A true theatrical event, this legendary masterpiece is considered by many to be the greatest musical ever created.brbrThe time is 1971, and theatrical impresario Dimitri Weissmann (famous for his garish Weissmann Follies of yesteryear) hosts a reunion of ex-Follies performers in his crumbling theatre, setting the stage for a parade of brilliant '20s, '30s and '40s pastiche numbers that have become every bit as famous as their models: "Losing My Mind," "I'm Still Here" and "Broadway Baby," to name a few. Amid the reminiscing, two middle-aged couples confront some unpleasant truths about their past and present and come face to face with the future.brbrSurreal, sophisticated, compelling, heart-wrenching and epic in scope, "Follies" uses the musical theatre as a metaphor for the collapse of American innocence and naivete in the post-Kennedy years. It is a showcase for powerful dramatic actors, featuring a large cast rich in character, which provides opportunities for seasoned older performers.
The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Jewish Museum will present the 25th annual New York Jewish Film Festival (NYJFF) at the Film Society's Walter Reade Theater and Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, today, January 13-26, 2016.
MAURICE HINES TAPPIN' THRU LIFE is a swinging, song and dance musical that celebrates the astonishing showmanship of one of the last great tap dancers of a by-gone era still working today and whose collaborators were a jaw-dropping, who's who of theatre, music, film and television. Co-starring the fierce tap dancing Manzari brothers and the all female vivacious Diva Jazz Orchestra, the show is directed by Jeff Calhoun (Newsies, Deaf West's Big River, Grease). Performances began December 23rd at New World Stages (340 W. 50th Street), and opening night is tonight, January 11th.
He's going to put a smile on your face and song in your heart.
Touchstone Theatre continues celebration of its 35th anniversary season with a new year of Christmas City Follies, the theatre's annual production of a high-spirited, homegrown, vaudevillian variety show. Christmas City Follies XVI runs tonight, December 3-20, 2015 at Touchstone's home on the south side at 321 East Fourth Street in Bethlehem.
The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Jewish Museum will present the 25th annual New York Jewish Film Festival (NYJFF) at the Film Society's Walter Reade Theater and Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center
The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Jewish Museum will present the 25th annual New York Jewish Film Festival (NYJFF) at the Film Society's Walter Reade Theater and Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, January 13-26, 2016.
He's going to put a smile on your face and song in your heart.
Touchstone Theatre continues celebration of its 35th anniversary season with a new year of Christmas City Follies, the theatre's annual production of a high-spirited, homegrown, vaudevillian variety show. Christmas City Follies XVI runs December 3-20, 2015 at Touchstone's home on the south side at 321 East Fourth Street in Bethlehem.
Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club, presents the original Broadway kids of A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL in THE KIDS FROM A CHRISTMAS STORY on Monday November 2, 2015 at 7:00pm.
La accion esta ubicada en Viena a fines de los ochenta. Todo comienza en el jardin de invierno de la casa de Arnold Eastman, al que ha sido invitado Gerhard Bauer, una joven promesa del partido de derechas al que pertenecen ambos. Eastman, amante de Puccini y de los tulipanes que cultiva, es un prestigioso y experimentado politico que se puede convertir en el proximo presidente del gobierno. Sin embargo un oscuro episodio de su pasado puede frustrar sus pretensiones politicas. Eastman necesita un favor que solo Bauer le puede prestar y esta decidido a lograrlo...
Before iTunes and Spotify came along, I used to collect every original cast CD of any Broadway or West End musical that I could lay my hands on, including foreign language cast recordings. By far, my largest collection of non-English cast CDs consists of Japanese cast recordings, many of which were released by Gekidan Shiki (Shiki Theatre Company). Over the last five decades, Shiki has mounted Japanese-language productions of Applause (1972), Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), West Side Story (1974), A Chorus Line (1979), Evita (1982), Cats (1983), The Phantom of the Opera (1988), Crazy For You (1993), Beauty and the Beast (1995), The Lion King (1998), Aspects of Love (1999), Mamma Mia! (2002), Aida (2003), The Little Mermaid (2013), The Sound of Music (2013), Wicked (2013) and Aladdin (2015).
The Old Globe's presentation of Kiss Me, Kate, the classic musical comedy featuring a book by Sam and Bella Spewack and an iconic score by Cole Porter, begins tonight, July 1, on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.
Civic Theatre of Allentown continues its tradition of performing in-concert productions of storied musicals, when it produces Stephen Sondheim's 'Follies' in concert in two special benefit performances, at 7:30 pm tonight, June 26 and tomorrow, June 27 at Civic's historic 19th Street Theatre.
The complete cast and creative team have been announced for The Old Globe's presentation of Kiss Me, Kate, the classic musical comedy featuring a book by Sam and Bella Spewack and an iconic score by Cole Porter.
Civic Theatre of Allentown continues its tradition of performing in-concert productions of storied musicals, when it produces Stephen Sondheim's 'Follies' in concert in two special benefit performances, at 7:30 pm on Friday, June 26 and Saturday, June 27 at Civic's historic 19th Street Theatre.
Happy Birthday, Danny Burstein! On Broadway, Burstein's appearances have included A Little Hotel on the Side (1992), Yakov in The Seagull (1992-93), in Saint Joan and Three Men on a Horse (both in 1993), Paul in Company (1995), 1st Officer William Murdoch in Titanic (1997-99), Aldolpho in The Drowsy Chaperone (2006-07), Luther Billis in South Pacific (2008-10), and Taxi Driver in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (2010-11). He played the role of Buddy Plummer in the Kennedy Center production of Follies, which went on to play Broadway's Marquis Theatre and LA's Ahmanson Theatre. He is currently starring in the Roundabout revival of Cabaret, for which he earned a 2014 Tony nomination.
The 69th Annual Tony Awards are this Sunday June 7th at 8/9c hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming. It's the biggest award show of the Broadway season and it closes out a long award season for Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals and plays. We can't help but wonder what chances this year's Best Musical and Best Play nominees have of taking home the ultimate prize.
Arden Theatre Company hosts its Master Storyteller Award ceremony and concert tonight, June 1, 2015. The award will be bestowed upon Composer and Lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who will accept the award at a ticketed ceremony and concert, which is a fundraising benefit for the Arden's extensive educational and outreach programs. Composer and Lyricist Jason Robert Brown will present Mr. Sondheim with the award.
Arden Theatre Company announces a final list of performers for the Master Storyteller Award ceremony and concert on Monday, June 1, 2015. The award will be bestowed upon Composer and Lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who will accept the award at a ticketed ceremony and concert, which is a fundraising benefit for the Arden's extensive educational and outreach programs. Composer and Lyricist Jason Robert Brown will present Mr. Sondheim with the award.
On Monday, May 4, Theater People podcast welcomes 'The First Lady of British Musical Theater,' Olivier Award-winner Elaine Paige. For the episode, Paige discusses her farewell tour, and what exactly she means by 'farewell.' She also talks about the upcoming theatrical release of her recent concert which was filmed at Royal Albert Hall in London. Paige, perhaps best know for originating the roles of Eva Peron in EVITA and Grizabella in CATS, shares her remembrances of how those roles came to her and how they changed her life and career. Paige made her Broadway debut in 1995 as Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber's SUNSET BOULEVARD Sunset Boulevard. She returned to Broadway in the critically acclaimed and Tony award winning 2012 revival of FOLLIES. In the role of Carlotta Campion, Paige received terrific notices for her performance of the showstopping song 'I'm Still Here.'
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: SOMETHING ROTTEN! brings 'the world's first musical' to life on Broadway tonight!
Today we are shining a spotlight on some rarely discussed and unusual connections between the world of William Shakespeare and theatrical pop culture at large. Given the wide breadth of material contained within the canon of the Bard, it is certainly no understatement to claim that the connections are virtually endless between many modern tropes, terms, themes and ideas that derive in his classic plays - whether they be tragedies, comedies, histories or latter plays - yet the intriguing aspects of many of the lesser-known theatrical connections between Shakespeare and modern theatre are illuminating and fascinating to unearth. Ranging from the influence of Shakespeare on some of our greatest musical theatre masters - Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and William Finn included - through to the inspiration behind both Broadway's most lucrative production in history (THE LION KING) and the longest-running show in NYC to date (THE FANTASTICKS), the impact of Shakespeare on Broadway is impossible to accurately calculate - and, now, with the lovable and hilarious Shakespeare paean SOMETHING ROTTEN! poised to open later this month, the Bard is about to get a fresh jolt of electricity, buzz and excitement from the theatre community at large. Fear no more, indeed.
Tony Award-winning costume designer, JESS GOLDSTEIN (currently represented on Broadway with Jersey Boys and On the Town), and scenic designer DOUGLAS W. SCHMIDT are among the 2015 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards recipients. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Friday, May 1, at 6:30pm, at the Hudson Theatre (145 West 44th Street). Mr. Goldstein was selected to receive the 2015 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for costume design and Mr. Schmidt will receive the Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design.
Arden Theatre Company announces composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim as the first recipient of the new Master Storyteller Award. Sondheim will be present to accept the award at a ticketed award ceremony and concert, on Monday, June 1st, at a fundraising event that benefits the Arden's extensive educational and outreach programs.
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.
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