The holidays are over and most of us are looking to make up for the extra calories ingested and excess pounds gained. BroadwayWorld wants to help you get moving this January Stretch your muscles and get your heart pumping with our specially curated collection of showtunes to energize your very Broadway workout.
On Broadway, the stage is typically filled with people, all coming together to bring a show to life. However, some of the most riveting productions have come from a single performer. From Elaine Stritch at Liberty to Sea Wall/A Life, look back at 13 socially distance performances that took Broadway by storm—including Song and Dance, with Bernadette Peters earning a Tony Award for her solo Act I performance as Emma.
13 Solo Turns on Broadway Everyone Should Know
13 Solo Turns on Broadway Everyone Should Know
26 PHOTOS
The Belle of Amherst, 1976
Act 1 of Song and Dance,1985
The first act of Song & Dance is one of the few true solo musicals ever to play Broadway. Bernadette Peters won her first Tony Award in 1985 for her portrayal of Emma, an English girl in New York, whose search for love spanned almost two dozen songs. Kenn Duncan / The New York Public Library
The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, 1985
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, 1994
Freak, 1998
Actor John Leguizamo introduced Broadway audiences to his explosive storytelling style in 1998 when Freak, a semi-autobiographical series of Leguizamo’s family stories co-written with David Bar Katz, opened at the Cort Theatre. Photo by Photo by Joan Marcus
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A filmed performance from the London run of David Bowie and Enda Walsh’s Lazarus, starring Michael C. Hall and Beetlejuice alum Sophia Anne Caruso, streams on Dice.fm January 8-10, 2021, to mark Bowie’s birthday and the fifth anniversary of his death. The film is available for three showings only in multiple time zones. Donations will be collected to support Theatre Artists Fund and Help Musicians.
Inspired by Walter Trevis’ novel The Man Who Fell to Earth, Lazarus centers on Thomas Newton (Hall), an alien who “remains still on Earth—a ‘man’ unable to die, his head soaked in cheap gin and haunted by a past love. We follow Newton during the course of a few days where the arrival of another lost soul might set him finally free.”
The production premiered Off-Broadway in 2015, in a production directed by Ivo Van Hove (West Side Story, Network) and starring Hall, Caruso, and Esper. All three reprised their performances for the U.K. transfer, which played at London’s King’s Cross Theatre in 2016. This filmed performance was previously screened at Brooklyn’s King’s Theatre in 2018.
Produced by Robert Fox Ltd. and Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment, Lazarus features scenic and lighting design by Jan Versweyveld, costumes by An D’Huys, video design by Tal Yarden, original sound by Brian Ronan with U.K. sound by Tony Gayle, choreography by Annie-B Parson, hair and wig design by Richard Mawbey, and musical direction by Henry Hey. Casting is by Jill Green.
Read on for some recent theatre headlines you may have missed in today’s news.
RANGE Music Releases New Video for Six The vocal group that made a hit with “Hamliton [in 7 minutes]” is now taking on Six, featuring the female voices of the group RANGE music, including Hannah Corneau (Wicked), Mary Claire King (Chicago, War Paint), Stephanie Jae Park (Hamilton tour, War Paint, The King and I), Sydney Patrick, Erika Peterson, and Angela Travino, with beatboxing from AirLoom Beats. The video mash-up was conceived, arranged, and produced by Ross Baum and Ben Holtzman, with music from Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’ score. Take a look above.
A Bowie Celebration Featuring Lena Hall, Michael C. Hall, More Celebrate rock legend David Bowie’s birthday with the virtual streaming concert A Bowie Celebration: Just For One Day! January 8. Tony Award winner Lena Hall (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and Michael C. Hall (who starred in Bowie’s stage musical Lazarus, which is also streaming this weekend), are featured in an all-star lineup of rock talent that also includes Duran Duran, Dave Navarro, Adam Lambert, and Nine Inch Nails. Also billed as The David Bowie Alumni Experience, the concert will feature band members that appeared on all of Bowie’s studio album—from his debut 1969 self titled album to Blackstar, his final album. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Save The Children, a favorite charity of Bowie. For tickets, click here.
Michael Urie, Ann Harada, More to Appear in New Play Smithtown Michael Urie (Torch Song, Buyer and Cellar), Ann Harada (Avenue Q, Cinderella), Colby Lewis (Chicago’s Hamilton, Chicago Med), and Constance Shulman (The Rose Tattoo, Orange Is the New Black) will star in the new play Smithtown, by Drew Larimore for The Studios of Key West. The comedy is a series of four interconnected monologues that highlight the ways we communicate, or miscommunicate, in a digital era. The virtual production, directed by Stephen Kitsakos in collaboration with videographer-writer Harry Aspinwall, is available February 13-27 via The Studios of Key West.
Watch the Trailer for Soldier Songs From Opera Philadelphia Baritone Johnathan McCullough directs and stars in Soldier Songs, filmed exclusively for the Opera Philadelphia Channel and available January 22. Penned by composer David T. Little and based on interviews with veterans of five wars, this marriage of theatre, opera, and rock examines the impact of trauma on the life of the soldier.
After a year like this one, we could all use some musical warmth to look forward to. Luckily, we have it on good authority that several major Broadway musicals will be adapted and released as major motion pictures in the next year