Amy Spanger News

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.

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.

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 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! 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!

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.

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!

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.

Tis the season to find your 'inner elf' and BroadwayWorld is going to help! Continuing our special series 'Elf Shorts' we bring you backstage with Matthew Gumley (Michael in the show) and Matthew Schechter (Michael Standby). Matthew^2 bring will take you on a trip backstage during previews of the show featuring a trip to the wig room dressing rooms and interviews with some of the stars including Amy Spanger, Mark Jacoby, Beth Leavel and more. Click below to watch this first of several backstage features brought to you by this dynamic duo!

On Sunday, November 14, Elf opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the traditional Gypsy Robe ceremony and brings you photo coverage below.

Based on the beloved 2003 New Line Cinema hit, ELF features songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer), with a book by Tony Award winners Thomas Meehan (The Producers, Hairspray) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone). ELF is directed and choreographed by Tony nominee Casey Nicholaw (The Drowsy Chaperone, Monty Python's Spamalot). ELF opened on Sunday, November 14th at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street). The production will play a limited engagement for the holiday season through Sunday, January 2nd. BroadwayWorld.com was there to capture all of the opening night fun!

ELF opened on Sunday, November 14th at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street). The production will play a limited engagement for the holiday season through Sunday, January 2nd. BroadwayWorld.com was there to capture all of the opening night fun!

ELF opened on Sunday, November 14th at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street). ELF is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa's bag of gifts and is transported back to the North Pole. Buddy is raised unaware that he is actually a human, until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa's permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity. Faced with the harsh reality that his father is on the naughty list and his step-brother doesn't even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas. This modern day Christmas classic is sure to make everyone embrace their inner ELF!