The new Broadway revival of “The Who’s Tommy” will end its run on July 21 following a run of 132 performances, with a national tour set to launch in the fall of 2025.
The high-tech, high-energy revival was directed by Des McAnuff, who also staged the original Broadway production, incorporated new designs, more ensemble movement, and an emphasis on politics, depicting the adult Tommy in a futuristic, threatening environment where he is surrounded by militant guards.
While the production received mostly positive reviews, it got overshadowed by the higher-profile Broadway revivals of “Merrily We Roll Along” and “Cabaret” as well as the countless other shows that opened during the spring. “ It received only a single Tony Award nomination, for Best Musical Revival, which allowed the cast to perform “Pinball Wizard” on the broadcast.
Ali Louis Bourzgui, a 24-year-old Moroccan-American performer, is making his Broadway debut in the title role.
Studio 54 musical with jukebox score in development
It is hard to believe that a musical about Studio 54 has not yet come to Broadway – especially considering that Studio 54 is now a Broadway theater. (In 2018, “This Ain’t No Disco,” a rock musical about Studio 54 with an original score by Stephen Trask, played Off-Broadway and received poor reviews.)
Last week, it was announced that “Studio 54: The Musical” is in development, which will have direction and choreography by Sergio Trujillo (“Ain’t Too Proud”) and a jukebox score by a variety of disco artists. In terms of storyline, it will follow the legendary nightclub’s rise and fall.
One suspects that if and when the musical comes to Broadway, it will play Studio 54.
‘Night Music’ plays Lincoln Center
Stephen Sondheim’s sublime 1973 waltz musical “A Little Night Music” will inevitably receive a high-profile, starry Broadway revival in the coming years – ideally with a full-size orchestra, following in the footsteps of last year’s Broadway revival of “Sweeney Todd.”
In the meanwhile, last week, “A Little Night Music” received a four-performance concert production at Lincoln Center conducted by its orchestrator, Jonathan Tunick, and featuring new orchestrations for a 53-piece orchestra (essentially double the size of the original orchestra).
The initial performance I attended on Thursday night was uneven and unsteady, which was not surprising given the minimal rehearsal time and the intricacy of the score (Marsha Mason got completely lost during “Liaisons”), but the orchestra sounded glorious, even if the tempos were often too slow.
The standout of the cast was Tony Award winner Ruthie Ann Miles as the bitter and sarcastic Countess Charlotte, and opera star Susan Graham gave a wonderful performance of “Send In the Clowns.”
Betty Boop musical confirmed for Broadway
Following two decades of development by a variety of different writers and directors, a Betty Boop musical (now titled “Boop! The Betty Boop Musical”), based on the characters by animator Max Fleischer, will open on Broadway in April of next year.
The musical (which recently received an out-of-town regional tryout in Chicago) has direction and choreography (“Legally Blonde”), music by David Foster, and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead.
In 2009, Jason Robert Brown released tracks of two songs he had written for the musical while he was attached as its songwriter.
