Jersey Boys, which will be produced by Robert Lorenz and Graham King, is set to begin filming in L.A. late this summer. The production is currently holding casting auditions.

Featuring numerous hits by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Jersey Boys opened to rave reviews in November of 2005 and has continued to be a Broadway audience favorite since then. The show won the Tony Award for Best Musical and the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.

Set in real time, First Date follows a series of hilarious shenanigans that take place when high-strung Aaron (played by Zachary Levi) and serial-dater Casey (Krysta Rodriguez) have dinner at a bustling New York City restaurant. The musical’s book was written by Austin Winsberg (Gossip Girl) and the music and lyrics are by Michael Weiner and Alan Zachary.

First Date, which had its world premiere in Seattle, will begin preview performances at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway on July 9, with the official opening night set for August 4.

Vanessa Redgrave

Just as The Public Theater’s free-to-the-public Shakespeare in the Park season is getting started at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park next month, the Public will be offering another free Shakespeare-themed event. On June 17 at 8pm, they will be hosting “What Are We Worth? Shakespeare, Money, and Morals,” a Public Forum event that invites attendees to take part in a town hall-style discussion.

Moderated by Harvard professor Michael Sandel (author of What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets), the conversation will be about the ways that the language of money directs our lives. The event, which will feature selected readings from Shakespeare plays, boasts the participation of many former and current Broadway stars, including Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Alda, Liev Schreiber, Raul Esparza, Jesse L. Martin, Lily Rabe, and Hamish Linklater.

“We are delighted to be partnering with the Aspen Institute and the brilliant Michael Sandel to create this lively and passionate evening,” stated Oskar Eustis, artistic director of the Public. “Shakespeare was writing at the birth of the modern economy, and his searing insights into money and value will be the perfect frame for this exhilarating event.”

“What Are We Worth?” tickets will be distributed for free at the Delacorte Theater at 12pm on June 17 (limit of 2 per person). There will also be some ticket distributed through an online ticket drawing. Visit shakespeareinthepark.org to learn more.

Readying to set sail in January of 2014, the 4,000-passenger ship boasts a 787-seat theater where Legally Blonde will play as it cruises the Eastern Caribbean. Passengers will also get to enjoy another former Broadway show, the dance musical Burn the Floor.

This is not the first time that a Broadway musical has become entertainment for cruise ship passengers. The Royal Caribbean line has offered condensed versions of both Chicago and Hairspray (the latter even had a feature spot on a previous Tony Awards telecast, with a musical performance being broadcast live from the ship).

BROADWAY TICKET SALES GET A SMALL INCREASE

SEVERAL BROADWAY SHOWS SELLING OUT
A total of seven Broadway shows came in at 100% capacity or more this week:  I’ll Eat You Last, Kinky Boots, Lucky Guy, Matilda, Motown the Musical, Pippin, and The Book of Mormon.  Interestingly, none of those shows are among the top two earners this week.  The Lion King and Wicked took the number one and two spots, respectively, bringing in the highest grosses because they are housed in particularly large theaters and are still popular enough to command high ticket prices.

ORPHANS CONCLUDES WITH DECENT SALES
The Broadway play Orphans, starring Alec Baldwin, Ben Foster, and Tony nominee Tom Sturridge, ended its run at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre early, presumably due to low ticket sales.  Its final week saw fair but unimpressive sales, filling the theater to 84.54% capacity with an average paid admission of $68.84.

The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers from the week ending May 19, 2013:

Broadway ticket sales raw data are provided courtesy of The Broadway League. All other data, text, opinion, charts and commentary are copyright © 2013 nytix.com.

The well-reviewed British musical Matilda did well, taking Drama Desks for Outstanding Musical, Featured Actor (Bertie Carvel), Set Design (Rob Howell), Book (Dennis Kelly), and Lyrics (Tim Minchin). The Broadway revival of Pippin also scored big, earning Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Director (Diane Paulus), Featured Actress (Andrea Martin), and Choreography (Chet Walker and Gypsy Snider). Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, which won Outstanding Play, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which won Outstanding Revival of a Play, also enjoyed plenty of recognition.

Here Lies Love was the biggest winner among the Off-Broadway shows, earning Outstanding Music, Lighting, and Projection Design awards. Michael Urie in Buyer & Cellar won for Outstanding Solo Performance, and Old Hats (starring Bill Irwin and David Shiner) received the Outstanding Revue award.

Orphans starred Ben Foster and Tom Sturridge as orphaned brothers living in a decrepit North Philadelphia row house, with the elder brother supporting himself and his sheltered sibling by committing petty crimes. When he tries to kidnap a rich business man (played by Alec Baldwin), both brothers are surprised to find themselves with a new father figure of sorts.

From early in its rehearsal process, Orphans was making headlines due to reported difficulties relating to the production’s original star, popular movie actor Shia LeBeouf (Transformers). LeBeouf, who was let go from the production during rehearsals, publicized private email conversations that he had had with co-star Alec Baldwin and director Daniel Sullivan via his Twitter account. The young actor was quickly replaced with Ben Foster, and the production’s first preview was delayed a week.

Though most of the press about Orphans centered around Alec Baldwin, Shia LeBeouf, and replacement Ben Foster (who has been active in independent film for several years), Tom Sturridge ended up being the play’s breakout star, earning a Tony Award nomination for his performance.

Audra McDonald

Two of Broadway’s best will be honored with 2013 Made in NY Awards in a presentation at Gracie Mansion on June 10.  Audra McDonald (Porgy and Bess, Ragtime) and Alan Cumming (Macbeth, Cabaret), both Tony Award winners, are receiving these special awards, which recognize both people and organizations who have made notable contributions to NYC’s entertainment and media industries.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Media & Entertainment Commissioner Katherine L. Oliver will host the Made in NY Awards ceremony, which will include a performance from Broadway’s Kinky Boots (to be introduced by the show’s bookwriter, Harvey Fierstein).

“The honorees of the 2013 ‘Made in NY Awards’ have made New York City proud by establishing their remarkable careers here,” stated NYC Mayor Bloomberg. “They are a part of a community of thousands of New Yorkers who together have brought the City to the forefront of the entertainment and digital media industries, helping to make New York City an exciting and thriving place to be.”

Billy Crystal

Film, TV, and occasional stage star Billy Crystal is coming back to Broadway once again with his one-man play 700 Sundays. Crystal will appear in the limited-run arrival, directed by Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys), at the Imperial Theatre from November 5, 2013 until January 5, 2014.

Written by Billy Crystal and Alan Zweibel, 700 Sundays originally played on Broadway in 2004 and 2005. The award-winning play is the autobiographical tale of Crystal’s youth and emergence into adulthood and features him playing multiple characters.

“When we originally opened on Broadway, all I knew was that I had a story that I was compelled to share,” stated Billy Crystal about his experience with 700 Sundays. “Now that I’ve performed my play across the country and internationally, I’m gratified to know that the love of family, through joy and pain, is perhaps the most universal story. I’ve now decided to tell this story one last time in my own backyard, where it all took place.”

Smash

Starring American Idol alum Katharine McPhee as a young performer pursuing her Broadway dream, Smash spent two seasons charting the creation and development of a Broadway-bound musical about Marilyn Monroe called Bombshell. The sometimes soapy, sometimes comic drama offered a behind-the-scenes look at the world of Broadway, spotlighting songwriters, directors, producers, and more.

Created and produced by playwright Theresa Rebeck (Dead Accounts), Rebeck was replaced with showrunner Joshua Safran (Gossip Girl) in the show’s second season, but ratings continued to fall. During its run, the cast of Smash boasted many Broadway regulars, including Christian Borle (Peter and the Starcatcher), Jeremy Jordan (Newsies), and Megan Hilty (Wicked). Other series regulars included Anjelica Huston, Jack Davenport, and Debra Messing.