Highlights from Chita: A Legendary Celebration
Broadway legend Chita Rivera took the stage with Chita: A Legendary Celebration to celebrate her 80th birthday and to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. She was joined onstage by Ben Vereen and Tommy Tune, as well as several of her dancers from Kiss of the Spider Woman and The Dancer's Life. Highlights of the evening came from Bye Bye Birdie, Chicago, Seventh Heaven and the aforementioned Kiss of the Spider Woman. The sold-out event took in $413,660 for BC/EFA. Read the Playbill story.
The Last Five Years Concerts with Betsy Wolfe and Adam Kantor Coming to 54 Below
Betsy Wolfe and Adam Kantor starred in the recent Second Stage Theatre production of The Last Five Years, directed by Jason Robert Brown himself. With a recent cast recording release, the three decided to perform a series of The Last Five Years concerts (Oct. 16-19) at 54 Below. Here, Wolfe and Kantor perform tunes from the show while Brown accompanies on piano. Read the Playbill story.
Cast and Creatives of Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick's Disaster! Meet the Press
Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick's Disaster! A 1970's Disaster Movie... Musical, a new musical based on 1970's disaster movies with a score consisting of 1970's pop, rock and disco tunes, plays St. Luke's Theatre. The cast includes Rudetsky, Tony nominee Mary Testa, Haven Burton, Tom Riis Farrell and Jennifer Simard. Playbill chatted with Rudetsky, Burton, Testa and Plotnick, who directs the show.
Read the Playbill story. Visit disastermusical.com for details.
The "Singing Baker" Hits the Road with Evita's National Tour: Part One
Dubbed the "singing baker" after a memorable appearance on Food Network's "Sweet Genius" baking competition, Alison Mahoney has been making baking-related television appearances since WCBS' "Live From the Couch" morning show. With a love of fresh and tasty ingredients, Mahoney hit the road with the touring company of Evita ready to find the best baked treats across the nation. Here, she visited The Magnolia Bakery (made famous in "Sex and the City") right before she left New York City for life on tour.
After Midnight Gives a Sneak Preview of the Classic Jazz Review
Featuring the music of jazz composers including Duke Ellington, Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields and Harold Arlen set against a narrative of Langston Hughes poetry, Broadway's After Midnight began as the critically acclaimed Encores! production Cotton Club Parade. Guest artists Fantasia (Oct. 18 - Feb. 9) and k.d. lang (Feb. 11 – Mar. 9) perform alongside an orchestra of 17 world-class musicians, an ensemble of 25 vocalists and dancers. Here, Fantasia and cast gave a sneak peek at four numbers from the review-style show. Performances begin Oct. 18 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Warren Carlyle directs and choreographs. Read the Playbill story.
An Exclusive First Look at Disney's "Frozen," With Jonathan Groff, Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell
Disney's "Frozen," the 3-D animated film that will feature the voices of Tony Award winner Idina Menzel, Tony nominee Jonathan Groff and stage and screen actress Kristen Bell, among others, will hit movie theatres Nov. 27. The film also features the voices of Tony Award nominees Josh Gad and Santino Fontana, Alan Tudyk and Ciarán Hinds, and uses original songs by husband-and-wife songwriters Robert Lopez (The Book of Mormon, Avenue Q) and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. For more on the "Frozen," read the Playbill story.
