Eddie Varley - Page 201

McCarter Theatre is pleased to welcome its new Managing Director, Timothy J. Shields. Mr. Shields, a nationally recognized theater executive, was appointed Managing Director by the McCarter Theatre Board of Trustees in September and began work at McCarter on January 5, 2009. 'My acceptance of the position at McCarter Theatre represents something of a homecoming, as I worked at McCarter from 1983 to 1992, and most of my family is on the East Coast,' said Shields. 'The opportunity to become Managing Director of a Tony Award-winning regional theater with such a great reputation was simply too hard to pass up.' He added, 'The unbelievably high level of the productions and presentations that McCarter does for its audiences is work that any arts professional would be pleased to be associated with, and everyone strives to make the work even better. Any organization that has that sort of ambition is one that I'm proud to lead.' Mr. Shields comes to McCarter from Milwaukee Repertory Theater, where he has served as Managing Director since 1998. During his tenure, The Rep's operating budget more than doubled, ticket sales and contributed income reached record levels, and statewide tours of Rep productions in 2006, 2007, and 2008 were re-established.

SHEAR MADNESS, America's Longest-Running Comedy, announces it's new opening date at Town Square Las Vegas.

Complete casting has been announced for the brand new production of GREASE, starring American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, playing the Golden Gate Theatre beginning Tuesday, March 24 through Sunday, April 19. Taylor Hicks made his debut on Broadway in the role of 'Teen Angel' this past summer. This brand new production of GREASE will feature songs from the smash hit 1978 motion picture performed for the first time ever in a Broadway production. GREASE is presented as a part of the 2008-2009 Citibank Best of Broadway series season under the direction of Carole Shorenstein Hays. Tickets on sale now. Taylor Hicks achieved widespread fame in 2006 as a contestant on the hugely successful FOX singing competition 'American Idol.' On May 24, 2006, Hicks was named the winner of the fifth season of 'Idol' with over 63.4 million votes in total. Winning the title over Katharine McPhee, the announcement was made during the live finale episode which aired to a worldwide audience of over 200 million viewers. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Taylor Hicks' passion for music began at an early age. He toured the Southeastern Unites States during his teenage years and released two independent albums. Known for his energetic performances with influences derived from classic soul, blues and R&B music, he quickly grew a large fan base among the millions of viewers and voters who tuned in to 'Idol' each week. His fans ultimately dubbed themselves the 'Soul Patrol.'

McCarter Theatre Center announces the complete cast for Eclipsed, the Spotlight Production of the theater's 3rd Annual In-Festival of new works. Written by Obie Award-winning actress and playwright Danai Gurira and directed by Liesl Tommy, the five-woman play features Pascale Armand, Nikiya Mathis, Keiana Rich?rd, Stacey Sargeant, and April Yvette Thompson. Eclipsed runs on Wednesdays through Sundays from January 26 to February 8, 2009 in The Room in the Berlind Theatre (opening night January 31). Set in war-torn Liberia, Eclipsed offers a chilling, humanizing, and surprisingly funny portrait of transformation and renewal. With wit, compassion, and defiance, this gripping play unearths the wreckage of war and celebrates the women who navigate and survive the most hostile of circumstances. Danai Gurira first introduced excerpts of Eclipsed to McCarter in 2007, followed by a public reading of the work during the 2008 In-Festival. In researching the play, Ms. Gurira traveled to Liberia through a TCG New Generations Grant, which she applied for with McCarter Theatre. Pascale Armand has been seen in New York at Playwrights Horizons and Manhattan Theatre Club and regionally at numerous theaters including Kansas City Rep, Arena Stage, Yale Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Syracuse Stage, American Repertory Theatre, and Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Lauren Graham (Golden Globe Award nominee for 'Gilmore Girls') will make her Broadway debut as 'Miss Adelaide' opposite Oliver Platt's 'Nathan Detroit' in the new Broadway production of GUYS AND DOLLS. Lauren Graham talks to Entertainment Weekly about Broadway, a 'Gilmore' movie, and her big TV comeback. ABC announced a production commitment to a new comedy starring Graham, who will play a self-help guru who teaches women how to live a stress-free life -- but struggles to follow her own advice when her boyfriend dumps her.'

New Repertory Theatre, in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, announces it will be extending its run of Kander and Ebb's Tony Award-winning musical Cabaret. Repertory Theatre presents provocative and intelligent works of both established and emerging playwrights in an intimate setting that involves and engages the audience. New Rep has earned a reputation for dynamic productions that honor the writers and feature talented professional actors from the New England Theatre community as well as guest artists from around the U.S. New Rep has received Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards for outstanding acting, scenic design, directions, and production. New Rep's Lead Sponsor for Cabaret is Bank of America and its Broadcast Partner is Comcast. Programming at New Repertory Theatre is supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

The Broadway company of CHICAGO is pleased to announce details for the February installment of 'Talkback Tuesdays,' the unique new series offering post-show discussions and audience Q&A sessions with past and present members of the Broadway company of the record-breaking hit musical. Designed to provide theatergoers with an exclusive, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of CHICAGO, the February 'Talkback Tuesdays' offering is set for Tuesday, February 10, 2009, featuring a post-show conversation with Tony Award winner and original Velma Kelly, Bebe Neuwirth. For her performance as Velma Kelly, Neuwirth won the 1997 Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award and the Fred Astaire Award. A decade after originating the role of Velma on Broadway, Neuwirth returned to CHICAGO to great acclaim in the role of Velma's rival, merry murderess Roxie Hart.

BroadwayWorld gave the cast of Center Theatre Group and Deaf West Theatre's production of 'Pippin' a FLIP video camera and then set them free backstage during rehearsals as they prepared for opening night on January 25th. This production interweaves music, voice, American Sign Language and dance, and combines powerful storytelling techniques from both hearing and deaf cultures. BWW TV is proud to bring you this very special video feature, stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon! 'Pippin' opens the Mark Taper Forum's 2009. Both deaf and hearing actors sign and sing the magical musical comedy with book by Roger O. Hirson and music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Directed and choreographed by Jeff Calhoun, 'Pippin' continues performances through March 15. 'Pippin' is the captivating coming of age story about a young man's search for meaning in his life, as told by a lively band of troubadours in the Roman Empire. The episodic quest of Pippin, the son of the powerful Charlemagne, takes him through battlefields, orgies, revolution, and finally, love and domesticity, as he tries to find a place for his 'spirit to run free,' for his 'corner of the sky.' This production interweaves music, voice, American Sign Language and dance, and combines powerful storytelling techniques from both hearing and deaf cultures.

Westchester Broadway Theatre has announced a change in its upcoming season schedule. TITANIC, The Musical which was slated to run from 3/26/09 to 6/14/09 will be replaced by FUNNY GIRL. Donald Birely will Direct The Styne/Merrill Musical. Auditions are imminent & will be announced. The change, press notes state was made to offer audiences a more fun, light-hearted evening of entertainment in these troubled times. Funny Girl, is an only-in-America story of an ugly duckling who transforms herself into a swan. Fanny Brice is a goofy, comic singer from the Lower East Side, who rises to stardom in 1920s Vaudeville with the Ziegfeld Follies. It recounts her stormy relationship with a handsome, very proud gambler turned embezzler, Nick Arnstein, whom she loves, wins, and eventually loses. The Jule Styne-Bob Merrill score is a parade of classic tunes including 'People' and 'Don't Rain On My Parade' 'I'd Rather Be Blue Over You.' and delightful dance numbers such as 'Sadie, Sadie' and 'Rat-tat-tat-tat'.

IN THE HEIGHTS star and Tony Award winner Priscilla Lopez and Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis hosted AN INTIMATE THEATER EVENING, the 14th annual benefit for the A-T Children's Project at The Clark Studio Theatre at Lincoln Center on Monday, January 19th, 2009. The event raised money for the A-T Children's Project, a non-profit organization formed to raise funds through events and contributions from corporations, foundations and friends. Brad and Vicki Margus founded the A-T Children's Project after two of their sons were diagnosed with ataxia-telangiectasia in 1993. Ataxia-telangiectasia, or 'A-T,' is a progressive, degenerative disease that affects a startling variety of body systems. Children with A-T appear normal at birth, and the first signs of the disease usually appear during the second year of life. Children who are lucky enough to not develop cancer are typically dependent on wheelchairs by the age of ten due to lack of muscle control in the body. There is no cure for A-T and no way to slow the progression of the disease. A-T Children's Project's goal is to find a cure for the disease.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) is pleased to announce the following production as part of their 2009-2010 season, Patrick Marber's After Miss Julie starring Sienna Miller. Directed by Mark Brokaw, After Miss Julie will star Sienna Miller in the fall of 2009. Roundabout in association with Sonia Friedman Productions and Ostar Productions present the American premiere of playwright Patrick Marber's drama After Miss Julie. The play transposes August Strindberg's 1888 play about sex and class to an English country house on the eve of Labour's historic landslide in 1945. Sienna Miller will be making her Broadway debut as 'Miss Julie.'

Mad Men and SPEED-THE-PLOW star Elizabeth Moss and Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen have recently gotten engaged. Mad Men star Moss accepted Armisen's proposal last week. She told USAWeekend.com this past weekend that, 'I don't want to share the details of how it happened, but I will say it was perfect.' The two talented stars have been very low key regarding the romance, but Armisen has been seen at 'SPEED' quite frequently and as a matter of fact shared the 'BWW TV' screen with Moss for our 'Night Before Christmas' video! We wish the happy couple all the very best.

Whoopi Goldberg stars and executive produces the sci-fi miniseries 'STREAM' for FEARnet.com. Goldberg plays the lead character, Jodi, trying to come to terms with her lifelong fears. Here we bring you a clip from the very first episode of 'STREAM', courtesy of the kind folks over at FEARnet.com. Stay tuned for more exclusive clips from the series right here on BWW TV!

SHARON CARR ASSOCIATES, LTD announced today the addition of Jessica-Snow Wilson to the cast of GLIMPSES OF THE MOON. Wilson will be replacing Autumn Hurlbert in the leading role of Susy. GLIMPSES OF THE MOON premiered exactly one year ago at the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel to rave reviews and quickly sold out its limited run. The show returned this fall with an expanded production and received more enthusiastic reviews. The run has now been extended through the end of March, with performances every Monday night. Starting in February, in partnership with the Algonquin Hotel, the production is adding alternating Thursday lunch matinees. The following special guest stars confirmed to appear in the show, Monday nights at 8pm in the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel: January 26 - ANDREA MARCOVICCI (Mabel Award Winner/Back Stage Bistro Award Winner) February 2, 5 & 9 - NATASCIA DIAZ (Jacques Brel) February 16 & 23 - TOM WOPAT Future guest stars to include: Leslie Uggams (Tony and Emmy Award-winning), Robert Cuccioli (Tony Nominated), and Gay Marshall (Jacques Brel). GLIMPSES OF THE MOON, a Jazz Age musical with book & lyrics by Tajlei Levis and music by John Mercurio, choreographed by Denis Jones, and directed by Marc Bruni, plays 'only on Monday nights but elicits a Sunday kind of love,' (John Simon, Bloomberg.com) in the Oak Room at the historic Algonquin Hotel (59 West 44th Street, between 5th and 6th Ave.).

Tickets go on sale this Sunday, January 25 for the upcoming Broadway production of Eugene Ionesco's classic comedy EXIT THE KING starring Academy Award-winners Geoffrey Rush (Shine) and Susan Sarandon (Dead Men Walking), and Screen Actors Guild Award-winner Lauren Ambrose (Awake and Sing!, 'Six Feet Under') and Tony? Award- winner Andrea Martin (My Favorite Year, Young Frankenstein). With a new translation by Neil Armfield and Geoffrey Rush and directed by Neil Armfield, EXIT THE KING will begin performances Saturday, March 7, 2009 at the Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street) and open on Thursday, March 26, 2009. This limited engagement will run for 14 weeks only, through Sunday, June 14, 2009. EXIT THE KING is a hilarious and poignant comedy about a megalomaniacal ruler, King Berenger (Rush) whose incompetence has left his country in near ruin. Despite the efforts of Queen Marguerite (Sarandon) and the other members of the court to convince the King he has only 90 minutes left to live, he refuses to relinquish any control.

The New York Post's Michael Riedel has revealed that Hugh Jackman, who was flirting with starring in a stage musical of 'A Star Is Born,' has passed on being a part of the upcoming production. Kevin Spacey will now play the role of washed-up Hollywood star Norman Maine in a workshop in London next month reports Riedel. If all goes well explains Michael Riedel, look for it to open at the Old Vic, which Spacey heads, in the fall of 2009.

Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words continues its sit-down, open-ended run at the Triad Theater, 158 West 72 Street, Monday, January 26, at 7:30pm, with a cast that includes Matthew Broderick, Jackie Hoffman, Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel, Sherri Shepherd, Michael Urie, and Alan Zweibel. The comedy sensation Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words features a line-up of rotating performers who interpret the actual words and stories written by the famous and the infamous, in both solo and ensemble 'chamber' pieces. Some of the 'authors' that are featured include Ivana Trump, Vanna White, Mr. T, Star Jones, Kenny Loggins, Tommy Lee, Sylvester Stallone, 'N Sync, Zsa Zsa Gabor, David Cassidy, Neil Sedaka, Britney Spears, Madonna, Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson, as well as the infamous memoirs of Elizabeth Taylor, Eddie Fisher, and Debbie Reynolds, which are edited together to create a Rashomon-esque playlet in the participants' own words.

A performance of Celebrity Autobiography was part of the SF Sketchfest at Cobb's Comedy Club on Monday, January 19, with a cast that included Rachel Dratch, Will Forte, Michael McKean, Laraine Newman, Annette O'Toole, Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel, Jason Sudeikis, and Scott Thompson. SF Sketchfest is a national comedy festival in San Francisco that mixes national headliners, local favorites, and the best up-and-coming groups from throughout North America for a month of sketch, improv, stand-up, and alternative comedy. The festival has featured performers from every major North American television comedy hit of the last 25 years including 'Saturday Night Live,' 'The Kids in the Hall,' 'Arrested Development,' 'The Upright Citizens Brigade,' 'The State,' 'Mystery Science Theatre 3000,' 'Strangers with Candy,' 'The Simpsons,' and 'The Daily Show.'

In conjunction with the second edition of his hit book How Does the Show Go On?, Broadway producer Thomas Schumacher gave the keynote address at the Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta. The national festival dedicated to groups working with elementary and middle school aged young people, ran from January 16 -18, 2009. Schumacher's presentation (on Sunday, January 18), much like his book, enlightened more than 1,500 theater lovers about what goes into putting on a Broadway show. Child actor Henry Hodges, who starred as ?Michael Banks' in the original Broadway cast of Disney & Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins joined Schumacher. Schumacher's much heralded book, How Does the Show Go On?, was originally released in 2007 and went on to sell over 50,000 copies. A second edition was released in late 2008 and has been updated to include Broadway's The Little Mermaid and the stage production of the mega-hit High School Musical. A library edition of How Does the Show Go On? is also available. The book, written with Jeff Kurtti, gives readers the opportunity to meet the cast of characters who work onstage and behind the scenes to deliver unforgettable performances, and explore the inner workings of the theater building itself.

Whoopi Goldberg stars and executive produces the sci-fi miniseries 'STREAM' for FEARnet.com. Goldberg plays the lead character, Jodi, trying to come to terms with her lifelong fears. Here we bring you the trailer for 'STREAM', courtesy of the kind folks over at FEARnet.com. Stay tuned for exclusive clips from the series right here on BWW TV!