Opening tonight on Broadway, Come From Away spotlights the town of Gander, Newfoundland, which became the temporary home of over 6,000 passengers whose planes were rerouted during the 9/11 attacks. In its dramatization of real-life figures such as Beverley Bass, a stranded pilot portrayed by Jenn Colella, and Claude Elliott, the Gander mayor brought to life by Joel Hatch, the musical provides a historical recount of the week following 9/11, heavily inspired by true stories of the compassion and camaraderie that came about in Gander.
The Board of Trustees of the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University along withDiane Paulus, A.R.T. Artistic Director, and Diane Quinn, A.R.T. Executive Director, are pleased to announce that the theater's annual gala raised nearly $1.3M in support of the theater's artistic, community, and education programs. The event was held at the Boch Center Wang Theatre on Monday, February 27, 2017 with nearly 500 supporters from Boston, Los Angeles, and New York in attendance.
The King & I revival national tour is closing after tonight's performance in Minneapolis and moving on to the next city but left this writer with memories that were doubly delightful.
Good morning, BroadwayWorld! This weekend's big news: Lynn Nottage's SWEAT begins previews on Broadway this weekend, and NEWSIES seizes the day with an encore screening at cinemas across the country!
The National Tour of The King and I, which won a Tony Award for Best Revival in 2015, is playing at Cleveland's Palace Theatre, where it will remain through February 26. Laura Michelle Kelly (Anna Leonowens) and Jose Llana (King of Siam) will lead thenational tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I. Joan Almedilla will play Lady Thiang with Brian Rivera as Kralahome, Manna Nichols as Tuptim, Kavin Panmeechao as Lun Tha, Anthony Chanas Prince Chulalongkorn, Graham Montgomery as Louis Leonowens and Baylen Thomas as Captain Orton/Sir Edward Ramsey.
On Monday, February 13th, Theater People podcast welcomes Tony-winner LaChanze. For the episode, LaChanze talks about how growing up in Connecticut afforded her the opportunity to make frequent trips into New York City where she saw such shows as the original CHICAGO and EVITA with Patti LuPone.
I've never been a huge fan of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The King and I", currently playing at the Paramount Theatre. It's kind of dated, the songs, while many are classics, don't really move the story along, and plot points often come out of nowhere, plus it's one of those staples from the Golden Age of musicals that's just been done to death. But as much as it's not one of my favorites, this current production was so filled with heart, talent and incredible staging that even I have developed a new appreciation for it.
Ambassador Theatre Group and NETworks Presentations LLC announce that Laura Michelle Kelly (Anna Leonowens) and Jose Llana (King of Siam) will lead the national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I that will play Seattle's Paramount Theatre from January 24 through February 3, 2017.
Ambassador Theatre Group and NETworks Presentations LLC announce that Laura Michelle Kelly (Anna Leonowens) and Jose Llana (King of Siam) will lead the national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I that will play Seattle's Paramount Theatre from January 24 through February 3, 2017.
There are undoubtedly other productions worthy of merit in 2016 which I did not cover. This list is based only on what I saw and reviewed.
(alphabetical listings; Equity, Equity-waiver & Non-Equity productions are mixed)
(artists performing outside LA may be included in performance categories)
No set, costume, technical awards. I leave that to the bigger awards and to the expertise of those who really know those fields inside out.
Happy New Year, BroadwayWorld! As we eagerly anticipate the amazing musicals and plays coming up in 2017, we're taking a moment to look back at the significant Broadway closings of 2016.
A friend referred to The King and I as a war horse, an old chestnut, for it has surely surpassed time as an enduring musical classic, but upon seeing it again, one realizes just how potent, vibrant and topical a piece it truly is. Musicals of such depth and perspective with a keen eye to the future seem to be a thing of the past. Yes, it's a love story at the core, an unlikely one, but with many, many more levels. It entails issues of race, slavery, the urgency for a king of a tiny uncivilized kingdom to change his primitive, barbaric ways, and for his children to receive a truthful education as he embarks on assimilating 19th century Siam to western culture and civilization...and to repeat, it's a bigger-than-life love story that has become eternally revered not only for its music but for its intolerance of bigotry of any type. In this 2015 Broadway revival, currently onstage at the Hollywood Pantages Theater, nothing is lost; every gorgeous detail is present, and the story of Anna and The King is radiantly performed through January 21, 2017. In short, this production is a stunner.
The National Tour of The King and I, which won a Tony Award for Best Revival in 2015, is opened at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles last night, and will play through January 21st, 2017. Stars of the stage and screen, including original cast members of one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's most beloved classics, came out in droves to celebrate the opening, and we've got all of the lovely red carpet photos below!
Today's big news: THE BAND'S VISIT, featuring Tony Shalhoub and more, opens tonight at the Atlantic, and Irish Rep's immersive THE DEAD, 1904 officially bows Off-Broadway!
The American Repertory Theater announced today the details for its annual gala to be held on Monday, February 27, 2017 at the Boch Center Wang Theatre, 270 Tremont Street, Boston.
BroadwayWorld San Francisco spoke with King and I cast members Anthony Chan (Prince Chulalongkorn) and Stephanie Lo (Ensemble) about growing up in the Bay Area, working with Jose Llana and Laura Michelle Kelly, and the very relevant themes in this beautiful production.
Broadway In Boston, Ambassador Theatre Group and NETworks Presentations LLC announced today that the national tour of The Lincoln Center Theater Production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's THE KING AND I, will play a limited two week engagement at the Boston Opera House April 11-23, 2017 as part of the 2016-2017 Lexus Broadway In Boston Season. THE KING AND I, directed by Tony Award® Winner Bartlett Sher won four 2015 Tony Awards® including Best Revival of a Musical.
When Jose Llana was 19, 'Something Wonderful' happened: The Filipino-American actor made his Broadway bow as Lun Tha, the mellow young lover, in Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's 'The King and I.' Lou Diamond Phillips played the titanic and titular ruler of Siam in that 1996 Tony-winning revival. Now, two decades later, Llana has followed in Phillips' footsteps as the new King of Broadway, with his glorious voice and regal bearing. What's more, he is taking the 2015 Tony-winning revival across America.
On Monday, November 14, the Theater People podcast welcome's Tony nominee Brandon Uranowitz. He made his Broadway debut in 2011's BABY IT'S YOU. He earned a Tony nomination for his turn as Adam Hochberg in last year's AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, and he can currently be seen in the role of Mendel in William Finn and James Lapine's critically acclaimed revival of FALSETTOS. For the episode, Uranowitz discusses the six months of auditions he went through to win the role of Mendel, how James Lapine was lovingly hard on him during the show's rehearsal process, and shares a memory of accompanying Katie Holmes on a shopping spree during his pre-Broadway days when he worked as a sales associate.
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