HAMILTON, Lin-Manuel Miranda's new musical about American political figurehead Alexander Hamilton, opens on Broadway tonight. Countless stories on the jack-of-all-trades creator and his inspirations for the hit show have told us how Hamilton came about (nerdiest beach read ever), so now it's time to take a look at why. What is it about Hamilton that makes him a great dramatic subject? It's in the history books.
In 1959 Ethel Merman, the prominent musical theatre actress of her time, and David Merrick were searching for their next project. After reading an excerpt from the memoir by Gypsy Rose Lee, Merrick felt they had said project and GYPSY was born.
Broadway's HAMILTON isn't hurting at the box office, but it has one monetary controversy in the wings. And Frank Rich, writing in New York Magazine, has the solution.
If you are socially conscious or have some type of social media account, you are well aware of the social injustices that seem to flood the timelines. In this past year, we have witnessed young black men assassinated at the hands of police officers as well as a massacre in Charleston, South Carolina where a deranged racist killed nine parishioners at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Hashtags such as #Handsupdontshoot and #BlackLivesMatter have become the popular catch phrases in the juggernaut of social media. I know you are asking, 'What in the hell does this have to do with ASSASSINS the musical?' This show addresses so much more than the psychopathic motives of the nine assassins; it makes one question the gun control laws of then and now. Going into the theatre, I was excited to see a musical that I love and know very well, but my thoughts changed immediately at curtain call.
Masterworks Broadway continues to make good on its promise to make available its extensive catalog of cast recordings with the release of three classic albums from the archives - Pinocchio (July 17), Woman of the Year (August 14), and The Beggar's Opera (September 18). Upon release, each title will beaccompanied by new album pages and photos on MasterworksBroadway.com.
Join one-of-a-kind mother, Rose, and her two talented daughters as they search for fame in Pittsburgh CLO's production of GYPSY, tonight, July 10, through July 19 at the Benedum Center. This entertaining musical is complete with memorable performances, mother-daughter struggles and the hardships of show business life, all while set during the infamous vaudeville era.
Join one-of-a-kind mother, Rose, and her two talented daughters as they search for fame in Pittsburgh CLO's production of GYPSY, July 10-19 at the Benedum Center. This entertaining musical is complete with memorable performances, mother-daughter struggles and the hardships of show business life, all while set during the infamous vaudeville era.
Transgender teen Nicole Maines makes her acting debut as a guest star in ROYAL PAINS episode 704, 'The Prince of Nucleotides,' airing tonight, June 23.
Transgender teen Nicole Maines makes her acting debut as a guest star in ROYAL PAINS episode 704, 'The Prince of Nucleotides,' which will air on Tuesday, June 23
The 2015 Tony Awards have come and gone, but that doesn't mean that us theatre fanatics aren't still thinking about every minute of them. Frank Rich, infamous ex-theatre critic of the New York Times, still has lots to say about the ceremony, and he writes about his thoughts in New York Magazine:
Thursday, May 28 at 6:30PM, The New-York Historical Society presented Memories of Al Hirschfeld, a special event featuring Al Hirschfeld Foundation President Louise Kerz Hirschfeld, Robert Osborne of The Hollywood Reporter and Turner Classic Movies, legendary Broadway producer and director Harold Prince, and Frank Rich of New York Magazine in discussion about the life and legacy of Al HIrschfeld through his art, career, and personal relationships.
The National Theater Institute includes a vibrant community of over 3,500 alumni. The many talents of these actors, writers, directors, and designers can be seen on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in films, television, London's West End, and at every major regional theater in the U.S. Today, in an excerpt from EVERYTHING WAS POSSIBLE: THE BIRTH OF THE MUSICAL FOLLIES, we hear from Ted Chapin (NTI Fall '70) who called his semester-away at NTI an 'extraordinary' 'experimental off-campus theater program.'
Today we are revisiting one of Kander & Ebb's most awarded musicals in honor of its opening more than 20 years ago this week, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN.
Midtown Direct Rep (MDR), the ensemble-based theater company based in South Orange/Maplewood, NJ, announces A CONVERSATION WITH BILLY PORTER, on Monday, June 15, 2015 at 7:30 PM at the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) in a one-night-only benefit appearance hosted by NY1's Budd Mishkin.
The Guthrie Theater previously announced that its outgoing Director Joe Dowling, the longest tenured artistic director in Guthrie history, will appear for an In Conversation moderated by New York Post theater columnist Michael Riedel tonight, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. on the Wurtele Thrust Stage.
Today, former New York Times theatre critic Frank Rich took part in a Q&A with New York Magazine on 'today's media, political, and cultural landscape.' He touched on Lin-Manuel Miranda's HAMILTON, Lincoln Center's THE KING AND I revival starring Kelli O'Hara and Ken Watanabe, the Tony Awards and more.
On Monday night, March 22nd, an all-star line-up of Broadway performers united to honor legendary composer, Stephen Sondheim. The evening celebrated the journey of Woods and Sondheim from stage to screen. Performances included music from Into the Woods as well as other Sondheim classics sung by feature film and Broadway talent including Lilla Crawford, Tituss Burgess, Lance Horne, Norm Lewis, Michael McElroy & Broadway Inspirational Voices, Abby Mueller, Andrew Nielson, Kristin Olness, Molly Pope, Christopher Sieber, Brian Sills,Catherine Walker, Trevor Vaughn, Michael-Leon Wooley, Karen Ziemba, Chip Zien and more. BroadwayWorld brings you interviews with all of the red carpet guests below!
Sondheim is the winner of an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards, including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award. Described by Frank Rich of the New York Times as 'the greatest, and perhaps best-known artist working in musical theatre', his most famous scores include (as composer/lyricist) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and Assassins. He also wrote the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy.
Lloyd Webber has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass. He has also gained a number of honours, including a knighthood in 1992, followed by a peerage from the British Government for services to Music, seven Tony Awards, three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, fourteen Ivor Novello Awards, seven Olivier Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2006. Several of his songs, notably 'The Music of the Night', 'I Don't Know How to Love Him', 'Don't Cry for Me, Argentina' and 'You Must Love Me', 'Any Dream Will Do' and 'Memory' have been widely recorded and were hits outside of their parent musicals.
