Let Freedom Sing

The iconic rock musical Hair is back in a bold new Brazilian production directed by Charles Möeller and Claudio Botelho. Opening at São Paulo’s BTG Pactual Hall, the show celebrates the spirit of the 1960s counterculture — peace, love, and rebellion — through powerful anthems like Aquarius and Let the Sunshine In. With a cast of 30 led by Rodrigo Simas and Eduardo Borelli, this vibrant staging fuses rock, poetry, and raw emotion to explore freedom, identity, and protest in a turbulent era. Nearly six decades after its debut, Hair still pulses with youthful defiance and idealism, inviting audiences to sing, reflect, and feel the rhythm of a revolution that never truly ended.

The Depression and World War II eras didn't stop Broadway from being filled with big shows and songs worth hearing again and again. Hear about what can be heard in a BroadwayWorld write-up.

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the 101 greatest protest songs from 1939-2020. See if your favorite songs or artists made the list!

This Month, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.

American Repertory Theater at Harvard University (A.R.T.) announces November and December 2018 programming at OBERON, its club-style theater space for cutting-edge performance and a thriving incubator for local and emerging artists. Upcoming events include A.R.T.'s Live @ OBERON and Afterglow @ OBERON series, A.R.T. presentations, and independently produced events.

The Eventide Theatre Company has made a bold choice in sharing Frank's story with a Cape Cod audience through means of a score depicting her feelings while fearfully secluded in the "Secret Annex," with certain lyrics molded from actual quotes made by the young prisoner. It is safe to say that Eventide has done a spectacular job bringing both the joy and pain of Frank's life to living color for those who would not otherwise have understood the trials she and her family faced in such a gruesome time in history.

Broadway stars headed uptown to enhance a museum exhibit with similarly themed songs from Broadway.

Today, we're featuring Betty Garrett circa 1981. Garrett made her Broadway debut in 1942 in the revue Of V We Sing, which closed after 76 performances but led to her being cast in the Harold Rome revue Let Freedom Sing later that year. It closed after only eight performances, but producer Mike Todd saw it and signed her to understudy Ethel Merman and play a small role in the 1943 Cole Porter musical Something for the Boys. Merman became ill during the run, allowing Garrett to play the lead for a week. Later, she became known for the roles she played in two prominent 1970s sitcoms: Archie Bunker's liberal neighbor Irene Lorenzo in All in the Family and landlady Edna Babish in Laverne & Shirley. In later years, Garrett appeared in television series such as Grey's Anatomy, Boston Public and Becker as well as in several Broadway plays and revivals.

A little know fact is that Carol Channing was Betty's roommate in the early days of their careers, before either of them became successful. About Betty's death, Carol had this to say 'No one could have had a dearer sweeter more unselfish roommate than Betty Garrett. To save me after I was fired from the Borstht Circuit (Camp Cataminm), she kept encouraging me. She was gorgeously talented and funny herself. My deep gratitude goes with her.'

Broadway star Betty Garrett died in Los Angeles at the age of 91. Garrett died Saturday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, most likely from an aortic aneurysm, according to her son Garrett Parks. Garrett was in good health and even taught her musical comedy class at Theater West on Wednesday night. Theater West is a non-profit organization which she helped found. Friday, she checked into the hospital with heart trouble and died the next morning, with her family at her side.

Opening this week at the Marriott Theatre in Chicago's far north suburban collar community of Lincolnshire is one of the first post-Broadway productions of "Hairspray," one of this decade's biggest hits and longest running Broadway shows, based on a hit movie and the basis for yet another....