Broadway says, “Good-bye.”
With upwards of a combined 6,700 performances, the Broadway musicals Rent, The Drowsy Chaperone and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will have shut their doors between Dec. 30 and June 1. Of course all three shows put together don't come near the 8,300-plus (and counting) shows for “The Phantom of the Opera,” but each enjoyed a healthy run and each brought something new to the Broadway stage. Let's look at the highlights.
After 12 Years, Rent is Due
“Rent” exploded on the New York theatrical scene off-Broadway in January 1996 and quickly moved to Broadway's Nederlander Theatre. Audiences and critics alike were taken with Jonathan Larson's portrayal of life in New York's East Village among artists who were struggling; friends who had sold out; and terminally-ill young people who were living for today. Based on the opera La Boheme, Larson's rock score drew a new generation of young theater goers to New York.
Not only was the show thematically and musically innovative - a resurrection of the musical genre for a new generation - even its location was a resurrection of sorts. Moving south of 42nd Street, “Rent” opened on Broadway in a previously derelict theater on 41st, the Nederlander. And there it has been, entertaining audiences for 12 years.
The show launched several careers, including: Idina Menzel, who went on to when a Tony Award as Elphaba in “Wicked;” Taye Diggs, a movie and television star (and now married to Menzel); Jesse L. Martin, of TV's “Law & Order.”
In addition to inspiring a recent film version, the Broadway “Rent” took home four Tony Awards, including Best Book and Best Score, for Larson and Best Musical. Additionally, Larson was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
Larson died tragically and unexpectedly just before the off-Broadway run was to have begun, but his legacy has been more than to entertain and inspire through his musicals. Through the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation many aspiring musical theater composers, lyricists and writers have received financial support in pursuit of their passion.
Rent closes June 1. Tickets are available here.
Spelling Bee Hears the Bell
The final bell rang Jan. 20 at Circle in the Square Theatre for “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” In this hilarious, one-act show, several audience members were selected each performance to join a cast of middle-school misfits on stage and then to fight off elimination as they vied for a chance to advance to the National Spelling Bee. With adults playing the roles of young teenagers, “Spelling Bee” gave audience members always funny and often poignant insight into the mind of the typical terrified middle-schooler.
Another off-Broadway transfer, “Spelling Bee,” opened in January 1995 at Second Stage Theatre and moved to Circle in the Square in April of that year. Based on the Rebecca Felder play “C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E,” the show featured music and lyrics by Tony Award-winning composer William Finn and a book by Rachel Scheinkin. Sheinkin won the 1995 Tony for Best Book of a Musical.
Like “Rent,” “Spelling Bee,” launched careers into other media with Tony winner (Best Actor in a Musical) Dan Fogler going on to see his own play produced in New York and to co-star with Dane Cook and Jessica Alba in “Good Luck Chuck.” Original cast member Jesse Tyler Ferguson co-starred in “The Class,” on television.
By the time “Spelling Bee” closed, the hopeful contestants had taken the stage for 1,128 bees.
Good Night to The Drowsy Chaperone
Born in Canada, nurtured in Los Angeles and a star in New York, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” opened in May 2006 at Broadway's Marquis Theatre. Replacing the short-lived Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, “The Woman in White,” “Chaperone” opened to great reviews as a piece of pure theater fun.
The show's signature opening: lights completely down and a disembodied voice saying, “Don't you just hate the theater?” signaled to all patrons that they were in for something new.
The lead character, known only as Man in Chair, was the epitome of the Broadway nut, a drab guy, in a drab apartment who lived for moments of quiet solitude when he could enjoy his records of old musicals. (Yes, records!) Soon a fictional old musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” is brought to life in his lifeless flat, shedding a bit of light on Man in Chair's existence and delighting audiences with non-stop, often slapstick humor.
Apparently this soufflé was just what Broadway ordered. It won five Tony Awards including Best Score; a Best Actor award for Bob Martin, the Man in Chair; and Best Featured Actress for Beth Leavel. And it was nominated for Best Musical as well.
“Chaperone” ran for 674 performances and had a short-lived version on London's West End and a national tour.
More Where These Came From
Saying good-bye to these old friends needn't be a cause for sadness. Over the course of the next few months, several new musicals will be stepping up to take their place on The Great White Way, including: “In the Heights,” “Passing Strange,” and “Billy Elliott.”
