Nicole Rosky - Page 525

Today in 2007, LoveMusik opened at the Biltmore Theatre (now the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre), where it ran for 60 performances. LoveMusik is a musical written by Alfred Uhry, using a selection of music by Kurt Weill. The story explores the romance and lives of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, based on Speak Low (When You Speak Love): The Letters of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya. The show was directed by Harold Prince, with musical staging by Patricia Birch and starred Michael Cerveris as Kurt Weill, Donna Murphy as Lotte Lenya, David Pittu as Bertolt Brecht and John Scherer as George Davis.

La Jolla Playhouse's Hands on a Hardbody will run through June 17, 2012 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre. The world-premiere, commissioned musical has a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife, Creditors), lyrics by Amanda Green (High Fidelity), music by Trey Anastasio (lead singer of the popular band Phish) and Amanda Green, with direction by Neil Pepe (Speed-the-Plow) and musical staging by Benjamin Millepied (BLACK SWAN).

Carley Stenson has begun rehearsals for the role of Princess Fiona in SHREK THE MUSICAL® at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Carley's first performance will be on May 23, 2012. SHREK THE MUSICAL® currently stars Dean Chisnall as Shrek, Richard Blackwood as Donkey, Neil McDermott as Lord Farquaad and Kimberley Walsh as Princess Fiona. Kimberley Walsh will perform as Princess Fiona for the final time on Monday May 21, 2012. Check out a just-released photo of her as 'Fiona' below!

The Tony Award®-winning Hartford Stage, under the leadership of Darko Tresnjak, Artistic Director, and Michael Stotts, Managing Director, is proud to announce Mikhail Baryshnikov will make his Hartford Stage debut in the world premiere stage adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Man in a Case, with direction and choreography by Annie-B Parson and co-direction by Paul Lazar, playing February 21 - March 24, 2013.

Second Stage Theatre will kick off the 10th anniversary of its Uptown Series with the world premiere of The Bad Guys, written by Alena Smith and directed by Hal Brooks. The Bad Guys will feature Michael Braun (War Horse), Roe Hartrampf (Unnatural Acts), James McMenamin (Suicide, Incorporated), Tobias Segal (The Miracle Worker) and Raviv Ullman (Russian Transport). Previews begin on May 22nd and opening night is Monday, June 4th.

Broadway Records will release an EP of Nick Jonas performing five tracks from the smash hit musical HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING. The CD will be released Tuesday, May 8, 2012, and will be available in the Hirschfeld Theatre the week of May 1. Check out a first listen of Jonas singing 'I Believe in You' below!

Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown has just announced in his blog the release of two seperate sheet music book and accompaniment CD sets of his music. He writes: 'My editor at Hal Leonard, the estimable Rick Walters, called me in 2010 with the idea that we should do a book-and-CD folio of me playing accompaniments to my own songs, with a male and female edition. I thought it was a fantastic idea, and now it's finally out in the world!' The Female edition and Male edition are both available on Amazon.com, as well as iTunes and Sheet Music Direct.

The 28th Annual Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event-S.T.A.G.E.- just presented ORIGINAL CAST 3, a musical celebration showcasingartists from theater, television and cabaret performing songs they originated in musical productions. This year, the annual event, which benefits AIDS Project Los Angeles, returned to the Saban Theatre Beverly Hills. Check out photos from the celebration below!

Samuel French announces the launch of The Samuel French Institute, a series of seminars, classes and workshops taught by industry professionals such as Kristoffer Diaz (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity), Crystal Skillman (Cut, Birthday & Nobody), Mark Blankenship (Editor of TDF Stages) and others this summer.

The Encores! production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, opening May 9 at New York City Center, stars Megan Hilty as Lorelei Lee, the diamond-loving blonde made famous by Carol Channing (Broadway) and Marilyn Monroe (film). Rachel York stars as Dorothy Shaw, Lorelei's brunette best friend. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes will be directed by John Rando with music direction by Rob Berman and choreography by Randy Skinner and will play for seven performances, May 9 - 13, at New York City Center, 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues.

According to NY Magazine, Angela Lansbury, who is currently starring in GORE VIDAL'S THE BEST MAN on Broadway, has signed on to star alongside James Earl Jones in an Australian tour of DRIVING MISS DAISY next winter.

On June 3, the Dramatists Guild Fund will host their 50th Anniversary Gala at the Mandarin Oriental New York. This year's event, hosted by Jon Cryer, will honor Chicago and Cabaret composer John Kander.

Today in 2005, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee opened at the Circle in the Square Theatre, where it ran for 1136 performances. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a one act musical comedy conceived by Rebecca Feldman with music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin and additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley Middle School. Six quirky adolescents compete in the Bee, run by three equally-quirky grown-ups. The 2005 Broadway production, directed by James Lapine, was nominated for six Tony Awards, winning two, including Best Book. The show has spawned various other productions in the U.S., including a national tour with performances in Canada, and Australian productions.

Today in 2002, The Drowsy Chaperone opened at the Marquis Theatre, where it ran for 674 performances. The Drowsy Chaperone is a musical with book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. It is a parody of American musical comedy of the 1920s. The story concerns a middle-aged, antisocial musical theatre fan; as he plays the record of his favorite musical, the (fictional) 1928 hit The Drowsy Chaperone, the show comes to life onstage as he wryly comments on the music, story, and actors. The show won the Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score. The show has had major productions in Toronto, Los Angeles, New York, London, and Japan, as well as two North American tours.

Today in 2002, the first Broadway revival of Into the Woods opened at the Broadhurst Theatre, where it ran for 279 performances. Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Into the Woods won several Tony Awards, including Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress in a Musical (Joanna Gleason), in a year dominated by The Phantom of the Opera. The main characters are taken from the stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Cinderella, tied together by a more original story involving a baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family, most likely taken from the original story of Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm.

Stage and screen stars Kristin Chenoweth & Jim Parsons will announce this year's Tony nominees tomorrow morning, May 1, 8:30am EST at New York Public Library. The Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards, which are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, will be broadcast in a live three-hour ceremony from the Beacon Theatre, on the CBS television network on Sunday, June 10, 2012. In preparation for the big announcement, TonyAwards.com has released a Cheat Sheet that reminds you of the eligible shows/people of this season. The full Cheat Sheet is as follows:

New York Stage and Film and Vassar College have announced the line-up of their 2012 Powerhouse Theater season. Season highlights will include:

Tonight on GLEE, Kurt and Rachel finally get to audition for NYADA and Whoopi Goldberg guest stars! The full episode airs 5/1 on FOX. Check out photos and full audio tracks from the episode below, which include 'Cell Block Tango,' 'Shake It Out,' 'School's Out,' 'The Rain in Spain,' 'Not the Boy Next Door' and more!

FINGERLICKIN' FIERCE, a one-night-only event with Broadway veterans Michael James Scott and Asmeret Ghebremichael, will take place Monday, May 14th. Doors open at 7:00pm and performance begins at 8:00pm at The Canal Room, 285 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013. Tickets are $25 for VIP seating (limited availability) $18 for reserved general admission seating, and $20 for day-of general admission seating. For more information and tickets please visit www.fingerlickinfierce.com.

John Travolta's wife and actress, Kelly Preston, attended JERSEY BOYS at Paris Las Vegas yesterday, April 26. Preston attended the show for the first time last night after her husband and daughter, Ella, had seen it in New York and raved about it. Ella attended the show again with her mom along with a group of close friends. The group went backstage after the performance to meet the cast and Preston remarked that there was more exceptional music in this production than in almost any show she has ever seen.