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NEW YORK » With an array of top, fresh names and seductive shows on the boards, it’s a great time to visit Broadway. Can’t see ’em all, but being here during the just-concluded Tony Awards has been a blast. Prepare to shell out the bucks, though, as top-tier tickets have spiraled to the $155 level. Further, premium and VIP rates elevate pricing for all the hot shows.
You’ll hit the target if you choose "Once," a modest hootenanny-type best-musical Tony winner at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. Its eight statuettes included Steve Kazee‘s for best leading actor in a musical, making him a breakout star. It was particularly joyous to see and hear an ukulele among the instruments featured in an earnest love story with heart. Also strumming uke, in "Nice Work If You Can Get It" at the Imperial: Matthew Broderick! …
Adorable surprises: "Peter and the Starcatcher," a prequel to the never-aging Peter Pan tale (with best featured actor in a play Christian Borle), at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, and "Newsies," about striking newsboys and inspired by a failed Disney film, at the Nederlander Theatre. …
And last season’s best musical, "The Book of Mormon," is raunchy entertainment that has not lost its punch after a year’s run at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre; it’s still the hardest ticket to secure with the highest "premium" price, $350 per. It was a kick to see actor Christopher Plummer chortling and applauding … then later watching him as a Tony Awards presenter June 10. But the startling online charge ($58 handling fee per ticket) is an outrage. I found $254 box seats (normally with a face value of $155) for an elevated perch. Welcome to the new Broadway normal. …
Popular with audiences: Da’Vine Joy Randolph as psychic Oda Mae Brown in "Ghost" at the Lunt-Fontanne; Michael Cerveris as Juan Peron in "Evita" at the Marriott Marquis; and Josh Young as Judas Iscariot in "Jesus Christ Superstar" at the Neil Simon; the latter two are revivals of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber hits that make him king of the Great White Way, which still hosts his "Phantom of the Opera." …
Trending: Family-friendly shows including delay-plagued, techie-tormented "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" at the Foxwoods, "Newsies" with its delightful Erector-inspired set, "Peter and the Starcatcher," and "Mary Poppins" at the New Amsterdam. "Annie" reboots this fall at the Palace for more kidstuff capers. …
Tracie Bennett as Judy Garland, with the voice and body language evoking hurrahs in "End of the Rainbow" at the Belasco; the wildly applauded "Death of a Salesman" with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield at the Ethel Barrymore; "The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess" with Audra McDonald at the Richard Rodgers; and "One Man, Two Guvnors" with James Corden at the Music Box mean tough choices for theater lovers. …
WHEE, THE PEOPLE: Bumped into Kapono Beamer while strolling down Seventh Avenue in NYC. He and his judge wife, Dayna Marie Dias, were bound for a train trip to Rhode Island. …
Spent time with Jack and Cha Thompson of Tihati Productions, sharing adventures with New York subway rides, theater, shopping and dining. The day both wore "Hawaii Five-0" T-shirts they were greeted with smiles and queries from New Yorkers. The Thompsons and the Haradas stayed at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, very convenient for theater jaunts, where ex-Islander Yvonna Balfour, longtime New York wardrobe wizard (CBS News, "Law & Order," Broadway shows), joined us for breakfast and unveiled pics of granddaughter Malia, now 2½, adopted by daughter Cindy Balfour and husband John Coughlin, both actors. …
Hawaiian Air’s direct-to-JFK flight was great (coach food not so great, first class wonderful), so Hawaiian now is a player in the New York market forhometown loyalty travelers. We’d consider doing it again. …
And that’s "Show Biz." …
Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist; reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com; read his Show and Tell Hawaii blog at www.staradvertiser.com.
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