Broadway is moving to the high seas. Next March, instead of actually performing on Broadway in a musical and going to the Tony Awards, 8 major stars are scrubbing decks. Playbill magazine is sponsoring a cruise to Tahiti, of all places, during March 2014. And they’ve lined up a bunch of people who should be working on stage in the West 40s. These people are either very smart or something is wrong with how shows are being produced these days.
The stars are: Brian Stokes Mitchell, Christine Ebersole, wife and husband Audra McDonald and Will Swenson, Sutton Foster, Lea Salonga, Danny Burstein, and Rebecca Luker. Seth Rudetsky is directing their performances. If the M/S Paul Gaugin should become the Titanic, there literally will be no Broadway any more. That’s it. I can’t even count all the nominations and awards for all these people. It would be as if the Justice League of America took a vacation together. Or the X Men.
The details: the trip leaves Los Angeles on March 20th for nine days. Prices range from $7,547 to almost $20,000 per person. The low number is for a bunk with no windows but you get a bucket and a flare gun. At the upper range, you get a Broadway star to sing you to sleep.
Again: why aren’t these people on Broadway during the height of theater season? And if they’re not on Broadway, who will be? Oh right: big names from Hollywood who’ll leave their shows after three- to-six months. Sorry. I forgot!
