Lonny Price News

Today we are analyzing all aspects of last night's spectacular special presentation of the 25th anniversary of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA live from the Royal Albert Hall. This unprecedented full performance of the world's most successful entertainment staged specifically for this event was simulcast live to hundreds of theaters around the world, with Fathom proving yet again - LES MISERABLES, Sondheim's COMPANY and the Shakespeare's Globe Series, among many others, coming before - that they are the pioneers of perhaps the most exciting Broadway-related entertainment entity of the twenty-first century - live HD filming of theatrical enterprises. Over the course of the three hours of the complete musical as it has been performed on Broadway and the West End and around the world for twenty-five years, as well as a phantastic reception and encore featuring Andrew Lloyd Webber, Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman, Cameron MackIntosh and four famous Phantoms - Toronto's Colm Wilkinson, the West End's John Owen Jones, Australia's Anthony Warlow and the new incoming West End title player Peter Joback - PHANTOM 25 is the theatre event of the year. Yes, PHANTOM 25 may very well be the most exciting and engrossing live show ever filmed and the presentation was exceedingly superb in technical aspects - and, now, the mind boggles at how utterly brilliant and breathtaking the forthcoming Blu-ray will be based on last night's performance (November in the UK, February in the US). Capturing the comedy in an enjoyable and surprising manner while still containing the menace and horror that gives it a distinct bite in the musical theatre realm (from the original director of SWEENEY TODD, Harold Prince, no less), and, most of all, arousing the most passionate and carnal of emotions in any willing and ready viewer. And so much more. PHANTOM 25 is now the crowning jewel of the show's legacy - the mask on the eponymous master magician and musician's face that somehow manages to make him truly, finally complete.

Day 16 Kiki Baby KIKI BABY By Kitt Lavoie, co-book writer

Last night, The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) held its opening night Gala hosted by Emmy and Three-Time Tony Award Winner Robert Lopez (The Book of Mormon, Avenue Q). BroadwayWorld was there and brings you photo coverage below!

City Theatre welcomes Matt M. Morrow as its new Associate Artistic Director. Mr. Morrow joins City Theatre's artistic staff for the 2011-12 Season. In addition to working closely with Artistic Director Tracy Brigden and the artistic staff, Matt will direct the 12th Annual Young Playwrights Festival in September and October and the season play Tigers Be Still by Kim Rosenstock in April.

The producers of the new musical BONNIE & CLYDE announced the complete cast of the show. Previously announced stars Laura Osnes (2011 Drama Desk nominee, Anything Goes) and Jeremy Jordan (Newsies, West Side Story) will be joined on stage by Melissa van der Schyff (Big River) as Blanche Barrow, Claybourne Elder (Road Show) as Buck Barrow, Joe Hart (The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public) as Sheriff Schmid and Louis Hobson (Next to Normal) as Ted Hinton.

The Creative Arts portion of the 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were distributed in a ceremony held at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 10. An edited version of the show will air on ReelzChannel on Sept. 17, the night before the Primetime Emmys air on FOX.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival in association with Jeffery & Elizabeth Passero are pleased to announce the production of KIKI BABY, directed by Lonny Price and Matt Cowart. KIKI BABY will play six performances at the Theatre at St. Clements (423 West 46th Street, between 9TH & 10TH Avenues). Performances begin Wednesday, October 5th and continue through Sunday, October 16th.

Executive Producer Lou Spisto today announced the cast and creative team for the World Premiere of Somewhere, a new play by Old Globe Playwright-in-Residence Matthew Lopez. Lopez's play The Whipping Man was a critical success in New York last season after receiving its West Coast Premiere at the Globe in a production directed by Giovanna Sardelli. Sardelli returns to direct Somewhere, which will run in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, Sept. 24 - Oct. 30. Preview performances run Sept. 24 - Sept. 28. Opening night is Thursday, Sept. 29 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are currently available by subscription only. Single tickets will go on sale on Sunday, Sept. 4. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.

If Mike Nichols and Elaine May ever had a routine about two theatre geeks discussing their favorite unsuccessful musicals, it probably would have resembled the kind of banter that goes on between Jennifer Tepper and Kevin Michael Murphy as creators/producers/hosts of the concert series, If It Only Even Runs A Minute.  Monday night's edition, their seventh, was my third visit to their collection of one-nighters where musical theatre well-knowns and not so well-knowns join music director/pianist Caleb Hoyer to sing selections from underappreciated and/or forgotten musicals between quick histories of each production by Tepper and Murphy.  Frequently, original cast members will be on hand to give first-person accounts of the bumpy roads to opening night.

On August 7 the ghosts come out to sing and dance and reminisce a bit when one of the most legendary musicals of all time returns to the Great White Way and previews begin for a sparkling new production of FOLLIES, directed by Eric Schaeffer, based on the recent Kennedy Center mounting of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's haunting and thrilling nostalgia cornucopia. While the various productions of FOLLIES over the decades have a lion's share of unforgettable star turns and show-stopping moments to treasure, the brand new Broadway revival could very well be the ghostly musical's true total resurrection for a 21st century audience. After all, this is the show which coined the term Broadway Baby! Speaking of which, with a cast boasting Broadway heavyweights Bernadette Peters, Jan Maxwell, Elaine Paige and Danny Burstein, along with upcoming InDepth InterView participant Ron Raines, along with the glories of Sondheim's masterful score and the moody magic that this musical can singularly conjure, this production is evidently poised to present FOLLIES as perfectly as potentially possible for a modern audience - so, while taking a look at this particular production and the past performances of the stars of the show we shall parse the looks, lives, love and lore that makes up FOLLIES - and a couple laughs, too - and also consider why it is one of the most important musicals of the twentieth century.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has announced a full slate of musical productions, a developmental reading series and special events for their eighth annual festival. This year's Festival will begin September 26th and continue through October 16th.

Tonight at 8 PM, PBS/Thirteen in NYC will be airing one of the most comprehensive and revealing documentaries of its kind all about one of the most important theatrical venues in the world, Lincoln Center. The enthralling hour-long doc is hosted and narrated by Broadway baby and a superstar herself at the various venues of Lincoln Center many times over - most famously, perhaps, in ANYTHING GOES in 1987 and her own solo show MATTERS OF THE HEART; plus, this century, the film of COMPANY: IN CONCERT, today's Emmy-nominated SONDHEIM! The Birthday Concert and much more at Avery Fisher Hall - the one and only Patti LuPone. Tracing the origins of the creation of the three-block big performing arts center in what was once a residential neighborhood - the first of its kind in the USA when construction began in the early 1960s - all the way through the recent, extensive renovation, TREASURES OF NEW YORK: LINCOLN CENTER is an engrossing treat for fans of theatre, opera, ballet, architecture and the arts in America in general. Don't miss it!

The nominations were released this morning for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards. Mad Men topped the list with 19 nominations, followed by Boardwalk Empire with 18, Modern Family with 17, Saturday Night Live with 16, Game of Thrones and 30 Rock with 13 and GLEE with 12. Lots of theatre stars received nominations this year as well, check out the complete list below!

BroadwayWorld has learned that Lonny Price will be directing two private readings of David Rhodes comedy, THE ROAD TO SKYE, June 29 and 30.

As BroadwayWorld announced yesterday, screenvision, the leading innovator in cinema advertising, has added extended dates for its limited presentation of the New York Philharmonic's critically acclaimed, all-star revival of Stephen Sondheim's Tony Award-winning musical, Company. Due to the overwhelming response of the movie theater audience of the sold-out production, now more fans have the opportunity to see this once in a lifetime revival of classic musical theater. COMPANY will receive a special screening at the famous Ziegfeld Theatre this Sunday, June 26th. In honor of this special event, Screenvision will host a Q & A session with COMPANY's award-winning director, Lonny Price, for all attendees immediately following the on-screen presentation.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. 'The Glee Project,' 'A Celebration Of Charles Strouse,' 'Shout!,' 'Broadway In Chicago Concert At Taste Of Chicago,' dueling productions of 'Follies,' more....

Screenvision, the leading innovator in cinema advertising, announced additional, extended dates for its limited presentation of the New York Philharmonic's critically acclaimed, all-star revival of Stephen Sondheim's Tony Award-winning musical, Company. Due to the overwhelming response of the movie theater audience of the sold-out production, now more fans have the opportunity to see this once in a lifetime revival of classic musical theater.

If you're looking for a quick roundup of all of this week's events in the theatre world, look no further: here are some of the best news articles that the week had to offer!

Today, in honor of the nationwide release of Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY in movie theaters, we are celebrating the many accomplishments of the film's director who has made a name for himself in the twenty-first century as the finest and most productive theatrical filmmaker of our age - Lonny Price. With his string of highly successful filmed stage performances before COMPANY ranging from last year's stupendous SONDHEIM! THE BIRTHDAY CONCERT back to SWEENEY TODD: IN CONCERT starring George Hearn and Patti LuPone, CANDIDE starring Kristin Chenoweth, CAMELOT with Gabriel Byrne, as well as well as the LIVE FROM LINCOLN center broadcast of Sondheim's PASSION and the forthcoming feature film version of Athol Fugard's Pulitzer prize-winning MASTER HAROLD AND THE BOYS, Price is ushering in a new era of theatrical films for television and, now, the cinema. So, let's go back and take a look at what led up to the feature film live capture of COMPANY taking musical theatre to an entirely new level - and an enormously appreciative audience. Three Is Company

Bridging the gap between theatre, television and film in a thrilling and revolutionary new way with this week's premiere of STEPHEN SONDHEIM'S COMPANY, in select movie theaters nationwide Wednesday through Saturday (with a return engagement already scheduled for early July), director Lonny Price has introduced Sondheim's seminal concept musical comedy to a whole new generation of gleeks, as well as reverently keep the flame of the fire in the heart, soul and mind of this complex, rich and rewarding show for Broadway babies who already know its genius. Additionally, Neil Patrick Harris, Christina Hendricks, Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, Katie Finneran, Aaron Lazar, Martha Plimpton, Patti Lupone and the rest of the cast are absolutely perfect for their roles and bring a live spontaneity and verve to their material - the kind which you usually only see in the very best shows on Broadway - and that sense of timing, precise editing and overall polished presentation style is a sure credit to Price's positively sublime direction of the live stage production with the NY Philharmonic, as well as - and maybe even more so - the movie version of the live show in theaters now. It bursts with energy and, well, aliveness, just like a real Broadway show. Make that: Just like a real Broadway smash hit. Talking all aspects of COMPANY: THE MOVIE while still editing it last month, Price was kind enough to open up about what the rehearsal process was like, filming it live and working with the all-star cast, as well as much, much more - all coming on the heels of last year‘s rapturously received Ellen Krass production of SONDHEIM! THE BIRTHDAY CONCERT, undoubtedly the finest Broadway concert capture of our age. Price discusses his affection for the material and the man behind the music, plus his smashing leading ladies. Plus: what's next? Be sure to stay tuned for the complete InDepth InterView featuring Price's recollections on Sondheim's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (and his forthcoming documentary about it), A CLASS ACT, directing DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES and news about the feature film version of Athol Fugard's MASTER HAROLD AND THE BOYS coming later this year - a play which he starred in on Broadway twenty-five years ago. Actor, producer, director and, now, filmmaker - Price can clearly do it all!