Sheldon Harnick News

There's something about old-timers that makes them special. They know how to deliver a song, they know how to relate to their audience, and they know how to put a show together....Yet, terming it her 'show' doesn't convey it properly. It was as much a soiree with a roomful of invited guests as anything Vickie Phillips would have had in a spacious Park Avenue residence....she internalized her songs and her renditions displayed the emotions - sometimes funny, sometimes sad - with palpable involvement....Phillips filled the evening with mirth, affection, emotion and some songs to relish. Who could ask for more?' - Peter Leavy, Cabaret Scenes, July 9, 2013

Adam Chanler-Berat (Peter and the Starcatcher, Next to Normal), Kerry Butler (Xanadu, Catch Me If You Can) and Alex Gemignani (Chicago, Assassins) will star in an upcoming staged reading of The Dogs of Pripyat Tuesday, September 10th and Wednesday, September 11th. The Dogs of Pripyat features music by Aron Accurso (Assoc. Conductor: Aladdin, Sister Act), lyrics by Jill Abramovitz (Cinderella), and book by Leah Napolin and Abramovitz.

Beck Center for the Arts opens its landmark 80th season with She Loves Me on the Mackey Main Stage, September 20 through October 20, 2013. Winner of the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival and the Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival, She Loves Me is considered by many to be one of the most charming musicals ever written. Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. There will be no performance on October 19. Tickets are now on sale.

On Sunday, September 15, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., author Susie Duncan Sexton will read from her book 'Secrets of an Old Typewriter' as part of the Ann Arbor Arts and Culture Series. She will be joined by son Roy Sexton who, accompanied by pianist Rebecca Biber, will offer a selection of his mom's favorite show tunes. This presentation will be held at the Ann Arbor Senior Center at 1320 Baldwin Avenue, $5 general admission or $4 for guests 60 years and older. To reserve your tickets, please call 734-794-6250, and for more info, including maps to the center, click here.

Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky in the 70s TV series Starsky and Hutch) is to play the lead role of Tevye in the forthcoming UK & Ireland tour of Fiddler on the Roof.

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) has announced that FIDDLER ON THE ROOF will return to the Main Stage for the first time in 20 years. FIDDLER ON THE ROOF last graced the Main Stage in 1993 to mark Chanhassen's 25th anniversary. This time around, the theatres' most widely requested show will mark CDT's 45th anniversary. The production will run from September 27th, 2013 through January 25, 2014. CDT just announced the cast for the production.

This fall, freeFall opens its new season with a classic story about family, love and tradition. An audience favorite nearly 50 years after its stage debut, very few musicals have so magically woven music, dance, poignancy and laughter into such an unforgettable experience. 'Fiddler on the Roof' opens September 21. Performances will continue through November 3.

On Sunday, September 15, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., author Susie Duncan Sexton will read from her book "Secrets of an Old Typewriter" as part of the Ann Arbor Arts and Culture Series. She will be joined by son Roy Sexton who, accompanied by pianist Rebecca Biber, will offer a selection of his mom's favorite show tunes. This presentation will be held at the Ann Arbor Senior Center at 1320 Baldwin Avenue, $5 general admission or $4 for guests 60 years and older. To reserve your tickets, please call 734-794-6250, and for more info, including maps to the center, visit www.a2gov.org/government/communityservices/ParksandRecreation/seniors/.

The talented cast and crew of Phamaly made me fall in love with this classic all over again!

Maine State Music Theatre is thrilled to present a one night only concert starring Suzanne Nance and Friends tonight, July 29 at 7:30 p.m.

Nothing but admirable praise can be heaped on Eric van Baars and his Porthouse cast of FIDDLER. This absolutely must see production is everything one would want in the creation of the tribute to a way of life destroyed, but lived! L'Chaim!

Maine State Music Theatre is thrilled to present a one night only concert starring Suzanne Nance and Friends on Monday, July 29 at 7:30 p.m. This intimate evening of song will showcase a variety of songs from opera including George Gershwin's, 'Summertime' from PORGY AND BESS; Leo Delibe's 'Lakme Duet (Flower Duet)' from LAKME; George Bizet's 'Au fond du temple saint' from THE PEARL FISHERS; Giacomo Puccini's 'O Soave Faciulla' from LA BOHEME; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 'La ci darem la mano' from DON GIOVANNI; and Gioacchino and Rossini's 'The Cat Duet.'

Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock, the inaugural show of New York City Center's new Encores! Off-Center series will play for five performances through July 13 at City Center. The production stars Danny Burstein, Eisa Davis, Raul Esparza, Peter Friedman, Aidan Gemme, Judy Kuhn, David Margulies, Martin Moran, Michael Park, Robert Petkoff, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Anika Noni Rose, Matthew Saldivar and Henry Stram. Opening was last night and you can check out photos from the celebration below!

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, one of Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston's top-five-selling shows of all time, is back by popular demand today, July 11-21 starring Boston television personality and IRNE Award winner Scott Wahle as Tevye. Reprising the role that earned him critical acclaim 10 years ago, Wahle leads a cast of 45 in this timeless musical based on Sholem Aleichem's beloved stories.Donna Sorbello, the IRNE Award-winning actress who starred as Mrs. Higgins in last season's My Fair Lady at Reagle Music Theatre, returns as Tevye's wife, Golde.

Today in 1981, the second Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof opened at the New York State Theatre, where it ran for 53 performances. Featuring music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, the story centers on Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his family and Jewish religious traditions while outside influences encroach upon their lives. The original Broadway production of the show, which opened in 1964, had the first musical theatre run in history to surpass 3,000 performances. It spawned four Broadway revivals, a successful 1971 film adaptation, and the show has enjoyed enduring international popularity.

After its workshop production at the York Theatre in NYC in Nov. 2011, Chance - A Musical Play about Love, Risk & Getting it Right -will be having the its world premiere staging at The Alcove Theatre in SF, beginning tonight, July 5, and running through July 28, 2013.

Today we are highlighting four particularly compelling recent releases perfect for Summer enjoyment, all from Acorn/Athena Media- the documentaries SHAKESPEARE: THE KING'S MAN and BROADWAY MUSICALS: A JEWISH LEGACY, as well as the complete collection of Judi Dench's British TV series A FINE ROMANCE and also the lavish 1982 TV film THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL starring Ian McKellen, Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour.

Click below to see what audience members are saying about the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre's production of Fiddler on the Roof, running through June 30!

Yesterday, the Kleban Foundation presented the 23rd annual Kleban Prize for the most promising musical theatre lyricist to Daniel Mate and the 23rd annual Kleban Prize for the most promising musical theatre librettist to Alan Gordon. Check out photos from the special ceremony below!

Tonight, June 22 at 8:30pm and Sunday, June 23 at 4pm, Caramoor kicks off the 68th Summer Festival with its first ever Broadway production, She Loves Me. Joining the cast will be John Cullum, Ryan Silverman, Brad Oscar, Etai BenShlomo and Jonathan Freeman. Michele Lynch will choreograph.