Milton Berle News

The 90th Macy's Day parade balloons will not pass by the Friars Club on 55th street but the celebrity guests at the club got to see some great photos of them yesterday at the club.  Sheldon and Margery Harnick hosted a Book Launch Party for Matt Harnick who has a wonderful new book © Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: A New York City Holiday Tradition, Rizzoli N.Y. 2016, which is filled with exclusive photography by Matt, along with archival images of the spectacular floating balloons.  The book offers a never-before-seen look at the planning and preparation of the parade.  Italy features text by Stephen M. Silverman, Foreword by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Afterword by Terry J. Lindgren, Chairman & CEO of Macy's Inc. in conjunction with this milestone anniversary.  The guests in the Milton Berle Room of the Friars Club were also treated to a performance by Tony Award nominee Kate Baldwin and a conversation with Sheldon Harnick, Matt Harnick and Amy Kule, Executive Producer of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  It was a great afternoon and it was nice and warm watching the parade go by inside the club.

Waterwell announced today the revival of the Blueprint Specials, a series of lost WWII-era musicals composed principally by Broadway legend Frank Loesser to be presented in association with the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and The Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival. The production will star Tony Award nominees Laura Osnes (Cinderella, Bonnie and Clyde) and Will Swenson (Hair) and be directed by Drama Desk nominee Tom Ridgely.

Still witty, smart and funny at 95 years of age, the legendary comic Marty Allen was hosted (not roasted) at a Friars Club lunch.  Emmy Award winning Friar Bill Boggs interviewed Marty about his long career in show business.  Marty worked as an opening act for stars such as Sarah Vaughan, Eydie Gorme and Nat King Cole gained enormous fame when he teamed up with singer Steve Rossi and made 44 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.  In 1961 and 1962 Allen appeared on Broadway in Let It Ride! at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre and then went on to perform in the pre-Broadway tour and Broadway performances of I Had A Ball.

The Friars Club hosted a one night only event last night that will be remembered for many years by Ben Vereen.  Chita Rivera brought him to the club for what Ben thought was a small dinner in his honor.  When Ben walked out of the elevator the huge mahogany  doors of the Milton Berle Room and Barbra Streisand Room swung open to a capacity crowd of Friars shouting "SURPRISE" and singing Happy Birthday.   It was an emotional happy celebration as Ben's many friends toasted the legendary performer and humanitarian.  Friar Board Member and Chairman of the Friars Admission Committee Bill Boggs officially made Ben Vereen an Honorary Friar.  As Bill pointed out to Ben in his presentation,  " I have the power to bestow this title on you….. being an Honorary Member entitles you to walk into the club at any time, enjoy a great meal in the Frank Sinatra dinning room…..and pay for it! "  

Feinstein's/54 Below is presenting the triumphant return of Rita McKenzie's award-winning Ethel Merman'S BROADWAY, the country's longest-running one-woman musical, tonight, September 28th, at 7 PM.

Freddie Roman, of Catskills On Broadway fame and past Dean of the Friars Club was the MC of a Borscht Belt evening in the Jerry Lewis Monastery last night and BroadwayWorld was there.

Feinstein's/54 Below is presenting the triumphant return of Rita McKenzie's award-winning ETHEL MERMAN'S BROADWAY, the country's longest-running one-woman musical, September 28th at 7 PM.

Michael Riedel, theater columnist for the New York Post and author of the best selling book RAZZLE DAZZLE The Battle For Broadway, led a panel discussion at the Friars Club last night.  The book is advertised with the slogan, "everything you wanted to know about Broadway, but were afraid to ask"! 

Masterworks Broadway recently announced its Summer 2016 releases including three classic albums from the archives - Sid and Marty Krofft's Les Poupees de Paris - 1964 World Fair Recording (out today, July 8), I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road - Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording (August 8), and Alice Through the Looking Glass - 1966 Television Soundtrack Recording (September 9).

Masterworks Broadway announces its Summer 2016 releases including three classic albums from the archives - Sid and Marty Krofft's Les Poupees de Paris - 1964 World Fair Recording (July 8), I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road - Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording (August 8), and Alice Through the Looking Glass - 1966 Television Soundtrack Recording (September 9). Upon release, each title will be accompanied by new album pages and photos on MasterworksBroadway.com.

The State Theatre Center for the Arts will be celebrating 90 Years of Wow for the 2016-17 Season and is proud to unveil a new logo, created by Kennan-Nagle Advertising, and a new community partnership with the Jaindl Companies & A-Treat soda.

In its robust 101st season, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene is the longest consecutively producing Yiddish theater company in the world. Its mission: To celebrate the Jewish experience through the performing arts and to transmit rich cultural legacy in exciting new ways. The theatre's Gala 2016 this past Monday evening at The Rose Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center honored Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek--long a leading figure in Yiddish performing arts--and his wife Debra Mlotek (a pediatric occupational therapist), who has been pivotal in creating educational children's programs.

The National Comedy Center has acquired the archives of George Carlin. The acquisition was announced last night by the comedian's daughter, Kelly Carlin, at a private event in New York hosted by the Comedy Center.

The spirit of jazz legends Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald (with a little Tito Puente) was palpable in the Milton Berle room at New York's Friars Club on April 25 for the second-annual production of Triple Threats. Broadway veterans (including Duke's granddaughter, Mercedes Ellington, who also co-produced the show) joined some of America's most accomplished jazz musicians to celebrate the April birthdays of the music greats and to honor those performers who sing, dance, and act at the highest levels.

Conceived and Directed by Grammy nominated Producer, Director, Writer, and Composer Bruce Kimmel, L.A. NOW AND THEN, is a new musical revue about the city that was and the city that is.

Friar Laura Slutsky hosted a lunch at the Friars Club with invited guest Robert Creighton the star of the hit musical Cagney now playing the The West Side Theatre.  The event was co-produced by Riki Kane-Larimer and Friars filled the Milton Berle Room for a lively lunch and many interesting stories about all thing Cagney, Cohan, and Creighton.   

JAMESTOWN, N.Y., April 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ National Comedy Center, Inc., the first cultural institution dedicated entirely to the celebration of comedy,announces the lineup for the 2016 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, August 47, in Jamestown, NY. Headlining this year's festival is Comedy Central's 'Daily Show' host Trevor Noah, the king of the rant Lewis Black, and one of this country's premier comedians, Brian Regan. Festival highlights also include a moderated discussion with the Farrelly Brothers and Kliph Nesteroff, the critically-acclaimed Story Pirates kids-comedy troupe, and Comedy Late Night.

K-Boots based the experience of a true UK shoe factory.

Flashback Friday! The Board of the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, which is comprised of over 140 film and TV journalists and/or critics nationwide, had fun last February picking its choices for the very best (or at least dishiest) movies through the years that have somehow included the Academy Awards ® in their storylines (note: GALECA is not affiliated with the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences). Let's revisit GALECA's Top 10 Movies That Costar Oscar ®, ranked from 1 to 10 below, shall we? 

Professional Children's School alumni Arlene Shuler and Robert Fairchild will be on hand to receive the PCS LEGACIES AWARD at a gala benefit featuring a cabaret performance by some of the school's most talented current students.