Judy Garland News

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre, the acclaimed comedy/variety show, will return to THE BOOTLEG THEATER tonight, July 25 and Saturday, July 26 at 7:30 PM. After extended runs at 54 Below and Joe's Pub in New York, the show recently made its Los Angeles debut and is back for two more performances. The show will feature special guests to be announced.

Uptown Players closes its 2014 season with the Regional Premiere of the 2003 Tony Award winning musical, The Boy From Oz. This is the first regional theater production announced in the United States since the Broadway production and will run from today, July 25 through August 10, 2014 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater.

DAMES AT SEA is listed as a parody of the Busby Berkley musicals of the 1930s but the Otterbein University's production of the George Haimsohn and Robin Miller musical comes across as a loving tribute than a skewering of the glitzy, style-over substance musicals.

Theater Talk's previously scheduled encore of 'Elaine Stritch 88th Birthday Bash,' will now serve as a tribute to the great entertainer. It will air tomorrow, Friday night (Saturday morning), at 1 am on Thirteen. Thirteen will rebroadcast the show on Saturday at 6:30 AM.

It's time for the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis and the Smith family couldn't be more excited. Journey back in time with the Yardley Players as they present 'Meet Me in St. Louis' at Mercer County Community College's (MCCC) Kelsey Theatre. Dates and show times for this charming musical are Fridays, tonight, July 18 and July 25 at 8 p.m.; Saturdays, July 19 and 26 at 8 p.m.; and Sundays, July 20 and 27 at 2 p.m. Kelsey Theatre is located on the college's West Windsor campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road. An Opening Night Reception with the cast and crew follows the show on July 18. Scroll down for a first look at the cast!

The Los Altos Stage Company (LASC) announces its first-ever co-production and collaborative project with the Los Altos Youth Theatre (LAYT),

For Chrissy Albanese, it is a far cry from her first theater experiences at Gorham High School, the Windham Center Stage Theater and the Schoolhouse Arts Center, to the stage of one of Maine's best loved summer theaters, Arundel Barn Playhouse.

Acclaimed blues singer MARY BRIDGET DAVIES--nominated for a Tony this year in the 'Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical' category for her Broadway lead in 'A Night With Janis Joplin'--will return to The Pasadena Playhouse for four nights today, July 17-20. She first wowed Pasadena, CA crowds in 2013 with the Janis Joplin role, marking The Playhouse's highest-grossing production in its history.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced their great line-up of amazing talent for the month of August 2014, featuring: The Jazz Masters Quartet, Dave Douglas Quintet, Django Reinhardt NY Festival, Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano, Rotem Sivan Trio, Sean Harkness Duo, Jane Monheit, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and more. Details below!

The Muny presents the fourth show of its 96th season, The Addams Family, directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge, choreographed by Vince Pesce, with musical direction by Ben Whiteley. The show begins tonight, July 14 and runs through July 20, 2014.

Freeport Players announces an exciting addition to its blockbuster July production of The Wizard of Oz, on the 75th anniversary of the beloved 1939 MGM movie. Willard Carroll, the premier collector of original Wizard of Oz memorabilia and originator of the National Oz Museum, will speak before the matinee performance on Sunday, July 20, at 12:30 pm. Carroll will also answer questions about his collection and the museum, and will show a brief video. He began collecting Oz items as a child, and owns thousands of them, including the hourglass used by the Wicked Witch, an original costume worn by one of the Lollipop Guild Munchkins, and a dress worn by Judy Garland. He also has toys, posters, lunchboxes and more. Carroll will bring an original poster to show. The talk and performances are at Freeport Performing Arts Center, Holbrook St., Freeport.

Stages' PETE N' KEELY is a dark comedy that hearkens back to a bygone era when men were gentlemen and women were ladies. A time when Billie Holiday wore impeccably designed silk dresses and garlands in her hair on the stage then exited to a life of heroin addiction, incarceration and abusive romantic relationships. Those were the days.

The 18th Long Island Al Jolson Festival coming up on August 16 is a whole-day affair featuring film presentations, lectures, memorabilia displays and sales, and a performance--'The Heart of Al Jolson'--by singer and Staten Island native Tony Babino (photo below), who can sing Jolson songs like, well, you ain't heard nothin' yet. The other day, like clockwork, I received my yearly invitation to attend from Oceanside, LI resident Jan Hernstat, who for the past 10 years has been the President of the 62-year-old International Al Jolson Society (which was formed in early 1950, a few months before Jolson died), an organization with a worldwide membership hovering around 1,000. I am proud to say that for 30 years, I've been one of them. I'm even prouder to say that I've been an Al Jolson fanatic for much longer. Here's my story about how it happened.

Celebrate the Oscar-winning composer who wrote high-flying songs for Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, such as 'Moonlight Becomes You' and 'Come Fly With Me' in PBS's JIMMY VAN HEUSEN: SWINGIN' WITH FRANK & BING special, featuring interviews with Frank Sinatra, Jr., Harry Crosby, Tony Bennett, Shirley MacLaine and more. Go behind the scenes in the video below!

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestra's begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven- o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week, including: Every Time's The First Time!, Broadway Sings Justin Timberlake, Lillias White: The Birthday Show, Aspects of Andrew: Lloyd Webber @ 54, and Jane Monheit's Jazz Party.

The Pasadena Playhouse presents A John Kimble and Phil Sandhaus Presentation 'A JUDY GARLAND CONCERT with Joey Luft', running today, July 11 - 13, 2014.

Two iconic female performers are remembered and honored in song and story at Florida Studio Theatre's Court Cabaret. The final show in FST's Summer Sidekicks Series, Somewhere Over the Rose: The Songs and Stories of Judy Garland and Bette Midler, opens August 5 and runs through August 31. Single tickets are on sale for $32. Tickets may be purchased online at FloridaStudioTheatre.org, by phone at (941) 366-9000, or by visiting the Box Office.

Acclaimed blues singer MARY BRIDGET DAVIES--nominated for a Tony this year in the “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical” category for her Broadway lead in “A Night With Janis Joplin”--will return to The Pasadena Playhouse for four nights July 17-20. She first wowed Pasadena, CA crowds in 2013 with the Janis Joplin role, marking The Playhouse's highest-grossing production in its history.

The Pasadena Playhouse presents A John Kimble and Phil Sandhaus Presentation 'A JUDY GARLAND CONCERT with Joey Luft', running July 11 - 13, 2014.

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre, the acclaimed comedy/variety show, will return to THE BOOTLEG THEATER on Friday, July 25 and Saturday, July 26 at 7:30 PM. After extended runs at 54 Below and Joe's Pub in New York, the show recently made its Los Angeles debut and is back for two more performances. The show will feature special guests to be announced.