Jessica Lewis - Page 186

The Detroit News is reporting that President and Mrs. Obama have made a personal contribution in the amount of $10,000 to the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit - much to the surprise of the theater itself. Says Theatre director Richard Sperling to the Detroit News, 'We were stunned...it left us speechless.' So much so that it was only after the check cleared and the bank confirmed its validity that theatre personnel were convinced that it was not a hoax.

Last night, Wednesday 13 January 2010, Legally Blonde The Musical opened at the Savoy Theatre in London. Sheridan Smith, Duncan James, Jill Halfpenny, Peter Davison, Aoife Mulholland, Susan McFadden and Alex Gaumond lead the cast in Legally Blonde The Musical which is currently booking until 23 May 2010. Directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winning Jerry Mitchell, Legally Blonde The Musical has music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, book by Heather Hach, set design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller, sound design by Acme Sound Partners and orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke.

Defending the Caveman, the history-making comedy about the sexes, begins a limited Off-Broadway engagement February 23rd, with opening night set for March 7th, at The Downstairs Theatre at Sofia's, 221 West 46th Street, next to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, in the heart of Broadway. This limited engagement runs through April 18th. Defending The Caveman will be presented by Theater Mogul NA Inc., in association with Entertainment Events Inc.

Broadway favorite and country singer Laura Bell Bundy spoke exclusively with BroadwayWorld today about the upcoming release of her newest album, Achin' and Shakin' (Mercury Records, a division of Universal). Her highly anticipated sophomore disc to her previous Longing for a Place with Nobody Home, is a concept album - part soulful and sultry 'Achin' ballads and part upbeat and sassy 'Shakin' tracks. Says Bundy of the idea: 'Two records, one woman' is my motto.'

American Idol winner Kris Allen, who beat out runner up Adam Lambert in season 8, seems to have more singles selling power than his more controversial counterpart. While Lambert's debut album, For Your Entertainment, had a bigger opening week than Allen's Kris Allen, Allen's single Live Like We're Dying has outsold Lambert's For Your Entertainment by more than double. Live Like We're Dying has sold approximately 500,000 downloads, charting at #27 spot on the Soundscan singles charts. Lambert's For Your Entertainment has sold a little more than 200,000 downloads.

Ke$ha, the 22-year-old 'TiK ToK' singer, debut album, 'Animal' has premiered at #1 on the Billboard charts, ending Susan Boyle's six week stranglehold on the coveted spot with 'I Dreamed a Dream.' Animal, released last week, sold 152,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Ms. Boyle's 'I Dreamed a Dream' took the #2 slot with 93,000 sales, bring it's grand sales total to approximately 3.2 million.

Amy Adams, Kate Hudson, Ashton Kutcher and Zoe Saldana are the latest celebrities to be confirmed presenters at the '67th AnnuAl Golden Globe Awards.'

Disney Theatrical Productions welcomes Oscar, Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg (moderator of ABC's THE VIEW) to the cast of Broadway's landmark musical event, THE LION KING - for one night only - on Thursday, January 14 at the Minskoff Theatre (200 West 45th Street, NYC). Goldberg will appear in a series of surprise cameos throughout the 8pm performance. The announcement was made live this morning on 'The View.' The appearance marks a return for Goldberg to the legit stage and her Lion King roots, having originated the voice of Shenzi the Hyena more than 15 years ago in the 1994 Disney animated feature.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the nation's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, announced today the nominees for its 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards. By recognizing and honoring media for outstanding images of the LGBT community, the GLAAD Media Awards serve as a benchmark for the media industry and complement GLAAD's work to bring LGBT images and stories to Americans.

According to published reports, Broadway and television stars Kristin Chenoweth and Lea Michele will reunite on the silver screen for the animated feature 'Dorothy of Oz.' Michele will voice the title character of Dorothy, while Chenoweh will voice the character of China Doll Princess. The movie is based on the 'More Adventures of Oz' novels written by Roger S. Baum - great-grandson of L. Frank Baum's.

Variety reports this morning that Randy Newman's score for Disney's The Princess and the Frog has been ruled ineligible for Oscar consideration by the Academy music-branch executive committee.

As previously reported, CBS's hit sitcom, How I Met Your Mother, celebrated the broadcast of its 100th episode last night, January 11 at 8:00pm. In the episode, Neil Patrick Harris busts out in song and dance when Barney (Harris) is torn between a hot woman -- Karina, the bartender -- and his suit. He is joined by the entire cast in the musical number, 'Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit,' written by the show's exec producers/creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, as Barney debates surrendering his suits in order to land Karina (Stacy Keibler). BroadwayWorld previously brought you the musical sneak peak and making of the musical number 'Nothing Suits Me Like A Suit.' Today, we bring you the final broadcast clip. The full 100th episode of How I Met Your Mother, 'Girls vs. Suits' can be viewed at www.CBS.com.

Roundabout Theatre Company in association with Long Wharf Theatre is pleased to announce the full company for Tennessee Williams' play The Glass Menagerie, directed by Gordon Edelstein with Patch Darragh (Tom Wingfield), two-time Tony® Award winner Judith Ivey (Amanda Wingfield), Keira Keeley (Laura Wingfield), Michael Mosley (Jim O'Connor).

Opéra McGill et l'Orchestre symphonique de McGill sous la direction de Julian Wachner présentent The Rake's Progress d'Igor Stravinsky les 27 et 29 et 30 janvier à 19h30 à la Salle Pollack. David Lefkowich sera metteur en scene invité. La production sera surtitrée en français et en anglais. Les billets sont 27$ et 22$ (étudiants et aînés) et sont disponibles au guichet de la salle Pollack, du lundi au vendredi entre midi et 18h ainsi qu'une heure avant les représentations, ou par le réseau Admission (514-790-1245 or 1-800-361-4595, www.admission.com).

Le Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec reçoit les demandes d'admission pour l'année scolaire 2010-2011, jusqu'au 1er mars 2010. Le Conservatoire est une institution nationale qui sert une grande partie du territoire québécois. Nos sept établissements en musique au sein desquels nous offrons une formation en interprétation, dont les programmes de baccalauréat et de maîtrise, pour une vingtaine d'instruments ainsi qu'une formation en chant, en direction d'orchestre, en écriture musicale et en composition, sont répartis à Gatineau, Montréal, Québec, Rimouski, Saguenay, Trois-Rivières et Val-d'Or. En art dramatique, nos établissements de Montréal et de Québec offrent une formation en jeu, en scénographie et en mise en scène et création.

Following the announcement yesterday that American Idol mastermind Simon Cowell would be leaving the show after nine seasons to bring The X Factor to Fox in early 2011, Tony-nominee and former Idol contestant Constantine Maroulis appeared on CBS' The Early show to weigh in on Idol's loss. See what the Rock of Ages star has to say about Simon's parting below!

ABC kicks off the tenth season of the hit reality series 'Dancing with the Stars' with a huge two-hour premiere, MONDAY, MARCH 22 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network, as an all star cast of celebrities and their professional dance partners will hit the floor with two hours of dancing.

59E59 Theaters will welcome Chicago's Victory Gardens Theater with the NY premiere of CONVICTION, by Oren Neeman, adapted by Ami Dayan and Mark Williams and directed by Jeremy Cole. CONVICTION begins performances on Tuesday, February 16 for a limited engagement through Sunday, March 21. Press opening is Tuesday, February 23 at 7:15 PM.

Bass-Baritone David Pittsinger returns to the role of Emile de Becque in Lincoln Center Theater's Tony Award winning production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, for a seven week period beginning Tuesday, February 2nd through Sunday, March 21, 2010. The production's current Emile de Becque, baritone Paulo Szot, leaves the musical on Jan. 24 to prepare for his Metropolitan Opera debut in their new production of Shostakovich's The Nose. He returns to South Pacific on March 30, 2010.

Second Stage Theatre has announced that Tony Award winners John Lithgow and Jennifer Ehle will star as MR. & MRS. FITCH in the world premiere comedy from Douglas Carter Beane. The production marks Mr. Beane's return to Second Stage Theatre where his critically acclaimed, Tony-nominated play The Little Dog Laughed premiered in 2005. MR. & MRS. FITCH will be directed by Scott Ellis, who also staged the world premiere and Broadway transfer of The Little Dog Laughed. Previews begin at Second Stage Theatre on January 26, 2010; opening night is scheduled for Thursday, February 22.