Mario Cantone News

Tony Award Winner Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music) and Rue McClanahan (The Women, TV's 'The Golden Girls') have just been added to the Broadway Backwards concert benefiting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center.

Sandra Bernhard (I'm Still Here... Damn It!, TV's 'Rosanne'), Florence Henderson (Fanny, TV's 'The Brady Bunch'), Maureen McGovern (Little Women, Nine) and Ron Palillo (Hot L. Baltimore, TV's 'Welcome Back, Kotter') will be performing at Broadway Backwards this year, joining previously announced performers Cheyenne Jackson (Xanadu, All Shook Up), Tony Award nominee Sally Mayes (She Loves Me), Kate Reinders (Good Vibrations, Gypsy; one-half of TASTiSKANK) and Tony Yazbeck (Gypsy, A Chorus Line), Mario Cantone (Assassins, TV's 'Sex and the City'), Alan Cumming (Cabaret), Gina Gershon (Cabaret, Showgirls), Whoopi Goldberg (Producer: Thoroughly Modern Millie, TV's 'The View'), Aaron Lazar (Les Mis?rables), Megan Mullally (Young Frankenstein, How to Succeed in Business..., TV's 'Will & Grace'), Jai Rodriguez (TV's 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,' Rent), Christopher Sieber (Spamalot), John Tartaglia (Avenue Q), Marty Thomas (Xanadu); and TV's 'Ugly Betty' stars Becki Newton and Michael Urie. Joining the roundup on Monday, February 9, 2009 as Host will be Jim Caruso, who recently appeared alongside Liza Minnelli in Liza's At The Palace!, singing, dancing and celebrating the music and arrangements of the late Kay Thompson and the Williams Brothers. And for the past six years, Jim Caruso has hosted a Monday night showbiz bash called 'Jim Caruso's Cast Party,' which was honored with a New York Nightlife Award, as was his Broadway at Birdland concert series.

Tony Award Winner Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music) and Rue McClanahan (The Women, TV's 'The Golden Girls') have just been added to the Broadway Backwards concert benefiting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center.

Sandra Bernhard (I'm Still Here... Damn It!, TV's 'Rosanne'), Florence Henderson (Fanny, TV's 'The Brady Bunch'), Maureen McGovern (Little Women, Nine) and Ron Palillo (Hot L. Baltimore, TV's 'Welcome Back, Kotter') will be performing at Broadway Backwards this year, joining previously announced performers Cheyenne Jackson (Xanadu, All Shook Up), Tony Award nominee Sally Mayes (She Loves Me), Kate Reinders (Good Vibrations, Gypsy; one-half of TASTiSKANK) and Tony Yazbeck (Gypsy, A Chorus Line), Mario Cantone (Assassins, TV's 'Sex and the City'), Alan Cumming (Cabaret), Gina Gershon (Cabaret, Showgirls), Whoopi Goldberg (Producer: Thoroughly Modern Millie, TV's 'The View'), Aaron Lazar (Les Mis?rables), Megan Mullally (Young Frankenstein, How to Succeed in Business..., TV's 'Will & Grace'), Jai Rodriguez (TV's 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,' Rent), Christopher Sieber (Spamalot), John Tartaglia (Avenue Q), Marty Thomas (Xanadu); and TV's 'Ugly Betty' stars Becki Newton and Michael Urie. Joining the roundup on Monday, February 9, 2009 as Host will be Jim Caruso, who recently appeared alongside Liza Minnelli in Liza's At The Palace!, singing, dancing and celebrating the music and arrangements of the late Kay Thompson and the Williams Brothers. And for the past six years, Jim Caruso has hosted a Monday night showbiz bash called 'Jim Caruso's Cast Party,' which was honored with a New York Nightlife Award, as was his Broadway at Birdland concert series.

Cheyenne Jackson (Xanadu, All Shook Up), Tony Award nominee Sally Mayes (She Loves Me), Kate Reinders (Good Vibrations, Gypsy; one-half of TASTiSKANK) and Tony Yazbeck (Gypsy, A Chorus Line) have just been added to the roster of performers to be featured in Broadway Backwards 4, joining previously announced performers Mario Cantone (Assassins, TV's 'Sex and the City'), Alan Cumming (Cabaret), Gina Gershon (Cabaret, Showgirls), Whoopi Goldberg (Producer: Thoroughly Modern Millie, TV's 'The View'), Aaron Lazar (Les Mis?rables), Megan Mullally (Young Frankenstein, How to Succeed in Business..., TV's 'Will & Grace'), Jai Rodriguez (TV's 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,' Rent), Christopher Sieber (Spamalot), John Tartaglia (Avenue Q), Marty Thomas (Xanadu); and TV's 'Ugly Betty' stars Becki Newton and Michael Urie.

Various news outlets are reporting the sudden news that The Zipper Factory is to cease operations immediately. No further information is available at the current time, but BroadwayWorld.com will bring it to you as we get it.

Roundabout Theatre Company's (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) presented a once-in-a-lifetime gala concert reading of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's enchanting, Tony Award?-winning masterpiece A Little Night Music on Monday, January 12th, 2009 at 7:30PM at Studio 54 (254 West 54th St.). The starry cast and crowd arrived at the after party and BroadwayWorld's cameras were there!

'The buzz on Broadway is that the pre-Thanksgiving stage reading of the musical Superstar was one of the hottest showings of new material in years and has many industry insiders talking. The show looks like it's on a fast track to Broadway.' Producers are looking for a regional theater with an unexpected opening in their 2009 schedules to premiere the show prior to a late 2009/early 2010 Broadway Opening.

After seeing 210 live productions in 2008, Michael Dale picks ten memorable moments some readers may have missed.

Tony Award winners Alan Cumming (Cabaret) and Whoopi Goldberg (Producer: Thoroughly Modern Millie, TV's 'The View'); current star of Shrek, Tony Award nominee Christopher Sieber (Spamalot); Mario Cantone (Assassins, TV's 'Sex and the City'), Megan Mullally (Young Frankenstein, How to Succeed in Business..., TV's 'Will & Grace') and Jai Rodriguez (TV's 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,' Rent) for Broadway Backwards 4.

Producer Howard Panter for Ambassador Theatre Group and co-producers Tulchin/Bartner/Jenkins, Bill Kenwright, Northwater Entertainment, Darren Bagert, and Tom Gregory announced the complete cast and design team for the new Broadway production of the greatest musical comedy GUYS AND DOLLS. The first joint Broadway project by two-time Tony Award winning director Des McAnuff and choreographer Sergio Trujillo since their collaboration on the Tony Award winning musical Jersey Boys, GUYS AND DOLLS will begin previews on February 3, 2009 at Broadway's newly refurbished Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41st Street). Opening Night is March 1, 2009.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director), in association with Marc Platt, presents Stockard Channing (Vera Simpson), Matthew Risch (Joey Evans) and Martha Plimpton (Gladys Bumps) in a new Broadway production of Pal Joey with Robert Clohessy (Mike), Jenny Fellner (Linda English), Daniel Marcus (Ludlow Lowell), Steven Skybell (Ernest), Timothy J. Alex, Brian Barry, Kurt Froman, Bahiyah Sayyed Gaines, Lisa Gajda, Anthony Holds, Nadine Isenegger, Mark Morettini, Kathryn Mowat Murphy, Abbey O'Brien, Hayley Podschun, Krista Saab and Eric Sciotto. The Roundabout celebrated the production with a festive performance and cast party. We sent in our BroadwayWorld.com photographer to greet the starry crowd that came to cheer the company on!

Liza's at the Palace...! opened on Broadway last night, December 3rd and BroadwayWorld.com was on the red carpet for all the starry arrivals as Liza opened her new show!

Camp Broadway, the award-winning theater arts education and audience development company and American icon, Kermit the Frog, will lead 300 performance-loving kids, ages 10-17, in an original Closing number 'I Believe in Santa Claus,' live in the 82nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which will be televised on NBC-TV on November 27, 2008 beginning at 9am.

Billy Elliot The Musical officially opened at Broadway's Imperial Theatre last night, Thursday, November 13th. With music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry, this joyful musical lit up Broadway as the starry audience made their in to enjoy the opening night performance!

Camp Broadway, the award-winning theater arts education and audience development company and American icon, Kermit the Frog, will lead 300 performance-loving kids, ages 10-17, in an original Closing number 'I Believe in Santa Claus,' live in the 82nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which will be televised on NBC-TV on November 27, 2008 beginning at 9am.

COMEDY CENTRAL and The New York Comedy Festival announced today that they have signed a multi-year partnership.

The limited engagement of ROMANTIC POETRY celebrated opening night on Tuesday, October 28. Performances began September 30th 2008 at MTC at New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street).

BroadwayWorld's cameras captured the 'green' carpet arrivals last night for THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD NOT TAKEN, a one-night-only benefit performance celebrating the 5th anniversary of the smash hit musical WICKED.