On this day in 2015, the new musical It Shoulda Been You, from Brian HargroveandBarbara Anselmiopened on Broadway featuring an all-star cast includingLisa Howard,Tyne Daly,Harriet Harris, andSierra Boggess, and directed by David Hyde Pierce.
The original Broadway production of Bye Bye Birdie opened at the Martin Beck Theatre April 14, 1960. The production, directed and choreographed by Gower Champion, played 607 performances before closing October 7, 1961. The musical would garner eight Tony Award nominations, winning four including Best Musical.
Bye Bye Birdie tells the story of the MacAfee family and the residents of Sweet Apple, Ohio, who go topsy-turvy when teen idol Conrad Birdie comes to town to serenade one lucky fan before he joins the army. The production featured music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams, and book by Michael Stewart.
The production starred Chita Rivera as Rose Grant, Dick Van Dyke as Albert Peterson, Dick Gautier as Conrad Birdie, Paul Lynde as Mr. MacAfee, Kay Medford as Mae Peterson, Michael J. Pollard as Hugo Peabody, and Susan Watson as Kim MacAfee. Rounding out the cast were Jessica Albright, Ed Becker, Vicki Belmonte, George Blackwell, Johnny Borden, Lynn Bowin, Kenny Burrell, John Coyle, Dick Crowley, Dori Davis, Jerry Dodge, Barbara Doherty, Lada Edmund, Tracy Everitt, Don Farnworth, Bud Fleming, Penny Ann Green, Amelia Haas, Lee Howard, Gary Howe, Will Jordan, Judy Keirn, Allen Knowles, Kasimir Kokich, Ed Kresley, Sharon Lerit, Marijane Maricle, Marissa Mason, Jeannine Masterson, Pat McEnnis, Tony Mordente, Oran Osburn, Louise Quick, Charles Nelson Reilly, Norma Richardson, Jimmy Sisco, Bob Spencer, Dean Stolber, Michael Vita, and Karin Wolfe with Carmen Alvarez and Charles Nelson Reilly as standys and Penny Ann Green and Ed Kresley as swings.
Bye Bye Birdie features scenic design by Robert Randolph, costume design by Miles White, lighting design by Peggy Clark, and film sequences by Robert J. McCarty in association with Robert Gaffney, and stage management by Michael Thoma and Edward Nayor. Visit the Playbill Vault for the complete cast and creative team.
Read on for more theatre headlines you may have missed in today’s news.
Newly Elected Dramatists Guild Officers Make History
Tony-nominated lyricist-composer Amanda Green (Hands on a Hardbody, Bring It On, High Fidelity) has been elected the first woman president in the 100 year history of The Dramatists Guild alongside the newly-elected, most inclusive board yet, including Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (An Octoroon) as vice president, Kristoffer Diaz (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity) as secretary, and Christine Toy Johnson (co-founder of AAPAC) as treasurer. Green succeeds outgoing Guild President Doug Wright. The Dramatists Guild of America is the national, professional membership trade association of theatre writers including playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists.
Rattestick Announces April and May Online Programming
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater’s April and May online programming includes the return of New Songs Now In Your Living Room. The unplugged concert series, presented in partnership with Rosalind Productions, Inc., features new songs from different artists each night. The lineup includes Emma Claye and AriDy Knox (A Walless Church) on May 3, Ada Westfall (Theater Mitu) featuring Jo Lampert (David Byrne’s Joan of Arc: Into the Fire) and Dawn Landes (ROW, Williamstown Theatre Festival) May 4, Richard Rodgers Award winner Zeniba Now and Rodney Bush and Jay Adana (The Woodsman) on May 5, and The Kilbanes (Weightless) and Kleban Award winners Melissa Li and Kit Yan on May 6. All performances begin at 7 PM ET. Also announced is the continuation of MTA Radio Plays, a series of audio dramas conceived and curated by playwright Ren Dara Santiago. Featuring the work of 17 playwrights, each episode is inspired by a stop along the MTA’s 2 Train line. For more information on these and additional programming, visit Rattlestick.org.
Plus: Watch the second episode of Idina’s Treehouse, Tony-winning performer (and mom) Idina Menzel, above. The family-friendly web series is filmed in the treehouse in the backyard of her California home, and features story time (reading That’s Life by Cynthia Rylant), a visit with Farmer Scotty (and his chicken, Mrs. Roper), and a performance of The Carpenters’ “Close to You” (she gets really close!).
Show producers Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher and Steven Soderberghtoday announced the ensemble cast to present at the 93rd Oscars,which airs live onABC, Sunday, April 25, at 8 p.n. EDT5 p.m. PDT.
On this day in 2013, the acclaimed musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda opened at Broadway’s Shubert Theatre.
Following its London debut, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Richard Maltby, Jr., and Alain Boubil’s Miss Saigon opened at the Broadway Theatre April 11, 1991. The production played 19 previews and 4,092 performances before closing January 28, 2001. The musical earned 11 Tony Award nominations and won three, most notably with Lea Salonga becoming the first Asian performer to win a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical.
Inspired by the opera Madame Butterfly, Miss Saigon tells the story of the relationship between a young Vietnamese woman and an American GI during the final days of the Vietnam War. Though noted as a showcase for Asian talent on the Broadway stage, the musical has faced criticism over the years for its lack of Asian representation in its creative teams, as well as for its portrayal of Asian people, in particular Asian women. Additionally, the original Broadway production was met with protests due to its casting of the white actor Jonathan Pryce as the Engineer, a French-Vietnamese character.
In addition to Salonga as Kim and Pryce as the Engineer, the original Broadway production starred Hinton Battle as John, Willy Falk as Chris, Liz Callaway as Ellen, and Barry K. Bernal as Thuy alongside ensemble members Zar Acayan, Alan Ariano, Tony C. Avanti, Brian R. Baldomero, Jane Bodle, Raquel C. Brown, Annette Calud, Eric Chan, Marina Chapa, Mirla Criste, Francis J. Cruz, Imelda de los Reyes, Paul Dobie, Michael Gruber, JoAnn M. Hunter, Sala Iwamatsu, Leonard Joseph, Philip Lyle Kong, Darren Lee, Jason Ma, Paul Matsumoto, Sean McDermott, Thomas James O’Leary, Gordon Owens, Christopher Pecaro, Matthew Pedersen, Kris Phillips, W. Ellis Porter, Ray Santos, Jade Kaiwalani Stice, Melanie Mariko Tojio, Alton Fitzgerald White, Nephi Jay Wimmer, and Bruce Winant. Rounding out the company were Kam Cheng as the Kim alternate and Sylvia Dohi, Henry Menendez, Marc Oka, and Todd Zamarripa as swings.
Directed by Nicholas Hytner with musical staging by Bob Avian, Miss Saigon featured production design by John Napier, costumes by Andreane Neofitou and Suzy Benzinger, lighting design by David Hersey, and sound design by Andrew Bruce with stage management by Fred Hanson, Sherry Cohen, and Tom Capps. Visit the Playbill Vault for the complete cast and creative team.
The musical returned to Broadway in 2017 in a Tony-nominated revival starring Eva Noblezada, Jon Jon Briones, Alistair Brammer, Katie Rose Clarke, Nicholas Christopher, Devin Ilaw, and Rachelle Ann Go.
Following its London debut, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Richard Maltby, Jr., and Alain Boubil’s Miss Saigon opened at the Broadway Theatre April 11, 1991. The production played 19 previews and 4,092 performances before closing January 28, 2001. The musical earned 11 Tony Award nominations and won three, most notably with Lea Salonga becoming the first Asian performer to win a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical.
Inspired by the opera Madame Butterfly, Miss Saigon tells the story of the relationship between a young Vietnamese woman and an American GI during the final days of the Vietnam War. Though noted as a showcase for Asian talent on the Broadway stage, the musical has faced criticism over the years for its lack of Asian representation in its creative teams, as well as for its portrayal of Asian people, in particular Asian women. Additionally, the original Broadway production was met with protests due to its casting of the white actor Jonathan Pryce as the Engineer, a French-Vietnamese character.
In addition to Salonga as Kim and Pryce as the Engineer, the original Broadway production starred Hinton Battle as John, Willy Falk as Chris, Liz Callaway as Ellen, and Barry K. Bernal as Thuy alongside ensemble members Zar Acayan, Alan Ariano, Tony C. Avanti, Brian R. Baldomero, Jane Bodle, Raquel C. Brown, Annette Calud, Eric Chan, Marina Chapa, Mirla Criste, Francis J. Cruz, Imelda de los Reyes, Paul Dobie, Michael Gruber, JoAnn M. Hunter, Sala Iwamatsu, Leonard Joseph, Philip Lyle Kong, Darren Lee, Jason Ma, Paul Matsumoto, Sean McDermott, Thomas James O’Leary, Gordon Owens, Christopher Pecaro, Matthew Pedersen, Kris Phillips, W. Ellis Porter, Ray Santos, Jade Kaiwalani Stice, Melanie Mariko Tojio, Alton Fitzgerald White, Nephi Jay Wimmer, and Bruce Winant. Rounding out the company were Kam Cheng as the Kim alternate and Sylvia Dohi, Henry Menendez, Marc Oka, and Todd Zamarripa as swings.
Directed by Nicholas Hytner with musical staging by Bob Avian, Miss Saigon featured production design by John Napier, costumes by Andreane Neofitou and Suzy Benzinger, lighting design by David Hersey, and sound design by Andrew Bruce with stage management by Fred Hanson, Sherry Cohen, and Tom Capps. Visit the Playbill Vault for the complete cast and creative team.
The musical returned to Broadway in 2017 in a Tony-nominated revival starring Eva Noblezada, Jon Jon Briones, Alistair Brammer, Katie Rose Clarke, Nicholas Christopher, Devin Ilaw, and Rachelle Ann Go.
Following its London debut, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Richard Maltby, Jr., and Alain Boubil’s Miss Saigon opened at the Broadway Theatre April 11, 1991. The production played 19 previews and 4,092 performances before closing January 28, 2001. The musical earned 11 Tony Award nominations and won three, most notably with Lea Salonga becoming the first Asian performer to win a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical.
Inspired by the opera Madame Butterfly, Miss Saigon tells the story of the relationship between a young Vietnamese woman and an American GI during the final days of the Vietnam War. Though noted as a showcase for Asian talent on the Broadway stage, the musical has faced criticism over the years for its lack of Asian representation in its creative teams, as well as for its portrayal of Asian people, in particular Asian women. Additionally, the original Broadway production was met with protests due to its casting of the white actor Jonathan Pryce as the Engineer, a French-Vietnamese character.
In addition to Salonga as Kim and Pryce as the Engineer, the original Broadway production starred Hinton Battle as John, Willy Falk as Chris, Liz Callaway as Ellen, and Barry K. Bernal as Thuy alongside ensemble members Zar Acayan, Alan Ariano, Tony C. Avanti, Brian R. Baldomero, Jane Bodle, Raquel C. Brown, Annette Calud, Eric Chan, Marina Chapa, Mirla Criste, Francis J. Cruz, Imelda de los Reyes, Paul Dobie, Michael Gruber, JoAnn M. Hunter, Sala Iwamatsu, Leonard Joseph, Philip Lyle Kong, Darren Lee, Jason Ma, Paul Matsumoto, Sean McDermott, Thomas James O’Leary, Gordon Owens, Christopher Pecaro, Matthew Pedersen, Kris Phillips, W. Ellis Porter, Ray Santos, Jade Kaiwalani Stice, Melanie Mariko Tojio, Alton Fitzgerald White, Nephi Jay Wimmer, and Bruce Winant. Rounding out the company were Kam Cheng as the Kim alternate and Sylvia Dohi, Henry Menendez, Marc Oka, and Todd Zamarripa as swings.
Directed by Nicholas Hytner with musical staging by Bob Avian, Miss Saigon featured production design by John Napier, costumes by Andreane Neofitou and Suzy Benzinger, lighting design by David Hersey, and sound design by Andrew Bruce with stage management by Fred Hanson, Sherry Cohen, and Tom Capps. Visit the Playbill Vault for the complete cast and creative team.
The musical returned to Broadway in 2017 in a Tony-nominated revival starring Eva Noblezada, Jon Jon Briones, Alistair Brammer, Katie Rose Clarke, Nicholas Christopher, Devin Ilaw, and Rachelle Ann Go.