Rebecca Luker News

Monday, April 30, The New York Pops marked its 29th birthday with a grand gala evening titled 'Journey On' honoring Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, the Tony Award-winning and Oscar-nominated songwriting team of such renowned Broadway musicals as Ragtime, Once On This Island, Seussical, My Favorite Year, A Man of No Importance, The Glorious Ones and the feature film Anastasia.

'I feel pretty damn good! I'm exhausted because it's six in the morning here in LA, but it still feels pretty damn good! My phone started buzzing and I ran to my computer because I wasn't sure. People were texting me and saying 'I'm crossing my fingers to you' and stuff like that. So, I ran to my computer and because we're in this housing, first you have to enter your log in information and I couldn't get it to work. I'm like 'Why now?!' I finally got it to work and it was only after a friend sent me a text saying 'CONGRATULATIONS' that I thought 'Thank God!' I'm in tech right now so I'll spend the rest of the day in tech until midnight, but for this I'll do it!'

On Monday, April 30, The New York Pops marked its 29th birthday with a grand gala evening titled 'Journey On' honoring Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, the Tony Award-winning and Oscar-nominated songwriting team of such renowned Broadway musicals as Ragtime, Once On This Island, Seussical, My Favorite Year, A Man of No Importance, The Glorious Ones and the feature film Anastasia.

Tonight, April 30, The New York Pops marks its 29th birthday with a grand gala evening titled 'Journey On' honoring Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, the Tony Award-winning and Oscar-nominated songwriting team of such renowned Broadway musicals as Ragtime, Once On This Island, Seussical, My Favorite Year, A Man of No Importance, The Glorious Ones and the feature film Anastasia.

Actor/writer/director/producer Bruce Kimmel's anticipated book Album Produced By… hits stores and online this week.

'Submissions Only,' Broadway's favorite behind-the-scenes sitcom, wraps its second season today with an all-star guest line-up like none before. Guest stars for Episode 8 include Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Nick Jonas, Harvey Fierstein, Kerry Butler, Jackie Hoffman, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Lea DeLaria, John McDaniel, Molly Ranson and cast members from the Disney Broadway hit, Newsies. Click below to watch the highly anticipated Season 2 finale!

Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere production of THE COLUMNIST by Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner David Auburn, directed by Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan currently opened last night, April 25, at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. The production, which recently announced an extension, is scheduled to run though June 24, 2012. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you photo coverage from the opening night pre-show and post-show red carpets below!

Today in 1991, The Secret Garden opened at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 709 performances.The Secret Garden is a musical based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The musical's book and lyrics are by Marsha Norman, with music by Lucy Simon. Directed by Susan H. Schulman with choreography by Michael Lichtefeld, the cast featured Daisy Eagan, Mandy Patinkin, and Rebecca Luker. It won the 1991 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Daisy Eagan), and Best Scenic Design (Heidi Landesman).

"Submissions Only," Broadway's favorite behind-the-scenes sitcom, will wrap its second season this Friday, April 27 with an all-star guest line-up like none before. Guest stars for Episode 8 include Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Nick Jonas, Harvey Fierstein, Kerry Butler, Jackie Hoffman, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Lea DeLaria, John McDaniel, Molly Ranson and cast members from the Disney Broadway hit, Newsies. Tune in this Friday for the episode, which will air right here on BroadwayWorld, and click below to watch a preview of what's to come.

Matthew Grills, tenor, of Rochester, N.Y, won the $15,000 First Prize in the finals of the 2012 Lotte Lenya Competition, held on April 21, 2012, at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. In a close contest, Justin Hopkins, bass-baritone of Philadelphia, and Jacob Keith Watson, tenor of Wynne, Ark., tied for Second Prizes of $10,000, and Megan Marino, mezzo-soprano of Malvern, Penn., was awarded the Third Prize of $7,500.

Nominations Talley for 3 or more: 9 - Nice Work If You Can Get It; 7 - Newsies, Once; 5 - Follies, Death of a Salesman, Evita, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark; 4 - One Man, Two Guvnors, Porgy and Bess, Tribes; 3 - The Best Man, Bonnie & Clyde, Death Takes a Holiday, The Lyons, Queen of the Mist, Sons of the Prophet;

Today we are completing our extensive three-part look at THE SOUND OF MUSIC at Carnegie Hall with an career-spanning chat with one of Broadway biggest rising stars, the amiable and accomplished Laura Osnes. Since her Broadway debut in GREASE - coming after the reality casting competition TV series, YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT - in 2007, Osnes has found great success with lead roles in three more Broadway musicals, spelling for Kelli O'Hara in SOUTH PACIFIC at Lincoln Center as Nellie Forbush, as well as taking on the title role in Frank Wildhorn's BONNIE & CLYDE with Jeremy Jordan and playing Hope Harcourt in the Roundabout revival of ANYTHING GOES alongside Sutton Foster and Joel Grey. In addition to outlining her experiences in those shows and her reflections on her time spent on Broadway thus far, Osnes also opens up about her recent essaying of three Rodgers & Hammerstein roles, having just starred with Will Chase in PIPE DREAM at Encores!, her just-confirmed casting in a new Broadway-bound stage adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein's CINDERELLA that has recently had a workshop production (and will have another in July, again co-starring Santino Fontana) as well as all about the star-studded Carnegie Hall concert presentation of THE SOUND OF MUSIC co-starring Tony Goldwyn and Brooke Shields which she headlines on April 24. Plus, she recounts her experiences participating in the recent Kennedy Center Honors salute to Barbara Cook alongside a dizzying roster of divas and tackling FOLLIES in the spectacular SONDHEIM! THE BIRTHDAY CONCERT presentation now available on DVD - and she also clues us in on her favorite shows, acting influences, plans for the future and much, much more!

Today we are saluting one of the most beloved Broadway scores of all time, created by the formidable show business songwriting dynasty of Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein - THE SOUND OF MUSIC. While the original 1959 Broadway production was well-received and won Mary Martin a Tony Award for her winsome Maria, the property has gone on to win over generations the world over thanks in no small part to the 1965 Robert Wise feature film version starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. On Monday, Carnegie Hall will be presenting a special concert version of the family- friendly show starring Laura Osnes, Tony Goldwyn and Brooke Shields. Be sure to check out my comprehensive conversation with Brooke Shields, who will be playing the Baroness, available here, and, also, stay tuned to BroadwayWorld for my upcoming InDepth InterView with the Maria of the concert presentation, rising Broadway superstar Laura Osnes. So, what exactly is it about THE SOUND OF MUSIC that has won over audiences of all ages for more than fifty years and set hearts aflutter and souls stirred? Is it the dramatic story of a family torn apart by death and war only to be brought back together again when least expected by a kindly maternal nun? Is it the slice of life depiction of the family dynamic and how we can all relate to one or many facets of it therein? Is it the ensuing romance between Maria and Captain Von Trapp and their delicately portrayed courtship (particularly when considering the ravishing duet added for the film, "Something Good")? Or, is it that classic Rodgers & Hammerstein score - containing a dizzying assortment of standards that have gone on to become ingrained in our ears, minds and hearts, as well as made a fixture of pop culture itself - "Do-Re-Mi", "My Favorite Things", "Edelweiss", "The Lonely Goatherd", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", the title song and beyond. AMC's hit series MAD MEN even featured one of the most beloved SOUND OF MUSIC duets on a recent broadcast as an ironic episode capper all too befitting of the moment (and, given the 60s setting of the series, era) - Betty Draper mischievously sneaking an extra bowl of ice cream set to the strains of "I Am Sixteen Going On Seventeen". Between the MAD MEN song reference, the ongoing SOUND OF MUSIC film singalongs occurring every week (with many patrons coming in costume and with props, ala ROCKY HORROR) around the world and the countless professional and amateur productions that crop up every year, as well as the glitzy Carnegie Hall concert on Monday, THE SOUND OF MUSIC has never gone out of style - it shall forever remain sixteen, even when the show itself is not too far away from hitting sixty.

According to a video report by NY1, New York Pops' 29th Birthday Gala JOURNEY ON will serve as an all-star tribute in honor of Tony-winning pair Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, known for their work on Ragtime, Once On This Island and Suessical. Carnegie Hall will host the event April 30.

54 BELOW, the nightclub and restaurant announced earlier this year, today confirmed additional bookings at the new space located at 254 West 54th Street. Taking the 54 BELOW stage will be world famous Tony Award winners, recording artists, as well as new talent from the New York and Broadway stage.

This Friday, April 27, 'Submissions Only' will air its episode 2 season finale, featuring previously announced guest star Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, On The Town), right here on BroadwayWorld. While epsiode scoop is expected tomorrow, today, BroadwayWorld is excited to reveal that the boys of Newsies will also appear in the episode doing what they do best - dancing and singing. Stay tuned for more on Submissions Only - including the finale trailer - tomorrow right here!

On Monday, April 30, The New York Pops marks its 29th birthday with a grand gala evening titled 'Journey On' honoring Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, the Tony Award-winning and Oscar-nominated songwriting team of such renowned Broadway musicals as Ragtime, Once On This Island, Seussical, My Favorite Year, A Man of No Importance, The Glorious Ones and the feature film Anastasia.

This Tony Award-winning, critically acclaimed Broadway classic is an all-American institution, thanks to its quirky characters, charming dramatic situations, and one-of-a-kind, nostalgic score of rousing marches, barbershop quartets and sentimental ballads which have become popular standards.

The New Voices Collective present NEW VOICES at NYU: A Celebration of Songs by NYU Musical Theatre Writers, Past and Present, tonight Monday, April 16, at 8:00 p.m.

New Voice Collective and NYU Steinhardt School, program in vocal performance, present NEW VOICES AT NYU: A Celebration of Songs by NYU Musical Theatre Writers Past and Present tonight April 16 at 8:00 PM Frederick Loewe Theatre 35 WEST 4TH STREET.