Beth Leavel News

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!

The concert is located at BACKSTAGE dopo teatro @ Trattoria Dopo Teatro (125 West 44th street, NYC) as a part of the BACKSTAGE concert series produced by Dale Badway /Badway on Broadway LLC & Michael Alden.

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.

The award-winning York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director) hosted its 19th Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre on Monday, November 22, 2010, honoring Tony Award-winning librettist Thomas Meehan (Annie, The Producers, Hairspray, Elf). The evening was directed by Tony-winning director/lyricist/librettist Richard Maltby and the award was presented by Alice Hammerstein Mathias, daughter of Oscar Hammerstein II.

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.

Broadway at Birdland is happy to announce that composer/writer Bobby Cronin, along with many Broadway performers, will perform a concert of his original music on Monday, November 29 at 7pm.

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.

Kyle Dean Massey (Gabe in Broadway's Next to Normal) spent Sunday, November 14th, mentoring the young talent of Broadway's future as he led a Pop/Rock and Next to Normal-themed master class with Broadway Artists Alliance. Kyle Dean skillfully guided a master class in 'Song Interpretation' to a group of eager and talented young performers ages 10 to 21. Kyle Dean's morning class was followed by an advanced audition technique workshop with a top representative from Telsey and Co. casting agency.

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!

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). The official production shots have been released and appear below!

The award-winning York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director) is pleased to announce the star-studded roster of performers for its 19th Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre. The award will be presented to Tony Award-winning librettist Thomas Meehan (Annie, The Producers, Hairspray, Elf) on Monday, November 22, 2010. As previously announced, the evening is directed by Tony-winning director/lyricist/librettist Richard Maltby and the award will be presented by Alice Hammerstein Mathias, daughter of Oscar Hammerstein II.

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). The official production shots have been released and appear below!

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.' The first feature highlights the book writers, Tony Award-winners Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin along with Tony Nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin who wrote the music and lyrics. Click to learn more about taking this hilarious movie from the big screen to the Broadway stage!

Broadway at Birdland is happy to announce that composer/writer Bobby Cronin, along with many Broadway performers, will perform a concert of his original music on Monday, November 29 at 7pm.

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures in association with Unique Features present ELF, based on the beloved 2003 New Line Cinema hit. ELF will feature 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 will be directed and choreographed by Tony nominee Casey Nicholaw (The Drowsy Chaperone, Monty Python's Spamalot).

Since September 2009, Beth Leavel has been lending her big Broadway voice to ABBA's hit songs, starring as reluctant mother-of-the-bride Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia! She has previously appeared on The Great White Way in Young Frankenstein, 42nd Street, The Civil War, Showboat and Crazy for You, and her performance in The Drowsy Chaperone earned her a Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award in 2006.