Betty Comden News

Tony-nominated LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT are thrilled to announce its 41st season of shows.

Deborah's passion not only extends into the literary world, where she wrote Sing Out Louise: 150 Stars of the Musical Theatre Remember 50 Years of Broadway, The Night and the Music: Rosemary Clooney, Barbara Cook and Julie Wilson Inside the World of Cabaret, and On the Sunny Side of the Street: The Life and Lyrics of Dorothy Fields, she served for ten years as the Artistic Director of the 92nd Street Y's Lyrics and Lyricists Series and is now the Artistic Director of the Classic American Songbook Series at Feinstein's/54 Belo.

Lakewood Theatre Company will begin its 66th season with six productions on its Mainstage and three productions on its Side Door stage beginning July 6, 2018.  

The 'Greatest Movie Musical of All Time' is faithfully and lovingly adapted by Broadway legends, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, from their original award-winning screenplay in Singin' in the Rain.

There's really nothing better than a musical theater-inspired epiphany: On opening night of Belmont University Musical Theatre's altogether invigorating and exhilarating On The Town (which plays Belmont's Troutt Theatre through this Sunday, March 25) I was struck by the similarities - both structurally and musically - to the Gershwin masterpiece An American in Paris.

Ono this episode, The Band's Visit's actors Tony Shalhoub, Katrina Lenk and John Cariani discuss working on the powerful musical hit with co-hosts Jesse Green and Elisabeth Vincentelli of The New York Times and series producer Susan Haskins.

Who has never dreamed of imprisoning time, being eternally a child? The desires of Peter Pan populate the collective unconscious and follow as one of the great longings of humanity. No wonder, the fable of the boy who refused to grow up, created by J. M. Berrie, is more and more current. This classic became a reference in literature, in the cinema and also in the theater. The Broadway version of 'Peter Pan' will finally win a Brazilian staging, with Mateus Ribeiro in the title role and Daniel Boaventura as Captain Hook. The show directed by Jose Possi Neto and choreographed by Alonso Barros, premiered on March 8, at Teatro Alfa, in a production of Touche Entertainment and coproduction of Daniel Boaventura.

PERRY LAYLON OJEDA , after a hit run at Palm Springs' Coachella Valley Rep and a string of high profile cruise ship performances, returns to Upstairs at Vitello's singing The Songs of Betty Comden and Adolph Green, the legendary and longest running creative partnership in American Theatre History.

Deborah Grace Winer brings three new jewel box revues celebrating the Classic American Songbook to Feinstein's/54 Below this spring. The series kicks off on March 27th with 'You Took Advantage of Me: Rodgers and Hart on Love' starring Grammy-winner Debby Boone, OBIE-winner Darius De Haas and Tony-nominee Christiane Noll, backed up by a swinging all-star band headed by Musical Director John Oddo.

'One of the few great musical comedies of the last thirty years.' - Howard Taubman' 'What a show! What a hit! What a solid hit!' - Walter Kerr' 'The best musical of the century.' - John Chapman'

Goodspeed Musicals kicks off its 2018 season with the Broadway hit The Will Rogers Follies, A Life In Revue. The exuberant dance-filled musical will be running April 13 - June 21 at The Goodspeed in East Haddam, Conn.

As magical as the evening was, after Freddie Gershon gave an impassioned presentation to the duo, Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones hit the stage and brought the house down at ages 88 and 89 respectively. They joined forces onstage to perform a song from their musical The Bone Room, described by Jones as being about 'the pleasures of dying and being embalmed in this great country of ours.' Below, watch as they perform together for the last time. BWW feels privileged to share with you a bit of highlights of these two legends together before a rapt and ecstatic audience who precded to shower them with a (well deserved) standing ovation... RIP Harvey Schmidt. 

 'You know this is the first time I ever heard of NOT sleeping with the author to get the part,' cracked a profoundly p.o.-ed Phyllis Newman at the fourth of five auditions she had to endure in order to land a big, star-making role on Broadway.

Are subways really for sleeping? The York Theatre Company presents the 1961 Broadway musical Subways Are for Sleeping with music byJule Styne and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, suggested by the book by Edmund G. Love, the final show in the Winter 2018 Musicals in Mufti Series celebrating the work of the legendary composer Jule Styne. Directed by Stuart Ross, and with music direction by David Hancock Turner, the cast features Karl Josef Co, David Engel, Beth Glover, David Josefsberg, Alyse Alan Louis, Kathryn McCreary, Gerry McIntyre, Gina Milo, Eric William Morris, and Kilty Reidy.

Are subways really for sleeping? The York Theatre Company presents the 1961 Broadway musical Subways Are for Sleeping with music by Jule Styne and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, suggested by the book by Edmund G. Love, the final show in the Winter 2018 Musicals in Mufti Series celebrating the work of the legendary composer Jule Styne. Directed by Stuart Ross, and with music direction by David Hancock Turner, the cast features Karl Josef Co, David Engel, Beth Glover, David Josefsberg, Alyse Alan Louis, Kathryn McCreary, Gerry McIntyre, Gina Milo, Eric William Morris, and Kilty Reidy.

Are subways really for sleeping? The York Theatre Company presents the 1961 Broadway musical Subways Are for Sleeping with music byJule Styne and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, suggested by the book by Edmund G. Love, the final show in the Winter 2018 Musicals in Mufti Series celebrating the work of the legendary composer Jule Styne. Directed by Stuart Ross, and with music direction by David Hancock Turner, the cast features Karl Josef Co, David Engel, Beth Glover, David Josefsberg, Alyse Alan Louis, Kathryn McCreary, Gerry McIntyre, Gina Milo, Eric William Morris, and Kilty Reidy.

Are subways really for sleeping? The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Evans Haile, Executive Director), dedicated to the development of new musicals and the preservation of musical gems from the past, has announced the cast of the 1961 Broadway musical Subways Are for Sleeping with music by Jule Styne and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, the final show in the Winter 2018 Musicals in Mufti Series celebrating the work of the legendary composer Jule Styne. Performances are set to begin Saturday afternoon, February 24, 2018 for 11 performances only through Sunday, March 4, 2018 at the York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). Opening Night is Sunday evening, February 25, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.

Porchlight Music Theatre announced that Lorenzo Rush Jr has replaced James Earl Jones II in Porchlight Revisits They're Playing Our Song, music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager and book by Neil Simon, with direction and choreography by Christopher Carter and musical direction by Andra Velis Simon. Porchlight Revisits They're Playing our Song is presented for three-nights-only Tuesday, March 6 through Thursday, March 8 at 7:15 p.m. and is performed on the set of Porchlight's Merrily We Roll Along (previews begin January 26) at Porchlight's new home, The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. Tickets for They're Playing Our Song are $35. All tickets include access to the popular pre-performance event, Behind the Show Backstory, a multimedia presentation, created and hosted by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director Michael Weber that discusses the evening's production including the show's creative history, juicy backstage gossip and the state of the art on Broadway that season. Single tickets to They're Playing Our Song and subscriptions for the entire series are available at porchlightmusictheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office at 773.777.9884.

Mazel Tov! The Jule Styne Celebration Continues! The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Evans Haile, Executive Director), dedicated to the development of new musicals and the preservation of musical gems from the past, presents the rarely-seen musical Bar Mitzvah Boy, with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Tony and Oscar winner Don Black (Sunset Boulevard), and book by Jack Rosenthal (Yentl), as adapted by David Thompson (The Scottsboro Boys), the second of three shows in the Winter 2018 Musicals in Mufti Series celebrating the work of composer Jule Styne. Performances began February 10, 2018 for 11 performances only through Sunday, February 18, 2018 at the York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). Opening Night was Sunday evening, February 11, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. Check out photos from the night below!

Mazel Tov! The Jule Styne Celebration Continues! The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Evans Haile, Executive Director), dedicated to the development of new musicals and the preservation of musical gems from the past, presents the rarely-seen musical Bar Mitzvah Boy, with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Tony and Oscar winner Don Black (Sunset Boulevard), and book by Jack Rosenthal (Yentl), as adapted by David Thompson (The Scottsboro Boys), the second of three shows in the Winter 2018 Musicals in Mufti Series celebrating the work of composer Jule Styne. Performances begin TOMORROW, Saturday afternoon, February 10, 2018 for 11 performances only through Sunday, February 18, 2018 at the York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). Opening Night is Sunday evening, February 11, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.