Nicole Rosky - Page 265

Happy Birthday Hugh Jackman! Jackman was recently seen in the role of Jean Valjean in the Les Miserables film. Jackman is also working on Broadway's Harry Houdini, set for the stage in 2014. He has also appeared on the Great White Way in Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway, A Steady Rain and The Boy From Oz. He played Curly in the West End's Oklahoma!, and appeared in an Off-Broadway production of Carousel, along with hosting the Tony Awards three times.production of Carousel, along with hosting the Tony Awards three times.

Happy Birthday Ben Vereen! On Broadway, Ben Vereen has appeared in Wicked, I'm not Rappaport, Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Pippin, Grind, Jelly's Last Jam, and A Christmas Carol. His role in Pippin garnered him both the prestigious Tony Award and the Drama Desk award for 'Best Actor in a Musical.'

Kaufman Music Center's Broadway Close Up series kicked off earlier this week, giving Broadway fans the behind the scenes experience of musicals old and new with eye-opening interviews and inspiring performances by some of Broadway's greatest talents at the renowned Merkin Concert Hall.

As BroadwayWorld reported earlier this week, Tony winner and premier actress of the American stage Marian Seldes, 86, died peacefully at her home Monday after an extended illness. Her brother Timothy Seldes made the announcement. Below, watch a special tribute to Seldes as complied by Rick McKay as a part of the Broadway: The Golden Age Film Trilogy.

On Friday, October 17, Pivot will debut two new half hour series during the 10 p.m. hour, Freestyle Love Supreme, a new comedic improv series inspired by the acclaimed stage show from Tony and Grammy award-winners, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail. And Welcome to Fairfax, a series that explores the vibrant and arts district of Los Angeles and the entrepreneurs who work and live on these blocks. Below, BroadwayWorld is excited to bring you a clip of the company in action!

The star-studded Broadway production of the backstage comedy It's Only A Play, by 4-time Tony® Award winner Terrence McNally, began preview performances on August 28th at Broadway's Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street) with an opening night set for tomorrow, October 9, 2014. BroadwayWorld brings you highlights of the cast in action below!

54 Below just welcomed SHANKTUNES- an evening of original songs by Drama Desk-nominated orchestrator/arranger Lynne Shankel. Lynne was joined onstage by some of New York's finest talent for a fun-filled evening of her blend of pop, R&B, swing and musical theatre. ShankTunes featured songs from the recent Off-Broadway production of bare, as well as premieres of brand new songs. The evening was directed by Stafford Arima. Check out highlights from the night below!

In its first professional production since its Broadway debut, the musical comedy WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN makes its Chicago area premiere in a brand new production at Theatre at the Center, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, now through October 12. BroadwayWorld brings you highlights of the cast in action below!

Today in 1946, Cyrano de Bergerac opened at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre), where it ran for 193 performances. Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears a very scant resemblance to his life. The entire play is written in verse, in rhyming couplets of 12 syllables per line, very close to the Alexandrine format, but the verses sometimes lack a caesura. Notable English-speaking Cyranos include Ralph Richardson, DeVeren Bookwalter, Derek Jacobi, Richard Chamberlain, and Christopher Plummer, who played the part in Rostand's original play and won a Tony Award for the 1973 musical adaptation. Kevin Kline played the role in a Broadway production in 2007. The play is currently in previews at the American Airlines Theatre, starring Douglas Hodge in the title role.

Stage and screen legend Carol Burnett will soon join two-time Tony Award winner Brian Dennehy in the smash hit production of A.R. Gurney's enduring romance about first loves and second chances, Love Letters- a strictly limited four week engagement on Saturday, October 11, 2014 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre (256 West 47th Street). Burnett just met the press and below, you can check out a special interview with the star is she discusses returning to Broadway.

As BroadwayWorld reported yesterday, Tony Award-winning stage director and costume designer Geoffrey Holder passed away on Sunday, October 5th in Manhattan. According to family spokesman Charles M. Mirotznik, the cause of death was complications from pneumonia. Holder was 84 years old. Below, BroadwayWorld remembers the Broadway legend with a selection of videos highlighting his diverse career.

Below, BroadwayWorld remembers the legend with a selection of video footage from some of her more recent appearances.

His son, Leo Holder, just released a statement on his father's death and final days on Facebook:

The Divine Miss M is back! Bette Midler will release her first studio album in eight years, 'It's the Girls,' featuring songs from female groups who have had the greatest influence on her throughout her career. The album will drop on Nov. 4 via Warner Bros. Records (Nov. 10 in the UK via East West Records/Warner Music UK.) Click below to check out a just-released trailer for the upcoming album!

Happy Birthday, Alfred Drake! He is best known for his leading roles in the original Broadway productions of Oklahoma!; Kiss Me, Kate; Kismet; and for playing Marshall Blackstone in the original production of Babes in Arms, (in which he sang the title song) and Hajj in Kismet, for which he received the Tony Award. His 1964 stage performance as Claudius in the Richard Burton Hamlet was filmed live on the stage of the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. His final stage appearance in a musical was in 1973 as Honore LaChaisse in Lerner and Loewe's Gigi. Two years later he starred in a revival of The Skin of Our Teeth.

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, The Nance will air on PBS as a part of the Live from Lincoln Center series, this Friday, October 10. Below, check out just released promo videos for the special! Check your local listings: http://to.pbs.org/12CzT1B

Following their triumphant performances as 'Matilda' in the Broadway smash Matilda The Musical, 11 year old Paige Brady, 11 year old Gabriella Pizzolo, 11 year old Ripley Sobo and 9 year old Ava Ulloa (aka the 'Newtildas') perform some of their favorite songs from Broadway and beyond in their upcoming concert, 'When Children Rule The World' at 54 BELOW on Friday, October 10, 2014. BroadwayWorld is excited to bring you an exclusive sneak peek of the ladies in rehearsal below!

Honest Accomplice Theatre's THE BIRDS & THE BEES: UNABRIDGED is returning to Lower East Side's University Settlement to build on last year's debut success to explore new themes in female and trans sexuality. THE BIRDS & THE BEES: UNABRIDGED explores the unique -- yet interwoven -- life circumstances of eight women & trans people forced to confront their own sexuality, realizing that sexuality itself is not simple or clear-cut. Through dialogue, movement, song, humor, and multimedia, the performance examines such themes as partner communication, sexual identity, the de-sexualization of aging women, today's 'hook-up' culture, and sexual health. Below, check out a special promo for the play, directed by Andrew Keenan-Bolger and and featuring Anika Larsen, Julia Murney, Lindsay Mendez, Cortney Wolfson & Kirsten Wyatt.

Arden best known for starring on Broadway in Bob Dylan and Twyla Tharp's musical The Times They Are A-Changin.' Additional Broadway credits include the Roundabout Theatre Company's presentation of the Deaf West Theatre sign-language production of Big River. Other credits include Ace, Swimming in the Shallows, Bare, Harold & Maude and It's Only Life Off-Broadway. Arden also joined Barbra Streisand during her world concert tour and appeared in the City Center Encores! staging of Juno.

Manhattan Theatre Club's New York premiere co-production of The Country House, the new play by Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies, directed by Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan, opened last week on Broadway, and BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was on the red carpet to chat with the evening's biggest guests. Click below to check out interviews with Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka, Tracie Thoms, Jessica Hecht and more!