TUNE IN: WICKED IN CONCERT!!
Who is loving WICKED IN CONCERT on PBS?!!!
BROADWAY THROWBACK: AN EVENING WITH PATTI LUPONE (1997 PBS CONCERT)
Over the years, PBS has continued to share its ongoing support and love for the Broadway community. We’ve had airings of proshot presentations of our favorite shows. In addition, they have also presented various solo concerts from some of our favorite Broadway stars.
One of those many highlighted performances was a 1997 televised solo concert featuring 2 time Tony and Olivier Award winning legend Patti LuPone. Filmed from the stage of the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, CA, AN EVENING WITH PATTI LUPONE featured the iconic performer belting out the best of the Great Bright Way. Accompanied by a small orchestra and a backup singing Ensemble, the special includes highlighted songs from LuPone’s unbelievable show biz career at the time including hits from….
It was released on VHS but never on DVD.
LuPone is set to return to Broadway this Fall continuing work on the Award winning gender-swap revival of Stephen Sondheim‘s Company. Previews will resume at Broadway’s Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre starting November 15th, 2021. From there, it will officially open on December 9th, 2021.
How fabulous is Patti LuPone?!!!
NYBT TOP 50 TONY AWARDS: # 28 – MY FAIR LADY
GOOD MORNING BROADWAY FANS! Truly a LOVERLY day getting ourselves hyped and pumped celebrating the return of the Great Bright Way. We are just 28 DAYS AWAY till The 74th Annual Tony Awards. New York Broadway Tours TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN continues with more of your favorite performances from the past year’s of Broadway’s biggest night. So much more great ones coming up.
At # 28 on our countdown, our selection is truly a LOVERLY classic musical. We are about to take a trip to London in the early 1900’s. There, we meet a poor cockney peasant flower girl, forced by a phonetics professor to learn how to be a “proper lady”, and gets raised by high society. This is the legendary My Fair Lady. With music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics and a book by Alan Jay Lerner, it’s based on George Bernard Shaw’s novel PYGMALION.
From the 2018 telecast, Tony nominees Lauren Ambrose as “Eliza Doolittle” and Harry Hadden-Paton as “Professor Henry Higgins”, along with Allan Corduner as “Colonel Pickering”, Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz as “Alfred P. Doolittle”, and the company of the recent Lincoln Center Theatre revival perform a medley of some of the show’s signature tunes including THE RAIN IN SPAIN, I COULD HAVE DANCED ALL NIGHT, and the toe-tapping GET ME TO THE CHURCH ON TIME.
MY FAIR LADY was originally first conceived in the 1930’s by Hollywood producer Gabriel Pascal. He just secured the rights to adapt several of George Bernard Shaw’s plays including PYGMALION as a musical. However, due to another one of his famous plays ARMS AND THE MAN which was translated into an operetta called THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER that became a huge flop, Shaw himself refused. Several years later after Shaw’s passing, Pascal decided to go back to working on the PYGMALION project. He hired composing duo Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe to work on it. However, Lerner & Loewe (and even Rodgers & Hammerstein) realized that the play broke several key rules that went into creating a musical….
1. The central storyline was not a romance
2. No subplot or secondary romance
3. No room for the Ensemble.
Lerner & Loewe abandoned the project and eventually went their own separate ways for 2 years. During that time, Gabriel Pascal passed away. One day while working on a musical adaptation of the comic strip LI’L ABNER, Lerner read Pascal’s obituary and decided to reunite with Loewe to go back to the unfinished PYGMALION project. This time when they came together, all the pieces of the story slowly started to come in. However once they were ready to go, there was one additional problem… Chase Manhattan Bank was in charge of Gabriel Pascal’s estate and the rights were sought by both Lerner & Loewe and MGM (who discouraged Lerner from challenging the studio). It eventually led to a compromise with Loewe deciding to continue writing it without the rights. For 5 months, a creative team was put together and the bank gave Lerner & Loewe the rights to PYGMALION on stage. In addition, the musical went through a name change with the name we all know the musical as today….. MY FAIR LADY which was one of Shaw’s provisional titles for PYGMALION, FAIR ELIZA and it also comes from the last verse of the famous children’s nursery rhyme LONDON BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN.
With a full creative team put together, casting officially began. For the lead role of “Eliza Doolittle”, the team initially wanted to cast Mary Martin. However, she refused. However after seeing a Broadway show entitled THE BOY FRIEND, the team discovered their star. She was a rising talent who was making her debut in the show and came to NYC all the way from England…. Yup, the eventually now turned iconic Julie Andrews. For the role of “Professor Henry Higgins”, the team initially offered it to acclaimed actor Noel Coward who also turned it down. However, Coward suggested to the producers to cast Rex Harrison. After several compromises, Harrison accepted the role.
The show had its world premiere Pre-Broadway tryout in New Haven, Connecticut. At the first performance, Rex Harrison (who at the time was not used to working with a live pit) refused to go on. He locked himself in the dressing room and out no more than an hour before showtime. The company was dismissed and the Opening Night was a smash.
MY FAIR LADY officially debuted on Broadway in 1956 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre (now the Times Square Church) before later transferring to the Broadhurst Theatre and Broadway Theatre. It ran for a complete total of 2,717 performances. Under the direction of Moss Hart, the cast starred…
Julie Andrews (later Sally Ann Howes and Pamela Charles) as “Eliza Doolittle”,
Rex Harrison (later Edward Mulhare, Lawrence Keith, and Michael Allinson) as “Professor Henry Higgins”,
Robert Coote (later Robin Craven and Reginald Denny) as “Colonel Pickering”,
Stanley Holloway (later Ronald Radd) as “Alfred P. Doolittle”,
Catherine Nesbitt (later Viola Roache) as “Mrs. Higgins”,
John Michael-King as “Freddy Eynsford-Hill”,
and more.
The original production was nominated for 10 Tony Awards that year winning 6 including BEST MUSICAL and BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL (for Rex Harrison).
MY FAIR LADY went on to become a smash hit around the world, including London’s West End and Australia. It was later revived 4 times on Broadway.
The first revival happened in 1976 playing the St. James Theatre and then later moving to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre for a complete total of 384 performances. Under the direction of Jerry Adler, the cast starred…
Christine Andreas as “Eliza Doolittle”,
Ian Richardson as “Professor Henry Higgins”,
Robert Coote reprising his original role as “Colonel Pickering”,
George Rose as “Alfred P. Doolittle”,
Brenda Forbes as “Mrs. Higgins”,
Jerry Lanning as “Freddy Eynsford-Hill”,
and more.
It was nominated for 2 Tonys that year both for BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL (for both Ian Richardson and George Rose). It was given to George Rose.
The 2nd Broadway revival happened in 1981 at the Uris Theatre (now the Gershwin Theatre) running for a complete total of 120 performances. Under the direction of Patrick Garland, the cast starred….
Nancy Ringham as “Eliza Doolittle”,
Rex Harrison reprising his original role as “Professor Henry Higgins”,
Jack Gwillim as “Colonel Pickering”,
Milo O’Shea as “Alfred P. Doolittle”,
Catherine Nesbitt reprising her original role as “Mrs. Higgins”,
Nicholas Wyman as “Freddy Eynsford-Hill”,
and more.
It only had 1 Tony nomination for BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL but lost the category.
The 3rd Broadway revival happened in 1993 at the Virginia Theatre (now the August Wilson Theatre) running for a total of 181 performances. Under the direction of Howard Davies, the cast starred…
Melissa Errico as “Eliza Doolittle”,
Richard Chamberlain as “Professor Henry Higgins”,
Paxton Whitehead as “Colonel Pickering”,
Julian Holloway recreating his father’s role as “Alfred P. Doolittle”,
Dolores Sutton as “Mrs. Higgins”,
Robert Sella as “Freddy Eynsford-Hill”,
and more.
It received no Tony Award nominations or wins that year.
The 4th and most recent revival of MY FAIR LADY happened in 2018 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre (part of Lincoln Center Theater) playing a complete total of 587 performances. Currently this production is gearing up to launch a National Tour in a few weeks and a West End company in 2020. Under the direction of Tony winner Bartlett Sher, the cast starred….
Lauren Ambrose (later Laura Benanti) as “Eliza Doolittle”,
Harry Hadden-Patron as “Professor Henry Higgins”,
Allan Corduner as “Colonel Pickering”,
the recently late Diana Rigg (later Rosemary Harris) as “Mrs. Higgins”,
Jordan Donica (later Christian Dante White) as “Freddy Eynsford-Hill”,
and more.
The recent Lincoln Center Theater revival was nominated for 10 Tony Awards including BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL. It ended up winning only 1 for BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL (for Catherine Zuber).
At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, this production had just launched its National Tour. It is expecting to resume it this Fall. Plans for a West End company of this production will be revealed soon.
Besides it’s triumph on Broadway, MY FAIR LADY is well known as an iconic 1964 musical film from Warner Bros. Pictures. Under the direction of George Cukor, the cast starred…..
Audrey Hepburn (with Marni Nixon’s singing voice) as “Eliza Doolittle”,
Rex Harrison reprising his Broadway performance on screen as “Professor Henry Higgins”,
WIlfrid Hyde-White as “Colonel Pickering”,
Stanley Holloway reprising his Broadway performance on screen as “Alfred P. Doolittle”,
Gladys Cooper as “Mrs. Higgins”,
Jeremy Brett (with Bill Shirley’s singing voice) as “Freddy Eynsford-Hill”,
and more.
The film went on to win 8 Academy Awards that year including BEST PICTURE and BEST ACTOR (for Rex Harrison who also made history as one of the few actors ever to win BOTH the Tony and the Oscar for the same role. Hepburn was snubbed from the Oscar but the winner coincidentally that year was the musical’s original Broadway “Eliza” herself Julie Andrews (who won a Best Actress Oscar for Mary Poppins).
Isn’t this musical so LOVERLY and timeless?
MAMMA MIA discos back to London’s West End!!!
MY, MY, JUST HOW MUCH WE MISSED YOU! Earlier this week, more of some of Live Theater’s greatest hits are making their triumphant return including the inaugural London production of the worldwide phenomenon MAMMA MIA! This past Wednesday, the long running ABBA jukebox musical relaunched its ongoing West End production at the Novello Theatre after long interval of 529 days.
Get ready to PARTY and disco your heart out with video of that historical first night curtain call back and the cast performing the show’s popular finale MEGAMIX (consisting of the title song itself MAMMA MIA, DANCING QUEEN, and WATERLOO).
How “F-ABBA-ULOUS” was that?!!!
Disney’s FROZEN makes its long awaited West End debut!!
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER, Live Theater is returning! Yesterday, the long awaited debut of the London company of Disney’s smash hit Frozen officially began preview performances at the newly refurbished Theatre Royal Drury Lane. It’s making our hearts beat with so much happiness, excitement, and love with Live Theater continuing to make a comeback.
Check out the following photos and videos below of the backstage and onstage action as the magic of ARENDELLE returns.
The new West End production of Disney’s Frozen will officially open on September 7th, 2021.
It also marks as the 2nd company to be performed since being shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this past Spring, the show debuted its Australian company. Coming up next month, the show will relaunch its North American National Tour.
How amazing is this?!!!
NYBT TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN: # 29 – THE MUSIC MAN
PLEASE BROADWAY FANS, MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE?!! We are getting close each day to The 74th Annual Tony Awards. Yup, Broadway’s biggest night is just 29 DAYS AWAY. What an unforgettable exciting time it is to be celebrating the magic of Live Theater making a comeback. With all this in mind, we at New York Broadway Tours continue to get us in the mood with our TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN. We have many more legendary performances coming up from previous telecasts.
At # 29 on our countdown, we take you to a small town in Iowa in the year of 1912 where a traveling salesman turns out to be…..a con artist. The man convinces the naïve residents in starting their own marching band. After all of the money is collected for Musical Instruments, Uniforms, Books, and Lessons, the con salesman would then skip town before the town realizes they have been tricked. However, his world turns upside down when he meets and falls for the town’s Librarian. We are talking about “Professor Harold Hill”….. Better known as The Music Man. The show features an original score and book by Meredith Wilson and Franklin Lacey.
From the 1971 telecast (featuring many of Broadway’s biggest names reprising their legendary performances for one night only), Robert Preston in his signature performance as the titular role of “Harold Hill” and the cast perform one of the show’s most notable songs. We are talking about the legendary OG rap number on the Great Bright Way…..YA GOT TROUBLE.
The Music Man was inspired by Meredith Wilson’s 1948 memoir entitled AND THERE I STOOD THERE WITH MY PICCOLO talking about his early life in Iowa and playing in a John Phillip Sousa band. The book did so well, he originally conceived his story as a Musical Television special. However, it did not work out. Wilson later teamed up with Franklin Lacey to edit the book of the show.
In the original script, the character of ” Harold Hill” had literally an 8 minute monologue which slowed down the show. They read through it and Wilson started seeing it more as a lyric. The long monologue was then changed into an entire musical named as an early version of rap. That song happened to be YA GOT TROUBLE. The inspiration for the leading lady role of “Marian The Librarian” was a woman that Wilson met during World War II named Marian Seely who was a medical librarian in Utah.
After many years of rewrites, the show had its World Premiere in 1957 at Broadway’s Majestic Theatre for 1,375 performances. Under the direction of Morton DaCosta and choreographed by Onna White, the cast starred….
Tony winner Robert Preston (later Eddie Albert and Bert Parks) as “Professor Harold Hill”
and
the late Barbara Cook as “Marian”.
The original production was nominated for 9 Tony Awards that same year winning 5 including BEST MUSICAL, BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL (for Hannah Lee), and BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL (for Barbara Cook).
The show went on to become a worldwide hit. It was later revived 3 times in New York City.
In 1965, New York City Center presented a limited run of 16 performances. The creative team featured direction by Gus Schirmer Jr. and choreography by Vernon Lusby. The cast featured…
The show was then brought back to New York City Center in 1980 for another short stint of 29 performances. This time, the creative team under the direction and choreography by Michael Kidd featured a cast led by ….
Both New York City Center engagements did not receive any Tony Award nominations or wins.
The most recent Broadway revival of THE MUSIC MAN on Broadway happened in 2000 at the Neil Simon Theatre running for a total of 721 performances. This production was directed and choreographed by Tony winner Susan Stroman. The cast starred…
Tony nominee Craig Berko Pa (later Robert Sean Leonard and Eric McCormack) as “Professor Harold Hill”,
and
Tony nominee Rebecca Luker as “Marian”.
The revival was nominated for 8 Tony Awards that year including BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL but lost all the categories.
Most recently, it was announced that THE MUSIC MAN will officially be marching its way back to Broadway. Originally, it was slated to begin in 2020 but was delayed several times due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As of now the production is set to finally begin this holiday season. Previews will begin December 20th, 2021 and Opening Night set for February 10th, 2022 at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre. Under the direction of Tony winner Jerry Zaks and choreography by Tony winner Warren Carlyle, it will feature an all-star cast led by…
Award winning stage and screen favorite Hugh Jackman as “Professor Harold Hill”
and
Tony winner Sutton Foster as “Marian”.
In addition to THE MUSIC MAN being a successful stage musical. It also became a huge hit on the screen as well.
The original film adaptation was released in 1962 from Warner Bros. Pictures. Featuring its original creative team under the direction of Morton DaCosta and choreography by Onna White, the cast featured…
Robert Preston reprising his Tony winning performance as “Professor Harold Hill”
and
Shirley Jones as “Marian”.
The original film was nominated for 6 Oscars that year winning only 1 for BEST SCORE.
In 2003, THE MUSIC MAN was captured on film again. This time it was made as a TV Movie for Disney/ABC. Under the direction of Jeff Bleckner and choreography by Tony winner Kathleen Marshall., the cast starred…
Tony winner Matthew Broderick as “Professor Harold Hill”
and
Tony and Emmy winner Kristin Chenoweth as Marian”.
The TV movie remake was also nominated for 5 technical Emmy Awards.
THE MUSIC MAN today is a popular show still performed in schools, community, and regional theatres worldwide.
Doesn’t this show make you want to march and walk out singing the songs?
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