THIS WEEK IN PICTURES: February 1 - 7
Whether you've been living under a rock for the past week or you're just in the mood for a recap, BroadwayWorld's 'This Week in Pictures' is here to satisfy your end-of-the-week fix. Take a look below to catch up on the latest happenings from the Great White Way to The West End (and everywhere in between) with coverage of press events, rehearsals, opening nights and more. Highlights this week include a look at the cast of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, Carly Rae Jepsen and Fran Drescher's debut performance of CINDERELLA, intermission and superbowl pictures from casts across Broadway, and more!
Photo Flash: Alan Cumming, Lady Gaga and More at 2013 Watermill Center Summer Benefit
The 20th Annual Watermill Center Summer Benefit took place on July 27, 2013 at the The Watermill Center in Water Mill, NY. Beginning at 6pm, the evening included cocktails provided by Bacardi USA, a silent auction, performances, art installations, dinner, dancing, and a live auction hosted by auctioneer Simon de Pury. The master of ceremonies for the evening was Alan Cumming. Scroll down for photos from the event!
COMPANY Now Available To View On Hulu
The New York Philharmonic's stupendous concert staging of Stephen Sondheim & George Furth's seminal musical comedy COMPANY is now available to view in full on Hulu, just in time for Valentine's Day viewing!
STAGE TUBE: Watch Neil Patrick Harris & More in NY Philharmonic's COMPANY- Full Concert!
Performed for four sold-out evenings beginning April 7, 2011, with the superb New York Philharmonic, Company In Concert was filmed for theatrical exhibition in more than 500 theatres nationwide this past March. Company In Concert was produced by Ellen Krass Productions. Lonny Price directed the production with Paul Gemignani conducting the New York Philharmonic.
The full concert is now available to watch on Hulu, and you can check it out below!
NY Phil's COMPANY IN CONCERT DVD, Starring Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone & More, Set for Release, 11/13!
Image Entertainment, Inc. is set to release Company In Concert on DVD November 13, 2012 and is now available for Amazon pre-order! This production of Stephen Sondheim's iconic tour de force on contemporary relationships features the New York Philharmonic and an all-star cast, including Craig Bierko, Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, Katie Finneran, Neil Patrick Harris, Christina Hendricks, Aaron Lazar, Patti LuPone, Jill Paice, Martha Plimpton, Anika Noni Rose, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Jim Walton and Chryssie Whitehead.
Image Entertainment to Release NY Philharmonic's COMPANY DVD Later This Year
Image Entertainment, Inc. has acquired the home entertainment rights to Company In Concert, Stephen Sondheim's iconic tour de force on contemporary relationships, with an all-star cast including Criag Bierko, Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, Katie Finneran, Neil Patrick Harris, Christina Hendricks, Aaron Lazar, Patti LuPone, Jill Paice, Martha Plimpton, Anika Noni Rose, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Jim Walton and Chryssie Whitehead. The announcement was made by Image Entertainment's Chief Acquisition Officer, Bill Bromiley.
Photo Flash: ARTrageous Kicks Off at Harmony Club
A kick-off party for ARTrageous was held at the Harmonie Club on Monday hosted by Stewart F. Lane & Bonnie Comley, and Linda Argila with special guest speaker, Robert Wilson. ARTraegous is a unique fundraising event benefiting foster children through art. Kids residing in foster care and a kids committee collaborate with a dynamic group of artists to help create artwork for auction. The artwork created, along with donated works of art and luxury items will be sold in a silent and live auction at the ARTrageous Gala Dinner and Art Auction.
FLASH FRIDAY: Lonny Price, COMPANY & Co.
Today, in honor of the nationwide release of Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY in movie theaters, we are celebrating the many accomplishments of the film's director who has made a name for himself in the twenty-first century as the finest and most productive theatrical filmmaker of our age - Lonny Price. With his string of highly successful filmed stage performances before COMPANY ranging from last year's stupendous SONDHEIM! THE BIRTHDAY CONCERT back to SWEENEY TODD: IN CONCERT starring George Hearn and Patti LuPone, CANDIDE starring Kristin Chenoweth, CAMELOT with Gabriel Byrne, as well as well as the LIVE FROM LINCOLN center broadcast of Sondheim's PASSION and the forthcoming feature film version of Athol Fugard's Pulitzer prize-winning MASTER HAROLD AND THE BOYS, Price is ushering in a new era of theatrical films for television and, now, the cinema. So, let's go back and take a look at what led up to the feature film live capture of COMPANY taking musical theatre to an entirely new level - and an enormously appreciative audience.
Three Is Company
BWW EXCLUSIVE: Lonny Price On Sondheim & COMPANY
Bridging the gap between theatre, television and film in a thrilling and revolutionary new way with this week's premiere of STEPHEN SONDHEIM'S COMPANY, in select movie theaters nationwide Wednesday through Saturday (with a return engagement already scheduled for early July), director Lonny Price has introduced Sondheim's seminal concept musical comedy to a whole new generation of gleeks, as well as reverently keep the flame of the fire in the heart, soul and mind of this complex, rich and rewarding show for Broadway babies who already know its genius. Additionally, Neil Patrick Harris, Christina Hendricks, Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, Katie Finneran, Aaron Lazar, Martha Plimpton, Patti Lupone and the rest of the cast are absolutely perfect for their roles and bring a live spontaneity and verve to their material - the kind which you usually only see in the very best shows on Broadway - and that sense of timing, precise editing and overall polished presentation style is a sure credit to Price's positively sublime direction of the live stage production with the NY Philharmonic, as well as - and maybe even more so - the movie version of the live show in theaters now. It bursts with energy and, well, aliveness, just like a real Broadway show. Make that: Just like a real Broadway smash hit.
Talking all aspects of COMPANY: THE MOVIE while still editing it last month, Price was kind enough to open up about what the rehearsal process was like, filming it live and working with the all-star cast, as well as much, much more - all coming on the heels of last year‘s rapturously received Ellen Krass production of SONDHEIM! THE BIRTHDAY CONCERT, undoubtedly the finest Broadway concert capture of our age. Price discusses his affection for the material and the man behind the music, plus his smashing leading ladies. Plus: what's next?
Be sure to stay tuned for the complete InDepth InterView featuring Price's recollections on Sondheim's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (and his forthcoming documentary about it), A CLASS ACT, directing DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES and news about the feature film version of Athol Fugard's MASTER HAROLD AND THE BOYS coming later this year - a play which he starred in on Broadway twenty-five years ago. Actor, producer, director and, now, filmmaker - Price can clearly do it all!
SOUND OFF: Sondheim's COMPANY On Film: A Birthday Cake In Black & White
Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY is in over five hundred movie theaters starting on Wednesday and that simple fact is enough to make one want to celebrate with a thousand vodka stingers - and imbibe in the delectable Sondheim zingers. I was lucky enough to see COMPANY last week and I can tell you that not only is it the best live representation of the show that any audience could ask for - Broadway babies, Sondheim neophytes and everything in between and far, far beyond - but a considerable reexamination of the themes, elements, emotions and the steely, chrome machinations ringing within the heartbeat of the show's cynical core. Lonny Price's COMPANY is something unique in modern entertainment, on Broadway, on film or anywhere else - it is multi-dimensional in a revolutionary way that is, frankly, unprecedented. This is Broadway in the 21st century at its best with a cast led by the brightest stars in the Broadway and TV universe on full display for a film audience and if this enterprise is successful, the mind marvels at the endless possibilities this format could afford in the future, both near and far. Yes, this is what you have been waiting for - whoever you are. If you love music, if you love wit, if you love comedy, if you love to laugh and think simultaneously - COMPANY is for you. Yes, this is that kind of review - and, thank goodness it is. It's due all the praise of a birthday boy like Bobby - with a generous dose of icing black as death; or, night.
Icing
BWW EXCLUSIVE: Neil Patrick Harris on COMPANY: IN CONCERT, Sondheim, GLEE, HAROLD & KUMAR & More
Conquering the Broadway stage in ASSASSINS, CABARET and PROOF; commanding the attention of Radio City (and the world) at the 2009 Tony Awards; racking up rave reviews for SWEENEY TODD at the NY Philharmonic and RENT on tour, plus directing the latter last year at the Hollywood Bowl - these are just a few of the reasons why Neil Patrick Harris made COMPANY: LIVE IN CONCERT, with the NY Philharmonic, one of the biggest nights on Broadway this - or any - year. With recent news confirming that the star-studded Lonny Prince-directed concert production of the timeless 1970 Stephen Sondheim/George Furth concept musical comedy would be filmed for release in movie theaters nationwide for airings in June, it has now become the theatrical event of the season world-wide when it opens in cinemas in June. Last night, Neil was kind enough to take some time out to talk about what the work of Stephen Sondheim means to him, his take on the tricky central role of Bobby, as well as working with his celebrated co-stars Patti LuPone, Stephen Colbert, Christina Hendricks, and more, on this exceptionally exciting entertainment event! Plus, we take a look back at some of his past roles - plus, will he be returning in his Emmy-winning role of Bryan Ryan on GLEE? - and a look ahead to the season finale of his smash hit CBS comedy HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, and the third film in the HAROLD & KUMAR series, A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR CHRISTMAS, coming later this year - in addition to news on his self-directed pilot just completed - as well as a whole lot more! We also have first news on what roles Neil wants to tackle next - MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG. perhaps? What about BARNUM? A solo album? Yet, one vital question remains above all else...
BWW Exclusive InDepth InterView Part 1: Raul Esparza Talks ROCKY HORROR, TABOO & More
In this exclusive interview with BroadwayWorld, Raul Esparza takes a comprehensive look back at his spectacular rise to fame from this time ten years ago in THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW on Broadway, his first New York stage role, to now, with career-defining reviews for the out-of-town tryout of the new Alan Menken musical LEAP OF FAITH - as well as his sold-out American Songbook concerts early next year in New York. What does the future hold for Raul Esparza onscreen and onstage? Will it be Shakespeare or Sondheim or something completely new? Mamet or MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG? You may very well find your answer here.
SONDHEIM! Lead Producer Ellen Krass Talks SWEENEY x2, Upcoming New COMPANY Concert, FOLLIES & More
Today we are talking to one of the top-tier talents in her field of producing theatre for television, the estimable Ellen Krass who is largely responsible for many of the greatest television captures of theatrical events in the last thirty years, starting with the filming of SWEENEY TODD and continuing with FOLLIES: IN CONCERT in the early 1980s, through to SWEENEY TODD: IN CONCERT, CANDIDE: IN CONCERT, COMPANY and last year's CYRANO starring Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner. Tonight marks the PBS debut of SONHDEIM! The Birthday Concert and in honor of that momentous occasion, Ms. Krass joined me for a look back at her career that began backstage at the Dick Cavett show and will continue on into next year with COMPANY: IN CONCERT and far, far beyond to be sure!