Patti LuPone News

James William Productions and Stephenie Skyllas will present Kurt Peterson and Victoria Mallory in 'When Everything Was Possible, A Concert (with comments),' for one night only, Sunday April 29th (7:30pm) at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues), as a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. They will be joined by a thirteen-piece band (Michael Rafter, Music Director), playing new orchestrations by Tony Award winner Jonathan Tunick. Larry Moss directs, with musical staging by Joshua Bergasse ("Smash"). Carolyn Wong will provide lighting design, with sound design by Leon Rothenberg and projection design by Telegraphicmedia.

James William Productions and Stephenie Skyllas present Kurt Peterson and Victoria Mallory in When Everything Was Possible, A Concert (with comments), for one night only tonight, April 29th (7:30pm) at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues), as a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. They are joined by a thirteen-piece band (Michael Rafter, Music Director), playing new orchestrations by Tony Award winner Jonathan Tunick. Larry Moss directs, with musical staging by Joshua Bergasse ("Smash"). Carolyn Wong provides lighting design, with sound design by Leon Rothenberg and projection design by Telegraphicmedia.

Part 12 ANGRY MEN homage, part surrealistic NBC retrospective fever dream and 100% 30 ROCK absurd brilliance at its best, night's live episode of the gold standard NBC comedy series 30 ROCK was precisely that - pure gold. Not only did Tina Fey and the impossibly creative team of writers give the motley assortment of players that comprise the cast a chance to seriously show off their live sketch show skills and theatrical training, but provided Broadway and Hollywood crossover star Alec Baldwin with some of his strongest material to date - with the charismatic erstwhile comedian absolutely killing in his moments portraying a host of wacky and weird characters besides the usual stone-faced Jack Donaghy, a role which has brought him a copious amount of well-deserved statuettes over the six seasons so far. Speaking of hosts, the Dean Martin parody, THE JOEY MONTERO SHOW, stands out as being perhaps the most memorable and guffaw-inducing of all the night's trove of treasures, which is certainly saying something significant - Baldwin owned. Besides the ingenuous conceit of paying tribute to the landmark original live television drama 12 ANGRY MEN acting as a fresh and amusing framing device for the episode, the opportunity afforded by Kenneth (Jack MacBrayer)'s hallucinatory flashbacks of fictional former lesser glories of NBC's long and storied history gave rise to the fabulous fodder allowing for some of the funniest sequences on the series in recent memory - moments that will linger in the mind and funny bone long after this episode or season. Yes, once again, 30 ROCK proved why it is the finest comedy on TV and why Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin have a special sort of chemistry that can only be compared to the finest pairs in the rich history of the form - Mary & Mr. Grant included.

The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall has just completed one of the most successful seasons in the theater's forty-two year history, surpassing last season's sales. This year's sales were $6,207,790 and 108,737 tickets sold, while last year's sales were $5,559,227 and 99,946 tickets sold. This amount consists of Van Wezel presented Main Stage performances only, and does not take into account local companies, event rentals, and Van Wezel Schooltime performances.

MASTERWORKS BROADWAY has announced details of the release of the complete New Broadway Cast Recording of Evita, the first complete English language stage recording of the show since the original 1979 Broadway cast album. The two-CD set, produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Nigel Wright, with Tim Rice as Executive Producer, will be released on June 26, 2012. Visit MasterworksBroadway.com for more information as it develops.

Today we are talking to a Broadway superstar beloved from the time of her breakthrough performance in the original cast of Stephen Sondheim's PASSION nearly twenty years ago all the way to two tremendous revivals in the early 00s - KISS ME, KATE and MAN OF LA MANCHA - to her most recent trio of roles on Broadway, first appearing in the straight drama ENRON, then as the troubled lead character of Diana in the Pulitzer Prize-winning NEXT TO NORMAL, and, most recently, as the tortured Margaret White in the long-awaited New York return of CARRIE - the one and only Marin Mazzie. Recalling many memories of working on the original productions of such seminal musicals as INTO THE WOODS, PASSION, RAGTIME, SPAMALOT and NEXT TO NORMAL with some of Broadway's best and brightest talents, Mazzie expresses her sincere appreciation for the unforgettable shows she has been associated with and opens up about her experiences as both an originator of a role, as in the cases of PASSION and RAGTIME, and also as a replacement star and the challenges that that position poses for a performer. Additionally, Mazzie shares her enthusiasm for the words and music of the Tony Award-winning RAGTIME creators Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, whom she will be saluting alongside a starry assortment of notables on Monday at the NY Pops JOURNEY ON Gala at Carnegie Hall. Plus, Mazzie clues us in on all aspects of her journey with the recent New York reworking and reappraisal of CARRIE and gives us first news on recording the cast album, which is set for a Fall release, as well as news on her second duets album with husband, Jason Danieley and solo album thoughts. All of that and much, much more!

John Davidson, who starred as Matt in the 1964 Hallmark Hall of Fame version of The Fantasticks, will join the cast of the Off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks for a limited engagement in the role of Henry, The Old Actor.

Nominations for the 57th Annual Drama Desk Awards will be announced at a news conference on Friday, April 27, 2011, at 9:30 AM at Feinstein's at the Loews Regency, 540 Park Avenue at 61st Street, in Manhattan. Drama Desk winners Donna Murphy and Brian d'Arcy James will announce the nominations in the various categories. Tune in to dramadeskawards.com to watch a live stream of the announcement!

James William Productions and Stephenie Skyllas will present Kurt Peterson and Victoria Mallory in 'When Everything Was Possible, A Concert (with comments),' for one night only, Sunday April 29th (7:30pm) at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues), as a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. They will be joined by a thirteen-piece band (Michael Rafter, Music Director), playing new orchestrations by Tony Award winner Jonathan Tunick. Larry Moss directs, with musical staging by Joshua Bergasse ("Smash"). Carolyn Wong will provide lighting design, with sound design by Leon Rothenberg and projection design by Telegraphicmedia.

Fanny Brice, America's Funny Girl will open May 23, 2012 and run until June 17, 2012. Previews begin May 20. Fanny Brice, America's Funny Girl is a reworking of Maltz Jupiter Theatre's 2009 hit production Fanny Brice: The Real Funny Girl. Writer and Director David H. Bell modified the script and is bringing Asolo Rep the most inspiring version yet. TCPalm raved, "Marya Grandy may not be the real Fanny Brice…but she just might be a new version of Ethel Merman. That's with a little Patti LuPone and the emotional singing delivery al a Judy Garland tossed in for good measure". WJTW FM said "what really brought the audience to its feet for a standing ovation however was the finale…it doesn't get any better than that."

United Solo, the world's largest solo theatre festival, annually recognizes theatre artists for popularizing the form of the one-person show. The New York-based festival has unveiled the following nominees for its special 2012 uAward: Kathy Griffin in "Kathy Griffin Wants a Tony" (The Belasco Theater), John Hurt in "Krapp's Last Tape" (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Hugh Jackman in "Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway" (The Broadhurst Theatre), and John Leguizamo in "Ghetto Klown" (The Lyceum Theatre).

The 78th Annual Drama League Awards will be held at the Marriott Marquis Times Square on Friday, May 18, 2012 at noon. Check out the 2012 Drama League Nominees for Distinguished Production of a Play, Distinguished Production of a Musical, Distinguished Revival of a Play, Distinguished Revival of a Musical, and the much coveted Distinguished Performance Award.

Actors' Equity Association (AEA), the 50,000-strong union of stage actors and stage managers founded in 1913, has just announced a celebration of 100 years of professional American theater on the occasion of their Centennial.

Tonight, April 23, 2012, Theatre Communications Group (TCG) will celebrate its 50th anniversary at a gala honoring Kenny Leon, Judith O. Rubin, and The Shubert Foundation, at Espace (635 West 42nd Street between 11th and 12th avenues).

Looking for a quick roundup of this week's events? Look no further - here are some of the best articles the week had to offer!

Today we are completing our extensive three-part look at THE SOUND OF MUSIC at Carnegie Hall with an career-spanning chat with one of Broadway biggest rising stars, the amiable and accomplished Laura Osnes. Since her Broadway debut in GREASE - coming after the reality casting competition TV series, YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT - in 2007, Osnes has found great success with lead roles in three more Broadway musicals, spelling for Kelli O'Hara in SOUTH PACIFIC at Lincoln Center as Nellie Forbush, as well as taking on the title role in Frank Wildhorn's BONNIE & CLYDE with Jeremy Jordan and playing Hope Harcourt in the Roundabout revival of ANYTHING GOES alongside Sutton Foster and Joel Grey. In addition to outlining her experiences in those shows and her reflections on her time spent on Broadway thus far, Osnes also opens up about her recent essaying of three Rodgers & Hammerstein roles, having just starred with Will Chase in PIPE DREAM at Encores!, her just-confirmed casting in a new Broadway-bound stage adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein's CINDERELLA that has recently had a workshop production (and will have another in July, again co-starring Santino Fontana) as well as all about the star-studded Carnegie Hall concert presentation of THE SOUND OF MUSIC co-starring Tony Goldwyn and Brooke Shields which she headlines on April 24. Plus, she recounts her experiences participating in the recent Kennedy Center Honors salute to Barbara Cook alongside a dizzying roster of divas and tackling FOLLIES in the spectacular SONDHEIM! THE BIRTHDAY CONCERT presentation now available on DVD - and she also clues us in on her favorite shows, acting influences, plans for the future and much, much more!

Sierra Repertory Theatre will open its 33rd season with its production of Gypsy, playing March 3 through April 22 at Sierra Rep's East Sonora stage. A burst of trumpet opens the musical classic Gypsy, pulling audiences into the world of vaudeville and Broadway's fable of a fierce and focused stage mom with a desperate dream.

Today, BroadwayWorld.com is thrilled to exclusively present the third installment of CHEWING THE SCENERY WITH Randy Rainbow! In this hilarious new edition, Randy catches up with Ricky Martin, Patti LuPone, channels SMASH and more!