A Tale of Two Cities

On the Town, the first Broadway musical with music by Leonard Bernstein and written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, will open the 2008-2009 Encores! season at New York City Center, running November 19 - 23.

The 22ND ANNUAL BROADWAY FLEA MARKET & GRAND AUCTION was held this Sunday, September 21 from 10 AM - 7 PM in Shubert Alley (225 West 45th Street). Celebrities of theater and daytime television came out to show their support. As in previous years, Broadway and daytime fans had the opportunity to get their photo taken with various celebrities at the Celebrity Photo Booths. Two Celebrity Photo Booths were be in operation on Sunday

The 22ND ANNUAL BROADWAY FLEA MARKET & GRAND AUCTION was held this Sunday, September 21 from 10 AM - 7 PM in Shubert Alley (225 West 45th Street). Celebrities of theater and daytime television came out to show their support. As in previous years, Broadway and daytime fans had the opportunity to get their photo taken with various celebrities at the Celebrity Photo Booths.

'Only the great deserve the darts of satire,' proclaimed an advertisement for the New York leg of the Bolshoi Ballet Company's 1936 American tour, a classy reply to the spoofing they were receiving from George Balanchine's dance piece La Princesse Zenobia, a highlight of George Abbott and Rodgers and Hart's Broadway hit On Your Toes.

Set against the epic backdrop of the French Revolution and based on the classic Dickens novel, A Tale of Two Cities is a musical about injustice, vengeance and the redemptive power of love. The visually lavish new musical opened on Broadway Thursday, September 18th, and BroadwayWorld.com was there to share in all the excitement!

As an actor Ron Sharpe made his mark on Broadway in such shows like Les Miserables, The Civil War and The Scarlet Pimpernel, he has just returned to the Great White Way, but not as a performer, this time he is the executive producer, along with his wife, actress Barbara Russell, of A Tale of Two Cities, the new musical which opened on Broadway Thursday, September 18th. BWW TV spoke to him on the eve of the show's opening night about his nine year adventure in bringing A Tale of Two Cities and his Broadway dreams to life.

Brandi Burkhardt has starred in the Los Angeles Reprise! Production of Li'l Abner and in Jekyll & Hyde: Resurrection. In A Tale of Two Cities she stars as Lucie Manette, she is also making her Broadway debut in the role. BWW TV discussed with her what a pivtol role her character plays in the story, the magic of Charles Dickens words and how excitied she is to be a part of this epic production.

The new musical A Tale of Two Cities will open tonight, September 18th at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. Set against the epic backdrop of the French Revolution and based on the classic Dickens novel, 'A Tale of Two Cities' is a musical about injustice, vengeance and the redemptive power of love. Jill Santoriello has written the show's book, music and lyrics.

Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS is pleased to announce the stars at this year's Celebrity Photo Booths as part of the 22ND ANNUAL BROADWAY FLEA MARKET & GRAND AUCTION which will be held this Sunday, September 21 from 10 AM - 7 PM in Shubert Alley (225 West 45th Street).

On Sunday October 5, 2008 Gypsy star and Tony Award winner Laura Benanti and her husband, stage and screen star Steven Pasquale caught a performance of [title of show]. Also visiting that night was actress Katie Finneran, a Tony Winner herself for 'Noises Off' as well as cast members from the new musical 'A Tale of Two Cities', after the performance the whole gang stopped by backstage to visit the cast and crew.

After taking the summer season off, Broadway Beat returns to begin their 19th season of bringing you the best of Broadway. This week's episode features Equus, A Tale of Two Cities and more - only right here on BroadwayWorld!

Devin Richards, the Gypsy Robe Winner for 'A Tale of Two Cities,' & Miles Kath, a 13-year-old actor from 'A Tale of Two Cities,' presented the Gypsy Robe to winner Eamon Foley, from '13, A New Musical' at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York on October 5, 2008. The colorful Gypsy Robe, embellished with mementos from Broadway musicals, is presented to the cast member who has the most Broadway chorus credits.

Broadway Kids Care (BKC), the organization of theater kids for kids (and others), will host its 2nd annual Halloween Festival.

In the tradition of Rufus Wainwright's Judy Garland Carnegie Hall concert,and Leslie Kritzer as Patti Lupone at Les Mouches, Joe's Pub is thrilled to present Michael Arden covering Joni Mitchell's seminal album 'Blue' in it's entirety, with new arrangements by Todd Almond and a incredible 5-piece band including Michael Aarons, Jim Hershman, Trey Files and Ruth Bennett.

Esteemed lighting designer, theatre consultant, and author Richard Pilbrow is the winner of the 2008 Wally Russell Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be presented on Saturday evening, October 25, at the LDI Awards ceremony during LDI2008 in Las Vegas.

In the tradition of Rufus Wainwright's Judy Garland Carnegie Hall concert,and Leslie Kritzer as Patti Lupone at Les Mouches, Joe's Pub is thrilled to present Michael Arden covering Joni Mitchell's seminal album 'Blue' in it's entirety, with new arrangements by Todd Almond and a incredible 5-piece band including Michael Aarons, Jim Hershman, Trey Files and Ruth Bennett.

Andrea Martin, Michael Cumpsty and Tony Yazbeck have been cast in On the Town, the opening production of New York City Center's 2008-09 Encores! season, running November 19 - 23. On the Town, the first Broadway musical written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green with a score by Leonard Bernstein, will be directed by John Rando with music direction by Todd Ellison and choreography by Warren Carlyle

South Ark Stage (Rhoda Herrick, Producing Artistic Director) has announced that it will present the world premiere of the new chamber musical The Black Monk, with book, lyrics and music by Wendy Kesselman. Under the direction of Kevin Newbury, the four-member cast features Austin Pendleton as the Monk, Scott Robertson as Igor, Elon Rutberg as Andrei, and Sarah Ziegler as Tanya.

Musicals Tonight! continues its ongoing salute to Broadway and Off-Broadway Standbys and Understudies with its next edition of At This Performance… to be held on Monday, October 20th at New York's McGinn/Cazale Theatre. The evening celebrates the popular concert series' 5th Anniversary.

Although I hadn't read any of the first wave of reviews, by the time I was seated for my post-opening night press performance at the Hirschfeld it was pretty much common knowledge to the entire Broadway community that the new (and from the looks of her Playbill bio, the only) creation from bookwriter/composer/lyricist Jill Santoriello brought out gobs of that legendary New York theatre critic acid wit among the great majority of my colleagues.

Several great performers have joined the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's 20th Annual Festival of New Musicals on October 20 & 21 at New World Stages and more have been added to the benefit concert A Toast for 20! on October 19th at COMIX.

On October 17th, 2008 from 11:00 am- 12:00 PM the cast of the Broadway production of A TALE OF TWO CITIES will perform at the United Nations lawn near the peace bell.

On October 17th, 2008 from 11:00 am- 12:00 PM the cast of the Braodway production of A TALE OF TWO CITIES will perform at the United Nations lawn near the peace bell.

Several great performers have joined the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's 20th Annual Festival of New Musicals on October 20 & 21 at New World Stages and more have been added to the benefit concert A Toast for 20! on October 19th at COMIX.

Musicals Tonight! continues its ongoing salute to Broadway and Off-Broadway Standbys and Understudies with its next edition of At This Performance… to be held on Monday, October 20th at New York's McGinn/Cazale Theatre. The evening celebrates the popular concert series' 5th Anniversary.

Rock-It Science Records presents Broadway's Greatest Gifts: Carols for a Cure, Volume 10. Featuring highlights from the Volumes 1-9, as well as the incredible talents of stars from the 2008 Broadway season, the annual holiday CD benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA). This two-disc set offers 36 original and traditional holiday songs recorded especially for this benefit CD, and features the cast of Billy Elliot with the premiere of an original song by Elton John, 'Cold Christmas.' Included are the voices of Antonio Banderas, Harvey Fierstein, Idina Menzel, Bernadette Peters, and Andréa Burns, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Nick Jonas and American Idol's Constantine Maroulis and Ace Young, plus new recordings with performances by stars from In the Heights, South Pacific, Wicked plus many more! Also performing on this year's CD are Rosie's Broadway Kids, young students in the performing arts program founded by Rosie O'Donnell.

Executive Producers Barbra Russell and Ron Sharpe will close Jill Santoriello's sweeping musical epic, 'A TALE OF TWO CITIES' on Broadway today, Sunday, November 9th at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street - between 8th & 9th Avenues). The musical moved the date of closing up a week from the originally announced final performance of November 16th. The early closing was confirmed to BroadwayWorld by a spokesperson for the production.

Pittsburgh CLO's production of A Musical Christmas Carol will make musical memories once again at the Byham Theater from December 5 - 21. The talented cast will feature returning audience favorites as well as several new faces, including previously announced Pittsburgh native Tom Atkins as Scrooge.

Friday, November 7th, features a special PRE-PARTY edition of THE AFTER PARTY. This one night only event will present THE AFTER PARTY from 7:30pm to Midnight, rather than its usual time of 10:30pm to 4am. THE AFTER PARTY's PRE-PARTY will feature Avenue Q's SHARON WHEATLEY and Tale of Two Cities' DEVIN RICHARDS. All will be on hand to greet fans and perform as only they can.

Executive Producers Barbra Russell and Ron Sharpe will close Jill Santoriello's sweeping musical epic, 'A TALE OF TWO CITIES' on Broadway on Sunday, November 9th at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street - between 8th & 9th Avenues). The production originally announced a closing date of November 16th, but has now chosen to move up the final performance to this Sunday, November 9th.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting in his ‘The Ausiello Files' that Michael Arden will play a role on the upcoming NBC mid-season, his character is described as a gay love interest for one of the series' major players.

European producer Werner Signer announced the workshop of 'The Count Of Monte Cristo,' the latest Wildhorn/Murphy collaboration, which opens in St. Gallen, Switzerland on March 24, 2009. The European pre-cast recording, which was recorded in Vienna in English with both European stars and Brandi Burkhardt as Mercedes, has been #1 on the European charts for two weeks now.

Friday, November 7th, features a special PRE-PARTY edition of THE AFTER PARTY. This one night only event will present THE AFTER PARTY from 7:30pm to Midnight, rather than its usual time of 10:30pm to 4am. THE AFTER PARTY's PRE-PARTY will feature Avenue Q's SHARON WHEATLEY and Tale of Two Cities' DEVIN RICHARDS. All will be on hand to greet fans and perform as only they can.

Toro's self titled CD features an array of favorite Broadway show tunes, all with an inspired and eclectic spin, A special CD release party is to be held on November 23rd, 7:30 PM at Canal Room at Canal and West Broadway in the East Village.

The New York Times is reporting that HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical which played this summer to sold out houses at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park will play Broadway's Al Hirschfeld Theater (currently home to A TALE OF TWO CITIES). Previews begin on February 13, 2009 with the official opening set for March 5, 2009.

Executive Producers Barbra Russell and Ron Sharpe will close Jill Santoriello's sweeping musical epic, 'A TALE OF TWO CITIES' on Broadway on Sunday, November 16th at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street - between 8th & 9th Avenues).

Broadway Kids Care (BKC), the organization of theater kids for kids (and others), hosted its 2nd annual Halloween Festival.

Happy Holidays Everyone! Well ... here it is ... our BIGGEST CD coverage EVER and just in time for some last minute 'stocking-stuffer' inspiration ... even though a few of these are better used as coal, if you know what I mean.

As the oldest, continuously running Off-Broadway theatre in New York, the Cherry Lane Theatre is one of the many businesses in the city that are beginning to feel the pressure of a collapsing economy. James Sims reports...