Adolph Green News

The Hartt School Theatre Division, under the direction of Alan Rust, has announced its 2012-2013 Theatre Division performance season.

Reviewing mindless fun can be dangerous terrain.  In the first half of the last century magnificent wits like P.G. Wodehouse and George S. Kaufman wrote the books for mindlessly fun musical comedies showcasing scores by the likes of Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart and the Gershwins that invented a new sophistication in American music and lyrics.  The plots may have been silly, but the mindless fun of 1920s and 30s (Of Thee I Sing, Anything Goes, The Boys From Syracuse for starters) was often literate and inventive.

Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, makes a splash with the effervescent musical comedy SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, previewing November 8, opening November 15, and running through January 13, 2013.

The Outdoor Museum (not your usual images of New York) is a book of photographs and verse created as a tribute to the iconic city of New York. Presenting it as its own exhibit, the book includes more than 100 stunning images, 11 sage and witty poems (read by Sheldon Harnick on an accompanying CD), and a reverential foreword by renowned director, Mike Nichols. BroadwayWorld brings you a preview of one of the pieces from the book below, entitled 'Questions.'

Primary Stages (Casey Childs, Founder & Executive Producer; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Elliot Fox, Managing Director) have announced that their annual Gala will take place Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at The Edison Ballroom (240 W. 47th Street). The event will honor Tony Award winner Tyne Daly (Master Class, Rabbit Hole, Gypsy), and producers and Primary Stages board members Jamie deRoy, and Ted Snowdon. The Gala Chair is Tom Kirdahy.

Music Theatre of Wichita presented Singin' in the Rain at the Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center, 225 W. Douglas Ave., Wichita, KS 67202. BroadwayWorld has complete coverage of the show below.

The 7th Annual High School Summer Musical Theatre Experience presents PETER PAN, tonight, July 27-August 5, 2012 at Wilson Center for the Arts, 11901 Beach Blvd in Jacksonville, Fla.

Music Theatre of Wichita Presents Singin' in the Rain, July 25-29 at the Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center, 225 W. Douglas Ave., Wichita, KS 67202. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the performance below, including rehearsal footage, interviews and more!

The 7th Annual High School Summer Musical Theatre Experience presents PETER PAN, July 27-August 5, 2012 at Wilson Center for the Arts, 11901 Beach Blvd in Jacksonville, Fla.

Kansas City's premiere outdoors theater presents Cathy Rigby in PETER PAN as part of their summer 2012 Broadway Season. The show will perform from tonight, July 24th through the 29th, at 8 PM. Other shows included in summer line-up are IN THE HEIGHTS, THE ADDAMS FAMILY MEMPHIS, AIDA, and LA CAGE AUX FOLLIES. Tickets for PETER PAN are available by calling the box office, or online at www.kcstarlight.com. More information on the production starring Cathy Rigby can be found at www.cathyrigbyispeterpan.com.

Olympics Gold Medallist Robin Cousins stars on the West End stage as Billy Flynn in the musical CHICAGO at the Garrick Theatre from tonight, 17 July, 10 days ahead of the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. He will be in the show until 8 September, the day before the final day of the Paralympics.

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN will receive it's first ever Blu-Ray release on Tuesday, July 17th. To commemorate this event, we're looking at why this film is still a crowd favorite 60 years later.

The story of PETER PAN has always demanded a great deal of imagination, but it seems the production currently onstage at Fair Park Music Hall could use an extra sprinkle of pixie dust.

Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor sing and dance their way back onto the big screen in the "Turner Classic Movies (TCM) Presents 'Singin' in the Rain' 60th Anniversary Event" tonight, July 12 at 7:00 p.m. local time, with special matinees in select theaters at 2:00 p.m.

Bramwell Tovey leads the New York Philharmonic at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in a program of works by Bernstein, Gershwin, and Tchaikovsky, tonight, July 7, 2012, at 8:00 p.m. Canadian soprano Tracy Dahl will be the soloist in the coloratura aria, "Glitter and Be Gay" from Bernstein's Candide, along with songs by Gershwin, including "The Man I Love" and "Fascinatin' Rhythm," arranged by Mr. Tovey. Also on the program are Three Dance Episodes from Bernstein's On the Town, and two works by Tchaikovsky: music from Act IV of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, and the 1812 Overture.

With less than a month to go until the Team GB Synchronised Swimming Team take the plunge in London 2012, its mentor and Olympic gold medallist, Robin Cousins, starts rehearsals for his own starring role as Billy Flynn in CHICAGO at the Garrick Theatre, which he'll be performing for a limited season from 17 July.

Today in 1985, Singin' in the Rain opened at the George Gershwin Theatre, where it ran for 367 performances. Singin' in the Rain is a musical with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Arthur Freed, and music by Nacio Herb Brown. Adapted from the 1952 movie of the same name, the plot closely adheres to the original. Set in Hollywood in the waning days of the silent screen era, it focuses on romantic lead Don Lockwood, his sidekick Cosmo Brown, aspiring actress Kathy Selden, and Lockwood's leading lady Lina Lamont, whose less-than-dulcet vocal tones make her an unlikely candidate for stardom in talking pictures. Directed and choreographed by Twyla Tharp, the cast included Don Correia as Don, Mary D'Arcy as Kathy, Peter Slutsker as Cosmo, and Faye Grant as Lina.

This year, participants will perform PETER PAN from July 27th - August 5th for six performances only at the Wilson Center for the Arts on Florida State College at Jacksonville's South Campus (11901 Beach Blvd).

Gallery Theater is holding auditions for The Will Rogers Follies, June 10-13. With book by Peter Stone, music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and winner of Six Tony Awards, this production will be directed by Rich Pratt.

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).