Robert Morse News

BroadwayWorld spoke with Broadway alumn Megan McGinnis about coming back to SoCal, doing an exorcism in front of her 7-year-old son, and keeping a straight face while acting alongside Justin Collette’s Beetlejuice.  

What did our critic think of A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A MUSICAL GHOST STORY at North Shore Music Theatre?

There was a lot of history crossing that stage, with performers reprising numbers they’d sung on the Great White Way as far back as the 1970s. Giving the proceedings a uniquely touching quality was the sweet meeting of the generations, with these still very vital veterans being welcomed by — and conversing with — a respectful master of ceremonies who’s still in his teens, but is immersed in musical theatre lore.

Following the box office successes of Camelot and Church Basement Ladies, The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre will continue its 2023 Season this summer with the Broadway classic How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

This month, the reader question was: 'What are the longest running musicals that haven't been revived?'

Critics are weighing in on SOME LIKE IT HOT, the brand-new Broadway musical comedy featuring a book by Matthew López & Amber Ruffin, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman and direction and choreography by Casey Nicholaw, which opened on Broadway Sunday, December 11th at the Shubert Theatre.

Birdland Jazz Club will present Billy Gilman – the platinum-selling country music artist known for his run on NBC’s “The Voice” — in “A Billy Gilman Christmas” on Monday, December 5 at 7:00 PM.

Birdland Jazz Club will present the New York concert debut of actress and vocalist Maddie Baillio – best known for her appearances in the Amazon film Cinderella and NBC’s “Hairspray Live!” – on Monday, November 21 at 7:00 PM.

Birdland Theater will present Nashville vocalist Wendy Moten – best known for her 2021 run on NBC’s “The Voice” – in an exclusive six-show concert engagement from Friday, November 18 to Sunday, November 20 with performances at 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM each night.

BIRDLAND THEATER will present vocalist Christian Holder in his new show “Dreams and Inspiration” – featuring a special appearance by Donna McKechnie – on Monday, November 7 at 8:30 PM.

BIRDLAND THEATER will present singers Stacy Sullivan and Todd Murray in the new show “I’m Glad There Is You – The Musical Romance of Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee” on Monday, October 31 at 8:30 PM.

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present vocalist and pianist Steve Ross in a special new show “Autumn Serenades” on Monday, October 24 at 7:00 PM. Ross will sing a few mellow seasonal ballads, including “September in the Rain,” “Autumn Leaves,” “September Song,” and “When October Goes.”

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present a special musical evening with three great musical talents Victoria Shaw, Jim Brickman, and Peter Cincotti, in “Three Friends, One Piano” on Monday, October 10 at 7:00 PM.

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present Julie Halston – the brilliant Tony Award-winning comedic actress – on Monday, October 17 at 7:00 PM. Ms. Halston returns to the Birdland stage – live and in person – after two-and-a-half years of global pandemic Zoom meetings and green screens.

Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop, the most recent musical to take home the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, has just opened on Broadway! Only 10 musicals in history have been honored with the coveted award and we've got the full list.

Last night, Hangmen officially opened on Broadway. Check out the reviews here! Plus, get an all new first look at photos from Funny Girl, starring Beanie Feldstein and Ramin Karimloo.

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that Tony Award-winning stage and screen actor Robert Morse has died at age 90. Morse may be best known to Broadway fans as the original  J. Pierrepont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, a role for which he won a Tony Award. 

Kicking off the month on January 1st is the 1945 musical comedy film Ziegfeld Follies, featuring Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, Fanny Brice, Lena Horne and more. The How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying film, based on the musical of the same name, is set to debut on January 4th.

Theatre 40 celebrates its 55th Anniversary season with the world premiere of Marilyn Anderson’s AS GOOD AS GOLD September 16, 2021. Got the chance to chat with David Hunt Stafford, Theatre 40’s artistic and managing director on Theatre 40’s history and plans for the future.

San Francisco’s revered 42nd Street Moon kicks off its 2021 “Moonbeams” season with Jason Graae in Perfect Hermany, a tribute to the late, great Jerry Herman, writer of such classic musicals as Hello, Dolly!, Mame and La Cage Aux Folles. The title Perfect Hermany is an unusually apt one as Graae is the perfect interpreter of Herman’s work, having starred in a much-lauded production Herman’s The Grand Tour in LA and toured for years with Herman in Hello, Jerry!, a revue of Herman’s work. Perfect Hermany is available for streaming on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through May 2, 2021. For additional information and to purchase tickets, visit 42ndStreetMoon.org. Among his many credits, Graae has appeared on Broadway numerous times, toured extensively as The Wizard in Wicked, performed with major symphonies across the country, recorded dozens of musical theater albums and has enjoyed a long association with 42nd Street Moon. He is known for the improbable combination of his antic, go-for-broke comedic style and the impeccable musicianship of his soaring tenor. He is the type of performer who can make you bust a gut one moment, and then melt your heart the next.   BroadwayWorld caught up with Graae last week from his home base in LA soon after he had completed filming Perfect Hermany. We talked about his long association with both Herman and 42nd Street Moon, his favorite Herman songs, a couple of key roles that somehow got away from him and a few he still hopes to have a go at. Graae is always a blast to talk to. It seems the guy just is incapable of not being funny, but he is also thoughtful and kind, and sort of a walking treasure trove of theatrical lore. The following conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.