Nicole Rosky - Page 636

Chronicling the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter Carole King, BEAUTIFUL is currently in previews at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (124 West 43rd Street), following a critically acclaimed, sold-out World Premiere in San Francisco. An official opening night is set for Sunday, January 12, 2014. BroadwayWorld brings you a sneak peek of the cast in action below!

Robert Mackintosh, St James Theatre and Hilary A Williams by arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh will present the Alex Parker production of PUTTING IT TOGETHER by Stephen Sondheim. First produced by Cameron Mackintosh in New York, with Julie Andrews over 20 years ago, the London premiere will be performed by a stellar, award-winning cast including: David Bedella, Daniel Crossley, Janie Dee, Damian Humbley and Caroline Sheen. The video below documents the first week the Cast and Creatives spent in rehearsal for the 2014 London Premiere at the St James Theatre. Check it out below!

Today in 1963, Oliver! opened at Broadway's Imperial Theatre, where it ran for 774 performances. Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. It premiered in the West End in 1960, enjoying a long run, a successful Broadway production in 1963 and further tours and revivals. It was made into a musical film in 1968. Major London revivals played from 1994-1998 and again from 2008-2011.

Broadway star Jennifer Laura Thompson will make her cabaret debut on January 7 and 11, 2014 at 54 Below. The concert is set to feature songs from her career both on and off Broadway. Scroll down to learn about Thompson's hopes and fears as she approaches her first solo show!

Wang took the time to chat with BroadwayWorld about what's in store for the 2014 Festival, and you can check out what she had to say below!

Sand Artist-extraordinaire Silvia Emme has teamed up with MIKA once again, this time to create an all new piece to accompany his 'Popular Song' featuring Arianda Grande. In the video below, she uses only her fingers, to draw with sand on her lightbox and create a special tribute to the show from which the song was inspired- Broadway's Wicked.

Broadway favorite Megan Hilty, who is currently starring opposite Sean Hayes in NBC's 'Sean Saves the World,' recently stopped by Yahoo Studios, where she chatted with Ali Wentworth about everything from her recent nuptials in Vegas to the crazy way that she watched NBC's 'The Sound of Music.' Check out the full interview below!

It was almost three years ago when Nikki M James took home the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in THE BOOK OF MORMON. Below, James tributes every actress that has shared the same recognition in an incredible ode to 'The Ladies Who Tony.'

Today in 1946, the second Broadway revival of Showboat opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre, and ran for 418 performances. Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working on the Cotton Blossom, a Mississippi River show boat, from 1880 to 1927. The show's dominant themes include racial prejudice and tragic, enduring love.

Today in 2009, Hairspraiy closed at the Neil Simon Theatre after 2,641 performances. Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and 'downtown' rhythm and blues. In 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, plump teenager Tracy Turnblad's dream is to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program based on the real-life Buddy Deane Show.

Today in 1938, The Cradle Will Rock opened at the Windsor Theatre. Originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project, it was directed by Orson Welles, and produced by John Houseman. The show was recorded and released on seven 78-rpm discs in 1938, making it the first cast album recording. Following the impromptu opening and a brief run at the Venice Theatre (later renamed the New Century Theatre) in July 1937, the production reopened on January 3, 1938, at the Windsor Theatre under the auspices of the new Mercury Theatre Company. It played a total of 108 performances.

Happy Birthday, Taye Diggs! In 1996, Diggs originated the role of the landlord Benny in Jonathan Larson's Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning Rent. After Rent he appeared as Mr. Black in Andrew Lippa's off-Broadway production of The Wild Party. Diggs also played The Bandleader in the 2002 film version of the long-running Broadway revival of Chicago and filled in as Billy Flynn on Broadway.

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.

Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire are among the top songwriting teams working in the musical theatre today. Their shows written together, including Starting Here Starting Now, Baby, Closer Than Ever, Big, Take Flight, Love Match, and How Do You Do I Love You will be celebrated by Broadway's best in story and song. Their work was just celebrated at 54 Below with WHAT COULD BE BETTER, which was performed earlier this month. Check out highlights from the concert below!

Today's edition of 'SPIDER-MAN Swings Off Broadway' focuses on the show's beginnings, recalling Spidey's journey from its inception in April 2007, until previews began at the Foxwoods Theater on November 28, 2010. For over three years, rumors circulated about the comic book hero's trip to Broadway, and after a major cast shuffle and a few initial production delays, the first version of the musical at last performed for Broadway audiences.

Tony winner Nikki M. James has just announced that she will officially depart The Book of Mormon this January. She tweeted: 'I will BE making my final appearance @BookofMormon on Jan 5th. Then it's off to the barricade. #proofread #thisbook... (U know how it goes)'. James will soon star as 'Eponine' in the upcoming revival of Les Miserables, which will open at the Imperial Theatre on March 23, 2014.

Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some of Jepsen's greatest performances that have defined her career thus far. How do you think she'll fare as Broadway's resident princess?

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.

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. recently announced with its partner Clear Channel Media and Entertainment that they are givingive the ultimate gift of the season to New Yorkers and the world-five nights of Empire State Building (ESB) LED tower light shows, synchronized to a mix of classic and modern holiday music, broadcasting on Clear Channel New York's radio station 106.7 Lite fm. Each show is choreographed by internationally-acclaimed lighting designerMarc Brickman. Check out last night's show below!