Phyllis Newman News

Rehearsals begin today and full casting is confirmed for PAGEANT - THE MUSICAL COMEDY BEAUTY CONTEST, which returns for the first time to the New York stage in more than twenty years. The show will run each Monday night in February, with performances on February 3, 10, 17 and 24, 2014 at 7:30pm at the Red Lacquer Club, home of Lucky Cheng's - 240 West 52nd Street.

For the first time in fifteen years, Broadway Bares, the unrivaled evening of sexy striptease that benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, will have a new home. The 24th edition will take over the Hammerstein Ballroom located in Manhattan Center (311 West 34th Street, NYC) on Sunday, June 22, 2014. Tickets go on sale today, January 15.

The book launch for Nothing Like a Dame: Conversations with the Great Women of Musical Theater, a new book by Eddie Shapiro featuring interviews with 20 female musical theatre stars, will take place January 27, 2014 from 6-8 pm at the headquarters of Oxford University Press at 198 Madison Avenue.

For the first time in more than twenty years, Pageant - The Musical returns to the New York stage. The show will run each Monday night in February, with performances of February 3, 10, 17 and 24, 2014 at 7:30pm at the Red Lacquer Club, home of Lucky Cheng's - 240 West 52nd Street.

BROADWAY BACKWARDS, the annual celebration where gays and lesbians experience their stories as told through the great songs of musical theatre and performed by their favorite Broadway performers, will return for its ninth edition on Monday, March 24.

The Fred Ebb Foundation (Mitchell Bernard, Trustee) has announced that its 2013 donation to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS will total $1.4 million dollars, marking the largest single contribution in BC/EFA history and bringing the foundation's total contribution to BC/EFA to $8.35 million since 2005.

The 25th anniversary celebration of GYPSY OF THE YEAR, the culmination of six weeks of extraordinary fundraising by 56 participating Broadway, Off-Broadway, and national touring companies, raised an amazing $4,343,234 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Beloved stage and screen star Debra Monk will be 'totally hot and a little dirty' as she celebrates her 65th birthday February 24, 2014, in a free-wheeling rock 'n' roll concert produced by and benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

The 25th anniversary edition of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS' Gypsy of the Year Competition will be presented Monday, December 9 (4:30 PM) and Tuesday, December 10 (2 PM) at the Minskoff Theatre (1515 Broadway). The show will feature performances by New York's best actors, singers, dancers, and musicians with several guest appearances, including Tyne Daly, Cherry Jones, Ian McKellen, Mark Rylance, and Patrick Stewart.

For one night only, Broadway favorite Ann Harada will once again become the outrageous, beloved and heavily accented therapist from Avenue Q to make her holiday fantasies come true with the fourth edition of Christmas Eve with Christmas Eve(#christmasevebcefa), a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS on Monday, December 2, 2013.

The 2013 Broadway's Carols for a Cure, Volume 15 is available in theaters starting this weekend! Lovers of Broadway talent can do some early holiday shopping as well as support Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) through the purchase of this 2-disc, annual CD of original and traditional holiday music from the current 2013 Broadway line-up. Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is taking pre-orders now for Broadway's Carols for a Cure, Volume 15, and will be mailing the CDs out beginning November 1st.

Broadway's best and brightest will join for two rousing, emotional and heart-pounding editions of the 25th Annual GYPSY OF THE YEAR Competition on Monday, December 9 (4:30 PM) and Tuesday, December 10 (2 PM) at the Minskoff Theatre (1515 Broadway, NYC). The event, produced by and benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, is the culminating celebration of six weeks of fundraising by Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring companies.

For the second week in a row, Lorna Luft brought her fund-raising 'Pink Party' to the Broadway at Birdland stage with thrilling results. After a recent bout with breast cancer, the award-winning performer decided to 'give back' with two sold-to-the-walls events benefitting The Actors Fund's Phyllis Newman Womens Health Initiative and the Tower Cancer Research Foundation's Dr. Philomena McAndrew Fund. BroadwayWorld brings you exclusive highlights from the evening below, including performances from Liza Minnelli, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Nick Adams, and more!

For the second week in a row, Lorna Luft brought her fund-raising "Pink Party" to the Broadway at Birdland stage with thrilling results. After a recent bout with breast cancer, the award-winning performer decided to 'give back' with two sold-to-the-walls events benefitting The Actors Fund's Phyllis Newman Womens Health Initiative and the Tower Cancer Research Foundation's Dr. Philomena McAndrew Fund. Check out a look back!

Tony Award winner Alan Cumming entertained and captivated a standing-room-only audience at Bucks County Cabaret on October 19, 2013, while raising $165,750 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its line-up of talent for October 21-27, featuring: Lorna's Pink Party; Peter Eldridge with Jane Monheit; Kurt Elling; Barbara Carroll; Jim Caruso's Cast Party; The Birdland Jazz Party featuring Hilary Gardner, and more!

With host Sean Hartley and Music Director Matt Gallagher. So far Tony-nominated composer-lyricist Amanda Green has been represented on Broadway three times with High Fidelity and two of last season's shows, the exuberant Bring it On: The Musical and the pioneering Hands on a Hardbody.

Stage and screen star Alan Cumming, a Tony Award winner for his unforgettable Broadway debut as the Emcee in the revival of Cabaret, will share his wit, charm and talents at this year's BUCKS COUNTY CABARET, a one-night-only concert produced by and benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The eclectic evening of popular songs and Broadway show tunes will be held tonight, October 19, 2013, at the historic Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, PA.

Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG is in cinemas for one night only on October 23, presented in 460 cinemas around the country through NCM's exclusive Digital Broadcast Network. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, visit the NCM Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

Lorna's Pink Party, the first of two benefit nights hosted by entertainment legend LORNA LUFT and featuring her special guest LIZA MINNELLI, played to a sold-out crowd at New York City's Birdland last evening. Along with a second appearance scheduled for October 21st, both evenings combined raised total of $120,000 to support the two charities.