E.Y. Harburg News

Centenary Stage Company features singing and dancing throughout the chilly December month. Opening up with the beloved family classic The Wizard of Oz, welcoming the New Jersey Civic Youth Ballet performing The Nutcracker, and ending with the Young Performers Workshop Winter Festival of Shows featuring musical favorites Hello, Dolly!, A Chorus Line, and The Boy Friend

Audiences can begin the holiday season with a family classic at the Sitnik Theatre in the David and Carol Lackland Center starting Thanksgiving weekend. The Wizard of Oz is a musical tradition following the story of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, the Lion and Toto, too.

Today in 2009, Finian's Rainbow opened at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 92 performances. Finian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane. The 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances. Finian moves to the southern United States (the fictional state of Missitucky is a humorous combination of Mississippi and Kentucky) from Ireland with his daughter Sharon, to bury a stolen pot of gold near Fort Knox, in the mistaken belief that it will grow. A leprechaun follows them, desperate to recover his treasure before the loss of it turns him permanently human. Complications arise when a bigoted and corrupt U.S. Senator gets involved, and when wishes are made inadvertently over the hidden crock.

This November is packed with entertainment that will warm the soul as the winter approaches. Centenary Stage will present a magician, a group of storytellers and comedians, and a collection of children's books brought to life with song and dance.

There's gold at the end of the rainbow - and a leprechaun, of course - in Finian's Rainbow, the fall musical of the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at Catholic University. Performances are set for Friday, Oct. 26, and Saturday, Oct. 27, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 28, at 2 p.m. at Hartke Theatre.

Charles Moeller and Claudio Botelho bring to Brazil the most expensive musical ever produced here. An amazing concept and strong production values, as well as a gifted cast and creative team, turn the Brazilian production of Wizard of Oz in a landmark of the contemporary musical theater in this Country. Based on the theatrical RSC aproach of the original work (book and motion picture),Moeller and Botelho move in astonishing parallel ways to find their own, unique yellow brick road. The Brazilian Oz is a show to be remembered for years to come.

Today in 1955, Finian's Rainbow opened at City Center, where it ran for 15 performances. Finian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane. The 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances. Finian moves to the southern United States (the fictional state of Missitucky is a humorous combination of Mississippi and Kentucky) from Ireland with his daughter Sharon, to bury a stolen pot of gold near Fort Knox, in the mistaken belief that it will grow. A leprechaun follows them, desperate to recover his treasure before the loss of it turns him permanently human. Complications arise when a bigoted and corrupt U.S. Senator gets involved, and when wishes are made inadvertently over the hidden crock.

'The Wizard of Oz' by L. Frank Baum, book by John Kane, music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, directed by Jonah Hagans, will be presented on Tokyo International Players' mainstage tonight, May 17 through May 20.

The 2012 LOST MUSICALS season presents two extraordinary musical productions - the fantastical 1951 FLAHKOLEY and Cole Porter's magical 1958 ALADDIN at the Lillian Baylis Studio, Sadler's Wells in May and August 2012.

'The Wizard of Oz' by L. Frank Baum, book by John Kane, music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, directed by Jonah Hagans, will be presented on TIP's mainstage May 17-20. TIP has also announced several upcoming performances and the program for its 2012-2013 season.

The 2012 LOST MUSICALS season presents two extraordinary musical productions - the fantastical 1951 FLAHKOLEY and Cole Porter's magical 1958 ALADDIN at the Lillian Baylis Studio, Sadler's Wells in May and August 2012.

Toby's Dinner Theatre has a long history of presenting high quality productions. However, could they pull off the technicolor vision of The Wizard Of Oz that most people see in their mind's eye? Happily for the audience, answer is yes.

Noted performer and music historian, Benjamin Sears has an unprecedented familiarity with both Irving Berlin's work and the writings about him, much of which he has brought together in the new, The Irving Berlin Reader, part of the Readers on American Music Series from Oxford University Press, available in stores on April 6, 2012.

Following five sold-out performances in New York City as part of the 92nd Street Y's Lyrics & Lyricists series, and a tour throughout Texas, Rex Reed's THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY: Ira Without George, makes its West Coast debut at Kanbar Hall at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco (JCCSF). This musical tribute to the great American lyricist Ira Gershwin stars Rex Reed, Linda Purl and Gregory Harrison. It will be presented on Friday and Saturday, April 13 and 14 at 8 pm & Sunday, April 15 at 2 pm.

Created by members of the Gershwin family and their Tony/Grammy Award-winning team, the all-new multimedia symphony show, Here to Stay, features a number of newly arranged charts for orchestra plus rarely seen visual and audio elements from the Gershwin archives.

Created by members of the Gershwin family and their Tony/Grammy Award-winning team, the all-new multimedia symphony show, Here to Stay, features a number of newly arranged charts for orchestra plus rarely seen visual and audio elements from the Gershwin archives.

Reprise Theatre Company will present An Evening With Joan Rivers for one performance only on Monday, January 30 at 8:00 pm, at UCLA's Freud Playhouse.

Today we have a super-special triple-focus Flash Friday dedicated not only to two of the top-tier talents in the entertainment history ever - Judy Garland and Michael Crawford - but, also, to the ever-lasting entity through which they are now, forever, inextricably linked - THE WIZARD OF OZ. Of course, Judy Garland famously starred in the original 1939 film adaptation of the L. Frank Baum children's classic, but, just this past year, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice and Jeremy Sams adapted the classic film for the stage to much success and added a number of significant new songs to the Harold Arlen/E.Y. Harburg score. Be sure to catch my exclusive InDepth InterView with Michael Crawford that went live earlier this evening to read all about the new stage spectacular, as well as his affection for Judy Garland in the original film and some of his own favorite Christmas and holiday songs. Additionally, next Tuesday GLEE will be paying tribute to Judy Garland in the form of a mid-1960s-style TV Christmas special homage, so now is certainly as good a time as any to look back at the unparalleled performance of Garland in THE WIZARD OF OZ - for which she won a juvenile Academy Award - as well as her 1963 Christmas special which featured guest performances by Mel Torme, Liza Minnelli and more! So, make this a truly Mikey & Judy holiday season - as opposed to Mickey & Judy one - with this spotlight on Michael Crawford and Judy Garland and both their OZ-ian and Christmas connections - and a GLEE-ful surprise or two, too. After all, 'tis the season!

Reprise Theatre Company will present An Evening With Joan Rivers for one performance only on Monday, January 30 at 8:00 pm, at UCLA's Freud Playhouse.

"The Wizard of Oz," the musical fantasy about a young girl who travels to a magical land, begins a three-weekend run on the Playhouse Merced mainstage Friday, December 2 at 7:30 pm.