Sophisticated Ladies

Willow Auction House will present Behind the Curtain: The Tony Walton Collection, a landmark three-day single-owner sale honoring the life and legacy of award-winning set and costume designer Tony Walton.

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that legendary Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancer Judith Jamison, who later became Artistic Director of the company, passed away on Saturday, November 9, at the age of 81, after a brief illness

Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater are open this November with a full slate of nightly performances. Learn more about the November 2024 lineup, featuring a diverse array of performances from renowned jazz musicians and emerging artists.

After a public petition and outcry to dim all the lights of Broadway for some recent passings of stage legelends. All Broadway theatres in New York will dim their lights in honor of Adrian Bailey, Gavin Creel, and Maggie Smith.

Adrian Bailey passed away on September 22, 2024, at the age of 67. In a rare tradition that reflects the magnitude of Mr. Bailey’s impact on the Broadway industry and the community, the Committee of Theatre Owners will dim the lights of one theater from every Theater Owner on Broadway in his honor. Learn more.

San Francisco’s Smuin Contemporary Ballet will celebrate its 30th Anniversary with a return to The Joyce Theater from July 9 through July 14, 2024.

On March 12, 2024, the Committee of Theatre Owners will dim all the lights of Broadway theatres in New York for one minute at exactly 6:45pm, in his honor.

The Broadway community will honor the memory of Hinton Battle on March 12 by dimming the lights of Broadway theatres.

Live at Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater will feature a number of exciting performances from top jazz artists this October. Check out the lineup here!

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present the singular cabaret artist Maude Maggart in the premiere of her new show “Here Come the Dreamers” on Monday, October 16 at 7:00 PM.

Frank Owens, Broadway Musical Virtuoso, Former Musical Director for 'It's Showtime at the Apollo' Dies. A pianist for nearly seven decades, Owens backed talent on Broadway stages, recording studios and TV sets – backing artists from Lena Horne to The Washington Ballet.

Looking for twentieth-century aesthetics (think an Art Deco club) and swingin’ music, making your heart sing, you’re in luck. Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Ladies” is a 1981 musical revue of the back of Duke’s celebrated history. From early songs like “The Mooche” and “Mood Indigo” to later hits “I’m Beginning to See the Light” and “Satin Doll,” this vogueish revue taps (literally) the Duke’s music back on the stage where it rightfully belongs.

While the large majority of those who have won Tony Awards for performances on Broadway have put in significant stage time in their roles, there are a few notable exceptions. Who are the artists who impressed Tony voters so much that they won their trophies, even with relatively minimal stage time?

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present the return of “The Brat Pack” — featuring Broadway stars Kathryn Allison, Sam Gravitte, Luke Hawkins, and Jelani Remy – on Monday, June 12 at 7:00 PM.

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present renowned pianist and singer Billy Stritch and award-winning jazz vocalist Gabrielle Stravelli in the return of their special show “Mel and Ella Swing!” on Monday, June 5 at 7:00 PM.

Vintage Theatre will present Duke Ellington's 'Sophisticated Ladies,' January 27 - March 5 2023. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

Celebrate the laughter and joy of the holidays with a special box office opening of Pictures From Home beginning Monday, December 19 at Studio 54 on Broadway, coinciding with the beginning of Hanukkah.     

Tickets are now on sale for the Broadway premiere of Pictures From Home. Three of the theatre’s most inventive, inspired and award-winning artists will return to the stage, bringing to vivid theatrical life a comic and dramatic portrait of a mother, a father and the son who photographed their lives.

What did our critic think of Celebrating Sondheim with The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra at Kleinhans Musical Hall?

Porchlight Music Theatre has announced the current roster of music theatre and cabaret talent performing in this year’s annual Chicago Sings fundraising concert, Chicago Sings Stephen Sondheim, Monday, May 23, at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present vocalist and pianist Steve Ross – widely heralded as “The Crown Prince of New York Cabaret” – in a special show celebrating spring on Monday, April 18 at 7:00 PM.

The highly anticipated Broadway revival of Funny Girl is beginning performances tonight, March 26, at the August Wilson Theatre, ahead of an official opening on April 24. Meet the cast bringing this iconic show back to the stage!

Singer Freda Payne, the celebrated singer of the disco-era top-charter “Band of Gold,” will bring her acclaimed “Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald” to Bucks County Playhouse for ten concerts, August 26 through September 5.

The criteria are that these shows have been nominated for Best Musical from the 3rd Tony Awards (the ceremony that started the Best Musical category) in 1949 to the nominations of what will now be the 74th Tony Awards in 2021. I will be determining their signs based upon their Broadway premiere date. With those rules in mind, here we go!

Stars in the House continues tonight (8pm ET) with a Sophisticated Ladies Reunion!  Duke Ellington: The Music That Defined A Century with Mercedes Ellington, Judith Jamison, Teri Klausner, Ty Stephens and guest hosts Erich McMillian-McCall and Kenneth Hanson.