Liza Minnelli News

Tonight, five-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald will be the Honoree of The Drama League's 29th Musical Celebration of Broadway, tonight, February 11, 2013 at the famed Pierre Hotel (2 East 61st Street).

Helpmann nominated performer Trevor Ashley, known most recently for his performance as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, channels the superb talents of cabaret's most idiosyncratic superstar, Liza Minnelli, in the charismatic hit drag show Liza (On an E) in the De Parel Spiegeltent from 10 to 16 February, 2013.

Nightlife impresario Daniel Nardicio is bringing Liza Minnelli and Alan Cumming to the Manhattan stage for the first time when the two perform live at Town Hall on Wednesday, March 13, and now Thursday, March 14 (just added!). This is a transfer of their two sold-out shows in Fire Island. The concert takes place a day after Minnelli's 67th birthday.

The Hollywood Bowl - one of the premier outdoor music venues in the world and the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic - was honored at the 24th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards at Club Nokia on February 7, 2013, as the Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue. This marks the ninth consecutive nomination and subsequent award representing an industry-wide acknowledgement that the Hollywood Bowl is an icon with a rich and celebrated history, and that it remains a vital and relevant destination for performers and audiences alike.

At BroadwayWorld we pride ourselves in showcasing theater content submitted by our regional contributors from all corners of the globe. Get all your theater news at a glance each Friday with 'Around BWW: Regional Highlights of the Week'! Check out the most-read stories below for the week of February 4!

Today in 1984, The Rink opend at the Martin Beck Theatre (now the Al Hirschfeld Theatre), where it ran for 204 performances. With a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander, the musical focuses on Anna, the owner of a dilapidated roller skating rink on the boardwalk of a decaying seaside resort, who has decided to sell it to developers. Complicating her plans are her prodigal daughter Angel, who returns to town seeking to reconnect with the people and places she long ago left behind. Through a series of flashbacks, revelations, and minimal forward-moving plot development, the two deal with their pasts in their attempt to reconcile and move on with their lives.

In a promtional interview with Larry King for his upcoming film IDENTITY THIEF, Jason Bateman confirmed some monumental news for ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT fans: a big-screen adaptation is underway.

Once in a generation, if we are lucky, an extraordinary talent like no other arises - one who can ceaselessly, effortlessly caress the loftiest heights of comedy and drama onstage (and sometimes onscreen), while, simultaneously, imbuing musical theatre roles with the same skill set, plus a powerhouse, quintessentially unique and resplendent vocal instrument; and, of course, that indescribable 'it' factor, too - such is the tale of Broadway's grand dame, Patti LuPone. Ms. LuPone is a part of that great pantheon of leading ladies of lore led by Ethel Merman, Mary Martin, Angela Lansbury, Elaine Stritch and Bernadette Peters - that is, musical theatre royalty. Taking a look back at many moments in her long and varied career thus far, LuPone candidly opines about a vast array of topics and opens up about many of the remarkable figures who have played roles in her astounding time spent on Broadway, in Hollywood and on TV - among them: Stephen Sondheim, Hal Prince, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman, Steven Spielberg, David Mamet, Ryan Murphy and many more. Most importantly, LuPone discusses various aspects of her ever-expanding new solo show upon which her sensational live album, FAR AWAY PLACES, is based - the songs, the stories, the themes, the collaborators and her future plans for the piece (such as her series of 54 Below shows coming up in February). Additionally, LuPone addresses appearing on GLEE, reflects on working with Jennifer Lopez and Jason Statham on PARKER, shares her thoughts on her favorite films of the year, expounds upon what roles she would like to pursue and teases about her concert with David Yazbek and the debut of her new Carnegie Hall concert as well as a return to London where she made her mark with her Olivier-winning original Fantine in LES MISERABLES - all of that and much, much more!

Tonight is the premiere of Season 2 of NBC's Golden Globe-nominated musical drama series SMASH (Tuesdays, 10-11pm ET), and NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products and Columbia Records will make select songs from each episode this season available in the 'Smash' iTunes store http://www.itunes.com/NBCSmash.

CABARET, Bob Fosse's ground-breaking Oscar-winning musical drama starring Liza Minnelli (Arthur, The Sterile Cuckoo), Michael York (the Austin Powers films), Joel Grey (TV's 'Oz'), Helmut Griem, and Marisa Berenson (I am Love), celebrates its 40th anniversary with a Blu-ray debut today, February 5, 2013.

Liza Minnelli and the cast of CABARET are featured in the new doucmentary CABARET: THE MUSICAL THAT CHANGED MUSICALS. The film is included as part of the 40th anniversary Blu-ray release available from Warner Brothers beginning tomorrow, February 5th. Click here to get a first look!

The Drama League will honor five-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald at The Drama League's 29th Annual Musical Celebration of Broadway, on February 11, 2013 at the famed Pierre Hotel (2 East 61st Street). Amy Eller and Ellen Fox are the 2013 Gala Chairpersons. Tickets and tables are available by calling (212) 244-9494 or visiting www.dramaleague.org/audra.

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, February 3, 2013 - Sunday, February 3, 2013.

The Broadway at Birdland partnership with multi-Grammy and Tony nominated composer Frank Wildhorn continues with another 'Frank & Friends' concert tonight, February 4 at 7pm. The series of very special one-night-only concerts celebrates the songs and favorite performers from the composer's wide range of work in popular, theatrical and classical music. All profits will go to The Actors Fund, anationwide human services organization that helps all professionals in the performing arts and entertainment.

Eric Michael Gillett's Careless Rhapsody: An Evening Dedicated to the Lyrics of Lorenz Hart, will play 54 Below, tonight, February 4 at 7pm, February 7 at 9:30pm and February 26 & 27 at 7pm.

Even though 'Cabaret' is of the 'tried and true' variety of musical theatre and could have, therefore, resulted in yet another ho-hum production, Keegan's intimate setting, attention to detail, and mostly strong casting among the leads make this production ultimately memorable and, at times, even a bit daring.

The Off Broadway Alliance, the organization of Off Broadway producers, theaters, general managers, press agents, and marketing firms, will hold another in its series of seminars focused on the culture, business and history of Off Broadway today, February 3rd.

BroadwayWorld's own Richard Ridge was invited to the SMASH set where he got to chat with Jeremy Jordan about the upcoming season. Check out what he had to say about joining the cast as the new bad boy character, balancing SMASH with NEWSIES and more, below!

SMASH makes its long-awaited return to the NBC lineup for a second season on Tuesday, February 5 (9-10 p.m. ET) and will continue in its regular time slot on Tuesday, February 12 (10-11 p.m. ET). Season two will feature a slew of new talent, including Jennifer Hudson, Jeremy Jordan, Andy Mientus, Krysta Rodriguez, Sean Hayes, Jesse L. Martin, Liza Minnelli, Bernadette Peters, Nikki Blonski, and more.