Nicole Rosky - Page 256

Today in 2006, Spring Awakening opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, where it ran for 859 performances. Spring Awakening is a rock musical with music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater. It is based on the controversial German play Spring Awakening (1891) by Frank Wedekind which was banned in Germany for some time due to its frank portrayal of abortion, homosexuality, rape, child abuse and suicide. Set in late-19th century Germany, the musical tells the story of teenagers discovering the inner and outer tumult of sexuality. In the musical, alternative rock is employed as part of the folk-infused rock score.The original Broadway production won 8 Tony Awards, including Tonys for Best Musical, Direction, Book, Score and Featured Actor. The production also garnered 4 Drama Desk Awards whilst its original cast album received a Grammy Award.

Just last night, Sting joined the cast of the musical he penned, The Last Ship, for a limited run through January 10, 2015. He will be replacing actor Jimmy Nail, who is said to have 'blessed' the move. Sting then joins Paul Simon on tour in New Zealand on January 30, 2015, making any further extensions unlikely. BroadwayWorld was there for his first official curtain call last night, and you can go inside the special night below!

As previously announced, Nicole Scherzinger will make her West End stage debut as Grizabella in Andrew Lloyd Webber's record-breaking musical Cats. Returning to the West End for a strictly limited run at the London Palladium, press night is on 11 December at 7pm. Based on T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, the original creative team - Director Trevor Nunn, Associate Director and Choreographer Gillian Lynne, Designer John Napier and Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber - are reunited to bring Cats back to the West End this Christmas. In the videos below, Webber and Eliot's goddaughter Susanna Morley chat with Cerys Matthews about the origin of the musical and the revival on 'The One Show.' Check out the full interviews below!

The highly anticipated film INTO THE WOODS had its premiere last night, December 8th at New York's City's Ziegfeld Theatre. The film, which hits theaters on December 25th, is a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales, intertwining the plots of a few choice stories and exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was on the red carpet for the fairytale premiere and below, you can check out interviews with all of the stars, including James Corden, Emily Blunt, Billy Magnussen, Lilla Crawford, and even a bit from Meryl Streep herself!

Cherry Jones just moderated a special preview conversation with the creative team, including Tesori, Kron, Gold, and Bechdel, which was held yesterday at Joe's Pub. Check out what they had to say about the new musical and catch a performance sneak peek from Sydney Lucas!

Happy Birthday, Mario Cantone! He made his Broadway debut in 1995 as replacement for the role of Buzz in the Tony Award-winning play, Love! Valour! Compassion!. Later that year, he returned to Broadway again in the revival of The Tempest. In 2004, Cantone starred in the Stephen Sondheim musical Assassins as Samuel Byck. His latest Broadway credit was in his second one-man show, Laugh Whore, which he also wrote. Laugh Whore ran from October 24, 2004, to January 2, 2005, at the Cort Theatre and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Special Theatrical Event.

Allegiance - A New American Musical has been eyeing a Broadway run since it premiered at San Diego's Old Globe last fall. Since then, a New York City reading was held, led by Lea Salonga, George Takei and Telly Leung, all of whom starred in the San Diego production; there was also a recent backers screening in Austin. Below, check out 'Paradise' from the new musical, as performed by Marc Delacruz, Katie Boren, Diane Phelan, and Kay Trinidad.

THE ELEPHANT MAN opened last night, December 7, 2014 at the Booth Theatre (222 W 45th St), starring two-time Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper, Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson and Alessandro Nivola. Directed by Tony Award nominee Scott Ellis, the limited engagement will play through Sunday, February 15, 2014. BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was on the red carpet to chat with the evening's celebrity guests, including: Alyssa Milano, James Lipton, Rose Byrne and more!

Honeymoon in Vegas, the eagerly anticipated new musical comedy with book by Blazing Saddles and Fletch writer Andrew Bergman and score by three-time Tony Award-winner Jason Robert Brown, is currently in previews at Broadway's Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41st Street). BroadwayWorld brings you highlights of the cast in action below!

THE ELEPHANT MAN opened last night, December 7, 2014 at the Booth Theatre (222 W 45th St), starring two-time Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper, Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson and Alessandro Nivola. Directed by Tony Award nominee Scott Ellis, the limited engagement will play through Sunday, February 15, 2014. BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was there to chat with the company after the curtain went down and you can check out interviews with the full gang below!

Happy Birthday, Graciela Daniele! As a performer, Daniele made her Broadway debut in What Makes Sammy Run? in 1964. She studied with Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham while working with such luminaries as Bob Fosse, Agnes de Mille, and Michael Bennett, who hired her to assist him with Follies in 1971. Her first credit as a full-fledged choreographer was the 1979 revival of The Most Happy Fella. She has directed and/or choreographed several musicals of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, including, most recently, The Glorious Ones (2007) and Dessa Rose (2005) at the Off-Broadway Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center. She has directed and/or choreographed several musicals of Michael John LaChiusa Off-Broadway, most recently Bernarda Alba (2006) and Little Fish (2003).

Menzel took the time out of her busy schedule to chat with BroadwayWorld about 'Holiday Wishes', her upcoming world tour, life at IF/THEN, and so much more. Check out the full interview below!

THE LAST SHIP - the new musical with music and lyrics by 16-time Grammy Award-winner Sting and book by Tony Award-winner John Logan and Pulitzer Prize-winner Brian Yorkey opened on Broadway on October 26 with overwhelming praise for its emotionally powerful score. On December 16, Universal Music Classics will release the Original Broadway Cast Album for THE LAST SHIP, produced by the Emmy-Award winning and multi-Grammy-nominated producer Rob Mathes. The play is directed by Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello and choreographed by Olivier Award-winner Steven Hoggett, with musical direction, orchestrations and arrangements also by Rob Mathes. Amazon Pre-order: http://smarturl.it/TheLastShip_Amz

The world is still abuzz with the news that came earlier this week- that there would be no idictment for the police officer who killed Eric Garner. Back in July, WalkRunFly Productions (Warren Adams & Brandon Victor Dixon) partnered with poet Daniel J. Watts, and over 100 Broadway stars, directors, producers, musicians, choreographers, designers and technicians in Times Square to send a message about violence and the killing of Gardner. BroawayWorld brings you a video of the special demonstration below.

Happy Birthday, Stephanie D'Abruzzo! Though D'Abruzzo has spent most of her career performing as a puppeteer in children's television, she is best known for originating the roles of single schoolteacher Kate Monster and sultry chanteuse Lucy the Slut in the Broadway musical Avenue Q. D'Abruzzo earned widespread acclaim for her performance of the dual role, including a nomination for the 2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, a Drama Desk nomination, the Theatre World Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Special Ensemble Award. Her other stage credits include I Love You Because (off-Broadway), If You Give A Mouse A Cookie (TheaterworksUSA), Carnival (for City Center Encores!), Kiss and Makeup (New York City Fringe Festival), and Austentatious (New York Musical Theatre Festival).

Happy Birthday, Ira Gershwin! A lyricist, Gershwin collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century. With George he wrote more than a dozen Broadway shows, featuring songs such as 'I Got Rhythm', 'Embraceable You', 'The Man I Love' and 'Someone to Watch Over Me'. He was also responsible, along with DuBose Heyward, for the libretto to George's opera Porgy and Bess. The success the brothers had with their collaborative works has often overshadowed the creative role that Ira played. However, his mastery of songwriting continued after the early death of George. He wrote additional hit songs with composers Jerome Kern ('Long Ago (and Far Away)'), Kurt Weill and Harold Arlen.

Today in 2002, the fourth Broadway revival of Man of La Mancha opened at the Martin Beck Theatre (now the Al Hirschfeld Theatre), where it ran for 304 performances. Man of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote. It tells the story of the 'mad' knight, Don Quixote, as a play within a play, performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition.The original 1965 Broadway production ran for 2,328 performances and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The musical has been revived four times on Broadway, becoming one of the most enduring works of musical theatre.

Below, check out the official trailer for the Season 2 of HBO's LOOKING, starring Broadway favorite Jonathan Groff. The series returns on Sunday, January 11 at 10PM.

This week our spotlight is on Paul Loesel and Scott Burkell, whose original musical LMNOP received developmental productions at the University of Michigan and Goodspeed Musicals (Norma Terris Theatre). The show, produced with Third Coast Creative, will open in April 2015 at TUTS Underground in Houston, TX.