Dear Hearts, we took in RuPaul's Drag Race break-out star LATRICE ROYALE's opening night at the Laurie Beechman this week and, while she does indeed sing the TIT-u-lar 'Here's To Life' to close out the night, the show itself is a pure cabaret of song and stories that give you the feeling of, 'I know this person' by evening's end. Dearlings our beautiful Queen of the Big Girls took us all on a celebration JOURNEYYYYY through her life and times as she shared tales of a little gay boy growing up in Compton, CA, right through the choices that lead up to her time behind bars; and NOT the kind that serves our drinks.
Hamilton is ready to blow us all away as they enter their fourth year of their monumental Broadway run! Take a look at the current cast that is burning up the Richard Rodgers stage.
I had never seen a professional production of HELLO, DOLLY! until now. I recall the 1969 film with Walter Matthau and Barbra Streisand. I did see the play it is based on, THE MATCHMAKER by Thornton Wilder at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and really did not enjoy it.
She was one of Broadway's most respected singers, garnering two Tony nominations for her work in Raisin and the 1976 revival of Guys and Dolls. Now, Ernestine Jackson sits down with Rob and Kevin to look back on her career which includes stints in Hello, Dolly, The Bacchae, Applause, Show Boat, Finian's Rainbow, Brownstone, and many more!
Based on Thornton Wilder's 1954 play titled The Matchmaker, Hello, Dolly! follows famed New York City matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi as receives her toughest challenge yet. She must travel to Yonkers to find a suitable match for the miserly 'well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire' Horace Vandergelder. She successfully matches many others in the city, including Horace's niece and his two young clerks, but everything seems to go wrong when it comes to matching Horace.
Uncle Bobbie's Coffee & Books - home of Cool People, Dope Books and Great Coffee - celebrates GLORY: A Life Among Legends,the new memoir by renowned dancer, educator, producer and author Dr. Glory Van Scott,with a special reading and book discussion on Wednesday, April 17, 7:00 pm, at 5445 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA. The event is free and open to the public.
Helen of Troy didn't launch a thousand ships but was a put-upon sexual victim and Marilyn Monroe--born Norma Jeane Baker, of the title--was a cloud in the shape of a woman. It was also a “disaster to be a girl” in those days before #MeToo, with powerful men (whether Menelaus or Arthur Miller) holding beautiful women captive (and worse). That was just part of Anne Carson's new ”dramatic work,” NORMA JEANE BAKER OF TROY, with its effective tonal score by Paul Clark, and two wonderful performers, soprano Renee Fleming and British actor Ben Whishaw, under director Katie Mitchell.
As the house lights went down and the familiar strains of 'Before the Parade Passes By' wafted through San Francisco's Golden Gate theatre, a buzz of excitement and a ripple of clapping could be heard from the front of the house on up to the balcony seats. The sound of times gone by, captured by the tuneful Jerry Herman score, ushered the audience into the opulent gift of gilded age perfection, the revival of Michael Stewart's 1964 musical, Hello, Dolly.
This week's decluttering is only freeing up a tiny bit of space in my collection, but it represents an enormous place in my heart. The only version of The Wiz I have on CD is the AMAZING/IF YOU DON'T KNOW IT, YOU'RE NOT A REAL BROADWAY FAN original cast album starring Stephanie Mills. I do have the movie soundtrack in my iTunes and the soundtrack of 'The Wiz Live!' is on Apple Music, so let's dive in.
Some shows I can see again and again, especially those composed by the forever upbeat Jerry Herman. Hello Dolly bowed on Broadway when I was a teenager in the 60s and it had a long run with original star Carol Channing, followed by turns with Ethel Merman, Ginger Rogers, Pearl Bailey, Martha Raye and Molly Picon, to name a few. Every major star wanted to do it because the role offers a female actress the chance to sing, dance and act the hell out of it. It's a big, splashy gut buster about a woman who has more moxy than the Pied Piper and enough wisdom and panache to win over an army or a whole kingdom, for that matter...and, for the audience, it's one of those extra-special feel-good musicals that just doesn't quit... 'It Only Takes a Moment' to fall in live with it.. You leave the theatre actually humming the tunes. The first National Tour of the latest Dolly! at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre through February 17 is just about the best starring thje glorious Betty Buckley..
As most people know with live theater, there is an underlying risk in promoting that a specific star will be there at every single performance, as advertised in a specific project. Unfortunately, that's simply not realistic nor is it always going to be the case, due to a multitude of factors beyond anyone's control. To those worried about a future date in the national tour's run in which they will have to miss Ms. Buckley in the title role for any reason (which was recently the case during several days of a week-long engagement in Costa Mesa), I have two words for you: don't worry. As bummed as I was not being able to see Ms. Buckley's long-anticipated take on Dolly Levi (and I really really wanted to see Ms. Buckley), her admirable understudy Ms. Sheridan is a terrific, wonderfully game substitute. But as much as Ms. Buckley was, perhaps, a huge draw for many to come check out yet another production of this timeless classic, what audiences will end up experiencing as a whole when they stay is just as equally important a reason to see this brand new revival. Be sure to stick around and behold the wonders of this genuinely entertaining musical classic-from its unforgettable score and visual appeal, to its laugh-inducing silliness and cheeky fun.
Last week, while talking with Tony Award-winning actress/singer/songwriter Renee Elise Goldsberry - during which we discussed her upcoming series of concerts with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra - she responded to my query about how much of 'Renee' is in each of the myriad characters by which she's come to be known and loved by her legions of fans.
Earlier today, BroadwayWorld was saddened to report the passing of the legendary Carol Channing. Channing died at 12:31am on Tuesday, January 15th, 2019, at home in Rancho Mirage, CA of natural causes.
BroadwayWorld is deeply saddened to report the passing of the legendary Carol Channing. Channing died at 12:31am on Tuesday, January 15th, 2019, at home in Rancho Mirage, CA of natural causes.
Legendary American song composer Harold Arlen will have a Hollywood Big Band tribute when Broadway powerhouse Eden Espinosa (Wicked) and Joseph Leo Bwarie (Jersey Boys) join Arlen's son Sam Arlen and singers Karon Blackwell and George Bugatti, for The Music of Harold Arlen, Wonderful Wizard of Song at the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya) today, December 1 at 8:00pm.
Legendary American song composer Harold Arlen will have a Hollywood Big Band tribute when Broadway powerhouse Eden Espinosa (Wicked) and Joseph Leo Bwarie (Jersey Boys) join Arlen's son Sam Arlen and singers Karon Blackwell and George Bugatti, for The Music of Harold Arlen, Wonderful Wizard of Song at the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya) on Saturday, December 1 at 8:00pm.
It was apparent on reviewer's night of 'Hello Dolly,' which is starting its national tour in Cleveland, that many of the audience, which was awash in red clothing, had heard of the 'wear David Merrick red' to productions of this script. David Merrick red?
