From its stunning Broadway premiere in 1968, Hair defined the "rock musical," exuberantly celebrating the hippie counterculture, anti-war movement and sexual revolution of the 1960s with a rainbow score of hits - including "Aquarius," "Good Morning Starshine," and "Easy to be Hard" - that have become ingrained in pop culture. Let down your long, beautiful hair, pull out the tie-dye and celebrate this groundbreaking American journey as we "Let the Sunshine In!"
HAIR features a book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado and music by Galt MacDermot, and tells the story of a group of young Americans searching for love and peace during the Vietnam era, HAIR is a timeless portrait of a movement that changed the world. Its groundbreaking rock score paved the way for some of the greatest musicals of our time. The 2009 revival, directed by Diane Paulus, won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. The Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle also honored the production with their 2009 award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical.
The world premiere production of MARLEY, the first original musical based on both the life and music of Bob Marley, began rehearsals March 24 at Center Stage, the State Theater of Maryland. MARLEY begins tonight, May 8, and runs now through June 14.
Bruce Willis stopped by last night's LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN and revisited his 80's hairstyle. Check out the clip below!
At the 19th annual Pell Awards, Trinity Rep will award Debra Messing with the Pell Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts. John Chan, jazz promoter and owner of Chan's Fine Oriental Dining in Woonsocket will be honored with a Rhode Island Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts. Dancer and choreographer Julie Strandberg will receive the Charles Sullivan Award for Distinguished Service in the Arts and Trinity Rep's former executive director, Michael Gennaro, will be awarded with the Pell Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Arts. The ceremony will be held Monday, June 15, 2015 at Trinity Rep with a reception to follow at the Providence Public Library.
Paper Mill Playhouse has announced complete casting for the world-premiere musical Ever After, directed and choreographed by three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes, Nice Work If You Can Get It), featuring a book and lyrics by Marcy Heisler and music by Zina Goldrich.
Performances begin tonight, Friday, March 20 and run through Sunday, April 12. Press night is scheduled for Opening Night Friday, March 27. Appropriate for ages 17 +. As a concert production, there will be no live nudity, though documentary photographs of the original production will be projected.
One of the most popular stories of the year so far, the unexpected announcement of a special one night only charity concert performance of a fan favorite musical-within-the-series from NBC's musical series SMASH, BOMBSHELL, to benefit the Actors Fund, is already a huge hit here on BroadwayWorld, and, now we bring you an exclusive chat with an elemental figure in The Actors Fund, producer Tim Pinckney, all about the hotly anticipated evening. As part of our conversation, Pinckney offers up new details on what plans are currently in place for the unprecedented SMASH reunion as well as shares first reactions to the wildly successful Kickstarter campaign that has already racked up more the $230,000 in donations in less than a week, having begun with a goal of $50,000 when the event was first announced last week. Additionally, Pinckney looks back at some previous Actors Fund special events such as HAIR and DREAMGIRLS and how the exultant reaction to this recent announcement compares to the hubbub surrounding those starry affairs - and what the momentum engendered by BOMBSHELL could lead to in the future. All of that and much, much more!
Kansas City Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Eric Rosen announced today the casting for HAIR: Retrospection, under his direction.
?Hale Centre Theatre (HCT) is ringing in the New Year with the long-lost production of Is He Dead? written by American author Mark Twain. The play was 'rediscovered' in a drawer of Twain's forgotten works at the University of California at Berkeley in 2001. It has since appeared on Broadway and will hit HCT's stage tonight, December 31, 2014, through Saturday, February 7, 2015.
In 1949, U.S. armed forces were recovering from World War II while grappling with an aggressive Soviet Union following the division of East and West Germany; RCA perfected a system for broadcasting television programs in color (though most households wouldn't have a color TV for 10 years) and gas was 17 cents a gallon. After years of suffering in the war effort, the post-war prosperity was just beginning, with homes, cars and hair-dos getting bigger.
?Hale Centre Theatre (HCT) is ringing in the New Year with the long-lost production of Is He Dead? written by American author Mark Twain. The play was "rediscovered" in a drawer of Twain's forgotten works at the University of California at Berkeley in 2001. It has since appeared on Broadway and will hit HCT's stage Wednesday, December 31, 2014, through Saturday, February 7, 2015.
Pandemonium practically coursed through the private circles of Lani Misalucha loyalists the day a press statement officially announced the postponement of "La Nightingale Returns," the renowned singer's fourth major concert in Smart Araneta Coliseum since "Missing You" in 2007. Originally scheduled for October 17 and reset to almost two months later to December 6, the sudden date change sparked speculations of Lani backing out of the concert, which she recently dispelled on a primetime talk show as mere rumors.
In 1949, U.S. armed forces were recovering from World War II while grappling with an aggressive Soviet Union following the division of East and West Germany; RCA perfected a system for broadcasting television programs in color (though most households wouldn't have a color TV for 10 years) and gas was 17 cents a gallon. After years of suffering in the war effort, the post-war prosperity was just beginning, with homes, cars and hair-dos getting bigger.
It's been rumored since early in the new production's run -- and now it's official! Original star John Cameron Mitchell will return to the role he co-created with composer/lyricist Stephen Trask in their musical Hedwig and The Angry Inch, which they debuted in the 1998 hit Off-Broadway production. Mitchell will step into the role on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre starting Wednesday, January 21 for a strictly limited eight week engagement. Mitchell will join co-star and Tony Award winner Lena Hall who continues with the production as Yitzhak.
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) celebrates the holiday season with THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) [REVISED]. Ray Jivoff directs this literary romp featuring Chris Klopatek, Rick Pendzich, Chase Stoeger and Marcus Truschinski. The cast of MCT favorites are also all alumni of the UW-Whitewater theatre program. Performances are tonight, November 19 - December 14, 2014 at the Broadway Theatre Center's Studio Theatre in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward.
Firehouse Theatre is proud to announce the full cast and creative team working on the next production of its 21st Season, A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration, by Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel. Directed by Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, this touching family musical will play 14 performances, November 20 - December 20, 2014. Opening night is November 21.
The Office for the Arts at Harvard recently announced that its upcoming undergraduate production of the cult hit Bat Boy: The Musical will debut new scenes and songs by the show's original writers. Composer/lyricist (and Harvard alum) Laurence O'Keefe and bookwriters Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming have been holding writing sessions and workshops at Harvard, working directly with the undergraduate cast and crew to develop the new material.
Bat Boy is the story of a feral half-bat/half-boy, originally invented by the Weekly World News supermarket tabloid. The musical comedy's premiere Off-Broadway in 2001 garnered rave reviews and the show has received hundreds of productions worldwide, but the three writers have nonetheless continued to work on the show.
O'Keefe recently took the time to chat with BroadwayWorld about revisiting the project and his intentions for the show at Harvard and beyond. Check out the full interview below!
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) celebrates the holiday season with THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) [REVISED]. Ray Jivoff directs this literary romp featuring Chris Klopatek, Rick Pendzich, Chase Stoeger and Marcus Truschinski. The cast of MCT favorites are also all alumni of the UW-Whitewater theatre program. Performances are November 19 - December 14, 2014 at the Broadway Theatre Center's Studio Theatre in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward.
Firehouse Theatre has announced the appointment of Joel Bassin as Producing Artistic Director. He will take over leadership of the theatre at the end of Artistic Director Jase Smith's term in January 2015. Joel is the current Chair of Theatre at Hunter College in New York City.
The Film Society of LINCOLN Center will host Ethan Hawke tonight, September 30 and Richard Gere on October 8 as guests of honor for 'An Evening With...' at the 52nd New York Film Festival.
Mallorie Moody is proud to announce the release of 'The Life of a Hair Scrunchie,' a children's book that was initially created as part of a sixth-grade writing assessment. The book will be available Sept. 23 on the Amazon Kindle.
'The Life of a Hair Scrunchie' will feature a collection of short stories from the eyes of two hair scrunchies named Abigail and Madison. After being purchased from a local Wal-Mart, the two scrunchies try to hold up to the standards of a new world that requires a different kind of flexibility.
Mallorie, a singer-songwriter, first began writing the children's book while enrolled at Franklin Alternative Middle School in 2001. 'We were given a writing assessment in class one day and were instructed to create a short story,' says Mallorie. ' I did, and it was read aloud to the class. Everyone loved it. It made them laugh.' Mallorie remembered how well her story was received by her peers and kept record of it, adding to it throughout high school and college with the goal of making others laugh in the future.
Who: Mallorie Moody, singer-songwriter
What: 'The Life of a Hair Scrunchie,' a children's book
When: Tuesday, Sept. 23
Where: Amazon Kindle
Why: For child/ young adult entertainment purposes
Mallorie Moody is a singer-songwriter and short story author who lives in Columbus, Ohio. She is a member of Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) and has published works on iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon. 'The Life of a Hair Scrunchie' is her first book.
The Film Society of Lincoln Center will host Ethan Hawke on September 30 and Richard Gere on October 8 as guests of honor for “An Evening With…” at the 52nd New York Film Festival.
The 'Alley Theatre @ UH' season begins with Betty Buckley, Hallie Foote, Annalee Jefferies and Veanne Cox in award-winning Texas playwright Horton Foote's The Old Friends, a Southwestern premiere.
James Franco, who recently concluded his Broadway debut in 'Of Mice and Men,' turned to Instagram today to share a whole new look including blond hair!
Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: HEATHERS ends its run at New World Stages, ROCK OF AGES welcomes back its leading man, Jason Robert Brown performs in NYC and more!
A great, big Broadway season is on its way, with fourteen productions already slated to open in the next few months. With weeks until the craziness begins, there is still plenty of time to catch up on what's been going on at Broadway's already occupied theaters .
BroadwayWorld will be profiling the hits of the Great White Way that continue to draw crowds after months, years, and (in some cases) decades. Meet the current cast of Broadway's MAMMA MIA! below!
Videos
