Gene Kelly News

Just as another Gershwin-based musical An American in Paris is currently playing big on Broadway, the triangle area was recently treated to a performance of the 1992 Tony-Winning Best Musical Crazy for You presented by the North Carolina Theatre Conservatory Master Summer Theatre Arts School.

Tennessee Shakespeare Company, in partnership with the University of Memphis' Department of Theatre & Dance, presents its third and final developing musical reading on the University of Memphis mainstage with The Oliver Experiment by Jeremy Desmon and Jeff Thomson tonight, August 15 at 7:00 pm.

Betty-Jane Parks brilliantly inhabits the role of Flannery O'Connor in a brief, but memorable one-woman show.

Casting is announced today for the UK Premiere of the smash-hit Broadway musical comedy Xanadu.

Of her role in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, Bethany Dickson says, 'Kathy Selden is ambitious, full of sunshine and positivity! To stay true to the character, that's my mission - that the character maintains that feisty, bubbly ambition that Debbie Reynolds portrayed in the movie.'

Below, check out the first official trailer for HBO's THE LEFTOVERS Season 2!

Victoria Theatre Association continues the Cool Films Series' incredible line-up of films at the historic Victoria Theatre with the 1951 classic AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, August 21-22 at 7 p.m. and August 23 at 3 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for only $6 each or passbooks of 10 tickets for $35 which can be used throughout the Series and are on sale now at Ticket Center Stage. To purchase, call (937)228-3630, toll free (888)228-3630 or purchase online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.

The full Australian cast of the splash-hit West End stage production SINGIN' IN THE RAIN has today been announced. The production will open next May at Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre, followed by a season from July at Sydney's Lyric Theatre before touring to Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Tennessee Shakespeare Company, in partnership with the University of Memphis' Department of Theatre & Dance, presents its third and final developing musical reading on the University of Memphis mainstage with The Oliver Experiment by Jeremy Desmon and Jeff Thomson on August 15 at 7:00 pm.

A remastered take on a cinema classic!

When compared to SUNSET BOULEVARD, which follows the same classic film-to-stage pedigree as SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and tackles the same dilemma of making the transition from silent films to talkies in the 1920s - albeit of psychological melodrama in genre compared to the latter's rollicking parody - SUNSET BOULEVARD had big stars of stage and screen who headlined West End and Broadway. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN did not delve into such stunt casting from the onset - unless you consider Tommy Steele, who originated the role of Don Lockwood in the West End, as big as Elvis Presley or Gene Kelly, the silver screen's original Lockwood.

For two decades, the Jose© Iturbi Foundation (www.joseiturbifoundation.org) has fulfilled his mission by sponsoring blockbuster concerts and international musical competitions, showcasing professional classical music artists in the making.

As the cliche goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That is perhaps partly the philosophy behind the rather faithful stage adaptation of the gloriously wonderful movie musical SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, now once again charmingly replicated in a smile-inducing local production at Musical Theatre West that continues through July 26 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. An almost scene-by-scene, note-for-note recreation of the superb cinematic masterpiece, the musical theater iteration of SINGIN' IN THE RAIN smartly and painstakingly reenacts every key moment and memorable musical happenstance from the 1952 movie that many have since heralded as one of the best movie musicals of all time. With MTW's latest revival specifically, director/choreographer Jon Engstrom has helmed a joyful production worth experiencing, whether it's your first or hundredth time. And, yes, it rains on stage... and it's a sight to behold!

Today, the triple threat speaks to BWW about her memorable meeting with her film counterpart, her dream musical theater role and her Broadway debut, which she calls a magical evening that will probably never be topped!

Paris Je t'dore! And Vive La France! French-flavored Broadway shows and songs are tres magnifique. The romantic 'City of Lights' and the lure of romance with a French accent has served as the inspiration for many musicals through the years. And since France and all of the world's Francophiles celebrated Bastille Day earlier this week, BroadwayWorld's Jeff Walker and Matt Tamanini are taking a look at the shows and tunes that make us go 'oo-la-la!'

To those newer generation theatre and movie fans who do not remember 1952's blockbuster hit film Singin' in the Rain, directors Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green and costars Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds all contributed to making it the smash that it was... and still is. The zany lightweight hit transferred to the stage in the early 80s and showed the craziness that may have happened when the big movie studios were transitioning from silents to talkies in the late 20s. Now in a classy revival at Musical Theatre West (MTW) in Long Beach, it's all brought back to exuberantly colorful life by skilled director Jon Engstrom and a delicious company of triple threats through July 26 only.

The splash-hit West End stage production SINGIN' IN THE RAIN will open at Sydney's Lyric Theatre in July 2016 starring an all-Australian cast including star of stage and screen Adam Garcia. Tickets will go on sale on Friday 17 July 2015.

What's better than becoming a principal dancer in the NYC Ballet and then scoring a major role on Broadway? Doing it all with your brother or sister.

Dancer, choreographer, actor, singer, and film director…Gene Kelly has done it all, leaving the world with a legacy of great performances.  Now, three Long Beach events will pay tribute to the American icon.  The tribute begins with a three-week run of the Broadway stage spectacle "Singin' in the Rain," presented live on stage by Musical Theatre West, July 10-26. 

THE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATRE AWARDS (NHSMTA)/JIMMY AWARDS- The seventh annual National High School Musical Theatre Awards were held on Monday, June 29, 2015, at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway. This one-of-a-kind-event was hosted by two-time Tony Award®-winner Michael Cerveris, currently on Broadway in this year's Best Musical Fun Home at Circle in the Square. The coveted Jimmy Award for Best Performance by an Actress and Best Performance by an Actor on Monday, June 29 at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre, was presented to Marla Louissaint representing The Gershwin Awards and Anthony Skillman, representing the M.A.C.Y. Awards. BroadwayWorld is excited to bring you highlights from the show below!