Kathy Najimy News

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will conclude its 30th Anniversary mainstage season with the New York premiere of VANITIES, a new musical written by Jack Heifner, featuring music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum, directed by Judith Ivey. With musical staging by Dan Knechtges, VANITIES will feature Lauren Kennedy, Sarah Stiles, and Anneliese van der Pol and will begin preview performances on Thursday, July 2. Opening night is Thursday, July 16 at 6:30pm

Jay Leno once coined the phrase Plaidheads, referring to fans (such as himself) of the hit stage production, Forever Plaid. Well on July 9th, Plaidheads nation wide gathered to celebrate the screening of one of Off-Broadway's most popular and critically acclaimed musicals, as it made its first appearance on the big screen in the Forever Plaid 20th Anniversary Special event on Thursday, July 9th. Select members from the original ?Forever Plaid?cast with narration provied by David Hyde Pierce for the pre-taped anniversary performance, as they introduce the event live from the red carpet at Los Angeles' Club Nokia to fans in 500 movie theaters across the country and Canada, followed by a specially-taped 20th Anniversary performance of ?Forever Plaid.? Audiences across the country experienced a memorable evening, combining the 20th Anniversary event classic production with new and interactive twists, including a first-ever live, coast-to-coast in-theater sing-a-long with ?The Plaids.?

Lifetime's new one-hour comedic drama series, Drop Dead Diva, became the Network's highest-rated original drama series debut across key demographics since the June 3, 2007, launch of the hit drama Army Wives. The July 12, 2009, premiere of Drop Dead Diva averaged a 1.6 rating, a 148% increase from the 9:00 PM time period's prior four-week average, among the highly coveted advertiser demographic of Women 18-49 and a 1.9 among Women 25-54, a 158% increase from the prior four week average. In Households, Drop Dead Diva scored a 2.2 rating, up 103% from the prior four week time period and averaged more than 2.8 million total viewers, a 129% jump from the prior same four weeks.

On Sunday, July 12 at 9PM ET/PT Lifetime Television premieres 'Drop Dead Diva.' The one-hour, comedic drama tells the story of a shallow model-in-training who dies in a sudden accident only to find her soul resurfacing in the body of a brilliant, plus-size and recently deceased attorney.

On Sunday, July 12 at 9PM ET/PT Lifetime Television premieres 'Drop Dead Diva.' The one-hour, comedic drama tells the story of a shallow model-in-training who dies in a sudden accident only to find her soul resurfacing in the body of a brilliant, plus-size and recently deceased attorney.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will conclude its 30th Anniversary mainstage season with the New York premiere of VANITIES, a new musical written by Jack Heifner, featuring music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum, directed by Judith Ivey. With musical staging by Dan Knechtges, VANITIES will feature Lauren Kennedy, Sarah Stiles, and Anneliese van der Pol and will begin preview performances on Thursday, July 2. Opening night is Thursday, July 16 at 6:30pm

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will conclude its 30th Anniversary mainstage season with the New York premiere of VANITIES, a new musical written by Jack Heifner, featuring music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum, directed by Judith Ivey.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will conclude its 30th Anniversary mainstage season with the New York premiere of VANITIES, a new musical written by Jack Heifner, featuring music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum, directed by Judith Ivey. With musical staging by Dan Knechtges, VANITIES will feature Lauren Kennedy, Sarah Stiles, and Anneliese van der Pol and will begin preview performances on Thursday, July 2. Opening night is Thursday, July 16 at 6:30pm

Cyndi Lauper launches the True Colors Fund's Summer Online Auction, which includes celebrity experiences and autographed memorabilia in support of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) and straight ally community.

Street Theatre Company, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to professional, affordable and accessible theatrical performances in Middle Tennessee, announces that it will present the unique combination of Tuesdays with Morrie and Parallel Lives at Art Space Nashville in Madison, TN, June 18 - July 19, 2009. Parallel Lives will show Thursdays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Tuesdays with Morrie will show Fridays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.. Tickets are $14/adults and $12 for students & seniors.

Following a critically acclaimed season which included the Pulitzer Prize finalist Becky Shaw and the Broadway transfer of its musical hit Next to Normal, Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) has announced three of the four plays scheduled for its upcoming 31st Season.

A new play written and directed by Paul Weitz and the rain-check run of the latest Douglas Carter Beane play are set for the 2009-10 season at Off Broadway's Second Stage Theater according to a report in Variety.

At its annual awards ceremony GLAAD recognized Prop 8: The Musical, a video created for FunnyorDie.com in response to the passage of Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative which eliminated the right to marry for same-sex couples. Directed by Adam Shankman and written by Marc Shaiman, the video received over one million hits on its first day online. During the show, Miss Coco Peru and the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles performed the song live onstage. Shankman accepted the award on behalf of the team of creators.

For this one-night-only event, Broadway performers will join the 2ST Board of Trustees to perform 'The Quest for Fame,' featuring the Great White Way's best show-stopping numbers in this spring gala benefit for the acclaimed off-Broadway theatre company.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will conclude its 30th Anniversary mainstage season with the New York premiere of VANITIES, a new musical written by Jack Heifner, featuring music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum, directed by Judith Ivey.

March 2, 2009 Los Angeles - The Off-Broadway hit ?Back to Bacharach and David? will have a short 23 performance engagement at The Music Box @ Fonda April 15 to May 17 (opening April 19).

Broadway favorite Sherie Rene Scott is not the 'Sherie Rene Scott' diva character appearing in EVERYDAY RAPTURE, but that doesn't mean everyone knows that yet.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will launch its 31st season this fall with the New York premiere of Anna Deavere Smith's LET ME DOWN EASY. Conceived, written, and performed by Ms. Smith and directed by Leonard Foglia, LET ME DOWN EASY will begin preview performances on Tuesday, September 15 and will officially open in early October.

For this one-night-only event, Broadway performers will join the 2ST Board of Trustees to perform 'The Quest for Fame,' featuring the Great White Way's best show-stopping numbers in this spring gala benefit for the acclaimed off-Broadway theatre company.

Completing its 30th Anniversary Season, Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will present EVERYDAY RAPTURE, written by Dick Scanlan (Tony nominee for Thoroughly Modern Millie) and Sherie Rene Scott (Tony nominee for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), with musical supervision by Tom Kitt (Next to Normal, High Fidelity), directed by Michael Mayer (Tony Award winner for Spring Awakening).