Molly Picon News

In the year that the Congregacão Israelita Paulista (CIP) celebrates 80 years of great history and dedication to the Jewish community and the Brazilian society, the actor and singer Daniel Boaventura was chosen to be the attraction of the commemorative concert for the benefit of social work of the institution . The event, which takes place June 29 at the Teatro Sergio Cardoso, will be presented by Rubens Ewald Filho - also one of the directors and writers alongside Claudio Erlichman - and will journey for more than 50 years of history of the great Broadway classics, highlighting the strong Jewish influence in the American Songbook, which contributed to the emergence of a new artistic genre, the musical theater. The show, named 'Broadwish - From Shtetl to Broadway', created especially for this occasion, will bring a repertoire full of standards composed and written by renowned Jewish composers such as Irving Berlin, George & Ira Gershwin, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz , Oscar Hammerstein II, Kander & Ebb and Burt Bacharach among others.

A extensive new exhibit immerses guests into New York's one-vibrant Yiddish Theater community.

For three months in 1970, the Trump name could be seen above a Broadway title.

As millions of the faithful around the world light the last candles of their menorahs, we take a look at a handful of musical moments that have a decidedly Jewish flair. On the last night of Hanukkah, we want to celebrate some of our favorite Broadway tunes about the faith while honoring the contributions of our immensely talented Jewish legends who have helped mold the American musical into what it is today. Therefore, we have selected eight Jewish-themed showtunes for the occasion. You can watch a video of each below, along with an incredible film about the importance of Jewish writers to the history of the musical theatre.

Broadway loves a good ghost story, but not all ghost stories are the scary kind.

Some shows I can see again and again, especially those composed by the forever upbeat Jerry Herman. Hello Dolly bowed on Broadway when I was a teenager in the 60s and it had a long run with original star Carol Channing, followed by turns with Ethel Merman, Ginger Rogers, Pearl Bailey, Martha Raye and Molly Picon, to name a few. Every major star wanted to do it because the role offers a female actress the chance to sing, dance and act the hell out of it. It's a big, splashy gut buster about a woman who has more moxy than the Pied Piper and enough wisdom and panache to win over an army or a whole kingdom, for that matter...and, for the audience, it's one of those extra-special feel-good musicals that just doesn't quit... for a moment. You leave the theatre actually humming the tunes.Welk Resort's current production of Dolly! in Escondido through November 15 is right on target...it's wondrously delectable.

Fraser Entertainment Group's critically-acclaimed ongoing series AN EVENING OF CLASSIC BROADWAY returns to Rockwell Table & Stage in Los Feliz on Monday, August 10 at 8pm, the ninth installment of the successful concert series, produced by Dianne Fraser. Acclaimed musical director Brad Ellis (from the hit television series GLEE, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY, etc.) leads a cast of superb singers from Broadway, television, and film.

Ellen Albertini Dow, best known as the feisty grandma from THE WEDDING SINGER who performed  "Rapper's Delight" in the 1998 Adam Sandler movie, passed away today at the age of 101.

Broadway and regional scene designer Douglas W. Schmidt will be in New York City tonight, April 30, to celebrate the release of a new book on his work, The Designs of Douglas W. Schmidt, at The Drama Book Shop, 250 W. 40th St.

Broadway and regional scene designer Douglas W. Schmidt will be in New York City on Thursday, April 30, to celebrate the release of a new book on his work, The Designs of Douglas W. Schmidt, at The Drama Book Shop, 250 W. 40th St.

New Yiddish Rep recreates the bawdy, boisterous and often backbiting atmosphere of a Yiddish music hall on the Lower East Side a century ago with the first of several planned 'Seltzer Nights' beginning Saturday March 21 at 7pm. The launch of the 'Seltzer Nights' project, which incubates at the Castillo Theatre, 543 West 42nd Street, for four Saturdays through the spring, culminates in a daring new original American musical in English and Yiddish (the premiere of which will be announced at a later date).

The New York Public Library has announced its upcoming theater programs for this winter. Details below!

ISLE of KLEZBOS will introduce their new album Live from Brooklyn - scheduled to be released Tuesday, April 8 - with a special concert event, a major radio appearance and glowing advance reviews. According to the New York Daily News, 'six sexy women give a creative kick to classic klezmer music. The Klezbos ladies have made Yiddish hits hip again.' They were praised for 'lively and melodic jazz and tango-laced pieces' from The Jewish Week and the album was hailed as 'a brilliant, intense, eclectic live album, brilliant and virtuosic' by the New York Music Daily. ISLE of KLEZBOS was a 'Critics Pick' in this week's Time Out New York.

ISLE of KLEZBOS, the soulful and swinging all-women's klezmer sextet, will release their second album with a special concert at JOE'S PUB at the Public on Sunday, April 6 at 7:30 PM. The new disc, Live from Brooklyn - recorded in concert last year at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, with the addition of two bonus studio numbers - will be available from Rhythm Media Records on Tuesday, April 8 as well as at the Joe's Pub performance. Formed in 1998, the group approaches their music with a canny mix of irreverence and respect. Live from Brooklyn features the group's signature diverse blend of rambunctious folk dances, exciting Yiddish swing, entrancing retro tango, klezmerengue, re-grooved standards, and genre-defying originals. The album will be availab le on iTunes, in stores and wherever music is sold.

'155 Thru the Roof,' a fanciful comedy with music, will be presented by Theater for the New City, April 3 to 20. Written by award-winning playwright Toby Armour, directed by George Ferencz with music by Peter Dizozza, the play follows the epic adventures of Lily Field, director of Theater for the New Syzygy, as she moves through the Fourth Dimension beyond Earth and the Lower East Side.

ISLE of KLEZBOS, the soulful and swinging all-women's klezmer sextet, will release their second album with a special concert at JOE'S PUB at the Public on Sunday, April 6 at 7:30 PM. The new disc, Live from Brooklyn - recorded in concert last year at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, with the addition of two bonus studio numbers - will be available from Rhythm Media Records. Formed in 1998, the group approaches their music with a canny mix of irreverence and respect. Live from Brooklyn features the group's signature diverse blend of rambunctious folk dances, exciting Yiddish swing, entrancing retro tango, klezmerengue, re-grooved standards, and genre-defying originals. The album will be available on iTunes, in stores and wherever music is sold.

ISLE of KLEZBOS, the soulful and swinging all-women's klezmer sextet, will release their second album with a special concert at JOE'S PUB at the Public on Sunday, April 6 at 7:30 PM.

The Jewish Museum and The Film Society of Lincoln Center will present the 23rd annual New York Jewish Film Festival at the Film Society's Walter Reade Theater and Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, Jan. 8-23, 2014.

Ain't too many sunrises and sunsets before Tevye & Co. get hustled out of Anatevka. Better get to Cheney Hall!

The 43rd annual CAPA Summer Movie Series at the historic Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.) begins June 28, featuring 27 films over eight weeks. The series opens with Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief (June 28-30) starring Cary Grant as the reformed cat burglar searching for a copycat thief while romancing Grace Kelly who is vacationing in the sunny French Riviera.