broadway: Last News

bizarre interview from the “Wicked” press tour.A clip from Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s sit-down with an Out magazine reporter has been shared tens of millions of times online because of the confusion over the reporter’s claim that fans “are holding space” with the lyrics of “Defying Gravity,” which prompted an emotional response from Erivo, 37.The interview has been mocked not only by fans, but also by some Broadway stars. “Once Upon a Mattress” co-stars Sutton Foster, Ana Gasteyer and Michael Urie made a TikTok about the meme over the weekend.“I don’t know if you heard this, but people have been taking the lyrics of “Shy” and really holding space with them,” Urie, 44, told his co-stars in a dressing room at their Broadway show.“Shy” is the big musical number from “Once Upon a Mattress,” which is about a princess who tries to win the hand of a prince in a kingdom where the queen has banned marriage.Gasteyer, 57, mocked Grande’s initial reaction to the “holding space” comment by turning to Foster, 49, and asking, “Will you pull my finger?”Foster did just that, and Gasteyer made a farting noise with her mouth, which caused the three actors to burst out laughing.“Holding space for all the shy girls today,” Gasteyer captioned her TikTok.“We don’t deserve you.

said The Post’s Clive Barnes) and didn’t manage a coveted Tony Award nomination for Best Musical.But, as male lead Radames sings, fortune favors the brave. “Aida” stuck it out, sold plenty of tickets, and ran for four years at the Palace Theatre thanks to two words prominently emblazoned on the marquee: Elton John.Almost a quarter century later, and that world-famous name has all but become a liability. On Tuesday, the “Crocodile Rock” singer’s $25 million “Tammy Faye,” a migraine about mascara set to music, posted its closing notice only five days after opening night.

“Wicked” isn’t only playing in multiplexes this holiday season.The long-running musical can also continue to be seen live at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway for the 21st consecutive year.Mary Kate Morrissey (Elphaba) and Alexandra Socha (Glinda) lead the current cast; the pair took over the iconic roles back in April of this year.“She is the person I’m supposed to be doing this with every single day,” Morrissey told Broadway Direct. “We’re both so dedicated to the story and being earnest with the characters and not trying to prove that we have this riff or whatever it is.

Ariana Grande is sharing a popular opinion.The actress, 31, reflected on the relationship her character Glinda has with Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba in the newly released “Wicked” movie. Grande noted that their friendship could be interpreted as a queer allegory, along with other aspects of the movie and the film where it all started, the “Wizard of Oz.”The singer told Gay Times in an interview published Thursday that the two provide “such a safe space for one another.”“Which is what all relationships should be. So, you know, whether it’s romantic or platonic — Glinda might be a little in the closet — but if there were a time, you never know.

dreadful new Broadway musical about 1970s and ‘80s televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker posted its closing notice Tuesday — just five days after it opened at the Palace Theatre.“Tammy Faye” was reportedly capitalized at $25 million, and will lose every penny.When the show shutters Dec. 8, it will have played 24 previews and a scant 29 regular performances.

90 minutes, with no intermission. At the Longacre Theatre, 220 W. 48th Street.Something I won’t be saying on my death bed: “I wish I would’ve watched more shows about boats.”Yet another crew of singing seafarers sets off in the Avett Brothers’ uneven “Swept Away,” which opened Tuesday night at the Longacre Theatre.

longer.Hollywood has, somewhat mystifyingly, taken a two-and-a-half-hour hit Broadway musical and — hey presto! — stretched it into two two-hour-40-minute movies in hopes of a duo of smashes.You’re acutely aware of the doubled runtime in the genial first chapter, “Wicked: Part One,” which has the same number of songs as Act 1 of composer Stephen Schwartz’s show, but an extra 60 minutes of padding.Onstage, the “Wizard of Oz” prequel, which depicts the cackling Wicked Witch of the West as a misunderstood activist teen before Dorothy and Toto arrive, is fun and fizzy.Despite the Broadway production’s expensive effects and lavish design, the show succeeds more as a sweet boarding school comedy about friendship than a grand Ozian adventure. On-screen, however, director Jon M.

mixed reviews, but it eventually caught on with tourists.Then, in 2006, came the singing vampires of “Lestat” (uh-oh!), based on Anne Rice’s novels. Critics were out for blood, and wary audiences didn’t bite.And on Thursday, the Rocket Man’s latest show, “Tammy Faye,” took its opening night bows, once again, at the Palace. Unfortunately for Sir Elton, the god-awful musical about flamboyant 1980s televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker (later Messner) is a lot more of a “Lestat” than an “Aida.”Sheesh, the glories of his “Billy Elliot” seem so long ago, Billy probably goes by William now.“Tammy Faye,” which I also found lacking when it premiered in 2022 at the tiny Almeida Theatre in London, vanishes in a much bigger Broadway house.

and cry this year.The new Broadway musical “Maybe Happy Ending,” which tells the story of two abandoned “helper bots” connecting in 2060s Seoul, is already wowing audiences after it began previews Oct. 16 at the Belasco Theater (the show officially opens Nov.

At the Belasco Theatre, 111 W. 44th St.The sublime start of “Maybe Happy Ending” is the closest I have ever come to experiencing a Pixar movie on Broadway.Oliver, a lonely robot played by Darren Criss, goes through his usual daily routine — over and over and over again.

wife story that fails to capture Armstrong, the artist. The “Hello, Dolly!” singer, who died in 1971, indeed married four times and was a cheating jerk to that quartet of women.His turbulent relationships with them as his fame skyrockets — from second trumpet in King Joe Oliver’s (Gavin Gregory) jazz band to Hollywood icon — punctuate “A Wonderful World.” That’s personally messy, yes, but it’s a theatrically tricky choice by book writer Aurin Squire to center a musical filled with many, many (did I say many?) upbeat tunes around spousal quarrels and infidelity.The show’s best numbers actually belong to the actresses who play the wives, each one fabulous.Think of it like “Nine” or “Six” — but “Four.”Armstrong’s ladies are Daisy Parker (Dionne Figgins), a “switchblade hooker”; practical piano player and manager Lil Hardin (Jennie Harney-Fleming); fan Alpha Smith (Kim Exum); and Cotton Club singer Lucille Wilson (Darlesia Cearcy), who finally holds him accountable for his zipper.Their personalities are as distinctive as their knockout voices.

“Teeth,” a new musical by Tony-award winner Michael R. Jackson and Anna K. Jacobs, based on the cult 2007 horror film, is now playing at New World Stages following an incredibly well-received run earlier this year at Playwrights’ Horizons.Last week, The Post caught up with one of the stars of “Teeth,” Tony nominee and Olivier Award winner Andy Karl, who joined “Teeth” for its second NYC run.

The New York Times, Erivo, 37, and Grande, 31, spoke about the casting process. Asked how they reacted after learning the other one had been cast, Erivo responded, “Absolutely no surprise whatsoever.”“I said, ‘Thank God,'” Grande recalled. Erivo then made a dig at the other women who were being considered to play Glinda in the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical.

Ariana Grande saying “thank u, next” to pop music?The diva behind chart-topping hits such as “7 Rings,” “Positions” and “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” revealed her plans to break free from the usual grind of her pop career after starring in “Wicked,” the big-screen adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical that hits theaters on Nov. 22.“I’m gonna say something so scary — it’s gonna scare the absolute s–t out of my fans and everyone, but I love them, and they’ll deal,” Grande, 31, said on the latest episode of the “Las Culturistas” podcast hosted by her “Wicked” co-str Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers.“I’m always going to make music, I’m always going to go on stage, I’m always going to do pop stuff, I pinky promise,” she continued.

“Wicked” film adaptation. The pop star, 31, plays Glinda the Good Witch in the first part of the two-film series, set to hit theaters Nov. 22.Though known professionally as Ariana Grande, the singer surprised audiences at early screenings of “Wicked” by using her full name in the credits.

six-minute Instagram video on Saturday where she called out LuPone, 75, for how she’s allegedly treated the production of “Hell’s Kitchen,” which Lewis stars in as Miss Liza Jane.The Tony Award winner said her “open letter” to LuPone was “not from the cast or crew or producers of ‘Hell’s Kitchen'” and that she’s “speaking for Kecia Lewis only.” Lewis then addressed “a couple of situations that have gone on in the last few weeks” involving the “Agatha All Along” actress.“The first one is that you contacted our theater owner about changing a couple of our sound cues because you found them to be too loud,” Lewis claimed. “You also, after our sound design was adjusted, sent flowers to our sound and stage management team thanking them.”“Hell’s Kitchen” plays at the Shubert Theatre, which shares a back wall with LuPone and Mia Farrow’s show “The Roommate” at the Booth Theatre.

the former co-stars are dating.Both stars told Meyers that they were intimidated by each other when they began working together. “You’re Hugh Jackman!” Foster exclaimed after the “Wolverine” star doubted that the Tony winner could be intimidated by him. Foster added that she thought her termination was imminent when she saw their names on billboards promoting the Broadway show.“And then our names are, like, really big on, like, a giant billboard.

previously gushed over each other numerous times when they were promoting their Broadway show “The Music Man” in 2022, before they became a rumored couple. During an appearance on “Live with Kelly and Ryan” in July 2022, Foster, 49, talked about how close she had become with Jackman, 56, and the pre-show ritual they started. “We call it carpet chat,” she shared.

his tedious play about AI, “McNeal,” one star, while the Times called it “timely but turgid.” A source told Closer magazine, “The brutal reviews have shattered him. He poured his heart into this project, only for it to bomb — it’s been a blow to his ego.”Another said, “he won’t be stepping foot on a theater stage again.”He should, if Downey Jr. could shepherd in a better script.

& Juliet” has been running for two years. And on Thursday night, seven blocks away at Circle in the Square Theatre opened its companion piece — “Romeo &.”OK, director Sam Gold’s, nntz-nntz, party-hardy production of William Shakespeare’s tragedy is actually called “Romeo + Juliet,” swiping the youthful “+” from Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.

There is no doubt as to what the new play “Left on Tenth,” which opened at the James Earl Jones Theatre Wednesday night, wants to be: A romantic, funny and harrowing tale of a woman’s rebirth.One hour and 40 minutes, with no intermission. At the James Earl Jones Theatre, 130 West 48th Street.Yet, after seeing Delia Ephron’s Broadway show starring Julianna Margulies and Peter Gallagher, different descriptors jump to mind: Sappy, sluggish and awkward.That Ephron, who co-wrote rom-coms such as “You’ve Got Mail” and “Hanging Up” with her late sister Nora, based this cliche-ridden slog on the dramatic highs and lows of her own life adds another layer of discomfort.I felt bad — awful, really — that I disliked the dramedy about this real person’s heartbreak, illness and eventual triumph as much as I did. But the mangled tone, laughless jokes and emotional fakery are impossible to look beyond.The charisma of the two leads can’t save cardboard dialogue.