The first major star to hit Broadway in the fall will likely be Samuel L.
Jackson.
As The Post reported last month, Jackson played Martin Luther King Jr. in a reading of “The Mountaintop,” a new play by Katori Hall that received raves in London last year.
The reading — and Jackson’s participation — was meant to be top-secret but, as they say over at the Times, several theater executives with knowledge of the event agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because their comments weren’t authorized.
“He was really good, and he likes the play a lot,” one source says. “We’re pretty sure we’ve got him.”
Now the hunt is on for a co-star. The play, a two-hander, is set in King’s Memphis hotel the night before he’s assassinated. He’s visited by a sexy chambermaid who turns out to be something otherworldly.
Anika Noni Rose, who won a Tony for “Caroline, or Change,” is in the mix.
I’m also hearing that the producers are pursuing Halle Berry.
Berry, an Oscar winner for “Monster’s Ball,” has long been on every producer’s wish list. She’d certainly be a draw at the box office, and she’s looking for a play to do.
She’s been hanging around Broadway lately, catching up with several shows, including “Fences,” starring her friend Denzel Washington.
“Fences” happens to have been directed by Kenny Leon, who’ll stage “The Mountaintop.”
SPEAKING of “Fences,” it’s still the hottest ticket on Broadway. Since it won the Tony for Best Revival, premium seats shot up to $400. But scalpers are getting $750 to $1,000 for good seats at most performances.
“Red” also raised prices to capitalize on its win for Best Play. The show closes on June 27, and there are very few seats left.
The new musicals didn’t seem to get much of a bounce from the Tonys, however.
Hawkers wearing “Memphis” sandwich boards are all over Times Square offering steep discounts. There are plenty of “Fela” boards, as well. They’re advertising the show’s win for Best Dancing because, as one insider says, “The tourists don’t know what ‘choreography’ is, and it’s not a word that fits on a sandwich board.”
“La Cage” is doing pretty good business, but the big beneficiary from the telecast appears to be, I regret to say, “Promises, Promises.”
It’s wrapping well over $100,000 a day, and its advance sale is closing in on $12 million.
TEN years ago, Marian Seldes rented her weekend house to some friends. They threw a cocktail party one afternoon and somebody pinched her Tony, which she received in 1967 for “A Delicate Balance.”
Seldes seldom spoke about the theft. But the other week, after being interviewed on New York 1’s “On Stage” program, she mentioned it to correspondent Frank DiLella. She cried when she told him the story.
DiLella immediately called The Broadway League and the American Theater Wing, the two organizations that administer the Tonys. Last week, at a pre-awards cocktail party, they presented Seldes with a replacement.
A nice story, but for the fact that Wing officials refused to acknowledge it was DiLella who got the story. In fact, they didn’t even invite him to the party. And when they gave Seldes her new Tony, they left the impression that the whole business was their idea.
“They cut Frank out completely,” says a source. “He was really hurt.”
Well, today I’m giving him the credit he deserves.
These Wing officials can take credit for something else.
Like the low ratings for the Tony telecast.