Bernadette Peters News

Today we are celebrating one of the most beloved special entertainment events of all time - originally an original musical written for television, presented live, actually - which has now been retrofitted, refigured and wholly reinvented into an entirely new experience live on Broadway byway of the brand new stage adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein's CINDERELLA, which opens this weekend!

The four-time Tony Award-winning classic, Camelot is coming to Casa Mañana Theatre today, March 2 - 10.

Aaron Lazar hosts Arts For All's fifth annual Cabaret benefit, Arts For All Goes Public: Celebrating 5 Years, on April 21, 2013 at Joe's Pub. The benefit includes performances from Mr. Lazar, PigPen Theatre Co., and more New York stars. Tickets are available now.

Now in its 15th season, Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook celebrates the best in American singing and songwriting with a new chapter in the Songbook story: 'American Songbook in the Penthouse,' a series of weekend-only performances by performers and composers presented in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, an intimate yet elegant venue that brings artists closer to the audience in a cabaret-style setting. The second weekend of Kaplan Penthouse performances, the sixth week of American Songbook 2013, runs April 5-6, 2013. April 5th belongs to Cristin Milioti, who was nominated for a Tony Award in 2012 for her lead role in the musical Once.

Casting is complete for The Actors Fund's upcoming benefit reading of the American classic Our Town on Monday, March 4, 2013 at 7:30 p .m. at The Gerald R. Lynch Theatre at John Jay College (524 West 59th Street). Tony Winners Blythe Danner, BD Wong and two-time Tony Award nominee S. Epatha Merkerson will share the role of the Stage Manager for this one night benefit.

Happy Birthday, Bernadette Peters! Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings. She is one of the most critically acclaimed Broadway performers, having received nominations for seven Tony Awards, winning two (plus an honorary award), and nine Drama Desk Awards, winning three. Four of the Broadway cast albums on which she has starred have won Grammy Awards. Regarded by many as the foremost interpreter of the works of Stephen Sondheim, Peters is particularly noted for her roles on the Broadway stage, including in the musicals Mack and Mabel, Sunday in the Park with George, Song and Dance, Into the Woods, Annie Get Your Gun and Gypsy.

Pierrot Productions will entertain audiences with the classic musical fable about the road to stardom with 'Gypsy,' coming to Mercer County Community College's Kelsey Theatre. Dates and times are Fridays, March 15 and 22 at 8 p.m.; Saturdays, March 16 and 23 at 8 p.m.; and Sundays, March 17 and 24 at 2 p.m. A reception with the cast and crew follows the opening night performance on March 15.

On a break from rehearsal, BroadwayWorld.com sat down with director Richard Jay-Alexander to get the exclusive scoop on what audiences can expect!

Broadway luminaries and Riverdale's most talented performers will join forces for a 25th Anniversary concert production of Stephen Sondheim's classic fairy tale musical INTO THE WOODS, to be performed at the Riverdale YM-YWHA on Saturday, March 16, 2013, at 8pm.

Today in 1973, A Little Night Music opened at the Shubert Theatre, where it ran for 601 performances. A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Since its original 1973 Broadway production, the musical has enjoyed professional productions in the West End, by opera companies, in a 2009 Broadway revival, and elsewhere, and it is a popular choice for regional groups. It was adapted for film in 1977, with Harold Prince directing and Elizabeth Taylor, Len Cariou, Lesley-Anne Down and Diana Rigg starring.

Tony nominee Stephanie D'Abruzzo, rising cabaret star Jennifer Sheehan, and multi-award-winning star of ZOMBIE, Bill Connington, appeared in a sold-out staged reading of The Importance of Being Earnest ('A Trivial Comedy for Serious People') by Oscar Wilde. Joining them were Gayton Scott (Gypsy), Brian Charles Rooney (Threepenny Opera), Annmarie Benedict (Robeson) and Michael Keyloun (Tartuffe). The staged reading was site-specific, and was performed in the white and gold gilded ballroom of a private Eastside club. The evening was produced by Razors Edge Productions. Scroll below for photos from the performance!

Today we are shifting our focus from the stages of Broadway and beyond to the stages of the previous 84 Academy Awards telecasts that have transpired to date, in anticipation of Sunday night's big, big, big show. After all, this year's Academy Awards is of particular interest and excitement to theatre fans around the globe, especially because super-producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are behind it - the men responsible for the hit stage-to-screen adaptations of CHICAGO and HAIRSPRAY, as well as the small-screen successes GYPSY, LIFE WITH JUDY GARLAND: ME & MY SHADOWS, ANNIE, and, most recently, NBC's musical series SMASH, to name a few of their many marvelous musical-friendly credits. They told me themselves earlier this week that this year's telecast would be the most music-packed Academy Awards show to date, and, just judging from the announced tributes, performers and presenters thus far it is clear to see that they were not kidding - reunions of the casts of the film versions of CHICAGO and LES MISERABLES live onstage, singing their film's most famous songs to Jennifer Hudson leading a DREAMGIRLS tribute all the way to a James Bond 50th anniversary celebration featuring Adele and Shirley Bassey on some famous Bond themes, as well as Barbra Streisand herself singing 'The Way We Were' in memory of friend and collaborator, three-time Oscar-winner Marvin Hamlisch.

Gray Line New York, New York City's premier double-decker bus and motorcoach tourism company, has announced that TV stars Joan and Melissa Rivers will be inducted into its "Ride of Fame IIi" campaign. With this initiative, Gray Line New York recognizes and honors commendable celebrities from around the world who have influenced New York City, with its "Immortal", "IT" and "imminent" time capsule by bestowing a bus in its fleet to each dedicatee.

Now in its 15th season, Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook celebrates the best in American singing and songwriting with a new chapter in the Songbook story: 'American Songbook in the Penthouse,' a series of weekend-only performances by performers and composers presented in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, an intimate yet elegant venue that brings artists closer to the audience in a cabaret-style setting. 'American Songbook in the Penthouse' embraces adventuresome performers and celebrates composers and lyricists, both newer and veteran. With a seating capacity of just 225, the Kaplan Penthouse allows acoustic performers to be heard the way they intend - near to the audience and without elaborate amplification. The size of the space also allows performers to interact with their audience to make them an integral part of their performance, something difficult to do in a larger, more formal venue.

Two-time Tony Award nominee S. Epatha Merkerson will join previously announced Tony winners Blythe Danner and B.D. Wong as they share the role of the Stage Manager in The Actors Fund's upcoming benefit reading of the American classic Our Town on Monday, March 4, 2013 at 7:30 p .m. at The Gerald R. Lynch Theatre at John Jay College (524 West 59th Street).

Largely responsible for the movie musical revolution of the 21st century, setting the stage first with their mega-successful work on TV in the 1990s like GYPSY, CINDERELLA and ANNIE, then, with their feature film entries since - beginning with CHICAGO and continuing with HAIRSPRAY and many more - executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have bridged the gap between Broadway and Hollywood like no other producers - and, all the while, on their own terms. Opening up about a vast array of projects, ranging from the aforementioned modern classic TV musicals all the way through to the films and stage shows - successful revivals of PROMISES, PROMISES and HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING included - and their affiliation with NBC's musical drama series SMASH, Zadan and Meron paint a vivid portrait displaying their fierce dedication to the performing arts and desire for excellence in all of their many, many endeavors. Plus, most importantly, Zadan and Meron clue us in on what we can anticipate from this Sunday's Academy Awards telecast, which they are producing - such as their experiences collaborating with controversial triple-threat host Seth MacFarlane, amassing the starriest assortment of musical performers in Oscar history (Barbra Streisand, Adele, Shirley Bassey, Norah Jones, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Jennifer Hudson among the performers announced so far), creating spectacular tributes to both James Bond in his fiftieth year on film and the modern movie musical revolution (showcasing no less than the reunions of cast members from CHICAGO, DREAMGIRLS and this year's multi-nominated hit LES MISERABLES) as well as what will make this show truly unique. Additionally, Zadan and Meron shed some light on their current and future plans and productions, among them: a BONNIE & CLYDE miniseries for the History Channel starring Emile Hirsch; the currently-running second season of NBC's musical drama series SMASH; two original movie musicals in development and original stage projects, too. All of that, memories of the remarkable LIFE WITH JUDY GARLAND: ME & MY SHADOWS, Lifetime's record-breaking broadcast of a new STEEL MAGNOLIAS, comments on DROP DEAD DIVA's recent cancellation, news on the upcoming e-book edition of Zadan's peerless SONDHEIM & CO. biography, the NBC TV version of THE SOUND OF MUSIC starring Carrie Underwood and much, much more!

Chita Rivera, Stephen Sondheim and Harold Prince will share the 2013 Jerome Robbins Award on February 18, 2013 at the Baryshnikov Arts Center. A full evening of performances, hosted by Frank Rich and featuring stars from Broadway as well as dancers from New York City Ballet will be included in the presentation.

Via email, Nikki Snelson, the Broadway actress, dancer, and choreographer arguably best known for her role as fitness queen Brooke Wyndham in the screen-to-stage adaptation of "Legally Blonde," has confirmed with BroadwayWorld that she will indeed travel to Manila, Philippines to hold a weekend of jazz class, singing/acting master class from Saturday, March 9 to Sunday, March 10.

The Denver Center Theatre Company's (DCTC) world premiere production of SENSE & SENSIBILITY THE MUSICAL, with book and lyrics by Jeffrey Haddow and music by Neal Hampton, will be staged by Director and Choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge, whose recent Broadway revival of Ragtime received seven Tony Award nominations. SENSE & SENSIBILITY THE MUSICAL will receive its world premiere production April 5 - May 26, 2013 in The Stage Theatre at the Denver Center for Performing Arts at 14th and Champa.