WAKE UP with BWW 7/10/14 - Broadway in Bryant Park, 'RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY', Leslie Uggams as 'Mama Rose' and More!
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: BROADWAY IN BRYANT PARK launches its summer season today, BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY begins off-Broadway, Leslie Uggams stars in GYPSY in Connecticut and more!
Next up in our series of Broadway stars introducing BWW's morning feature is Tony nominee Jose Llana (portrait by Walter McBride), who has graced the Broadway stage in Wonderland, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Flower Drum Song, Street Corner Symphony, RENT and The King and I. Snuggle up with your coffee cup like Llana and scroll down to the news!
Photo by Walter McBride
TODAY'S TOP ITEMS:
- BROADWAY IN BRYANT PARK kicks off today with ROCKY's Andy Karl, WICKED's Justin Guarini, IF/THEN's LaChanze and more!
- Stephen Adly Guirgis' new play BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY begins previews tonight at the Atlantic Theater.
- Lou Diamond Phillips takes over in the lead role for Melbourne's THE KING AND I this evening...
- Ellen Burstyn stars in THE CHERRY ORCHARD, beginning tonight at The Actors Studio!
- Original Broadway cast members Deanna Dunagan, Rondi Reed and more reunite tonight to record the Pulitzer Prize-winning play AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY in Los Angeles.
- And Leslie Uggams stars as 'Mama Rose' in GYPSY, opening at Connecticut Rep tonight!
NEWS YOU MISSED YESTERDAY:
- Kristin Chenoweth looks fabulous in the new art for ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY!
- Anthony Rapp will be out of IF/THEN for several weeks to undergo knee surgery, and Curtis Holbrook will take over the role of 'Lucas' while he's gone...
- Original NEWSIES star Capathia Jenkins will return as 'Medda' next week!
- Transport Group announced a starry cast for its MUSIC MAN concert, including Laura Osnes, Santino Fontana, Andrew Keenan-Bolger and more!
- Manhattan Theatre Club and Ars Nova will present the World Premiere of BY THE WATER this November.
- Williamstown Theatre Festival announced complete casting for THE VISIT, starring Chita Rivera.
- Is anyone surprised? Lindsay Lohan has reportedly been issued a final warning for her poor behvior on SPEED-THE-PLOW in the West End...
- And Stuart Benjamin is developing a Stax Records musical with sights on a 2016 Broadway bow.
Broadway Weather Forecast: Partly cloudy with a high of 83 and a chance of thunderstorms this evening...
Quote of the Day: In honor of his new play beginning off-Broadway this evening, thoughts on profanity from playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis (author of The Motherf**ker with the Hat)...
I'm not like a champion of profanity. I write what I hear, and the characters that I write, that's how they talk. That's how I talk a lot of the time. So I'm not trying to advance a social cause.
-- Stephen Adly Guirgis (via BrainyQuote)
Video of the Day: In honor of CT Rep's multi-racial GYPSY opening tonight, watch a clip of leading lady Leslie Uggams performing "If He Walked Into My Life" from MAME at a concert in 1993...
And finally, a Happy Birthday shout-out to Fiona Shaw, who turns 57 today!
Shaw starred on Broadway last year in The Testament of Mary and received a Tony nomination for her performance in Medea in 2002. She won the 1997 Drama Desk Award for another one-person show -- The Waste Land. Shaw has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre in the UK. The actress recently appeared in the TV series True Blood, as well as the films The English Teacher, The Tree of Life and the Harry Potter series.
Photo by Paul Kolnik
See you bright and early tomorrow, BroadwayWorld!
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