High Spirits - 1964 - Broadway Tickets, News, Info & More

There's no doubt that Obsidian Theater's THE MOTHERF*#CKER WITH THE HAT wins the award for most attention-grabbing title of the season, but does James Belcher's production live up to the promise of that title? Is it as honest and unapologetically in-your-face as that title would have you believe? Why yes, it is.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its schedule for October 3-9, featuring the Pharoah Sanders Quartet, Natalie Douglas, Barbara Carroll, and more. Scroll down for details!

Ten-minute play festivals are often populated by material that cannot be strictly classified as plays. But the academic distinction between sketch and fully formed play may reasonably give way to a simpler, more binary metric: it either works or it doesn't. Some of the finest writing in this sixth year of shorts produced by The Bard's Town feels as if they are either lifted from a longer piece or are the seeds of a larger story.

There was once this covert society on a mission. One known only to adoring fans and admiring colleagues whose simple oath of indoctrination states: 'We vow to do everything in our power to keep this sacred electoral committee of adoring fans and admiring colleagues a secret. Our main objective: to advance and advocate the 'oh so many, many, many reasons why the title First Lady of Philippine Musical Theater should go to our very own Hepburn-esque theater stunner, Menchu Lauchengco Yulo.'

Our Mutual Friend, A New Musical based on Charles Dickens' final novel with music and lyrics by Larry Gelb and book adapted by Elizabeth and Larry Gelb will be performed in Staged Reading format featuring the composer at the piano, with bass (Myles Sloniker) and drums (Daniel Rabinow) at Actors' Temple Theater on Monday October 19th at 2PM and 7PM.Mark Harborth directs. The cast includes Matthew Amira* (The Most Happy Fella at Goodspeed), Mark Blowers, Kathryn Boswell* (Gigi on Broadway), Kyle Bradford, Jamie Buxton*(Me and My Girl at Reagle Theatre), Joseph Cassese*,James Patterson* (Beauty and the Beast on Broadway), Erika Person* (Iolanthe at City Center), Matthew Wages* (The Pirates of Penzance at City Center), Nicholas Wuehrmann*, Elizabeth Urbanczyk and Jacob Voight. (*Member of Actors' Equity)

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its October 2016 schedule, featuring Pharoah Sanders Quartet, Ron Carter Big Band, Eliane Elias, ShowBiz After Hours with Frank DiLella, Jane Monheit, Kurt Elling, Jane Bunnett and Maqueque, Natalie Douglas, Bryce Pinkham, Jim Caruso's Cast Party and more. Scroll down for details!

This November, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW presents an exciting lineup of the brightest talent from Broadway and beyond. Located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its lineup for November 2 - 8, featuring Benny Green Trio, Michael Urie and Celia Keenan-Bolger Host A Concert to Benefit the American Cancer Society, Bill O'Connell and The Latin Jazz All-Stars, and more. Scroll down for details!

Gary Naylor sees a scaled-back adaptation of Sondheim's A Little Night Music that manages to capture all (well, almost all) of the appeal of the West End show.

Every choice you make has the potential for a different, life-altering outcome.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its October 2016 schedule, featuring Pharoah Sanders Quartet, Ron Carter Big Band, Eliane Elias, ShowBiz After Hours with Frank DiLella, Jane Monheit, Kurt Elling, Jane Bunnett and Maqueque, Natalie Douglas, Bryce Pinkham, Jim Caruso's Cast Party and more. Scroll down for details!

After a triumphant debut at Feinstein's/54 Below last March, Melissa Manchester has returned with a brand new show, and Broadwayworld was on the scene to capture the evening. Check out photos below!

This week FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. Scroll down for details!

???????The Adobe Theater, organized in in 1957, kicks off its 60th season with Noel Coward's most famous comedy, Blithe Spirit.

Karen Luschar brings her acclaimed show,Chasing Rainbows--Songs of Judy Garland to the famed cabaret, Don't Tell Mama, at 343 W. 46th Street  for one more show on Monday, November 21st at 7pm.  

As BroadwayWorld previously reported,  two-time Tony Award winner Tammy Grimes passed away on Sunday in Englewood, N.J. She was 82-years-old.

The New York Times reports that two-time Tony Award winner Tammy Grimes passed away on Sunday in Englewood, N.J. at the age of 82.

Bells are ringing, children singing, all is merry and the suicide rate is off the charts in Truman Capote's private holiday nightmare

Like the musical icons who inspired the work, The Washington Ballet's program BOWIE & QUEEN toys with the art form - respectful of classical roots yet pushing forward. The pieces innovate, celebrate and they have fun. While BOWIE & QUEEN is full of heart and poetry, the irreverent and humorous moments remind us all to lighten up and enjoy.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music has announced the winners of its two major composition prizes scheduled for world premieres during the 2015-16 season. First-year graduate student Michael Kropf '16 won the Highsmith Award, SFCM's top composition prize for a current student or recent graduate, for his orchestral piece High Spirits. Eric Choate '14 was named the competition's first-ever runner-up for his work Sonora. Conductor Scott Sandmeier leads a reading of both works on May 6 and the Conservatory Orchestra will premiere High Spirits next season. Alumnus Jeffrey Parola '05, recipient of the Conservatory's prestigious Hoefer Prize, receives a $15,000 commission and holds a week-long teaching residency next season, culminating in a premiere performance and recording of his work. SFCM also announced alumnus Ilya Demutsky '09 as the Hoefer Prize winner for 2016-17.

BroadwayWorld is excited to bring you our latest weekly series- ON RECORD. Ever wonder which Broadway tunes have inspired your favorite performers? Check back every Tuesday to find out which cast recordings have made an impact on Broadway's brightest stars. In this week's edition, we hear from Howard McGillin, who is currently starring as 'Honore Lachaille' in Gigi- playing at the Neil Simon Theatre Theatre. Read on to find out his top five picks!

There is a kind of magic which will exorcise the problems of Blithe Spirit, and let us not notice them: This production cruises and coasts on the farcical elements and the bickering and the eccentricities of Mme. Arcati the medium, and in so doing it certainly keeps the audience laughing. But it does not dispel the sour taste lingering at the end.

Before playing the ultimate nervous bride in COMPANY, Howland was an ensemble member of several Broadway musicals.

eth Howland, perhaps best known as sweet but clumsy waitress Vera Louise Gorman in the 1970's sitcom ALICE, passed away from lung cancer on Dec. 31, 2015, in Santa Monica, CA. She was 74

Bay Street Theater has announced some of the principal cast of MY FAIR LADY, Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Music by Frederick Loewe, Based on Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw & Gabriel Pascal's motion picture, and Directed by Michael Arden, Tony Award nominee and Outer Critics Circle Award winner for Best Director of a Musical for the Broadway revival of

In her new book, 'I Just Need a Helping Hand: ... and then I'm Going to Make It!' (published by Balboa Press AU), Joelle Lewis gives readers a 'life skills toolbox' to help them move from being a victim to being a victor.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its lineup for May 23-29, featuring Eliane Elias, A Sophisticated Reunion: Terri Klausner, Valerie Pettiford and Ty Stephens, Bill O'Connell and the Latin Jazz All-Stars, and more. 

BroadwayWorld is excited to report that the multi award-winning Broadway hit musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical will make its Australian premiere at a newly refurbished Sydney Lyric Theatre from September 2017.

Final casting has been announced for the UK tour of Save the Last Dance for Me. Lola Saunders, a finalist on The X Factor 2014, will make her theatrical debut in the role of Jennifer starring alongside previously announced Antony Costa as Milton, with Wayne Robinson as Curtis and Elizabeth Carter returning to the role of Marie.

Further casting has been announced for the UK tour of Save the Last Dance for Me. Lola Saunders, a finalist on The X Factor 2014, will make her theatrical debut in the role of Jennifer starring alongside previously announced Antony Costa as Milton, with Wayne Robinson as Curtis and Elizabeth Carter returning to the role of Marie. 

Three lesser-known Broadway musicals that drew their stories from the Spirit of '76.

MY FAIR LADY is a classic musical, and a perfect opening show for The Muny's 97th season. Even the threat of rain couldn't dampen the high spirits of this show, and in most unlikely fashion, the skies cleared and provided us with a terrific evening of song, dance, and romance. Based on G.B. Shaw's superb play Pygmalion, whose basic story has been reworked for all manner of media, there's no denying how well the concept still holds up. The incredibly memorable score (book & lyrics Alan Jay Lerner, music by Frederick Lowe), in combination with a marvelous cast, makes for a full evening of wit and charm. The Muny's production is truly an elegant must-see presentation!

This year Barbra Streisand will appear on the Tony Award telecast for the first time since winning a special honor.

GFour Productions, winners of 54 Drama Desk and 44 Tony Awards, today announced the cast of leading ladies for the Memphis production of the international hit show Menopause The Musical, which will play the Orpheum Theatre for 3 performances, August 1-2, 2015. Tickets are available for purchase online at the official Orpheum Theatre website, www.orpheum-memphis.com, The Orpheum Box Office (901.525.3000), the ticket counter at The Booksellers at Laurelwood, and all Ticketmaster centers (901.743.ARTS).

Written and directed by prolific Perth playwright Noel O'Neill, Hail Mary 2: The Haunting comes to the Old Mill Theatre this August, presented in conjunction with Maverick Theatre Productions.

The success of PUSSY RIOT rests upon what author Barbara Hammond gets right. This includes a recreation of an actual Pussy Riot provocation/performance; excerpts from the Russian government's show trial which rely largely on the actual words of the defendants, lawyers, and judge; and the language and attitudes of the authorities, especially the police and the judiciary, which are notorious. And overarching these, the show nails the crisis of authority and legitimacy for the Russian state and the Russian Orthodox Church, a crisis the Pussy Riot protestors helped exacerbate for a while to an acuteness sharper than even the play conveys.

From the team that brought you the huge success that is Dreamboats and Petticoats, Save the Last Dance for Me will take you back through the 'music and magic' of the early 60's, a time when each passing week brought another Rock 'n' Roll classic. This nostalgic, feel-good journey will transport you back to music's golden era as we follow two teenage sisters through the summer of '63. The production will start its UK tour at New Wimbledon Theatre from 12th April.

There's a new Dolly coming to town, but how does the original star feel about it? BroadwayWorld has just checked in with Carol Channing, who is thrilled about this morning's news. Channing said, 'Bette will be brilliant! Dolly is the kind of character that everyone should be blessed to play. Dolly is an institution- the American musical equivalent to Hamlet.'

From the team that brought you the huge success that is Dreamboats and Petticoats, Save the Last Dance for Me will take you back through the 'music and magic' of the early 60's, a time when each passing week brought another Rock 'n' Roll classic. This nostalgic, feel-good journey will transport you back to music's golden era as we follow two teenage sisters through the summer of '63. The production will start its UK tour at New Wimbledon Theatre from Tuesday 12 April, coming to the King's Theatre Glasgow from Tuesday 3 until Saturday 7 May.

Theatre enthusiasts packed the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts tonight to hear Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley and Managing Director Phil Santora of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley unveil the line-up for the company's 47th season.

'The Merry Wives of Windsor' will be performed at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey through Sunday, December 27th. Directed by Bonnie Monte, audiences will delight in the Bard's rollicking comedy about love, marriage, jealousy and revenge.

This week the Broadwaysted crew is painting the town all the colors with theatrical caricature artist and actor Justin 'Squigs' Robertson. #EnemyoftheShow (and Kimberly's fiance) Jay Schmidt again fills in for Kevin who's still in Chicago for the run of his musical 'Daphne's Sunset' as the group pours out some beer and wine and lots of laughs. Squigs shares the origin of his nickname, his love of 'High Spirits,' and his process of immortalizing a show in a drawing.

A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, presents the Southern California regional premiere of Georges Feydeau's classic French farce, A Flea in Her Ear - considered the greatest of French farces -- in a new version written by David Ives. Directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, the show begins previews on September 6 and plays through November 22, 2015 (opens on September 12). Flea is the first production in A Noise Within's 2015-2016 BREAKING & ENTERING season, and is followed by the world premiere translation/adaptation of Jean Anouilh's Antigone by Robertson Dean (September 20 to November 20) and All My Sons by Arthur Miller, the Company's contribution to the global Miller Centennial Celebration(October 11-November 21).

Tennessee Shakespeare Company, the Mid-South's professional, classical theatre, today announced its full 2016-17 season of plays, outreach programs, and Education initiatives in the Memphis area and beyond.

Gigi, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's beloved Oscar and Tony Award-winning musical comedy, celebrates its opening tonight, April 8, at the Neil Simon Theatre (250 West 52nd Street). Scroll down to learn more about the company, and watch highlights from the show below!

Usmagazine.com reports that Janet Jackson is postponing the second leg of her Unbreakable world tour indefinitely.

Jobsite Theater is proud to offer the southeastern United States premiere of Sharr White's hilarious and heartfelt meditation on love and loss, Annapurna, which plays tonight, April 29 - May 24, 2015, in the Shimberg Playhouse at the Straz Center where Jobsite is resident theater company.

The story line of Blithe Spirit could be anyone's fantasy: return to life as a ghost and haunt your former spouse and newly betrothed partner. Such is the premise of Noel Coward's comedy opening May 4 at the Alhambra Theater & Dining for a four-week run. Blithe Spirit has been heralded as one of three jewels in Coward's crown. It's most recent Broadway and touring revival from starred Angela Lansbury received rave reviews around the country. The Alhambra performances will feature Lisa Valdini-Booth in the lead role of medium, Madame Arcati, who leads the seance that brings back the ghost of Charles Condomine's wife.

Any seasoned entertainment pro will tell you that the key to success on a stage is keeping your audience happy. It also helps to throw in a bevy of show-stopping songs, parodies, and raucous tongue-in-cheek laughter along the way. Those make up only a few of the ingredients offered in the ongoing Judy and Liza: Together Again show at Don't Tell Mama (now in its fourth year) starring Tommy Femia and Rick Skye.

Only a brave community theater would take on The House of Bernarda Alba, Federico Garcia Lorca's last play. Written by a closeted gay playwright at the very outset of the Francisco Franco's conservative fascist rule and savagely attacking that era's repression of female freedom, both social and sexual (and by implication other freedoms), it inevitably betrays an air of extreme avant-gardeism. Ibsen and Strindberg and Wedekind may have gone into the same territory, but as of 1936 not too many others. And Lorca drives home his message as if no one had ever conveyed it before - which was more or less true in his time and place.