Christina Mancuso - Page 61

It could be Sesame Street, but the neighborhood is shabbier. The residents look like the Muppets, but they're a lot more worldly. Plus, their human alter egos are very much a visible part of the zany, adult action. Welcome to Avenue Q, the runaway Broadway musical comedy that won the 2003 Tony Triple Crown of Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book. Ten years later, it is still running strong off-Broadway in the intimate setting for which it was originally designed. Check out the trailer below!

American Blues Theater, Chicago's second oldest Equity ensemble, closes the Ensemble's 27th season with the Broadway version of the script Collected Stories by Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies, co-directed by the mother and daughter team of Mary Ann Thebus and Steppenwolf Theater Associate Artist Jessica Thebus, runs April 19 - May 19 at Victory Gardens' Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue. BroadwayWorld has a first look at highlights of the production below.

Porchlight Music Theatre presents Pal Joey, book by John O'Hara, music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, April 20 - May 26, at Stage 773, 1225 West Belmont Ave. BroadwayWorld has a first look at highlights from the show below!

'The Royale' by Marco Ramirez, will be directed by Daniel Aukin in its World Premiere at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre. The show begins previews April 28 and opens on May 5, running through June 2, 2013. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the production below.

The TOP HAT Team pay homage to the nominees of The 2013 Olivier Awards. Can you guess each nominee being portrayed? Check out the video below.

Every once in a great while, the stars align just right where a story is beautiful, the music is gorgeous, the acting is spot-on, the sets are astounding, the lighting is impeccable, and everything comes together for the magic that is theatre. Such is the case with Nick Stafford's magnificent adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's children's book, WAR HORSE, now playing at the Ohio Theatre through April 28, 2013.

Dahl's classic novel comes to life on stage at the Lincoln Theatre in CCT's delightful production of WILLY WONKA. Adapted for stage by Leslie Bricusse and Timothy Allen McDonald with music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, this timeless story reminds us of the magic of theatre and obsession of chocolate.

Are you an expert in your field? Do you enjoy writing? BroadwayWorld.com is currently seeking guest bloggers in our recently expanded areas of books, comedy, fashion, technology, movies, music, opera, and tv.

The 7th Annual Voice of the City Vocal Competition presented by the Columbus Children's Choir was held last night, March 16, 2013, at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio. NBC 4's Cabot Rea hosted the event with 26 finalists (ages 9-17) who sang in front of a panel of expert judges, including New York City talent agent, Nancy Carson. Other Judges included Broadway Actor, Matt Clemens; Professional Actor and Choreographer, Dionysia Williams; Broadway Actor, Larissa Thurston Bateman; and Inaugural Voice of the City Winner and Actor, David Bahgat.

It's the most wonderful time of the year at the Ohio Theatre as IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS opened to a packed house on Tuesday night. Based on the classic 1954 film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen, this stage adaptation remains a universal traditional audience favorite.

The Museum of Modern Art has commissioned artist and choreographer Ralph Lemon to create a three-week program of dance performances by contemporary choreographers, entitled SOME SWEET DAY, to be presented in the Museum's Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Atrium from today, October 15 to November 4, 2012.

Strand Theater Company plays host to the Momma Drama theater group from San Francisco, Calif. After 9 years of sold out shows, Momma Drama is presenting the East Coast premier of its highly acclaimed production StrechMarks: Growing into Motherhood. The play opens tonight, June 22, and we have a first look at the production photos below!

Ben Vereen returns to The RRazz Room to with his show 'Steppin' Out with Ben Vereen,' a high energy tribute to the music of Broadway, along with musical selections made famous by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. Audiences can expect to hear classics such as 'Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries,' 'Mr. Bojangles' and 'Defying Gravity.' We have a video of Ben's performace with the cast of HAIR, singing at a Sirius Radio event. Check it out below!

"Everyone want[ed] to be black" on Tuesday Night at the Ohio Theatre as MEMPHIS came to town and literally tore down the house. From its onset, MEMPHIS was clearly a liberating celebration in every sense of the word. Its jumping and jiving, soulful, high energy rock-n-roll, powerful singing, and endearing story take you on a nonstop whirlwind from start to finish.

The 2012 season opens tonight, May 30th, with a Cole Porter classic, Kiss Me, Kate. Ed Sayles, Producing Artistic Director for Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival talks about this first show of the season for both Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival and Merry-Go-Round Playhouse. Watch the video below!

Roulette presents the School for Improvised Music (SIM) big band, June 5, 8pm. The SIM big band is comprised of many of SIM's esteemed faculty who will also compose music especially for this project. SIM (part of the Center for Improvised Music)i s a core group of professional musician/teachers committed to creating a school in New York City for emerging performers who want to pursue a serious study of improvised music. Since 2001, SIM has presented over 20 intensive workshop sessions for students from all over the globe. This big band project is one of several endeavors the Center for Improvised Music (CIM) is undertaking to celebrate the milestone of its 10 year anniversary. Another of these projects is an interview series in which SIM faculty will interview veteran jazz musicians in front of a live audience. CIM will also be hosting listening sessions in which musicians present music for the public as a way of educating the jazz audience at large.

AFA and Steampuffin present 'Steampunkinetics,' an exhibition of over forty kinetic sculptures by eighteen artists inspired by and entrenched in the Steampunk aesthetic. Some functional, some frivolous, and all fantastical, the works in this exhibition include lighting, furniture, time machines, submarines, airships, musical instruments, gizmos and gadgets. At the centerpiece of the show is the 'Steampunk Wedding Time Capsule,' by Bruce Rosenbaum and Gary Sullivan, an extraordinary, functional work of art designed to enrich its owner's day-to-day life. Mementos can be added to the antique clock at the time of purchase and annually. The capsule can then be opened at a time and date (25-year wedding anniversary? 100 years in the future?) set by the family revealing a lifetime, or several generations, of history, happiness, heartache and home. In this way the 'Steampunk Wedding Time Capsule' captures and celebrates the beauty, romance, nostalgia, novelty and inventiveness at the core of Steampunk.

Barbra Streisand may have just reached her 70th birthday, but her younger sister, Roslyn Kind, staged a celebration of her own, returning to the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts for a concert she called "Coming Home." Looking stylishly elegant in a black sequins top and matching pants, Kind commanded the stage with a veteran performer's poise and confidence. Unfortunately, microphone reverberation and sound echos caused frustration for Kind (as well as the audience) and got the show off to a rough start. It was only into about the sixth number that the sound problems were resolved and Roz was able to finally find her groove. In spite of the technical problems, however, she charmed her fans with her humor and personal stories, and wowed them with her pure, gorgeous voice.

"I'm just a stupid mom....who would want to hear me sing?" griped one band member before shedding her soccer mom image and launching into international rockstar success. In MoM: A ROCK CONCERT MUSICAL, five suburban 40-something moms form a rock group and learn how "rock and roll saved [their] sorry ass souls." This is a story of five everyday, normal housewives who forfeit their homemaking duties, throw aside their "granny underwear," leave the kids with Dad, and decide to follow their own dreams. "Why can't HE take care of the kids for a change?" they ask. As one mom aptly puts it, "Sometimes it's been a nightmare, and other times a dream come true."

In the Flea Theater and the Civilians' YOU BETTER SIT DOWN: TALES FROM MY PARENTS' DIVORCE, four actors sit side by side in varying styles of chairs and play their parents, answering questions from actual interviews in one large confessional theater space. We go on a relationship journey of how each couple met and fell in love, got married, began having problems, broke up, and finally cope with life after divorce. Although the material is deep and thought-provoking, it also offers a simplicity that is relatable to anyone who has or is going through a divorce. We learn that "you pay a consequence when you want to get out."