Gossip, In The Theater?

[+ Lucky]

The NY Post (nypost.com) is a source of much theater gossip that I had been overlooking. Little did I know that the play Leap of Faith is losing money before it even opens, and there is much consternation and hand-wringing backstage. Is the star, Raul Esparza too fat in his photos? Apparently too many hands have a voice in things.

 

WarHorse, at the Lincoln Center, wants to find a home on Broadway. It mistakenly thought it might have a chance at the Winter Garden, and is now looking at other theaters where the show might soon close. Ghost? Porgy & Bess? Can tourists bring five more years of life to this show?

 

A Streetcar Named Desire may have too hot of a star. It seems that women in the audience can't resist talking back to Blair Underwood, who plays Stanley. (This show might not be around for long given the bad NYTimes review, but then, its audience may be coming to see the star and not the show anyway.)

 

Michael Riedel is the Post's theater man, and if you want more gossip, I suggest that you keep an eye on his columns. You can find out whether One Man, Two Guvnors might be entered into Tony consideration as a revival of a play from 1743 or a new play: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/one_man_two_strategies_for_tony_Y5RciUJUTIGm21BgLevINN

 

Don't forget the NY Times. Today Patrick Healy takes a look at the ten shows opening in time for Tony consideration, and all of the backstage strategies these shows have to get considered. Is it good for the theater?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/sunday-review/how-broadway-games-the-tonys.html?hp

[RockHard]

Michael Riedel is the Post's theater man...

 

You call that a man?

[jackhammer91406]

I was saddened to read about LEAP OF FAITH (which is a musical BTW, not a play.) We saw the show when it was in tryouts in Los Angeles. Raul Esparza was a dynamic power onstage. His leading lady was Brooke Shields. Although she could sing better than I expected, in retrospect she was badly miscast . I hope they can work out the problems.

[uwsman2]

The New York female lead is not Brooke Shields, and was very impressive in a preview I saw. But the show itself was not so impressive, and I actually thought Esparza was a bit miscast.