Nicole Rosky - Page 519

Happy Birthday, Frank Langella! Langella won his first Tony Award for his performance in Edward Albee's Seascape and 1975 and was nominated for another for what may have been the performance for which he was best known for in the early part of his career: the title role of the 1977 Broadway production of Dracula. He then appeared on Broadway in such plays as Sherlock's Last Case, Strindberg's The Father (winning a Drama Desk Award), Match (Tony Award nomination), and Fortune's Fool, for which he won a second Tony Award. He was cast as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's Frost/Nixon, which received enthusiastic reviews during a run at the Donmar Warehouse and Gielgud Theatre in London before moving to New York's Bernard B. Jacobs Theater in April 2007, culminating in Langella's third Tony Award. He reprised the role of Nixon in the 2008 film Frost/Nixon, directed by Ron Howard.

Happy Birthday, Bebe Neuwirth! Neuwirth made her Broadway debut in the role of Sheila in A Chorus Line in 1980. She later appeared in revivals of Little Me (1982) Sweet Charity (1986), for which she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, and Damn Yankees (1994). 1996 saw her play the role of Velma Kelly in the Broadway revival of Chicago. That role brought her her greatest stage recognition to date, and several awards including the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Neuwirth would later return to the still-running revival of Chicago in 2006, this time in the role of Roxie Hart.She will next return to the musical as 'Mama Morton' in January 2014.

Today in 1948, opened at the Shubert Theatre. Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang. Kiss Me, Kate was a response to Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! and other integrated musicals, and it proved to be his biggest hit and the only one of his shows to run for more than 1,000 performances on Broadway. It won the first Tony Award presented for Best Musical, in 1949.

Virginia's Signature Theatre presents the world premiere of Diner, the musical adaptation of the landmark film with a book by the movie's Academy Award-winning screenwriter and director Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Bugsy, The Natural) and an original score by nine-time Grammy Award winner Sheryl Crow. The production began performances at Signature Theatre's MAX Theatre December 9 and will play through January 25. Signature just unveiled a new trailer for the show, and you can check it out below!

Happy Birthday, Jude Law! In 1995, Law starred in The National Theatre transfer of Broadway's Indiscretions at the Barrymore Theater. In May 2009, Law returned to the London stage to portray the title role in Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Donmar Warehouse West End season at Wyndham's Theatre. In September 2009 the production transferred to the Broadhurst Theatre in New York.

Stage star Michael Ball has just released a holiday greeting to fans featuring his very own superstar pets, Ollie and Freddie. Check it out below!

Today in 1940, Pal oey opened at Broadway's Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Pal Joey is a musical with a book by John O'Hara (from his novel of the same title) and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart based on a character and situations O'Hara created in a series of short stories published in The New Yorker. It includes two songs that have become standards: 'I Could Write a Book' and 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered'.

Happy Birthday, Ricky Martin! During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide. He is the founder of Ricky Martin Foundation (in Spanish Fundacion Ricky Martin), a non-profit charity organization. Ricky Martin's exuberant 1999 single 'Livin' la Vida Loca' made him a prominent figure of Latin dance-pop. Martin got his start with the all-boy pop group Menudo; after five years with the group, he released his Spanish-language solo album, Ricky Martin, in 1991. His other studio albums include: Me Amaras (1993), A Medio Vivir (1995), Vuelve (1998), Sound Loaded (2000), Almas del Silencio (2003), Life (2005), and Musica + Alma + Sexo (2011). In 1996, Martin starred in the Broadway's Les Miserables, and he is currently starring as 'Che' in Evita at the Marquis Theatre.

It's Christmas at last, and BroadwayWorld is celebrating the season in the best way we know how- with a special roundup which highlights videos that combine our two favorite things: Broadway and Christmas. Composed of Christmas songs performed by the very best of the Great White Way, as well as holiday songs from actual Broadway shows, we're here to get you into the holiday spirit! Below, check out our full video roundup, which includes tunes by Angela Lansbury, Mandy Patinkin, Idina Menzel, Jeremy Jordan, Audra McDonald, and many more!

INTO THE WOODS, hitting theaters on December 25th, is a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales, intertwining the plots of a few choice stories and exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. In the just-released featurette below, the cast opens up about the genius music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim!

Klendez is at it again! Stafford Arima just directed a a holiday music video featuring Broadway favorites Lindsay Mendez and Derek Klena. The song, 'I Got All I Need (This Christmas)' was written by Lynne Shankel and was shot at Joe's Pub and around the city. It's available for download on iTunes and proceeds from go to Astep, www.asteponline.com.

The York Theatre Company just honored Tony Award-winning collaborators Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty with the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre at the 23rd Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala at Park Avenue's Racquet & Tennis Club (370 Park Avenue). Below, check out highlights from the evening, which including performances by Marin Mazzie, Ramin Karimloo, Bobby Steggert, Corey Cott, Judy Kaye, and many more!

The Humbling, starring Tony winner Billy Porter, is a 2014 erotic comedy film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Buck Henry and Michal Zebede, based on the 2009 novel, The Humbling, written by Philip Roth. The film also stars Al Pacino, Greta Gerwig, Dianne Wiest, Charles Grodin and Mandy Patinkin.Below, check out a sneak peek of Porter in action!

Today in 1935, Romeo and Juliet opened at the Martin Beck Theatre. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.

Entering its sixth and final 13-episode season, the musical comedy GLEE follows a group of ambitious and talented young adults in search of strength, acceptance and, ultimately, their voice. The sixth and final season premieres with a special two-hour event Friday, Jan. 9 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. In the video below, watch as Broadway veterans Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele and Darren Criss preview what's in store for the final season!

As 2014 comes to a close, it seems only fitting to look back on the craziest moments of this year- and there were many. From the cancellations of major productions to onstage flubs and unpredictable audience behavior, 2014 was nothing if not buzz-worthy. Below, BroadwayWorld invites you to recall the most bizarre, ridiculous and peculiar things that happened on Broadway this year.

It's a Benanti family Christmas in a new video from Tony winner Laura Benanti, titled 'Santa Baby: A Short Holiday Film.' Click below to find out what happens when Laura goes home for the holidays and gets in touch with her inner child!

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Happy Birthday, Ralph Fiennes! Fiennes' 2006 performance in the play Faith Healer gained him a nomination for a 2007 Tony Award. In 2008, Fiennes worked with frequent collaborator director Jonathan Kent to play the title role in Sophocles's Oedipus the King at The National Theatre in London. He has appeared in films such as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days and Maid in Manhattan. He is also well known for his portrayals of three infamous villains: Nazi war criminal Amon Goth in Schindler's List, serial killer Francis Dolarhyde in the 2002 film Red Dragon, and Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter film series. Most recently, he appeared in The Reader (2008), The Hurt Locker (2009) and as Hades in Clash of the Titans (2010).

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the new American play, Hand to God, will open on Broadway on April 7, 2015 at the Booth Theatre (222 West 45th Street), marking the Broadway debut of playwright Robert Askins. McCollum's three years of development on this play include its previous acclaimed productions at the Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) in 2011 and its more recent Off-Broadway debut at MCC Theater in 2014. Hand to God will again be directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel in his Broadway debut with previews beginning at the Booth Theatre on March 12, 2015 ahead of the April 7th opening. For more info, visit www.HandToGodBroadway.com. Below, check out a just-released trailer for the Broadway-Bound play!