Few musicals have captured the hearts of audiences quite like Disney's ALADDIN. But did you know the beloved stage adaptation of the classic animation almost never came to be? This podcast pulls back the curtain on the untold story of ALADDIN's journey from conception to Broadway triumph. Join 11-time Emmy Award winning entertainment journalist for NY1 and NY1OnStage host Frank DiLella on an in-depth exploration that begins with the initial spark of a stage adaptation. We'll delve into the...

Last month, Closing Night went live at 54 Below here in New York City, exploring the songs and stories of the Marquis Theatre with Broadway performers and singers—many of whom have performed in shows at the Marquis and some of them even joined us this past podcast season. Patrick Oliver Jones / Diego Prieto - "I Am I, Don Quixote” (Man of La Mancha) Jane Summerhays / Patrick Oliver Jones - "You Would If You Could" (Me and My Girl) John Bolton - "The Good Old Days" (Damn Yankees) Jonathan...

The second season of Closing Night is set to premiere this June. But while we all eagerly await the curtain rising on our next act, here's a story about a show that famously closed on its opening night. There are actual plans to do a future season about Broadway productions that only lasted one performance. But now there's one show to take off the list of potential episodes, all because of the podcast being sharing today, a podcast that feels like a time machine, whisking us away to different...

Get ready for a night of Broadway magic as 54 Below Celebrates the Marquis Theatre on March 19th! The concert will feature performances by those who were there at the Marquis, like Tony Award nominee Kate Baldwin from Thoroughly Modern Millie, Tony Award winner Richard Maltby, Jr. from Nick & Nora, E. Clayton Cornelious from Wonderland, Leah Horowitz from The Woman in White, and Lisa Howard from 9 to 5 and Escape to Margaritaville. Patrick Oliver Jones will be hosting as well as singing...

Five years ago, the enchanting musical The Band's Visit closed on Broadway (April 7, 2019) after capturing hearts with its simplicity and profound storytelling. Composed by David Yazbek and written by Itamar Moses, it emerged as a masterpiece in the 2017-2018 season, transcending contemporary Broadway norms. At the 2018 Tony Awards, this gem earned 11 nominations and secured 10 wins, including Best Musical, triumphing over big blockbuster shows like SpongeBob Squarepants, Mean Girls, and...

In an enjoyable BroadwayCon encounter this past summer, I found myself in the heart of all things Broadway, rubbing shoulders with the stars and hosting live interviews for the Broadway Podcast Network. While my conversation with Jelani Alladin about Frozen and Hercules has already been shared in a previous episode of Why I’ll Never Make It, today we delve into my interview with the talented Broadway actress Sharon Catherine Brown. I had the pleasure of working with her on a new musical last...

One of the most enduring and iconic tales of the Christmas season comes from famed British writer Charles Dickens. His 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol, would become his most famous work, and the character of Scrooge is part of our lexicon now, being synonymous with someone who doesn’t enjoy the holidays. With many so stage and screen adaptations of this story, it surprised me to find out that its first appearance on Broadway wasn’t until 1981—a musical by Michael Legrand and Sheldon Harnick....

Over the history of the Marquis Theatre, three musicals have closed during the month of December. Two of them we've already covered here on the podcast: Me and My Girl and Nick & Nora. The third one was The Drowsy Chaperone and is the focus of this bonus mini-episode. It starred Tony Award winner Sutton Foster was cast as Janet Van De Graff, Emmy-nominated TV star Georgia Engel was Mrs. Tottendale, British actor Edward Hibbert played Underling, and the inimitable Beth Leavel took on the...

Welcome to the final episode of Closing Night’s first season! We’ve covered eight different Broadway musicals at the Marquis Theatre that closed too soon, with our final show being Victor/Victoria, written and directed by Blake Edwards and starring his wife Julie Andrews. And in this interview episode we're featuring two members of that Broadway cast. Darren Lee - We talk about his experiences working with legendary leading ladies like Julie Andrews, Liza Minnelli, and Raquel Welch, including...

Thirteen years after starring in Victor/Victoria across cinemas nationwide, Julie Andrews made a triumphant return to Broadway in this highly anticipated stage adaptation, directed by her husband Blake Edwards. Playing a female singer masquerading as a man pretending to be a woman, Andrews ended a 33-year hiatus with the show's opening at the Marquis Theatre. In this emotional episode, experience Andrews' heartfelt opening night of joy as she was joined by a stellar cast of 32 performers....

To take you further behind the scenes of Wonderland, I’m sharing my conversation with E. Clayton Cornelious, who played the part of Caterpillar and is also a Broadway producer himself of such shows as Ain't Too Proud, Chicken and Biscuits, and New York, New York. In the previous episode, we explored the musical world of Frank Wildhorn and two of his shows that graced the Marquis Theatre for only about a month each, and E. Clay was a big help in putting that episode together. Now, you’ll get...

Ever since he burst onto the Broadway scene in the 1990s, Frank Wildhorn has remained an intriguing figure in American Musical Theatre. But Wildhorn’s journey is far from a conventional success story, nor was it a typical path to the Broadway stage. But among his seven Broadway musicals, three of them have appeared at the Marquis Theater: Victor/Victoria, Wonderland, and a 2013 revival production of Jekyll & Hyde. (In fact, the title of this episode comes from a New York Times review of...

To take you further behind the scenes of this Broadway production, I’m sharing my conversation with Leah Horowitz, who was a swing in The Woman in White and an understudy for leading actress Maria Friedman. In the previous episode, we explored this lesser known Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, and Leah was a big help in putting that episode together. Now, you’ll get our full interview, full of anecdotes and tidbits I couldn't fit into the mail episode. You'll learn about how she was cast in the...

When Bad Cinderella closed in June of this year, it signified the first time in 43 years that Broadway was without an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, and it became the second shortest run ever for one of his musicals on Broadway. Bad Cinderella also represented the second collaboration between Lloyd Webber and lyricist David Zippel. Their first show together was The Woman in White, which began in London in 2004 (starring Michael Crawford) and then opened at the Marquis Theatre the following year...

In the previous episode you learned bumpy road to Broadway for Nick & Nora, one of Broadway's biggest flops. And in this bonus interview episode, you'll hear from Mark Hoebee, the swing and dance captain for the show who actually worked with the creatives as actors were fired and the show kept changing up until opening night. He gives behind the scenes insights into the rehearsal process and some of the challenges this show faced just getting onstage. You can also get an extra...

In 1991, Broadway witnessed one of its most spectacular falls from grace with Nick & Nora, a musical adaptation of the beloved The Thin Man novel and film series. With a dream team that included Arthur Laurents, the creative force behind classics like West Side Story and Gypsy, Charles Strouse, the prolific composer of Bye Bye Birdie and Annie, and Richard Maltby Jr., known for Ain't Misbehavin', this show had all the makings of a hit. The star-studded cast featured Barry Bostwick and...

Welcome back to Closing Night, a theater history podcast celebrating Broadway shows that closed too soon. In the previous episode we went back to the dark days of 9/11 as Broadway went dark and had to find its own way back as a nation grieved and was forever changed. Back in 2021, which marked the 20th anniversary of those devastating 9/11 attacks, a live recording of the Broadway production of Come From Away was released. It featured many past and present members of the cast. But one of the...

The Marquis Theatre was having great success in 2001 with the revival of Annie Get Your Gun. It had opened in 1999 with Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat and became just the second show in Marquis history to surpass 1000 performances. It closed with Crystal Bernard in the title role with Tom Wopat coming back as Frank Butler to close the show on September 1, 2001. But ten days after Annie Get Your Gun closed, all of Broadway closed, New York City shut down, and an entire nation was brought to...

Throughout this season and in between the main episodes, you get to hear some of my interviews with artists, creatives, and industry experts. And in this bonus interview episode, two of the guests from the Evita episode share more stories and insights. The first one is actress Christina DeCicco, who played Eva Peron twice a week in the 2012 Broadway revival of Evita. She talks about her audition process, what rehearsals were like, and how she went about portrayed this iconic leading lady. I...

In April of 2012, the very first revival of Evita came to Broadway, having done the same in London 6 years earlier. And in both productions, the title role featured a relatively unknown actress to Western audiences: Elena Roger. She followed a select few chosen to take on one of the most difficult female roles in musical theater. First, there was Julie Covington, then Elaine Paige, Patti LuPone, and Madonna. Among this group of women, Madonna was the only one to have already been a celebrity...

In the previous episode you learned about the 30-year journey of 9 to 5, from a movie to a a big hit song to a TV show and eventually a Broadway musical. And in this bonus interview episode, you'll hear from Lisa Howard, one of the ensemble members in 9 to 5 who played Franklin Hart’s wife and was a part of the show from its early days in Los Angeles until its closing night on Broadway. She gives behind the scenes insights into the rehearsal process and some of the challenges this show faced...

When 9 to 5 premiered on Broadway in 2009, the musical had all the makings of a surefire hit: it was based on a beloved classic comedic film and had one of the catchiest pop hits of the 80s by none other than Dolly Parton.  Needless to say, 9 to 5 the Musical was eagerly anticipated by fans of the movie and theatergoers alike. The film's message of female empowerment and standing up against workplace discrimination has continued to resonate with audiences. Add to that a star-studded cast and...

In August 1986, the delightful British musical Me and My Girl made its grand entrance at the Marquis Theatre, starring the talented Robert Lindsay. A fusion of Pygmalion and Cinderella, the show revolves around Bill Snibson, a carefree Cockney man who unexpectedly discovers he is an Earl and must abandon his Lambeth girlfriend, Sally Smith, to claim his title and estate. Mark Robinson, a renowned theater historian, raves about the production, declaring it to be a source of pure joy,...

Welcome back to Closing Night! Throughout this season and in between the main episodes, I’ll take you further behind the scenes by giving you bonus episodes like this of the interviews I’ve had with artists, creatives, and industry experts. In the previous episode you learned about the contentious history of the Marquis Theatre, and heard from those who protested its construction and led efforts to stop five theater buildings from being demolished. One of those people was Joe Rosenberg,...