Ben Vereen News

Theatre World Award Alumni Courtney B. Vance, Anika Noni Rose, Ben Vereen, Christine Lahti, Tony Sheldon, Lea Salonga, Isabel Keating, Phillip Boykin, Jessie Mueller, Jackie Hoffman, Wesley Taylor, Patricia Elliott, Meg Bussert, Crystal A. Dickinson, with special guestNathan Lane, all took part in the 69th Annual Theatre World Awards Ceremony last night, June 3, 2013 at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street), home of the current Broadway revival of Pippin. BroadwayWorld was there for the celebration and you can check out photos from Part 1 of the ceremony below! Check back later for Part 2!

Theatre World Award Alumni Courtney B. Vance, Anika Noni Rose, Ben Vereen, Christine Lahti, Tony Sheldon, Lea Salonga, Isabel Keating, Phillip Boykin, Jessie Mueller, Jackie Hoffman, Wesley Taylor, Patricia Elliott, Meg Bussert, Crystal A. Dickinson, with special guest Nathan Lane, all took part in the 69th Annual Theatre World Awards Ceremony last night, June 3, 2013 at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street), home of the current Broadway revival of Pippin. BroadwayWorld was there for the celebration and you can check out photos from inside the ceremony below!

Theatre World Award Alumni Courtney B. Vance, Anika Noni Rose, Ben Vereen, Christine Lahti, Tony Sheldon, Lea Salonga, Isabel Keating, Phillip Boykin, Jessie Mueller, Jackie Hoffman, Wesley Taylor, Patricia Elliott, Meg Bussert, Crystal A. Dickinson, with special guest Nathan Lane, all took part in the 69th Annual Theatre World Awards Ceremony last night, June 3, 2013 at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street), home of the current Broadway revival of Pippin. BroadwayWorld was there for the celebration and you can check out a highlight from the ceremony below featuring presenter Jackie Hoffman and honoree Shalita Grant!

Theatre World Award Alumni Courtney B. Vance, Anika Noni Rose, Ben Vereen, Christine Lahti, Tony Sheldon, Lea Salonga, Isabel Keating, Phillip Boykin, Jessie Mueller, Jackie Hoffman, Wesley Taylor, Patricia Elliott, Meg Bussert, Crystal A. Dickinson, with special guest Nathan Lane, all took part in the 69th Annual Theatre World Awards Ceremony last night, June 3, 2013 at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street), home of the current Broadway revival of Pippin. BroadwayWorld was there for the celebration and you can check out photos from the arrivals below!

Theatre World Award Alumni Courtney B. Vance, Anika Noni Rose, Ben Vereen, Christine Lahti, Tony Sheldon, Lea Salonga, Isabel Keating, Phillip Boykin, Jessie Mueller, Jackie Hoffman, Wesley Taylor, Patricia Elliott, Meg Bussert, Crystal A. Dickinson, with special guest Nathan Lane, have been announced as presenters and performers at the 69th Annual Theatre World Awards Ceremony on Monday evening, June 3, 2013 beginning at 6:45 p.m. at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street), home of the current Broadway revival of Pippin. Mother and daughter, Rosemary Harris and Jennifer Ehle, both Theatre World Award Alumni, are 2013 Honorary Co-Chairs.

The big night is coming up quickly, and BroadwayWorld wants you to be the most knowledgable person at your Tonys party on June 6. Brush up on your trivia for the nominess for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical below!

Theatre World Award Alumni Courtney B. Vance, Anika Noni Rose, Ben Vereen, Christine Lahti, Tony Sheldon, Lea Salonga, Isabel Keating, Phillip Boykin, Jessie Mueller, Jackie Hoffman, Wesley Taylor, Patricia Elliott, Meg Bussert, Crystal A. Dickinson, with special guest Nathan Lane, have been announced as presenters and performers at the 69th Annual Theatre World Awards Ceremony on Monday evening, June 3, 2013 beginning at 6:45 p.m. at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street), home of the current Broadway revival of Pippin. Mother and daughter, Rosemary Harris and Jennifer Ehle, both Theatre World Award Alumni, are 2013 Honorary Co-Chairs.

Today we are continuing BroadwayWorld's 2013 Tony Awards Clip Countdown with a special spotlight focused on 10-time 2013 Tony Award-nominated Best Revival, PIPPIN, which was also the recipient of five 1973 Tony Awards.

Luminaries of stage and screen will come together tonight, May 20th at LaGuardia Arts High School in Manhattan to pay tribute to treasured alumnus and show biz icon Ben Vereen (Pippin, Roots, Jesus Christ Superstar, Fosse, Jelly's Last Jam, Sweet Charity, Hair, Wicked).

And this Monday, May 20th, John Bantay will do his farewell SPIN as he leaves to continue pursuing his career and becomes a stage manager at the long-running musical, Avenue Q. Speaking to John Bantay, I, of course, was curious as to what his favorite video clips have been over the years. He was reticent to put them in 'Top 10' format because, to him, he considers them all number 1's. So here's his hit list, in no particular order:

The Muny announced principal casting for the sixth show of its fantastic 95th Season, Disney and Cameron Mackinstosh's Mary Poppins the Musical, directed by Gary Griffin and choreographed by Alex Sanchez. Mary Poppins the Musical is sponsored by Ameren.

BENJ PASEK and JUSTIN PAUL have added a second show at Joe's Pub at The Public on Wednesday, May 15. An 11:30 PM show was just added due to popular demand after the 9:30 PM show sold out. The Tony Award nominated composer and lyricist team is celebrating the new Ghostlight Records cast recording of Dogfight. Both shows will features performances by the original cast of the Second Stage Theatre production and other special guests. Dogfight just won the 2013 Lucille Lortel Award for "Outstanding Musical." Tickets to Joe's Pub are $25 and on sale now at JoesPub.com.

BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was thrilled to sit down and speak with nearly all of this year's Tony Award nominees at the official Tonys Meet & Greet on May 1, 2013, and we will be bringing you special coverage on all of them throughout the awards season. Today we bring you Rob McClure, a nominee for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for Chaplin. Check out what he had to say below!

As the top recipient of the Cuyahoga County Arts and Culture's 'Creative Culture' grant, The Dancing Wheels Company will initiate a year-long campaign to bring new hope and a vision of possibility to those who have struggled with the indignities of bullying and other social injustices. The springboard for the campaign is the world premiere of Daring to be Dumbo, an eye-opening production performed by Dancing Wheels' dancers with and without disabilities and choreographed by the esteemed film maker, director and choreographer David Rousseve.

Beloved Broadway producer Roy Miller passed away suddenly early Sunday morning, April 28, 2013 following a brief illness. Roy produced the multiple Tony Award nominated Broadway productions of The Drowsy Chaperone and this season's A Christmas Story: The Musical. His other Broadway producing credits include West Side Story, Ragtime, [title of show] and The Pee-Wee Herman Show among others. He recently served as Producing Artistic Director of Surflight Theatre from 2010 to 2012 and also served as Associate Producer of Paper Mill Playhouse from 1991 to 2004.

As part of its ongoing series Changing the Picture, sponsored by Time Warner, Inc., Museum of the Moving Image will present the documentary film Latinos Beyond Reel: Challenging a Media Stereotype followed by a town-hall discussion about the role of Latinos in the media and the obstacles they face in representation within mainstream culture. The program, today, April 28, at 5:30 p.m., will feature appearances by Miguel Picker, co-director of Latinos Beyond Reel; actress Liza Colon-Zayas (Law and Order: SVU, Louie); actor Tony Plana (Ugly Betty, Three Amigos, Resurrection Blvd.); Maria Agui Carter, Chair, National Association of Latino Independent Producers; and will be moderated by Museum trustee Warrington Hudlin. The program was organized by independent filmmaker Edwin Pagan, a producer of Latinos Beyond Reel.

Roger O. Hirson and Stephen Schwartz's beloved coming-of-age musical comedy Pippin opens tonight, April 25, 2013, at Broadway's Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street). This all-new production is directed by Diane Paulus featuring choreography by Chet Walker in the style of Bob Fosse and circus creation by Gypsy Snider of the Montreal-based circus company Les 7 doigts de la main (also known as 7 Fingers). Let's see what the critics had to say...