SPOTLIGHT ON PHANTOM 25: Interview: Sierra Boggessby Pat Cerasaro - Sep 28, 2011Today we are talking to the leading lady of the new PHANTOM OF THE OPERA 25th Anniversary At The Albert Hall - airing live in Fathom movie theaters around the world this Sunday - Christine Daae herself - Sierra Boggess! In this extensive discussion about all things PHANTOM we dissect the starring role in the biggest musical theatre sensation of all time and she illustrates her journey with the character of Christine from originating it in director Hal Prince's PHANTOM VEGAS in 2006 to inspiring the role (ten years later) in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical sequel to PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, LOVE NEVER DIES, in the West End - a musical which, incidentally, is also being filmed this week (though not simulcast in movie theaters); Simon Lee's Australian production - all the way up until now - and her two starring roles on Broadway in between as, respectively, a mermaid and a student of Maria Callas - as she prepares for preserving the role in the filmed stage super-production for the ages. Additionally, Sierra and I touch on her work in THE LITTLE MERMAID and MASTER CLASS on Broadway as well as her first audition for Hal Prince, plus recollections of "instant chemistry" with LOVE NEVER DIES and PHANTOM 25 co-star and the Phantom himself, Ramin Karimloo, as well as hinting at some special surprises Sunday may very well hold in store - Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman included - and much, much more! (more...)
InDepth InterView: Hal Princeby Pat Cerasaro - Oct 24, 2010Last week I conducted an illuminating InDepth InterView with legendary producer and director Harold Prince in which we discussed his singular career, having won more Tony Awards than any other person on the planet for his near one-hundred productions since his start as George Abbott's assistant producer over fifty years ago. He produced such landmark musicals as DAMN YANKEES, THE PAJAMA GAME and WEST SIDE STORY in the 1950s and then went on to become a director in his own right with Kander & Ebb's FLORA, THE RED MENANCE (Liza Minnelli's Broadway debut), CABARET into the Sondheim series of masterpieces in the 1970s - COMPANY, FOLLIES, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, PACIFIC OVERTURES, SWEENEY TODD - bridging into his two biggest commercial successes, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals EVITA and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Celebrating its 23rd year on Broadway in January, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is the most successful entertainment of all time, more than any other musical, television show or even feature film in history. It's a juggernaut like no other and the mystery, magic and majesty that had made the show such a rousing success is thanks to the masterful eye-of-all-eyes, the true master director of the American Theatre, Harold Prince. But, will he be doing the sequel?
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David Gregory Interviews Filmmaker Ken Burns on MEET THE PRESSby TV News Desk - Oct 18, 2012In this week's MEET THE PRESS, PRESS Pass conversation, David Gregory sat down with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns to talk about the state of our political discourse, view of government, and his new documentary "The Dust Bowl." (more...)
Carl Levin Visits NBC's MEET THE PRESS WITH DAVID GREGORYby TV News Desk - Nov 26, 2012Yesterday's MEET THE PRESS WITH DAVID GREGORY featured interviews with Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), House Homeland Security Committee chairman Rep. Peter King (R-NY), Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), and Honeywell CEO David Cote; and a roundtable conversation with MSNBC's Rev. Al Sharpton, National Republican Senatorial Committee vice chair Carly Fiorina, New York Times columnist David Brooks, documentary filmmaker and historian Ken Burns, and NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell. (more...)
InDepth InterView: Brian D'Arcy James Talks SMASH Season Finale, THE BIG C, 54 Below Concert & Moreby Pat Cerasaro - May 12, 2012Today we are continuing BroadwayWorld's ongoing interview series with the stars and creative team of NBC's hit musical drama series SMASH with a Broadway/Hollywood leading man who first made his mark on the stage creating a role in the Tony Award-winning TITANIC after having appeared in BLOOD BROTHERS and CAROUSEL and who has since starred in productions as diverse as SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, NEXT TO NORMAL, SHREK and many more - the jovial and multi-talented Brian d'Arcy James. Discussing all aspects of his role on SMASH as well as cluing us in on what we can expect from Monday's highly awaited season finale, d'Arcy James and I also take a look back at his career onstage thus far and he shares fond recollections of working on TITANIC, SWEET SMELL, SHREK, NEXT TO NORMAL, TIME STANDS STILL and THE WILD PARTY Off-Broadway as well as offers his observations of his collaborators and co-stars in each endeavor. Plus, Brian also reveals his other current TV project: his character arc on Showtime's dramedy THE BIG C, starring his TIME STANDS STILL co-star Laura Linney and previous John Benjamin Hickey, that begins this Sunday and continues through the rest of this month. Additionally, we also discuss his upcoming 54 Below concerts June 26-30 - as well as his thoughtful and candid opinions on some of his favorite songwriters and his own songs. Plus, comments on his film roles in HBO's GAME CHANGE, FRIENDS WITH KIDS, an upcoming short film - and much, much more! (more...)
BWW EXCLUSIVE: Harry Connick, Jr. On New CD/DVD & Much More!by Pat Cerasaro - Mar 3, 2011Today we are talking to Emmy and multi-Grammy-winning actor, musician and performer Harry Connick, Jr. about his new concert CD/DVD/Blu-Ray HARRY CONNICK, JR.: ON BROADWAY, in stores this week and premiering on PBS GREAT PERFORMANCES nationwide on Sunday. In this revealing two-part discussion encapsulating many of Harry's stage, film and concert memories - as well as anecdotes about working with friends and co-stars like Sandra Bullock, Hilary Swank and Renee Zellweger - we analyze the sights and sounds of his new concert album and DVD (which was filmed at the Neil Simon Theatre on Broadway last year) with central focus of the conversation being his passion for musical theatre music - as a musician, composer, performer and actor - and what the future holds for him on stages and screens large and small around the world. Of course, all of this is coming on the heels of the first news of Harry himself starring in the highly-awaited revival of ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER on Broadway next year! All that and much, much more awaits in this extensive weekend triptych feature, so don't miss the special Harry-centric edition of FLASH FRIDAY for the full experience! (more...)
SPOTLIGHT ON The Public: Mona Mansour & URGE FOR GOINGby Pat Cerasaro - Mar 24, 2011Today we are continuing our series of coverage of the offerings this Spring at The Public Theater with the playwright of the new LAB production, URGE FOR GOING, Mona Mansour. With topics ranging from the Palestinian crisis to Patty Hearst and the play, ME AND THE SLA, that it inspired; her Lebanese upbringing; her affection for John Waters; humble beginnings at the Groundlings leading now to the New York premiere of her first play at the Public, URGE FOR GOING; and more. Additionally, Mansour provides her insights into the culturally rich material at the core of URGE FOR GOING, her own family's reaction to the controversial material and what audiences can expect from the drama.
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BWW Reviews: Laguna Playhouse Celebrates an Early Easter with Sister's Hilarious CATECHISM Sequelby Don Grigware - Mar 20, 2012Funnylady MaryPat Donovan has been playing Sister for almost 20 years in her Late Nite Catechism, and it has spawned five sequels. The latest entitled Sister's Easter Catechism is full of silly, gossipy, laugh-out-loud anecdotes, mixing in popular secular issues with religion via totally clean humor... all of which will obviously mean more to you if you were brought up a catholic and understand the implications. All those rules and regulations were enough to turn a person off ... and its insistence on total commitment/abstinence... oy! Is Christmas or Easter the most important holiday?, queries Sister. Christmas is surely more alluring with Santa and all the presents; Easter - despite the bunny and copious candy - offers suffering, death and resurrection, making it less appealing but more symbolic of what Catholicism is all about. Christ's death and eventual Resurrection explain the reason for His renowned birth. It doesn't have to make total sense; nothing in Catholicism is necessarily logical. Now onstage at the Laguna Playhouse, MaryPat Donovan is once more a thoroughly engaging nun, who not only entertains but makes us think about our purpose in life. (more...)
InDepth InterView: Jon Secada Talks New Album, Concerts, Broadway, Hollywood & Moreby Pat Cerasaro - Mar 15, 2013Today we are talking to a Grammy Award-winning performer who has carved out a unique career in the entertainment industry between his many platinum albums, notable contributions to film soundtracks and numerous live performances in solo shows and various musicals over the course of his twenty-five-year career in show business - the charming and talented Jon Secada. Discussing various aspects of many of his most memorable recordings to date and his process in capturing them in the studio, as well as reflecting upon the ever-chaning recording industry itself, Secada opens up about his work with some of the biggest names in music - Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan, Frank Sinatra, Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz and more included - as well as all about his new single, music video and his most recent sold-out appearances around the globe. Plus, Jon recounts his experiences performing on Broadway in the hit 1990s revivals of GREASE and CABARET, as well as his most recent stage work in JOSEPH & THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT on the road. Plus, Secada shares his thoughts on iTunes, favorite artists and much, much more! (more...)
DEBUT OF THE MONTH - Crystal A. Dickinson of CLYBOURNE PARKby Caryn Robbins - Jun 7, 2012In a recent chat with BWW, Dickinson explained how this poignant play manages to invoke a serious discussion about race relations in America while delivering a big dose of laughter at the same time (more...)
BWW Interviews: Debby Boone Talks 'Reflections of Rosemary' and Musical Careerby Don Grigware - Jun 13, 2011Triple Grammy Award winner Debby Boone will appear at the Welk Resort in Escondido from June 22 to 25. In 1977 she skyrocketed to fame with 'You Light Up My Life' and has never stopped recording since. In the 80s it was gospel and Broadway into the 90s and more recently Reflections of Rosemary, a CD that honors her late mother-in-law all time great singer Rosemary Clooney. Boone has had a varied career, running the gamut from country to Christian to pop - Broadway and standards - and will soon record a Big Band Swing album. In our chat, this talented gal talks about her music and her childrens' books, which she wrote with her husband illustrator, Gabriel Ferrer. (more...)
BWW Interviews: Creator of NYMF's SHELTER, Brittany Bullenby Caryn Robbins - Jul 25, 2012Brittany Bullen chatted with BWW about why she hopes future productions of SHELTER may serve to benefit communities throughout the country. (more...)
InDepth InterView: Patricia Kelly Discusses GENE KELLY @ 100, Lincoln Center Shows, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN HD & Moreby Pat Cerasaro - Jul 20, 2012Today we are talking to Patricia Kelly, the widow of one of the most iconic and influential performers in entertainment history, Gene Kelly, all about her husband's incomparable career on Broadway and in Hollywood, in honor of his centennial. Tracing Gene Kelly's journey from his theatre roots starring in Cole Porter's LEAVE IT TO ME!, Rodgers & Hart's PAL JOEY and William Saroyan's Pulitzer Prize-winning THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE on Broadway to his unforgettable screen appearances in many of the greatest movie musicals ever made - COVER GIRL, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, THE PIRATE, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS and many more included - Mrs. Kelly gives us a look into the life of one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. In addition to behind-the-scenes stories involving Kelly's frequent collaborators - such as esteemed director Vincente Minnelli, songwriter and producer Arthur Freed, arranger Saul Chaplin and others - Mrs. Kelly also shares candid anecdotes involving her husband's involvement with directing Rodgers & Hammerstein's FLOWER DRUM SONG on Broadway, helming the feature film adaptation of HELLO, DOLLY! starring Barbra Streisand, as well as his appearing in two idiosyncratic movie musicals later in his life, LES DEMOISELLES DE ROCHEFORT (THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT) for Jacques Demy, as well as his au revoir to movie musicals in form of the Olivia Newton-John roller disco starrer XANADU. Additionally, Mrs. Kelly fills us in on all the details about this weekend's two-night Gene Kelly retrospective celebration, which she leads and narrates, as part of GENE KELLY @ 100 and her future plans for the multimedia presentation - each evening titled AN EVENING OF GENE KELLY and CHANGING THE LOOK OF DANCE ON FILM, respective - as she begins to tour the show across the country. Plus, reflections on SINGIN' IN THE RAIN's 60th anniversary and the recent Fathom HD premiere presentation in theaters, the impact of Kelly's work behind the camera, his choreographic legacy, what a legend is like at home, memories of attending the opening night of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (starring HELLO, DOLLY! lead Michael Crawford), what the master would say about GLEE, SMASH, BUNHEADS and today's movie musical renaissance, as well as much, much more! (more...)
BWW EXCLUSIVE: Joan Rivers on Broadway, Hollywood, Reality TV & Moreby Pat Cerasaro - Jan 28, 2011Last night I had the privilege of interviewing comedy icon and red carpet legend Joan Rivers about her first love of theatre and live performance, working the red carpet and virtually inventing celeb-reality culture, her Broadway endeavors - FUN CITY, Neil Simon's BROADWAY BOUND and SALLY MARR... AND HER ESCORTS, plus her new autobiographical piece - as well as all about the dazzling documentary JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK. All of this, in addition to discussing her two weekly TV shows - FASHION POLICE on E! and the hit new WE reality series with daughter Melissa Rivers, JOAN AND MELISSA: JOAN KNOWS BEST? Stay tuned to BroadwayWorld for a complete conversation with Melissa all about growing up Hollywood, her superstar mother and running a production company and what it was like filming season one of MOTHER KNOWS BEST? coming up soon.
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Arin Arbus Discusses Houston Grand Opera's New Lucretia 2/3-11by BWW
News Desk - Feb 3, 2012The young American theater director Arin Arbus will direct an opera for the first time when she leads a new production of Benjamin Britten's intimate but intensely gripping chamber opera The Rape of Lucretia at Houston Grand Opera, on February 3-11, 2012. (more...)
CBS's News, Notes & Quotes from SUPER BOWL XLVIIby TV News Desk - Feb 1, 2013CBS brings you NEWS, NOTES AND QUOTES FROM CBS SPORTS AND CBS SPORTS NETWORK IN NEW ORLEANS (more...)
BWW Reviews: The Denver Center's THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER - Simply Magicalby Michael Mulhern - Dec 12, 2011THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER by Mark Twain and adapted for the stage by Laura Eason is currently delighting audiences at the Denver Center until December 18th. This classic follows Tom Sawyer and his parter in crime Huckleberry Finn as they live out their childhood adventures together.
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Arin Arbus Discusses Houston Grand Opera's New Lucretia 2/3-11by BWW News Desk - Dec 12, 2011The young American theater director Arin Arbus will direct an opera for the first time when she leads a new production of Benjamin Britten's intimate but intensely gripping chamber opera The Rape of Lucretia at Houston Grand Opera, on February 3-11, 2012. (more...)
ASK A TRAINER: 'How Can I Make Exercise Suck Less?'by Michael Buckley - Apr 30, 2013If working out has to be difficult to be effective is there any way to make it more enjoyable? (more...)
InDepth InterView: Brooke Shields On THE SOUND OF MUSIC At Carnegie Hall; Broadway, Hollywood & Moreby Pat Cerasaro - Apr 18, 2012Making a name for herself as a model at a very early age set the stage for a career on screens large and small - as well as the Broadway stage itself many, many times over - for iconic beauty Brooke Shields. On April 24, she takes on the role of the Baroness in a starry Carnegie Hall concert mounting of Rodgers & Hammerstein's much-loved musical classic THE SOUND OF MUSIC, co-starring previous InDepth InterView participant Tony Goldwyn as Captain Von Trapp in addition the subject of next week's upcoming InDepth InterView as Maria, rising star Laura Osnes. Sharing her insights on her many notable Broadway appearances since her bow in GREASE in the 1990s - including thoughts on her stints in CABARET, CHICAGO, WONDERFUL TOWN, THE ADDAMS FAMILY and more - Shields opens up about her affection for the theatrical form and her desire to pursue plays and musicals in the future. Additionally, Shields comments on her role opposite Miley Cyrus on HANNAH MONTANA, as well as her sitcom days on SUDDENLY SUSAN and upcoming film appearance in HOT FLASHES. Plus, all about her impressions of THE SOUND OF MUSIC and her affection for the classic score, original film and its stars as well as the challenges she faces taking on the tricky role of the Baroness in the gala Carnegie Hall concert event. All of that and much, much more! (more...)
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