Denee Benton News

Good morning BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: The Lifespan of a Fact officially opens on Broadway, and more!

Tony Award Winner Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza) will direct a staged reading of "Newton's Cradle," a new musical by mother-and-son writing team Kim Saunders and Heath Saunders.

Many Broadway favorites have filmed pilots this year including Phillipa Soo, Lesli Margherita, Brian d'Arcy James, Andy Karl, and more. As the year continues, the networks are beginning to make decisions on what will be picked up for a full series, and what won't see beyond the pilot.

Broadway stars went out in style last night at Second Stage's annual gala. Among those in attendance were Billy Porter, Alice Ripley, Lindsay Mendez, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Tom Kitt, Adam Chanler-Berat, Denee Benton, David Cromer, Itamar Moses, Kellen Blair, and Joe Kinosian.

The Broadway at Birdland concert series is proud to present the return of The Bombshells to the club on Sunday and Monday, May 6 and 7.  Sunday night's show was completely sold out, and there are a handful of bar seats available for Monday (tonight) at 7pm.  Please contact the club at 212-581-3080 for sales.

New York Theatre Workshop held it's 2018 Annual Gala last night, April 15. The gala celebrated John Tiffany, the Tony Award-winning Director of Once, which had its world premiere at NYTW, as well as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; along with Barbara Cutler Emden, who is celebrating 25 years of arts advocacy and exceptional service on the NYTW Board of Trustees.

Rebecca Faulkenberry (Groundhog Day), Hunter Ryan Herdlicka (A Little Night Music), and Carrie Manolakos (Mamma Mia) will lead a closed industry reading of the new musical ALIVE! by Josh Canfield on March 21.

According to Deadline, Emily Osment and Matt Shively are set to star in the new CBS comedy pilot '25'. Also joining the cast are actresses Denée Benton and Jessie Ennis.

Good morning BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: CAROUSEL, starring Joshua Henry, Jessie Mueller, and more, begins previews on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre tonight!

As you know, February is Black History Month. We here at Broadway Sessions wanted to take a moment to reflect on the massive impact of African American legacy on Broadway and beyond. We rallied an incredible roster of some of Broadway's most fantastic voices to speak and sing on the subject. The result was moving and hilarious and powerful and poignant. And the singing? Well, let's just say y'all aren't ready for this!

Broadway Sessions celebrates Black History Month this week, 2/15 BROADWAY SESSIONS is described as an evening of musical performances, games and open mic featuring a new Broadway guest each week. The show is created and hosted by Ben Cameron (Bway Wicked, Aida and Footloose) and features musical director Joshua Stephen Kartes on piano.  This Thursday night, February 15th,  Broadway Sessions celebrates Black History Month with an all star cast of Broadway favorites

Upon entering the theater, brightly lit stars graced the stage. While it's intentions were to symbolically represent the stars on the American flag, it also indicated the level of talent the audience would endure.

BroadwayCon has announced today that Mandy Gonzalez, Priscilla Lopez, Seth Stewart, and Krysta Rodriguez have joined the lineup for the In The Heights 10 Year Reunion at BroadwayCon 2018. They join previously announced cast members and creatives Lin-Manuel Miranda, Karen Olivo, Olga Merediz, and Javier Mu oz, and moderator Luis Miranda, for a discussion on the impact that In The Heights had on Broadway.

Understudies on Broadway are nothing new. What is new, however or at least newly noticeable is the growing eagerness of fans to see such a performance.

Celebrating 20 years since Heather Headley's Broadway debut in Disney's landmark musical The Lion King, the 10th annual Broadway Dreams Supper, supporting the performing arts education not-for-profit Broadway Dreams, treated guests to cocktails, a formal dinner, and tribute performances from some of the today's most celebrated performers at The Plaza (58th Street and Fifth Avenue). BroadwayWorld has photos from the starry occasion below!

Forbes has revealed its annual 30 UNDER 30 Hollywood & Entertainment list, spotlighting the next generation of talent. Appearing among the list of esteemed actors, writers, musicians and more is Tony Award winner Ben Platt, currently starring in Broadway's Dear Evan Hansen.

Back in 1931, when the firm Kaufman, Ryskind, Gershwin & Gershwin had the novel idea to infuse that stodgy old music/theatre entertainment, the Broadway operetta, with the jauntiness of showtune and a chaotic mixture of comedic highbrow and lowbrow to tell the tale of an unqualified, but charismatic American politician who rides a wave of popular support for his questionable platform to the United States presidency, musical comedies typically employed a bit more on-stage and front-of-stage talent than audiences are accustomed to seeing nowadays.

The voices of MasterVoices were gloriously heard in Carnegie Hall last night as Artistic Director Ted Sperling, orchestra and chorus brought a concert version of George & Ira Gershwin's Of Thee I Sing to Stern Auditorium.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Today's big news: JUNK, FRIENDS! THE MUSICAL, and more!

Earlier this week, BroadwayWorld's Steve Schonberg got up close and personal with Bundy about her current gig starring in The Honeymooners at Paper Mill Playhouse and her important upcoming Double Standards concert to celebrate women at NYC's Town Hall.