All stories by Roger Friedman on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

“Art” — with Bobby Cannavale, James Corden, Neil Patrick Harris Opens Tonight on Broadway But Then You Won’t See it for a Week by Roger Friedman

Tonight, “Art” returns to Broadway. Yazmin Reza’s play about friendship and art and how three friends value each, comes back with a new trio of actors. Bobby Cannavale — so good righ…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 10:02PM
Monday, September 15, 2025

Hugh Jackman’s Radio City Shows This Weekend Lacking Customers at Night, Afternoon Show OK: Result of Tourism Boycott by Roger Friedman

Wolverine is having a lot of trouble selling tickets. Hugh Jackman’s shows this weekend coming up at Radio City Music Hall are a mixed bag. The evening shows on Friday and Saturday are mos…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 03:36PM
Sunday, September 14, 2025

Alicia Keys Coming to the Rescue of Her Ailing “Hell’s Kitchen” Broadway Musical: Will Perform On Stage After Two Shows Soon by Roger Friedman

Alicia Keys is standing her ground. She’s going to perform live on stage for anyone who buys a ticket to her “Hell’s Kitchen” musical after the show is over on September 26th and 27t…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 09:24PM
Thursday, September 11, 2025

Jane Fonda, Marisa Tomei, Rosanna Arquette, Sanaa Lathan, Mark Ruffalo Lead All Star Reading Next Month in NY of New Work by Eve Ensler by Roger Friedman

Eve Ensler, a remarkable playwright who invented The Vagina Monologues, calls herself “V” now. But for the purposes of publicity, most fans know her as Eve Ensler. V has written a new wo…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 08:18PM
Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Kennedy Center Staff Numbers Drop by 18%: 31 Top Jobs Open That No One Wants, From Publicity Director to, Shuttle Bus Driver by Roger Friedman

Exclusive: Evidently no one wants to work at the Kennedy Center. They’re currently listing 31 jobs on LinkedIn, from Senior Vice President Artistic Programming ($340,000 per year) to Shutt…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 01:24AM
Tuesday, September 9, 2025

“My Dinner with Andre” Stars Reunite for Off Broadway Play About the New Yorker Magazine’s Secret, Scandalous Affair by Roger Friedman

When the late New Yorker movie writer, Lillian Ross, revealed the story of her affair with the magazine’s fabled editor, it blew the minds of the literati. Now the late William Shawn’s s…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 07:32PM
Sunday, September 7, 2025

Broadway: “Cabaret” Loses $24 Mil, Announces Early Closing After Star Gets Sepsis, Investor Sues to Get Money Back by Roger Friedman

UPDATE: A new report also says an investor is suing the producers. As I wrote below, the show cost $24.25 million, it’s a total loss. Billy Porter may have sepsis or is just smart about ab…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 06:42PM
Saturday, September 6, 2025

“Hamilton” 10th Anniversary Theater Release Looks at $10 Million Weekend After Opening Night is Revolutionary by Roger Friedman

“Hamilton” is a hit in theaters. Thursday and Friday audiences brought in almost $4 million. The Tony Award winning Broadway musical’s filmed version — which has been playing on Disn…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 12:12PM
Thursday, September 4, 2025

“Hamilton” (The Filmed Version) Gets It First Sing-a-long Screening as 10th Anniversary Campaign Sets Up Theater Release by Roger Friedman

The “Hamilton” 10th anniversary marketing campaign rolls on. Last night, Lin Manuel Miranda and a lot of his original Broadway cast came to Shakespeare in the Park’s Delacorte Theater …

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 05:18AM
Friday, August 29, 2025

Broadway Scandal: Investor In Many Hits Pleads Guilty, Sentenced for Stealing COVID Funds, Wife of Ex-Brooklyn Real Estate Mogul by Roger Friedman

EXCLUSIVE: Sue Gilad aka Suzanne Gilad has her name on dozens of Broadway shows. She’s listed as a “producer,” but she’s an investor, who’s got — or had — her claws in hits lik…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 02:54AM
Friday, August 22, 2025

Kennedy Center: Trump Loyalists Oust Dance Programmers, Censor Chinese Art Work, Consider Installing Cracker Barrel, Water Slide by Roger Friedman

How much more damage can Trump and his lackeys inflict on the poor Kennedy Center? In a further move to the right, Richard Grennell and his pack of thugs have fired the dance programmers. Th…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 12:24AM
Thursday, August 21, 2025

Cynthia Nixon, June Squibb, Danny Burstein Coming in First Broadway Production of “Marjorie Prime,” Previously a Movie, Pulitzer Finalist by Roger Friedman

Aunt Ada from “The Gilded Age” is coming to Broadway. She may run into Mrs. Russell. I told you this week that Carrie Coon will be on the boards this fall in Tracey Letts’ “Bug.” N…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 06:18PM

Broadway: Big Stars Like Tom Hanks, Laurie Metcalf, Keanu Reeves Are Coming to Town, But So Far Ticket Sales Are at a Crawl by Roger Friedman

They say if you bring big stars to Broadway, the audience will show up. But so far the fall season is looking tenuous at best even with three big names about to hit the stage. Shows starring…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 06:06AM
Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Carrie Coon, Mrs. Russell from “The Gilded Age,” Coming to Broadway This Fall in Her Real Husband’s Play (Tracy Letts) by Roger Friedman

When we last saw Bertha Russell, she was aghast that her husband left her. That was on “The Gilded Age.” Now Mrs. Russell’s portrayer, Carrie Coon, is coming to Broadway this fall. She…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 11:54AM
Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Jimmy Kimmel, Ice T, John Stamos Among Huge A List Crowd for Comic Jeff Ross’s Debut of Sensational One Man Broadway Show by Roger Friedman

There were so many stars in the opening night audience last night for Jeff Ross’s Broadway debut that it was dizzying. Ross, famous for being a “roast master,” pulled off a coup with h…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 05:36PM

Broadway: Summer Struggles at Box Office with Fewer Tourists, Long Time Hit “Book of Mormon” Takes a Dive to Lowest Low Yet by Roger Friedman

It hasn’t been an easy summer on Broadway. While Times Square is filled with thousands of people milling around taking pictures with Elmo, the theater district has struggled. Last week’s…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 05:36PM
Friday, August 15, 2025

Latest Kennedy Center Shock: Exec in Charge of Theater Productions Out After Insiders Thought He’d Be Running the Show by Roger Friedman

I know, Putin and Trump are rolling in the hay but back in Washington, the Kennedy Center is still mired in trouble. The New York Times reported today that Jeffrey Finn, the long time produc…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 10:06PM
Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Oscar Winner Mira Sorvino Coming to Broadway Next Month in Longest Running Musical “Chicago” as Roxie Hart by Roger Friedman

Mira Sorvino is coming to Broadway. The Oscar winner will join the long running musical “Chicago” on September 15th as Roxie Hart. Roxie is kind of the musical version of Mira’s award …

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 03:18PM

NY’s Mayor Eric Adams Courts the Broadway Crowd with “Made in NY” Awards for Live Theater After Already Saluting Movies by Roger Friedman

It was just a short time ago that Gracie Mansion hosted the Made in NY Awards for the movie community. That was before Mayor Eric Adams was on the run, so to speak, from Zohar Mamdani in the…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 03:18PM
Wednesday, August 6, 2025

“Hamilton” Getting 10th Anniversary Star Treatment with September Release of Filmed Musical, Pricey Private Screening by Roger Friedman

“Hamilton” is coming to the big screen. Sort of. Disney will release the original filmed version of the musical on September 5th to theaters. This is the version that was shown on Disney…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 12:36PM
Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Las Vegas Tourists MIA: Plenty of Tickets to Backstreet, Kelly Clarkson, Lots of Top Hotel Rooms by Roger Friedman

I keep reading that Las Vegas is empty right now. International tourists are staying away in droves. I guess the idea of being rounded up by ICE agents and sent to the Sudan is unappealing. …

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 10:32PM
Tuesday, July 29, 2025

Tom Hanks Joins the 700 Club: Slow Sales So Far for Denzel, Clooney Priced Tickets to Oscar Winner’s Off Broadway Show by Roger Friedman

I can’t wait until this fall when someone at the New York Post expresses outrage at the price of tickets for Tom Hanks’s off Broadway show. Right now, the Post is running advertorial for…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 10:12PM
Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Would Liza Minnelli Accept a Kennedy Center Honor Under the New Trump Regime? Her Former Publicist Says “No” by Roger Friedman

Liza Minnelli is one of our premier artists in the world. An Oscar winner, along with an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe — not to mention a Lifetime Achievement statue from t…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 01:54PM
Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Kennedy Center Drama Continues as Trump Wants Opera House Renamed for Melania, Deadline for Honors Inductees Pending by Roger Friedman

Donald Trump wants to end the opera component at the Kennedy Center. He’s trying to push through a plan rename the opera house after First Lady Melania Trump. If Congress votes for this, t…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 07:36PM
Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Broadway: “Gypsy” Announces Sudden Closing, Jean Smart’s “Call Me Izzy” On Life Support in Tough Summer by Roger Friedman

“Gypsy” starring Audra McDonald is closing early, on August 1th This abrupt announcement came tonight. Despite great reviews, “Gypsy” has struggled to keep an audience. The musical p…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 11:48PM
Monday, July 7, 2025

Broadway: Scott Rudin is Coming Back After 4 Years Away, Like it or Not, to Produce New Play Starring Laurie Metcalf by Roger Friedman

Nothing good lasts forever. After four years of being cancelled, Broadway producer Scott Rudin is coming back. Rudin and Barry Diller are producing a new play called “Little Bear Ridge Roa…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 08:12PM

Legendary Marilyn Maye, 97, Wows the Hamptons With One Woman Show: She Was Johnny Carson’s Most Frequent Guest by Roger Friedman

Marilyn Maye — she’s 97, she looks fantastic and sounds even better. What’s the story here? She’s been a cabaret star since the 1950s. She recorded the song “Cabaret” five years …

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 08:12PM
Friday, July 4, 2025

Broadway Great Paul Libin, 94, Died This Week: Won a Lifetime Tony Award for Being a Quiet Giant in Theater History by Roger Friedman

I’ve been waiting for the New York Times to write an obit for Paul Libin. The Broadway great, winner of a lifetime Tony Award, was a quiet giant in American theater. Paul’s death is one …

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 06:54PM
Monday, June 30, 2025

Broadway Stunt Casting: TV’s Cedric the Entertainer Coming Next Spring in August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” by Roger Friedman

When Cedric the Entertainer made his Broadway debut in 2008, critics were not impressed. Cedric appeared in David Mamet’s “American Buffalo,” which was panned and closed quickly. The T…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 11:24AM
Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Broadway Box Office Drops $6.5 Mil With Clooney, Denzel Gone, But Post-Tony Awards “Hamilton” Jumps Back to $2 Mil Week by Roger Friedman

The numbers are in for the first Broadway post- Tony Awards. The total dropped over $6.5 million because on the afternoon of the Tonys, both “Othello” and “Good Night and Good Luck” …

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 01:06PM
Thursday, June 12, 2025

Kennedy Center “Les Miz” Debacle: Boos for Trump, Drag Queens, Empty Seats, $2 Mil Donors Mixed with Guests in Jeans, Missing Cast by Roger Friedman

Wednesday night’s Kennedy Center showing of “Les Miserables” was quite the scene. While high rolling Trump donors were taking their seats, so were a lot of other less well dress — or…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 04:48AM

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