Amy Spanger News

ELF The Broadway Musical cast performed music from the hit show and cast recording for the 'Live at Barnes & Noble' series at the flagship store in New York City today, December 5th. The event featured special performances and a CD signing from cast members Sebastian Arcelus, Amy Spanger, Beth Leavel, Matthew Gumley and Matthew Schechter, along with additional members of the original Broadway cast. The event also featured special guests Tony nominated Matthew Sklar (Music) and Chad Beguelin (Lyrics). BroadwayWorld was on hand for the event and brings you exclusive performance coverage below!

Elf The Broadway Musical will perform at Barns and Noble with performances by BETH LEAVEL, SEBASTIAN ARCELUS, AMY SPANGER, MATTHEW SCHECHTER & MATTHEW GUMLEY with special guests MATTHEW SKLAR (Music) & CHAD BEGUELIN (Lyrics). Followed by CD SIGNING Elf-The Broadway Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording) Monday, December 5, 5pm Performance on the event stage, Upper East Side, 86th/Lex

Stars of ELF, which opened on Broadway in November 2010 and concluded its limited run in January 2011, are set to perform numbers from the show at the Upper East Side Barnes & Noble on December 5 to celebrate the release ofthe cast album. Participants will include: Sebastian Arcelus, Beth Leavel, Matthew Gumley, Matthew Schechter, and Amy Spanger.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of the new musical ELF, the Broadway musical for every 'Buddy,' will be released digitally and in stores on November 1, 2011 by Ghostlight Records.

Since the spookiest and scariest of seasons is aggressively upon us, now is the perfect time to take a look at some selected clips from the most theatrical and horrifying of Halloween treats available to view on YouTube and beyond - especially these six specially-chosen, seriously spooktacular entities! While SILENCE OF THE LAMBS has recently given birth to some new mutton in the form of the Off-Broadway camp spoof musical SILENCE! starring Brent Barrett, there are some surprisingly effective and engrossing horror-themed musicals on our list, as well - REEFER MADNESS: THE MOVIE MUSICAL and THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW included - but, also, some theatrically-themed flights of fearsome fancy - such as Dario Argento's OPERA and Darren Aronofsky's BLACK SWAN. Also, we have a historic classic helmed by the director of two of the most beloved movie musicals of all time - WEST SIDE STORY and THE SOUND OF MUSIC - Robert Wise and his original black and white horror-fest, THE HAUNTING - and a look at a modern-day master from the other side of the planet, Japan's Takashi Miike and his banned-from-American-broadcast IMPRINT. Julie Harris to Kristen Bell, Tim Curry to Alan Cumming, Ana Gasteyer to Natalie Portman - this Halloween countdown is definitely one that is all treats and no tricks! Well, maybe just one…

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of the new musical ELF, the Broadway musical for every 'Buddy,' will be released digitally and in stores on November 1, 2011 by Ghostlight Records.

Broadway leading lady, Fosse featured player and, now, the star of the new Fringe Festival play SAMMY GETS MUGGED!, gypsy phenomenon Stephanie Pope Caffey has lit up Broadway stages for almost thirty years - especially memorable for her dance-heavy roles in Bob Fosse's BIG DEAL, SWEET CHARITY, DANCIN‘, CHICAGO and the Tony-winning revue FOSSE itself. We also discuss working with four other legendary directors on four classic shows in the interim - JELLY'S LAST JAM directed by George C. Wolfe, THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES directed by Tommy Tune, the hit revival of A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM directed by Jerry Zaks and KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN directed by Hal Prince (with choreography by Rob Marshall) - and far beyond. These days, Stephanie operates one of the premiere Bikram yoga studios in the country, Bikram Yoga East Harlem, and she evocatively illustrates how that is a continuation of her dance work and how beneficial the practice has been to her life. Additionally, in this career-spanning conversation we analyze the life of a gypsy dancer and what it takes to make it and rise to the top of the ranks in the best corps on Broadway, then and now - and, all applicable anecdotes that arise along the way, of course (and even some surprises). Plus, Stephanie shares all about her role in SAMMY GETS MUGGED! and reveals what drew her to the project, what to expect from the new drama/comedy, what her character is like and much, much more!

After a sold-out run last November, Theater for the New City (Crystal Field, Executive Director) is proud to present, back by popular demand, ONLY LOVE WILL DO - A GayStraigt RomCom, written by Walt Stepp (Lightin' Out-A Mark Twain Musical, Why We Shot Jack-The Conspirators' Drama), from April 14th thru May 1st. Lissa Moira once again directs this Freudian Fandango of gay/straight romantic dramedy/sexploration.

After a sold-out run last November, Theater for the New City (Crystal Field, Executive Director) is proud to present, back by popular demand, ONLY LOVE WILL DO - A GayStraigt RomCom, written by Walt Stepp (Lightin' Out-A Mark Twain Musical, Why We Shot Jack-The Conspirators' Drama), from April 14th thru May 1st. Lissa Moira once again directs this Freudian Fandango of gay/straight romantic dramedy/sexploration.

BWW just recently launched a photo store to benefit BC/EFA featuring stunning images of Broadway's brightest stars. The unique feature gives readers a chance to purchase prints of our photos since the web site launched back in 2003. Previously only available at BC/EFA's Flea Markets, where we often sold out of images, we're now making a selection of photos available for purchase online and just like at the Flea Market, a portion of all proceeds will go straight to BC/EFA.

Today we are talking to the composer of the Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical NEXT TO NORMAL, Tom Kitt, about his influences - from Sondheim to Schwartz to Finn to Elton John to some of his own contemporaries - and working with Green Day on AMERICAN IDIOT and his own eponymous band, to the creation of a Broadway phenomenon by tracing the path of the show from FEELING ELECTRIC to NEXT TO NORMAL - plus, the many exciting projects that he has coming up this year and beyond, including a thorough discussion of his upcoming collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Amanda Green and Jeff Whitty on BRING IT ON: THE MUSICAL and the very first news of a new, original Kitt/Yorkey musical on the horizon - and much, much more.

BroadwayWorld offers highlights of the several productions which will complete their Broadway runs in January.

Tis the season to find your 'inner elf' and BroadwayWorld is going to help! Continuing our special series 'Elf Shorts' we bring you backstage (again) with Matthew Gumley (Michael in the show) and Matthew Schechter (Michael Standby). Matthew^2 play a game of 5 questions backstage. Click below to watch this second of several backstage features brought to you by this dynamic duo!

2010 was quite a year for Broadway with some spectacular opening nights. We'll be sharing highlights from the year in photos, videos, interviews and more throughout this final week of the year. First off is a look at some of the star and excitement filled opening night curtain calls of 2010. Photos by Walter McBride / WM Photos / Corbis

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures in association with Unique Features announced today that the new Broadway musical ELF shattered the box office record at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 W 45th St) a third time for the week ending December 26, 2010.

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures in association with Unique Features announced today that the new Broadway musical ELF shattered its previous box office record at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 W 45th St) for the week ending December 19, 2010.

Tis the season to find your 'inner elf' and BroadwayWorld is going to help! For the next few weeks, we're presenting a special series featuring the cast and creative in a close up look at putting this 'magical' show together called 'Elf Shorts.' This third feature highlights multi Tony Award Nominee Casey Nicholaw who both directed and choreographed book writers, Tony the show! Click to learn more about taking this hilarious movie from the big screen to the Broadway stage!

Perhaps the Broadway musical would enjoy a complete and total renaissance of quality if only Thomas Meehan would agree to co-author the book of every new show that hits town.  The writer whose main stem debut was the perfectly crafted Annie has gone on to spend the bulk of his career co-authoring with the likes of Mel Brooks, Mark O'Donnell and Lee Adams.  And while I'm certainly not dismissing the contributions of his collaborators, the Thomas Meehan name in a Playbill seems to guarantee that no matter how the dialogue and the score turn out, the elements will be housed in a sturdy structure that firmly establishes its story arc, gives us reasons to care about the characters and steadily glides along to a satisfying conclusion.

On Tuesday, December 7, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) will hold its 87th annual Christmas Tree lighting on Broad Street between Wall Street and Exchange Place from 5 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. ET.

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures in association with Unique Features announced today that the new Broadway musical ELF set a new box office record at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 W 45th Street) for the week ending November 28, 2010.