George Gershwin News

Today in 1943, Porgy and Bess opened at the 44th Street Theatre, where it ran for 24 performances. First performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward, it was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward. All three works deal with African-American life in the fictitious Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina, in the early 1920s. Originally conceived by George Gershwin as an 'American folk opera', Porgy and Bess premiered in New York in the fall of 1935 and featured an entire cast of classically trained African-American singers-a daring artistic choice at the time.

Barbara Cook returns to Carnegie Hall to celebrate her 85th birthday on Thursday, October 18 at 8:00 p.m. with a special performance in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage.

Tony Nominee Stephen Bogardus (Falsettos, Love! Valor! Compassion!) Luba Mason (Chicago, How to Succeed), Anastasia Barzee (Jekyll & Hyde, Miss Saigon) and 25 others have joined two-time Tony Nominee Vivian Reed (Bubbling Brown Sugar, Marie Christine) in the workshop cast of One for My Baby, the new book musical with a Harold Arlen score.

BroadwayWorld.com's SHOW BIZ: Rush, Lottery & Standing Room Only Ticketing Policies - updated on 9/7/2012.

On September 25th, music legend Barbara Cook releases an all new recording, Loverman, her latest from DRG Records. Loverman is described as 'a brilliant departure from Ms. Cook's traditional Broadway repertoire, featuring instead a large collection of jazz and standards.' In addition to the release of Loverman, on October 18th Ms. Cook will perform a concert at Carnegie Hall in celebration her 85th birthday.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, longtime purveyors, custodians and distillers of a modern big band swing sound, are back and newly signed with Savoy Jazz. In celebration of twenty years bringing an irrepressible groove to the adoring masses, the band has recorded 'RATTLE THEM BONES'-their eighth studio album which is available today.

Musicals Tonight has announced its 2012-2013 Season-it's 15th-which begins October 2 with Red, Hot and Blue at The Lion Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street. The season continues with Fade Out - Fade In, Strike Up the Band, Same Time, Next Year and Leave It to Jane. More details below!

TVGuide reports that Tony Award-winner Matthew Broderick will lend his voice to an episode of Cartoon Network's ADVENTURE TIME. The animated series follows the adventures of a young boy and his 'magically powered' dog.

BroadwayWorld.com's SHOW BIZ: Rush, Lottery & Standing Room Only Ticketing Policies - updated on 8/31/2012.

Combine more than 20 unforgettable Gershwin songs like "I Got Rhythm" and "Someone to Watch Over Me" with lots of fabulous dancing and a comical boy-meets-girl love story and you get Crazy for You, the rousing, Tony Award-winning musical that closes the 2012 Music Circus Season, at Wells Fargo Pavilion from August 28 - September 2. Check out production photos, featuring Noah Racey as Bobby Child and Anne Horak as Polly Baker, below!

Chicago's "Best Musical" is back for its third smash year! The multi award-winning 'musical zom-com' (zombie comedy) Musical of the Living Dead takes audiences on a rip-roaring journey beyond the grave with its satirical send-ups of classic zombie films and musical theater.

Combine more than 20 unforgettable Gershwin songs like "I Got Rhythm" and "Someone to Watch Over Me" with lots of fabulous dancing and a comical boy-meets-girl love story and you get Crazy for You, the rousing, Tony Award-winning musical that closes the 2012 Music Circus Season, at Wells Fargo Pavilion from tonight, August 28 - September 2. Playing Bobby Child will be award-winning Broadway song-and-dance man Noah Racey, who has performed on Broadway in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Follies, Curtains and Never Gonna Dance. Playing the feisty Polly Baker will be Anne Horak, whose Broadway and touring credits include Young Frankenstein and White Christmas.

BroadwayWorld.com's SHOW BIZ: Rush, Lottery & Standing Room Only Ticketing Policies - updated on 8/24/2012.

Combine more than 20 unforgettable Gershwin songs like "I Got Rhythm" and "Someone to Watch Over Me" with lots of fabulous dancing and a comical boy-meets-girl love story and you get Crazy for You, the rousing, Tony Award-winning musical that closes the 2012 Music Circus Season, at Wells Fargo Pavilion from August 28 - September 2. Get a first look at Noah Racey as Bobby Child with the ensemble in the photos below!

TVGuide reports that Tony Award-winner Matthew Broderick will lend his voice to an episode of Cartoon Network's ADVENTURE TIME. The animated series follows the adventures of a young boy and his 'magically powered' dog.

Barcelona se encontrará a partir del 21 de agosto un poco más cerca de Broadway. Y es que la compañía La Nota Teatre transporta una parte del epicentro de las grandes propuestas musicales al Versus Teatre de Barcelona con un objetivo, reflexionar sobre las producciones actuales haciendo un guiño al origen del género musical. Una meta que ya se deja entrever en el propio título del montaje.

Today in 1981, the second Broadway revival of My Fair Lady opened at the Uris Theatre (now the George Gershwin Theatre), where it ran for 120 performances. My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist, so that she may pass as a well born lady. The musical's 1956 Broadway production was a hit, setting what was then the record for the longest run of any major musical theatre production in history. It was followed by a hit London production, a popular film version, and numerous revivals.

In preparation for the All-Day Long Island Al Jolson Festival (in Oceanside, NY) on Saturday, August 18, BroadwayWorld.com cabaret columnist Stephen Hanks offers his take on what made the 'World's Greatest Entertainer' so great, and muses about the reasons as to why he is such a devotee of the man who once owned Broadway and starred in the first talking picture.

BroadwayWorld.com's SHOW BIZ: Rush, Lottery & Standing Room Only Ticketing Policies - updated on 8/17/2012.

True Blood's Deborah Ann Woll took a moment to sing George Gershwin's 'They All Laughed' on ABCNews. Watch the video of her performance below! Woll, who plays Jessica Hamby on HBO's series True Blood, graduated with a BFA in acting from the USC School of Theatre and spent 10 years on stage before becoming a small screen star.