Jersey Boys), Emma Hunton (Next to Normal, Spring Awakening), Adam Kantor (Rent), Donnie Kehr (Billy Elliot, Jersey Boys), James Kinney (Sweet Charity), Jeremy Kushiner (Jersey Boys, Footloose, Rent), Jay Leslie (rock group The Tokens), Ian Liberto (Promises, Promises). Michael Longoria (Jersey Boys), Alex Nordin, Jermaine R. Rembert (Memphis), Sara Schmidt (Jersey Boys), Jeremy Schonfeld (Clear Blue Tuesday, Drift), Nikki Snelson (Legally Blonde), Wendi Stoltzfus, Doug Storm (Dance of the Vampires) Alena Watters (The Addams Family), Tommar Wilson (Hair).
Rockers on Broadway, now in its 17th year, was founded by Donnie Kehr while appearing in the Broadway run of The Who’s Tommy and was inspired by Pete Townshend, who wanted the play’s performers to experience the feeling of singing with a rock band in a concert style venue, and to transfer the rawness of that edge to the stage.
“Ambassador” Riegler Reigns Over “Kid’s Night on Broadway”
Addams Family’s Adam Riegler Will Be Kids’ Night on Broadway’s National Ambassador
By Andrew Gans
06 Oct 2010
The Broadway League announced Oct. 6 that Adam Riegler, who plays Pugsley Addams in The Addams Family, will serve as the National Ambassador for Kids’ Night on Broadway’s special Halloween edition, which is presented with the support of Playbill.
This special edition of Kids’ Night will salute UNICEF and the 60th anniversary of its Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program.
In a statement Riegler said, “I am honored to be the Ambassador for this special Halloween Kids’ Night on Broadway. Halloween is one of the greatest days of the year for kids, and Broadway is great for kids every day of the year! We’re asking kids to come dressed in costume as their favorite Broadway characters, and I can’t wait to look out at the audience to see all of the Pugsleys!”
Kids’ Night is scheduled for Oct. 31 in Manhattan. A pre-theatre Halloween party will kick off the celebration at 11 AM at Madame Tussauds New York. KNOB ticket holders will experience unique theatre activities as well as the famous attraction for free. To celebrate Halloween, there will be festive Broadway costume events, stage door trick-or-treating and more. Kids are encouraged to dress up as their favorite Broadway characters.
Click here to read article.
Cast members of “The Addams Family” to Perform at Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle has announced its events calendar for the month of July.
On Thursday, July 15 at 4:30pm, cast members of THE ADDAMS FAMILY will perform and sign copies of the original Cast Recording. Appearing at the event will be composer-lyricist Andrew Lippa, Bebe Neuwrith, Carolee Carmello, Zachary James, Adam Riegler, Wesley Taylor, Krysta Rodriguez and Jackie Hoffman.
