Jeremy Sams News

Quintessence Theatre Group continues its second season with Jean Anouilh's 1943 adaptation of Sophocles' ANTIGONE, in a translation by Jeremy Sams, directed by Alexander Burns.

Anthony Roth Costanzo will sing the role of Prospero tonight in this season's final performance of The Enchanted Island, replacing David Daniels, who is ill.

Anthony Roth Costanzo will sing the role of Prospero in The Enchanted Island tomorrow evening, January 28, replacing David Daniels, who is ill. Jeffrey Mandelbaum will replace Mr. Costanzo in the role of Ferdinand.

On Saturday, January 21 The Met: Live in HD series continues at the Warner's Nancy Marine Studio Theatre with a live simulcast of The Enchanted Island at 1pm.

Both Michael Crawford and Danielle Hope will both depart the West End production of THE WIZARD OF OZ on February 5, 2012. Both have been with the show since the beginning, and audiences had been following the yellow brick road over the rainbow to see Crawford (as the Wizard) and Danielle Hope (as Dorothy), winner of BBC TV's Over the Rainbow, at The London Palladium. But before they leave, the cast celebrated Crawford's 70th birthday at a recent curtain call.

The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Donizetti's Anna Bolena, starring soprano Anna Netrebko in her highly anticipated first North American performances of the tour-de-force title role, will be the 2012 season opener of THIRTEEN's Great Performances at the Met Friday, January 20 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).

On Saturday, January 21 The Met: Live in HD series continues at the Warner's Nancy Marine Studio Theatre with a live simulcast of The Enchanted Island at 1pm.

It's now official that both Michael Crawford and Danielle Hope will both depart the West End production of THE WIZARD OF OZ on February 5, 2012. Both have been with the show since the beginning, and audiences had been following the yellow brick road over the rainbow to see Crawford (as the Wizard) and Danielle Hope (as Dorothy), winner of BBC TV's Over the Rainbow, at The London Palladium where the show began previews in early February and opened in March to great reviews.

The Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni will take another featured turn on the Met stage as Caliban, alongside Placido Domingo and Joyce DiDonato, in The Enchanted Island - the company's freshly conceived Shakespearean tableau of music by Handel, Vivaldi, and Rameau, conducted by renowned Baroque authority William Christie (Dec 31-Jan 30).

The Enchanted Island, a world premiere work that combines Baroque music with a new, English-language libretto featuring characters from Shakespeare's The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream, will premiere at the Metropolitan Opera on December 31, 2011.

As the clock ticks towards 2012, BroadwayWorld caught up with 100 of your Broadway favorites and industry supporters about their hopes for themselves and those they love in the new year.

Christmas 2011 is just days away and in celebration of the holiday season, we reached out to the stars of Broadway to find out what traditions they like best about the holiday season. Between spending time with family and friends, blasting Christmas music and Christmas tree decorating, eating Chinese food and watching movies, the stars seem to love it all!

The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Donizetti's Anna Bolena, starring soprano Anna Netrebko in her highly anticipated first North American performances of the tour-de-force title role, will be the 2012 season opener of THIRTEEN's Great Performances at the Met Friday, January 20 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).

The Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni will take another featured turn on the Met stage as Caliban, alongside Placido Domingo and Joyce DiDonato, in The Enchanted Island - the company's freshly conceived Shakespearean tableau of music by Handel, Vivaldi, and Rameau, conducted by renowned Baroque authority William Christie (Dec 31-Jan 30).

Today we have a super-special triple-focus Flash Friday dedicated not only to two of the top-tier talents in the entertainment history ever - Judy Garland and Michael Crawford - but, also, to the ever-lasting entity through which they are now, forever, inextricably linked - THE WIZARD OF OZ. Of course, Judy Garland famously starred in the original 1939 film adaptation of the L. Frank Baum children's classic, but, just this past year, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice and Jeremy Sams adapted the classic film for the stage to much success and added a number of significant new songs to the Harold Arlen/E.Y. Harburg score. Be sure to catch my exclusive InDepth InterView with Michael Crawford that went live earlier this evening to read all about the new stage spectacular, as well as his affection for Judy Garland in the original film and some of his own favorite Christmas and holiday songs. Additionally, next Tuesday GLEE will be paying tribute to Judy Garland in the form of a mid-1960s-style TV Christmas special homage, so now is certainly as good a time as any to look back at the unparalleled performance of Garland in THE WIZARD OF OZ - for which she won a juvenile Academy Award - as well as her 1963 Christmas special which featured guest performances by Mel Torme, Liza Minnelli and more! So, make this a truly Mikey & Judy holiday season - as opposed to Mickey & Judy one - with this spotlight on Michael Crawford and Judy Garland and both their OZ-ian and Christmas connections - and a GLEE-ful surprise or two, too. After all, 'tis the season!

Last night, I spoke to two-time Tony-winner Katie Finneran all about her new Fox sitcom I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER, co-starring Jaime Pressly, which premiered yesterday at 9:30 PM. Additionally, Finneran and I discuss her recent role in the terrific live performance film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY, co-starring Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone, and we also take a look back at her two Tony-winning Broadway roles from earlier this decade - the lauded Jeremy Sams revival of the comedy NOISES OFF, as well as Rob Ashford's revival of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David/Neil Simon PROMISES, PROMISES. Also, Finneran describes the feeling of reaching a career peak such as she has achieved this year - a new Tony Award, the COMPANY film and headlining a sitcom of her own - and also relates how her role as a new mom has influenced her participation on the battle-of-the-generations comedy. All of that - plus, reminiscences of working on DAMAGES, OZ, roles she would like to play in the future (Dolly, Mame and The Baker's Wife included) and much, much more!

The Enchanted Island, a world premiere work that combines Baroque music with a new, English-language libretto featuring characters from Shakespeare's The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream, will premiere at the Metropolitan Opera on December 31, 2011.

National CineMedia (NCM), the operator of the largest digital in-theater network for cinema advertising, entertainment and events in North America, today announced an agreement with the Metropolitan Opera (the 'Met') to bring the Emmy and Peabody award-winning The Met: Live in HD series to U.S. movie theaters for the 2011-12 Met season.

The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera's award-winning series of live transmissions to movie theaters around the world, returns for a sixth season Saturday, October 15 with the Met premiere production of Donizetti's Anna Bolena, featuring Anna Netrebko in the title role.

Cineplex Entertainment (TSX:CGX), via our Front Row Centre Events announces the very popular series The Met: Live in HD is returning to participating Cineplex theatres.