TicketNetwork Blog

The last few weeks have been busy in terms of theater news, with several shows announced for the 2013-2014 Broadway season, as well as some general theater news.

To start: Newsies! The Musical celebrated its one-year anniversary on Broadway, while Once had a cast switch-up, adding four new actors and actresses to its roster. (It also opened in London's West End.)

Meanwhile, Matilda and Motown the Musical had or will have their official debut this week. Here are a few other recent theater-related tidbits to know about:

Broadway

Cyndi Lauper announced today that she'll be going on tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her first album, She's So Unusual. The tour, which will go by the same name, kicks off in San Diego, CA, and wraps up in Mashantucket, CT. The 23-date tour begins in June and ends in July.

According to USA Today, Cyndi Lauper will be performing her debut album in its entirety — that includes songs like "She Bop," "Time After Time," and "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." I'm not saying I helped influence her decision, but she was probably so moved by my post last week celebrating three of her greatest songs that she was all, "Man, I should tour again."

The wait is over, at last. After announcing the first dates for their 50 and Counting Tour last week, the celebratory tour featuring The Rolling Stones have its first set of ticket onsales today. Cities included in the day's onsale include two shows in Chicago, IL, as well as shows in San Jose and Oakland, CA. In addition, the Stones will have an onsale next Monday, April 15, for a show in Philadelphia. As the North American leg reportedly has 18 dates, more onsales may be possible next week.

Meanwhile, rock acts Paul McCartney, Kid Rock, and The Black Crowes also have onsales this week. McCartney will visit the U.S. in May, June, and July as part of his new Out There! tour. Three of the dates during his time in the States, Tulsa, OK; Austin, TX; and Washington, DC; are onsale this Friday. Kid Rock's tour dates were announced today. Onsales for the 29-date Best Night Ever Tour begin on Friday. And The Black Crowes will have eight shows on sale this Friday.

On the pop side of things, The Jonas Brothers are officially back. The heartthrobs will have 15 shows on sale this Saturday.

In sports, although the NCAA Tournament is ending early this week, another tournament is beginning at the end of this month. The NBA Playoffs begin on April 20. Tickets for the Denver Nuggets go on sale today, while tickets for the Boston Celtics go on sale Tuesday.

Finally, in theater, Cirque du Soleil's Quidam has a number of onsales this Friday for shows in Nashville, TN; Charlotte, NC; and Raleigh, NC.

Not only did Beyonce release a great promo video today, but Kinky Boots opens on Broadway. I'm so stoked because CYNDI! LAUPER! Kinky Boots was originally a 2005 UK film, based on a true story about a struggling shoemaker and his drag queen business partner. But the onstage, musical version features lyrics/music by the one-and-only Cyndi Lauper. In honor of her Broadway debut, here are my picks for top three Cyndi Lauper songs of all time.

This morning, Beyonce gave a sneak peek of a song from her upcoming Mrs. Carter album when she released a 61-second video promo for Pepsi. The two recently partnered for the Super Bowl, and the latest video shows Beyonce sipping a can of Pepsi before dancing, surrounded by mirrors. In each mirror, she sees a reflection of previous versions of herself. There's the "Bootylicious" Beyonce, "Crazy In Love" Beyonce, and (of course) "Single Ladies" Beyonce — and then they all dance together to promote the motto, "live for now."

Prior to the video, Beyonce has posted a cryptic six second video with the hashtag #BeyHereNow, asking fans to visit her site at 9 a.m. EST today. It makes sense that the singer would release something new on this date, 4/4/13, considering her obsession with the number 4 (even the digits of this year, 1 and 3, add up to 4). But she was totally one minute late (not that I was sitting here waiting, which I actually was) and it doesn't even matter, because it's Beyonce.

What do you think of the song/promo?