Today we are kicking off the first of two world exclusive song premieres from the brand new holiday music collection A VERY BROADWAY CHRISTMAS with original BEAUTY & THE BEAST star Susan Egan's hilarious and endearing take on a particularly theatrical holiday tune coming from the pens of RAGTIME composer/lyricist combination of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, "Christmas Cliches".
The Mystery Of Edwin Drood Star, Stephanie J. Block, is featured on an all new Christmas CD Recording titled A VERY BROADWAY CHRISTMAS, produced to support the Dr. Carol Channing-Harry Kullijian Foundation For The Arts in its mission to promote the arts in public education. Block joins Matthew Morrison, Susan Egan and more in a holiday CD featuring both original and traditional Christmas Songs and can still be purchased in time to stuff it into the stocking of a favorite Broadway lover!
The holiday season totally snuck up on me this year. I'm writing this on December 11, just TWO WEEKS before Christmas (and already three nights into Hannukah), and I'm more than a little bit panicked!! Two weeks to do all of my shopping? EEK to say the least. Luckily I have the BC/EFA Catalogue of Giving, which offers hundreds of Broadway-themed gifts, my favorite of which I'll share with you below. Proceeds to the wonderful causes supported by Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS, which this year includes help for victims of Hurricane Sandy and similar disasters.
VH1's beloved, popular franchise 'VH1 Divas' is throwing the hottest dance party of 2012 LIVE tonight, December 16 at 9PM/8c with Grammy Award-nominated host Adam Lambert.
Liberally utilizing tried and true heartstring-tugging tropes masterfully displayed in holiday entities as diverse as LOVE, ACTUALLY, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, HOLIDAY INN and even showing some Chanukah action sure to set virtually anybody's menorah fully alight thanks to the Puckerman brothers, GLEE's Christmas episode - this year, aptly titled 'Love, Actually' and written by Matthew Hodgson and directed by HAIRSPRAY and ROCK OF AGES movie musical helmer and a recent participant in this very column, Adam Shankman (available here) - was all in all a quite quintessential quintet of seasonal joy, cheer, and, well, glee, broaching the quoin of many and any a viewer's heart valves in so pleasingly enacting its ample entertainment value over the course of the episode's five featured segments within the winning framework. While the split-location structure of the series as dictated by the new style of GLEE 4.0 is assuredly more pronounced than would be the case had the proposed NYC-set spin-off gotten the greenlight by FOX, the cast and creators are making it all work and it is more seamless as it goes on - and the addictive, giddy, all-consuming glee of it all that drew us all in in the first season is still there to relish by Santa's sleigh-ful.
Nominees for the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® for outstanding performances in 2012 in five film and eight primetime television categories as well as the SAG Awards honors for outstanding action performances by film and television stunt ensembles were announced this morning in Los Angeles at the Pacific Design Center's SilverScreen Theater in West Hollywood.
Nominees for the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® for outstanding performances in 2012 in five film and eight primetime television categories as well as the SAG Awards honors for outstanding action performances by film and television stunt ensembles were announced this morning in Los Angeles at the Pacific Design Center's SilverScreen Theater in West Hollywood.
The Broadway Dreams Foundation held its second annual Champagne & Caroling Gala last night at Celsius, a restaurant, bar and event space within Citi Pond at Bryant Park (5th Ave and 42nd Street) on Monday, December 10. At this one of a kind urban winter wonderland in of the heart of midtown Manhattan, Broadway's brightest stars and patrons of the arts joined together for a festive celebration of the country's premier musical theatre training program. Check out photos from the event below!
The Broadway Dreams Foundation will hold its second annual Champagne & Caroling Gala at Celsius, a restaurant, bar and event space within Citi Pond at Bryant Park (5th Ave and 42nd Street) on Monday, December 10, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. At this one of a kind urban winter wonderland in of the heart of midtown Manhattan, Broadway's brightest stars and patrons of the arts will join together for a festive celebration of the country's premier musical theatre training program. The evening will include festive cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and performances by Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award-winner Marc Shaiman, BDF Artistic Director Nicholas Rodriguez (Tarzan, "One Life to Live"), teaching artists Billy Porter (Kinky Boots), Matthew Scott (Jersey Boys), Kirsten Scott (Follies), Morgan James (Godspell), BDF alumni Ryann Redmond (Bring It On The Musical), current Broadway Dreams students from across the country.
"For the first time in its charmed, yet pitiful, existence the New Directions has lost Sectionals," and, with that, indeed did "Christmas came early for one Sue Sylvester." As GLEE gave the gift of its inimitable takes on a number of musical theatre showstoppers - among them, songs from CHICAGO, COMPANY and HALLELUJAH, BABY - to gleeks around the world with last night aptly-titled "Swan Song" episode, the Lima-based glee club that now and always acts as the focal point of the show faced perhaps its most treacherous hurdle yet - and that's not even including Sue's evil shenanigans. In NYC, the temperature rose in much the same way that it actually unseasonably happened to do in Gothan itself this week with a spectacularly sexy "All That Jazz" and some seriously stage-worthy barn-burners courtesy of "Being Good Isn't Good Enough" - recently re-introduced to the world at large by no less than Barbra Streisand in her landmark 2012 tour (as well as on her recently released cut-out compilation RELEASE ME) - and COMPANY classic "Being Alive". While next week is sure to provide all the holiday cheer a show named GLEE could possibly muster - which is a whole lot - this week's "Swan Song" reminded us why GLEE connects and continues to express an all-too-rarely explored, expressed and enacted trope of those who are involved with the performing arts: competition inspires greater dedication.
Check out CAP21's holiday installment of 'Ask A Broadway Star'. In the video below, catch up with alums Andrew Cristi and Thay Floyd, who are both currently in the new Broadway Musical, A Christmas Story. Click below to get some great tips and also hear about some of the actors' favorite CAP21 holiday moments!
Click below to watch Darren Criss perform a cover of Katy Perry's 'Part of Me', Kristin Chenoweth and Anna Kendrick singing 'For Good' from WICKED, and American Idol's Jessica Sanchez dueting with GLEE's Matthew Morrison at last night's Trevor Live event!
'Tis the season to be jolly as the Glee cast releases Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Vol. 3, available Tuesday, December 11.The album features timeless holiday classics, including "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," "White Christmas," and "Jingle Bell Rock." Six of the tracks recorded will be included on the holiday themed episode of Glee, which airs Thursday, December 13, at 9:00 PM ET/PT on FOX. Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Vol. 3 will also showcase 4 songs recorded exclusively for the release including "Joy To The World" and "Silent Night" (see below for track-listing).
An all new Christmas CD Recording titled A VERY BROADWAY CHRISTMAS will feature a host of Broadway Stars to support the Dr. Carol Channing-Harry Kullijian Foundation For The Arts in its mission to promote the arts in public education. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this CD will go directly to support schools in Union Beach, New Jersey who lost all of their musical instruments after Hurricane Sandy and have been forced to cancel their music classes and programs indefinitely.
Last night, December 2, The Trevor Project presented its annual benefit event, "Trevor Live" presented by Audi of America and Wells Fargo and directed by celebrated director, producer and choreographer Adam Shankman. This high-profile evening of music, comedy and entertainment honoedr Audi of America with the Trevor 2020 Award and international superstar Katy Perry with the Trevor Hero Award.
A slew of Broadway favorites were in attendence, including: Kristin Chenoweth, Andrew Rannells, Laura Benanti, Betty Buckley, Matthew Morrison, and more. Check out photos from the red carpet below!
Keith Lockhart, conductor of the Boston Pops, discusses the orchestra's holiday season. He also talks about appearances that Megan Hilty and Matthew Morrison will be making with them.
Today, Dec. 2, 2012, The Trevor Project will present its annual benefit event, "Trevor Live" presented by Audi of America and Wells Fargo and directed by celebrated director, producer and choreographer Adam Shankman. This high-profile evening of music, comedy and entertainment will honor Audi of America with the Trevor 2020 Award and international superstar Katy Perry with the Trevor Hero Award.
VH1's beloved, popular franchise VH1 DIVAS announced today additional performers to join this year's dance music tribute Kelly Clarkson, Melanie Fiona, Metric and Pitbull will join VH1's dance party, along with Havana Brown as House DJ/artist. Airing live from the L.A. Shrine Auditorium 'VH1 Divas' will be hosted by Adam Lambert on Sunday, December 16 at 9PM/8c on VH1.
As The CAP21 Theatre Company celebrates its 20th Anniversary, Executive Artistic Director, Frank Ventura and Artistic Director, Eliza Ventura have announced CAP21's 2013 momentous "20th Anniversary Season". In honor of the milestone anniversary, CAP21 promises to support the development of at least 20 new musicals in the coming year through various programming that the Theatre Company offers.
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