Obama musical-comedy '44' to play off-Broadway this fall
The aptly titled '44' — written, composed and directed by former Obama campaign staffer Eli Bauman — is scheduled to begin a limited eight-week engagement at The Daryl Roth Theatre on Oct. 14, producers announced Friday.
Tickets are now on sale with a special $44 seat promotion to celebrate the 44th president's 64th birthday.
Tracing 'the rise and presidency of Barack Obama, as well as the eccentric political characters he met along the way,' the award-winning satire is described by producers as 'the story of Obama you won't read about in history books because history books are now banned in most states. But also, because '44' is the story of Obama as Joe Biden kinda sorta remembers it.'
Daily News drama critic Chris Jones said the production 'tickled him purple all night long' when it played the Epiphany Center for the Arts in Chicago last year.
A workshop production of '44' — subtitled 'The (un)Official, (un)Sanctioned Obama Musical' — played to packed audiences during a four-show engagement last June at Racket NYC.
Actor and singer T.J. Wilkins, a season six standout from 'The Voice,' starred as Barack Obama, while R&B hitmaker Shanice portrayed Michelle Obama. As Biden, renowned voice actor Chad Doreck rounded out the cast, which also included Kevin Bailey, Larry Cedar, Marqell Edward Clayton, Kelley Dorney, and Summer Nicole Greer playing many notable figures in the Obama orbit circa 2008.
Bauman, the son of Sha Na Na singer Jon 'Bowzer' Bauman, served as an early political organizer for Obama in Las Vegas and went on to coordinate Veterans Affairs for the president-elect's 2009 Inaugural Committee.
__________
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Michelle Obama wishes a happy 64th birthday to ‘the coolest guy I know'
Michelle Obama wished a happy birthday to the 'coolest' man she knows. Fortunately for Barack Obama, the former first lady was referring to him. 'Happy birthday to my love, my best friend, my everything! @BarackObama, even after all these years, you're still the coolest guy I know,' she wrote on Instagram Monday night. The 44th president turned 64 on Monday, and thanked his wife and her 57 million Instagram users for their birthday wishes. 'Love you, Miche! And thanks everybody for all the birthday wishes,' the two-term commander-in-chief responded. His 61-year-old wife posted the same message on her Instagram Story, though that post was accompanied by audio of Stevie Wonder singing his 1980 song 'Happy Birthday.' She recently shut down rumors that she and her husband of nearly 33 years were having marital problems because gossips don't see a lot of photos of them together these days. 'It's like, 'OK, so we don't Instagram every minute of our lives. We are 60,' she told NPR's 'Wild Card' podcast. 'We're 60, y'all. You just are not gonna know what we're doing every minute of the day.' _____
Fox News
14 minutes ago
- Fox News
Sean Hannity unveils latest podcast guest
Fox News host Sean Hannity showcases the latest episode of his podcast with special guest Forrest Galante on Fox Nation.
Forbes
14 minutes ago
- Forbes
‘Fantastic Four' Final Weekend Box Office Worse Than First Estimated
The Fantastic Four: First Steps' final box office numbers for its second frame ended up being even lower than its already disastrous projected take. On Sunday, the likes of Deadline, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter all projected that the film would earn $40 million domestically in its second Friday to Sunday frame, a 66% drop from its first weekend of $115.6 million in business from July 25-27. As it turns out, even those estimates were a bit too generous. Box office trackers The Numbers and Box Office Mojo both reported the final weekend numbers on Monday for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and the film ended up earning $38.6 million from Aug. 1-3, which is a 67% drop in business. To date, The Numbers and Box Office Mojo reported, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has earned $197.1 million domestically and $170.2 million internationally for a worldwide tally of $367.4 million. Directed by Matt Shakman and starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Fantastic Four: First Steps had a production budget of $200 million-plus, according to Variety, but its marketing spend has not been divulged. 'Superman' Appears To Be On Its Way To Winning The 2025 Superhero Box Office Crown Given The Fantastic Four's significant drop in business in its second weekend, it appears that Warner Bros.' Superman from director James Gunn is well on its way to being the top superhero movie of 2025. The first release from Warner Bros.' DC Studios — where Gunn and Peter Safran serve as its co-CEOs — Superman earned $125 million domestically in its opening weekend from July 11-13. Luckily for Gunn and Safran, Superman's business only dropped by 53% in the film's second weekend in theaters as it pulled in a healthy $58.4 million from July 18-21. Per Variety, Superman had a production budget of $225 million and $100 million was spent on marketing. As of Monday, per The Numbers and Box Office Mojo, Superman has earned $316 million domestically and nearly $235 million internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $551 million. Starring David Corenswet in the title role, Superman's box office gross to date far exceeds the global grosses of the first and second superhero movies released in 2025. Both released by Disney Marvel, Captain America: Brave New World finished with a global tally of $413.6 million ($200.5 million domestically and $213.1 million internationally). Thunderbolts*, meanwhile, has earned $382.4 million globally ($190.2 million domestically and $192.1 million internationally) to date. The film is close to being done with its theatrical run, however, having only played in 20 venues over the weekend.
