Robert Wright News

The Ziegfeld Society will present Karen Oberlin in her acclaimed one woman show, SECRET LOVE: A Tribute to Doris Day, on Saturday, May 27th at 3:30 pm at Lang Concert Hall (69th Street between Park and Lexington).

A cast of award winning performers, friends and colleagues will gather to pay tribute to the life and career of Tony Award winning Broadway legend Tammy Grimes in The Ziegfeld Society's The Unsinkable Tammy Grimes: A Musical Life in Revue, featuring reminiscences and musical numbers from Miss Grimes iconic Broadway musicals. The event will take place on Saturday, April 29th at 3:30 pm at Lang Concert Hall (69th Street between Park and Lexington).

Roundup: Check Out The Top Stories From Chicago You Might Have Missed 4/14 - Once on this Island Auditions!

Kokandy Productions is pleased to announce the final production of its fifth anniversary season: the Tony Award-nominated musical GRAND HOTEL, playing April 15 - May 28, 2018 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. Featuring a book by Luther Davis, music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest and additional music and lyrics by Maury Yeston, the Kokandy production will be directed by Artistic Producer John D. Glover, with music direction by Aaron Benham and choreography by Brenda Didier. Tickets will go on sale at a later date. For additional information, visit www.kokandyproductions.com.

???????Joan Copeland and Diane J. Findlay headline The Ziegfeld Society of New York City's Thou Swell! Thou Witty!: The Songs of Rodgers & Hart, written and hosted by Aaron Gandy with musical direction and special arrangements by Mark York, at Lang Concert Hall at Hunter College (69th between Park and Lexington) on Saturday afternoon, March 25th, at 2pm. 

Isaac Mizrahi has a simple question to ask: Does this song make me look fat? Any variation of that prompt is normally a strong cue to walk on eggshells, but making his Cafe Carlyle debut on January 31 with a show named for and based on that query, Mizrahi took a no-holds-barred approach to the human body and just how hilarious and, at times, revolting it can be. After opening the show with a silky-smooth cover of 'Yes' (Kander & Ebb), the fashion designer-cum-cabaret singer dove in headfirst to his fascination of body horror and the body in general. When an audience member protested over the risque-for-the-room subject of 'vodka tamponing,' Mizrahi brushed it off with a sheepish, 'Oh boy, I have some racy stuff coming.'

A cast of Broadway stalwarts will join Tony Award winning legend and international stage and film star Liliane Montevecchi in The Ziegfeld Society's gala benefit performance of Ziegfeld Follies Of The Air: The New 1934 Live from Broadway Broadcast Revue, devised and directed by Walter Willison with musical direction and special musical arrangements by Mark York.

Liliane Montevecchi headlines an all-star cast in The Ziegfeld Society of New York City's gala benefit performance of Ziegfeld Follies Of The Air: The New 1934 Live from Broadway Broadcast Revue.

Jack F. Lee (born John Francis Lee), beloved musical director of both stage and screen, passed away peacefully on March 2, 2016 in his home at the age of 86. Mr. Lee was one of Broadway's leading conductors and musical directors who worked with composers/lyricists John Kander & Fred Ebb, Cy Coleman & Dorothy Fields, Jule Styne, Richard Rogers, Stephen Sondheim, Charles Strouse, Alan Jay Lerner, Maury Yeston, Robert Wright & George Forrest, Sandy Wilson, Bob Merrill, Betty Comden & Adolph Green and Harvey Schmidt & Tom Jones.

It's time to put in your late winter pre-orders! Masterworks Broadway has just announced its slate of releases for Winter 2016, including three classic albums from the archives - SWEET CHARITY (February 12), SALAD DAYS (March 18), and KISMET (April 15). On February 26, Masterworks Broadway releases THE ESSENTIAL STEPHEN SONDHEIM, celebrating the 85th birthday year of the legendary theater composer and lyricist.

Spreckels Theatre Company presents a staged concert of the 1953 Broadway musical 'Kismet.'

Die Österreichische Erstauffuhrung des modernen Musicalklassikers GRAND HOTEL ist jetzt endlich in Linz zu erleben. Die Premiere fand am vergangenen Samstag im Arena Schauspielhaus des Landestheaters Linz statt und schuf einen unterhaltsamen Abend fur Publikum und Presse. Wir haben hier die Stimmen der Kritiker zusammengefasst:

Today in 1989, Grand Hotel opened at the Martin Beck Theatre (now the Al Hirschfeld Theatre) where it ran for 1017 performances. Grand Hotel is a musical with a book by Luther Davis and music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest, with additional lyrics and music by Maury Yeston. Based on the 1929 Vicki Baum novel and play, Menschen im Hotel (People in a Hotel), and the subsequent 1932 MGM feature film, the musical focuses on events taking place over the course of a weekend in an elegant hotel in 1928 Berlin and the intersecting stories of the eccentric guests of the hotel, including a fading prima ballerina; a fatally ill Jewish bookkeeper, who wants to spend his final days living in luxury; a young, handsome, but destitute Baron; a cynical doctor; and a typist dreaming of Hollywood success.

Lyric Stage presents the Tony Award winning musical GRAND HOTEL - featuring the 32-piece Lyric Stage Orchestra playing the original Broadway orchestrations.

Lyric Stage presents the Tony Award winning musical GRAND HOTEL - featuring the 32-piece Lyric Stage Orchestra playing the original Broadway orchestrations.

Lyric Stage presents the Tony Award winning musical GRAND HOTEL - featuring the 32-piece Lyric Stage Orchestra playing the original Broadway orchestrations.

Ninety percent of the way into her ebullient show last night at Birdland, So, As I Was Saying, Anita Gillette quotes a 1977 review of her performance in Neil Simon's Chapter Two that stated the warmth she exudes could melt glaciers. (The artist wasn't bragging, but was referring to her then difficulty in finding any glaciers, i.e., men to melt.) The description applies today. A packed audience comprised both of devoted civilian fans and theatrical luminaries cheered on the latest iteration of Gillette's dramatized life. Once again directed by Barry Kleinbort with musically directed by Paul Greenwood (who also appealingly sings duets), with Ritt Henn on bass and John Redsecker on drums, the show is as sincere and bubbly as the lady herself.