Barbara Siman News

To celebrate the publication of The Untold Stories of Broadway on November 12 by Dress Circle Publishing, Jennifer Ashley Tepper will be sharing three short excerpts about each of the Broadway theaters featured in the book-countdown style! Today: The Mark Hellinger Theatre!

Five Towns College is honoring entertainment luminaries for their Contributions to the World of Entertainment by naming four schools, three centers, a theater and a new graduate library after them. The naming dedications are: John Lennon Music & Technology Center, Charles Strouse School of Music, Jule Styne School of Theatre, Maury Yeston School of Education, Stewart F. Lane School of Business, Frank Loesser College Theater, Ervin Drake Popular Music Center, Stanley Cohen College Library, Barbara Siman Dance Center, Richard Hayman Graduate Library and the Nederlander Worldwide Production Center. Scroll down for photos from last month's dedication ceremony!

Fox News reports that former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, known for his trademark question, 'How'm I doing?, died early this morning, Friday, February 1st. His 1984 memoir, 'Mayor,' was a best seller that was turned into the off-Broadway musical by the same name.

Daniel Radcliffe and the stars of Smash were on hand last night, November 6, at the Eighth Annual New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) gala to honor Neil Meron and Craig Zadan for their work in bringing musical theatre to a worldwide, pop-culture audience. Meron and Zadan are represented on Broadway with How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and are currently producing the new NBC television drama Smash about the behind-the-scenes creation of a Broadway musical. Smash premieres on NBC on February 6th. BroadwayWorld was there for the star-studded event honoring the duo and celebrating this year's NYFM productions, and brings you full photo coverage below!

MARTIN, a new musical by legendary composer/lyricist Charles Strouse and bookwriter Leslie Lee, will be presented Off-Broadway by the Negro Ensemble Company, with performances beginning this Wednesday, October 19th. The limited engagement is set to run through October 30th at the Kraine Theater, 85 East 4th Street (between Second & Third Ave.) Under the direction of Jeffrey B. Moss and choreographed by Barbara Siman, the cast of MARTIN features Gilbert Glenn Brown, Dameka Hayes, Heather Massie, Kyle Minshew, Tony Perry, Raena White, and Curtis Wiley. The Musical Director is Skip Brevis.

Audience Rewards and The Drama Bookshop hosted an exclusive discussion and book signing with Charles Strouse, with very special guest interviewer Lin-Manuel Miranda, on Friday, September 5th, at the Drama Bookshop (250 West 40th Street, New York, NY.)

On July 10th, Barnes & Noble Lincoln Center hosted Legendary Broadway/film/TV composer Charles Strouse (Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, Annie, 'All in the Family,' Bonnie & Clyde) at the piano in conversation with columnist and author Steven Suskin (Playbill, Variety, Second Act Trouble).

On Monday, June 2, The Paley Center for Media hosted a tribute to the composer Charles Strouse on the occasion of his eightieth birthday. The event, 'Applause Applause: A Tribute to Charles Strouse,' featured rare television footage; a live piano performance by Strouse and Andrea McArdle (who created the title role in the original cast of the Broadway musical Annie); and a panel discussion about his life and work moderated by Paley Center president Pat Mitchell. Peter Filichia (Theatre critic, The New Jersey Star-Ledger; Author Let's Put on a Musical: How to Choose the Right Show for Your Theater) was on the panel. Friends in the audience included Thomas Meehan (Tony award-winning writer), and Martin Charnin (Tony award-winning lyricist and director). Strouse is best known for his many Broadway shows (including Bye Bye Birdie, Golden Boy, Applause, Annie, and Rags) and his music for film and television-most notably the iconic theme song from All in the Family. ALL PHOTOS BY PHILIP KESSLER.