'Magic/Bird' on Broadway: What did the critics think?

"Magic/Bird," the new play by Eric Simonson that opened this week on Broadway, tells the story of the rivalry and off-court relationship between two of basketball's greatest players -- Larry Bird and Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

A basketball-themed play, at the Longacre Theatre, may seem like an odd fit for Broadway, where financial success is still defined by the mega-musical likes of "Wicked" and "The Lion King." But the modest success of "Lombardi" in 2010 proved that a sports play could find its audience amid the theatrical razzle-dazzle of New York.

Simonson also happened to pen "Lombardi" and he was brought on board "Magic/Bird" by some of the same producers. Tug Coker and Kevin Daniels play Bird and Johnson, respectively. Their athletic rivalry pitted Bird's Boston Celtics against Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers.

Johnson, now one of the new owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers, was in New York this week for the play's opening. He and Bird appeared Wednesday on "Late Night with David Letterman."

How did critics -- a group of people not known for their sports enthusiasm -- react to the play? Their response so far has been less than enthusiastic, to say the least.

Rex Reed eviscerates Broadway's 'Evita' starring Ricky Martin

There are negative reviews, and then there is the kind of critical assassination practiced by Rex Reed, the veteran uber-critic whose current vulture perch is at the New York Observer. Once a powerful critical presence, Reed has long since been co-opted by the very cultural scene he once dissected, which has turned him into a Capote-esque shadow of his former self.

But in a review this week of Broadway's "Evita," Reed proves that he still has some bite left. The critic tears apart the revival production, starring Ricky Martin, with a gleeful ferocity that is a rare sight in today's rather genteel critical atmosphere.

"Can nothing be done, once and for all, to get rid of 'Evita?'" he writes. "Here it is again, worse than ever and revived on Broadway for no logical reason except to cash in on Ricky Martin's fame as a pop star."

Reed describes the production as "sprawling, overproduced, clumsily directed and strangely emotionless."  He writes that Andrew Lloyd Webber's music is "derivative" and that Tim Rice's lyrics are "repetitive," reducing the story of Eva Peron to a "second-rate operetta."

'The Lion King' surpasses 'Phantom of the Opera' as box-office champ

 
"The Lion King" has dethroned "The Phantom of the Opera" as Broadway's all-time box-office champion. The Disney musical, based on the popular animated movie, has grossed a total of $853.8 million since opening on Broadway in 1997.

The gross figure, which represents Broadway box-office receipts only and not worldwide revenue, was confirmed by a spokeswoman at Disney Theatrical Productions. She said the figure has not been adjusted for inflation.

"Phantom" has grossed approximately $853.1 million since opening in 1988.

The crowning of "The Lion King" as Broadway's new box-office leader comes with a caveat, however. The Disney musical has benefited from higher ticket prices than "Phantom."

Figures provided by the Broadway League show that the average ticket price for "The Lion King" was recently $155.09, compared with a recent average ticket price for "Phantom" of $98.97.

Metropolitan Opera's 'Ring' cycle is under fire

The Metropolitan Opera is in full "Ring" mode this month as it prepares to launch the complete staging of its new, multi-million dollar production of Wagner's four-part epic, directed by Robert Lepage.

No matter where you go in the opera world, a new "Ring" cycle production is bound to provoke heated debate and wildly divergent opinions. New York has proved to be no exception.

Lepage's production -- which features a 45-ton mechanical set of rotating planks -- has garnered some negative, even scathing reviews. Alex Ross, music critic of the New Yorker, wrote that the Met's staging is "the most witless and wasteful production in modern operatic history." Justin Davidson of New York magazine has described Lepage's staging as virtuosic, but noted that his talent "does not extend to humans... he leaves an interpretive void at the opera's core."

The New York Times' Anthony Tommasini has repeatedly criticized Lepage's monstrous set of moving planks, writing that it often distracts from the music and the story. He has noted that the set has experienced its share of technical problems as the four operas have had their individual premieres.

Amy Adams to star in 'Into the Woods' in New York's Central Park

Amy Adams has featured her vocal chops in the movies "Enchanted" and last year's "The Muppets." Now the three-time Oscar nominee will have a chance to sing for live audiences on a daily basis in the Public Theater's revival of "Into the Woods" in New York's Central Park.

The musical, featuring songs by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine, takes characters from several Brothers Grimm fairy tales to create an original story. "Into the Woods" debuted in 1986 at the Old Globe in San Diego and premiered on Broadway the following year, winning multiple Tony Awards.

The Public's revival is set to run at the Delacorte Theatre from July 23 to Aug. 25.

Gore Vidal's 'The Best Man': What did critics think?

Broadway is marking the presidential election year with a revival of Gore Vidal's 1960 play "The Best Man," a political comedy about two candidates duking it out during a presidential convention.

"The Best Man" features perhaps the starriest cast currently on Broadway, including James Earl Jones, John Larroquette, Eric McCormack, Candice Bergen, Michael McKean and Angela Lansbury.

The ensemble also includes Dakin Matthews, a regular of the Los Angeles theater scene.

Vidal's play debuted on Broadway in 1960 -- Melvyn Douglas won a Tony Award for his performance -- and was most recently revived in 2000. The current production, at the Gerard Schoenfeld Theatre, features Larroquette and McCormack as the two presidential candidates who go head to head during a nominating convention in Philadelphia.

Vidal, 86, is the author of several plays, but remains best known for his novels, non-fiction books and essays.

How did New York critics react to the new revival?

Tim Tebow visits 'Wicked' on Broadway

Tim Tebow, the former Denver Broncos quarterback who was recently traded to the New York Jets, paid a visit to Broadway this weekend, attending a performance of the hit musical "Wicked" at the George Gershwin Theatre.

The football player attended Saturday night's performance of the show, according to a report in the New York Daily News. He slipped into the theater about five minutes before curtain and was escorted out of the theater's back door.

(Did Tebow pay for his own ticket? Or was the athlete comped by the show's producers? The fact that photographers were in place ready to snap the athlete's picture at the theater suggests the latter.)

"Wicked," a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," opened in 2003 and has played more than 3,400 performances on Broadway. The show has also toured the U.S. and internationally.

‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ on Broadway: What did critics think?

“Jesus Christ Superstar" has once again been resurrected. The Gospel-inspired musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, which made its Broadway debut in 1971, opened Thursday night at New York’s Neil Simon Theatre.

The biblically based rock opera loosely tells the story of Jesus Christ’s final days, which (spoiler alert) don't end well for the title character. This time around, director Des McAnuff’s revival is less about the '70s hippie “Hair” love-thy-neighbor vibe, instead offering a glitzy, graphic take on the infamous execution. 

Apostles don stylish street wear while performing acrobatics, a Times Square-style ticker counts down the Messiah’s last minutes and the final whipping and crucifixion end in blood splatters across the backdrop of the stage.

“Superstar” premiered last summer at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada before making its way to San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse, where McAnuff twice served as artistic director. 

Times theater critic Charles McNulty saw the show in December and became a convert, writing that the performance “has had the miraculous effect of turning even an Andrew Lloyd Webber denier like me into a momentary believer.” 

The first reviews from New York were mixed with critics less inclined to offer their blessings.

'Book of Mormon' offering another free performance

Scoring tickets to "The Book of Mormon" has become one of the biggest challenges on Broadway, akin to finding seats for "The Lion King" or "The Phantom of the Opera" one or two generations ago.

Producers of "Mormon" said Wednesday that the hit musical will offer a free performance on June 6, with tickets distributed via a lottery system. Entries are accepted at the box office of the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York.

The free performance will be a 2 p.m. matinee on June 6. Winners will be selected on or around May 21, producers said.  Winners will be notified via email and will be asked to confirm their attendance. (It should give people enough time to put in for a vacation day at work — or at least to come up with a clever excuse to be absent.)

"Mormon" previously offered a free performance on July 1, 2011. The show currently sells a limited number of tickets for each performance through the lottery system. People who enter the daily lottery between Wednesday and May 20 will be automatically entered into the drawing for the free show.

Multiple lottery entries will count multiple times toward the lottery for the free performance.

RELATED:

'Book of Mormon' coming to L.A. in September 2012

'Book of Mormon': First a Tony, now Grammy nod, next a movie?

Theater review: 'The Book of Mormon' at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre

— David Ng

Photo: The Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York with its marquee for "The Book of Mormon." Credit: Charles Sykes / Associated Press.

A big show in NYC, but little in LA for Japan quake benefit

The New York City nonprofit theater world has come together for a star-studded benefit for Japanese theater companies on this Sunday’s anniversary of the massive northern Japan earthquake and tsunami.

The effort, Shinsai: Theaters for Japan ( “shinsai” means “great earthquake” in Japanese) is billed as a nationwide initiative, but it has gained little traction in Los Angeles, where leading companies say they weren’t approached until too late, if at all.

In Manhattan, Patti LuPone, Richard Thomas and Mary Beth Hurt will be among the performers in two shows at the Cooper Union Great Hall – the venerable venue where Abraham Lincoln delivered his 1859 Cooper Union Address.

In Los Angeles, the Loyola Marymount University department of theater arts and dance will stage a benefit Sunday at 8 p.m. in the campus’ 175-seat Strub Theatre, and the Cal State Los Angeles theater department will offer staged readings Sunday at 3 p.m. in the lobby of the Japanese American National Museum in downtown L.A. Playwright-actor Jeanne Sakata will recite a Shinsai-related poem as a curtain raiser for the Sunday matinee at the Theatre@Boston Court in Pasadena.

The New York performances, directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher, will feature all 17 short works and songs written, revised or specifically authorized for the occasion by such eminences as Edward Albee, John Guare, Suzan-Lori Parks, Doug Wright, Richard Greenberg and the composer-librettist team of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman, who updated and combined two songs from their musical, “Pacific Overtures,” (pictured) with a new narration focused on the 2011 disaster.

Seven of the plays are by Japanese writers, and two come from California-based Japanese-Americans, Berkeley playwright Philip Kan Gotanda and Naomi Iizuka, who heads the playwriting program at UC San Diego.