Steve Kazee News

A devout theater fan knows no holiday, and thankfully, many of Broadway's most beloved shows and performers nationwide don't either. So what's a theater enthusiast to do on this Independence Day? Check out a sampling of this year's most exciting 4th of July offerings and click below to revisit some of your favorites saluting our nation in song!

For the first time ever, Broadway fans can own the entire 2012 Tony Awards Telecast, through iTunes and Amazon.com. Starting now, fans can purchase and watch this year's exciting telecast on their computer, tablet, phone and other devices.

Nine elaborate, Broadway-themed wall clocks, created by luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet and signed by dozens of 2012 Tony Award nominees, are currently up for auction to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The online auction for these one-of-a-kind tributes to the best and brightest of Broadway ends this Tuesday, June 26.

Steve Kazee stopped by NBC's NEW YORK LIVE to talk about his emotional Tony win and his starring role in the hit musical ONCE. The actor won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. Check out his appearance below!

Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters will host the fourteenth annual BROADWAY BARKS!, a star-studded dog and cat adoption event benefiting New York City animal shelters and adoption agencies. Produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, sponsored by the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) and with additional sponsorship by the New York Times, the event will take place on Saturday, July 14 in Shubert Alley, the heart of the Broadway Theater District (located between 44th and 45th Streets, between Broadway and Eighth Avenues). The festivities begin at 3:30 p.m.; celebrity presentations of pets from animal shelters citywide will take place between 5-6:30 p.m.

Over 20 years in the making, singer songwriter Glen Hansard will release his first ever solo album, Rhythm and Repose, on Anti- Records today, June 19. Best known for his work with The Frames, The Swell Season and in the feature film Once, for which he won an Academy Award, Rhythm and Repose is Hansard's debut solo album and first album of new material since his 2009 release Strict Joy with The Swell Season. The album will be available for pre-sale at the Anti Store. In recent months Hansard has been seen in the documentary The Swell Season which has toured the film festival circuit this year, contributed two songs to the blockbuster soundtrack, The Hunger Games, and been active in the promotion of Once, The Musical which successfully opened on Broadway on March 18. Hansard will support the new record on a U.S. tour. See reverse for details.

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, helmed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, may add 2012 Tony nominee Cristin Milioti (ONCE) to its cast; according to Variety, the actress is in negotiations for a role for the upcoming film.

Check out the second episode of 'Cool Kids Table,' guest-starring ONCE's Cristin Milioti with Taylor Gildersleeve as Blake and Juliette Monaco as Kenzie. In this episode, 'Milioti sits down with Kenzie and Blake after being nominated for a Tony award but does little to dispel their ideas about just how freaky theater geeks really are.' Watch the video below!

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: ONCE scores big at the Tonys, ROCK OF AGES hits the big screen, HARVEY returns to Broadway, and so much more!

THEATER TALK dices and dissects the recent Tony Awards and CBS telecast with panelists Patrick Pacheco of the Los Angeles Times, Michael Musto of The Village Voice, and Jesse Green of New York magazine joining series co-hosts Michael Riedel of the New York Post and producer Susan Haskins the day after the annual event.

Just when you thought it was safe to go to the theater once again, we welcome you to the debut installment of Music City Confidential, all the news that's fit to print (or not-depending on your perspective) from Nashville's ever-growing, ever-fascinating (okay, so we obviously don't have enough to occupy ourselves) live theater industry (we're trying that out-does it work? Let us know, theaterati!) Here amid the florid prose and flowery praise, you'll find all the stories that don't quite fit elsewhere, some of 'em kind of gossipy, some of 'em stone-cold serious, some of 'em just lists of names you need to know. You'll also find photos from our new "Intermission@" series, details about the latest cast parties and various and sundry minutiae-the veritable flotsam and jetsam-from backstage, onstage, offstage and beyond…

Feathers, glitter, and lace are the norm for Broadway talent, but at the 2012 Tony Awards on Sunday, the stars transformed from showgirl to sophisticated on the red carpet. BroadwayWorld was there to capture each and every one in their evening finest and brings you the best of the best - and quesitonable of the questionable - below!

On Twitter Watch, Neil Patrick Harris wrote ' Finally got some rest. The Tonys are over! Had a blast. Thanks so much for watching! Happy to answer any questions... "@CinWicked: How uncomfortable was the Spiderman rig?" Not so bad when upside down. Upright? Hulk Smash! "@Chris_M_Stern: what's next for you?? Any features?" Yup. I'm back in Montreal, still filming the Smurf sequel. "@caseyimperial: What does Steve Kazee smell like?" Heaven. "@CulbeK: did you write the songs?" No, David Javerbaum & Adam Schlesinger: opening and closing. Michael John Lachiusa: mid show mashup.'

Steve Kazeeis this year's recipient of the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role of a Musical for ONCE. In his emotional post-Tony interview, Kazee shares his reasons for almost passing on what has become the opportunity of a lifetime and why this recognition is truely icing on a very bittersweet cake.

Last night's Tony Awards show last evening may have impressed fans and critics alike but failed to score in the ratings, according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter. Despite little broadcast competition, The Hollywood Reporter reveals: 'The three-hour telecast averaged 6 million total viewers, down nearly 1 million viewers from the 6.9 million who watched in 2011 when the Tonys went up against the NBA Finals, and posted a 1.0 in the ad-coveted 18-49 demo, a 17 percent dip from its previous effort.'

Tony night was one for the record books and BroadwayWorld.com brought you live updates all night, with LOTS more to come...Here are highlights from the three-hour ceremony from the Beacon Theatre, on the CBS television network on Sunday, June 10, 2012.

The 2012 Tony Awards, presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing and hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, was broadcast last night in a live three-hour ceremony from the Beacon Theatre, on the CBS television network. Here we take you inside the post-Tony Ball!

ONCE was the big winner atlast night's Tony Awards ceremony and there was no happier place to be in the wee hours of the morning than at the show's celebratory after party. BroadwayWorld was on hand to congratulate Steve Kazee and the company and takes you inside the party below!

Overflowing with enthusiasm and energy, the true star of the 2012 Tony Awards was unquestionably three-time host and affable Broadway spokesman extraordinaire Neil Patrick Harris, doing what he does best - namely, being the host with the most. Whether web-slinging behind Angela Lansbury and Ted Chapin or leading a spectacular production number with Patti LuPone and a lawnmower, Harris proved yet again why is he is the best in the biz at this sort of thing - well, right up there along with Hugh Jackman, at least. Speaking of whom, in addition to a goosebump-inducing trailer for the forthcoming Tom Hooper-directed film adaptation of the Broadway sensation LES MISERABLES, Hugh Jackman was featured on the Tony Awards telecast and personally on hand to receive a well-earned special Tony Award for his many fundraising successes over the course of his three-show Broadway career, as was crossover superstar Bernadette Peters who took home a special Tony Award for her BC/EFA and Broadway Barks efforts. Adding to the star quotient of the night was Broadway/Hollywood super direct Mike Nichols, giving one of the classiest (despite the CBS-sanction bleep; on the same word as during Danny Burstein's FOLLIES turn, "godammit", incidentlly) and most profound acceptance speeches on the Tony Awards in recent memory - breaking the current record with, now, six Best Director statuettes, by the way. As far as musical performances go, in addition to Harris's triptych of showstoppers throughout the show - without even mentioning the many biting and sassy remarks, jokes and offhand commets; staged and otherwise - there were some seriously strong showings from almost all new musicals and revivals currently running, and even one or two terrific turns from productions already shuttered. The musical highlights of the night were Josh Young and the cast of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR in a spirited and divine take on the title song from the celebrated Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice rock opera, as well as good showings from new musical head-to-head, nail-bite-worthy competitors, ONCE and NEWSIES, plus one or two other swoon-worthy moments, too. The 2011-2012 Broadway season may not have been a record-breaker insofar as outstanding content and memorable modern classics - while NEWSIES is certainly a smash, last year's THE BOOK OF MORMON is the type of hit we only see once a decade or so, and, therefore, is a bit eclipsed; and, ONCE won Best Musical, anyway - but Harris and the team of this year's show made it an unusually entertaining and unique Tony telecast, even when compared to the finest shows on the past - particularly those from the rightly lauded Cohen era. ONCE may have dominated the wins, but the many musical numbers showed that there is a lot of room for enjoyment whether or not your personal favorite show took home the prizes. Most of all, Neil Patrick Harris proved he was once, twice, three times a Tony triumph.

The 2012 Tony Awards, presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing and hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, are underway! The ceremony is being broadcast tonight, June 10, in a live three-hour ceremony from the Beacon Theatre, on the CBS television network. BroadwayWorld was, of course, at the Beacon Theatre bringing you full coverage all night! Check out photos from inside the winners room below!