Bette Midler News

Friends In Deed will present a legendary trio as Charles Busch, Whoopi Goldberg and Lypsinka star in the first-ever New York presentation of the infamous Broadway-play-that-wasn't, LEGENDS!. Written by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner James Kirkwood (A Chorus Line), the play will be presented in a special One Night Only staged reading benefit on Monday evening, March 23 at 8PM at Town Hall (123 West 43rd Street).

ASCAP, in association with the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs, presents THE MAC/ASCAP SONGWRITER SHOWCASE, Saturday, March 21st @ 2:00PM at the Metropolitan Room The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, in association with MAC present another installment in their recurring Songwriter Showcase series.

APRIL AT THE METROPOLITAN ROOM Join them every Friday and Saturday from 11PM-2AM for our nightly piano lounge. No cover, no minimum! 4/1 7PM Barbara Brussell 'Brilliance from on High...BORN IN THE BRONX' Accompanied by musical director Tex Arnold, this marks their first time venturing a new show together.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will present EVERYDAY RAPTURE, written by Dick Scanlan (Tony nominee for Thoroughly Modern Millie) and Sherie Rene Scott (Tony nominee for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), with musical supervision by Tom Kitt (Next to Normal, High Fidelity), directed by Michael Mayer (Tony Award winner for Spring Awakening).

Old Globe Executive Producer Lou Spisto recently announced that the theatre will present a special one-night engagement of Stephen Schwartz and Friends.. This delightful event, featuring the Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer/lyricist of the smash Broadway musicals Wicked, Godspell, Working, Pippin and many others, will be performed in the Old Globe Theatre on Monday, March 9 at 7:30pm. Schwartz will be center-stage for an evening of unforgettable music and memories, with some of Broadway's best singer/actors, including, Debbie Gravitte, Liz Callaway and Scott Coulter, performing Schwartz's most beloved songs.

ASCAP, in association with the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs, presents THE MAC/ASCAP SONGWRITER SHOWCASE, Saturday, March 21st @ 2:00PM at the Metropolitan Room The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, in association with MAC present another installment in their recurring Songwriter Showcase series.

Jim Caruso's Cast Party is proud to present The Broadway Boys in concert at Birdland on Monday, March 2 at 7pm. The event is part of the ongoing concert series, Broadway at Birdland. The Broadway Boys return to Birdland on March 2 at 7pm to perform their contemporized showtunes, funked-up 50's and 60's classics, and unique spins on Top 40 hits!

The producers of Blithe Spirit are pleased to announce the show will play The Shubert Theatre (225 West 44th Street). Rehearsals are scheduled to begin Monday, January 26, 2009 with the first performance on Thursday, February 26, 2009.

Scottish singer/actress Fiona Kennedy, a member of Scotland?s leading theatrical family (she?s the daughter of Calum Kennedy and Anne Gillies) and former host of ?Tartan TV,? stars in the new Scottish music special HIGHLAND HEARTBEAT ? premiering Saturday, February 28 at 8 pm on WLIW21 New York Public Television and nationwide on PBS throughout March (check local listings). Best known as musical director of the North American Riverdance tours, Kennedy Aitchison is HIGHLAND HEARTBEAT?s musical director.

Jim Caruso's Cast Party is proud to present The Broadway Boys in concert at Birdland on Monday, March 2 at 7pm. The event is part of the ongoing concert series, Broadway at Birdland. The Broadway Boys return to Birdland on March 2 at 7pm to perform their contemporized showtunes, funked-up 50's and 60's classics, and unique spins on Top 40 hits!

SHAWN RYAN Live at The M Bar! February 21st , 2009 (8:00 pm) The 'Gay Buble' Comes to Hollywood! Shawn Ryan from NBC's America's Got Talent returns to NYC With an ALL NEW show Written by Bruce Vilanch! Whether it is acting, singing, or charming Regis Philbin on America's Got Talent, Jazz Cabaret Singer Shawn Ryan is taking the world by storm, one song at a time! Shawn Ryan is Entertainment! Called the love child of Peter Allen and Bette Midler, Shawn's crooning and comedy are an unbeatable pair! Do not miss this show!

Once upon a time in a land called Hollywood, there lived two goddesses of the sliver screen: Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Er, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. They made many wonderful movies (separately) and became hugely successful stars. Then one day, they decided to make a movie together called 'Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?' Let the diva smackdown begin!

SHAWN RYAN Live at The M Bar! February 21st , 2009 (8:00 pm) The 'Gay Buble' Comes to Hollywood! Shawn Ryan from NBC's America's Got Talent returns to NYC With an ALL NEW show Written by Bruce Vilanch! Whether it is acting, singing, or charming Regis Philbin on America's Got Talent, Jazz Cabaret Singer Shawn Ryan is taking the world by storm, one song at a time! Shawn Ryan is Entertainment! Called the love child of Peter Allen and Bette Midler, Shawn's crooning and comedy are an unbeatable pair! Do not miss this show!

AN EVENING AT LA CAGE has taken its last curtsy after a 24 year run. The cast, led by Frank Marino, were informed of this unfortunate closing after Monday's performance. There are rumors that the producers are trying to negotiate for a TV show and hopes to reopen the show in the future. La Cage is the fourth longest running show on the Vegas strip. When An Evening at La Cage opened at the Riviera in 1985, skeptic casino owners gave producer Norbert Aleman and his young star, female impersonator Frank Marino, three months to prove themselves. Obviously, they did a good job of doing just that. It's 20 years later and La Cage and Frank Marino have held up very well - of course, for Marino, a little cosmetic surgery hasn't hurt.

Betty Buckley's 'Broadway By Request' opens tonight for a four-week run at Feinstein's at Loew's Regency.

FEINSTEIN'S AT LOEWS REGENCY, the nightclub proclaimed 'Best of New York' by New York Magazine, and 'an invaluable New York institution' by The New York Post, continues its 10th Anniversary season with the return engagement of Tony Award winning singer and actress BETTY BUCKLEY. In an exclusive four week run of the new show 'Broadway By Request' Ms. Buckley will perform selections picked by the audience from her illustrious Broadway career in landmark musicals such as Cats, Sunset Boulevard, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Song And Dance and more. This unique evening of music, which will be different every night, will offer rare video footage and occasional special guests. 'Broadway By Request' - featuring Seth Rudetsky and directed by Richard Jay-Alexander - runs from February 10 to March 7 at the Regency Hotel (540 Park Avenue at 61st Street).

Betty Buckley's 'Broadway By Request' opens tomorrow night for a four-week run at Feinstein's at Loew's Regency, but 3 pairs of lucky BroadwayWorld.com-ers have a chance to attend tonight's invite-only exclusive dress rehearsal.

Friends In Deed will present a legendary trio as Charles Busch, Whoopi Goldberg and Lypsinka star in the first-ever New York presentation of the infamous Broadway-play-that-wasn't, LEGENDS!. Written by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner James Kirkwood (A Chorus Line), the play will be presented in a special One Night Only staged reading benefit on Monday evening, March 23 at 8PM at Town Hall (123 West 43rd Street).

Legendary designers WILLIAM IVEY LONG and BOB CROWLEY are among the four recipients of the 2009 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards. Five-time Tony Award winning costume designer William Ivey Long will receive the 2009 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for theatrical costume design, and, for his achievements as both a costume and scenic designer, Bob Crowley (also a five-time Tony Award winner) will receive the TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards' special Robert L. B. Tobin Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatrical Design at a ceremony on Friday, March 27, at the Hudson Theatre in New York City.

An all-star cast of Ana Gasteyer (Wicked, 'Saturday Night Live'), Carolee Carmello (Mamma, Mia!, Parade), Tony? Award-winner Adriane Lenox (Doubt, Caroline, Or Change), Brad Oscar (The Producers, Jekyll & Hyde), Alton Fitzgerald White (The Lion King, Ragtime), John Dossett (The Constant Wife, Gypsy), Sam Harris (The Producers, The Life) and Sara Chase (Godspell at Paper Mill Playhouse) will star in a reading of the eagerly anticipated Broadway-bound musical FIRST WIVES CLUB this Monday, February 2 in New York City. FIRST WIVES CLUB will have its premiere at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego July 15 through August 23, 2009. The cast for the fully staged production will be announced soon. FIRST WIVES CLUB marks the once-in-a-lifetime reunion of the famous Motown songwriting trio Holland-Dozier-Holland (Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland), who created such monumental hits as 'Where Did Our Love Go?,' 'Baby Love' and 'Stop! In The Name of Love' for The Supremes and 'How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved By You)' for Marvin Gaye. These chart-topping legends, who had more airplay than the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Elvis combined, have reunited for this one production.