Moss Hart News

New Year's Day afforded me the opportunity to watch four hit Broadway musicals that had been adapted for the screen: My Fair Lady, Camelot, Funny Girl and Hello Dolly. My Fair Lady and Camelot had a number of things in common: same director, lyricist, composer, leading lady, supporting male actor and, most important for me, the same choreographer: Hanya Holm, the modern dancer from Dresden who came to the United states to open a school and stayed for the rest of her life, dying at the age of 99!.

This past October, the Bucks County Playhouse (BCP) and Newtown Arts Company announced the return of the famed student theater festival competition to the newly reopened Playhouse next spring after an absence of two years. The BCP Student Theater Festival, produced by Newtown Arts Company and the Playhouse, will be open to participating middle and high schools.

BroadwayWorld brings you the Best of Central NY in the year 2012. Check out the Top Theatre Stories from each month during in the year 2012. We look forward to another exciting year of theatre in 2013!

Riverside Theatre's Simply Amazing Season continues with the Broadway smash musical hit, Funny Girl. Nominated for eight Tony Awards including Best Musical Best Lead Actor and Actress and Best Original Score, the show was an immediate hit with audiences with an inspiring and beloved score including classic favorites 'Don't Rain on My Parade,' 'I'm the Greatest Star,' 'The Music That Makes Me Dance' and the iconic hit, 'People. Funny Girl performs on the Stark Stage from January 10 through 27, 2013 and is presented through the courtesy Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers.

Palm Beach Dramaworks, West Palm Beach's multi-award winning professional theatre (201 Clematis Street), is delighted to announce the premiere of an exciting new venture, the Musical Theatre Masters Series. Modeled after PBD's very popular Master Playwrights Series, the new series will kick off on with four concert performances of Camelot, the final Broadway musical from the legendary writing team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe on January 11 (8pm), January 12 (2pm and 8pm), and January 13 (2pm).

MTC MainStage, Music Theatre of Connecticut's Professional Equity Acting Company, presents an encore of its' Moss Hart Award-Winning production of 'It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.' Adapted for the stage by Joe Landry and directed by MTC MainStage Artistic Director Kevin Connors, this beloved American holiday classic comes to captivating life as a live 1940s radio broadcast. Two benefit performances are today, December 15 at 2pm and 8pm and take place at MTC MainStage Studio Theatre in Westport, CT. All proceeds to benefit Music Theatre of Connecticut and its programming.

Oggi, nel 2012, questa favola senza tempo torna a far sognare il pubblico del Sistina in una nuovissima e maestosa edizione acclamata da una folta platea di Vip e spettatori, giunti al Sistina sfidando il freddo polare di queste sere romane.

Merrily We Roll Along at the Menier Chocolate Factory announced today that it will now be booking through the 9th March 2013.

Today in 1960, Camelot opened at the Majestic Theatre, where it ran for 873 performances. Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music). It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King. The original 1960 production, directed by Moss Hart and orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett and Philip J. Lang, won four Tony Awards and spawned several revivals, foreign productions and a 1967 film version.

Performing tonight, November 30 - December 16 at The Heritage Center in Morrisville, Actors' NET of Bucks County presents Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman's You Can't Take It With You, which debuted on Broadway in 1936, won The Pulitzer Prize the following year and has been an audience favorite ever since. It chronicles the hilarious antics of the eccentric Sycamore family in depression-era New York City. Get a first look at the production in the photos below!

MTC MainStage, Music Theatre of Connecticut's Professional Equity Acting Company, presents an encore of its' Moss Hart Award-Winning production of 'It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.' Adapted for the stage by Joe Landry and directed by MTC MainStage Artistic Director Kevin Connors, this beloved American holiday classic comes to captivating life as a live 1940s radio broadcast. Two benefit performances are Saturday, December 15 at 2pm and 8pm and take place at MTC MainStage Studio Theatre in Westport, CT. All proceeds to benefit Music Theatre of Connecticut and its programming.

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG began performances 16 November 2012 - 23 February 2013. Stephen Sondheim and George Furth, with triple Olivier award winner Maria Friedman are making her professional directorial debut at the Chocolate Factory.

Today in 1981, Merrily We Roll Along closed at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre), where it ran for 16 performances. Merrily We Roll Along is a musical with a book by George Furth and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim. It is based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Furth and Sondheim retained the basic structure and overall theme of the play but updated it to encompass the period from 1957 to 1976. The story revolves around Franklin Shepard who, having once been a talented composer of Broadway musicals, has now abandoned his friends and his songwriting career to become a producer of Hollywood flicks. Like the play, the musical begins at the height of his Hollywood fame and moves backwards in time, showing snapshots of the most important moments in Frank's life that shaped the man that he is today.

Performing November 30 - December 16 at The Heritage Center in Morrisville, Actors' NET of Bucks County presents Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman's You Can't Take It With You, which debuted on Broadway in 1936, won The Pulitzer Prize the following year and has been an audience favorite ever since. It chronicles the hilarious antics of the eccentric Sycamore family in depression-era New York City. Get a first look at the production in the photos below!

I know I read You Can't Take it With You back in college, and I must offer my apologies to my fantastic professor, Gary Gardner, because I did not remember anything about this play until seeing the current production by Different Stages. This production of the classic American comedy by George Kaufman and Moss Hart sparkles with charm, wit, and humor and is sure to be a highlight of Austin theatre's holiday season.

The Northern Stage Company of White River Junction, Vermont announced today that the Board of Directors and Founding Artistic Director Brooke Ciardelli have agreed that the current production will be her last with the company. Ms. Ciardelli has led the artistic team at Northern Stage since its formation in 1997, guiding it through 16 seasons of critically acclaimed professional theater. She has served in many capacities for the Company including Artistic Director since its inception, director of more than 50 percent of the main stage productions, as well as serving as Managing Director and CEO for many seasons and as a member of the Board of Directors.

YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU: Moss Hart & George S. Kaufman's classic family comedy, highlighting the hilarious antics of the unconventional Sycamore family-headed by Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff - takes to the Heritage Center stage.

Palm Beach Dramaworks, West Palm Beach's multi-award winning professional theatre (201 Clematis Street), has announced the premiere of an exciting new venture, the Musical Theatre Masters Series. Modeled after PBD's very popular Master Playwrights Series, the new series will kick off on January 11 at 8pm, with a concert of Camelot, the final Broadway musical from the team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. The remaining performances are January 12 (2pm and 8pm), and January 13 (2pm). The series will be directed by Clive Cholerton, former artistic director of the Caldwell Theatre Company in Boca Raton. Musical director for Camelot is Caryl Fantel. All tickets are $35.00. Tickets go on sale on November 14.

Bill Hanney's award winning North Shore Music Theatre presents an all-new sizzling production of GUYS AND DOLLS opening tonight, October 30, and playing through Sunday, November 11. With its unforgettable songs and a cast of gamblers, gals and gangsters, GUYS AND DOLLS is musical entertainment you can bet on. Press night is scheduled for October 31 at 7:30pm.

Bucks County Playhouse (BCP) (Jed Bernstein, Producing Director) has announced a Halloween Festival today, October 27th beginning at 1:30 p.m. in front of the Bucks County Playhouse (70 South Main Street) followed immediately by a screening of the classic MGM movie: The Wizard of Oz, with an audience Sing-A-Long at 3:00 p.m.