Howard McGillin News

Paper Mill Playhouse is currently in rehearsals for Damn Yankees, directed by Paper Mill Playhouse's Producing Artistic Director, Mark S. Hoebee, with choreography by Denis Jones. The cast features Howard McGillin (Applegate), Chryssie Whitehead (Lola), Christopher Charles Wood (Joe Hardy), Joseph Kolinski (Joe Boyd), Patti Cohenour (Meg Boyd) and Nancy Anderson (Gloria Thorpe). Damn Yankees begins performances on Wednesday, March 7, 2012, and runs at the Millburn, New Jersey theater through Sunday, April 1, 2012. Opening night is scheduled for Sunday, March 11, 2012. Today, the company met the press and below we brings you complete photo and video coverage of the event.

Paper Mill Playhouse is currently in rehearsals for Damn Yankees, directed by Paper Mill Playhouse's Producing Artistic Director, Mark S. Hoebee, with choreography by Denis Jones. The cast features Howard McGillin (Applegate), Chryssie Whitehead (Lola), Christopher Charles Wood (Joe Hardy), Joseph Kolinski (Joe Boyd), Patti Cohenour (Meg Boyd) and Nancy Anderson (Gloria Thorpe). Damn Yankees begins performances on Wednesday, March 7, 2012, and runs at the Millburn, New Jersey theater through Sunday, April 1, 2012. Opening night is scheduled for Sunday, March 11, 2012. Yesterday, February 29, the company met the press and below we bring you photo coverage of the cast in action!

Paper Mill Playhouse is currently in rehearsals for Damn Yankees, directed by Paper Mill Playhouse's Producing Artistic Director, Mark S. Hoebee, with choreography by Denis Jones. The cast features Howard McGillin (Applegate), Chryssie Whitehead (Lola), Christopher Charles Wood (Joe Hardy), Joseph Kolinski (Joe Boyd), Patti Cohenour (Meg Boyd) and Nancy Anderson (Gloria Thorpe). Damn Yankees begins performances on Wednesday, March 7, 2012, and runs at the Millburn, New Jersey theater through Sunday, April 1, 2012. Opening night is scheduled for Sunday, March 11, 2012.

Patti LuPone will be celebrated in an all-star evening of song and memories on Monday, March 12. The Acting Company will salute a founding member and board director with the help of two other founding members, Kevin Kline and David Schramm, joined by Kristin Chenoweth, Sutton Foster, Harvey Fierstein, Zoe Caldwell, Laura Benanti, Boyd Gaines, Michael Urie, Melissa Errico, Howard McGillin, Steven Pasquale, Anthony Dean Griffey, Manoel Feliciano, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Tickets range from $75 to $175 from http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/226559 or at The Kaye Playhouse Box Office 212-772-4448. Benefit tickets, which include dinner with Patti LuPone and the cast, are available from 212-258-3111.

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

Paper Mill Playhouse has just announced casting for Damn Yankees, directed by Paper Mill Playhouse's Producing Artistic Director, Mark S. Hoebee, with choreography by Denis Jones. The cast features Howard McGillin (Applegate), Chryssie Whitehead (Lola), Christopher Charles Wood (Joe Hardy), Joseph Kolinski (Joe Boyd), Patti Cohenour (Meg Boyd) and Nancy Anderson (Gloria Thorpe). Damn Yankees begins performances on Wednesday, March 7, 2012, and runs at the Millburn, New Jersey theater through Sunday, April 1, 2012.

Headlining the most successful entertainment of all time, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Michael Crawford was actually not the first name the creative team considered for the gothic musical undertaking during its creation in the mid-1980s, believe it or not. Steve Harley famously recorded the original single of the title song with composer Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's muse Sarah Brightman and subsequently starred in the grandiose Ken Russell fever dream music video. While the public and critics alike assumed Harley's bid for the lead role in the gestating show was all but guaranteed after the video debut, it was not meant to be. Master director Hal Prince had his sights set on a British stage and screen star who had made a name with American audiences decades before in the troubled film versions of two Broadway hits - A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM and HELLO, DOLLY! - as well as made a name for himself the world over in the British sitcom SOME MOTHERS DO 'AVE 'EM. Crawford had also cemented his place in the musical theatre with his roles in FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON and BILLY, but it was PHANTOM that would catapult him into the ranks of iconic musical megastar. So, today, let us take a look at what made Michael Crawford's performance in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA so unforgettable as we celebrate this week's US release of the simply spectacular DVD/Blu-ray of the 25th anniversary production mounted late last year at the Royal Albert Hall starring Ramim Karimloo and Sierra Boggess, loving assembled and presented by original lead producer Cameron Mackintosh and featuring a grand finale complete with original PHANTOM cast-members Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, among a host of other glories.

The producers of REBECCA, the new musical based on the classic novel by Daphne du Maurier novel (later turned into an Oscar-winning film by Alfred Hitchcock) announced this morning that the production has been postponed until next season. REBECCA was slated to open Sunday, April 22 at the Broadhurst Theatre, with previews beginning March 27.

92Y's Lyrics & Lyricists just presented MAKIN' WHOOPEE: Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn and the Jazz Age. Robert Kimball hosted the evening, which featured Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, Christine Andreas, Jason Graae, Howard McGillin, and William Bolcom & Joan Morris. BroadwayWorld was there for the concert and brings you photos below!

92Y's Lyrics & Lyricists will present MAKIN' WHOOPEE: Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn and the Jazz Age.

The Irish Repertory Theatre has announced cast for the concert staging of Dylan Thomas's holiday classic- A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES.

Two-time Tony Award nominee Howard McGillin has joined the cast of the upcoming new musical REBECCA, based on the classic novel by Daphne du Maurier novel, opening on Broadway Sunday, April 22 at The Broadhurst Theatre (235 West 44th Street). Previews will begin Tuesday, March 27. McGillin will play the role of Frank Crawley, replacing previously announced John Dossett (who will appear in another show this season). McGillin joins Sierra Boggess ("I"), Tam Mutu (Maxim deWinter), Karen Mason (Mrs. Danvers), James Barbour (Jack Favell), Donna English (Beatrice de Winter), Nick Wyman (Giles) and Henry Stram (Ben).

Matt Windman of amny writes in today's paper that 1985 musical 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood might be heading back to Broadway in the near future. He writes: 'I'm hearing rumors that the Roundabout Thetare Company's next revival will be 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood,' the thoroughly delightful 1980's murder mystery based on the unfinished Dickens novel.'

92Y's Lyrics & Lyricists will present MAKIN' WHOOPEE: Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn and the Jazz Age.

If only for originating the title role in the longest-running and most successful musical in world history - THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA - which is merely one of the many impossibly impressive moments in a fifty-year career that truly defies description - Michael Crawford is known and loved the world over. From the Broadway and West End stage to the concert stage; the recording studio to the movie studio; performing everywhere imaginable - he has conquered it all. In a resume-spanning conversation that takes us from Broadway to Hollywood and to the stage of the London Palladium where he is now starring as the eponymous WIZARD OF OZ in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new theatrical adaptation of the classic film, Crawford and I take a look back at his many notable stage roles - among them, BILLY, BARNUM, DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES and, most recently, Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE WOMAN IN WHITE - and he also generously shares stories and recollections of the esteemed figures he has collaborated with over the years, including Barbra Streisand, John Lennon, Oliver Reed, David Foster, Stephen Sondheim, Hal Prince, Sarah Brightman and many more! Additionally, Crawford shares his insightful opinions on the state of theatre today and how it has changed over the course of his decades spent in show business, as well as looks ahead to returning to the concert stage following his departure from THE WIZARD OF OZ in the West End in February. So, catch Crawford while you can - and your little dog, too!

A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES in concert, adapted and directed by Charlotte Moore, runs through December 31, 2011 at the Irish Repertory Theatre (132 West 22nd Street), with musical direction by John Bell.

The Irish Repertory Theatre has announced cast for the concert staging of Dylan Thomas's holiday classic- A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES.

The award-winning York Theatre Company just honored Tony and Grammy Award winner Barbara Cook with the 20th Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre on Monday, November 21st, 2011 at the Edison Ballroom.

The Irish Repertory Theatre has announced cast for the concert staging of Dylan Thomas's holiday classic- A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES.

The Off Broadway production of Standing On Ceremony kicked off its open-ended run on November 7. Conceived by Brian Shnipper and directed by Stuart Ross, Standing On Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays began as a series of benefit events in Los Angeles, taking on a life of their own as an inspiring theatrical evening. The New York cast features Craig Bierko, Mark Consuelos, Polly Draper, Harriet Harris, Beth Leavel and Richard Thomas. The production opened officially last night, November 13, and BroadwayWorld was there!