Broadway 101

In a theater season filled with big news, the biggest event may have been the strike of the Broadway musician's union, Local 802, which shut down Broadway musicals for three days in March and sent actors and musicians picketing. Producers wanted to eliminate orchestra minimums, which require each Broadway house to hold a certain number of musicians based on the size of the theater. Eventually producers and musicians compromised, reducing (but not abolishing) minimums in Broadway's biggest houses.

A number of this year's events redefined the Broadway show altogether. October brought "Movin' Out," choreographer Twyla Tharp's all-dance piece set to live covers of Billy Joel's music. Heavyweight film director Baz Luhrmann shook things up in December with his production of "La Bohème," which marked the first time a traditional opera appeared on Broadway and also featured a rotating cast of Mimi/Rodolfo pairs. Russell Simmons brought his famed HBO slam poetry showcase "Def Poetry Jam" to Broadway, and Kenneth Branagh's directorial endeavor, "The Play What I Wrote," opened with a revolving door of surprise guest stars that have included Roger Moore, Jason Biggs, Kevin Kline and Nathan Lane.

"Hairspray" was the season's first big opening last August, and it remains one of the hottest tickets on Broadway. Other new musicals were not so lucky. "Amour," film composer Michel Legrand's foray into the Broadway musical, proved too small and too "French" for critics, closing after only 17 regular performances. The multi-million dollar Michael Crawford vehicle "Dance of the Vampires" opened in December to mostly negative reviews and closed fewer than two months later.

The new musical "Urban Cowboy" would have had the shortest run for a musical in a decade when it posted a closing notice the day after opening. Instead, director Lonny Price announced at the curtain call of the "final" performance that they would remain open.

"Les Miserables," currently the longest-running musical on Broadway, announced in October that it would close in March and then made a final extension to May 18.

Producers Fran and Barry Weissler announced that, just a week before it was scheduled to begin Broadway performances, their revival of "The Miracle Worker," starring Oscar-winner Hilary Swank, would not come to Broadway. This marks the first time in recent history that a show already in out-of-town tryouts and with its marquee already up on Broadway did not run.

Another Weissler production, "Chicago," celebrated its sixth anniversary in November and received a big boost in ticket sales with the release and Best Picture Academy Award for the screen version.

Plenty of stars made their way to the stage this season, most recently film star Antonio Banderas in the revival of "Nine." This was also a year for pop stars on Broadway, with Joey Fatone doing a stint as Mark in "Rent"; Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson as Billy Flynn and R&B singer Angie Stone as Mama Morton in "Chicago"; and '80s teen pop queen Deborah Gibson finishing her run as Sally Bowles in "Cabaret." Edward Norton and Catherine Keener starred off-Broadway in "Burn This," while John Stamos ("Full House") and former "Doogie Howser, M.D." star Neil Patrick Harris each played the emcee in "Cabaret."

Watch out for the Tony nomination announcements on May 12 and the subsequent awards ceremony on June 8. €¢

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