Dreamgirls Tour 1985 - Articles Page 7

Christmas Day 2012 marks the biggest and best day of the year for many Broadway babies around the world, but the anticipatory fervor has little to do with the man with the beard in red and white from the North Pole - you see, the guy in question in this equation is more apt to be seen in red and black and his origins are decidedly a bit more Gallic than Jolly Old St. Nick. The man whom I speak of is, of course, Jean Valjean, the protagonist of Victor Hugo's spellbinding 1862 historical epic LES MISERABLES, a novel which was subsequently adapted into a 1980 concert spectacular and ultimately a 1985 full-fledged stage musical, painstakingly developed through the shepherding of uber producer Cameron Mackintosh, alongside the talents responsible for breathing song into the story - original French composer/lyricist team Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil (along with Jean-Marc Natel), to whom Mackintosh added English lyricist Herbert Kretzmer (and also contributor James Fenton). Through a special partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company, LES MISERABLES: THE MUSICAL premiered at the Barbican Theatre in the West End soon thereafter under the direction of Trevor Nunn and John Caird and opened to largely negative reviews, albeit ecstatic, ebullient audiences. Broadway was next, where it went on to win Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Actor, Best Featured Actress & Actor and even more (eight total). LES MISERABLES onstage was a hit like few others from then on and the rest, ze say, is history - or, in this case, l'histoire. Yet, on Christmas Day, the next step in the evolution of the worldwide phenomenon commonly and colloquially known as LES MIZ will occur - just days after the Mayan-predicted end of days, no less - and the movie musical adaptation of the stage show will finally become a reality, featuring an all-star cast comprised of Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Aaron Tveit, Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter, among others. The time has come to hear the people sing onscreen at long, long last. But, first, how is the film?

While many MIZ-heads may have assumed the film adaptation of their beloved musical would never actually come to fruition, here it really is, all too soon available for all to see - lo, more than twenty years after it was first announced byway of an official promo ad in a tour souvenir going as far back as the late-1980s. I was lucky enough to catch an advance screening during the dawning days of December and many small moments, full musical sequences and my first impressions themselves have filled me with a certain kind of inexpressible enrapturing ecstasy heretofore inexperienced, coming as a direct result, no doubt, of the sheer force of power the film exacts in its relentless, barreling, blazingly bravado-bedecked style - a style, I can firmly say, is completely unique in movie history. LES MISERABLES is a lot of things, but, first and foremost, it is that which it is unlike that makes it most remarkable of all; that is: it is unlike any movie musical ever made. And, it is a masterpiece.

LES MISERABLES might not open in movie theatres for another week, but accoridng to Fandango, the movie is the company's #1 advance ticket-seller among all Christmas Day releases, surpassing its previous record-holder, 2009's "Sherlock Holmes,' and the #1 advance ticket-seller among movie musicals, surpassing the previous record-holder, 2006's "Dreamgirls."

Five powerful productions have been scheduled for Center Theatre Group's 2013 season at the Mark Taper Forum, it was announced today by CTG Artistic Director Michael Ritchie.

Tickets for Cameron Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables will go on sale Sunday, July 8 at 12 p.m. for the Thousand Oaks premiere engagement at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. The all-new production of Les Miserables features glorious new staging and spectacular reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. To purchase tickets, visit theaterleague.com or ticketmaster.com, call 800-745-3000 or visit the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Box Office. Ticket prices start at $54. For more information on the production, engagement dates and locations, please visit www.LesMis.com. For a video sneak peek of the New 25th Anniversary Production of Les Miserables, please visit www.LesMis.com/watch.

Tickets for Cameron Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables will go on sale Sunday, July 8 at 12 p.m. for the Thousand Oaks premiere engagement at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. The all-new production of Les Miserables features glorious new staging and spectacular reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. To purchase tickets, visit theaterleague.com or ticketmaster.com, call 800-745-3000 or visit the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Box Office. Ticket prices start at $54. For more information on the production, engagement dates and locations, please visit www.LesMis.com. For a video sneak peek of the New 25th Anniversary Production of Les Miserables, please visit www.LesMis.com/watch.

A Chorus Line, the powerful and emotion-filled musical about the trials and tribulations of forging a life in the theater, will play in Pittsburgh tonight, June 15 through June 24 at the Benedum Center. Directed and choreographed by original A Chorus Line cast member Baayork Lee, this bona fide Broadway hit features an incredible ensemble cast composed of exciting Broadway stars and Pittsburgh CLO veterans.

A Chorus Line, the powerful and emotion-filled musical about the trials and tribulations of forging a life in the theater, will play in Pittsburgh June 15-24 at the Benedum Center. Directed and choreographed by original A Chorus Line cast member Baayork Lee, this bona fide Broadway hit features an incredible ensemble cast composed of exciting Broadway stars and Pittsburgh CLO veterans.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Broadway In Chicago's upcoming season, 'The Boy Scout Musical,' 'Faustus,' a rare 'Leader Of The Pack,' death of Etel Billig, a Southside 'Dreamgirls' and much more....

The Old Globe today announced the cast and creative team for the West Coast Premiere of The Scottsboro Boys, the critically acclaimed musical about an infamous chapter in American history.

Broadway stars Montego Glover, Beau Bridges and Judith Ivey will be featured on the season finale of the USA Network drama series WHITE COLLAR. The episode, entitled "Judgement Day", will air Tuesday, February 28th at 10/9c.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. 'Show Boat' and 'South Pacific' in the Loop, the Grammys, Whitney Houston's showtune connections, 'Charlie Brown,' 'Pippin' and more....

The entire entertainment world is reeling. We have lost one of our most iconic pop, R&B and soundtrack performers this evening - as well as a formidable movie star in her own right - Whitney Houston was just reported dead at the age of 48. Having had one of the most successful and most multimedia of careers of any multi-hyphenate star in recent memory, Houston scored multiple Grammys and racked up countless nominations over the course of her multi-decade recording career, yet her most notable contributions to the world of music reside in her outstanding soundtrack work - most of all, the songs for the film in which she made the transition into feature film leading lady, 1992's THE BODYGUARD. The biggest hit from THE BODYGUARD's blockbuster soundtrack was undoubtedly Houston's rendition of a Dolly Parton song originally recorded in 1974 and later made famous by Parton in the feature film version of the Broadway hit THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS, "I Will Always Love You". In addition to Houston's sensational work on that mega-selling soundtrack - one of the Top 5 best-selling soundtracks of all time - she also provided her dramatic and vocal skills to the multi-platinum soundtracks to THE PREACHER'S WIFE and WAITING TO EXHALE, both films which she also starred in to much box office success. An Oscar-winning duet with Mariah Carey, "When You Believe" by WICKED's Stephen Schwartz from THE PRINCE OF EGYPT is yet another diadem in Houston's triple crown of accomplishments in the realms of music, film and television - having dominated all. Theatre fans may know Houston best for her incomparable portrayal of the Fairy Godmother in the incredibly successful 1997 ABC TV adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein's CINDERELLA starring Brandy and produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. In addition to Houston's contributions to THE BODYGUARD, THE PREACHER'S WIFE, WAITING TO EXHALE, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT and CINDERELLA, Houston also rose to fame early in her career for her rendition of "Home" from THE WIZ on THE Merv Griffin SHOW, as well as made a mark with a Cissy Houston duet on the CHESS international smash, "I Know Him So Well" on her second hit album. The last project Houston was working on prior to her death on Saturday night was the feature film musical SPARKLE, co-starring AMERICAN IDOL winner and Broadway standout Jordin Sparks. SPARKLE reportedly completed production of principal photography and soundtrack sessions, though it is not clear when the musical remake will now be released in light of Houston's unexpected death. No matter the circumstances of her life and death, Whitney Houston most surely left a legacy that will never be forgotten by those that adored her for her vast multitude of talents and many notable accomplishments in all areas of entertainment.

The landmark trial of the Scottsboro Boys is brought to life in Philadelphia Theatre Company's production of the multiple Tony-nominated musical The Scottsboro Boys with music and lyrics by the legendary team of John Kander and Fred Ebb and book by David Thompson, running January 20-February 19 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (Broad and Lombard Streets).

The landmark trial of the Scottsboro Boys is brought to life in Philadelphia Theatre Company's production of the multiple Tony-nominated musical The Scottsboro Boys with music and lyrics by the legendary team of John Kander and Fred Ebb and book by David Thompson, running January 20-February 19 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (Broad and Lombard Streets).

The celebration of the opening of the new facility for Chicago's 34-year-old Black Ensemble Theater, coming on a lonesome stretch of commercial street in western Uptown during a dismal economy, was a remarkable thing last weekend. The $19 million Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, lovely...

Carla Cook, Brandon Victor Dixon, Jared Grimes and Adriane Lenox have been cast in Duke Ellington's Cotton Club Parade, opening November 18 at New York City Center.

Carla Cook, Brandon Victor Dixon, Jared Grimes and Adriane Lenox have been cast in Duke Ellington's Cotton Club Parade, opening November 18 at New York City Center.

Carla Cook, Brandon Victor Dixon, Jared Grimes and Adriane Lenox have been cast in Duke Ellington's Cotton Club Parade, opening November 18 at New York City Center.

Carla Cook, Brandon Victor Dixon, Jared Grimes and Adriane Lenox have been cast in Duke Ellington's Cotton Club Parade, opening November 18 at New York City Center.

A.R.T. American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) will present The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, opening the A.R.T.'s 2011-2 season on August 117 at the Loeb Drama Center. The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, by George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin, is adapted by Suzan-Lori Parks and Diedre Murray, and directed by A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus.

A.R.T. American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) opens its 2011-12 season with The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, by George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin. The adaptation by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks and Obie Award-winning composer Diedre L. Murray, directed by A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus, with choreography by Ronald K. Brown, begins previews on August 17 and opens for the reviewing press on August 31 at 7pm. Performances are at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge. Tickets for preview performances are currently on sale, remaining tickets for the run go on sale on July 12.

Hartt celebrates its alumni this spring with two alumni reunion concerts. On Monday, April 21, three alumni of the Vocal Studies Division perform at 7:00 PM in Wilde Auditorium on the University of Hartford's main campus, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford.

Dan Culleton's G. Gebony Productions in association with the Triad Theatre presents a concert presentation of Pat Holley's all original R&B/Pop Musical, ME & CAESAR LEE.

Three-time Tony Award-winning scenic designer ROBIN WAGNER and esteemed costume designer LEWIS BROWN are among the 2011 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards recipients. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Friday, April 8 at 6:30pm at the Hudson Theatre (145 West 44th Street). Mr. Brown was selected to receive the 2011 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for costume design, and Tony Award-winning scenic designer Robin Wagner will receive the Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design. Sadly, Mr. Brown passed away in January of 2011. His award will be accepted by his long-time colleague and friend, Albert Wolsky, who was the recipient of the 2010 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award