Ed Sullivan News

TV Land will honor the life and work of beloved actor Andy Griffith, who passed away today at the age of 86, with blocks of programming highlighting his most treasured work, 'The Andy Griffith Show.'

Last chance to see FOREVER PLAID, the 'Heavenly' musical hit, Written & Originally Directed & Choreographed by Stuart Ross Musical Continuity Supervision & Arrangements by James Raitt Originally Produced by Gene Wolsk. Only three shows left.

Today, June 27th, The Santa Monica Library will host a signing with author, Patty Farmer, and special guest Barbrara Van Orden for 'THE PERSIAN ROOM PRESENTS.' Portions of the book sales benefit Childhelp.

CBS Interactive Music Group's award-winning concert webcast series, LIVE ON LETTERMAN, presented by AT&T, will showcase punk rock quartet The Gaslight Anthem in a live webcast concert from the world-famous Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, available on CBS.com and VEVO, tonight, June 27 (9:00 PM, ET/6:00 PM, PT).

CBS Interactive Music Group's award-winning concert webcast series, LIVE ON LETTERMAN, presented by AT&T, will showcase GRAMMY® Award-winning quintet Maroon 5 in a live webcast concert from the world-famous Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, available on CBS.com and VEVO, tonight, June 26 (8:00 PM, ET/5:00 PM, PT).

Broadway In Chicago announces RAIN - A Tribute to the Beatles, the internationally-acclaimed Beatles concert, returns at the Oriental Theatre (24 West Randolph) for a limited one-week engagement tonight, June 26 - July 1, 2012.

On Thursday, three-time Tony Award-winning Broadway composer Richard Adler passed away at the ripe old age of 90. Responsible for two of the biggest Broadway smash hits of the 1950s, THE PAJAMA GAME and GAMN YANKEES, Adler never quite managed to equal his career-high double-hitter of that era, yet his earlier work with Tony Bennett ('Rags To Riches'), Doris Day ('Everybody Loves A Lover') and Marilyn Monroe (the iconic 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President') surely shall solidify his place in the firmament of entertainment history along with his two classic musicals from the Golden Age. Winning both Best Score and Best Musical for both THE PAJAMA GAME and DAMN YANKEES, Adler's partnership with lyricist Jerry Ross - which began on Broadway in 1953 with JOHN MURRAY ANDERSON'S ALMANAC - was tragically cut short just months after the DAMN YANKEES premiere when Ross was diagnosed with lung disease and passed away soon thereafter. Yet, thanks to the beloved film versions of THE PAJAMA GAME and DAMN YANKEES and continued interest in the entities as expressed in the revivals and reappraisals of both onstage from Broadway to Biloxi to Bombay year after year, the snappy, snazzy tunes of Adler and Ross live on eight times a week all around the world - even now, more than fifty years after they premiered. Unfortunately, Adler's subsequent shows with other collaborators post-1955 failed to capture the early magic of his previous projects with Ross and his earlier musical and theatrical endeavors in the pop arena, with the racially charged KWAMINA flopping on Broadway in 1961 (though he took home a Best Composer Tony Award for his efforts anyway) and the awkwardly titled MUSIC IS failing to recreate the magic of its source material, Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT, in 1976. A MOTER'S KISSES, starring Bea Arthur and a young Bernadette Peters, died on the road, as well. In the intervening years, Adler attempted musical adaptations taken from a number of intriguing sources - OF HUMAN BONDAGE and others among them - though only his ballet scores seemed to reach an audience; particularly his last, commissioned for a new production of Lorca's THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA in 1998. Of course, THE PAJAMA GAME has had two Broadway revivals - most recently the rapturously received Kathleen Marshall-directed production starring Harry Connick, Jr. and Kelli O'Hara; and DAMN YANKEES famously returned to the Great White Way with much ado in 1994 starring Victor Garber. Now seems particularly ripe for remounting YANKEES, as we approach twenty years in its absence - especially given the musical's seriously smashing showing at Encores! in 2007. Who knows, perhaps some risky producer will even take a chance on a new production of KWAMINA, MUSIC IS, A MOTHER'S KISSES or one of the bottom drawer shows someday soon to see if they possess any of the limitless potential shown by Adler's earlier work. Or maybe a stage treatment of his TV musical GIFT OF THE MAGI (originally composed for then-wife Sally Ann Howes)? Or, better yet, how about a revue? What a stupendous songstack Adler created over the course of his career - 'Whatever Lola Wants' to 'Hey There' to 'Hernando's Hideaway' to 'You Gotta Have Heart' to 'Steam Heat' to the aforementioned Bennett, Day and Monroe standards and so many more chestnuts.

Poodle skirts and leather jackets are the height of style as Mercer County Community College's Kelsey Theatre 2012 Summer Festival presents The Yardley Players in the rock n' roll musical, "Bye Bye Birdie." Performances are Fridays, July 13 and 20 at 8 p.m.; Saturdays, July 14 and 21 at 8 p.m.; and Sundays, July 15 and 22 at 2 p.m. Kelsey Theatre is located on the college's West Windsor campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road. A reception with the cast and crew follows the opening night performance on July 13.

Today we are talking to an iconic Tony Award-winning star who made her name as a teenager singing on TV variety shows - THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW and SING ALONG WITH MITCH included - and then went on to a multimedia career in film and theatre, conquering Broadway with her Tony-winning turn in the Jule Styne/Arthur Laurents musical HALLELUJAH, BABY! in 1967 and returning to the stage in the subsequent decades in a host of Broadway productions, such as BLUES IN THE NIGHT, JERRY'S GIRLS, ANYTHING GOES, August Wilson's KING HEDLEY II and her celebrated Muzzy in THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE - a role she reprises in the new Muny production of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical beginning this week - the one and only Leslie Uggams. Taking a thorough look back at her career thus far, Uggams opens up about her many successes and how she has endured for fifty years in show business and shares recollections of many of her most noted co-stars and collaborators, all the way up to the recent 2012 Encores! PIPE DREAM. Additionally, Uggams comments on her film and TV appearances over the years, speaking about her work in INHERIT THE WIND, TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN, ROOTS and beyond. Plus, she shares her candid opinions on GLEE, SMASH, Broadway then versus now, future plans for her Lena Horne solo show and thoughts on other roles she would enjoy pursuing - and much, much more!

The Ocean Professional Theatre Company presents MAN OF LA MANCHA, now thru 7/8 at the Bengal Theatre, 180 Bengal Blvd, Barnegat, NJ, to open its Premiere Summer Season. The production will star John Davidson as Don Quixote with Broadway Producer and actress Heather Provost as Aldonza.

Mandy Patinkin will narrate PBS's AMERICAN MASTERS JOFFREY BALLET on Friday December 28th at 9pm. The special will cover the story of the first quintessentially American dance company founded by Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino, who pioneered a new dance philosophy.

On June 27th, The Santa Monica Library will host a signing with author, Patty Farmer, and special guest Barbrara Van Orden for 'THE PERSIAN ROOM PRESENTS.' Portions of the book sales benefit Childhelp.

With every element of a well-made musical, JERSEY BOYS might just be the best of the past decade's jukebox musical trend.

CBS Interactive Music Group's award-winning concert webcast series, LIVE ON LETTERMAN, presented by AT&T, will showcase punk rock quartet The Gaslight Anthem in a live webcast concert from the world-famous Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, available on CBS.com and VEVO, Wednesday, June 27 (9:00 PM, ET/6:00 PM, PT).

CBS Interactive Music Group's award-winning concert webcast series, LIVE ON LETTERMAN, presented by AT&T, will showcase GRAMMY® Award-winning quintet Maroon 5 in a live webcast concert from the world-famous Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, available on CBS.com and VEVO, Tuesday, June 26 (8:00 PM, ET/5:00 PM, PT).

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment Commissioner Katherine Oliver today presented the seventh annual "Made in NY" Awards, honoring individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to various fields in the City's entertainment and digital media industries.