Elvis musical hitting the road

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - "All Shook Up," the rock 'n' roll musical of

Elvis Presley songs that played for 213 performances (and 33 previews) last year at the Palace, will begin its first national tour September 12.

The 30-city jaunt will make its first stop at Milwaukee's Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, with subsequent dates including Indianapolis (site of Elvis' last show in 1977), Boston, Houston, Seattle, San Diego and Memphis (of course!).

Susan Anton heads a cast that also features newcomer Joe Mandragona and Jenny Fellner ("Mamma Mia!"). Christopher Ashley directs, and Sergio Trujillo choreographs.

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This week's bad news on the Broadway front is that "Sweeney Todd" is exiting the Eugene O'Neill on September 3 after 349 performances and 35 previews; it's one of the few shows that considerably upgraded the 2005-06 Broadway season.

Despite being feted with all sorts of prizes and awards, it didn't win this year's Tony for best revival of a musical but should have (it was bested by the entertaining but decidedly less imaginative "The Pajama Game").

The good news is that "Sweeney" recouped its entire $3.5 million investment within its first 20 weeks of playing (who says it's insane to put money in showbiz?).

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Also, audiences outside of New York will soon get to see John Doyle's innovative restaging of "Sweeney" when the Sondheim dazzler begins a national tour in fall 2007.

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On Sunday, "Bridge and Tunnel" -- the one-woman show that won a special Tony for playwright-star Sarah Jones, who plays in multiple roles -- has its final performance at the Helen Hayes.

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Ms. Dana Ivey will be joining

Nathan Lane in the Nicolas Martin-directed Broadway revival of Simon Gray's "Butley," which opens October 25 at the Booth for a limited 14-week engagement. Ivey's a four-time Tony nominee; she also was the original star of "Driving Miss Daisy."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter