Gwen Verdon News

In this episode: Broadway's Shannon Lewis grew up in a rural Canadian suburb and at age 19 was hand picked by Susan Stroman to make her Broadway debut, after a "Crazy for You" casting director saw her in a Toronto theme park show. The essence of this podcast is having integrity, the importance of the respect of your peers, and to have your talent and drive ready, so that when someone opens a door for you, you can walk right in. With an impeccable work ethic that takes every opportunity seriously; whether in the ensemble, as a deputy, or as a principle; as well as having Gwen Verdon as a champion, the real Shannon Lewis is coming out of hiding. @realshanlew 

Now entering its 28th year, Broadway Theatre Project (BTP) announces its newest Resident Artist: Kim Morgan Greene. Best known for her television performances as Channing Carter Colby on The Colby's and Nicole Love on Another World, Greene is an award-winning actor, dancer, singer, choreographer and director.

Tommy Tune, Broadway's tallest tapper, returns to the Feinstein's at the Nikko stage on Sunday, March 18 at 4 & 7 p.m.- dancing, singing and tale-telling. The ten-time Tony Award winner takes an autobiographical stroll, celebrating 50 plus years of big time showmanship! From his arrival in New York City as a fresh-faced kid from Texas, through his most popular roles on stage and screen, to his ascension as one of Broadway's most accomplished director-choreographers. Accompanied by Michael Biagi, his music director for nearly four decades, the evening features Tune's personal renditions of standards by Irving Berlin, Kurt Weill, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Burt Bacharach, the Gershwins, Carole King, Green Day and more. Tickets for Tommy Tune range in price from $60-$100 and are available now by calling 866.663.1063 or visiting www.ticketfly.com.

BroadwayWorld is sad to share the news today that legendary filmmaker Rick McKay has passed away earlier this week. A longtime friend of the web site, and constant presence in the theatre world, McKay has long been at work on two sequels to his 2004 hit film, Broadway: The Golden Age.

Today we remember the groundbreaking original production of Bob Fosse's Sweet Charity, which opened on Broadway on this day in 1966.

Theater Program presents its fourth annual production, Anything Goes, directed by 5th Avenue Theatre Casting Director Kelsey Thorgalsen. The show runs March 9th though 18th, with previews March 7th and 8th, at the Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse at 4045 University Way NE.

Sasha Allen (The Voice, Pippin, Hair, Camp) and Ricardo Zayas (Hamilton) will join Aurora Barnes in Somewhere Between Sondheim and Lullabies at Feinstein's/54 Below on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at 7pm. A portion of the proceeds from the show will benefit TADA! Youth Theater, of which Aurora, Sasha, and Ricardo are all alumni. Come hear songs ranging from Sondheim to Bob Dylan to Aurora's original compositions.

On March 5, 2018, TADA! Youth Theater will host its annual gala at Tribeca 360, located at 10 Desbrosses Street in Manhattan. This year's honorees will be Leslie Uggams and Tommy Tune. The evening will feature a cocktail hour, dinner, live and silent auctions, entertainment from the TADA!'s Resident Youth Ensemble and Broadway stars, and many more great surprises.

Steve Elmore, an original cast member of Stephen Sondheim's ground-breaking musical 'Company' as well as a regular presence on Broadway for more than three decades, passed away recently in Florida at age 84, his wife Carolyn Marcell Elmore confirmed.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Aurora Barnes in Somewhere Between Sondheim and Lullabies on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at 7pm. A portion of the proceeds from the show will benefit TADA! Youth Theater. Come hear songs ranging from Sondheim to Bob Dylan to Aurora's original compositions.

'Others, who did not know him, can write obituaries about David Cassidy. I want to share some personal remembrances. I knew him, I liked him, I am saddened by his loss. I was glad that David chose me to ghost-write his autobiography, 'C'Mon Get Happy' (by David Cassidy with Chip Deffaa, published by Warner Books). And writing that book with him was an intense experience. He was open, candid, frank, and a fantastic storyteller. He had a seemingly endless supply of self-deprecating stories to tell, which I appreciated. He shared everything with me, with the understanding that we could decide later what to put into the book, and what to keep private. I liked his openness.

One of America's most beloved comedians of stage and screen will have a special spot on your tree and in your heart this holiday season. Carol Burnett joins theatre's brightest luminaries as the latest addition to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS' Broadway Legends ornament collection.

The Fred Ebb Foundation, in association with the Roundabout Theatre Company, will present the 13th annual Fred Ebb Award for aspiring musical theatre songwriters to Shaina Taub.

The Martina Arroyo Foundation's 13th Annual Gala, a celebration of Prelude to Performance, Role Class and Outreach Programs, will be held on Monday, November 13, 2017 beginning 6:30pm in the Grand Salon of the JW Marriott Essex House, 160 Central Park South, NYC.

What do the Beatles, Dylan, Sting, Stones, Beyonc , Gaga, Madonna, the Taylors (Swift and James), Queen, Elvis, Bowie, Pink, Adele, the Monkees and Snoop Dog all have in common?

Sam Norkin (1917-2011), who drew Broadway for decades, honoring opening nights with the caricature of a star or the entire company, most notably for the New York Daily News, is the subject of an online exhibition at Broadway Design Exchange, beginning now through November 19.

Thanking the Sound Gods, onstage mistakes, the Holy Grail of Broadway impressions is found within Robbie Rozzelle, Gwen Verdon wants to go to the movies, the joys of a second whorehouse, Tommy Tune does double duty, praising the poster, Lincoln Center's greatest weapon, and much more!

Connoisseurs of American musical theatre wishing to make a point about the genre's ability to dramatize even the most unlikely of subjects often cite examples like SWEENEY TODD's vengeful barber on a killing spree or THE PAJAMA GAME's labor/management dispute, but bookwriter/lyricist/composer Kirsten Childs may have topped them all in 2000 when Playwrights Horizons premiered THE BUBBLY BLACK GIRL SHEDS HER CHAMELEON SKIN.

The Hangar Theatre will present the world premiere of Mimi Quillin's play Degage (disengage) from July 20 until July 29, 2017.

After thirteen years and eighteen directing credits for major Off-Broadway companies such as Playwrights Horizons, Vineyard, Lincoln Center Theatre and The New York Theatre Workshop, another accomplished New York stage talent, Anne Kauffman, takes her overdue Broadway bow with Roundabout's revival of Scott McPherson's 1990 darkly comic drama MARVIN'S ROOM.