Martin Short News

New York City Center will present 'Musical Theater: From the Page to the Stage,' a new series curated and hosted by Tony Award-winning actress and master teacher Victoria Clark, on three Monday nights beginning October 18 and continuing on February 28 and May 16. The first program will feature Tony-nominated choreographer Christopher Gattelli and will focus on the choreographer's role in the creation of a new musical.

Rock 'n' roll and a whole lot more are at the soul of Broadway Rocks!, the special Broadway Showstoppers program opening Peter Nero and the Philly Pops' exciting 2010-11 season (October 6, 8, 9, and 10, 2010).

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) announces the star-studded cast of the upcoming workshop of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City. Tony Award winner and Broadway legend Betty Buckley (Sunset Boulevard, Cats on Broadway) takes on the beloved character of Anna Madrigal, and Tony Award-nominated actor Stephen Bogardus (Love! Valour! Compassion!, Man of La Mancha, and Falsettos on Broadway) plays Edgar Halcyon, Mrs. Madrigal's love interest. Up-and-coming performer Betsy Wolfe (Everyday Rapture, Into the Woods on Broadway) plays Mary Ann Singleton, the naïve Midwestern transplant to San Francisco at the center of the story. A.C.T. core acting company member and Tony Award-nominated actor Manoel Felciano (Sweeney Todd on Broadway; Rock 'n' Roll, and John Doyle's The Caucasian Chalk Circle at A.C.T.) portrays Norman Neal Williams, joined by two graduates of A.C.T.'s acclaimed Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program: Bay Area actor Nick Gabriel as Michael Tolliver (aka Mouse) and Morgan Spector (who most recently appeared with Scarlett Johansson and Liev Schreiber in A View from the Bridge on Broadway) as Brian Hawkins.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) announces the star-studded cast of the upcoming workshop of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City. Tony Award winner and Broadway legend Betty Buckley (Sunset Boulevard, Cats on Broadway) takes on the beloved character of Anna Madrigal, and Tony Award-nominated actor Stephen Bogardus (Love! Valour! Compassion!, Man of La Mancha, and Falsettos on Broadway) plays Edgar Halcyon, Mrs. Madrigal's love interest. Up-and-coming performer Betsy Wolfe (Everyday Rapture, Into the Woods on Broadway) plays Mary Ann Singleton, the naïve Midwestern transplant to San Francisco at the center of the story. A.C.T. core acting company member and Tony Award-nominated actor Manoel Felciano (Sweeney Todd on Broadway; Rock 'n' Roll, and John Doyle's The Caucasian Chalk Circle at A.C.T.) portrays Norman Neal Williams, joined by two graduates of A.C.T.'s acclaimed Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program: Bay Area actor Nick Gabriel as Michael Tolliver (aka Mouse) and Morgan Spector (who most recently appeared with Scarlett Johansson and Liev Schreiber in A View from the Bridge on Broadway) as Brian Hawkins.

Musical Theatre West is proud to announce the complete cast for its upcoming production of ANNIE at the beautiful 1070-seat Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach.

With its 2010-2011 season ready to kick off next month with a production of Hello, Dolly!, Studio Tenn promises to fully engage the Nashville theater community as their primary source of talent, and likewise commit to having Broadway, film and/or national tour-credited talent involved in every production.

Reprise Theatre Company presents A Party With Marty, an evening of comedy and song with Martin Short and featuring Jason Alexander for one performance only on Monday, November 1, 2010 at 8:00 pm, at the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills (formerly the Wilshire Theatre). This world premiere event features old friends, and former cast mates from "The Producers," Martin Short and Reprise Theatre Company Artistic Director Jason Alexander doing what they do best - making people laugh! Ticket sales for this event support Reprise Theatre Company and their mission to produce great musical theatre as well as arts education programs that bring the magic of theatre to underserved members of our community. Reprise Theatre Company is headed by Artistic Director Jason Alexander, who is best known for his 9-year stint as George Costanza on "Seinfeld." Christine Bernardi is Managing Director and Gilles Chiasson is Producing Director of Reprise Theatre Company. Tickets are available for "A Party With Marty" and go on sale to the public on October 4 and are available online at www.reprise.org , ticketmaster.com, by calling the Saban Theatre box office at (323) 655-0111, and at all Ticketmaster Outlets. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Martin Short began his career in Canada's "SCTV Comedy Network" for which he received an Emmy Award. Short's proven ability as a comedic chameleon and his host of hilarious impressions brought him to the attention of "Saturday Night Live." From there, he made his big screen debut in "Three Amigos," Other films include "Inner Space", "Three Fugitives", "Clifford", "Mars Attacks", "The Big Picture", Father of the Bride 1 & 2 and "Jiminy Glick in LALAWOOD, among others Short has received 15 Emmy nominations for his work in television which includes "Merlin", "Alice in Wonderland," "The Martin Short Show", "Primetime Glick" and this season's "Damages", for which he was most recently nominated. A veteran of the theater in Canada and on Broadway, Short has received accolades for his varied work on stage including "The Goodbye Girl" (Tony nomination, Theatre World Award, Outer Critics Circle Award), "Little Me" (Tony Award, Outer Critics Circle Award), and "The Producers" (with Jason Alexander) and in 2006, his musical-comedy Broadway hit "Fame Becomes Me." In 1994, Short was awarded the "Order of Canada" and in 2000 was inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame. However, all of the above is a distant second to his love and respect for his wife Nancy and their three children Katherine, Oliver and Henry. About Reprise Theatre Company Since its inception in 1997, Reprise Theatre Company has been a focus of the Los Angeles musical theatre community, producing productions of great American musicals, and a wide variety of concerts, staged-readings, special events and outreach programs. In May 2007, Jason Alexander became Artistic Director. Christine Bernardi is Managing Director and Gilles Chiasson is Producing Director of Reprise. Since its inaugural production of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Promises, Promises," which starred Mr. Alexander, Reprise has brought to the stage vibrant productions from all eras of American musical theatre including the Gershwins' "Of Thee I Sing" and "Strike Up the Band," Cole Porter's "Anything Goes," and Rodgers and Hart's "The Boys from Syracuse" and "Babes in Arms," Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel," as well as Richard Rodgers' later "No Strings." The "Golden Era" has been well represented - Burton Lane and E.Y. Harburg with "Finian's Rainbow," Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe with "Brigadoon," Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green with "On the Town" and "Wonderful Town," Irving Berlin with "Call Me Madam," Robert Wright and George Forrest with "Kismet," both of the Richard Adler and Jerry Ross musicals "The Pajama Game" and "Damn Yankees," Johnny Mercer and Gene dePaul with "Li'l Abner," Jule Styne with "Bells are Ringing," and Frank Loesser with "The Most Happy Fella" and "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." Musical theatre reached a new peak of popularity in the sixties, along with new creative talents, and Reprise has presented shows by many of them including Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt with "The Fantasticks," Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick with "She Loves Me," Gerome Ragni, James Rado and Galt MacDermot's "Hair," Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone with "1776," Charles Adams and Lee Strouse with "Applause," Stephen Schwartz with "Pippin," Cy Coleman with "On the Twentieth Century" (libretto by Betty Comden and Adolph Green), "City of Angels" (lyrics by David Zippel), and "I Love My Wife" (libretto by Michael Stewart), Jerry Herman with "Mack and Mabel," Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's "Once on This Island," and four Stephen Sondheim musicals - "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," "Company," "Sweeney Todd," and "Sunday in the Park with George." Many of the great stage performers working today, as well as those who make their residence primarily in Los Angeles, have appeared in Reprise shows including Scott Bakula, Christine Baranski, Brent Barrett, Orson Bean, Jodi Benson, Stephen Bogardus, Dan Butler, Len Cariou, Carolee Carmello, Vicki Carr, Patrick Cassidy, Anthony Crivello, Jason Danieley, Lea DeLaria, Cleavant Derricks, Manoel Feliciano, Rodney Gilfry, Kelsey Grammer, Josh Grisetti, Harry Groener, Bob Gunton, Sam Harris, Gregory Harrison, Simon Helberg, Mimi Hines, Judy Kaye, Jane Krakowski, Marc Kudish, Ledisi, Vicki Lewis, Judith Light, Rebecca Luker, Eric McCormack, Maureen McGovern, Joey McIntyre, Donna McKechnie, Andrea Marcovicci, Marin Mazzie, Julie Migenes, Karen Morrow, Burke Moses, Kelli O'Hara, John O'Hurley, Ken Page, Robert Picardo, David Hyde Pierce, Larry Raben, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Roger Rees, Charles Nelson Reilly, Cathy Rigby, Alexandra Silber, Douglas Sills, Rex Smith, Brent Spiner, Lea Thompson, Steven Weber, Lee Wilkof, Ruth Williamson, Marisa Jaret Winokur, Lillias White, Fred Willard, and Rachel York.

Producer Orin Wolf and Off the Aisle Productions have announced that It Must Be Him, a new comedy by Kenny Solms, co-creator and writer of the legendary, Emmy Award-winning 'Carol Burnett Show,' will premiere this summer at the Peter J. Sharp Theatre (416 West 42nd Street). Directed by Daniel Kutner, It Must Be Him began performances on Tuesday, August 24, and officially opened on Wednesday, September 1. The limited engagement ends Sunday, September 26.

Rock 'n' roll and a whole lot more are at the soul of Broadway Rocks!, the special Broadway Showstoppers program opening Peter Nero and the Philly Pops' exciting 2010-11 season (October 6, 8, 9, and 10, 2010).

The producers of ROCK OF AGES announced today that the critically acclaimed, five-time Tony Award® nominated Broadway musical ROCK OF AGES will launch a 60-city, first national tour at The Bank of America Theatre, 18 West Monroe, Chicago, IL as part of ‘Broadway in Chicago' on September 21, 2010.

Producer Daryl Roth announced today that Tichina Arnold, Sabrina Le Beauf, Didi Conn, Barbara Feldon, Kate Flannery, Judy Gold, Alicia Goranson, Aisha De Haas, Ashley Austin Morris, Loretta Swit and Maria Tucci will join upcoming casts of Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron's Love, Loss, and What I Wore at the Westside Theatre (407 W 43 Street, NYC).

Lead producers Margo Lion and Hal Luftig announced today that the new musical CATCH ME IF YOU CAN will open on Broadway Sunday, April 10, 2011 at a Nederlander theatre to be announced. This new musical, created by a team of Tony winners, features a book by Terrence McNally, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, choreography by Jerry Mitchell and is directed by Jack O'Brien. Previews begin March 7, 2011. Casting and additional design team will be announced shortly.

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami Dade County proudly announces new and ongoing partnerships for the 2010 2011 CARNIVAL STUDIO THEATER SEASON, featuring four dynamic programming initiatives: THE BEST OF SOUTH FLORIDA, GROUNDBREAKING NEW WORK, CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL THEATER, and FAMILY-FRIENDLY THEATRICAL HITS - all presented in the Carnival Studio Theater in the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House. This diverse new season highlights world-class theater, dance, and music that breaks boundaries, cross-pollinates artistic genres, and expands the future of the performing arts.

Musical Theatre West has announced that Andrea McArdle, Broadway's original Annie, will star as Miss Hannigan in its upcoming production of ANNIE at the beautiful 1070-seat Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. ANNIE previews October 29th and runs October 30th through November 14th. Musical Theatre West Artistic Director/Producer Steven Glaudini directs with musical direction by Daniel Thomas and choreography by Roger Castellano.

This September, The Second City, Chicago's legendary comedy theatre, will return to Denver with a new show celebrating the company's 50th anniversary. A well-known launching pad for some of today's most dynamic comedic talent, The Second City will present A Mile High Celebration: The Second City's 50th Anniversary September 14 through October 10, 2010 at the Garner Galleria Theatre.

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami Dade County proudly announces new and ongoing partnerships for the 2010-2011 CARNIVAL STUDIO THEATER SEASON, featuring four dynamic programming initiatives: THE BEST OF SOUTH FLORIDA, GROUNDBREAKING NEW WORK, CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL THEATER, and FAMILY-FRIENDLY THEATRICAL HITS - all presented in the Carnival Studio Theater in the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House. This diverse new season highlights world-class theater, dance, and music that breaks boundaries, cross-pollinates artistic genres, and expands the future of the performing arts.

Executive Producer Lou Spisto today announced that The Old Globe, in partnership with KPBS, will host a special screening of 'The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!,' a new animated television series airing on the PBS KIDS programming block on KPBS-TV and designed to support science learning for preschoolers. The free event will take place on Monday, September 6 in the Old Globe Theatre. All children in attendance will receive complimentary goody bags and may have their photos taken with The Cat in the Hat himself. The Grinch from the Globe's annual holiday production of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! will also make a special appearance. Doors open at 3:00 p.m. with screenings at 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. To RSVP, please call the Globe's box office at (619) 23-GLOBE or visit www.TheOldGlobe.org for more information.

ThroughLine Artists with J.J. Kandel and John McCormack will present SUMMER SHORTS 4, their fourth annual festival of new American short plays, at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street). Performances begin Friday July 30th, and continue through Thursday September 2nd.

An audition notice has went out for the upcoming Broadway production of GODSPELL, noting that performances will begin in the Spring/Summer of 2011. Specific dates and a theatre are as of yet unnamed.

Al Pacino is this year's recipient of the 2010 Primetime Emmy for Best Actor in a Mini-Series or a Movie for HBO's You Don't Know Jack. Theater vet Pacino has appeared on Broadway in Salome, American Buffalo, Hughie, and King Richard III, among others. He will next appear on Broadway in The Merchant of Venice, which opens at the Broadhurst Theatre this fall.