Jessica Lewis - Page 3

For over twenty-five years, the late Bradshaw Smith (Founder & Executive Producer of "Broadway Beat" and Applause Video) was the theater world's preeminent videographer, capturing over 1,000 performances on Broadway, off-Broadway, in cabaret halls and beyond that now, because of him, live on today. Bradshaw Smith died on January 16, 2012, at age 57, following a sudden and severe stroke. To conclude the intimate memorial, Bradshaw's longtime friend and editor, Jonathan Frank, compiled the best of Bradshaw's work as a video artist. For a look back at your favorite performances nearly three decades long, all captured through Bradshaw's lens, click below!

Yesterday, July 9, friends and family of Bradshaw Smith (Founder & Executive Producer of "Broadway Beat" and Applause Video), gathered at the New Signature Theatre space to honor the former cabaret star and beloved videographer at an intimate memorial celebration. Performers and speakers who came out to show their respects included Jared Bortz, Mario Cantone, Dan Daly, Jamie deRoy, Julie Halston, Jeff Harnar, Linda Harris, Karen Mason, Susie Mosher, Sidney Myer, Lee Roy Reams, Richard Ridge, Steven Skeels and Todd Stockman. As part of the celebration, Bradshaw's longtime friend and editor, Jonathan Frank, compiled the best of Bradshaw's cabaret past, and below, BroadwayWorld is thrilled to bring you the highlights from Bradshaw's career as a perfomer and cabaret fixture.

It's the final weeks to purchase tickets to Bay Street Theatre's biggest fundraiser of the year. The annual ROCK THE DOCK! SUMMER BENEFIT BASH on Saturday, July 21 will be held on the Long Wharf waterfront in Sag Harbor.

Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of THE COLUMNIST by Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner David Auburn, directed by Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan, plays its final show today, July 8 at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. The production will have played 86 regular performances and 23 previews upon its closing. Have a look below to revist the production in photos and video!

Direct from a 13-city National Tour, Bring It On: The Musical begins previews on Broadway on Thursday, July 12, and opens Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at The St. James Theatre for a 12-week limited engagement through Sunday, October 7, 2012. A new musical montage of the production has just been released and BroadwayWorld brings you a first look below!

On July 3rd, New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) presented a special preview of the 2012 featuring musical selections from: Rio, Stand Tall, Himself & Nora, Trouble, Stealing Time, Arnie the Doughnut, Foreverman, A Letter to Harvey Milk, and The Groove Factory. The event, hosted by GODSPELL's Corbin Bleu, featured Isaac Robert Hurwitz, Leslie Kritzer, Matt Bogart, Natalie Toro, Jeremy Kushnier, Tom Deckman, Adam Monley, Danny Quadrino, Jennifer Wren, J. Manuel Santos and more. BroadwayWorld was on hand at the new NYMF Hub to speak with the stars and creative teams from the sampling of shows and takes you inside the event below!

Yesterday, July 4, America's national Independence Day celebration kicked off our country's 236th birthday with celebrations and fireworks across the nation. Down in America's capitol, Washington DC was host the the annual A CAPITOL FOURTH concert, broadcast on PBS.

On July 3, the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) presented a special preview of the 2012 season, featuring musical selections from Rio, Stand Tall, Himself & Nora, Trouble, Stealing Time, Arnie the Doughnut, Foreverman, A Letter to Harvey Milk and The Groove Factory - just a small sampling of the exciting 2012 offerings. The event, hosted by Godspell alum Corbin Bleu, featured Leslie Kritzer, Matt Bogart, Natalie Toro, Jeremy Kushnier, Tom Deckman, Adam Monley, Danny Quadrino, Jennifer Wren, J. Manuel Santos and more. BroadwayWorld was on hand throughout the morning to capture the show previews and below, we're thrilled to bring a very first look at the performance highlights!

Today, July 3, the New York Musical Theatre Festival hosted a press preview day in which several shows treated the audience to special performances. On hand to represent 'Stealing Time' was Jesus Christ Superstar alum Jeremy Kushnier, who performed the show's title number. Click below to see him in action!

A LETTER TO HARVEY MILK, a new musical which was a finalist in this year's prestigious Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater, is one of 10 musical plays being presented by the 2012 New York Musical Theatre Festival Next Link Project (NYMF), which starts on July 9th. The musical is based on the short story, 'A Letter To Harvey Milk' by Lesléa Newman. Today, the New York Musical Theatre Festival hosted a press preview day, sampling its offerings this year, and on hand to preview MILK was the show's star, Leslie Kritzer (Sondheim on Sondheim, A Catered Affair Legally Blonde). Click below to hear Kritzer perform the title song from the exciting new show!

As BroadwayWorld reported yesterday, Audra McDonald, the five-time Tony winning star of PORGY & BESS, will indeed be returning to the show today following a 2-week doctor-mandated hiatus.

On Friday night, June 29th, Brian d'Arcy James (Shrek The Musical, Next to Normal, NBC's 'Smash') got a birthday surprise on the stage of 54 Below where his show, 'Under the Influence,' just closed to rave reviews on Saturday, June 30.

The West Coast premiere of The National Theatre production of War Horse opens tonight, June 29 at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre. Previews began June 14, and performances for the powerful drama will continue through July 29, 2012 before embarking on a national tour that will hit 30 U.S. cities during the 2012-2013 season. The winner of five 2011 Tony® Awards, War Horse has been seen by over 2 million people worldwide and is currently playing at New York's Lincoln Center Theater, in London's West End, and at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre. Future productions of War Horse are planned for Australia, Berlin and South Africa, as well as a UK Tour. Want to go behind the scenes of the stunning production? Click below!

Williamstown Theatre Festival Artistic Director Jenny Gersten announced today the full cast and creative team for The Elephant Man, which will be presented on the Nikos Stage from July 25 through August 5 (opening July 26).

Broadway and MEMPHIS star Adam Pascal stopped by Good Day New York this morning to treat audiences to a live performance of 'Memphis Lives in Me,' one of the show's most iconic numbers. Check out the performance and photos of Pascal's visit below!

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Reid Carolin, screenwriter for the upcoming film MAGIC MIKE, is currently working on a 'spin-off' of the movie, which he plans to bring to Broadway as a new musical. Deadline.com has since noted that the musical is gunning for the Great White Way in the summer of 2013. The show will reportedly be produced by Tatum alongside Carolin under the banner of their production company, Iron Horse Entertainment, alongside the film's director Steven Soderbergh, Gregory Jacobs, and Nick Wechsler. For more on the project from

As previously announced, Jeremy Kushnier (Jesus Christ Superstar, Footloose), Eden Espinosa (Wicked, Brooklyn), Rachel York (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Victor/Victoria) and Jack Noseworthy (A Chorus Line, Sweet Smell of Success) lead the cast of New York Musical Theater Festival's 'Stealing Time,' the latest work of writers/composers Tor Hyams and Lisa Neubauer. 'Stealing Time' will play as a special event in the 2012 New York Musical Theater Festival at the PTC Performance Space. 'Stealing Time' is the second NYMF project for Hyams coming off the success of 'Greenwood' starring Andrea McArdle in the 2011 New York Musical Theater Festival. Yesterday, the company previewed the show in a special concert. Click below to hear Kushnier in action and stay tuned for more following the official NYMF preview next week!

Jennifer Hudson recently teamed up with Pampers for a new initiative, creating her interpretaion of Brahms' 'Lullaby and Goodnight' classic in tribute to moms. On June 27, Hudson and Pampers hosted a Pampers Lullaby Listening Party at Espace in New York City, where Hudson debuted her version of the famous tune.

Since 2006 The Tony Randall Theatrical Fund has distributed over $1Million to more than 50 companies. This year the Fund has announced that it will award general operating support grants to nine exceptional theater companies with a proven track record of artistic excellence and ambitious, mission-driven theater-making. Special consideration this year was given to companies committed to the development of new audiences and the production of relevant work with a social conscience.

Today, the Supreme Court declared the constitutionality of President Obama's individual mandate insurance law that requires individuals to get insurance or pay a tax in 'penalty' beginning in 2014. The Actors Fund's President & CEO Joseph P. Benincasa reacts response to today's Supreme Court decision and explains why it is good for Artists.