A young songwriter Ben Shapiro is trying to make it as a Broadway composer, where his grandfather couldn't. Ben's father wants him to follow in his footsteps as a lawyer. Instead, Ben follows his heart and stages a reading of his grandfather's unfinished musical about a struggling composer at a swanky Miami resort in 1948.
I have a confession to make; when the 2015-2016 Broadway Series was announced for Orlando's Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, KINKY BOOTS was not one of the shows that I was most excited to see. Yeah, I knew that the show had won six Tony Awards including Best Musical; yeah, I knew that it had a positive, family-friendly message that I was excited to see on stage; and yeah, I knew that the tour cast was made up of fantastic performers, many of whom I have been a fan of for years. However, since the show opened on Broadway in 2013, directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, the shiny, brightly colored costumes and the score's string of pop songs by Cyndi Lauper have always given me the sense that it was little more than a saccharine, bubble gum musical that left audiences feeling good and tapping their toes, but didn't have the emotional or creative substance that I look for in musicals of this caliber. I mean, how could it? Just look at it; based on the show's high-energy production numbers, I assumed that the show was one of those novelties that always leaves you entertained, but rarely leaves you satisfied.
The word 'kinky' doesn't usually come to mind when thinking about family-friendly entertainment. However, with the Tony-winning musical KINKY BOOTS, playing at Orlando's Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts through Sunday, February 28th, that's exactly what you've got. Based on a 2005 British comedy of the same name, KINKY BOOTS tells the story of a shoe factory teetering on the brink of bankruptcy that is brought back to life when they begin making a certain style of fabulous boots.
The next Fairwinds Broadway in Orlando show is coming and it is arguably the most anticipated show of the season. The Tony Award winning Broadway hit KINKY BOOTS struts it way to the Dr. Phillips Center stage February 23rd through 28th and it's time for a refresher about why we're so excited to see this show. Here are my top ten reasons to be see KINKY BOOTS.
This second season will present a diverse lineup featuring award-winning author, journalist, radio and TV personality Stephen Dubner interviewed by actress, comedian and radio host Faith Salie; creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning series THE SIMPSONS, Matt Groening; one of America's best contemporary writers, cartoonist and illustrator Lynda Barry; filmmaker, artist and writer, Miranda July; and legendary narrative and documentary German filmmaker, Werner Herzog.
Bergen Performing Arts Center located at 30 North Van Brunt Street in Englewood, New Jersey presents: Lots of Laughs @ bergenPAC Volume III-Thursday, March 3, 2016 at 8PM. Purchase tickets at www.ticketmaster.com or Box Office at 201.227.1030.
It could happen when you least expect it: turn a corner or walk into a room and there is your favorite celebrity - not on a stage or screen, but right in front of you, in the flesh. You've always wanted to meet this person! Your friends will be so impressed! This might be the only chance you ever get! You absolutely, 100% can't blow it!!!
New show on sale this week at bergenPAC: Laugh All Night @ bergenPAC Volume III-Thursday, March 3, 2016 at 8PM; The Charlie Daniels Band-Thursday, April 28, 2016 at 8PM; and New Milford native Rob McClure. Tickets go on sale Friday, January 15, 2016 at 11AM at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling bergenPAC's Box Office at 201.227.1030.
The Broadway revival of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF officially opens tonight, December 20, at The Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway). Scroll down to learn more about the cast, plus watch interviews with the company!
Parody Twitter accounts can be a lot of things. They can be sarcastic (Condescending Wonka), they can make you think (Bored Elon Musk), they can be utterly ridiculous (not the real Bill Murray). The theatre community's favorite parody account, Annoying Actor Friend, has been all of those things at different times during its nearly three and a half year existence. The one constant for the character, whether it was brazenly flirting with the official SMASH account, championing causes important to theatre actors and fans, or shamelessly plugging its concerts and books, has been its anonymity. That is of course until yesterday when the account, followed by over 20,000 people, innocuously retweeted a link from a seemingly random blog by Andrew Briedis.
In what has become an annual ritual, a total of 36 established and emerging composers, lyricists, and librettists will converge on the Goodspeed campus from mid-January through mid-February 2016 to participate in the Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals. The writing teams, representing 19 new musicals, will populate the campus, creating a truly exciting environment for discovery and inspiration. BroadwayWorld is excited to report that Goodspeed has announced its 2016 participants. Scroll down for details!
SEATTLE, WA, November 17, 2015 — Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal and principal dancer Maria Chapman have announced that Ms. Chapman has decided to retire. Ms. Chapman joined PNB as an apprentice in 1995 and was promoted to corps de ballet in 1996, soloist in 2005, and principal in 2009.
VH1 will bring its entire 2015 You Oughta Know class of artists together on one stage for an unforgettable night of music with 'VH1 Big Music in 2015: You Oughta Know' event live from The Armory Foundation in New York tonight, November 12 at 9PM ET.
Dubbed as 'the first Asian musical of its kind' to hold regular performances at the New Victory Theatre on Off-Broadway from 2003 to 2005, COOKIN' NANTA's kitchen antics reinvigorate its 2015 bid to infiltrate more Asian markets. COOKIN' NANTA makes a limited run at The Theatre in Solaire Resort and Casino from Tuesday, November 10, through Sunday, November 15.
Following a lively photo shoot throughout the August Wilson Theatre with photographer Walter McBride, the three talented actors sat down with BWW to share their reflections and fondest memories of their time with the show.
Find out what it's like to play a pop music legend on Broadway from the boys who did it.
VH1 will bring its entire 2015 You Oughta Know class of artists together on one stage for an unforgettable night of music with 'VH1 Big Music in 2015: You Oughta Know' event live from The Armory Foundation in New York on Thursday, November 12 at 9PM ET.
VH1 will bring its entire 2015 You Oughta Know class of artists together on one stage for an unforgettable night of music with 'VH1 Best Music of 2015: You Oughta Know' event live from The Armory Foundation in New York
There has not been a TV show over the past decade that has consistently brought me more pleasure than SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. The sheer joy of the artistic creation and expression that has been displayed on that stage over the past 12 seasons has been unlike anything else that you can find anywhere on TV. While it might seem hyperbolic, no show, potentially ever, has done more to advance the public consciousness of the power of art, let alone dance, than SYTYCD. I know that there have been dance shows since the dawn of TV, and I know that ABC's DANCING WITH THE STARS still out-performs SYTYCD in the ratings, but not DWTS, not SOUL TRAIN, not SOLID GOLD, not AMERICAN BANDSTAND, no show has effectively brought the transformative power of dance (and in turn, the fine arts in general) to TV viewers more than SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE.
Andrew Rannells began his TV career in something called TAMA OF THIRD STREET: HAVE YOU SEEN MY TAMA??, from there he voiced characters on countless Japanese-animated shows for over a decade before joining the Broadway company of HAIRSPRAY in 2005. He went on to do JERSEY BOYS on tour and on Broadway, before originating the role of Elder Price in a little show called BOOK OF MORMON. Since, he has been a constant presence on TV (THE NEW NORMAL, GIRLS, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER), and with the release of THE INTERN later this month, he is now setting out to conquer the world of motion pictures.
With Labor Day in the rearview mirror, students all across the county are now diligently back to work on yet another school year. While students and teachers alike are back in their routines of homework and extracurriculars, BroadwayWorld's Jeff Walker and Matt Tamanini are focusing their monthly feature on the showtunes that celebrate the highs and lows of school and learning.
'There's been a noticeable disconnection between artist and audience…it's like you're sort of singing at them, rather than to them." I said, "Well, when we do this we'll make it really easy, we'll invite them in."
Returning Favorites Include Billy Stritch & Jim Caruso, Nicole Henry, Nicolas King, Aaron Weinstein & Bucky Pizzarelli, The Four Freshmen and Tommy Tune
In honor of the star-studded development, BroadwayWorld brings you an exclusive look at the cast onstage and in rehearsal, as well as comprehensive Q&A with SLOW FOOD's company!
Theater in Tennessee has never been busier nor has it been more diverse than what you'll find onstage this weekend throughout the Volunteer State. From frothy and fun summer musicals that are sure to make you think - like All Shook Up at Chaffin's Barn and A Chorus Line at Cumberland County Playhouse - to new plays from Shawn Whitsell (his latest, Songs For Our Sons, premieres at Darkhorse Theatre on Friday night) and emerging playwright Che Pieper (his new script based on the book The Man With the Light in His Window debuts at The Theater Bug this weekend)…the magic of live theater is all around you…even in this heat and humidity! So pull your seersucker suits and sundresses out of the closet, get all gussied up and make your way to the relative cool of a darkened theater for some midsummer magic!
This week at 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551.
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