WAKE UP with BWW 9/23/14 - Bennett & Gaga Get CHEEK TO CHEEK, BROADWAY SALUTES and More!
Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: Bennett & Gaga's CHEEK TO CHEEK is out today, Harvey Fierstein hosts BROADWAY SALUTES, JERSEY BOYS welcomes back an old friend, PBS salutes Joan Rivers and more!
Next up in our series of Broadway stars introducing BWW's morning feature is Tony nominee Sheryl Kaller (portrait by Walter McBride), currently directing WHILE I YET LIVE, which begins performances tomorrow. She has also helmed Broadway's NEXT FALL and MOTHERS AND SONS.
Photo by Walter McBride.
TODAY'S TOP ITEMS:
- Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga's CHEEK TO CHEEK album is out today!
- Harvey Fierstein hosts tonight's BROADWAY SALUTES!
- Quinn VanAntwerp returns to Broadway's JERSEY BOYS as 'Bob Gaudio' this evening...
- TACT's THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE begins previews off-Broadway.
- Randy Graff revisits her show MADE IN BROOKLYN at 54 Below tonight.
- And be sure to set your DVR! PBS's AMERICAN MASTERS airs both THE BOOMER LIST and a tribute to Joan Rivers tonight!
WHAT YOU MISSED YESTERDAY:
- Top of the food chain! Disney's THE LION KING has achieved the top box office earnings of any work in any media in entertainment history.
- Hank Azaria, Megan Hilty, Michael McGrath and Leslie Kritzer will lead a workshop production of THE HONEYMOONERS!
- BRING IT ON's Taylor Louderman and newcomer Alanna Saunders joined NBC's PETER PAN LIVE!
- The cast is set and rehearsals are underway for AN AMERICAN IN PARIS!
- We got a first look (right) at Steve Martin's BRIGHT STAR in San Diego; plus Wayne Brady and more in KISS ME, KATE in Pasadena...
- Rob Marshall and Ellen Lewis will be honored at CSA's 30th Annual Artios Awards, with HEDWIG and BEAUTIFUL among the nominees.
- Jennifer DiNoia will star as 'Elphaba' in the West End's WICKED this winter!
- And last weekend's BC/EFA's 2014 Broadway Flea Market raised $713,986!
Broadway Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny with a high of 71 degrees during the day; low of 58 tonight, so bring a sweater to the show!
Quote of the Day: Lady Gaga on accepting yourself for who you are...
I'm confident in who I am. I've come to a place in my life where I've accepted things that are me, as opposed to feeling pressure to explain myself to people around me. That's just the way I've always tried to be. It didn't change when I became a star.
-- Lady Gaga (via BrainyQuote)
What we're listening to: Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga's CHEEK TO CHEEK, out today! Read Pat Cerasaro's in-depth review of the album HERE, and watch two studio performances -- "Anything Goes" and I Can't Give You Anything But Love" -- below!
And finally, a Happy Birthday shout-out to Jason Alexander, who turns 55 today!
Well known for his portrayal of 'George Costanza' on the long-running sitcom Seinfeld, Alexander is also an accomplished stage actor. He won the 1989 Tony and Drama Desk awards for Best Actor in a Musical for Jerome Robbins' Broadway. Among his other Broadway credits are Merrily We Roll Along, The Rink, Broadway Bound (which he just directed in Los Angeles), and Accomplice. He has also been nominated for a Drama Desk Award for off-Broadway's Personals and has appeared in Forbidden Broadway and Light Up the Sky. Alexander recently acted in the big screen adaptation of Lucky Stiff.
BROADWAY BOUND at the Odyssey Theatre.
See you bright and early tomorrow, BroadwayWorld!

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