SOUND OFF: GLEE's New Directions Do One Directionby Pat Cerasaro - May 9, 2012“Prom-asaurus” proved that GLEE can still pack a powerful pop culture punch when required to do so; and when it wants to - and spike it with some effervescence and make it pop, too. Even those among us who don’t partake in drinking the GLEE Kool-Aid, all must agree that there was more than one episode’s fair share of fun, frivolity, twists and tunes, with some very fitting dramatic and musicals moments that we have by now come to anticipate from the genre-hopping musical dramedy enterprise - all of it integrated effectively into the stream-lined storyline, as well. Prom. It’s all about prom this time of year and GLEE always makes a point to pay tribute to the month of May in this way. It is in pop culture melding mega-moments like last night’s One Direction cover by way of GLEE - “What You Makes You Beautiful” - that we are again reminded of the special place GLEE holds in the American pop pantheon of the 21st century - using real, of-the-moment pop songs and utilizing them to comment on current events while musicalizing and dramatizing the lives of high school students. The classic cuts that come along are a bonus, really, when one considers GLEE from this viewpoint, though the contemporary covers have become the bread and butter of song sales for the mega-music-selling series - “Teenage Dream” by Blaine & The Warblers, as well as the Troubletones’s Adele “Someone Like You/Rumor Has It” mash-up sold nearly as many copies as their predecessors - the originals - as far as iTunes sales go. Though FOX channel-mate Simon Cowell of course discovered and shepherds the international pop smash super group One Direction, their musical appearance on GLEE this season marks the continued exposure of the of-the-moment boy band phenomena we have not seen the likes of in over a decade - not since the days of N*SYNC and the Backstreet Boys - after the New Directions success with The Wanted’s “Glad You Came” a few episodes back and their upcoming continued presence, no doubt, in addition. What makes GLEE must-see-TV week after week is more often than not the try-anything approach of the creators and cast - some sequences shockingly come off brilliantly and hit all-too-squarely their intended targets, while others fall far short and flop completely, even embarrassingly so. To crib a phrase from One Direction’s hit single, what makes GLEE beautiful is that GLEE does not always know what makes it beautiful - experiencing drama coming to us delivered from that rocky, risky-to-mount precipice is sometimes frustrating, sometimes rewarding, but almost always somehow more than merely satisfying.
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Barbra Streisand to Return to Brooklyn for October 11th Concertby BWW News Desk - May 9, 2012Barbra Streisand is coming home. The Brooklyn-born and raised, world-acclaimed superstar will perform a concert on Thursday, October 11th, in Brooklyn at Barclays Center, the new 19,000-seat sports and entertainment venue.
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Pride Films and Plays Presents 'And The Winner Wasn't II - The Tony Award Version!,' 6/5by BWW News Desk - May 9, 2012Broadway musicals take center stage at Pride Films and Plays' 2012 spirited benefit And The Winner Wasn't II - The Tony Award Version on Tuesday, June 5, at Sidetrack, 3349 North Halsted. (more...)
Lyricist Jack Lechner Brings 'HERE GOES NOTHING' to Birdland, 6/25by BWW News Desk - May 8, 2012The Broadway at Birdland concert series presents “Here Goes Nothing,” an evening of songs by Drama Desk-nominated lyricist Jack Lechner, on Monday, June 25 at 7pm. Guest performers will include Jill Abramovitz, Desmond Dutcher, Jeannine Frumess, Jose Llana, Lucas Steele, and Karen Ziemba. The music director will be Boko Suzuki. (more...)
Asolo Rep Presents FANNY BRICE, AMERICA'S FUNNY GIRLby Beau Higgins - May 6, 2012Fanny Brice, America's Funny Girl will open May 23, 2012 and run until June 17, 2012. Previews begin May 20. Fanny Brice, America’s Funny Girl is a reworking of Maltz Jupiter Theatre’s 2009 hit production Fanny Brice: The Real Funny Girl. Writer and Director David H. Bell modified the script and is bringing Asolo Rep the most inspiring version yet. TCPalm raved, “Marya Grandy may not be the real Fanny Brice…but she just might be a new version of Ethel Merman. That’s with a little Patti LuPone and the emotional singing delivery al a Judy Garland tossed in for good measure”. WJTW FM said “what really brought the audience to its feet for a standing ovation however was the finale…it doesn’t get any better than that.” (more...)
LUNGS, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, Dr. Ruth, ALL MY SONS and More Play Barrington Stage Company 2012by BWW News Desk - May 5, 2012Barrington Stage Company has announced its 2012 season performance schedule, including more than 230 performances of musicals, plays, concerts, readings and free events. See details below. (more...)
BWW Reviews: The 2,000-Year-Old Man Kvells Over Alison Nusbaum's Homage to Mel Brooks' Ladies, Films and Songs at Don't Tell Mamaby Stephen Hanks - May 3, 2012Recent MAC Award-winner Alison Nusbaum had audiences laughing in the narrow aisles of Don't Tell Mama with her hilarious show that paid tribute to everything Mel Brooks. Here's a review from the 2,000-Year-Old Man. (more...)
FOLLIES Begins Run at LA's Ahmanson Theatre Tonight!by BWW News Desk - May 3, 2012
James Goldman and Stephen Sondheim’s Follies, which was just nominated for eight Tony Awards, begins previews tonight, May 3 at 8 p.m. at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre. Performances of the exclusive Los Angeles engagement of the Kennedy Center’s critically acclaimed Broadway production of Follies will continue through June 9, 2012. Opening is set for May 9. (more...)
Arsht Center Presents City Theatre's SUMMER SHORTS FESTIVALby Beau Higgins - May 3, 2012The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County presents City Theatre’s 17th annual SUMMER SHORTS FESTIVAL, South Florida’s fast and furiously fun program of the nation's hottest short plays, staged in the intimate Carnival Studio Theater (Ziff Ballet Opera House) from June 1-17, 2012. Under the new direction of Producing Artistic Director John Manzelli, the sizzling 17th season of the company’s acclaimed SUMMER SHORTS FESTIVAL features fifteen performances of ten original short plays – some raucous, others innovative and poignant, but with the ultimate goal to make audiences laugh.
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Leila Benn Harris, Tommy Sherlock et al. Set for FROM UP HERE World Premiere, June 13-15by BWW News Desk - May 28, 2012Perfect Pitch Musicals and South Hill Park have announced the world premiere production of new musical FROM UP HERE, which will play four performances from Wednesday 13 – Friday 15 June 2012 at South Hill Park Arts Centre, featuring a West End cast including Leila Benn Harris, Tommy Sherlock, Russell Walker, Lisa Kerr and Tony Kemp. From Up Here has music and lyrics by Aaron Lee Lambert, and will be directed by Luke Sheppard with musical direction by Tom Attwood. It will also be streamed live via WhatsOnStage.com on Thursday 14 June at 7.30pm. (more...)
Photo Flash: Ana Gasteyer and Brian d'Arcy James at Bay Street Theatreby BWW News Desk - May 27, 2012Ana Gasteyer, from SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and SUBURGATORY and Brian d'Arcy James from the new hit series SMASH performed to a sold-out crowd last night, May 26, at Bay Street Theatre. ” Gasteyer and James mingled with the crowd, including actress Blythe Danner, at the post-show VIP soiree. Among the evenings attendees, Board Chairman Frank Filipo, Board Member Jane Holden as well as Hamptonites Bruce Sloan and Sal & Mary Lou Ranieri; and Matt McGrath, a Bay Street Theatre Artistic Associate and the director of the upcoming Mainstage production of Polly Draper in MY BRILLIANT DIVORCE, by Geraldine Aron. See below for photos from the after-party! (more...)
2012 Tony Awards Clip Countdown - Day 11: GLEE Starsby Pat Cerasaro - May 22, 2012Today we continue the 2012 Tony Awards Clip Countdown - culminating in the final entry on June 10, aka Tony Sunday - with a focus on two tremendous theatrical talents who have crossed over from Broadway fame to international acclaim on Fox’s hit musical dramedy series GLEE, which ends its third season tonight: HAIRSPRAY’s Matthew Morrison and SPRING AWAKENING’s Lea Michele. (more...)
Broadway Veteran Janet Carroll Passes Away at 71by BWW News Desk - May 22, 2012Star of Film, Television and Stage passed away peacefully Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012 after a long illness. She fought the good fight for a few years and is now happily released from pain and struggle. Surviving her is her son George Brown, daughter-in-law Lauren Shpall and many dear friends and family. Janet is pre deceased by her son Tom Brown (1978) and her parents George and Hilda Thiese (2010) (more...)
Twitter Watch: Ana Gasteyer in 'the Machiavellian hustle for seats at an elementary school performance...'by BWW - May 21, 2012On Twitter Watch, Ana Gasteyer wrote "Nowhere is the depravity of the human spirit more evident than in the Machiavellian hustle for seats at an elementary school performance.." (more...)
Barbra Streisand Adds Another Brooklyn Performance to Concert Schedule, 10/13by BWW News Desk - May 21, 2012Barbra Streisand is coming home. The Brooklyn-born and raised, world-acclaimed superstar will perform a concert on Thursday, October 11th, in Brooklyn at Barclays Center, the new 19,000-seat sports and entertainment venue.
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Pittsburgh CLO Announces Full Casts of Local Productions - Starring Sally Struthers, Hunter Herdlicka, Liz Callaway and More!by BWW News Desk - May 20, 2012Pittsburgh CLO has announced casting for its summer season, which includes six shows, featuring the national tours of Come Fly Away and The Addams Family, and CLO original productions of A Chorus Line, Annie, Fiddler on the Roof and Sunset Boulevard. Notably, A CHORUS LINE brings on board a slew of the show's national tour veterans, ANNIE stars Sally Struthers as Miss Hannigan, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF features Broadway's Lewis J. Stadlen, Susan Cella, Hunter Herdlicka, Joel Robertson, Emily Shoolin and Kay Walbye. Liz Callaway and Walter Charles are set to star in SUNSET BOULEVARD. (more...)
SOUND OFF: GLEE Chokes, But Shakes It Outby Pat Cerasaro - May 2, 2012Rachel doesn’t seem likely to be headed to New York and NYADA - nope, not this time. Mucking up her major shot at Broadway glory - at least as far as high school auditions go - by messing up the words to “Don’t Rain On My Parade” from Funny Girl, her anthem, no less - the focus on GLEE’s appropriately titled “Choke” episode brought to mind a lyric from Stephen Sondheim’s MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, a musical about the sacrifices we make to get what we thought we wanted - “still with dreams, / just reshaping them. / Growing up….” And that is Season Three of GLEE in a nutshell - the senior members of New Directions learning to let go of childhood and move ahead into the unknown world of maturity; whether the future may bring college, career or pool-cleaning. With more musical theatre references per minute than any episode of the twenty so far in GLEE S3, “Choke” was filled with the stylized storytelling and absurd, although always appreciable surprises along the way that makes GLEE consistently, near-constantly compelling. No, no, no - GLEE has not flagged in the least sixty-odd episodes into the series so far, although the rating may have slightly. Last night’s GLEE was a good example of the shifting focus and repeated reinvention that keeps the series fresh - and the comedy is as fearless and biting as ever. (more...)
Dawn Ward Lau's THE HOLE IN MY BUCKET LIST Plays Don't Tell Mama, 6/15 & 22by BWW News Desk - May 16, 2012Dawn Ward Lau returns to the cabaret stage as Debbie Goldberg with her new show “The Hole in my Bucket List”, at Don't Tell Mama 343 W 46th St 212 757-0788 for 2 performances in June, Friday June 15 and Friday June 22 at 9:15 p.m. Sharing the stage will be multi mac award winning musical director Ricky Ritzel. (more...)
Asolo Rep Presents FANNY BRICE, AMERICA'S FUNNY GIRLby Beau Higgins - May 14, 2012Fanny Brice, America's Funny Girl will open May 23, 2012 and run until June 17, 2012. Previews begin May 20. Fanny Brice, America’s Funny Girl is a reworking of Maltz Jupiter Theatre’s 2009 hit production Fanny Brice: The Real Funny Girl. Writer and Director David H. Bell modified the script and is bringing Asolo Rep the most inspiring version yet. TCPalm raved, “Marya Grandy may not be the real Fanny Brice…but she just might be a new version of Ethel Merman. That’s with a little Patti LuPone and the emotional singing delivery al a Judy Garland tossed in for good measure”. WJTW FM said “what really brought the audience to its feet for a standing ovation however was the finale…it doesn’t get any better than that.” (more...)
Photo Flash: Lainie Kazan, Michele Lee et al. at THE PERSIAN ROOM PRESENTS Book Signingby BWW News Desk - May 10, 2012Patrons were treated to a classic trip down memory lane this week as four leading ladies of the legendary Persian Room New York came together for a book signing. Lainie Zazan, Michele Lee, Connie Stevens and Barbara Van Orden gathered at Barnes and Noble in California's The Grove to celebrate the release of Patty Farmer's new book “The Persian Room Presents.” Anecdotes involving audience celebrity sightings included Barbara Streisand (by Stevens), Milton Berle (by Van Orden), Jack Jones and his thighs (by Lee) and a mob king who struck her while performing (by Kazan). See photos of the leading ladies at the event below! (more...)
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