Springsteen on Broadway

Last updated

Springsteen on Broadway
Residency by Bruce Springsteen
Springsteenonbroadway.jpg
Location New York City, U.S.
Venue Walter Kerr Theatre (2017–2018)
St. James Theatre (2021)
Start dateOctober 3, 2017 (preview performances)
October 12, 2017 (official opening)
June 26, 2021 (St. James Theatre)
End dateDecember 15, 2018
September 4, 2021 (St. James Theatre)
No. of shows236 (Walter Kerr Theatre)
31 (St. James Theatre)
Box office$113,058,952 [1]
Bruce Springsteen concert chronology

Springsteen on Broadway is a concert residency by Bruce Springsteen held at the Walter Kerr Theatre and St. James Theatre in New York City. The original residency at the Walter Kerr Theatre consisted of Springsteen performing five shows a week, Tuesday through Saturday. Preview performances began on October 3, 2017, followed by the official opening on October 12, 2017. The run was originally expected to conclude on November 26, 2017; however, due to high demand for tickets and issues with scalpers, additional dates were added through June 30, 2018. [2] [3] [4] [5] The show was extended a second time on March 20, 2018, extending the run through December 15, 2018. [6] On June 7, 2021, Springsteen announced a limited 31-show run of Springsteen on Broadway at the St. James Theatre beginning on June 26, 2021, with additional performances through September 4, 2021. [7]

Contents

The shows featured Springsteen, solo, playing guitar and piano, performing his music, restating incidents from his 2016 autobiography, Born to Run , and performing other spoken reminiscences written for the show. Springsteen's wife, Patti Scialfa, also appeared at most shows. The residency at the Walter Kerr Theatre grossed over $113 million from a total of 236 shows. [1]

Background

On June 16, 2017, information leaked that Springsteen would be performing an eight-week run on Broadway in New York City at the 960-seat Walter Kerr Theatre in the fall of 2017. On August 9, 2017, the performances were made official by Springsteen's website. "Bruce has had this specific idea in mind since last December. It came into focus slowly and then all at once last January," Springsteen's manager Jon Landau said in a statement.

Springsteen said of the performances, "I wanted to do some shows that were as personal and as intimate as possible. I chose Broadway for this project because it has the beautiful old theaters which seemed like the right setting for what I have in mind. In fact, with one or two exceptions, the 960 seats of the Walter Kerr Theatre is probably the smallest venue I’ve played in the last 40 years. My show is just me, the guitar, the piano and the words and music. Some of the show is spoken, some of it is sung. It loosely follows the arc of my life and my work. All of it together is in pursuit of my constant goal to provide an entertaining evening and to communicate something of value." [8]

The creative team for Springsteen on Broadway included Heather Wolensky (scenic design), Natasha Katz (lighting design) and Brian Ronan (sound design).

On September 19, 2017, Springsteen performed a rehearsal show at Monmouth University that was invitation only and attended by around 200 family members and close friends. [9]

During episode 3 of the Renegades podcast he co-hosted with former president Barack Obama, Springsteen revealed the initial inspiration for the show came from a private concert he performed at the White House during the final month of the Obama Presidency. According to Springsteen, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama both encouraged Springsteen to turn the performance into a show.

Springsteen announced an additional limited run of performances at the St. James Theatre from June 26 to September 4, 2021. He said, "I loved doing Springsteen on Broadway and I’m thrilled to have been asked to reprise the show as part of the reopening of Broadway". Proceeds from the opening night were to be donated to a group of local New York and New Jersey charities including the Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Community FoodBank of New Jersey, Food Bank For New York City, Fulfill (Monmouth & Ocean Counties Foodbank), Long Island Cares, NJ Pandemic Relief Fund, and Actors Fund of America. Springsteen said that Landau and Jordan Roth, owner of Broadway's Jujamcyn Theaters, pitched him the idea, but it was a "friend" who came to his home and talked him into doing more shows. "It gives me something to do this summer so I won’t be lazying around on the beach. I knew we were going to tour with the E Street Band next year so I said I'll take some time off”, Springsteen said. He also said that he would like to present the show as it was originally when it debuted in October 2017, saying, “I'd like to tighten it up a little bit, if anything. I would like to sort of get it closer to what it was when I initially debuted it on Broadway than the way it was toward the end.” [10]

Tickets

In response to major issues with scalping and resales on previous Springsteen tours, tickets were made available exclusively through Ticketmaster Verified Fan, a system put into place by Ticketmaster in February 2017. Ticket prices ranged from $75-$850. [11] Despite Ticketmaster's efforts to eliminate bots and resellers, tickets immediately appeared on resale sites such as StubHub minutes after they went on sale. Several hundred tickets were available on StubHub with prices ranging from $1,800 to $6,700. [12] [13] Due to scalper issues and the original run of dates selling out in minutes, Springsteen announced the residency would continue until February 3, 2018, with tickets for the newly announced dates going on sale September 7, 2017. A second extension to June 30, 2018, was later announced, with no new registrations being taken. Instead, people who had previously registered but were unable to get tickets would be contacted to give them the opportunity to purchase seats. [5]

Tickets for the second run of limited performances in 2021 went on sale June 10, 2021, through the show’s official ticketing provider SeatGeek. Audience members were required to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination to enter the theatre. [14]

Program

Songs were interspersed with spoken word passages. The program below reflects the most common set of songs performed during the residency; see notes below for changes to the program made over the span of the residency.

  1. "Growin' Up" (from Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. )
  2. "My Hometown" (from Born in the U.S.A. )
  3. "My Father's House" (from Nebraska)
  4. "The Wish" (from Tracks)
  5. "Thunder Road" (from Born to Run )
  6. "The Promised Land" (from Darkness on the Edge of Town )
  7. "Born in the U.S.A." (from Born in the U.S.A.)
  8. "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" (from Born to Run)
  9. "Tougher Than the Rest" (from Tunnel of Love)
  10. "Brilliant Disguise" (from Tunnel of Love)
  11. "Long Walk Home" (from Magic )
  12. "The Rising" (from The Rising)
  13. "Dancing in the Dark" (from Born in the U.S.A.)
  14. "Land of Hope and Dreams" (from Wrecking Ball)
  15. "Born to Run" (from Born to Run)

Changes to program

Netflix special and soundtrack album

Springsteen on Broadway premiered on Netflix in the early morning of December 16, 2018, just hours after the final Broadway performance closed. Filming for the concert special took place July 17 and 18, 2018, with a private audience in attendance. [19] A soundtrack album was released on December 14, 2018, to widespread acclaim from critics, [20] including Robert Christgau, who said "the Springsteen [work] this most recalls isn't like any earlier album but the 2016 autobiography he called Born to Run for better reasons than you might imagine. Like that fast-reading 508-pager, its aim is to simultaneously depict and demythologize the Jersey shore and poke major holes in an authenticity it reconceives at a truer level of complexity". [21]

Critical reaction

The New York Times said "as portraits of artists go, there may never have been anything as real – and beautiful – on Broadway". [22] Rolling Stone noted "it is one of the most compelling and profound shows by a rock musician in recent memory". [23] The Guardian observed "there's a fragility and a new light cast on the songs and his relationship with Scialfa, as if he stands in her emotional shadow". [24] Variety reported the show "is as much a self-made monument to its master's vision and hurricane-force ambition as it is to his life and career, and it bears the mark of a self-made man who’ll write his own history". [25]

On June 10, 2018, Springsteen received a special Tony Award for Springsteen on Broadway.

Awards and nominations

Award nominations for Springsteen on Broadway
YearAwardCategoryNominee(s)Result
2018 Tony Awards [26] Special Tony Award Bruce Springsteen Received
2019 Primetime Emmy Awards [27] Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) Springsteen on BroadwayNominated
Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special Thom Zimny Won

Personnel

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Springsteen</span> American rock singer (born 1949)

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen is an American rock singer, songwriter and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", he has released 21 studio albums during a career spanning six decades, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Springsteen is a pioneer of heartland rock, a genre combining mainstream rock music with poetic and socially conscious lyrics that feature narratives primarily concerning working-class American life. He is known for his descriptive lyrics and energetic concerts, with performances that can last for more than four hours.

<i>The Ghost of Tom Joad</i> 1995 studio album by Bruce Springsteen

The Ghost of Tom Joad is the eleventh studio album, and the second acoustic album, by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on November 21, 1995, by Columbia Records. It reached the top ten in two countries, and the top twenty in five more, including No. 11 in the United States, his first studio album to fail to reach the top ten in the US in over two decades. It won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E Street Band</span> Bruce Springsteens backing band

The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing career, the band consisted of: guitarists Steven Van Zandt, Nils Lofgren, and Patti Scialfa, keyboardists Danny Federici and Roy Bittan, bassist Garry Tallent, drummer Max Weinberg, and saxophonist Clarence Clemons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soozie Tyrell</span> American musician

Soozie Tyrell, formerly known as Soozie Kirschner, is an American violinist, guitarist, and vocalist, most known for her work with Bruce Springsteen in the E Street Band and formerly The Sessions Band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ghost of Tom Joad (song)</span> 1995 song by Bruce Springsteen

"The Ghost of Tom Joad" is a folk rock song written by Bruce Springsteen. It is the title track to his eleventh studio album, released in 1995. The character Tom Joad, from John Steinbeck's classic 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath, is mentioned in the title and narrative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devils & Dust Tour</span> 2005 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen

The Devils & Dust Tour was a 2005 concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen performing alone on stage on a variety of instruments. It followed the release of his 2005 album Devils & Dust. The tour was named the Top Small Venue Tour of 2005 by the Billboard Touring Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghost of Tom Joad Tour</span> 1995–97 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen

The Ghost of Tom Joad Tour was a worldwide concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen performing alone on stage in small halls and theatres, that ran off and on from late 1995 through the middle of 1997. It followed the release of his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Springsteen 1992–1993 World Tour</span> 1992–93 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen

The Bruce Springsteen 1992–1993 World Tour was a concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and a new backing band, that took place from mid-1992 to mid-1993. It followed the simultaneous release of his albums Human Touch and Lucky Town earlier in 1992. It was his first of four non-E Street Band tours. Later, Springsteen had more non-E Street Band tours, the Ghost of Tom Joad Tour, the Seeger Sessions Tour, and the Devils & Dust Tour. The tour was not as commercially or critically successful as past tours, due to poor reception of Human Touch and Lucky Town as well as changes from previous tours. According to Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh, die-hard fans have informally referred to the backing band as "the Other Band".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunnel of Love Express Tour</span> 1988 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen

The Tunnel of Love Express Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and featuring the E Street Band with the Horns of Love that began at the end of February 1988, four and a half months after the release of Springsteen's October 1987 album, Tunnel of Love. Considerably shorter in duration than most Springsteen tours before or since, it played limited engagements in most cities which fueled the high demand. The tour finally grossed US$50 million not counting merchandise. Shows were held in arenas in the U.S. and stadiums in Europe. A historic performance in East Berlin took place on July 19th 1988.

<i>Video Anthology / 1978–88</i> 1989 video by Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen's Video Anthology / 1978–88 is a collection of 18 music videos made on his behalf, released in VHS format on January 31, 1989. In March 1989, "Video Anthology / 1978–88" was certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of 300,000 units. As of March 1989, the collection sold 340,000 copies in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunnel of Love (Bruce Springsteen song)</span> 1987 single by Bruce Springsteen

"Tunnel of Love" is the title song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1987 Tunnel of Love album. It was released as the second single from the album, reaching number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Like the first single from the album, "Brilliant Disguise", "Tunnel of Love" reached number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and reached the top twenty in Canada peaking at number seventeen. The music video received five MTV Video Music Awards nominations, including Video of the Year and Best Male Video.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Step Up</span> 1988 single by Bruce Springsteen

"One Step Up" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his eighth studio album, Tunnel of Love (1987). It was released as the third single from the album, following "Brilliant Disguise" and the title track. It reached position #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the United States, and #23 in Canada. It also reached #2 on the U.S. Album Rock Tracks chart, giving Springsteen three straight top two tracks from the album. The song was only released as a single in America. One of the unreleased songs from 1980's The River, "Roulette", recorded April 3, 1979, was released as the b-side, using an alternate vocal mixed on April 12, 1980, that would also be used in 1998, when it was chosen for Tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Working on a Dream Tour</span> 2009 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The Working on a Dream Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which began in April 2009 and ended in November 2009. It followed the late January 2009 release of the album Working on a Dream. This was the first full E Street Band tour without founding member Danny Federici, who died during the previous tour in 2008, and the final tour for founding member Clarence Clemons, who died in 2011.

"Youngstown" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad. Although many of the songs on the album were performed by Springsteen solo, the lineup for "Youngstown" includes Soozie Tyrell on violin, Jim Hanson on bass, Gary Mallaber on drums, co-producer Chuck Plotkin on keyboards, and Marty Rifkin on pedal steel guitar. The song has also been covered by Kenny Greco, Blue Moon Rising, Show Of Hands, The Stairwell Sisters, Steve Strauss and Matthew Ryan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrecking Ball World Tour</span> 2012–13 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The Wrecking Ball World Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band to promote Springsteen's seventeenth studio album, Wrecking Ball, which was released on March 5, 2012. It was the first tour for the E Street Band without founding member Clarence Clemons, who died on June 18, 2011. The worldwide tour in support of the album, which ended in September 2013, reached 26 countries, the most ever for one of Springsteen's tours. The tour resumed in January 2014 to promote Springsteen's new album, High Hopes, and went under that album's name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concert residency</span> Run of an artists shows at one location

A concert residency is a series of concerts, similar to a concert tour, but only performed at one location. Pollstar Awards defined residency as a run of 10 or more shows at a single venue. An artist who performs on a concert residency is called a resident performer. Concert residencies have been the staple of the Las Vegas Strip for decades, pioneered by singer-pianist Liberace in the 1940s and Frank Sinatra with the Rat Pack in the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Hopes Tour</span> 2014 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The High Hopes Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with special guest guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. The tour was seen as a continuation of his previous tour and was in support of eighteenth studio album, High Hopes, which was released in January 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The River Tour (2016)</span> 2016–17 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The River Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in support of Springsteen's 2015 The Ties That Bind: The River Collection box set and in celebration of the 35th anniversary of Springsteen's 1980 album, The River. The River Tour ended in September 2016. Subsequently, the Summer '17 tour in Australia and New Zealand continued the tour using the same promotional image from the original legs.

<i>Springsteen on Broadway</i> (album) 2018 album by Bruce Springsteen

Springsteen on Broadway is a live album by the American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen. It features the complete audio of Springsteen's solo Broadway performance at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York, recorded live on July 17 and 18, 2018, and filmed for Netflix. The album was released on December 14, 2018, by Columbia Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springsteen and E Street Band 2023 Tour</span> 2023–24 tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The Springsteen and E Street Band 2023 Tour is an ongoing concert tour by American singer Bruce Springsteen and his backing band the E Street Band. The tour began on February 1, 2023, in Tampa, Florida; it marks the first time since 2017 that Springsteen and the E Street Band have toured together. The tour is scheduled to conclude on November 22, 2024, in Vancouver.

References

  1. 1 2 "Historical Grosses for Springsteen on Broadway". Broadway World. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  2. ↑ Records, Columbia. "Springsteen on Broadway". Springsteen on Broadway. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  3. ↑ Ticketmaster (August 30, 2017). "#SpringsteenBroadway has been EXTENDED! More information coming today. There will NOT be any additional codes released for today's onsale.pic.twitter.com/xGY3rj3Yrl" – via Twitter.
  4. ↑ "Springsteen on Broadway – extended through February!". brucespringsteen.net. August 30, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Hetrick, Adam (November 27, 2017). "Springsteen on Broadway extends through June". Playbill . Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  6. ↑ Reed, Ryan (March 21, 2018). "Bruce Springsteen Extends Broadway Run Through December 2018". Rolling Stone . Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  7. ↑ "'Springsteen On Broadway' Returns For Limited Summer Run At The St. James Theatre". brucespringsteen.net. June 7, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  8. ↑ Sisario, Ben (August 9, 2017). "Bruce Springsteen Is Bringing His Music and His Memories to Broadway". The New York Times . Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen rehearses Broadway show at Monmouth University". app.com.
  10. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen on Broadway and beyond: E Street Band tour, new music coming". MSN. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  11. ↑ "OnsaleRegistration". springsteen.tmverifiedfan.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  12. ↑ "'Springsteen on Broadway': Tickets appear on Stubhub for over $6,000". MSN.
  13. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen on Broadway: Tickets on secondary market minutes after onsale". app.com.
  14. ↑ "Springsteen on Broadway Tickets - 2022 Springsteen on Broadway Tour". SeatGeek.
  15. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen Opens Broadway Run with Tom Petty Dedication". Rolling Stone. October 4, 2017.
  16. ↑ Reeves, Mike (December 27, 2017). "Bruce Springsteen: Walter Kerr Theatre, Broadway, New York, 26/12/2017". Maximum Volume Music.
  17. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen Condemns Trump's Inhumane Border Policy During Broadway Show". Variety. June 20, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Watch Bruce Springsteen Play First Encore of Broadway Run". Rolling Stone. July 11, 2018.
  19. ↑ Paulson, Michael (July 18, 2018). "Bruce Springsteen's Broadway Show is Becoming a Netflix Special". The New York Times .
  20. ↑ "Springsteen on Broadway". Metacritic . Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  21. ↑ Christgau, Robert (May 3, 2019). "Robert Christgau Reviews 'Springsteen on Broadway'". Vice . Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  22. ↑ Green, Jesse (October 12, 2017). "Review: 'Springsteen on Broadway' Reveals the Artist, Real and Intense". The New York Times. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  23. ↑ Greene, Andy (October 13, 2017). "Review: Bruce Springsteen's Broadway Show Is an Intimate Triumph". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  24. ↑ Barton, Laura (October 13, 2017). "Springsteen on Broadway review – joy and glory as the Boss unveils his flaws". The Guardian. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  25. ↑ Aswad, Jem (October 12, 2017). "Theater Review: 'Springsteen on Broadway' Is an Intimate, Living Autobiography". Variety . Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  26. ↑ Hetrick, Adam. "Bruce Springsteen and John Leguizamo to Receive 2018 Special Tony Awards" Playbill, May 1, 2018
  27. ↑ "2019 Emmy nominations: Complete list". Los Angeles Times. July 16, 2019. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.