Nicole Rosky - Page 274

Today in 1985, Singin' in the Rain opened at the George Gershwin Theatre, where it ran for 367 performances. Singin' in the Rain is a musical with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Arthur Freed, and music by Nacio Herb Brown. Adapted from the 1952 movie of the same name, the plot closely adheres to the original. Set in Hollywood in the waning days of the silent screen era, it focuses on romantic lead Don Lockwood, his sidekick Cosmo Brown, aspiring actress Kathy Selden, and Lockwood's leading lady Lina Lamont, whose less-than-dulcet vocal tones make her an unlikely candidate for stardom in talking pictures. Directed and choreographed by Twyla Tharp, the cast included Don Correia as Don, Mary D'Arcy as Kathy, Peter Slutsker as Cosmo, and Faye Grant as Lina.

Michael Cerveris, Isaiah Johnson, Randy Newman, Laura Osnes, Vonda Shepard, Brooklyn Shuck, Tony Vincent and Broadway Inspirational Voices star alongside Randy Newman in Faust: The Concert, which will be performed tonight, July 1 as the second Encores! Off-Center presentation of the 2014 season. Faust will be directed by Thomas Kail and choreographed by Marcos Santana. Jeanine Tesori is the Encores! Off-Center artistic director; Chris Fenwick is its music director. BroadwayWorld brings you a sneak peek of the cast in action below!

The 6th Annual National High School Musical Theater Awards presented the coveted Jimmy Award for Best Performance by an Actress and Best Performance by an Actor on Monday, June 30 at Broadway's Minskoff Theater, to Jai' Len Josey representing the Georgia High School Musical Theater Awards - Shuler Hensley Awards and Jonah Rawitz, representing the Illinois High School Musical Theater Awards. Below, check out performances from the high school productions of this year's winners!

July Fourth is at last here, marking the official start to summer 2014. While there will be plenty of time today for fireworks and sparklers, real theatre fans know that there is no better way to celebrate our country's birthday than with a salute to a truly American institution- Broadway! BroadwayWorld is celebrating Independence Day with a collection of Broadway's most patriotic tunes, from shows such as 1776, THE Will Rogers FOLLIES, GEORGE M., WEST SIDE STORY, RAGTIME and so many more!

Happy Birthday Terrence Mann! Mann's Broadway credits include the Beast in the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast, Rum Tum Tugger in Cats, Inspector Javert in Les Miserables and Chauvelin in The Scarlet Pimpernel. He also has starred in additional Broadway productions including Lennon, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Getting Away With Murder, A Christmas Carol, Rags, Barnum, Jerome Robbins' Broadway and Jekyll & Hyde. He most recently starred in the 2013 Broadway revival of Pippin.

The Public Theater's production of David Byrne, Fatboy Slim and Alex Timbers' smash hit musical, Here Lies Love, opened on May 1st at the Public Theater's Luesther Hall for an open-ended commercial run. The principal cast from the 2013 world premiere of Here Lies Love returns, including Ruthie Ann Miles and Jose Llana as Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos, and Conrad Ricamora as Ninoy Aquino. The cast just visited FOX 5 to perform 'I Am A Child of the Philippines' and you can check out the song below!

Happy Birthday David Alan Grier! Grier began his professional career on Broadway as Jackie Robinson in The First, for which he earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and won the Theatre World Award. He then joined the cast of Dreamgirls before going on to star opposite Denzel Washington in A Soldier's Play, for which both actors reprised their roles in the film adaptation titled A Soldier's Story. Recently was seen in David Mamet's Race on Broadway and received his second Tony Award nomination. He most recently starred on Broadway in Porgy and Bess.

The leading ladies took the time to chat with BroadwayWorld about the new changes to the musical, their favorite parts of the show, their sisterly bond, and much more. Check out the full interview below!

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Douglas Carter Beane's 2013 drama The Nance, produced by Lincoln Center Theater and headlined by two-time Tony Award-winning actor Nathan Lane, is currently playing in more than 300 movie theatres in the U.S. and Canada for a limited run during Gay Pride Week in many cities. In The Nance, celebrated playwright Douglas Carter Beane tells the story of Chauncey Miles (Nathan Lane), a headline nance performer in the twilight of New York burlesque's era. Integrating burlesque sketches into his drama, Beane paints the portrait of a homosexual man living and working in the secretive and dangerous gay world of 1930's New York, whose outrageous antics on the burlesque stage stand in marked contrast to his messy offstage life. In the video below, the star, director, and writer of 'The Nance' discuss how gay life and theater have changed since the golden age of burlesque.

Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Jane Lynch just made her solo concert debut at 54 Below! Fresh from her iconic portrayal of Sue Sylvester on Glee and her Broadway debut as Miss Hannigan in Annie, Jane entertained audiences at 54 Below with four unforgettable June nights. BroadwayWorld was with Jane as she was rehearsing for the concert, and you can go behind the scenes in the video below!

The Muny presents the second show of its 96th season, TARZAN, directed by John Tartaglia, choreographed by Chris Bailey, with musical direction by Rick Bertone. Nicholas Rodriguez stars in the title role, with Kate Rockwell co-starring as Jane. Joining them are Quentin Earl Darrington as Kerchack, Katie Thompson as Kala, Gregory Haney as Terk,Ken Page as Porter, Michael James Reed as Clayton, Spencer Jones as Young Tarzan, and Nathaniel Mahone as Young Terk. BroadwayWorld brings you highlights below!

Samuel Beckett's classic, Waiting for Godot, has found a new life online. While Waiting For Godot written by Samuel Beckett translated and adapted by Rudi Azank is an award-winning webseries (2014 Rome Web Awards - Best Cinematography, selection of 2014 Miami Web Fest) starring: Ron Shelly, Rudi Azank, J Moliere, Molly Densmore, and Stephen Kaiser-Pendergrast. Watch episode one below and click here to check out all of Season 1 and 2!

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr. and Karen Olivo star in the New York City Center Encores! Off-Center production of Jonathan Larson's Tick, Tick... BOOM!, which just opened last night, June 25 and runs through June 28. The opening show of City Center's acclaimed Encores! Off-Center series of landmark Off-Broadway musicals is directed by Oliver Butler with choreography by Camille A. Brown and music direction by Chris Fenwick. Last night's opening night audience, which included many previous winners of the Larson Foundation Awards, broke out into Larson's most popular tune, 'Seasons of Love' for the Larson family. Watch the spontaneous sing-along below!

Happy Birthday Emily Skinner! Emily Skinner was nominated for a Best Actress TONY Award for the Original Broadway Production of Side Show. Other Broadway credits include the original casts of Jekyll & Hyde, James Joyce's The Dead (with Christopher Walken) The Full Monty, Dinner at Eight (Outer Critics Circle nomination, Drama League Award). Most recently, she starred in the Broadway production of Billy Elliot.

Today in 1987, the FIRST Broadway revival of Dreamgirls opened at the Ambassador Theatre, where it ran for 177 performances. Dreamgirls features music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based upon the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, the musical follows the story of a young female singing trio from Chicago, Illinois called 'The Dreams', who become music superstars. The musical opened on December 20, 1981 at the Imperial Theatre, and was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards, including the Tony Award for Best Musical, and won six. It was later adapted into a motion picture from DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures in 2006. The 1987 cast featured Lillias White as 'Effie.'

Today in 1976, the second Broadway revival of Pal Joey opened at the Circle in the SquareTheatre, where it ran for 73 performances. Pal Joey is a musical with a book by John O'Hara (from his novel of the same title) and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart based on a character and situations O'Hara created in a series of short stories published in The New Yorker. The original 1940 Broadway production was directed by George Abbott and starred Gene Kelly. There have been several revivals since, including a 2008-09 Broadway run, and a 1957 film adaptation starring Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak. The 1976 cast featured: Christopher Chadman (Joey), Harold Gary (Mike), Terri Treas (Kid), Janie Sell (Gladys), and Gail Benedict (Gail).

Today in 1986, Arsenic and Old Lace opened at the 46th Street Theatre (now the Richard Rogers Theatre) where it ran for 221 performances. Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. The play is a farcical black comedy revolving around Mortimer Brewster, a drama critic who must deal with his crazy, homicidal family and local police in Brooklyn, NY, as he debates whether to go through with his recent promise to marry the woman he loves.

BroadwayWorld.com couldn't be more excited today to extend our extra-special congratulations this morning to longtime TV host, Richard Ridge who married his partner of 37 years, Preston Ridge in a small and private ceremony this morning.

Happy Birthday, Hunter Foster! Foster is perhaps best known for playing 'Bobby Strong' in Urinetown, for which he received nominations for an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Lucille Lortel Award. In 2003, Foster starred as 'Seymour' in the Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors, for which he received his first Tony Award nomination. Foster also appeared as 'Leo Bloom' in The Producers on Broadway, 'Ensign Pulver' in Mister Roberts at the Kennedy Center, 'Ben' in Modern Orthodox off-Broadway, and 'Sam Phillips' in Million Dollar Quartet.