Broadway TV show

[mleshawn]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 11:42am

Has there ever been a TV show about Broadway actors? There was a column on Broadway.com a few months ago about all the parts of the business of broadway that most of us dont see like auditions etc. I still have this image of the leotard and the back boobs. Most people seem to see the glamour attached to acting such as the money and houses but never the part about how one day you are working with Boy George or Elton John or Julia Roberts and the next you are on the unemployment line. I know there was the show "That Girl" in the 60's but that was a bit more about being a single female. Thats not to say there arent a million funny things that happen to an actor. Sort of a cross between the casting couch and the crashing couch where who knows which one of your friends will be sleeping on your couch this week. And of course Nathan Lane is your neightbor.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 11:59am

Kristin Chenoweth's sitcom Kristin was about a young woman struggling to make it big on Broadway.

Vanessa Williams had a pilot at NBC a few years back about a burn out former Broadway diva who is forced to teach theater at an inner city school, but it didn't get picked up...

[Horton]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 12:26pm

I forgot about Kristin, how crappy was that writing!

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 12:30pm

Broadway doesn't appeal to the masses. Television is about appealing to the highest possible demographic, in order to pull in the most ad dollars. You won't find a successful TV show about Broadway actors. Hollywood actors maybe, but not Broadway.

[Calvin]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 12:42pm

Wasn't Nathan Lane a Broadway star on his sitcom? Or was he an opera singer? I guess I'll have to wait until the DVD release to remember. I hear it's going to be a quarter-disc box set.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 2:19pm

Nathan played opera singer Joe Pinoni in his TV show ENCORE ENCORE that had a brief run in '98. Fun stuff. Check it out

Updated On: 10/21/06 at 02:19 PM

[Julian2]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 2:28pm

I wish A&E or someone would air something similar to the BroadwatBeat. Its dosen't even have to be in a good timeslot! I can record. We can be advertised to, Broadway commercials, and spots with showtunes.

We can dream . . .

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 2:33pm

Julian2...I was about to post almost the same thing. I hate it when I turn to A&E and they are showing re-runs of Network TV dramas.

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 2:40pm

Jaime Pressly's character on Jack & Jill was a broadway dancer... but I've only seen the pilot so I don't know how prevalent that was in the series.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 2:44pm

Julian2 and uncageg, "wouldn't it be loverly?" A & E is the one station I'd think would be the most likely to do that.

[Julian2]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 2:47pm

Do they still have Breakfast with the Arts? I know they had Broadway on there sometimes. . .

[Janelle188]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 2:48pm

On that show, "Caroline in the City," with Lea Thompson, the character of her best friend was a dancer in "Cats." They talked about it numerous times and even had an episode with David Hyde Pierce where he was an auditor for the IRS who loved Cats and saw it so many times and so Annie (the best friend) got him an audition so she could pass her audit. He sang a song he made up about his job in the IRS. In the end, he was made to believe he was cast so she had to sneak him onstage. It was pretty funny.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 2:50pm

Yes BREAKFAST WITH THE ARTS is still on. 8-9 on Sunday mornings. Quite often they do have Broadway performers and performances/shows

Updated On: 10/21/06 at 02:50 PM

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 2:58pm

In the sitcom, "The Nanny", Fran Drescher's boss/ later husband was a Broadway producer.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 3:37pm

I loved Kristin when it was on. I think the show would do a lot better now..because more people know of her. Remember "THE IT FACTOR" on Bravo? That had some Bway people on it. That was a great show...Daisy Egan was on it. I always thought that they should follow a High School through their whole musical process from casting to final curtain calls...imagine all the drama. THAT WOULD BE GOOD!

[StephenSondheimWHOO]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 6:26pm

suprised no one has mentioned The Nanny

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 7:17pm

I mentioned The Nanny!

[Lizzya9]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 7:25pm

There's gonna be an NBC reality show kind of like American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance called "You're The One That We Want", and they go around the country and look for the perfect Danny and Sandy for the upcoming Broadway revival of Grease. Casting is in progress! For more info it's on NBC.com.

[To The Stage!]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 7:33pm

Oh, I've heard about that show. I hope it turns out good.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 8:59pm

I used to fall off my chair laughing at the satrical way the producers depicted "Cats" in "Caroline in the City>" As mentioned previously, the best friend was supposed to be in the show. They never showed "Cats" itself, but several times they were in the wings. As the "cast" went onstage, they would raise thir hands to chest level - catlike - and prance or jump onstage. It looked SO stupid that it almost seemed perfect (as you can tell, I love Cats as much as Wicked).

Oh, and the cat costumes looked like something from an Idaho costume rental shop, complete with polyester fur.

Updated On: 10/21/06 at 08:59 PM

[Lizzya9]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 9:16pm

Oh yeah, on the Nickelodeon show Hey Arnold! they make fun of Cats. They use the real songs, too!

[pharmer2000]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 11:47pm

"Fame" sort of fell into this category.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 2:10am

I think it'd actually make for a very interesting movie/tv series. A full-hour drama about young actors trying to survive in the city and in this business. It's sort of like "A Chrous Line" but more fleshed out. I think it would be interesting. I mean, I'm not a doctor, but I find "Grey's Anatomy" fascinating because of the great writing, acting, and story lines.

"Kristen" didn't work because it was cheesy and just plain awful.

[MrsVampyre]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 1:06pm

Nathan Lane, also had another TV show that was short lived. Called Charles Lawrence. The Show was about a former TV star becoming a Congressman.

It was well written, and quite funny, but failed to getan audience.

You said that Encore Encore is going to be released on DVD? Where did find this out? I would love to get a copy.

[mleshawn]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 8:07pm

I figured the show could have a character that was an autograph hound. She would be a little old lady who had every broadway actor's signature since Mary Martin and was always dispensing wisdom to the up and coming actors. Then you could have guest stars that had made bad career moves (think whoever stars in Gigli II) come by to crash on the main charater's couch.
And how many shows do we need that are about doctors or lawyers or cops. Having know a few of each I think actors are much more interesting.