Jack Viertel News

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and underappreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This week, they discuss the joys of intimate musicals, including 'They're Playing Our Song' and 'Spitfire Grill.'

Sweeney Todd. Frederik Egerman. Bill Samson. All of these roles, plus many others, were first brought to life by Tony Award winner Len Cariou. Sweeney Todd. Frederik Egerman. Bill Samson. All of these roles, plus many others, were first brought to life by Tony Award winner Len Cariou. Len dropped by Shetler Studios to share memories of his incredible career, including tackling Shakespeare, Sondheim, and everything in between.

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and underappreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This Week: A book that needs to be revised and a musical that needs to be revived!

The Drama Book Shop is pleased to welcome Jack Viertel for a discussion and signing of his new book, The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built, on Wednesday, June 15th at 5:00PM. The event is free to the public, but priority admission is granted to those who purchase a copy of the book. Mr. Viertel will sign copies of his book, which will be available for purchase, following the discussion.

The Huntington Theatre Company presents a free reading and discussion with author and producer Jack Viertel at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA on Monday, June 20 at 7:30pm, moderated by Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois. A New York Times bestseller, The Secret Life of the American Musical is an insider's look at the anatomy of a Broadway musical. Viertel writes about what he learned over the course of his career, including his observations about the egotists, geniuses, and workaday professionals who have sustained this unique American art form.

She was Arthur Miller's sister, a victim of the House Un-American Activities Committee, and one of New York's most respected actresses. Joan Copeland is a living legend whose career includes standing by for Vivien Leigh and Katherine Hepburn, sharing the stage with Danny Kaye, and bringing the words of her brother to vivid theatrical life.

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and underappreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business.

It's Tony Time so its time to place your bets! Who will win? Who will lose? Who wasn't nominated? Who should be nominated? Rob, Kevin, and Tony historian Bryan Hobgood, debate the 2015-2016 Theatre season in two episodes and predict who will walk away with the coveted Tony Award!

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and underappreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This episode: Robert and Kevin discuss the brilliant lyrics of both Dorothy Fields & Corky St. Clair via SEESAW and WAITING FOR GUFFMAN.

Howard McGillin holds the record for the most performances as The Phantom in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. But, before he sang The Music Of The Night over 2,000 times, Howard starred in THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, ANYTHING GOES, and many others!

The bookwriter of ELF, ALADDIN and THE WEDDING SINGER says you can't just write a carbon copy of the source.

The Encores! production of Do I Hear a Waltz?, the romantic, rarely-seen 1965 musical that marked the only collaboration of Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim, just conluded its seven performance run over the weekend. It starred Claybourne Elder, Melissa Errico, Sarah Hunt, Zachary Infante, Cass Morgan, Richard Poe, Michael Rosen, Sarah Stiles, and Richard Troxell.

New York City Center's Tony-honored Encores! series, led by Artistic Director Jack Viertel and Music Director Rob Berman, begins its 24thseason with Roger Miller's 1985 retelling of Mark Twain's classic novel, Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; followed by Cole Porter's 1930 Prohibition romp The New Yorkers, and The Golden Apple, John Latouche and Jerome Moross' 1954 reinvention of the Greek epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey into an all-American fable.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: The stars of ALADDIN announce the 2016 Drama League nominees this morning, and the company of MCC's 'A FUNNY THING...' meets the press, so stay tuned for coverage!

Just announced, Obie Award-winning BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON composer and lyricist Michael Friedman will take over as artistic director of New York City Center's popular Encores! Off-Center summer musical theater series.

Symphony Space pays exuberant homage to the Great White Way with Project B-way/95, a two-week celebration comprising 14 events, now through April 20. A particular highlight is this year's installment of Symphony Space's signature event, WALL TO WALL STEPHEN SCHWARTZ (tonight, April 16).

New Musicals at 54 is a series produced by Feinstein's/ 54 Below Programming Director Jennifer Ashley Tepper. Some of the 10 new and diverse musicals by a selection of today's most talented writers have had out-of-town productions, some have had workshops... now's your chance to be first to see them in NYC! Join us at New Musicals at 54 for one-night-only concerts celebrating each new show with songs, behind-the-scenes stories, and all-star casts!

The unresolvedness of social themes is a feature, not a bug, as far as Miller is concerned. Miller has willed the ambiguities and the gaps in information, and tightly controlled the opportunities for interpretation that might resolve or suggest resolutions to the ambiguities. There is a path to execute, and the Everyman crew execute marvelously, but this is not the same thing as the artistry that directors and actors can ordinarily exert. Most plays give their performers more room to interpret, to breathe.

In THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN MUSICAL, Jack Viertel takes about musicals, puts them back together, sings their praises, marvels at their unflagging inventiveness, and occasionally despairs over their more embarrassing shortcomings. In the process, he invites us to fall in love with the art form all over again by showing us how musicals happen, what makes them work, how they captivate audiences, and how one landmark show leads to the next-by design or by accident, by emulation or by rebellion from OKLAHOMA! to HAMILTON and onward.

Encores! Artistic Director Jack Viertel today announced casting for the Encores! production of Do I Hear a Waltz?, the romantic, rarely-seen 1965 musical that marked the only collaboration of Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim. Do I Hear a Waltz? will star Claybourne Elder, Melissa Errico, Sarah Hunt, Zachary Infante, Cass Morgan, Richard Poe, Michael Rosen, Sarah Stiles, and Richard Troxell. The ensemble includes Kristine Bendul, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Jenny Laroche, Jennifer Locke, Nathan Madden, Skye Mattox, Devin Roberts, Manny Stark, and Alex Wong.