Gore Vidal News

Two days after the death of its author, I had the pleasure of taking in director Michael Wilson's outstanding revival of The Best Man – one of the best evenings Broadway had to offer last season – for the third time.  Gore Vidal most certainly went out with a landslide victory.

BroadwayWorld.com's SHOW BIZ: Rush, Lottery & Standing Room Only Ticketing Policies - updated on 8/10/2012.

...we'll still be playin' his songs.

Tasti D-Lite has named a new flavor, SMOKIN' S'MORES, in honor of the raucous, irreverent, and unfiltered new Off-Broadway musical comedy The Last Smoker in America.

Variety reports that ELF is indeed headed back to Broadway this winter, and that the show will play the Al Hirschfeld Theater for 9 weeks, from November 9 to January 6 before KINKY BOOTS takes the theatre in the Spring.

Signature Theatre will be hosting a special one-night performance and book-signing featuring Broadway star and Helen Hayes Award winner Ed Dixon (Signature's Sunset Boulevard). On Monday, August 27 at 8:00PM, Mr. Dixon will be performing original compositions as well narrate behind-the-scenes stories from his recent memoir Secrets of A Life On Stage…And Off. Copies of the book will be available to purchase, and a book-signing will take place following the performance, which will take place in Signature's intimate ARK Theatre.

Broadway Records announced today that Laura Osnes: Dream A Little Dream - Live At The Cafe Carlyle will be released on Tuesday, September 18, 2012. Pre-orders are now being taken at amazon.com at http://amzn.com/B008TAVUA2. A digital release date will be announced in the coming weeks.

On August 2, 2012, US Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) introduced a Statement for the Congressional Record honoring the life and accomplishments of Gore Vidal. The statement Congressman Cohen made is seen below.

Barely looking, and certainly not sounding, much older than she was over thirty years ago, when her clarion vocals and chipper charm earned her a Tony nomination for playing an unexpectedly pregnant college student in Baby, you might be surprised to know that the weekend before her Monday night concert at Town Hall, Liz Callaway was in Pittsburgh playing the final four performances of a stint as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard.

Welcome to this week's edition of our new WEEKLY GROSSES ANALYSIS, part of our new Industry Insights section that will feature insider industry information, commentary and insights! Read on for all the weekly grosses statistics for the movers and shakers from the latest grosses, 8/5/2012.

Grosses for all the Broadway shows for the week ending 8/5/2012.

Looking for a quick roundup of this week's events in the theatre world? Look no further - here are some of the best articles the week had to offer!

With this week's news of the passing of American literary and political icon Gore Vidal at the advanced age of 86, now seems a particularly apt time to look back at a truly anomalous career and some of the highlights of a life lived on pages, stages, planes, trains and many of the most exclusive locales in the world.

Project Cuddle® is thrilled to announce the nonprofit organization heads to Broadway for its fifth annual fundraiser "A Night on Broadway!" Join Project Cuddle and John Stamos for a performance of the 2012 Tony Award nominated play Gore Vidal's The Best Man on Friday, September 7 at 8PM at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street, NYC). Immediately following the play will be an intimate post-show Q&A session.

Beginning today, PBS and American Masters are making the 2003 documentary American Masters The Education of Gore Vidal available for streaming on the American Masters website (http://pbs.org/americanmasters) and PBS Video (http://pbs.org/video) to commemorate the life of the eclectic intellectual who passed away Tuesday, July 31, 2012, at age 86.

The raucous, irreverent, and unfiltered new Off-Broadway musical comedy The Last Smoker in America, with book and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Bill Russell (Side Show) and music by Drama Desk Nominee Peter Melnick (Adrift in Macao), with direction by Tony Award winning producer and director Andy Sandberg (Hair; Gore Vidal's The Best Man), choreography by Tony Award nominee AC Ciulla (Footloose) and music supervision, arrangements and orchestrations by Fred Lassen (The Gershwin's Porgy & Bess), just opened last night at The Westside Theatre (407 West 43rd Street). Opening Night is Thursday, August 2, 2012. BroadwayWorld was there for the big opening, and we bring you photos from the after party below!

The raucous, irreverent, and unfiltered new Off-Broadway musical comedy The Last Smoker in America, with book and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Bill Russell (Side Show) and music by Drama Desk Nominee Peter Melnick (Adrift in Macao), with direction by Tony Award winning producer and director Andy Sandberg (Hair; Gore Vidal's The Best Man), choreography by Tony Award nominee AC Ciulla (Footloose) and music supervision, arrangements and orchestrations by Fred Lassen (The Gershwin's Porgy & Bess), just opened last night at The Westside Theatre (407 West 43rd Street). Opening Night is Thursday, August 2, 2012. BoadwayWorld was there for the big opening, and we bring you photos from the starry arrivals and first official curtain call below!

THEATER TALK remembers the late novelist, playwright, historian and political pundit Gore Vidal in a rebroadcast of an interview recorded in October 2000 and updated for the current Broadway run of his 1960 play, The Best Man. The interview was related to the play's first-ever revival on Broadway in 2000.

This week's topics: Shows Re-Imagined, Gore Vidal, Jennifer Hudson in Wicked, Sutton Foster, 2013 Tony nominees, Great Cut Songs, Boyle's Olympic Opening

The raucous, irreverent, and unfiltered new Off-Broadway musical comedy The Last Smoker in America, with book and lyrics by Tony Award® Nominee Bill Russell (Side Show) and music by Drama Desk Nominee Peter Melnick (Adrift in Macao), opens tonight, August 2 at the Westside Theatre (407 West 43rd Street).