Susan Watson News

Lakewood Theatre Company presents the musical Celebration as part of its Lost Treasures Collection Series for three performances, April 14 & 15, 2023.

Rita Gardner, who starred as Luisa in the original Off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks, has passed away at the age of 87 from leukemia, according to friend and collegue Alex Rybeck.

The Christmas Story at the Church of the Holy Trinity has been a holiday tradition in Toronto since 1938. When the pandemic shut down live theatre in 2020, the cast of The Christmas Story took to the streets of Toronto to create a one-of-a-kind 'Pandemic Pageant'.

The next Musical Theatre Melodies broadcast, hosted by Rob Morrison on 96.5 FM on Tuesday, August 31st will mark the 50th anniversary of Claibe Richardson and Kenward Elmslie's THE GRASS HARP (based on the novel and play by Truman Capote), the 1971 Broadway musical which starred Barbara Cook, Karen Morrow, Carol Brice, Russ Thacker, Ruth Ford and Max Showalter.

In 1938, Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity received the gift of The Christmas Story Nativity pageant from St. Martin-in-the-Fields church in London, England.  It has been performed on stage at Holy Trinity every Christmas season since. 

The Christmas Story at the Church of the Holy Trinity has been reinvented into a film presenting the classic Nativity story against the backdrop of life in an urban centre in the middle of a pandemic.

Need something new to listen to or read? Check out this week's list of new and upcoming releases!

Award winning playwright, Felix Rojas, will introduce his new play, A DAY IN THE CRIB, at a reading scheduled for February 7th at 7pm at Teatro Circulo, 64 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003.

This Fall DO40 is saluting and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and the 100th birthday of DO40 Advisory Board member Marge Champion. 

This Fall DO40 is saluting and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and the 100th birthday of DO40 Advisory Board member Marge Champion. Special guests and performances from the Joseph cast include Bill Hutton (Joseph), Gordon Stanley (Jacob), Conductor David Friedman, along with Stephen McNaughton, Stephen Hope, Lorraine Barrett, Philip Carruba, Jonni Masella, Dorothy Dybisz, Katharine Buffaloe-Harris, Barry Tarallo, Michael Deane and Karen Bogan. There will be representation from the BAM production as well as Broadway. And, musical accompaniment by the always great Steven Webber.

Founded June 9, 2006 by Producer/Presenter Michael Sterling (BroadwayWorld TV's own LA-based Producer and On-Air Host), Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal carries on in its 13th consecutive summer celebration which begins August 11th with FEELING GOOD headlined by LA's Next Great Stage Star 2018 Winner Robert Collins.

Musical Theatre Guild, the winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in the theatre, will present MTG REWIND, a special benefit to support Musical Theatre Guild's extensive youth outreach programs. The event, an intimate celebration of over 20 years of Musical Theatre Guild's best musical moments, will take place at Rockwell Table and Stage on Monday, March 25, 2019 at 8:00 pm.

As magical as the evening was, after Freddie Gershon gave an impassioned presentation to the duo, Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones hit the stage and brought the house down at ages 88 and 89 respectively. They joined forces onstage to perform a song from their musical The Bone Room, described by Jones as being about 'the pleasures of dying and being embalmed in this great country of ours.' Below, watch as they perform together for the last time. BWW feels privileged to share with you a bit of highlights of these two legends together before a rapt and ecstatic audience who precded to shower them with a (well deserved) standing ovation... RIP Harvey Schmidt. 

As BroadwayWorld sadly reported yesterday, Broadway star Jan Maxwell passed away at 61 years of age after a battle with cancer. The star is survived by her husband, actor/playwright Robert Emmet Lunney, and their son William Maxwell-Lunney.

Last Sunday morning, Angela Gentili called the director of The Christmas Story at the Church of the Holy Trinity to tell her that Jesus, aka her 8-month-old son Samuel, was sick and would not be showing up for the December 10th afternoon performance of the Nativity Play.

The York Theatre Company honored legendary musical theatre writing team Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt (The Fantasticks, I Do, I Do!, 110 in the Shade, Celebration) with the 2017 Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre at the 26th Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala on Monday evening, December 4, 2017 at The Asia Society (725 Park Avenue). BroadwayWorld has more photos from the celebration below!

Last night The York Theatre Company honored the musical theatre writing team of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt in a Fantastick gala concert and award ceremony directed by Richard Jay-Alexander. The 2017 Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre was presented to the legendary team (The Fantasticks, I Do, I Do!, 110 in the Shade, Celebration) at the event held at the Asia Society on Park Ave in NYC and BroadwayWorld was there. Check out photo coverage below!

This Weekend we reached out to Richard to fill us in on the event and what attendees can look forward to. We found him in the midst of rehearsals and planning for the event to take place at The Asia Society with cocktails beginning at 6:00 PM and the Award Presentation starting at 8:00 PM.

The York Theatre Company, dedicated to the development of new musicals and preserving musical gems from the past, will honor legendary musical theatre writing team Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt (The Fantasticks, I Do! I Do!, 110 in the Shade, Celebration) with the 2017 Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre at the 26th Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala on Monday evening, December 4, 2017 at The Asia Society (725 Park Avenue).

The York Theatre Company, dedicated to the development of new musicals and preserving musical gems from the past, has added Samantha Bruce (The Fantasticks), Ava Della Pietra (School of Rock), Julian Fleisher (February House), Randy Harrison (Cabaret), Samantha Massell (Fiddler on the Roof), Randy Rainbow (Viral Video Sensation), Lee Roy Reams (42nd Street), Ben Rimalower (Bad with Money), the HOT singing string quartet Well-Strung, and The Manhattan School of Music Musical Theatre Ensemble (Judith Clurman, Director) to the line-up of Broadway performers who will honor legendary musical theatre writing team Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt (The Fantasticks, I Do! I Do!, 110 in the Shade, Celebration) with the 2017 Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre at the 26th Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala on Monday evening, December 4, 2017 at The Asia Society (725 Park Avenue).