Norbert Leo Butz Releases First Solo Album
For more than two decades, Norbert Leo Butz has made a name for himself as one of New York’s most versatile and accomplished stage actors.
David Bryne’s American Utopia Meets the Press Ahead of Broadway Bow
David Byrne will hit the Broadway stage in the New York bow of his acclaimed American Utopia tour. The theatrical concert experience will play a pre-Broadway engagement at Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre September 11–28 before beginning at the Hudson Theatre (currently home to Sea Wall/A Life) October 4. Opening night is set for October 20.
The Scottish-American musician teams up with Tony-nominated director Alex Timbers, who serves as production consultant, along with choreographer Annie-B Parson. The three reunite after collaborating on the Off-Broadway Imelda Marcos musical Here Lies Love. (Timbers also directed Byrne’s Joan of Arc: Into the Fire.)
The show features songs from Byrne’s 2018 album of the same name, along with hits from his time as Talking Heads frontman and throughout his solo career. Joining him onstage will be an eclectic group of international musicians: Jacquelene Acevedo, Gustavo Di Dalva, Daniel Freedman, Chris Giarmo, Tim Keiper, Tendayi Kuumba, Karl Mansfield, Mauro Refosco, Stephane San Juan, Angie Swan, and Bobby Wooten III.
Flip through photos of the press day below:
David Bryne’s American Utopia Meets the Press
The limited engagement, music directed by Karl Mansfield, is scheduled to run through January 19, 2020. Among the producers are Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Patrick Catullo, and Byrne’s Todomundo label, along with Hal Luftig, Jonathan Reinis, Shira Friedman, Annapurna Theatre, Elizabeth Armstrong, Steve Traxler, Thomas Laub, Steve Rosenthal, Erica Schwartz, Matt Picheny, Len Blavatnik, Nonesuch Records, Warner Chappell Music, and Hudson Theatre operator Ambassador Theatre Group. Allan Williams serves as executive producer.
Photo Coverage: The Cast of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF IN YIDDISH Sings the National Anthem at Yankee Stadium
The Cast of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish may have been expelled from their Home in Anatevka but they were royally welcomed to Home Plate at Yankee Stadium yesterday
Playbill Vault’s Today in Theatre History: September 3
1827 Birthday of John Drew Sr., patriarch of the Drew and Barrymore acting dynasties that includes Georgiana Drew Barrymore; siblings Ethel Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, and John Barrymore; and today’s movie star (and namesake) Drew Barrymore.
1864 Joseph Jefferson opens at the Olympic Theatre in Rip Van Winkle.
1910 The Stuyvesant Theatre, which opened in 1907, is renamed the Belasco.
1910 Kitty Carlisle is born Catherine Conn in New Orleans, Louisiana. She appears in seven Broadway shows including White Horse Inn, Anniversary Waltz, and the 1983 revival of On Your Toes (as a replacement). She also appears in films with the Marx Brothers and Bing Crosby, and as a regular panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth.
1923 Opening night of Poppy, the first book musical that stars comedian W.C. Fields. It runs 346 performances at Broadway’s Apollo Theatre.
1924 Opening night of the popular Maxwell Anderson and Laurence Stallings drama What Price Glory about two tough-as-nails soldiers who are perpetual rivals in war and love. The play runs 435 performances at the Plymouth Theatre.
1929 Opening night of the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II operetta Sweet Adeline, starring Helen Morgan in the title role. It runs 234 performances at Hammerstein’s Theatre and introduces the song “Why Was I Born?”
1969 George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan opens in revival at London’s Mermaid Theatre.
1998 Bill Irwin, David Shiner, and the Red Clay Ramblers put some finishing touches on the second revival of their 90-minute performance piece, Fool Moon, at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre. In November, the production transfers to Broadway’s Brooks Atkinson Theatre. The work is, for the most part, similar to the 1993 and 1995 incarnations: a series of sketches and stunts “featuring two grandmasters of physical lunacy in an evening of sly humor, chaos and music.”
2002 Ted Ross, the big-voiced actor who won a Tony Award for playing The Cowardly Lion in the Broadway musical, The Wiz, a performance he later recreated in the film, dies at age 68.
More of Today’s Birthdays: Sally Benson 1897. Anne Jackson 1926. Irene Papas 1926. Eileen Brennan 1932. Caryl Churchill 1938.
Watch highlights from Bill Irwin and David Shiner’s 2013 collaboration, Old Hats:
Photo Flash: Bless My Soul! Get a First Look at The Public Theater’s HERCULES
Bless my soul BroadwayWorld has your first look at the Public Theater’s Hercules
First Look at Hercules in Central Park
Need a hero? The Public Works’ staging of Disney’s Herclues, starring Jelani Aladdin, Krysta Rodriguez, Rogert Bart, James Monroe Iglehart, and Tamika Lawrence, begins performances at the Delacorte Theatre August 31.
The cast will also feature Jeff Hiller as Panic, Ramona Keller as Thalia, and Rema Webb as Terpsichore, along with a special featured performance by 2019 Tony Honor Award recipient Broadway Inspirational Voices as well as cameo group performances by 10 Hairy Legs and Passaic High School Marching Band. As with previous Public Works shows, performances will feature professional actors with over 200 New Yorkers from all five boroughs.
Flip through photos of the production below:
Production Photos: Hercules at the Delacorte Theater
Public Works’ Hercules is based on the Disney film written by Ron Clements, John Musker, Donald McEnery, Bob Shaw, and Irene Mecchi and directed by Clements. The production is presented by special arrangement with Disney Theatrical Productions, under the direction of Thomas Schumacher.
The production features scenic design by Dane Laffrey; costume design by Andrea Hood; lighting design by Tyler Micoleau; sound design by Kai Harada and Jessica Paz; wigs, hair, and makeup design by Cookie Jordan; puppet design by James Ortiz; music supervision and arrangements by Michael Kosarin; orchestrations by Danny Troob and Joseph Joubert; dance arrangements by Mark Hummel; and synthesizer programming by Randy Cohen.
The Public Works community partner organizations are Brownsville Recreation Center (Brooklyn), Center for Family Life in Sunset Park (Brooklyn), DreamYard (Bronx), The Fortune Society (Queens), and Military Resilience Foundation (all boroughs), along with alumni partners Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education (Bronx), Children’s Aid (all boroughs), and Domestic Workers United (all boroughs).
Performances of Hercules are free and continue through September 8 (if you missed out on the digital lottery, there is a daily in-person standby lottery for each performance).