Early to Bed 1943

BroadwayWorld Guest Contributor, David Appleford, reviews Arizona Broadway Theatre's production of ON THE TOWN and applauds it as an “undeniable triumph.” Runs through February 24th.

This coming weekend New Canaan Town Players Stage II will present Robert Hawkins's Quiet! Three Ladies Laughing!, a play that is as inimitable as the story behind it.

Mint Theater Company returns to New York City Ce nter Stage II with the American premiere of Noël Coward’s The Rat Trap, directed by Alexander Lass, opening Monday November 21st (7pm) at New York City Center Stage II for a limited Off-Broadway engagement through December 10th only. 

The Mint Theater company will be presenting the American Premiere of Noel Coward's The Rap Trap, and the world premiere of Becomes a Woman by Betty Smith (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn).

Have you heard the one about Rachmaninoff and Anastasia? Well, Hershey Felder has quite a tale to tell you! On Sunday, May 16th, acclaimed pianist/performer Felder will portray the iconic Russian composer in Nicholas, Anna & Sergei, his latest world premiere livestream from Florence, Italy. Nicholas, Anna & Sergei explores the little-known story of a strange meeting of Russian piano virtuoso Rachmaninoff and Anna Anderson, a woman who claimed to be Princess Anastasia, the sole surviving member of the Romanov Dynasty. Set in the Beverly Hills house in which Rachmaninoff died in 1943, Nicholas, Anna & Sergei is a mesmerizing memory play imbued with the composer's most-beloved music. Presented by Hershey Felder Presents Live from Florence in conjunction with TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, the show was written by Felder and directed by Felder and Italian film artist Stefano DeCarli. It promises Felder's uniquely entertaining blend of live performance, filmed elements, sumptuous visuals, gorgeous music, compelling drama and fascinating cultural history, all leavened with bits of wry humor. The production will also include guest stars such as world-famed soprano and actor Ekaterina Siurina as Natalia Alexandrovna Rachmaninoff, Klezmerata Fiorentina violinist Igor Polesitsky as Dr. Golitzin, and theatre and film actor J. Anthony Crane (who played the title role in TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's Cyrano) as Tsar Nicholas II. Helen Farrell will play Anna Anderson. Nicholas, Anna & Sergei will stream live at 5pm PDT, on Sunday, May 16, 2021 (with streaming on-demand access through May 23). To purchase tickets or find more information, visit TheatreWorks.org. Ticket sales directly benefit TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. BroadwayWorld spoke with Felder last week from his home in Florence while he was in the whirlwind of creating this world premiere. We talked about the craziness of producing these incredibly complicated multimedia livestreams during Covid times, how Rachmaninoff's music and story resonates so deeply for him, and his plans for a whole new season of offerings. Felder is always a delight to talk to - instantly engaging, funny, warm and knowledgeable - and any conversation with him is apt to go off on a number of unanticipated tangents. For example, who knew that Rachmaninoff was tickled pink by Mickey Mouse playing his Prelude in C #? Felder's use of language is also uniquely musical. But then, what else would you expect from a Canadian who grew up speaking English, Yiddish and French, and is now creating his latest work in Italy surrounded by a team of Russians?

Keen Company is continuing their season with an all-star benefit broadcast of Sorry, Wrong Number by Lucille Fletcher. Today Keen Company Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein announced the cast for Sorry, Wrong Number: four-time Academy Award nominee Marsha Mason will lead the cast along with Heidi Armbruster, Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper,

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best musical theatre characters from 1940-2020; see if your favorites are on our list of the best characters from Broadway musicals.

The 14th Annual Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival is pleased to announce the details of its full 2019 program in September, titled Tennessee Williams and Yukio Mishima.

It's hard to believe that it's been over 40 years now since a little revue that started at New York's Manhattan Theatre Club took Broadway by storm. The show was Ain't Misbehavin' and if you didn't know who composer Thomas “Fats” Waller was before, you did after seeing this show. It also made Nell Carter a star and garnered her a television series called Gimme a Break. Besides Carter the cast was comprised of Charlaine Woodard, Armelia McQueen, Andre De Shields, and Ken Page. When the original cast returned for a Broadway revival of the show in the 80's, Nell Carter received star billing even though the show is truly an ensemble piece. Ah, the power of television.

Eugene O'Neill is the only American playwright ever to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature and he is a four-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize. Between 1920 and 1943, he completed 20 long plays, with several of them double and triple length. And unfortunately, the current Pacific Resident production comes in at over 3 hours, a trying time for a play with such dramatic verbiage that it is necessary to pay full attention throughout since O'Neill's brilliant writing is both incredibly introspective yet often very repetitive. So be sure not to eat a huge meal before attending so the urge to fall asleep does not overtake you.

In THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN MUSICAL, Jack Viertel takes about musicals, puts them back together, sings their praises, marvels at their unflagging inventiveness, and occasionally despairs over their more embarrassing shortcomings. In the process, he invites us to fall in love with the art form all over again by showing us how musicals happen, what makes them work, how they captivate audiences, and how one landmark show leads to the next-by design or by accident, by emulation or by rebellion from OKLAHOMA! to HAMILTON and onward.

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.

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.

Mint Theater today announced a special EnrichMINT Event for their acclaimed production, London Wall by John Van Druten: JOHN VAN DRUTEN: A WRITER'S WRITER, FEATURING TREASURES FROM THE JOHN VAN DRUTEN PAPERS, Monday, March 17th at 6pm at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' Bruno Walter Auditorium, 65th Street & Amsterdam Avenue.

Mint Theater today announced the EnrichMINT Events for their next production, London Wall by John Van Druten. All events take place immediately after the performance, and usually last under an hour. They are all FREE and open to the public. Speakers and dates subject to change without notice.

The LA Times reports that Jane Kean, best known for playing Ed Norton's wife on the 1960's TV revival of The Honeymooners has died. According to her niece, Deidre Wolpert, the 90-year-old died of complications from a fall.

Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts opens the 2012-13 season of its Composer Portraits series with a 100th birthday celebration of the influential composer John Cage, starring International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Jessica Aszodi, mezzo-soprano, and Steven Schick, conductor. The event will take place tonight, September 20, 2012, at 8:00 PM at the Miller Theatre (2960 Broadway at 116th street). Tickets are $25-30, or $15-$18 for students with valid ID.

Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts opens the 2012-13 season of its Composer Portraits series with a 100th birthday celebration of the influential composer John Cage, starring International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Jessica Aszodi, mezzo-soprano, and Steven Schick, conductor. The event will take place on Thursday, September 20, 2012, at 8:00 PM at the Miller Theatre (2960 Broadway at 116th street). Tickets are $25-30, or $15-$18 for students with valid ID.

Following the success of their last production, the 1943 play THE VOICE OF THE TURTLE, Merrimack Repertory Theatre mines the early 20th century for source material and strikes gold. Think about bringing your daughters and granddaughters to meet the extremely likeable and capable young female protagonist in this heartwarming musical.

One of the many delights of director Michael Blakemore's revival of Noel Coward's giddily funny 1941 froth, Blithe Spirit, is that this 2009 production looks like it could have been seen in the play's premiere year. No doubt contemporary Broadway theatre can provide more spectacular ways for an actress playing a ghost to enter a room than to just have her walk through the French windows. And certainly if an invisible spirit chooses to destroy her husband's drawing room, modern technology can whip up a few tricks more gasp-inducing than simply having a picture frame fall and a bookshelf topple over. But when you have one of the English language's great comedies played by a company that excels in the verbal dexterity of the playwright's wit, there's no need for such distractions.

Today's Broadway Blogs on BroadwayWorld.com from Sunday, March 22, 2009.

The cuadrilla of an over-the-hill matador (Vincent D'Elia) comes to Martinique in search of a paying bull-fight. They stop (running out of gas) in front of an establishment run by the matador's old flame (Rita Rehn). Years ago, she was a teacher and because her 'girls' are carrying books on Latin, French, and math he assumes she still is. His son (Nicolas Davila) is sent to get gas the hard way - by earning it with a lady station owner. A car accident has the son in bed with the island's newest resident (Jennifer Evans). Pop thinks she's rich and wants damages, the son thinks she owns a gas station and wants gas, she is concussed.

Turner Classic Movies (TCM), television's foremost authority and showplace for classic film, is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year by sharing a passion for cinema with the network's devoted fans.

The cuadrilla of an over-the-hill matador (Vincent D'Elia) comes to Martinique in search of a paying bull-fight. They stop (running out of gas) in front of an establishment run by the matador's old flame (Rita Rehn). Years ago, she was a teacher and because her 'girls' are carrying books on Latin, French, and math he assumes she still is. His son (Nicolas Davila) is sent to get gas the hard way - by earning it with a lady station owner. A car accident has the son in bed with the island's newest resident (Jennifer Evans). Pop thinks she's rich and wants damages, the son thinks she owns a gas station and wants gas, she is concussed.