TicketNetwork Blog

This morning, the American Theatre Wing (well, Kristin Chenoweth and Jim Parsons, on their behalf) announced the nominations for the 2012 Tony Awards. Several shows garnered lots of nominations, led by Once with 11 nominations, closely followed by Nice Work If You Can Get It and The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, each with 10 nominations. In a few weeks I'll post my predictions for who will be doing the actual winning of the awards, but for now here's a complete list of nominations:

What do you think of this year's nominees? Any predictions? Tell us in the comments!

It's almost April, which will hopefully bring some spring weather (without the relapses into winter that filled up March here in CT). April will also bring some pretty great live events, plus April Fools Day, National Welding Month and National Karaoke Week (my favorite!). Check out the preview of April live events below!

Concerts

Coachella: For the first time, the festival will span two weekends, starting April 13 and going through April 22. Top headliners include Radiohead, David Guetta, Florence and the Machine, Gotye, and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

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Nickelback: Nickelback is teaming up with Bush, Seether and My Darkest Days for their latest tour, which kicks off April 10 in Moline, IL.

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Crosby, Stills and Nash: The trio is back again with a US tour starting April 17, continuing all the way through September.

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If you recall, last week I wrote a post about the most successful actors on film and on Broadway. You didn't think I'd let the flops go without notice, did you? Here are some of the worst attempts of famous actors to star in a Broadway production...none of them attempted a second.

Lucille Ball: I'm sure you know Lucille Ball as Lucy in I Love Lucy and probably several other characters in various movies. But you've probably never heard of her success on Broadway because, well, she didn't have any. In 1960, Ball starred in a musical called Wildcat. In it she played Wildcat "Wildy" Jackson, a woman who dreams of finding oil but doesn't know where to begin. The writer of the book had pictured a young woman in the lead role (whereas Lucille Ball was 48 years old), but when Ball committed funding to the project, he had to rework the show. The Broadway production only ran for 171 performances, due to lukewarm reviews, the fact that "Wildy" was not at all like Ball's I Love Lucy character, and the fact that she kept getting sick and audience members requested refunds in droves.

Now that we're into January, the infamous doldrums of Broadway theatre, a new set of shows is ready to take the stage on the Great White Way over the next few months. So I rounded up a few bloggers to get their predictions for the upcoming season...and then I threw mine in for good measure.

The Columnist: "John Lithgow stars in this play based on the life of Joseph Alsop, a famous columnist during the 1960s. John Lithgow has had some pretty big successes on Broadway, including two Tony Awards, so this should be pretty good." — me

Death of a Salesman: “Seeing the revival of a classic play is always a treat, but seeing it with an all-star cast is a rare delight. Death of a Salesman is returning to Broadway this year starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Andrew Garfield and John Glover. Their names, along with the popular play, will be sure to draw in audiences.” — Melissa Hall, Stage Write Indy

With the holiday season over, we are now into January, which is notoriously a slow month for Broadway shows. Consequently, many shows choose to avoid the month altogether and close up shop. We've already seen several shows end their runs, including Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Hugh Jackman Back on Broadway, The Addams Family, Private Lives and Bonnie & Clyde.

There are several more shows closing in January, but you still have a chance to catch them on Broadway before they go on tour or just fall by the wayside. Check out the table below for closing dates and average ticket prices on the TicketNetwork exchange* for remaining dates.

*As of 1/4/2012 2:30 p.m. EST. Prices may fluctuate based on market demand.