John Murray Anderson

On November 9, 2023, the Committee of Theatre Owners will dim the lights of Broadway theatres in New York for one minute at exactly 6:45pm, in honor of Sheldon Harnick.

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that actor and singer Harry Belafonte has died at age 96. Belafonte was an American singer, songwriter, activist, and actor. He is one of the most successful Jamaican-American pop stars in history.

Carleton Upham Carpenter, Jr. (95) an American film, television and stage actor, songwriter, and novelist died Monday, January 31, 2022 in Warwick, NY.  He had been in declining health for some years.

Dance Magazine has reported that Broadway dancer Ilona Murai has passed away at the age of 96 due to COVID-19 and dementia.

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that stage and screen actor Orson Bean has died at age 91. According to The New York Times, his cause of death was a 'traffic accident' in Venice, CA. Capt. Brian Wendling of the Los Angeles Police Department said that Bean was struck and killed by a car on Friday while crossing the street.

One person who we have to thank for the influencing the tradition of summer stock theatre is none other than John Kenley, whose legacy lives on today. From the 1940s - 1990s, John Kenley championed summer theatre and brought shows to small towns across America.

Among the many holiday season theatrical offerings, the annual musical revue, Broadway at the Good Theater inevitably proves to be a refreshing and original approach to ushering in a season of good cheer. The 2017 production, conceived, written, and directed by Brian P. Allen, is no exception; in fact, if anything, this year's show is bigger, bolder, and full of delightful surprises.

Before teaming with Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick contributed songs to several Broadway revues.

The Tony Awards Administration Committee announced today, April 19th that two-time Tony Award-winning lyricist Sheldon Harnick and multiple Tony-nominated director Marshall W. Mason will be this year's recipients of the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.

The Library of Congress has today announced its annual list of 25 films that will be included in the National Film Registry.

The award winning Foothill Music Theatre swings for the fences this summer with the Tony Award-winning musical DAMN YANKEES. This production will be helmed by Tom Gough with music direction by Catherine Snider, and choreography by Katie O'Bryon and plays July 26 - August 18 in the Smithwick Theatre, Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Rd., Los Altos Hills.

On Thursday, three-time Tony Award-winning Broadway composer Richard Adler passed away at the ripe old age of 90. Responsible for two of the biggest Broadway smash hits of the 1950s, THE PAJAMA GAME and GAMN YANKEES, Adler never quite managed to equal his career-high double-hitter of that era, yet his earlier work with Tony Bennett ('Rags To Riches'), Doris Day ('Everybody Loves A Lover') and Marilyn Monroe (the iconic 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President') surely shall solidify his place in the firmament of entertainment history along with his two classic musicals from the Golden Age. Winning both Best Score and Best Musical for both THE PAJAMA GAME and DAMN YANKEES, Adler's partnership with lyricist Jerry Ross - which began on Broadway in 1953 with JOHN MURRAY ANDERSON'S ALMANAC - was tragically cut short just months after the DAMN YANKEES premiere when Ross was diagnosed with lung disease and passed away soon thereafter. Yet, thanks to the beloved film versions of THE PAJAMA GAME and DAMN YANKEES and continued interest in the entities as expressed in the revivals and reappraisals of both onstage from Broadway to Biloxi to Bombay year after year, the snappy, snazzy tunes of Adler and Ross live on eight times a week all around the world - even now, more than fifty years after they premiered. Unfortunately, Adler's subsequent shows with other collaborators post-1955 failed to capture the early magic of his previous projects with Ross and his earlier musical and theatrical endeavors in the pop arena, with the racially charged KWAMINA flopping on Broadway in 1961 (though he took home a Best Composer Tony Award for his efforts anyway) and the awkwardly titled MUSIC IS failing to recreate the magic of its source material, Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT, in 1976. A MOTER'S KISSES, starring Bea Arthur and a young Bernadette Peters, died on the road, as well. In the intervening years, Adler attempted musical adaptations taken from a number of intriguing sources - OF HUMAN BONDAGE and others among them - though only his ballet scores seemed to reach an audience; particularly his last, commissioned for a new production of Lorca's THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA in 1998. Of course, THE PAJAMA GAME has had two Broadway revivals - most recently the rapturously received Kathleen Marshall-directed production starring Harry Connick, Jr. and Kelli O'Hara; and DAMN YANKEES famously returned to the Great White Way with much ado in 1994 starring Victor Garber. Now seems particularly ripe for remounting YANKEES, as we approach twenty years in its absence - especially given the musical's seriously smashing showing at Encores! in 2007. Who knows, perhaps some risky producer will even take a chance on a new production of KWAMINA, MUSIC IS, A MOTHER'S KISSES or one of the bottom drawer shows someday soon to see if they possess any of the limitless potential shown by Adler's earlier work. Or maybe a stage treatment of his TV musical GIFT OF THE MAGI (originally composed for then-wife Sally Ann Howes)? Or, better yet, how about a revue? What a stupendous songstack Adler created over the course of his career - 'Whatever Lola Wants' to 'Hey There' to 'Hernando's Hideaway' to 'You Gotta Have Heart' to 'Steam Heat' to the aforementioned Bennett, Day and Monroe standards and so many more chestnuts.

'SING YOUR SONG,' CHRONICLING THE LIFE AND TIMES OF EXTRAORDINARY ENTERTAINER AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST HARRY BELAFONTE, DEBUTS OCT. 17, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO

'SING YOUR SONG,' CHRONICLING THE LIFE AND TIMES OF EXTRAORDINARY ENTERTAINER AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST HARRY BELAFONTE, DEBUTS OCT. 17, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO

The New York Choral Society will celebrate its 52nd Anniversary with a Spring Gala, on April 6 at The National Arts Club.

The New York Choral Society will celebrate its 52nd Anniversary with a Spring Gala, on April 6 at The National Arts Club.

Stage and screen vet Polly Bergen has teamed up with Add The Alert program to help fight the missing children epidemic worldwide. 800,000 children go missing every year in the U.S. Add The Alert notifies the public when a child within a 100 miles of where they live goes missing. A picture and a description of the child is sent electronically to members in the hopes of locating the missing child more quickly.

Real-life husband-and-wife Orson Bean and Alley Mills are set to star in the West Coast premiere of Noel Coward's, A Song at Twilight, from January 16-March 7. James Glossman directs the production.

Real-life husband-and-wife Orson Bean and Alley Mills are set to star in the West Coast premiere of Noel Coward's, A Song at Twilight, from January 16-March 7. James Glossman directs the production.