Have I Got a Girl For You! 1986 - Articles Page 35

Now in its 7th year, the FringeNYC Encore Series gives theatre lovers another chance at seeing some of the most critically acclaimed and most crowd-pleasing shows from the Festival. Beginning September 7th, the FringeNYC Encore Series will present 19 'Best of The Festival' shows in rotating repertory at SoHo Playhouse and The Huron Club (both located at 15 Vandam Street between 6th Avenue & Varick) as well as at The Players Theater (115 MacDougal Street between Bleecker and Houston Streets). Tickets are $18, available at 212-691-1555 or www.SohoPlayhouse.com.

Wednesday started as a grey, rainy day…which meant I got to wear my new rain boots! It's the little things in life right? I LOVE them! They are Tretorn, light weight and lined with furry material (so comfy!).

Have I Got A Girl For You, winner of Theatermania's 2012 FringeNYC Audience Favorite Award, has been selected for the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival's Encore Series. Out of the festival's 187 productions, Have I Got A Girl For You received more votes than any other production in the Audience Favorite category and is one of only nineteen shows selected for the Encores Series. Performances begin September 13 at The Player's Theatre Mainstage.

Now in its 7th year, the FringeNYC Encore Series gives theatre lovers another chance at seeing some of the most critically acclaimed and most crowd-pleasing shows from the Festival.

Winners of the 2012 FringeNYC Overall Excellence Awards, as selected by an independent panel of 40 theater professionals, are as follows.

EMI Classics has announced the U.S. release of The John Wilson Orchestra's That's Entertainment: A Celebration of the MGM Film Musical. World renowned conductor and arranger John Wilson leads an all-star cast of singers and his Grammy Award-nominated eponymous orchestra, comprised of some of the UK's finest musicians, on this dazzling recording of some of the greatest songs from Hollywood's Golden Age. Most of the scores have been lovingly and painstakingly reconstructed by Wilson, as MGM destroyed the originals in 1969.

EMI Classics has just announced the U.S. release of The John Wilson Orchestra's That's Entertainment: A Celebration of the MGM Film Musical. World renowned conductor and arranger John Wilson leads an all-star cast of singers and his Grammy® Award-nominated eponymous orchestra, comprised of some of the UK's finest musicians, on this dazzling recording of some of the greatest songs from Hollywood's Golden Age. Most of the scores have been lovingly and painstakingly reconstructed by Wilson, as MGM destroyed the originals in 1969. This is the first time the songs, including "Singin' in the Rain", "Steppin' Out with My Baby", "The Trolley Song", and title track "That's Entertainment", have been recorded in their intended orchestration since the films' original soundtrack recordings. That's Entertainment, also features a world-class cast of singers including Kim Criswell, Matthew Ford, Sarah Fox, Seth MacFarlane (the creator of Family Guy) and Curtis Stigers. The Standard Edition CD, a Deluxe Edition and a DVD of the 2009 BBC Proms, which launched John Wilson to fame in his native UK, is currently featured as part of a major national PBS pledge drive in August and September, will be available through all stores and online retailers on September 25th, 2012.

Investigation Discovery's hit series I MARRIED A MOBSTER returns this August to reveal true stories of being a Mrs. in the mafia, from the riches of the rise to the ferocity of the fall.

GFE Productions in association with The Present Company, as part of the 16th Annual New York International Fringe Festival, presents the World-premiere new play HAVE I GOT A GIRL FOR YOU, based on playwright Josh Mesnik's real-life experience as a gay musical theatre actor who finds himself running a female escort agency. Sara Sahin (Lincoln Center Director's Lab; LILA CANTE ) directs.

Investigation Discovery's hit series I MARRIED A MOBSTER returns this August to reveal true stories of being a Mrs. in the mafia, from the riches of the rise to the ferocity of the fall.

The New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC), the largest multi-arts festival in North America, will present the 16th Annual Festival from August 10th- 26. FringeNYC will offer programming by 187 of the world's best emerging theatre troupes and dance companies in 20 venues in Lower Manhattan. With attendance topping 75,000 people, FringeNYC is New York City's fifth largest cultural event (just behind New York International Auto Show, Tribeca Film Festival, New York City Marathon, and New York Comic Con). A complete schedule can be found at www.FringeNYC.org. Printed copies of the FringeNYC Guide are also being distributed inside this weeks' The Onion newspaper.

GFE Productions in association with The Present Company, as part of the 16th Annual New York International Fringe Festival, presents the World-premiere new play HAVE I GOT A GIRL FOR YOU, based on playwright Josh Mesnik's real-life experience as a gay musical theatre actor who finds himself running a female escort agency.

Today we are talking to a celebrated comedienne and actress known for her decades-spanning career on screens and stages large and small - from making her Broadway debut in the original Jerome Robbins production of GYPSY on Broadway in 1960 to her many musical roles throughout the 60s to her countless game show and variety show appearances following that all the way to creating an unforgettable character in MOONSTRUCK in the 1980s, as well as her subsequent oft-Neil Simon stage work; now, playing Tina Fey's sweet and daffy mom on NBC's 30 ROCK and, most recently, appearing in Nora & Celia Ephron's LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE and the Playwright's Horizons premiere production of THE BIG MEAL in the new millennium - the one of a kind Anita Gillette. Analyzing her nearly sixty-year career and sharing candid stories of her brushes with some of Broadway and Hollywood's brightest talents - Jule Styne to Ethel Merman to Irving Berlin to Burt Lancaster and beyond - Gillette paints a vivid portrait of the tail end of the Golden Age of Broadway and the heady game show days of TV in the 1960s and 70s to her lauded stage work with Neil Simon and many of the great comedy and musical writers in the years since. Additionally, Gillette and I discuss her current essaying of the role of Mae Peterson in the new Regal Music Theatre production of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams's BYE BYE BIRDIE in Massachusetts as she looks towards opening night tomorrow and relates her joy in participating in a production that has some behind-the-scenes help by her loving granddaughter (while another attends their summer camp). Plus, Gillette's observations on sharing a soundstage with Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Elaine Stritch and Buck Henry for a recent 30 ROCK shoot, reflections on her fondest and most celebrated comedy roles, hilarious memories of appearing in some short-running flops (JIMMY, SKYSKRAPER) as well as in some big hits (GYPSY), her upcoming series of master classes titled "Life In The Business", her return to Birdland with her concert show, AFTER ALL, her role in an upcoming Ed Burns film and maybe even a role in a new Alexander Payne film - all of that, all about attending the Diamond Jubilee celebration in the United Kingdom and much, much more!

Today we are talking to one of the entertainment industry's most celebrated Broadway/Hollywood crossover stars, who has gone from memorable cameo childhood roles on the big screen in hit properties such as NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION and FATAL ATTRACTION to big Broadway success with her stints in STARLIGHT EXPRESS and GRAND HOTEL later that decade, to small screen success with ALLY MCBEAL in the 90s all the way to Tony-winning and Olivier-winning glory with the sensational revival of NINE in 2003 on Broadway, directed by David Leveaux, and GUYS & DOLLS in the West End, directed by Michael Grandage - as well as three Emmy nominations for her seven-year stint on NBC's richly awarded and highly celebrated Tina Fey comedy 30 ROCK - the precocious, alluring and arousing Jane Krawkowski. Sharing the details about her upcoming concert performance at Town Hall on June 8, Krakowski opens up about the many lauded composers and creators she has collaborated with over the years - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim, Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Maury Yeston, Tommy Tune, Steven Spielberg and many more - and what we can expect from her brassy and bawdy solo show, in addition to shedding some light on her Broadway days; whether on roller skates in STARLIGHT EXPRESS and the workshop of XANADU or treading the boards in workshops and productions for master director Tommy Tune. Also, Krakowski clues us in on where her classic 30 ROCK character Jenna Maroney will end up in the final, seventh season of the show that begins shooting in August and reveals her affection for her 30 ROCK and DAMN YANKEES co-star Cheyenne Jackson and their experiences filming the recent live episode (and singing the theme song). Plus, potential future stage roles she would like to essay someday - KISS OF THR SPIDER WOMAN, perhaps? Or, maybe, a reprise of her Adelaide in GUYS & DOLLS? Dot in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, even? - as well as Milliken Breakfast Show memories from the 1970s and much, much more!

Today we are talking to a two-time Tony Award winning lyricist and book writer who was responsible for the 2010 Best Musical winner, MEMPHIS, and who has since written the libretto of the Gershwin revue NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET and received a well-earned Tony nomination for his efforts; one of the show's ten nods - Joe DiPietro. In this concluding portion of our conversation, DiPietro and I break down the process of creating NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT and he comments on the starry cast - including Matthew Broderick, Kelli O'Hara, Judy Kaye and Estelle Parsons - and the process of collaboration in bringing the 2012 Tony Awards top nominee to the Broadway stage. Additionally, DiPietro fills us in on the future for THE TOXIC AVENGER and its tentative Broadway plans, as well as the upcoming West End mountings of MEMPHIS and, hopefully, NICE WORK - and, a look ahead to his next David Bryan collaboration, CHASING THE SONG, as well. Plus, a glance back at his work on I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT NOW CHANGE, F*CKING MEN and ALLEGRO and his favorite current pop acts.

Today, the spotlight falls upon Travis Kendrick, who continues his run as one of the go-to guys at Clarksville's Roxy Regional Theatre in The Wedding Singer, opening tonight. Coming up for Travis is the role of Chachi in Happy Days, which will close the company's 2011-2012 season. Not only an actor, Travis is also a certified yoga instructor, teaching classes around Clarksville and at the Roxy, and he's choreographer of note, having choreographed Just Another High School Musical at Clarksville's Northeast High School, Gallantry for Austin Peay State University Opera and he'll be doing a number for The Roxy's 101 Dalmatians the Musical later this year.

Melissa Chalsma is one busy woman. Wife, mom, actor, director and full-time artistic director of Independent Shakespeare Co., she knows firsthand what it's like to try and balance more than you think you can. There's always time for a little girl talk though so between juggling kids and rehearsals we grabbed a few minutes to talk about ISC's upcoming performance of As You Like It, how storytelling shapes our world, and those L.A. streets paved with gold. Read on!

The cast of the Canadian Premiere of I Love You Because are a close-knit bunch, and they're currently having a blast performing this heartwarming show about love and friendship in NYC each night at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. At the opening night party, BWW spoke with all six cast members and got them to dish on their dating disasters, and what ensued was an evening of scandalous hilarity!

The McCallum Theatre presents the Cirque Mechanics' critically acclaimed BOOM TOWN April 5-7. Cirque Mechanics was founded in 2004 and quickly established itself as a premiere American circus. With its unique approach to performance, inspiring storytelling and innovative mechanical staging it has been hailed as "the greatest contribution to the American circus since Cirque du Soleil". I had the chance to sit down with Chris Lashua, the troupe's founder and Creative Director, to chat about all things Cirque. Here are a few highlights from that conversation:

Bravo's Way Off Broadway is a unique twist on reality television shows that appeals to theatre geeks everywhere. The show takes 22 amateurs and has them put together a production in eight short weeks. This year they are performing The Wizard of Oz, and BWW sat down to talk to LeeAnne Rorabeck who plays the role of Dorothy. Turns out sometimes dreams really do come true.

The erstwhile jazz singer has such musical theater heavyweights as Michael Mayer, Tom Kitt and William Finn in her corner.

Discussing all aspects of her sensitive, charming and emotional new collection of songs, MY LIFELONG LOVE, today we are talking to composer Georgia Stitt, a uniquely gifted artist whose moving new album is an ideal representation of the many facets of her songwriting abilities as well as a portal into her own genre-spanning inspirations and projects from which a number of these songs are culled - many musicals included! In addition to all about MY LIFELONG LOVE and the fabulous Broadway personalities appearing on it - such as Jessie Tyler Ferguson, Susan Egan, Shoshana Bean and Brian D'Arcy James - Stitt also illustrates how her personal life and role as a mother to two daughters has influenced her craft and career, as well as what we can expect from her in the future - like the new jukebox musical, HELLO! MY BABY, and the original musical, BIG RED SUN. Plus, working on the recording of the new ballet, THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN, with her husband, Tony-winner Jason Robert Brown; music directing and acting as vocal coach on AMERICA'S GOT TALENT and GREASE: YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT, an overview of the musicals she is working on currently - and much, much more!

Have I been a bad BroadwayGirl? Before November 5, the last show I saw was Sister Act in September, which at the time was the last production I needed to see before I could celebrate the fact that I'd been to every single show on Broadway.

Coming after a nearly month-long mini-hiatus following the superb "Asian F" in early October, the gleeks of McKinley High on GLEE swept back onto the main stage last night with the hotly anticipated "Pot O' Gold" episode, which introduced new recurring cast members and THE GLEE PROJECT co-winner, Damian McGinty in the tailor-made role of sassy and offensive Rory Flanagan. While McGinty proved to be a winning addition to the roundly respectable line-up of GLEE Season Three, once again the musical performance highlight of the night goes to new GLEE regular Darren Criss - alongside show standout Lea Michele and the rest of the glee club - and their electrifying take on Katy Perry's campy anthem "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)". Much like with Lea Michele's emotionally shattering "Firework", once again a Katy Perry anthem has been rendered even better than the huge hit original by the gleeks of GLEE. Also, "Pot O' Gold" - directed by HAIRSPRAY movie musical helmer Adam Shankman - continued the season-long character arc of Tony-winning Broadway star Idina Menzel, in the role of rival McKinley glee club director Shelby Corcoran, and further developed her complex relationship with Quinn and Puck, played by sensitive Dianna Agron and imposingly forceful Mark Salling - the latter of whom contributed an emotionally charged and displayed his rarely seen softer side with his sensitive rendering of the 80s Foreigner power ballad "Waiting For A Girl Like You". McGinty's two selections - Teddy Thompson's "Take Care Of Yourself" and Kermit The Frog's "Bein' Green" - were relatively lucky and charmed introductions to the foreign exchange student character. Additionally, Mercedes, Santana and Brittany also got a Christina Aguilera/BURLESQUE-esque moment in the spotlight with their sweet and sexy "Candyman" (written by Linda Perry) as the newly formed girl-group The Troubletones. So, as for the rest of "Pot O' Gold" and how the songs stacked up in their dramatic context - as well as virtually everything else? Read on! The rainbow certainly ends with a shiny, gleaming pot o' gold - and maybe a leprechaun or two to love, too! Thank goodness it's Tuesday (or was) - and thank St. Patrick it's GLEE! After all, we've been waiting for a GLEE like this all October!

Today, in an extension of the FLASH FRIDAY column, we are sharpening our focus on the six upcoming revivals of musicals that are soon to hit the boards in the next few months (post-FOLLIES) and battle it out for the Best Revival as the Broadway season heats up just when the weather begins to cool: the classic Jule Styne/Bob Merrill musical that originally starred that star-of-stars, Barbra Streisand - FUNNY GIRL; the groundbreaking rock opera that rewrote the theatrical rulebook thanks to young creators Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice - JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR; the hippie, flower child take on the Christ story covering some similar Biblical ground to that of SUPERSTAR, with this one being the composing debut of WICKED songwriter Stephen Schwartz - GODSPELL; another Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice collaboration that won seven Tony Awards and acted as the vehicle for Patti LuPone's blazing Broadway debut in a starring role - EVITA; the significantly reworked, revised and rewritten new version of the beautifully scored time-travel musical by Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner, this time starring a male movie star crooner - ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER; and, the landmark American opera composed by the Gershwins with DuBose Haywerd - PORGY & BESS. While each and every one of these entities has a huge hit song or two that nearly everyone on the planet knows by heart - "Don't Rain On My Parade", "I Don't Know How To Love Him", "Day By Day", "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", "On A Clear Day…" and 'Summertime' included - each of these revivals also comes after a film version (or two) that, in more than a few of these cases, will be relatively difficult to top as far as expectations of many audience members undoubtedly will go. So, by taking a listen to the smash hit crossover songs from these musicals as well as looking at their respective film version's trailers - as well as a couple of surprises, too - perhaps we can glean some insight into what makes these generally pretty terrific properties so well worth reviving on Broadway, here, now, today, in 2011. Furthermore, all of this crystal ball commentary is not even taking into account the starry assortment of performers that have already been announced for these productions so far - especially with FUNNY GIRL's Lauren Ambrose and Bobby Cannavale, GODSPELL's Hunter Parrish, SUPERSTAR's lauded Josh Young, EVITA's Ricky Martin and Michael Cerveris, PORGY's Norm Lewis and Audra McDonald, as well as the leading man in what was once a leading lady's role (that of Barbara Harris) in ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER, Harry Connick, Jr.! What a tight race it is turning out to be for these new productions, particularly come Tony time in June! With rock to rhumba and borscht belt comedy to messianic hosannas and even full-out opera, seemingly every conceivable customer base is more than covered by this packed, potentially, well, awesome, season of shows - and many Broadway babies around BroadwayWorld are undoubtedly looking most forward to these six forthcoming revivals - with particularly good reason given the relative dearth of new musicals announced so far. So, let these revivals revive your flagging spirits as we leap into the 2011-2012 season with this comprehensive prospective and retrospective all about what makes them work so well in the first place and so worthy of another look!