A brief chat with actress Nora Fiffer, currently appearing in Lookingglass Theatre Company's production of 'The Last Act of Lilka Kadison.'

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Jeff Awards wrap-up, Tony Awards predictions, 'Glee' live, 'Chicago' in Chicago, 'Million Dollar Quartet,' 'A Minister's Wife,' more....

As we inch closer and closer to the Broadway's biggest night on Sunday, today we have the choreographic centerpiece of our extensive Tony Award countdown with a focus on the genius of Michael Bennett. While we have already featured his shows COMPANY, FOLLIES, A CHORUS LINE and DREAMGIRLS - and even took a look at the recent smash hit revival of PROMISES, PROMISES starring Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth - today's triple dose of clips (with a few surprises) is undoubtedly as close as one can get to theatrical crack cocaine: "Turkey Lurkey Time" from the original Broadway production of PROMISES, PROMISES, "Fifty Percent" from BALLROOM performed by Dorothy Loudon and - one of the most elaborate numbers in Tony Awards history - "Always Mademoiselle" from COCO starring Katharine Hepburn. So, see some of the reasons why these are the best of the best of Bennett and, therefore, the best of the best of Broadway right here!

Broadway Beat brings you an interview with Colman Domingo and Forrest McClendon, Best Featured Actor in a Musical nominees for The Scottsboro Boys. Prior to The Scottsboro Boys, Domingo starred starred as Mister Franklin/Venus of Berlin in Passing Strange, for which received an Obie Award. He reprised his roles in the film version of Passing Strange directed by Spike Lee, which made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2009. In 2010, Domingo's self-penned play 'A Boy and His Soul' premiered Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theater, for which he won a GLAAD and a Lucille Lortel Award and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and a Drama League Award. He has also starred as Billy Flynn in Chicago. McClendon, who made his Broadway debut in The Scottsboro Boys, has appeared off-Broadway in Faith Journey. He also appeared as CC White in a 2005 Prince Music Theatre revival of Dreamgirls: The Musical in Philadelphia. His most recent theatrical project is a regional production of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris at the Two Rivers Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey.

Broadway Beat brings you Ellen Barkin, Best Featured Actress in a Play nominee for The Normal Heart. Making her Broadway debut in The Normal Heart, Barkin is stranger to the stage having appeared in such Off-Broadway works as Extremities and Eden Court. On screen, she is best known for her roles in The Big Easy and Sea of Love. She also voices the start of each Theme Time Radio Hour with host Bob Dylan on XM's 'Deep Tracks.'

Broadway Beat brings you a special interview with Victoria Clark, Best Featured Actress in a Musical nominee for Sister Act. Clark won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical in 2005 for her performance in The Light in the Piazza. She also won the Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and the Joseph Jefferson Award for her performance in the role. Additional Broadway credits include Urinetown, Titanic and revivals of Cabaret, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Guys and Dolls and A Grand Night For Singing.

The 2011 Tony Award nominees were announced live from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in New York City on Tuesday, May 3, 2011. The next day, proud nominees gathered at the Millenium Hotel in Times Square to celebrate and meet the press. Broadway Beat caught up with Patti LuPone, Best Featured Actress in a Musical nominee for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, who had this to say about her nomination:

The 2011 Tony Award nominees were announced live from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in New York City on Tuesday, May 3, 2011. The next day, proud nominees gathered at the Millenium Hotel in Times Square to celebrate and meet the press. Broadway Beat was on hand, of course, to speak with all of the proud nominees. In anticipation of Tony night on June 12, 2011, BroadwayWorld will be bringing you new clips of the stars in conversation each week so be sure to check back! Below, we bring you Tony Sheldon, Best Lead Actor in a Musical nominee for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Sheldon has played more than 1200 performances as Bernadette in Priscilla in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, the West End and Toronto. He won the Green Room Award, Best Male Artist In A Leading Role, and was nominated for an Olivier Award for the part. Additionally, Sheldon won the 2005 Helpmann Award, the Sydney Critics Award, the Mo Award and the Glugs Award for his performance as Roger de Bris in The Producers. He was also nominated for a Helpmann and a Green Room Award for his performance in The Witches of Eastwick. He wrote and directed The Times Of My Life at the Ensemble Theatre and the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.

Last year, the 2010 Tonys Drinking Game was a big success. This year, you guys contributed even more suggestions - each of which is funnier and more clever than the last! So finish up the preparations of your Tony Night Menu, and grab a bottle. It'?s time for?... The 2011 TONY AWARDS DRINKING GAME!!!

The 2011 Tony Award nominees were announced live from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in New York City on Tuesday, May 3, 2011. The next day, proud nominees gathered at the Millenium Hotel in Times Square to celebrate and meet the press. Broadway Beat caught up with Norbert Leo Butz, Best Actor in a Musical nominee for Catch Me If You Can, who had this to say about his nomination:

The Oscars have become famous for the galmour. The MTV Video Music Awards for the onstage drama. And then there is the Tony Awards ceremony, the season closer most celebrated for its live performances. Though always full of surprises, BroadwayWorld has gotten the scoop on a number of performances audiences can expect from their favorite Broadway shows this season.

Below, we bring you David Yazbeck, Best Original Score nominee for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Prior to his success with Women on the Verge, he was best known for scoring the musicals He wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals The Full Monty and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

The 2011 Tony Award nominees were announced live from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in New York City on Tuesday, May 3, 2011. The next day, proud nominees gathered at the Millenium Hotel in Times Square to celebrate and meet the press. Broadway Beat was on hand, of course, to speak with all of the proud nominees. In anticipation of Tony night on June 12, 2011, BroadwayWorld will be bringing you new clips of the stars in conversation each week so be sure to check back! Below, we bring you David Lindsay-Abaire, Best Play nominee for Good People. He most recently received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play Rabbit Hole, which also earned several Tony Award nominations. He also penned Kimberly Akimbo, Wonder of the World, Dotting and Dashing, Snow Angel, The L'il Plays, and A Devil Inside. His screenplays include Robots, Inkheart, and the screen adaptation of Rabbit Hole, which starred Nicole Kidman. He is the author of the books to the musicals High Fidelity and Shrek.

Actors' Equity Association (Equity) announced today that The Public Theater's acclaimed production of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE is the recipient of its Extraordinary Excellence in Diversity on Broadway Award for the 2010-2011 Season. The Award will be presented at a reception at the Equity headquarters in New York City on Tuesday, June 7, 2011. In addition, Equity will receive a Mayoral Proclamation, presented by Commissioner Katherine Oliver, designating June 7th as Diversity on Broadway Day.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Robin Williams and Brooke Shields have been added as presnters for this year's Tony Awards.

Variety is reporting that Tony winners Laura Benanti and Katie Finneran will host the Creative Arts Awards portion of the Tonys, which as in the past will take place before the CBS broadcast. Unlike previous years where the ceremony was an hour, this year's has been shortened to 30 minutes. The trade paper reports that details on which awards they'll be presenting this year are not clear.

Hundreds of thousands of theatregoers and fans weighed in, breaking site traffic records (including last year's record breaking tally) and further solidifying the BroadwayWorld.com Awards place as the largest and most popular online Broadway polling event of its kind, open to all and with fully visible and audited results. So, who what shows, performers and creative teams were the favorites of the theatregoing public? Let's find out...

In honor of Lookingglass Theatre's 2011 Regional Theatre Tony Award, BroadwayWorld Chicago jumps down the rabbit hole all week long to gather what makes the Chicago ensemble company tick. Today we look at five notable people in the company's history.

In honor of Lookingglass Theatre Company's 2011 Regional Theatre Tony Award, Broadway World Chicago jumps down the rabbit hole all week long to gather what makes the Chicago-based ensemble tick. Today we look at the company's history.

Having designed the stage sets for the Broadway productions of THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, LOVEMUSIK, JAY JOHNSON: TWO AND ONLY, SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM, ROCK OF AGES, and his Tony-nominated work on THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS this season, through his revolutionary and spare designs Beowulf Boritt has positioned himself as one of the most creative and sought-after stage innovators of the twenty-first century. Discussing all aspects of the Off Broadway and Broadway productions of THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS and tracing the progress of the design of the show from inspiration to model to actual set, we also discuss some of his past accomplishments - working with the great directors Hal Prince, James Lapine, SCOTTSBORO's Susan Stroman, and Lynne Taylor-Corbett; the latter his collaborator on THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS with the New York City Ballet last month - and some enticing new productions he is developing and has coming up in the near future - PARADISE FOUND, REEL-TO- REAL, THE TOXIC AVENGER in Houston, THE TEMPEST in Dallas, the ROCK OF AGES tour and West End mounting, THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS in San Diego, and more!

Today we are featuring one of Broadway's most accomplished and charismatic leading men who has solidified himself as one of the premiere theatrical interpreters of our age in his performances on Broadway in both musicals and plays, off-Broadway and even in Shakespeare-In-The-Park productions: Raul Esparza. Mr. Esparza can certainly do it all and even though he has yet to take home a Tony Award of his own, he has enacted two of the most memorable recent performances on the yearly telecast: first, in his Broadway debut role as Riff Raff in the 2000 revival of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW and, most recently, performing a full-bodied, soul-bared "Being Alive" from COMPANY. So, let's take a look back at those two unforgettable performances and perhaps surprise or two, as well!

Voting opened on May 5, 2011 and runs through June 3, 2011 for the 9th Annual BroadwayWorld.com Awards! Here are the current standings as of 6/3

Below, we bring you Patina Miller, Best Lead Actress in a Musical nominee for Sister Act. Miller is best known for originating the role of the disco diva wannabe Deloris Van Cartier in the 2009 West End run, which she has now transferred to Broadway. She performed in a Central Park production of Hair in the summer of 2008 and was featured in the musical Romantic Poetry at the Manhattan Theatre Club that fall. In 2007, she was cast in All My Children and appeared in 30 episodes of the daytime soap opera.

Below, we bring you Bobby Cannavale, Best Lead Actor in a Play nominee for The Motherf**ker With the Hat. Previously nominated for a Tony Award for his role as Dennis in Mauritius in 2008, Cannavale is also known to New York theater audiences for his work with Labyrinth Theater Co. On screen, he is best known for his leading role as Bobby Caffey in the first two seasons of Third Watch. He also had a popular recurring role as Officer Vince D'Angelo on Will & Grace.

An alum of Encores! and the 'Chorus Line' and 'Color Purple' tours, Anthony makes his B'way debut in the hit revival.