Patricia Birch News

With college theatre program auditions just around the corner, we're highlighting some of the country's most prestigious theatre programs and chatting with the schools' faculty about everything from from the audition process to life after graduation and more. Today we're looking at how twenty-five different major universities help give their theatre students real world experiences. Check out answers from AMDA, University of Michigan, and many more!

On Monday night, Over Here! The Big Band Musical was back in New York at The Triad Theatre for the first time since its original 1974 Broadway production and the joint was jumpin'. Veteran's Day proved to be the perfect time to revive this beloved celebration of the American spirit and optimism that defined the 1940's. To make it even more worthwhile, a portion of the proceeds from the evening was donated to Vietnam Veterans of America. Over Here! is one of this journalist's favorite musicals, so I was thrilled to have it back on the boards. Under the razor-sharp direction of Will Nunziata, who is quickly becoming a go-to director, this feel-good show sparkled and shined like a freshly polished diamond. It featured a stellar cast of 19, plus an 11-piece swing band, under musical director extraordinaire Blake Allen. Choreographer Andrew Black used every inch of space to give us one eye-popping musical number after another.

To help get students ready for college theatre program auditions, we're taking a closer look at some of the country's most prestigious theatre programs! We're chatting with faculty members from each school to get a better understanding of everything from audition advice to real world experience and more. Today, we're highlighting the Department of Theatre Arts at Marymount Manhattan College. Find out more about the school and see their answers about their program!

Now entering its 28th year, Broadway Theatre Project (BTP), a program described by Playbill as "The world's most prestigious musical theatre arts education program for high school and college students" announces additional award-winning, highly-accomplished visiting faculty for the 2019 summer intensive.

A 40th Anniversary reunion benefit concert of the 1979 hit Broadway production of They're Playing Our Song was held on Monday, February 11th at 7:30 pm at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th St.). The show starred the Broadway cast members Lucie Arnaz as 'Sonia Walsk' and Robert Klein as 'Vernon Gersch'. Check out photos from the evening below!

Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.

On Saturday, September 15th at 6:30PM, join Alamo Drafthouse for a 35MM screening of GREASE 2, with director Patricia Birch in-person. Tickets will go on-sale on Monday, August 20th. It may have taken many years, but GREASE 2 is finally accepted as the cult masterpiece many of us knew it to be. With Birch, choreographer of the original GREASE (stage and film), in the director's seat, you can count on wild ensemble dances including school yard shenanigans and bowling alley frivolity.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) will continue its monthly residency at Metrograph on Thursday, July 19, with a special 40th anniversary screening of Grease with the film's choreographer, Patricia Birch, in-person to present the film. Hot off of Saturday Night Fever and super-celebrity, triple threat John Travolta paired with rising Australian pop star Olivia Newton-John in this fizzy, festive, high-energy screen adaptation of the wildly popular 1971 stage musical, a titanic hit and, retrospectively, a sort of last hurrah for the Hollywood musical. More special guests to be announced soon!

The Theatre Group at SBCC will start the season July 11-28, 2018 in the Garvin Theatre with the musical, GREASE.  Book, lyrics and music by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents a first-time ever NYC concert event featuring the songs of The Me Nobody Knows!

It's got a groove, it's got a meaning…and it's still a cultural phenomenon 40 years after its original release.  The iconic celebration of high school life in the 1950s,GREASE is the way you'll be feeling with a new 40th Anniversary Edition on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital April 24, 2018 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. 

The 2018 Chita Rivera Awards were handed out last night, May 21 at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. The ceremony was hosted by Orfeh and Andy Karl. BroadwayWorld was in attendance at the big event and you can check out photos from the red carpet below!

Andy Karl and Orfeh will host the 2018 Chita Rivera Awards, taking place at NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, May 20 at 7:30pm.

Steven Hoggett, who is represented on Broadway this season with Angels in America and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, will receive the inaugural Douglas and Ethel Watt Critics' Choice Award at the 2018 Chita Rivera Awards

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents a first-time ever NYC concert event featuring the songs of The Me Nobody Knows!

GREASE 40th Anniversary Edition Comes to 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital on 4/24

Industry readings of The Road to Ruin, a new musical by William Zeffiro, will be presented November 9th and 10th at Manhattan's Swing 46.

Industry readings of The Road to Ruin, a new musical by William Zeffiro, will be presented November 9th and 10th at Manhattan's Swing 46.

The musical theatre of the 1970s offered audiences the most diverse style of musical entertainment. There were traditional golden age shows, concept shows, revivals, nostalgia crazes, social commentary shows, and Pat Birch was involved in every genre.

 The New York City Dance Alliance Foundation (NYCDAF), a forward-thinking charity committed to shaping the future lives and training of young dancers, returns to NYU Skirball Center, October 1, for an eclectic and star-studded gala event to raise funds for college scholarships. With over 200 dancers sharing in $2 Million dollars to attend the colleges of their choice since the Foundation's inception in 2010, NYCDAF's Annual 'Bright Lights Shining Stars' brings together performers and dance educators to further its mission to broaden and advocate for performing arts awareness and training. The evening's presenters include Joel Grey (Cabaret, Chicago, Goodtime Charley), Bebe Neuwirth (Sweet Charity, Chicago) and Patricia Birch (Over Here!)-more appearances to be announced.