A Tale of Two Cities Begins On Broadway Today

The new Broadway musical A Tale of Two Cities, based on Charles Dickens' classic novel, begins performances at Broadway's Al Hirschfeld Theatre tonight. A Tale of Two Cities is a sweeping musical epic in the style of that other sprawling book-to-Broadway adaptation, Les Miserables. Starring James Barbour (Broadway's Jane Eyre, Beauty and the Beast) and written by Broadway newcomer Jill Santoriello, A Tale of Two Cities will have its official Broadway opening on September 18.

Two Broadway Closings Today

Two Broadway shows end their runs today. The play Thurgood, starring Laurence Fishburne, concludes its limited Broadway run at the Booth Theatre, which had already been extended an extra couple weeks due to popular demand. The other closure is the Broadway revival of the musical A Chorus Line. This first Broadway revival of the groundbreaking musical was a success, quickly recouping its investment and running on Broadway for nearly two years. Of course, it was nowhere near as successful as the original Broadway production, which ran for a record-breaking 15 years (though that record was later broken by Broadway long-runners Cats and The Phantom of the Opera).

Broadway Godspell Postponed Indefinitely

Yet another Broadway postponement. The upcoming Broadway revival of the New Testament-based musical Godspell has been postponed indefinitely. This Broadway season seems to be getting off to a strange start, with a few other Broadway-bounders having already announced cancellations or -- the preferred word choice -- postponements. Speculation is that the bad economy is causing trouble for Broadway producers and backers. Here's hoping we don't see any more forthcoming Broadway shows make such an announcement.

Mary-Louise Parker Coming To Broadway

It has just been announced that Mary-Louise Parker, last seen on Broadway in the play Reckless, will return to Broadway in early 2009 as the title character in Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. Roundabout Theatre Company will present the Broadway revival, which will be adapted by playwright Christopher Shinn and directed by Ian Rickson. Parker is frequently seen on the New York stage, both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, but she is also known to film and TV audiences for her screen work, such as Fried Green Tomatoes and the TV series Weeds.

Shakespeare In The Park's Hair Opens

The Shakespeare in the Park production of Hair opens at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park tonight. The revival of the groundbreaking Off-Broadway (and later Broadway) hippie musical has already been playing at the Delacorte for a couple weeks and will continue playing until the end of this month. There has been a great deal of speculation about whether or not this production will transfer to an open Broadway run, but that is still up in the air.

Constantine Goes Off-Broadway

Constantine Maroulis, a popular former American Idol contestant, is now going to be starring in an Off-Broadway show at New World Stages called Rock of Ages. The new musical, which features music by such rock bands as Journey and Bon Jovi, is about an aspiring young rock star. This won't be Maroulis's New York stage debut - he previously co-starred in the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer.

Broadway's August Heading For Hollywood

The massive Broadway hit play August: Osage County is likely to become a film in the near future. This is yet another Broadway show in the early stages of Hollywood planning and very few details have been settled. Playwright Tracy Letts will write the screenplay, and two of the Broadway play's producers will produce the movie version, but no casting has been determined yet.

Prices Go Up For Broadway Aisle Seats

Believe it or not, Broadway producers have found yet another way to fleece Broadway theatergoers. First they decided to start charging the same price for the entire orchestra section, then they started selling the very best seats for insanely high "premium seat" prices, and now some of them have decided to mark up the aisle seats as well. Many people prefer the aisle because of the added leg room, and now those people are going to have to pay extra for that comfort. Only a few Broadway shows - Gypsy, Spring Awakening, and the upcoming Broadway revival of The Seagull - have adopted the higher aisle seat pricing so far, but history has shown that once one Broadway show introduces a higher pricing model, the others soon follow. The upcharge amounts to about $15-$25, depending on the show. Furthermore, these higher-priced Broadway aisle seats are only sold in pairs, meaning that one person is paying the aisle price without even getting the benefit. What will they think of next?