Wildcat - 1960 - Broadway Articles Page 1

Here are a few top entertainment picks to consider this week including plenty of free outdoor summer concerts, Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black), Beth Leavel (The Prom and Drowsy Chaperone), and more.

54 BELOW will present a concert of the Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh musical Wildcat, which premiered on Broadway in 1960 and starred the legendary Lucille Ball. Learn more!

If you’re a mezzo, it can feel overwhelming to find material you love that hasn’t already been sung to death. There’s so much great audition material for mezzos, and much of it is already in everyone’s audition book. Find great audition songs for mezzo-sopranos here!

Burning Coal Theatre Company announced its production of THE RAINMAKER, offering audiences a compelling theatrical experience. Discover the story and performances that bring this classic to life.

F. Murray Abraham, Raúl Esparza, Norm Lewis, Bonnie Milligan, Debra Monk, and Lillias White will join previously announced performers Kristin Chenoweth and Mary-Mitchell Campbell for “The Best Is Yet to Come” benefit.

This time, the reader question was: What is the history of established movie stars making their Broadway debuts?

Westport Country Playhouse will honor Kristin Chenoweth and Mary-Mitchell Campbell at a special fundraiser on September 14.

Singer Jill Corey, an overnight sensation in 1953, when she landed on the cover of Life Magazine, passed away from natural causes on April 3 at UPMC Sunnyside in Sunnyside, PA.  She was 85. 

Need something new to listen to or read? Check out this week's list of new and upcoming releases!

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that composer and orchestrator Sid Ramin, best known for his work on West Side Story, has died, according to The New York Times. Ramin was 100 years old.

Had Lucy's family stayed in Trenton, history might have been very different, but the Garden State stayed peripherally involved the Queen of Comedy's life and work.

When the subject of New York City Center Encores! comes up among musical theatre enthusiasts, the conversation almost invariably steers to what shows they should be presenting in their series of concerts. Although several of their productions, like the mega-hit revival of CHICAGO, have transferred, a night out at Encores! is, to many, most satisfying when they revive shows that, although significant in one way or another, are unlikely to find themselves back on Broadway.

Encores! Artistic Director Jack Viertel today announced additional details and casting for Hey, Look Me Over! (Feb 7 - 11), the Encores! original production which opens the 25th season of the beloved, Tony- honored series responsible for bringing classic American musicals back to life since 1994.

Gloucester Stage Company continues its 38th season of professional theater on Cape Ann with N. Richard Nash's moving American classic The Rainmaker from July 14 through August 5 at 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA. Set in the time of a paralyzing drought in Depression-era America, The Rainmaker tells the story of a pivotal hot summer day in the life of spinsterish Lizzie Curry, whose father and two brothers are worried as much about her marriage prospects as they are about their dying cattle. Enter Starbuck, the consummate con man, who promises to solve all their problems, for a fee. Directed by Gloucester Stage Artistic Director Robert Walsh, The Rainmaker cast features Brian Homer as Starbuck; Jessica Bates as Lizzie Curry; David DeBeck as H.C. Curry, the patriarch of the Curry family; Joe Short and Sean McCoy as the Curry brothers; Dave Rich as File and longtime Gordon College Professor of Theater Arts Norm Jones as Sheriff Thomas. N. Richard Nash's most celebrated play, The Rainmaker, appeared in all three mediums; on Broadway in 1954, as a motion picture starring Katharine Hepburn in 1956, and as a television production in 1982. A musical version of The Rainmaker, entitled 110 Degrees in the Shade, debuted on Broadway in 1963.

San Francisco Playhouse (Bill English, Artistic Director; Susi Damilano, Producing Director) concludes its thirteenth Mainstage season with the ingenious, award-winning crime noir musical City of Angels, directed by Bill English.

Rick McKay, the producer/director of THE GOLDEN AGE FILM TRILOGY, has just unveiled a new clip from the upcoming project, this time featuring an interview with Valerie Harper, telling the story of how the great Lucille Ball improvised one night on Broadway in the show WILDCAT in 1960. In addition, Ball's daughter Lucie Arnaz also joins the conversation. Check it out below!

Some three decades after its first premiere, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS still delivers on its promise to be an enjoyable romp for its audiences. In this production, there is a great deal of fun to be had in the kind of musical that offers only the slightest commentary on the world around us - 'whatever they offer you, don't feed the plants' - and mostly expects its viewers to kick back, relax and go along for the ride.

It has been said that the best sportscaster is the one you grew up hearing. College sports fans know that following a team means being part of its culture. They know the history, the team colors dotting the arena seats, and the scent wafting from tailgaters' grills. Equally important, however, are the sounds of the crowd and the voice calling the games. The announcer's voice which leaves fans—wherever they might be—perched at the edge of their seats is inextricably linked with his team, like Notre Dame's Tony Roberts or the legendary Harry Caray of the Chicago Cubs. They maintain a bond of trust with fans while propelling them into the throes of victory or softening the blows of defeat.

It's been rumored, talked about, discussed and we've been reporting on it for what feels like forever -- and now, it's official! Roundabout Theatre Company has announced that it will present Tony & Emmy Award winner Kristin Chenoweth as 'Lily Garland' and Golden Globe & SAG Award winner & Tony nominee Peter Gallagher as 'Oscar Jaffe' in a new Broadway production of the classic musical ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, directed by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Warren Carlyle. ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY features music by Cy Coleman and book & lyrics by Betty Comden & Adolph Green.

The Old Globe today announced the cast and creative team for the Globe's revival of N. Richard Nash's classic romantic comedyThe Rainmaker. Directed by Maria Mileaf, The Rainmaker will run July 13 - August 11, 2013 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run July 13 - July 17. Opening night is Thursday, July 18 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.

Today, we're featuring Cy Coleman with Bob Fosse and Juliet Prowse in 1981. Fosse won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction. He was nominated for an Academy Award four times, winning for his direction of Cabaret. Amongst his many Broadway credits are The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, Sweet Charity, Pippin, Chicago, Dancin' and many more. Coleman's career as a Broadway composer began when he and Leigh collaborated on Wildcat (1960), which marked the Broadway debut of comedienne Lucille Ball. U's school songs, 'Hey, Fightin' Tigers.' When Ball became ill, she left the show, and it closed. Next for the two was Little Me, with a book by Neil Simon based on the novel of the same name by Patrick Dennis. Prowse starred in such films as including The Fiercest Heart (1961) and Who Killed Teddy Bear? (1965) with Sal Mineo and Elaine Stritch.

As the region emerges from a long and difficult winter, Northern Stage taps into the eternal optimism of the American spirit with N. Richard Nash's acclaimed comedy-drama-romance The Rainmaker, on stage from March 16 through April 3 at the Briggs Opera House in White River Junction.

Junior Mendez, Luba Mason and Robert Cuccioli star in the Cy Coleman-Carolyn Leigh musical Wildcat, which was presented last night, December 19 in Manhattan to benefit the Actors Fund. The event was held at The Julia Miles Theatre at the Women's Project. BroadwayWorld was on hand and brings you photo coverage below.

The wistful ballad "That's What I Want (For Janie)," in which Wildcat describes her dreams forherself and her sister, has been restored for the Theatrical Gems production of the CyColeman-Carolyn Leigh musical Wildcat, presented December 19 in Manhattan to benefitthe Actors Fund.