The HIV Experience Resources Organization (HERO) presented, in association with Stage 48, 'The Fourth Annual Broadway and Ballet, HERO Awards' to benefit HERO, an organization that helps newly diagnosed and people living with HIV/AIDS. Below, BroadwayWorld has photos from the event, which featured ABT star James Whiteside, Broadway legend Rachelle Rak, Broadway star Michael Campayno and more!
The HIV Experience Resources Organization (HERO) will present, in association with Stage 48, 'The Fourth Annual Broadway and Ballet, HERO Awards.' The event will benefit HERO, a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization that helps newly diagnosed and people living with HIV/AIDS.
HIV Experience Resources Organization (HERO) will present the fourth annual Broadway & Ballet HERO Awards on October 16th at 8pm at Stage 48, 605 West 48th Street.
'We are all there for each other,' Kevin Nietzel asserts, affirming the bond that is making Maine State Music Theatre's Grease so electric.
'It is very rewarding,' adds Neil Starkenberg, MSMT's Danny Zuko.
Co-star Chelsea Williams, who plays Sandy to Starkenberg's Danny, continues the thought: 'Neil and I have had conversations about how we could do this show for a really long time. It is so much fun, and I think that must be obvious to the audience. The energy is so palpable that it is a special joy to work that hard every night. Everyone is having the time of his life!'
These three actors together with principals Gerrianne Perez (Rizzo), Charis Leos (Miss Lynch), Costume Designer Travis M. Grant, and MSMT Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark all joined BWW's Maine editor Carla Maria Verdino-Sullwold for the third panel discussion in the theatre's Peek Behind the Curtain series held each summer at Curtis Memorial Library. In an especially lively and far-ranging conversation that highlighted not only the challenges but also the camaraderie of this ensemble, the panel and capacity audience explored the history, characters, and production process for MSMT's summer mega hit.
Rock'n roll, teen rebellion, a collection of quirky, lovable characters, and a musical score seared into the American cultural fabric - all these come together in a breathless and breathtaking joy ride that pulsates with electrifying energy in Maine State Music Theatre's third main stage show, Grease. The Jim Jacobs/Warren Casey musical, which reminisces nostalgically about the joyful, naughty, unforgettable days of senior year in mythical Rydell High in 1959, has seen numerous permutations since its original production as an edgy, raunchy musical play called Vaseline in 1971, to its Broadway debut in 1972 and through various film versions including the iconic 1978 movie starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Here in its Broadway version, amplified with a number of the favorite songs from the movie, MSMT has created a high-flying confection that is a valentine to a simpler era with just the right sparks of sass and sweetness that combine for an irresistibly engaging evening that is sure to prove the summer theatre scene's mega hit.
'I think other people first recognized that I was geared to being a performer. I didn't necessarily recognize that myself, but when I performed in my first musical in high school, I suddenly said to myself 'Nothing else makes me feel like this. I felt these amazing vibrations between me and the audience and me and the rest of the people on stage; I felt connected to the world - more like my true self myself that I had ever felt before, and that's how I knew.'
Chelsea Williams is talking about discovering her vocation as an actress and the creative journey which has taken her to the nation's leading theatres. This July and August the Windham, Maine, native returns to her home state to play Sandy in Maine State Music Theatre's production of Grease, which begins its run at the Pickard Theater on July 19. Williams made her MSMT debut last summer as Sophie in MSMT's blockbuster hit, Mamma Mia!, reprising the role that constituted her big career breakthrough. Like Mamma Mia!, Grease is blessed with an unforgettable score and a story that is both endearing and totally joyous, and the new MSMT production in which Williams stars promises to be the mega hit of the company's summer season.
'I imagine that Danny is the youngest in a family of boys, and he feels he has to live up to the name Zuko at Rydell High. In the movie he says 'I've got a reputation to protect,' and I think that goes a long way to explaining his behavior.'
Neil Starkenberg is commenting on his role debut in Maine State Music Theatre's upcoming production of Grease, which begins a run at the Pickard Theater on July 19. For the twenty-eight year-old actor, the iconic part of the fifties greaser, Danny Zuko, is a dream come true, and Starkenberg has spent a great deal of time preparing for the part.
Kicking off Adirondack Theatre Festival's 23rd summer season of professional theater is Nikola Tesla Drops the Beat, an electronic pop musical. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 21-Saturday, July 1, and 2 p.m.Wednesday, June 28, at the Charles R. Wood Theater.
The Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield Magazine Broadway and Cabaret Series and Pepsi Rock Series presents Jesus Christ Superstar - The Rock Opera on Saturday, March 25 at 2pm and 8pm and is partially underwritten by Adam Broderick Salon & Spa and Bart's Tree Service. Considered one of the most iconic musicals ever written, 'Jesus Christ Superstar' includes legendary hits such as 'Everything's Alright,' 'I Don't Know How To Love Him,' and 'Gethsemane.' This is a unique adaptation of the multiple Tony Award winning, and Laurence Olivier Award-nominated, classic Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice production and is produced by ACT of Connecticut.
Featuring a cast of Broadway stars alongside Broadway's finest rock band - The Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield Magazine Broadway and Cabaret Series and Pepsi Rock Series presents Jesus Christ Superstar - The Rock Opera on Saturday, March 25 at 2pm and 8pm and is partially underwritten by Adam Broderick Salon & Spa and Bart's Tree Service.
The Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, Connecticut, will present JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR on Saturday, March 25 at 2:00pm and 8:00pm. Produced by ACT of Connecticut, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is directed by Daniel C. Levine (Artistic Director of The Ridgefield Playhouse Broadway & Cabaret Series) and music directed by Bryan Perri (Broadway's WICKED), with casting by Craig Burns, CSA (Telsey + Company).
The electric, near ecstatic atmosphere in Brunswick's Pickard Theater last night more closely resembled that of a rock concert than a theatre company opening. For months in advance, the sold out box office has signaled the joyful anticipation of Maine State Music Theatre's new production of Mamma Mia! - one of the first regionally for the blockbuster Broadway hit. But anticipation aside, it is the delivery here that is the story: a stunningly executed, intelligently staged, deliciously performed rendition of the 2001 long running ABBA musical that transformed the intimate Pickard Theater into a boisterous celebration.
Maine State Music Theatre closes out its 2016 season in Brunswick with MAMMA MIA!, the Broadway smash-hit based on songs of pop super group, ABBA. MAMMA MIA! runs from August 10 to August 27. Due to popular demand, three matinees have been added on August 13, 20, and 27.
Marc Robin and Samantha Hewes-Cramer bring the movie to life on the Fulton stage. Kevin Bacon may not be dancing through a warehouse, but there's still a lot going on, dancing and otherwise, in Bomont.
The nationally regarded Fulton Theatre presents the energetic Footloose: The Musical as its grand finale of the 2015/2016 season through July 17. The rousing and affecting production features a score that has transcended generations with Billboard-topping songs such as "Footloose," "Holding Out for a Hero," "Let's Hear It For The Boy," "Almost Paradise," and more!
Prepare to rock when HOLD ON: THE MUSICAL explodes on the Feinstein's/54 Below stage in concert tonight, February 19, 2016. Be one of the first to hear this exciting new musical featuring Jenn Colella (IF/THEN, CHAPLIN), Jennifer DiNoia (WICKED), Kacie Sheik (HAIR), Dan DeLuca (NEWSIES!), John Riddle (THE VISIT), Mike Schwitter (PIPPIN), and a cast of Broadway's best!
Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestras begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: The Nutty Professor Reunion Concert; Comedy Tonight: Broadway's Funniest Clowns; 54 Sings ABBA; Claybourne Elder at 54 Below; Hold On The Musical in Concert.
Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. Scroll down for details!
New musicals are now more available than ever, and especially now with the release of the opening number, titled 'Famous,' from BRADLEY COLE, THE MOVIE MUSICAL, out online today. Check it out below!