Earlier this year, a simple tweet sparked musical fands around the internet to introspect and consider: “You need to play your therapist a single Broadway number to explain yourself as a person. What’s it gonna be?” While celebrities like Mara Wilson and Broadwy show accounts like SpongeBob SquarePants got in on the action, Playbill’s quiz is here to help you answer the question. Take our quiz below!
Steven Pasquale, currently starring in AmericanSon opposite Kerry Washington on Broadway, celebrates his birthday November 18.
His previous New York stage credits include Junk, The Bridges of Madison County,The Robber Bridegroom, reasons to be pretty, and Far From Heaven. He is also known for his TV performances in such shows as Doubt, Bloodline, American Crime Story, The Good Wife, and Rescue Me.
Flip through photos of his stage performances below:
A Photographic Look at the Stage Career of Steven Pasquale
William Goldman, the playwright, screenwriter, and novelist whose prolific body of film work includes the Oscar-winning pictures Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All The President’s Men in addition to Misery, Marathon Man, A Bridge Too Far, and his beloved adventure The Princess Bride, has died at age 87 in Manhattan. The new was confirmed by his daughter Jenny.
A scrupulous and observant writer, whose works were energized by a responsibility to capture the truth—no matter the subject or medium—Mr. Goldman could be both unforgiving and revolutionary.
Mr. Goldman earned Oscars for the 1969 Western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and his bombshell 1976 account of the Watergate Scandal, All The President’s Men. But he was beloved by generations young and old for his romantic fantasy adventure The Princess Pride.
The 1973 work is masterfully crafted as a novel within a novel. The self-aware literary framing device in which the narrator addresses the readers, skipping past “boring moments” and injecting idiosyncratic asides as he recounts the romantic adventure of Princess Buttercup and Westley.
Prior to his work on screen, however, Mr. Goldman cut his teeth as a writer for the stage, penning the 1961 Broadway play Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole and the book and score for A Family Affair (which played Broadway the same season), co-written with his brother James and John Kander. He returned to Broadway in 2015, penning the Bruce Willis- and Laurie Metcalf-led stage version of Misery (having already adapted Stephen King’s novel for the screen).
While Hollywood brought Goldman financial security and established him as one of the most in-demand and successful screenwriters of his era, it was his groundbreaking 1969 publication The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway, an all-access account of the 1967–1968 Broadway season that shed light on the insider world of commercial theatre. The deeply researched tome is filled with insights on box office figures, the nuances of the Broadway business model, the politics of coveted theatrical real-estate, and an direct (if divisive) assessment of the artists of the era.
The Season is a theatrical must-read. A precursor to the world of Smash, it served as the inspiration for Broadway producer Dori Berinstein’s 2003 documentary film ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway, which followed the high-profile 2003–2004 season by capturing the arrival of Wicked, Avenue Q, Taboo, and Caroline, or Change.
The York Theatre Company honored five-time Tony-winning director-choreographer Susan Stroman with the 2018 Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre November 12. The award was presented at the 27th Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala, which also honored Betty Cooper Wallerstein with the York Theatre Company Founders’ Award.
The Tony Award-winning revival of Chicago is celebrating over 20 years on Broadway. The show opened November 14, 1996, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre before transferring to the Sam S. Shubert Theatre the following year. In 2003, the musical moved to the Ambassador Theatre, where it continues to play.
Chicago is the second-longest running show in Broadway history (after The Phantom of the Opera) and the longest-running American show in Broadway history.
Before Mary Poppins Returns arrives in movie theatres December 19, take a look at the above featurette, in which the stars and creative team discuss the joy behind bringing the magical nanny back to the screen.
The original Disney film is nearing its 55th anniversary, and naturally, the prospect of returning to that world was daunting. But looking at the source material (P. L. Travers’ series), director Rob Marshall realized: “There was a real sense that there’s so much more story to be told.”
“This is a film with great hope and spectacle,” adds Emily Blunt, who takes on the title role this time around, amid clips filled with laughter, dancing, and dayglow animation. “And it’s moving, so I think it’s a very important film to be making right now.”
The all-star cast of the new movie also features Meryl Streep, Angela Lansbury, Colin Firth, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, and Dick Van Dyke.
See Mary Poppins Returns Duo Lin-Manuel Miranda and Dick Van Dyke Honored at Geffen Playhouse Fundraiser
Following an acclaimed, sold-out, and extended Off-Broadway run earlier this summer, comedian Mike Birbiglia’s The New One officially opens on Broadway November 11. The show is playing a limited engagement at the Cort Theatre through January 20, 2019.
Mike Birbiglia: The New One features additional writing by Jennifer Hope Stein and is directed by Seth Barrish. Birbiglia has remained deliberately secretive about the details of the show, explaining that The New One should be discovered in the theatre.
Mike Birbiglia’s The New One is produced on Broadway by Kevin McCollum. This American Life’s Ira Glass is executive producer, Joe Birbiglia is associate producer, and Mike Lavoie serves as production consultant.
So in Love: A Benefit Concert for the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, presented in honor of late Broadway actor Marin Mazzie will take place November 14 at Birdland Theatre 7 PM and 9:45 PM.
The lineup will include Kelli Rabke (Joseph, Les Miserable), Danette Holden (Annie, Shrek), Todd Buonopane (Spelling Bee, On the 20th Century), Brian Charles Rooney (Pal Joey), Dara Paige Bloomfield (Ragtime), Rachel Zatcoff (Phantom of The Opera, Fiddler), Ben McHugh (Mamma Mia), Maggie Hollinbeck (Once), Adam B. Shapiro (Fiddler on the Roof), Sean Patrick Murtagh, Carly Ozard, Christian Sineath, Les Grant, Graham Keen, Nolan Muña, Caitlin McBride, Edward Miskie.
Directed by Christopher Timson. Musical director for the event will be Garrett Taylor
All proceeds are being donated to The Ovarian Research Alliance, the largest ovarian cancer organization in the world fighting this disease from all fronts: in the lab, on Capitol Hill and supporting women throughout.
There is a $30 cover with a $10 minimum. Visit Birdlandjazz.com.
From Passion to The King and I: Look Back at Marin Mazzie on the Stage
From Passion to The King and I: Look Back at Marin Mazzie on the Stage
The beloved theatre veteran died September 13, surrounded by her family and friends, at 57.
