"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," Springsteen says
Bruce Springsteen Announces 'Personal and Intimate' Broadway Residency
"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," Springsteen says
The "personal and intimate" "Springsteen on Broadway" residency will run from October 12th to November 26th, with Springsteen performing five nights a week, Tuesday to Saturday, each week, the New York Times reports. Preview performances for the residency begin October 3rd.
"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,” Springsteen said in a statement. "In fact, with one or two exceptions, the 960 seats of the Walter Kerr Theater is probably the smallest venue I've played in the last 40 years."
At each show, Springsteen will perform his music, read excerpts from his memoir Born to Run and deliver spoken word anecdotes from his career.
"My show is just me, the guitar, the piano and the words and music," Springsteen added. "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."
For the residency, Springsteen teamed with Ticketmaster's Verified Fan program to ensure that tickets for the in-demand performances land in the hands of fans and not scalpers; ticket bots have wreaked havoc on Broadway shows, especially Hamilton.
Ticket registration for Springsteen on Broadway begins today, Wednesday, and closes August 27th. Fans will be notified August 29th prior to the August 30th on-sale date. Visit the Springsteen on Broadway site for more information.
In June, a source told the New York Post, "[Springsteen] wants to play a smaller house. He wants to try something more intimate, and he likes the idea of being on Broadway."
The 975-person venue has sat unoccupied since the Broadway production of Amelie closed in May. Rather than let the venue sit empty, the Kerr's owner Jujamcyn Theaters reportedly offered Springsteen the theater rent-free; Springsteen will receive ticket revenues while the theater profits from alcohol sales. "He'll keep the lights on in the building, and they'll sell gazillions of dollars worth of booze," the source added.
It was also speculated at the time that Springsteen's Kerr Theater residency was a precursor for a potential Broadway production based on Springsteen's autobiography, but that has not been confirmed.