Alexander Gemignani News

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.

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.'

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. 

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.

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.

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, 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.

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

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.

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).

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.'

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 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. 

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'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.

Tony Awarda?"winner Katrina Lenk will make her New York Philharmonic debut celebrating the music of Stephen Sondheim on New Year's Eve!

The American Music Theatre Project (AMTP) at Northwestern University has announced the 2019-2020 workshop series of projects by award-winning music theater creators, which are directed by regional theater directors and performed by students in the AMTP program.

On Thursday, July 25th, Tony® Award winner Beth Leavel stopped by Broadway Artists Alliance to share some words of wisdom before the students' highly anticipated industry showcase. Leavel has been starring as Dee Dee McAllen in the Broadway hit The Prom for the last year, a role for which she received a Tony® Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical. She is also well known for her Tony® Award win for The Drowsy Chaperone, and her other Broadway credits include Bandstand (June Adams), Elf (Emily), Baby It's You! (Florence Greenberg, Tony® Award nomination), Mamma Mia (Donna), 42nd Street (Annie, Dorothy Brock), Showboat (Ellie), and The Civil War (Mabel, Mrs. Bixby).  Leavel took time out of her busy show schedule to connect with the students and share her advice for navigating the theater industry. 

On Thursday, July 18th, Tony® Award winner Santino Fontana surprised the students of Broadway Artists Alliance during their exciting week of master classes and rehearsals in the heart of New York City. It's been a little over a month since Fontana took home the 2019 Tony® award for playing Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels in Tootsie, but he is also well known for his roles in Cinderella, Hello, Dolly!, Billy Elliot, The Importance of Being Earnest, and for his various roles on screen in shows and movies like Frozen, Crazy-Ex Girlfriend and Fosse/Verdon. Fontana took time out of his busy show schedule to share some encouraging words with the young performers.

When he passed on at age 60 in 1933, Addison Mizner was best known as the architect whose Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean style helped define the emerging visual culture of South Florida. When his younger brother Wilson Mizner died two months later, he was best known as a raconteur whose name could occasionally be found among the writing credits of a Broadway play or Hollywood feature.