Tag: Broadway

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Making Broadway Dance – Broadway choreographers Patti Wilcox and Chet Walker

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Candi and Randy welcome the award winning choreographers Chet Walker (PIPPIN) and Patti Wilcox (Motown the Musical) from two of this year’s biggest hits on Broadway.

Both were honored this week by the annual Fred Astaire Awards in a rare tie for excellence in dance on Broadway; and both shows have been nominated for awards across the theater spectrum.

Listen as they discuss the process of creating the dances for these box office blockbusters on Broadway.

What’s universal in their approach is the process and artistry of “story-telling” in theater.  If you are a fan of Broadway or dance, you will want to listent to these two great artists chat on how successful theater happens.

We also share music from the newly released Cast Recordings of each show.

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“Sex Is In The Heel” from Broadway’s KINKY BOOTS

EXCELLENT video from Broadway’s Kinky Boots featuring the fab Billy Porter in his Tony Award-nominated role as “Lola.”

This video gives you performance and “behind-the-scenes” recording studio footage, and a whole lot of excitement!

Original Broadway Cast Recording of Kinky Boots – produced by Cyndi Lauper, Stephen Oremus, William Wittman and Sammy James, Jr.

Music & Lyrics by Grammy Award-winning rock Icon Cyndi Lauper.

Download on iTunes
Download on Amazon.

If on an iOS device, click here to view the video.

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Charlotte d’Amboise honored at 2013 Astaire Awards

Pippin star Charlotte d’Amboise and Motown player Eric LaJuan Summers took home the awards for Outstanding Female and Male Dancer in a Broadway show, respectively, at the 31st Annual Fred and Adele Astaire Awards. The ceremony was held June 3 at New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.

Additionally, Pippin choreographer Chet Walker and Motown choreographers Patricia Wilcox and Warren Adams tied for Outstanding Choreographer of a Broadway show.

Sidi Larbi Cherkaouit took home the award for Outstanding Choreographer in a Feature Film.

I was fortunate to perform in CHICAGO the Musical many times with Charlotte – my favorite “Roxie.”  AND I’d followed and enjoyed her work for many years before and after.  MORE than deserving of the honor.  What a great, great theater artist.

Congrats to Charlotte and all the honorees!

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How Billy Porter becomes the fabulous “Lola” for KINKY BOOTS

Billy Porter, currently starring on Broadway in the new hit musical KINKY BOOTS, welcomed Playbill into his dressing room to document the transformation from “Billy” to “Lola.”

Billy arrives at the theater two hours before a performance to begin the process which includes, makeup, hair, costumes and a whole lot of talent.

Billy has won this season’s Outer Critics Circle Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

Next stop? The Tony Awards!

Everybody say “Yeah!”

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NYC: Broadway Beauty Pageant raises $50,000+ for Ali Forney Center

The annual Broadway Beauty Pageant took place on Monday night in New York, and raised more than $50,000 for the Ali Forney Center, the city’s largest LGBT homeless youth shelter.

The winner of the pageant, selected by the audience, was Pippin’s Orion Griffiths. The above video is Orion’s “swimsuit” competition where he first stretches a bit, then strips down to his swim suit.

Pretty impressive.

I saw PIPPIN last month and it was just as hard to not watch Orion as it is here.

🙂

(via Boy Culture)

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NYC: 7th Annual Broadway Beauty Pageant

Hey NYC – don’t miss the 7th Annual Broadway Beauty Pageant this coming Monday, May 20th, to benefit the very deserving Ali Forney Center.

The Broadway Beauty Pageant will feature male cast members representing their respective Broadway shows, competing for the title crown through talent, interview and swimsuit competitions. The contestants will go head to head in front of a panel of celebrity judges, but ultimately, the final vote is in the hands of the audience members.

This year’s event will be hosted by Tovah Feldshuh, and the fab celeb judges are Broadway favorites Billy Porter (KINKY BOOTS), Andrea Martin (PIPPIN) and Michael Urie (HOW TO SUCCEED…).

The mission of the Ali Forney Center is to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) youth from the harm of homelessness, and to support them in becoming safe and independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood. Find out more about the Center by clicking here.

Click here for tickets to the event.

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Broadway: Original Cast recording of KINKY BOOTS coming May 28th

Kinky Boots opened on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on April 4, 2013 to RAVE reviews, and now the Original Broadway Cast Recording is coming!

In case you’ve missed a beat – USA Today called the show “a sizzling, high-spirited new musical that’s bound to put cheer in your heart!” KINKY BOOTS has also been chosen as the critic’s pick by The New York Times, New York magazine and Time Out New York, as well as Entertainment Weekly’s “Must List.”

In Kinky Boots, Charlie Price (Tony® Award nominee Stark Sands) has suddenly inherited his father’s shoe factory, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. Trying to live up to his father’s legacy and save his family business, Charlie finds inspiration in the form of Lola (Billy Porter). A fabulous entertainer in need of some sturdy stilettos, Lola turns out to be the one person who can help Charlie become the man he’s meant to be. As they work to turn the factory around, this unlikely pair finds that they have more in common than they ever dreamed possible… and discovers that when you change your mind about someone, you can change your whole world.

Inspired by a true story and based on the Miramax motion picture, Kinky Boots features a book by four-time Tony® Award-winner Harvey Fierstein (La Cage, Torch Song Trilogy, Newsies) and a musical score from Grammy® Award-winning rock icon Cyndi Lauper. The production is directed and choreographed by Tony® Award-winner Jerry Mitchell (Hairspray, La Cage, Broadway Bares), with music supervision, arrangements and orchestrations by Stephen Oremus (Book of Mormon, Wicked).

bad iPhone pic of me with the fab Billy Porter backstage at KINKY BOOTS on Broadway

I was recently in NYC and had the chance to see what the much-deserved ballyhoo is all about. And all of it is true. Tony® Award nominees Stark Sands and Billy Porter lead a cast of thirty-two that left me breathless and exhilarated. It’s truly “must-see” theatre.

On a personal note, I’ve known Billy Porter (nominated for every award he can be this season) for 20 years, and it’s oh-so-very gratifying to watch his work be oh-so-celebrated at this point of his already fab career.

You can purchase the CD or download at Amazon.

You can download on iTunes by clicking here.

Follow KINKY BOOTS on Facebook here.

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Kinky Boots, Cyndi Lauper & Billy Porter win at 2013 Outer Critics Circle Awards

KINKY BOOTS won for Best New Musical, New Score (Cyndi Lauper) and Actor in a Musical (the fab Billy Porter).  Yay!

PIPPIN – which I recently saw and loved – also did very well winning Lead Actress (Patina Miller), Featured Actress (Andrea Martin) and Featured Actor in Musical (Terrence Mann), Best Choreography (Chet Walker) Best Revival, Best Lighting Design and Best Direction (Diane Paulus).

Here is a complete list of nominees and winners (bold) of the 2013 Outer Critics Circle Awards

Outstanding New Broadway Play:

  • Grace
  • Lucky Guy
  • The Nance
  • The Testament of Mary
  • Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Outstanding New Broadway Musical:

  • Chaplin: The Musical
  • A Christmas Story, The Musical
  • Hands on a Hardbody
  • Kinky Boots
  • Matilda The Musical

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play:

  • Bad Jews
  • Cock
  • My Name is Asher Lev
  • Really Really
  • The Whale

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical:

  • February House
  • Dogfight
  • Giant
  • Here Lies Love
  • Murder Ballad

Outstanding Book of Musical:
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

  • Cinderella
  • Chaplin: The Musical
  • Dogfight
  • Kinky Boots
  • Matilda the Musical

Outstanding New Score:
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

  • Chaplin: The Musical
  • Dogfight
  • Hands on a Hardbody
  • Here Lies Love
  • Kinky Boots

Outstanding Revival of a Play:
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

  • Golden Boy
  • Orphans
  • The Piano Lesson
  • The Trip to Bountiful
  • Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Outstanding Revival of a Musical:
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

  • Annie
  • Cinderella
  • The Mystery of Edwin Drood
  • Passion
  • Pippin

Outstanding Director of a Play:

  • Pam MacKinnon: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
  • Nicholas Martin: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
  • Jack O’Brien: The Nance
  • Bartlett Sher: Golden Boy
  • Michael Wilson: The Trip to Bountiful

Outstanding Director of a Musical:

  • Warren Carlyle: Chaplin: The Musical
  • Scott Ellis: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
  • Jerry Mitchell: Kinky Boots
  • Diane Paulus: Pippin
  • Alex Timbers: Here Lies Love

Outstanding Choreography:

  • Warren Carlyle: Chaplin: The Musical
  • Peter Darling: Matilda the Musical
  • Jerry Mitchell: Kinky Boots
  • Josh Rhodes: Cinderella
  • Chet Walker: Pippin

Outstanding Set Design: (Play or Musical)

  • John Lee Beatty: The Nance
  • Rob Howell: Matilda the Musical
  • David Korins: Here Lies Love
  • Scott Pask: Pippin
  • Michael Yeargan: Golden Boy

Outstanding Costume Design: (Play or Musical)

  • Amy Clark & Martin Pakledinaz: Chaplin: The Musical
  • Gregg Barnes: Kinky Boots
  • Dominique Lemieux: Pippin
  • William Ivey Long: Cinderella
  • William Ivey Long: The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Outstanding Lighting Design:
(Play or Musical)

  • Ken Billington: Chaplin: The Musical
  • Paul Gallo: Dogfight
  • Donald Holder: Golden Boy
  • Kenneth Posner: Cinderella
  • Kenneth Posner: Pippin

Outstanding Actor in a Play:

  • Tom Hanks: Lucky Guy
  • Shuler Hensley: The Whale
  • Nathan Lane; The Nance
  • Tracy Letts: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
  • David Hyde Pierce: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Outstanding Actress in a Play:

  • Tracee Chimo: Bad Jews
  • Amy Morton: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
  • Vanessa Redgrave: The Revisionist
  • Joely Richardson: Ivanov
  • Cicely Tyson: The Trip to Bountiful

Outstanding Actor in a Musical:

  • Bertie Carvel: Matilda the Musical
  • Santino Fontana: Cinderella
  • Rob McClure: Chaplin: The Musical
  • Billy Porter: Kinky Boots
  • Matthew James Thomas: Pippin

Outstanding Actress in a Musical:

  • Lilla Crawford: Annie
  • Valisia LeKae: Motown: The Musical
  • Lindsay Mendez: Dogfight
  • Patina Miller: Pippin
  • Laura Osnes: Cinderella

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play:

  • Danny Burstein: Golden Boy
  • Richard Kind: The Big Knife
  • Jonny Orsini: The Nance
  • Tony Shalhoub: Golden Boy
  • Tony Shalhoub: Orphans

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play:

  • Cady Huffman: The Nance
  • Judith Ivey: The Heiress
  • Judith Light: The Assembled Parties
  • Kristine Nielsen: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
  • Vanessa Williams: The Trip to Bountiful

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical:

  • Will Chase: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
  • Dan Lauria: A Christmas Story, The Musical
  • Raymond Luke: Motown: The Musical
  • Terrence Mann: Pippin
  • Daniel Stewart Sherman: Kinky Boots

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical:

  • Annaleigh Ashford: Kinky Boots
  • Victoria Clark: Cinderella
  • Charlotte d’Amboise: Pippin
  • Andrea Martin: Pippin
  • Keala Settle: Hands on a Hardbody

Outstanding Solo Performance:

  • Bette Midler: I’ll Eat You Last
  • Martin Moran: All the Rage
  • Fiona Shaw: The Testament of Mary
  • Holland Taylor: Ann
  • Michael Urie: Buyer & Cellar

John Gassner Award:
(Presented for an American play, preferably by a new playwright)

  • Ayad Akhtar: Disgraced
  • Paul Downs Colaizzo: Really Really
  • Joshua Harmon: Bad Jews
  • Samuel D. Hunter: The Whale
  • Aaron Posner: My Name is Asher Lev
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Cancelled: “SMASH”

This is a bit of a heart-breaker for me.

I loved the pilot and continued to watch the show.  It had it’s ups and downs along the way of it’s two seasons, but I really liked what the creators of the show were going for: how a Broadway show gets to the Great White Way and what goes on underneath the surface of all those lives along the journey.

Here’s Newsday‘s take on the cancellation:

Despite promise in the first season, the show’s storytelling deteriorated and ended up drawing a small crowd of spitball-throwers known as “hate viewers,” who traded social media barbs over the show’s storylines…  A new producer couldn’t turn matters around and “Smash” was sent to Saturday earlier this season where its end was foretold. 

In addition to many great moments on the show as the writers and producers were finding their voice again, the music was often just fab. Songs like “Let Me Be Your Star” and “Don’t Forget Me” sit in my head all day if I happen to play one.

Series’ star Katharine McPhee talked to The Hollywood Reporter about what the experience has meant to her, saying:

“Sure, I wish that it could have five more seasons, but we had two great seasons and all I can say is I loved every moment of it. I loved getting to the set, I loved the people, I loved my crew. We did amazing things on the show in two years,” she told THR. “With this business, you can never predict what people are going to like or love or hate. All I know is that when the show started and people were so excited about the plot, I was excited to finally be a part of something that could showcase me. Everyone has perceptions about what you’re capable of and what you can do and this show was a huge gift.”

There were rumors that the series fictitious musical “Bombshell” might find some life somewhere on a real theatrical stage. I’d love to see that happen.

With the music we’ve heard and the fantastic choreography by Joshua Bergasse, I think there are a lot of fans who’d head out to see it.

RIP SMASH.