Top > Entertainment > 2006 > June > 2006-06-12

The Latest in Broadway Entertainment

The Tony Awards are here and that means that it`s time to talk about the hits and the misses in the 2005-2006 season on Broadway. For those of you who keep up with Broadway entertainment news, the fact that this season brought record ticket sales shouldn`t be a surprise. There were enough mega-Hollywood entertainment stars on Broadway this year to send tickets soaring out the windows. Celebs such as Julia Roberts, Cynthia Nixon, Ralph Fiennes and Harry Connick Jr are just a few.

Yes, this year was a great year in the entertainment industry for Broadway, 12 million tickets, at an average of $80 a piece, brings the industry close to a billion dollars in sales. These high grossing sales this year however, do not prove that the Broadway musical is still a major success. In fact, many critics say that the classic Broadway musical seems to be on its last leg.

Two musicals that are up for a Tony this year include "The Drowsy Chaperone", a parody of musicals in the 1920`s, and "Jersey Boys", the story of music group Frankie Valli and the Four Season in the 1960`s. Both are fantastic shows and certainly do provide loads of entertainment, but they make up the majority of musicals that haven`t failed this season. Some of the biggest failures include "Lennon", about the late John Lennon, and "Lestat", a huge-budget Warner Brothers show with music by Elton John.