TicketNetwork Blog

Do you remember Olivia from The Cosby Show? The uber adorable little girl who stole scenes everywhere she went? Well, now she's a nun. On Broadway, that is. She's currently playing Deloris in the Broadway production of Sister Act.

Time will tell whether Raven-Symoné's time on the big stage proves successful. But overall, former child stars who make it to Broadway have had mixed results. Here are a few child stars who have made the leap, some who have soared and some who have flopped.

Daniel Radcliffe, Equus and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying: The Harry Potter star first made waves on Broadway in Equus, a very not-appropriate-for-children production that was a stark departure from the role that made him famous (along with some disturbing subject matter, the role required him to appear fully nude onstage). Radcliffe received rave reviews for his performance, and last year he returned to Broadway as the lead in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, for which he also received plenty of praise. I saw him in How to Succeed last summer, and he was amazing. Radcliffe's Broadway future seems pretty secure.

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.

This was originally going to be a post about the best actors on television or in movies to make a career transition to the theatre, but as I did more research it turns out that many of them actually started in the theatre and then made seamless transitions back and forth. So these are the chameleons that can act on film and onstage, despite the vast differences in the two mediums.

Matthew Broderick: Mr. Broderick has done his fair share of acting both onstage and in movies. He won a Tony Award when he was 21 with a featured role in Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983). But, of course, he is most famous for the movie that came soon after, 1986’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. This really shot him to stardom, and he continued to dabble in films for several years. In the last 15 years or so most of his work has been back onstage, including 1995’s How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (for which he won a Tony) and 2001’s The Producers. His next project is Nice Work If You Can Get It, which begins previews March 29, 2012, at Imperial Theatre on Broadway.

You probably heard the ruckus over Steven Tyler's rendition of the national anthem at the AFC Championship game on Sunday. He drew a lot of criticism and speculation that his performance may have been the worst in Star Spangled Banner history. So we decided to compile a list of memorable anthem performances, roughly in order from worst to best. Enjoy!

After a pretty epic Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs, I think all football fans are psyched for the NFC and AFC Championship games next weekend. The NFC Championship will feature two old rivals, the 49ers and Giants, in what should be a defensive battle. In the AFC, the Patriots will try to avenge a playoff loss from two seasons ago when they take on the Ravens. One thing the NFL fans will be able to count on next week is that there will be at least one defining moment of the weekend.

Great moments are what all football fans live for come playoff time, because they are the things that you remember where you were when they happen. They’re the plays that you call your friends to ask, "Did you just see that?!?" They’re the plays that become simply known as "The [fill in the blank]." Below are some of the best moments in the NFL Conference Championship history, complete with video evidence.