Jack Viertel News

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: The grandfather of Broadway choreography and a look into the songs lost on the road to Broadway!

Orchestrator Larry Moore has been praised by the New York Daily News as 'one of the most ingenious practitioners in his profession,' and you'll find no argument in that statement once you hear Larry's fascinating story. Stopping by to pull back the curtain on the role of an orchestrator, Larry tells Rob and Kevin what it was like orchestrating such musical series favorites as 'Unsung Musicals' and 'Lost in Boston,' which recording is the greatest cast album of all time, and how he got Stephen Sondheim his Pulitzer Prize!

Nominated for eight Tony® Awards, Smokey Joe's Cafe is a musical revue showcasing 39 pop standards from the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's, including rock and roll and rhythm and blues songs written by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The Original Broadway cast recording, Smokey Joe's Cafe: The Songs Of Leiber And Stoller, won a Grammy Award in 1996. After a Los Angeles tryout, the revue opened on Broadway in 1995, running for 2,036 performances, making it the longest -running musical revue in Broadway history. It also had a London run in 1996. The show will open at Jacksonville's Alhambra Theatre & Dining on August 3, 2016.

The Broadway-bound musical is about what happens when a group of forgotten celebrities lend their support to a lesbian couple wanting to attend their prom.

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: June is bustin' out all over and the birds are flying down to Rio!

The ALLIANCE THEATRE began rehearsals this week for The Prom, the hilarious new musical that will have its pre-Broadway World Premiere in Atlanta, August 18 - September 25, 2016.  Director Casey Nicholaw talks about the show in the video below!

Audiences across America remember Nancy Dussault as Ted Knight's wife in TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT, Alan Arkin's wife in THE IN-LAWS, and as the original host of GOOD MORNING AMERICA. But before Nancy became a television and movie legend, she was heralded for her Broadway performances in DO-RE-MI, BAJOUR, and countless others!

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: FLOYD COLLINS gets stuck in a cave and Ethel Merman gets stuck in a sitcom!

The Alliance Theatre began rehearsals this week for The Prom, the hilarious new musical that will have its pre-Broadway World Premiere in Atlanta, August 18 - September 25, 2016. Check out photos below!

There are three types of musical theatre lovers: Fan, Obsessed, and Stephen Cole. Stephen, who has had a wonderfully varied career as a lyricist and librettist, invited Rob & Kevin over to the musical theatre mecca he calls his apartment to talk about the craft of writing, meeting Merman, and how social media sites, like Facebook's Forgotten Musicals page, is uniting musical theatre fans from across the globe!

Tickets are on sale today for all the productions in the 2016/17 season for the Alliance Stage, Hertz Stage, Theatre for Youth and Families, and the Kathy and Ken Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young series.  The 48th season includes seven world premieres, five musicals, five productions by Atlanta playwrights, and exceptional productions for youth and families. 

Hairspray is, in fact, a great raspberry blown in the face of realistic expectations, a visit to a fantasyland where cruelty and meanness and class pretensions stand no chance. And we never get tired of watching that raspberry get blown.

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 Behind the Curtain celebrates two great comediennes of the American Musical Theatre, Dorothy Loudon and JUNO!

George Lee Andrews holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the most performances in the same Broadway show, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. But, before he won that honor, he was Broadway's go-to character actor appearing in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, STARTING HERE, and ON THE 20TH CENTURY.

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, they discuss the joys of intimate musicals, including 'They're Playing Our Song' and 'Spitfire Grill.'

Sweeney Todd. Frederik Egerman. Bill Samson. All of these roles, plus many others, were first brought to life by Tony Award winner Len Cariou. Sweeney Todd. Frederik Egerman. Bill Samson. All of these roles, plus many others, were first brought to life by Tony Award winner Len Cariou. Len dropped by Shetler Studios to share memories of his incredible career, including tackling Shakespeare, Sondheim, and everything in between.

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: A book that needs to be revised and a musical that needs to be revived!

The Drama Book Shop is pleased to welcome Jack Viertel for a discussion and signing of his new book, The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built, on Wednesday, June 15th at 5:00PM. The event is free to the public, but priority admission is granted to those who purchase a copy of the book. Mr. Viertel will sign copies of his book, which will be available for purchase, following the discussion.

She was Arthur Miller's sister, a victim of the House Un-American Activities Committee, and one of New York's most respected actresses. Joan Copeland is a living legend whose career includes standing by for Vivien Leigh and Katherine Hepburn, sharing the stage with Danny Kaye, and bringing the words of her brother to vivid theatrical life.

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.