Gene Kelly News

Today in 1947, Brigadoon opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre, where it ran for 581 performances. Brigadoon is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. It tells the story of a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every hundred years, though to the villagers, the passing of each century seems no longer than one night. Brigadoon then received a West End production opening in 1949 that ran for 685 performances, and many revivals followed. A 1954 film version starred Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. A 1966 television version starred Robert Goulet and Peter Falk.

Pittsburgh CLO has announced the cast for the rousing musical hit Ring of Fire, which will run May 22 through August 17 at the CLO Cabaret.

Performing Arts Fort Worth will present the Texas premiere of I LOVE LUCY LIVE ON STAGE, the brand-new, nationally touring hit stage show adapted from the most beloved program in television history. The show runs today, March 11-16, 2014, at Bass Performance Hall.

Award winning actress and dancer, Leslie Caron, has been named the honoree for the Professional Dancers Society (PDS) annual Gypsy Award Luncheon, it was announced by PDS President, Mitzi Gaynor and PDS Board Chairman, Joni Berry. Ms. Caron will be honored on Sunday, March 30, 2014 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel (9876 Wilshire Blvd.) and famed dancers/choreographers Dee Dee Wood and the late Marc Breaux will receive a special PDS Choreography Award, for their extraordinary contribution to dance.

Happy Birthday, Cyd Charisse! Charisse began starring in films in the 1940s. Her roles usually focused on her abilities as a dancer, and she was paired with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly; her films include Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), Brigadoon (1954) and Silk Stockings (1957). She stopped dancing in films in the late 1950s, but continued acting in film and television, and in 1992 made her Broadway debut.

Era il 1953 quando la Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer diede il via alla produzione di due dei suoi film musicali piu 'classici,' ossia Seven Brides for Seven Brothers e Brigadoon. Non e un mistero che la Casa del Leone fosse piu interessata all'ultimo, adattamento cinematografico del primo successo teatrale di Alan Jay Lerner e Frederick Loewe (My Fair Lady, Camelot, Paint Your Wagon) e lo dimostra il fatto che il budget per Sette Spose venne drasticamente tagliato a 2,540,000 dollari (rispetto ai 3,019,000 di Brigadoon). L'investimento 'risicato' creo non pochi problemi alla produzione che, non disponendo dei mezzi necessari, dovette girare in studio anche le scene all'aperto facendo ricorso a fondali non proprio realistici. Nonostante gli ambienti visibilmente artificiali, all'uscita del film nel 1954, l'indimenticabile love story tra Milly e Adamo, le coreografie di Micheal Kidd, l'indovinato cast capitanato da Jane Powell e Howard Keel - in cui figurava, nel ruolo di una delle spose, la Catwoman Julie Newmar - e la splendida partitura di Gene de Paul e Johnny Mercer conquistarono gli spettatori di ogni parte del mondo rendendo Seven Brides for Seven Brothers una delle punte di diamante del repertorio MGM. Brigadoon, per contro, nonostante la presenza di Gene Kelly e Cyd Charisse, non ottenne il successo sperato.

The Pittsburgh CLO Ambassadors' 17th Annual Wine Tasting and Silent Auction will take place tonight, March 7, 2014, at the Duquesne Club, and will feature wines from Capital Wine & Spirits.

Familiar friends and new sensations take their turns on the Heinz Hall stage during the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's 2014-2015 PNC Pops season, one that promises an eclectic mix of favorites and surprises.

Music Director Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) announce the Orchestra's 2014-2015 season, its eighth under the direction of Maestra Alsop. The full schedule and details about each production follow.

Tony Monaco's one-man musical, The Road to Damascus, leads to Los Angeles just in time for Easter and Passover. Inspired by the dramatic conversion of Rabbi Saul of Tarsus - the man who turned from murderer to saint (the Apostle Paul) - and the persecution of Jesus' followers after His crucifixion, Monaco's historical portrayal incorporates music, song and dance with Biblical themes, bringing to life this world-changing story in a characterization that shows why biographers refer to the Apostle Paul as 'The man who shook the world.'

Historian and executor of the Gene Kelly Estate, Patricia Ward Kelly, will present her fascinating solo show Gene Kelly: THE LEGACY at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Springs tonight, March 5 at 8 PM - an encore presentation of the two sold-out shows Kelly introduced at the Academy Of Motion Pictures at Lincoln Center in NYC.

The McCallum Theatre presents Gene Kelly - The Legacy, An Evening with Patricia Ward Kelly on Wednesday, March 5, at 8:00pm. Gene Kelly became one of the top stars of the 1940s and 1950s. He didn't just act, sing, and dance; he also served as choreographer and had a major impact on dancing in the movies. Biographer and film historian Patricia Ward Kelly takes audiences behind the scenes and shares an intimate story of her late husband Gene Kelly, the man who helped create some of the most memorable scenes in film history. This unique, live performance combines rare and familiar film clips, never released audio recordings, memorabilia, and personal insights culled from hours of interviews with her husband. I had the chance to chat with Ms. Kelly for a few minutes about this very special theatrical event celebrating the life and career of this legendary dancer, performer and director. Here are a few excerpts from that conversation.

For the sixth annual installment of Miami Beach Gay Pride, the honor of Grand Marshal has been bestowed upon two extraordinary members of the entertainment industry. After selling 100 million albums worldwide, singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur Gloria Estefan will be joined by the acclaimed American film and television producer, director and choreographer Kenny Ortega, announced Joel Stedman, Chairman of the Pride Board. The Miami Beach Gay Pride parade and festival will take place Sunday, April 13, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. along Ocean Drive between 5th and 15th Streets.

Patricia Ward Kelly's compelling presentation combines rare and familiar film clips, previously unreleased audio recordings, personal memorabilia, and insights culled from her hours of interviews and conversations with her husband whom she met in 1985 in Washington, D.C., where she was the writer for a television special about The Smithsonian for which he was the host and narrator. She was 26; he was 73. Soon after, he invited her to California to write his memoir. They fell in love, married, and were together until his death in 1996.

The Pasadena Playhouse Theatre will present GENE KELLY: THE LEGACY, An Evening with Patricia Ward Kelly for two performances only - tonight, March 1 at 8pm and Sunday, March 2 at 2pm.

Following his acclaimed New York Philharmonic debut on the ASIA / WINTER 2014 tour, jazz pianist Makoto Ozone will join Music Director Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic in a newly added concert Tuesday, April 22, 2014, at 7:30 p.m. The all-American program will include Bernstein's Candide Overture; Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, featuring Mr. Ozone as soloist; Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story; and Gershwin's An American in Paris. The concert will mark Mr. Ozone's U.S. orchestral debut; his appearances with the Philharmonic on the ASIA / WINTER 2014 tour marked his first performances with an American orchestra.

The Pittsburgh CLO Ambassadors hosted a Wine Tasting and Silent Auction preview party for sponsors and members of the press on February 24, at Nine on Nine in Pittsburgh. The preview party was held to raise awareness for the Ambassadors' 17th Annual Wine Tasting and Silent Auction, which will take place Friday, March 7, 2014, at the Duquesne Club, and will feature wines from Capital Wine & Spirits.

Performing Arts Fort Worth will present the Texas premiere of I LOVE LUCY LIVE ON STAGE, the brand-new, nationally touring hit stage show adapted from the most beloved program in television history. The show runs March 11-16, 2014, at Bass Performance Hall.

MUSICAL THEATRE WEST is thrilled to announce, in its 62nd consecutive year (making it one of the country's longest-running continuing musical theatre companies), some really 'Big' news for their audiences and subscribers! For their 2014-2015 season of shows, they will be presenting the first production of the Broadway musical, BIG FISH, since its New York debut with the original Broadway sets and costumes! Continuing with its 'Big' Broadway' season are three more smash-hit shows from the Great White Way - LES MISERABLES, SOUTH PACIFIC and SINGIN' IN THE RAIN! In its 62 years of producing extraordinary musical entertainment, there has never been a season this 'Enchanted' or this 'Big!'

Sick of the never-ending winter? Find your leg warmers, grab your roller skates, and travel back in time with the Reston Players to sunny California in the 1980s for their upcoming production of the irreverent frothy musical Xanadu.