The cut off for Tony nominations is late April. April tends to be filled with openings as shows line up to be recognized by the Tony Awards and perhaps reap the benefits of having a late-season hit. There are four openings in March. In April there are 14. That’s an opening about every other night.
The March openings include two revivals and two new shows. There are three plays and one musical. Here’s a quick look at the March 2015 Broadway opening night calendar.
Fish in the Dark (March 5 at the Cort)
Larry David’s comedy, which is written like a Larry David comedy is a hit. It doesn’t matter what the reviewers say as the show is close to sold out for its limited run. The comedy focuses on the death of a man’s father and how it affects his life.
The large cast of 18 includes Larry David as Norman Drexel, Rosie Perez asFabiana Melendez, Jayne Houdyshell as Gloria Drexel, and Jake Cannavale as Diego Melendez. Also included is Jerry Adler as Sidney Drexel, Rita Wilson as Brenda, Drexel, and Ben Shenkman as Arthur Drexel.
David’s fans love this show, which is selling at 101.1% of capacity. MOS reviews are extremely positive.
The Audience (March 8 at the Gerald Schoenfeld)
The Audience starring Helen Mirren is another instant hit. Mirren, who received an Olivier Award for her interpretation of the role in London in 2012, brings Elizabeth II across the pond to the Schoenfeld Theatre. The Audience looks at Elizabeth’s sixty years of weekly, private meetings with her prime ministers. In essence, this historically based play is conjecture, as no notes are ever taken at these meetings and the two people meeting are sworn to secrecy. Mirren is a stellar performer and the show looks like it will do extremely well throughout its entire limited run.
On the Twentieth Century (March 12 at the American Airlines)
The revival of On the Twentieth Century, which stars Peter Gallagher (Oscar Jaffe) and Kristin Chenoweth (Lily Garland), has been long awaited. The Tony winning musical has never before been revived on Broadway. Written by Cy Coleman (music), and Betty Comden and Adolph Green (Lyrics and book), this is the ultimate screwball comedy.
Set on the luxury train the Twentieth Century, the musical focuses on a Broadway producer, Jaffe, who has had too many flops. He tries to convince his former love and muse, Garland, to leave the screen and Hollywood and return to the stage to play the lead in a new play about Mary Magdalena. The play does not exist, but Jaffe’s passion for his former lover and the theatre are both real. This is a riotous evening of pure musical comedy.
The Heidi Chronicles (March 19 at the Music Box)
This is the first Broadway revival of Wendy Wasserstein’s Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning play. Starring Elisabeth Moss (Heidi Holland), Jason Biggs (Scoop Rosenbaum), and Bryce Pinkham (Peter Patrone), the play follows the life of Heidi Holland, a young woman who believes in feminism, but who discovers that most woman who espouse the movement are lacking true conviction. In her comedy, Wasserstein looks at redefining family, love, and motherhood. Heidi’s journey is one in which she attempts to find balance between her need for a career, intimacy, and family.
There’s even more coming to Broadway in April. These four March shows are a prelude to the frenzy of the final month of the 2014-2015 Broadway season.
One World Observatory has already earned a distinction as one of the hottest, new travel experiences on Earth. Lonely Planet has included the observatory in its New in Travel e-book.
Do you know what it takes to be a stage manager? You’ll find out the ins and outs of what is one of most exciting jobs in the theatre, as the professional stage manager coordinates each and every aspect of a production. Find out why the show cannot go on without this important part of the team.
Directing a show is a major undertaking, as the director is charged with making each and every artistic decision associated with a production. How do successful professional directors work to ensure that they get exemplary results? Seminars on script writing, choreographing, and orchestrating are also offered. Also available is a discussion seminar focusing on casting, which is so important to the success of any play or musical. Find out how one of these 
It is called show business for a reason. Broadway plays and musicals are shows that involve big business. A great producer, marketing person, or company manager can make or break a show. Discover the all-encompassing world of the producer, whose fiscal decisions impact the artistic product that appears on stage. Find out how show branding works, how to budget a Broadway show, and what Broadway advertising is all about. The 
The wonderful thing about Stage Door Connections and their seminars is that you don’t have to have professional aspirations to enjoy one of their educational encounters. In fact they have one entire category called “
If you are member of Equity, then you belong to the stage actors’ labor union. Sometimes referred to as A.E.A., Actors’ Equity Association is the union for those who act on the stage and also for stage managers. It was founded in 1913 and has about 45,000 members. Broadway, Off-Broadway, national touring companies, and many summer and regional theatres hire union actors and work under one of the more than 30 different AEA contracts.
I.A.T.S.E., which is pronounced “EYE-OT-CEE” is often called the stage hands union. The acronym stands for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. That may sound like a mouthful until you read the full name of this union, which has about 122,000 members. The complete name is the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada. Before moving pictures, there were union actions by stage employees as early as 1886. The union is said to have been officially founded in 1893.
S.D.C, which until fairly recently was known as S.S.D.S. or S.S.D. and C., is the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. When it was S.S.D.C. it was known as the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. This union was a late bloomer in that it was not established until 1959. There are approximately 2,000 members.
The Guild is the shortened name for the Dramatists’ Guild of America, which is sometimes called the D.G.A. Of all of the unions, this one is perhaps the loosest. Originally they were part of the Authors’ League of America, which was founded in 1912, they became their own entity in 1921. The Guild has standardized contracts for Broadway, Off-Broadway and L.O.R.T. (League of Resident Theatre) productions.
Imagine, musical comedy being born in the age of William Shakespeare. That’s the basic premise of this musical comedy set in Elizabethan England in which two upstart writers decide to dethrone the egotistical Bard of Avon. But they need a fresh and new idea! In Something Rotten! that idea is to combine a stage play with music and lyrics, creating a whole new stage animal.
Eli Wallach’s career spanned six decades. Wallach, who was one of the founding members of the Actors Studio, first studied his craft under Sanford Meisner and then Lee Strasberg. He was one of those actors who could play a wide range of roles. Primarily known as a supporting actor, his ability to utilize the Method was renowned. In 1951, he won a Tony for his performance in the Tennessee Williams play The Rose Tatoo. Although Wallach acted in over 90 movies, creating some memorable film characters in movies such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; The Misfits; Baby Doll; and The Magnificent Seven, it was the stage that he loved. Early in his career, he turned down numerous film roles, saying, “What do I need a movie for? The stage is on a higher level in every way, and a more satisfying medium. Movies, by comparison, are like calendar art next to great paintings. You can’t really do very much in movies or in television, but the stage is such an anarchistic medium.” Despite what later became a very busy film schedule, he kept coming back to the place that he loved the most, the stage. He and wife, actress Anne Jackson, were one of America’s best known acting couples. Wallach died on June 24th at the age of 98 of natural causes. Jackson, to whom he was married for 65 years, and
Amiri Baraka was an African-American known as a creator of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism, a stage director and producer, teacher, and activist. Baraka, who was born Everett LeRoi Jones, published his work under the name LeRoi Jones when he first started writing. In 1967, he visited African-American author, professor, and activist Maulana Karenga in Los Angeles and became an advocate of his philosophy of Kawaida. Throughout his life, Baraka would utilize this multifaceted activist philosophy in his work. From 1964 to 1978, Baraka wrote eight plays, one of which, Dutchman (1964), is still read and studied today. Dutchman was produced at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village in March 1964. It received an Obie Award and it was adapted for film. Dutchman was written during a transitional time, when Baraka was still writing under the name LeRoi Jones, but was working towards becoming connected with Black Nationalism. The play is a political allegory about black, white relations in the 1960s. It is violent, edgy, and condemns African-Americans who simply allow the status quo and white supremacy to control their lives and cause their deaths. Dutchman was revived in 2007 at the Cherry Lane Theatre starring Dulé Hill, and in 2013 was staged by Rashid Johnson at the Russian and Turkish Baths in the East Village. Throughout his life, Baraka, who taught at various universities and lectured frequently, was a controversial activist who went against the grain. His vision in Dutchman, which premiered 50 years ago, is still disturbing. Baraka died on January 9th at the age of 79.
Ruby Dee, who was a playwright, screenwriter, poet, journalist, and activist, is best known as an actress. She appeared in over 30 productions, including the 1959 Broadway premiere of Loraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun (Ruth Younger). A versatile actress, her credits included South Pacific (1943), Purlie Victorious (1961), King Lear (1965), and the Imaginary Invalid (1971). She last appeared on Broadway in 1988, starring in Checkmates. Dee co-starred in the film version of A Raisin in the Sun (1961), and also had major roles in Do the Right Thing (1989) and American Gangster (2007). Her work on the latter film earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. During her career, she received Grammy, Emmy, Obie, Drama Desk, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Awards. She was also a recipient of the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honors. As an actress, Dee had an honest and charismatic quality and she possessed the ability to play a wide range that spanned from being ultra vulnerable to overpowering. She was married to actor Ossie Davis until his death in 2005. Dee died on June 11th of natural causes. She was 91.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was an actor, director, and producer, earned a solid reputation as a film actor when he appeared in numerous movies in the 1990s. His performances in Scent of a Woman (1992), Twister (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), The Big Lebowski (1998), and Magnolia (1999) caught the attention of audiences and reviewers alike. In 2005, he won the Academy Award for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote in the film Capote. Despite his film success, and maybe partly due to it, Hoffman was very much connected to the New York theatre scene. In 1995, he became a member of the off-Broadway LAByrinth Theater Company. His off-Broadway directing credits included Jesus Hopped The A Train (2001), Last Days of Judas Iscariot (2005), and The Little Flower of East Orange (2018). In 2000, he earned critical acclaim in the revival of Sam Shepard’s True West, in which he starred with John C. Reilly. Throughout the run Hoffman and Reilly switched roles, with each playing Austin and Lee. He also played James Tyrone, Jr. in Long Day’s Journey into Night (2003), and Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman (2012). For each of those productions, he was nominated for a Tony. Hoffman, who had battled drug addiction as a young adult and been clean for many years, relapsed in 2013. On February 2nd he died of combined drug intoxication. Hoffman was 46.
Elaine Stritch, who was closely identified with the Sondheim song “The Ladies Who Lunch” (Company) and a well-known Broadway actress, had a long career in the theatre. She began acting in 1944, made her Broadway debut in 1946, and last appeared on The Great White Way in 2011 in the revival of A Little Night Music. She played in 19 Broadway shows, plus many other productions, including national tours, at off-Broadway venues, and regional theatres. Stritch was known for many things, including her drinking, forthrightness, and brassy demeanor. In 1971, she won the Tony for Company. She also received a Tony in 2001 for her one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty, where she intimately chronicled her life, including her close relationship with alcohol. Stritch was a dynamic performer who won acclaim in both musicals and straight plays, receiving Tony nominations for her work in Bus Stop (1955) and in the 1996 revival of Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance. Stritch and her frustrations in the recording of the Company cast album can be seen in the documentary about the creation of that album. Her failed attempts to nail “The Ladies Who Lunch” are painfully chronicled, and her final triumphant recording of the song ends the film on an up note. Elaine Stritch was a one-of-a-kind performer who loved Broadway. She died in her sleep on July 17th. She had been battling stomach cancer and was suffering from diabetes. She was 89.
Equally comfortable directing film, TV, or stage and plays or musicals, Mike Nichols had a storied career that included winning a Grammy, four Emmys, seven Oscars, and nine Tonys. His other honors included the Lincoln Center Gala Tribute in 1999, the National Medal of Arts in 2001, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2003, and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2010. Nicholas won a Tony in 1963 for his first Broadway directorial effort, Barefoot in the Park, and another in 1964 for his direction of Luv. He won his third Tony in 1965 for his direction of The Odd Couple. Nichols first two films, Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966) and The Graduate (1967), were major hits with the first being the top grossing film of the year and the second earning him his first Academy Award. He died on November 19th at the age of 83 of a heart attack. He had spent more than 60 years in the theatre producing and directing numerous Neil Simon plays, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Annie, The real Thing, and many other shows.
For seven decades, Marian Seldes acted. She was a stage, TV, film, and radio/recording actress who earned notoriety for appearing in every one of the 1,809 performances of Ira Levin’s Broadway thriller Deathtrap. She received five Tony nominations and won her first time out in 1967 for Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance. Seldes, who was a member of the drama faculty of The Juilliard School from 1967 to 1991, taught various up and coming performers, including Christopher Reeve, Robin Williams, Kelsey Grammer, Kevin Kline, William Hurt, Patti LuPone, Val Kilmer, and Kevin Spacey. At the 2010 Tonys, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award, noting that “All I’ve done is live my life in the theater and loved it.” She added, “If you can get an award for being happy, that’s what I’ve got.” She passed on October 6th after a long illness. Seldes was 86.
Although Geoffrey Holder was an amazingly diverse artist, most people in the U.S. knew him for his deep voice, buoyant personality, and tall frame, which they became familiar with due to a string of popular 7-Up “uncola” commercials that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. But Holder, who was born in Trinidad, had an amazing career that included work as an actor, choreographer, director, dancer, painter, costume designer, singer, and voice-over artist. He won two Tonys in 1967 for his direction of and costume design for the musical The Wiz. The show ran for four years on Broadway, offering 1,672 performances. He choreographed and designed costumes for numerous dance companies, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and the Dance Theatre of Harlem, was an avid, talented, and award-winning painter whose patrons included Lena Horne and William F. Buckley, and a book author and music composer. Holder died on October 5th from complications associated with pneumonia. He was 84.
Although first known as a standup comedian and then as a TV and film actor, Robin Williams was originally theatre trained. After becoming a film star, he would play on Broadway in Mike Nichols’ production of Waiting for Godot in 1988 and in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo in 2011. He came to prominence on the TV show Mork and Mindy (1978-82) where he portrayed an alien from another planet who was learning about life on Earth. Williams went on to star and co-star in many top grossing and critically acclaimed films including The World According to Garp (1982), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989), Awakenings (1990), The Fisher King (1991), and Good Will Hunting (1997). He won two Emmys, five Grammys, and an Oscar (Goodwill Hunting). Although he did not garner great reviews on Broadway, he was known to be a hard-working, collaborative, and all-inclusive cast member. He never played the star amongst his fellow cast mates and has been remembered by many as one of the most giving and kind people they had ever met. His wit was unrivaled and his energy unbounded. Williams committed suicide on August 11th at the age of 61. This act shocked millions upon millions.
Actress Lauren Bacall had a sultry voice, demeanor, and soul. Although Bacall enjoyed a long, successful film career and was nominated for an Oscar, she never won the award. She did receive a 2009 Academy Honorary Award. Her film career included major roles in numerous Humphrey Bogart films, such as To Have and Have Not (1944), Dark Passage (1947), and Key Largo (1948). She and Bogart were married from 1945 until his death in 1957. Bacall won two Tonys. Both were for musicals. The first win occurred in 1970 when she won for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in Applause. She returned to Broadway in 1981, winning the Best Actress in a Musical award once again. She received her second Tony for Woman of the Year. Bacall could command the stage, camera, or any environment she was in with her incisive look, deep voice, and poised angular frame. She was commanding in everyway, and yet, could be amazingly vulnerable. In 1997 she received the Kennedy Center Honors. Bacall died on August 12th, (one day after Robin Williams) at the age of 89 from a stroke.
Sting’s a big hit in his own Broadway show, The Last Ship. The musical has received good reviews but ticket sales have been slow. Part of the reason for The Last Ship’s difficulty in attracting audiences has to do with the time of year. The musical is a serious show. It is not a musical comedy and it is not a holiday or family show, which are the type that tend to do well this time of year. Yet, it is an extraordinary production and musical, and audiences are loving it.
The Paper Mill Playhouse, which most recently gave Broadway the hit musical Newsies, not only has a great reputation, but their production of Honeymoon in Vegas. Plus, which was mounted this past summer, got very strong reviews. That included an extremely positive notice from the NY Times lead reviewer. That’s not a bad start for a show transferring to Broadway.
This is a solid duo. Honeymoon in Vegas is adapted by Jason Robert Brown (music and lyrics), who has numerous Tonys, including two 2014 Tony Awards, one for Best Original Score and one for Best Orchestrations for The Bridges of madison County. Andrew Bergman is a screenwriter. Whose comedy credits include Blazing Saddles, Soapdish, and Honeymoon in Vegas. Can these two write a winning musical comedy? One would think, yes.
The musical comedy started previews at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on November 18th. They will be working the show and solidifying the entire piece until opening night, which is January 15, 2015. That’s a solid chunk of time to get this musical polished and sparkling for Broadway.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is know for offering those who watch is fantastic marching bands, fun floats filled with stars, and a lot of holiday spirit. Along with featuring approximately 15 large character balloons, each year Macy’s includes performances from Broadway shows.
There are also numerous performers each year. Some of the more than a dozen who will perform this year include KISS, Idina Menzel, The Vamps, Hilary Duff, and Nick Jonas. New floats this year will include Cracker Jack at the Ball Game, Goldieblox Girl Powered Spinning Machine, Dora and Friends Aventuras Fantásticas, Pirate’s Booty Treasure Hunt, Sino-American Friendship Association’s Beauty of Beijing
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will start at 9 AM tomorrow. About 50 million watch the event on TV and approximately 3 million line the parade-way. As usual, it should be a grand event!
For Yuri Zhivago, a medical doctor and poet, the world is a place filled with passions that he must attempt to understand. The brutality and inhumanity that he sees and experiences angers and confuses him. Zhivago, who attempts to save lives, often sees life’s breath wasted, and the doctor who tries to capture beauty in poetry finds that such beauty can be fleeting.
Although Doctor Zhivago is an intimate romantic tale, it is told against an expansive landscape of political intrigue and upheaval, changing mores and scandal, and extreme emotions and human degradation. The stage expands for this musical, while the lighting offers clarity through its focus. This musical is simultaneously massive and minute. As events dwarf Zhivago and the other characters, you begin to understand how deep the doctor’s emotions are and how unforgiving life is.
Previews for the musical Doctor Zhivago are scheduled to begin at the Broadway Theatre on March 27, 2015 and opening is set for April 21st. This is the perfect time to contact All Tickets Inc. concerning group tickets. For more information on group prices for this musical call All Tickets at 1-800-922-0716. We can help you secure great seats, while also handling bookings for hotels, meals, transportation, and more. Look for Doctor Zhivago to be a contender for numerous Tonys and for this show to be one of the major hits of the 2014-2015 Broadway season. This stunning, exciting, and multidimensional musical will take you back to another time. Plan on seeing it now; don’t get left out in the cold!
If you are interested in a career in the theatre, in learning more about a specific area, or in developing your technique, skill, or craft, All Tickets Inc. is offering a range of educational encounters through the premiere career development company for those interested in becoming theatre professionals. 
Everyone and anyone can benefit from a Stage Door Connection’s educational encounter. Although primarily focused on the theatre, these seminars offer techniques, skills, methods, and knowledge that may be applied to any endeavor. From business to social interaction, from public relations to teaching, and from group dynamics to individual relationships, there’s a wealth of applicable knowledge that may be accessed through a Stage Door Connections class.
Tony-winner James Earl Jones (Martin Vanderhof) returns once again to Broadway. Jones, an amazingly versatile actor who can adroitly play comedy or drama, will be joined by Broadway vet and Tony-winner Elizabeth Ashley (The Grand Duchess Olga). Also in the cast are Tony nominees Annaleigh Ashford (Alice Sycamore) and Kristine Nielsen (Penny Sycamore).
All Tickets Inc. provides groups with unrivaled personalized service, great deals on all group events and experiences, and the total New York experience. We take your group sojourn to New York City extremely seriously and are dedicated to your total satisfaction. Here is what you can expect from All Tickets Inc.
All Tickets Inc. has teamed up with Stage Door Connections, a provider of premium theatrical educational experiences in NYC, to offer over 
Bryan Cranston looks to be one hot ticket in All The Way. Performances have just started for the play, which is at the Neil Simon Theatre. Last season, Holland Taylor brought her one-woman show about another Texan, former governor Ann Richards, and earned a Tony nomination. Cranston may do the same in All The Way. For more information on All The Way please contact us at 1-800-922-0716.
Magical, funny, dramatic, and romantic are a few of the words that describe the theatrical experience of Disney’s Aladdin. The new musical will start performances on the New Amsterdam stage on February 26, 2014, and will open on March 26.
