John Gielgud News

The Broadway at Birdland concert series has just announced that Emmy/Grammy/Oscar/Tony-winning orchestrator JONATHAN TUNICK is returning to Birdland with his Broadway Moonlighters on Monday, March 19 at 7pm. This is a rare public performance by Broadway's premier orchestrator, who will be leading a big band of Broadway's finest musicians in his own arrangements. Tunick's last appearance with the Broadway Moonlighters (with surprise guest vocalist Barbara Cook) was Standing Room Only, and of course, another Surprise Guest performer will appear this year!

Adelaide Festival Centre's Performing Arts Collection will present a collection of one of the greatest dramatic actors of the 20th Century, Dame Judith Anderson.

Adelaide Festival Centre's Performing Arts Collection will present a collection of one of the greatest dramatic actors of the 20th Century, Dame Judith Anderson.

Classic Stage Company's upcoming production of Bertolt Brecht's GALILEO (translated by Charles Laughton) starring Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham, which begins previews Tuesday evening, February 1, will extend by one additional week through Sunday, March 18.

Cleveland Play House (CPH) will to produce Jeffrey Hatcher's backstage comedy Ten Chimneys as the inaugural production in the new Second Stage, one of only three fully outfitted, flexible theatres in the nation.

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick, will present Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham in a new production of Bertolt Brecht's GALILEO, translated by Charles Laughton, and directed by Kulick, beginning performances Wednesday, February 1 at CSC (136 East 13th Street) for a limited engagement through Sunday, March 11. The official press opening for GALILEO is Sunday, February 12. Tickets for GALILEO go on sale to the public today, Tuesday, January 3.

Today we are taking a look at the very best theatre-related entities in a variety of different categories - books, music, television, film, and, of course, theatre - as we look back on 2011 and all of the many marvelous moments of excitement, passion, joy and exultation that only theatre and theatre-related projects can possibly hope to provide. From Stephen Sondheim's LOOK, I MADE A HAT on the bookshelves of every Broadway baby worth their weight in sequins to Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone in Sondheim's COMPANY on the big screen courtesy of Fathom to the stunning Broadway revival of FOLLIES starring Bernadette Peters and its tremendous new cast album, all the way to the thrills and chills of Andrew Lloyd Webber's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL on the big screen and Blu-ray to the BOOK OF MORMON breaking Broadway records and even TV's best drama and comedy, both from mastermind Ryan Murphy - GLEE and AMERICAN HORROR STORY. Plus, we also have top film picks in the categories of Drama and Comedy, as well as the best of the best of them all, with Lars Von Trier's apocalyptic masterpiece MELANCHOLIA, George Clooney's play adaptation THE IDES OF MARCH and the 80s music video stylized thriller/drama DRIVE topping the list. All of that and a whole lot more awaits in this all-encompassing look back at the theatrical highlights in all entertainment realms in 2011, as well as a look ahead to what we cannot wait for in 2012!

Today in 1935, Romeo and Juliet opened at the Martin Beck Theatre. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.

Cleveland Play House (CPH) will to produce Jeffrey Hatcher's backstage comedy Ten Chimneys as the inaugural production in the new Second Stage, one of only three fully outfitted, flexible theatres in the nation.

Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) has announced a new theatre company, Theatre Royal Brighton Productions, which will present classic drama both on tour and in the West End, under the Artistic Direction of Christopher Luscombe, with Associate Directors Maria Aitken and Philip Franks.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles® (BAFTA Los Angeles) will honor Academy Award® winning writer/director John Lasseter with the Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment, and BAFTA winning director David Yates with the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing at the 2011 BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards on Wednesday, November 30 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Andrea Marcovicci - the acclaimed singer and actress dubbed 'The High Priestess of the American Songbook' by The New York Times - will celebrate her landmark 25th anniversary at the famed Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel. Her new show 'No Strings' runs from November 15 to December 30, featuring Music Director Shelly Markham on piano and Jered Egan on bass. For the second year in a row, Andrea will offer a special holiday performance on Monday, December 26 at 7:30 PM. The sophisticated entertainer holds the record for the longest continuous run in the Oak Room's history. Check out photos from her show below!

Noted thespian and master theatre and film director Kenneth Branagh has found himself at a career peak in 2011, excelling in both entertainment arenas with his striking, visionary blockbuster THOR being one of the year's biggest hits as well as his simply incredible portrayal of Laurence Olivier in the new film MY WEEK WITH MARILYN generating considerable Oscar buzz. Sharing his cordial and candid insights on a number of topics ranging from his beginnings in Shakespeare to his directing and acting in a string of Shakespearean stage plays and films - his iconic films of HENRY V and HAMLET among them - Branagh also illustrates his impressions of fellow acting titans such as Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir John Gielgud, Ralph Fiennes, Dame Judi Dench, Simon Callow and many more. Plus, he shares his deep affection for the most famous musical theatre Shakespeare adaptation of all time - the classic WEST SIDE STORY; based on ROMEO & JULIET - as well as his love of the work of Stephen Sondheim as a composer/lyricist in his own right. Plus, news on his desire to do Broadway in the future, as well as all about Branagh's new lead role in the Belfast-to-West End transfer of THE PAINKILLER - and much, much more!

Andrea Marcovicci - the acclaimed singer and actress dubbed 'The High Priestess of the American Songbook' by The New York Times - will celebrate her landmark 25th anniversary at the famed Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel. Her new show 'No Strings' runs from November 15 to December 30, featuring Music Director Shelly Markham on piano and Jered Egan on bass. For the second year in a row, Andrea will offer a special holiday performance on Monday, December 26 at 7:30 PM. The sophisticated entertainer holds the record for the longest continuous run in the Oak Room's history.

Today we continue our special series consisting of five entries total, each of which highlight a different facet of the rich and wonderful world of William Shakespeare and all with a particular emphasis on the controversial new feature film that explores the time, place, politics and goings-on of the Elizabethan era and focuses on the possibility that the true author of the esteemed plays we now know may very well have been someone else entirely - Edward de Vere - and how the question of the canon's true creation then comes into play - ANONYMOUS. "All the world's a stage," after all, so it should come as no surprise that acts of lust, bloodshed and betrayal would exist in the actual life - or even the supposed one - of the man who created the most bloody and thought-provoking tragedies in the history of literature - whoever he may have actually been. Perhaps some brief analysis of the finest leading players, most memorable lines and moments, as well as an exploration of other notable acts of grand betrayal in Shakespeare's plays will aid us on the journey to understanding the thesis of ANONYMOUS and bring us into a closer relationship with the individual who penned the greatest plays in the English language. Now that we have already analyzed the top ten male and female Shakespearean performers of the last few decades, as well as the most memorable lines and moments, today, in our final installment of the 5 Top 5 countdown, we are focusing on the most surprising and dramatic moments of deception in Shakespeare - including moments from HAMLET, JULIUS CAESER, THE WINTER'S TALE, AS YOU LIKE IT and more!

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) will welcome Darbourne Luff and Upstart Theatre to Brits Off Broadway with THE MADDENING RAIN, written by Nicholas Pierpan, directed by Matthew Dunster and featuring Felix Scott.

ARLA Productions & Rosalind Productions will present the Off-Broadway premiere of Alan Lester Brooks' A Splintered Soul.

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) will welcome Darbourne Luff and Upstart Theatre to Brits Off Broadway with THE MADDENING RAIN, written by Nicholas Pierpan, directed by Matthew Dunster and featuring Felix Scott.

It's one of the most well-known stories of all time, and according to USA Today, Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' is getting yet another make-over. Comic book legend Stan Lee is busy recreating the classic tale in the form of a graphic novel, which will be released on November 30.

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) will welcome Darbourne Luff and Upstart Theatre to Brits Off Broadway with THE MADDENING RAIN, written by Nicholas Pierpan, directed by Matthew Dunster and featuring Felix Scott.