Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), has opened the nomination process for The Zelda Fichandler Award, which awards an unrestricted grant of $5000 to an outstanding director or choreographer making an exceptional contribution to the national arts landscape through theatre work in a region.
Olivier Award Winner Lesli Margherita (ZORRO - West End) makes her NYC nightclub debut with her critically acclaimed act ALL HAIL THE QUEEN (HAIL YES!).
Following closely on the heels of Shakespeare Festival St. Louis' sparkling 1950's update of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, audiences at the Muny get the unique opportunity to compare and contrast the original with the musical remake as KISS ME KATE takes the stage in wondrous fashion. The chance to hear a swinging ensemble play Cole Porter's terrific score is reason enough to take in this production of Kiss Me Kate, but when you add in the eye-catching costumes, enthusiastic performances and lively dance numbers, you have the complete package.
The 2011 Muny Season kicked off this week with the Muny premiere of LEGALLY BLONDE (June 20 - 26). Next, the Cole Porter favorite KISS ME, KATE (June 27 - July 3) will grace the stage. Following will be the Muny and St. Louis premiere of Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID (July 6 - 14), opening Wednesday, and featuring 2 extra performances! Tapping its way across the Muny stage next will be SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (July 18 - 24). Complete casting for KISS ME, KATE has been announced!
Random Unrelated Projects, the first feature film by award-winning independent filmmaker/playwright Aaron Mark (Zbornik Developing, Commentary), featuring a cast of Broadway veterans, will be screened on Saturday, July 2nd at 9:00 PM at Anthology Film Archives as part of NewFilmmakers New York (newfilmmakers.com).
The 2011 Muny Season kicked off this week with the Muny premiere of LEGALLY BLONDE (June 20 - 26). Next, the Cole Porter favorite KISS ME, KATE (June 27 - July 3) will grace the stage. Following will be the Muny and St. Louis premiere of Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID (July 6 - 14), opening Wednesday, and featuring 2 extra performances! Tapping its way across the Muny stage next will be SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (July 18 - 24). Complete casting for KISS ME, KATE has been announced!
Alley Theatre Board President Rob Reedy, the Managing Partner of Porter Hedges LLP, announced at today's Annual Board Meeting that Artistic Director Gregory Boyd and Managing Director Dean R. Gladden signed new five-year contracts with the Alley beginning fiscal year 2011-2012 and continuing through fiscal year 2015-2016.
The St. Louis Municipal Theatre (Muny), the oldest open-air theater in the United States, has announced their 2011 summer season. Shows include: The Muny premiere of Legally Blonde (June 20 - 26); Kiss Me, Kate (June 27 - July 3); The Little Mermaid (July 6 - 14); Singin' in the Rain (July 18 - 24); Little Shop of Horrors (July 25 - 31); Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (August 1 - 7); and Bye Bye Birdie (August 8 - 14).
THE THREEPENNY OPERA to WICKED to ROCKY HORROR to PASSION onstage - and, before that, believe it or not: THE REAL LIVE BRADY BUNCH TOUR - in addition to SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE to MEAN GIRLS on screens large and small: the multi-talented Ana Gasteyer continues to surprise us with every new venture - and aren't we lucky! Ms. Gasteyer's exceedingly elegant new cabaret show at Feinstein's, appropriately titled ELEGANT SONGS FROM A HANDSOME WOMAN - this coming Monday at 8:30 PM, and also on Monday, June 27 - will give her a chance to show off her considerable singing skills. In this all-encompassing interview we discuss the inspiration and ideas involved in her new cabaret piece and exactly what we can expect on Monday night, plus all about her upcoming multi-episode arc on HBO's CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM and co-starring in a brand new ABC series coming this Fall, SUBURGATORY. Additionally, we parse her stage work with everyone from Joe Mantello to Mary Zimmermann and her experiences working on live TV for six years on NBC's SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE - plus, first news about her role in Tyler Perry's WE THE PEOPLES and her recollections on the fantastic REEFER MADNESS: THE MOVIE MUSICAL - as well as working with Raul Esparza, Lindsay Lohan, Tina Fey, Larry David - and much, much more!
The music from Frank Wilhorn's DRACULA will finally be available to theatre fans everywhere, as GlobalVision Records has just released the Studio Cast Recording of the show. Featuring the talents of Broadway favorites Kate Shindle, Lauren Kennedy, James Barbour, Norm Lewis, Euan Morton, and Rob Evan, the new album is available now on iTunes, and will be available on Amazon.com later this week
Today we are featuring one of Broadway's most accomplished and charismatic leading men who has solidified himself as one of the premiere theatrical interpreters of our age in his performances on Broadway in both musicals and plays, off-Broadway and even in Shakespeare-In-The-Park productions: Raul Esparza. Mr. Esparza can certainly do it all and even though he has yet to take home a Tony Award of his own, he has enacted two of the most memorable recent performances on the yearly telecast: first, in his Broadway debut role as Riff Raff in the 2000 revival of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW and, most recently, performing a full-bodied, soul-bared "Being Alive" from COMPANY. So, let's take a look back at those two unforgettable performances and perhaps surprise or two, as well!
The St. Louis Muny has announced that Patti Murin, Paul Vogt and John Riddle will lead the theater's production of The Little Mermaid as Ariel, Ursula and Prince Eric, respectively. They will be joined by Lara Teeter (Scuttle), Elizabeth Teeter (Flounder), Francis Jue (Sebastian), Lee Roy Reams (Chef Louis), Gary Glasgow (Grimsby), and Ken Page (King Triton).
Enter now to win tickets to see Kiss Me, Kate!
Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate is a delightful musical romp that can be seen again and again. It's timeless and an overblown, yet joyous account of two egotistical actors, once married to each other, who adore one another but just cannot be around each other very long without catastrophic, calamitous results. It's also a play within a play, as Lilli Vanessi (Lesli Margherita) and Fred Graham (Tom Hewitt) are on tour essaying Katharine and Petruchio in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Above all, the silly contrived story is overshadowed by Cole Porter's divine score with some of the most glorious tunes ever composed. Kiss Me Kate is a showcase to Porter's genius. Reprise Theatre's current revival is devastatingly hilarious with top-notch direction from Michael Michetti and a magnificent cast.
Tom Hewitt, Lesli Margherita, Meg Gillentine and Seán Martin Hingston are the Broadway and West End stars that will lead the cast of Reprise Theatre Company's third production of the 2010-2011 season, 'Kiss Me, Kate', playing May 10 to 22 (press opening May 11, 2011) at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. The musical - with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Samuel and Bella Spewack will be directed by Michael Michetti, co-artistic director of The Theatre @ Boston Court and choreographed by Lee Martino. Michael Paternostro will serve as musical director.
Broadway star Tom Hewitt will costar with Lesli Margherita in Reprise's final show of this season Kiss Me Kate from May 10-22 @ the Freud Playhouse, UCLA. Best known for his award-winning role in the revival of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hewitt has played Count Dracula in Frank Wildhorn's musical production of Dracula, and costarred in a myriad of other hits like the tour of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and on Broadway as Billy Flynn in Chicago. In our conversation, he talks about Margherita, ...Kate and the numerous joys - some surprising - that he has encountered in his work, all the while displaying a wry humor.
BroadwayWorld has confirmed that Muny's summer season will include LEGALLY BLONDE, KISS ME KATE, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, and more.
From her creation of the pivotal roles of Susan in Marvin Hamlisch & Craig Carnelia's simply smashing (if underappreciated) SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS and Clara in Adam Guettel & Craig Lucas's five-time Tony-winning THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, to her effortless essaying of two of the most beloved female roles in the musical theater canon, opposite two of the biggest leading men on Broadway - THE PAJAMA GAME with Harry Connick, Jr. and SOUTH PACIFIC with Matthew Morrison (and Paulo Szot) - in addition to her work in Frank Wildhorn's JEKYLL & HYDE and DRACULA, Stephen Sondheim's FOLLIES and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, along with her stunning studio albums - all of these are just some of the reasons why Kelli O'Hara is in a very special class of performers. In this all-encompassing conversation we discuss all of the aforementioned shows, as well as working with all of her fabulous co-stars and collaborators, and we also take a look at her recording studio work with Harry Connick, Jr. and take a look ahead to her sophomore solo album, ALWAYS which will be released on June 3. Plus, we have first news on her new roles in the musical versions of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, written by Jason Robert Brown, and FINDING NEVERLAND by Scott Frankel. We even have dish on working with Liza Minnelli and shooting SEX & THE CITY 2! This is all coming in anticipation of the tribute to Bob Hope at the NY Pops gala on May 2, which will also feature performances by Tom Wopat and Aaron Lazar - both of whom we will continue our SPOTLIGHT ON NY POPS series with later on this weekend. Don't miss them or a special presentation by theatre legend Angela Lansbury! Further information about the NY POPS event - including tickets - is available here.
Today we are talking to the composer of the new Broadway musical WONDERLAND, who is the only American composer to have had three of his shows running concurrently on Broadway - JEKYLL & HYDE, THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL and THE CIVIL WAR - and has since solidified himself as one of the most successful international musical theatre composers of the 21st century, with his globe-spanning productions of everything from THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO in Switzerland to CYRANO in Tokyo to TEARS OF HEAVEN in Korea to the forthcoming Broadway production of BONNIE & CLYDE - the warm and gracious Frank Wildhorn. Over the span of our considerable discussion last week we touched on everything from his pop music roots writing hits for Whitney Houston and Kenny Rogers, to his tenure at Atlantic Records and his series of recordings, shows and concerts with muse Linda Eder, as well as a thorough discussion of his compositional process, what inspires him in a story, his own favorite musicals, what the future holds - EXCALIBUR with Jim Steinman, perhaps? The world premiere of the long-awaited HAVANA? JEKYLL & HYDE: THE MOVIE MUSICAL? - and much, much more!
Tom Hewitt, Lesli Margherita and Meg Gillentine are the Broadway and West End stars that will lead the cast of Reprise Theatre Company's third production of the 2010-2011 season, 'Kiss Me, Kate', playing May 10 to 22 (press opening May 11, 2011) at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. The musical - with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Samuel and Bella Spewack will be directed by Michael Michetti, co-artistic director of The Theatre @ Boston Court and choreographed by Lee Martino. Michael Paternostro will serve as musical director.
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