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Member Name: Rakesh Natarajan
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Artificial Intelligence in the Theatre
 Aug 27 2023, 09:20:00 AM

BroadwaysBroad said: "Hadestown is a beautiful show, unfortunately the lighting design is the weakest link. AI could have provided some fresh ideas and probably followed the music better."

Did we see the same production of Hadestown? I thought the lighting design in Hadestown was incredible, with Wait for Me, Papers, and Doubt Comes In being highlights. Jesse Green (NYT) wrote that "the lighting (by Bradley King) [... is] as good as it gets" and Ki


Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 4/30/23
 May 2 2023, 04:39:54 PM

Wick3 said: "Bill Snibson said: "I'm actually amazed by the numbers for Peter Pan Goes Wrong. Kudos to them for finding their audience."

Remember for most of April, Neil Patrick Harris was part of the cast of Peter Pan Goes Wrong. His last performance was this past Sunday so we'll see with next week's grosses if Peter Pan Goes Wrong has found its audience or not.


"

Unless I'm mistaken, I thought his run was extended to the end of this week

https://playbill.com/article/neil-patrick-harris-extends-limited-run-in-peter-pan-goes-wrong


Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 4/16/23
 Apr 18 2023, 08:35:29 PM

Fordham2015 said: "Patti LuPone FANatic said: "It's odd not seeing grosses for Phantom."

The Thanksgiving Play is also missing
"

The Thanksgiving Play is now listed... and BroadwayWorld says that it had a weekly gross of $167. Either that's a mistake or 2nd Stage's marketing is truly that bad (jk... being sarcastic).


Michael R. Jackson's new musical 'White Girl in Danger' to premiere Off-Broadway in March 2023
 Apr 10 2023, 10:24:53 PM

https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-girl-in-danger-review-michael-r-jacksons-soap-spoof-cea63a96?mod=opinion_reviews_pos2

https://nystagereview.com/2023/04/10/white-girl-in-danger-michael-r-jackson-musical-in-danger/

It seems like most reviews are mixed (leaning slightly more positive than negative)


Sorkin and Sher to revive CAMELOT for Broadway
 Mar 26 2023, 07:28:38 PM

Dollypop said: "Voter said: "Are there any loud noises or startling noises (gunshots, cannons) in the new Camelot on Broadway? I am going on April 15 and would love to know."



How many guns were around in the time period CAMELOT is set in?


"

Sorkin talked about how he wanted this production to take place in England during the late 15th century. At that point, at least some firearms were present across Europe. For example, the earliest (extremely crude) matchlock guns in Europe have been dated to the early 15th century and by around 1470, Western Europe had what many would consider among the first modern European guns. IDK if these weapons were common or if they were even in England specifically. I'm definitely not an expert in firearms (and have never even fired a gun personally), so I can't really comment on any specifics of early European firearms. With that being said, to answer your question, there were definitely at least a handful of guns present in Europe during the time period when this production of Camelot takes place. 

But to answer the original question, as other people have said, there aren't any guns in the show. From what I can remember, the loudest noises are probably during a sword fight... but those noises aren't super loud or unexpected.


Sorkin and Sher to revive CAMELOT for Broadway
 Mar 23 2023, 02:18:50 AM

sassylash3s said: "Saw the show tonight. Jordan Donica was out and Christian Mark Gibbs went on for Lancelot. Anybody know if this was his first performance? He was very good."

His first performance was today’s matinee. I saw it and he was incredible. After the show, he said that he was told about playing Lancelot 45 minutes before the performance. Since they’re in previews, he didn’t have a full put-in rehearsal. He only got to rehearse a few i


Sorkin and Sher to revive CAMELOT for Broadway
 Mar 18 2023, 09:34:50 PM

Does anyone know where the lottery seats are located or how difficult the lottery is to win? I know that one person (a few pages back in this thread) won the lottery, but was curious to see if anyone else on here had entered or won it since then.


A STRANGE LOOP On Broadway - News & Discussion Thread
 Jan 8 2023, 01:55:37 PM

jkcohen626 said: "Y'all might want to check out L Morgan Lee's Instagram story..."

Just in case someone doesn't have Instagram or doesn't want to leave this site, this is what L Morgan Lee wrote: "Our industry is quick to judge and place blame and expectations on actors. We would benefit as a community to ask: What kind of work environment, treatment, and circumstances might cause an actor to respond in certain ways? Are actors not expected t


BCEFA Fall Red Bucket Fundraising
 Oct 28 2022, 07:15:06 AM

Did a strange loop have any signed window cards or was it just playbills?


Persephone on Tour???
 Oct 28 2022, 07:13:44 AM

In the Hadestown Facebook group, the tour’s stage manager said that Lana is supposed to be with the tour until around November 20th. I’m assuming that this date probably isn’t set in stone and could change depending on Lana’s availability and how quickly Maria-Christina Oliveras recovers from her injury. 


INTO THE WOODS Reviews
 Sep 27 2022, 06:47:35 PM

Does anyone know why there aren't any balcony seats available for this week's performances? I checked on Seatgeek and for some reason, the only available seats from 9/27 to 10/2 are in the mezzanine and orchestra. The balcony is once again available starting from 10/3. Are all of the balcony seats just sold out or did the show decide to close off the balcony for the week? I know other shows have closed off that balcony in the past, but it seems odd if they're just doing it fo


AIN’T NO MO On Broadway - News & Discussion Thread
 Aug 16 2022, 11:31:16 PM

It looks like Ain't No Mo is making its regional premiere at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in DC this September/October. The DC production is also going to be transferring to Baltimore Center Stage (Oct 27 - Nov 20). The two regional productions list Lili-Anne Brown as the director, so it will probably be a completely different production than Broadway (and not just an out-of-town tryout). The Broadway production is directed by Stevie Walker-Webb, who also directed the show at the Public a few years ago.

It just seems a little unusual for a show to be debuting regionally (with a different director) a few months before it debuts on Broadway... especially since the Baltimore Center Stage and Broadway previews overlap a bit. Aren't performance rights usually restricted when a show is about to make its broadway debut?


How much longer can
 Aug 14 2022, 07:21:24 PM

Any new show is a financial risk, especially when compared to an old show that recouped ages ago. Plus, the Ambassador Theatre's layout is awful; the wings are tiny and can't really be used as storage space. Very few shows would want to be in that theatre because of the space constraints. It is arguably the least desirable Broadway theatre. If the Shuberts kicked out Chicago, then the Ambassador would likely be vacant for a while. Even if they find another show to fill the theatre imm


They are filming Company tonight
 Jul 28 2022, 07:08:30 PM

Does anyone know if this is for TOFT or if it is for commercial release? Have they recorded an archival copy in the past?

Edit: I know that because of a rights issue with the London cast recording, there can’t be a Broadway cast recording. That wouldn’t affect a proshot, right?

Second edit: Like others are saying, I think it is probably for TOFT. The NYPL’s catalogue doesn’t show a recording of this production so that’s probably what this fi


Who Have You Gotten Stuff Back From?
 Jul 3 2022, 12:08:50 PM

stoptheworld38 said: "For people who have written to/heard back from Company recently, how much of a donation (if any) did you send/is required?"

Just a fair warning, I know 2 people that wrote to Company recently (within the past 2 weeks) and they both got letters back saying: “PHONE RINGS, DOOR CHIMES, IN COMES COMPANY.
Thank you for your interest in COMPANY!
Although we typically ask for a donation to BCEFA before sending out Playbills - 


Does Anyone Have Extra Epiphany Playbills ?
 Jul 3 2022, 10:05:12 AM

I’m seeing the show at 3pm and can try to grab a couple of extras. I’ll let you know if I can get extras (from either people who left their playbills behind or from the ushers).


Between the Lines
 Jul 2 2022, 09:15:37 AM

I saw the show yesterday. It started at (roughly) 8:10 and let out at 10:30. I got the tickets through the TodayTix digital rush (seats were J3-4). I thought it was a really entertaining show and better than at least a couple of shows currently running on Broadway. Having said that, I think it still has a lot of room for improvement and is just a fairly good (but not great) show at the moment. 

 

The set and projection design (especially the way they used the s


EMOJILAND musical will tour summer 2022
 May 31 2022, 10:57:55 PM

It seems like the tour has been canceled or, at the very least, postponed/rescheduled. Tickets are no longer available at the Bushnell (Hartford, their second stop) or the Kimmel Center (Philadelphia, their fourth stop). The Boch Center (Boston, their third stop) posted this message on their website: "Please be advised that all  performances of Emojiland - The Musical, originally scheduled for the Shubert Theatre on June 14-19, have been cancelled." 


A Strange Loop or Hadestown?
 Apr 27 2022, 06:18:06 PM

When would you be seeing Hadestown? A Strange Loop and Hadestown are two of my top-five musicals and honestly, you can't go wrong either way.

If you are seeing Hadestown before Andre De Shields leaves (May 29th), then I would recommend Hadestown. De Shields is absolutely phenomenal in that role and carries an insane amount of stage presence. His decades of experience as an actor are on perfect display in this role. I've seen the show on Broadway and on tour. As great as Lev


A STRANGE LOOP On Broadway - News & Discussion Thread
 Apr 26 2022, 11:14:22 PM

YvanEhtNioj said: "I definitely think that these reviews paired with the word of mouth that it’s getting around the gay community will definitely help.

Re: Best Musical.
It’s been so long but didn’t Six get just as good reviews? I’m trying to imagine, based on reviews hypothetically , who will take the Tony.



"

Six definitely had near the same number of positive reviews. However, I feel like the positive reviews for A Strange Loop are probably more vocal/overwhelmingly positive, giving it the edge. When reading the reviews for Six, I didn't really remember seeing any phrases like: 

"And yet, it seems as if there is no measure of praise that could be too much"

"May “A Strange Loop” run as long as “The Lion King.”"

"Not only does “Loop” belong on Broadway, it is by far the best new musical to open during this very strange theater season."

"But I’ll end with this: his stated aim in “A Strange Loop” is to amplify, with music and ideas, what it feels like to be a young, Black gay man in the creative melee of New York City, ever more removed from much of the rest of America. In that, he succeeds as no one has before."

"The saying “You’ve never seen anything like this before” is often overused in reviews. But when it comes to A Strange Loop, the shattering, electrifying debut musical from Michael E. Jackson that opened Tuesday at New York’s Lyceum Theatre, the phrase would be an understatement."

"The result is a triumphant assertion of individuality in a world that increasingly defines us by demography, largely for the purpose of selling us products and politicians. That makes A Strange Loop the best new musical of the Broadway season."

“WOW!” I thought to myself as my body leapt to its feet on its own volition to applaud A Strange Loop. “This must be how people who saw the first performances of Show Boat, Oklahoma!CompanyRent, or Hamilton felt.” Though I’ve witnessed and studied the innovations in each of those musicals, none of them are as revolutionary as what Michael R. Jackson has accomplished with his Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, now making its Broadway debut."


 

However, I think the thing about this show... is that it is completely right about needing to appeal to white audiences. That's what (unfortunately) happens in commercial theater and the Tony voting audience is likely no exception to this. I still think the Tony race is undetermined, but I'd say A Strange Loop definitely has the edge on reviews.


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