Gower Champion News

Now that the world premier of 'Zorro!' has opened and is enjoying ever-growing and receptive audiences of all ages, the adaptor of this famous swashbuckling tale, James Rana, had time to answer a few questions. This is the third world premiere in three years written by Rana, and produced by the Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company, with its artistic director, Gayle Stahlhuth, directing.

Debbie Reynolds – actor, singer, dancer, author, champion for the preservation of the artifacts of film history and for the understanding and treatment of mental illness – has been named the 51st recipient of SAG-AFTRA's highest honor:

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet (ASFB), one of the country's leading contemporary ballet companies, returns to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival for the 82nd season finale.

Vintage Theatre presents 'Mack and Mabel' August 8 through September 14. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m; with additional performances on Thursday, September 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, September 13 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $26 ($21 advance), Senior, Student, Group discounts available. Tickets are available by calling 303-856-7830 or online at www.vintagetheatre.com. Vintage Theatre is located at 1468 Dayton St., Aurora 80010

Director Ryan Gibbs and choreographer Dann Dunn put the tapping feet of 42ND STREET on the Allenberry stage.

The art of the dance movie poster is celebrated at Jacob's Pillow this summer with GOTTA DANCE!, an extraordinary exhibit of vintage posters from throughout the world. The posters, which feature stars such as Gene Kelly, Rita Hayworth, Cyd Charisse, Eleanor Powell, and Astaire & Rogers, were selected from the personal collection of one of the genre's foremost experts, award-winning campaign designer and producer Mike Kaplan. GOTTA DANCE! includes a special six-poster salute to Marge and Gower Champion on the occasion of Marge Champion's 95th birthday.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. It's our annual Regional Summer Musical Theater Guide, featuring the best summer theaters in Illinois, Wisconsin, western Michigan and northern Indiana, plus the Muny in St. Louis! Timber Lake, American Folklore, Mason Street, Wagon Wheel, Little Theatre On The Square and more!

American Dance Machine for the 21st Century (ADM21) will make its Joyce Theater debut, November 11 - 16, with eight performances of show-stopping musical theater dance numbers by legendary choreographers including Rob Ashford, Michael Bennett, Patricia Birch, Gower Champion, Jack Cole, Henry LeTang, Jerry Mitchell, Jerome Robbins, Susan Stroman and more.

American Dance Machine for the 21st Century (ADM21) will make its Joyce Theater debut,November 11 - 16, with eight performances of show-stopping musical theater dance numbers by legendary choreographers including Rob Ashford, Michael Bennett, Patricia Birch, Gower Champion, Jack Cole, Henry LeTang, Jerry Mitchell, Jerome Robbins, Susan Stroman and more.

Today we continue the 2014 edition of our annual BroadwayWorld feature series spotlighting the very best Tony Awards-related moments of all time with a special focus on one of the most oft-revived and popular musicals of all time, BYE BYE BIRDIE.

Today we continue the 2014 edition of our annual BroadwayWorld feature series spotlighting the very best Tony Awards-related moments of all time with a special focus on what many consider the final musical in the Golden Age tradition, 42nd STREET!

The Gateway will open their 65th season with '42nd Street' - led by three-­time Tony Award nominee Randy Skinner - now through June 8 at Bellport's Gateway Playhouse. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The Gateway will open their 65th season with "42nd Street" - led by three-­time Tony Award nominee Randy Skinner - May 21 to June 8 at Bellport's Gateway Playhouse.

Today we continue the 2014 edition of our annual BroadwayWorld feature series spotlighting the very best Tony Awards-related moments of all time with a special focus on one of the most adored and highly-awarded musicals ever written, HELLO, DOLLY!

Today, the multi-talented dancer speaks exclusively to BWW about the uniqueness of choreographing a show like 'Hedwig', his longtime relationship with Neil Patrick Harris and what's ahead for the new season of 'So You Think You Can Dance.'

Tony and Grammy Award winner and 2011 Kennedy Center Honoree Barbara Cook will be returning to New York-area stages with her new concert ARE YOU HAVIN' ANY FUN? Barbara Cook in Concert, with upcoming performances scheduled for: Saturday, April 26 at Symphony Space in Manhattan; Saturday, May 10 at the Colden Auditorium at the Kupferberg Center at Queens College; Saturday, May 31 at the South Orange Performing Arts Center in South Orange, New Jersey; and at the Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, NY on Saturday June 14.

THEATER TALK celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Hello, Dolly! with a trio of guests, each with a different association with the long-running show. Actress Sondra Lee was the production's original Minnie Fay; Lee Roy Reams was Cornelius in the 1978 revival and directed the second revival in 1995; and dancer Marge Champion, married to the show's director-choreographer Gower Champion, was present at the show's creation. The 1964 mega-hit was a musical adaptation of Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker, with a book by Michael Stewart, score by 26-year-old Jerry Herman and produced by the notorious David Merrick. The show's original cast included: Carol Channing, David Burns, Charles Nelson Reilly, Eileen Brennan and Ms. Lee. It ran for a record-breaking 2,844 performances from Jan. 15, 1964 to Dec. 27, 1970 and won 10 Tony Awards, a record it held for 35 years.

Bernadette Peters Tweeted three pictures of she and Carol Channing backstage at her concert at The McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, Calif., on February 19. Check them out below!

Recognizable stage and screen star Anita Gillette returns to the West Coast with her solo show AFTER ALL this Friday with a gig scheduled for Feinstein's At The Nikko.

Richard Skipper is kicking off a yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of HELLO, DOLLY! with members of the original Broadway cast! Scheduled to appear: Nicole Barth (Original cast), Paul Berne (dancer, Original Company), Carleton Carpenter and Johnny Beecher (Sheridan (Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker: Mary Martin International Company), Wayne Clark (first National Company with Carol Channing), John Anthony Gilvey: Author, Before the Parade Passes By: Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical (click here), David Hartman (Rudolph and Stage Manager: Original Company), Charles Karel (Original cast), Jan LaPrad (Original Company dancer), Joan 'Buttons' Leonard (original company), Bob Lydiard (Cornelius Hackl, Carol's first Broadway Revival), Lee Roy Reams (Cornelius Hackl 1977 tour and Broadway Revival, director 1996 Broadway tour and Revival), Megan Thomas (Carol's last tour), Andrea Bell (started with Carol Channing, as Ermengarde at the age of seventeen, in Carol's FIRST national tour as well as other productions.) Ron Young (dancer original cast).