TUNE IN TONIGHT!! She’s Broadway ultimate blonde bombshell Barbie wowing the worlds of the stage and screen. Now get ready to discover Tony Award nominee Megan Hilty like never before with her first major TV concert for the 3rd and final week of Season 2 of the STARS IN CONCERT series (part of PBS…
RISE & SHINE BROADWAY FANS! Can you believe we are just 16 DAYS AWAY from Broadway's biggest night of the year, the 73rd Annual Tony Awards. We have more exciting showstopping performances from the past 73 years in our TOP 40 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN.
At # 16 on our countdown , we take you back in time to a dark and gritty part of London in the year 1846. One of it's famous residents is a mad Barber out for a vengeance by having those who put him in hell have their bodies and heads turned into delicious meat pies. This is the legendary chilling and thriller tale of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Featuring a score by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler, it?s based on the dark novel of the same name by Christopher Bond.
From the 2006 telecast, Tony winners Michael Ceveris in the title role, Patti LuPone as "Mrs. Lovett", and the quadruple threat talented cast of actor-musicians from the 2005 ON Broadway revival perform a medley of some the most thrilling songs ever written for the stage including THE BALLAD OF THE SWEENEY TODD, THE WORST PIES IN LONDON, and MY FRIENDS.
SWEENEY TODD?s early origins began in serialized Victorian popular fiction well known as "penny dreadfuls". There was a story that was published in a magazine entitled The String of Pearls back in 1874 and later the famous Christopher Bond novel that inspired Stephen Sondheim to write the musical.
The show officially arrived on Broadway in 1979 at the Uris Theatre (now the Gershwin Theatre) for 576 performances. Under the direction of Hal Prince, the cast starred?.
Tony winner Len Cariou (later Tony winner George Hearn) in the title role,
Dame Angela Lansbury (later the late Tony winning Dorothy Louden) as "Mrs. Lovett".
Victor Garber (later Cris Groenendaal) as ?Anthony?,
Ken Jennings as ?Tobias?,
Merle Louise as ?The Beggar Woman?,
Edmund Lyndeck as ?Judge Turpin?,
Joaquin Romaguera as ?Pirelli?,
Jack Eric Williams as ?The Beadle?,
and Sarah Rice (later Betsy Joslyn) as ?Johanna?,
The original production was nominated for 9 Tony Awards that same year winning 8 including Best Musical.
Following its original Broadway run's success, SWEENEY TODD began to haunt audiences around the world.
The musical was later revived ON BROADWAY twice.
The first revival of Sweeney Todd NYC happened in 1989 following a smash hit OFF-OFF Broadway production by the York Theatre Company. It played the Circle in the Square Theatre for 238 performances. Under the direction of Susan H. Schulman, the cast featured?.
The 1989 revival was nominated for only 4 Tony Awards that year including Best Revival of a Musical but lost all the categories.
The most recent Broadway revival happened in 2005 based on a production that started in 2004 in London?s West End. It was well known for an intimate staging with the orchestra pit being replaced by the cast playing the entire score live. This production played the Eugene O'Neill Theatre for 384 performances. Under the direction of John Doyle, the cast starred?.
That last revival was nominated for 6 Tonys Awards in 2006 winning 2 including Best Director (for John Doyle). Most recently, SWEENEY TODD just played the New York stage again OFF Broadway. Based on another production that happened in London, it transformed an entire theater into a working pie shop where they actually served real meat pies. This production played Off Broadway?s Barrow Street Theatre in 2017 for a year and a half. Under the direction of Bill Buckhurst, the cast featured?
Jerry Secomb (later Norm Lewis, Hugh Panaro, David Michael Garry, and Thom Sesma) in the title role,
In addition to its success on stage, SWEENEY TODD has also been a big hit from being captured on film 4 times. In 1981, a performance of the original production's 1st National Tour stop in Los Angeles was filmed and aired on PBS that very next year. With the original creative team on board, the cast featured?
Tony winner George Hearn reprising the role of the title character,
Dame Angela Lansbury reprising her original performance as "Mrs. Lovett".
Cris Groenendaal reprising the role of ?Anthony?,
Ken Jennings reprising his original performance as ?Tobias?,
Sara Woods as ?The Beggar Woman?,
Edmund Lyndeck reprising his original performance as ?Judge Turpin?,
Sal Mistretta as ?Pirelli?,
Calvin Remsberg as ?The Beadle?,
and Betsy Joslyn reprising the role of ?Johanna?,
The 2nd time that the musical was captured on film was in 2001. This version was a performance of a concert adaptation (that originally started out with the New York Philharmonic). Filmed at Davis Symphony Hall, it aired on PBS that same year. Under the direction of Lonny Price and accompanied by the San Francisco Symphony, the cast featured?
George Hearn once again reprising the role of the title character, Patti LuPone (who later went to the 2005 revival) as ?Mrs. Lovett),
The 2007 film was nominated for 4 Golden Globes winning 2 for Best Picture and Best Actor (for Johnny Depp).
Most recently, a performance of a revamped concert production again with the New York Philharmonic was filmed at David Geffen Hall and aired on PBS. Under the direction once again by Lonny Price, this cast starred?.
DO YOU LIKE BROADWAY? DO YOU LIKE SWEETS? DO YOU LOVE HELPING THOSE IN NEED? Get ready for the ultimate delicious event for all Theater loves everywhere. For a whole week starting this upcoming Monday, Schmackary's (the official Cookie of Broadway) will once again present its annual BROADWAY BAKES event.
For those who may not know, BROADWAY BAKES happens at Schmackary's. It's an annual event the theater community does prior to the Tony Awards. For a whole week, some of your favorite Broadway stars take time out from their 8 shows a week to work behind the shop's counter selling cookies and tasty sweets in raising money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Expecting to participate will be a lineup of your favorite Broadway superstars including…
Schmackary's, 'the official cookie of Broadway,' will host their 5th annual BROADWAY BAKES from May 27-31, 2019. Over twenty of the biggest names on Broadway, including 2019 Tony Awards nominees, will join together to work behind the counter at Schmackary's, selling cookies to customers and raising….
WORDS FAIL to say this. It has just been announced that due to low and disappointing ticket sales, the sit-down Toronto company of the Tony and Grammy winning smash hit Dear Evan Hansen is set to close this summer. The final performance is set for July 21st, 2019 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.
However, the show will continue to wow audiences on Broadway and on Tour across North America (which we know it will return there with that company). International productions including London's West End is set to launch this Fall 2019.
Who is sad to see this motivating underdog story leave Canada?!!
YOU OUGHTA KNOW: The full official casting has been announced for the Broadway transfer of the musical adaptation of Alanis Morissette's Award winning album Jagged Little Pill. For the New York run, all of the main Principals from the coming of age musical's World Premiere run at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA will all be reprising their performances. The cast will feature….
Elizabeth Stanley (Broadway's 2007 Tony winning revival of Company, Cry-Baby, and the recent revival of On The Town – The Musical Comedy Classic) as "Mary Jane Healy",
JAGGED LITTLE PILL will be coming to rock Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre. Previews begin November 3rd, 2019 and Opening Night officially set for December 5th, 2019.
The original Broadway cast has been announced for JAGGED LITTLE PILL, a new musical inspired by the groundbreaking Grammy-winning album by Alanis Morissette, beginning preview performances November 3, 2019 at the Broadhurst Theatre (235 W 44th St., NYC).
