Tony Award-winner Billy Porter (“Kinky Boots”) chats on his experience starring in an episode of “Law & Order: SVU” and life on Broadway…
Tony Award winner Billy Porter chats on his appearance on “Law & Order: SVU”
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)
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.
Broadway’s The Lion King breaks $1 billion in box office
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)
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)
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)
First look: Meryl Streep as The Witch – “Into The Woods”
Disney has released the first photo of Meryl Streep as the witch in Into the Woods, its upcoming adaptation of the Broadway musical.
The movie, a modern twist on several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, explores the consequences of the quests of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel — all tied together by an original story involving a baker, his wife, and the witch who cast a spell on them.
In the film, Streep’s character is looking to reverse a curse so that her beauty may be restored.
Into the Woods, which is in production in England, is directed by Rob Marshall, and features a star-studded cast that also includes Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, and Johnny Depp.
The men of Il Divo talk on their upcoming Broadway engagement
From Broadway.com: Pop-opera quartet Il Divo heads to the Broadway in “A Musical Affair” – a new celebration of all things Broadway, on November 7.
“Il Divo – A Musical Affair: The Greatest Songs of Broadway Live,” will kick off a limited run of live concerts at New York’s Marquis Theater on November 7th, marking the first time that the four band members will sing together on the Broadway stage. Click here for ticket info.
The show will feature some of the most famous songs from Broadway musicals interpreted by the men of Il Divo: Carlos, David, Urs and Sébastien.
Il Divo will be joined on stage by Tony and Grammy Award Winner, Heather Headley who will be a featured guest for the entire run.
Listen to the men of Il Divo chat about their musical fandom, special guest Heather Headley and more.
Gypsy – “Some People” through the years
Here are just about all the Mama Roses (Rosalind Russell?) singing this great song – and a couple who never played her!
NBC’s “The Sound of Music” gets three Broadway heavy-hitters
According to the Hollywood Reporter, NBC’s upcoming live broadcast of The Sound of Music will feature even more theater star power in addition to previously announced Carrie Underwood (“Maria”) and Stephen Moyer (“Captain Von Trapp”).
Audra McDonald, Laura Benanti and Christian Borle have signed on to play Mother Abbess, Elsa Schrader and Max Dettweiler respectively.
The three-hour production is based on the original 1959 Broadway production of The Sound of Music.
The Sound of Music, produced by Universal TV, is executive produced by Neil Meron and Craig Zadan. The production will be directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller and Rob Ashford.