Ethel Merman News

Goodbye, Varla Jean!? Just like a candle in the wind, Varla Jean Merman is blowing herself out! After what seems like endless years of life on the streets, whoops...life on the road, everyone's favorite drag chanteuse is thinking about packing it in with one final, endless blowout. As always, Varla will bring audiences to their knees with old favorites, new classics, flashy costumes and hair-raising wigs. The big question: Will this old attention whore be able to resist the lure of the spotlight? To find out the answer… Varla Jean Merman's "Relieving Herself" will run from June 30 - August 30 at The Art House in Provincetown, MA. For tickets and information, please visit www.ptownarthouse.com, or call 1-800-838-3006.

The company of Holler If Ya Hear Me just celebrated their opening with the Gypsy Robe ritual. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the event and brings you full photo coverage below!

The 13th Street Repertory Theater will offer audience talkbacks after the following performances of Chip Deffaa's new musical play 'Irving Berlin's America': Sunday, June 22nd at 8 p.m.; Thursday, June 26th at 8 p.m.; Sunday, June 29th at 8 p.m.; Monday, June 30th at 8 p.m.; Sunday, July 6th at 8 p.m.; and Thursday, July 10th at 8 p.m.

They say that everyone has a twin somewhere in the world. Well, I'm sure that Ethel Merman is proudly smiling down at hers as Heather Carvel boldly tackles the role of a lifetime in the World Premiere of Warehouse Theatre Company's BIG VOICE: THE ETHEL MERMAN EXPERIENCE. Directed, conceived and written by Kristofer Green, every look, nuance, expression, and style is exactly dead-on, from hair to dress to even the way Ethel raised her eyebrows and smiled after a song.

Heather Carvel stars as Ethel Merman in Warehouse Theatre Company's BIG VOICE: The Ethel Merman Experience. Check out a first look at some production shots below!

This week, THEATER TALK welcomes authors with two unique takes on American culture - James Shapiro, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, whose new book is Shakespeare in America, an anthology of writing about the Bard's impact on U.S. history; and Carolyn Quinn, author of Mama Rose's Turn: The True Story of America's Most Notorious Stage Mother, whose book illuminates the life of the character central to one of America's greatest musicals, Gypsy.

This critically acclaimed one-man-show by playwright L. Robert Westeen portrays the range of emotions of a man after spending an evening with a cocaine-addicted Ethel Merman female impersonator. He leaves the experience with a new outlook on life; from his earliest memories as a child to a moment that forever changed his life. A humorous tale of living life to the fullest, Cocaine & Ethel Merman not only provides a study of staying true to oneself in the face of adversity, but also stresses the importance of never taking any moment for granted.

A number of years ago, I was ordering breakfast at the Dogwood Cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and before the food arrived, a barbershop quartet began to harmonize. 'How delightful,' I thought - and then there was another song, followed by yet another: A barbershop quartet convention was in town, and several groups were scattered throughout the restaurant and waiting for their opportunity to perform. Before my pancake syrup was even out of the bottle, I was already craving some antidotal 'heavy metal.' Such experiences remind me of Mark Twain's story CAPTAIN STORMFIELD'S VISIT TO HEAVEN: Upon first arriving behind the Pearly Gates, the Captain is delighted to hear the heavenly harps; but as time passes, the harmonies become stultifying. Thankfully, the barbershop quartet that strolls through Theatre Memphis' colorful new production of Meredith Willson's THE MUSIC MAN never overstays its welcome.

Eugene Pack talks about his career and the upcoming show at George Street Playhouse, 'Celebrity Autobiography.' It will be on stage in New Brunswick for one night only on Saturday, June 20th.

HBO's acclaimed documentary all about musical theatre master Stephen Sondheim, titled SIX BY SONDHEIM, is now available to download digitally in HD.

Join Anita Gillette and Richard Skipper as they sit down to discuss Anita's career and life at The Spiral Theatre tonight, June 11.

If you like musicals with amazing dancing, powerful singing and farcical comedy - and who doesn't? - get your tickets now for Crazy for You, on Stratford's Festival stage, as this show will sell out this summer. Crazy for You is an interesting invention. George and Ira Gershwin's old songs from the 1930s were gathered together, and while people love the tunes and lyrics, the stories that go with them are dated. So in 1992, playwright Ken Ludwig wrote a script incorporating the Gershwin favourites.

Heather Carvel stars as Ethel Merman in Warehouse Theatre Company's BIG VOICE: The Ethel MermanExperience. Check out a sneek peek below of her rehearsing 'Some People' from the musical Gypsy!

Nancy Rhodes, artistic director of Encompass New Opera Theatre, announced today that Klea Blackburst, actress, singer and comedienne best known for her award-winning tribute to Ethel Merman, Everything The Traffic Will Allow, will be the featured performer at the Encompass Jazz Cabaret Gala in Manhattan on June 25th, 2014. The benefit will take place at 7:00 PM in a spacious penthouse with panoramic views at 66 Leonard Street.

As the summer months heat up, so do the Columbus stages. Check out BWW's top 5 picks that the whole family can enjoy without breaking the bank this summer:

In this cabaret, Candice van Litsenborgh places centre stage those actors whose work directors love 'so doggone much that (they're) their second choice', singing a selection of 18 songs along the way.

MEET & GREET, a new comedy play by tv veterans Stan Zimmerman (The Golden Girls, Roseanne, Gilmore Girls) & Christian McLaughlin (Married with Children, Desperate Housewives) and directed by Stan Zimmerman (Entertaining Mr. Sloane, Blink & You Might Miss Me, A Tuna Christmas), will be presented by Combined Artform at Hollywood Fringe 2014. The outrageous comedy features an all star cast, including Daniele Gaither (Mad TV, Groundlings), Teresa Ganzel (Wall-E, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson), Carolyn Hennesy (True Blood, General Hospital), Paul Iacono (G.B.F., The Hard Times of RJ Berger) and Vicki Lewis (NewsRadio, Chicago on Broadway). It runs for five performances at Theatre Asylum, 6320 Santa Monica Blvd in Los Angeles on Sunday June 8th at 4pm, Saturday June 14th at 7pm, Sunday June 22nd at 7pm, Wednesday June 25th at 8:30pm and Saturday June 28th at 7pm. Tickets are $15 online or $20 at the door.

Heather Carvel stars as Ethel Merman in Warehouse Theatre Company's BIG VOICE: The Ethel Merman Experience. Check out a sneek peek below of her rehearsing 'Some People' from the musical Gypsy!

Those were the words 12-year-old Jane Lawrence remembered when she was asked to head up the up-and-coming blonde starlet's fan club at 20th Century Fox under the supervision of studio head Darryl Zanuck. Jane was no stranger to movie sets or movie stars, being that her father, Sidney Lipsitch, headed RKO's legal department. She spent time with the likes of Robert Mitchum, Lucille Ball, Ethel Merman, Polly Bergen and Irving Berlin, but helping launch the career of one of the world's most legendary sex symbols was a task beyond Jane's wildest dreams. In author Tony Jerris' new audio book, “Marilyn Monroe: My Little Secret,” he explores Jane's working relationship with the actress and how it developed into a special friendship that lasted right up until Marilyn's untimely death on August 5, 1962. Told in Jane's voice, this is a story of an elderly woman reflecting upon on her fondest memories of the blue-eyed screen goddess and how she became a confidante of sorts, who Marilyn used to call “My little secret.”

Today we continue the 2014 edition of our annual BroadwayWorld feature series spotlighting the very best Tony Awards-related moments of all time with a special focus on one of the most adored and highly-awarded musicals ever written, HELLO, DOLLY!