Gene Kelly News

For the final production in J*COMPANY Youth Theatre's La Jolla Playhouse Tribute Season, the cast and crew will travel to Mt. Olympus and Venice Beach, California for the roller skating romp, XANADU -The Musical.

Happy Birthday Debbie Reynolds! Reynolds regularly appeared in movie musicals during the 1950s and had several hit records during the period. Perhaps her most high-profile film role was in Singin' in the Rain (1952) as Kathy Selden. On Broadway, Reynolds has starred in such shows as Irene, Debbie, and Woman of the Year. Reynolds appeared in her West End show Debbie Reynolds: Alive and Fabulous

The Albuquerque Little Theatre will present XANADU from April 6th through 29th. XANADU features a book by Douglas Carter Beane and music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne & John Farrar.

Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, Debbie Reynolds and 'Baby Peggy' Diana Serra Cary, along with film noir leading ladies Peggy Cummins, Rhonda Fleming and Marsha Hunt are the latest stars scheduled to appear at the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival.

The Pacific Symphony launches an exciting 2012-13 Pops season starring big-name guest artists, spectacular shows and some of the most treasured songs and genres of our time. From the "Empress of Soul," Gladys Knight, to Broadway showstoppers, the "Wicked Divas.'

Xanadu, the musical adventure on roller skates about following your dreams, rolls across the YLT stage April 13 - 22. It's described as 'a moving, electrifying tale of endless fun that keeps audiences in stitches, while dancing in their seats to the legendary chart-topping tunes from the original hit score composed by pop-rock legends Jeff Lynne and John Farrar.'

Today we are talking to an iconic performer known for his decades on stages and screens around the world, from his variety show roots with sister Marie and their eponymous 70s television staple to his solo pop career in the 1980s and roles in Broadway and Hollywood and beyond since then - the one and only Donny Osmond. Osmond and I recount many of his marvelous show business memories in this all-inclusive chat, putting a particular emphasis on his theatre roles - most of all, his work in the film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's JOSEPH & THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, filmed in 1999 and presented next week in a super-special Sing-A-Long showing with an exclusive live Q&A hosted by Osmond in Fathom-equipped movie theaters nationwide on March 26. In addition to all about the filming of the spectacular movie musical version of JOSEPH helmed by Steven Pimlott and co-starring Maria Friedman, Osmond and I discuss his experiences playing the title role in the show for six years throughout the 1990s and how he looks back on his experiences in the Biblically-themed pop/rock operetta. Plus, Osmond shares insights into the work of Andrew Lloyd Webber, as well as shares stories of working with legends such as Gene Kelly, Richard Attenborough, Joan Collins and touches upon his appearances in MULAN onscreen, BEAUTY & THE BEAST onstage, DANCING WITH THE STARS on TV - and much, much more!

The Pennington Players perform magic on roller skates with their performance of the hilarious musical fantasy "Xanadu" at Mercer County Community College's Kelsey Theatre.

Knock 'Em Dead Dinner Theatre will present the new musical XANADU from March 16th-April 14th.

Joshua Bergasse, choreographer of NBC's musical drama SMASH, has found an outlet for the sort of work inspired by the old MGM musicals he grew up watching. "Those old shows used dance as part of the story,' he said, 'and I try to make the dance sequences part of the SMASH story."

Albuquerque Theatre Guild has announced the following upcoming events.

Today in 1947, Brigadoon opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre, where it ran for 581 performances. Brigadoon is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. It tells the story of a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every hundred years, though to the villagers, the passing of each century seems no longer than one night. Brigadoon then received a West End production opening in 1949 that ran for 685 performances, and many revivals followed. A 1954 film version starred Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. A 1966 television version starred Robert Goulet and Peter Falk.

More than 250,000 new tickets have today been released for sale for the West End hit musical SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, now booking through to 23 February 2013. Jonathan Church's Chichester Festival Theatre production transferred to London's Palace Theatre last month, where it has been playing to packed houses, standing ovations and huge critical acclaim.

Pittsburgh CLO today announced multiple scholarship opportunities for seniors from schools participating in the 2012 Gene Kelly Awards. Pittsburgh CLO and the sponsoring Colleges and Universities will present the scholarships to the selected college-bound seniors at the Award ceremony on May 26, 2012. Interested applicants should visit pittsburghCLO.org for eligibility requirements, applications and further information.

New York's Group Theatre Too (GTT) will honor noted choreographer, Tony Stevens at the fifth anniversary presentation of the Choreographer's Canvas on May 10th at the Manhattan Movement and Arts Center.

Pittsburgh CLO and Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama, in partnership with The ASCAP Foundation and Academy and Grammy Award -winning composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz, have announced that SCARY MUSICAL has been selected for further development as part of the Pittsburgh CLO/Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama New Works Program. The program encourages the exploration and refinement of new works of the American musical theater.

The Pennington Players perform magic on roller skates with their upcoming performance of the hilarious musical fantasy "Xanadu" at Mercer County Community College's Kelsey Theatre.

Happy Birthday, Cyd Charisse! Charisse began starring in films in the 1940s. Her roles usually focused on her abilities as a dancer, and she was paired with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly; her films include Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), Brigadoon (1954) and Silk Stockings (1957). She stopped dancing in films in the late 1950s, but continued acting in film and television, and in 1992 made her Broadway debut.

Jim Henson's Fantastic World will be on view at Museum of the Moving Image for only one more week-closing on Sunday, March 4. The final weekend of the show, Saturday and Sunday, March 3 and 4, 2012, features several special programs to mark the close of the successful national tour of this Smithsonian traveling exhibition, organized in partnership with The Jim Henson Legacy. On these two days, the Museum will give away a free limited-edition commemorative bookmark to ALL visitors (while supplies last).