The Ballad of Billy and John: 700 Sundays Extends; Delays Lennon Broadway Start
By Ernio Hernandez
16 May 2005
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Billy Crystal in 700 Sundays
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| photo by Joan Marcus | Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays has announced it will extend on Broadway through June 12. The theatre's next tenant, Lennon, will bump its start to July 7 and opening to Aug. 4.
Tickets for the final extension will go on sale May 17 at 10 AM.
"Billy's been delighting audiences with 700 Sundays and we congratulate him on his enormous success," producer Allan McKeown said in a release. "We fully understand his desire to extend a few weeks. We look forward to moving into the Broadhurst Theatre with Lennon after he has completed his successful run."
The musical Lennon recently announced that it would skip its scheduled Boston run following its world premiere at San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre and head right to New York for previews starting June 28 and the original opening night, July 28.
700 Sundays is billed as two-act play that "deals with [Crystal's] youth, growing up in the jazz world of Manhattan, his teenage years, and finally adulthood." The title refers to the number of days Crystal got to spend with his busy-with-jobs father who died when young Billy was only 15.
Tony Award winner Des McAnuff (Big River, The Who's Tommy) directs the solo work which began performances Nov. 12, 2004 and opened Dec. 5 at the Broadhurst Theatre for a run originally slated through March 6.
Janice Crystal (the star's wife) and Larry Magid produce the Broadway run of the work which was developed at La Jolla Playhouse, where McAnuff is artistic director.
Written and directed by Don Scardino (A Few Good Men), the new musical Lennon features nine actors portraying the late Beatles singer-songwriter John Lennon at various stages in his life backed by an onstage 10-piece band. 27 songs from the substantial Lennon oeuvre will be featured in the musical, among them "Imagine," "Instant Karma," "Give Peace a Chance," "(Just Like) Starting Over," and "Whatever Gets You Through the Night."
Will Chase (Aida), Chuck Cooper (Caroline, or Change), Julie Danao (Rent, Aida tours), Mandy Gonzalez (Aida, Dance of the Vampires), Marcy Harriell (Lucky Duck, "Ed"), Chad Kimball (Into the Woods), Terrence Mann (Les Misérables), Julia Murney (The Wild Party) and Michael Potts (Twelfth Night) comprise the ensemble cast of the new Broadway musical.
Producers Allan McKeown, Edgar Lansbury, Clear Channel Entertainment and Jeff Sine present Lennon by arrangement with Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. Ono also gave permission for the production to use three unpublished Lennon songs "India, India," "I Don't Want to Lose You" and "Cookin' (In the Kitchen of Love)."
For more information, visit www.lennonthemusical.com.
700 Sundays performs at the Broadhurst Theatre, located at 235 West 44 Street.
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