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.

More than 250,000 new tickets have today been released for sale for the West End hit musical SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, now booking through to 23 February 2013. Jonathan Church's Chichester Festival Theatre production transferred to London's Palace Theatre last month, where it has been playing to packed houses, standing ovations and huge critical acclaim.

Pittsburgh CLO today announced multiple scholarship opportunities for seniors from schools participating in the 2012 Gene Kelly Awards. Pittsburgh CLO and the sponsoring Colleges and Universities will present the scholarships to the selected college-bound seniors at the Award ceremony on May 26, 2012. Interested applicants should visit pittsburghCLO.org for eligibility requirements, applications and further information.

New York's Group Theatre Too (GTT) will honor noted choreographer, Tony Stevens at the fifth anniversary presentation of the Choreographer's Canvas on May 10th at the Manhattan Movement and Arts Center.

Pittsburgh CLO and Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama, in partnership with The ASCAP Foundation and Academy and Grammy Award -winning composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz, have announced that SCARY MUSICAL has been selected for further development as part of the Pittsburgh CLO/Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama New Works Program. The program encourages the exploration and refinement of new works of the American musical theater.

The Pennington Players perform magic on roller skates with their upcoming performance of the hilarious musical fantasy "Xanadu" at Mercer County Community College's Kelsey Theatre.

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.

Jim Henson's Fantastic World will be on view at Museum of the Moving Image for only one more week-closing on Sunday, March 4. The final weekend of the show, Saturday and Sunday, March 3 and 4, 2012, features several special programs to mark the close of the successful national tour of this Smithsonian traveling exhibition, organized in partnership with The Jim Henson Legacy. On these two days, the Museum will give away a free limited-edition commemorative bookmark to ALL visitors (while supplies last).

The Pittsburgh CLO Ambassadors hosted a Wine Tasting and Silent Auction preview party for sponsors and members of the press on January 30, 2012, at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. The preview party was held to raise awareness for the Ambassadors' 15th Annual Wine Tasting and Silent Auction, which will take place Friday, March 2, 2012, at the Duquesne Club, and will feature wines from Capital Wine & Spirits.

"The Dance Project: A Journey Through Tap," the third Stage One studio theater production in Wagner College Theatre's 2011-12 season, opens on Tuesday, Feb. 28 and runs through March 4.

En 1949 "Un dia en Nueva York" irrumpe en Hollywood con una nueva manera de realizar el cine musical. Los directores Stanley Donen y Gene Kelly utilizaron lugares abiertos para rodar la pelicula y es que hasta ese momento todos los musicales se habian llevado a cabo en los estudios.

Jim Henson's Fantastic World will be on view at Museum of the Moving Image for only one more week-closing on Sunday, March 4. The final weekend of the show, Saturday and Sunday, March 3 and 4, 2012, features several special programs to mark the close of the successful national tour of this Smithsonian traveling exhibition, organized in partnership with The Jim Henson Legacy. On these two days, the Museum will give away a free limited-edition commemorative bookmark to ALL visitors (while supplies last).

Billy Crystal was nine for nine with his stupendous hosting - particularly thanks to his superlative musical material courtesy of Tony-winning tunesmith Marc Shaiman - yet, the 2012 Oscars were all about the awards, for once, with a heavy helping of superstars and surprises. A glamorous and generally genial broadcast, more than many in recent years this years, last night's top entertainment honors came across as a class act on the elegantly produced and impressively rendered broadcast, from beginning to end - unscripted screenwriters' Angelina impressions aside. Crytal's hilarious opening montage allowed the Oscar host extraordinaire the opportunity to enact his oh-so-idiosyncratic take on the year's top nominated films - including a kiss with George Clooney ala THE DESCENDANTS and a Justin Bieber/Sammy Davis, Jr. skit inspired by Woody Allen's MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, both of which went on to win the Best Screenplay categories - and remind us why he is tops. The portrait of the winner of Best Picture may have been painted long before last night for THE ARTIST, yet the 2012 Academy Awards show was packed with a plethora of surprises in technical and even some major categories, with Martin Scorsese's HUGO also scoring big and Meryl Streep winning her third statuette, this time for her Best Actress turn in THE IRON LADY, uncanny in her portrayal of British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Additionally, THE ARTIST's Jean Judarjin took home Best Actor - over Hollywood titan George Clooney, no less - for his superb performance as a Gene Kelly-esque silent film star (save a few words at the very meta finale). The supporting categories showed some love to expected winners Octavia Spencer - for the audience hit, THE HELP - as well as veteran actor Christopher Plummer - for the indie release, BEGINNERS. Cirque Du Soleil afforded us some spectacle in the form of a 3D aerial classic film homage as only they could create and present, but Crystal's inimitable opening sequence - film sequence and crisply amusing song acting as the ideal entree into the awards season's show of shows - were the night's undeniable highlights. So, too, on the performance front did the In Memoriam sequence shine thanks to a soulful rendering of "What A Wonderful World" by Esperanza Spalding. Many of the major categories may have went the way we have all predicted, yet important categories also went to a surprisingly large smattering of the year's other fine filmatic achievements, as well, making it an entertaining and overall quite pleasing broadcast when considering the conservative slate of films nominated this season.

Knock 'Em Dead Dinner Theatre will present the new musical XANADU from March 16th-April 14th.

The Pennington Players perform magic on roller skates with their upcoming performance of the hilarious musical fantasy "Xanadu" at Mercer County Community College's Kelsey Theatre.

Following its critically acclaimed, sell-out run at Chichester Festival Theatre, Jonathan Church's new production of Singin' in the Rain opened last night, Wednesday 15th February at the Palace Theatre. Church's production of Singin' in the Rain, with choreography by Andrew Wright, is based on the classic 1952 MGM film and is produced in the West End by Stage Entertainment UK and Chichester Festival Theatre.

Following its critically acclaimed, sell-out run at Chichester Festival Theatre, Jonathan Church's new production of Singin' in the Rain opens on Wednesday 15th February at the Palace Theatre. Church's production of Singin' in the Rain, with choreography by Andrew Wright, is based on the classic 1952 MGM film and is produced in the West End by Stage Entertainment UK and Chichester Festival Theatre. Check out production shots below!

It might not be great art, but Xanadu-the new musical onstage through March 3 at Franklin's Boiler Room Theatre-sure is great fun! Pure, unadulterated escapism, Xanadu is laugh-out-loud funny, thanks primarily to the book by Douglas Carter Beane, but you have to give props to director Corbin Green and his talented cast who bring the completely ridiculous musical (featuring the music of Electric Light Orchestra's Jeff Lynne and John Farrar) to life onstage.

Headlining the most successful entertainment of all time, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Michael Crawford was actually not the first name the creative team considered for the gothic musical undertaking during its creation in the mid-1980s, believe it or not. Steve Harley famously recorded the original single of the title song with composer Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's muse Sarah Brightman and subsequently starred in the grandiose Ken Russell fever dream music video. While the public and critics alike assumed Harley's bid for the lead role in the gestating show was all but guaranteed after the video debut, it was not meant to be. Master director Hal Prince had his sights set on a British stage and screen star who had made a name with American audiences decades before in the troubled film versions of two Broadway hits - A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM and HELLO, DOLLY! - as well as made a name for himself the world over in the British sitcom SOME MOTHERS DO 'AVE 'EM. Crawford had also cemented his place in the musical theatre with his roles in FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON and BILLY, but it was PHANTOM that would catapult him into the ranks of iconic musical megastar. So, today, let us take a look at what made Michael Crawford's performance in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA so unforgettable as we celebrate this week's US release of the simply spectacular DVD/Blu-ray of the 25th anniversary production mounted late last year at the Royal Albert Hall starring Ramim Karimloo and Sierra Boggess, loving assembled and presented by original lead producer Cameron Mackintosh and featuring a grand finale complete with original PHANTOM cast-members Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, among a host of other glories.