Martha Raye

This month, the reader question was: Which Broadway theaters have been demolished/repurposed and when/why?

Watch the video Lin Manuel Miranda sent to Norman Lear on his 100th Birthday, featuring a performance of a rewritten version of Al Jolson's 'April Showers.'

Honoring the life and legacy of the remarkable storyteller, activist and philanthropist Norman Lear, the one-night-only celebration features intimate conversations, special performances and surprise reunions that pay homage to the man behind some of television’s greatest stories in celebration of his 100th birthday.

The Al Hirschfeld Foundation has launched its latest online exhibition “Call Her Madam: Sex. Crime & Fun in Polly Adler's New York.”

Honoring the life and legacy of storyteller, activist and philanthropist Norman Lear, ABC will present “Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter.” The special will pay homage to the man behind some of television’s greatest stories and will feature a lineup of celebrity guests and musical performances to celebrate his 100th birthday.

She's sassy, smart, and spunky, and soon she'll be back at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre. Suzanne Stark stars as the iconic Dolly Levi in the matchmaking musical Hello, Dolly! starting March 31. 

It has been a long time coming, but this spring The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre will welcome the musical Hello, Dolly! to its stage. 

The hour and a half show, from which the Minnesota queen took really only 1 short break... left the audience breathless with laughter, and then, the moments where Miss R let the audience have it with her broad baritone voice left everyone breathless in another way...

Today the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced that Norman Lear will receive the Carol Burnett Award at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded to Martha Raye for her USO performances in three wars will be auctioned by Nate D. Sanders Auctions on August 27, 2020.

BroadwayHD has announced its lineup for April.

Many may think that the heartwarming and brassy American musical comedy of yore with it's hummable tunes will never be seen again. That the days of star driven shows have dried up. The era when the names of Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, or Carol Channing all but guaranteed a hit musical. Now producers are wary of putting all of their eggs in one basket, relying on a star to stick with a show until it recoups it's investment. Happily...... no, joyously...... Broadway producer Scott Rudin was able to engage superstar Bette Midler for a year in the first revival of HELLO DOLLY! ever to happen on Broadway without Carol Channing

An estimated 150 fans camped out in front of the Funco Store on Hollywood Blvd to be on hand to help celebrate the careers of SID & MARTY KROFFT with a star on the world famous Hollywood Walk of Stars.

 The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles (BAFTA Los Angeles) is pleased to announce that five-time EMMY®-winning television pioneer Norman Lear will receive the Britannia Award for Excellence in Television at the 2019 British Academy Britannia Awards. He joins previously announced honorees Jackie Chan, who will receive the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment, Steve Coogan, who will receive the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy Presented by Jaguar Land Rover, Jane Fonda, who will receive the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film, Jordan Peele, who will receive the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing Presented by Cunard and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who will receive the Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year.

Based on Thornton Wilder's 1954 play titled The Matchmaker, Hello, Dolly! follows famed New York City matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi as receives her toughest challenge yet. She must travel to Yonkers to find a suitable match for the miserly 'well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire' Horace Vandergelder. She successfully matches many others in the city, including Horace's niece and his two young clerks, but everything seems to go wrong when it comes to matching Horace.

Some shows I can see again and again, especially those composed by the forever upbeat Jerry Herman. Hello Dolly bowed on Broadway when I was a teenager in the 60s and it had a long run with original star Carol Channing, followed by turns with Ethel Merman, Ginger Rogers, Pearl Bailey, Martha Raye and Molly Picon, to name a few. Every major star wanted to do it because the role offers a female actress the chance to sing, dance and act the hell out of it. It's a big, splashy gut buster about a woman who has more moxy than the Pied Piper and enough wisdom and panache to win over an army or a whole kingdom, for that matter...and, for the audience, it's one of those extra-special feel-good musicals that just doesn't quit... 'It Only Takes a Moment' to fall in live with it.. You leave the theatre actually humming the tunes. The first National Tour of the latest Dolly!  at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre through February 17 is just about the best starring thje glorious Betty Buckley..

Carol Burnett has a way with people. She befriends you immediately, puts you at ease and opens up her heart to a candid conversation. What you see is what you get and fans will have the opportunity to get up close and personal with this cherished living legend during her upcoming tour, An Evening of Laughter and Reflection, Where the Audience Asks the Questions. This show has Miss Burnett doing what she does best - connecting with her audience. Besides taking questions, she will be showing clips from her shows in a format that harkens back to the legendary openings of The Carol Burnett Show where her studio audience had an unfiltered opportunity to engage Carol with questions and receive spontaneous answers. 'I love the spontaneity of these evenings,' said Carol.

The first image of Broadway legend Betty Buckley as Dolly Gallagher Levi in the first national tour of Hello, Dolly! has just been released.

Combining comedy cabaret with progressive political parody, Sandy and Richard Riccardi have over 40 million views on social media (including 'Tiki Torch Nazis', 'Boy From Mar-a-Lago' and 'Elton Has An Organ'). Rosie O'Donnell calls them 'My New Favorite Singing Songwriting Team'.  

Led by the Master of Ceremonies (Totia Meireles), a theatrical troupe tells the story of Prince Pippin (Felipe de Carolis), son and heir to the throne of King Charlemagne (Jonas Bloch). In search of the meaning of his life, and to achieve an extraordinary existence, he follows the advice of his grandmother (Nicette Bruno) and stepmother Fastrada (Adriana Garambone), goes through battles, experience power, the simple life and love.