Nicole Rosky - Page 236

Today in 2005, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee opened at the Circle in the Square Theatre, where it ran for 1136 performances. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a one act musical comedy conceived by Rebecca Feldman with music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin and additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley Middle School. Six quirky adolescents compete in the Bee, run by three equally-quirky grown-ups. The 2005 Broadway production, directed by James Lapine, was nominated for six Tony Awards, winning two, including Best Book. The show has spawned various other productions in the U.S., including a national tour with performances in Canada, and Australian productions.

Today in 2002, The Drowsy Chaperone opened at the Marquis Theatre, where it ran for 674 performances. The Drowsy Chaperone is a musical with book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. It is a parody of American musical comedy of the 1920s. The story concerns a middle-aged, antisocial musical theatre fan; as he plays the record of his favorite musical, the (fictional) 1928 hit The Drowsy Chaperone, the show comes to life onstage as he wryly comments on the music, story, and actors. The show won the Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score. The show has had major productions in Toronto, Los Angeles, New York, London, and Japan, as well as two North American tours.

Today in 2002, the first Broadway revival of Into the Woods opened at the Broadhurst Theatre, where it ran for 279 performances. Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Into the Woods won several Tony Awards, including Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress in a Musical (Joanna Gleason), in a year dominated by The Phantom of the Opera. The main characters are taken from the stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Cinderella, tied together by a more original story involving a baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family, most likely taken from the original story of Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm.

Thirty years after their New York premiere and 40 years after they first started as a team, PENN & TELLER will return this summer for a strictly limited six-week engagement at the Marquis Theatre (46th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue) from July 7 - August 16. Check out a just-released promo for the show below!

Josh Groban is busy promoting his new album, titled 'Stages,' in New York City. Released yesterday, April 28th, via Reprise Records, the album is a collection of some of the greatest musical theater songs of all time, which Groban describes as 'gorgeously arranged songs that have stood the test of time,' and which he was drawn to because of their combination of 'incredible melody with an incredible story.' Below, watch as he stops by Columbus Circle to perform 'All I Ask of You' with Tony winner Lena Hall!

Theater fans are eagerly awaiting tomorrow's announcement of this year's Tony Award nominees, and a Finding Neverland campaign is already in the works. Variety has shared an excerpt of an op-ed letter written by Peter Pan expert Maria Tatar, professor of Germanic languages and literatures and folklore and mythology at Harvard University, which was sent out to the nominators of Broadway's most distinguished awards. According to the site, Weinstein is hoping to 'bolster the critical credibility' of his show, which recently opened to mixed reviews.

The Public Theater just opened George Brant's Grounded, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Julie Taymor and featuring Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway.

Today in 1996, Rent opened at the Nederlander Theatre, where it ran for 5123 performances. Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La boheme. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.On Broadway, Rent gained critical acclaim and won a Tony Award for Best Musical among other awards. The Broadway production closed on September 7, 2008 after a 12-year run.

Today in 1988, Chess opened at the Imperial Theatre, where it ran for 68 performances. Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other; all in the context of a Cold War struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, during which both countries wanted to win international chess tournaments for propaganda purposes.

Today in 2000, the second Broadway revival of The Music Man openened at the Neil Simon Theatre, where it ran for 699 performances. The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with the cash. In 1957, the show became a hit on Broadway, winning five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and running for 1,375 performances. The cast album won the first Grammy Award for 'Best Original Cast Album'. The show's success led to revivals and a popular 1962 film adaptation and a 2003 television remake.

An Act of God, starring Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Jim Parsons, two-time Tony Award nominee Christopher Fitzgerald and Tim Kazurinsky, begins performances on Tuesday, May 7, 2015 and officially opens on Thursday, May 28, 2015 at Studio 54 (254 West 54th Street). An Act of God is written by God, transcribed by 13-time Emmy® Award winner David Javerbaum and directed by Tony Award® winner Joe Mantello. Below, watch as Studio 54 gets transformed into heaven!

Screen Actors Guild Foundation and Broadway World have partnered for filmed Conversations Q&A series to recognize and celebrate the vibrant theatre community in New York City and the union actors who aspire to have a career on the stage and screen. The most recent conversation featured the Tony-nominated cast of Wolf Hall: Parts 1 & 2 (Ben Miles, Nathaniel Parker & Lydia Leonard) moderated by BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge. Watch below to find out how things are going at the Winter Garden Theatre, how they feels about bringing the plays to New York, and so much more. Check out the full interview below!

Today in 1970, Company opened at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre), where it ran for 705 perfrmances. Company is a musical comedy based on a book by George Furth with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The original production was nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tony Awards and won six. Originally entitled Threes, its plot revolves around Bobby (a single man unable to commit fully to a steady relationship, let alone marriage), the five married couples who are his best friends, and his three girlfriends. Unlike most book musicals, which follow a clearly delineated plot, Company is a concept musical composed of short vignettes, presented in no particular chronological order, linked by a celebration for Bobby's 35th birthday.

Today in 1991, The Secret Garden opened at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 709 performances.The Secret Garden is a musical based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The musical's book and lyrics are by Marsha Norman, with music by Lucy Simon. Directed by Susan H. Schulman with choreography by Michael Lichtefeld, the cast featured Daisy Eagan, Mandy Patinkin, and Rebecca Luker. It won the 1991 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Daisy Eagan), and Best Scenic Design (Heidi Landesman).

Happy Birthday Barbra Streisand! Streisand has appeared on Broadway in I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE and FUNNY GIRL, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award. Streisand won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actress for the role in the film version of the musical. Her next two movies were also based on musicals, Jerry Herman's Hello, Dolly!, directed by Gene Kelly (1969), and Alan Jay Lerner's and Burton Lane's On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, directed by Vincente Minnelli (1970). Additionally, she has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, one special Tony Award, five Emmy Awards including one Daytime Emmy, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award.

Today in 1997, Titanic opened at the Lunt-Fonatnne Theatre, where it ran for 804 performances. Titanic is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone that won five Tony Awards including the award for Best Musical. Titanic is set on the ocean liner RMS Titanic which sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912. Directed by Richard Jones with choreography by Lynne Taylor-Corbett, the cast included John Cunningham, David Garrison, Larry Keith, Alma Cuervo, Michael Cerveris, Victoria Clark, and Brian d'Arcy James.

The Visit, the final musical ever by legendary Tony Award-winning duo John Kander and Fred Ebb, celebrates its opening tonight, April 23, 2015 at the Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45th Street). The cast is led by Tony Award-Winners Chita Rivera as Claire Zachannassian and Roger Rees as Anton Schell. The Broadway cast also featuresGeorge Abud as Karl, Jason Danieley as Frederich Kuhn, Matthew Demingas Louis Perch, Diana Dimarzio as Annie Dummermut, Tony Award-nominee David Garrison as Peter Dummermut, Rick Holmes as Father Josef, Tom Nelis as Rudi, Chris Newcomer as Jacob Chicken, Mary Beth Peil as Matilde Schell, Aaron Ramey as Otto Hahnke, Elena Shadow as Ottilie, Timothy Shew as Hans Nusselin, with John Riddle and Michelle Veintimilla. Check out highlights of the cast in action below!

Tony-nominated songwriters Justin Paul and Benj Pasek and playwright Timothy Allen McDonald today released the highly anticipated ultimate cast recording for Roald Dahl's JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH.

Manhattan Theatre Club presents Steppenwolf Theatre Company's Airline Highway, now in previews for a Thursday, April 23 opening at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). Below, BroadwayWorld brings you highlights of the cast in action!