Nicole Rosky - Page 703

MCC Theater recently announced that Neil LaBute's new play, Reasons to Be Happy, also directed by LaBute, will now extend through Saturday, June 29th. In the video below, the cast and creative team chat about the play.

Theatre World Award Alumni Courtney B. Vance, Anika Noni Rose, Ben Vereen, Christine Lahti, Tony Sheldon, Lea Salonga, Isabel Keating, Phillip Boykin, Jessie Mueller, Jackie Hoffman, Wesley Taylor, Patricia Elliott, Meg Bussert, Crystal A. Dickinson, with special guestNathan Lane, all took part in the 69th Annual Theatre World Awards Ceremony last night, June 3, 2013 at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street), home of the current Broadway revival of Pippin. BroadwayWorld was there for the celebration and you can check out highlights and interviews with the honorees below!

Today in 1980, The Music Man opened at City Center, where it ran for 21 performances. The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with the cash. In 1957, the show became a hit on Broadway, winning five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and running for 1,375 performances.

Happy Birthday, Mary Testa! Testa is a two-time Tony Award nominee, for performances in revivals of Leonard Bernstein's On the Town (1998) and 42nd Street (2001). She made her debut as Miss Goldberg in William Finn's one-act musical In Trousers (1979), part one of his 'Marvin Trilogy,' winning audiences over with her rendition of 'Set Those Sails' and 'I Am Wearing a Hat,' as well as 'The Rape of Miss Goldberg by Marvin.' She returned to Broadway in July, 2007 in the musical-theater remake of the 1980 film Xanadu for which she received a Drama Desk Award nomination.

Roger O. Hirson and Stephen Schwartz's beloved coming-of-age musical comedy PIPPIN returns to Broadway in an all new production directed by Diane Paulus featuring choreography by Chet Walker in the style of Bob Fosse and circus creation by Gypsy Snider of the Montreal-based circus company Les 7 doigts de la main (also known as 7 Fingers). In the video below, go behind the scenes of 'Glory' with the cast!

Tickets for the new Broadway musical Big Fish will go on sale to the general public onSunday, June 16 at Ticketmaster.com (866-870-2717). An exclusive two-week pre-sale for Audience Rewards members and partners launches on Monday, June 3, during which members can earn 2,000 bonus points when they purchase a ticket to Big Fish at AudienceRewards.com. Directed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman (Contact, The Producers, The Scottsboro Boys), with music and lyrics by Grammy and Tony Award nominee Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party, The Addams Family), and a book by Grammy and BAFTA Award nominee John August (Frankenweenie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Big Fish begins performances on Thursday, September 5, 2013 and will open Sunday, October 6, 2013 at the Neil Simon Theatre. Check out just-released highlights from the show below!

The Pasadena Playhouse, in association with David Shor Productions, presents SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE - THE MUSICAL. The world premiere presentation began May 24 and opened last night, June 2, 2013, at The Pasadena Playhouse.

In the video below,

Broadway actor/singer and Epic Records recording artist Morgan James(Motown: The Musical, Godspell, The Addams Family, her recent debut CD release 'Morgan James Live, a celebration of Nina Simone'), Tony Award winner Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), Tony Award nominee Judy Kuhn (Passion, Les Miserables, Chess, Rags, Sunset Boulevard, the upcoming album 'All This Happiness'), six-time Emmy Award-winner Bruce Vilanch (TV's 'Hollywood Squares,' Broadway's Hairspray) recently previewed their upcoming 54 Below shows. Check out a sneak peek of their angagements below!

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

Today in 1975, Chicago opened at the 46th Street Theatre (now the Richard Rogers Theatre), where it ran for 936 performances. Chicago is a musical set in Prohibition-era Chicago, with music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the 'celebrity criminal'. The original cast starred Chita Rivera as Velma Kelly, Gwen Verdon as Roxie Hart, Jerry Orbach as Billy Flynn and Barney Martin as Amos Hart.

This week's featured composer is Benjamin Velez. Benjamin Velez is a composer/lyricist and recent Columbia University graduate where he studied film and wrote the 114th Annual Varsity Show. He is a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater workshop where he was named the Jerry Harrington award winner for the 2nd year workshop. His work has been featured as part of AWOL's 8 Minute Musicals at NYMF, The Platform concert series, and in last year's NEO concert. He is currently workshopping his original musical Afterland with collaborator Kathryn Hathaway, and recently premiered the title song at Joe's Pub as part of the latest CEC concert. While originally from Miami, he is now happy to call New York home sweet home.

Examining the power struggle between two legendary monarchs, Mary Stuart offers a timely exploration of the often dangerous relationship between religion and politics. Directed by the Festival's Artistic Director, Antoni Cimolino, Friedrich Schiller's gripping historical drama, in a new version by Peter Oswald, begins previews on Friday, May 3, at the Tom Patterson Theatre. Check out highlights below!

Twenty years after its Broadway premiere, Tommy returns to the stage in a new production helmed by its co-creator and original director, Des McAnuff at the Stratford Festival. The spectacular musical that swept the Tony Awards in 1993 started previews on Saturday, May 4, at the Avon Theatre, and plays through October 19. Check out 'Pinball Wizard' and 'I'm Free' below!

Earlier this week, the cast of Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, including Reeve Carney, Robert Cuccioli, Rebecca Faulkenberry, and Christina DeCicco celebrated the show's 1,000 performance on Broadway with special surprise guests. For the exciting event, creators Bono and the Edge visited to Foxwoods Theatre for the milestone performance, and BroadwayWorld brings you highlights from the festivities below!

Schmackary's Cookies, aka: The Official Cookie of Broadway, hosts 'Broadway Bakes' a special benefit for Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS, this week May 27-31. Schmackary's will donate half the proceeds and all tips generated from this event to BCEFA as part of this special pre-Tony Awards 'Thank You Broadway' event. Yesterday, Corey Cott, Ben Fankhauser, and Newsies alum Ryan Steele stopped by where they performed an alternate version of 'Watch What Happens (Reprise)' and Steele showed off with some signature pirouettes. Check it out below!

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Emma Stone was rumored to be in talks to make her Broadway debut in the upcoming revival of CABARET in the role of Sally Bowles. Now according to the New York Times, Stone has pulled out of the upcoming show. Stone's publicist told NYT that she 'has scheduling conflicts with a feature film that prevent her from joining the musical.'

Today in 1954, Carousel opened at City Center, where it ran for 79 performances. Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics). The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnar's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline. The story revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. He attempts a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child; when it goes wrong, he has a chance to make things right.

Today in 1971, You're A Good Man Charlie Brown opened at the John Golden Theatre, where it ran for 32 performances. You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown is a 1967 musical comedy with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner, based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip Peanuts. Directed by Joseph Hardy and with choreography by Patricia Birch, the 1971 cast included Grant Cowan as Snoopy and Dean Stolber as Charlie Brown.

Today in 1982, a return engagement of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, where it ran for 63 performances. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. It is based on a story by King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch in La Grange, Texas. The original Broadway production was directed by Peter Masterson and Tommy Tune and choreographed by Tune and Thommie Walsh. It opened on June 19, 1978 at the 46th Street Theatre and ran for 1,584 performances.