Tag: Broadway

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OUT Magazine’s fab photo-shoot with Broadway legend Carol Channing

My beautiful, dear Carol Channing did a fun photo-shoot for OUT Magazine in advance of her upcoming evening at Town Hall in NYC on January 20th. From OUT:

At 92, she has grown a little frail — she has some trouble walking, and her eyesight is weak — but she is still a bewitching, arrestingly vivid personality.

 The very air around her seemed to sizzle as she and performance artist Justin Vivian Bond were photographed recently beside the pool of her friend Sylvia’s lovely ranch-style house.

She cracked wise, hammed it up, and gracefully accepted compliments on her snappy blue trouser suit, which featured a bejeweled, embroidered snake winding up one leg.

The shoot took place in honor of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: An Intimate Evening With Carol Channing and Justin Vivian Bond, a special event taking place on January 20 at the Town Hall in New York City.

Check out more of the fun photo-shoot with Carol at OUT.

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Broadway’s “Gypsy of the Year 2013” raises $4.3 million

The 25th anniversary celebration of Gypsy of the Year, the culmination of six weeks of extraordinary fundraising by 56 participating Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring companies, raised an amazing $4,343,234 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

The grand total was announced Tuesday, December 10, at this year’s Gypsy of the Year, which included an array of original dances, songs and skits performed by more than 250 “gypsies,” the most talented singers and dancers in the ensembles of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows.

Since 1989, the 25 editions of Gypsy of the Year have raised a total of $57,277,815 to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

In the spirit of the holiday season, please consider BC/EFA for your charitable donations. 

You can check out highlights below.

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Broadway’s PIPPIN recoups $8.5 million investment

http://www.pippinthemusical.com/

According to the New York Times, the Tony Award winning musical-comedy Pippin, which is currently playing at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street), has recouped its Broadway investment of $8.5 million. The production opened on April 25, 2013.

I saw the production during the month leading up to the Tony Awards this year and it was clearly one of the best productions I’ve seen on Broadway in many years.  Chet Walker’s award-winning choreography blew me away.  If you are in the area – and you can get tickets – GO!

Pippin is directed by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus and features choreography by Tony Award nominee Chet Walker in the style of Bob Fosse and circus creation byGypsy Snider of the Montreal-based circus company Les 7 doigts de la main (also known as 7 Fingers).

(via BroadwayWorld)

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In Performance: Zachary Quinto in “The Glass Menagerie”

Zachary Quinto in “The Glass Menagerie” (all photos by Michael J. Lutch)

The New York Times “In Performance” series provides this glimpse into the new Broadway revival of “The Glass Menagerie” starring Cherry Jones and Zachary Quinto.

The production recently opened to RAVE reviews with the New York Times saying:

How can something be this delicate and this strong, so elusive and yet so tenacious? That question radiates from John Tiffany’s stunning production of Tennessee Williams’s “Glass Menagerie,” which opened on Thursday night at the Booth Theater and promises to be the most revealing revival of a cornerstone classic for many a year to come. 
More than any interpretation I’ve seen of the 1944 drama that made Williams’s name, this “Menagerie” — which stars Cherry Jones and Zachary Quinto in career-defining performances — finds the brute force in a play often described, a bit condescendingly, as lyrical, wispy, elegiac. Yes, the tapered fingers of poetry shape “The Glass Menagerie.” But when these fingers curl into a fist — and they do so again and again in this production, before you quite realize it — be prepared to have the breath knocked out of you.

If you can’t get to NYC to see the play, here’s a taste of what is currently on view at the Booth Theater.

Cherry Jones, Brian J. Smith and Zachary Quinto

Celia Keenan-Bolger and Brian J. Smith

Cherry Jones in “The Glass Menagerie”
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First promo for “Sound of Music” starring Carrie Underwood and Stephen Moyer

Check out NBC’s first promo for ‘The Sound of Music Live!’, which aired during tonight’s episode of ‘The Voice’. Watch Carrie Underwood, Audra McDonald, Stephen Moyer, Christian Borle and more on screen and on stage!

The three-hour telecast of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical classic “The Sound of Music Live!” will be broadcast at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) on Thursday, Dec. 5.

The production stars Grammy Award-winning music superstar Underwood as Maria and TV/theater star Moyer as Capt. Georg Von Trapp. “The Sound of Music Live!” also stars Tony Award winners McDonald, Borle and Laura Benanti.

The live holiday spectacular is based on the original 1959 Broadway production of “The Sound of Music,” starring Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel.

Watch the video by clicking here.

(from BroadwayWorld)

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Spell Block Tango by Todrick Hall

From Todrick Hall:

The real Divas of Disney have collaborated with yours truly to give you a very special Halloween gift.

Thank you so much to Adam Lambert, Shoshana Bean, Cassie Scerbo, Amber Riley, Blake McGrath, Kimberly Cole and Pia Toscano for lending me your talents.

Special thanks to the dancers, Drew Reese, Peter Gill, Chester Lockhart, Davis Rahal, Steven Dehler, Jared North, Hondo Tey, Noelle Boney and Aaron McGuire.

And a HUGE thank you to Jean-Yeves a.k.a. Jeeve Ducournet for doing the music, producing and recording.

I have always had a strange fascination with the Disney villains’ side of the classic fairy tales and now through the music of Chicago you’ll get to hear their stories.

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Broadway’s The Lion King breaks $1 billion in box office

The character Rafiki from THE LION KING

The Lion King has become the first Broadway show in history to have grossed a billion dollars:

“This humbling milestone is a testament to the vision and artistry of Julie Taymor,” said Thomas Schumacher, president and producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, in a statement. “For nearly 17 years she has been The Lion King’s guiding creative force and an inspiration to the show’s brilliant cast, musicians and crew. But above all, we thank our loving audiences who continue to be moved and delighted night after night at the Minskoff Theatre and all around the world.”

The Broadway score features Elton John and Tim Rice’s music from “The Lion King” animated film along with three new songs by John and Rice.

The musical is the fifth longest-running Broadway show. Over the course of its 6,600-plus Broadway performances, The Lion King has played below 80 percent capacity less than a dozen times.

(h/t JMG)

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Chita Rivera raises over $400K in one night for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

A sizzling evening of song and dance honoring and starring theatrical icon Chita Rivera raised a remarkable $413,660 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

A sold-out crowd filled Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre with applause and six standing ovations throughout the evening Monday night, as they cheered Rivera, a Broadway legend who turned 80 earlier this year.

Over two hours onstage and backed by a 15-piece onstage orchestra, Rivera recreated some of her most iconic performances from 10 of her Broadway musicals including West Side Story, Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman,The Rink and Sweet Charity.

An emotional Rivera expressed her gratitude to the audience saying, “I’ve lost so many of my friends to AIDS, thank you for coming, for caring, for sharing, for giving, because Broadway Cares really needs you and we must never forget that.”

Chita: A Legendary Celebration was directed by Graciela Daniele and written by Terrence McNally with music direction byMichael Croiter. The evening was produced by and benefitted Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

(via BroadwayWorld)

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Heartbreak leads to world travel for Morgan Reynolds

What do you do when you find a long-term romance has ended?

Well, Morgan Reynolds took a musical trip around the world singing Barbra Streisand.

Watch Morgan as he hits five countries and 20 locations singing “Don’t Rain On My Parade.” I’ve gotta say, it’s really well shot.  Some great angles and framing of the international landmarks he hit.

(via Towleroad)