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Tag: Broadway

  • Disney to bring Broadway shows to India

    Disney to bring Broadway shows to India

    MUMBAI: Broadway lovers in India need not travel anymore as Disney India gears up to bring Broadway shows to the country now. Starting with timeless classic Beauty and the Beast, Disney India will begin the Broadway journey in October from Mumbai and will then take it to Delhi in December.

     

    While Disney has had a 20 year Broadway journey across the globe, Disney India finally thought of venturing into it in order to give to the people a Disney immersive experience. “Broadway could just be the birth of a new culture in entertainment,” said Disney India managing director Siddharth Roy Kapur.

     

    Kapur is of the opinion that while the country had the vision, dream and talent for live English entertainment, what it actually lacked was infrastructure. Talking about the target group for Broadway in the country, Kapur said, “The audience that we are looking at is families and young adults who have the inclination and the ability to enjoy experiences of this kind.”

     

    According to Kapur, with Indians today travelling extensively to overseas, they have been exposed to theatre and Broadway. “People are looking at experiences to cherish as a family and unfortunately in our country we haven’t been able to offer them those experiences apart from cricket and Bollywood. But, they have the disposable income to be able to afford it and they have the interest and inclination to want to experience it as well,” he opined. 

     

    Disney India will be hosting a number of shows in both Dome at NSCI in Mumbai and Thyagaraj Sports Complex in Delhi. Not revealing the number of shows, Kapur said, “We are looking at an audience ranging from 2000-2500 per show.” 

     

    Explaining the reason behind bringing Broadway to the country with Beauty and the Beast, he said, “Beauty and the Beast has been that show that Disney has always started Broadway with and this is because of the beautiful story, which resonates in different cultures and is not difficult to understand. It has also got great music and performances. So, this seemed like the logical choice for us.” 

     

    Disney India has roped in local talent for the show. Leading it from the front is Disney India show director and creative head, live entertainment Vikranth Pawar. The company has roped in Lesle Lewis as music director, Terence Lewis as choreographer, Varsha Jain as set designer, Gavin Miguel as costume designer, Pallavi Devika for hair and make-up and Suzanne D’Mello as vocal trainer.

     

    “It is a local production with local cast and crew. We believe that we have got the talent in the country. All that was needed to give live English entertainment a boost was infrastructure,” he said.  

     

    Disney India had been mulling bringing Broadway to the country for the past three years. While the company got 8,000 entries from artistes, it conducted 1,000 physical auditions in five cities to get the final 18 artistes who will now perform.

  • Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark to call quits at Foxwoods Theatre

    Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark to call quits at Foxwoods Theatre

    MUMBAI: The Broadway musical will end its run in January as Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark will call it quits at the Foxwoods Theatre, a little over three years since its first problem-plagued preview. The production will announce its closure this week.

     

    Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the most expensive show staged on Broadway, had a rocky start with cast injuries during high-wire stunts and opening night delays.

     

    The show has been running below its breakeven point for weeks, even though it is among the top shows in attendance figures.

  • HDIL Ent gets plex urge

    HDIL Ent gets plex urge

    KOLKATA: HDIL Entertainment, the 100 per cent subsidiary of the Mumbai-based real estate company, Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL), plans to have 70 multi-screen plexes pan India in the next couple of years. For setting up the cinema screens, the company has earmarked an investment of Rs 55 crore. The company’s multiplexes operate under the brand name – Broadway.
    HDIL Broadway CEO Mukesh Gupta is optimistic that both West Bengal plexes
    will be operational before Durga Puja

     

    HDIL Entertainment which reported a turnover of Rs 45 crore in the last fiscal of 2012-13, is aiming at notching up Rs 75 crore – Rs 80 crore by the end of the current fiscal 2013-14.

    In West Bengal, the company has signed a deal with mall developers for a four-screen plex Broadway at Asansol and three-screen plex at Durgapur.

    It is learnt that it will go for a lease agreement with Bengal Shristi for the Duragapur screens. Apart from this, it is looking at Burdwan and central Kolkata for expansion and Guwahati would be the preferred next destination in the eastern region. “Both the West Bengal plexes are slated to be operational before Durga Puja,” HDIL Broadway CEO Mukesh Gupta told indiantelevision.com.

    “By the month of October 2013, we plan to start 14 screens pan India and the total number of screens would be 35 by this year end. By the end of next year 2014, we are aiming at 70 multi-screen plexes,” he highlights.

    Of the Rs 55 crore investment needed, Rs 20 crore will be from internal accruals while a bank loan would account for Rs 35 crore, says Gupta.

    Broadway has around 14 operational plexes in Mumbai and four each in Kolkata and Indore. “We plan to open four screens at Kolkata, three in Delhi and two more in Mumbai by the end of the year,” the CEO says.

    It is interesting to note that two years ago the company planned to open around 120 multi-screen plexes by 2016 using the ownership model at an investment of Rs 450-500 crore. “Seeing the slow growth and not so conducive economic sentiment, we are looking at 120 screens in next three years to four years on a lease basis,” explains Gupta.

     

    HDIL Broadway has a four- screen multiplex, spread over 30,000 square feet and with a sitting capacity of 799 people in the city of Kolkata at present. Tickets are priced between Rs 150-Rs 200.

    Talking about the occupancy rate in Kolkata, he said the average occupancy rate is 48-52 per cent while “there are days like last week when the cinema halls were flooded with good movies, it was around 78 per cent also,” he says.

    “We have capitalised on the Salt Lake late-night movie-watching crowd and also the EM Bypass, Phoolbagan and Kankurgachi cinegoers in Kolkata,” reveals Gupta.

    Without giving much detail, Gupta said Broadway would soon open in central Kolkata.

    HDIL Entertainment is keen to tap the south market also for Broadway expansion, says Gupta.

    HDIL, the parent of HDIL Entertainment, was in the news recently for not paying interest arrears on a loan taken by it from Indiabulls Housing Finance, which it later paid up. Its share price dropped on the bad press.

    After a long consolidation of one and a half years, the HDIL share price broke out of the range, says Dhanpurna Commodities research head Puneet Rathi. “Falling below Rs 100 levels in January 2013, reflect a continuation of down trend in stock. After touching a bottom of Rs 26.1 on 6 August 2013 it bounced back on low volume,” he said.

    It is currently trading in the Rs 30 plus range.

    On Wednesday afternoon, the scrip was trading at Rs 32.85, up 0.61 per cent.

  • Denzel Washington’s next a Broadway: A Raisin in the Sun

    Denzel Washington’s next a Broadway: A Raisin in the Sun

    MUMBAI: Renowned actor Denzel Washington has got another big credit in his kitty. This time he will be seen opposite Diahann Carroll in the Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun. The play was originally done by Lorraine Hansberry 55 years ago.

     

    Previews will be seen from 8 March 2014 and the opening night will be 3 April next year at the Barrymore Theatre, where the original production started half a century ago. The play is based on the various dreams and conflicts between three generations. Washington will be playing the second generation son and father.

     

    Directed by Kenny Leon, A Raisin in the Sun will only be on for 14 weeks. Washington has previously worked on several big flicks such as The Preacher’s Wife, Malcolm X, The Hurricane and is currently going to be seen in 2 Guns with Mark Walberg. Apart from acting, he has also indulged in directing and producing movies. He has also got Equalizer waiting to be released next year. He has also won a Best Actor Academy Award for Training day.

     

    Others who are part of the cast are Stephen Tyrone Williams, Jason Dirden, and Stephen McKinley Henderson. Washington has won several accolades in his more than two decades of acting career.