Fred Astaire News

Happy Birthday, James Cagney!  This week marks the 117th birthday of James Cagney (he was born on July 17, 1899). Also this week, Cagney, the new hit musical about Hollywood's tough guy in tap shoes, plays its 117th performance at The Westside Theater, Upstairs (407 West 43rd Street, between 9th & 10th Aves.). 

Cagney's pugnacious attitude and formidable talent grabbed Creighton by the lapels, and now he's starring in a Yankee Doodle Dandy of a musical.

Are you a survivor? Do you know a survivor? Has breast cancer affected your life in any way? If so, Dancing With The Survivors(R), presented by The Pink Fund and Fred Astaire Dance Studio - Bay Harbor Islands, and which returns to Miami Beach on September 25, 2016 at the Aventura Cultural Center, is the event for you.

Just yesterday, Robert Creighton, star and co-creator of Cagney, and company members celebrated their 100th performance on the stage of the Westside Theater. BroadwayWorld was there for the special occasion and you can check out photos below!

It's guns, gangsters, flappers, and booze. BULLETS OVER BROADWAY takes the audience back to the 1920's with a rowdy performance that will have you laughing in your seat.

Co-author and star Robert Creighton celebrates with the cast of Off-Broadway's musical about Hollywood's tough guy in tap shoes.

This afternoon, Wednesday, June 29, CAGNEY, the new hit musical about Hollywood's tough guy in tap shoes,will celebrate its 100th performance at the Westside Theatre, upstairs. CAGNEY had its official opening on April 3, 2016 following 21 preview performances.

The American Tap Dance Foundation (ATDF), Tony Waag, Executive Director, has announced ATDF has been selected to administer the prestigious Fred and Adele Astaire Awards beginning with the 2016/2017 Broadway season.

Blumenthal Performing Arts will begin hosting free outdoor movie nights in July at Spirit Square. The Square, at the corner of College and 7th Street, has a brand new look and will be transformed into the perfect movie event space multiple times throughout the summer.

Tony Award-winning actor Paul Sand took time out of his Sunday afternoon off to talk with BWW. He is currently putting on his third-ish re-incarnation of KURT WEILL AT THE CUTTLEFISH HOTEL at the Miles Memorial Playhouse. Inspiration for CUTTLEFISH initially hit Paul as he was walking on the Santa Monica Pier. 'Wouldn't Kurt Weill's nasty songs about murder and revenge and broken hearts be terrific down here?'

Antarctica, a new musical will make its world debut at Hobart's Theatre Royal this October. Today the cast was revealed, including some of the biggest names on stage and screen in Australia.

Dancer Jeannine Jackson is performing with Gloria Angeles and four other ladies in The Marge Patka Summer Spectacular 2016 on Saturday June 25 at 2 pm at Reseda High School. In our chat, she talks about the show, her past career achievements, her plans for the future and her overall joy of being in show business.

Dickson's Gaslight Dinner Theatre continues its 16th Anniversary Season and 75th show with  JUDY! A Musical Tribute, which opened yesterday. JUDY! A Musical Tribute is a two-act revue that includes performances of famous Garland tunes. Compiled and created by stage veterans Linda Sue Simmons Runyeon and Joe Grizzel, this cabaret revue is a musical collection of songs, video and documentary, taking the audience "down memory lane" about the life of America's sweet heart, Judy Garland.

Cagney, the new hit musical about Hollywood's tough guy in tap shoes,will celebrate its 100th performance on Wednesday afternoon, June 29 at the Westside Theatre, upstairs.  Cagney had its official opening on April 3, 2016 following 21 preview performances.

A uniquely talented and gifted jazz pianist, jazz critic and writer George Simon called John Bunch, 'The Fred Astaire of the piano'. This performance celebrates the life and career of John Bunch from his days growing up in the small farming community of Tipton Indiana, his heroic service during World War II to his days of accompanying a who's who list of artists including Tony Bennett and Benny Goodman.

Tony Yazbeck stopped by this morning's 'Today' to announce the news that he will be returning to the role of author 'J.M. Barrie' in Broadway's FINDING NEVERLAND, beginning this Friday, June 10th.

He made his mark on the New York stage in 2015 playing the Fred Astaire role in Lady, Be Good at City Center's Encores! This past season he made his Broadway debut as Lucky in the tap-happy revival of Dames At Sea. Now Danny Gardner shuffles onto the grand stage at Radio City making his debut in the New York Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes. As part of the principal cast, Danny joins eighty performers in this new show that celebrates New York City in the summertime. It's centered around the trip of a lifetime for two kids, who, while on a vacation in New York, are separated from their parents. The city magically comes to life and helps to reunite their family in the end. It's all directed and choreographed by Emmy Award-winner Mia Michaels, and is written by Drama Desk Award-winner Douglas Carter Beane.

The largest annual outdoor live music and dancing series in the United States, the 20th Annual Chicago SummerDance invites dancers of all abilities to flock to the Spirit of Music Garden as it blossoms into a unique, urban dance space all summer long. With interactive dance lessons spanning diverse genres of dance, an energetic DJ series and the kick-off of the 18th Annual World Music Festival Chicago, the line-up includes something for everybody to enjoy. Chicago SummerDance takes place in Grant Park's Spirit of Music Garden (601 S. Michigan Ave.) Friday and Saturday evenings from 6 to 9:30 p.m., and Sunday afternoon from 4 to 7 p.m., between June 24 and September 11.

Although the calendar tells us we're still in the spring season, things are quickly heating up in Nashville - theatrically speaking - and theater-goers have a plethora of shows coming up from which to choose, including some summer musicals that are sure to set feet a-tapping and a classic drama that's sure to provoke more thought and discussion than perhaps ever before.

A uniquely talented and gifted jazz pianist, jazz critic and writer George Simon called John Bunch, 'The Fred Astaire of the piano'. This performance celebrates the life and career of John Bunch from his days growing up in the small farming community of Tipton Indiana, his heroic service during World War II to his days of accompanying a who's who list of artists including Tony Bennett and Benny Goodman.