Michael Anania News

Director Vincent Cardinal wins big with classic revival of GUYS AND DOLLS at CRT.

The exuberant imagination of Dr. Seuss comes alive on stage when the musical, mischievous Cat in the Hat magically appears to romp through a tuneful tale of Horton the Elephant.

Writer Damon Runyon invented Broadway - and Broadway invented the American Musical! Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) will open its 2011 Nutmeg Summer Series with the classic American musical, Guys and Dolls based on Runyon's comic tales of Broadway running June 2-12 in the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre (Lower Jorgensen).

The votes have all been counted and audited and we're VERY excited to announce the results of the first ever BroadwayWorld.com Toronto Awards! Tens of thousands of votes were cast during six weeks of intensive voting on over 430 nominees in 25 categories. Thank you to all who voted and congratulations to all the winners!

When I started writing this review I had Turner Classics on, and it just so happened they were playing SHOW BOAT. Funny how that works sometimes, when you've just seen a splendid live performance of a show the night before, and the next evening you stumble across Hollywood's take on the material. Seeing it live is always better, I think, and SHOW BOAT has a definite history with the Muny, a fact clearly reflected by the numerous stagings it's had since its initial appearance in 1930. But, that's to be expected, since this is the perfect venue for Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's memorable adaptation of Edna Ferber's sprawling novel. And as such, it provides us with a particularly grand finale for the Muny's 2010 season.

The Muny's Sound Of Music will close August 1. THE SOUND OF MUSIC was directed by Marc Bruni, with choreography by Liza Gennaro, musical direction by Ben Whiteley, set design by Michael Anania, and lighting design by F. Mitchell Dana.

It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I actually saw the stage version of THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Of course, I'd been exposed to the movie version long before that, but I never really enjoyed watching it until they started letterboxing the film for broadcast presentations, because the 'pan and scan' versions always ruined the beautiful vistas captured by the cinematographer. But, you don't have to worry about that at the Muny, which offers up its own 'widescreen' take on this classic musical (it is a big stage, after all), producing a solid and enjoyable outing fit for the entire family.

The St. Louis Muny's upcoming production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC will feature some Broadway talent. Ashley Brown (MARY POPPINS, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) will play Maria von Trapp opposite Tom Hewitt (CHICAGO, THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, THE LION KING) as Baron von Trapp, Playbill reports. The production opens July 26 and runs through August 1.

The St. Louis Muny's upcoming production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC will feature some Broadway talent. Ashley Brown (MARY POPPINS, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) will play Maria von Trapp opposite Tom Hewitt (CHICAGO, THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, THE LION KING) as Baron von Trapp, Playbill reports. The production opens July 26 and runs through August 1.

TITANIC: THE MUSICAL is just the sort of production that's perfectly suited to the vast expanse the Muny provides. After all, it's a big show, and there's no space quite as mammoth in size and scope as the Muny stage. And, I'm happy to report that their current presentation is a grand and entertaining spectacle that's powered by a top notch cast and sharp direction.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT), the professional producing arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, continues its Nutmeg Summer Series with the Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller musical revue, Smokey Joe's Café, playing June 24 through July 4, 2010 in the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT), the professional producing arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, continues its Nutmeg Summer Series with the Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller musical revue, Smokey Joe's Café, playing June 24 through July 4, 2010 in the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT), the professional producing arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, continues its Nutmeg Summer Series with the Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller musical revue, Smokey Joe's Café, playing June 24 through July 4, 2010 in the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT), the professional producing arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, continues its Nutmeg Summer Series with the Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller musical revue, Smokey Joe's Café, playing June 24 through July 4, 2010 in the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT), the professional producing arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, continues its Nutmeg Summer Series with the David Ives' comedy, All in the Timing, playing June 10 through 20, 2010 in the Nafe Katter Theatre.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT), the professional producing arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, continues its Nutmeg Summer Series with the Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller musical revue, Smokey Joe's Café, playing June 24 through July 4, 2010 in the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT), the professional producing arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, continues its Nutmeg Summer Series with the David Ives' comedy, All in the Timing, playing June 10 through 20, 2010 in the Nafe Katter Theatre.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT), the professional producing arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, continues its Nutmeg Summer Series with the David Ives' comedy, All in the Timing, playing June 10 through 20, 2010 in the Nafe Katter Theatre.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT), the professional producing arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, will open its Nutmeg Summer Series with the rock musical, Rent, running May 27 through June 6 in the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre (Lower Jorgensen). This will be CRT's first full summer season since 2002.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT), the professional producing arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, will open its Nutmeg Summer Series with the rock musical, Rent, running May 27 through June 6 in the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre (Lower Jorgensen). This will be CRT's first full summer season since 2002.