Gene Kelly News

The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's original and longest-running professional theatre company, skates into its 12th season with the Broadway musical Xanadu opening February 10th at the theatre's iconic namesake venue in the historic Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Rd., Building Six, in Franklin, Tenn. for a run through March 3.

In response to requests from residents and visitors alike, the Miami Beach Stage Door Theatre will present a limited run of Song Man Dance Man, the widely acclaimed one-man show that played to enthusiastic audiences in its run at the theatre last year.

When she was a young girl, Candice Guardin wrote down every memorable saying her loving and outspoken grandmother uttered.

Brighten up these long winter nights with the electric new musical Xanadu! TMP will present the first local production of Douglas Carter Beane's fantastic farce based on the 1980's Universal Pictures cult classic film of the same name starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the motion picture and long-form television nominations for the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards. The categories include: The Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures; The Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures; and The David L. Wolper Producer of the Year Award in Long-Form Television. The documentary film category and other television category nominations were already announced by the Guild in December 2011.

Today in 1940, Pal oey opened at Broadway's Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Pal Joey is a musical with a book by John O'Hara (from his novel of the same title) and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart based on a character and situations O'Hara created in a series of short stories published in The New Yorker. It includes two songs that have become standards: 'I Could Write a Book' and 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered'.

Broadway is certainly full of them: those amazing performers dubbed as 'triple threats'--those singer/dancer/actor-types that are just brimming with an abundance of extraordinary talent. David Elder rightly belongs in this revered group, and has proven the label quite a lot over the years, working steadily on the stage with an envious consistency. For the holiday season, he's bringing his knack for entertaining audiences as one of the leads in the touring stage version of Irving Berlin's WHITE CHRISTMAS, playing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through January 1, 2012. Before arriving in Orange County where he'll spend the remainder of the holidays, Elder chatted with BroadwayWorld's Michael Lawrence Quintos about his early interests, his fulfilling career in musical theater, and his tap-happy foray into Danny Kaye's shoes.

When she was a young girl, Candice Guardin wrote down every memorable saying her loving and outspoken grandmother uttered.

The 20th annual production of Pittsburgh CLO's A Musical Christmas Carol will feature an exceptional cast of exciting new faces and returning favorites, led by Pittsburgh's own Tom Atkins as Ebenezer Scrooge.

'Next stop, Carmel CA,' announced Betty Buckley as she wrapped a truly spectacular cabaret concert entitled 'AH MEN! The Boys of Broadway' in the historic lobby of the Pantages Theatre. The sold out benefit for The Actors Fund featured 'Many of my favorite songs that I would otherwise never be able to sing on Broadway ... because they were written for men.' Arrangements that included 'I Can See,' 'My Defenses Are Down,' and both the 'Jet Song' and 'Maria' from WESTSIDE STORY, as well as 'Luck Be A Lady,' 'Hey There,' 'Come Back to Me,' and a SWEENY TODD medley. Ms. Buckley introduced a new arrangement that received with wild enthusiasm from the patrons, entitled 'A Hymn to Her' and dedicated to the question, 'Why can't women play famous Broadway roles written for men?' Among the men Buckley credited with influencing her most were the brilliant Russ Tamblyn, the graceful Fred Astaire and the very sexy Gene Kelly. Among those in attendance were colleagues and friends such as Ruta Lee, Alley Mills, Orson Bean, Juliet Mills, Maxwell Caulfield, and fellow TV Mom Marion Ross, among other industry notables like Tony Hoover (Hollywood Red-Line Tours owner), B. Harlan Boll (Publicist/Author/Producer), Patricia Kelly (wife of the late Gene Kelly) and the evening's producers John Bowab and Martin Wiviott.

The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport announces 3 special performances of Jon Peterson's one-man-show, Song Man Dance Man, on Friday, January 13 at 8:00pm, Saturday, January 14 at 3:00pm and 8:00pm.

Pittsburgh CLO will welcome Liz Callaway back to Pittsburgh in 2012 to star as Norma Desmond in Pittsburgh CLO's inaugural production of Sunset Boulevard. Ms. Callaway charmed audiences and critics alike last summer in Pittsburgh CLO's premiere of Love Changes Everything: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. The remainder of the cast for this extraordinary production will be announced in the coming months.

Capezio celebrates 125 years of excellence with this one-night only special show on Monday, April 23, 2012 at 7:00 pm at New York City Center, 131 West 55 Street (btwn. 6th and 7th Ave) NYC. A glorious production highlighting some of the magical history of Capezio with numerous dance legends and stars of stage and screen saluting this milestone.

TheatreWorks recently announced its 2012 line-up of theatrical performances at a party hosted by Spruce Home & Garden, a retailer of upper-end home products and accessories, on Bank Street in New Milford.

High Tech's Award- Winning Musical Theatre Dept. begins its 2011-2012 season with a fresh new production of 'Xanadu - The 80's Inspired Roller Boogie Musical,' under the direction of Alex Perez and musical direction of Rod Shepard. The surprise Broadway hit is based off of the film starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly and features the music of Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It's a story of love, music, and--of course--a roller disco!

In many ways, Adam Perry's life may be described as ‘surreal'. The talented performer from a small town in Tennessee is currently dancing up a storm in the Tony Award Winning revival of ANYTHING GOES.

High Tech's Award- Winning Musical Theatre Dept. begins its 2011-2012 season with a fresh new production of 'Xanadu - The 80's Inspired Roller Boogie Musical,' under the direction of Alex Perez and musical direction of Rod Shepard. The surprise Broadway hit is based off of the film starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly and features the music of Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It's a story of love, music, and--of course--a roller disco!

To those who've seen the Oscar-winning screen adaptation of WEST SIDE STORY, the recollections of George Chakiris' performance as Bernardo remain vivid. His acting is top notch, his singing is superb and his dancing comes darn close to burning up the celluloid it is preserved on. He was awarded an Oscar as 'Best Supporting Actor' for his work on that film and now, fifty years later, he is about to imprint his handprints and signature outside of the famed Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Sometimes the film industry can be a little slow on the uptake, won't you agree?

On the heels of the decision to extend Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' production of HAIRSPRAY through May 26, 2012, the theatre has announced the next two Main Stage productions to follow.