Jo Sullivan News

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestras begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: Laura Michelle Kelly at 54 Below; New Musicals at 54: Funked Up Fairy Tales by Kirsten Childs; The Songs of Carner & Gregor; Barrett Foa: Grin and Barrett; and 54 Sings How to Succeed.

Tony nominee Jo Sullivan Loesser, widow of composer Frank Loesser, has signed on to host Feinstein's/54 Below all star concert of 54 Sings How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on June 5th, 2016. Ms. Loesser received a Tony Award nomination for originating the role of Rosabella in The Most Happy Fella. In recent years, Loesser has received great acclaim as a cabaret and recoding artist.

Ginna Claire Mason (Wicked), Luba Mason (How to Succeed), George Salazar (Be More Chill), and Tony Nominee Timothy Jerome (Me and My Girl) have been added to Feinstein's/54 Below all star concert of 54 Sings How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on June 5th, 2016. Ms. Mason will sing the role of Rosemary, Mr. Salazar will sing the role of Bud Frump and Mr. Jerome will sing the role of Mr. Bratt. Luba Mason will reprise her role of Hedy LaRue, which she played in the 1995 revival.

Josh Grisetti (It Shoulda Been You) will play the eager young executive J. Pierpont Finch when Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club, presents 54 Sings How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on June 5th, 2016. To celebrate this Pulitzer Prize winning musical, Frank Loesser's satirical look into the corporate world will get a one night only, all-star concert, featuring some of Broadway's greatest comics.  

42nd Street Moon concludes its 23rd season with Frank Loesser's glorious Napa Valley romance, the Tony Award-winning THE MOST HAPPY FELLA. This masterpiece with book, music and lyrics by Frank Loesser (Guys and Dolls, How to Succeed in Business …, Where's Charley?) is an unconventional and sweepingly romantic love story set in the vineyards of Napa Valley. Considered one of Loesser's greatest works, the stunning score includes "The Most Happy Fella," "Standing on the Corner," "Joey, Joey, Joey," "Rosabella," "Big D," "My Heart Is So Full of You" and "Song of a Summer Night." Directed by Cindy Goldfield, with musical direction by Dave Dobrusky, THE MOST HAPPY FELLA will run April 27 - May 17, 2016 (Press opening: Saturday, April 30) at the Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson Street, San Francisco. For tickets ($25-$75) or more information, the public may call (415) 255-8207 or visit www.42ndstmoon.org. 

On the heels of overwhelming critical acclaim and passionate audience response, Palm Beach Dramaworks has scheduled additional performances of Frank Loesser's achingly romantic musical The Most Happy Fella, starring William Michals. Originally slated to close on Sunday, July 27, the concert production will now continue at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre (201 Clematis) through Sunday, August 3.

Love blooms in Napa Valley for an aging, unprepossessing grape farmer and a young, world-weary waitress in Frank Loesser's achingly romantic The Most Happy Fella, opening tonight, July 18 (8pm) at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre. William Michals, who triumphed in the title role of last season's Man of La Mancha, returns to Palm Beach Dramaworks to play the Italian immigrant farmer Tony Esposito in this concert production.

Love blooms in Napa Valley for an aging, unprepossessing grape farmer and a young, world-weary waitress in Frank Loesser's achingly romantic The Most Happy Fella, opening Friday, July 18 (8pm) at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre. William Michals, who triumphed in the title role of last season's Man of La Mancha, returns to Palm Beach Dramaworks to play the Italian immigrant farmer Tony Esposito in this concert production. The show, which runs through July 27, is directed by Clive Cholerton, with musical direction by Howard Breitbart.

Broadway's Donna Lynne Champlin (Sweeney Todd, Billy Elliott, Hollywood Arms) announces Ode To Joy, a national online auction of one-of-a-kind Broadway, film and TV memorabilia donated by her friends and colleagues in the entertainment industry to raise funds for her sister-in-law Joy Parker, one of a handful of young women in the United States living with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The auction will go live today, Tuesday, June 10 and continue through Friday, June 20.

The New York City Center Encores! production of Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella concluded its limited run last night, April 6. Starring Laura Benanti, Shuler Hensley, Cheyenne Jackson,Heidi Blickenstaff, Brian Cali, Bradley Dean, Zachary James, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Jessica Molaskey and Kevin Vortmann, The Most Happy Fella was directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, with music direction by Rob Berman. BroadwayWorld was there for the closing night party and you can check out photo coverage below!

With several plays in repertory opening on Broadway this year, theatre fans are already wondering what this will mean for the 2014 Tony Awards. Both NO MAN'S LAND/WAITING FOR GODOT and TWELFTH NIGHT/RICHARD III will take Broadway bows this fall, featuring such stage heavyweights as Mark Rylance, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and more- but will they be eligible for both of their performances?

Standing backstage in the wings of the theatre, you begin to notice that your pulse has increased and you're a little sweaty despite the freezing AC coming down on you. 'Rosabella' is singing the last 16 bars of 'Somebody, Somewhere' and you can feel the vibration of the automation kicking in that will soon roll the diner off and take the audience from San Francisco to the Napa Valley. You check and recheck that your prop comb is in your pocket and that your prop newspaper is tucked into your waistband and ready for use. The actors next to you are doing similar actions, whether checking their own props or running lines in their head, looking at times like a manic person on the New York City subway talking to themselves. The song ends and since the scrim is down in front of you, you only hear muffled applause, therefore unable to gauge how things have gone these first 15 minutes of the show. The scrim lifts, the lights blare into your eyes and you see the once vacant seats now full of strangers who have paid to have a great evening of theatre. The time has finally arrived…ladies and gentlemen, it's time for your first preview.

BroadwayWorld brings you photos from the cocktail party below! Click here to check out photos from the red carpet!

The American Theatre Wing (William Ivey Long, Chair; Heather Hitchens, Executive Director) announced today that its annual gala, held last night at the Plaza Hotel, was the most successful in the organization's history, raising nearly $700,000 (besting the previous record, which was set in 2012, by approximately $100,000). All proceeds from the evening will benefit the education and outreach programs of the American Theatre Wing, which include SpringboardNYC, the Theatre Intern Group, the National Theatre Company Grants and the Jonathan Larson Grants, and will also support free access for students, aspiring professionals, and the general public to programming on AmericanTheatreWing.org, including the long running television show "Working in the Theatre."

The American Theatre Wing (William Ivey Long, Chair; Heather Hitchens, Executive Director) announced today that its annual gala, held last night at the Plaza Hotel, was the most successful in the organization's history, raising nearly $700,000 (besting the previous record, which was set in 2012, by approximately $100,000). All proceeds from the evening will benefit the education and outreach programs of the American Theatre Wing, which include SpringboardNYC, the Theatre Intern Group, the National Theatre Company Grants and the Jonathan Larson Grants, and will also support free access for students, aspiring professionals, and the general public to programming on AmericanTheatreWing.org, including the long running television show 'Working in the Theatre.'

The world's largest chimpanzee sanctuary, Save the Chimps, and the New York-based book publisher Soho Press have launched a promotional campaign with the goal of raising funds and spreading awareness for the Florida sanctuary.

Well hello there, my name is Eric Ulloa (pronounced oo- yo- ah), and I am in the cast of Goodspeed's upcoming revival of The Most Happy Fella. I am also your blogger for these next several weeks to give you an inside scoop on the cast, production, backstage happenings and what I'm calling, 'tell 'em all you can without getting a train ticket home.'

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network is hosting a summer fling for soap fans as the network has acquired the first 40 episodes of The OnLine Network's reprisal of the popular daytime dramas 'All My Children' and 'One Life to Live' for a special exclusive 10-week limited engagement.

Historical hijinks abound in PLEASURES AND PALACES, the unknown masterpiece from the composer of GUYS AND DOLLS. Lyric Stage presents Frank Loesser's PLEASURES AND PALACES in concert tonight, January 24-27, 2013.