Cady Huffman News

Katie Finneran, the two-time Tony Award-winning Broadway and TV star, makes her nightclub debut at 54 Below from May 28 to 31 with the show It Might Be You - A Funny Lady's Search for Home. Endearing, brilliantly funny and always entertaining, she gives us a peek into the life of a performer juggling Hollywood, Broadway and starting a family. Singing an eclectic array of songs and sharing extraordinary backstage stories, Katie takes us on a comical and poignant pilgrimage to her greatest destination yet: home. Expect to hear songs ranging from Stephen Sondheimto Ingrid Michaelson, with homages to Betty Hutton and Julie Andrews in between. The evening will be directed by Katie's longtime pal, Broadway's Andrea Burns (The Nance, In the Heights) and will feature musical direction bySteve Marzullo.

For people, like me, who sit in front of a computer for a living, or have long commutes each day, podcasts are an entertaining and educational way to pass the time. Last month I introduced you to the 20 Top Podcasts for theatre fans, and chief among them was the Theater People Podcast, hosted by Patrick Hinds. Recently, I spoke to Patrick about the his incredible Broadway friends, his research process, and why Laura Osnes made him sick to his stomach.

These Boots Were Made for Rockin', two concerts organized by Mark Fisher Fitness and featuring Kinky cast members, took place on Monday at 54 Below, to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS in support of Broadway Bares: Rock Hard. BroadwayWorld wa sthere for the special concert and you can check out photos below!

Tony Award winner Cady Huffman and Kate Shindle are set to head the cast of the world premiere of REVOLUTION IN THE ELBOW OF RAGNAR AGNARSSON FURNITURE PAINTER, a new musical with book, music & lyrics by Ívar Pall Jonsson, based on a story by Ívar and Gunnlaugur Jonsson. Performances will begin July 28th, with the official Opening Night on Wednesday, August 13th at the Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane (just a few steps from Sixth Ave., one block south of W. 3rd St.)

Today we continue the 2014 edition of our annual BroadwayWorld feature series spotlighting the very best Tony Awards-related moments of all time with a special focus on the musical to win more Tony Awards in a single night than any other, THE PRODUCERS.

Tony Award winners Kathleen Marshall and Dick Latessa bring together Broadway stars to help raise funds for Creative Alternatives of New York (CANY), which uses drama therapy to empower children and adults who have endured trauma to rebuild their lives.

The youngest female Tony winner ever came to 54 Below with her new one-woman show about pregnancy, motherhood and all the changes a new baby can bring.

Music Conservatory of Westchester, a not-for-profit music school in White Plains, NY, will honor Tony winner Barbara Cook and conductor John Mauceri on Monday, June 23 with lifetime achievement awards and a cavalcade of Broadway talent who will pay tribute to the honorees and the Broadway stage. Tony Award winners Cady Huffman and Alice Ripley, Tony nominee Laura Osnes, and Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera star Craig Schulman will perform while John Treacy Egan, a Broadway veteran who resides in Westchester, will emcee the event held at the Whippoorwill Club in Armonk.

If you are even a semi-regular reader of this column of reviews, you know that about every three or four months, I post a compilation of observations of shows from the previous quarter of the year. This cabaret critiquing mash up happens for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I admittedly see too many cabaret shows for the amount of time I have to promptly review them (and then, of course, the usual writer's procrastination sets in). So I have to prioritize the timeliness of the reviews based on the prestige of the performer, the length of a show run, the strength (or lack thereof) of the performance, etc. The quality of the shows in these compilations—which can range from a half dozen to a dozen reviews in one shot—are usually a mixed bag of outright raves, qualified positives, and constructive pans (I'm not a fan of the word “negative” in the reviewer lexicon). With that in mind here are a collection of cabaret show reviews going back to the start of a very harsh winter.

Nathan Lane's Tony-winning performance in last season's THE NANCE will air on PBS next year as part of the Live From Lincoln Center series 40th season.

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, the performance venue located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond:

Most actors can only dream of having the career Julie White has had. A Tony-winner for 2006's THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED, White spent five years on TV's GRACE UNDER FIRE, starred in the mega-hit TRANSFORMERS franchise and the Academy Award winning LINCOLN, and on TV with FRIEND's Matthew Perry and fellow Tony-winner Laura Benanti in GO ON. White can now be seen on Showtime's NURSE JACKIE, where she plays Tony-nominee Edie Falco's AA sponsor. I spoke to her the Friday before Easter as she was preparing to head up to her fixer-upper outside the city to prune roses and pile up leaves with her good friend Tony-winner Cady Huffman.

The Velocity of Autumn is a 90-minute powder keg dark comedy by Eric Coble that stars Academy Award winner Estelle Parsons (Bonnie and Clyde, 'Roseanne') and two-time Tony Award winnerStephen Spinella (Angels in America, Lincoln, '24'), is directed by Molly Smith and opened last night, April 21, 2014 at the Booth Theatre. BroadwayWorld was there for opening night and below you can check out photos from the star-studded red carpet arrivals!

Is network news appointment television for you? I didn't think so. Are you constantly angered that ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT only talks about theatre when a Hollywood star joins a cast or someone falls 30 feet to the stage floor? Me too. Well, I have an alternative that just might satisfy your news and theatre cravings; podcasting. Isn't that just what hipsters do between their shift at Starbucks and another trip to the thrift shop? Well, yes and no. I'm sure there is a barista in Portland who is currently recording a missive bemoaning mass media's attempt to co-opt the indie subculture, but most people who do podcasts well are incredibly informed and passionate about their specific topics.

Tony Award winners Kathleen Marshall and Dick Latessa bring together Broadway stars to help raise funds for Creative Alternatives of New York (CANY), which uses drama therapy to empower children and adults who have endured trauma to rebuild their lives.

With original stars Len Cariou, Penny Fuller & Lee Roy Reams, 54 Below reunited three of the original stars of this Strouse/Adams/Comden/Green smash musical Applause, in celebration of a most cherished score. The trio reminisced and re-lived adored songs such as The Best Night of My Life, Think How It's Gonna Be & One Hallowe'en along with the amazing supporting cast. Check out photos from the special event below!

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, the performance venue located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond:

Kander & Ebb's THE ACT, featuring Anna Chlumsky, Tony winners Randy Graff and Cady Huffman, and more, will play 54 Below in a concert version, continuing tonight April 4 (8 and 11 p.m.). The songs of the show-which originally played Broadway in 1977 with Liza Minnelli as the lead-take place in a nightclub, so it's only fitting this one-night-only event will take place in the swankiest nightclub in town!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: A RAISIN IN THE SUN, starring Denzel Washington, opens tonight on Broadway, and GUYS AND DOLLS plays in concert with an all-star cast at Carnegie Hall!

Kander & Ebb's THE ACT, featuring Anna Chlumsky, Tony winners Randy Graff and Cady Huffman, and more, will play 54 Below in a concert version tonight, April 3 (7 and 9:30 p.m.) and April 4 (8 and 11 p.m.).