Michael Bennett News

Kritzerland has just announced that it will present a very special limitededition CD release: FOLLIES- The 1971 Original Broadway Cast Recording NEWLY REMIXED AND REMASTERED, featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. They released the following statement on the album:

Today we are talking to a celebrated comedienne and actress known for her decades-spanning career on screens and stages large and small - from making her Broadway debut in the original Jerome Robbins production of GYPSY on Broadway in 1960 to her many musical roles throughout the 60s to her countless game show and variety show appearances following that all the way to creating an unforgettable character in MOONSTRUCK in the 1980s, as well as her subsequent oft-Neil Simon stage work; now, playing Tina Fey's sweet and daffy mom on NBC's 30 ROCK and, most recently, appearing in Nora & Celia Ephron's LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE and the Playwright's Horizons premiere production of THE BIG MEAL in the new millennium - the one of a kind Anita Gillette. Analyzing her nearly sixty-year career and sharing candid stories of her brushes with some of Broadway and Hollywood's brightest talents - Jule Styne to Ethel Merman to Irving Berlin to Burt Lancaster and beyond - Gillette paints a vivid portrait of the tail end of the Golden Age of Broadway and the heady game show days of TV in the 1960s and 70s to her lauded stage work with Neil Simon and many of the great comedy and musical writers in the years since. Additionally, Gillette and I discuss her current essaying of the role of Mae Peterson in the new Regal Music Theatre production of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams's BYE BYE BIRDIE in Massachusetts as she looks towards opening night tomorrow and relates her joy in participating in a production that has some behind-the-scenes help by her loving granddaughter (while another attends their summer camp). Plus, Gillette's observations on sharing a soundstage with Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Elaine Stritch and Buck Henry for a recent 30 ROCK shoot, reflections on her fondest and most celebrated comedy roles, hilarious memories of appearing in some short-running flops (JIMMY, SKYSKRAPER) as well as in some big hits (GYPSY), her upcoming series of master classes titled "Life In The Business", her return to Birdland with her concert show, AFTER ALL, her role in an upcoming Ed Burns film and maybe even a role in a new Alexander Payne film - all of that, all about attending the Diamond Jubilee celebration in the United Kingdom and much, much more!

A Class Act, by Edward Kleban, lyricist of A Chorus Line, will be performed at The Unicorn Theatre by Berkshire Theatre Group's Unicorn Company. Previews begin tonight, July 11 with an official press opening on July 14 at 8pm and closing on August 4.

David Geffen's far-reaching influence - as agent, manager, record industry mogul, Hollywood and Broadway producer, and philanthropist - has helped shape American popular culture for the past four decades.

Pittsburgh CLO will present Fiddler on the Roof, July 13-22 at the Benedum Center. This classic tale is filled with 'memorable music, rousing dances and a touch of human wisdom.'

Porchlight Music Theatre launches its 18th season with the Chicago premiere of A Class Act, September 1 - October 7, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. A Class Act's music and lyrics are by Edward Kleban and the book is by Linda Kline and Lonny Price.

A Class Act, by Edward Kleban, lyricist of A Chorus Line, will be performed at The Unicorn Theatre by Berkshire Theatre Group's Unicorn Company. Previews begin July 11 with an official press opening on July 14 at 8pm and closing on August 4.

Today we are talking to a Tony Award-winning legend famous for his performances starring in the original Broadway productions of PIPPIN and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, as well as his celebrated turns in stage and screen projects as diverse as ALL THAT JAZZ, SWEET CHARITY, CHICAGO, FOSSE, WICKED, GRIND, ROOTS, I'M NOT RAPPAPORT, GOLDEN BOY, IDLEWILD, FUNNY LADY, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and many more - the simply incredible Ben Vereen. Discussing many of his most fondly remembered roles and recounting his experiences working with many legendary directors and collaborators - Bob Fosse, Hal Prince, Tom O'Horgan, Herbert Ross, Ann Reinking, Dan Sullivan, Sammy Davis, Jr., Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and many more among them - Vereen paints a vivid picture of a bygone Broadway and reminisces about many of the most significant theatrical creators of the past fifty years and his roles in their stage and film projects. Additionally, Vereen fills us in on what we can expect from his upcoming solo spotlight show - a career retrospective - that will be kicking off at 54 Below on July 10 for a two-week engagement before an even larger, Broadway-bound mounting later this year at Princeton. Also, Vereen elaborates on the causes closest to his heart, shares thoughts on GLEE and SMASH, future plans and much, much more!

American Dance Machine for the 21st Century (ADM21) will present a workshop presentation of four classic musical theater and film dance numbers on Thursday, June 28 at New York City Center, Studio 4 at 6 pm. Each piece has been coached by artists intimately involved in their original productions; numbers from Contact, A Chorus Line, Lovely to Look At and Jerome Robbins' Broadway will be presented. The evening will be directed by Artistic Director Margo Sappington and feature live music with musical direction by Tedd Firth. ADM21 is a new not-for-profit dance company founded by Executive Director Nikki Feirt Atkins, dedicated to creating a living and vibrant archive of classic and current notable musical theater choreography.

Today we are talking to an iconic Tony Award-winning star who made her name as a teenager singing on TV variety shows - THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW and SING ALONG WITH MITCH included - and then went on to a multimedia career in film and theatre, conquering Broadway with her Tony-winning turn in the Jule Styne/Arthur Laurents musical HALLELUJAH, BABY! in 1967 and returning to the stage in the subsequent decades in a host of Broadway productions, such as BLUES IN THE NIGHT, JERRY'S GIRLS, ANYTHING GOES, August Wilson's KING HEDLEY II and her celebrated Muzzy in THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE - a role she reprises in the new Muny production of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical beginning this week - the one and only Leslie Uggams. Taking a thorough look back at her career thus far, Uggams opens up about her many successes and how she has endured for fifty years in show business and shares recollections of many of her most noted co-stars and collaborators, all the way up to the recent 2012 Encores! PIPE DREAM. Additionally, Uggams comments on her film and TV appearances over the years, speaking about her work in INHERIT THE WIND, TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN, ROOTS and beyond. Plus, she shares her candid opinions on GLEE, SMASH, Broadway then versus now, future plans for her Lena Horne solo show and thoughts on other roles she would enjoy pursuing - and much, much more!

Lorenzo Lamas gets top billing as Zach in the 44th season opener at Reagle Music Theatre in Waltham. He is joined by a stellar cast of twenty-six young people vying for their place on the line. This is a worthy production in the annals of the groundbreaking 1975 Tony Award-winning Best Musical.

Starring Golden Globe nominee Lorenzo Lamas (The Bold and the Beautiful, Air America, Renegade, Falcon Crest) as Zach, A Chorus Line runs June 15-24 in the Robinson Theatre, 617 Lexington Street, Waltham. Check out these pictures from the final dress rehearsal before opening night tonight below.

A Chorus Line, the powerful and emotion-filled musical about the trials and tribulations of forging a life in the theater, will play in Pittsburgh tonight, June 15 through June 24 at the Benedum Center. Directed and choreographed by original A Chorus Line cast member Baayork Lee, this bona fide Broadway hit features an incredible ensemble cast composed of exciting Broadway stars and Pittsburgh CLO veterans.

Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston has announced major principal casting and creative team members for its 44th consecutive summer season, including Lorenzo Lamas, Anita Gillette, Rick Hilsabeck and Sarah Pfisterer.

As BroadwayWorld first reported in March, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will produce, in association with La Jolla Playhouse, a re-imagining of Henry Krieger and Bill Russell's Side Show.