Len Cariou News

Sondheim Unplugged returns to New York's 54 Below this Sunday, April 26th for the 46th performance of its award-winning series.

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551.

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestra's begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven- o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: Natalie Douglas in 'Hello Dolly...The Music of Dolly Parton;' 54 Sings the Beatles; Donna Vivino: Confessions of a Broadway Baby; Lesli Margherita: All Hail the Queen; and Sondheim Unplugged.

A massive 12,000-pound moving steel platform – and the Vancouver Opera Orchestra – will dominate the Queen Elizabeth theatre stage for VO's innovative new production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, opening April 25, 2015 for only 6 performances through May 3.

Sweeney Todd first bowed on Broadway in late 1979. Fortunately, I was in New York to witness the brilliant achievement of Hugh Wheeler and Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou and the entire creative team. Kelrik Productions is presenting the masterwork for the first time, hardly an easy task in a small intimate theatre space such as the Monroe Forum Theatre of the El Portal. Well, let me tell you, they may be exceedingly proud of this production, as it replicates just about everything that the original achieved, minus a full orchestra. Every detail, every move and every musical beat are in line with wonderful musical director Joe Lawrence at the piano. With a perfect cast and brilliantly inventive direction and staging from Kristin Towers-Rowles, this Sweeney Todd could not be better.

Revenge will be delicious in the final production of Vancouver Opera's 2014-2015 season: Stephen Sondheim's brilliantly thrilling Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, onstage at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre for 6 performances April 25 - May 3, 2015.

Bryn Terfel and Emma Thompson lead the cast as Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett in Lonny Price's production of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, A Musical Thriller at the London Coliseum. Joining them are Matthew Seadon-Young as Anthony Hope, Katie Hall as Johanna Barker, Philip Quast as Judge Turpin, Jack North as Tobias Ragg, Alex Gaumond as Beadle Bamford, Rosalie Craig as Beggar Woman and John Owen-Jones as Pirelli.

Lonny Price directs Bryn Terfel and Emma Thompson in Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, A Musical Thriller, the first production in a major new long term partnership between English National Opera (ENO) and the GradeLinnit Company. Joining Bryn Terfel and Emma Thompson who will lead the cast as Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett are Matthew Seadon-Young as Anthony Hope,Katie Hall as Johanna Barker, Philip Quast as Judge Turpin, Jack North as Tobias Ragg, Alex Gaumond as Beadle Bamford, Rosalie Craig as Beggar Woman and John Owen-Jones as Pirelli.

Lonny Price's production of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, A Musical Thriller begins tonight, 30 March 2015 the London Coliseum.

Baltimore, Md. (March 23, 2015) — For the conclusion of the 2014-2015 season, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and Music Director Marin Alsop lead the BSO premiere of Leonard Bernstein's comedic operetta Candide on June 11 at the Music Center at Strathmore, and June 12 through June 14 at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The BSO announced today that the semi-staged production of Candide will be directed by Garnett Bruce and features an all-star cast including Peter Sagal, the host of NPR's weekly current events quiz show “Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me,” and Judy Kaye, Tony Award-winning star of The Phantom of the Opera. Rounding out the cast are Keith Jameson, Lauren Snouffer, Joshua Hopkins, Mark Diamond, Marie Lenormand, Stephanie Sadownik, Curtis Bannister, Patrick Cook, Andrew McLaughlin, Melissa Wimbish and Lewis Shaw.

The 10th anniversary of Broadway Backwards capped off an exuberant, exhilarating and emotional evening of performances on Monday, March 9, 2015 with news that this year's event raised a record $466,717 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS andThe Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. Scroll down for photos from the show!

The 10th anniversary of Broadway Backwards capped off an exuberant, exhilarating and emotional evening of performances on Monday, March 9, 2015 with news that this year's event raised a record $466,717 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. BroadwayWorld has exclusive photos from the show below, plus check out more images here!

Broadway's Ryan Steele took over the BCEFA Instagram account yesterday to give fans a backstage look at the tenth annual Broadway Backwards!

This year's 10th Anniversary edition of Broadway Backwards (#bwaybackwards), which was held last night at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street), featured some of the most memorable numbers from previous years. Produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and benefitting BC/EFA and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of New York, the event was hosted by Honeymoon in Vegas star Rob McClure and Julie Halston. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you photos from behind the scenes of the big night!

The unique performing arts intensive will take place at the Dallas Convention Center (600 South Griffin Street, Dallas, TX) tonight, March 10 - Saturday, March 14, 2015. The five-day intensive will culminate in a unique Broadway-style concert event featuring performances by Dallas' brightest rising stars on Friday, March 13, 2015 at 8 p.m.

This year's 10th Anniversary edition of Broadway Backwards (#bwaybackwards) will feature some of the most memorable numbers from previous years and will be held at 8 pm tonight, March 9, 2015, at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street). The evening is produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and benefits BC/EFA and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of New York. Honeymoon in Vegas star Rob McClure will share hosting duties with Julie Halston from the current hit revival of You Can't Take It With You.

An extremely limited number of tickets remain available for Monday's 10th anniversary edition of Broadway Backwards, the annual celebration where gays and lesbians experience their stories as told through the great songs of musical theatre and performed by their favorite Broadway stars.

Tonight, March 6, noted arranger Fred Barton will bring the music of Broadway and the American Songbook showmanship to the Schimmel Center at Pace University in American Showstoppers: An Evening of Irving Berlin.

Due to unprecedented public demand, an extra performance has been scheduled on Sunday 5 April at 3pm for Lonny Price's production of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, A Musical Thriller at the London Coliseum. Tickets for the 5 April performance, including 300 seats at £10 each, will go on sale today (3 March 2015) at 10am. Sales for Sweeney Todd broke English National Opera box office records last September and the few remaining seats for performances from 30 March are available through the box office.

In just three years since the inception of the BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Awards, the ceremony has evolved into one of the community's most-anticipated events. And this year's festivities, the second one at Joe's Pub, proved to be the most glittering and energetic assemblage to date. In fact, there couldn't have been a more promising start to the annual cabaret awards season, which continues with the Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club on March 4, and culminates with the MAC Awards (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs) at BB King's on March 26. The 3rd Annual BWW Awards Show was just the right spark to get this season's prizes off to a veritable fireworks display.