Daniel McDonald News

The 71st Annual ACE Eddie Awards presented by American Cinema Editors (ACE) today announced winners LIVE during a virtual awards ceremony recognizing outstanding editing in 14 categories of film, television and documentaries.

Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba and Tony Award nominee Patrick Page head the dynamic cast of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's benefit online reading of Shakespeare in Vegas, a rollicking comedy by Suzanne Bradbeer. Presented by TheatreWorks' New Works from Home program in partnership with Vegas Theatre Company, this fizzy comedy features the unlikely pairing of a Vegas impresario with a dream and a despondent New York actor who join forces to bring the Bard of Avon to Sin City. Directed by Las Vegas native and TheatreWorks' Artistic Associate and Director of New Works Giovanna Sardelli, Shakespeare in Vegas will be offered via video streaming from Thursday, July 23rd at 6PM (PT) until Monday, July 27th at 6PM (PT). A link to stream the show will be available at TheatreWorks.org for no charge, although donations are encouraged to support the 2019 Regional Theatre Tony-winning TheatreWorks Silicon ValleyBroadwayWorld recently caught up with Karen Ziemba from her home in New York. Her remarkable career includes 11 Broadways shows, countless Off-Broadway and regional theater appearances, and a few national tours for good measure.

This episode of Broadway Backwards looks back at the loss of one of the musical theatre's most dashing young stars, Daniel McDonald. We give you a look at him in the Kander and Ebb musical Steel Pier' We also dropped by New World Stages to meet the women of Doug Stone's off Broadway Tupperware comedy 'Sealed For Freshness', and for all the Stephanie J. Block fans, BroadwayWorld's own Richard Ridge takes us to a rehearsal of the epic Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schonberg and Richard Maltby Jr. musical The Pirate Queen.

Bon soir! Bon soir! You have arrived at La Cage Aux Folles!

Following their sold-out debut in July, VANJARI is thrilled to return to Don't Tell Mama for two more dates in September! In their new and unique show, Evangeline and Ariana take the audience on a generational romp from the Blues to Blondie, Kander & Ebb to the Cure, with a dash of Grey Gardens, because…the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree!

The Theatre Group at SBCC opens the 17/18 season with Cole Porter's sparkling musical, HIGH SOCIETY, July 12-29 in the Garvin Theatre. 

Video highlights of the the charming and versatile star from Broadway, television and film.

Dolly is a great comic role, but it requires a great foil playing opposite her.

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551.

Craving a show after the show? 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, is expanding its popular late-night series with fresh faces and hot new performances to keep the party buzzing into the wee hours. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551. 54 BELOW welcomes you to loosen your tie and embrace the night at its upcoming events:

Musical Theatre West's (MTW) Reiner Staged Reading Series offers a special one-night only performance of Steel Pier, Sunday, November 23, 7pm, at the University Theatre at California State University, Long Beach (off 7th Street between East and West Campus Drive, Parking Lot 7). Tickets are now on sale at the Musical Theatre West Ticket Office, by calling (562) 856-1999 ext. 4, or at www.musical.org. Advance general admission tickets: $27, or $32 on the day of the performance.

Opening at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, today, April 23, 2013, 'Empire State' explores the constantly shifting realities and mythologies of New York City as a 'New Rome.'

Opening at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, on April 23, 2013, 'Empire State' explores the constantly shifting realities and mythologies of New York City as a 'New Rome.'

Opening at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, on April 23, 2013, "Empire State" explores the constantly shifting realities and mythologies of New York City as a "New Rome." Filling the Palazzo's exhibition spaces, this ambitious intergenerational survey presents the work of twenty-five renowned and emerging New York City artists - each in depth and with important new work being shown for the first time -- and suggests how they might re-imagine the relationship between their community and the life of the city through a unique grasp on its varied sources of power. With painting, sculpture, photography, video, and installation, the artists in "Empire State" examine their city's enduring relevance to the world at a moment when urban life is being redefined rapidly everywhere.

Steel Pier, John Kander and Fred Ebb's high-energy dance musical about life in 1930s Atlantic City, is currently playing its first professional European staging at London's Union Theatre. Phantom of the Opera veteran Sarah Galbraith stars as Rita Racine, a dancer who sets out to leave the dance marathon circuit amid the city's romance and deceit. Get a first look at Galbraith and the rest of the cast in the photos below!

Also in the upcoming 'Rock of Ages' movie, Keith has many other TV, film and pop-music credits, as well as 4 B'way shows.

On Wednesday July 6 Kritzerland at the Gardenia presented a salute to the lesser known music of Kander and Ebb - The Kander and Ebb Album - two of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. Think Chicago or Cabaret, and you need go no further. These two wildly popular shows still receive international mountings and provide us with some of the greatest Broadway pop tunes ever. Ahead of their time, Kander and Ebb produced shows with a substantially dark and biting edge not found in other composers' music and lyrics. Bruce Kimmel, whose Kritzerland recording company continues to enjoy enormous success worldwide, again served as narrator of the evening telling short, funny anecdotes about his encounters with John Kander and also detailing Kander and Ebb's failures as well as successes. Liza Minnelli's Broadway career soared because of K & E - it started with Flora the Red Menace in the 60s and continued through the next couple of decades with hits and flops such as The Rink and 1977's The Act, which began in LA as Shine It On. K & E certainly didn't fare too badly either with Liza's name on their bill. Think of what she did for the movie Cabaret with her Academy Award winning turn as Sally. However, such was not the case with their film New York, New York which received some pretty scathing reviews in the late 70s; the pair were none too pleased that a small musical The First Nudie Musical (Bruce Kimmel)fared far better than their multi-billion dollar disaster. It's always such fun for theatre lovers to hear about the down side of the business, and particularly via Kimmel's straight-forward, droll take on it.

Fortunately, Toby's has the right Kira in Heather Marie Beck. In her game willingness to clown rather than just be pretty and sound lovely, she reminds me a bit of Cameron Diaz. I will long treasure the memory of her staggering along, one skate on and one skate off, as she doggedly makes her escape from a too-importunate Sonny. Beck may know, and we may know, that the character looks ridiculous, but the character doesn't know; that's real comedy.

Toby's Dinner and Show Baltimore - Xanadu runs June 18, 2011 through September 4,2011.