Ken Billington News

Today, Vanessa Williams performed Sondheim on Sondheim on ABC's 'LIVE! With Regis & Kelly' on channel 7.

During what was called 'Andrew Lloyd Webber week' of the seventh season of the hit TV talent competition American Idol, Webber predicted to an audience of millions that Syesha Mercado will 'bring the house down' with a sexy, splashy take on one of his many musical hits. And that, she did. Then 21, she eventually lasted on the show to become the second runner-up. Fast forward two years later, and she is now in the midst of a multi-city national tour of the rebooted DREAMGIRLS stage musical, where she nightly plays Deena Jones, the beautiful and eventual front-woman of the semi-fictional musical group The Dreams. Before she takes the stage of The Orange County Performing Arts Center (April 21-May 2), Mercado spoke with BroadwayWorld's Michael Lawrence Quintos about life on the road, her American Idol roots, and what it takes to become Deena Jones night after night.

Tomorrow Wednesday, April 21st, tune in to watch Vanessa Williams perform on ABC's 'LIVE! With Regis & Kelly' on channel 7 between 9:00-10:00AM.

Stephen Sondheim gave an interview to The Today Show, during which he discussed his career, Sondheim on Sondheim and Oscar Hammerstein II.

CHICAGO, the winner of six 1997 Tony AwardsŽ including Best Musical Revival which is now celebrating its eleventh year touring the United States, returns to the Pantages Theatre for a strictly limited three week engagement April 20th through May 9th.

Sondheim on Sondheim opens officially on April 22nd, 2010 at Studio 54 on Broadway (254 West 54th Street). This will be a limited engagement through Sunday, June 13th, 2010. Here - Broadway stars and Sondheim-show veterans share their memories and thoughts on the man himself.

Sondheim on Sondheim opens officially on April 22nd, 2010 at Studio 54 on Broadway (254 West 54th Street). This will be a limited engagement through Sunday, June 13th, 2010. Here - Broadway stars and Sondheim-show veterans share their memories and thoughts on the man himself.

To enhance Orange County theater-going when the national tour of the smash hit musical DREAMGIRLS visits April 21 - May 2, the Center has scheduled two post-performance talkbacks with cast members on April 22 and 29. During the talkbacks, which will follow the performances in Segerstrom Hall, audience members can speak to the cast and ask questions. The talkbacks are free, but tickets to the April 22 and 29 performances of DREAMGIRLS are required.

SAGE has announced that it will present the legend himself, Stephen Sondheim, with their first ever 'Lifetime Achievement in Theatre' Award during a pre-show cocktail reception at Brasserie Cognac Restaurant at 6 pm, followed by an 8 pm performance of Sondheim on Sondheim at Studio 54.

To celebrate DREAMGIRLS' upcoming visit to the Center, Bloomingdale's South Coast Plaza is creating a special 'Get the Look' boutique inspired by the stunning costumes from the sensational new stage production direct from Harlem's world-famous Apollo Theater in New York City.

Vanessa Williams recently spoke with The New York Times and discussed her daily pre-show rituals. Williams is currently starring in the Broadway production SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM, set to begin performances April 22nd.

LOOPED, the new comedy starring Valerie Harper, written by Matthew Lombardo and directed by Rob Ruggiero, will close Sunday, April 11. It will have played 27 previews and 25 regular performances at the Lyceum Theatre, 149 West 45th Street. Previews began on February 19 and it opened on Sunday March 14.

Producer John Breglio and Broadway Across America-Seattle will end the Seattle stint of DREAMGIRLS on April 11th.

ANYONE CAN WHISLTE is an experimental satire that takes aim at every target on the American cultural scene of the moment-conformity, psychology, race relations, greed, religion and politics. It divided the critics, thrilled the emerging counter-culture, baffled the masses, and became an instant legend-one that has grown over the years along with Sondheim's reputation. The title song and 'With So Little to Be Sure Of' have survived as cabaret classics, but the rarely heard complete score is a riot of jazzy, show-biz razzmatazz, waltzes, gospel numbers and Broadway pastiche, as full of variety and surprise as the show that gave birth to it.

BroadwayWorld has confirmed recent reports that LOOPED, starring Valerie Harper, is looking at a busy post-Broadway life. The show, which will close this Sunday, April 11, is in discussions with several regional markets for a national tour.

McCarter Theatre has announced the complete casting and creative team for the American premiere of Take Flight, a new musical by Richard Maltby Jr, David Shire and John Weidman that blends fact and fiction to tell the interweaving stories of three pioneers of aeronautics: the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart.

CHICAGO veterans Bianca Marroquin and Ruthie Henshall will each return to the role of Roxie Hart yet again, in the upcoming months. Marroquin will play the merry murderess from April 15 through April 25 and the original London Roxie will play the role from April 26 through June 13.

Now celebrating 13 glorious years of girls, glitz and glamour on the Great White Way, the record-breaking smash hit musical CHICAGO is now the sixth longest-running production in Broadway history ... and shows no sign of ever slowing down!

To celebrate DREAMGIRLS' upcoming visit to the Center, Bloomingdale's South Coast Plaza is creating a special 'Get the Look' boutique inspired by the stunning costumes from the sensational new stage production direct from Harlem's world-famous Apollo Theater in New York City.

Now celebrating 13 glorious years of girls, glitz and glamour on the Great White Way, the record-breaking smash hit musical CHICAGO is now the sixth longest-running production in Broadway history ... and shows no sign of ever slowing down!