The Winter of Broadway's Discontent

Thanks to the current economic downturn and the usual winter doldrums, fifteen Broadway shows are expected to close in the next six weeks. High-profile Broadway musicals on the list include Spring Awakening, Spamalot, Grease, Young Frankenstein, Hairspray, and 13.

Those productions that are battling on are generally offering huge discounts on tickets, or even giving them away free.

Disney is offering a "Kids Go Free!" deal for its three family musicals – The Lion King, Mary Poppins and The Little Mermaid – for three months after January.

Although Billy Elliot is bucking the trend and doing well, big budget productions are particularly vulnerable.

A $4.5 million revival of Godspell has been scrapped while a lavish $16 million musical version of A Tale Of Two Cities closed in November, just two months after it opened.

Source: Telegraph

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Eight-Year-Old to Star in Broadway Show

Jerome Stephens, age 8, has only been acting for about a year, but that didn't stop him from landing the lead role of Simba in The Lion King on Broadway.

He was invited to audition after attending a Disney theatrical skills program.

Jerome and his mom Tracy Stephens will relocate from Towson, Maryland to New York, New York for at least six months.

His Broadway debut will take place in late August.

Congratulations, Jerome!

Source: wjz.com

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Open Casting Call for Spider-Man Musical

The upcoming Broadway musical Spider-Man is holding an open casting call.

The show is directed by Julie Taymor (who won a Tony Award for The Lion King) with music and lyrics by U2's Bono and The Edge.

Roles:

Peter Parker: male, 16-20’s, great Rock voice, can be nerdy with understated sex appeal, good sense of humor

Mary Jane: female, 16-20’s, beautiful girl next door, strong pop/rock singing voice

Principal Woman: female, 25-35 years old, Amazing Rock vocals, think Sinead O’Connor with a Middle Eastern /Bulgarian/Greek/ twist. Foreign, world music types are great, foreign accents are great! All ethnicities

Auditions take place at The Knitting Factory July 28, 10am-5pm.

Source: BroadwayWorld.com

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