Julie Andrews News

The Broadway community once again opened its arms to the students of John A. Coleman Catholic High School of Hurley, New York. The school, which has gained a reputation for some of the best young musical theater talent in the Hudson River Valley, produced The Secret Garden in honor of the 20th anniversary of the show's Broadway debut in April of 1991. The cast of Coleman Musical Theater's production recently traveled into New York City to meet members of the original Broadway cast.

Today we are talking to the internationally renowned recording superstar who is also known to theatre fans for her stint onstage in JEKYLL & HYDE - and for her brilliantly big Broadway belt - with a fantastic new album out now on Sony re-teaming with her frequent collaborator/composer/producer, Frank Wildhorn - the talented and alluring Ms. Linda Eder. In this all-encompassing conversation we discuss her many studio albums recorded over the last two decades, as well as her demo work on the countless Wildhorn musicals over the years and the future of those shows (HAVANA is coming!). We also look ahead to her own future and discuss what can be expected in her upcoming concert series promoting the new album NOW, which she will be performing songs from in her upcoming concert at Town Hall. A truly theatrical album featuring a spellbinding title song with lyrics by Tony-winner Maury Yeston, NOW is Eder at her best. Linda also shares the inspiration behind the new album and what the music of Wildhorn means to her - plus, of course, her favorite tracks and recollections of the studio sessions - plus, her equestrian endeavors and much, much more. NOW is available in stories, on Amazon and on iTunes, and further information about Linda's concert appearances - including her Town Hall concert - can be found at her official site here.

It's the delightful story that has entertained families for generations and proved any girl can be a princess. This spring, Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre presents Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic Cinderella as the Family Show of its 38th Season.

Tyne Daly, Tom Wopat, Gregg Edelman, Aaron Lazar, Tony DeSare, Michele Lee and Jamie Barton have joined the roster of guest artists to perform at The New York Pops' 28th Birthday Gala, Celebrate Hope, on May 2, 2011. A grand gala evening celebrating the legacy of late actor and comedian Bob Hope and honoring decades of support by Interpublic Group, the event begins at 7:00 PM with a concert at Carnegie Hall featuring a special lineup of concert artists, followed by a black tie dinner and dance held at the luxurious Plaza Hotel.

The Children's Playhouse of Maryland, in residence at the Community College of Baltimore County, Essex, presents The Sound of Music 1 p.m. weekends May 7-8, 14-15, 21-22. A special 4 p.m. May 15 show will be Sign Language Interpreted by student interpreter interns from the CCBC Interpreter Preparation Program.

Long time Forbidden Broadway Diva Christine Pedi sings songs about and made famous by the great ladies of the stage, screen and beyond. With comic flair & warm appreciation, she conjures up Ethel Merman, Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Julie Andrews and more as well as classic tunes first popularized by many a great dame (real or imagined). Christine Pedi's Great Dames has won the 2008 New York NightLife Award, Backstage Bistro Award, Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs nomination and 'Top Ten Memorable Theatre Moments of the Year' on BroadwayWorld.com.

Kritzerland presents a new limited edition release of CAMELOT, the Original London Cast Recording- book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner Music by Frederick Loewe.

This July, two hundred apprentices from all over the country (as well as the UK and Canada) will head to the University of South Florida to participate in Broadway Theatre Project, an intense three-week training session in all things musical theatre. The apprentices, who range in age from 16-24, are taught acting, singing and dancing by industry professionals who have appeared on Broadway, in television and in major motion pictures. Tampa Bay-area alums who are now faculty members and will be returning to teach this summer (schedules permitting) include: Kelly King, currently the dance captain of the Radio City Rockettes, Monica Raymund, currently appearing in the TV show Lie to Me on Fox and Patrick Wilson, whose latest film Insidious is currently in theatres nationwide.

This July, two hundred apprentices from all over the country (as well as the UK and Canada) will head to the University of South Florida to participate in Broadway Theatre Project, an intense three-week training session in all things musical theatr

Legends aren't born, or merely made - they are created; and, so very, very carefully crafted. In equal parts due to her incomparable stage work creating roles in musicals by Stephen Sondheim and Jerry Herman, to her film work encompassing John Frankenheimer and Vincente Minnelli, to name but two, as well as a smash-hit television series - MURDER SHE WROTE - and hosting duties at various Tony Awards and Academy Awards broadcasts over the last half century, have certainly cemented her place in our hearts, minds and entertainment history itself - I am speaking, of course, of the simply exquisite Ms. Angela Lansbury. In this enlightening discussion conducted yesterday we dissect many of her most treasured roles and performances, and Ms. Lansbury provides many warm and wonderful recollections of her astonishingly varied and accomplished tenure onstage and onscreen over the course of her sixty-year-plus career. ANYONE CAN WHISTLE to SWEENEY TODD; MAME to GYPSY; BEDKNOBS AND BROOM STICKS to SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE to the forthcoming MR. POPPER‘S PENGUINS co-starring Jim Carrey - plus, acting with Bette Davis in DEATH ON THE NILE - and much, much more in this special interview! This is all coming in anticipation of Ms. Lansbury's tribute to Bob Hope at the NY Pops gala on May 2, which will also feature performances by Kelli O'Hara and more - whom we continue our SPOTLIGHT ON NY POPS series with later next week. Don't miss them! Further information about the NY POPS event - including tickets - is available here.

The exhibit will end on April 25.

From March 5 through April 25, 2011, The New York Botanical Garden 9th Annual Orchid Exhibition, 'The Orchid Show: On Broadway,' will present the work of Al Hirschfeld in 'Hirschfeld's Broadway Scrapbook.' Just across the Garden's ground in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library's Rondina and LoFaro Gallery, the complementary exhibition will feature more than 30 drawings, as well as posters, programs, and sketchbooks from the Al Hirschfeld Foundation that tell the history of the Great White Way as seen by its foremost chronicler.

Music Director Steven Reineke has announced that Tyne Daly, Tom Wopat, Gregg Edelman, Aaron Lazar, Tony DeSare, Michele Lee and Jamie Barton have joined the roster of guest artists to perform at The New York Pops' 28th Birthday Gala, Celebrate Hope, on May 2, 2011. A grand gala evening celebrating the legacy of late actor and comedian Bob Hope and honoring decades of support by Interpublic Group, the event begins at 7:00 PM with a concert at Carnegie Hall featuring a special lineup of concert artists, followed by a black tie dinner and dance held at the luxurious Plaza Hotel.

FEINSTEIN'S AT LOEWS REGENCY, the nightclub proclaimed "Best of New York" by New York Magazine and "an invaluable New York institution" by The New York Post will continue its Spring 2011 season with the debut of six time Grammy Award nominee NNENNA FREELON from May 10 through 14.

Julie Andrews is adapting her book, 'The Great American Mousical,' for the stage at Goodspeed Opera House. Dates for the production have not yet been announced. Andrews co-wrote the book with daughter Emma Walton Hamilton.

Off-Broadway's acclaimed Irish Repertory Theatre presents its 2011 Annual Benefit Gala, a concert performance on Broadway of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's CAMELOT - the beloved musical that defined an age with its lush romantic score that soars above the legendary tale of idealism, passion and betrayal - on Monday, June 6 at The Shubert Theatre (225 West 44th Street) in Manhattan. Charlotte Moore, who directed last year's acclaimed concert staging of BRIGADOON on Broadway and helms the Irish Repertory's current production of Dion Boucicault's THE SHAUGHRAUN, will direct.

Matt Logan could easily have rested on his laurels and simply re-staged the second offering of showHOPE's Cinderella, the Enchanted Edition in exactly the same manner as he did in 2010 - it was a magical evening, at the very least, and it would certainly be easier, acceptable even to his most loyal fans, to have done so. Instead, as expected, Logan, one of the region's finest and most inventive stage directors, chose to re-imagine his vision for Cinderella, giving it a more sophisticated presentation and breathing new vigor into the project while tapping heretofore unknown reserves of creativity among his cast and crew - and even himself.

Today we are talking to the composer of the new Broadway musical WONDERLAND, who is the only American composer to have had three of his shows running concurrently on Broadway - JEKYLL & HYDE, THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL and THE CIVIL WAR - and has since solidified himself as one of the most successful international musical theatre composers of the 21st century, with his globe-spanning productions of everything from THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO in Switzerland to CYRANO in Tokyo to TEARS OF HEAVEN in Korea to the forthcoming Broadway production of BONNIE & CLYDE - the warm and gracious Frank Wildhorn. Over the span of our considerable discussion last week we touched on everything from his pop music roots writing hits for Whitney Houston and Kenny Rogers, to his tenure at Atlantic Records and his series of recordings, shows and concerts with muse Linda Eder, as well as a thorough discussion of his compositional process, what inspires him in a story, his own favorite musicals, what the future holds - EXCALIBUR with Jim Steinman, perhaps? The world premiere of the long-awaited HAVANA? JEKYLL & HYDE: THE MOVIE MUSICAL? - and much, much more!

Broadway's Rex Smith (Grease, The Pirates of Penzance) and Kamilah Marshall (Hairspray, Rent) join Carol Channing and the previously announced Eric Kunze (Miss Saigon, Les Miserables), Krysta Rodriguez (The Addams Family, In The Heights) and Tony-Nominated Jonelle Allen (Two Gentlemen of Verona) in BACK WHERE YOU BELONG - a benefit concert celebrating Carol Channing's 90th Birthday, April 16 at The Heritage Forum Theatre of Anaheim.

Bay Street Theatre is celebrating its 20th season and has announced the 2011 Mainstage productions. From the insightful look into the life of Truman Capote, to the wild comedy of Christopher During, and a Broadway bound musical.