Martin Charnin News

From Jerry Herman's Parade to Martin Charnin's No Frills Revue to nights with Betty Comden, Adolph Green and The Revuers, the original song and sketch revue has been a favorite of downtown audiences for nearly a century.  With The Greenwich Village Follies, a new show that takes its name from a legendary production from the 1920s, composer/lyricist Doug Silver and bookwriter/lyricist Andrew Frank not only capture the smart, freestyle irreverence that made downtown revues so popular, but they use the format to offer an eighty-minute lesson on the history of America's first haven for artists, free-thinkers and non-conformists.

While Shakespeare's canon includes many couples whose relationships are of questionable health - Kate and Petruchio, Beatrice and Benedick, Mr. and Mrs. Scottish - few are as discomfortingly mismatched as the lead pair of All's Well That Ends Well.

Telsey and Co., casting office for the new Broadway production of ANNIE, will hold an open call in Los Angeles on Friday, July 15, for girls ages 6-12 to audition for the roles of Annie and the orphans. The production, directed by Tony Award-winner James Lapine, will open in fall 2012 at a Nederlander theatre to be announced.

Omaha Performing Arts will host an open casting call on Sunday, July 17 and Monday, July 18 for girls ages 6-12 to audition for the roles of Annie and the orphans for the new Broadway production of ANNIE. The production, directed by Tony Award®-winner James Lapine, will open in fall 2012 in New York City.

The ever-popular Broadway musical Annie will light up Sydney's Lyric Theatre from 29 December in an exciting new production produced John Frost. Returning to the role of New York ‘zillionaire' Daddy Warbucks will be one of Australia's greatest theatrical talents, Anthony Warlow, fresh from his success in the title role of the World Premiere of Doctor Zhivago. Show business legend Nancye Hayes will play the tyrannical Miss Hannigan who runs the orphanage where Annie begins her journey. This is the third Australian production of Annie that Nancye has been involved with, having played Lily St Regis in the original production and been Assistant Choreographer for the second.

As previously reported, an Annie remake is in the works, produced by Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jay-Z and partners, and starring the Smith's youngest, Willow. No other casting has been revealed (Willow has, however, expressed her wish for Brad Pitt to step into the shoes of Daddy Warbucks), and while for a time it seemed GLEE's Ryan Murphy was in talks to direct, it appears those talks are off, according to published reports. Today, New York Magazine reveals that Will Smith has called upon Emma Thompson, with whom he is currently starring in Men in Black III, to readapt John Huston's screenplay for the latest reincarnation of the famous story.

Casting is complete for Theatre Aspen's upcoming summer season, reported Artistic Director Paige Price. The award-winning regional theatre unveils the brand new Hurst Theatre in Rio Grande Park on June 24th with two musicals and a comedy. The new theatre tent was installed during a snow storm on May 19th, work on the interior will begin immediately.

Telsey and Co., casting office for the new Broadway production of ANNIE, will hold an open call today, June 12, for girls ages 6-12 to audition for the roles of Annie and the orphans. The production, directed by Tony Award-winner James Lapine, will open in fall 2012 at a Nederlander theatre to be announced.

Telsey and Co., casting office for the new Broadway production of ANNIE, will hold an open call on Sunday, June 12, for girls ages 6-12 to audition for the roles of Annie and the orphans. The production, directed by Tony Award-winner James Lapine, will open in fall 2012 at a Nederlander theatre to be announced.

Tonight, 2,400 high school students, teachers and parents from across Washington state packed Benaroya Hall for the Ninth Annual 5th Avenue Awards: Honoring High School Musical Theater, sponsored by Wells Fargo and supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Two Toms - Schaller and Rocco - will Simon-ize audiences in Midland, launching the summer season at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center with Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple."

Daniel Radcliffe, star of the Tony-nominated How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying and the beloved Harry Potter films, will serve as master of ceremonies as hundreds of students from middle and intermediate New York City Public Schools in Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Manhattan get their Broadway debut at the Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway JR. Student Celebration at the Majestic Theatre (245 West 44th Street) on Monday, June 6th from 10:30 AM to noon. Each school will perform a song from their production of a student version of a classic musical, including Annie JR., Once on this Island JR., Seussical JR., Disney's Aladdin JR. and Guys and Dolls JR. A list of schools participating in the June 6th celebration follows.

On Saturday, Goodspeed Musical held a gala celebrating the 25th anniversary of ANNIE, and honoring its creators. Sarah Jessica Parker, who acted in the Broadway production, attended the event at the Goodpseed Opera House where ANNIE was developed in 1976.