Ethel Merman News

Phyllis Diller, the legendary actress and comedian, makes an appearance on the May 1st episode of Bravo's "Dukes of Melrose." In her last television appearance ever, the comedic genius opens up her home to "…Melrose" star Cameron Silver to give a rare glimpse inside her home and closet.

The company of MOTOWN just celebrated their opening with the Gypsy Robe ritual with the company's recipient Michael Arnold. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the event and brings you full photo coverage below!

The company of MATILDA just celebrated their opening with the Gypsy Robe ritual with the company's recipient Nadine Isenegger. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the event and brings you full photo coverage below!

The Lost Treasures Collection, a series of rarely performed musical gems presented in concert/cabaret version on Lakewood Theatre Company's Side Door stage, presents the final offering in its third season, the 1950 musical Call Me Madam. Food, wine and other beverages will be available for purchase before and during the show.

The acclaimed Sundays In Summer Cabaret Series at the Arthur Newman Theater in Palm Desert will be back for it's fourth season beginning Sunday, May 5th. 'Since it began, more than 90 different performers have brought praises from our audiences which have grown tremendously over the years', says Les Michaels of Life Is A Cabaret, who produces the shows. The theater, which is located at The Joslyn Center in Palm Desert, seats up to 180 people and is a perfect setting for these intimate cabaret style performances that you would normally see in a smaller New York style supper club.

Today, we're featuring Betty Garrett circa 1981. Garrett made her Broadway debut in 1942 in the revue Of V We Sing, which closed after 76 performances but led to her being cast in the Harold Rome revue Let Freedom Sing later that year. It closed after only eight performances, but producer Mike Todd saw it and signed her to understudy Ethel Merman and play a small role in the 1943 Cole Porter musical Something for the Boys. Merman became ill during the run, allowing Garrett to play the lead for a week. Later, she became known for the roles she played in two prominent 1970s sitcoms: Archie Bunker's liberal neighbor Irene Lorenzo in All in the Family and landlady Edna Babish in Laverne & Shirley. In later years, Garrett appeared in television series such as Grey's Anatomy, Boston Public and Becker as well as in several Broadway plays and revivals.

The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Foundation presents Musical Theatre Guild's GIRL CRAZY in the Janet & Ray Scherr Forum Theatre at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 16, 2013. This performance will conclude the Musical Theatre Guild's 17th season.

The company of Kinky Boots just celebrated their opening with the Gypsy Robe ritual with the company's recipient Charlie Sutton. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the event and brings you full photo coverage below!

Grab your tap shoes and get ready for a lavish re-telling of this classic tale presented in the classic musical style. Inspired by the Broadway of Cole Porter and George Gershwin, this story of a girl, a gown, and a glass slipper will keep your toes tapping 'til the stroke of midnight. This original adaptation of Cinderella marks the close of NW Children's Theater's 20th Anniversary Season, and is NWCT's second world premiere this year, running April 27-May 26, 2013. Check out photos of the cast in action below!

The Roundabout Theatre Club production of 'Anything Goes' sailed into the Naples Philharmonic Tuesday on a tide of tapping and trilling, carried along by one of the single greatest act one curtain numbers in musical theatre history.

Let's see what the critics have had to say about the show recently...

She'll be glowin', crowin', goin' strong - cabaret diva Klea Blackhurst is sure to delight Goodspeed audiences as Dolly Levi at the Goodspeed Opera House this summer. Goodspeed Musicals is thrilled to announce that this spirited vocal powerhouse will be right where she belongs beginning June 28th.

The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel has just announced the return of its most famous resident, Elaine Stritch, to the Café Carlyle for her final engagement. Her new show, Elaine Stritch at the Carlyle: Movin' Over and Out, a freeform evening of story and song, will play for one week only. This will be the final chance to see Ms. Stritch – who has been dubbed the Carlyle's own “Octogenarian Eloise” – give one of her now-legendary performances at her home venue, before she leaves the Carlyle Hotel and the city of New York for good. (Ms. Stritch will be relocating to her home state of Michigan.) Elaine Stritch has played 4 sold-out engagements at the Café Carlyle over the past 7 years.

Paul Taylor has always been one of my favorite choreographers. For over half a century he has choreographed works that have entered the repertoires of ballet and modern dance companies around the world. With a mind, spirit and quest to choreograph works not only in the purest Balanchine sense, as it were, but to address issues that confront and confound modern society, he has blazed a path that no other modern choreographer can match. We go with high expectations and are ready to be amazed.

The national touring company revival, now appearing at Carol Morsani Hall at the Straz Center, is filled with dazzling, high energy, polished, production numbers, that will have you out of your seat cheering!

The Drama Desk Award-winning Celebrity Autobiography returned to Stage 72 (formerly the Triad Theater), 158 West 72 Street, with its new edition, Celebrity Autobiography: The Next Chapter, on March 11, 2013. The cast featured Mario Cantone, Rachel Dratch, Janeane Garofalo, Carla Hall, Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel, Michael Urie, and Alan Zweibel. BroadwayWorld has photos from the show below!

York Theatre Company's Winter 2013 Musicals in Mufti Series presentation of the 1956 musical hit, Happy Hunting, with book by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse, lyrics by Matt Dubey and music by Harold Karr, is currently in rehearsals to prepare for an opening tomorrow, March 15. Directed by David Glenn Armstrong and with music direction by David Andrews Rogers, the cast stars KLea Blackhurst, and will feature Janine DiVita, Joy Franz, Jessica Grove, Sean Martin Hingston, Michael McCormick, Heather Parcells, Andrew Samonsky, Eric Sciotto, Michael Sharon and Lynne Wintersteller. Check out photos of the cast in rehearsal below!

The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Andrew Levine, Executive Director) continues the Winter 2013 Musicals in Mufti Series with the 1956 musical hit, Happy Hunting, with book by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse, lyrics by Matt Dubey and music by Harold Karr. Directed by David Glenn Armstrong and with music direction by David Andrews Rogers, the cast stars Klea Blackhurst, and will feature Janine DiVita, Joy Franz, Jessica Grove, Sean Martin Hingston, Michael McCormick, Heather Parcells, Andrew Samonsky, Eric Sciotto, Michael Sharon and Lynne Wintersteller.

Gerard Alessandrini's, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: ALIVE AND KICKING, which received unanimous raves from critics and audiences alike, broke all box-office records at the 47th Street Theatre, and won spots on the Top Ten Lists of Time Magazine and the Associated Press, will wind up its current edition at the 47th Street Theatre on Sunday, April 28, in order to make room for The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre's own season, as required by the show's lease agreement with the theatre. In a statement, Mr. Alessandrini said, "We knew from the start that the theatre could only be ours until the end of April. Although we hate to leave town when we're a hit, I actually think this is a perfect time for us to wind up "Alive and Kicking", which has been a thrilling return to New York for us, to take a brief break; and to begin plans to return with another edition later this year." The show, which has recently added extended parodies of Cinderella and the movie version of Les Miz, is also a Critic's Pick for The New York Times, The Daily News and New York Magazine. This edition stars Lindsay Nicole Chambers, Natalie Charle Ellis, Scott Richard Foster, Marcus Stevens and David Caldwell on piano. DRG Record's cast recording FORBIDDEN BROADWAY; ALIVE AND KICKING! The UN-Original Cast Album, is available in stores, on iTunes and Amazon.com.