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Will Nick Jonas Release New Music Before He Hits Broadway?

Posted 9/8/11 4:45 pm EST by in Broadway, Jonas Brothers


Sure Nick Jonas is prepping for a 2012 leading role in the hit Broadway musical "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying," but does that mean we really won't see any new music from the Jo Bro any time soon?

The answer, in short, is yes. With a bustling career on the stage and behind-the-scenes working with artists like Charice and Greyson Chance, right now, Nick confirms to MTV News, he's more focused on writing for others than writing for himself.

"You know, I don’t really have any plans right now to release any of those [songs] on my own, but what I think is really interesting about this year is my focus really has been on other people," he told us earlier this summer. "[I'll be] using all that I've learned over the years and hopefully creating some great music for other people."

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Alicia Keys Wants To 'Experience' Broadway Like Jay-Z And Will Smith

Posted 6/30/11 5:30 pm EST by in Broadway


Once you get to a certain point, some superstars need new challenges and new ways to tell stories. For Alicia Keys, that means producing a Broadway show. The singer is slated to be involved with the show Stick Fly, which opens later this year.

And when we caught up with her at Madame Tussauds in New York for her wax figure unveiling earlier this week, where she also gushed over the state’s recent legalization of same-sex marriage, she revealed why she felt like she wanted to have her hand in something that's set to appear on the Great White Way.

"Broadway is something that's played an integral part in my life. It's been something that I've experienced my whole life," the New York native gushed. "I've always wanted to be a part of it."

She recalled growing up just a stone's throw away in Hell's Kitchen and the fact that her mom used to take her to quite a few shows back in the day. Read More...

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Ashlee Simpson-Wentz Makes Her Broadway Debut In 'Chicago'

Posted 12/1/09 10:45 am EST by in Music


Ashlee Simpson-Wentz must have had one of the busiest years of her life in 2009. Not only did she have a new baby (Bronx Mowgli Wentz, who just celebrated his first birthday two weeks ago), but she also worked on the newly revamped "Melrose Place," did a guest spot on "CSI" and got her dancing shoes back on for another run in the Broadway play "Chicago." Simpson made her Broadway debut last night, returning to the role of Roxie Hart, the showgirl whose hunger for fame and fortune leads to murder.

Simpson first stepped into the role back in 2006, when she starred in "Chicago" in London's West End (the British version of Broadway). Her reviews for that performance were quite good, and her debut at the Ambassador Theater in New York was also received warmly. She is scheduled to remain in the cast of the hit show through February 7. (With eight shows a week, it's a good thing husband Pete Wentz is currently on a break from Fall Out Boy-related business.)

When Simpson made her debut as Roxie Hart in 2006, MTV News was there to check in on her and get some feedback about her performance. "Roxie's a fun character to play," she told MTV News' Tim Kash. "For me, it wasn't like I ever wanted to have my name in the papers. It was usually like, 'Oh, no!' But I know what the feeling is. And I know what the celebrity life is like, so I tried to bring a little comedy to that." Check out the original report below, which also features input from sister Jessica and a handful of British theater enthusiasts.

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Green Day's 'American Idiot' Musical Closing, But May Be Broadway-Bound Soon

Posted 11/11/09 12:02 pm EST by in Music


Green Day's 2004 album American Idiot was not just a grand critical and commercial success for the veteran punk trio but also a total reinvention of their outlook as well as a kickstart to the second act of their career. Recently, it became yet another point of transition for the band. "American Idiot," the musical based on the songs from the original album, opened two months ago at the Berkely Repertory Theater, and now it appears as though the play will be making its way to Broadway. According to Playbill, the November 15 closing date in Berkeley won't be the end for it, as a casting notice made public yesterday indicates that it may be hitting the Great White Way in the near future.

However, at the moment there is neither a time frame established nor a theater booked. "There is a Broadway future for the show," spokesman Michael Hartman said. "But at this time no dates or theater are confirmed."

"American Idiot" tells the story of a character named Johnny (also called Jesus of Surburbia) who lives in the fictional Jungletown, U.S.A. and escapes to the city to hustle, take drugs and chase the woman of his dreams. It features all of the songs from American Idiot as well as a handful of tunes from 21st Century Breakdown and some rarer cuts (including the never-released "When It's Time").

The show, produced by the same team that brought "Spring Awakening" to Broadway (and won the Tony for Best Musical), is the most successful production in Berkely Repertory's history.

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Bret Michaels' Tonys Performance Joins Pantheon Of Lame Rock Injuries

Posted 6/8/09 6:59 pm EST by in Music


During Sunday night's Tony Awards, the most newsworthy event was not the overall snub of the '80s hair metal musical "Rock of Ages" or the fact that three kids inexplicably won a single award for one performance but the fact that Poison frontman (and "Rock of Love") star Bret Michaels had an unfortunate incident with a piece of scenery that knocked him to the floor and broke his nose. Michaels was up and joking around shortly after, which probably qualifies this as one of the lamest rock and roll injuries in history. What are some others? Glad you asked:
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Ashanti Gets 'Wicked' For Charity

Posted 10/28/08 5:39 pm EST by in Broadway


Ashanti once clicked her heels together as Dorothy, but for one night, she was the Wicked Witch of the West.

For a special performance of "Wicked" — the Broadway musical in which you learn the Wicked Witch in "The Wizard of Oz" wasn't so wicked after all — Ashanti joined former castmembers from the show, as well as celebs such as Mario Cantone, Joy Behar, George Wendt and Matthew Settle from "Gossip Girl," in a charity performance on Monday called "The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken." The production featured never-before-seen scenes and songs from a rough draft of the first act, with proceeds benefitting the New York Restoration Project.

Though some of the celebs couldn't sing quite as well as Broadway regulars, Wendt (as the Wizard) got points from the audience just for trying. (Behar didn't try at all, but instead read her lines with a sense of rhythm that implied song.) Settle tackled a love song, "As If By Magic," while Cantone brought down the house with his ad-libbed rendition of "Popular." (Both Behar and Cantone made digs at Palin and McCain in their songs.) Read More...

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Meet The Teenage House Band For Musical '13'

Posted 10/6/08 4:32 pm EST by in Broadway


Zac Coe, Zach Page, Lexi Bodick, Adam Michael Kaufman, Chris Raymond - Photo By Joan MarcusBy Tami Katzoff

Friday evening before the curtain rose on "13," I went up to New York's Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre to chat with the orchestra for the new Broadway musical. Unlike other Broadway shows, the orchestra for "13" performs onstage with the cast, not in a pit below or in front of the stage.

The musicians' accomplishments are impressive. According to his bio on the show's official Web site percussionist Zachary Coe has played drums on Sony and ESPN soundtracks. Multi-instrumentalist Charlie Rosen has not only played bass in other productions of "13" but also played piano at the Monterey Jazz and Playboy Jazz festivals. Guitarist Zach Page has performed with Nuno Bettencourt, Perry Farrell and Vernon Reid.

But what's most impressive about this band is that they're all kids: It's not often you see musicians ranging in age from 15 to 18 providing the music for a high-profile Broadway show, day after day.


Here's some info you won't get from their bios:
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'Legally Blonde' To Stop Bending And Snapping On Broadway

Posted 9/25/08 1:22 pm EST by in Broadway


By Garth Bardsley

Poor Bailey Hanks has to change her lyrics: "Omigod, omigod, you guys! Our show's closing just when I'd won my prize!"

Emergency mani-pedis are being scheduled all over New York as word spreads that MTV's most beloved Broadway musical, "Legally Blonde," will bend and snap for the final time on October 19 following an 18-month run.

It came as quite a shock to folks in the newsroom when MTV announced about a year ago that it would tape a live performance of "Legally Blonde: The Musical." A Broadway musical on MTV? Really? Is Lauren Conrad in it? (No, but she did introduce it.)


But here was the bigger surprise: You watched it! MTV's repeated broadcasts of the musical were a surprise ratings hit. Read More...

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Catch Up With Aubrey O'Day Backstage Before Her Broadway Debut!

Posted 7/18/08 8:17 pm EST by in Broadway


Aubrey Backstage

By Christina Garibaldi

Aubrey O'Day is more than ready for her Broadway debut in "Hairspray." We just caught up with the Danity Kane singer and her puppy Ginger backstage.

Aubrey, in full makeup, showed off her dog, who she dressed up in a pink wig and doggie cape accessorized with various "Hairspray"-themed trinkets. We talked to her in her dressing room minutes before she graced the Broadway stage for the first time.

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Who Is Taylor Hicks' Mystery 'Megastar'?

Posted 7/10/08 8:00 am EST by in American Idol, Music


By Garth Bardsley

On Tuesday night, we swung around the corner from our Times Square offices to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, where "American Idol" season-five champ Taylor Hicks is cutting his teeth on Broadway, playing the part of the Teen Angel in the most recent revival of "Grease."

The silver-haired "Soul Patrol" leader gave us a tour around the theater, which is actually a bit of a reality-show mecca. Besides Hicks, the show's two leads, Max Crumm (Danny) and Laura Osnes (Sandy) were found via the little-watched NBC show "You're the One That I Want." And then there's Cody Green, who won Bravo's even littler-watched "Step It Up and Dance" while a member of the Grease ensemble.

Hicks is also writing lots of songs, mainly for his own use on his sophomore album coming out in the fall. But he spilled the beans that a certain "megastar" has one of his songs on hold to possibly record. He wouldn't say who, but he did let it drop that the singer is a female.

Any guesses? Is Tina Turner gonna rock on a harmonica-filled blues tune penned by Hicks? Whitney Houston? Grace Jones???

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