Last month, I had the opportunity to talk to playwright, Phillip Dawkins, about his latest play, THE GENTLEMAN CALLER. We chatted about the men who are about to start previews in the New York premiere of the play, Juan Francisco Villa and Daniel K. Isaac. I was very specific that I wanted to chat with them. Sometimes, you get exactly what you ask. Both Juan and Daniel braved spending time with me, and we had a fantastic chat about the show, their careers, and being non-traditionally cast in the roles of Tennessee Williams and William Inge, respectively.
Encores! will present Me and My Girl as the final production of the Encores! at 25 season at New York City Center. Watch below as Laura Michelle Kelly rehearses 'Once You Lose Your Heart'!
Encores! will present Me and My Girl as the final production of the Encores! at 25 season at New York City Center. Get a preview below in rehearsal with stars Christian Borle and Laura Michelle Kelly!
Encores! will present Me and My Girl as the final production of the Encores! at 25 season at New York City Center. Me and My Girl, the first Encores! production originally written and produced in London's West End, will star Christian Borle, Bill Buell, Chuck Cooper, Suzzanne Douglas, Mark Evans, Harriet Harris, JohnHorton, Simon Jones, Laura Michelle Kelly, Lisa O'Hare, Don Stephenson. Check out the cast in action and get to know the stars in front of and behind the scenes below!
Darius De Haas, described by The New York Times as "electrically thrilling," by Variety as "a performer who can reveal the sorrows, pains and joys of the composer's richly layered repertoire with an intensity and honesty that easily envelops and mesmerizes the listener," and by the Jazz Times as "blessed with a gorgeous voice and a keen theatrical sophistication," brings his brand new concert and vocal magic to Feinstein's/54 Below, April 26th and 27th.
MTC's powerful new production of Saint Joan, opened on Broadway last night, April 25, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Check out photos below of all of the stars arriving at opening night!
I am so fortunate that I live, work, and cover theater in a town like New York. It never fails to surprise me at how much talent is brimming over in New York. When I meet young actresses like Stephanie Courtney aka Sayonne, I am very excited to talk to them, because they are really embarking on a wonderful journey, especially when they are as grounded as this young diva to be. Many times, I feel like the proud and fun fairy godfather to so many of these performers.
Ghostlight Records has announced that PRINCE OF BROADWAY Original Broadway Cast Recording is available in physical, digital and streaming formats today, Friday, April 20. The 16-page CD booklet includes color production photography and liner notes by Hal Prince and David Thompson.
Among the Broadway names of the past several decades, producer and director Hal Prince surely stands as one of the greatest. His name has been attached to some of the most iconic musicals of all time: She Loves Me, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Company, Evita, Sweeney Todd, and The Phantom of the Opera, just to name a few. The musical Prince of Broadway featured an all-star cast taking audiences on a journey through some of the highlights of Prince's career, and the cast album is a best-of-the-best compilation, preserving some of the brightest performances and clever takes on these well-loved songs.
Initial casting has just been announced for the Broadway premiere of Choir Boy, by Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight, The Brother/Sister Plays) and directed by Drama Desk Award nominee Trip Cullman (Lobby Hero, Significant Other, Murder Ballad).
Any actor worth their salt will tell you that every great play begins with the words on the page. Because of the worlds that playwrights (and Librettists) create, many people, even more than actors, have jobs inside and outside of the theater. So any chance to talk to a young playwright as delightful and talented as Chicago-based playwright, Philip Dawkins, I will take. His current opus, The Gentleman Caller is currently in rehearsals to make its New York debut at Cherry Lane Theater, as it coincides with its simultaneous World Premiere production, still running at Chicago's The Raven Theater, through May 27, 2018.
The Friars archives and Wikipedia have finally been corrected. Nineteen Eighty Eight was a watershed year for women. They gained membership to numerous private men's clubs that heretofore were off limits to women. The Friars, being one of the more famous of the bunch had an article heralding the event written by a less than factual reporter for The New York Times. The paper of record, in an early forerunner of fake news only listed the first 7 women and overlooked number 8...Jamie deRoy who was in that initial group, along with Liza Minnelli, Joan Rivers, Brooke Shields, and other prominent female entertainment figures was not mentioned.
Ghostlight Records has announced that PRINCE OF BROADWAY Original Broadway Cast Recording is now available for digital pre-order. The album will be available in physical, digital and streaming formats on Friday, April 20.
It was one of the season's most exciting Off Broadway Opening Night's at The Cherry Lane Theatre last night as Primary Stages in association with Jamie deRoy and Hartford Stage presented writer and performer Sharon Washington in Feeding The Dragon.
FABULOUS NEWS, The Actors Fund will present a one-night benefit concert of When Pigs Fly, featuring the cast from the recently canceled production. I went to the major press event for the show and managed to secure some fab interview moments with the entire cast and some of the creatives.
A stellar cast of Broadway's finest performers will be on hand Wednesday, April 11, when The New York Friars Club honors show business tour de force Jamie deRoy at a celebration marking her 30th anniversary as one of the Club's first eight female members. The event, Jamie deRoy, 30 Years a Friar, will be at The Friars Club, 57 East 55th Street, starting at 6 PM for cocktails, 7 PM for dinner and 8:30 PM for the show.
David F. Slone has been blessed to spend much of his life attending and performing in fabulous shows. Nonetheless, he's particularly giddy to be able to celebrate his the culmination of his fifth decade on the planet by presenting this ridiculously eclectic evening of song, dance, magic, circus, comedy, and more!
I get so many great opportunities to chat with the legends, and under normal circumstances, I try to hold it together. Holding my Broadway fan boy energy at a safe distance, while maintaining a professional and coherent conversation with probing questions is something that I try to balance with every interview that I do. However, when you are in the room with 2x Tony Award Winning actress, singer, dancer, Chita Rivera, AND 2x Tony and Emmy Award Winning, dancer, actress, singer, Bebe Neuwirth, the balancing act is soooooooooo hard.
As we approach the middle of the season, and the new musicals and plays start previews in preparation for Tony Award considerations, Broadway Enthusiast and fellow Theater Ambassador, William Cortez-Statham, joins me to talk about the music that is available so far this season: SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, THE BAND'S VISIT, and ONCE ON THE ISLAND.
Since I began this podcast 2 years ago, The Kleban Prize has always been something that I love to cover, because it was the very first major event that I began my podcast experience as a theater journalist.
