A magic show using the magic of Harry Blackstone and performed by his son.
At the 2016 edition of BROADWAY BACKWARDS, Jay Armstrong Johnson let his inner Marilyn Monroe fly in a glittery rendition of 'Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend' from GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES. Click below to watch the full performance!
At the 2016 edition of BROADWAY BACKWARDS, Broadway legend Chita Rivera brought her own brand of 'razzle-dazzle' to Kander and Ebb's 'All I Care About is Love' from CHICAGO. The actress delivered an unforgettable take on swarmy lawyer Billy Flynn, surrounded by a bevy of feathery beauties, many from the original 1996 CHICAGO revival cast, including Nili Bassman, Mindy Cooper, Mamie Duncan-Gibbs, Gabriela Garcia, Mary Ann Lamb, Dana Moore and Solange Sandy. Click below to watch the full number!
The sold-out audience at Broadway's Al Hirschfeld Theatre was dazzled last night, March 21, 2016, by this year's stirring edition of Broadway Backwards. The annual celebration, where men sing songs originally written for women and vice versa offering this audience the chance to see LGBT stories told through the great songs of musical theatre, set a new fundraising record. The evening raised an incredible $480,287 to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York City. Scroll down for stunning shots from the evening!
The sold-out audience at Broadway's Al Hirschfeld Theatre was dazzled Monday, March 21, 2016, by this year's stirring edition of BROADWAY BACKWARDS. The annual celebration, where men sing songs originally written for women and vice versa offering this audience the chance to see LGBT stories told through the great songs of musical theatre, set a new fundraising record. The evening raised an incredible $480,287 to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York City. BroadwayWorld has highlights, featuring performers Tony Yazbeck, Chita Rivera, Danielle Brooks and more, below!
This year's BROADWAY BACKWARDS (#broadwaybackwards) took the stage last night at Broadway's Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street, NYC), home to the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Kinky Boots. The evening is produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and benefits BC/EFA and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of New York. BroadwayWorld was there to celebrate with the theatre community on the big night and you can check out photos below!
Broadway legend and two-time Tony Award winner Chita Rivera, Tony nominees Stephanie J. Block and Tony Sheldon, Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple, 'Orange is the New Black'), and Laura Michelle Kelly (Finding Neverland) are among those joining the stunning cast of this year's BROADWAY BACKWARDS, a one-night-only musical celebration, custom-made for the LGBT community, our friends and families. Tony winner Julie White, a longtime supporter of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, will host this year's 11th edition.
Once again, the art of magic is alive and thriving at the Harris Center for the Arts.
Fire Island Dance Festival, one of the most talked-about summer events on Fire Island, will return to dazzle, excite and captivate audiences on July 15-17, 2016.
Broadway legend and two-time Tony Award winner Chita Rivera, Tony nominees Stephanie J. Block and Tony Sheldon, Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple, 'Orange is the New Black'), and Laura Michelle Kelly (Finding Neverland) are among those joining the stunning cast of this year's Broadway Backwards, a one-night-only musical celebration, custom-made for the LGBT community, our friends and families. In addition, it was announced that Tony winner Julie White, a longtime supporter of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, will host this year's 11th edition.
February is Romance Month, and in keeping with that, Class Act Books is releasing the first entries in two new romance series.
The series The McCoys, by veteran author Toni V. Sweeney, deals with the adventures of the three sons of Quinton McCoy: Donal, Colin, and Padraig. Beginning in 19th century County Tipperary and crossing the ocean to the United States Nebraska Territory, each novel will be a standalone but also a continuation of the family saga.
The first novel in the series is The Honest Rake, Book 1: Donal.
Living in Regency London after his graduation from Cambridge, Donal McCoy has found his niche in life...as a genteel young gentleman by day but a rake by night. His father's demand that he marry and produce an heir makes a problem Donal thinks can be easily solved...until Love gets in the way.
Though Ms Sweeney's main genre is sci-fi/fantasy, she has written several romance novels which have been well-received by the reading public. Her romantic suspense novel 'Tuesday's Child,' written as Icy Snow Blackstone, won first place in Contemporary Romance from Paranormal Romance Guild's 2015 Reviewers Choice awards.
Sherry Derr-Wille's Never Too Late for Love is a mature romance dealing with a former WAC who returns to her home town after her husband's death. There the widow meets the man who was her armed services recruiter during World War II. As much as Adam Welter was glad to help Luella enlist, he wasn't glad to see her leave for basic training. When she returns fifty years later, he makes a determined attempt to renew the short but romantic acquaintance they both had as much younger people. There's only one problem: Luella feels she should remain faithful to her husband's memory.
Never Too Late for Love is the first entry in the Mature Love series and is also a standalone novel.
Ms. Derr-Wille is noted for her Rhonda Pohs mystery series, a police procedural concerning a Wisconsin policewoman and her high school coach husband. It is also published by Class Act Books, with seven entries in the series.
Class Act Books went under new ownership in 2012 and in the past two years has gathered many talented authors under its logo. Publishing in genres from Romance to Horror, its writers and their novels are listed on amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, and Smashwords.
In the past four years, their authors have garnered many awards from the yearly Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewers Awards, and also the Preditors & Editors Annual Readers Poll. Besides having authors honored in the above contests, one of their cover artists was voted one of the ten outstanding artists of 2014.
BroadwayWorld is happy to report that some of the brightest talents of Broadway are joining the cast of this year's BROADWAY BACKWARDS, BC/EFA's annual celebration where gays and lesbians experience their stories as told through the great songs of musical theatre and performed by their favorite Broadway stars.
Class Act Books releases for January are romances by two of its veteran authors.
'Love is Silent,' by Icy Snow Blackstone, is set in the early 19th century, expounding on the problems involved with teaching the deaf.
Though sign language had been known in Great Britain as early as 1570, there were no set methods for teaching those who couldn't hear. Parents were expected to accept that having a deaf child was retribution from God for some transgression.
That changed in 1760 when Thomas Braidwood, a teacher from Edinburgh, founded Braidwoods' Academy for the Deaf and Dumb, the first school for the deaf in the kingdom. Braidwood taught the children of some very influential people and several of his pupils trained as teachers and later opened their own schools.
In Love is Silent, Anna Leighton is hired to teach Lady Eleanor Wood's younger brother how to sign. A competency hearing is pending against His Lordship, filed by a greedy cousin intent on stealing his inheritance, and Anna has only a short time to enable him to communicate. An impediment appears when Lord David himself falls in love with his teacher and Anna finds herself returning his affection.
This Regency romance is set in a period of manners and artifice, when young men were well-mannered, well-spoken, and expected to have survived a series of affairs before settling into marriage, as well as enjoying the lesser vices of 19th century society. David has experienced none of that and now the question is...will Anna survive the scandal if it's discovered what she and her pupil have done?
Icy Snow Blackstone is the author of ten romances. All have been published by Class Act Books.
January's second offering is Escaping Jeremy by Bob Young. Set in the mid-1950's with flashbacks to the mid-World War II era, this romance tells the story of a teacher and his effect on the female high school students in his classes. As depicted through the point of view of Cari, the main character, Jeremy Raines is charismatic but manipulative, an opportunist who takes advantage of his position to maneuver his students into compromising positions they don't dare confess to anyone. Set in New York state, the story also explores the double standard sexual laws of the time which placed the onus of any misconduct on the female involved.
Not daring to tell anyone what has happened, Cari discovers a way to fight back which won't reflect on her character but will capture Raines in a trap of his own making.
Bob Young is the author of two more romance set in the World War II/post-war era, both of which have been published by Class Act Books.
This April, Class Act Books will celebrating its third year under new ownership. It publishes all genres of fiction, with emphasis on romance and fantasy.
?Broadway Backwards, the annual celebration where the LGBT community see its stories told through the great songs of musical theatre by celebrated Broadway performers, will return for its 11th edition on Monday, March 21, 2016.
Blackstone Audio's CEO, Josh Stanton states, 'We're excited to be distributing Kevin's newest audio book set, 'MOTIVATION-IN-A-BOX©,' in time for the New Year and National Motivation & Inspiration Day, which he created after the tragic events of 9-11-01. We have several of Kevin's other products and loved the idea of 'MOTIVATION-IN-A-BOX©' as a compilation of some of his other works in audio!'
The Broadway revival of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF officially opens tonight, December 20, at The Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway). Scroll down to learn more about the cast, plus watch interviews with the company!
BC/EFA just announced this year's GYPSY OF THE YEAR raised an impressive grand total of $4,786,239 after six weeks of fundraising efforts. Since 1989, the 27 editions of GYPSY OF THE YEAR (#GypsyOfTheYear) have raised $67.3 million to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. BroadwayWorld has stunning shots from the show below!
The 27th annual edition of the Gypsy of the Year competition will feature special performances from 14 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows today, December 7 (4:30 PM) and tomorrow, December 8 (2 PM) at the New Amsterdam Theatre (214 West 42nd Street, NYC). Gypsy of the Year (#gypsyoftheyear) celebrates six weeks of intensive fundraising by Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring productions.
The 27th annual edition of the Gypsy of the Year competition will feature special performances from 14 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows on Monday, December 7 (4:30 PM) and Tuesday, December 8 (2 PM) at the New Amsterdam Theatre (214 West 42nd Street, NYC), BroadwayWorld has confirmed. Gypsy of the Year (#gypsyoftheyear) celebrates six weeks of intensive fundraising by Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring productions.
Choreographers have been announced for the 10th BC BEAT on Monday November 9th and includes a powerful mix of Broadway veterans and emerging creatives.
In the past year, four novels at Class Act Books have received recognition from the Paranormal Romance Guild and Preditors & Editors, two highly respected literary organizations.
Paranormal Romance Guild (PRG) is a nonprofit and was organized in 2009 to promote and support authors of the paranormal romance genre through its website and events. This has since been broadened to include other genres, as well as reviewing and recommending novels, and offering advice, links to author services, and writing contests. Each year, it selects from novels reviewed within that year for its annual Reviews Choice awards.
Preditors and Editors was founded in 1997 as a guide for writers, composers, artists, and game designers. It is a nonprofit organization which hold an annual poll for print/electronic books and short stories as well as other categories in which readers vote for their favorites.
Among the books winning prizes in 2014 were:
'NEBRASKA: Walk the Shadow Trail' by Toni V. Sweeney, first place in General Genre from Preditors and Editors Readers Poll,
'Absinthe' by Tony-Paul de Vissage, second place in M/M horror from Paranormal Romance Guild's Reviewers Award,
'In Lieu of Surrender' by Bill Russell, second place in Historical 2014 from Paranormal Romance Guild's Reviewer's Choice,
'Tuesday's Child' by Icy Snow Blackstone, first place in Contemporary Romance from Paranormal Romance Guild's Reviewers Choice.
Class Act Books went under new ownership in 2012 and in the past two years has gathered many talented authors under its logo. Publishing in genres from Romance to Horror, its writers and their novels are listed on amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. Besides having authors honored in the above contests, one of their cover artists was voted one of the ten outstanding artists of 2014.
R. Gayle Hawkins releases her second romance novel, 'The Strive for Life and Love,' on October 30. The novel is a spin-off of her first publication, 'With Loyalty Came Love.'
Readers will find Nicholas Blackstone enjoying his life in France. With chests of gold, he is able to meet great friends, enjoy life and sexual contact with a beautiful woman. However, he feels his life lacks something and desires to realize exactly what he lacks. Upon meeting Christine Cardone, he believes he recognizes his mistakes and plans to correct them.
The eBook is available through Amazon Kindle and the print edition is also available with Amazon.
Happy Birthday, Alfred Drake! He is best known for his leading roles in the original Broadway productions of Oklahoma!; Kiss Me, Kate; Kismet; and for playing Marshall Blackstone in the original production of Babes in Arms, (in which he sang the title song) and Hajj in Kismet, for which he received the Tony Award. His 1964 stage performance as Claudius in the Richard Burton Hamlet was filmed live on the stage of the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. His final stage appearance in a musical was in 1973 as Honore LaChaisse in Lerner and Loewe's Gigi. Two years later he starred in a revival of The Skin of Our Teeth.
Native Richmonder, bestselling author and award-winning songwriter, Thornton Cline will bring his latest published books, 'The Amazing Incredible Shrinking Piano' (ISBN: 978-1574243185) and 'The Contrary' (ISBN: 978-1612965628) to the Central Virginia area for a free multimedia book event tour of libraries and festivals, October 13-19, 2015.
Shakespeare in the park is one of the best parts of summer, and it's exciting that Head Trick Theatre has mounted a production that is affordable, family-friendly and energetic. AS YOU LIKE IT is the perfect outdoor production, and using the beautiful woods of Blackstone Park as its backdrop, and very minimal sets that allow the dialogue and performances to shine as they should.
R. Gayle Hawkins' second novel, 'The Strive for Life and Love,' is set to release October 30. Fans are able to purchase the new novel now by pre-ordering with Amazon.
'The Strive for Life and Love' tells the story of Nicholas Blackstone. After losing his brother to death and sister to marriage, Nicholas finds himself wealthy and alone in France. His daily actions are minimal compared to the life he once lived. He acquired friends and a lover, but he feels something else is missing.
Upon meeting Christine Cardone, he believes she is the object missing from his life. He attempts to set his life straight and court Christine, but many obstacles stand in his way. And, once he deals with the obstacles, he still needs to gain the courage to ask her father. After robbing a king of his previous country, he knows he must keep his past hidden and that the man shall ask him of it.
The novel is a spinoff of 'With Loyalty Came Love,' which features Nicholas' sister and Samuel Rothchild. The genre of the novel is romance and romantic comedy.
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