Guys and Dolls - 1950 - Broadway Articles Page 17

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!

Grant Park Music Festival concert in Chicago's Millennium Park will host a a concert on July 13 and 14, 2012, entitled “Perfectly Frank: From Broadway to Hollywood.' The show is a tribute to Frank Loesser, featuring Broadway's Rebecca Luker, Marin Mazzie, Jason Danieley, Howard McGillin. Check out the cast in rehearsal below!

Summer in Chicago continues this month with the Grant Park Music Festival, led by Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar and the Grammy Award-nominated Grant Park Orchestra, along with Chorus Director Christopher Bell and the Grant Park Chorus in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago's Millennium Park. The Festival will bring performances by outstanding guest conductors and guest artists from around the world, in a month of exciting programming that includes a world premiere commission, a live concert screening of Frozen Planet, the latest hit series from BBC/Discovery Channel, a tribute concert to Broadway and Hollywood legend, Frank Loesser and other Festival favorites.

Probably the golden age of musical theatre in the US was from 1950 to 1960. Great scripts like King and I, My Fair Lady, and West Side Story were staged. Also produced were such flops as Salad Days, Zuleika, Ankles Away, The Vamp, ShaNgri-La, Shinbone Alley, and Free As Air. Most shows were of the neither great nor flop variety. These included the likes of Call Me Madam, Guys and Dolls, Paint Your Wagon, Can-Can, Wonderful Town, Fanny, and The Pajama Game. Also included in the list was DAMN YANKEES, now on stage at Porthouse Theatre.

CBS SUNDAY MORNING takes a behind-the-scenes look at the hardworking talented actors, singers and dancers, all of whom are members of Actors' Equity Association, who perform in the Choruses of Broadway musicals and the very special award that is presented on opening nights. The segment airs today, Sunday, June 10, 2012 (9:00 - 10:30 AM ET) on CBS Network.

CBS SUNDAY MORNING will take a behind the scenes look at the hardworking talented actors, singers and dancers, all of whom are members of Actors' Equity Association, who perform in the Choruses of Broadway musicals and the very special award that is presented on opening nights. The segment will air this Sunday, June 10, 2012 (9:00 - 10:30 AM ET) on CBS Network.

Summer in Chicago continues this July with the Grant Park Music Festival, led by Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar and the Grammy Award-nominated Grant Park Orchestra, along with Chorus Director Christopher Bell and the Grant Park Chorus in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago's Millennium Park. The Festival will bring performances by outstanding guest conductors and guest artists from around the world, in a month of exciting programming that includes a world premiere commission, a live concert screening of Frozen Planet, the latest hit series from BBC/Discovery Channel, a tribute concert to Broadway and Hollywood legend, Frank Loesser and other Festival favorites.

Dundalk Community Theatre brings to stage the new musical comedy, set in the 1950's and based on the music of Elvis Presley: ALL SHOOK UP, from tonight, May 4 to May 13.

Dundalk Community Theatre brings to stage the new musical comedy, set in the 1950's and based on the music of Elvis Presley: ALL SHOOK UP, from May 4 to May 13.

The Old Globe's 2012-13 Season will feature the World Premieres of two new musicals: Allegiance - A New American Musical by Jay Kuo and Lorenzo Thione and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder by Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak. The season also includes George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion in celebration of the classic play's 100th anniversary and the World Premiere of a new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House by Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey and Kirsten Brandt. Two recent Broadway hits will make their San Diego debuts at the Globe: David Lindsay-Abaire's Good People and Jon Robin Baitz's Other Desert Cities. Rounding out the season are the West Coast Premiere of Bekah Brunstetter's Be a Good Little Widow and the Southern California Premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size.

Today in 1992, the second Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls opened at the Martin Beck Theatre (now the Al Hirschfeld Theatre), where it ran for 1143 performances. Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on 'The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown' and 'Blood Pressure', two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most notably 'Pick the Winner'. Premiering on Broadway in 1950, the original production ran for 1200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical has had several Broadway and London revivals, as well as a 1955 film adaptation starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine.

In the years between the fall of vaudeville and the rise of Comedy Clubs, Americans looking to enjoy some live stand-up would frequently gather at their local jazz venue, where rising stars like Lenny Bruce and Mort Saul would offer their observations in a rhythmic style that many would say mimicked the licks themselves.  In his musical tale of losing his job, No Place To Go, playwright/composer/lyricist/performer Ethan Lipton tells the story of mounting disappointments in wry growls of spoken comical riffs that glide into an after-hours score heavily infused with jazz and blues.

The New York Philharmonic presents Anywhere I Wander: The Frank Loesser Songbook, a celebration of the late legendary Broadway composer of Where's Charley?, Guys and Dolls, The Most Happy Fella, Greenwillow, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Monday, March 26, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. Directed and conducted by Tony Award winner Ted Sperling, the evening will feature an all-star cast that includes Ann Hampton Callaway, Victoria Clark, Robert Morse, Bryn Terfel, a special appearance by Loesser's widow and leading lady Jo Sullivan Loesser, and others to be announced. The program will be choreographed by Andrew Palermo.

The Open Fist Theatre Company has announced the next production in their 2012 season, MOON OVER BUFFALO, written by Ken Ludwig and directed by Bjørn Johnson, featuring fight choreography by B.H. Barry.

The Town Hall's Broadway by the Year's® 12th Season continues with The Broadway Musicals of 1950 on Monday, March 19th at 8PM. 1950 was a year that brought us famous shows by musical theater icons including Frank Loesser, (Guys and Dolls), Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse (Call Me Madam), and Cole Porter (Out of This World), among others. Produced by The Town Hall, The Broadway Musicals of 1950 is created, written and hosted by Scott Siegel.

Today in 2009, Guys and Dolls opened at the Nederlander Theatre, where it ran for 121 performances. Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on 'The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown' and 'Blood Pressure', two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most notably 'Pick the Winner'. Premiering on Broadway in 1950, the original production ran for 1200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical has had several Broadway revivals as well as West End productions.

The Town Hall (123 West 43 Street) has signed Award-winning Jazz singer Marilyn Maye, Tony Award winner, Ben Davis (Baz Luhrmann's La Boheme), Dameka Hayes, Audelco Award Nominee for It Ain't Nothing But The Blues and Jessie Mueller, who made her Broadway debut in On a Clear Day…, to perform in THE BROADWAY MUSICALS OF 1946 on Monday, February 13, 2012 at 8pm.

The Town Hall (123 West 43 Street) has signed Award-winning Jazz singer Marilyn Maye, Tony Award winner, Ben Davis (Baz Luhrmann's La Boheme), Dameka Hayes, Audelco Award Nominee for It Ain't Nothing But The Blues and Jessie Mueller, who made her Broadway debut in On a Clear Day…, to perform in THE BROADWAY MUSICALS OF 1946 on Monday, February 13, 2012 at 8pm.

The New York Philharmonic will present Anywhere I Wander: The Frank Loesser Songbook, a celebration of the late legendary Broadway composer of Where's Charley?, Guys and Dolls, The Most Happy Fella, Greenwillow, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Monday, March 26, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. Directed and conducted by Tony Award winner Ted Sperling, the evening will feature an all-star cast that includes Ann Hampton Callaway, Victoria Clark, Robert Morse, Bryn Terfel, a special appearance by Loesser's widow and leading lady Jo Sullivan Loesser, and others to be announced. The program will be choreographed by Andrew Palermo.

The Open Fist Theatre Company has announced the next production in their 2012 season, MOON OVER BUFFALO, written by Ken Ludwig and directed by Bjørn Johnson, featuring fight choreography by B.H. Barry.

The Open Fist Theatre Company has announced the next production in their 2012 season, MOON OVER BUFFALO, written by Ken Ludwig and directed by Bjørn Johnson, featuring fight choreography by B.H. Barry.

The Open Fist Theatre Company has announced the next production in their 2012 season, MOON OVER BUFFALO, written by Ken Ludwig and directed by Bjørn Johnson, featuring fight choreography by B.H. Barry.

The Open Fist Theatre Company has announced the next production in their 2012 season, MOON OVER BUFFALO, written by Ken Ludwig and directed by Bjørn Johnson, featuring fight choreography by B.H. Barry.

Last night, American theatergoers experienced for the first time the comfort of the revolutionary ProBax® seating technology, when Jujamcyn Theaters unveiled the August Wilson Theatre's brand new seats. Setting a new standard in comfort, the Broadway house -- currently home to the smash hit Jersey Boys -- is the first American theater to utilize this ergonomic seating. Using dual density foams to encourage an anatomically correct posture, the patented ProBax® cushions reduce back ache and muscle fatigue from sitting. In a theatrical setting, they allow the audience to focus more freely on the show, while reducing the need to shift and fidget. Also, by encouraging a more upright posture, they allow for more comfortable leg space. Widely used in the automotive industry, and in select theaters abroad, this cutting-edge technology had never been used in a North American entertainment venue until now.

The Town Hall has just announced the 12th Season of their acclaimed BROADWAY BY THE YEAR® concert series which kicks off with THE BROADWAY MUSICALS OF 1946 on Monday, February 13, 2012. The show is created, written and hosted by Scott Siegel for The Town Hall. Initial casting includes Alice Ripley, the Tony® Award winning star of Next to Normal, Tom Wopat (Tony® Award nominated for his role of Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun revival/Catch Me if You Can), Kerry O'Malley (On a Clear Day…Annie Get Your Gun revival) and Noah Racey (Curtains), who will also choreograph. The evening will feature songs and dance from Irving Berlin's classic Annie Get Your Gun and other musicals including Call Me Mister, St. Louis Woman and Park Avenue. Ross Patterson is the musical director.