The Town Hall (123 West 43rd Street), New York's landmark theatre and concert venue presents the 5th Annual Summer Broadway Festival, created, written and hosted by Scott Siegel for The Town Hall. Presented on three consecutive Monday nights in July at 8PM, the festival kicks-off with BROADWAY WINNERS! THE AWARD WINNING MUSIC OF BROADWAY on July 11th. Initial casting for BROADWAY WINNERS! includes two-time Tony Nominee Tom Wopat (Catch Me if You Can), Stephanie Umoh (Ragtime), Drama Desk nominee Alexander Gemignani (Sweeney Todd), Drama Desk Nominee Eddie Korbich (The Little Mermaid) and KendRick Jones (The Scottsboro Boys). The evening features Tony, Grammy, and Academy Award Award-Winning music created on the Great White Way.
The Town Hall's 5th Annual Summer Broadway Festival continues with BROADWAY'S RISING STARS on July 18th, and ALL SINGIN' ALL DANCIN' on July 25th. The evenings will feature music and dance coupled with witty insider tidbits, all performed by Broadway's finest. Tickets for BROADWAY WINNERS! and ALL SINGIN' ALL DANCIN' are $55 & $45, Tickets for BROADWAY'S RISING STARS are $40 & $30 and are on sale through TicketMaster, (800) 982-2787 , www.ticketmaster.com, or The Town Hall Box Office (123 West 43 Street) between noon and 6 PM (except Sundays) at 212-840-2824 .
BROADWAY'S RISING STARS on July 18th is once again directed by Nightlife Award-winning vocalist Scott Coulter. The next generation of Broadway performers were chosen during auditions throughout the spring and come from theatrical institutions across the country, including AMDA, CAP21, Steinhardt, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Carnegie Melon, Marymount and The New School. These young future performers will make their auspicious debut on The Town Hall stage in what has now become regarded as the country's national showcase. The evening is choreographed by Vibecke Dahle and John Fischer is the musical director.
The final concert on July 25th, ALL SINGIN' ALL DANCIN', will be directed by Scott Siegel and choreographed, for the first time by two different choreographers, Lorin Latarro and Mark Stuart. The show features Broadway show tunes sporting brand new choreography performed by today's musical theater song and dance stars. Most recently, The Mark Stuart Dance Theatre garnered critical acclaim at The Town Hall when, earlier this season, they performed in The Broadway Musicals of 1982. Ross Patterson is the musical director.
ABOUT THE TOWN HALL:
Now celebrating its 90th Anniversary Season, The Town Hall was built in 1921 by a group of suffragettes and began as a lecture hall and public forum for debates where "American Town Meetings on The Air" was broadcast live for 25 years. Over the decades, the stage has been graced by Eleanor Roosevelt, Carl Sandberg, Margaret Sanger, Billie Holiday, Igor Stravinsky, Bob Dylan, MiLes Davis and most recently, The Dalai Lama and President Obama. Today the hall flourishes as a popular, affordable venue, boasting the hottest acts in rock, pop, folk, cabaret, world music, comedy and dance, including Billy Joel, Blondie, Elvis Costello, Natalie Merchant, Graham Nash, Liza Minnelli, Cyndi Lauper, Norah Jones, Andre Watts, Henry Rollins, Joe Jackson, Pink Martini, Regina Spektor, Bryan Adams, Aimee Mann, Robin Williams, Dawn Upshaw, Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, Al Gore, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Mercer, Jay Leno, Dave Matthews, Vanessa Williams, and Ben Folds. For over a decade, The Town Hall has hosted live broadcasts of Garrison Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion." In its annual show, "Rising Stars," The Town Hall gives recent graduates from the nation's leading performing arts schools a chance to showcase their talents and perform on the legendary stage. The Town Hall Educational Outreach Program helps schools build their arts programs and advance student learning through standards-based, collaborative arts residencies. Over the past two-and-a-half decades, The Town Hall has produced the Feature Film Seminar Series and a number of new and critically acclaimed musical series, which include Not Just Jazz, Broadway By The Year®, The Broadway Cabaret Festival and The Summer Broadway Festival.
