National Post

Springstee­n’s Broadway show will be a Netflix special

- Michael Paulson

NEW YORK • Bruce Springstee­n is recording his Broadway show and will release it as a Netflix special Dec. 15, the day of the production’s final onstage performanc­e.

He invited a private audience for two extra performanc­es this week — one Tuesday and one Wednesday — while cameras recorded his performanc­e for the special.

Springstee­n on Broadway, which has been running at the 948-seat Walter Kerr Theater since October, is a reflective two-hour program in which Springstee­n interspers­es stripped-down versions of some of his most popular songs with stories about his life adapted from his memoir, Born to Run. He performs the show mostly alone — accompanyi­ng himself on piano, guitar and harmonica — but is also joined for a few songs by his wife, Patti Scialfa.

The show has been an enormous financial success, with an average price of about US$510 per ticket (that is the face value — some people pay more to purchase from resellers). As of Sunday, the show had grossed US$76 million and had been seen by a total audience of 151,549 people. Springstee­n generally does four or five shows a week — fewer than the usual eight for most Broadway production­s — and has taken several weeks off; as of Sunday he had performed the show 160 times.

The show has been appealing to fans in part because it afforded them a rare opportunit­y to see one of the nation’s most popular recording artists in a venue much smaller than the arenas and stadiums in which he usually performs. After extending the show three times, Springstee­n has said the final performanc­e will be Dec. 15, at which point he will have done the show 236 times.

The show won very strong reviews from critics, and Springstee­n this year was given a special, non-competitiv­e Tony Award in recognitio­n of the production. (He had opted not to vie for any competitiv­e prizes — he made himself ineligible by declining to invite the 840 Tony voters to see the show.)

A well-received television special could make Springstee­n one of a handful of EGOT artists — those who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. Springstee­n won an Oscar in 1994 for his song from Philadelph­ia and has won 20 Grammys, so he needs only an Emmy to complete the awards grand slam.

 ?? GREG ALLEN / INVISION / AP FILES ??
GREG ALLEN / INVISION / AP FILES

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