Jack Viertel News

MY FAIR LADY, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's award winning and universally praised musical, based on George Bernard Shaw's play, PYGMALION, centers on Eliza Doolittle, an uneducated Cockney flower girl who, in an attempt to 'become a proper lady,' takes lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a self-centered egotist.

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and under appreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This week: Two internet goodies!

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and under appreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This week: Stephen & Seth!

Get out your calendars as Rob, Kevin and special guest Todd Buonopane, host of the amazing podcast Broadway Stories, sit down and discuss all the shows slated to open in the 2016-2017 Season. From plays to musicals, revivals to special events, these three folks cover it all! Plus: Donny & Marie's summer stock appearances, the brilliance of The Great Muppet Caper, and Alton Brown's dinner theatre experience! 

The Chicago Humanities Festival announces a number of additions and changes to its Fallfest/16: Speed line-up.

Casey Nicholaw's latest musical outing, The Prom, recently opened at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and BroadwayWorld brings you the first look at footage from the show!

Fosse. Bennett. Robbins. Scott Wise got to know and work with them all. His incredible dancing skills were featured in 13 Broadway musicals including A CHORUS LINE, CATS, CARRIE, and JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY, for which he won the Tony Award.

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and under appreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This week: The power of illumination! 

The Prom, the hilarious new musical playing its Pre-Broadway World Premiere now at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre, officially opens tomorrow night, September 7, and BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production below!

For over fifty years, the big, belt voice of Karen Morrow has been filling theatres and TV screens. While audiences across America will fondly remember her numerous appearances on The Merv Griffin Show, it is her live appearances on Broadway, blasting the roof of numerous theatres, that epitomize Karen Morrow. Joining Rob & Kevin via phone, Karen reminisces on how she became known as 'the flop queen', what it was like to share the spotlight with Buddy Hackett,  and how she counted Ethel Merman among her biggest fans.

You would be hard pressed to find someone who loves the theatre more than Peter Filichia. For years, Peter's observations on musical theatre have inspired countless actors, directors, and writers to start a career in show business. Now, Peter talks to Rob and Kevin, his two biggest fans, about the importance of arts education, for whom a critic should be crafting their reviews, and why he still loves the theatre. Plus, memories of Senator Joe, The Wiz, and My Fair Lady! 

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and under appreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This week: Great writers. Great director. Great actors. Where did they go wrong?

For over fifty years, the beautiful voice of Carol Lawrence has filled our hearts. No one will capture the love, yearning, and heart break of Maria, the doomed heroine in WEST SIDE STORY, better than the actress who originated the role: Carol Lawrence. Joining Rob and Kevin from her home in California, Carol talks about the power of WEST SIDE STORY, what it was like working with Jerome Robbins, and how the theatre still has the power to heal all souls!

The revival of FALSETTOS began rehearsals yesterday afternoon. President of Jujamcyn Theaters, Jordan Roth, captured a candid moment depicting the smiling faces of some of the revival's most notable names, including Andrew Rannells, Christian Borle, Stephanie J. Block and Tracie Thoms, smiling and ready to tell a million stories.

The ALLIANCE THEATRE will have its pre-Broadway World Premiere in Atlanta, August 18 - September 25, 2016. BroadwayWorld has a first look at promo shots and the cast in rehearsals below!

Bruce Yeko is one of the most fascinating men in show business. If it wasn't for Bruce we wouldn't have the original cast recordings of such musicals as THE BAKER'S WIFE, IN TROUSERS, PRETTYBELLE, and countless other musicals that no commercial record company would have produced. Selling off his massive baseball card collection, Bruce used those funds to  produce over 300 cast recordings, earning him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

In his 78 years of entertaining, Lawrence Merritt has truly seen it all. From dancing on Broadway in GOLDEN RAINBOW and PIPPIN, to modeling for the greatest magazines, to being an underwater dancer in Paris, Lawrence is not short on amazing stories.

The ALLIANCE THEATRE will have its pre-Broadway World Premiere in Atlanta, August 18 - September 25, 2016. In the video below, the cast performs a song from the show, 'You Happened', in rehearsal.  Check it out below!

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and underappreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This Week: James Lipton writes a musical & Kevin extols the virtues of having three names! 

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and underappreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This Week: Rob and Kevin go to two very different churches!