It’s the opening night of The Golden Egg on Broadway, and the wealthy producer Julia Budder is throwing a lavish party in her lavish Manhattan townhouse. Downstairs the celebrities are pouring in, but the real action is upstairs in the bedroom, where a group of insiders have staked themselves out to await the reviews. The group includes the excitable playwright; the possibly unstable wunderkind director; the pill-popping leading lady, treading the boards after becoming infamous in Hollywood; and the playwright’s best friend, for whom the play was written but who passed up this production for a television series. Add to this a drama critic who’s panned the playwright in the past and a new-in-town aspiring singer, and you have a prime recipe for the narcissism, ambition, childishness, and just plain irrationality that infuse the theatre—and for comedy. But don’t worry: This play is sure to be the hit they have all been hoping for.
Tony and Emmy Award winner Tyne Daly, Tony Award winner Harriet Harris, Sierra Boggess and Lisa Howard head an outstanding cast in It Shoulda Been You, the hilarious and heartwarming new musical comedy that proves when it comes to wedding day insanity, everything is relative. It Shoulda Been You, which had a sold-out premiere at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse, officially opens tonight, April 14, 2015 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Scroll down to learn more about the cast, plus watch interviews with the company!
Tomorrow is a day for celebration, musical theatre fans, as Image Entertainment releases THE STEPHEN SONDHEIM COLLECTION. This collection includes some of the most glorious productions of the musical theatre icon's works. Ranging from original Broadway casts to starry-concerts, THE STEPHEN SONDHEIM COLLECTION includes DVDs of five of Sondheim's most influential shows, and a sixth disc of the master's 80th Birthday Concert.
The Mama Foundation for the Arts proudly announces the return of their acclaimed musical production, ALIVE! From the creators of Mama, I Want To Sing! -- the worldwide musical sensation -- ALIVE! is a musical celebration of a generation, featuring a full company of performers who are age 55 and over; at The Dempsey Theater in Harlem (127 West 127th Street, between Lenox and Seventh Avenues). After a hit engagement last fall and an in-depth feature on CBS-TV's '60 Minutes' (available here), ALIVE! will take the stage once again from today, April 11 to July 25.
The Mama Foundation for the Arts proudly announces the return of their acclaimed musical production, ALIVE! From the creators of Mama, I Want To Sing! -- the worldwide musical sensation -- ALIVE! is a musical celebration of a generation, featuring a full company of performers who are age 55 and over; at The Dempsey Theater in Harlem (127 West 127th Street, between Lenox and Seventh Avenues).
It feels like it could have been written yesterday, but THE COLORED MUSEUM, now in a rollicking revival at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, Mass., was actually first produced in 1986. Written by the estimable Broadway playwright and director George C. Wolfe (Jelly's Last Jam, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches) and directed here with great panache by Tony Award winner Billy Porter (Kinky Boots), this scathing "black black comedy" marches through 300 years of African American history by way of 11 funny but also penetrating living vignettes.
After a highly successful 30th birthday year, which included productions of Athol Fugard's MASTER HAROLD' ... AND THE BOYS, as well as the Australian premieres of John Logan's PETER AND ALICE and Alexi Kaye Campbell's BRACKEN MOOR, Independent Theatre kicks off its 2015 season with one of the world's greatest plays - Eugene O'Neill's LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT.
Dallas Theater Center heads back to the Kalita Humphreys Theater with The Book Club Play by Karen Zacarias. Meredith McDonough, who previously worked on the new hit musical Fly By Night, returns to make her DTC directorial debut in this comedy about books and the people who love them. The Book Club Play begins previews tonight, January 1, 2015 with a Pay-What-You-Can performance and runs through Sunday, February 1.
Playwrights Theatre's roundtable reading series FORUM will present "Soundings" at Fairleigh Dickinson University, The Barn Theatre, 285 Madison Avenue, Madison. Readings will begin promptly at 7:00pm each evening, January 12 - January 25, 2015 (no reading on January 20, 2015).
Broadway fans had plenty of reasons to celebrate this year, with dozens of shows having opened since January, hundreds of actors having made their debuts, and many more having returned to the stage for critically acclaimed performances. Not all news was good though, as we also suffered a loss of an incredible amount of talent.
Below, BroadwayWorld sends a fond farewell to those who passed away in 2014.
Dallas Theater Center heads back to the Kalita Humphreys Theater with The Book Club Play by Karen Zacarias. Meredith McDonough, who previously worked on the new hit musical Fly By Night, returns to make her DTC directorial debut in this comedy about books and the people who love them. The Book Club Play begins previews on Thursday, January 1, 2015 with a Pay-What-You-Can performance and runs through Sunday, February 1.
Arcadia Performing Arts Foundation presents its second season at the Arcadia Performing Arts Center -- Three Dog Night on Saturday, January 10 at 8 pm; The Four Tops on Saturday, February 21 at 8 pm; Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on Friday, March 27 at 8 pm; The Muppet Movie Sing-a-Long on Saturday, May 16 at 2 pm and Dick Fox Doo Wop Extravaganza on Saturday, June 6 at 7 pm. This four concert season, and the additional attraction The Muppet Movie Sing-A-Long, is presented by the Arcadia Performing Arts Foundation and is a means of raising funds to support arts in the schools and maintain this new, state-of-the-art facility.
B Street Theatre, Sacramento's Resident New Works Theatre, is pleased to present its 19th Mainstage world premiere for the holidays: Spinning Into Light, a musical. The production runs November 30, 2014 - January 4, 2015.
San Francisco Opera presents Gioachino Rossini's La Cenerentola (Cinderella) in six performances November 9-26.
GRANHØJ DANS [www.granhoj.dk] returns to Montreal for a limited engagement of Dance Me to the End ON/OFF Love, a poignant, haunting celebration of the words and music of Leonard Cohen. The Danish company revisits Centaur Theatre for 5 shows only between November 19 and 22 inclusive. Created by the company's Founder and Artistic Director, Palle Granhoj, in close collaboration with the performers and Visual Designer, Per Victor, the award-winning (Danish Arts council prize) production explores the architecture of the body and abandons itself to the sensual and sorrowful music of Dance Me to the End of Love and other songs by the legendary wordsmith.
DISCORD brings three great thinkers together in a room which appears to be a holding cell for heaven. They enter according to the time period in which they lived: first Thomas Jefferson, then Charles Dickens, and finally Count Leo Tolstoy. When each enters through the only door, it closes and locks, blocking the only way out. Thus begins their examination of why they have been brought together, what they could possibly have in common, and how can they possibly escape? It's a blistering battle of wits for the ages.
e Co-Artistic Director's Nina Lee Aquino and Nigel Shawn Williams, and Managing Director, Sara Meurling present the 45th season of Factory Theatre consisting of five Factory premieres: THE ART OF BUILDING A BUNKER, written by Adam Lazarus and Guillermo Verdecchia; TAKE ME BACK TO JEFFERSON an adaptation of William Faulkner's AS I LAY DYING by Dean Gilmour and Michele Smith in collaboration with the company; TWISTED, written by Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman and Joseph Jomo Pierre; THE UNPLUGGING written by Yvette Nolan; MORRO AND JASP: 9-5, created and performed by Morro and Jasp; and as a special add-on to the subscription season, the return of THE DAISY THEATRE, created and performed by Ronnie Burkett. BMO Financial Group returns as the 2014-15 45th Season Sponsor.
Whether you've been living under a rock for the past week or you're just in the mood for a recap, BroadwayWorld's 'this week in pictures' is here to satisfy your end-of-the-week fix! Take a look below to catch up on the latest happenings from the Great White Way to The West End (and everywhere in between) with coverage of press events, rehearsals, opening nights and more. Highlights this week include openings of IT'S ONLY A PLAY, CURIOUS INCIDENT, and CAN-CAN, Michael C. Hall's meet the press event for HEDWIG, Len Cariou's birthday celebration at 54 Below, and more!
The star-studded Broadway production of the backstage comedy IT'S ONLY A PLAY, by four-time Tony Award winner Terrence McNally, opens tonight, October 9, 2014, at Broadway's Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street). Let's see what the critics had to say...
Four time Tony Award Winner Terrence McNally's IT'S ONLY A PLAY is opening on Thursday, October 9th at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. In anticipation of McNally's upcoming opening night, BroadwayWorld is taking a look at his legendary career over the past several decades.
While participating in a Twitter chat this evening to celebrate her newest album, PARTNERS, hitting #1 on the charts, the star fielded a question about the film from gossip maven Perez Hilton.
Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? This weekend's big news: SWEENEY TODD airs on PBS as part of Live From Lincoln Center, ANNIE kicks off its national tour today, DISGRACED begins previews tomorrow, and YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU opens on Sunday!
Singer, composer, and actor Lyle Lovett has broadened the definition of American music in a career that spans 14 albums. Coupled with his gift for storytelling, the Texas-based musician fuses elements of country, swing, jazz, folk, gospel, and blues in a convention-defying manner that breaks down barriers. Among his many accolades are four Grammy Awards, the Americana Music Association's inaugural Trailblazer Award, and he was recently named the Texas State Musician.
Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: FATAL WEAKNESS begins off-Broadway, LA CAGE stars Broadway vets in Sacramento, the company of IT'S ONLY A PLAY meets the press, and Daniel Radcliffe appears on Ovation tonight!
From December 1986 to September 1988, Jason Alexander, the actor best known for his role as George Costanza for nine seasons on the television series Seinfeld, played older brother Stanley in the original Gene Saks production of BROADWAY BOUND on Broadway. It's a play that he loves dearly, calling it Neil Simon's strongest dramedy, and he has directed the marvelous production on the intimate Odyssey stage through September 21, effectively seating the audience in the living room of the Jerome home.
The Old Globe is currently presenting Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Tony Award-winning musical Into the Woods, which made its World Premiere at The Old Globe in 1986. The production is an inventive reimagining by Fiasco Theater, directed by Noah Brody and Ben Steinfeld, in a production that originated at McCarter Theatre Center.
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