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North Coast Repertory Theatre presents a San Diego premiere of The Underpants, adapted by Steve Martin and written by Carl Sternheim. The show begins previews September 5-7 and continues September 8 through October 7, 2012.

Soho Rep, in association with John Adrian Selzer, welcomes OBIE Award-winner Roberta Maxwell to the cast of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya tonight, July 25, replacing Rebecca Schull as Maria.

Today we are talking to Patricia Kelly, the widow of one of the most iconic and influential performers in entertainment history, Gene Kelly, all about her husband's incomparable career on Broadway and in Hollywood, in honor of his centennial. Tracing Gene Kelly's journey from his theatre roots starring in Cole Porter's LEAVE IT TO ME!, Rodgers & Hart's PAL JOEY and William Saroyan's Pulitzer Prize-winning THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE on Broadway to his unforgettable screen appearances in many of the greatest movie musicals ever made - COVER GIRL, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, THE PIRATE, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS and many more included - Mrs. Kelly gives us a look into the life of one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. In addition to behind-the-scenes stories involving Kelly's frequent collaborators - such as esteemed director Vincente Minnelli, songwriter and producer Arthur Freed, arranger Saul Chaplin and others - Mrs. Kelly also shares candid anecdotes involving her husband's involvement with directing Rodgers & Hammerstein's FLOWER DRUM SONG on Broadway, helming the feature film adaptation of HELLO, DOLLY! starring Barbra Streisand, as well as his appearing in two idiosyncratic movie musicals later in his life, LES DEMOISELLES DE ROCHEFORT (THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT) for Jacques Demy, as well as his au revoir to movie musicals in form of the Olivia Newton-John roller disco starrer XANADU. Additionally, Mrs. Kelly fills us in on all the details about this weekend's two-night Gene Kelly retrospective celebration, which she leads and narrates, as part of GENE KELLY @ 100 and her future plans for the multimedia presentation - each evening titled AN EVENING OF GENE KELLY and CHANGING THE LOOK OF DANCE ON FILM, respective - as she begins to tour the show across the country. Plus, reflections on SINGIN' IN THE RAIN's 60th anniversary and the recent Fathom HD premiere presentation in theaters, the impact of Kelly's work behind the camera, his choreographic legacy, what a legend is like at home, memories of attending the opening night of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (starring HELLO, DOLLY! lead Michael Crawford), what the master would say about GLEE, SMASH, BUNHEADS and today's movie musical renaissance, as well as much, much more!

Soho Rep, in association with John Adrian Selzer, is pleased to announce that OBIE Award-winner Roberta Maxwell will join the cast of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya on Wednesday, July 25, replacing Rebecca Schull as Maria.

In response to overwhelming demand, amid extraordinary critical acclaim, Soho Rep, in association with John Adrian Selzer, extends the world premiere of CHEKHOV'S UNCLE VANYA-the new version by playwright Annie Baker, directed by Sam Gold-through August 26.

Center Theatre Group Artistic Director Michael Ritchie has set the 2012-2013 season at the CTG/Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In a season of contrasts - of surprising comedy and startling drama, the 2012-2013 season at the Kirk Douglas Theatre will include the magical and mystical hi-jinks of the CTG-commissioned "Elephant Room" by Trey Lyford, Geoff Sobelle and Steve Cuiffo; the acclaimed Gate Theatre Dublin production of the Beckett classic "Krapp's Last Tape" with one of Britain's greatest actors, John Hurt; the comic genius of The Second City with their unique, satirical twist on a Dickens's favorite - "A Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens!" written by Peter Gwinn and Bobby Mort; the world premiere of the otherworldly drama "The Nether" by the 2012 Susan Blackburn Smith prize-winning playwright Jennifer Haley; and the world premiere of the powerful boxing drama "The Royale" by Los Angeles playwright Marco Ramirez.

Remembering some recent Broadway productions that concerned those who bravely make the ultimate sacrifice.

Berkshire Theatre Group and Artistic Director/CEO, Kate Maguire have just announced programming for Summer 2012. BTG's Summer of 2012 boasts a full assortment of theatrical productions, concerts, comedy, Friday Series play readings, Musical Mondays, Made in the Berkshires and more.

Headlining the most successful entertainment of all time, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Michael Crawford was actually not the first name the creative team considered for the gothic musical undertaking during its creation in the mid-1980s, believe it or not. Steve Harley famously recorded the original single of the title song with composer Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's muse Sarah Brightman and subsequently starred in the grandiose Ken Russell fever dream music video. While the public and critics alike assumed Harley's bid for the lead role in the gestating show was all but guaranteed after the video debut, it was not meant to be. Master director Hal Prince had his sights set on a British stage and screen star who had made a name with American audiences decades before in the troubled film versions of two Broadway hits - A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM and HELLO, DOLLY! - as well as made a name for himself the world over in the British sitcom SOME MOTHERS DO 'AVE 'EM. Crawford had also cemented his place in the musical theatre with his roles in FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON and BILLY, but it was PHANTOM that would catapult him into the ranks of iconic musical megastar. So, today, let us take a look at what made Michael Crawford's performance in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA so unforgettable as we celebrate this week's US release of the simply spectacular DVD/Blu-ray of the 25th anniversary production mounted late last year at the Royal Albert Hall starring Ramim Karimloo and Sierra Boggess, loving assembled and presented by original lead producer Cameron Mackintosh and featuring a grand finale complete with original PHANTOM cast-members Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, among a host of other glories.

Opened in 2003, the Harris Theater's mission is to partner and collaborate with an array of Chicago's emerging and mid-sized performing arts organizations to help them build the resources and infrastructure necessary to achieve artistic growth and long-term organizational sustainability.

Opened in 2003, the Harris Theater's mission is to partner and collaborate with an array of Chicago's emerging and mid-sized performing arts organizations to help them build the resources and infrastructure necessary to achieve artistic growth and long-term organizational sustainability.

With its many supporting roles for older performers, one of the great pleasures of productions of Follies is the opportunity to see some of the theatre's senior members making a triumphant return to the Broadway stage.

The Life of Galileo opens the inaugural season of Cleveland Play House at its new home in a transformed Allen Theatre at PlayhouseSquare.

Brooklyn philharmonic has just announced their 2011-12 season:

Classical virtuosity and wit are the hallmarks of 3e étage, a contemporary ballet ensemble formed by and featuring dancers and soloists of the legendary Paris Opera Ballet.

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance today announced its full Harris Theater Presents 2011-2012 season, offering Chicago audiences a ground-breaking collection of innovative, culturally diverse programming by the world's finest musicians and dance companies, as well as Harris' signature collaborations with Chicago's leading dance and music institutions.

Always edgy and never dull, Theatre Out--Orange County's Gay and Lesbian Theater company--has continually presented some interesting theater offerings since its remarkable debut in 2006. Its current production, a rambunctious revival of Andrew Lippa's topsy-turvy musical THE WILD PARTY, is no exception, as it corrals a huge pool of talents to tell the story of a bacchanal gone horribly, horribly awry. The show plays at the Empire Theatre in the Santa Ana Arts District through July 2.

Berkshire Theatre Festival has announced additional casting for this summer's productions. The new cast members include Tony winners and nominees, multiple veterans of Broadway and Off Broadway as well as many returning BTF alumni. Husband and wife Stephen R. Buntrock and Erin Dilly will be working together on the world premiere of In the Mood. Jenny Powers and Angela Robinson have joined the cast of The Who's Tommy. Rachel Bay Jones of Broadway's Hair will take on the famed title character in Sylvia. Tony Winner Mia Dillon is joining Broadway and BTF alum C.J. Wilson and the previously announced Rebecca Brooksher in Tennessee Williams's serious comedy Period of Adjustment. Film actors Christian Coulson and Amari Cheatom will take on the world premiere two-hander Dutch Masters.

I'm reminded of the old joke: It's only funny till someone gets hurt; then it's hilarious. Jacobean audiences liked the stage littered with corpses at the end; we settle for one or two corpses and people's lives shattered. And that this show certainly delivers. There may not be much depth to it, much in the way of a philosophical point, but it's absorbing to see.

Executive Producer Lou Spisto today announced that The Old Globe will produce the World Premieres of four new plays and musicals in its 2011-12 Winter Season. The season will feature the World Premiere musicals Some Lovers by music legend Burt Bacharach and Tony Award winner Steven Sater and Nobody Loves You by Gaby Alter and Itamar Moses, as well as the West Coast Premiere of John Kander and Fred Ebb's The Scottsboro Boys, recently nominated for 12 Tony Awards including Best Musical, directed and choreographed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman. The two plays receiving World Premiere productions are Somewhere by Globe Playwright-in-Residence Matthew Lopez and The Recommendation by Jonathan Caren. The new season also includes revivals of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show and the Eugene O'Neill classic Anna Christie directed by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner David Auburn. Special events include the World Premiere of Odyssey by Todd Almond, a music theater event conceived and directed by Lear deBessonet celebrating the Globe's 75th Anniversary, The Old Globe/University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program production of Twelfth Night and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, which returns for its 14th consecutive year.

Actor/singer/musician/author Hershey Felder's multi Award winning depiction of composer George Gershwin in George Gershwin Alone is now on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse for a limited run through May 8 celebrating a ten year anniversary. Felder fills the space with his virtuoso musicianship and creates such an extraordinary stir and love affair with his public that he is becoming almost as popular as the legendary composer himself.

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance is honored to present the first ever Chicago appearances of the Paris Opera Ballet, considered "one of the world's greatest companies" (Ballet News UK).

As its first production in their new home at the historic Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton, 3D Theatricals opens with THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, that wonderful, effervescent 2006 Broadway musical concoction. A Tony Winner for Best Book and Best Score, this insanely funny musical comedy is a reverent, if wildly sarcastic homage to the American Jazz-Age musical, those frothy, lighthearted screwball comedies that captivated so many fans with its fun and frivolity. 3D Theatricals' production features TV star Sally Struthers as Mrs. Tottendale.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. The January-May lineup of national tours, Lea Salonga, 'Chicago Theatre Rock Stars,' Davenport's, a Mary Martin surprise, more....

Today we are talking to an Emmy-winning stage star best known for his unforgettable turns as the Wizard of Oz himself in the original Broadway cast of THE WIZ, as well as his Emmy-winning performance in both the Broadway and filmed version of AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'. In recent years, he has found much success with his choices of eccentric, oft-controversial roles, particularly those roles in the hot-button play PRYMATE and the David Yazbeck/Terrance McNally musical THE FULL MONTY. In this portion of our conversation, De Shields impresses with his effortless grace, studied theories on his craft and the art of theatre, all with taking a look forward to his newest stage venture - KNOCK ME A KISS by Charles Smith - which opens this weekend. We also discuss his role in the career of legendary songwriter Jim Steinman - from RHINEGOLD and BLOODSHOT WINE with Joe Papp in the 70s all the way to the workshop for the forthcoming BAT OUT OF HELL: THE MUSICAL.