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WAKE UP with BWW 7/22/14 - KING LEAR, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY, SEUSSICAL in STL and More!
By: Jessica Showers Jul. 22, 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: KING LEAR starts at Shakespeare in the Park, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY goes on the playlist, SEUSSICAL opens in St. Louis, and actors fill new roles in PIPPIN and LES MIZ!
TODAY'S TOP ITEMS:
- KING LEAR, starring John Lithgow (above), begins performances in Central Park tonight!
- Priscilla Lopez joins PIPPIN as 'Berthe', and Adam Monley joins LES MIZ as 'Javert' this evening...
- The FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: COMES OUT SWINGING! cast album hits the shelves today.
- And John Tartaglia leads SEUSSICAL, opening tonight at The Muny in St. Louis!
from this year's
Fire Island Dance Festival!
NEWS YOU MISSED YESTERDAY:
- Michelle Williams has extended her run in CABARET through November!
- Kristin Chenoweth will be bringing us more yuletide cheer with a new Christmas album...
- The 2014 Fire Island Dance Festival raised a record-breaking $533,860 for Dancers Responding to AIDS last weekend!
- Patti LuPone, currently performing THE LADY WITH THE TORCH at 54 Below, has signed a contract with the venue through 2016...
- We got a first look at Atlantic Theater's BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY!
- And finally, Monty Python's SPAMALOT will gallop out on another UK tour this coming winter.
Broadway Weather Forecast: High of 87 and sunny, so get thee to Central Park for KING LEAR's first performance!
Quote of the Day: KING LEAR star Lithgow lives for Shakespeare...
Shakespeare is like mother's milk to me.
-- John Lithgow (via BrainyQuote)
What we're listening to: The FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: COMES OUT SWINGING! Original Cast Recording, out today!
Video of the Day: Here's proof that John Tartaglia knows how to embody an "out-there" animated character -- just like he will when he tackles 'The Cat in the Hat' in SEUSSICAL tonight at the Muny. Below, watch the cast of SHREK THE MUSICAL perform "Freak Flag", featuring the actor as 'Pinnochio'!
And finally, a Happy Birthday shout-out to Alan Menken, who turns 66 today!
The famed, eight-time Oscar-winning composer's revamped version of ALADDIN is currently playing on Broadway, along with the long-running Newsies, which will close next month. Menken won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Original Score for Newsies. Among Menken's other Broadway credits are Leap of Faith, Sister Act, The Little Mermaid, Little Shop of Horrors, King David and Beauty and the Beast. He is also known for his work on the films Tangled, Enchanted, Hercules, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (now being developed into a stage musical) and more.
See you bright and early tomorrow, BroadwayWorld!
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