Set in the Roaring Twenties, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes follows the madcap adventures of the original “dumb blonde,†Lorelei Lee, as she sets sail for Europe with her best friend Dorothy Shaw. As Dorothy puts it, the gold-digging Lorelei is “the only girl in the world who can stand on a stage with a spotlight in her eye and still see a diamond inside a man’s pocket.†Based on Anita Loos’ bestselling novel of the same name, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes made a star of Carol Channing on Broadway and later cemented Marilyn Monroe’s status as an American film icon and sex symbol in the 1953 screen version. “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend†is the crown jewel in a score that sparkles with songs like “Bye, Bye, Baby,†“A Little Girl from Little Rock†and “I Love What I’m Doing (When I’m Doing it for Love).†The original production, directed by John C. Wilson and choreographed by Agnes de Mille, opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre on December 8, 1949, and played a total of 740 performances.
Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning theater organization Ma-Yi Theater Company, which originally produced Filipino and Filipino-American plays prior to shifting gears toward exploring more of the Asian-American experience via theatrical workshops and presentations, and Filipino-American set and costume designer Eduardo Sicangco ("Gentlemen Prefer Blondes") accepted "The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York" (TOFA-NY) Heritage Award (2012) and the TOFA-NY Arts and Culture Award (2012) respectively at TOFA-NY's awarding rites held at the Weill Hall, Carnegie Hall Saturday, October 27.
Broadway's LES MISERABLES stars Adam Jacobs, who also recently appeared as Simba in Disney's THE LION KING, and Ali Ewoldt are reuniting on stage to perform before a predominantly Filipino-American audience at this year's "The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York" (TOFA-NY) awarding rites at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall tonight, October 27, 2012 at 8 p.m.
Broadway's LES MISERABLES stars Adam Jacobs, who also recently appeared as Simba in Disney's THE LION KING, and Ali Ewoldt are reuniting on stage to perform before a predominantly Filipino-American audience at this year's "The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York" (TOFA-NY) awarding rites at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall on Saturday, October 27, 2012 at 8 p.m.
New York City Center will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of its Tony Award-winning Encores! series on November 12 with a Gala Benefit starring Raul Esparza and Kelli O'Hara, and featuring performers who have starred in Encores! productions over the past two decades.
Tonight, October 22nd, 2012, Henry Krieger, composer of Dreamgirls and the cult-classic Side Show, will take part in Kaufman Center's Broadway Close Up series at Merkin Concert Hall.
My distant cousin Walter Elias 'Walt' Disney had a knack for turning everything into perfection, or at least practically perfect in every way. He took the mean, cranky nanny from P.L. Travers' book "Mary Poppins" and turned her into a saint. He excised two of the four Banks children, allowing the cutest ones to remain in the story. Travers' nanny couldn't dance on rooftops, didn't have adventures with Bert, didn't win at the horse races and couldn't sing. Travers was Australian; they take pride in being able to endure aggressive crocodiles, harsh deserts and appalling alloparenting. For those of us in the northern hemisphere who prefer our protagonists to be a bit on the spoonful of sugar side, Disney's Mary Poppins is just the ticket.
On October 22nd, 2012, Henry Krieger, composer of Dreamgirls and the cult-classic Side Show, will take part in Kaufman Center's Broadway Close Up series at Merkin Concert Hall.
Versatile raconteur Garrison Keillor will return to the New York Philharmonic as narrator and vocalist for Mr. Keillor at 70 with pianist Richard Dworsky and vocalist Christine DiGiallonardo tonight, October 16, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in an evening conducted by conductor and pianist Rob Fisher.
Tony Award nominee Liz Larsen (The Most Happy Fella), KT Sullivan (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), Chris Hoch (La Cage Aux Folles, Shrek The Musical), Michael Mastro (Twelve Angry Men), Pilin Anice (Junie B. Jones), Cicily Daniels (The Little Mermaid), Tim Falter (Some Like It Hot), Nadine Isenegger (42nd Street), Matthew Labanca (Young Frankenstein), Drama Desk Award nominee Garrett Long (South Pacific, The Spitfire Grill), Kristin Maloney (The Talk of the Town), Brent McBeth (White Christmas), Jim Middleton (Goodspeed's 1776), Kevin Vortmann(A Little Night Music) and Tiffany Westlie (The Truth About Jane) have joined the cast of UnsungMusicalsCo.'s benefit concert presentation of the legendary 1935 musical revue At Home Abroad, set for tonight, October 15, 2012. Get a first look at the stars in rehearsal below!
Tony Award nominee Liz Larsen (The Most Happy Fella), KT Sullivan (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), Chris Hoch (La Cage Aux Folles, Shrek The Musical), Michael Mastro (Twelve Angry Men), Pilin Anice (Junie B. Jones), Cicily Daniels (The Little Mermaid), Tim Falter (Some Like It Hot), Nadine Isenegger (42nd Street), Matthew LaBanca (Young Frankenstein), Drama Desk Award nominee Garrett Long (South Pacific, The Spitfire Grill), Kristin Maloney (The Talk of the Town), Brent McBeth (White Christmas), Jim Middleton (Goodspeed's 1776), Kevin Vortmann (A Little Night Music) and Tiffany Westlie (The Truth About Jane) have joined the cast of UnsungMusicalsCo.'s October 15, 2012 benefit concert presentation of the legendary 1935 musical revue At Home Abroad. Get a first look at the stars in rehearsal below!
Meshing Bollywood's bursting colors and rich style with Artistic Director Kevin Bellie's inventive choreography, Stephen Schwartz's classic Pippin explodes on the Circle scene in a brand-new light. PIPPIN has Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and Book by Roger O. Hirson.
Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director), Barry Grove (Executive Producer), and Mandy Greenfield (Artistic Producer) have announced that THE EXPLORERS CLUB, the world premiere comedy by Tony nominee Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde), will be directed by Marc Bruni (Ordinary Days, Old Jews Telling Jokes) featuring Obie Award winner Steven Boyer and Tony Award winner Richard Easton.
ANNIE, the new production of the Tony Award-winning musical, went into rehearsal today in New York City with its full company. The production begins previews October 3, 2012 and opens November 8, 2012 at the Palace Theatre (Broadway at 47th Street). Meet the full cast below!
Versatile raconteur Garrison Keillor will return to the New York Philharmonic as narrator and vocalist for Mr. Keillor at 70 with pianist Richard Dworsky and vocalist Christine DiGiallonardo on October 16, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in an evening conducted by conductor and pianist Rob Fisher.
Tony Award nominee Liz Larsen (The Most Happy Fella), KT Sullivan (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), Chris Hoch (La Cage Aux Folles, Shrek The Musical), Michael Mastro (Twelve Angry Men), Pilin Anice (Junie B. Jones), Cicily Daniels (The Little Mermaid), Tim Falter (Some Like It Hot), Nadine Isenegger (42nd Street), Matthew LaBanca (Young Frankenstein), Drama Desk Award nominee Garrett Long (South Pacific, The Spitfire Grill), Kristin Maloney (The Talk of the Town), Brent McBeth (White Christmas), Jim Middleton (Goodspeed's 1776), Kevin Vortmann (A Little Night Music) and Tiffany Westlie (The Truth About Jane) have joined the cast of UnsungMusicalsCo.'s October 15, 2012 benefit concert presentation of the legendary 1935 musical revue At Home Abroad.
Joshua Henry will join Amber Riley ("Glee"), Jared Grimes and Adriane Lenox in New York City Center's acclaimed production of Cotton Club Parade, returning for seven performances from November 14-18, 2012. (Mr. Henry replaces the previously announced Brandon Victor Dixon. Mr. Dixon is no longer available due to scheduling conflicts.) Conceived by Jack Viertel and presented under the auspices of City Center's Tony Award-winning Encores! series, Cotton Club Parade will once again be directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, with music direction by Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis. The show will feature the Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars under the direction of Daryl Waters.
The National Symphony Orchestra Pops today announced that Megan Hilty, known nationwide as triple-threat Ivy Lynn on NBC's hit Smash, will perform with the Orchestra November 23-24, 2012 in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Ms. Hilty will perform three concerts paying tribute to the music of Frank Sinatra, as well as the Rat Pack, Ella Fitzgerald and Etta James. The performances will be led by NSO Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke.
As previously reported by BroadwayWorld, the Encores! cast of GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES recently went into the recording studio to put a cast album together. The album is now available on Amazon.com, and you can go behind the scenes of the recording of a medley from the show below!
As previously reported by BroadwayWorld, the Encores! cast of GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES went into the recording studio last month to put a cast album together. As per Megan Hilty's official website, the recording is set to be released today, September 4.
ANNIE, the new production of the Tony Award-winning musical, went into rehearsal today in New York City with its full company. The production begins previews October 3, 2012 and opens November 8, 2012 at the Palace Theatre (Broadway at 47th Street). Meet the full cast below!
Following a sell-out and critically acclaimed run at London's Little Angel Theatre and at The 2012 Pulse Festival in Ipswich, Dotted Line Theatre bring their atmospheric one act play to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Lonely One, a delicious tale of fear, runs now through August 26, 2012, the Iron Belly, Underbelly - Cowgate. Check out eerie footage from the production in the video below!
A long-standing opening night tradition on the Great White Way, the fabled Gypsy Robe is bestowed upon a veteran Broadway chorus member for each opening production. In what has now become a theatrical ritual, originating on Broadway 60 years ago, the latest receipient was BRING IT ON cast member Rod Harrelson at The St. James Theatre. BroadwayWorld was there and brings you photos from the ceremony below!
The Lonely One, a delicious tale of fear, will begin preview at Edinburgh Festival fringe Aug 2-3 and continue its run Aug 4-26 (with no show on the 14th) at the Iron Belly, Underbelly - Cowgate. All performances start at 18:50 and run for 50 minutes.
Amber Riley ("Glee") joins original cast members Brandon Victor Dixon, Jared Grimes and Adriane Lenox in New York City Center's acclaimed production of Duke Ellington's Cotton Club Parade, returning to City Center for seven performances from November 14-18, 2012. Conceived by Jack Viertel and presented under the auspices of City Center's Tony Award-winning Encores! series, Cotton Club Parade will once again be directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, with music direction by Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis. The show will feature the Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars under the direction of Daryl Waters.
The countdown to Profiles in History's July auction begins. Run by Joe Maddalena, Profiles in History has announced that costumes from Whitney Houston, Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez will be in attendance. Taking place in Los Angeles, The Dreier Collection will be auctioned off today, July 28th, the Animation Auction will be July 29th and the Treasures from the Hollywood Vaults auction has been moved to July 30th and July 31st.
Videos
