For me, unless the entire Broadway cast is able to tour with the show no touring performance is able to match the perfection of the original. That said, this show is so well-written and the tour has been so well-cast that I think it will hold its own out on the road. My only complaint is that La Jolla is not the place for this show to run. The audience was predominately over 50 years old and many of them did not get the jokes — or the show overall. But, by the time the show was over, there were quite a few smiling faces dancing in the crowd. I personally believe the show would be a STUNNING hit if it came to LA but … mebbe one day.

D, K and I managed to get on-stage seats for the performance, so we were kinda part of the show. We had such an amazingly fun time — I only wish I had been able to sit on stage when the show was on Broadway. Overall, tho, last night was just too much fun … here are a few pics from our road trip adventure:

Yes, we managed to dine at an actual Chick-Fil-A restaurant (rather than a Food Court mall Chick-Fil-A), sipped on Kira-tinis before the show and got to snap a pic in our on-stage seats after the show was finished. Add to that a trip to Baskin Robbins on the way home and … well, you can see we had a blast.

Tonight I have to rebleach my hair before I fly back to Detroit tomorrow and then I’m meeting up with my friend Tom for dinner. Oh yeah, I still have to pack at some point as well … ugh!!

The show, as always, was hilariously funny and very entertaining … I just love it to pieces. There were a few little changes and additions with new ad libs thrown in for good measure. Whoopi Goldberg, who did a 2-week stint in the show last month, was used as a joke near the end of the performance and mention of “Harry Potter showing his ‘magic wand’” in Equus (playing at the Broadhurst Theater across the street from the Helen Hayes) was also thrown into the dialog. The show is just so funny, so well acted … I’m bummed it’s leaving Broadway. After the show, I got to say a quick hello to lead performers Kerry Butler (Clio/Kira) and Cheyenne Jackson (Sonny Malone) and snap a couple of pics with them:

Hee hee … they both managed to recognize me even with my new blonde hair and Cheyenne even played with it a little, saying he liked it. Yeah, I died. I also got to meet a few Pink readers … got a pic with Lanz:

And also got to meet his boyfriend Jeremy. I also got to meet a cute girl whose name I cannot recall but found very lovely and sweet and was very happy to chat with.

I had a great night … altho I’m sad that Xanadu is leaving Broadway, I’m happy that it will live on in tours. The show comes to LA next month … Woot!

I leave for LA in a few hours so … I’m actually really looking forward to being home for a change ;)

Xanadu, the Tony-nominated musical based on the infamous flop film of the same name, will end its run two weeks earlier than recently announced. The producers of the musical had announced Sept. 16 that the musical comedy at the Helen Hayes Theatre would end its run Oct. 12. A new closing date was announced Sept. 23: Xanadu will now play its final Broadway performance Sept. 28 at 3 PM. The producers released a statement saying that the decision to close the show early was made to avoid losses in the current economic climate … Xanadu received four 2008 Tony Award nominations, including one for Best Musical. The Xanadu cast recording is available on the PS Classics label. The national tour of Xanadu will kick off in November at the La Jolla Playhouse, followed by a six-month run at Chicago’s Drury Lane Theatre. Additional tour dates will be announced at a later time. A foreign production recently opened in Seoul, Korea. Plans are underway for productions in London (co-produced with David Ian and John Gore), China, Australia and the Philippines.

After 595 performances and 30 previews, LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL will play its final performance on Sunday, October 19, 2008. The show opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway, between 46th and 47th Streets) on April 29, 2007 following preview performances that began on April 3, 2007. The musical will continue to play across the country, in over 35 cities, on its first national tour. “Producing Legally Blonde has been one of the highlights of my career. Much like Elle Woods, the entire company, creative team and crew has worked with heart, wit, enthusiasm, integrity and style throughout the entire, thrilling run. I can’t wait for the rest of the country to be able to experience the show live,” said LEGALLY BLONDE’s lead producer Hal Luftig … The first national tour of LEGALLY BLONDE kicked off on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at Rhode Island’s PPAC.

I understand from Pink reader Jamie that another fun Broadway musical [title of show] (which I have not been able to see) is also closing after opening this past July (it is scheduled to give its final performance also on October 19). I gotta say … all these closings are really sad. There are many theater purists out there who are, I’m sure, not at all sad to see these “frivolous” shows close down but I, for one, really enjoy them and find them an invigorating and refreshing way to get young people excited about musical theater. I am heartened by the fact that both Xanadu and Legally Blonde will live on in touring versions but … there is something sad and finite about a show closing on Broadway. This morning, I purchased a ticket to see Xanadu one last time before it closes … I’ll be at the Friday night performance. I urge any of y’all who are able to come out to see these shows on the Great White Way while you still have the chance.

[Source, Source]

Whoopi Goldberg joined the cast of the hit Broadway musical “Xanadu” on Tuesday, July 29th for a special six week engagement through Sunday, September 7th. Ms. Goldberg is playing the role of Caliope. Jackie Hoffman, who created the role, will be releasing her new cd “Jackie Hoffman Live from Joe’s Pub” and will return to the production on September 9th. In a statement, Ms. Goldberg said “What better way to stick my toe back on to the Broadway stage than to join the amazing cast of “Xanadu”. It’s such a fun show and is definitely my sensibility, as written by the divine Douglas Carter Beane. For me, it’s going to be unbelievable”. Producer Ahrens wholeheartedly agrees by saying “On behalf of the entire “Xanadu” family, we are overwhelmed and appreciative that Whoopi has chosen to return to her turf of Broadway with our musical. We are thrilled!”

Hello! I *am* thrilled! I am really hoping to get to see the show (for the third time, mind you) with Whoopi in it during my super short stopover in NYC at the end of this weekend … I’m flying back to LA on Tuesday so I think Sunday is my only chance to see it. In any event, if any of y’all are considering seeing the show — go now! What better way to see this really fun show than with Whoopi Goldberg playing one of the funniest characters. Get your tickets now, she’s only there until September 7th!

[Source]

Everyone looked amazing on the red carpet … I love that Xanadu’s Cheyenne Jackson had to show up on the red carpet in a tux and then had to strip it off to don his shorty jean shorts for the live performance and then had to get all dolled up in his tux again — and he wasn’t even nominated for an award! That’s dedication, y’all. I cannot stress enough how fun and inventive both Xanadu and Macbeth are as Broadway productions … and I’m convinced that is why neither show took home any awards. Tony voters seem to love being mired in the past (South Pacific), bucking the new and innovative and choosing instead to stick with the traditional, tired yet true (the same thing happened last year when Legally Blonde got the shaft).

The Tony Awards show itself, tho, was really fun to watch (it normally isn’t fun to watch at all). Here are a few pics from some of my fave parts of the show:

“Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific” dominated Broadway’s top honors, the Tony Awards, with seven prizes on Sunday, followed by the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “August: Osage County” with five wins. “South Pacific,” nominated for 11 Tonys, picked up awards for best musical revival, best musical director (Bartlett Sher), best leading actor in a musical (Paulo Szot), scenery, costume, lighting and sound. Sher said audiences seemed to find contemporary resonance in the show’s themes of racial tension at a time of war — issues of heightened interest in the U.S. presidential election campaign with black candidate Sen. Barack Obama winning the Democratic nomination. “The reception was completely overwhelming,” Sher told reporters, adding the show happened “to hit this weird crease in the culture around the election.” “August: Osage County,” the Tracy Letts play that won the Pulitzer Prize for drama this year, won Tonys for best play, best featured actress (Rondi Reed), best leading actress (Deanna Dunagan), scenic design and direction (Anna D. Shapiro). Cast members signaled that the sprawling drama about a dysfunctional family in rural Oklahoma could transfer to London’s West End later this year. Broadway veteran Patti LuPone won best actress in a musical for her role in “Gypsy,” while her co-stars won best featured actor (Boyd Gaines) and featured actress (Laura Benanti). The show is a revival of a musical suggested by a stripper’s memoir with Stephen Sondheim lyrics. It was the second Tony for LuPone, who last won for “Evita.” “Shut up, it’s been 29 years,” she yelled as the orchestra began playing at New York City’s Radio City Hall. “It’s such a wonderful gift to be an actor who makes her living on the Broadway stage and then once every 30 years or so pick up one of these.” Rock musician Stew, whose real name is Mark Stewart, won best book of a musical for “Passing Strange,” the show’s single award from seven nominations. “It’s incredibly insane to be up here,” he told reporters. “Our goal was to put music on stage that people are actually listening to, the music people actually listen to on subways or when at they’re at home getting stoned.” “In the Heights,” a musical about a largely Dominican northern Manhattan neighborhood, won four awards, including best original score for creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda. It had led the Tony nominations with 13. “I used to dream about this moment, now I’m in it,” Miranda, 28, who thought up the show during his second year in college and worked on it for eight years, said in a speech he rapped to the crowd. “I wrote a little show about home.” “Boeing-Boeing,” the classic farce which is the most performed French play, won best revival of a play … Around 750 people from the theater industry — from actors, to directors to journalists — vote for the Tony Awards. Sondheim, who wrote music and lyrics for such shows as “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and “Sweeney Todd” was given a special Tony for lifetime achievement.

I do have to send out huge props to August: Osage County. Altho I’ve yet to see it (David has), I hear it’s a stunning play and well deserved the accolades it received last night. In fact, I don’t want to take away from any of the winners — they are all deserving. I just wish that the fun, new Broadway shows that are bringing in the dollars on Broadway could get a little lovin’ too. Meh. I’m over it … but I will continue to sing the praises of shows that I LOVE and know that others of like mind will love as well :)

While I’m glad they squeezed in time (what felt like 1 1/2 mins.) for The Little Mermaid to have a performance, I was upset that it was so … bare. I get that the show wasn’t one of the big nominees but a flashy, sorry, splashy performance might’ve helped with ratings. The Rent performance was touching … but fell flat for me. I love Jonathan Larson and his masterpiece but a better celebration of his life and work would’ve been the Original Broadway cast coming out in full costume to put on a raucous performance. I dunno, that’s just what I would’ve loved to have seen. Click HERE to watch the somber Rent performance that we did get. All in all, I guess it’s impossible for all the shows to win awards and maybe I’m a bit miffed that my faves didn’t win … but eh, I can be miffed if I want to. I can’t even begin to guess what poor Cubby Bernstein is feeling today. Click HERE for a full list of this year’s Tony Award winners.

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin, Wireimage; Source, Source]

If you are one of the unlucky folks who have yet to see the show or may have missed seeing the performance yesterday morning you can click HERE to see what you’ve been missing. Xandu is deffo my pick for the Best Musical of the Year award at this year’s Tony Awards (which air on CBS tomorrow night at 8pm) so I’ve got all my fingers and toes crossed for them. Check out the vid … even absent all of Cheyenne Jackson’s insane hawtness, there is a lot to appreciate in the fun clip.

[Photo credit: Wireimage, Source]