Billy Rose News

Few people have helped to define the American musical today more than Harold 'Hal' Prince. His resume includes some of the most important titles of the past century: West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Company, Sweeney Todd, and Phantom of the Opera. Prince's impact on Broadway stemmed from his reinvention of musical theatre from the script- and score-based model to a more visual, almost cinematic art form in which the director is auteur. But it also stemmed from his appreciation for collaboration and his trusted collaborators--talented friends and colleagues who could help achieve his singular vision for a production.

The Theatre on Film and Tape Archive (TOFT), The Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and the NYPL community have announced the passing of Betty L. Corwin, who died Tuesday, September 10, at the age of 98 at her home in Weston, Connecticut surrounded by loved ones. The Founder and Director (from 1969 - 2000) of the Library's groundbreaking Theatre on Film and Tape Archive, Betty created one of the most important and vital resources in the worldwide theatre community.

The Washington-based IN Series, an intrepid company positioning itself at the center of changing the nature of opera, is returning to the Baltimore Theatre Project as part of a collaborative effort between the two organizations to regenerate indy-opera in Baltimore. Having brought the final production of their 2018-2019 season, THE TALE OF SERSE, to BTP this past June, the company now mounts a truly major statement: BUTTERFLY, a new version of Puccini's classic and beloved Madama Butterfly that strips the work of its layers of exoticism and artifice, wrestling with its troubling issues of racism and misogyny, to arrive at an intimate theater experience that reveals the raw emotional power held within this unforgettable score. The company will bring two performances of this production to Baltimore Theatre Project September 28th and 29th.

In The Company of Harold Prince opens September 18, 2019 in the Library's Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery.

UnsungMusicalsCo. (Ben West, Artistic Director) has announced, today, its Fall 2019 Calendar of Events scheduled at various mid-Atlantic locations. First up is the new documentary musical 45 Minutes from Coontown, which traces the history of black musical theatre and is the second installment in The Show Time! Trilogy; the season continues with Sex, Satire, and Song, an exhibit curated for Yale University; Diversity and the Birth of Broadway, a two-part lecture series for the Library of Congress; and concludes with the new musical revue *The Passing Show of 2019. UMC's 2019 season launched in March with the UMC Writers Lab*.

What makes a Broadway theatre? Technically any venue with 500 seats or more, located along Broadway in New York City's Theatre District is a Broadway theatre, and the art that is produced in these special places is widely considered the highest form of theatrical entertainment in the world. Today, forty-one theatres are technically Broadway houses, each with their own rich history. Below, we're giving you the scoop on the life of every one of them!

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center will join Uta Hagen at 100, HB Studio's season-long celebration of the centennial of the legendary actress, activist, and HB Studio master teacher, with a look into her life and legacy.   The Library's Billy Rose Theatre Division houses three major collections related to Uta Hagen: The Uta Hagen/Herbert Berghof Papers; The HB Studio Records; and The HB Playwrights Foundation Records.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW presents SHARON McNIGHT in 'RED HOT MAMA', The Sophie Tucker Songbook, for ONE NIGHT ONLY on Thursday, April 18 at 7:00 pm.  RED HOT MAMA is the story of the first lady of show business, the last of the Red Hot Mamas, Sophie Tucker, whose remarkable career spanned sixty years.  It contains the music and history of burlesque, vaudeville, Broadway and Los Vegas in a critically acclaimed one-woman musical biography of the entertainment legend.  The show takes place in the Latin Quarter, New York's premiere supper club of the 40's and 50's owned by Lou Walters, Barbara Walter's father.

It's become second-nature for many in the dance world to refer to Jerome Robbins as a second rate choreographer these days. Or should I say even 40 years ago?

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center announced today plans for a major exhibition examining the work of Hal Prince opening in the fall of 2019. The as-yet-untitled exhibition will document Prince's illustrious career from his early days serving as stage manager and understudy in Wonderful Town to his most recent collaborations using documents, objects, and recordings from the Library's unparalleled collections.

By popular demand, The Laurie Beechman Theatre is proud to present award-winning vocalist Josephine Sanges in a special return for one night only, Josephine Sanges - Come Rain or Come Shine, - Thursday, February 28, 2019...

Love Broadway? In need of a good book? Well you're in luck, because BroadwayWorld has teamed up with the New York Public Library to bring you Broadway Bookshelf- an expert opinion on what theatre fans can and should add to their personal libraries.

BroadwayWorld.com continues our exclusive content series, in collaboration with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, which delves into the library's unparalleled archives, and resources. Below, check out a piece by Doug Reside, Lewis and Dorothy Cullman Curator for the Billy Rose Theatre Division at the The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts!

Red Bull Theater today announced the cast for the next REVELATION READING, the New York Premiere of The Shadow of a Doubt by Edith Wharton, directed by Eleanor Holdridge: Emily Brown, Michael Cerveris, Kimberly Chatterjee, Samantha Blaire Cutler, Sanjit De Silva, Adam Harrington, Kathryn Meisle, Amanda Quaid and Brian Wile.  This will take place on Monday January 28th at 7:30 PM at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, between Bleecker and Hudson Streets).

BroadwayWorld is sad to report that iconic dancer and performer Sono Osato has passed away. She was 99. 

The Australian theater and concert star Trevor Ashley will make his long-awaited New York debut with Liza's Back! (Is Broken) - following smash seasons in London, and across Australia, including a sell-out run at the Sydney Opera House - at Sony Hall on Monday, February 4, 2019.

PS CLASSICS, the label that celebrates the heritage of Broadway and American popular song, has released its groundbreaking new recording Philip Chaffin: Will He Like Me? today, Friday, November 9. The album is featured in The New York Times "2018 Holiday Gift Guide," which raves, "From 'When I Marry Mr. Snow' to 'I Got Lost in His Arms,' Chaffin tells a familiar story that has never sounded so new." 

PS CLASSICS will release the groundbreaking new recording Philip Chaffin: Will He Like Me? online and in stores November 9, 2018.

Leonard Bernstein: The Power of Music closed on Sunday, September 2, at the National Museum of American Jewish History. The first large-scale exhibition to document Bernstein's life, work, Jewish identity, and social activism, containing approximately 100 historic artifacts, will begin its national tour at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA, opening October 4 and on view through November 18, 2018.

UnsungMusicals Co. announced today its plans for the 2018 season.