Will They Ever Love Us on Broadway - 1981 - Off-Off-Broadway Articles Page 10

New Hampshire and summerstock are pretty much interchangeable. Across the Granite State, theatergoers will find incredible options for live entertainment. One night they could be in an old barn, where the floors creek and an occasional bat will make its presence known. Then the next night, you're in a brand new, modern facility with air conditioning, comfy seats and a bar.

And this Monday, May 20th, John Bantay will do his farewell SPIN as he leaves to continue pursuing his career and becomes a stage manager at the long-running musical, Avenue Q. Speaking to John Bantay, I, of course, was curious as to what his favorite video clips have been over the years. He was reticent to put them in 'Top 10' format because, to him, he considers them all number 1's. So here's his hit list, in no particular order:

Experience Hendrix LLC and Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, announce the release of People, Hell & Angels, an essential new album premiering twelve previously unreleased studio recordings completed by guitarist Jimi Hendrix.

Today we are shifting our focus from the stages of Broadway and beyond to the stages of the previous 84 Academy Awards telecasts that have transpired to date, in anticipation of Sunday night's big, big, big show. After all, this year's Academy Awards is of particular interest and excitement to theatre fans around the globe, especially because super-producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are behind it - the men responsible for the hit stage-to-screen adaptations of CHICAGO and HAIRSPRAY, as well as the small-screen successes GYPSY, LIFE WITH JUDY GARLAND: ME & MY SHADOWS, ANNIE, and, most recently, NBC's musical series SMASH, to name a few of their many marvelous musical-friendly credits. They told me themselves earlier this week that this year's telecast would be the most music-packed Academy Awards show to date, and, just judging from the announced tributes, performers and presenters thus far it is clear to see that they were not kidding - reunions of the casts of the film versions of CHICAGO and LES MISERABLES live onstage, singing their film's most famous songs to Jennifer Hudson leading a DREAMGIRLS tribute all the way to a James Bond 50th anniversary celebration featuring Adele and Shirley Bassey on some famous Bond themes, as well as Barbra Streisand herself singing 'The Way We Were' in memory of friend and collaborator, three-time Oscar-winner Marvin Hamlisch.

Happy New Year, all! To kick off this brand new year, BroadwayWorld looks ahead at all the upcoming productions slated to take the Broadway stage in 2013!

BroadwayWorld brings you the Best of Detroit in the year 2012. Check out the Top Theatre Stories from each month during in the year 2012. We look forward to another exciting year of theatre in 2013!

B. B. King Blues Club and Grill, NYC has announced its lineup, December 18, 2012 - January 1, 2013.

Today we are talking to a Tony Award-winning Broadway and Hollywood notable all about his terrifically theatrical background - having appeared in musicals ranging from his debut in the ill-fated MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG to his Tony Award-winning work in JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY to most recent role as the artistic director of LA's lauded Reprise! Theatre Company - the one and only Jason Alexander. Expounding upon his big Broadway break in Stephen Sondheim & Harold Prince's MERRILY and what it was like to witness the two titans as they developed the piece, Alexander shares his insights into the art of Broadway and also casts a glance back at his roles in Kander & Ebb's THE RINK, Mel Brooks's THE PRODUCERS and directing Sondheim‘s musicals himself (such as SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE with frequent InDepth InterView participant Kelli O‘Hara). Alexander also opens up about some of his most celebrated dramatic and comedic work to date - to say nothing of the iconic TV dynasty of SEINFELD, we also touch upon the TV movie musicals adaptation of A CHRISTMAS CAROL (with a score by Alan Menken & Lynn Ahrens), co-starring Kelsey Grammer, and Rodgers & Hammerstein's CINDERELLA, (with fellow InDepth InterView participant Bernadette Peters), as well as his recent appearance on HARRY'S LAW and more. Plus, Alexander outlines his featured role in the forthcoming Christopher Ashley feature film adaptation of the Ahrens & Flaherty musical comedy LUCKY STIFF, the future for a revival of the Richard Rodgers/Martin Charnin Bible-based Moses musical TWO BY TWO (co-starring SMASH's Megan Hilty once again, perhaps?) - and much, much more!

Experience Hendrix LLC and Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, proudly announce the release of People, Hell & Angels, an essential new album premiering twelve previously unreleased studio recordings completed by guitarist Jimi Hendrix.

Last week I had the distinct pleasure of speaking to Tony Award-winning SPRING AWAKENING songwriter Duncan Sheik all about his staggering spate of upcoming stage projects - the musical stage adaptation of the controversial Bret Easton Ellis bestseller AMERICAN PSYCHO, as well as his Steven Sater collaborations on THE NIGHTENGALE, WHISPER HOUSE, MR. CHESS and ALICE included - in addition to all about his upcoming concert appearance on November 23 at the Gramercy Theatre. Additionally, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter also expounded upon his career thus far and we took a look back at some of his favorite scores and composers, as well as the individuals to have the most impact on him and how that has played out in both his theatre and recording career. Plus, Sheik shares exciting exclusive news on the development of the forthcoming film adaptation of SPRING AWAKENING, directed by McG, to potentially begin filming next summer if all goes as planned, as well as opens up with his feelings on GLEE's recent homage to his hit 90s single "Barely Breathing" and his original SPRING AWAKENING leads Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff, as well as news about his upcoming solo album and the many, many stage projects he currently has in development. All of that and much, much more!

Today Willie White announced details of his first programme as Artistic Director of the Dublin Theatre Festival. The 55th anniversary Dublin Theatre Festival will run for 18 days from today, 27 Sept - 14 Oct at various venues around the city. - This year the Dublin Theatre Festival will celebrate 'Your City, Your Stories', putting Dublin at the very heart of this 18 day theatrical spectacular.

Today Willie White announced details of his first programme as Artistic Director of the Dublin Theatre Festival. The 55th anniversary Dublin Theatre Festival will run for 18 days from 27 Sept - 14 Oct at various venues around the city. - This year the Dublin Theatre Festival will celebrate 'Your City, Your Stories', putting Dublin at the very heart of this 18 day theatrical spectacular.

REBECCA, the new musical based on the classic novel by Daphne du Maurier novel, has found its male and female leads: Jill Paice will play the role of "I" and Ryan Silverman the role of "Maxim de Winter." REBECCA will open on Broadway Sunday, November 18 at The Broadhurst Theatre. Previews will begin Tuesday, October 30.

Needing no introduction, popular TV star of the 60s, 70s and 80s impressionist Rich Little, who is known for his impressions of Ronald Regan, Jimmy Stewart, George Burns, Richard Nixon, among others, will appear at the Welk Resort in Escondido Wednesday February 29 thru Sunday March 4. In our interview he gives us a little preview of his latest solo show Jimmy Stewart and Friends, which he hopes to eventually take into New York.

The original Broadway cast album of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along is one of those handful of recordings - like Mack and Mabel and Candide - that a musical theatre lover can listen to hundreds of times without hearing a clue as to why the show flopped.  The quick answer, and usually the most unfair one, is 'the book.'  More often, though, the more complete answer is ambition.

Today we are taking a look at the very best theatre-related entities in a variety of different categories - books, music, television, film, and, of course, theatre - as we look back on 2011 and all of the many marvelous moments of excitement, passion, joy and exultation that only theatre and theatre-related projects can possibly hope to provide. From Stephen Sondheim's LOOK, I MADE A HAT on the bookshelves of every Broadway baby worth their weight in sequins to Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone in Sondheim's COMPANY on the big screen courtesy of Fathom to the stunning Broadway revival of FOLLIES starring Bernadette Peters and its tremendous new cast album, all the way to the thrills and chills of Andrew Lloyd Webber's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL on the big screen and Blu-ray to the BOOK OF MORMON breaking Broadway records and even TV's best drama and comedy, both from mastermind Ryan Murphy - GLEE and AMERICAN HORROR STORY. Plus, we also have top film picks in the categories of Drama and Comedy, as well as the best of the best of them all, with Lars Von Trier's apocalyptic masterpiece MELANCHOLIA, George Clooney's play adaptation THE IDES OF MARCH and the 80s music video stylized thriller/drama DRIVE topping the list. All of that and a whole lot more awaits in this all-encompassing look back at the theatrical highlights in all entertainment realms in 2011, as well as a look ahead to what we cannot wait for in 2012!

Musical theater is filled with thrilling moments. Not the least of these is in PETER PAN, when Peter is trying to get the three Darling children to fly and young John finally utters the word "Christmas". Suddenly they become airborne along with Peter. The scenery whisks away, the music swells and a starlit sky appears over the misty clouds and Peter and the Darlings fly with abandon in one of Jerome Robbins' most stunning theatrical feats of choreography. With former gymnast Cathy Rigby playing Peter, there are some stunning aerial feats of derring-do as she whizzes through the stars and leads the three youngsters to Neverland. Even the most jaded theatergoer finds himself caught up in what has to be one the most exhilarating moments in the theater.

Today, BroadwayWorld is extremely proud to present an extensive conversation with the modern master of the musical theatre himself, Stephen Sondheim, all about the incredibly revealing and thoroughly riveting second volume of his complete collected (and annotated) lyrics (covering 1981-2011) - following last year's superlative FINISHING THE HAT - titled LOOK, I MADE A HAT. With ample insights pertaining to the Pulitzer Prize-winning SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, INTO THE WOODS, ROAD SHOW, THE FROGS and many more, Sondheim and I also discuss some of his Hollywood endeavors - the proposed film adaptation of INTO THE WOODS, as well as the never-produced SINGING OUT LOUD and his Oscar-winning work for Warren Beatty's DICK TRACY - and his affection for - and process of adapting (in the case of WEST SIDE STORY, the CYMBELINE setting in THE FROGS and his recent scoring of the Public Theatre's production of KING LEAR starring Kevin Kline) - the works of William Shakespeare. Additionally, we discuss the upcoming Encores! revival of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, the currently-running revival of FOLLIES starring Bernadette Peters (as well as its brand new cast album), the West End transfer of the Michael Ball/Imelda Staunton-led SWEENEY TODD in the UK and much, much more!

Modern-day master of musical theatre Stephen Sondheim is about to release the second book of his complete collected lyrics - covering mostly everything written in the last three decades and in this one so far - titled after a line from what may very well be his ultimate masterpiece, the Pulitzer Prize-winning SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE - LOOK, I MADE A HAT; Collected Lyrics (1981-2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany. So, today, we are going to be taking a look at a litany of the finest moments from Sondheim's post-SWEENEY TODD musicals that are highlighted in LOOK, I MADE A HAT and perhaps discover a few of the many reasons why Sondheim's musicals - whether late-period or early on- are the best of the best Broadway has to offer - now or ever. And, what an absolutely mind-blowing list it is - and what a masterpiece of a book!

Producers Ben Sprecher, Louise Forlenza, The Shubert Organization, Peter Bezemes, Tony Fusco, Larry Feinman, Nanda Anand and Peter Bogyo by special arrangement with/and based on the Vereinigte Buhnen Wien GmbH production, announced that the new musical REBECCA, based on the classic novel by Daphne du Maurier novel, will open on Broadway Sunday, April 22 at The Broadhurst Theatre (235 West 44th Street). Previews will begin Tuesday, March 27. Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid, Love Never Dies, Master Class and as Christine in last month's 25th Anniversary Concert of The Phantom of the Opera in London) will play the lead role of 'I'. Additional casting will be announced in the coming weeks.

Highline Ballroom Announces is schedule of upcoming events:

Producers Ben Sprecher and Louise Forlenza, in association with Tony Fusco and Larry Feinman, and by special arrangement with/and based on the Vereinigte Buhnen Wien GmbH production, announced that the new musical REBECCA, based on the classic novel by Daphne du Maurier novel, will open on Broadway Sunday, April 22 at a Shubert theater to be announced. Previews will begin Tuesday, March 27. Sierra Boggess (currently starring in Master Class, The Little Mermaid, Love Never Dies) is in negotiations to play the role of 'I.'

The multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre presents Vibrant 2011 - A Festival of Finborough Playwrights, its annual festival of Finborough Playwrights, running from 5-30 July 2011. The festival features - and is centred around - a month long run of Nick Gill's Mirror Teeth

The multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre presents Vibrant 2011 - A Festival of Finborough Playwrights, its annual festival of Finborough Playwrights, running from 5-30 July 2011. The festival features - and is centred around - a month long run of Nick Gill's Mirror Teeth

On May 11th, 1981 Andrew Lloyd Webber first brought his magical musical, CATS, to a theater in London's West End District where it promptly made itself at home - for the next 21 years. It hit Broadway the following year and now, "the mystical divinity of unashamed felinity" that is CATS will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this week at San Francisco's Orpheum Theater, now through May 15th. BWW sat down with Jason Wise, who plays Tumblebrutus, to talk about the magic of CATS, his character and what's next for him.