Paul Kolnik News

Like otherworldly blue aliens from a distant planet, the silent but fun BLUE MAN GROUP really knows how to bring its brand of peculiar party tricks to a rapt audience. Fascinated by random objects and behaviors, and aroused by their own extraordinary feats, the show enthralls its age-expansive audience by shining a colorful spotlight on its child-like exploration of their own curiosities, while also providing a really funky, rhythmic beat to serve as an underscore. The result? A huge communal dance party!

Christopher Sieber shines as Albin. George Hamilton...not so much.

Whether you've been living under a rock for the past week, or you're just in the mood for a recap of everything theatre, BroadwayWorld's feature, 'This Week in Pictures' is here to satisfy your end of the week fix. Take a look below to catch up on the latest happenings from the Great White Way to the West End (and everywhere in between) with coverage of press events, rehearsals, opening nights and more!

The national touring production of MEMPHIS, the 2010 Tony Award-winning Best Musical, kicked off on October 16, 2011 at the Orpheum Theatre in - where else - Memphis, TN, where it played through October 23. The company is now in Houston, where is plays through the weekend, and will next head to Tulsa from November 1 through November 6). Production shots have just been released and BroadwayWorld brings you a first look below!

Since I'm not a fan of gospel or R&B, I settled into my seat at the Hobby Center last night uncertain how the next few hours were going to appeal to me. However, I left the theatre completely blown away with an uplifted spirit. The National Tour of MEMPHIS: A NEW MUSICAL shines with a deeply talented cast bursting with heart and energy throughout the flawless production.

La Cage Aux Folles, starring film and TV actor George Hamilton and two-time Tony Award nominee and Christopher Sieber, just kicked off its national tour at Des Moines' Civic Center last week. Winner of three 2010 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, this flashy comedy made Tony Awards history as the first show ever to win the Tony Award three times for best production. Check out photos from the production below!

OK, so I find it an interesting coincidence that there are two (kinda) clowning shows in town right now. "Humor Abuse" over at the Rep (which I reviewed a few days ago) and now the tour of "Blue Man Group" over at the Paramount. And really the two couldn't be more different from each other. While "Humor Abuse" is subtle and sweet, "Blue Man Group" is loud and in your face. And while the latter is definitely fun, I think I prefer the former.

OK, so I find it an interesting coincidence that there are two (kinda) clowning shows in town right now. "Humor Abuse" over at the Rep (which I reviewed a few days ago) and now the tour of "Blue Man Group" over at the Paramount. And really the two couldn't be more different from each other. While "Humor Abuse" is subtle and sweet, "Blue Man Group" is loud and in your face. And while the latter is definitely fun, I think I prefer the former.

Similarity is attractive: Bryne's law of attraction points out that the attraction towards an individual (or a stage role) is positively related to the proportion of similar attitudes shared by two or more persons. It's no wonder smash Broadway musical ROCK OF AGES' new leading man, Dan Domenech (who shares similar attitudes toward his new stage role), has been having the time of his life since he made his Broadway debut five months ago -- playing the part of Drew, a rocker wannabe from Detroit.

Blue Man Group is full-throttle fun, deliriously served up and flung out into the audience - which is why the front row people are given plastic ponchos to wear!

On days when Kalen Allmandinger is feeling blue, it's actually a really great thing. In fact, he's required to be blue because he's part of the world renowned performance extravaganza known as Blue Man Group. This trio of bald, silent (think Charlie Chaplin on steroids), blue-latex-coated performers first took the world by storm in 1991 and hasn't stopped since. Created by Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton, Blue Man Group is set to appear at San Francisco's Golden Gate Theatre May 24 - June 19.

Back in Season 3 of the Fox talent search juggernaut American Idol, then 16-year-old Diana DeGarmo narrowly missed the coveted title, walking away as the first runner up. Fast forward to 2011 and the now 23-year-old is currently starring as the iconic Doralee Rhodes in the national touring company of 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL, the Dolly Parton-scored Broadway musical adaptation of the cult 1980 film. The show performs a single-week run at the Segerstrom Center of the Arts in Costa Mesa from May 10 through May 15. DeGarmo recently chatted with BroadwayWorld's Michael Lawrence Quintos to talk about Idol, early shows, and her Dolly-fied role.

It's obvious that Bobby Steggert is beginning to feel very much at home in the bowels of Lincoln Center. He's in the very dressing room that he had less than a year ago when he appeared in their production of A. R. Gurney's delightful play THE GRAND MANNER. Now he's playing Eugene Marchbanks in Joshua Schmidt and Jan Levy Tranen's A MINISTER's WIFE; a musical treatment of George Bernard Shaw's CANDIDA which opened on Sunday, May 8th.

When I found out I'd be covering Wonderland for BroadwayWorld, I wasn't sure if I should bring my seven-year-old daughter. As most of you know by now, the whole premise of this column is a mom (me) bringing her kids to the theatre and reporting back to you about the experience. But that doesn't mean I'm going to subject my kid to something she's not prepared for, and in this case, the decision was not obvious to me.

Executive Producer Lou Spisto today announced that The Old Globe will produce the World Premieres of four new plays and musicals in its 2011-12 Winter Season. The season will feature the World Premiere musicals Some Lovers by music legend Burt Bacharach and Tony Award winner Steven Sater and Nobody Loves You by Gaby Alter and Itamar Moses, as well as the West Coast Premiere of John Kander and Fred Ebb's The Scottsboro Boys, recently nominated for 12 Tony Awards including Best Musical, directed and choreographed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman. The two plays receiving World Premiere productions are Somewhere by Globe Playwright-in-Residence Matthew Lopez and The Recommendation by Jonathan Caren. The new season also includes revivals of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show and the Eugene O'Neill classic Anna Christie directed by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner David Auburn. Special events include the World Premiere of Odyssey by Todd Almond, a music theater event conceived and directed by Lear deBessonet celebrating the Globe's 75th Anniversary, The Old Globe/University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program production of Twelfth Night and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, which returns for its 14th consecutive year.

Whether you've been living under a rock for the past week, or you're just in the mood for a recap of everything theatre, BroadwayWorld's new feature, ‘This Week in Pictures' is here to satisfy your end of the week fix. Take a look below to catch up on the latest happenings from the Great White Way to the West End (and everywhere in between) with coverage of press events, rehearsals, opening nights and more!

Currently in previews, Lincoln Center Theater's production of A MINISTER'S WIFE, a new musical with book by Austin Pendleton, music by Joshua Schmidt and lyrics by Jan Levy Tranen, based on Candida by George Bernard Shaw, conceived and directed by Michael Halberstam, opens Sunday, May 8, at 6:45pm.

A New Alice. A New Musical stars Janet Dacal (In The Heights) as Alice, Darren Ritchie (Little Shop of Horrors, Thoroughly Modern Millie) as Jack the White Knight, E. Clayton Cornelious (The Scottsboro Boys, A Chorus Line) as Caterpillar, Jose Llana (Spelling Bee, Flower Drum Song) as El Gato, Karen Mason (Hairspray, Mamma Mia!) as The Queen of Hearts, Kate Shindle (Legally Blonde, Cabaret, Jekyll and Hyde) as The Mad Hatter, Carly Rose Sonenclar (Les Miserables, Little House on the Prairie) as Chloe, Edward Staudenmayer (Spamalot, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me) as The White Rabbit and Danny Stiles (Regional productions of Guys and Dolls and Sister Act: The Musical) as Morris the March Hare. With a book by Gregory Boyd and Jack Murphy, lyrics by Jack Murphy, music by Frank Wildhorn, choreography by Marguerite Derricks and direction by Gregory Boyd, WONDERLAND will open at Broadway's Marquis Theatre (1535 Broadway between 45th & 46th Streets) on Sunday, April 17, 2011, and performances began Monday, March 21.

The high-octane theatrical experience that is Blue Man Group will pump up the Warner Theatre for a limited engagement, ending April 3, 2011.