Michael Blakemore's stellar directing career encompasses everything from landmark productions at the National, where he was associate director, to West End and Broadway hits. He was the first director to win a Tony Award for both Best Director of a Play and a Musical in the same year (for Michael Frayn's Copenhagen and Kiss, Me Kate). Now, he's helming the long-awaited UK premiere of Cy Coleman musical The Life - a gritty exploration of 1980s New York's underbelly - which he first directed on Broadway in 1997. The show begins previews at Southwark Playhouse on 25 March.
Originally directed and choreographed by directing and dancing legend Bob Fosse, Sweet Charity at the Palm Canyon Theatre is focused on bringing that Fosse style to Palm Springs. Choreographer Stephanie Eley, a stage veteran, is sharing her expertise with dancers from various studios across the valley and many College of the Desert students. Eley was in the original Broadway cast of Dreamgirls and My One and Only, and performed in the national and international tours of A Chorus Line from 1977-1980. With dance number after dance number, this is sure to be a show not to be missed as PCT winds down its 20th Anniversary Season.
A rare collection of complete live recordings of classic American musical theater is now available at two major venues: Goodspeed Musicals' Scherer Library of Musical Theatre in East Haddam, Connecticut, and Cleveland Public Library in Cleveland, Ohio.
92Y's Lyrics & Lyricists series presented BABY, DREAM YOUR DREAM: Dorothy Fields AND THE WOMEN OF THE AMERICAN SONGBOOK, last night and BroadwayWorld was there. The show was hosted by Deborah Grace Winer (Artistic Director, Writer & Host), with John Oddo (Music Director) and Mark Waldrop (Stage Director). Marilyn Maye, Kenita Miller, Nancy Opel, Margo Seibert and Emily Skinner were on vocals.
???????Joan Copeland and Diane J. Findlay headline The Ziegfeld Society of New York City's Thou Swell! Thou Witty!: The Songs of Rodgers & Hart, written and hosted by Aaron Gandy with musical direction and special arrangements by Mark York, at Lang Concert Hall at Hunter College (69th between Park and Lexington) on Saturday afternoon, March 25th, at 2pm.
The New York Post took a look at the ladies leading Broadway from behind the scenes, among which was widow of Cy Coleman, who now holds rights to SWEET CHARITY. When interviewed, Coleman was quoted referencing a Broadway transfer of The New Group's production, starring Sutton Foster, in the works for next season. She says they're 'going to have a lot more brass.'
Berkshire Theatre Group announces the final production of its upcoming 2017 Summer Season will be Mark Medoff's Tony, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Award-winning play, Children of a Lesser God, which will begin performances on Thursday, June 22 at The Fitzpatrick Main Stage. Opening night is set for Saturday, June 24 at 8pm.
Lyrics & Lyricists celebrates Women's History Month with a multi-generational cast of divas - Marilyn Maye, Kenita Miller, Nancy Opel, Margo Seibert and Emily Skinner - paying tribute to these and other groundbreaking women artists who stand on their shoulders today.
It 'Don't Take Too Much' to be excited that Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper swings by Shetler Studios to talk to Rob and Kevin about his forty plus year career onstage in shows like THE LIFE, PASSION, and CAROLINE, OR CHANGE. Chuck pulls back the curtain on his career, including how he survived GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER, what was so magical about Cy Coleman's hands, and why he was the most musical washer machine you ever saw !
Tonight, March 10, at 7:30 PM, Schimmel Center will continue its American Showstoppers series. This time orchestrator and conductor Fred Barton leads his 14-piece orchestra and cast of Broadway singers and dancers in a tribute to one of the most prolific song writing duos of the 20th century, John Kander and Fred Ebb.
The Lyceum Theatre welcomes the Broadway debut of the Mischief Theatre production of The Play That Goes Wrong, the Olivier Award-winning West End hit comedy, starting tonight, March 9, for an official opening on April 2, 2017.
In March, a luxury train rolls into Old Town bringing nonstop laughter and mayhem. The madcap musical comedy, On the Twentieth Century, features the writing talents of Betty Comden and Adolph Greene. Original music was composed byCy Coleman, who was honored with Tony Awards for Best Original Score & Best Book (1978). This musical comedy team lent their unique comic genius and sophisticated wit to dozens of Broadway hits including On the Town and Bells are Ringing. On the Twentieth Century will be directed by Sean Murray. The production runs March 9 through April 30. Opening night for media is March 18.
Considered the perfect musical comedy, Guys and Dolls, takes the stage at The Wick Theatre from March 9th through April 9th. Based on the short stories of Damon Runyon, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, Guys and Dolls won the Tony Award for Best Musical, ran for 1,200 performances on Broadway, and became an Oscar nominated film starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra. Tickets are $75 & 80, www.thewick.org or call 561-995-2333.
San Francisco Opera Center and the Merola Opera Program present the 34th season of the Schwabacher Debut Recitals, opening on March 26 and continuing through April 30.
San Francisco Opera Center and the Merola Opera Program present the 34th season of the Schwabacher Debut Recitals, opening on March 26 and continuing through April 30. The four-recital series offers music lovers an opportunity to hear opera's next generation of stars in the intimate and state-of-the-art Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco.
In the vast world of community theatre, the production of obscure musicals can often be a dangerous game. The unfamiliarity of the show tends to lend itself to smaller crowds and clouded expectations. From a performer's perspective, this can be both advantageous and inconvenient. While unknown characters provide more opportunity for creative liberties and interpretations, there is relatively little source material to draw from. However, from the perspective of an audience member, we are less likely to hold actors to certain standards of how a character is to be portrayed, because quite frankly, we're not too sure ourselves. In the case of CITY OF ANGELS at Theatre Harrisburg, the cast and crew have taken an exceptionally underground musical and crafted a performance that left the audience entertained from beginning to end, wondering why they'd never heard of it before.
Broadway rehearsals are underway at The Lyceum Theatre for the Broadway debut of the Mischief Theatre production of The Play That Goes Wrong, the Olivier Award winning West End hit comedy.
Porchlight Music Theatre and Artistic Director Michael Weber are proud to announce the continuation of the fourth season of Chicago's hit "lost" musicals in staged concert series, Porchlight Revisits Little Me, music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Carolyn Leigh and book by Neil Simon based on the novel by Patrick Dennis, with direction by Porchlight Artistic Director Michael Weber, musical direction by Linda Madonia, choreography by Craig Miller with special guest choreography by veteran Bob Fosse dancer Jane Lanier and starring Jeff Award-winner Matt Crowle. Porchlight Revisits Little Me is presented for three-nights-only Tuesday, Feb. 28 through Thursday, March 2 at 7:15 p.m. and is performed on the set of Porchlight's The Scottsboro Boys (previews begin Friday, Feb. 3) at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. Tickets for Little Me are $35. All tickets include access to the popular pre-performance event, Behind the Show Backstory, a multimedia presentation, created and hosted by Weber that discusses that evening's production including the show's creative history, backstage gossip and the state of the art on Broadway that season. Single tickets to Little Me are available at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by calling the Stage 773 box office, 773.327.5252.
The Life, which makes its long awaited London debut, directed by the show's original Broadway director, Michael Blakemore, will run at Southwark Playhouse for a strictly limited season from 25 March - 29 April 2017, with press night on 29 March. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company in rehearsal below!
Porchlight Music Theatre and Artistic Director Michael Weber are proud to announce the continuation of the fourth season of Chicago's hit "lost" musicals in staged concert series, Porchlight Revisits Little Me, music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Carolyn Leigh and book by Neil Simon based on the novel by Patrick Dennis, with direction by Porchlight Artistic Director Michael Weber, musical direction by Linda Madonia, choreography by Craig Miller with special guest choreography by veteran Bob Fosse dancer Jane Lanier and starring Jeff Award-winner Matt Crowle.
