Tenement tunes by Sport Murphy

Poor Baby Bree, a fetching young orphan of the storm clad in dire gray shreds, legs it onstage like a sleepwalking Olive Oyl to a jaunty, raggy musical intro. A piano-based combo with plenty…

Joel Waggoner by Adaumbelle

Rising composer, musical director, vocal coach, and performer Joel Waggoner is the recipient of the 2011 Dramatist Guild Fellowship. He discusses studying with William Finn, performing in Li…

Coming Up This Week in Theatre - 8/27/2011

BroadwayWorld.com's Upcoming Events calendar for the week - updated on 8272011.

47 Days ’til Godspell: Rescheduling this and rescheduling that. by Ken

I had a bunch of Godspell meetings set for today, including a financial update with my GM and a preview of our costume sketches with our Director,  but this very rude young lady named Irene…

The Horton Lens by Jeni Mahoney by Polly Carl

I first started looking at theater through the lens of Horton Hears A Who! at the 2006 Seven Devils Playwrights Conference. I was sitting on stage moderating a discussion of Go Home Now by J…

"Period of Adjustment" at Berkshire Theatre Festival by Fred Sokol

While Berkshire Theatre Festival's production of "Period of Adjustment" is commendable, this Tennessee Williams play lacks the poetry and passion of his finer works.

Saturday Roundup: This Week on BroadwayWorld by Broadway World

If you're looking for a quick roundup of all the events in the theatre world this week, look no further here are some of the best articles that week had to offer

"Blackbird" and "Vivien" at Rogue Machine in L.A. by Sharon Perlmutter

The reason you should see "Blackbird" is for the amazing performance Sam Anderson gives as Ray�reacting to accusations of the unthinkable acts of which Ray is guilty ... Also at Rogue Machin…

"A Walk in the Woods" TimeLine Theatre in Chicago by John Olson

Viewing A Walk in the Woodsnow, in such a different era, maybe allows different themes to come forward in greater relief.

'Fearless' Adam Riches crowned king of Edinburgh Comedy Awards by Cherry Wilson

Humphrey Ker is best newcomer and The Wrestling gains panel prizeAdam Riches was on Saturday crowned the 31st winner of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards after being praised by judges for his "tr…

Trailer trash by Jason Solomons

Director Lone Scherfig speaks out about Lars von Trier, there's mortal embarrassment over the poster for the latest Almodóvar, and the screenwriters step in the limelight at BFI SouthbankDe…

Autumn 2011 arts calendar

The Observer's critics pick the season's highlights, from Degas to Depp, and Britney to the BardSeptember1 Theatre: Decade In a former trading hall on London's St Katharine Docks, Rupert Goo…

Peter Pan – review by Clare Brennan

York Theatre RoyalFrom its first appearance on 27 December 1904, the appeal of JM Barrie's story about "the boy who wouldn't grow up" was intergenerational. Children relished its adventures;…

Swan Lake – review by Luke Jennings

Birmingham HippodromeThe Guangdong Acrobatic Troupe of China was established in 1951, and since then has performed all over the world. The UK first saw the company's extraordinary version of…

Niamh Cusack: 'Widow Quinn is an outsider. There's something incredibly anarchic about her' by Gemma Kappala-Ramsamy

The actor talks about taking on the role of the older woman in JM Synge's groundbreaking The Playboy of the Western WorldNiamh Cusack, 51, is an Irish actor, the daughter of Cyril Cusack, st…

One Thousand and One Nights; The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle; South Pacific; Me, Myself and Miss Gibbs – review by Susannah Clapp

Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh; King's, Edinburgh; Barbican, London; Hill Street, EdinburghThe djinn is too meek. The surtitles are too wayward – mostly hard to see and often out of synch. T…

Powder – review by Philip French

There was a time when rock movies had a certain vivacity that went with the music – That'll Be the Day and Stardust, the 1970s diptych of David Puttnam productions starring David Essex for…

Scotland and England: what future for the Union? by Al Kennedy, Janice Galloway

The future of the 200-year link between England and Scotland has never been more hotly debated. We asked some of Scotland's best known writers for their opinions on the state of this marri…

Ed Puddick Big Band: Guys & Dolls – review by Dave Gelly

(Diving Duck)Just when you thought that the possibilities of the standard big-band format had finally been exhausted, along comes something like this. Probably more than any other musical, G…

The confessions of a teenage tourist

As The Inbetweeners, the movie about a lads-only holiday, opens with record box-office takings, four British comedians recall their own youthful travelsLUCY PORTERWhen I was 16, my mate Carm…

Room for one more at the keyboard?

'Inevitably, it will be tapas rather than a single meal." So says Rupert Goold, artistic director of theatre company Headlong, of its latest project, Decade – not a play about 10 years of …

One Thousand and One Nights, Parts 1 and 2, Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh - Our Days of Rage, Old Vic Tunnels, London - South Pacific, Barbican, London

The Arab world's One Thousand and One Nights, a string of folk tales told by Shahrazad, the legendary vizier's daughter, to enthrall the lethally misogynistic King Shahrayar, masquerades as …

Idina Menzel: 'When I listen to Joni Mitchell, I want to quit singing'

Jerry Leiber's last lyrical masterpiece to celebrate the many sides of Oscar Wilde by Dalya Alberge

Days after the death of the master songwriter, plans revealed for musical about Irish writerAs the rock world mourned lyricist Jerry Leiber last week, it fondly remembered classic hits such …

THE MAKING OF PERKS - Actors' Advice by Perks The Musical

THE MAKING OF PERKS - Actors' Advice ACTORS' ADVICE PERKS cast members -- Brittney Lee Hamilton, Felicia Blum, Howah Hung, Anich D'Jae, Carrie Salmon, and the "Absolutely …

THE MAKING OF PERKS - Actors' Advice by Tom Diggs

"Soon It's Gonna Rain": A Suggested Music Playlist to Accompany Hurricane Irene by Kenneth Jones

Like a lot of people in the New York City area, Playbill staffers are staying put in their homes and apartments during the worst part of Hurricane Irene, which will lash the area hardest bet…

Youtube Weekend Fave: 1937's "The Hurricane"

Every weekend I'm going to post some of the youtube clips that I come across that I especially love -- those that give me goosebumps, touch my heart or make me laugh.Tired of hurricane thi…

Brian Dennehy Set for "Krapp's Last Tape" at New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre

Tony Award-winning actor Brian Dennehy will bring his acclaimed production of Samuel Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape" to Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven for a special presentation.The show will…

Rent Needs More of a Renovation by Jan Simpson

Michael Greif is one of the reigning architects of new musicals. He helped to create Grey Gardens and Next to Normal. And, of course, he did the original production of Rent.  Still, I wish …

Irene Nixes "Suddenly Last Summer" Opening Night in Westport

Suddenly, a hurricane.Well, maybe not suddenly. But the Westport Country Playhouse has scratched the opening night tonight of its production of Tennessee Williams' "Suddenly Last Summer" sta…

Wolf Trap's delightful night at the opera

WTOC 40th Anniversary concert a real treat for local opera aficionados.

Sobbing My Guts Out (Or: Observations in Storytelling and Catharsis) by Leigh Hile

Here's a thing that happened to me during the Lab, that I meant to write about but didn't, because, you know, my life had been swallowed. On the evening second day off, after nearly 13 days…

Newly imagined, or differently there: baskets by Cate McQuaid

BROCKTON - Baskets have been around for thousands of years. Nomads and cave dwellers stowed and carried food and other items in them. These days, utility is often secondary to design, so bas…

Stage to studio by Jeffrey Gantz

"The more you turn the leg out, the more the hip will be in the correct place."

Adam Riches wins Edinburgh comedy award at fringe festival by Brian Logan

Comedian with a 'fearless level of audience engagement' beats joint-favourite Nick Helm to most prestigious standup prize in UKHis show invites the audience to play swingball and impersonate…

Review | Return to Forever IV at the Midland

Stanley Clarke announced to an excited Midland Theater crowd that this latest version of Return to Forever wasn’t like all those other reunion bands declaring this was their last ti…

Theater Review: DEVILS LOVE AT MIDNIGHT and ROMEO AND JULIET (Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group) by Harvey Perr

THE ZOMBIE JOE AESTHETIC With each new production, inch by inch, layer by layer, we get closer and closer to tasting the artichoke heart of Zombie Joe. It is not a question anymore of which …

Anne Bogart and SITI experiment with Euripides at Getty Villa by Mike Boehm

Anne Bogart and SITI Company will premiere a new adaptation of Euripides' "The Trojan Women" at the Getty Villa's outdoor amphitheater. Director Bogart says the play from 415 B.C., which env…

John Lithgow tells it like it is by John Moore

After months of caring for his parents, actor John Lithgow just could not cheer his aging father up. Then the idea hit him like a bolt: He told his father bedtime stories, "and he came back…

New Promo for Peter Pan National Tour, Starring Cathy Rigby (Video) by Michael C. Gioia

Tony Award nominee Cathy Rigby has taken her green tights out of storage and stocked up on extra fairy dust to fly around the United States in the national tour of Peter Pan, which recently …

CHICAGO: A POSTER GALLERY by JK

With Hurricane Irene causing the postponement of the historic 6,137th performance of Chicago until at least Monday, I am putting off my retrospective of the revivals stars, past and present,…

STAGE TUBE: ROCK OF AGES Performs at Mets Game by BroadwayWorld TV

ROCK OF AGES cast members performed during the 7th inning of the New York Mets baseball game on Wednesday 20 July, 2011 at Citi Field, Queens, NY.

Who won the Silver Membership to NYMF? by Ken Davenport

Based on the number of comments on last week's giveaway this is gonna be one exciting NYMF season! There are a lot of shows that grabbed your attention amongst the musical offerings . . . an…

PHOTO FLASH: Bebe Neuwirth, Christopher Sieber et al. Celebrate Broadway's Chicago by David Gordon

Chicago, now playing at the Ambassador Theatre, celebrated becoming the fourth longest-running Broadway show with a special cake and reception following the Friday, August 26 performance. T…

Bushnell Cancels Sunday's "Wicked" Performances

"Wicked" can withstand a tornado but not a hurricane.The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford is canceling Sunday's matinee and evening performances of the musical "Wicked. Th…

Irene shuts down Broadway

Legit News: All performances cancelled over weekend -- All Broadway performances were preemptively shut down for the weekend in advance of Hurricane Irene's arrival in Gotham Saturday night.

THE BOOK OF MORMON, BRIDGET JONES, VIVA FOREVER, et al. Coming to London by Broadway World

As the West End recovers from the scare of the city's recent riots and prepares for the 2012 Summer Olympics, the two incoming heads of the Society of London Theaters SOLT, Julian Bird and M…

Theatres remain open this weekend by Lorraine Treanor

With Hurricane Irene concentrated on DC area coastal regions, theatre companies have reported that they will continue with scheduled performances this weekend. The only events we have found …

News: Adam Riches & Pleasance Triumph at Edinburgh Comedy Awards

The Pleasance scooped all three of this year’s Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards, adding to its haul of six Scotsman Fringe Firsts, in arguably the “Big Four” venue…

FringeNYC report: Closing notes (Rock Me Like a…) by Nicole Gluckstern

Well, try as we might, no human drama can muster up quite the same impact as all the combined forces of Mother Nature. So with a whimpering bang, the New York International Fringe Festival (…

Dealing with rejection by Ken Levine

I wrote a piece on Thursday about what it's like to write a boxoffice flop.  My point was to move on and work on something else.   A few years ago I wrote a piece more specifi…

Maud Allan by Trav S. D.

There is some uncertainty about the birthdate of Maud Allan, although some sources give August 27, 1873. She is most famous for having conceived, devised and performed an influential dance i…

A Sunnier Day at Coney by Trav S. D.

With Coney Island being evacuated, and my own show now officially closed, time now for a few words if you please about our own trip out to Coney Island earlier this week. Orange Day at Luna …

BWW's On This Day - August 27, 2011

Here are the Broadway, Off-Broadway and West End shows which opened on August 27 along with all of the upcoming show openings, closings and special events

London theater looks ahead

Legit News: Riots in rearview, Olympics approach -- As the West End legit industry shakes off the scare of the city's recent riots, the two incoming heads of the Society of London Theaters (…

Box office hears 'War' cry

Legit News: Hit play bumps close to $1 million mark -- When will "War Horse" hit $1 million?

"Olive and the Bitter Herbs" isn't Tart Enough by Jan Simpson

Is there a perfect time to see a show?  Professional critics go to special press nights before a show opens so that they can tell the rest of us if it’s worth checking out. Those of u…

Matthew Morrison in "As The World Turns" (2007) by MatthewMorrison.net

Matthew Morrison in "As The World Turns" (2007) Clips of Matthew Morrison playing Adam Muson on "As The World Turns" - 2007 From: matthewmorrisonnet Views: 0 0 rati…

Taproot Theatre Extends SOMETHING'S AFOOT Through 8/27 by Bww News Desk

Audiences now have two additional weeks to experience the humor and high jinks of Something's Afoot. Taproot Theatre Company has extended the run through August 27.

LOVE NEVER DIES to Close in West End in August by Bww News Desk

Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical LOVE NEVER DIES will close on 27 August 2011. The production had recently announced that bookings were open through January 2012. The musical opened at the Adel…

Walmart is Freaking Me Out by Don Hall

 I don't know......somehow I am now compelled... ...to either go buy shit from Walmart... ...or pray that fucking clown never comes to my house...

Review: Belt Up's Twenty Minutes to Nine ***

Enter the claustrophobic confines of Eleanor's dressing room and listen to her reminisce, gossip and chatter. This reclusive character – who is apparently very old, but puzzlingly play…

Review Edinburgh Fringe: Crunch by Jake Orr

This is not a lecture, an angry protest or rebellion, this is an awakening. Or so we are lead to believe by Gary McNair in his one-man show Crunch. Looking at the way in which we value money…

Six Years at the Caldwell: Solid Performances, Flawed Script by Bill Hirschman

Six Years at the Caldwell Theatre works quite well moment-to-moment, but overall it feels amorphous and, ultimately, not satisfying. It lives in that purgatory where a show has much to recom…

Favourite festival moments: Mal Peet by Mal Peet

The children's author takes a young friend to see a magical stage version of Oliver Jeffers' picture book The Incredible Book-eating BoyBootworks' Black Box Theatre has a maximum seating cap…

Foodie Fridays - Traces at Vynl by Traces

Foodie Fridays - Traces at Vynl by Traces

Foodie Fridays - Traces at Vynl Mason, Philippe, Val, and Daqi stop by Vynl in Hell's Kitchen to learn how to make a 'Traces' of Brazil Caipirinha From: tracesusa Views: 176 …

CHART TOPPERS: Top-Grossing Broadway Productions, Week of August 15-August 21 by Michael C. Gioia

Here are the top-grossing Broadway productions for the week of August 15-August 21, 2011, as reported by The Broadway League. MUSICALS Wicked (Gerswhin Theatre), $1,820,989 The Lion King (Mi…

Razzle Dazzle Dimmed: West End's Love Never Dies and Chicago Close Aug. 27 by Mark Shenton

Two big West End musicals shutter Aug. 27: Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies, his much-anticipated but critically kicked sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, at the Adelphi Theatre, a…

Virginia Madsen, Noah Wyle, Justina Machado and Gale Harold to Read Windows On The World in Hollywood by Adam Hetrick

Members of the Hollywood community, including Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen and Noah Wyle, will gather to commemorate the events of Sept. 11 with a reading of Windows On The World,&n…

Brian Stokes Mitchell Sings at Denver's Lone Tree Center Opening Aug. 27; Rent Stars, GrooveLily on Calendar by Kenneth Jones

Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell is on a Rocky Mountain high this weekend, anointing  the new Lone Tree Arts Center in suburban Denver with a concert performance at its sold-out …

Virginia Madsen, Noah Wyle, Justina Machado and Gale Howard to Read Windows On The World in Hollywood by Adam Hetrick

Members of the Hollywood community, including Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen and Noah Wyle, will gather to commemorate the events of Sept. 11 with a reading of Windows On The World,&n…

NY Neo-Futurists Will Stage The Complete & Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O'Neill; Casting Announced by Michael Gioia

New York Neo-Futurists, creators of the long-running phenomenon Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, will present the world premiere of The Complete & Condensed Stage Directions of Eu…

Rogue Machine's Small Engine Repair, Featuring Josh Helman, Michael Redfield and Donnie Smith, Extends Limited Run by Michael Gioia

Rogue Machine's production of Small Engine Repair, presented by the Katselas Theatre Company and Rogue Machine, has extended its limited engagement at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, now th…

Today in Theatre History: AUGUST 27 by Ernio Hernandez and Robert Viagas

1878 Birthday of Sam S. Shubert (1878-1905), co-founder of the theatre-owning and producing titan, the Shubert Organization. Broadway's Shubert Theatre is named for him.

Pittsburgh Ballet adding pair of apprentices

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre welcomes two new dancers and promotes a pair of artists as its 42nd season gets under way. Olivia Kelly, 20, of Ohio and Cooper Verona, 19, of Connecticut have join…