BWW Reviews: Maestro Alex Rybeck and His Talented Friends Weave a Tapestry of His Songbook at 54 Below
by Alix Cohen
- Nov 18, 2014
The multi-faceted musical director/arranger/accompanist/composer Alex Rybeck flexed his talent this past Sunday night, sharing songs of every ilk with an appreciatively packed 54 Below. 'Tonight is proof positive that dreams come true, just not how you imagine. I always thought you had to have a hit song to headline an evening here…' Delivered by many of his celebrated singer friends he's worked with often (including the Callaway Sisters, Liz and Ann), entertaining selections from the writer's canon included bossa nova, ballads, musical theater numbers, pop, comic turns, seasonal songs, and 'Serenade,' a haunting piece of music the author composed for his mother which seemed like portraiture: strong, proud, thoughtful, warm, light.
Broadway at the Cabaret - Top Cabaret Picks for November 10-16 Featuring Lindsay Mendez, the Callaway Sisters, and More!
by Louisa Brady
- Nov 9, 2014
Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestra's begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven- o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: Broadway on 22nd Street, Ryan Scott Oliver and Lindsay Mendez's ACTOR THERAPY, The Songs of Adam Wachter: Just Come to This, A Night Like This Live in Concert, and The Music of Alex Rybeck.
Photo Coverage: Peggy Herman Brings HERMAN ON HERMAN to the Laurie Beechman
by Stephen Sorokoff
- Jan 20, 2014
Peggy Herman just brought 'Herman on Herman,' her tribute to Broadway legend Jerry Herman, to the Laurie Beechman Theatre. The concert featured many of the songs from the show's premiere in May of 2011, plus additional material that was added to the project in the intervening months. Check out photos from the concert below!
Paley Center To Present NYMF-Centric Theatre Series
by Pat Cerasaro
- Jun 27, 2013
Conveniently scheduled to occur during the weeks of this year's New York Musical Theatre Festival, The Paley Center For Media is presenting a series of theatrically-related programs and presentations throughout July featuring some particularly rarely-seen entities.
FLASH SPECIAL: A Richard Adler Retrospective - THE PAJAMA GAME, DAMN YANKEES & More
by Pat Cerasaro
- Jun 23, 2012
On Thursday, three-time Tony Award-winning Broadway composer Richard Adler passed away at the ripe old age of 90. Responsible for two of the biggest Broadway smash hits of the 1950s, THE PAJAMA GAME and GAMN YANKEES, Adler never quite managed to equal his career-high double-hitter of that era, yet his earlier work with Tony Bennett ('Rags To Riches'), Doris Day ('Everybody Loves A Lover') and Marilyn Monroe (the iconic 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President') surely shall solidify his place in the firmament of entertainment history along with his two classic musicals from the Golden Age. Winning both Best Score and Best Musical for both THE PAJAMA GAME and DAMN YANKEES, Adler's partnership with lyricist Jerry Ross - which began on Broadway in 1953 with JOHN MURRAY ANDERSON'S ALMANAC - was tragically cut short just months after the DAMN YANKEES premiere when Ross was diagnosed with lung disease and passed away soon thereafter. Yet, thanks to the beloved film versions of THE PAJAMA GAME and DAMN YANKEES and continued interest in the entities as expressed in the revivals and reappraisals of both onstage from Broadway to Biloxi to Bombay year after year, the snappy, snazzy tunes of Adler and Ross live on eight times a week all around the world - even now, more than fifty years after they premiered. Unfortunately, Adler's subsequent shows with other collaborators post-1955 failed to capture the early magic of his previous projects with Ross and his earlier musical and theatrical endeavors in the pop arena, with the racially charged KWAMINA flopping on Broadway in 1961 (though he took home a Best Composer Tony Award for his efforts anyway) and the awkwardly titled MUSIC IS failing to recreate the magic of its source material, Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT, in 1976. A MOTER'S KISSES, starring Bea Arthur and a young Bernadette Peters, died on the road, as well. In the intervening years, Adler attempted musical adaptations taken from a number of intriguing sources - OF HUMAN BONDAGE and others among them - though only his ballet scores seemed to reach an audience; particularly his last, commissioned for a new production of Lorca's THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA in 1998. Of course, THE PAJAMA GAME has had two Broadway revivals - most recently the rapturously received Kathleen Marshall-directed production starring Harry Connick, Jr. and Kelli O'Hara; and DAMN YANKEES famously returned to the Great White Way with much ado in 1994 starring Victor Garber. Now seems particularly ripe for remounting YANKEES, as we approach twenty years in its absence - especially given the musical's seriously smashing showing at Encores! in 2007. Who knows, perhaps some risky producer will even take a chance on a new production of KWAMINA, MUSIC IS, A MOTHER'S KISSES or one of the bottom drawer shows someday soon to see if they possess any of the limitless potential shown by Adler's earlier work. Or maybe a stage treatment of his TV musical GIFT OF THE MAGI (originally composed for then-wife Sally Ann Howes)? Or, better yet, how about a revue? What a stupendous songstack Adler created over the course of his career - 'Whatever Lola Wants' to 'Hey There' to 'Hernando's Hideaway' to 'You Gotta Have Heart' to 'Steam Heat' to the aforementioned Bennett, Day and Monroe standards and so many more chestnuts.
Photo Coverage: Chita Rivera, John Cullum & THE VISIT In Rehearsal
by Walter McBride
- Nov 23, 2011
The Actors Fund and the Vineyard Theatre will present a one-night-only benefit concert performance of THE VISIT, starring Broadway stage legends and Tony Award winners Chita Rivera and John Cullum. The company recently met the press below we bring you full coverage of the performance preview and the meet and greet!
TV: Chita Rivera & John Cullum Lead THE VISIT Benefit Nov. 30
by Broadway Beat
- Nov 30, 2011
The Actors Fund and the Vineyard Theatre present a one-night-only benefit concert performance of THE VISIT, starring Broadway stage legends and Tony Award winners Chita Rivera and John Cullum, tonight, November 30. Click below to hear from the cast and catch a glimpse of the company in rehearsal!
STAGE TUBE: Sneak Peek of THE VISIT Concert
by Nicole Rosky
- Nov 21, 2011
The Actors Fund and the Vineyard Theatre will present a one-night-only benefit concert performance of THE VISIT, starring Broadway stage legends and Tony Award winners Chita Rivera and John Cullum. Check out a video preview of the show below!
FREEZE FRAME: In Rehearsal With THE VISIT!
by Walter McBride
- Nov 21, 2011
The Actors Fund and the Vineyard Theatre will present a one-night-only benefit concert performance of THE VISIT, starring Broadway stage legends and Tony Award winners Chita Rivera and John Cullum. The cast met the press today, and BroadwayWorld wa sthere for the festivities. Check out a preview of the evnt below, and check back later for full photo coverage!
Photo Coverage: Stars Honor Richard 'Bick' Goss at Musical Mondays Theatre Lab
by Stephen Sorokoff
- Sep 20, 2011
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.
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