Gwen Verdon News

Whatever Lola wants... Tari Kelly gets? It would seem so with the resume this talented actor presents as she returns to the Ordway for her fourth production on the Saint Paul stage. Get to know more about her in 6 Questions & a Plug.

The bases are loaded with musical theatre magic as Allenberry Playhouse, under the leadership of Artistic Director Ryan Gibbs, presents the Tony Award-winning musical Damn Yankees from tonight, June 17-July 19 on the Allenberry Mainstage.

The bases are loaded with musical theatre magic as Allenberry Playhouse, under the leadership of Artistic Director Ryan Gibbs, presents the Tony Award-winning musical Damn Yankees from June 17-July 19 on the Allenberry Mainstage.

CBS has just announced that Tommy Tune, this year's recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Tony award, will be among the presenters on this year's telecast.

Today in 1975, Chicago opened at the 46th Street Theatre (now the Richard Rogers Theatre), where it ran for 936 performances. Chicago is a musical set in Prohibition-era Chicago, with music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the 'celebrity criminal'. The original cast starred Chita Rivera as Velma Kelly, Gwen Verdon as Roxie Hart, Jerry Orbach as Billy Flynn and Barney Martin as Amos Hart.

Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields iconic 1960's musical SWEET CHARITY is playing on the stage of the Festival Theatre as this year's musical offering at the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario. Visually stunning and often energetically infectious, this musical, with book by Neil Simon, comes at a time when everything mod is new again. The 'MAD MEN' era has made a resurgence in clothing and home furnishings, so this nod to the past seems perfectly placed. Coleman's score includes such standards as 'Big Spender' and 'If My Friends Could See Me Now.'

The Lusty Month of May; like the song says: 'It's time to do a wicked thing or two!' It's May, the time when spring brings that hot-blooded, four letter word: lust. Musicals have had a steady history of lusty musical numbers. There are songs about rolling in the hay, and others extolling the virtues of different (ahem) flavors of man-candy. Some songs are paens to hot, steamy nights, and some are about what you do on those kind of nights. 

The 2015 Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake Ontario is shaping up to be a great mix of Shavian classics, an American musical, Canadian premieres and cutting edge modern day drama. Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell will be leaving after the 2016 Season and is working hard to program an uniquely balanced season, while also hoping to fulfill all of her artistic desires before her tenure ends. The company mandate is: ' The Shaw Festival is a theatre company inspired by the work of Bernard Shaw. We produce plays from and about his era and contemporary plays that share Shaw's provocative exploration of society and celebration of humanity.'

New Dramatists, Tony Honor recipient and the nation's premier playwright development laboratory, just honored Tony Award winning actor and Chairman of the Board of The Actors Fund, Brian Stokes Mitchell with their 2015 Distinguished Achievement Award at its 66th Annual Spring Luncheon tribute. The event featured musical performances from some of Mitchell's most memorable shows by Tony Award winner Leslie Uggams (King Hedley II, Hallelujah Baby), Nicolette Robinson (Brooklynite, TV's 'The Affair,' 'Hart of Dixie') and Leslie Odom, Jr. (Hamilton, NBC's 'Smash'), and Tony nominated Stephanie D'Abruzzo (Avenue Q, Carnival at City Center Encores!). BroadwayWorld brings you photos from inside the event below!

NEW DRAMATISTS, Tony Honor recipient and the nation's premier playwright development laboratory, will honor Tony Award winning actor and Chairman of the Board of The Actors Fund, Brian Stokes Mitchell with their 2015 Distinguished Achievement Award at its 66th Annual Spring Luncheon tribute.

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.

Today in 2005, the second Broadway revival of Sweet Charity opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, where it ran for 279 performances. Sweet Charity is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon alongside John McMartin. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1966, where it was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, and also ran in the West End as well as having revivals and international productions. THe 2005 revival starred Christina Applegate in he title role.

With about a zillion original musicals to their name, most of which made it to Broadway, this pair is one of the most famous Broadway songwriting teams of the modern era. Below, revisit their five longest-running Broadway musicals!

NEW DRAMATISTS, Tony Honor recipient and the nation's premier playwright development laboratory, will honor Tony Award winning actor and Chairman of the Board of The Actors Fund, Brian Stokes Mitchell with their 2015 Distinguished Achievement Award at its 66th Annual Spring Luncheon tribute.

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts has announced the complete casting for its much anticipated summer production of Damn Yankees. The Ordway-produced musical comedy runs June 16-28 for a total of 16 performances. Tickets are available now and can be purchased online at www.ordway.org, by phone at 651-224-4222 or in-person at the Ordway ticket office.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is giving A CHORUS LINE some new life on its 40th anniversary.

The popular series CULTURE & COCKTAILS, hosted by the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, recently concluded its 10th anniversary season by attracting 175 song and dance fans to The Colony Hotel, Palm Beach for a Conversation with Broadway legend Tommy Tune.

The Actors Fund will celebrate Broadway's Biggest Night at the 19th Annual Tony Awards Viewing Party on Sunday, June 7, 2015 at the Skirball Cultural Center's Ahmanson Ballroom in Los Angeles.

Author's Note: The posting of this review was delayed due to family circumstances. CHICAGO! has moved on from Baltimore. It is my hope my review will be of use to audiences in other cities on CHICAGO!'s tour.

Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC) continues its 20th season of the New Play Sounding Series (NPSS) with a free reading of William Missouri Downs' newest play HOW TO STEAL A PICASSO on Monday, February 16, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. Directed by Teresa Sanderson, the reading will feature local actors Daniel Beecher, Terence Goodman, Elise Groves, Jesse Peery, and Susan Dolan Stevens. The NPSS provides an essential testing ground where playwrights see and hear their works in progress and receive insightful feedback from the audience members during a post-play discussion.