John Kander News

Vineyard Theatre (108 E. 15 St.) has announced that tickets to the new musical ARLINGTON by Victor Lodato and Polly Pen -- with previews set to begin Wednesday, February 12 prior to its official opening night on Sunday, March 2 - will go on sale Monday, January 6 at 1 p.m..

The Museum of the Moving Image's popular series See It Big! will turn its focus to the movie musical with a fourteen-film celebration of the genre, from January 24 through February 28, 2014. Musicals are, by their very nature, filled with spectacle. They are heightened forms of storytelling, in which the narrative is amplified by song and dance, where characters express their innermost feelings in the most extravagant ways imaginable. It is a genre that celebrates excess and stylization, and the best examples of the form can only be truly enjoyed… big!

Cabaret, in a provocative staging directed by the nationally acclaimed Peter Rothstein, continues the Broadway Re-Imagined series, a collaboration between Theater Latte Da and Hennepin Theatre Trust. This production of Kander and Ebb's groundbreaking musical also features a stellar cast showcasing such local talent as Sally Wingert, just named the Star Tribune's 2013 Artist of the Year, Jim Detmar, Tyler Michaels, Kira Lace Hawkins and Sean Dooley. Cabaret runs January 15-February 9, 2014 at the historic Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis. Tickets are on sale now at HennepinTheatreTrust.org, by calling 1.800.982.2787 and in person at the State Theatre Box Office.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts and Producers Barry and Fran Weissler have announced additional casting for CHICAGO, returning to Segerstrom Hall from January 28 - February 2, 2014. Award-winning actor and star of stage, TV and film John O'Hurley will reprise the role of Billy Flynn, sharing the stage with Paige Davis as Roxie Hart, Terra C. MacLeod as Velma Kelly, Carol Woods as Matron "Mama" Morton and Ron Orbach as Amos Hart.

After receiving critical acclaim and overwhelming demand by South Florida audiences, James Goldman's classic comic-drama, The Lion in Winter will extend performances thru January 12th at Palm Beach Dramaworks (201 Clematis Street). The production will play the following additional performances: Friday 1/10 at 8pm, Saturday 1/11 at 8pm and Sunday 1/12 at 2pm.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Davenport's serves up the holidays, Theo Ubique's January Cabaret Series, Kevin Cole on the Marvin Hamlisch PBS special, the Muellers make the 'Post,' BET announced rep, and a listing of Chicago shows to catch this week, plus the BroadwayWorld Chicago Awards and more!

For the past week, BroadwayWorld has been counting down the final days of 2013 with video tributes to our 13 favorite musical moments of this year. Now that the ball has dropped and 2014 has officially arrived, we shift gears and look ahead to what is to come in 2014. Below, we count-up to the 14 theatrical events of 2014 that we are most excited for!

The Fred Ebb Foundation (Mitchell Bernard, Trustee) has announced that its 2013 donation to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS will total $1.4 million dollars, marking the largest single contribution in BC/EFA history and bringing the foundation's total contribution to BC/EFA to $8.35 million since 2005.

CHICAGO, the 2003 Academy award-winning movie first thrilled audiences on the Broadway stage in 1975 with an original collaboration by the classic duo John Kander and Fred Ebb. The legendary Bob Fosse directed and choreographed the razzle-dazzle musical that went on to an even more successful revival in 1997, winning six Tony Awards.

Haul out the holly and break out the Christmas decorations! Broadway's award-winning Karen Mason, from the smash hit musicals Mamma Mia, Hairspay!, Sunset Boulevard and most recently Wonderland will make a special return appearance to her hometown with her holiday show "Christmas, Christmas, Christmas." The show will feature a mixture of holiday standards, light seasonal fare to the more traditional Christmas songs performed in Mason's distinctive style that will even put Scrooge in the holiday spirit. This marks Karen's return to her hometown, which began as a holiday tradition when she was a mainstay on the Chicago nightclub circuit in the late 1970's and early 80s with her longtime musical collaborator Brian Lasser, before heading off for stardom in New York and Broadway.

The January cabaret series that began in 2013 will be back in 2014, making it the newest tradition at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre. Like the 2013 series, 2014's program will be a rotating mix of one-weekend-only performances in the cozy confines of the No Exit Cafe.

Broadway In Chicago is pleased to announce that individual tickets for the Tony Award winning smash-hit CHICAGO go on-sale to the public starting today, Dec. 15, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. The show returns to its title city for a limited one-week engagement at Bank of America Theatre (18 West Monroe) from Feb. 25 - March 2, 2014.

Broadway In Chicago is pleased to announce that individual tickets for the Tony Award winning smash-hit CHICAGO go on-sale to the public starting this Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. The show returns to its title city for a limited one-week engagement at Bank of America Theatre (18 West Monroe) from Feb. 25 - March 2, 2014.

Signature Theatre presents two limited-run shows that bring the spirit of the holidays to the stage for family, friends, and music lovers of all ages. The fun begins this week with composer and Signature favorite Matt Conner (Crossing, The Hollow, Nevermore), who will warm up the intimate ARK Theatre with his new show A Matt Conner Christmas.

The Tony Award-winning actress Linda Lavin will return to the Vineyard Theatre (108 E. 15 St.) - where she created the role of Rita Lyons in Nicky Silver's acclaimed comedy THE LYONS in 2012 - in Mr. Silver's newest work, TOO MUCH SUN, with previews set to begin May 1, 2014 prior to an official opening on May 20. Mark Brokaw, who directed THE LYONS - including the play's recent celebrated debut in London - directs TOO MUCH SUN.

Today, BroadwayWorld is thrilled to present the first in an ongoing series highlighting the talented cast of the forthcoming Broadway revival of John Kander & Fred Ebb's seminal musical masterpiece CABARET with a spotlight on the accomplished corps that make up the weird and wonderfully entertaining inhabitants of the show's classic Kit Kat Klub - including just-announced cast-members Gayle Rankin, Bill Heck, Benjamin Eakeley, Caleb Damschroder, Kristin Olness, Leeds Hill, Jane Pfitsch, Dylan Paul, Kelly Paredes, Kaleigh Cronin, Andrea Goss and Aaron Krohn, all answering our questions!

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) just announced the full cast of Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall's production of Cabaret. The Tony winning musical by Joe Masteroff, John Kander and Fred Ebb will star Alan Cumming in his Tony Award-winning role as Emcee, three time Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams making her Broadway debut as Sally Bowles. The cast will also feature two time Tony nominee Linda Emond as Fraulein Schneider, four time Tony nominee Danny Burstein as Herr Schultz, Bill Heck as Cliff, Aaron Krohn as Ernst and Gayle Rankin as Fraulein Kost.

Skipping Dec. 11, next week's edition of Scott Siegel's BROADWAY BALLYHOO stars: JULIA MURNEY (Wicked, The Landing, Lennon, 2X Drama Desk Nominee) PAUL ANTHONY STEWART (The Landing, Fiddler on the Roof, on TV: The Guiding Light, Daytime Emmy Winner) RANDIE LEVINE-MILLER (Special Events Producer, Host, Entertainer) AND SPECIAL GUEST STAR... CHRISTINA BIANCO (Drama Desk Nominee for Forbidden Broadway, YouTube Viral Phenom, recently seen on ELLEN) And More!

Ann Hampton Callaway's latest show in late November at 54 Below—her new home away from home—was another one of those slam dunk entertainments she's produced in the past year or so that clearly have put her near the top, if not at the very top, of the female cabaret performer depth chart. Listen, not counting the Broadway stars like Patti LuPone (who are now doing cabaret, mainly at 54 Below), or the top-notch jazz singers like Jane Monheit, you be hard-pressed to think of any major veteran cabaret singer in the country—and that includes Barbara Cook, Marilyn Maye, Andrea Marcovicci, and Amanda McBroom—who are plying the trade better these days than Ann Hampton Callaway.

An artist of great renown, clarinetist and cultural visionary David Krakauer showcases his new project, THE BIG PICTURE, a powerful new multi-media production. It pays hommage to both Krakauer's personal discovery of his cultural heritage and in the broader sense, to the journeys we all take to find meaning and connection with our roots. Bringing together an all-star cast of musicians at Edmond J. Safra Hall in the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust downtown, THE BIG PICTURE tells Krakauer's story in an artful marriage of music and the moving image.