George Abbott News

Initially, Temple Theaters planned an event for March 2020 featuring the Alumna, performer, and luminary of American musical theater, Joy Valderrama Abbott (EDU '52) . Unfortunately, after decades of dedicated contribution, our dear Joy was taken by cancer in early February.

San Francisco's 42nd Street Moon has announced the full cast and creative team for the Company's next production, the beloved Tony Award-winning a?oeBest Musicala?? THE PAJAMA GAME. Based on the novel a?oe7½ Centsa?? by Richard Bissell, THE PAJAMA GAME features a book by George Abbott and Bissell, with music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross (DAMN YANKEES).

Spring is in the air which means the start of baseball season. Baseball is my all-time favorite sport. While many say it is boring, there is such a passion and purity to the American Pastime that its enjoyment and place in our culture cannot be ignored. So, when you take my favorite sport and combine it with my love of theatre, well there is the show I want to see. a?oeDamn Yankeesa?? at Manatee Performing Arts Center opened Thursday night and is sure to have that rare breed who love both sports and theatre in a?oeHeaven.

Back by popular demand! Renée Taylor's award-winning autobiographical comedy MY LIFE ON A DIET will play three performances at The Gateway in Bellport on February 28th at 8pm, and Februaru 29th at 3pm and 8pm.

After the concert version of West Side Story and an extensive tour of the musical Bells Are Ringing, director Jean Lacornerie and musical director Gérard Lecointe have chosen to collaborate again, delivering to the French public a comparatively little known musical of the 50s, The Pajama Game, which, outside being the work of the dream team Jerome Robbins directing, George Abbott writing the book, and Bob Fosse choreographing on Broadway for the very first time, stands as perhaps the only musical dealing with unions and labor conflicts. The least we can say is that this choice couldn't be more on point given the political context of France today, with major strikes going on in sync with the show, which began its run at Théâtre de la Croix-Rousse in Lyon, followed by an extensive tour at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, also in the Lyon area, and now for a three-day run at the gorgeous Opéra de Rennes, where I caught a sold out performance on February 1st.

Donald R. Walters, Esq., board president of the Carbonell Awards, South Florida's Theatre & Arts Honors, today announced that the nonprofit cultural organization is now accepting nominations for the 2020 Jack Zink Memorial Student Scholarship Program. The selection of recipients is based on talent, experience and demonstrated commitment to the theatre.

The inimitable Emily Skinner will be headlining 42nd Street Moon's gala fundraiser a?oeCome to the Moona?? on Tuesday, February 4th at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. After bursting onto the scene with her Tony-nominated performance in a?oeSide Show,a?? Ms. Skinner has gone on to star in several more Broadway shows, most recently a?oeThe Cher Showa?? in 2018-19, and performed at top regional theater companies and done innumerable concerts throughout the country. Ms. Skinner's trademarks are a spectacular voice that can move seamlessly from a luscious lower register to a thrilling high belt, an irreverent sense of humor and a deep passion for the classic American musical. She is the type of performer who can dazzle you with her vocal prowess one moment, then make you laugh out loud with a perfectly-timed bon mot, then break your heart with a tender ballad. BroadwayWorld spoke recently by phone with Ms. Skinner from her home base in Manhattan. In conversation, Ms. Skinner is delightfully chatty, smart and warm, sort of a mashup of a gimlet-eyed leading lady from a bygone era, a brainiac specializing in Broadway arcania, and your best friend from high school.

From Hello, Dolly! and Mame to La Cage aux Folles, no one has written 'showtunes' with as much exuberance as Jerry Herman whose musicals offer an optimistic approach to the human condition, finding common ground with his audience by showing us that the differences between us are, in fact, what unite us. Lyrics & Lyricists 2020 season continues with a celebration of the composer, lyricist and songwriter whose joyful scores have sent us from the theater humming for more than 50 years. Singing them at L&L are Quentin Earl Darrington (Once on This Island), Cady Huffman (The Will Rogers Follies, Chicago, The Producers), Bryonha Marie Parham (The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, Prince of Broadway), and Ryan Vona (Once, Beautiful).

Go inside the creation and 63-year evolution of the musical theatre masterpiece, West Side Story.

Renée Taylor's award-winning autobiographical comedy MY LIFE ON A DIET will play Bucks County Playhouse, January 30 a?" February 2 as part of the Playhouse's Visiting Artists Series.

Lyrics & Lyricists opens its new season with a salute to Yip Harburg, who appeared on the 92nd Street Y stage for L&L's first show in December 1970. Harburg was a master lyricist, poet, and book writer who worked with more than 40 composers in writing over 600 songs, including such classics as 'April in Paris,' 'Old Devil Moon,' 'Lydia, the Tattooed Lady,' 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?,' 'Paper Moon,' and, of course, 'Over the Rainbow.' Mikaela Bennett, Clifton Duncan, Desi Oakley, Megan Sikora and Nick Spangler bring Harburg's story to life-from his Lower East Side childhood to being blacklisted by HUAC. Matt Kunkel's direction, with musical direction by Paul Masse and a script by Jon Marans, weaves together Harburg's comedic and political sides.

English National Opera (ENO) today announces A Christmas Carol, a festive spectacular in collaboration with London Musical Theatre Orchestra (LMTO).

Attracting arts & culture enthusiasts from South Palm Beach County and beyond, the Levis JCC Sandler Center kicks off its impressive 2019-2020 line-up at its black box stage theater with Charlie Cox Runs With Scissors, presented by West Boca Theatre Company.

Emmy Award-winning actress and writer Renée Taylor a?" known to millions as Fran Fine's food obsessed mother, Sylvia, on a?oeThe Nannya?? a?" will bring her comedy smash MY LIFE ON A DIET to George Street Playhouse beginning next Tuesday, November 19th. Called a?oefascinating, lighthearted and spicya?? by The New York Times, MY LIFE ON A DIET, an autobiographical comedy written by Ms. Taylor and her late husband Joseph Bologna, had an enormously successful run last season Off-Broadway under the direction of Mr. Bologna.

 This 2019/2020 season, the talent performing at The RRazz Room at Mizner Park Cultural Center is a diverse mix of world class artists. There is truly something for all tastes at the intimate and comfortable venue, where audiences have the opportunity to enjoy their favorite artists up close and personal.  There is nothing quite like the connection between the performers and their audience in an intimate setting like that of The RRazz Room at Mizner Park Cultural Center. 

92Y announces Lyrics & Lyricists 2020, the new season of the country's preeminent American Songbook series. L&L features artists from theater and beyonda?"including Andy Einhorn, Matt Kunkel, David Loud, Paul Masse, and Stephen Schwartza?"presenting original revues with award-winning Broadway and cabaret performers.

Art Lab (Meg Fofonoff, Executive Producer) just announced the development of a new musical, shAme, written by Mark Governor, based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter. Tony Award Winner Kathleen Marshall is set to direct.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), today announced that acclaimed Director Joe Mantello will be honored with the a?oeMr. Abbotta?? Award, given to a Broadway Director or Choreographer for a lifetime of outstanding contributions.

La actriz que da vida a Gwen Verdon en la miniserie aprovechó este reconocimiento para agradecer la igualdad salarial en la serie con su co-protagonista Sam Rockwell.

Theatre at the Center's production of The Pajama Game had its opening night performance on Sunday, September 15 at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts in Munster.  Artistic Director Linda Fortunato cast Curtis Bannister as Sid, Elizabeth Telford as Babe, Cynthia Carter as Mabel, Kelly Felthous as Gladys, Jason Grimm as Hines, Dan Klarer as Prez, Rick Rapp as Pop and Steve Silver as Mr. Hasler in the musical comedy romance The Pajama Game.