John Mulaney returning to Broadway in new romantic comedy
In 2016, just as he was becoming an A-list comedian, John Mulaney appeared on Broadway in “Oh, Hello,” a hit sketch comedy in which he and Nick Kroll played two aging, oddball, scruffy, cranky New Yorkers. Eight years later, Mulaney will return to Broadway in “All In: Comedy About Love,” a new play by Simon Rich (“Saturday Night Live”) consisting of romantic comedy vignettes. It will be performed with a rotating cast of four actors for 10 weeks beginning December 11 at the Hudson Theatre. During the first five weeks, Mulaney will be joined by Fred Armisen, Renée Elise Goldsberry , Chloe Fineman and Richard Kind. Alex Timbers (“Moulin Rouge!”) will direct.
‘Our Town’ selling onstage tickets at high prices
Back in 2007, I was able to attend “Spring Awakening” many times thanks to deeply discounted onstage seating. On the other hand, the new Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” is selling its 30 “immersive onstage seats” for $225 (weekdays) and $249 (weekends) at the box office or $247 (weekdays) and $271 (weekends) at telecharge.com. To quote the press release, which tries hard to sell the tickets: “It’s Our Town, YOUR seats. Step into the heart of Grover’s Corners with Stage Manager’s Seats. Experience Thornton Wilder’s timeless classic like never before, with exclusive onstage seating that surrounds the action. With just 30 seats available per performance, you’ll be immersed in the world of Our Town, becoming part of the story in an intimate and unforgettable way.”
The move isn’t shocking. Over the past decade, immersive theater has become much more trendy, making onstage seats a hot commodity, while overall production costs have risen substantially, pushing ticket prices higher than ever.
Audrey II of ‘Little Shop’ moving into Times Square
The hit Off-Broadway revival of “Little Shop of Horrors” will celebrate its fifth anniversary with an 8′ X 7′, 500-pound installation of Audrey II, the man-eating, talking and singing plant, in Times Square beginning Sept. 19. The next actors to play Audrey and Seymour in the production will be announced on the same day. Sarah Hyland and Andrew Barth Feldman will play their final performances as Audrey and Seymour on Sept. 29.
‘Age is a Feeling’ postponed due to health issue
Haley McGee’s one-woman show “Age Is a Feeling,” which was slated to begin its Off-Broadway run at the Vineyard Theatre on Sept. 11, has been postponed at the last minute due to an unforeseen health issue. “Age is a Feeling is a show about how our relationship with our mortality shapes the way we live. It seems I have been thrust into a relationship with life’s fragile nature in real time,” McGee commented in a statement. In the meantime, the Vineyard has another new show, “The Wind and the Rain: A Story About Sunny’s Bar,” a site-specific co-production with En Garde Arts that will be performed along the waterfront in Red Hook beginning Sept. 28.
“Age is a Feeling” marks the second postponement of a show by a major Off-Broadway company this fall. NSangou Njikam’s “A Freeky Introduction,” which was to be produced by the Atlantic Theater Company, was pushed back to the spring for financial reasons, according to Playbill.com.
