Wake Up With BWW 7/26: MOULIN ROUGE! Reviews, Harry Connick, Jr. Will Return to Broadway, and More!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld!

Yesterday, Moulin Rouge! officially opened on Broadway! Read all of the reviews, and check out our opening night red carpet coverage below!

Harry Connick, Jr. is coming back to Broadway! The singer will bring his new show, A Celebration of Cole Porter, to the Nederlander Theatre this December.

Michelle Obama visited Hadestown! The former first lady went 'way down' and took a photo with the cast after the performance, which was posted to Twitter by Andre De Shields. Check it out below!

Read more about these and other top stories below! Want our morning reports delivered via email? Subscribe here!

1) Photo: Michelle Obama Goes Way Down to HADESTOWN

Last night, Hadestown had a very special visitor. Michelle Obama came to see the show!. (more...)

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2) First National Tour Of MEAN GIRLS Finds Its 'Plastics'!

Mean Girls has announced the actresses who will launch the First National Tour as 'The Plastics'.. (more...)

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3) Harry Connick, Jr. to Return to Broadway With A CELEBRATION OF COLE PORTER

Harry Connick, Jr., the celebrated singer, musician and actor will premiere on Broadway in his strictly limited, brand-new show HARRY CONNICK, JR.a?'A Celebration of Cole Porter.. (more...)

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4) Photo Flash: First Look at Raul Esparza, Brandon Uranowitz & More in Encores! ROAD SHOW

Wrapping up the Encores! Off-Center season is Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's Road Show, running through July 27. Check out a first look at the cast in action below!. (more...)

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5) BWW TV: Watch FROZEN, ALADDIN & THE LION KING Perform at Broadway in Bryant Park
by BroadwayWorld TV

Not in NYC to enjoy the performances? Stuck in the office for your lunch break? Fear not! BroadwayWorld was there to stream the whole presentation this afternoon. Check back here or follow us on Facebook to tune in every Thursday this summer!. (more...)

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Today's Call Sheet:

Barry Manilow's Broadway residency kicks off tonight!

Barry Manilow is coming back to Broadway. The Grammy, Tony and Emmy Award winning singer-songwriter, arranger, producer and musician will take the stage on July 26 through August 17 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street).

Manilow promises an evening of nonstop Top 40 Hits and surprises from his extensive catalog of music ranging from pop, to Broadway, Jazz, and adult contemporary.

Barry Manilow has a long history on Broadway. He received a Special Tony Award for his first appearance in 1977. In 1989 he sold out an 8-week run at the Gershwin Theater and in 2013 sold out an 8-week run at the St. James Theatre - all to rave reviews. Manilow is credited with setting the precedent for contemporary music artists to appear on Broadway.

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Opening Night Coverage:

Moulin Rouge! officially opened on Broadway last night! Read the reviews here!

BroadwayWorld was there on the red carpet, and you can check out our coverage in the video:

Directed by Alex Timbers (Tony Award®-nominated for Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and Peter and the Starcatcher) Moulin Rouge! The Musical has a book by John Logan (Tony Award® for Red), choreography by Sonya Tayeh (Lucille Lortel Award and Obie Award for Kung Fu, and Emmy winner), and music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Justin Levine (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson).

Moulin Rouge! The Musical is based on the 20th Century Fox Motion Picture by Baz Luhrmann.

The cast includes Karen Olivo (Tony Award® for West Side Story, In the Heights) as Satine, Aaron Tveit (Catch Me If You Can, Next to Normal) as Christian, Danny Burstein (six-time Tony Award®-nominee, Fiddler On the Roof, Cabaret) as Harold Zidler, Sahr Ngaujah (Tony® and Olivier award-nominee for Fela) as Toulouse-Lautrec, Tam Mutu (Doctor Zhivago, Encores!'s Hey, Look Me Over! and The New Yorkers) as The Duke of Monroth, Ricky Rojas (Burn the Floor) as Santiago and Robyn Hurder (Nice Work If You Can Get It) as Nini.

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Set Your DVR...

Tituss Burgess will appear on THE VIEW today!

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What we're geeking out over: Sutton Foster Returns to Her Broadway Roots With Performance on YOUNGER

During this week's episode of Younger, Sutton Foster returned to her Broadway roots with a dance performance.

The dance featured Foster, as her character Liza, dancing with both Charlies (Peter Hermann) and Josh (Nico Tortorella).

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What we're listening to: 'I Gotta Go' from the DOCUMENTARY NOW! 'Co-Op' Cast Album

BroadwayWorld has an exclusive first listen from the upcoming "Original Cast Album: Co-op" from DOCUMENTARY NOW! Paula Pell sings 'I Gotta Go' on the album, which is being released on Friday, July 26.

"Original Cast Album: Co-op" features beloved Broadway veterans including Tony Award®-winner Renée Elise Goldsberry, Tony Award®-nominee Alex Brightman, and the incomparable Richard Kind, who is indeed both good at singing and acting. The ensemble also includes John Mulaney, Paula Pell, Taran Killam and James Urbaniak.

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And a Happy Birthday shout-out to Helen Mirren, who turns 74 today!

Helen Mirren has won international recognition for her work on stage, screen and television. For her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen in 2006, she received an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award, and BAFTA Award for Best Actress. She was also named Best Actress by virtually every critics organization from Los Angeles to London. In 2014 she was honored with the BAFTA Fellowship for her outstanding career in film. On television she played the title role in Elizabeth I for which she won Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Awards.

Mirren began her career in the role of Cleopatra at the National Youth Theatre. She then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where she starred in such productions as Troilus and Cressida and Macbeth. In 1972, she joined renowned director Peter Brooks Theatre Company and toured the world. Since then her theatre work has spanned numerous productions in the West End, the Fringe, the RSC, the National Theatre and Broadway, including A Month in the Country, for which she received a Tony nomination, and The Dance of Death opposite Ian McKellen. Subsequent productions include Orpheus Descending at The Donmar Warehouse and Mourning Becomes Electra at the National, for which she received an Olivier Best Actress Award nomination. She returned to the National in 2009 in the title role of Racine Phedre directed by Nicholas Hytner. This made history when it became the first theatre production to be filmed for "NTLive" and was seen in cinemas throughout the world. In her most recent performance in 2013 in London's West End, she reprised her role of Queen Elizabeth II in Peter Morgan's The Audience, directed by Stephen Daldry, for which she won an Olivier Award for Best Actress.

Helen Mirren became a Dame of the British Empire in 2003.

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See you bright and early Monday, BroadwayWorld!

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