Heather Headley News

On Friday, October 15 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Steven Reineke leads The New York Pops in the first concert of their 2010-2011 Carnegie Hall season with a program saluting pop music super group ABBA, featuring the acclaimed Finnish vocal ensemble Rajaton. Together, they will present energetic performances of some of ABBA's most popular chart-topping hits including 'Dancing Queen,' 'Mamma Mia,' 'Take a Chance on Me,' and other favorites. The New York Pops returns to Carnegie Hall for six additional performances this season-including three holiday performances.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Dominic Missimi gala, Diana Ross, 'Fuerza Bruta,' 'Billy Elliot,' 'Legally Blonde,' 'Oh, Boy!,' more...

On Monday, May 24, Northwestern University students, faculty, alumni and theatre professionals from across the country will sing (and a few will dance) the praises of School of Communication theatre faculty member Dominic Missimi's 30 years of service. The star-studded benefit performance also launches the University's new Dominic Missimi Fund for Music Theatre.

Today, Seth deconstructs DREAMGIRLS on the Rosie O'Donnell Show! Seth writes ' This is from the Actors Fund Concert I put together in 2001. It starred Audra McDonald, Heather Headley and Lillias White. Lillias SASSES it!'

The Celebrate Broadway Preservation Fund, Inc. under the direction of The Broadway League, presented James M. Nederlander, Chairman of The Nederlander Organization, with the second Schoenfeld Vision for Arts in Education Award during a gala benefit held May 17 in the Broadway Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Hotel.

What with all the star power of the assembled cast - featuring such theatre luminaries as Heather Headley, Alli Mauzey, Jodi Benson and Anthony Fedorov - it should come as something of a surprise that showHOPE's concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella was very nearly stolen out from under them by some homegrown Nashville talent. No matter how you look at it, Cinderella was a completely magical and enchanting success, but had it not been for Nashville's very own Nan Gurley, Bonnie Keen and Carolyn German as Cinderella's nefarious stepfamily, the show wouldn't have been anywhere near as good as it actually was.

The Celebrate Broadway Preservation Fund, Inc. under the direction of The Broadway League, selected the recipient of its second Schoenfeld Vision for Arts in Education Award: James M. Nederlander, Chairman of The Nederlander Producing Company of America. A benefit to honor James M. Nederlander and to raise funds for arts education and audience development initiatives will take place on Monday, May 17, 2010 in the Broadway Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Hotel.

Fedorov's castmates in the star-studded production - directed and designed by Matt Logan, a Nashville native, whose work in New York City included staging events much like this - include Tony Award-winner Heather Headley (Aida) as The Fairy Godmother, Tony nominee Jodi Benson (Crazy for You) as Queen Constatina, BeBe Winans as King Maximillian, Jake Speck (Jersey Boys on Broadway) as Lionel and Alli Mauzey (Hairspray, Wicked, Cry-Baby) in the title role. Fedorov will sing the role of Prince Christopher and backstage spies tell us his duets with Mauzey are certain to dazzle audiences.

Heather Headley, Alli Mauzey, Jodi Benson and Anthony Federov will headline a special concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, set for Friday, May 14, at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center. They will be joined by a cast of Nashville theatre luminaries - and featuring BeBe Winans and Nashville native Jake Speck, currently on Broadway in Jersey Boys - Cinderella is the spring celebration of the locally based showHOPE organization, which hopes to bring both attention and awareness to its efforts across the globe.

The altogether charming and amazingly talented Mauzey claims an impressive theatrical resume, which includes her starmaking turn in Cry-Baby, the Broadway musical based on the John Waters film, that resulted in a 2008 Theatre World Award, as well as a Drama League Award nomination. She's also had roles in both Wicked and Hairspray - two of the musicals that have helped define the first decade of the new millennium in Broadway terms - playing Glinda in Wicked (a role she'll play again later this year in San Francisco) and Brenda in Hairspray.

Perhaps best known to the general public for her performance as Ariel in Disney's The Little Mermaid (the animated blockbuster that is credited with reaffirming the Disney brand as the ultimate in film animation), Benson has delighted legions of fans over the years with her ageless vocal abilities, even while delighting Broadway audiences who know her as far more than the voice of Ariel. In fact, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her critically acclaimed performance as Polly in Ken Ludwig's Crazy for You, the updated version of Girl Crazy, the 1930s musical that features a score of iconic songs by George and Ira Gershwin.

For Matt Logan, staging a special concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is the culmination of a long-held dream of his to bring just such a production to his hometown of Nashville, perhaps best known as Music City USA. Now, with Nashville rebuilding after devastating floods in early May, the benefit performance for Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman's showHOPE organization is perhaps even more timely -- and it has certainly taken on a deeper meaning and a more compelling resonance.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to New York. Awards season, 'Avenue Q,' 'Rock of Ages,' 'The Drowsy Chaperone,' 'The Ghosts of Versailles,' Dominic Missimi, more.....

On Monday, May 24, Northwestern University students, faculty, alumni and theatre professionals from across the country will sing (and a few will dance) the praises of School of Communication theatre faculty member Dominic Missimi's 30 years of service. The star-studded benefit performance also launches the University's new Dominic Missimi Fund for Music Theatre.

Heather Headley, Alli Mauzey, Jodi Benson and Anthony Federov will headline a special concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, set for Friday, May 14, at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center. They will be joined by a cast of Nashville theatre luminaries - and featuring BeBe Winans and Nashville native Jake Speck, currently on Broadway in Jersey Boys - Cinderella is the spring celebration of the locally based showHOPE organization, which hopes to bring both attention and awareness to its efforts across the globe.

? Beckie Menzie & Tom Michael celebrate their 10th anniversary as one of Chicago's most beloved musical duos with That 60's Show. Marking the 50th anniversary of the decade that forever revolutionized popular music, Menzie and Michael's new show will feature songs by many of that era's favorite performers including The Beatles, The Supremes, The Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, Petula Clark and many more performed in the duo's award winning style.

The Celebrate Broadway Preservation Fund, Inc. under the direction of The Broadway League, selected the recipient of its second Schoenfeld Vision for Arts in Education Award: James M. Nederlander, Chairman of The Nederlander Producing Company of America. A benefit to honor James M. Nederlander and to raise funds for arts education and audience development initiatives will take place on Monday, May 17, 2010 in the Broadway Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Hotel.

Northwestern University's 79th Waa-Mu production marks the final time, after nearly 20 years, that 'the greatest college show in America' will be directed by Joseph Jefferson Award-winning Northwestern theater faculty member Dominic Missimi.

? Beckie Menzie & Tom Michael celebrate their 10th anniversary as one of Chicago's most beloved musical duos with That 60's Show. Marking the 50th anniversary of the decade that forever revolutionized popular music, Menzie and Michael's new show will feature songs by many of that era's favorite performers including The Beatles, The Supremes, The Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, Petula Clark and many more performed in the duo's award winning style.

On Friday, April 16 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Kelli O'Hara and Paulo Szot, stars from Lincoln Center's award-winning revival of South Pacific join The New York Pops, under the baton of Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke, for The Best of Lerner and Loewe-a tribute to one of Broadway's greatest creative teams: lyricist/librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe.