HEY THERE BROADWAY FANS. Who is ready to wake up to more music from the best of Broadway as New York Broadway Tours continues our Top 30 Tony Awards countdown. Broadway’s biggest night is only 22 days away.
Continuing at #22, follows 3 women are on the verge of becoming superstars. However, the price of fame can cause a whole lot of drama. This is all shown as an example in DREAMGIRLS. The musical was written?Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen inspired by the story of Diana Ross and the?Supremes.
From the 1982 telecast, the legendary Jennifer Holiday leads the cast performing the show’s confrontation scene featuring IT’S ALL OVER and the show’s signature song AND I AM TELLING YOU I AM NOT GOING.
DREAMGIRLS first premiered at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre in 1981 running for 1,521 performances. It was nominated for 13 Tony Awards in 1982 winning 6 including Best Performance By A Leading Actress in a Musical (for Jennifer Holiday). The musical has productions all over the world. It was last seen in NYC back in 2009 at the Apollo Theatre, Harlem. Of course, DREAMGIRLS is known also known for being a triumph on screen back in 2006 featuring an incredible all star cast nominated for 6 Oscars in 2007 winning 2 including Best Supporting Actress (for Jennifer Hudson).
HOWDY THEATRE GEEKS! It’s time for another wake up call as we at New York Broadway Tours continue our Top 30 Tony Awards playing you the best of the Theatre scene. Broadway’s biggest night is just around the corner and only 23 days away,
At #23 on our countdown, LET’S GO ON WITH THE SHOW as we take a visit to one of the most famous shows played in the Wild Wild West starring one of the most famous sharp shooters in American History…. Annie Oakley?(1860-1926). It’s a fictional story but the basis of her story of joining Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and winning the romance of fellow sharp shooter Frank Butler (1847-1926) is true. We are talking of course of Irving Berlin‘s classic musical that hits the entertainment bullseye…. ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. It was also written by Dorothy and Herbert Fields.
From the 1999 telecast. the legendary Bernadette Peters, Tom Wopat, and the company of that year’s revival perform a medley of I GOT THE SUN IN THE MORNING & AN OLD FASHION WEDDING.
ANNIE GET YOUR GUN first premiered at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre in 1946 starring the phenomenal “first lady of Musical Theatre belt” Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton running for a total of 1,147 performances. The Tony Awards would be created and given for the first time ever the very next year of 1947. Following the Broadway production came the classic Oscar winning 1950 version of the musical starring Betty Hutton and?Howard Keel. In 1966, it was revived again at Lincoln Center Theater for a limited engagement of 76 performances featuring Merman reprising her performance. It was nominated for 2 Tonys that year loosing both it’s categories (for Best Choreography and Best Direction of A Musical). The most recent revival came in 1999 to Broadway’s Marquis Theatre following an acclaimed out of town tryout at the The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat. It played a total of 1,080 performances and featured a revamped book by Peter Stone. The revival was nominated for 3 Tony Awards winning 2 including Best Musical and Best Performance By A Leading Actress in A Musical (for Peters).
FUN FACT: Originally Judy Garland was cast in the role of Annie Oakley for the film version of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. MGM producer Arthur Freed?purchased the rights to the film version with Garland starring. However, there was a whole lot of drama. Garland was originally supposed to take 6 months off to recover from going back nonstop on the drugs again. However, the studio forced and threw her right into the movie causing her to feel exhausted, get more sick and a little grumpy. In addition, the original director and choreographed Busby Berkeley gave her the most roughest time making her feel even worst. Garland previously had worked with Berkeley a few times including Girl Crazy (1943 film) which he previously got fired from after causing her to faint. Garland had enough of him trying to get him fired and even not showing up to set. From there, MGM fired her both from the film and ended her contract forever with the studio. Heartbroken, Garland made a few suicide attempts which included breaking a glass and slashing her throat in the bathroom. Also Frank Morgan (who we all know as the title role from The Wizard of Oz) was originally tapped to play Buffalo Bill but unexpectedly died.
The song THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS would become Ethel Merman’s signature song and overall the theme song of being in this World of Entertainment.
WAKE UP BROADWAY FANS. We are your alarm clock getting you out of bed with New York Broadway Tours‘ Top 30 Tony Awards Countdown playing you the best toe-tapping performances from the past telecasts with Broadway’s biggest night only 24 days away.
At #24 today on our countdown, we take a trip to River City, Iowa where a superstitious salesman is playing a game of hit and run trying to organize an all boys marching band leader and selling instruments until he meets the woman that turns his world upside down. The superstitious man I am talking about Harold Hill, better known as THE MUSIC MAN, written by the incredible Meredith Wilson.
From the 2000 telecast, Tony nominees Craig Berko, Rebecca Luker, and the company of that same year’s revival perform the show’s toe-tapping marching number and the show’s signature song 76 TROMBONES.
THE MUSIC MAN first premiered in 1975 at Broadway’s Majestic Theatre starring Tony winners Robert Preston and Barbara Cook Official running for a total of 1,375 performances. It was nominated for 9 Tony Awards that same year winning 5 including Best Musical. In 1962, Preston went on to reprise his role in the Warner Brothers film adaptation (which he co-starred?Shirley Jones). In 1965, the show was brought back for a 2 week engagement revival at New York City Center starring Stage and Screen legend Dick Van Dyke and Meg Bussert. The most recent revival happened in 2000 at Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre starring Craig Berko and Rebecca Luker running for a total of 721 performances. That musical would later be remade on screen in the 2003 TV Movie for Disney and ABC Television Network starring Tony winners and Broadway favorites Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth
Doesn’t this show make you want to get up and join the parade?!
HELLO THEATRE GEEKS! You are once again waking up to New York Broadway Tours Top 30 Countdown to the Tony Awards playing some of our favorite performances from the past telecasts over the last 70 years. Broadway’s biggest night is only 25 Days away.
Continuing our countdown at #25 is one of the most enduring classics ever in Musical Theatre History… the story of an iconic widowed matchmaker starting her life over. We are talking about Hello, Dolly on Broadway. In her breakout performance as the title character during the 1971 telecast (that year in honor of the 25th Anniversary of the Tonys which they brought back some of the most iconic stars of Broadway reprising their breakout roles), the legendary Carol Channing performs the show’s signature song BEFORE THE PARADE PASSES BY.
HELLO DOLLY premiered in Washington D.C and Detroit in 1963 earning mixed reviews but went through an entire revamp before heading to Broadway’s St. James Theatre in 1964 running for 2,844 performances. It was nominated for 14 Tony Awards that year winning 10 including Best Musical and Best Leading Actress in a Musical (for Channing). The show would later be revived 3 (soon to be 4) times on Broadway. The first revival happened In 1975 starring Pearl Bailey (featuring an entire all African American cast) at the Minskoff Theatre running for 47 performances and then again in 1978 for 147 performances and 1995 for 116 performances with Channing reprising her Tony Award winning performance for both engagements at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre. The 1978 engagement was only nominated for 1 Tony that year for Best Performance By A Leading Actor in A Musical (for Eddie Bracken) and again only 1 Tony nomination 1995 for Best Revival of A Musical. Both those years, the show lost the category. Now coming up, HELLO DOLLY will be revived once again with the legendary Bette Midler and Tony winner David Hyde Pierce at the Shubert Theatre. Previews are set to begin March 15th, 2017 and open April 20th, 2017.
RISE AND SHINE BROADWAY FANS! You are waking up each day to New York Broadway Tours‘ Top 30 Tony Awards countdown showcasing some of our favorite show stopping numbers from Broadway shows in the past telecasts. As you may know, we are only 26 days away from Broadway’s biggest night.
At #26 today on our countdown, we take you down to a French nightclub filled with sexy showgirls that are actually men. And one of those showgirls is secretly in love with the manager of the club. We are of course talking about Jerry Herman’s musical classic LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, which in addition was also co-written by Broadway favorite Harvey Fierstein. It’s well known as the first few Broadway Musicals to have Drag Queens on stage.
From the 1984 telecast, Tony winner George Hearn and the company perform the show’s opening WE ARE WHAT WE ARE which later gets turned into the powerful Act 1 finale anthem I AM WHAT I AM.
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES premiered at Broadway’s Palace Theatre in 1983 running for a total of 1,776 performances. It was nominated for 8 Tony Awards in 1984 winning 6 of them including Best Musical. It was later revived twice. The first revival played Broadway’s Marquis Theatre (starring Tony nominee Gary Beach) in 2004 for a total of 260 performances. It was nominated for 4 Tony Awards in 2005 winning 2 including Best Revival of a Musical. The most recent revival of La Cage Broadway played the Longacre Theatre in 2010 (starring Kelsey Grammar) running for a total of 458 performances. It was nominated for 11 Tony Awards that very same year winning 3 including (again) for Best Revival of A Musical.
