Hugh and Claire went to see the Broadway play, Speed the Plow, this evening, and HDi has a few pictures to tide you over. The show stars Raul Esparza, who was previously nominated for a Tony for his role of Bobby in Company, nominated the same year as Journey’s End!

• 04 x January 15th: Hugh and Claire Visit “Speed the Plow” on Broadway

Hugh participated in this same event last year – so look forward to photos and write-ups to come in mid-November, I’m sure!

Casting has been announced for The 24 Hour Company Production of The 24 Hour Plays on Broadways, which will be presented at the American Airlines Theatre Nov. 17.

The eighth annual event, presented by Montblanc, will benefit Urban Arts Partnership, an organization that brings arts education into New York City classrooms.

Among those scheduled to take part in the one-night-only event include actors Aasif Mandvi, Elizabeth Berkley, David Cross, Hugh Dancy, Rachel Dratch, Michael Ealy, Mamie Gummer, Peter Hermann, Justin Long, Anthony Mackie, Julianna Marguiles, Diane Neal, Cynthia Nixon, Rosie Perez, Kim Raver, Horatio Sans, Annabella Sciorra, Liev Schreiber, Brittany Snow, Julia Stiles, Maura Tierney and Alicia Witt; playwrights Terrence McNally, Beaux Willimon and Ben Karlin; and directors Peter Ellenstein, Thomas Kail and Josie Rourke.

The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway, according to press notes, “attracts some of entertainment’s biggest names as they join forces to participate in a rite of extreme live performance: writing, directing, and performing six original short plays, all in just 24 hours.”

The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway, according to press notes, “attracts some of entertainment’s biggest names as they join forces to participate in a rite of extreme live performance: writing, directing, and performing six original short plays, all in just 24 hours.”

The creative process will begin at “10 PM on Sunday, November 16th – the night before the show – when a group of six writers, six directors, 24 actors, one musical guest, and a production staff gather at the American Airlines Theater. After casts and crews have been briefed, each writer is tasked with composing a ten-minute play by 7 AM the following morning, when the directors return to read and select their piece. The casts will meet for the first time at 8 AM and, over the next 12 hours the plays are rehearsed and produced for a live presentation. At 8:00 PM, ink barely dry, the six new plays – interspersed with six musical acts – will be performed for a live audience.”

The American Airlines Theatre is located at 227 West 42nd Street. For tickets visit www.SmartTix.com or call (212) 868-4444.

Source: Playbill

Audiences will undoubtedly relate the upcoming Broadway revival of Journey’s End to the current conflict in Iraq. But the director David Grindley said at a Jan. 10 press event that while current events make R.C. Sherriff’s 1929 play more potent, the play is not agitprop, anti-war theatre.

“It asks the general question, ‘Surely there must be a better way to conduct human affairs,’” Grindley told Playbill.com, but “it’s not making a strident message.”

The play, based on Sheriff’s own experiences in the First World War, is about a group of British soldiers living together in a cramped trench in France while fighting the last great German offensive in March 1918.

Hugh Dancy, who plays the lead role of Stanhope, said the play does relate to the current conflict in some specific ways.

In the late stages of the war, when the play takes place, he said, “people didn’t really know any more what they were fighting for, they just knew they had to keep fighting. Their loyalty was to the guy next to them, not to a bigger ideal, really.”

“And I think that’s increasingly true of the conflict we’re in now,” he adds. “Not everybody would agree with me, but the outline of why people are there and what we’re trying to achieve is becoming increasingly blurred.”

(more…)

Anchored by such old favorites as “Wicked” and “Beauty and the Beast,” Broadway did record-breaking business last year. It took in nearly $30 million in the last week alone. You may say that’s not surprising, considering that tickets run about $100 each. Nor will you be surprised to learn that producers, emboldened by all that success, have decided to hike the top ticket prices to $120 a seat. But there is good news. Broadway is now not just the home of big-budget movie musicals like “Hairspray” but once again a place to see some serious theater. Here are our picks for the hot new shows this winter and spring:

Journey’s End by R.C. Sherriff (Belasco Theatre, opens Feb. 22)
The recent high-profile success of London imports such as “The History Boys” and “Democracy” has meant new opportunities for shows once considered too serious for the Great White Way. Based on Sheriff¡’s experiences in World War I, “Journey’s End” is not only a beautifully written drama about the horrors of war and the value and fragility of friendship, but a moving example of what can accomplished on a stage. Starring the truly dishy (and talented) Hugh Dancy, this promises to be a great night of theater.

Source: Newsweek