Right You Are - 1964 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 16

'Bring it On' meets 'Dreamgirls' in the girl-group musical, 'Betty and the Belrays' by William Electric Black aka Ian Ellis James, which will be presented by Theater for the New City January 31 to February 17. The piece tells the story of three white female singers from Detroit who struggle to change a racially divided society by singing for a black record label. Book and lyrics are by William Electric Black. Music is by Black, Valerie Ghent (arranger/keyboards for Ashford & Simpson) and Gary Schreiner. Choreography is by Jeremy Lardieri. Director is Mr. Black.

It's tons of fun and enchanting, despite some weaknesses with the show's new book.

We are all connected to everything we can see and can't see. That is one of the themes of the hilarious, heart-filled, not-to-be-missed musical FLY BY NIGHT, opening this weekend at Runway Theatre.

I got the chance to chat with Mel Weyn - who plays Tzeitel, Tevye's eldest daughter- about all things "Fiddler", previous tours, and her training in the interview below. 

BroadwayWorld was deeply saddened this morning to report the passing of the legendary Carol Channing. The Broadway community took to social media to share memories and condolences.

Based on Sholem Aleichem's series of short stories about Tevye the Dairyman, Fiddler on the Roof centers on Tevye, a poor milkman who lives in pre-revolutionary Russia with his wife and five daughters. Among the traditions in their little village of Anatevka, the matchmaker arranges a match between a boy and a girl, and the father must approve the arranged marriage. However, Tevye must cope with both the strong-willed actions of his three eldest daughters who wish to marry for love and outside influences of the Tsar who intrude upon his village.

The Cinema Audio Society announces the nominees for the 55th Annual CAS Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for 2018 in seven categories.  Also announcing the Outstanding Product Nominations.

The hilarious angel doo-wop quartet of Frankie, Sparky, Jinx and Smudge (Craig Sherman, Philip McBride, Augusto Guardado and Andrew Allen) again return to Earth to get a second chance at 'making it big' after missing out on the opportunity when a freak accident caused their demise on the night of February 9, 1964 while the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Believing their mission is to find the purpose for their return, the spirited guys set out to recall past show-stopping performances, finally realizing how much it meant to bring joy and music to their fans.

Our album critics have gone through all of the amazing recordings released this year and painstakingly chosen their favorites. From Broadway to West End, big screen to small, we've got a full list to keep you listening to the best of the best!

Mary Poppins Returns officially opened in theaters everywhere on December 18! Now that the film is widely available, let's see what the critics are saying!

'Bring it On' meets 'Dreamgirls' in the girl-group musical, 'Betty and the Belrays' by William Electric Black aka Ian Ellis James, which will be presented by Theater for the New City January 31 to February 17. The piece tells the story of three white female singers from Detroit who struggle to change a racially divided society by singing for a black record label. Book and lyrics are by William Electric Black. Music is by Black, Valerie Ghent (arranger/keyboards for Ashford & Simpson) and Gary Schreiner. Choreography is by Jeremy Lardieri. Director is Mr. Black.

Fiddler on the Roof is one of the most iconic and memorable shows in the musical theatre cannon, having originated on Broadway over 50 years ago and seen scores of revivals, and a feature length film, in the intervening years. The production currently playing at Rochester's Auditorium Theatre until December 16th is a rich and powerful experience, unlike any production of Fiddler you've ever seen before.

The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture has announced its 2019 winter/spring season, a rich program of theater, film, music, poetry, art, and talk events featuring artists and thought leaders including Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter;Tony Award winner Lena Hall; Grammy Award-winning musician and recording artist Eileen Ivers; Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award nomineeAlexander Gemignani;and journalist and former Wall Street Journal columnist Sohrab Ahmari.

The touching, moving, brilliantly site-specific version of Gian Carlo Menotti's AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS, performed this week by New York's vibrant On Site Opera (OSO), had the audience at the Church of the Holy Apostles Church alternately in tears and cheering.

Works & Process at the Guggenheim is pleased to announce its spring 2019 season. Since 1984 the performing arts series has championed new works and offered audiences unprecedented access to leading creators. Programs explore the artistic process through stimulating discussions and riveting performance highlights. Each 70-minute program takes place in the intimate Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Peter B. Lewis Theater. Additional information is available at worksandprocess.org.

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers, announces the top ASCAP holiday songs of 2018. According to an ASCAP analysis of streaming and terrestrial radio data, the hit classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” written by ASCAP songwriter Walter Afanasieff and pop star Mariah Carey, holds the #1 song position for the second year in a row.

The saying, 'Good things come to those who wait,' could certainly be applied to the world premiere of The Good Swimmer playing at BAM's Fishman Space as part of the Next Wave festival from November 28th-December 1st. Defined as a pop requiem for the youth of the Vietnam War, this collaboration between Heidi Rodewald (music) and Donna Di Novelli (lyrics) directed by Kevin Newbury has been the better part of a decade in the making since the two women began working on the piece at a Eugene O'Neill Theater Center residency and left with three songs based on text from out-of-print lifesaving manuals that would become the foundation of The Good Swimmer -- the title song, 'Red Cross' and 'Double Drowning'.

There's magic brewing at the Bank's home on 17 Cherry Tree Lane courtesy of the new enchanting nanny Mary Poppins, who as her name suggests, 'pops in' and 'pops out' of her wards lives in SF Playhouse's delightful production of the award-winning Broadway musical based on the similarly titled Mary Poppins children's books by P. L. Travers and the 1964 Disney film.

Last night, Renee Taylor won the annual The United Solo Special Award, which recognizes artists who have made significant recent contributions to solo theatre during the year, for her critically acclaimed autobiographical comedy MY LIFE ON A DIET. Along with Ms. Taylor, this year's nominees included Derek DelGaudio (In & Of Itself), Alison S. M. Kobayashi (Say Something Bunny!), John Lithgow (Stories By Heart), Chita Rivera (An Evening with Chita Rivera) and Bruce Springsteen (Springsteen on Broadway).

92Y announces more cast names and new creative team members for Lyrics & Lyricists 2019. Under the helm of L&L producer Ted Chapin, the series brings artists from theater and beyond to present original revues featuring award-winning Broadway and cabaret performers illuminating the American Songbook.

It has been said many times that the difference between an adequate play and a truly great play is that great plays force one to think. They stay with you, you are compelled to discuss them with your play-going companions, you reflect upon them. While DOUBT: A Parable certainly made this reviewer think - a day later and struggling to adequately review it, it continues to haunt me.

Ironically, Miklos Laszlo's 1937 play 'Parfumerie' was not produced in the United States until 2009. Yet that did not stop the Hungarian hit from becoming the inspiration for a whole host of American films, plays and musicals: first the 1940 film, 'The Shop Around the Corner' with James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan, then in 1949 as 'In the Good Old Summertime' with Judy Garland and Van Johnson, then in 1998 as 'You've Got Mail,' with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. It also inspired the 1964 musical by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, (the team behind 'Fiddler on the Roof').

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with the following acts:

The Minty Organization for the Performing Arts, the non-profit which oversees The Minty Awards, has announced honorees for the 6th Minty Awards Dinner Gala to be held Thursday, January 17 at 7:00pm at Nicotra's Ballroom, The Hilton Garden Inn.