Julie Andrews News

Doris Day is celebrated in spirit with 'A Sentimental Journey'.

'THE SOUND OF MUSIC' has announced it will be closing on February 21, 2009. The Andrew Lloyd Webber production will be on national tour with Connie Fisher playing the role of Maria. She was the original casting for this role.

Goodspeed Musicals will proudly honor five time Tony Award-winner, Broadway legend William Ivey Long at a Gala evening on Saturday, May 2, 2009 when he will receive The Goodspeed Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre in recognition of his extraordinary career. Previous award recipients include Julie Andrews, Ira Gershwin, Jerry Herman, Stephen Schwartz, Tommy Tune, Susan Stroman and Gerald Schoenfeld. Proceeds from the Gala will support Goodspeed Musicals? Education Programs.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) announced complete casting today for Christopher Durang's WHY TORTURE IS WRONG, AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM. Laura Benanti, Audrie Neenan, and Richard Poe will join the previously announced Amir Arison, David Aaron Baker, Kristine Nielsen, and John Pankow in this world premiere comedy, directed by Nicholas Martin. WHY TORTURE IS WRONG, AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM begins previews on March 24 and runs through April 26 with an official press opening on Monday, April 6 at 7 PM.

Broadway Dance Center presents BDC Gives for the month of February- A special class with David Marquez. All proceeds for this new series of classes are donated to BC/EFA. Marquez's class will focus on Intermediate Theater and take place on February 27, 2009 from 10:30A.M. - Noon. Regular class rates apply, and additional donations are welcome.

China.org is reporting that Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway is looking set to star in Hong Kong comedy filmmaker Stephen Chow's Hollywood debut.

Pittsburgh CLO, with the families of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, will proudly present the 12th Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theater to award-winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. The ceremony will be held at the 2009 CLO Guild's Pink Frolic Ball on May 9, 2009, at the Omni William Penn Hotel.

Pittsburgh CLO, with the families of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, will proudly present the 12th Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theater to award-winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. The ceremony will be held at the 2009 CLO Guild's Pink Frolic Ball on May 9, 2009, at the Omni William Penn Hotel. Established in 1988, the Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theater recognizes the lifetime contributions of outstanding talents in musical theater. Pittsburgh CLO has presented the Richard Rodgers Award 11 times in recent years to such luminaries as Mary Martin (1988), Dame Julie Andrews (1989), Harold Prince (1991), Sir Cameron Mackintosh (1992), Stephen Sondheim (1993), Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber (1996), Gwen Verdon (2000), Bernadette Peters (2002), Shirley Jones (2007), Kathleen Marshall (2008) and Rob Marshall (2008).

Broadway veteran Nancy Hess will join the Broadway cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, the longest-running show in Broadway history, beginning Monday, February 9. Produced by Cameron Mackintosh/Really Useful Group, Inc. and directed by Harold Prince, the musical recently celebrated an unprecedented 21 Years in New York, where it plays at The Majestic Theatre (247 West 44th Street).

Auditions are being held in NYC by Artistic Director Debra McWaters for BTP's intensive three-week musical theatre training program. Auditions are open calls and no appointments are necessary. The 2009 session takes place from July 12 - August 1. Master Classes at BTP have been taught in the past by such Broadway luminaries as Julie Andrews, Christopher d'Amboise, Rob Fisher, Terrence Mann, Austin Pendleton, Ben Vereen, Frank Wildhorn and Patrick Wilson, to name only a few. BTP alums have performed in over 65 shows on Broadway - complete list available upon request. Visit broadwaytheatreproject.com for more information.

Auditions will held in NYC by Artistic Director Debra McWaters for BTP's intensive three-week musical theatre training program. Auditions are open calls and no appointments are necessary. The 2009 session takes place from July 12 - August 1. Master Classes at BTP have been taught in the past by such Broadway luminaries as Julie Andrews, Christopher d'Amboise, Rob Fisher, Terrence Mann, Austin Pendleton, Ben Vereen, Frank Wildhorn and Patrick Wilson, to name only a few. BTP alums have performed in over 65 shows on Broadway - complete list available upon request. Visit broadwaytheatreproject.com for more information. WHEN:Saturday, February 7, 2009 - 11:00am WHERE:Ripley Greer Studios, 17th Floor, 520 8th Ave., New York City

Broadway veteran Nancy Hess will join the Broadway cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, the longest-running show in Broadway history, beginning Monday, February 9. Produced by Cameron Mackintosh/Really Useful Group, Inc. and directed by Harold Prince, the musical recently celebrated an unprecedented 21 Years in New York, where it plays at The Majestic Theatre (247 West 44th Street).

Arts at St. Johns will explore, through a selection of songs, how the format of the Broadway musical originated in New York City in the late 1800's, through a collaboration of talented theater actors, vaudeville performers and burlesque dancers, led by the lavish producer Florenz Ziegfeld. The first popular shows, written by great American composers such as the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, and Jerome Kern, were campy, fun, and poetic, with various plots, songs, flashy costumes and, at times, risque subject matter.

Beloved screen legend Dick Van Dyke discussed Walt Disney's MARY POPPINS with CNN in celebration of the classic film's 45th Anniversary Edition DVD release. He reveals the true reason for his casting and the staying power of the Disney classic. The Walt Disney Studios celebrates the 45th Anniversary of the 1964 classic film, Mary Poppins, with a 2-disc special edition DVD featuring brand new bonus materials from the hit stage production based on the popular film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke and on the P.L. Travers books.

Matthew Lloyd will direct Juliet Stevenson and Henry Goodman as Stephanie Abrahams and Dr Feldmann in Tom Kempinski's two-hander Duet for One runs at the Almeida from 22 January ? 14 March 2009, with press night on 29 January. Designs are by Lez Brotherston with lighting by Jason Taylor and sound by John Leonard. Duet for One is sponsored by Pinsent Masons.

LCT's production of HAPPINESS has announced partial casting. HAPPINESS, is a new musical about a disparate group of New Yorkers caught on a subway train under unusual circumstances. It was commissioned and developed by Lincoln Center Theater. The production will reunite director-choreographer Susan Stroman and book writer John Weidman, whose last LCT collaboration was the Tony Award winning Best Musical Contact and will mark the LCT debuts of composer Scott Frankel and lyricist Michael Korie.

Disney Theatrical Productions (DTP) today announced that The Walt Disney Studios will celebrate the 45th Anniversary of the 1964 classic film, MARY POPPINS, with a 2-disc special edition DVD featuring brand new bonus materials from the hit stage production based on the popular film starring Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke and on the P.L. Travers books. To be released on January 27, 2009, the DVD set will feature a new 45-minute documentary, 'Mary Poppins: From Page to Stage' that takes audiences behind the scenes for a close look at the creation of the stage musical produced by DTP and Cameron Mackintosh. Filmed in the UK, France and the United States, the documentary is a series of intimate conversations with many of the stage versions' creators including producers Cameron Macintosh and Thomas Schumacher, composers George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, Richard Sherman, who co-wrote music and lyrics for the original film and set and costume designer Bob Crowley. The documentary also features a roundtable discussion at the world-famous Sardi's restaurant in New York City between Schumacher and actors Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee, who originated the roles of Mary Poppins and Bert in the Broadway production. Another extra from the stage version is the musical number 'Step In Time' shot in its entirety onstage at the New Amsterdam Theatre, the show's Broadway home since 2006. The number showcases showstopping technical effects, as Bert and his chimneysweeps dance with Mary and the Banks children over the rooftops of London. The performance features Brown, Lee and the full Broadway company performing the never-before-filmed popular number from the show, also downloadable as an MP3 audio file.

Auditions are being held in NYC by Artistic Director Debra McWaters for BTP's intensive three-week musical theatre training program. Auditions are open calls and no appointments are necessary. The 2009 session takes place from July 12 - August 1. Master Classes at BTP have been taught in the past by such Broadway luminaries as Julie Andrews, Christopher d'Amboise, Rob Fisher, Terrence Mann, Austin Pendleton, Ben Vereen, Frank Wildhorn and Patrick Wilson, to name only a few. BTP alums have performed in over 65 shows on Broadway - complete list available upon request. Visit broadwaytheatreproject.com for more information.

Lincoln Center Theater (under the direction of Andre Bishop, Artistic Director, and Bernard Gersten, Executive Producer) has announced that Fred Applegate. Sebastian Arcelus, Miguel Cervantes, Hunter Foster, Joanna Gleason, Ken Page, Robert Petkoff, Jenny Powers, Phyllis Somerville and Pearl Sun will be featured in its upcoming production of the new musical HAPPINESS.

Auditions will held in NYC by Artistic Director Debra McWaters for BTP's intensive three-week musical theatre training program. Auditions are open calls and no appointments are necessary. The 2009 session takes place from July 12 - August 1. Master Classes at BTP have been taught in the past by such Broadway luminaries as Julie Andrews, Christopher d'Amboise, Rob Fisher, Terrence Mann, Austin Pendleton, Ben Vereen, Frank Wildhorn and Patrick Wilson, to name only a few. BTP alums have performed in over 65 shows on Broadway - complete list available upon request. Visit broadwaytheatreproject.com for more information. WHEN:Saturday, February 7, 2009 - 11:00am WHERE:Ripley Greer Studios, 17th Floor, 520 8th Ave., New York City