Craig Carnelia News

Windy City Gay Chorus and Windy City Treble Quire will present two performances Legacies of Hope tonight, March 21, 2015 at 5pm and 8pm at St. James Episcopal Cathedral (65 E. Huron, Chicago, IL). Advance purchase tickets are available at http://www.windycitysings.org for $10-$30.

Sutton Foster displays the fine craft of musical theatre song performance.

Today in 2002, Sweet Smell of Success opened at the Martin Beck Theatre (now the Al Hirschfeld Theatre), where it ran for 109 performances. Created by Marvin Hamlisch (music), Craig Carnelia (lyrics), and John Guare (book), the show is based on the 1957 movie of the same name. It tells the story of a powerful newspaper columnist named J. J. Hunsecker (based on famed New York columnist Walter Winchell) who uses his connections to ruin his sister's relationship with a man he deems inappropriate. The show starred John Lithgow as J.J. Hunsecker, and Brian d'Arcy James as Sidney Falcone.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Ravinia's summer season announced, plus the 'Mormon' and 'Merman' rivalry/revelry. 'The Addams Family' and 'Mr. Burns' extend, 'That's Weird' goes musical, Annaleigh Ashford and 'Tyler's Songs' bow on March 21, and Joan Curto and 'Finishing The Birthday Hat' honor Sondheim's 85th birthday!

On Monday, May 4th, 2015, the American Cancer Society will present A Spring Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch featuring the music of 'Sweet Smell of Success' at the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City. Proceeds from the Gala and the performance will benefit the critical cancer research, education, advocacy and patient services supported by the American Cancer Society.

Today we are talking to one of the breakout stars of Season 3 of FOX's recent reality competition series THE X FACTOR and a stalwart Broadway regular in her own right, the passionate and versatile Rachel Potter. Espousing on her impressive new country-tinged album NOT SO BLACK & WHITE and explicating the impetus behind many of the standout tracks on the release, Potter opens up about her unique journey thus far in both her own life and her show business career - from her conservative Baptist upbringing to her early success headlining Disney theme park extravaganzas leading to a string of Broadway roles and eventually landing on THE X FACTOR, followed by her big move to Nashville and embarking on creating songs for a solo album that expresses exactly who she is, here and now. Additionally, Potter shares what audiences can expect from her upcoming live show at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC tonight as well as some special surprises she has in store for the performance. Plus, Potter reflects on some of her most memorable Disney shows and whether she would like to continue the tradition with FROZEN onstage while also recalling backstage stories from EVITA, WICKED and the LEGALLY BLONDE casting competition. All of that, her memorable GLEE audition, her desire to do FROZEN on Broadway and much more in this expansive conversation with a uniquely gifted Broadway crossover star worth watching.

Windy City Gay Chorus and Windy City Treble Quire will present two performances Legacies of Hope on Saturday, March 21, 2015 at 5pm and 8pm at St. James Episcopal Cathedral (65 E. Huron, Chicago, IL). Advance purchase tickets are available at http://www.windycitysings.org for $10-$30.

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Denis Lambert with Mary Michael Patterson, Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Amy Jo Jackson and more tonight, January 31, 2015.

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Denis Lambert with Mary Michael Patterson, Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Amy Jo Jackson and more on January 31, 2015.

Three-time MAC-Award nominated songwriter Patrick Dwyer returns to the Duplex with his critically-acclaimed one-man show THIRTYWHATEVER on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 at 7pm.

Catch rising cabaret star Marissa Mulder live in concert!

Friday's NSO Pops Evening with Sutton Foster brought a bounty of talent to the Kennedy Center's Concert Hall stage, and, wisely, paired it with a program that spanned styles, mediums, and musical genres. Some of the most appealing moments were brought to us care of the charming personalities of Sutton Foster, her guest performers Joshua Henry and Megan McGinnis, and the always entertaining NSO Pops conductor, Steven Reineke, who is a master at exuding personality even when facing away from the audience. It can be easy for the large scale of the Concert Hall to swallow up a performer, particularly when they must match the power of a symphony behind them. The truly impressive achievement of Ms. Foster, I think, is her success at making the audience feel as if they had joined her in an intimate cabaret setting for the show, in which she'd managed to fit an entire symphony.

Catch rising cabaret star Marissa Mulder live in concert!

The ?American Music Theatre Project (AMTP) at Northwestern University will present a 'by-invitation-only' workshop presentation of the new musical 'Scrooge In Love!' for Northwestern theatre faculty, students, staff and Chicago theatre industry members, on Sunday, Nov. 23.

WORKING is a vital new musical based on the book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Studs Terkel. Newly adapted by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin and Godspell) from the original adaptation by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, WORKING is the working man's A Chorus Line. A musical exploration of 26 people from all walks of life, with songs by all-star composers Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Rodgers, Susan Birkenhead, Stephen Schwartz and Grammy Award winner James Taylor.

Eric Michael Gillett brings 'Man About Town: The Wit and Wisdom of Noel Coward' to the Laurie Beechman Theatre (407 W. 42 Street, between 9th and 10th avenues), tonight, October 10 and October 11, 20, 27, and November 3, 2014.

As its opening song, and the Walt Whitman poem from which it was inspired, says, WORKING is all about the 'varied carols' of working Americans. For nearly four decades, this musical has been celebrating the high (and low) lights of the American workforce. Conceived and adapted by Stephen Schwartz (GODSPELL, WICKED) and Nina Faso, the show employs no fictional characters, instead, it draws from real-life individuals and the stories that they told legendary author and historian Studs Terkel for his book of the same name. The Rollins College production of the musical, running now through Saturday, October 4th at the Annie Russell Theatre is a joyful, if not over-stuffed, examination of this ultimately uplifting material.

Eric Michael Gillett brings 'Man About Town: The Wit and Wisdom of Noel Coward' to the Laurie Beechman Theatre (407 W. 42 Street, between 9th and 10th avenues), October 10, 11, 20, 27, and November 3, 2014.

Musical Theatre Guild, the winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in the theatre, will open their 2014-2015 season with the multiple Tony Award nominated musical SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS. The one-night-only concert will take place at the Moss Theatre at New Roads School in Santa Monica on Sunday, September 14, 2014 at 7:00 pm.

A great, big Broadway season is on its way, with fourteen productions already slated to open in the next few months. With weeks until the craziness begins, there is still plenty of time to catch up on what's been going on at Broadway's already occupied theaters . BroadwayWorld will be profiling the hits of the Great White Way that continue to draw crowds after months, years, and (in some cases) decades. Meet the current cast of Broadway's MAMMA MIA! below!