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109-433: John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez ( / ˌ l ɛ ɡ w ɪ ˈ z ɑː m oʊ / LEG -wih- ZAH -moh ; Colombian Spanish: [leɣiˈsamo] ; born July 22, 1960 or 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced various television projects. He has also written and performed for
218-856: A costumer on Carlito's Way , on June 28, 2003. Leguizamo is Catholic and Maurer is Jewish. They have two children, daughter Allegra Sky Leguizamo (born 1999) and son Ryder Lee "Lucas" Leguizamo (born 2000). They live in Manhattan . In 2008, Leguizamo received the Rita Moreno HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA). In 2011, he received the Made in NY Award from New York City. In 2018, Leguizamo received an Honorary Degree from Marymount Manhattan College . Leguizamo gave
327-472: A 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. "curtain". The afternoon " matinée " performances are at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays and at 3:00 p.m. on Sundays. This makes for an eight-performance week. On this schedule, most shows do not play on Monday and the shows and theatres are said to be "dark" on that day. The actors and the crew in these shows tend to regard Sunday evening through Monday evening as their weekend. The Tony award presentation ceremony
436-611: A CD compilation of Leguizamo's stage routines. Among the bits are a primer Leguizamo gives on the history and culture of Latinos in America, which with the dubious tale of the mating of an Inca princess with a Spanish conquistador, thus creating the original dysfunctional Latin family, each member of which is voiced by Leguizamo. The CD also includes a musical intermission, with two salsa/hip-hop tunes, "The Night Before Christmas" and "Gotta Get Some", and footage from Leguizamo's tours and two interactive games, "Spanish Fly Pick-Up Line". To promote
545-512: A Golden Globe Nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and starred in the 1996 action film Executive Decision as Captain Rat. In 1998, he debuted on Broadway in the production of Freak , a semi-autobiographical one-person play that was filmed for HBO and released on October 10, 1998, with Spike Lee sitting in as director. The show won him the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show and
654-827: A Theater Advisory Council, which included Papp. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City , Broadway theaters closed on March 12, 2020, shuttering 16 shows that were playing or were in the process of opening. The Broadway League shutdown was extended first to April, then to May, then June, then September 2020 and January 2021, and later to June 1, 2021. Then-governor Andrew Cuomo announced that most sectors of New York would have their restrictions lifted on May 19, 2021, but he stated that Broadway theatres would not be able to immediately resume performances on this date due to logistical reasons. In May 2021, Cuomo announced that Broadway theaters would be allowed to reopen on September 14, and
763-449: A booming economy and abundant creative talent kept Broadway hopping. To this day, the shows of the 1950s form the core of the musical theatre repertory." Kenrick notes that "the late 1960s marked a time of cultural upheaval. All those changes would prove painful for many, including those behind the scenes, as well as those in the audience." Of the 1970s, Kenrick writes: "Just when it seemed that traditional book musicals were back in style,
872-663: A cast. There are still, however, performers who are primarily stage actors, spending most of their time "on the boards", and appearing in screen roles only secondarily. As Patrick Healy of The New York Times noted: Broadway once had many homegrown stars who committed to working on a show for a year, as Nathan Lane has for The Addams Family . In 2010, some theater heavyweights like Mr. Lane were not even nominated; instead, several Tony Awards were given for productions that were always intended to be short-timers on Broadway, given that many of their film-star performers had to move on to other commitments. According to Mark Shenton, "One of
981-434: A challenge to the stage. At first, films were silent and presented only limited competition. By the end of the 1920s, films like The Jazz Singer were presented with synchronized sound, and critics wondered if cinema would replace live theatre altogether. While live vaudeville could not compete with these inexpensive films that featured vaudeville stars and major comedians of the day, other theatres survived. The musicals of
1090-526: A company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia , and opened with The Merchant of Venice and The Anatomist . The company moved to New York in 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida . During the Revolutionary War , theatre was suspended in New York City. But after
1199-596: A critical and financial failure universally, the film was considered to be his breakthrough role , allowing him to appear in better comedic roles in the following years. That same year, he had a prominent role in Brian De Palma 's Carlito's Way as Carlito Brigante's nemesis, "Benny Blanco from the Bronx," which also boosted his career in serious roles. In 1993, Leguizamo wrote and performed in Spic-O-Rama , where he made fun of
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#17328591314711308-552: A discount of 20 to 50%. The TKTS booths are located in Times Square , in Lower Manhattan , and at Lincoln Center . This service is run by Theatre Development Fund . Many Broadway theatres also offer special student rates, same-day "rush" or "lottery" tickets, or standing-room tickets to help ensure that their theatres are as full—and their grosses as high—as possible. According to The Broadway League , total Broadway attendance
1417-896: A few exceptions, compared with London runs, until World War I . A few very successful British musicals continued to achieve great success in New York, including Florodora in 1900–01. In the early years of the twentieth century, translations of popular late-nineteenth century continental operettas were joined by the "Princess Theatre" shows of the 1910s, by writers such as P. G. Wodehouse , Guy Bolton , and Harry B. Smith . Victor Herbert , whose work included some intimate musical plays with modern settings as well as his string of famous operettas ( The Fortune Teller (1898), Babes in Toyland (1903), Mlle. Modiste (1905), The Red Mill (1906), and Naughty Marietta (1910)). Beginning with The Red Mill , Broadway shows installed electric signs outside
1526-527: A larger theatre. Other productions are first developed through workshops and then out-of-town tryouts before transferring to Broadway. Merrily We Roll Along famously skipped an out-of-town tryout and attempted to do an in-town tryout—actually preview performances —on Broadway before its official opening, with disastrous results. After, or even during, successful runs in Broadway theatres, producers often remount their productions with new casts and crew for
1635-521: A more experimental, challenging, and intimate performance than is possible in the larger Broadway theatres. Some Broadway shows, however, such as the musicals Hair , Little Shop of Horrors , Spring Awakening , Next to Normal , Rent , Avenue Q , In the Heights , Fun Home , A Chorus Line , Dear Evan Hansen , and Hamilton , began their runs Off-Broadway and later transferred to Broadway, seeking to replicate their intimate experience in
1744-539: A negative COVID-19 test (PCR within 72 hours or antigen within six hours of the performance start time). Beginning November 8, those ages 5–11 also had the option to provide proof of at least one vaccination shot. Effective December 14, in accordance with NYC's vaccination mandate, guests ages 5–11 were required to have at least one vaccination shot until January 29, 2022, where they had to be fully vaccinated. The vaccine mandate lasted until April 30, and attendees were also required to wear face masks until July 1. During
1853-1128: A new age of American playwright with the emergence of Eugene O'Neill , whose plays Beyond the Horizon , Anna Christie , The Hairy Ape , Strange Interlude , and Mourning Becomes Electra proved that there was an audience for serious drama on Broadway, and O'Neill's success paved the way for major dramatists like Elmer Rice , Maxwell Anderson , Robert E. Sherwood , Clifford Odets , Tennessee Williams , and Arthur Miller , as well as writers of comedy like George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart . Classical revivals also proved popular with Broadway theatre-goers, notably John Barrymore in Hamlet and Richard III , John Gielgud in Hamlet , The Importance of Being Earnest and Much Ado About Nothing , Walter Hampden and José Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac , Paul Robeson and Ferrer in Othello , Maurice Evans in Richard II and
1962-407: A new attending who is keen on introducing the staff of County General to better ways of treating patients and cutting-edge technology. Clemente, however, was plagued with personal problems and was fired from the hospital near the end of the season. Dr. Clemente's departure from the show was a blessing for Leguizamo. He revealed to CraveOnline that he was not happy working on the television program. "I
2071-843: A preservationist for the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. In 2016, Leguizamo authored a searing op-ed in The New York Times , calling out Donald Trump's "racist rhetoric" and urging Latinos to vote. As of 2022, he is on the board of directors for the National Museum of the American Latino . Leguizamo has also been an activist directly through his artistic work. In 2017, he opened Latin History for Morons at The Public, and it later went to Broadway. Netflix filmed it in 2018, advocating that "teaching Latin history
2180-500: A rate acceptable to the producers, they may continue to run in the expectation that, eventually, they will pay back their initial costs and become profitable. In some borderline situations, producers may ask that royalties be temporarily reduced or waived, or even that performers—with the permission of their unions—take reduced salaries, to prevent a show from closing. Theatre owners, who are not generally profit participants in most productions, may waive or reduce rents, or even lend money to
2289-431: A run of 253 performances. The first theatre piece that conforms to the modern conception of a musical, adding dance and original music that helped to tell the story, is considered to be The Black Crook , which premiered in New York on September 12, 1866. The production was five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length, it ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. The same year, The Black Domino/Between You, Me and
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#17328591314712398-534: A script by Ron Milbauer and Terri Hughes. Leguizamo and David Hoberman also served as executive producers. In October 2006, Leguizamo's memoir, Pimps, Hos, Playa Hatas and All the Rest of My Hollywood Friends: My Life , was released. During an interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien , he stated that his memoir was very candid about experiences involving other celebrities he had worked with. He stated that working with Arnold Schwarzenegger on Collateral Damage (2002)
2507-540: A show about the participation of Latin Americans throughout US history. The show premiered at the Public Theater before moving to Studio 54 . Latin History for Morons was nominated for the 2018 Tony Award for Best Play . That year, he also was presented with a Special Tony Award for his body of work and for his commitment to bringing diverse stories and audiences to Broadway for three decades. In January 2018, Leguizamo
2616-481: A show to keep it running. Some Broadway shows are produced by non-commercial organizations as part of a regular subscription season— Lincoln Center Theatre , Roundabout Theatre Company , Manhattan Theatre Club , and Second Stage Theater are the four non-profit theatre companies that currently have permanent Broadway venues. Some other productions are produced on Broadway with "limited engagement runs" for several reasons, including financial issues, prior engagements of
2725-637: A small part in Miami Vice . His other early roles include: a friend of Madonna 's boyfriend in her " Borderline " video (1984); Mixed Blood (1985), Casualties of War (1989). In the 1990s he played a terrorist in Die Hard 2 (1990), Hangin' with the Homeboys (1991), the robber in Regarding Henry (1991), Super Mario Bros. (1993), and Night Owl (1993). In 1991, Leguizamo also wrote and performed in
2834-614: A term that can also apply to non-commercial, avant-garde , or productions held outside of traditional theater venues. The Theater District is an internationally prominent tourist attraction in New York City . According to The Broadway League , shows on Broadway sold approximately US$ 1.54 billion worth of tickets in both the 2022-2023 and the 2023–2024 seasons. Both seasons featured theater attendance of approximately 12.3 million each. Most Broadway shows are musicals . Historian Martin Shefter argues that "Broadway musicals, culminating in
2943-565: A venue for plays under the name Burton's Theatre. The Astor Opera House opened in 1847. A riot broke out in 1849 when the lower-class patrons of the Bowery Theatre objected to what they perceived as snobbery by the upper-class audiences at Astor Place: "After the Astor Place Riot of 1849, entertainment in New York City was divided along class lines: opera was chiefly for the upper-middle and upper classes, minstrel shows and melodramas for
3052-773: A video performance during the COVID-19 pandemic . In 2021, Leguizamo provided the voice of Bruno Madrigal in the Disney animated film Encanto , which received the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature . In 2022 he acted in the critically acclaimed Mark Mylod -directed comedy-horror film The Menu alongside Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes , where he played a washed-up movie star attending an exclusive restaurant with his assistant played by Aimee Carrero . Leguizamo based his character on Steven Seagal , with whom he co-starred in Executive Decision . In 2022, he played Scrooge in
3161-428: A video produced by Teen Vogue and online magazine Them called Dear Trans Youth affirming his support for transgender youth . Selected credits Selected credits Charted songs Books Comic Books Broadway (theatre) Broadway theatre , or Broadway , is a theatre genre that consists of the theatrical performances presented in 41 professional theaters , each with 500 or more seats, in
3270-771: A wide variety of colorful, energetic characters, but due to poor ratings the show ran less than one season. Leguizamo also starred in Romeo + Juliet (1996) as Tybalt Capulet , as Violator in Spawn , Cholo in Land of the Dead , and Pestario 'Pest' Vargas in The Pest , the latter being one of his few roles as a lead actor in a studio film. In 1995, he starred as drag queen Chi-Chi Rodriguez in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar for which he received
3379-485: Is an outspoken critic of Hollywood's whitewashing in the casting of movies. In 2022, he spoke out against the casting of James Franco to portray Fidel Castro in the upcoming film Alina of Cuba: La Hija Rebelde , stating "I don't got a prob with Franco but he ain't Latino!" In a 2023 interview with TMZ , Leguizamo, who previously starred in the 1993 Super Mario Bros film , criticized The Super Mario Bros. Movie for having actors Chris Pratt and Charlie Day voice
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3488-614: Is directed by Aram Rappaport and produced by Hilary Shor, Atit Shah and Aaron Becker. In 2014 Leguizamo starred alongside Jon Favreau in Chef as the line cook Martin, a role he prepared for by working as an actual line cook at The Lion in the West Village . Also in 2014, he played a drug dealer in the action comedy film American Ultra alongside Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart . He also starred in John Wick as Aurelio in 2014. The Crash
3597-577: Is the first step toward conquering prejudice." In 2020, Leguizamo's directorial debut, Critical Thinking , was released. He starred in the biographical drama set in 1998 about an inner-city teacher and students who compete in the US National Chess Championship. He said that he wanted to, "create a universal message of hope and spread this message to the world." In 2022, he performed Ghetto Klown "at Rikers Island Correctional Facility for an audience of justice-involved young men." Leguizamo
3706-567: Is usually held on a Sunday evening in June to fit this schedule. In recent years, some shows have moved their Tuesday show time an hour earlier to 7:00 pm. The rationale for this move was that since fewer tourists take in shows midweek, Tuesday attendance depends more on local patrons. The earlier curtain makes it possible for suburban patrons to get home by a reasonable hour after the show. Some shows, especially those produced by Disney , change their performance schedules fairly frequently depending on
3815-597: The American Theatre Wing , a service organization. While the League and the theatrical unions are sometimes at loggerheads during those periods when new contracts are being negotiated, they also cooperate on many projects and events designed to promote professional theatre in New York. Of the four non-profit theatre companies with Broadway theatres, all four ( Lincoln Center Theater , Manhattan Theatre Club , Roundabout Theatre Company , and Second Stage Theatre ) belong to
3924-487: The Broadway stage receiving four Tony Award nominations for Freak in 1998, Sexaholix in 2002, and Latin History for Morons in 2018. He received a Special Tony Award in 2018. Leguizamo began his career as a stand-up comedian in New York City. After several years of doing supporting roles in film and television, he rose to fame with major roles in the fantasy adventure Super Mario Bros. portraying Luigi Mario and
4033-567: The League of Resident Theatres and have contracts with the theatrical unions which are negotiated separately from the other Broadway theatre and producers. ( Disney also negotiates apart from the League, as did Livent before it closed down its operations.) The majority of Broadway theatres are owned or managed by three organizations: the Shubert Organization , a for-profit arm of the non-profit Shubert Foundation, which owns seventeen theatres;
4142-910: The MSNBC series Leguizamo Does America . Leguizamo was born in Bogotá, Colombia , the son of Luz Marina Peláez and Alberto Rudolfo Leguizamo. His father was once an aspiring film director and studied at Cinecittà in Rome, Italy, but eventually dropped out due to lack of finances. According to Leguizamo, his surname is of Basque origin and he has distant Basque roots. Research by the genealogy show Finding Your Roots indicated that Leguizamo does not have Puerto Rican, Italian, and Lebanese ancestry, as he has sometimes stated (the latter of which he claimed through his maternal grandfather). A DNA test found that his genetic ancestry includes Indigenous ( Muisca ), European (especially Iberian), and some African roots. His paternal grandfather
4251-493: The Nederlander Organization , which controls nine theatres; and ATG Entertainment , which owns seven Broadway houses. Both musicals and straight plays on Broadway often rely on casting well-known performers in leading roles to draw larger audiences or bring in new audience members to the theatre. Actors from film and television are frequently cast for the revivals of Broadway shows or are used to replace actors leaving
4360-653: The Off-Broadway production Mambo Mouth , where he played seven different characters. Mambo Mouth won an Obie Award and an Outer Critics Award. He was listed as one of 12 "Promising New Actors of 1991" in "John Willis' Screen Worlds Vol. 43". In 1992, he starred in Whispers in the Dark as John Castillo. In 1993 Leguizamo portrayed Luigi in the film Super Mario Bros. , based on the Mario video game franchise. Despite being considered
4469-569: The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program . In 1999, he starred in the lead role of Vinny in Summer of Sam which was written and directed by Spike Lee. In 2000, Leguizamo portrayed both Genies in Arabian Nights , a TV mini-series adaptation of the epic One Thousand and One Nights . In 2001, RCA/BMG Records released John Leguizamo LIVE ,
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4578-468: The Roaring Twenties , borrowing from vaudeville, music hall , and other light entertainment, tended to ignore plot in favor of emphasizing star actors and actresses, big dance routines, and popular songs. Florenz Ziegfeld produced annual spectacular song-and-dance revues on Broadway featuring extravagant sets and elaborate costumes, but there was little to tie the various numbers together. Typical of
4687-669: The Theater District and Lincoln Center along Broadway , in Midtown Manhattan , New York City . Broadway and London 's West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world . While the Broadway thoroughfare is eponymous with the district, it is closely identified with Times Square . Only three theaters are located on Broadway itself: Broadway Theatre , Palace Theatre , and Winter Garden Theatre . The rest are located on
4796-409: The 1920s were lighthearted productions such as Sally ; Lady Be Good ; Sunny ; No, No, Nanette ; Harlem ; Oh, Kay! ; and Funny Face . Their books may have been forgettable, but they produced enduring standards from George Gershwin , Cole Porter , Jerome Kern , Vincent Youmans , and Rodgers and Hart , among others, and Noël Coward , Sigmund Romberg , and Rudolf Friml continued in
4905-626: The 1999 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program . This was a historic win, making Leguizamo was the first ever Latino to win this award in Emmy history. He received further Primetime Emmy Award nominations for the Paramount miniseries Waco (2018) and the Netflix limited series When They See Us (2019). He has also appeared on ER , The Kill Point , Bloodline , and The Mandalorian . In 2023, he hosted
5014-764: The 2001 movie Moulin Rouge! , he appeared on a celebrity edition of the US version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? with Kelly Ripa , Kevin Sorbo , Alfre Woodard , Martin Short and Chevy Chase . Appearing as the first celebrity to sit in the hot seat, he eventually tried for $ 125,000, but got the answer wrong. In 2002, he starred in the movie Empire . That same year he wrote and performed in Sexaholix... A Love Story , which explained his love life and how he started his own family. Later in 2002, on
5123-536: The Broadway national tour, which travels to theatres in major cities across the country. Sometimes when a show closes on Broadway, the entire production, with most if not all of the original cast intact, is relaunched as a touring company, hence the name "Broadway national tour". Some shows may even have several touring companies out at a time, whether the show is still running in New York or not, with many companies "sitting down" in other major cities for their own extended runs. For Broadway national tours of top-tier cities,
5232-603: The Broadway orchestra is governed by an agreement with the musicians' union (Local 802, American Federation of Musicians) and The Broadway League. For example, the agreement specifies the minimum size of the orchestra at the Minskoff Theatre to be eighteen, while at the Music Box Theatre it is nine. Most Broadway shows are commercial productions intended to make a profit for the producers and investors ("backers" or "angels"), and therefore have open-ended runs (duration that
5341-704: The COVID-19 shutdown, the Shubert Organization, the Nederlander Organization, and Jujamcyn had pledged to increase racial and cultural diversity in their theaters, including naming at least one theater for a Black theatrical personality. The August Wilson Theatre , owned by Jujamcyn, had been renamed after Black playwright August Wilson in 2005. The Shuberts announced in March 2022 that the Cort Theatre , which
5450-564: The Cakewalk (1898), and the highly successful In Dahomey (1902). Hundreds of musical comedies were staged on Broadway in the 1890s and early 1900s made up of songs written in New York's Tin Pan Alley involving composers such as Gus Edwards , John Walter Bratton , and George M. Cohan ( Little Johnny Jones (1904), 45 Minutes From Broadway (1906), and George Washington Jr. (1906)). Still, New York runs continued to be relatively short, with
5559-522: The Christmas action comedy Violent Night . In 2023, he briefly hosted The Daily Show after Trevor Noah 's departure; Leguizamo was part of a series of rotating guest hosts. His brief tenure was a ratings hit, becoming the second most watched of the rotating guests only behind Al Franken . Other guest hosts included Sarah Silverman , Hasan Minhaj , Roy Wood Jr. , Wanda Sykes , Leslie Jones , Kal Penn , Chelsea Handler , and Marlon Wayans . It also
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#17328591314715668-451: The Erlanger syndicate. During this time, the play Lightnin' by Winchell Smith and Frank Bacon became the first Broadway show to reach 700 performances. From then, it would go on to become the first show to reach 1,000 performances. Lightnin' was the longest-running Broadway show until being overtaken in performance totals by Abie's Irish Rose in 1925. The motion picture mounted
5777-521: The Italian-American Mario and Luigi , saying "No I will not [be watching]. They could've included a Latin character, like I was groundbreaking and then they stopped the groundbreaking. They messed up the inclusion. They dis-included. Just cast some Latin folk! We're 20% of the population. The largest people of color group and we are underrepresented." Leguizamo is an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights . In 2023, he, alongside other figures, appeared in
5886-454: The League confirmed that performances would begin to resume in the fall season. Springsteen on Broadway became the first full-length show to resume performances, opening on June 26, 2021, to 1,721 vaccinated patrons at the St. James Theatre . Pass Over then had its first preview on August 4, and opened on August 22, 2021, becoming the first new play to open. Hadestown and Waitress were
5995-592: The Opera at the Majestic Theatre became the longest-running Broadway musical, with 7,486 performances, overtaking Cats . The Phantom of the Opera closed on Broadway on April 16, 2023, soon after celebrating its 35th anniversary, after a total of 13,981 performances. Attending a Broadway show is a common tourist activity in New York. The TKTS booths sell same-day tickets (and in certain cases, next-day matinee tickets) for many Broadway and Off-Broadway shows at
6104-531: The Post was the first show to call itself a "musical comedy". Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed. Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 ( The Mulligan Guard Picnic ) and 1890, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham . These musical comedies featured characters and situations taken from
6213-421: The Rest of My Hollywood Friends: My Life . After the show ran at various theaters in the United States and Leguizamo performed an "unplugged" version of it under the title John Leguizamo Warms Up at a Chicago theater, it opened on Broadway in March 2011 at the Lyceum Theatre . The show, about Leguizamo's path from obscurity to stardom, opened to many positive reviews and was extended through July 10, 2011. A CD of
6322-463: The Time of Cholera (2007), Righteous Kill (2008), The Lincoln Lawyer (2011), The Counselor (2013), John Wick (2014), John Wick 2 (2017), and The Menu (2022). As a voice actor, he narrated the sitcom The Brothers García (2000–2004) and played Sid the Sloth in the Ice Age franchise and Bruno Madrigal in Encanto (2021). Leguizamo is also known for his television roles including Freak (1998) for which he received
6431-441: The authors and also in numerous unlicensed productions). They were imitated in New York by American productions such as Reginald Dekoven 's Robin Hood (1891) and John Philip Sousa 's El Capitan (1896), along with operas, ballets, and other British and European hits. Charles H. Hoyt 's A Trip to Chinatown (1891) became Broadway's long-run champion when it surpassed Adonis and its 603 total performances in 1893, holding
6540-435: The beginning of the nineteenth century, the area that now comprises the Theater District was owned by a handful of families and comprised a few farms. In 1836, Mayor Cornelius Lawrence opened 42nd Street and invited Manhattanites to "enjoy the pure clean air." Close to 60 years later, theatrical entrepreneur Oscar Hammerstein I built the iconic Victoria Theater on West 42nd Street. Broadway's first "long-run" musical
6649-420: The biggest changes to the commercial theatrical landscape—on both sides of the Atlantic—over the past decade or so is that sightings of big star names turning out to do plays has [sic] gone up; but the runs they are prepared to commit to has gone down. Time was that a producer would require a minimum commitment from his star of six months, and perhaps a year; now, the 13-week run is the norm." The minimum size of
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#17328591314716758-427: The bill was not passed. The Save the Theatres campaign then turned their efforts to supporting the establishment of the Theater District as a registered historic district . In December 1983, Save the Theatres prepared "The Broadway Theater District, a Preservation Development and Management Plan", and demanded that each theater in the district receive landmark designation. Mayor Ed Koch ultimately reacted by creating
6867-442: The commencement speech to the Class of 2022 at Vassar College . In 2004, Leguizamo was one of the celebrity supporters of Voto Latino , co-founded by Rosario Dawson . In 2012, he co-founded NGL (Next-Generation Latinx) Collective to create content for Latinx audiences. Backed by GoDigital Media Group, in 2022 NGL merged with mitú "to create the largest digital-first "Latinx powerhouse" in the US." Leguizamo has also been heralded as
6976-470: The crime drama Carlito's Way portraying Benny Blanco (both from 1993), followed by a role as drag queen Chi-Chi Rodriguez in the road comedy To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), for which he received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination. Other films Leguizamo has since appeared in include Romeo + Juliet (1996), The Pest (1997), Summer of Sam (1999), Moulin Rouge! (2001), Empire (2002), Love in
7085-422: The decade ended with critics and audiences giving mixed signals." Ken Bloom observed that "The 1960s and 1970s saw a worsening of the area [Times Square] and a drop in the number of legitimate shows produced on Broadway." By way of comparison, in the 1950 to 1951 season (May to May) 94 productions opened on Broadway; in the 1969 to 1970 season (June to May) there were 59 productions (fifteen were revivals). In
7194-481: The effort. At Papp's behest, in July 1982, a bill was introduced in the 97th Congress , entitled "H.R.6885, A bill to designate the Broadway/Times Square Theatre District in the City of New York as a national historic site". The legislation would have provided certain U.S. government resources and assistance to help the city preserve the district. Faced with strong opposition and lobbying by Mayor Ed Koch's Administration and corporate Manhattan development interests,
7303-464: The entire Broadway production is transplanted almost entirely intact and may run for many months (or years) at each stop. For example, the first U.S. tour of The Phantom of the Opera required 26 53-foot-long (16.1 m) semi-trailers to transport all its sets, equipment, and costumes, and it took almost 10 days to properly unload all those trucks and install everything into a theater. Higinio Cualla Too Many Requests If you report this error to
7412-456: The everyday life of New York's lower classes and represented a significant step forward from vaudeville and burlesque, towards a more literate form. They starred high-quality professional singers ( Lillian Russell , Vivienne Segal , and Fay Templeton ), instead of the amateurs, often sex workers, who had starred in earlier musical forms. As transportation improved, poverty in New York diminished, and street lighting made for safer travel at night,
7521-407: The films also used his voice. In 2003, he voice-acted Globox from Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc . Leguizamo portrayed Paul in the Brad Anderson thriller film Vanishing on 7th Street . In 2004, he guest-starred on Dora the Explorer as Captain Pirate Piggy. During the 2005–06 television season, Leguizamo joined the cast of the show ER , playing the emotionally disturbed Dr. Victor Clemente ,
7630-462: The first Latino children in the neighborhood as formative in his acting ability: "It was tough. There were lots of fights. I would walk through a park and be attacked, and I had to defend myself all the time. But this helped me to become funny so that I wouldn't get hit." His parents divorced when he was 13 and lived with his mother growing up. Leguizamo and his family constantly moved apartments in Queens , attending multiple elementary schools. Leguizamo
7739-416: The first musicals to resume performances on September 2, 2021. The 74th Tony Awards were also postponed; the Tony nominations were announced on October 15, 2020, and took place on September 26, 2021. On July 30, 2021, it was announced that all Broadway theaters required attendees to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination . The rule applied to guests ages 12+. Those under age 12 were required to provide
7848-544: The middle-class, variety shows in concert saloons for men of the working class and the slumming middle-class." The plays of William Shakespeare were frequently performed on the Broadway stage during the period, most notably by American actor Edwin Booth who was internationally known for his performance as Hamlet . Booth played the role for a famous 100 consecutive performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1865 (with
7957-420: The next sixteen years. However, smaller vaudeville and variety houses proliferated, and Off-Broadway was well established by the end of the nineteenth century. A Trip to Coontown (1898) was the first musical comedy entirely produced and performed by African Americans in a Broadway theatre (inspired largely by the routines of the minstrel shows ), followed by the ragtime -tinged Clorindy: The Origin of
8066-552: The number of potential patrons for the growing number of theatres increased enormously. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits and improved production values. As in England, during the latter half of the century, the theatre began to be cleaned up, with less prostitution hindering the attendance of the theatre by women. Gilbert and Sullivan 's family-friendly comic opera hits, beginning with H.M.S. Pinafore in 1878, were imported to New York (by
8175-623: The numbered cross streets, extending from the Nederlander Theatre one block south of Times Square on West 41st Street, north along either side of Broadway to 53rd Street , and Vivian Beaumont Theater , at Lincoln Center on West 65th Street. While exceptions exist, the term "Broadway theatre" is used predominantly to describe venues with seating capacities of at least 500 people. Smaller theaters in New York City are referred to as off-Broadway , regardless of location, while very small venues with fewer than 100 seats are called off-off-Broadway ,
8284-480: The parade on June 12, 2011. It was determined that Leguizamo's maternal lineage includes the 16th-century Spanish conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar , as well as Jerónimo Betuma, a 17th-century indigenous Colombian of noble birth. When Leguizamo was 3 years old, his family emigrated to New York City, where they lived in various neighborhoods in Queens , including Jackson Heights . He later credited growing up as one of
8393-556: The performers, or temporary availability of a theatre between the end of one production and the beginning of another. However, some shows with planned limited engagement runs may, after critical acclaim or box office success, extend their engagements or convert to open-ended runs. This was the case with 2007's August: Osage County , 2009's God of Carnage , 2012's Newsies , and 2022's Take Me Out . Historically, musicals on Broadway tend to have longer runs than "straight" (i.e., non-musical) plays. On January 9, 2006, The Phantom of
8502-464: The plays of George Bernard Shaw , and Katharine Cornell in such plays as Romeo and Juliet , Antony and Cleopatra , and Candida . In 1930, Theatre Guild 's production of Roar, China! was Broadway's first play with a majority Asian cast. As World War II approached, a dozen Broadway dramas addressed the rise of Nazism in Europe and the issue of American non-intervention. The most successful
8611-423: The production plays), meaning that the length of their presentation is not set beforehand, but depends on critical response, word of mouth, and the effectiveness of the show's advertising, all of which determine ticket sales. Investing in a commercial production carries a varied degree of financial risk. Shows need not make a profit immediately; should they make their "nut" (weekly operating expenses), or lose money at
8720-640: The productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein , became enormously influential forms of American popular culture " and contributed to making New York City the cultural capital of the world . New York City's first significant theatre was established in the mid-18th century, around 1750, when actor-managers Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a resident theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street in Lower Manhattan , which held about 280 people. They presented William Shakespeare 's plays and ballad operas such as The Beggar's Opera . In 1752, William Hallam sent
8829-531: The run ending just a few months before Booth's brother John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln ), and would later revive the role at his own Booth's Theatre (which was managed for a time by his brother Junius Brutus Booth Jr. ). Other renowned Shakespeareans who appeared in New York in this era were Henry Irving , Tommaso Salvini , Fanny Davenport , and Charles Fechter . Theatre in New York moved from Downtown gradually to Midtown Manhattan , beginning around 1850, seeking less expensive real estate. At
8938-467: The season. This is done in order to maximize access to their target audience. Most Broadway producers and theatre owners are members of The Broadway League (formerly "The League of American Theatres and Producers"), a trade organization that promotes Broadway theatre as a whole, negotiates contracts with the various theatrical unions and agreements with the guilds, and co-administers the Tony Awards with
9047-597: The second season of the Netflix original series Bloodline . Also in 2016, he produced the Q Brothers' Othello: The Remix at off-Broadway's Westside Theatre. In 2017, Leguizamo sang on " Almost Like Praying ", a charitable song written and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda . Proceeds from the song went to the Hispanic Federation to assist relief efforts for those in Puerto Rico who were affected by Hurricane Maria . Also in 2017, he debuted Latin History for Morons ,
9156-581: The show was released. In 2011, Leguizamo received the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance for his performance in the show. In September 2011, Leguizamo began an international tour of Ghetto Klown in Los Angeles. On July 13, 2012, PBS debuted Tales From a Ghetto Klown, a documentary about Leguizamo's life and
9265-642: The show's development. On November 16, 2013, John taped Ghetto Klown at The New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ for HBO. In 2012, Leguizamo was cast as Derek Trotter in the American remake of the British BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses . In October 2013, Leguizamo started filming for The Crash , starring alongside Frank Grillo , AnnaSophia Robb , Dianna Agron , Ed Westwick , Minnie Driver , Mary McCormack , Christopher McDonald and Maggie Q . The film
9374-461: The stage for 657 performances. Chinatown itself was surpassed by the musical Irene (1919) in 1921 as the longest-running Broadway musical, and even earlier, in March 1920, by Lightnin' (1918) as the longest-running Broadway show. In 1896, theatre owners Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger formed the Theatrical Syndicate , which controlled almost every legitimate theatre in the U.S. for
9483-584: The stereotyping of Latinos in the United States. The production won a Drama Desk Award and four Cable ACE Awards . Both Mambo Mouth and Spic-O-Rama were later filmed for presentation on HBO . In 1995, Leguizamo created, produced, wrote, and starred in the 1995 Latino-oriented variety show called House of Buggin' on Fox Television . Some audiences saw this as the Latino version of In Living Color . The show showcased Leguizamo's well-known ability to assume
9592-511: The syndicated version, a question about the movie featured his character and Meredith Vieira mentioned that Leguizamo had played Lautrec and had been on the show. In 2002, he voiced Sid the Sloth for the film Ice Age , reprising the role for the sequels Ice Age: The Meltdown , Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs , Ice Age: Continental Drift and Ice Age: Collision Course . The game versions of
9701-522: The theatres. Since colored bulbs burned out too quickly, white lights were used, and Broadway was nicknamed "The Great White Way". In August 1919, the Actors' Equity Association demanded a standard contract for all professional productions. After a strike shut down all the theatres, the producers were forced to agree. By the 1920s, the Shubert Brothers had risen to take over the majority of the theatres from
9810-525: The theatrical producer and director who established The Public Theater , led the "Save the Theatres" campaign. It was a not-for-profit group supported by the Actors Equity union to save the theater buildings in the neighborhood from demolition by monied Manhattan development interests. Papp provided resources, recruited a publicist and celebrated actors, and provided audio, lighting, and technical crews for
9919-520: The time, the average age of theatergoers was 40.4; nearly two-thirds of the audience were women; and 29% identified as a racial minority. The classification of theatres is governed by language in Actors' Equity Association contracts. To be eligible for a Tony, a production must be in a house with 500 seats or more and in the Theater District, which are the criteria that define Broadway theatre. Off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway shows often provide
10028-558: The twenties, there were 70–80 theaters, but by 1969, there were 36 left. During this time, many Broadway productions struggled due to low attendance rates, which resulted in perceived mediocrity among such plays. For this reason, the Theatre Development Fund was created with the purpose of assisting productions with high cultural value that likely would struggle without subsidization, by offering tickets to those plays to consumers at reduced prices. In early 1982, Joe Papp ,
10137-560: The vein of Victor Herbert. Live theatre has survived the invention of cinema. Leaving these comparatively frivolous entertainments behind and taking the drama a step forward, Show Boat premiered on December 27, 1927, at the Ziegfeld Theatre . It represented a complete integration of book and score, with dramatic themes, as told through the music, dialogue, setting, and movement, woven together more seamlessly than in previous musicals. It ran for 572 performances. The 1920s also spawned
10246-685: The war's end, theatre resumed in 1798, when the 2,000-seat Park Theatre was built on Chatham Street on present-day Park Row . A second major theatre, Bowery Theatre , opened in 1826, followed by others. By the 1840s, P.T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in Lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince Street, Niblo's Garden opened and soon became one of New York's premier nightspots. The 3,000-seat theatre presented all sorts of musical and non-musical entertainments. In 1844, Palmo's Opera House opened and presented opera for only four seasons before bankruptcy led to its rebranding as
10355-417: The work: " Ghetto Klown is the history that I probably never should have told anyone but my therapist, but it's a real lesson that even if you suffer a certain amount (a lot) of self-doubt and anxiety, you can still accomplish great things. It's a lesson I'm really excited to impart to a whole new audience." The comic is illustrated by Christa Cassano. In 2016, Leguizamo played the role of Ozzy Delvecchio in
10464-555: Was Lillian Hellman 's Watch on the Rhine , which opened in April 1941. After the lean years of the Great Depression , Broadway theatre had entered a golden age with the blockbuster hit Oklahoma! , in 1943, which ran for 2,212 performances. According to John Kenrick 's writings on Broadway musicals, "Every season saw new stage musicals send songs to the top of the charts. Public demand,
10573-539: Was 14.77 million in 2018–2019, compared to 13.79 million in 2017–2018. The average age of the Broadway audience in the 2017–18 theater season was 40, the lowest it had been in nearly two decades. By 2018, about 20% of Broadway tickets were sold to international visitors, although many visitors reported not being able to use their tickets. In 2022–2023, the first full season since the COVID-19 pandemic, Broadway theaters sold 12.3 million tickets, of which 35% were to local residents and 17% to international visitors. At
10682-634: Was a 50-performance hit called The Elves in 1857. In 1870, the heart of Broadway was in Union Square , and by the end of the century, many theatres were near Madison Square . Theatres arrived in the Times Square area in the early 1900s, and the Broadway theatres consolidated there after a large number were built around the square in the 1920s and 1930s. New York runs continued to lag far behind those in London, but Laura Keene 's "musical burletta" The Seven Sisters (1860) shattered previous New York records with
10791-544: Was a wealthy Colombian landowner, and his great-great-grandfather, Higinio Cualla , was Mayor of Bogotá for sixteen years in the late 1800s, and was considered an important modernizer of the city. Before this discovery, Leguizamo had claimed that he was Puerto Rican on his father's side, which was one of the reasons he was selected as the Puerto Rican Day Parade Global Ambassador of the Arts, and marched in
10900-672: Was an eight-part series revolving around ex-war veterans whose bank robbery went wrong, thus ending in a hostage situation. Despite high ratings, The Kill Point was not renewed for a second season. A year later, Leguizamo guest-starred on Sesame Street as Captain Vegetable, who tells Elmo to eat his vegetables. In 2010, Leguizamo also guest-starred on The Electric Company as himself, rhyming about commas and quotation marks. In June 2010, Leguizamo opened his semi-autobiographical one-man theater show, Klass Klown (later renamed Ghetto Klown ), based on his memoir Pimps, Hos, Playa Hatas, and All
11009-713: Was announced as the host of the 63rd Obie Awards held in May 2018 at Terminal 5 . In 2018, Leguizamo played undercover ATF agent Jacob Vazquez in the Paramount Network miniseries Waco . The following year, Leguizamo played Raymond Santana's father Raymond Santana Sr. in the Netflix miniseries When They See Us . Leguizamo wrote the original musical Kiss My Aztec , with book by Leguizamo and director Tony Taccone , music by Benjamin Velez , and lyrics by Velez, Leguizamo, and David Kamp. It
11118-636: Was announced he would host the MSNBC series Leguizamo Does America , premiering on Sunday April 16. In summer 2023, his play, Our Hood , an adaptation of Thornton Wilder's Our Town , had its first reading at the Guthrie Theater under the direction of Maija Garcia. Leguizamo is the host for the PBS series, "American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos", that premiered September 27, 2024. Leguizamo married actress Yelba Osorio in 1994 and divorced in 1996 after two years of marriage. He married Justine Maurer,
11227-415: Was arrested twice as a teenager, once for jumping a turnstile at a New York City Subway station and another time for truancy. His family later sent him to Colombia for a year where he stayed with his relatives. Leguizamo attended Joseph Pulitzer Middle School (I.S.145) and later Murry Bergtraum High School . As a student at Murry Bergtraum, he wrote comedy material and tested it on his classmates. He
11336-575: Was depressed doing ER ," he admitted, "I started gaining weight, I was eating doughnuts, I started smoking again. I'm eating McDonald's, things that I know when I'm depressed I do. I tried to kill myself internally." In 2006, Leguizamo starred in the television pilot for Edison, a 2006 CBS drama about a Los Angeles detective (played by Leguizamo) who relied on impersonations and disguises to solve crimes. Other cast members included Currie Graham and Deidrie Henry. Kevin Rodney Sullivan directed from
11445-608: Was developed at the Public Theater in 2018 and premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theater and La Jolla Playhouse in 2019, where it received critical acclaim. Leguizamo also received Smithsonian Magazine 's 2018 American Ingenuity Award in the History category. In 2020, Leguizamo played Gor Koresh in season 2, episode 1 of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian . In 2021, he played Estragon opposite Ethan Hawke as Vladimir in Waiting for Godot and Wallace Shawn with The New Group Off Stage as
11554-568: Was one of the most enjoyable experiences he'd had as an actor, that Schwarzenegger's accent let him say things that others would think were sexist or homophobic if said by someone else, and that Steven Seagal was an egotist with diva tendencies. In 2007, he played Michael Beltran in the movie The Babysitters . In 2008, he co-starred in the movie The Happening , written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan . In July 2007, Spike TV aired its drama series The Kill Point , which starred Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg , and Michael Hyatt . The show
11663-466: Was released on January 13, 2017. In 2015, Abrams ComicArts published the graphic novel adaptation of Leguizamo's one-man Broadway show, Ghetto Klown . As with the live show, the graphic novel explores the actor/comedian's life and career, beginning with his adolescence in Queens , New York, his involvement in 1980s avant-garde theater, his feature film career, and some of the colorful characters he encountered throughout his life. Leguizamo describes
11772-691: Was under renovation at the time, would be renamed after actor James Earl Jones . In June 2022, the Nederlanders announced that the Brooks Atkinson Theatre would be renamed after Lena Horne , The James Earl Jones Theatre was rededicated in September 2022, while the Lena Horne Theatre was rededicated that November. Although there are some exceptions, shows with open-ended runs generally have evening performances Tuesday through Saturday, with
11881-628: Was voted "Most Talkative" by his classmates. After graduating from high school, he began his theater career as an undergraduate at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts , from which he eventually dropped out in favor of a career in stand-up comedy. Post-NYU, Leguizamo enrolled at LIU Post and at HB Studio , where he took theater classes. Leguizamo started out as a stand-up comic doing the New York nightclub circuit in 1984, and in 1988, he performed at The Public Theater in two shows, including as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream in which he appeared with Fisher Stevens . He made his television debut in 1986 with
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