Bob Boyett News

New York: Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff, Producing Artistic Director; Rosetta LeNoire, Founder), will celebrate its 40th Anniversary with a Benefit Gala on Monday, March 30th, 2009. The evening will feature a special 'Blast from the Past' concert of songs and numbers from four decades of Amas Musicals, including Bubbling Brown Sugar, Zanna Don't!, Barrio Babies, Bobos, SHOUT! The Mod Musical, Four Guys Named Jose, Latin Heat, Starmites, Langston Hughes's Little Ham, From My Hometown, Lone Star Love, and Wanda's World. The director and choreographer for the evening is Amas Artist-in-Residence Maria Torres, with musical direction by Doug Oberhamer. The event will take place at the Lighthouse International, 111 East 59th Street, at 7pm.

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts today unveiled its 2009-10 Theater Season and planet Ordway? Target? World Music and Dance Season. The announcement, made by Ordway President and CEO Patricia Mitchell, revealed a performance calendar filled with ambitious productions reflecting the breadth of American artistry and emerging global talent.

Recently, Upright's Chris Isaacson attended the opening night of 'Minsky's' at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.

Alfred Hitchcock's THE 39 STEPS, Broadway's longest running comedy, will play its 400th performance on Friday, February 20th. Now in its second smash year, the Tony Award-winning quick change comedy version of Hitchcock's classic film thriller is playing at the Helen Hayes Theatre (240 West 44th Street). THE 39 STEPS is adapted by Patrick Barlow and directed by Maria Aitken. The production is based on an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon and on the book by John Buchan.

Center Theatre Group's 2009-2010 season at the Ahmanson Theatre is a yearlong celebration of big, lush Broadway hits, including four Tony Award-winning musicals, the 2008 winner of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best Play, and a rare, limited engagement of two stage virtuosos.

Associated Press Theatre writer Michael Kuchwara is reporting that 'Minsky's,' the musical tale of Depression era burlesque that just opened last week in Los Angeles, is set for a summer or fall Broadway bow, according to its producers.

'MINKSY'S' book writer Bob Martin is featured on Toronto's TheStar.com chatted about his work on the new musical 'Minsky's', Bob Martin created and starred on Broadway in The Drowsy Chaperone.

We are giving away 2 pairs of tickets to THE 39 STEPS, the winner of two Tony Awards, the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience and the 2007 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, is adapted by Patrick Barlow and directed by Maria Aitken. The production is based on an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon and on the book by John Buchan.

Minsky's opens February 6, 2009, at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre and continues through March 1 (previews began January 21). Featuring music by three-time Tony Award-winning composer Charles Strouse (Bye Bye Birdie, Annie, Applause) and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead (Jelly's Last Jam and Triumph of Love), Minsky's is Center Theatre Group's second collaboration with Tony Award-winning writer Bob Martin and director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw (The Drowsy Chaperone).

'Minsky's' opens February 6, 2009, at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre and continues through March 1 (previews began January 21).

'Minsky's' opens February 6, 2009, at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre and continues through March 1 (previews began January 21). Featuring music by three-time Tony Award-winning composer Charles Strouse ('Bye Bye Birdie,' 'Annie,' 'Applause') and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead ('Jelly's Last Jam' and 'Triumph of Love'), 'Minsky's' is Center Theatre Group's second collaboration with Tony Award-winning writer Bob Martin and director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw ('The Drowsy Chaperone')

SHN will present the all-new production of the Lincoln Center prize-winning musical classic Rodgers and Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC at the Golden Gate Theatre in September 2009. Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC swept the 2007-2008 theater awards winning 7 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival as well as the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Award for Best Musical Revival, and is directed by Bay Area native Bartlett Sher. Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC replaces the previously announced production of EVER AFTER in the Best of Broadway series. Plans for the World Premiere of EVER AFTER have been indefinitely postponed. Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC, which is produced by Lincoln Center Theater in association with Bob Boyett and NETworks Productions, is presented as the final production of the 2008-2009 Citibank Best of Broadway series season under the direction of Carole Shorenstein Hays. This production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC will begin its national tour following the San Francisco engagement.

Alfred Hitchcock's THE 39 STEPS starts its second year on Broadway in a new home and with a new Hannay. Sean Mahon will join the Tony Award-winning quick-change comedy as Richard Hannay on Wednesday, January 21, when the production moves to the Helen Hayes Theatre (240 West 44th Street). Sam Robards will play his final performance as Richard Hannay on January 4 at the Cort Theatre (138 West 48th Street).

'Good Morning America NOW' went behind-the-scenes at Broadway's THE 39 STEPS on this morning's broadcast. In the taped segment, 'Good Morning America NOW' took a look at the Tony Award-winning quick-change comedy version of the 1935 Hitchcock film classic, interviewing cast members Arnie Burton and Jeffrey Kuhn and showing some of the organized chaos backstage during the running of a typical performance.

Alfred Hitchcock's THE 39 STEPS starts its second year on Broadway in a new home and with a new Hannay. Sean Mahon will join the Tony Award-winning quick-change comedy as Richard Hannay on Wednesday, January 21, when the production moves to the Helen Hayes Theatre (240 West 44th Street).

The 2008 Tony Award Winning Best Play Revival, Boeing-Boeing, will play its final Broadway performance on Sunday, January 4, 2009, when the current cast's contracts end. Upon closing, Boeing-Boeing will have played 280 performances and 17 previews. The critically acclaimed comedy, which recouped its entire $2.65 million investment this September, will launch a 45-week national tour this fall. Prior to its Broadway engagement, Boeing-Boeing enjoyed a wildly successful run at London's Comedy Theatre from February 2007 - January 2008.

13, a new musical with music and lyrics by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown will play its final performance on Sunday, January 4, 2009 after 22 preview and 105 regular performances at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 W. 45th Street). The first Broadway show to star an all teenage cast and band began previews on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 and opened on Sunday, October 5, 2008.

Minsky's is a big, racy, new musical comedy set in a time when entertainment was about legs and laughs, and you had to push the limits to keep the customers buying tickets. A rollicking backstage story, set in Prohibition Era New York City. Tony Award winning costume designer Gregg Barnes talked about his creations for MINSKY'S on the show's official site in a wonderful audio/video essay that we are excited to bring you here on BWW TV!

The Royal Court Theatre's critically acclaimed production of Anton Chekhov's THE SEAGULL has fully recouped its capitalization costs, officially entering the hit column. THE SEAGULL, in a new version by Christopher Hampton and directed by Ian Rickson, is now in its final two weeks, concluding its limited engagement as scheduled on Sunday, December 21 at the Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48th Street).

Former SNL genius, Celebrity Autobiography mainstay and gifted comic actress Rachel Dratch is a member of the cast of the currently in rehearsal musical Minsky's, she reveals her joy of working with composer Charles Strouse and her hope of it continuing to Broadway in the future to NYMag.com's Diana Scholl.