Tommy Tune News

The holiday season is in full swing at the National Philharmonic with a?oeHoliday Singin' Popsa?? on Friday, Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore. Guest conductor and local Washington talent Luke Frazier will lead the National Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale, as well as Broadway stars and international talents Ali Ewoldt (Phantom of the Opera); Hilary Morrow (Birdland Jazz Club); Kevin Rose, international vocalist; and Addalie Burns, an eight-year-old tap dancer, in an evening of holiday hits.

The Music Hall and Ogunquit Playhouse have announced the cast and creative team of the beloved musical Annie, on stage November 27 through December 22 at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 

The Tony Award winning musical gets the concert treatment in an Actor's Fund Benefit at The Green Room 42

In celebration of her upcoming induction into the National Theater Hall of Fame on November 18th, I sat down with Broadway legend, Donna McKechnie for a spirited, informative, career-spanning chat.

KAREN AKERS brings Legendary Style to The Beach CafeKaren Akers holds that rarest of interpretive gifts: she makes a song feel as if you are experiencing it for the first time. Reimagining Cole Porter's 'It's Alright By Me' as a haunted beguine, she begins tremulous; a would be lover breathless with anticipation - the eyes downcast - coy - but twinkling with desire even as her clarion soprano announces:

After a sold-out premiere this summer, on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 9:30pm Broadway star and recording artist Luba Mason (Chicago, Jekyll & Hyde, How to Succeed, Will Rogers Follies) will bring her acclaimed Broadway-centric concert Luba Mason a?" 5' 10a?? with pianist & music director Billy Stritch (Liza Minnelli, Christine Ebersole) to Feinstein's/54 Below (254 W. 54th Street).

On November 6, 2019, The New York Landmarks Conservancy will host its 26th Living Landmarks Celebration at The Plaza. In addition to Mark Morris, this year's honorees are Carole Bailey French, Ted Mathas, H. Carl McCall, Emily K. Rafferty and Barbara & Donald Tober. The following previous honorees will also be involved: David Patrick Columbia as host, Peter Duchin and his Orchestra will provide entertainment, and Liz & Jeff Peek and Patsy & Jeff Tarr as Honorary Co-Chairs for the evening. More than 500 guests are expected to attend this 26th annual tribute.

The National (non-equity) Tour of THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL settled in at the Boch Center's Wang Theatre this week and brought out families and children raised on the beloved Nickelodeon series. Joining a long list of animated shows adapted into Broadway musicals, this one is set apart by the clever collaboration with a wide variety of popular artists who composed individual songs, seamlessly curated, orchestrated, and arranged by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winner Tom Kitt (of Next to Normal). Based on the television series by Stephen Hillenburg, it was conceived and directed by Tina Landau and features a book by Kyle Jarrow, but the eclectic score is the crème de la crème of THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL.

Jill Senter returns for one night in CELEBRATE THE MOMENT: A Nightclub Revue written, arranged and conducted by Elliot Finkel with choreography by Joanna Rush and directed by Walter Willison on Wednesday, October 16th at 7 PM at The Laurie Beechman Theater, 407 West 42nd Street.

Asolo Repertory Theatre proudly announces Sara Brunow as its Muriel O'Neil Education & Engagement Director*.

James Baldwin wrote in 1962, 'The brutality with which Negroes are treated in this country simply cannot be overstated, however unwilling white men may be to hear it. In the beginninga?'and neither can this be overstateda?'a Negro just cannot believe that white people are treating him as they do; he does not know what he has done to merit it.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), today announced that acclaimed Director Joe Mantello will be honored with the a?oeMr. Abbotta?? Award, given to a Broadway Director or Choreographer for a lifetime of outstanding contributions.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is excited to announce the 46 schools participating in the 2020 Tommy Tune Awards.

This Month, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

Bob Fosse's SWEET CHARITY (1969), based on the smash Broadway hit written by Neil Simon, starring Shirley MacLaine, will run in a new 4K restoration at Film Forum on Sunday, October 13 at 4:30 and Monday, October 14 at 2:30. Both screenings will be introduced by Kevin Winkler, author of Big Deal: Bob Fosse and Dance in the American Musical (available both days at our concession), with book signings in the lobby following both events.

Lucie Arnaz brings a?oeI Got the Job!a??: Songs from My Musical Past to WPPAC Friday, September 27 at 8pm.

Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.

As BroadwayWorld sadly reported yesterday, stage star Phyllis Newman passed away yesterday, September 15, at the age of 86. Newman got her start in show business at 4 years old imitating Carmen Miranda in theatres and clubs. Her portrayal of Martha Vail in the Jule Styne/Comden and Green musical Subways Are For Sleeping - costumed only in a bath towel - earned her a Tony Award. Her other Broadway credits include Bells Are Ringing, The Apple Tree, On the Town, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Awake and Sing, Wish You Were Here, First Impressions, and her one-woman musical The Madwoman of Central Park West, which she co-authored with Arthur Laurents. She garnered a Tony Award nomination for her highly-acclaimed performance in Neil Simon's Broadway Bound.

To open the University of Utah Musical Theater Program season, Denny Berry directs and choreographs Frank Wildhorn's DRACULA -- to continue her reputation for engaging audiences with little-known and perhaps problematic musicals.