Sammy Davis, Jr. News

Kingsley Leggs, currently performing in Sister Act on Broadway, appears in Take Me Back - an unplugged ‘Just a Piano’ Concert at The Triad Theater, 158 West 72nd Street, Monday, May 28th, 2012 at 9:30pm. The evening will feature Jeff Waxman on piano with special guest Tony Winner LaChanze, with whom Mr. Leggs shared the Broadway stage in The Color Purple. (more...)

Ben Vereen returns to The RRazz Room to with his show "Steppin' Out with Ben Vereen," a high energy tribute to the music of Broadway, along with musical selections made famous by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. Audiences can expect to hear classics such as "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries," "Mr. Bojangles" and "Defying Gravity." Well known to theatre audiences for his Tony Award and Drama Desk winning performance in Pippin, Vereen has also appeared on Broadway in Wicked, Chicago, Fosse and Jelly's Last Jam. He is currently celebrating the release of his CD "Steppin' Out Live." (more...)

The honorees of the Broadway League Awards, honoring excellence and achievement for Touring Broadway, were announced today during the Broadway League’s 2012 Spring Road Conference. First presented in 1992, the Broadway League Awards recognize the contributions of those who have displayed exemplary service to the Broadway industry and are considered innovators of their craft. (more...)

Born in Highland Park, Mich., and raised in Detroit, Meadows studied television and radio broadcasting at Wayne State University before performing improvisational comedy at the Soup Kitchen Saloon. In 1985, Meadows relocated to Chicago, where he first joined ImprovOlympic, and then the legendary comedy troupe Second City. During his three-years at Second City, he wrote and starred in productions of The Gods Must Be Lazy, with Chris Farley; It Was Thirty Years Ago Today; and Flag Smoking Permitted in Lobby Only, gaining a loyal following with his sharp comedic talent. In 1991, Meadows achieved the dreams of comics nationwide when producer Lorne Michaels asked him to join SNL as a featured player. Nominated for an Emmy® as part of the show’s writing team that same month, he later made the transition to cast member status two years afterward. (more...)

Comedian Tom Dreesen just brought his one-man show, “An Evening of Laughter and Memories of Sinatra,” to Feinstein's last night, May 13. BroadwayWorld was there for the concert and we bring you photo coverage below! (more...)

The Public Theater is presenting the world premiere of February House, with music and lyrics by Gabriel Kahane and book by Seth Bockley, beginning today, May 8th in The Public’s Martinson Theater, and running through June 10th. Three stars of the show – composer and lyricist Gabriel Kahane, actress Kacie Sheik, and actor Julian Fleisher have all been tapped by Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater for solo performances this June. (more...)

Broadway at Birdland today announced a partnership with multi-Grammy and Tony nominated composer Frank Wildhorn for a monthly concert series called “Frank & Friends.” The series of one-night-only concerts will feature the songs and performers from the composer’s range of work in popular, theatrical and classical music. All profits will go to The Actors Fund, a nationwide human services organization that helps all professionals in the performing arts and entertainment. (more...)

CENTRIC, BET Network's signature channel kicks off auditions for its new original series APOLLO LIVE. (more...)

Omaha Performing Arts recently announced its 2012/2013 Season, which includes Blockbuster Broadway hits, critically acclaimed dance companies, family-friendly entertainment, comedians and world-class musicians. With five great series – Broadway, Dance, Family, Jazz and Showcase (formerly Popular) – as well as a broad selection of Season Extras, Omaha Performing Arts offers a variety of world-renowned artists and ensembles with more than 100 performance dates. (more...)

Sal Viviano (City of Angels, The Full Monty), Nat Chandler (The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Phantom of the Opera) and Eric Jordan Young (Ragtime, Chicago) will appear in concert with Maestro Joseph Young and the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra on Friday, April 27th at 8pm, Saturday, April 28th at 8pm, and Sunday, April 29th at 2pm. (more...)

INDIA JAZZ SUITES will perform in Three Stages on Friday, May 11 at 8 pm. This show is a brilliant collaboration between Pandit Chitresh Das, one of the world’s foremost masters of the of the barefoot, bell-bedecked North Indian dance called Kathak, and Emmy award-winning Jason Samuels Smith --one of the world’s fastest tap dancers. (more...)

Surflight Theatre, under the leadership of award-winning Broadway Producers Timothy Laczynski (The Pee-wee Herman Show, A Christmas Story), Executive Producer and Roy Miller (West Side Story, The Drowsy Chaperone, Ragtime, and the upcoming new musical Animal House) Artistic Director, kicks off its 63rdAnniversary Season of ‘Broadway at the Beach’ with the Surflight Premiere of The Rat Pack Revue from April 18 through May 6, 2012. (more...)

On Sunday, April 8th, the largest housing unit of the historic Surflight Theatre suffered extensive damage when a blaze broke out at The Gables, a neighboring establishment. No one was injured in the fire. Although the severity of the damage is still being assessed, the housing unit that provides a home to production personnel sustained enough damage to render the unit uninhabitable for at least a portion of the 2012 season. (more...)

On June 12, 2012, Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) releases DEAN MARTIN – COLLECTED COOL. (more...)

Next Theatre Company announces their 32nd main stage season. The season begins with Iphigenia 2.0 by Charles Mee, directed by David Kersnar; followed by the Midwest premiere of Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter written by Julie Marie Myatt and directed by Jessica Thebus. The United States premiere of Everything is Illuminated, by Simon Block adapted from Jonathan Safron Foers’ novel and directed by Devon DeMayo begins 2013, and the season will conclude with a co-production with the Theatre and Interpretation Center at Northwestern University, and in partnership with The Center on Wrongful Convictions, The Exonerated, by Jessica Blank and Eric Jensen, directed by Cat Miller and presented at the Josephine Louis Theater, 20 Arts Circle Drive, Northwestern University. The first three main stage productions are presented at Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes Street in Evanston. To find out information about subscribing to the season, visit the website at www.nexttheatre.org or call the box office at 847-475-1875 x2. (more...)

The Howard Theatre, the historic arts landmark that launched the careers of Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye and The Supremes, announces their grand re-opening after a $29 million renovation and a 32-year hiatus. The Howard Theatre will re-open the week of April 9 with an opening lineup that includes Wale, Wanda Sykes, The Roots, Robert Randolph, Taj Mahal, Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def), Meshell Ndegeocello, Bad Brains, Chuck Brown, Chuck Berry, Esperanza Spalding and a weekly Sunday Brunch featuring the Harlem Gospel Choir. The full schedule is available at www.thehowardtheatre.com. (more...)

On Tuesday night at the Iridium Jazz Club, precocious, yet polished 20-year-old crooner Nicolas King conquered a packed room filled with freshly-minted MAC Award winners, veteran cabaret performers, a burgeoning legion of fans, beaming family members, and his mentor and friend Liza Minnelli (who attended the show with actor Tony Danza). (more...)

Nashville’s Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) will play host this summer to the world premiere of The Nutty Professor, a new musical comedy directed by the King of Comedy himself, Jerry Lewis. The Broadway at TPAC Special Event will run from July 24 to August 19 in TPAC’s James K. Polk Theater. Featuring music by Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner Marvin Hamlisch (A Chorus Line) and a book and lyrics by three-time Tony Award winner Rupert Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood), The Nutty Professor is based on the classic 1963 film in which Lewis starred and co-wrote. (more...)

Nashville’s Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) will play host this summer to the world premiere of The Nutty Professor, a new musical comedy directed by the King of Comedy himself, Jerry Lewis. The Broadway at TPAC Special Event will run from July 24 to August 19 in TPAC’s James K. Polk Theater. Featuring music by Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner Marvin Hamlisch (A Chorus Line) and a book and lyrics by three-time Tony Award winner Rupert Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood), The Nutty Professor is based on the classic 1963 film in which Lewis starred and co-wrote. (more...)

To celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month, Louis Armstrong House Museum (LAHM) Historic House Tours will highlight one-of-a-kind portraits featured in Louis and Lucille's home by noted artists: Calvin Bailey, Tony Bennett, Samuel Countee and LeRoy Neiman throughout the month of April. (more...)