John Gallagher Jr. To Star in Green Day's New American Idiot Musical

Principal casting for the upcoming musical version of Green Day's hit album American Idiot has been announced. Talented Tony-winning actor John Gallagher Jr. (Spring Awakening, Rabbit Hole) will star as Johnny, and he will be joined by Tony Vincent (Jesus Christ Superstar) as St. Jimmy, Michael Esper (A Man For All Seasons) as Will, Matt Caplan (Rent) as Tunny, Rebecca Naomi Jones (Passing Strange) as Whatsername, and Mary Faber (Avenue Q) as Heather, as well as a large ensemble of youthful performers. The production, which will open at the Berkeley Rep in September, will re-unite John Gallagher Jr. with his Spring Awakening director, Michael Mayer.

More Broadway Closings

Spamalot won't be the only Broadway musical to close on January 18. It has just been announced that Spring Awakening will also take its final Broadway bow that day. Hairspray, too, will shut its doors at the beginning of the year, closing on January 4. Seeing such significant Broadway shows - all Tony-winning musicals, all having enjoyed a lot of box office success - go down all at once is dispiriting. It's not a very good sign for the health of Broadway. That said, the truth is that all of these shows have had less than impressive ticket sales for awhile now, so it isn't a huge surprise.

New Recording of Broadway's Spring Awakening

Tony-winning Broadway musical Spring Awakening, which has been lauded for its rock score by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, now has a second recording that fans can enjoy along with the original Broadway cast recording. "Spring Awakening: Live from SoHo" features six tracks that composer Sheik re-arranged for a seven-piece acoustic band. Sheik himself, along with a couple original cast members and a couple from the current Broadway cast, sing on the recording. "Spring Awakening: Live from SoHo" is now available as a digital EP on iTunes.

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?

Spring Stars Wave Goodbye To Broadway

Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele, who have played the leads in both the Off-Broadway production and the Broadway transfer of Spring Awakening, have their final performance at the Tony Award-winning musical today. Michele has been with the show since its early stages, and Groff earned a Tony nomination for his turn as Melchior in the Broadway hit. They will be succeeded by Kyle Riabko and Alexandra Socha.

Broadway's Hottest Show To Go National

It has been announced that a national tour of the 2007 Tony-winning Broadway musical Spring Awakening will launch this summer on the West Coast. San Francisco, Washington D.C., Portland, Tampa, East Lansing, Louisville, and Seattle are among the cities scheduled to host the tour in its first year. Spring Awakening continues to go strong on Broadway.

Broadway's Spring Awakening Nabs The Grammy Award For Best Musical Show Album

The original Broadway cast recording of the smash Broadway musical Spring Awakening just won the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. Lyricist Steven Sater and composer Duncan Sheik accepted the award. The category's other nominees were the Broadway cast recordings for Grey Gardens, the revivals of A Chorus Line and Company, and West Side Story.

Spring Awakening Broadway Cast and Authors To Appear at Drama Book Shop on November 13

The Drama Book Shop (250 W. 40th Street) will host a Spring Awakening event on Tuesday, November 13 at 5pm. Authors Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik will be there to sign copies of the libretto to their groundbreaking Broadway musical, and cast members John Gallagher Jr. and Jennifer Damiano will perform a song.