Nicole Rosky - Page 302

Come look at the freaks! Last night at 54 Below, performers celebrated Bill Russell and Henry Krieger's Side Show in 'I Will Never Leave You: 54 Sings Side Show.' Directed by Russell, the special concert featured the talents of Lauren Kennedy, Norm Lewis, Jeff McCarthy, Hugh Panaro, Alice Ripley, The Skivvies and more. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you two performances from the Skivvies, including 'Come Look at the Freaks' and 'The Devil You Know' featuring original Side Show star Norm Lewis.

Over the weekend, Four-time Grammy Award-winner k.d. lang, who just concluded her engagement as "Special Guest Star" in Broadway's After Midnight, offered the audience a live, rare performance of her legendary rendition of the Leonard Cohen classic, 'Hallelujah' (which she famously performed at the 2010 Olympic Games Closing Ceremonies). She gave the special encore to raise money for The Actors Fund, and was joined on stage by the Tony Award-winning chairman of the organization, Brian Stokes Mitchell.

The Last Ship, with an original score by 16-time Grammy Award® winner Sting, will have its pre-Broadway World Premiere at Chicago's Bank of America Theatre (18 West Monroe) from June 10 - July 13, 2014. The Last Ship will open on Broadway in the fall of 2014. An epic yet intimate tale inspired by Sting's own childhood experiences, this World Premiere production features direction by two-time Tony Award® winner Joe Mantello (Wicked), a book by Tony Award® winner John Logan (Red) and Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award® winner Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal) and choreography by Olivier Award winner and Tony Award® Nominee Steven Hoggett (Once). Check out a just-released television spot for the musical below!

Two-time Tony Award-winner Sutton Foster returns to Roundabout in the highly anticipated Broadway debut of the musical Violet, following the acclaimed concert performance at City Center Encores! Off-Center. The production just released a new TV spot featuring Foster, Colin Donnell and Joshua Henry, and you can check it out below!

The Velocity of Autumn will begin previews Tuesday, April 1, 2014, at Broadway's Booth Theatre (222 West 45 Street) for a limited engagement, following a sold-out, critically acclaimed run at Washington DC's Arena Stage (Edgar Dobie, Executive Producer) in the Fall of 2013. The Velocity of Autumn is a 90-minute powder keg dark comedy by Eric Coble that stars Academy Award winner Estelle Parsons(Bonnie and Clyde, 'Roseanne') and two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Spinella (Angels In America, Spring Awakening), is directed by Molly Smith and will open Monday, April 21, 2014. The Velocity of Autumn will mark the Broadway debuts of playwright Eric Coble and director Molly Smith. BroadwayWorld brings you a just-released television spot for the play below!

All the Way, the new play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan, starring BREAKING BAD's Bryan Cranston, opened last week, March 6, 2014, on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre. The play is directed by Bill Rauch, Artistic Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where All the Way began its theatrical life. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you highlights of the cast in action!

Today in 1975, The Rocky Horror Show opened at the Belasco Theatre, where it ran for 45 performances. The Rocky Horror Show was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It tells the story of a newly engaged couple getting caught in a storm and coming to the home of a mad transvestite scientist unveiling his new creation, a muscle man named Rocky Horror. The musical was adapted into the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which today has a worldwide cult following and has the longest running release in film history.

Urban Stages Founding Artistic Director Frances Hill and producer Peter Napolitano present the World Premiere of Character Man as part of its 30th Anniversary season. Jim Brochu's new musical memoir just opened Off-Broadway at Urban Stages Theatre (259 West 30th Street) Wednesday March 5th. This limited run, in previews now, will continue through March 30th only. Robert Bartley directs, with musical direction by Carl Haan. Character Man will have scenic & video design by Patrick Brennan, lighting design by Meghan Santelli and sound design by Sean Hagerty. BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was there for opening night and you can check out what the cast had to say below!

The New York Philharmonic's staged production of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street will be telecast nationally on Live From Lincoln Center, hosted by Audra McDonald, on PBS stations. The air date will be announced at a later time. The production, which opened last night and will run through March 8, 2014, stars bass-baritone Bryn Terfel in the title role and Academy Award-winning actress Emma Thompson as Mrs. Lovett in her Philharmonic debut, New York stage debut, and first time performing the role. Jeff Blumenkrantz portrays The Beadle; Tony Award winner Christian Borle, Pirelli (marking his Philharmonic debut);Kyle Brenn, Tobias Ragg (debut); Jay Armstrong Johnson,Anthony Hope (debut); Erin Mackey, Johanna (debut); and Olivier Award winner Philip Quast, Judge Turpin (debut and New York stage debut). Music Director Alan Gilbert conducts; Grant Sturiale is the assistant conductor; Lonny Price directs; Lonny Price and Matt Cowart are the producers; and Josh Rhodes is the choreographer. BroadwayWorld was there for opening night and you can check out highlights below!

Today in 2008, In the Heights opened at the Richard Rogers Theatre, where it ran for 1184 performances. In the Heights is a musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegria Hudes. The story explores three days in the characters' lives in the New York City Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights. The Broadway production was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards, winning four: Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography (Andy Blankenbuehler), and Best Orchestrations (Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman). It was also a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Happy Birthday, Donna Murphy! Murphy has won two Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for her roles in Passion as Fosca and in The King and I as Anna Leonowens. She received three more Tony Award nominations for Best Actress in a Musical for her performances in Wonderful Town as Ruth Sherwood, LoveMusik as Lotte Lenya and The People in the Picture as Raisel/Bubbie. She is known, most recently, for her role as Mother Gothel in the animated Disney film Tangled (2010), Anij, Captain Jean-Luc Picard's love interest, in Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and her numerous stage roles in musical theatre.

Happy Birthday, Stephen Schwartz! In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell (1971), Pippin (1972) and Wicked (2003). He has also contributed lyrics for a number of successful films, including Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Prince of Egypt (1998; music and lyrics) and Enchanted (2007). Schwartz has won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, three Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards and has been nominated for six Tony Awards.

The theatre world is still getting over John Travolta butchering Tony-winner Idina Menzel's name on Sunday's Oscar broadcast. If you missed it, Travolta, who was introducing Menzel's performance of the Academy Award-winning 'Let It Go' from Frozen, instead welcomed 'Adele Dazeem' to the stage. In the hilarious video below, Randy Rainbow sings a Travoltafied musical tribute to the new star!

MCC Theater presents the Off-Broadway premiere of Robert Askins' Hand to God starring Steven Boyer who reprises his celebrated, Obie Award-winning performance from the Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) in 2011. Boyer is joined in this brand new production by Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch as well as Geneva Carr, Michael Oberholtzer, andSarah Stiles. Hand to God is directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel and is currently in previews at the Lucille LortelTheatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC) on February 19, 2014. An official opening night is set for March 10, 2014. BroadwayWorld brings you highlights of the cast in action below!

Following acclaimed, sold-out runs at Long Wharf Theatre and Shakespeare and Company, Terry Teachout's play Satchmo at the Waldorf, stars John Douglas Thompson. Directed by Gordon Edelstein, Satchmo at the Waldorf just opened last night at Off Broadway's Westside Theatre (407 West 43rd Street). BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was there to chat with the cast and you can check out what they had to say below!

The company met the press last night, and BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was on hand to chat with the whole gang. Check out what they had to say about the musical and watch a performance sneak peek below!

Happy Birthday, Elaine Paige! Paige was selected to play Eva Peron in the first production of Evita in 1978, which brought her to the attention of the broader public. She went on to originate the role of Grizabella in Cats and had a Top 10 hit with 'Memory', a song from the show. She then appeared in the original stage production of Chess, followed by a starring role in Anything Goes which she also co-produced. Paige made her Broadway debut in Sunset Boulevard in 1996, playing the lead role of Norma Desmond, to critical acclaim. She appeared in The King and I from 2000 to 2001, and six years later she returned to the West End stage in The Drowsy Chaperone. Most recently, she starred in Follies on Broadway.

To celebrate the first day of performances, BraodwayWorld salutes the ladies of IF/THEN with recent performances from 'Living for Today 6' at Joe's Pub. Below, Idina Menzel sings 'Tomorrow' and LaChanze sings 'Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man.'

Idina Menzel, who voiced 'Elsa', sang the film's anthem 'Let it Go' at the Oscars ceremony, and her performance has spurred even more covers from fans online. YouTube has gathered a list of the most popular covers of "Let It Go" on the site, which includes children singing the popular tune, a classical interpretation and even mashups of the song with popular songs such as Passenger's "Let Her Go," as well as other creative versions. Check out the full list and watch all 10 versions below!

The world premiere production of the brand new musical comedy Bullets Over Broadway, written byWoody Allen and based on the screenplay by Allen and Douglas McGrath for the 1994 film, will begin preview performances on Tuesday, March 11 and officially open Thursday, April 10, 2014 at The St. James Theatre (246 West 44th Street). The new musical will be directed and choreographed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you exclusive interviews with the company as they contemplate thier own mob names!