Gwen Verdon News

Tony-Award Winning Star Donna McKechnie Returns to TheatreZone -- Takes on lead role as Marmee in Little Women: The Broadway Musical Broadway star and legendary entertainer Donna McKechnie returns to TheatreZone in Naples, cast as Marmee in Little Women: The Broadway Musical, announced artistic director Mark Danni. Based on Louisa May Alcott's classic novel, the musical follows the adventures of the four remarkable March sisters coming of age during the American Civil War era.

Glamour, sophistication, and elegance: these words defined the era of supper clubs and the crooners who ruled them. Florida Studio Theatre opens its Cabaret Season on October 12 with That's Life, Again, a journey to the time when livin' was easy, with stylish songs like 'New York, New York,' 'Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime,' and 'My Way.'

How did Judy Garland overcome her stage fright? What was Gwen Verdon's ritual before each performance? Where did David Merrick hide his various toupees? Learn the answers to these questions and many other insider anecdotes about legendary theatre performers from one of Broadway's great stage managers at TheatreZone's annual Sneak Peek, held in the G&L Theatre, Sunday, November 13 at 2 pm.

Tony-Award Winning Star Donna McKechnie Returns to TheatreZone -- Takes on lead role as Marmee in Little Women: The Broadway Musical Broadway star and legendary entertainer Donna McKechnie returns to TheatreZone in Naples, cast as Marmee in Little Women: The Broadway Musical, announced artistic director Mark Danni. Based on Louisa May Alcott's classic novel, the musical follows the adventures of the four remarkable March sisters coming of age during the American Civil War era.

How did Judy Garland overcome her stage fright? What was Gwen Verdon's ritual before each performance? Where did David Merrick hide his various toupees? Learn the answers to these questions and many other insider anecdotes about legendary theatre performers from one of Broadway's great stage managers at TheatreZone's annual Sneak Peek, held in the G&L Theatre, Sunday, November 13 at 2 pm.

Last night in an East Side Penthouse overlooking the congestion at the United Nations Bick Goss was honored by the organization he founded in 1999. Mr. Goss began his career as a Bob Fosse dancer (original companies of Little Me, Sweet Charity, Dancin' and Chicago). In his role as director-choreographer-producer he has worked with Billy Crystal, Harold Prince, Gwen Verdon and with many performers who were present and performed at the festive celebration in the home of Mary Ellen Ashley & Cyrus Rubin.

Musical Mondays Theatre Lab, which for 12 years has been instrumental in developing new musicals including 'Next to Normal,' salutes its founder, Bick Goss, with a gala celebration on Monday evening, September 19 at a private penthouse apartment on Manhattan's east side.

42nd Street Moon, the company renowned for presenting uncommon musical theater, begins its 2011-12 season with a salute to the legendary Cole Porter.

Musical Mondays Theatre Lab, which for 12 years has been instrumental in developing new musicals including 'Next to Normal,' salutes its founder, Bick Goss, with a gala celebration on Monday evening, September 19 at a private penthouse apartment on Manhattan's east side.

Today we are talking to the new Roxie in CHICAGO on Broadway best known for her status as one of the most successful songwriters of the twenty-first century, having had hundreds of songs featured on albums by the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion, Pink and many, many more - with a significant number of them topping the charts in a variety of genres from pop to rock to country and beyond. In this all-encompassing conversation, DioGuardi and I dissect her career thus far - in front of millions and behind the scenes - and she generously sheds some light on how some of her most famous songs came to be - including the modern-day Gwen Stefani classic "If I Were A Rich Girl", famously sampling a song from FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. Additionally, we talk about her two-year stint on AMERICAN IDOL and what working with Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul was like, as well as her opinions on Simon's new talent competition premiering later this year, THE X-FACTOR, and how she looks back on her experience doing the hit show and her own reality series, PLATINUM HIT. Additionally, we discuss DioGuardi's Broadway baby roots and her formative theatrical experiences, as well as what taking the stage at this point in her career means to her - and, all about wearing Ashlee Simpson's costume. Plus, DioGuardi's thoughts on entertainment legends ranging from CHICAGO composer John Kander to rock icon Jim Steinman to Broadway legends like Liza Minnelli, Gwen Verdon, Stephen Sondheim and many, many more. We also have news on her upcoming songs and collaborations to look out for, featuring a vast array of artists such as Jason Mraz, Bruno Mars, Jason Derulo and more - many featured through her music publishing company, Arthouse Entertainment. As if all of that weren't enough, DioGuardi also shares her affection for GLEE, Broadway song craftsmanship and gypsies!

The Music Division of the Library of Congress will receive an extensive collection of Broadway and personal memorabilia from the estate of Broadway giant John Raitt, who originated the role of Billy Bigelow in the Rodgers and Hammerstein show 'Carousel' and also starred in 'The Pajama Game,' 'Oklahoma!' and other top musicals from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Musical Mondays Theatre Lab, which for 12 years has been instrumental in developing new musicals including 'Next to Normal,' salutes its founder, Bick Goss, with a gala celebration on Monday evening, September 19 at a private penthouse apartment on Manhattan's east side.

The Harbor Lights Theater Company, a professional not-for-profit company dedicated to illuminating the human experience through the highest quality theatrical production and arts education, announces its professional theater training program 'Enter Stage Right' and its Fall Semester courses, for youth ages 11-18.

On Saturday afternoon, August 27th, that revival will chalk up its 6,138th performance, surpassing A Chorus Line as Broadway's longest running American musical. Sure, there are three Broadway productions higher on the list of total performances - Les Miserables, Cats and the still-running Phantom of the Opera - but the distinction of Chicago being an American musical is a significant one.

Television and recording artist-turned-stage actress, Nikki Gil (Charity Hope Valentine) and newbie theater actor, Kris Lawrence (Oscar Lindquist), lead 9 Works Theatrical's (Rent, The Wedding Singer) production of the classic Broadway musical comedy, Sweet Charity, at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati City.

Broadway leading lady, Fosse featured player and, now, the star of the new Fringe Festival play SAMMY GETS MUGGED!, gypsy phenomenon Stephanie Pope Caffey has lit up Broadway stages for almost thirty years - especially memorable for her dance-heavy roles in Bob Fosse's BIG DEAL, SWEET CHARITY, DANCIN‘, CHICAGO and the Tony-winning revue FOSSE itself. We also discuss working with four other legendary directors on four classic shows in the interim - JELLY'S LAST JAM directed by George C. Wolfe, THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES directed by Tommy Tune, the hit revival of A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM directed by Jerry Zaks and KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN directed by Hal Prince (with choreography by Rob Marshall) - and far beyond. These days, Stephanie operates one of the premiere Bikram yoga studios in the country, Bikram Yoga East Harlem, and she evocatively illustrates how that is a continuation of her dance work and how beneficial the practice has been to her life. Additionally, in this career-spanning conversation we analyze the life of a gypsy dancer and what it takes to make it and rise to the top of the ranks in the best corps on Broadway, then and now - and, all applicable anecdotes that arise along the way, of course (and even some surprises). Plus, Stephanie shares all about her role in SAMMY GETS MUGGED! and reveals what drew her to the project, what to expect from the new drama/comedy, what her character is like and much, much more!

If Mike Nichols and Elaine May ever had a routine about two theatre geeks discussing their favorite unsuccessful musicals, it probably would have resembled the kind of banter that goes on between Jennifer Tepper and Kevin Michael Murphy as creators/producers/hosts of the concert series, If It Only Even Runs A Minute.  Monday night's edition, their seventh, was my third visit to their collection of one-nighters where musical theatre well-knowns and not so well-knowns join music director/pianist Caleb Hoyer to sing selections from underappreciated and/or forgotten musicals between quick histories of each production by Tepper and Murphy.  Frequently, original cast members will be on hand to give first-person accounts of the bumpy roads to opening night.

Nikki Gil (Charity Hope Valentine) and newbie theater actor, Kris Lawrence (Oscar Lindquist), led the opening of the classic Broadway musical comedy, SWEET CHARITY, at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in Makati City last night.

42nd Street Moon, the company renowned for presenting uncommon musical theater, begins its 2011-12 season with a salute to the legendary Cole Porter.

The Broadway Theatre Project (BTP) is proud to have just completed its 21st consecutive phenomenal three week intensive training program developing key aspects of the Performing Arts and teaching critical life skills for extraordinary theatrical young people on the campus of University of South Florida.