Springsteen on Broadway is a solo acoustic performance written and performed by Bruce Springsteen under the lights of Broadway. It is an intimate night with Bruce, his guitar, a piano, and his stories.
"My vision of these shows is to make them as personal and 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, all of it together is in pursuit of my constant goal - to communicate something of value," says Springsteen.
Make no mistake, 'Springsteen on Broadway,' which opened on Thursday evening, is a solo act by a solo artist with an artist's steel. Even though Patti Scialfa, his wife, shows up to harmonize on two numbers, this is not a singalong arena show or a roadhouse rouser. Even less does it try to be a feel-good Broadway book musical or a slick, whitewashed jukebox like 'Jersey Boys.' Rather, 'Springsteen on Broadway' is a painful if thrilling summing-up at 68: a major statement about a life's work, but also a major revision of it.
The moment showed the power and charm of the 68-year-old rocker. It also reminded that the show - a soldout sensation before a note was sung or word was spoken - is not a just a concert in a Broadway theater. Threaded with 15 songs and stories pulled from his year-old memoir, 'Born to Run,' the Broadway debut of New Jersey's finest is a tightly scripted chronological narrative tracing his life.
2017 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2021 | Broadway |
Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | Tony Awards | Special Tony Award | Bruce Springsteen |
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