Billy Rose News

That happy gentleman on the left is the legendary American playwright Robert Patrick, and what he has in his hands is a long-time dream of his; a plaque to commemorate the life of Joe Cino.  Fifty years ago Joe Cino opened the doors to his Caffe Cino, now regarded as the birthplace of both the Off-Off Broadway movement and the American Gay Theatre movement, to playwrights willing to mount productions on his tiny 8' x 8' stage.  Among those who walked in were Lanford Wilson, Tom Eyen, Doric Wilson, Sam Shepard, William Hoffman, John Guare, and, of course, Robert Patrick.  Cino didn't even read the scripts.  Most of the time he would ask the playwright his astrological sign and if he liked the answer an opening night was set.  Musical theatre fans know the Cino as the place where Bernadette Peters starred in the original one-act version of Dames At Sea. 

Focus on the 70s: The Fabulous Photography of Kenn Duncan is on display in the Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, from July 30, 2008 through October 25, 2008.

Focus on the 70s: The Fabulous Photography of Kenn Duncan is on display in the Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, from July 30, 2008 through October 25, 2008.

The Tony Awardâ-winning Manhattan Theatre Club (Peter J. Solomon, Chairman of the Board; Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer) today announced it will rename its Broadway house, the landmarked Biltmore Theatre, the 'Samuel J. Friedman Theatre' in recognition of the pioneering Broadway publicist.

Based on the turbulent and triumphant life of Danny Kaye, this intimate musical portrayal chronicles Kaye's career and his relationships on and off the stage…

Among the most celebrated choreographers of his time, Jerome Robbins belonged to New York. His work showcased the grit and the glory of the city through populist masterpieces such as West Side Story and On the Town, and moved fluidly between ballet and Broadway with technical artistry and vernacular energy. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts presents the first major retrospective of the man and the city he loved: New York Story: Jerome Robbins and His World, which explores Robbins' work and the many overlapping New York worlds that met in it. The exhibition draws from the library's collections of Robbins' personal archives, and the vast majority of the materials on display have never been seen by the public.

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts delves into its renowned collections for Writing to Character: Songwriters & the Tony Awards, the first exhibition to explore the over 70 Broadway shows that have won Tonys for either Best Musical or Best Score.

To celebrate the recent donation and opening for public viewing of the Katharine Hepburn Papers at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the Library is presenting a new series of free public programs, Remembering Kate. The programs will include readings from the legendary actress' personal papers for the first time and reminiscences by family, friends, and colleagues including actors Zoe Caldwell, Katharine Houghton (Hepburn's niece), Charlotte Moore, Marian Seldes, and Sam Waterston; talk show host Dick Cavett; and director Anthony Harvey.

At a special ceremony in the historic El Portal Theater in North Hollywood on Tuesday January 29, nine legendary leading ladies of American motion pictures, television and Broadway productions donated objects from their award-winning careers to the National Museum of American History.

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation has awarded a two-year, $1 million grant to The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts to support the preservation of performing arts works and related oral histories through the audio and visual documentation of jazz, contemporary dance, and theater performances by artists or organizations

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center has acquired Hepburn's personal collection of thousands of pages of notes, journals, photographs, cast lists, scripts, contracts, fan letters and other documentation relating to her important but perhaps lesser-known theatrical career. This collection of Katharine Hepburn's personal papers is being made public for the first time.

Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy prepares to close season three with plenty of heat and lots of rhythm. The award-winning musical revue, Ain't Misbehavin', takes the Kennedy Theatre stage with a lively cast, crew and ensemble of musicians that is sure to share the infectious energy known as Harlem Renaissance era

Continuing its long standing partnership with ASCAP, MAC has announced the next MAC/ASCAP Songwriter's Showcase, Wednesday, June 6th at 6pm at the Laurie Beechman Theater, hosted by Jamie deRoy and featuring special guest, composer and lyricist Carol Hall with singer Laurel Masse and musical director Tex Arnold

It was announced earlier today that the much 'rumored about' European concert tour of the star became 'official.' Talk of this trans-Atlantic tour had been circulating ever since Streisand's enormously successful 2006 concert tour ended. The other rumor that's been buzzing, mostly among the Broadway community, and as far as L.A., was that four Broadway actor/singers would be going with her. We've spoken to them all...

Ghostlight Records will release six bonus tracks from Patti LuPone's CD 'The Lady with the Torch,' available beginning Tuesday, November 21 on iTunes and other digital media

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of its Billy Rose Theatre Division with Stars and Treasures: 75 Years of Collecting Theatre, a major exhibition showcasing rare and unique artifacts from the more than 9 million items in its collections

Charles Busch, Jim Dale, Melissa Errico, James Naughton and over a dozen others will pay tribute to Broadway bookwriter and lyricist Michael Stewart on November 20th

Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei, Elizabeth Marvel and Anne Parisse will be the Three Sisters who long for Moscow in a star-studded staged reading of Anton Chekhov's The Three Sisters, which will be presented at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' Bruno Walter Auditorium on May 22nd at 6 PM