Madeline Kahn News

DPAC is proud to announce Next Stop BROADWAY, a new week-long musical theater program consisting of classes, workshops, and rehearsals focused on classic Broadway shows. A staff of esteemed Broadway professionals, headed by Broadway veteran Tony Parise, will teach participants songs and choreography from two hit shows from the 'Golden Age of Broadway' and cast members will create their own presentations based on shows in the upcoming DPAC season and other hit musicals.

Continuing its 35th Anniversary season, Urban Stages (Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director; Tom Toce Producer) proudly announces the line-up for this year's award-winning series, WINTER RHYTHMS 2018, which will begin Wednesday, December 12 featuring some of New York's best musical performances through Saturday,December 22, 2018 at Urban Stages Theatre (259 West 30th Street, just East of 8th Avenue).

The 2018 Los Angeles Animation Festival has awarded writer/director John Meyer with the Best Story award for The Magical Mystery of Musigny.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with the following acts:

The McCallum Theatre presents Bob Newhart on Saturday, November 17, at 8:00 pm. One of the most important, influential, and beloved figures in the history of American comedy, Chicago native Bob Newhart has been entertaining audiences around the world for over 50 years. Bob has enjoyed success in television and films as well and hosted the "Tonight Show" an astonishing 87 times. His early TV effort, the "Bob Newhart Variety Show," earned an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award and was followed by the television success of "The Bob Newhart Show" (1972-1978) and "Newhart" (1982-1990). He has appeared in over 14 feature films, including Elf, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Catch 22 and Legally Blonde 2, and has starred with the likes of Steve McQueen, Bobby Darin, Barbara Streisand, Madeline Kahn and Walter Matthau. He's also provided character voices for major animated films.

I grew up with many versions of the Frankenstein story--some with greater nods to Mary Shelley's novel than others--spending Saturday afternoons being scared witless and loving every minute of it. But I was changed forever by Mel Brooks' YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, making it hard to come to the story of monster and master today with fresh eyes and ears, no matter how serious the intentions. But Gregg Kallor's SKETCHES FROM FRANKENSTEIN, which played last week in the catacombs of Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery, managed to do it.

In The Spotlight has been run in Stratford, Connecticut for over 25 years. It has been a staple for students between 7th and 12th grade who wish to participate in musical theatre. In 2016, the Mighty Quinn Foundation was asked by the town to take over the program. For the past three summers, In The Spotlight has flourished as a theatrically engaging and educational program for middle school and high school students. Those involved not only gain experience on stage as actors, but also work to build connections with their other cast members.

This Summer 2018, the talent performing at New Hope's RRazz Room at The Clarion is a diverse mix of world class artists. There is something for all entertainment tastes at the intimate and comfortable Rrazz Room New Hope, located within the Clarion Inn & Suites.

Kentucky Shakespeare Festival opens a new summer season with laughs and gusto in The Comedy of Errors. A delightful romp at the C. Douglas Ramey Amphitheater in Central Park, the play serves up boundless humor in a manner comparable to a Bugs Bunny cartoon set in Greece. The rain did not hinder a single beat of the opening night performance and the modest audience was not disappointed. A comedy indeed, this production has everything: mistaken identities, sight gags, pratfalls, puns, and sexual innuendos. This show proves that Shakespeare knew what he was doing as he helped define comedic tropes and that the Festival in Central Park is back for a great season.

The sun won't come out tomorrow because it is here now and its name is Conrad John Schuck. One of the entertainment industry's most recognizable character actors, whose on-screen credits include MASH, McMillan & Wife, Star Trek, and The Golden Girls (Gil Kessler for Mayor), Conrad first got started on stage as a resident player at ACT which was then followed by countless theatre credits, most notably as Daddy Warbucks in Annie, for which he currently holds the record as the actor who has played that role the most!

Merman becomes a critic, discussing the new Angles in America, praising Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane takes on Peter Sellars, Stritch goes multi-cam, Lucy plays Dolly, Madeline Kahn takes a walk, Elaine conquers the West End, the legacy of Elaine Stritch, accentuating the positive, being on the line (for real), how a revival comes to life, the A Chorus Line legacy, the secret passageways of Broadway, loving Michael Bennett, Freddie Martinez makes a comeback, and Rob brings out new impressions.

Porchlight Music Theatre and Artistic Director Michael Weber are proud to announce the final production in its 2017 - 2018 season of Chicago's hit musical revue series, New Faces Sing Broadway. New Faces Sing Broadway 1975, hosted by Donica Lynn with direction by Christopher Pazdernik and music direction by David Fiorello, is Tuesday, June 5 at The Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave., Skokie at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, June 6 at The Arts Club of Chicago, 201 E. Ontario Street, at 6:30 p.m. (The Arts Club presentation also includes a pre-show reception at 6:30 p.m. with performance at 7:30 p.m.). In tribute to the original New Faces series that ran on Broadway and on film from 1934 - 1968, Porchlight Music Theatre created the Chicago musical revue series, New Faces Sing Broadway as a showcase for the best emerging music talent now performing on Chicago stages. Each edition is a "time-machine" journey from the start to the finish of an entire musical season from the classic days of Broadway, peppered with photos and films of the era in an exciting multimedia presentation with a favorite Chicago theatre veteran like Donica Lynn hosting and introducing the next generation of music theatre artists while acting as your guide through a vintage year on the Great White Way. General admission tickets at Skokie Theatre are $22 and at The Arts Club of Chicago are $35 and are available at porchlightmusictheatre.org or at the Porchlight Music Theatre box office, 773.777.9884.

This Spring 2018, the talent performing at New Hope's RRazz Room at The Clarion is a diverse mix of world class artists. From Las Vegas Entertainer Of The Year and Grammy Nominee Clint Holmes, the always hilarious Judy Gold,

Porchlight Music Theatre made its debut at The Arts Club of Chicago, 201 E. Ontario Street, with its hit musical revue series, New Faces Sing Broadway 1959, hosted by Gene Weygandt, directed by Adrian Abel Azevedo with music direction by David Fiorello, Tuesday, February 27.

Grab your good friend Sweeney and snag a comfy seat on the 20th Century as Rob and Kevin speak to one of the most celebrated choreographers of the 1970s, Larry Fuller. Joining us via phone from his new home in Palm Springs, California, Larry looks back on a career that included appearances in the original productions ofTHE MUSIC MAN, DONNYBROOK, KEAN, BRAVO GIOVANNI, and FUNNY GIRL, plus choreographing the original productions of Hal Prince's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (film, ON THE 20TH CENTURY, SWEENEY TODD, EVITA, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, and A DOLL'S LIFE.

The next show is Playhouse on Park's Mainstage Series is Robert Harling's Steel Magnolias, running from January 10-28. Opening night is Friday, January 12 with a complimentary wine and cheese reception at 7pm, followed by the show at 8pm.

Porchlight Music Theatre and Artistic Director Michael Weber are proud to announce the second production in its 2017 2018 season of Chicago's hit musical revue series, New Faces Sing Broadway 1959, hosted by Gene Weygandt, directed by Adrian Abel Azevedo with music direction by David Fiorello, Monday, Feb. 26 at Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave in Skokie at 7:30 p.m. In tribute to the original New Faces series that ran on Broadway and on film from 1934 1968, Porchlight Music Theatre created the Chicago musical revue series, New Faces Sing Broadway as a showcase for the best emerging music talent now performing on Chicago stages.

A special Tuesday matinee of Robert Harling's Steel Magnolias has been scheduled forJanuary 23 at 2pm. All tickets for this event are priced at $22.50, all seats reserved.

Actress Madeline Kahn would have turned 75 on September 29, and to commemorate her jubilee year, award-winning interviewer Valerie Smaldone has producedMadeline Kahn: Her Life Explored. The 30-minute program features an extended interview with Kahn's biographer, William V. Madison (Madeline Kahn: Being the Music, A Life), as well as excerpts from his interviews with directors Mel Brooks and Lee Roy Reams, and with Kahn's most frequent co-star, Robert Klein.

The next show is Playhouse on Park's Mainstage Series is Robert Harling's Steel Magnolias, running from January 10-28. Opening night is Friday, January 12 with a complimentary wine and cheese reception at 7pm, followed by the show at 8pm.