NewsPLAYBILL VIDEO WEEK IN REVIEW: Broadway in Bryant Park, First Date, Julian Po and the Jimmy AwardsPlaybill.com recaps its weekly coverage of Broadway performances, celebrity interviews, web series and opening nights – in case they were missed the first time around.
By
Playbill Staff
July 14, 2013
Jennifer Blood, Jillian Gottlieb, Sydney James Harcourt and A.J. Shively lead the cast of the Prospect Theater Company's Off-Broadway premiere of Unlock'd, the Richard Rodgers Award-winning musical by rising theatrical composers Sam Carner and Derek Gregor. Described by its creators as "'Mean Girls' meets A Midsummer Night's Dream," the musical follows four star-crossed lovers in 18th century England. The recently extended production is now running at The Duke on 42nd Street through July 20. For more information on Unlock'd, click here.
First Date writers Michael Weiner, Austin Winsberg and Alan Zachary join Playbill in the rehearsal studio for an exclusive preview of their musical, which begins previews July 9 at the Longacre Theatre. Songwriters Zachary and Weiner sing "First Impressions" — a duet sung by Zachary Levi and Krysta Rodriguez in the Broadway production — and the pair are joined by bookwriter Winsberg to talk about the musical and what inspired them to write it. For more on First Date, visit PlaybillVault.com.
On July 26, four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein joined three-time Drama Desk nominee Julie Halston to celebrate the 40th anniversary of TKTS, Theatre Development Fund’s initiative to bring affordable Broadway and Off-Broadway tickets to the public. Kate D. Levin from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs was on hand to present a mayoral proclamation and the cast of NEWSical The Musical ran through a tribute medley created just for the event, channeling the likes of Liza Minelli, Mandy Patinkin, a much-aged Annie and Times Squares’ infamous Naked Cowboy. Read the Playbill story.
The 5th Annual National High School Musical Theater Awards (NHSMTA) — also known as the Jimmy Awards, in honor of Broadway theatre owner and producer James M. Nederlander — were held July 1 at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre. Sixty-two students took park in the event, hosted by Cinderella co-stars Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana. Playbill spoke to hosts Fontana and Osnes, as well as Tony Award nominee Kathleen Turner and 2010 Jimmy Award winner Kyle Selig, about the importance of the awards for the students and the theatre community. We also have highlights of the opening number, and some of the students' performances. To read more about the 2013 Jimmy Awards, click here.
06.7 LITE FM's Broadway in Bryant Park kicked off its 2013 season on July 11 with performances from some of Broadway and Off-Broadway's top shows. This week's highlights include Brittain Ashford singing "Sonya Alone" from Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Andy Jones and Heidi Giberson singing "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful" from Cinderella and Erik Altemus singing "Corner of the Sky" from Pippin. For more on Broadway in Bryant Park's 2013 season, click here.
Based on the 1978 novel “La Mort de Monsieur Golouja” and the 1997 film starring Christian Slater, Julian Po is one of the featured productions in 2013’s New York Musical Theatre Festival. With book and lyrics by Andrew Barrett and music by Ira Antelis, the darkly comic story charts the course of the disillusioned titular character (played by Chad Kimball) intent upon ending his life. In this exclusive video, Kimball, Barret, director Kirsten Sanderson and cast members Luba Mason and Malcolm Gets sat down with Playbill to chat about how the current iteration of the show (which has been seen at the ASCAP/Disney Musical Theater Workshop and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, amongst others) came to be. For more about NYMF, read the Playbill story.
