Nicole Rosky - Page 332

Last night, July 23, Idina Menzel & Taye Diggs were joined by Jenn Colella, Megan Hilty, Tom Kitt, Lachanze, Matthew Morrison, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Adrienne Warren for a karaoke night benefitting A Broader Way. Hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, the audience chose the songs and a few bold guests got a chance at center stage. BroadwayWorld brings you highlights from the special event below!

Happy Birthday Daniel Radcliffe! Radcliffe is best known for playing the title role in all eight of the blockbuster Harry Potter films. In 2008, he made his Broadway debut to much acclaim in EQUUS. Radcliffe won BroadwayWorld.com 's 2009 Theatre Fans' Choice Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his role in EQUUS. He returned to Broadway in March 2011 with HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, and was succeeded by Darren Criss, and later Nick Jonas.

Licia Albanese is an Italian-born American operatic soprano. Noted especially for her portrayals of the lyric heroines of Verdi and Puccini, Albanese was a leading artist with the Metropolitan Opera of New York from 1940 to 1966. She also made many recordings and is chairman of The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation which is dedicated to assisting young artists and singers. She celebrates her 100th birthday today and you can join in the celebration with the video below!

According to Deadline, 2013 Tony nominee Billy Magnussen is in talks to play Rapunzel's Prince in Rob Marshall's film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's musical INTO THE WOODS. Magnussen would replace Jake Gyllenhaal, who recently dropped out to focus on his upcoming indie flick NIGHTCRAWLER.

The new stage musical KING KONG recently opened at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne, Australia. As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the show is already casting its eye towards Broadway, with a hopeful launch as early as 2014. The production, which was originally slated to run through July 28, has extended again through October 6. In the videos below, go behind the scenes of the new musical and meet the cast and creative team!

This week's featured composer is the one-and-only Joey Contreras! We are excited to share this video of his song Ready from our CEC concert at NYMF sung by the incredible quartet Lilli Cooper (Wicked), Eric Michael Krop (Godspell), Maddy Trumble (Mary Poppins) and Nic Rouleau (Book of Mormon).

Happy Birthday Alan Menken! For Disney, Menken has scored The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas, each of which won him two Academy Awards. He also composed the scores for The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Enchanted, and Tangled. Menken has collaborated on several occasions with lyricists includingHoward Ashman,Tim RiceandStephen Schwartz. On Broadway, Menken has composed for The Little Mermaid, Little Shop of Horrors, King David, Beauty and the Beast and, now, Sister Act.

This summer will be filled with laughs when OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network airs 'Wanda Sykes Presents HERLARIOUS,' which is hosted by Wanda Sykes. The specials continue Saturday, July 20 from 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT. Check out a clip below!

The stars came out on Wednesday, July 17 to see Mimi Hines as she celebrated her 80th birthday with a special, one-night-only concert at Broadway's nightclub, 54 Below. Among those in attendance were 'Late Show with David Letterman' bandleader Paul Shaffer, from TV's 'The Nanny' and 'Happily Divorced' start Fran Drescher, and Broadway favorite Lee Roy Reams (The Producers, 42nd Street, Beauty and the Beast) and Tony Award winners Donna McKechnie (A Chorus Line, Company) , Faith Prince (Annie, Guys and Dolls) and Liliane Montevecchi (Nine). BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was there for the special concert celebration, and you can check out concert highlights and interviews with the many guests below!

Tony Award-winner Faith Prince returns to Broadway as evil orphanage matron Miss Hannigan in the new Broadway production of ANNIE at the Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets). She officially begins performances tonight, July 19, and while she was attending Mimi Hines' recent 54 Below show, she chatted exclusively with Richard Ridge about joining the cast. Check out what she had to say below!

As BroadwayWorld previously announced, Jason Rabinowitz, Christina Sajous, Jennifer Sanchez and Frederick Weller have signed on to join Renee Elise Goldsberry in I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road, the final Encores! Off-Center presentation of the 2013 season, playing for five performances, July 24 - 27. The cast recently came together for a special press sneak peek and you can check out cast the cast had to say and catch a performance preview below!

Featured in this week's event was the cast of SISTAS THE MUSICAL (Badia Farha) performing 'Tyrone,' 'I Am Not My Hair,' and 'I Will Survaive.' Check out highlights below!

The audience erupted in applause Monday night at the end of the opening of the Muny's production of LES MISERABLES, resulting in the venue's first, complete standing ovation before the curtain call in recent memory. BroadwayWorld brings you even more highlights from the show below!

Featured in this week's event was the cast of F#%KING UP EVERYTHING (Lisa Birnbaum, Dawn Cantwell, Katherine Cozumel, Max Crumm, Jason Gotay, Adam Miller, Douglas Widick) performing 'Juliana,' 'If You Were Mine,' 'Falling,' and 'Take Me as I Am.' Check out highlights below!

Featured in today's event was the cast of Chicago (Anne Horak, Michael Cusumano, Nathan Madden, Brian O'Brien, Brian Spitulnik, Donna Marie Asbury, Angel Reda, Tonya Wathen, and Rachel Bickerton) performing 'Me and My Baby,' 'All I Care About Is Love,' 'Roxie,' and 'All That Jazz.' Check out highlights below!

Featured in today's event was the cast of The Phantom of the Opera (Peter Joback, Samantha Hil, and Kyle Barisich) performing 'All I Ask of You,' 'Music of the Night,' and 'The Phantom of the Opera.' Check out highlights below!

Starring Ross Lynch (Austin & Ally, R5) as Brady and Disney newcomer Maia Mitchell as McKenzie, these teen surfing sweethearts are transported back in time into a classic beach party movie - Wet Side Story where everyone spontaneously breaks into song and dance! The teen couple have to try and return to the present day, will they ever be able to get back to their real lives after inadvertently altering the films romantic storyline?

In the video below, Broadway legend Harold Prince chats about the importance of set design. Check out what he had to say below!

Today in 2008, Passing Strange closed at the Belasco Theatre, where it ran for 165 performances. Passing Strange is a rock musical about a young African American's artistic journey of self-discovery in Europe, drawing on heavy elements of existentialism, metafictional comedy, and the Kunstlerroman. The musical's lyrics and book are by Stew with music and orchestrations by Heidi Rodewald and Stew. It was created in collaboration with director Annie Dorsen. The musical was developed at the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab in 2004 and 2005, one of the only works there ever to be invited back for a second round of development. It had productions in Berkeley, California and Off-Broadway before opening on Broadway in 2008, garnering strong reviews and several awards. Spike Lee filmed the musical on Broadway as a documentary, premiering the film in 2009.

Today in 2004, Assassins opened at Studio 54, where it ran for 101 performances. Assassins is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman, based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. It uses the premise of a murderous carnival game to produce a revue-style portrayal of men and women who attempted (successfully or otherwise) to assassinate Presidents of the United States. The music varies to reflect the popular music of the eras depicted.The musical first opened Off-Broadway in 1990, and the 2004 Broadway production won five Tony Awards.