Good morning, and welcome to Broadway News’ Broadway Review by Brittani Samuel — our overview of reactions, recommendations and information tied to the Broadway opening of “Illinoise.” RUNDOWN The company of “Illinoise” on Broadway, 2024 (Credit: Matthew Murphy) The new Broadway production “Illinoise” draws inspiration from Sufjan Stevens’ near-eponymous 2005 concept album, “Illinois.” As that album blends genres, so here does director-choreographer and co-story author Justin Peck. “Illinoise” is a dance musical, a musical performance art piece, a theatrical indulgence. Though the work stradd ..read more

The Tony Administration has announced final eligibility determinations for the 2023-2024 season. The committee discussed the eligibility of 12 shows: “The Wiz,” “Suffs,” “Stereophonic,” “Hell’s Kitchen,” “Cabaret,” “The Heart of Rock and Roll,” “Patriots,” “Mary Jane,” “Uncle Vanya,” “Illinoise,” “Mother Play” and “The Great Gatsby.” Productions had to open by April 25 to be eligible. The committee meets several times a year to confirm if a Broadway production has completed its requirements to be eligible for Tony Awards, as outlined in the Tonys’ rules and regulations. The committee also det ..read more

Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) has set a deadline for its current negotiations with the Broadway League regarding the Development Agreement.  If “meaningful progress” is not made by June 17, AEA will not issue any further Development Agreements.  The union, which represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers, has been in discussions about this contract since Jan. 22. The most recent Development Agreement expired on Feb. 11. Created in 2019, the Development Agreement is a restructure of the previous Lab, Workshop and Stage Reading Agreements. The restructuring ..read more

An original cast album will be recorded for the currently running revival of “The Wiz.” Immersive/Interscope Records will produce the album, which will be available on July 12. The Broadway cast recording will feature the Tony Award-winning score by Charlie Smalls and orchestrations by Joseph Joubert. It also includes the songs “Everybody Rejoice” with music and lyrics by Luther Vandross, as well as the “Emerald City Ballet” with music by Timothy Graphenreed. The cast album will preserve the performances of Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy, Wayne Brady as the Wiz, Deborah Cox as Glinda, Melody A. Be ..read more

“Forbidden Broadway on Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song” will no longer play the Hayes Theater in summer 2024. The musical revue was slated to begin previews on July 15 and open on Aug. 5. The production was a limited engagement, set to run through Nov. 1. “We made the difficult decision today to postpone the upcoming Broadway production of ‘Forbidden Broadway,’” said producers Ryan Bogner, Victoria Lang and Tracey McFarland in a statement. “The Broadway landscape is enormously crowded at this moment, and while we adore ‘Forbidden Broadway,’ we are disappointed that the show will not open at ..read more

It’s fall 2023. As the lights rise on the Samuel J. Friedman stage, a scrim decorated in an array of braid styles lifts to reveal a padlocked, steel rollup gate beneath a yellow plastic awning that reads “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.” One beat into the show it was already clear: This is New York City.  As designer David Zinn’s set rotated to display the interior of this braiding salon and the cast of women braiders trickled in to start their workdays, audiences became immersed in Harlem — in this distinct braiding shop — but it was also Every Salon, USA. Though frequenting a braiding sh ..read more

Good morning, and welcome to Broadway News’ Broadway Review by Brittani Samuel — our overview of reactions, recommendations and information tied to last night’s Broadway opening of “The Great Gatsby.” RUNDOWN Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada (center) and the company of “The Great Gatsby” on Broadway, 2024 (Credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman) I love American literature, yet I’m decidedly un-precious about the classics. Strip them, translate them, reset them on a different planet. All I beg is that the rejiggering unlocks a new purpose. Beyond pageantry, the musical adaptation of “The Gre ..read more

Good morning, and welcome to Broadway News’ Broadway Review by Brittani Samuel — our overview of reactions, recommendations and information tied to last night’s Broadway opening of “Mother Play.”  RUNDOWN (L-R) Celia Keenan-Bolger and Jim Parsons in “Mother Play,” Broadway, 2024 (Credit: Joan Marcus) Paula Vogel may be playwriting royalty, but if her latest work “Mother Play” is any indication, she has not lost sight of the instruction in the first half of her job title: play. In this new, often funny mashup between a memory play and an apartment tragedy (Vogel calls it “a play in five e ..read more

The new musical “Switched” will present a private industry reading on May 3. Christopher J. Hanke will produce the musical which features a book by Tony Award nominee Geoffrey Nauftts and a score by Jonatha Brooke. Nadia DiGiallonardo will serve as music director. The company of “Switched” will feature Erich Bergen, Heidi Blickenstaff, Aisha De Haas, Kate Jennings Grant, Ashley D. Kelley, Julia Knitel, Jo Lampert, Tony Award nominee Beth Malone, Brandi Porter, Tony nominee Douglas Sills, Jason Tam, Quinn VanAntwerp and Kuhoo Verma. A 2010 Tony nominee for penning the play “Next Fall,” Nauftts ..read more

The Tony Awards have announced that Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Renée Elise Goldsberry have signed on to announce the awards body’s 2024 nominations. The Tony-winning duo will reveal the nominations for the 77th annual Tony Awards on April 30 at 8:30 a.m. on CBS Mornings. As previously announced, the Tony Awards ceremony, hosted by Ariana DeBose, will take place on June 16 at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Ferguson won the 2022 Tony as Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for his turn as Mason Marzac in the revival of “Take Me Out.” Since making his Ma ..read more