Judy Garland News

The New-York Historical Society is proud to announce a partnership with Bank of America to bring free cultural programming to the Upper West Side on Friday nights in the spring of 2013.

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre - the acclaimed gay comedy/variety show - will continue its Spring 2013 season on Thursday, March 14 at The Duplex in New York's West Village. After a sell-out year, The Meeting* has added a second performance each month due to popular demand; there are now shows at 7:000 PM and 9:30 PM.

What really puts the show across, however, is the songs. The wealth of black pop of the mid-70s is on display here, including power-pop ballads (THE FEELING WE ONCE HAD) and disco (EMERALD CITY BALLET), with definite echoes of the Shaft Theme in the TORNADO BALLET. And here this great music is put across by pros.

54 BELOW, has announced the appearance of cabaret and theatre legend Marilyn Maye and the debut of her new show 'MAYE-DEN Voyage' for a two-week engagement today, March 5-7 and March 12-14 at 7:00PM and March 8-9 & 15-16 at 8:00PM.

The Queensland premiere of Peter Quilter's acclaimed production, End of the Rainbow, will take Brisbane audiences on a dramatic journey following the rise and fall of superstar Judy Garland.

Singer, recording artist and popular radio personality Joey English stars as Norma Desmond in The Palm Canyon Theatre's "Sunset Boulevard" March 8-24, as part of the PCT's 16th season. The production is directed by Judith Chapman, star of television's "The Young And The Restless". I sat down with Ms. English in her beautiful Palm Springs home to chat about her career, the upcoming production and "all things Joey". Here are a few highlights from that conversation:

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre - the acclaimed gay comedy/variety show - has announced its Spring 2013 season at The Duplex in New York's West Village. Each edition of The Meeting* honors a different gay icon; following the Elaine Stritch tribute in February, the rest of the season will honor Karen Carpenter (March 14), the movie 'Showgirls' (April 18) and Justin Vivian Bond (May 16). Special guests will be announced soon. After a sell-out year, The Meeting* will add a second performance each month due to popular demand; there are now shows at 7:000 PM and 9:30 PM.

The incredible Elaine Page brings her one woman concert to the McCallum Theatre tonight for a one-night-only, intimate look into her life and her career, singing the songs and recreating the magical moments from her many hit shows on Broadway and the West End. I had the opportunity to catch up with Ms. Paige as she was preparing for her concert this evening at The McCallum Theatre. Here are a few highlights from that conversation.

The Hippodrome-Colony Historical Theatre Association ('Association') and Peoples Bank, National Association ('Peoples Bank') announced today it will rename the Colony Theatre the Peoples Bank Theatre in recognition of a generous $250,000 donation by the bank.

Casting has been announced for the upcoming engagement of 'End of the Rainbow,' which begins previews March 12 at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre at the Los Angeles Music Center. Opening night is March 20 and performances run through April 21, 2013.

On tonight's 85th Annual Academy Awards, Grammy (and now Oscar winner) Adele performed her song SKYFALL from the latest James Bond film. Check out the video, via Perez Hilton, below!

The performance from the cast of LES MISERABLES began with Hugh Jackman taking the stage to perform the new original song 'Suddenly' from Tom Hooper's adaptation, where he was then joined by Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Samantha Barks, Aaron Tveit, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen and Eddie Redmayne - as well as numerous members from the show's various productions - to perform the Act One Finale 'One Day More', while Anne Hathaway will sing a section of 'I Dreamed A Dream'. Can this happen every year? Check out the clip below!

At tonight's 85th Annual Academy Awards, Halle Berry and Shirley Bassey paid tribute to the James Bond movie franchise, which is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year. In the video below, check out some of the best Bond moments, as well as Bassey perform some of the series' most iconic songs!

Seth MacFarlane got a little help from his fellow thespians with his Oscar's opening monologue. Check out Daniel Radcliffe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Charlize Theron, and more as the show's host sings, dances, and sock-puppets his way through the Oscar's introductory number!

Critically Acclaimed Tribute Artists Peter Mac and DJ Schaefer have a new weekly home in Studio City, CA in a new cabaret room built atop the world famous Oil Can Harry's aptly called Peter Mac's Upstairs at Oil Can Harry's. Currently playing in repertory are Golden Girls LIVE: A Drag Parody and Judy Garland Takes Broadway with Ethel Merman. Golden Girls marks the 10th Anniversary revival of the runaway hit which played at Roses Turn in NYC for over 154 performances in 2003. At a recent performance of Golden Girls original Co-Producer Marsha Posner came out to support the drag troop on February 23, 2013. See a picture of her with the cast below!

Emmy and Tony award-winning actress Kristin Chenoweth, Entertainment Weekly Managing Editor Jess Cagle and 'Good Morning America' anchor Lara Spencer will be hosting today's official Oscar pre-show, 'The Oscars Red Carpet Live.'

Today we are shifting our focus from the stages of Broadway and beyond to the stages of the previous 84 Academy Awards telecasts that have transpired to date, in anticipation of Sunday night's big, big, big show. After all, this year's Academy Awards is of particular interest and excitement to theatre fans around the globe, especially because super-producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are behind it - the men responsible for the hit stage-to-screen adaptations of CHICAGO and HAIRSPRAY, as well as the small-screen successes GYPSY, LIFE WITH JUDY GARLAND: ME & MY SHADOWS, ANNIE, and, most recently, NBC's musical series SMASH, to name a few of their many marvelous musical-friendly credits. They told me themselves earlier this week that this year's telecast would be the most music-packed Academy Awards show to date, and, just judging from the announced tributes, performers and presenters thus far it is clear to see that they were not kidding - reunions of the casts of the film versions of CHICAGO and LES MISERABLES live onstage, singing their film's most famous songs to Jennifer Hudson leading a DREAMGIRLS tribute all the way to a James Bond 50th anniversary celebration featuring Adele and Shirley Bassey on some famous Bond themes, as well as Barbra Streisand herself singing 'The Way We Were' in memory of friend and collaborator, three-time Oscar-winner Marvin Hamlisch.

Multiple Academy Award winners Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman will present on this year's Oscar telecast, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today.

Maestro Keith Lockhart and singer Ann Hampton Callaway tour America's Southeast with the Barbra Streisand Songbook

Largely responsible for the movie musical revolution of the 21st century, setting the stage first with their mega-successful work on TV in the 1990s like GYPSY, CINDERELLA and ANNIE, then, with their feature film entries since - beginning with CHICAGO and continuing with HAIRSPRAY and many more - executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have bridged the gap between Broadway and Hollywood like no other producers - and, all the while, on their own terms. Opening up about a vast array of projects, ranging from the aforementioned modern classic TV musicals all the way through to the films and stage shows - successful revivals of PROMISES, PROMISES and HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING included - and their affiliation with NBC's musical drama series SMASH, Zadan and Meron paint a vivid portrait displaying their fierce dedication to the performing arts and desire for excellence in all of their many, many endeavors. Plus, most importantly, Zadan and Meron clue us in on what we can anticipate from this Sunday's Academy Awards telecast, which they are producing - such as their experiences collaborating with controversial triple-threat host Seth MacFarlane, amassing the starriest assortment of musical performers in Oscar history (Barbra Streisand, Adele, Shirley Bassey, Norah Jones, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Jennifer Hudson among the performers announced so far), creating spectacular tributes to both James Bond in his fiftieth year on film and the modern movie musical revolution (showcasing no less than the reunions of cast members from CHICAGO, DREAMGIRLS and this year's multi-nominated hit LES MISERABLES) as well as what will make this show truly unique. Additionally, Zadan and Meron shed some light on their current and future plans and productions, among them: a BONNIE & CLYDE miniseries for the History Channel starring Emile Hirsch; the currently-running second season of NBC's musical drama series SMASH; two original movie musicals in development and original stage projects, too. All of that, memories of the remarkable LIFE WITH JUDY GARLAND: ME & MY SHADOWS, Lifetime's record-breaking broadcast of a new STEEL MAGNOLIAS, comments on DROP DEAD DIVA's recent cancellation, news on the upcoming e-book edition of Zadan's peerless SONDHEIM & CO. biography, the NBC TV version of THE SOUND OF MUSIC starring Carrie Underwood and much, much more!