Tommy Tune News

Today in 1978, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas opened at the 46th Street Theatre (now the Richard Rodgers Theatre), where it ran for 1584 performances. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. It is based on a story by King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch in La Grange, Texas. The original Broadway production was directed by Peter Masterson and Tommy Tune and choreographed by Tune and Thommie Walsh.

Beautiful, LA-based singer-songwriter Sarah Dashew graced the stage of 54 Below: 'Something in the Weather' beauty to warm New York on Tuesday, June 17th, 9:30 PM.

President and CEO Tania Castroverde Moskalenko unveiled the 2014-15 season at the Center for the Performing Arts - home of the Palladium. The new season represents multiple series, including Country, Printing Partners Classical, The Stratford Songbook, Taft Law Jazz & Blues, Coca-Cola World Stage, and The Buck Group Dance. In addition to the six series, the Center will present Drewry Simmons Vornehm Pop & Rock, Spotlight, Holiday, and CNO Financial Group Family shows.

Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Chuck Tobin today announced the opening of the Playhouse's 2014 summer theater season with the new Mel Brooks Broadway Young Frankenstein (June 17 - 28, 2014). Young Frankenstein features a book by three-time Tony Award-winner Mel Brooks and three-time Tony Award-winner Thomas Meehan and music and lyrics by Brooks. Young Frankenstein, directed by Keith Andrews with music direction by Thomas Cleary, will feature Matthew Crowle as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, Kathryn Markey as Frau Blucher, Christian Kohn as the Monster, Abby Lee as Elizabeth, Brett Figel as Igor, Ashley McKay as Inga, Bill Carmichael as Inspector Kemp/Hermit, and Zachary Pesner as Ziggy. The ensemble includes Eugenio Contenti, Shelby Davis, Danielle Diniz, Antoinette DiPietropolo, Ian Frazier, Christopher Holloway, Kate Kramitz, Kevin Metzger, Vincent Ortega, and Chelsey Whitelock.

Goodspeed Musicals awarded Tony, Grammy and Pulitzer Prize winner Sheldon Harnick The Goodspeed Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre on June 14, which featured Broadway luminaries and arts sustainers. Check out a look back at the evening below!

Goodspeed Musicals is delighted to announce that Tony, Grammy and Pulitzer Prize winner Sheldon Harnick will be the latest recipient of The Goodspeed Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre. Over the years Mr. Harnick's work has been represented on the Goodspeed stage with Fiorello! (1985), She Loves Me (1978), The Apple Tree (1999), and this summer's 50th Anniversary production of Fiddler on the Roof at the Goodspeed Opera House. The award will be presented by longtime friend and star of stage and screen, two time Tony Award-winner Tony Roberts (Broadway's Promises, Promises; They're Playing Our Song; Victor/Victoria; Cabaret).

They say everything is bigger in Texas and it's certainly true of the sassy, spirited musical THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS opening at the Barn Theatre June 24!

James Rocco's BROADWAY SONGBOOK series at The Ordway Center for Performing Arts in Saint Paul, Minn., is a treasure for anyone who has an iPod full of showtunes (me: guilty!) and should earn continuing education credits for audience members who gain a wealth of knowledge in theatre history over the course of the show.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) announces the cast and creative team for the Houston premiere of Disney's The Little Mermaid, based on the classic animated film of the same title. The musical will run June 13 - 29 in Hobby Center's Sarofim Hall and then play the Atlanta premiere at the Fabulous Fox Theatre from July 8 - 13. TUTS invites everyone to take a trip "under the sea" including all the familiar classic songs plus a few new ones along with a story that charms people of all ages!

Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Chuck Tobin today announced the opening of the Playhouse's 2014 summer theater season with the new Mel Brooks Broadway Young Frankenstein (June 17 - 28, 2014). Young Frankenstein features a book by three-time Tony Award-winner Mel Brooks and three-time Tony Award-winner Thomas Meehan and music and lyrics by Brooks. Young Frankenstein, directed by Keith Andrews with music direction by Thomas Cleary, will feature Matthew Crowle as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, Kathryn Markey as Frau Blucher, Christian Kohn as the Monster, Abby Lee as Elizabeth, Brett Figel as Igor, Ashley McKay as Inga, Bill Carmichael as Inspector Kemp/Hermit, and Zachary Pesner as Ziggy. The ensemble includes Eugenio Contenti, Shelby Davis, Danielle Diniz, Antoinette DiPietropolo, Ian Frazier, Christopher Holloway, Kate Kramitz, Kevin Metzger, Vincent Ortega, and Chelsey Whitelock.

The cast and creative team of the Tony Award-nominated smash hit Broadway musical After Midnight, just welcomed Grammy Award-winning legend Patti LaBelle as 'Special Guest Star.' BroadwayWorld was there for her big night and you can check out photos from the backstage, post-show celebration below!

Join Anita Gillette and Richard Skipper as they sit down to discuss Anita's career and life at The Spiral Theatre tonight, June 11.

The film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical JERSEY BOYS will hit theaters on June 20th. Directed by Clint Eastwood, JERSEY BOYS, written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, features the music and lyrics of Bob Gaudio & Bob Crewe. Just yesterday, the Angelo Galasso House at The Plaza (768 Fifth Avenue) hosted a special New York City screening of the new film, and BroadwayWorld was there for the big event. Check out red carpet coverage below!

There may not have been 76 trombones, but Florence Henderson and Constantine Maroulis did excellent impersonations of librarian Marian Paroo and Harold Hill of 'The Music Man' fame, as they lead a 28 piece marching Broadway band into the Skirball Cultural Center in the new Guerin Pavilion/Herscher Hall to begin an evening of co-hosting for the Actors Fund's 18th Annual Tony Awards® Party. Check out the photos below!

Move over Willy Wonka, Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is offering the hottest 'Golden Ticket' in town! TUTS is creating a Houston 'first' by giving one lucky winner the ultimate TUTS experience: a pair of free tickets to every show on the 2014-15 TUTS and TUTS Underground season along with invitations to special parties and unique events.

The Glass Menagerie's Natasha Katz has won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Play. Katz's recent Broadway credits include Once (Tony Award), Sister Act, Follies, The Addams Family, The Little Mermaid, The Coast of Utopia: Salvage (Tony Award), A Chorus Line (revival), Spelling Bee, Tarzan, Aida (Tony Award), Beauty and the Beast.

Broadway legend, Barbara Cook, will be honored with The Julie Harris Award for Artistic Achievement at The Actors Fund's 18th Annual Tony Awards Viewing Party on June 8th, 2014.

The Ogunquit Playhouse, America's Foremost Summer Theatre, will be one of the first regional theatres in the U.S. to produce the Tony Award winning Billy Elliot the Musical on stage June 25 to July 26. Billy Elliot tells the story of a young boy who discovers his true passion lies in ballet class and not in the boxing ring, and then finds the strength to defy the convention of his small UK mining town to make his dream come true. The Ogunquit production features a cast of Broadway veterans, including Anastasia Barzee, Armond Shultz and Tony Award nominee Joel Blum.

Today we celebrate the many parallels between the 2004 and 2014 Tony Award races with a celebration of both as we look ahead to this Sunday's 2014 Tony Awards telecast, hosted by none other than 2004 Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman!

American Dance Machine for the 21st Century (ADM21) will make its Joyce Theater debut, November 11 - 16, with eight performances of show-stopping musical theater dance numbers by legendary choreographers including Rob Ashford, Michael Bennett, Patricia Birch, Gower Champion, Jack Cole, Henry LeTang, Jerry Mitchell, Jerome Robbins, Susan Stroman and more.