Behind the Curtain - Page 3

Get out your tap shoes, Francis, because four-time Tony nominated choreographer, Randy Skinner, is here to waltz us all back in time for an intimate retrospective of his career. From working at the famed Kenley Players to being the keeper of the 42nd Street flame, Randy's career includes turns (both onstage and off) with 42nd Street, Babes in Arms, Ain't Broadway Grand, State Fair, Do Re Mi, George M, Lone Star Love, White Christmas, Of Thee I Sing, No No Nanette, On Your Toes, Dames at Sea, and many more!

One of Broadway's busiest and most respected set designers, Tony Award winner John Lee Beatty, swings by Shetler Studios to sit down with Rob and Kevin and review his portfolio which includes over 100 Broadway credits including the set designs for Ain't Misbehavin, Talley's Folly, Baby, The Most Happy Fella, Chicago, Once Upon a Mattress, Wonderful Town, and so many shows over at Encores!

It may not be Halloween but we got the one and only Eve Harrington, Penny Fuller, with us in today's episode! Penny has been an Emmy Award-winning familiar face on TV with such credits as The Bob Newhart Show, The Love Boat, One Day At A Time, Matlock, and Judging Amy but the theatre is her home with appearances in the original Barefoot in the Park, Cabaret, Applause, Rex, The Dinner Party, and the most recent revival of Sunday in the Park with George. 

David Shire's melodies have earned him an Oscar, a Grammy, countless Emmy and Tony nominations, as well a special place in the hearts of audiences spanning as far back as 1960. David drops by Shetler Studios to look back on his career and revisit not only such films as The Conversation, The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three, All The President's Men, Return to Oz, Zodiac, Norma Rae, and Saturday Night Fever, but to explore his collaboration with Richard Maltby Jr that produced such musicals as Starting Here, Starting Now, Baby, Take Flight, Big, Closer Than Ever, Love Match, How Do You Do, I Love You, and The Sap Of Life.

A dancer's life on Broadway can be limited, but, if you are Harvey Evans, your abilities have no boundaries. From his first Broadway credit in 1957's New Girls In Town, Harvey's incredible resume includes the original Broadway productions of West Side Story, Redhead, Gypsy, Hello Dolly, Anyone Can Whistle, George M, Our Town, The Boyfriend, Follies, Sextet, Barnum, Sunset Boulevard, and The Scarlet Pimpernel!

She might have once been a drowsy chaperone but the brilliant artist who created her, Beth Leavel, is an energetic life force whose passion for the art of musical theatre is infectious. Beth drops by Shetler Studios to sit down with Rob and Kevin and discuss her incredible career which not only boasts a Tony Award but featured her gracing the Broadway stages of such shows as 42nd Street, Crazy for You, The Civil War, Show Boat, Mamma Mia, The Drowsy Chaperone, Elf, Baby It's You, Bandstand, and the upcoming The Prom.

The sun won't come out tomorrow because it is here now and its name is Conrad John Schuck. One of the entertainment industry's most recognizable character actors, whose on-screen credits include MASH, McMillan & Wife, Star Trek, and The Golden Girls (Gil Kessler for Mayor), Conrad first got started on stage as a resident player at ACT which was then followed by countless theatre credits, most notably as Daddy Warbucks in Annie, for which he currently holds the record as the actor who has played that role the most!

You can dance with any girl at all but why would you when the lovely Helen Gallagher is right here and ready to look back on her amazing journey which includes the original productions of Billion Dollar Baby, Brigadoon, High Button Shoes, the 1952 Pal Joey (for which she won a Tony Award), Make a Wish, Hazel Flagg, The Pajama Game, Sweet Charity, and the 1971 No, No, Nanette for which she won her second Tony Award.

For over forty years, Jim Morgan has been one of the most recognizable names in the New York theatre. For twenty years, Jim has served as the artistic director of the acclaimed Off-Broadway theater company, The York Theatre.

Are you willing to ride? If so, then you will get to hear the enchanting Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba look back on her incredible career which includes show-stealing turns in And The World Goes Round, Crazy For You, Steel Pier, Contact, Curtains, The Prince of Broadway, and so many more!

The wry, witty, and sophisticated Tony nominee Jane Summerhays swings by Shetler Studios to look back on her incredible career in such musicals as A Chorus Line, Me and My Girl (for which she was nominated for the Tony), Lend Me A Tenor, The Wild Party, and what it was like to learn from artists like Barbara Cook, Wally Harper, and Mabel Mercer.

The genius of 'Give Me Fat Boy's Famous Arrow,' holograms of Cassie and Sheila, altering original staging, Kevin throws some Dolly shade, Whatever Happened To Baby Vanjie, a Better sing along, revisiting The Madwoman of Central Park West, Rob sings a solo, Wakefield Poole makes Broadway history, how a porno funded A Chorus Line, Sondheim goes for a walk in the woods, James Lapine buys an armchair, and Lil Marty stars in Anyone Can Whistle Jr.

Kevin and Rob have a dialect-off, Rob redecorates, Kevin sweats it out, Rob reveals some upcoming 54 Below shows, Kevin goes to the Catskills, Rob introduces to the Kutcher Emcee, the merits of talkbacks, Nathan Lane vs. Faith Prince, Victoria Clark needs a hug, Jackie Mason tackles Rodney Dangerfield, Jackie Mason goes into Les Miz, four books that praise the National Theatre, the brilliance of Nicholas Hytner, and more!

Brace yourselves because the infamous Assassin of Broadway, Michael Riedel, sits down with Rob and Kevin to look back on his career and to celebrate the great legends that fascinated him when he first began in this business. Michael also discusses his incredible book, 'Razzle Dazzle: The Battle For Broadway,' which is required reading for anyone who loves the theatre, plus lets loose with gossip from the Great White Way.

Merman becomes a critic, discussing the new Angles in America, praising Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane takes on Peter Sellars, Stritch goes multi-cam, Lucy plays Dolly, Madeline Kahn takes a walk, Elaine conquers the West End, the legacy of Elaine Stritch, accentuating the positive, being on the line (for real), how a revival comes to life, the A Chorus Line legacy, the secret passageways of Broadway, loving Michael Bennett, Freddie Martinez makes a comeback, and Rob brings out new impressions.

Two-time Tony Award-winning orchestrator, Michael Starobin, swings by Shetler Studios to discuss his illustrious career with Rob and Kevin. As an orchestrator, Michael created those magical charts for such shows as Sunday in the Park with George, Falsettos, the 1992 Guys and Dolls revival, Next to Normal, Once on this Island, Legs Diamond, Carrie, Romance/Romance, and Rags!

Deborah's passion not only extends into the literary world, where she wrote Sing Out Louise: 150 Stars of the Musical Theatre Remember 50 Years of Broadway, The Night and the Music: Rosemary Clooney, Barbara Cook and Julie Wilson Inside the World of Cabaret, and On the Sunny Side of the Street: The Life and Lyrics of Dorothy Fields, she served for ten years as the Artistic Director of the 92nd Street Y's Lyrics and Lyricists Series and is now the Artistic Director of the Classic American Songbook Series at Feinstein's/54 Belo.

Grab your good friend Sweeney and snag a comfy seat on the 20th Century as Rob and Kevin speak to one of the most celebrated choreographers of the 1970s, Larry Fuller. Joining us via phone from his new home in Palm Springs, California, Larry looks back on a career that included appearances in the original productions ofTHE MUSIC MAN, DONNYBROOK, KEAN, BRAVO GIOVANNI, and FUNNY GIRL, plus choreographing the original productions of Hal Prince's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (film, ON THE 20TH CENTURY, SWEENEY TODD, EVITA, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, and A DOLL'S LIFE.

In this week's episode let us all say Solla Sollew because three-time Tony nominee Kevin Chamberlin swings by Shetler Studios to look back on a varied career that includes the Broadway productions of My Favorite Year, Seussical, Dirty Blonde, The Addams Family, Triumph of Love, Disaster, and the hit Disney television show Jessie.

We're gonna whomp, and stomp, and whoop it up all night with the legendary director/choreographer Jeff Calhoun. From his days as a hoofer in SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS, MY ONE AND ONLY, and THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS film, to helming the Broadway revivals of GREASE, Deaf West's BIG RIVER, JEKYLL AND HYDE and the original Broadway companies of BROOKLYN, BONNIE AND CLYDE, and NEWSIES, Jeff tells all to Rob and Kevin.