Nicole Rosky - Page 705

Today in 1977, Pippin closed at the Minskoff Theatre, after having played 1944 performances. Pippin is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson. Bob Fosse, who directed the original Broadway production, also contributed to the libretto. The musical uses the premise of a mysterious acting troupe, led by a Leading Player, to tell the story of Pippin, a young prince on his search for meaning and significance. The original cast included: Eric Berry, Jill Clayburgh, Leland Palmer, Irene Ryan, Ben Vereen, and John Rubinstein.

Zachary Levi, star of TV's 'Chuck,' Disney's feature film Tangled and the upcoming Thor: The Dark World, will make his Broadway debut starring opposite Broadway and television ingenue Krysta Rodriguez('Smash,' The Addams Family) in First Date, Broadway's new romantic musicalcomedy. With a book by Austin Winsberg ('Gossip Girl'), music and lyrics byAlan Zachary and Michael Weiner (Secondhand Lions, Twice Charmed) and musical staging by Josh Rhodes (Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella) First Dateis directed by Bill Berry (Producing Director of The 5th Avenue Theatre). In the video below, meet the cast of the Broadway-bound show and go behind the scenes of their Broadway photo shoot!

BWW is excited to spend a year on the road on the bus with the cast of PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT! In Episode 15 of our On the Road series, Joe Hart brings us along for his adventures in his hometown of Los Angeles, California. Check out this installment below and tune in later for more episodes as the cast journeys across the country!

All of Broadway's biggest stars were on hand at the 67th Annual Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre on Sunday night to celebrate the best of this theatre season! BroadwayWorld's own Randy Rainbow was on the scene at the star-studded red carpet, where he got to chat with the evening's nominees, including Judith Light, Rob McClure, Stephanie J. Block, Will Chase, Shalita Grant, Laurie Metcalf, and many more. Click below to check out what they had to say!

Today in 1993, the first Broadway revival of She Loves Me opened at Criterion Center Stage Right, where it ran for 354 performances. She Loves Me is a 1963 musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock. The plot revolves around Budapest shop employees Georg Nowack and Amalia Balash who, despite being consistently at odds with each other at work, are unaware that each is the other's secret pen pal met through lonely-hearts ads. The Revival cast featured Boyd Gaines as Georg, Judy Kuhn as Amalia, Sally Mayes as Ilona, Howard McGillin as Kodaly, Lee Wilkof as Ladislav, Brad Kane as Arpad, and Louis Zorich as Mr. Maraczek. A revival cast recording was released by Varese Sarabande.

BroadwayWorld.com's Richie Ridge sat with all of the 2013 Tony Winners right after they came off stage from their big wins. The winners were filled with joy, memories and excitement and we've got it ALL! Here's Patina Miller, who won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her portrayal of the Leading Player in Pippin.

BroadwayWorld.com's Richie Ridge sat with all of the 2013 Tony Winners right after they came off stage from their big wins. The winners were filled with joy, memories and excitement and we've got it ALL! Here's Cicely Tyson, who won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for her portrayal of Carrie Watts in The Trip to Bountiful.

BroadwayWorld.com's Richie Ridge sat with all of the 2013 Tony Winners right after they came off stage from their big wins. The winners were filled with joy, memories and excitement and we've got it ALL! Here's Billy Porter, who won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his portrayal of Lola in Kinky Boots.

BroadwayWorld.com's Richie Ridge sat with all of the 2013 Tony Winners right after they came off stage from their big wins. The winners were filled with joy, memories and excitement and we've got it ALL! Here's Cyndi Lauper, who won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Score for Kinky Boots.

CINDERELLA -- the Rodgers + Hammerstein musical now at the Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway) -- played its 100th performance on Wednesday evening, May 29. The cast celebrated with a cake from Carlo's Bakery, home of TV's 'Cake Boss.' The musical began previews on January 25 and had its official opening night on March 3. Written for CBS-TV in 1957, this production of Rodgers + Hammerstein's CINDERELLA marks the musical's first-eve Broadway production, now in its 5th month of performances. In the video below, the cast parodies the 90's classic 'Baby Got Back' with their own version- 'Glass Slippers Are So Back.' Check out the hilarious music video below!

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL stars Brandon Victor Dixon and Valisia LeKae and director Charles Randolph Wright visited MSNBC's acclaimed nationally syndicated live weekly show 'Melissa Harris-Perry' this week. Now watch both the roundtable interview and the performance below.

Welcome to our first edition of "Cutting-Edge Composers In the Studio" exclusively on Broadwayworld.com! Today, we are in the studio with Joe Iconis, and his collaborators Jason Sweettooth Williams and Lance Rubin. You can hear Joe discuss his inspiration for writing, his experience with SMASH, what it's like to work with the Joe Iconis Family, and his upcoming projects. These talented gentlemen also shared a live performance of the song "Outlaw" from their show Bloodsong of Love and a song from their new musical in progress entitled Annie Golden: Bounty Hunter, Yo! Joe sent us this synopsis for his latest creative endeavor: What if musical theater legend Annie Golden starred in a show as a bad-ass action hero?' That was the idea that led to this musical, Annie Golden: Bounty Hunter, Yo, which uses the conventions---both theatrical and musical---of 70's blaxploitation films to tell the story of a widowed down-on-her-luck theatre actress who becomes a bounty hunter and goes on a journey of self-discovery and serious ass-kicking.

Happy Birthday, Charles Strouse! Strouse's first Broadway musical was the 1960 hit Bye Bye Birdie, with lyrics by Lee Adams, who would become his long time collaborator. Following this was Golden Boy (1964, also with Adams), starring Sammy Davis, Jr. and It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman (1966, based on the popular comic strip) which introduced the song 'You've Got Possibilities' sung by Linda Lavin. In 1970, Applause (starring Lauren Bacall, with book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and lyrics by Adams) won Strouse his second Tony Award. In 1977, Strouse adapted another comic strip for the stage, creating the hit Annie, which garnered him his third Tony Award and two Grammy Awards. Other Strouse musicals include Charlie and Algernon (1979), Dance a Little Closer (1983, with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner), Rags (1986), Nick & Nora (1993), and An American Tragedy (1995, with lyrics by David Shaber).

The 2013 Tony Awards are just days away and the best of Broadway has been hard at work this week at Radio City Music Hall to prepare for the ceremony. BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was invited for a sneak peek at the venue, where he got to chat with nominee Patina Miller and host Neil Patrick Harris about readying for the big night. Check out what they had to say below!

Kinky Boots opened on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on April 4, 2013. In Kinky Boots, Charlie Price (Tony Award nominee Stark Sands) has suddenly inherited his father's shoe factory, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. Trying to live up to his father's legacy and save his family business, Charlie finds inspiration in the form of Lola (Billy Porter). A fabulous entertainer in need of some sturdy stilettos, Lola turns out to be the one person who can help Charlie become the man he's meant to be. As they work to turn the factory around, this unlikely pair finds that they have more in common than they ever dreamed possible... and discovers that when you change your mind about someone, you can change your whole world. The cast visited 'The View' earlier today and you can check out their performance of 'The Sex is in the Heel' below!

Set to cast a spell over Australia, Glinda the Good Witch of the North, Kristin Chenoweth, comes south for her Australian debut in June at the 2013 Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Presented by Arts Centre Melbourne in association with Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Kristin Chenoweth will take to the stage at Arts Centre Melbourne's Hamer Hall at 8pm Wednesday 12 June as part of a national tour to Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane. Kristin Chenoweth will enchant audiences at this once-in-a-lifetime concert traversing pop, opera and the Broadway classics that have made her a star. In the video below, Chenoweth stops by 'Sunrise' to chat about the concerts. Check it out below!

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.