David Lee News

Opera San José (OSJ) continues its season with Gioachino Rossini's The Italian Girl in Algiers. This sparkling and fast-paced opera weaves a madcap story full of twists and turns into a comic adventure to a land of magnificent palaces, swashbuckling pirates and lavish harems. The Italian Girl in Algiers will be sung in Italian with English supertitles. Six performances are scheduled from November 15 through 30 at the California Theatre, 345 South First Street in downtown San José.

This year's class of honorees reflects the broad and global reach of innovation. The inductees are an international group that includes a man who pioneered the in-vehicle electronics market, a husband and wife team, young entrepreneurs, a cowboy and a movie star.

Out of a pool of 175 aspiring opera singers from across the country, the Canadian Opera Company has selected seven to compete at Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition Gala on November 25, 2014 at Toronto's Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. This year hosted by world renowned Canadian tenor Ben Heppner, Centre Stage is the COC's annual fundraising gala dedicated to the discovery and celebration of the next generation of opera stars. The Ensemble Studio Competition is the gala's feature event and an exhilarating vocal showcase with the singers, selected from nationwide auditions for the COC Ensemble Studio - Canada's premier training program for young opera professionals - vying for cash prizes ranging in value from $1,500 to $5,000.

EW reports that fan favorite Laura Benanti will return in her role as Colin Sweeney's estranged third wife Renata on CBS's THE GOOD WIFE. According to the report, Sweeney portrayer Dylan Baker will also reprise the role for an upcoming episode set to air in 2015.

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich.

The new musical BREAKING THROUGH with book by Kirsten Guenther, and music and lyrics by Cliff Downs and Katie Kahanovitz, will have an industry presentation today, November 5 at Carroll Studios in New York.

Below, BroadwayWorld brings you photos of Broadway veteran Hunter Ryan Herdlicka in the BroadwayWorld.com series 'In The Spotlight' by acclaimed photographer Walter McBride!

Oliver Thornton will be starring in Two River Theater's production of Camelot from November 15th through December 14th. Broadwayworld.com had the opportunity to interview Thornton about the show and his career.

The new musical BREAKING THROUGH with book by Kirsten Guenther, and music and lyrics by Cliff Downs and Katie Kahanovitz, will have an industry presentation on Wednesday, November 5 at Carroll Studios in New York.

Whether you've been living under a rock for the past week or you're just in the mood for a recap, BroadwayWorld's 'this week in pictures' is here to satisfy your end-of-the-week fix! Take a look below to catch up on the latest happenings from the Great White Way to The West End (and everywhere in between) with coverage of press events, rehearsals, opening nights and more. Highlights this week include the first preview of SIDE SHOW, Jeremy Jordan at 54 Below, the opening nights of THE REAL THING and THE LAST SHIP, and more!

The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing will celebrate its eighth annual GRAMMY Week event honoring three-time GRAMMY winner Nile Rodgers for his commitment to excellence and ongoing support for the art and craft of recorded music.

Paper Mill Playhouse just opened its 2014-2015 season with a Broadway-bound, world-class revival of Can-Can starring Kate Baldwin as Pistache and Jason Danieley as Aristide. This fresh new production features direction by David Lee (Frasier, Cheers) and choreography by Patti Colombo (Paper Mill's Peter Pan, On the Town, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers). The show features a book byAbe Burrows (Guys and Dolls, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) and a re-crafted script by Joel Fields (Ugly Betty, The Americans) and David Lee. The company just celebrated the success of the run in New York City and you can check out photos from the party below!

Liberal doses of silliness, some supreme Alicia exasperation, and the sublime sadness of the closing scene make 'Old Spice' a very good episode, but not a great one (in my opinion).

Today Jason Danieley talks to BWW about his character 'Aristide' who he describes as, 'a guy, unlucky in love, desperate to be happy with a penchant for drinking.'

On the next episode of next week's THE GOOD WIFE titled "TBD" - Alicia and Elsbeth put their legal battle on hold when the government brings an economic espionage charge against both of their clients.

Oh, THE GOOD WIFE. You beautiful, shiny, xylophone-sounding sunflower of a television show. You are the Ann Perkins to my Lesley Knope tonight (and if you don't get the reference, get thee to PARKS & RECREATION - right now!).

Patti Colombo's choreography and Jason Danieley's performance highlight this rewritten version of the the Porter/Burrows musical.

GLAAD's 2014 Spirit Day is today, October 16, and invites Americans to wear purple to take a united stand against bullying and show support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth. Paper Mill Playhouse staff, crew, orchestra and the cast of CAN-CAN participated in Spirit Day, and you can check out a photo below!

Tony Award nominee Kate Baldwin stars as Pistache, a Parisian cafe owner who decides to feature the scandalous dance the Can-Can in her show, yet her defiance of the law may mean the end of her business and her love life.

The Canadian Opera Company's 2014/2015 season gets off to a rollicking start with a hilarious new production of Verdi's Falstaff, from acclaimed Canadian director Robert Carsen. Inspired by the beloved Shakespearean character and the resulting folly of his ill-advised seduction attempts, Carsen's production of Falstaff sets the action in a lovingly rendered 1950s England. The all-Canadian cast stars world renowned bass-baritone Gerald Finley, returning to the COC mainstage after more than 20 years, in a highly anticipated role debut as the title character. Joining Finley is baritone Russell Braun as Ford, Falstaff's nemesis; soprano Lyne Fortinas Alice Ford, mezzo-soprano Lauren Segal as Meg Page and contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux as Mistress Quickly, the women determined to teach Falstaff a lesson; soprano Simone Osborne as the lovesick Nannetta; and tenor Frédéric Antoun as Nannetta's amorous suitor Fenton. COC Music Director Johannes Debus guides the COC Orchestra and Chorus through the lyricism and artistry of Verdi's score that captures all the joy, wisdom and profound humanity of Shakespeare's comic invention.