Jerry Bock News

Due to sold out houses, Actors Co-op Theatre Company has added two additional performances,  Saturday-December 8 at 2:30 pm and Saturday-December 15 at 2:30 pm. The Tony Award-Winning Musical She Loves Me, with book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, based on the 1937 play Perfumerie by Miklos Laszlo directed and choreographed by Cate Caplin, Musical Direction by Anthony Lucca, produced by Crystal Jackson, tells the beloved story of two feuding shop clerks who are unaware that they are the recipients of each other's love letters. 

Broadway at the Marcus Center and Broadway Across America-Milwaukee present the Milwaukee engagement of the Tony Award-nominated Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts from February 12-17, 2019. Tickets go on sale this Friday, November 30 at 10:00 am at the Marcus Center Box Office and can purchased in person at 929 North Water Street, Downtown Milwaukee, by phone at 414-273-7206, or online at MarcusCenter.org or Ticketmaster.com. Groups 10 or more can purchase NOW and SAVE by calling Group Sales at 414-273-7121 x210 or x213.

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF opened at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton on November 27 and will continue to run through December 2. The production is a unique combination of a joyous celebration and a moving masterpiece that has undeniable appeal.

There's a reason that the vast majority of parishioners to musical theatre had not seen SHE LOVES ME prior, including Aisle Say. The show, while billed as charming and seasonal with carolers singing "12 Days of Christmas", has as much gravitas as tweets from Tweeter in Chief

Love is in the air at PlayMakers Repertory Company. That's because the musical romance SHE LOVES ME opened earlier this week at the Paul Green Theatre as a love letter to the Triangle to ring in the holiday season. It's a familiar story, especially to fans of the rom-com film genre. Boy and girl meet through a lonely-hearts club ad and begin corresponding through a series of letters. Little do the pair know that the object of their affection may be someone they already know, perhaps even a coworker at that shop around the corner. Inspired by the 1937 play PARFUMERIE by Miklos Laszlo, SHE LOVES ME opened on Broadway in 1963. Two revivals followed one in 1993 and the other in 2016. The latter revival, starring Laura Benanti, Zachary Levi, Jane Krakowski, and Gavin Creel, broke the Guinness World Record for being the first Broadway show to be live-streamed. If the plot sounds familiar, it just might be because Laszlo's 1937 play also spawned the 1940 Jimmy Stewart film 'The Shop Around the Corner,' the 1949 Judy Garland movie musical 'In the Good Old Summertime,' and the 1998 film, 'You've Got Mail,' starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

Will Roland (Broadway's 'Be More Chill') will head a cast of four in an innovative reading of 'Love Letters' by A.R. Gurney on December 9 at Feinstein's/54 Below. 

Will Roland (Broadway's 'Dear Evan Hansen') will head a cast of four in an innovative reading of 'Love Letters' by A.R. Gurney on December 9 at Feinstein's/54 Below.  The reading is organized by Getting Together for Good, a charitable giving circle, to benefit the Ric Swezey Memorial Library, a program of The Family Equality Council, which supports and protects LGBTQ families through education, advocacy, and legal initiatives. 

Yesterday, BroadwayWorld reported that on Wednesday night, a man reportedly shouted 'Heil, Hitler, Heil Trump' during intermission at a performance of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre. In an update published by the Baltimore Sun, we have now learned that the man, Anthony M. Derlunas, 58, had been 'drinking heavily' prior to his outburst, and was allegedly trying to express hatred for President Trump.

On Wednesday night, a man reportedly shouted 'Heil, Hitler, Heil Trump' during intermission at a performance of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre. Police were called and the man was escorted out by security.

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is a wonderful show about joy amidst harsh circumstances, the importance of family and community. It's also about Tradition! It's nice to see familiar things updated but not bastardized. The cast is consistently wonderful with harmonious singing and excellent dancing throughout the show, with visually striking staging of sequences that don't technically qualify as dances.

Ironically, Miklos Laszlo's 1937 play 'Parfumerie' was not produced in the United States until 2009. Yet that did not stop the Hungarian hit from becoming the inspiration for a whole host of American films, plays and musicals: first the 1940 film, 'The Shop Around the Corner' with James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan, then in 1949 as 'In the Good Old Summertime' with Judy Garland and Van Johnson, then in 1998 as 'You've Got Mail,' with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. It also inspired the 1964 musical by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, (the team behind 'Fiddler on the Roof').

PS CLASSICS, the label that celebrates the heritage of Broadway and American popular song, has released its groundbreaking new recording Philip Chaffin: Will He Like Me? today, Friday, November 9. The album is featured in The New York Times "2018 Holiday Gift Guide," which raves, "From 'When I Marry Mr. Snow' to 'I Got Lost in His Arms,' Chaffin tells a familiar story that has never sounded so new." 

The 1936 Hungarian play PARFUMERIE by Miklos Laszlo has the humble distinction of living in the shadow of the more famous movies (and Broadway musical) that it inspired. In fact, Hollywood has cashed in on the play not once but three times - the first adaptation was the 1940 Ernst Lubitsch romantic comedy 'The Shop Around the Corner,' starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, which was followed by the 1949 screen musical version 'In the Good Old Summertime,' starring Judy Garland, and much later by the 1998 Nora Ephron movie 'You've Got Mail,' with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. And of course, the Broadway musical 'She Loves Me' - adapted from the play by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick and Joe Masteroff - opened in New York in 1963 and is now one of the most beloved (and revived) musicals during the Christmas season each year. All I can say is for those who enjoy this story of mistaken identity between pen-pal lovers should see one of those versions

She Loves Mebook by Joe Masteroffmusic by Jerry Bocklyrics by Sheldon Harnickbased on a play Parfumerie by Miklos Laszlodirected & choreographed by Cate CaplinActors Co-opDavid Schall Theatrethrough December 16 Classic plays and musicals usually hold up well if the book and music are strong and relevant. She Loves Me has its corny moments and is dated, but is so bent on love and the romantic side of life, we buy into its premise and come away entertained. Currently onstage at Actors Co-op through December 16, She Loves Me receives flawless direction from Cate Caplin and may boast a deliciously inviting ensemble of players.

Tickets go on sale Friday, November 2 for four additional shows in the Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati season presented by TriHealth. Ticket prices for all three shows start at $31 and will be available at the Aronoff Center Box Office downtown at 650 Walnut Street, online at CincinnatiArts.org or by phone at 513.621.ARTS starting at 9AM.

Actors Co-op Theatre Company presents the three-time Tony Award-Winning Musical She Loves Me, with book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, based on the 1937 play Perfumerie by Miklos Laszlo directed and choreographed by Cate Caplin, Musical Direction by Anthony Lucca, produced by Crystal Jackson, tells the beloved story of two feuding shop clerks who are unaware that they are the recipients of each other's love letters.

The North American tour of the Tony Award - nominated Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof in underway. A beloved theatrical classic from Tony-winner Joseph Stein and Pulitzer Prize-winners Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, Fiddler on the Roof is directed by Tony-Award winner Bartlett Sher (South Pacific, The King and I) and choreographed by the acclaimed Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter. Get a first look at the cast in action below!

The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center is proud to present the Fox Cities engagement of the Tony Award-nominated Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof November 27-December 2, 2018. 

The Museum at Eldridge Street, based in Manhattan, is hosting a fundraising Gala tomorrow night, Thursday, November 1st.

Jewish oppression, immigrant families struggling to keep together, and an exodus of foreigners fleeing to America for a better life. Topics ripped from headlines of CNN are also the basis for the classic 1964 musical comedy FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. The record breaking musical is as relevant today as ever, and the National Tour settled into Shea's Buffalo Theatre last night after it's launch in Syracuse, NY two weeks ago.