WAKE UP with BWW 5/20/14 - THE ANTHEM, WEST SIDE STORY, HEDWIG and More!
By: Jessica Showers May. 20, 2014
Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: THE ANTHEM begins performances off-Broadway, NPH visits Times Talks, and Cheyenne Jackson and Alexandra Silber belt out the tunes of WEST SIDE STORY in a new live recording!
TODAY'S TOP ITEMS:
- Jason Gotay, Remy Zaken and Randy Jones star in the World Premiere of THE ANTHEM, beginning tonight off-Broadway!
- Neil Patrick Harris and more will chat HEDWIG today as part of the "Times Talk" series...
- The San Francisco Symphony's new WEST SIDE STORY recording is out on iTunes today!
- AFTER MIDNIGHT guest star Toni Braxton is discussing her memoir UNBREAK MY HEART at Barnes & Noble this afternoon.
- Set your DVR! GLEE's Amber Riley, and pop star Ariana Grande are set to appear on the DANCING WITH THE STARS season finale tonight!
WHAT YOU MISSED YESTERDAY:
- FUN HOME and more won big at this year's Obie Awards. Check out the full list here!
- Over in Boston, the 2014 Elliot Norton Awards recognized some Broadway shows and names, including ALL THE WAY and its star Bryan Cranston.
- And in our last bit of awards season news, Kelli O'Hara, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and more are among the 2014 winners of the Lilly Awards, which honor women of distinction in American theatre...
- THE REALISTIC JONESES announced it will end its run on Broadway on July 6.
- Paul Rudd, Cynthia Nixon and more will star in DEAR ALBERT at the World Science Festival next week.
- And in July, John Tartaglia, Julia Murney, Kirsten Wyatt and more will lead SEUSSICAL at The Muny in St. Louis!
- We got a first look at Linda Lavin and more in Vineyard's TOO MUCH SUN, plus glances at AMERICAN HERO (here) and 'SEX TIPS' (here) -- all off-Broadway.
- And in other off-Broadway news, Rattlestick has extended THE FEW through June 21!
- MOTHERS AND SONS unveiled a new TV spot featuring star Tyne Daly...
- San Diego's Lamb's Players Theatre broke the World Record for "Longest Consecutive Theatrical Performance" with 100 HOURS OF STORIES!
- And finally, Corrine Priest won the 2014 Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year competition this weekend in the UK. Congrats!
Broadway Weather Forecast: And with the sun in the morning / And the moon in the evening / I'm alright... Mostly sunny with a high of 75. Summer is a-comin'!
Quote of the Day: Would you go see a Rufus Wainwright musical?
"I should write a musical. That is probably one of the final areas that I should pay attention to, because it does kind of involve everything. It's got theatre, it's got young, pretty people... And it's got money!"
-- Rufus Wainwright (via BrainyQuote)
What we're listening to: San Francisco Symphony's new WEST SIDE STORY live recording, featuring Cheyenne Jackson, Alexandra Silber and more. The album is out digitally today and will hit the SF Symphony store next month. The performances were recorded live at Davies Symphony Hall last summer after the symphony became the first orchestra granted the right to perform and record the full musical score in a concert setting.
And finally, a Happy Birthday shout-out to Sierra Boggess, who turns 32 today!
Boggess is one of the youngest actresses ever to play 'Christine Daaé' in The Phantom of the Opera, which she originated in the Las Vegas production in 2006 and later reprised in London and for New York's 25th anniversary celebration. She debuted the same role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to Phantom, Love Never Dies, which earned her a 2011 Olivier Award nomination. Boggess also starred in the 2011 London production of Les Miserables as Fantine. Her other Broadway credits include Terrence McNally's Master Class and the title role in Disney's The Little Mermaid, for which she received both Drama Desk and Drama League nominations. Boggess returned to Phantom opposite Norm Lewis last week.
See you bright and early tomorrow, BroadwayWorld!
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