Cole Porter News

'We are not here to tell the life story of Cole Porter,' Mark Nadler advised the Town Hall audience last Monday night. 'There are two excessively mediocre films for that. Indeed, if there was any educational value A Swell Party: RSVP Cole Porter, Nadler and K.T. Sullivan's return engagement of their dynamite Algonquin Oak Room tribute playing a one-nighter on what would be the golden child of Peru, Indiana's 117th birthday, it was in how to find unexpected shadings in songs we've known and loved forever.

Cole Porter's effervescent music and lyrics fizzle rather than sizzle at Zero Arrow Club Cabaret in Cambridge

NATALIE DOUGLAS, presents the return of her new show, 'CAFE SOCIETY,' to the Birdland Jazz Club, following Lucie Arnaz for four shows on Wednesday, July 16 and Thursday, July 17 at 9:00 and 11:00 p.m.

Jim Caruso's Cast Party are proud to announce celebrated and honored songwriting and performing team of Marcy Heisler (bookwriter/lyricist) and Zina Goldrich (composer), in The Marcy & Zina Show, Monday, July 28, 2008 at 7:00pm, as part of the long-running, Nightlife Award-winning concert series Broadway at Birdland.

On Monday, August 4th, at 8:00pm the New Globe Theater will be presenting VARIATIONS ON SHAKESPEARE: An Evening of Songs Inspired by the Bard. This benefit concert will highlight songs from musicals based on the works of William Shakespeare with performances by some of Broadway's hottest stars

Daniel Evans who recently starred in the Broadway production of Sunday In The Park With George, will be re-uniting with Oliver Award Winner Maria Friedman in Swell Party. Swell Party is a concert celebrating the life of musician Cole Porter at London's Cadogan Hall. The concert will run for four nights only, August 6th-9th 2008.

BroadwayWorld.com is giving away a pair of free Orchestra tickets to the Encores! production of Damn Yankees on Saturday July 12th at 8PM.

Legendary Composer talks about his career, his work and his upcoming book.

On Tuesday June 24th, BroadwayWorld.com cameras got the opportunity to visit the rehearsal of Encores! presentation of Damn Yankees, one of this summer's most highly anticipated production.

De-Lovely words and music of one of America's greatest composers are celebrated in an entertaining if somewhat meandering musical revue at the Westport Country Playhouse

Sean Hayes, Jane Krakowski, Cheyenne Jackson, and Randy Graff star in Damn Yankees, running July 5 - 27, 2008 at New York City Center (55th Street between 6th & 7th Avenues).

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.

Ars Nova presents, as part of the Out Loud series, a FREE reading of: GOOD EGG by Dorothy Fortenberry, directed by Jackson Gay. GOOD EGG Responsible Meg has always taken care of her bipolar younger brother Matt. But when she decides to get pregnant-and have her embryos screened for bipolar disorder-is she taking the idea of 'being responsible' too far? A funny and surprising play about bioethics, siblings, and the limits of unconditional love. Dorothy Fortenberry recently graduated from the Yale School of Drama with an MFA in Playwriting. Yale School of Drama: Good Egg (directed by Snehal Desai), Bibles and Candy (directed by Mike Donahue), After the Flood (directed by Shana Cooper). Yale Cabaret: Bicycling for Ladies (music by Colin Wambsgans, directed by Becca Wolff), We're Celebrities, We're Just Not Famous Yet (directed by Becca Wolff) and the solo piece Paint Show. Her work has been developed at Arena Stage, Perishable Theatre, Studio 42, and The Tank, and produced by Journeyman Productions and Vital Theatre Company. She is the winner of the ASCAP Cole Porter Prize in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama and the Jane Chambers Student Playwriting Award. Jackson Gay's recent directing credits include Carly Mensch's Len, Asleep in Vinyl (Second Stage Uptown); Lucy Thurber's Scarcity, Kia Corthron's Master Disaster, Rolin Jones' The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow (Atlantic Theater Company); Works & Process with Jennifer Tipton (Guggenheim Museum); Thurber's Stay (Rattlestick); f**k You, Eu.ro.Pa! (Play Company); David Adjmi's Marie Antoinette (Sundance Institute Theatre Lab/Public Theater); Best Production Connecticut Critic's Award Jenny Chow (Yale Rep) . UPCOMING: Jason Grote's Box Americana (Eugene O'Neill Playwright's Conference); Workshop of Saviana Stanescu's For a Barbarian Woman (Long Wharf / International Festival of Arts & Ideas); Andy Bragen's Mother Earth (Minneapolis' PlayLabs); Made In Poland, by Przemys Taw Wojcieszek. (Play Company); A Year With Frog and Toad (Two River Theater); End Days, by Deborah Zoe Laufer (People's Light and Theater Company). Founder of the film production company YARN, whose upcoming projects include Sugar Land, by Lucy Thurber. Recipient of the Jonathan Alper Directing Fellowship at Manhattan Theatre Club, the Williamstown Theater Festival Directing Fellowship and the Drama League's New Directors/New Works Fellowship. MFA Directing Yale School of Drama. Since 2002, OUT LOUD has attracted a variety of the industry's top artists, including writers Stephen Belber, Jorge Cortinas, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Rinne Groff, Jordan Harrison, Rolin Jones, Adam Rapp, Sarah Ruhl and Christopher Shinn; directors Peter Askin, Jo Bonney, Trip Cullman, David Esbjornson, Moises Kaufman, James Lapine, Lisa Peterson and Leigh Silverman; and actors Jason Biggs, Robert Sean Leonard, Marsha Mason, Denis O'Hare, Rosie Perez, Paul Rudd, Mercedes Reuhl, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Swoosie Kurtz, David Strathairn and Fred Weller. Many OUT LOUD plays have gone on to receive full New York productions, including: Liz Flahive's From Up Here, Adam Bock's Swimming In The Shallows, Rinne Groff's The Ruby Sunrise, Daniel Goldfarb's Modern Orthodox, Elizabeth Meriwether's The Mistakes Madeline Made and Beau Willimon's Lower Ninth. Two Out Loud plays have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize: Rolin Jones' The Intelligent Design Of Jenny Chow and Sarah Ruhl's The Clean House. Ticket & Schedule Information GOOD EGG will be read on Monday, June 23 at 7 PM. The Out Loud Series is FREE and open to the public. Reservations are required. Please call 212-977-1700 or email rsvp@arsnovanyc.com. Ars Nova is located at 511 West 54th Street. For more information, check out www.arsnovanyc.com. As New York's premiere hub for emerging artists and new work, Ars Nova is committed to developing and producing eclectic theatre, comedy and music to feed today's popular culture. To that end, Ars Nova strives to create daring collaborations, meld disciplines and give voice to a new generation of artists. Past productions include Boom, Dixie's Tupperware Party, At Least It's Pink, 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother, Holy Cross Sucks!, Freestyle Love Supreme and The Wau Wau Sisters. In addition to its featured productions, Ars Nova supports and develops new work from the most promising emerging artists through its alternative comedy series (Tragedy Tomorrow), music series (Uncharted), public play-reading series (Out Loud), writer's group (Play Group) and artist-in-residence program. Ars Nova was founded in memory of Gabe Wiener. For more information, visit www.arsnovanyc.com.

Megan Lawrence will join Sean Hayes, Jane Krakowski, Cheyenne Jackson, and Randy Graff in Damn Yankees, running July 5 - 27, 2008 at New York City Center (55th Street between 6th & 7th Avenues). Lawrence replaces Ana Gasteyer; Ms. Gasteyer has suffered a minor injury.

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS, a division of Sh-K-Boom Records, is proud to announce the release of the new CD from KLEA BLACKHURST and BILLY STRITCH - Dreaming Of A Song: The Music of Hoagy Carmichael. Blackhurst took New York by storm with her acclaimed tribute to Ethel Merman, Everything the Traffic Will Allow; Stritch is an award-winning composer, arranger, vocalist and jazz pianist. Their first artistic collaboration mines the catalogue of one of America's most treasured songwriters, who wrote such standards as 'Skylark,' 'Georgia On My Mind' and 'Star Dust.' The recording is produced by Grammy Award winner Joel Moss and will be available in stores and online June 17, 2008. Klea and Billy will celebrate the CD with a special concert at Birdland Jazz Club (315 West 44th Street) at 7:00 PM on Monday, June 16. Please call (212) 581-3080 for reservations.

Mature theater-goers proudly recall seeing musical comedy greats perform. It's easy to remember seeing Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, Alfred Drake or Joel Grey because these stars contributed exemplary work in leading roles. However, a book could be written about actors who create vivid impressions in our minds while playing supporting roles in memorable shows. There is no greater example of such an actor than Mary Louise Wilson.

Sheera Ben-David will return to the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel with an exclusive engagement from June 17 - 28.

HOT 'N COLE at Westport County Playhouse directed by James Naughton playing through June 28th