Michael Bennett News

The award winning San Diego Musical Theatre announces its 2010-2011 of Broadway musicals, which includes SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE, THE STORY OF MY LIFE, and A CHORUS LINE. Show times are Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. All productions will be at the Lyceum Theatre is located at 79 Horton Plaza. There is four hours of free parking at Horton Plaza with the purchase of tickets.

Lionel Larner, Executive Director of The Dorothy Loudon Foundation, has announced that the 2009-2010 recipient of its Dorothy Loudon Starbaby Award for a Broadway or Off-Broadway performance will go to Bobby Steggert for his outstanding performances, as it turns out both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in Ragtime and Yank!

Lionel Larner, Executive Director of The Dorothy Loudon Foundation, has announced that the 2009-2010 recipient of its Dorothy Loudon Starbaby Award for a Broadway or Off-Broadway performance will go to Bobby Steggert for his outstanding performances, as it turns out both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in Ragtime and Yank! The award will be presented at this year's 66th Annual Theatre World Awards (in an invitation-only ceremony) at New World Stages on Tuesday, June 8.

The beloved summer stock theater in Matunuck, RI opens its 2010 season with Michael Bennett's equally beloved 'A Chorus Line'.

The Fred and Adele Astaire Awards will once again recognize excellence in dance on both stage and film. This year's Awards gala will take place June 7, 2010 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, 899 Tenth Avenue (between 58th and 59th Streets) New York City 10019.

Today, we are taking a look at a clip from the 1982 Tony Awards and one of that season's hottest and most acclaimed shows, the rightfully unforgettable DREAMGIRLS directed by Michael Bennett. In this clip we can surely see why Jennifer Holliday earned her Best Actress In A Musical trophy and why Michael Bennett's Tony-winning musical staging is so well-remembered to this very day. No musical looked quite like this before...

The Fred and Adele Astaire Awards will once again recognize excellence in dance on both stage and film. This year's Awards gala will take place June 7, 2010 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, 899 Tenth Avenue (between 58th and 59th Streets) New York City 10019.

This week, we are highlighting the unparalleled career of legendary director/choreographer Michael Bennett with a newly unearthed clip of the original Broadway cast of A JOYFUL NOISE performing Bennett's choreography on the Ed Sullivan Show, as well as a near-three-hour interview with his associates that was recorded last week as part of a benefit for Dancers Over 40 also titled A JOYFUL NOISE. There's certainly a lot to love and embrace here in this crash-course in Bennett for the uninitiated among us.

Fred Astaire's widow, Robyn, filed a suit May 28 seeking to block what she says is unauthorized use of the Astaire name by the coming Fred and Adele Astaire Awards. The news was reported by the New York Times.

The behind-the-scenes, utterly competitive process of being cast in a show is the subject of A CHORUS LINE, one of Broadway's biggest commercial musical hits ever. The current national tour, based on the successful 2006 Broadway revival, is now playing for a strictly two-week limited return engagement at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood thru June 13. Even after more than 30 years, this endearingly funny, emotionally-charged, highly-entertaining musical masterpiece still holds such an amazing presence on stage, a feat replicated well by this winning tour production.

Peter Glebo Gallery is pleased to present Longnecks, an exhibition of large-scale, acrylic-on-canvas portraits of giraffes by Broadway legend Tommy Tune. Opening on Thursday, June 3 and running through Sunday, August 29, the exhibition will serve as the new Chelsea gallery's inaugural exhibition. This exhibition is made possible, in part, by the generous support of Playbill.

Veteran theatrical producer Vicki Halmos, founder of the Palm Beach Principal Players, today announced the formation of a new theatrical production company, Entr'Acte Theatrix, and its debut presentation - the tribal rock musical HAIR.

When A Chorus Line premiered at Joe Papp's Public Theater in 1975, its bold form changed the face of the American musical. I wonder if James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante (book), Ed Kleban (lyrics) and Marvin Hamlisch (music) really knew the impact that their soon-to-be Pulitzer Prize winning drama would hold for future generations as it moved from Joe Papp's Public Theater to Broadway? It promised to be be a singularly sensational success all over the globe for decades. And - in 2010 - it still remains one of the most thrilling musicals ever.

Theatre By The Sea owner and producer Bill Hanney, Producing Artistic Director Amiee Turner and Managing Producer Joel Kipper are proud to announce the opening of Theatre By The Sea's 77th Season with the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award® winning musical A Chorus Line on June 2.

Ocean State Theatre Company (OSTC), the not-for-profit producing entity at the historic Theatre By The Sea, is pleased to welcome Mitzi Hamilton as director and choreographer of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning musical, A CHORUS LINE, scheduled to open the summer season on June 2, 2010.

Today, we continue our series of Special Interviews with the recipients of the 2010 Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre with arts advocate Ginny Louloudes and the National Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (ART/NY)

The new production of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical A CHORUS LINE will return to Los Angeles at the Pantages Theatre for a strictly-limited two week engagement, June 1-13, 2010.

Camp Broadway®, Broadway's Original Summer Camp, is presenting three five-day musical theatre camps for children ages 6-9, 10-13 and 14-17 at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts during July and August 2010. New facility owner and producer, Bill Hanney invited Camp Broadway® to offer its acclaimed program at the theatre this summer as the first step in his long-range commitment to restore quality theatre arts programming for young audiences. Registration begins July 19 for more information and to register visit www.CampBroadway.com/NorthShore.

Peter Glebo Gallery is pleased to present Longnecks, an exhibition of large-scale, acrylic-on-canvas portraits of giraffes by Broadway legend Tommy Tune. Opening on Thursday, June 3 and running through Sunday, August 29, the exhibition will serve as the new Chelsea gallery's inaugural exhibition. This exhibition is made possible, in part, by the generous support of Playbill.

Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) is one of the foremost AIDS charities on Broadway and their four yearly benefits provide not only help to those who need it most, but also provide thrilling showcases for the vast talent on Broadway and off, raising tens of millions of dollars a year for AIDS-related charities. The President of the BC/EFA, Tom Viola, is receiving a Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre for his work as an individual this year, as the organization itself has already been singled out for their amazing work by the Tony committee. Here, Viola discusses his feelings on the Tonys, the origins of the many yearly benefits such as Broadway Bares and Easter Bonnet Competition, in addition to his earliest theatrical memories.