Richard Ridge News

Today (April 14) in live streaming: Richard Ridge chats with the cast of Girl from the North Country, Spencer Glass teaches us about a little-known musical, the cast of Glee reunites on Stars in the House and so much more!

Nothing can stop BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge from bringing you interviews with your favorite Broadway stars! Tune in right here today, April 14 (12pm), as he chats with stars of Girl from the North Country-  Luba Mason, Marc Kudisch and Jeanette Bayardelle!

Broadway might be dark this month, but that doesn't mean that theatre isn't happening everywhere! Below, check out where you can get your daily fix of Broadway today, April 10, 2020.

Today's top stories: the National Theatre's Jane Eyre is now available to stream, and more!

Nothing can stop BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge from bringing you interviews with your favorite Broadway stars! Tune in right here today, April 10 (12pm), as he chats with Beetlejuice star Alex Brightman!

Broadway might be dark this month, but that doesn't mean that theatre isn't happening everywhere! Below, check out where you can get your daily fix of Broadway today, April 9, 2020.

As theatre fans everywhere prepare for another two months without Broadway, BroadwayWorld wants to make sure that you stay sane while social distancing. What better time to brush up on some of the movie musicals you always wanted to see, but never had the time to; or to listen to that cast recording that always eluded you; or watch that Youtube performance that everyone's been talking about?

Nothing can stop BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge from bringing you interviews with your favorite Broadway stars! Tune in today, April 9 (12pm), as he chats with stars of Mrs. Doubtfire- Rob McClure, Jenn Gambatese and Brad Oscar!

This episode of Broadway Rewind takes us to the opening night of the musical Passing Strange, but we start things off at the Disney store for the CD release party of Disney's The Little Mermaid, where the cast was on hand to treat the fans with some of the shows songs by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.

BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge says, 'That this episode of Broadway Rewind features something Toxic, something Royal and something Academic.' We drop by New World Stages for a look at the David Bryan and Joe DePietro musical, The Toxic Avenger. We also visit with two-time Tony Award winner Matthew Broderick and the cast of Roundabout's production of The Philanthropist, but we kick it off at the opening night of director Neil Armfield's production of Eugene Ionesco's Exit The King, which starred Academy Award winners Geoffrey Rush and Susan Sarandon, Tony Award winner Andrea Martin and Lauren Ambrose. Geoffrey Rush told Ridge, 'I just phoned my wife and said, 'Darling I just made my Broadway debut and it's a marker. It's not what I aimed for. I had never really, seriously ever thought about it... I used to listen to a lot of Broadway musical theatre back in the mid 60's when I was in high school. Next to the Beatles, I was listening to Angela Lansbury in Mame or Tommy Steele in Half a Sixpence or Zero Mostel in Fiddler. I'm pretty well seasoned in that kind of energy, and to be able to bring a weird and wonderful play like Exit the King into that arena, has been just so special.'

'This is a very special episode of Broadway Rewind', says BroadwayWorld's own Richard Ridge. 'I was  joined by award-winning director Richard Jay-Alexander as my co-host, for the opening night celebration for the Abba musical Mamma Mia!, which opened on Broadway on October 18th, 2001 right after 9/11. The musical enjoyed an amazing 14 year run on Broadway.  It's a wonderful episode which features just about everyone connected to the musical. Enjoy'.

This episode of Broadway Rewind takes you to the opening night celebration of the new production of Michael Bennett's Pulitzer Prize winning musical A Chorus Line. But we start things off at a rehearsal for the one night only Actors Fund Benefit of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, which starred Emily Skinner as Miss Mona and Broadway's original 'Annie' herself, Andrea McArdle as Doatsey Mae. McArdle told BroadwayWorld's own Richard Ridge about her take on the role and her song, 'She reminds me a little bit of that Mabel Normand character. Doatsey Mae is very smart. If it wasn't for that Chicken Ranch in town, she would have been a happening girl. She's overshadowed by all of this tardiness in this tiny little town, (and the song), is a heartbreaking number. It's sweet and a great country number.

Broadway might be dark this month, but that doesn't mean that theatre isn't happening everywhere! Below, check out where you can get your daily fix of Broadway today, April 3, 2020.

Nothing can stop BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge from bringing you interviews with your favorite Broadway stars! Watch today's chat with Beetlejuice star Leslie Kritzer!

Broadway might be dark this month, but that doesn't mean that theatre isn't happening everywhere! Below, check out where you can get your daily fix of Broadway today, April 2, 2020.

'We close things out with a look at the 48th production of City Center's famed Encore's, the glorious musical Finian's Rainbow, which starred Kate Baldwin, Cheyenne Jackson, Jim Norton and Terri White. It was directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle. Kate told me, 'I get to sing the most beautiful songs. I think Burton Lane was a master of melody.' Cheyenne said he knew the songs but didn't really know the story, 'It's very, very current. I was actually surprised. The main crux of the plot is a bigoted white man in power from the south who is being replaced by an open-minded black man. Hmmm. So, it's very current.''

'We then travel to the exciting opening night of Disney's musical, The Little Mermaid and I asked an exuberant Sierra Boggess, who was making her Broadway debut as Ariel, what that magical day meant to her. 'Did it really happen tonight? Are we sure that that just happened! Before I went on stage tonight, I felt my heart pounding because I was just so excited and there was such anticipation and I realized all I had to do tonight was share Ariel.''

'This episode of Broadway Rewind is such a treat', says BroadwayWorld's own Richard Ridge, 'because it has CHITA!' We also visit with the cast of Tom Stoppard's play, Rock N' Roll which starred Brian Cox, Rufus Sewell, but we start things off ay the first day of rehearsal for Tracy Letts' groundbreaking play, August: Osage County, which came to Broadway following a sold-out run at Steppenwolf.

'What I loved the most about this episode', says BroadwayWorld's own Richard Ridge, 'was following the journey of the 2009 musical The Story of My Life. This episode of Broadway Rewind looks at the ill- fated musical, which featured two wonderful performances by Will Chase and Malcolm Gets, but we start off at a rehearsal for Michael Jacobs play 'Impressionism' directed by Jack O'Brien. It welcomed back to Broadway, Tony Award winners Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen along with Marsha Mason, Aaron Lazar and Andre de Shields. Director Jack O'Brien told me why he had to do this play, 'It's about us. We haven't had a really witty, wise, romantic comedy in New York, in a long time and I've got this gorgeous cast.' Joan Allen said,

We then close out the show at the opening night of director Des McAnuff's revival of the classic Frank Loesser musical Guys and Dolls. Des said, 'I wanted to go back to Damon Runyon's time. He wrote the Broadway stories between '29 and '37 so, we set it very loosely in '35, it's a mythic landscape anyway, and I asked Jo Loesser about this idea and she thought Frank would like it, so that was good enough for me.'