Alexander Gemignani News

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Announces 2020 Summer Season

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center announced today the 2020 summer season which will be held entirely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Broadway Rewind: ROAD SHOW Bounces Its Way to the Public Theater!

With Stephen Sondheim celebrating his 90th birthday, this episode of Broadway Rewind is very special for BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge because it us to the opening night of the Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman tuner Road Show at The Public Theater. It was directed and designed by John Doyle and starred Michael Cerveris and Alexander Gemignani. Cerveris told Ridge about this new version of the material,  'I saw Bounce in Washington so that was my first exposure to the material, but this really isn't a reexamination of that source material, it's an entirely new musical. So, when I saw the new draft that Stephen and John had done, it was really exciting.'

Sondheim 90th Birthday Concert Raises Over $400,000 for ASTEP

Stephen Sondheim's 90th Birthday with 'Take Me To The World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration' raised over $400,000 dollars for ASTEP!

BWW Exclusive: Ben Rimalower's Broken Records QuaranStreams with Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration

In this episode, Ben and Daniel talk about 'Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration.' The online broadcast featured Meryl Streep, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Mandy Patinkin, Christine Baranski, Donna Murphy, Sutton Foster, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Kelli O'Hara, Aaron Tveit, Maria Friedman, Iain Armitage, Katrina Lenk, Michael Cerveris, Brandon Uranowitz, Stephen Schwartz, Elizabeth Stanley, Chip Zien, Alexander Gemignani, Ann Harada, Austin Ku, Kelvin Moon Loh, Thom Sesma, and Raul Esparza. Drama Desk Award winner Mary-Mitchell Campbell was the evening's music director, with Paul Wontorek serving as director.

VIDEO: Watch Meryl Streep, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone & More Celebrate Stephen Sondheim's 90th Birthday

Just last night, the stars came out to celebrate Stephen Sondheim's 90th Birthday with 'Take Me To The World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration'. The free online event, hosted by Raúl Esparza, on the exact 50th anniversary of the opening night of Sondheim's musical Company (the original production debuted on Broadway on April 26, 1970).

Broadway Rewind: LES MISERABLES Brings the Barricade Back to Broadway in 2006

We also dropped by a rehearsal for Cameron Mackintosh's new production of the landmark musical Les Misérables, directed by John Caird. It starred Alexander Gemignani, Aaron Lazar, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Gary Beach and Norm Lewis. Mackintosh told Ridge, 'I'm delighted to have the opportunity. The only thing I never expected or dreamt of was getting such a wonderful cast as this. Everybody we ever dreamt of wanted to be in it. We found some marvelously talented people that we didn't know, and I think it's one of the strongest casts of Les Miz that's ever been anywhere.'

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Laura Benanti, Ben Platt and More Join Sondheim 90th Birthday Virtual Celebration

Additional star performances were announced today for the all-star special virtual concert in celebration of Stephen Sondheim's 90th Birthday, 'Take Me To The World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration', this Sunday, April 26 at 8:00 PM ET.

Meryl Streep, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, and More Set For Virtual Celebration of Sondheim's 90th Birthday

A star-studded lineup has been announced for a special virtual concert in celebration of Stephen Sondheim's 90th Birthday, Take Me To The World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration, this Sunday, April 26 at 8:00 PM. 

BWW Feature: Stephen Mosher's Pandemic Playlist Number Nine - The Stephen Sondheim Birthday Edition

For Stephen Sondheim's 90th Birthday Stephen Mosher makes a list of 90 cabaret-themed videos of his songs. It's Epic and it will be a great way to distract yourself during your time at home.

Photo Coverage: Remembering Merwin Foard

BroadwayWorld was saddened to report that Broadway veteran Merwin Foard recently passed away at 59 years old. Born September 16, 1960 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Foard was last seen on Broadway in Aladdin as a standby for Jafar/Sultan.

Kerry Butler, Zachary Noah Piser, Alexander Gemignani and More to Star in THE DOGS OF PRIPYAT at The Green Room 42

GREEN ROOM 42 will present The Dogs of Pripyat in concert on Monday, March 2, 2020 at 7:00PM, as part of the GR42 New Works Series. Inspired by the true story of the abandoned dogs of Chernobyl who learned to survive and even thrive under unimaginable circumstances, The Dogs of Pripyat is an evening of heartbreak, hope, and humor that explores the inextinguishable desire in all of us to live when life seems least possible.

Dharon E. Jones Replaces Ben Cook in WEST SIDE STORY

Dharon E. Jones, making his Broadway debut, will succeed actor Ben Cook in the role of 'Riff' in the new Broadway production of West Side Story, producers Scott Rudin/Barry Diller/David Geffen announced today.

Wake Up With BWW 1/2: Broadway Stars Reveal Their Resolutions, and More!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Welcome to 2020! We hope you all had a happy holiday season.

Watch Now: New York Philharmonic Celebrates Sondheim with Katrina Lenk & Bernadette Peters

Tony Award winner Katrina Lenk - who will star in the gender-blind 2020 Broadway revival of Sondheim's Company - sang Losing My Mind and Could I Leave You from Follies, Alexander Gemignani conducted, and Lonny Price directed. The program also featured selections and suites from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A Little Night Music, Assassins, Company, Follies, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

WEST SIDE STORY Has Broken All-Time Broadway Theatre House Record

Producers Scott Rudin / Barry Diller / David Geffen announced today that the Broadway return of the Jerome Robbins / Arthur Laurents / Leonard Bernstein / Stephen Sondheim musical, West Side Story, has once again broken the all-time Broadway Theatre house record for a single week, with a gross of $1,807,025.94. In 7 performances the previous week, West Side Story broke the record (with a gross of $1,497,319) held by Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella ($1,479,889.97, established on 12/29/13, for an 8-performance week).

Bernadette Peters To Host NEW YEARS EVE: CELEBRATING SONDHEIM with the New York Philharmonic

Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters will join the New York Philharmonic as host of New Year's Eve: Celebrating Sondheim, December 31, 2019. 'Considered by many to be the premier interpreter of [Sondheim's] work' (The New York Times), she starred in the original productions of the Pulitzer, Tony, Oscar, and Grammy winner's Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods as well as the revivals of his Follies, A Little Night Music, and Gypsy. She appeared in the New York Philharmonic's Sondheim: The Birthday Concert in 2010. Sondheim said of her, 'Bernadette is flawless as far as I'm concerned.'

Photo Flash: Jackie Burns Inspires Students at One Day Master Class with Broadway Artists Alliance

On Saturday, November 2nd, Broadway's longest running Elphaba, Jackie Burns, worked with a group of students at Broadway Artists Alliance, workshopping audition material and sharing stories about her experiences in the industry. Burns garnered critical acclaim for her long running portrayal of Elphaba in the musical Wicked. She holds the distinction of most performances as the green-skinned witch on Broadway.

The O'Neill Seeks New Musicals For 2020 Summer Season

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center announced today that it is now accepting submissions for the 2020 National Music Theater Conference. Writers may submit new musicals through the O'Neill's Open Submissions process through Friday, November 1, 2019. 

Photo Flash: Laura Osnes Teaches at One Day Master Class With Broadway Artists Alliance

On Sunday, October 13th, Tony Award nominee Laura Osnes spent the day with a group of students at Broadway Artists Alliance, workshopping audition material and sharing stories about her experience on Broadway. Osnes was most recently seen on Broadway in the critically acclaimed production Bandstand, in which she originated the role of Julia Trojan and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. Osnes is also well known for her starring turns in Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (Ella, Tony Award Nomination), Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie, Tony Award Nomination), Anything Goes (Hope Harcourt), South Pacific (Nellie Forbush) and Grease (Sandy). Osnes took time out of her busy schedule to connect with the students and share her advice for navigating the theater industry.

Classic Stage Company To Honor Anika Noni Rose And Ted Chapin At Annual Gala

Classic Stage Company's 2019 gala will honor Anika Noni Rose, whose singular performance in CSC's recent production of Carmen Jones propelled it to widespread acclaim, and Ted Chapin, visionary President of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization.