The L.A. Opera production of Candide, celebrating the Leonard Bernstein centennial, began performances January 27. The show marks the Los Angeles Opera debuts of Christine Ebersole and Kelsey Grammer as Old Lady and Pangloss, respectively.
Performances will run through February 18 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. For more information and tickets, click here.
The cast also includes Jack Swanson as Candide, Erin Morley (recently in Les Contes d’Hoffmann at the Met) as Cunegonde, Theo Hoffman as Maximillian/Reverend Father, Matthew Scollin as Martin, Brian Michael Moore as the Grand Inquisitor, and Taylor Raven as the Baroness. Francesca Zambello directs.
Flip through photos of the show below:
First Look at Christine Ebersole, Kelsey Grammer, and More in L.A. Opera’s Candide
The production is part of a worldwide, two-year celebration of the Leonard Bernstein centennial. Morley will sing the role of Cunegonde again at Carnegie Hall in an April concert presentation of Candide as part of the centennial.
Ebersole has been a special guest performer on Playbill’s Broadway on the High Seas cruises. Tickets are now on sale for the Broadway on the High Seas 10: Odyssey Through the Greek Isles cruise June 24–July 1, 2019, with a lineup of top Broadway stars to be announced. Call Judy Perl Worldwide for tickets at (844) 561-3625. Visit PlaybillTravel.com for booking and information.
In a new music video celebrating the long-running Broadway production of Chicago,Amra-Faye Wright performs a sparkling rendition of “All That Jazz.” Wright first stepped into the role of Velma Kelly in the Broadway production in 2006, and has been performing in the show on and off since.
The Broadway production currently stars fellow Chicago veteran Bianca Marroquín as Roxie Hart, Tom Hewitt as Billy Flynn, Raymond Bokhour as Amos Hart, Kandi Burruss as Matron “Mama” Morton, and R. Lowe as Mary Sunshine.
With a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, Chicago is directed by Tony winner Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Tony winner Ann Reinking in the style of Bob Fosse. The musical is the winner of six 1997 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Recording.
Chicago Celebrates 20th Anniversary Year With Starry Photo Op
Chicago Celebrates 20th Anniversary Year With Starry Photo Op
Bebe Neuwirth, Joel Grey, John Kander and more were on hand to kick off the event.
26 PHOTOS
James Naughton, Barry Weissler, Bebe Neuwirth, Joel Grey and Walter Bobbie Joseph Marzullo/WENN
Amra-Faye Wright Joseph Marzullo/WENN
Amra-Faye Wright and Yōka Wao Joseph Marzullo/WENN
Amra-Faye Wright Joseph Marzullo/WENN
Amra-Faye Wright and Yōka Wao Joseph Marzullo/WENN
James Naughton, Barry Weissler, Bebe Neuwirth, Joel Grey, Walter Bobbie Joseph Marzullo/WENN
Amra-Faye Wright Joseph Marzullo/WENN
James Naughton, Bebe Neuwirth and Joel Grey Joseph Marzullo/WENN
The Phantom of the Opera celebrated 30 years on Broadway January 24 (two days prior to its actual anniversary date).
The gala performance kicked off with a red carpet co-hosted by former Christine Sierra Boggess, and author-commentator and The Musical Company’s Vice President, Marketing, Imogen Lloyd Webber. The performance at the Majestic Theatre was followed by a special post-show presentation featuring musical numbers and surprise artists. A private gala at the Rainbow Room concluded the festive evening.
Flip through photos below of the red carpet, curtain call, and after-party:
A Look Inside the 30th Anniversary Performance of The Phantom of the Opera
Cruel Intentions: The Musical has extended its Off-Broadway run another month at (le) Poisson Rouge. The immersive rock concert adaptation, previously extended through February 19, is now selling through March 16.
Cruel Intentions: The Musical is adapted from Roger Kumble’s cult ‘90s film and features many of the songs that made the movie so iconic, including The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle,” and Placebo’s “Every You Every Me.” Take a sneak peek at the show in the video above.
The musical began performances Off-Broadway December 11, 2017, and was originally scheduled to play through January 29.
Cruel Intentions: The Musical is created by Jordan Ross, Lindsey Rosin, and Kumble and features immersive stage direction by Rosin, choreography by Jennifer Weber, and music direction and arrangements by Zach Spound.
The cast is made up of Lauren Zakrin as Kathryn, Carrie St. Louis as as Annette, Constantine Rousouli as Sebastian, Jessie Shelton as Cecile, Alex Boniello as Blaine, Brian Muller as Greg, Matthew Griffin as Ronald, and Patricia Richardson as Mrs. Caldwell.
Take a Sneak Peek at Cruel Intentions: The Musical
Sara Bareilles, who earned Tony and Grammy nominations for her score for Waitress, returned to the musical as Jenna January 16. Bareilles made her Broadway stage debut last year in Waitress and is scheduled to perform in the show once again through February 25.
Flip through photos of the January 16 curtain call below:
See Sara Bareilles Return to Waitress on Broadway
Bareilles shares the stage for the first part of her run in Waitress with friend and collaborator, Grammy winner Jason Mraz, who stepped into the show as Dr. Pomatter November 3. While he was initially slated to appear in the musical through January 14 only, he will now star opposite Bareilles for the first two weeks of her run through February 11. Original cast member Drew Gehling will return as Pomatter beginning February 13.
Waitress is now playing the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star and musical theatre enthusiast Rachel Bloom helped bring some Broadway magic to the YouTube talk show Good Mythical Morning, starring alongside hosts Rhett and Link in a variety of showtune-infused reenactments of terrible Tinder interactions.
Watch the video above as the trio sings transcripts of dating app nightmares through the lens of such shows as Hamilton, the Phantom of the Opera, and Cats—complete with costumes and sets.
Bloom frequently brings a Broadway sensibility to her CW comedy series, currently in its third season. Last year, she appeared in the Manhattan Concert Productions staging of the Broadway-bound Crazy For You.
Photos: Laura Osnes, Rachel Bloom, and Tony Yazbeck in Crazy for You
Tony-nominated actor and singer Jennifer Damiano returns to Feinstein’s/54 Below in New York City January 16 with an encore performance of Jennifer Damiano: Unplugged, the show with which she made her solo cabaret debut in the summer of 2016
The 9:30 PM concert features “an intimate, acoustic take on Damiano’s journey through her adolescence in the theater through pop music and the heartfelt musical theatre songs that have made her career. Damiano will be reunited with music director Benjamin Rauhala for the intimate concert in what will be her most personal cabaret show yet.”
Damiano made her Broadway debut in the original cast of Spring Awakening at age 15 and earned a Tony Award nomination for her performance as the daughter Natalie in Next to Normal. Her other Broadway roles include Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (2011) and Jean in American Psycho (2016). Off-Broadway, she starred in Venice at the Public Theatre and a pop-up production of Cruel Intentions: The Musical.
No stranger to the cabaret world, she has taken part in eight engagements at Feinstein’s/54 Below, including her sold-out show Jennuinely in 2016, Broadway Loves Kelly Clarkson in April 2017, and her July and September stands with the current show.
Feinstein’s/54 Below is located at 254 West 54th Street, beneath Studio 54, in Manhattan. Doors open at 5:15 PM and the performance is scheduled to begin at 7 PM January 16. Tickets, which cost $25 to $60 (plus a $25 food/drink minimum), can be ordered here. Tickets on the day of performance after 4 PM are available only by calling (646) 476-3551.
Crazy For You re-entered the Broadway conversation after a one-night only concert engagement in February 2017 reignited enthusiasm for the 1992 Tony-winning musical. The musical is reportedly Broadway-bound and actor Jerry O’Connell, who performed in the concert version, told audiences on Live With Kelly & Ryan that he’s currently working on the project.
O’Connell plays Lank Hawkins. The concert starred Tony Yazbeck as Bobby Child opposite Laura Osnes as Polly Baker. The concert also featured Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Rachel Dratch (Saturday Night Live), and Jack McBrayer (30 Rock). Directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, who won the 1992 Tony for Best Choreography in the original production, is attached.
“These are real Broadway song and dance people. Of the whole cast I am legitimately the worst of all of them,” O’Connell confides. “I can move. If we’re in the club, you’re like Whoa who’s that guy dancing?’ On the Broadway stage you’re like Who is that guy and how did he get on that stage?’” But O’Connell has been on the Broadway stage before in Living On Love and Seminar.
No theatre or Broadway dates have been announced for Crazy For You.
Photos: Laura Osnes, Rachel Bloom, and Tony Yazbeck in Crazy for You
