Michael Dale News

I will leave it to you, dear readers, if you decide to take in a performance of Jerry Mayer's Dietrich and Chevalier, to determine for yourselves if it's better off being a play peppered with just a few musical moments or a full-out concert with just a smattering of narrative.  As it stands now, the two-act piece with a plot that continually gets halted to present its collection of fifteen musical hits trudges along without much purpose.

What was that song they sang at last year's Tony Awards?  Something about letting your freak flag fly?  Something about never hesitating to yell out, 'Hey world, I'm different and here I am?'

The trouble all started when Jule Styne composed a score for Funny Girl that Fanny Brice could not possibly have sung. 

When Isaiah Sheffer first walked into the dilapidated movie house on Broadway and 95th Street in the late '70s he saw some kind of makeshift boxing ring on the creaky stage.  But what he envisioned was a great center for the arts on the Upper West Side that filled the wide cultural gap between Lincoln Center and Columbia University.

The Costa Mesa Playhouse is pleased to announce its 2010-2011 season-a season filled with classic and contemporary comedies, award-winning musicals, and a humor-laced drama.

UK editor-in-chief Carrie Dunn sends us her next instalment of her time in NYC

BroadwayWorld, the largest theatre site on the Internet covering Broadway and beyond to 100 US cities, and 25 countries worldwide, is excited to announce it's newest addition - the Broadway Critics Report Card.

Broadway Musical legend Hal Leonard reached an agreement with Rilting Music to exclusively represent iconic Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim in print. The publishing leader is pleased to announce the release of five new Sondheim editions, commemorating this legend's 80th birthday. For more information on Sondheim songbooks www.musicdispatch.com, 800-637-2852.

Roundabout Theatre Company's Artistic Director Todd Haimes announced this morning that the company's Broadway production of Terrance McNally's Lips Together, Teeth Apart, which was postponed after the sudden departure of star Megan Mullally, will be replaced by a revival of the popular musical Les Misérables.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg became the first person ever issued a summons for violating the city's ban on cell phone use during public performances, a law he has openly opposed since its introduction in 2002.

The Costa Mesa Playhouse's 44th season continues with Tony® and Pulitzer Prize-winner Neil Simon's semi-autobiographical examination of dysfunctional relationships between the sexes, JAKE'S WOMEN.

BroadwayWorld's 2010 Valentine's Day gift to you, the 5th Annual 'What's the Most Romantic Broadway Love Song Ever?' brings you over 500 stars, industry professionals, and personalities from across the globe, and this year Barbra Streisand, Susan Boyle, Bernadette Peters, Cameron Mackintosh, HAIR, GLEE and many, many more!

On February 5, the Costa Mesa Playhouse's 44th season continues with Tony® and Pulitzer Prize-winner Neil Simon's semi-autobiographical examination of dysfunctional relationships between the sexes, JAKE'S WOMEN.

On February 5, the Costa Mesa Playhouse's 44th season continues with Tony® and Pulitzer Prize-winner Neil Simon's semi-autobiographical examination of dysfunctional relationships between the sexes, JAKE'S WOMEN.

Michael Dale names ten memorable theatre moments from some of New York's lesser known 2009 productions.

On December 10, members of the cast of the holiday musical hit, That Time of the Year, will be performing songs from the show at Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Triangle.

On December 10, members of the cast of the holiday musical hit, That Time of the Year, will be performing songs from the show at Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Triangle.

I had the immense pleasure of taking another visit to Grover's Corners, New Hampshire last week, via the fascinating David Cromer production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town that opened in February at the Barrow Street Theatre. Back then I wrote that the director's non-traditional take on the play - which remains completely faithful to the author's text and themes - was one of the most exciting theatre events of the season. On second look, with a mixture of new and old cast member, I'd say it's the best theatre production I know of currently playing in New York.

The original off-Broadway cast album of the critically acclaimed holiday musical, That Time of the Year is now available on iTunes. The 2-CD album will be released November 10, 2009 from JAY records.

Today's Broadway Blogs on BroadwayWorld.com from Monday, November 2, 2009.