‘Springsteen on Broadway’ Album to Be Released Later This Year
By Jem Aswad
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – To the surprise of basically no one, an album of Bruce Springsteen’s Tony-Award-winning one-man show “Springsteen on Broadway” will be released on December 14. The autobiographical show, which has been running steadily since October of 2017, closes on Dec. 15 after an expected 236 performances, all at the Walter Kerr Theatre. The following night will see the premiere of a Netflix special of the show , which was announced back in July. The album features 16 songs, one more than the 15-song set he performed on most dates, but drops the 2005 song “Long Walk Home,” which was played on most nights (track list below).
A version of “The Land of Hope and Dreams” from the album was released early Friday.
Springsteen has only rarely altered the 15-song, two-hour show, which features him performing on acoustic guitar and piano and spinning yarns from his 2016 autobiography “Born to Run.” Springsteen’s wife, singer Patti Scialfa, joins him for the songs “Tougher Than the Rest” and “Brilliant Disguise,” and most of the setlist changes have come on the rare nights when she did not appear. Similarly, while he has switched up the wording a bit, the show’s narrative is generally chronological and follows the autobiography, although he has fired off direct or implicit criticisms of President Trump’s policies on some occasions.
In its preview-week review , Variety wrote, “Having reached virtually every mountaintop a rock star can, at 68 the workaholic singer-songwriter is embarking on another challenge, and the scripted nature and relatively rigid format of this four-month-long run are new disciplines for a man who famously switches up his setlists and speechifying on a nightly basis. The opening ‘Growin’ Up’ is followed by ‘My Hometown,’ which is followed by ‘My Father’s House’ (see where he’s going with this?), framing memories of the Holy Trinity of family, church and Jersey that will be familiar, if comparatively rose-colored, to anyone who’s read his book. The Boss specializes in Steinbeck-size statements, and this show is no exception.”
(Variety reviewed the show again five months later ; Springsteen spoke with Variety in a two-part interview about the show, his career , President Trump, New Jersey, marriage and other topics in September of last year.)
‘’ began previews on October 3, 2017 and the completely sold-out series of performances officially opened October 12, leading tickets to go for thousands of dollars on the secondary market. The show was extended three times after its initial eight-week run, and will close on Broadway on
December 15th
.
Springsteen is writer, director, and producer of the “Springsteen on Broadway” film along with Landau, Thom Zimny (“ and the E Street Band: Live in New York City (2001)”), Springsteen tour director George Travis, and Landau Management’s Barbara Carr.
‘Springsteen on Broadway’ Track List:
Growin’ Up (introduction & song)
My Hometown (introduction & song)
My Father’s House (introduction & song)
The Wish (introduction & song)
Thunder Road (introduction & song)
The Promised Land (introduction & song)
Born In The U.S.A. (introduction & song)
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out (introduction & song)
Tougher Than The Rest (introduction & song) with Patti Scialfa
Brilliant Disguise (introduction & song) with Patti Scialfa
Long Time Coming (introduction & song)
The Ghost Of Tom Joad (introduction & song)
The Rising (song)
Dancing In The Dark (introduction & song)
Land Of Hope And Dreams (song)
Born To Run (introduction & song)
