Len Cariou News

The popular Musical Mondays series continues at Le Cirque with Jazz & Cabaret performer Sabrina Wender. A singer-songwriter, dancer and actress, Sabrina Wender has a true passion for the arts. She has recorded a CD of pop music in Italy and also has an in-depth knowledge of American Jazz and Swing music of the 30s and 40s. As a teenager, Sabrina attended summer courses at the High School of Performing Arts in New York and has continued to further her musical studies both in Europe and the U.S. She has composed original ballad songs and soundtracks for documentaries about Italy which she produced and edited herself. As a dancer, Sabrina studied ballet at the Royal Academy of Dance and jazz at the California Club in Milan and currently attends The Steps School in New York. She has performed in music videos for Sting and Zucchero in collaboration with choreographers Momix and David Parsons. Sabrina has appeared on various television programs, including the Italian TV Network RAI where she was the female lead performer on the Saturday evening variety program "Rido." She also studied acting at Thomas G. Waites Acting Studio in New York.In her performances, Sabrina loves to sing Italian "La Dolce Vita" music, American Jazz Standards and Bossanova, all accented by her dancing and passion for the rhythm.

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, are thrilled to announce in this, their 23rd season, the world premiere of SOVEREIGN BODY, written by Emilie Beck and directed by Scott Alan Smith (That Good Night, Lady). SOVEREIGN BODY will preview tonight, March 22 at 8pm; Sunday, March 28 at 2pm and Thursday, March 27 at 8pm and will open on Friday, March 23 at 8pm and run through Saturday, May 10 at the Historic Lankershim Arts Center, 5108 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood, CA.

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, the performance venue located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond:

Carnegie Hall today announced that two-time Tony Award winner Judy Kaye will now play the role of General Matilda B. Cartwright, replacing previously announced actress Jayne Houdyshell, for its gala benefit performance of Guys and Dolls on Thursday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. Kaye's career highlights include Tony Awards for her performances as Best Featured Actress in a Musical in The Phantom of the Opera and Nice Work If You Can Get It and Tony Award nominations for her roles in Mamma Mia! and Souvenir.

The roster of stars continues to expand for Broadway Backwards with today's additions of Norm Lewis (The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, TV's 'Scandal'), Roger Rees (co-director of Peter and the Starcatcher, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby), Julie White (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Little Dog Laughed), and Rachel York (Encores! Little Me, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels).

Urban Stages Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director and producer Peter Napolitano present the World Premiere of Character Man. Jim Brochu's new musical memoir now at Urban Stages Theatre (259 West 30th Street), with opening night set for Today March 5th. This limited run will continue through March 30th only. Robert Bartley directs, with musical direction by Carl Haan.

A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN (MOON), by Pulitzer Prize winner and Nobel Laureate Eugene O'Neill, continues Rubicon Theatre Company's 16th Season helmed by Artistic Associate Jenny Sullivan with company member Joseph Fuqua in the role of James Tyrone. (The production marks the 23rd collaboration for Sullivan and Fuqua, who have worked together at Rubicon on productions including Hamlet, You Can't Take It With You and Old Wicked Songs.) Other cast members are Rebekah Tripp, Granville Van Dusen, Scott Roberts and Matthew Grondin.

Ever since it premiered on Broadway in 1973, Stephen Sondheim's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, with a book by Hugh Wheeler, has been a favorite of musical theatre fans. The Michigan Opera Theatre was the first American opera company to present the piece in 1983, and other companies followed suit. It last graced Houston Grand Opera's (HGO) stages in 1999. Now, the musical, with an extraordinary set and gorgeous costumes by Isaac Mizrahi, is thrilling Houston audiences again with HGO's latest production of this American masterpiece.

Urban Stages Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director and producer Peter Napolitano present the World Premiere of Character Man. Jim Brochu's new musical memoir now at Urban Stages Theatre (259 West 30th Street), with opening night set for Wednesday March 5th. This limited run will continue through March 30th only. Robert Bartley directs, with musical direction by Carl Haan.

Phil Geoffrey Bond will direct FUNNY GIRL, as part of 54 Sings' series, and will feature Carole J. Bufford, Donna Lynne Champlin, Tovah Feldshuh, Debbie Gravitte, Hunter Ryan Herdlicka, Karen Mason, Julia Murney, Molly Pope, Emily Skinner, John Tartaglia, Donna Vivino and special guest star Mimi Hines.

Carnegie Hall today announced the complete cast for its gala benefit performance of Guys and Dolls on Thursday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage. Tony Award winner Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd, Applause, A Little Night Music) joins the cast as Arvide Abernathy along with Tony Award nominee Lee Wilkof (Assassins, Little Shop of Horrors, Kiss Me Kate) as Harry the Horse. Members of the Mission Band joining Allison Blackwell (Agatha) are J.D. Webster (Calvin), Linda Mugleston (Martha), and Joseph Torello (Joseph).

The New York Philharmonic's staged production of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street will be telecast nationally on Live From Lincoln Center, hosted by Audra McDonald, on PBS stations. The air date will be announced at a later time.

The New York Philharmonic will soon present a staged production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, March 5-8, 2014. As previously announced, Sweeney Todd will star bass-baritone Bryn Terfel in the title role and Academy Award-winning actress Emma Thompson as Mrs. Lovett in her Philharmonic debut, New York stage debut, and first time performing the role. Jeff Blumenkrantz will portray The Beadle; Tony Award winner Christian Borle, Pirelli (marking his Philharmonic debut); Kyle Brenn, Tobias Ragg (debut); Jay Armstrong Johnson, Anthony Hope (debut); Erin Mackey, Johanna (debut); and Olivier Award winner Philip Quast, Judge Turpin (debut and New York stage debut). Music Director Alan Gilbert will conduct; Lonny Price will direct; and Lonny Price and Matt Cowart are the producers. BroadwayWorld brings you photos of the cast in rehearsal below!

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, announced today that the world premiere of SOVEREIGN BODY, written by Emilie Beck and directed by Scott Alan Smith (That Good Night, Lady) will now preview on Saturday, March 29 at 8pm; Sunday, March 30 at 2pm and Thursday, April 3 at 8pm and will open on Friday, April 4 at 8pm and run through Saturday, May 24 at the Historic Lankershim Arts Center, 5108 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood, CA.

The 22nd Annual Movieguide Awards will air on Reelz today, March 1, 2014 at 2pm ET/ 11am PT, with an additional broadcast on Oscar Day, Sunday, March 2 at 2pm ET/ 11am PT.

Urban Stages Founding Artistic Director Frances Hill and producer Peter Napolitano present the World Premiere of Character Man as part of its 30th Anniversary season. Jim Brochu's new musical memoir begins an Off-Broadway run at Urban Stages Theatre (259 West 30th Street) tonight, February 28th, with opening night set for Wednesday March 5th. This limited run will continue through March 30th only. Robert Bartley directs, with musical direction by Carl Haan. Character Man will have scenic & video design by Patrick Brennan, lighting design by Meghan Santelli and sound design by Sean Hagerty.

Five more of Broadway's most talented men and two of its leading ladies will join the already star-studded lineup of legendary performers for the ninth annual edition of Broadway Backwards, a one-night-only performance produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and benefiting BC/EFA and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of New York.

On April 28, Symphony Space will host its spring gala, Fiddler at 50, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Fiddler on the Roof. The evening will honor Sheldon Harnick, the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning lyricist behind the iconic musical.

Today in 1973, A Little Night Music opened at the Shubert Theatre, where it ran for 601 performances. A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Since its original 1973 Broadway production, the musical has enjoyed professional productions in the West End, by opera companies, in a 2009 Broadway revival, and elsewhere, and it is a popular choice for regional groups. It was adapted for film in 1977, with Harold Prince directing and Elizabeth Taylor, Len Cariou, Lesley-Anne Down and Diana Rigg starring.

A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN (MOON), by Pulitzer Prize winner and Nobel Laureate Eugene O'Neill, continues Rubicon Theatre Company's 16th Season helmed by Artistic Associate Jenny Sullivan with company member Joseph Fuqua in the role of James Tyrone. (The production marks the 23rd collaboration for Sullivan and Fuqua, who have worked together at Rubicon on productions including Hamlet, You Can't Take It With You and Old Wicked Songs.) Other cast members are Rebekah Tripp, Granville Van Dusen, Scott Roberts and Matthew Grondin.