Theater Compliments the Joy, Magic, and Excitement of the Holiday Season
By Ellis Nassour
Can anything top live entertainment? The magic of the lights going down, candies beingunwrapped so as not to disturb patrons during the show, cell phones reluctantly being turned off [by some!]? Yes, it’s that wonderful timeof year and Santa knows the holidays are a perfect time to see a show. Broadway and Off Broadway tickets are among the most thoughtful gift for loved ones [along with wide-screen TVs, new cars, jewels]. There is an amazing range of plays and musicals from the long-run tried- and-true to the new season’s crop.
“Celebrating the holiday season with a Broadway show is the perfect gift to family, friends, and yourself!” says Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the Broadway League. “Tickets are great stocking stuffers.”
For the full breakdown of Christmas and New Year’s week shows, visit www.broadway.org/performance-times/holiday. The site includes an associated mobile site and apps for iOS and Android. Playbill.com has also compiled a complete rundown of schedules.
“Broadway.org is a comprehensive resource for Broadway shows here and across North America, and now internationally – in eight languages!,” says Ms. St. Martin. “It’s the official one-stop destination for Broadway tickets and show information in eight languages, in addition to hotel and dining guides in Manhattan’s Theatre District.”
New and Now
Wayne Brady, TV’s indefatigable Let’s Make a Deal host of many talents, has returned to Broadway and is behind Curtain #1 at the Hirschfeld in Kinky Boots, and having a riotous time.
Last chance
These shows are in their final performances:
January 3: Dames at Sea, Hand to God, and Sylvia
January 10: The Gin Game
January 17: Robert Freedman and Steven Lutvak’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, 2014 Best Musical, starring Tony nominee and DD winner Jefferson Mays, Tony and DD nominee Bryce Pinkham, , Lisa O’Haire, Tony/DD nominee Lauren Worsham, and now, as Miss Shingle, DD nominee Judy Blazer (Hello Again) – the most fun in theater in decades with Mays absolutely priceless; and Nutcracker Rouge, cast of 16 reimage the Nutcracker tale told with erotic (partial nudity; for age 16 on), sensual and opulent flair – conceived, directed, and choreographed by DD nominee Austin McCormick (Rococo Rouge; upcoming Snow White), with original book and adaptation by Jeff Takacs. Costumes by Zane Pihlstrom. Minetta Lane Theatre (18 Minetta Lane, off Sixth Avenue between Bleecker and West Third). Tkts and more info: www.CompanyXIV.com.
January 23: Stephen Karam’s acclaimed play about family relations The Humans, directed by Joe Mantello, Off Broadway, and Roundabout’s Laura Pels.
And these are the final weeks to catch Matthew Morrison in Finding Neverland.
Must Have Cast Albums
An American in Paris (Masterworks Broadway), Daddy Long Legs (MP3), Hamilton (Atlantic), The King and I (Universal Classics), Lady, Be Good (Ghostlight), School of Rock (Warner Bros.), Something Rotten (Sh-K Boom) ,The Wiz – Live (Masterworks Broadway),and remastered CD of Lauren Bacall in Woman of the Year (Masterworks Broadway).
Upcoming:
January –Jay Kuo, Marc Acito, and Lorenzo Thione’s Allegiance (Broadway); Christopher Smith and Arthur Giron’s Amazing Grace (Jay); The Color Purple (Broadway); Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Paper Mill Playhouse production; Ghostlight); and Bock and Harnick’s Rothschild & Sons (Jay).
Coming soon: Michael John LaChiusa’s First Daughter Suite (Ghostlight).
Coming
January 7: 54 Sings Cole Porter’s Kiss Me Kate, headlined by Tony nominee and DD winner Robert Cuccioli, Lesli Margherita (Dames at Sea, Matilda), Carole J. Bufford, Danny Gardner (Dames at Sea), hosted and directed by Scott Siegel, 7 and 9:30 P.M. To reserve tkts, call (646) 476-3551.
January 27: Actors Fund benefit, Metropolitan Room,star-studded concert tribute to former longtime Drama Desk Nominations Committee chair Barbara Siegel, 7 and 9:30. To reserve tkts, call (212) 206-0440.
February 18: Stephen Karam’s acclaimed play about family relations The Humans, directed by Joe Mantello, opens on Broadway at the Helen Hayes with Sarah Steel (Karam’s Speech & Debate; spunky Marissa Gold, The Good Wife) Arian Moayed (Rock the Kasbah), Tony and DD nominee Jayne Houdyshell and Tony nominee and DD winner and Reed Birney.
There’s a New Racket in Town
This ticket resale business is ridiculous and it’s hard to imagine that the various theatre owners haven’t stepped in to stop it. Here’s the skinny: You find it all but impossible to get tickets to a hit show, even those that aren’t blockbusters, such as Hamilton, and they’re sold but you go on a site, say Ticketmaster, and you find “fan- to-fan certified” tickets that were bought by [assuming here] individuals and are available for resale at upwards of 200% of the ticket price. Since Ticketmaster already charges arms and legs in service fees, not to mention taking a nice cut of pie sales, it must be legal. But is there no end to greed? It would seem theatre owners would step in and stop this since it’s cutting into their sale of premium seats [that game started with Mel Brooks and The Producers and has gone wild since].
