George Abbott News

Irish Repertory Theatre continues its 24th Season with Bob Merrill and George Abbott's NEW GIRL IN TOWN - a Tony-nominated musical based on Eugene O'Neill's ANNA CHRISTIE - with previews beginning tonight, July 18, prior to an official press opening July 26 at Off-Broadway's award-winning Irish Repertory Theatre (132 West 22nd Street).

Pittsburgh CLO will present Fiddler on the Roof, July 13-22 at the Benedum Center. This classic tale is filled with 'memorable music, rousing dances and a touch of human wisdom.'

Full casting has been announced for theupcoming national tour of THE ADDAMS FAMILY, a new musical based on the bizarre and beloved family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams, which will make its Pennsylvania premiere in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, July 31 - Sunday, August 12, 2012, at the Benedum Center

Today in 1976, the second Broadway revival of Pal Joey opened at the Circle in the SquareTheatre, where it ran for 73 performances. Pal Joey is a musical with a book by John O'Hara (from his novel of the same title) and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart based on a character and situations O'Hara created in a series of short stories published in The New Yorker. The original 1940 Broadway production was directed by George Abbott and starred Gene Kelly. There have been several revivals since, including a 2008-09 Broadway run, and a 1957 film adaptation starring Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak. The 1976 cast featured: Christopher Chadman (Joey), Harold Gary (Mike), Terri Treas (Kid), Janie Sell (Gladys), and Gail Benedict (Gail).

Irish Repertory Theatre continues its 24th Season with Bob Merrill and George Abbott's NEW GIRL IN TOWN - a Tony-nominated musical based on Eugene O'Neill's ANNA CHRISTIE - with previews set to begin July 18, prior to an official press opening July 26 at Off-Broadway's award-winning Irish Repertory Theatre (132 West 22nd Street).

Masterworks Broadway continues to make good on its promise to open its vaults with more classic cast recordings previously unavailable in the CD era. Working (1978 Original Broadway Cast), Call Me Madam (Dinah Shore and the Original Broadway Company, 1950) and Desert Song (1959 Studio Cast) will be available as downloads through all major digital service providers and as disc-on-demand with the original cover art, via Arkivmusic.com and Amazon.com.

Probably the golden age of musical theatre in the US was from 1950 to 1960. Great scripts like King and I, My Fair Lady, and West Side Story were staged. Also produced were such flops as Salad Days, Zuleika, Ankles Away, The Vamp, ShaNgri-La, Shinbone Alley, and Free As Air. Most shows were of the neither great nor flop variety. These included the likes of Call Me Madam, Guys and Dolls, Paint Your Wagon, Can-Can, Wonderful Town, Fanny, and The Pajama Game. Also included in the list was DAMN YANKEES, now on stage at Porthouse Theatre.

Producers Julian Schlossberg and Letty Aronson have just announced that five time Tony Award® winner Susan Stroman will direct and choreograph the world premiere production of BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, the new musical adaptation of Woody Allen's and Douglas McGrath's screenplay of the 1994 crime-comedy film when it arrives home on Broadway in the 2013 - 2014 season.

Endangered Species Project has announced a rare reading of a play that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1921 - the first play by a woman to do so - Miss Lulu Bett by Zola Gale.

50s musicals were known for their levity and hit tunes, not for substance, so when a musical such as The Pajama Game had something to say to working class America about standing up and fighting for what they're due, it highly appealed to a middle-class audience... without really meaning to, it served as a precursor of meatier shows to follow in the decades ahead. Of course, Pajama Game is still light... and romantic - it's what audiences craved - with Babe (Karen Volpe) and Sid (Michael Dotson) finding romance and true love while they duke out their differences as labor and management. Now in a pleasantly gleeful production at DCLO (Downey Civic Light Opera) a joyously tuneful piece of nostalgia lives on, as just that - nostalgia, as it does belong to another time and place!

The award-winning Peccadillo Theater Company will present a staged reading of one of Eugene O'Neill's most autobiographical plays, The Straw tonight on Monday, June 4th at 7 pm at Theatre at St. Clement's (423 West 46th Street, between Ninth & Tenth Avenues). The presentation will be directed by Peccadillo's OBIE and Lortel Award-winning artistic director, Dan Wackerman. The cast will feature Ellen Adair, Cyrilla Baer, Jacqueline Baum, Jeffrey C. Hawkins, Eric Hoffmann, Susan Jeffries, Jodie Lynne McClintock, Ryah Nixon, Keith Perry, Richard Poe and Lee Aaron Rosen. Tony Triano will narrate.

The award-winning Peccadillo Theater Company presents a staged reading of one of Eugene O'Neill's most autobiographical plays, The Straw tonight, June 4th at 7 pm at Theatre at St. Clement's (423 West 46th Street, between Ninth & Tenth Avenues). The presentation is directed by Peccadillo's OBIE and Lortel Award-winning artistic director, Dan Wackerman. The cast features Richard Poe, Ellen Adair, Lee Aaron Rosen, Jeffrey C. Hawkins, Susan Jeffries, Eric Hoffmann, and Jacqueline Baum.

Endangered Species Project has announced a rare reading of a play that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1921 - the first play by a woman to do so - Miss Lulu Bett by Zola Gale.

The award-winning Peccadillo Theater Company will present a staged reading of one of Eugene O'Neill's most autobiographical plays, The Straw on Monday, June 4th at 7 pm at Theatre at St. Clement's (423 West 46th Street, between Ninth & Tenth Avenues). The presentation will be directed by Peccadillo's OBIE and Lortel Award-winning artistic director, Dan Wackerman. The cast will feature Richard Poe, Ellen Adair, Lee Aaron Rosen, Jeffrey C. Hawkins, Susan Jeffries, Eric Hoffmann, and Jacqueline Baum.

The 20th Anniversary season of New York City Center's Tony Award-winning Encores! series will open on January 30, 2013 with Fiorello!, the show that launched the series in 1994. The season will continue with It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman, followed by On Your Toes. A Gala Encores! at 20 Celebration on November 12, 2012 will star Tony Award nominees and Encores! alumni Rauil Esparza and Kelli O'Hara.

Producers Scott Landis and Philip Morgaman have announced that EVER AFTER, a new musical based on the 20th Century Fox Film, will open on Broadway in the 2013-2014 season following a pre-Broadway engagement to be announced. The production will be directed and choreographed by three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall. EVER AFTER features music by Zina Goldrich and book & lyrics by Marcy Heisler, who recently won the 2012 Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre for most promising musical theatre lyricist. The music director is Mary-Mitchell Campbell.

The Peccadillo Theater Company presents a special industry reading of Sherri Heller's new comedy MY MOTHER, MY SISTER & ME starring Valerie Harper on tonight, May 14th at 7 pm at the DR2 Theatre (103 East 15th Street). The presentation will be directed by OBIE Award winner, Dan Wackerman. A full cast announcement will be forthcoming.

The Peccadillo Theater Company announced complete casting today for the sold out industry reading of Sherri Heller's new comedy MY MOTHER, MY SISTER & ME, starring Valerie Harper, this Monday, May 14th at the DR2 Theatre (103 East 15th Street). The presentation will be directed by OBIE Award winner, Dan Wackerman. Along with Valerie Harper, the cast will feature Marcelo Pereira, Anthony Reimer, Randy Schein, Barbara Walsh, Zoe Winters and Remy Zaken.

Today in 1954, Damn Yankees opened at the 46th Street Theatre (now the Richard Rodgers Theatre), where it ran for 1019 performances. Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball.

The Peccadillo Theater Company will present a special industry reading of Sherri Heller's new comedy MY MOTHER, MY SISTER & ME starring Valerie Harper on Monday, May 14th at 7 pm at the DR2 Theatre (103 East 15th Street). The presentation will be directed by OBIE Award winner, Dan Wackerman. A full cast announcement will be forthcoming.