George Gershwin News

Olney Theatre Center continues its 2012 season with the hit musical, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS August 1 to August 26, 2012.

There is honour among thieves, they say. In JUST BUSINESS, playwright and self-styled cultural activist Mike van Graan says otherwise. A reworking of an earlier play, HOSTILE TAKEOVER, the text offers to the audience an investigation of corruption in business and the game of survival that seems to be the driving force behind it all.

BroadwayWorld.com's SHOW BIZ: Rush, Lottery & Standing Room Only Ticketing Policies - updated on 7/20/2012.

Today we are talking to Patricia Kelly, the widow of one of the most iconic and influential performers in entertainment history, Gene Kelly, all about her husband's incomparable career on Broadway and in Hollywood, in honor of his centennial. Tracing Gene Kelly's journey from his theatre roots starring in Cole Porter's LEAVE IT TO ME!, Rodgers & Hart's PAL JOEY and William Saroyan's Pulitzer Prize-winning THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE on Broadway to his unforgettable screen appearances in many of the greatest movie musicals ever made - COVER GIRL, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, THE PIRATE, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS and many more included - Mrs. Kelly gives us a look into the life of one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. In addition to behind-the-scenes stories involving Kelly's frequent collaborators - such as esteemed director Vincente Minnelli, songwriter and producer Arthur Freed, arranger Saul Chaplin and others - Mrs. Kelly also shares candid anecdotes involving her husband's involvement with directing Rodgers & Hammerstein's FLOWER DRUM SONG on Broadway, helming the feature film adaptation of HELLO, DOLLY! starring Barbra Streisand, as well as his appearing in two idiosyncratic movie musicals later in his life, LES DEMOISELLES DE ROCHEFORT (THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT) for Jacques Demy, as well as his au revoir to movie musicals in form of the Olivia Newton-John roller disco starrer XANADU. Additionally, Mrs. Kelly fills us in on all the details about this weekend's two-night Gene Kelly retrospective celebration, which she leads and narrates, as part of GENE KELLY @ 100 and her future plans for the multimedia presentation - each evening titled AN EVENING OF GENE KELLY and CHANGING THE LOOK OF DANCE ON FILM, respective - as she begins to tour the show across the country. Plus, reflections on SINGIN' IN THE RAIN's 60th anniversary and the recent Fathom HD premiere presentation in theaters, the impact of Kelly's work behind the camera, his choreographic legacy, what a legend is like at home, memories of attending the opening night of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (starring HELLO, DOLLY! lead Michael Crawford), what the master would say about GLEE, SMASH, BUNHEADS and today's movie musical renaissance, as well as much, much more!

Ebony Repertory Theatre (ERT - Founder/Producer Wren T. Brown), now in its fifth year, announced today, that they will present the Los Angeles Premiere of FRATERNITY by internationally acclaimed, award-winning playwright/screenwriter Jeff Stetson (Keep the Faith and And the Men Should Also Gather). Henry Miller (James Baldwin's The Amen Corner) is set to direct this riveting award-winning political drama. FRATERNITY will play October 3 - 28, 2012, with the official press opening on Friday, October 5 at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center (4718 W. Washington Blvd.) in Los Angeles.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: Cumming takes on MACBETH, Broadway plays Bryant Park, ALADDIN opens at the Muny, and so much more!

BroadwayWorld.com's SHOW BIZ: Rush, Lottery & Standing Room Only Ticketing Policies - updated on 7/13/2012.

Yesterday, July 12th, Sardi's unveiled a caricature for the Tony Award-winning star of Nice Work If You Can Get It, Michael McGrath. BroadwayWorld was there for the festivities, and we bring you photos from the event below!

Today we are talking to a celebrated comedienne and actress known for her decades-spanning career on screens and stages large and small - from making her Broadway debut in the original Jerome Robbins production of GYPSY on Broadway in 1960 to her many musical roles throughout the 60s to her countless game show and variety show appearances following that all the way to creating an unforgettable character in MOONSTRUCK in the 1980s, as well as her subsequent oft-Neil Simon stage work; now, playing Tina Fey's sweet and daffy mom on NBC's 30 ROCK and, most recently, appearing in Nora & Celia Ephron's LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE and the Playwright's Horizons premiere production of THE BIG MEAL in the new millennium - the one of a kind Anita Gillette. Analyzing her nearly sixty-year career and sharing candid stories of her brushes with some of Broadway and Hollywood's brightest talents - Jule Styne to Ethel Merman to Irving Berlin to Burt Lancaster and beyond - Gillette paints a vivid portrait of the tail end of the Golden Age of Broadway and the heady game show days of TV in the 1960s and 70s to her lauded stage work with Neil Simon and many of the great comedy and musical writers in the years since. Additionally, Gillette and I discuss her current essaying of the role of Mae Peterson in the new Regal Music Theatre production of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams's BYE BYE BIRDIE in Massachusetts as she looks towards opening night tomorrow and relates her joy in participating in a production that has some behind-the-scenes help by her loving granddaughter (while another attends their summer camp). Plus, Gillette's observations on sharing a soundstage with Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Elaine Stritch and Buck Henry for a recent 30 ROCK shoot, reflections on her fondest and most celebrated comedy roles, hilarious memories of appearing in some short-running flops (JIMMY, SKYSKRAPER) as well as in some big hits (GYPSY), her upcoming series of master classes titled "Life In The Business", her return to Birdland with her concert show, AFTER ALL, her role in an upcoming Ed Burns film and maybe even a role in a new Alexander Payne film - all of that, all about attending the Diamond Jubilee celebration in the United Kingdom and much, much more!

Four Seasons Theatre has announced its 8th season, which will feature She Loves Me, The Gershwin Songbook, and Avenue Q.

George Cole and 'Eurocana' are set to dazzle Studio 55's stage with original music, melodies and lyrics that evoke a time gone by. 'Hot Jazz' with an acoustically flavored French string-driven sound that invokes the dynamic styles of Gypsy jazz and swing a la Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt. George Cole has been influenced in his original music by the great composers of the swing era like Cole Porter and George Gershwin. His exciting band 'Eurocana' threads together the material to create a riveting synthesis of Eurocana flair.

During her recent show at 54 Below, Rebecca Luker's renditions of 16 Jerome Kern songs-some of which were more obscure pre-1920 ditties-were lovely and engaging. But as a complete nightclub performance, Luker's show was neither a compelling one-woman concert nor captivating cabaret.

The North Carolina Symphony whisks its audience away to the City of Love in a Summerfest finale to remember. Conductor Mischa Santora, vocalists Robb Asklof and Kersten Rodau, guitarist Robert Bell and accordionist Patrick Harison all join the orchestra for a colorful concert event, "A Night in Paris."

Bristol Riverside Theatre presents Say Goodnight Gracie starring Alan Safier in what's being described as 'a one-man tour-de-force performance' as George Burns at Bristol Riverside Theatre on August 3-5. Performances are Friday, August 3 at 3:00 and 8:00 PM, Saturday, August 4 at 2:00 and 8:00 PM, and Sunday, August 5 at 3:00 PM. Tickets at $35 are available by visiting brtstage.org or calling the BRT Box Office at 215-785-0100. Bristol Riverside Theatre is located at 120 Radcliffe Street in Bristol, PA.

BroadwayWorld.com's SHOW BIZ: Rush, Lottery & Standing Room Only Ticketing Policies - updated on 7/6/2012.

Brisbane's own Southern Cross Soloists and special guest artists will present Rhapsody in Queensland Performing Arts Centre's (QPAC's) Concert Hall on Sunday 29 July.

Ginger Rogers danced her way into the hearts of millions-and into the arms of Fred Astaire-in some of filmdom's best-loved musicals. Beginning July 27, Cumberland County Playhouse gives you the chance to see Ginger's awe-inspiring story brought to life in Backwards in High Heels, a new musical set to some of the 20th century's best-known music.

Caramoor CEO and General Director Michael Barrett will lead the Orchestra of St. Luke's in a celebratory program of "Pops, Patriots and Fireworks" tonight, July 4, at 8:00 PM in the Venetian Theater. Hosted by Jamie Bernstein, the program highlights George Gershwin's greatest works to commemorate America's Independence Day. Guest pianist John Musto will perform Rhapsody in Blue, and many of Gershwin's hit songs will be sung by Darius de Haas and Carla Jablonski. A dazzling pyrotechnic fireworks display will follow the patriotic festivities.

Summer in Chicago continues this month with the Grant Park Music Festival, led by Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar and the Grammy Award-nominated Grant Park Orchestra, along with Chorus Director Christopher Bell and the Grant Park Chorus in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago's Millennium Park. The Festival will bring performances by outstanding guest conductors and guest artists from around the world, in a month of exciting programming that includes a world premiere commission, a live concert screening of Frozen Planet, the latest hit series from BBC/Discovery Channel, a tribute concert to Broadway and Hollywood legend, Frank Loesser and other Festival favorites.

A devout theater fan knows no holiday, and thankfully, many of Broadway's most beloved shows and performers nationwide don't either. So what's a theater enthusiast to do on this Independence Day? Check out a sampling of this year's most exciting 4th of July offerings and click below to revisit some of your favorites saluting our nation in song!