Broadway grosses remained steady for the week that ended with Mother’s Day. Pippin and  I’ll Eat You  Last  both broke house records in their theatres with over 100% capacity for the week.  The top 10 shows for the week averaged 94% capacity and $111.64 revenue per seat in their theatres.  It is always amazing when we see Phantom of the Opera sell over $1MM in sales after 23 years on Broadway, proving that love for this show never dies. And it looks like neither Alec baldwin’s Huffington Post article or To Sturridge’s Tony nomination did anything to help Orphans‘ sales last week as it lingers near the bottom of the pack.

Averages and Totals:

• 9 Plays, 20 Musicals
• Gross Revenue— $24,246,231
• 9 Shows in the Millionaire Club
• Average Capacity— 84%
• Average Ticket Price— $97.15
• Revenue Per Seat— $84.93
• Total Attendance— 240,234
• Empty Seats— 45,258

Billy Crystal will return to Broadway this fall for a 9-week-only limited engagement of his Tony Award-winning, record-breaking play 700 SUNDAYS. This will mark the final engagement of this production. Previews will begin Tuesday, November 5, 2013 at the Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street) with opening night scheduled for Wednesday, November 13, 2013 and a final performance set for Sunday, January 5, 2014. 700 SUNDAYS is performed and written by Mr. Crystal with additional content by Alan Zweibel and direction by Des McAnuff.

“700 SUNDAYS has, without question, been the most satisfying experience of my career,” said Crystal. “When we originally opened on Broadway, all I knew was that I had a story that I was compelled to share.  Now that I’ve performed my play across the country and internationally, I’m gratified to know that the love of family, through joy and pain, is perhaps the most universal story. I’ve now decided to tell this story one last time in my own backyard, where it all took place.  It is a privilege to return to Broadway to say goodbye to one of the greatest thrills of my life.”

700 SUNDAYS, an autobiographical journey, is an original two-act play in which Billy plays numerous characters that have influenced who he is today. It deals with his youth, growing up in the jazz world of Manhattan, his teenage years, and finally adulthood. It is about family and fate, loving and loss.

Billy Crystal was pronounced “The King of Broadway” by The New York Post for the Broadway debut of 700 SUNDAYS which, in its opening week on Broadway, broke the house record for highest weekly gross at the Broadhurst Theatre and then continued to top its own record every week. With a cumulative gross of over $21 million, 700 SUNDAYS set a record for the highest weekly grossing non-musical in Broadway history at that time ($1,061,689 for the week ending 5/22/05) and was one of the top ten grossing shows every single week of its run, despite playing only seven performances per week.

The show won the 2005 Tony Award for Special Theatrical Experience and both the 2005 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Solo Performance.

Following the Broadway production, Billy played sold-out limited engagements of 700 SUNDAYS in Toronto, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Billy then took 700 SUNDAYS to Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, where both engagements sold out upon announcement and won the 2007 Helpmann Award for Best Special Event. In 2009, Billy brought the show back to the United States with engagements in six major cities: Washington, DC; Philadelphia; Dallas; Palm Beach; Miami; and Atlanta. This fall’s Broadway engagement will mark the show’s first return to New York since its Broadway debut.

Outer Critics Circle, the organization of writers and commentators for media covering New York theatre announced today its award winners for the 2012-13 season in 24 categories.

Broadway stars Judy Kaye, Audra McDonald, Michael McGrath, Donna Murphy and Tonya Pinkins will serve as gala award presenters at the upcoming 63rd Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards ceremony on May 23rd (4PM) at the legendary Sardis Restaurant. In addition to being acclaimed stage performers, the stars are also former recipients of the esteemed Outer Critics Circle Award.

As previously announced, based on recommendations by the OCC Executive Committee, a Special Achievement Award will be given to Irish Repertory Theatre (Charlotte Moore, Artistic Director and Ciarán O’Reilly, Producing Director) in recognition of 25 years of producing outstanding theatre.

Celebrating its 63rd season of bestowing awards of excellence in the field of theatre, the Outer Critics Circle, is an association with members affiliated with more than ninety newspapers, magazines, web sites, radio and television stations, and theatre publications in America and abroad.

Winners noted by * BOLD

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY
Grace
Lucky Guy
The Nance
The Testament of Mary
* Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL
Chaplin: The Musical
A Christmas Story
Hands on a Hardbody
*Kinky Boots
Matilda the Musical

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
Bad Jews
Cock
* My Name is Asher Lev
Really Really
The Whale

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
February House
Dogfight
Giant
* Here Lies Love
Murder Ballad

OUTSTANDING BOOK OF A MUSICAL (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Cinderella
Chaplin: The Musical
Dogfight
Kinky Boots
* Matilda the Musical

OUTSTANDING NEW SCORE (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Chaplin: The Musical
Dogfight
Hands on a Hardbody
Here Lies Love
* Kinky Boots

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Golden Boy
Orphans
The Piano Lesson
The Trip to Bountiful
* Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Annie
Cinderella
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Passion
* Pippin

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
Pam MacKinnon Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Nicholas Martin Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
* Jack O’Brien The Nance
Bartlett Sher Golden Boy
Michael Wilson The Trip to Bountiful

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
Warren Carlyle Chaplin: The Musical
Scott Ellis The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Jerry Mitchell Kinky Boots
* Diane Paulus Pippin
Alex Timbers Here Lies Love

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHER
Warren Carlyle Chaplin: The Musical
Peter Darling Matilda the Musical
Jerry Mitchell Kinky Boots
Josh Rhodes Cinderella
* Chet Walker Pippin

OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN (Play or Musical)
John Lee Beatty The Nance
* Rob Howell Matilda the Musical
David Korins Here Lies Love
Scott Pask Pippin
Michael Yeargan Golden Boy

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN (Play or Musical)
Amy Clark & Martin Pakledinaz Chaplin: The Musical
Gregg Barnes Kinky Boots
Dominique Lemieux Pippin
* William Ivey Long Cinderella
William Ivey Long The Mystery of Edwin Drood

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN (Play or Musical)
Ken Billington Chaplin: The Musical
Paul Gallo Dogfight
Donald Holder Golden Boy
Kenneth Posner Cinderella
* Kenneth Posner Pippin

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Tom Hanks Lucky Guy
Shuler Hensley The Whale
* Nathan Lane The Nance
Tracy Letts Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
David Hyde Pierce Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Tracee Chimo Bad Jews
Amy Morton Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Vanessa Redgrave The Revisionist
Joely Richardson Ivanov
* Cicely Tyson The Trip to Bountiful

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Bertie Carvel Matilda the Musical
Santino Fontana Cinderella
Rob McClure Chaplin: The Musical
* Billy Porter Kinky Boots
Matthew James Thomas Pippin

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Lilla Crawford Annie
Valisia LeKae Motown: The Musical
Lindsay Mendez Dogfight
* Patina Miller Pippin
Laura Osnes Cinderella

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Danny Burstein Golden Boy
Richard Kind The Big Knife
Jonny Orsini The Nance
Tony Shalhoub Golden Boy
* Tom Sturridge Orphans

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Cady Huffman The Nance
Judith Ivey The Heiress
Judith Light The Assembled Parties
* Kristine Nielsen Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Vanessa Williams The Trip to Bountiful

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Will Chase The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Dan Lauria A Christmas Story
Raymond Luke Motown: The Musical
* Terrence Mann Pippin
Daniel Stewart Sherman Kinky Boots

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Annaleigh Ashford Kinky Boots
Victoria Clark Cinderella
Charlotte d’Amboise Pippin
* Andrea Martin Pippin
Keala Settle Hands on a Hardbody

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE
Bette Midler I’ll Eat You Last
Martin Moran All the Rage
Fiona Shaw The Testament of Mary
* Holland Taylor Ann
Michael Urie Buyer & Cellar

John Gassner AWARD (Presented for an American play, preferably by a new playwright)
Ayad Akhtar Disgraced
Paul Downs Colaizzo Really Really
Joshua Harmon Bad Jews
Samuel D. Hunter The Whale
* Aaron Posner My Name is Asher Lev

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Irish Repertory Theatre
Charlotte Moore, Artistic Director and Ciarán O’Reilly, Producing Director in recognition of 25 years of producing outstanding theatre

Winner’s Tally for 2 or more:

Pippin 7; Kinky Boots 3; Matilda The Musical 2; My Name Is Asher Lev 2 ;The Nance 2; Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike 2;

NOTE: The Nominating Committee attended all of this season’s Broadway productions prior to the OCC Award cut-off date. “The Other Place” was considered and nominated last season when it was produced Off Broadway.

Michelle Williams is in talks to star in the musical movie remake of South Pacific.

The actress has reportedly been offered the role of US navy nurse Nellie Forbush in a new big screen adaption of the stage musical most recently seen on Broadway in a lush and lavish production at Lincoln Center. In the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, small town girl Nellie nurses sailors and soldiers on the New Hebrides Islands in the South Pacific during World War II and falls in love with Emile de Becque, a  middle-aged expatriate French planter.

Ms. Williams has already shown her singing talents  n the 2011 movie My Week with Marilyn.

Here is some terrific on set footage of her performing “Heat Wave” during the filming of the movie:

British newspaper The Daily Mail reports that film producers are eager to sign up Hugh Jackman as Emile de Becque following his Oscar-nominated performance in Les Misérables. However, it’s uncertain whether they will be able to lure him to the project as he apparently has his heart set on playing Billy Bigelow in Carousel. Oh to have such problems deciding which roles to take…

There is also speculation that Justin Timberlake is tipped to play young officer Lieutenant Cable in the movie. South Pacific is still in the early development stages, but Michael Mayer is expected to direct and author Lynn Grossman has written a screenplay.

Lynn’s script is believed to be faithful to the original Rodgers and Hammerstein stage show, which was based on the Pulitzer-Prize winning 1947 novel by James Michener.

First  they are turning ROCKY into a musical, and now KING KONG is getting the musical treatment in a new production to premiere in Australia starting May 15 at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre.

The score will include songs from some of the world’s most popular contemporary artists including 3D from Massive Attack, Sarah McLachlan, Justice, Guy Garvey from Elbow and The Avalanches. The music is being overseen by composer and arranger Marius de Vries, whose credits include the soundtracks for Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet

If you can’t make it down to Australia you can listen to a sampling of teh music here and decide if its worth the trip:

All we can say is WOW!  The cast assembled for the new film adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize winning play August: Osage County is epic! Academy Award winner Meryl Streep as Violet Weston, Academy Award winner Julia Roberts as Barbara Weston, Margo Martindale as Mattie Fae Aiken, Sam Shepard as Beverly Weston, Chris Cooper as Charles Aiken, Benedict Cumberbatch as “Little” Charles Aiken, Ewan McGregor as Bill Fordham, Juliette Lewis as Karen Weston, Abigail Breslin as Jean Fordham, Dermot Mulroney as Steve Heidebrecht, Julianne Nicholson as Ivy Weston, Misty Upham as Johnna and, Newell Alexander as Dr. Burke.

The play, when on Broadwy, was a sensation  winning the Tony Award for Best Play as well as the Pulitzer Prize in Drama and ran for a year and a half and over 600 performances. If you did not get to see it and it is playing in your local market somewhere, go see it!  It is stirring, powerful and an unforgettable theatrical experience.

Here is a first look of the trailer from the film. Can’t wait to see it!!!

Looks like Neil Patrick Harris wants to catch Angela Lansbury in his quest to be the host with the most. CBS confirms that Broadway and Television star Neil Patrick Harris will host the 67th Annual Tony Awards on June 9 at Radio City Music Hall. This will be Harris’ fourth hosting gig vs. Lansbury’s total of 5.

Harris previously hosted the 63rd, 65th and 66th Annual Tony Awards. Additionally, Harris will also co-produce the awards show along with executive producers Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment.

Harris said, “I’m very excited to be back hosting the Tony Awards at the legendary Radio City Music Hall. It’ll be more impressive than ever – if my math is correct, it will be 267 times bigger than last year, Oh, wait. No, that can’t… hold on… carry the one… I’m awful at math. But rest assured, the show will rock!”

On Broadway, Harris has appeared in Assassins, Proof and Cabaret. He is the winner of two 2010 Emmy Awards and was nominated for his work on the CBS series “How I Met Your Mother.”

Now who do you think  will be given writing duties for the opening and closing songs of the show? Any predictions?

Tickets to the Tony Awards, priced $275 or $475, are available by calling (866) 858-0008, by going to the Radio City Music Hall box office or by clicking here. There is a limit of six tickets per order.

The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

The 69th annual Theatre World Awards, given for Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance,  were announced today May 7, 2013. The 5th Annual Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theater for an Outstanding Performance in a Broadway or Off-Broadway Production, and the newly established John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre were also announced.  Winners will be fetted on Monday evening, June 3, 2013 at the Music Box Theater (239 West 45^th Street), home of the current Broadway revival of Pippin.

Hosted annually by well-known theater journalist, Peter Filichia, the awards ceremony will be directed by Theatre World Award recipient John Tartaglia (former star of Avenue Q).

So who exactly does decide who gets these awards? The Theatre World Award winners were chosen by the Theatre World Awards Committee that includes David Cote (Time Out New York and “NY1”), Joe Dziemianowicz (New York Daily News), Peter Filichia (The Newark Star-Ledger, Emeritus) Harry Haun (Playbill), Matthew Murray (Talkin’ Broadway), Frank Scheck (New York Post), and Linda Winer (Newsday).

2013 Theatre World Award Winners

Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance during the 2012-2013 theatrical season

Bertie Carvel, Matilda The Musical
Carrie Coon,Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  
Brandon J. Dirden, The Piano Lesson
Shalita Grant, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike  
Tom Hanks, Lucky Guy <
Valisia LeKae, Motown: The Musical
Rob McClure, Chaplin
Ruthie Ann Miles, Here Lies Love  
Conrad Ricamora, Here Lies Love  
Keala Settle, Hands on a Hardbody
Yvonne Strahovski, Golden Boy
Tom Sturridge, Orphans 

2013 Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theater Winner

Outstanding Performance in a Broadway or Off-Broadway Production
Jonny Orsini, The Nance

2013 John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre Winner
Alan Alda  

OK, people, this is epic, two of the finer stage actors have joined the already incredible cast of the Pinter/Beckett rep-fest that is coming to Broadway next season. Today it was announced that Tony Award winners Billy Crudup and Shuler Hensley will join Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in the limited season repertoire of Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, directed by Sean Mathias, on Broadway at the Cort Theatre, 138 West 48^th Street, this fall.  Performances will begin Saturday, October 26 at 8pm.  The official opening is Sunday, November 24, 2013.  This limited season will run for 14 weeks only.

A we mentioned earlier this year McKellen will officiate at patrick Stewarts wedding and then the two will enjoy playing 2 shows in repertory next season on Broadway. Yippee for all of us who love great acting.

Waiting for Godot played a critically acclaimed, sold-out run in London’s West End in 2009 with McKellen and Stewart.  Prior to Broadway, No Man’s Land will play a brief engagement at Berkeley Rep August 3 through 31, 2013 with McKellen, Stewart, Crudup and Hensley.

Designs for the productions include sets and costumes by Stephen Brimson Lewis (twice Tony-nominated for Indiscretions) and lighting by Peter Kaczorowski (a Tony Award winner for Contact and The Producers).

Here is a fascinating video of Pinter talking about Beckett.

Billy Crudup won a Tony Award for The Coast of Utopia.  Shuler Hensley won a Tony Award  for Oklahoma!.  Ian McKellen made his Broadway debut in Arbuzov’s The Promise in 1967 and won the Tony Award for his performance in Amadeus in 1981.  Patrick Stewart first appeared on Broadway in Peter Brook’s production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1971 and won the Drama Desk Award for A Christmas Carol in 1992.  McKellen and Stewart have appeared together on stage once before.  In 1977 they performed in the premiere of Tom Stoppard’s Every Good Boy Deserves Favour.  Both McKellen and Stewart have received knighthoods for their services to drama and the performing arts.  These 4 acclaimed actors return to Broadway playing in a rotating schedule of two of the most iconic plays of the 20^th Century.

In Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land we wonder if two writers, Hirst (Patrick Stewart) and Spooner (Ian McKellen) really know each other, or are they performing an elaborate charade? The ambiguity – and the comedy – intensify with the arrival of two other men, Briggs (Shuler Hensley) and Foster (Billy Crudup).  Do all four inhabit a no-man’s-land between the present and time remembered, between reality and fantasy?  No Man’s Land was first produced in 1975 by the National Theatre in London with John Gielgud playing Spooner and Ralph Richardson as Hirst.  No Man’s Land debuted on Broadway a year later.

Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot follows two consecutive days in the lives of Vladimir (Patrick Stewart) and Estragon (Ian McKellen), who divert themselves by clowning around, joking and arguing, while waiting expectantly and unsuccessfully for the mysterious Godot. While they are waiting, two strangers appear:  Pozzo (Shuler Hensley) and Lucky (Billy Crudup).  Waiting for Godot premiered in Paris in 1953, followed by London in 1955 and eventually opened in New York in 1956.

Rehearsals for the unprecedented repertory will begin this July. Visit the show website: http://www.twoplaysinrep.com/

Broadway stayed steady the week ending May 5, 2013. Mostly things remained unchanged in the Broadway landscape although The Book of Mormon did take over the number two spot from Wicked. And Lucky Guy , starring Tom Hanks, remains the only play in the top ten and I’ll Eat You Last: A Cat With Sue Mengers starring Bette Midler is the only other play in the top 20 grossing shows. The only musical out of the top 20 is  Rock of Ages  which plays in a small theater and would have to start Tom Cruise to catapult it to that level of grosses.

The special concert event The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream continues to sell well while Orphans starring Alec Baldwin has just announced it will close on May 19, 2013. Sales for that show have declined over the past few weeks and it appears that the competition in the market place has dried up its advance sales enough for the producers to decide to pull the plug.

Averages and Totals:

• 10 Plays, 20 Musicals, 1 Special
• Gross Revenue— $24,611,041
• 9 Shows in the Millionaire Club
• Average Capacity— 83%
• Average Ticket Price— $96.24
• Revenue Per Seat— $82.47
• Total Attendance— 245,896
• Empty Seats— 53,138