Nicole Rosky - Page 534

Theater for the New City will present Charles Busch's new comedy JUDITH OF BETHULIA. The play, starring Busch, and directed by Carl Andress (The Divine Sister; Die, Mommie, Die!) will play a limited engagement of 24 performances from Friday, March 30 through Saturday, April 28 at Theater for the New City's Cino Theater (155 First Avenue).

Manhattan Theatre Club will present their annual Spring Gala on Monday, April 30 at Cipriani 42nd Street (110 East 42nd Street). At this year's gala, MTC is pleased to honor Time Warner Cable for its longtime support of and commitment to the organization. Time Warner Cable Chairman, President and CEO and MTC Board Member Glenn Britt will accept the award.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Theatre Alliance will close up shop on June 30. The 22 year-old organization released a memo yesterday, April 11, revealing that it was 'victim both of tough economic times and the theater community's success.'

According to an audition listing, Walter Bobbie is set to direct Vineyard Theatre's Developmental Lab Production of THE LANDING (previously titled 'Andra') -- a collection of three related one-act musicals written by the celebrated composer John Kander and his new collaborator, Greg Pierce - THE LANDING will be presented May 15-June 3 at The Vineyard (108 E. 15 St.).

Thea Sharrock's production of The Sunshine Boys begins previews at the Savoy Theatre from 27 April with press night on 17 May. The Sunshine Boys, which is booking for a strictly limited run until 28 July 2012, is designed by Hildegard Bechtler with lighting by Neil Austin, music by Adrian Johnston and sound by Ian Dickinson for Autograph. Joining Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths as the ageing vaudevillian team Willie Clark and Al Lewis in Neil Simon's award-winning comedy The Sunshine Boys are Rebecca Blackstone (Miss Mackintosh), Nick Blakeley (Eddie), Peter Cadden (Voice of TV Director), Johnnie Fiori (Registered Nurse), Adam Levy (Ben Silverman) and William Maxwell (Patient). Check out photos of the duo in rehearsal below!

Next week on GLEE, The New Directions pay homage to the movie 'Saturday Night Fever' by grooving to disco-infused dance numbers, and THE GLEE PROJECT's Alex Newell makes his first appearance as 'Wade.' Check out a sneak peek of Amber Riley (Mercedes) singing 'Disco Inferno' from the upcoming episode below!

Take a trip back to the 1970's with two vintage commericals from musical theatre favorites SWEENEY TODD and CHICAGO! Check out the original TV spots below!

BroadwayWorld.com is excited to share a weekly series developed by the Theatre Communications Group! This week Gordon Davidson shares pivotal moments in his theatre career and why the arts matter to him!

Ten of the hottest men from Broadway Bares will get a head start on a season of sexiness with a special, one-night-only edition of BROADWAY BARES: SOLO STRIPS, a benefit event to be held at 9 pm on Sunday, May 6 at XL Nightclub (512 West 42nd Street, NYC). The show is produced by and benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS; Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell is executive producer and creator of BROADWAY BARES.

Today in 2009, Next to Normal opened at the Booth Theatre, where it ran for 733 performances. Next to Normal is a rock musical with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. Its story concerns a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effect that her illness has on her family. The musical also addresses such issues as grieving a loss, suicide, drug abuse, ethics in modern psychiatry, and suburban life. It was nominated for eleven 2009 Tony Awards and won three, Best Original Score, Best Orchestration and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Alice Ripley. It also won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, becoming just the eighth musical in history to receive the honor.

Today in 1992, the second Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls opened at the Martin Beck Theatre (now the Al Hirschfeld Theatre), where it ran for 1143 performances. Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on 'The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown' and 'Blood Pressure', two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most notably 'Pick the Winner'. Premiering on Broadway in 1950, the original production ran for 1200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical has had several Broadway and London revivals, as well as a 1955 film adaptation starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine.

Today in 2000, The Wild Party opened at the Virginia Theatre (now the August Wilson Theatre), where it ran for 68 performances. The Wild Party is a musical with a book by Michael John LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe and music and lyrics by LaChiusa. It is based on the 1928 Joseph Moncure March narrative poem of the same name. The Broadway production coincidentally opened during the same theatrical season (1999-2000) as an off-Broadway musical with the same title and source material. Its plot centers on a party - fueled by bathtub gin, cocaine, and uninhibited sexual behavior - hosted by Queenie and Burrs, whose relationship is disintegrating. The cast included Toni Collette (making her Broadway debut) as Queenie, Mandy Patinkin as Burrs, and Yancey Arias as Black.

Today in 2001, the first Broadway revival of Bells Are Ringing opened at the Plymouth Theatre (now the Gerald Shoenfeld Theatre), where it ran for 68 performances. Bells Are Ringing is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne. The story revolves around Ella, who works at an answering service and the characters that she meets there. The original Broadway production, directed by Jerome Robbins and choreographed by Robbins and Bob Fosse, opened on November 29, 1956 at the Shubert Theatre, where it ran for slightly more than two years, and starred Judy Holliday as Ella and Sydney Chaplin as Jeff Moss.

Green Day is currently in the studio recording three albums - a trilogy entitled ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tre! - that will be released by Reprise Records on Tuesday, September 25th 2012; Tuesday, November 13th 2012 and Tuesday, January 15th 2013 respectively. The albums are the follow-up to the Grammy®Award-winning 21st Century Breakdown, and are being produced by the band's long-time producer Rob Cavallo. ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tre! are being recorded in their hometown of Oakland, CA.

CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour, former UMass professor and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chair Sheila Bair, playwright and gay-rights activist Martin Duberman, Iran hostage crisis negotiator Ulric Haynes Jr. '52, chemist David K. Lewis '64, New York Public Library President and former Amherst College President Anthony W. Marx, acclaimed narrative nonfiction writer John McPhee and hit songwriter Jim Steinman '69 will all receive honorary degrees from Amherst College during its 191st Commencement exercises on Sunday, May 20, at 10 a.m. on the school's main quad. Amherst President Biddy Martin will deliver the address during the May 20 ceremonies, and seven of the eight honored guests will speak to the approximately 443 members of Amherst's Class of 2012, their families and friends and the college and Western Massachusetts communities in a series of conversations that are free and open to the public on Saturday, May 19. The schedule of discussions with the honorary degree recipients is available on the Commencement website, www.amherst.edu/commencement.

Tony winner Scarlett Johansson, who is rumored to return to Broadway in an upcoming revival of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, will show off her singing skills in the upcoming 'Days of Grace.' Johansson just recorded her own version of 'Summertime' from THE GERSHIN'S PORGY AND BESS for the film soundtrack.

Next week on SMASH, 'Bombshell' is turned upside-down by the arrival of movie star Rebecca Duvall (special guest star Uma Thurman). Karen (Katharine McPhee) and Ivy (Megan Hilty) are drawn into an uneasy alliance against their new rival -- but can they overcome their history? The romance between Tom (Christian Borle) and Sam (Leslie Odom, Jr.) heats up, while Julia (Debra Messing) and Frank (Brian d'Arcy James) must put aside their differences to address a family crisis. Check out a sneak peek of Thurman's big musical number below!

Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere production of THE COLUMNIST, by Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner David Auburn, directed by Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan began previews on April 4 at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). The limited engagement of THE COLUMNIST will open Wednesday, April 25 starring Tony and Emmy Award winner John Lithgow, Drama Desk Award nominee Margaret Colin, four time Tony Award winner Boyd Gaines, Tony Award nominee Stephen Kunken,Marc Bonan (Broadway debut), Grace Gummer ('Smash,' Arcadia), and Brian J. Smith (MTC's Come Back, Little Sheba; 'Stargate Universe'). BroadwayWorld brings you just-released production shots below!

Paper Mill Playhouse has just announced that American Idol finalist Syesha Mercado has been cast as Ti Moune in the Millburn, New Jersey, theater's production of Once On This Island (book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty). More than 20 years after its premiere, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens are re-inventing their first musical with Tony-nominated director Thomas Kail (In the Heights, Lombardi, Magic/Bird) and choreographer Bradley Rapier (So You Think You Can Dance). Once On This Island begins performances on Wednesday, May 30, 2012, and runs through Sunday, June 24, 2012. Complete casting will be announced at a later date. Once On This Island is proudly sponsored by Bank of America.

Last night on GLEE, the McKinley High seniors prepared for graduation, and Matt Bomer guest starred as Blaine's big brother (Cooper). In the video below, catch some bonus footage of Cooper's audition tape. Clcik beow to check it out!