Tag Archives: Cabaret

PRESS RELEASE: FORBIDDEN BROADWAY RETURNS TO NYC FOR A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

GERARD ALESSANDRINI’S FORBIDDEN BROADWAY

RETURNS TO NEW YORK

FOR A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT

WITH

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY:
ALIVE AND KICKING

NOW IN PREVIEWS

AT THE 47TH STREET THEATRE

OPENING SET FOR SEPTEMBER 6TH

 

After a three-year absence, Gerard Alessandrini’s FORBIDDEN BROADWAY, one of NYC’s best-loved and highly anticipated productions, returns to the 47th Street Theatre (304 West 47th Street – just west of Eighth Avenue) with a brand new edition, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: ALIVE AND KICKING. The show is now in previews,  with an opening set for Thursday, September 6th.    FORBIDDEN BROADWAY; ALIVE AND KICKING will play a limited engagement through January 6, 2013.  This production will mark FORBIDDEN BROADWAY’s 30th Anniversary, as well as its 21st edition.

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY; ALIVE AND KICKING returns with Gerard Alessandrini’s take on Porgy and Bess, Once, Evita, Anything Goes, Follies, Spiderman, Newsies, Book of Mormon, Nice Work if You Can Get It, and Death of a Salesman, among others.

Featured in the cast are Natalie Charlé Ellis, Scott Richard Foster, Jenny Lee Stern and Marcus Stevens.

 In a statement, Gerard Alessandrini said: “Over the past three years, I sat through show after show, with no outlet at all. Finally, I couldn’t take it any more. Now I have 3 years worth of pent-up parodies, and am blessed with a season that has practically written itself. We were able to get our favorite Forbidden Broadway theatre again, but only for a limited chunk of time. But that should more than long enough to say everything we have to say, and then come back to New York again, from time to time. ”

This edition is created and written by Gerard Alessandrini, and directed by Mr. Alessandrini and Phillip George, with musical direction by David Caldwell.  Costumes are designed by Philip Heckman, with set design by Jesse Poleshuck, lighting design by Mark T. Simpson and wig design by Bobbie Cliffton Zlotnik.  The show is produced by John Freedson, Harriet Yellin and Paul Bartz, in association with Paul G. Rice, Carol Ostrow, Paxton Quigley, Robert Driemeyer, Jamie DeRoy, Lawrence Poster and Tweiss Productions.

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY has been an unstoppable force in theatre since 1982, when Gerard Alessandrini created the first edition that lampooned the Broadway shows and stars of the day.  It has been a favorite among theatre lovers, as well as the Broadway stars themselves (Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury, Patti Lupone, Stephen Sondheim, Raul Esparza, Tyne Daly, Christine Ebersole, Bernadette Peters, Whoopi Goldberg Cameron Mackintosh, and Hal Prince, to name a few) who often stop by to laugh at themselves alongside the public.  FORBIDDEN BROADWAY has won numerous awards in its history including a Special Tony® Award as well as Drama Critics’ Circle, Obie, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Lucille Lortel Awards.  A theatrical institution, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY has received national and international notoriety having performed in over 200 US cities as well as engagements in Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney and London’s Meniere Chocolate Factory.

GERARD ALESSANDRINI (Creator, Writer & Director) is best known for writing and directing all the editions of Forbidden Broadway and Forbidden Hollywood in New York, Los Angeles, and London and around the world. He was also a member of the original cast of Forbidden Broadway. Gerard is from Needham, Massachusetts and the Boston area, where he graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Music. In 1982, he created Forbidden Broadway, which has spawned 18 editions, 8 cast albums and a record-breaking 30-year- run in New York. Television credits include writing comedy specials for Bob Hope and Angela Lansbury on NBC, Carol Burnett on CBS and “Masterpiece Tonight,” a satirical revue saluting “Masterpiece Theatre” on PBS. He can be heard on four of the eight FB cast albums and on the soundtracks of Disney’s Aladdin & Pocahontas. Directing credits include many corporate industrials and regional musicals, including a production of Maury Yeston’s musical In the Beginning. Gerard also co-directed a revival of Irving Berlin’s final musical Mr. President, which he updated & “politically corrected.” Gerard is the recipient of an Obie Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, two Lucille Lortel Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Drama League and three Drama Desk Awards for Best Lyrics for Forbidden Broadway. He received the 2006 Tony® Honor for Excellence in the Theatre. Most recently his Madame X: The Musical won acclaim and multiple awards at the 2011 NYMF Festival; his holiday extravaganza The Nutcracker and I, written with Peter Brash was a smash at the George Street Theatre, and he is currently collaborating with Paul Mazursky and Bill Conti on a musical version of Mr. Mazursky’s film Moon Over Parador.

PHILLIP GEORGE (Director) is a director and writer.  As director Off-Broadway: Shout!, The Road to Qatar (York Theatre Company), Forbidden Broadway Goes to Rehab, Forbidden Broadway SVU, Forbidden Hollywood, Whoop-Dee-Doo (Drama Desk Award, Best Musical Revue), Forbidden Broadway Twentieth Anniversary Edition, and many other editions of this infamous revue series.  Along the way, Forbidden Broadway was also honored with a special Tony for long time achievement.  He has also directed musicals in London, Los Angeles, Toronto, Boston, etc., with Forbidden Broadway transferring to the West End.   With his longstanding collaborator Peter Morris, Phill also wrote Frankly Scarlett, which played at the Kings Head Theatre in London.  In addition to his directing assignments, he is also one of the writers of High Hair and Jalapenos, which skewers all things Texas and is currently preparing for the fifth edition.   When not directing and writing, Phill is on the staff of the American Musical and Dramatics Academy where he passes on some of the wisdom he acquired along the way.

DAVID CALDWELL (Music Director) has been the music director of Forbidden Broadway since 2004. He composed music and lyrics for All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten and Uh-Oh Here Comes Christmas, both based on the writing of Robert Fulghum. He also composed music for Fulghum’s novel Third Wish. He conducted the American premiere of Stephen Schwartz’s Children of Eden. He recently music-directed two shows in China, with Inner Mongolian authors and casts. He arranged and orchestrated Marvin Hamlisch’s new song “I’m Really Dancing” for Career Transitions for Dancers’ 25th Anniversary Gala, featuring Angela Lansbury, Chita Rivera and Bebe Neuwirth. His new show, Gotta Getta Girl, was featured in the NYMF Reading Series. He is interviewed at length in Oliver Sacks’ book about music and the brain, Musicophilia.

PHILIP HECKMAN  (Costume Designer) is an Emmy-nominated costume designer for daytime television’s As the World Turns. He recently completed the New York run of My Big Gay Italian Wedding. Other Off-Broadway credits include SHOUT! The Mod Musical, Go-Go Beach, We’re Still Hot!, Are You There God? It’s Me, Ann-Margret, Marry Me A Little, I Love My Wife, Enough About Me and The Very Worst of Varla Jean Merman (Garland Award). Television credits include commercials, promos and shorts for LOGO, MTV, and VH1. Philip has also worked on several Broadway productions as a costume design assistant including Born Yesterday, The Boy From Oz, Chicago, Cry Baby, Democracy, Flower Drum Song, Follies, Frost/Nixon, The Graduate, Kiss Me Kate, Mamma Mia, Sideshow and Spamalot. Philip received his MFA in costume design from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

The playing schedule for FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: ALIVE AND KICKING is as follows: Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 7:30pm, with matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2pm.  Tickets are $29-$79. Premium Tickets are available at $110.Tickets can be purchased by calling Telecharge at (212) 239-6200 or by visiting www.telecharge.com

 

www.forbiddenbroadway.com

Video Interview: Alec Mapa “America’s Gaysian Sweatheart”

I was SO happy to be able to sit down with “America’s Gaysian Sweetheart” Alec Mapa after his delightful one man show, “Baby Daddy” currently playing at The Laurie Beechman Theatre. Here is the video interview:

GO SEE THIS SHOW!!! Enjoy!

For more information about this show, visit ALEC MAPA: BABY DADDY”.

Buy tickets HERE.

• “Smart, hilarious and funny.” — Ellen DeGeneres
• “Alec Mapa is a freak. No one should be this talented” — Variety
• “Truly insightful, hilarious, pungent and persuasive… See it! It says something important about how we live today.” — Edge
• “Both funny and poignant” — BistroAwards.com
• “By turns filthy, fierce and fabulous, Mapa’s seemingly mundane anecdotes are an outrageous delight… utterly divine.” — Next Magazine

After selling out a short run in February, ALEC MAPA (Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, The View, RuPaul’s Drag Race, The Gossip Queens, Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure) returns to New York with his critically acclaimed and wildly popular new show ALEC MAPA:  BABY DADDY.  It runs July 19 – 29, Thursday – Sunday at 7:30pm. The Laurie Beechman Theater is located inside West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42nd Street — at Ninth Avenue, accessible from the A,C,E,N,R,V,F,1,2 & 3 trains at 42nd Street). Tickets are $22 (plus a $15 food/drink minimum). To purchase tickets call 212-352-3101 or visitwww.SpinCycleNYC.com.

 

From Jazz at Lincoln Center – Michael Feinstein presents: Bringing Jazz to Broadway – Cy Coleman

From Jazz at Lincoln Center – Michael Feinstein presents: Bringing Jazz to Broadway – Cy Coleman (Produced, Written and Directed by the multi-tallented Scott Siegel)

Here are the video interviews with 3 of the wonderful performers, Tamara Tunie, James Naughton and Michelle Lee. The official review of the concert can be found above this posting.

Enjoy!

From jazz pianist and leader of a much-in-demand jazz trio to legendary Broadway composer, Cy Coleman brought the sound of big, brassy jazz to the Great White Way. One only need think of “Sweet Charity’s” Hey, Big Spender, and its bright blare of horns, to recognize Coleman’s Signature Sound, a musical style that dominated Broadway for more than a generation. Shows like “City of Angels,” “The Life,” and many others were permeated by Coleman’s propensity for jazz.

As part of its Jazz & Popular Song series, directed by five-time Grammy Award-nominated singer and pianist Michael Feinstein, Jazz at Lincoln Center will present Cy Coleman: Bringing Jazz to Broadway on Tuesday, May 15 and Wednesday May 16 at 7:30pm. Feinstein, who featured Cy Coleman as a vocalist and jazz pianist in his nightclub the month before the famed composer died, leads a cast featuring Michele Lee (Coleman’s Seesaw, Knots Landing), Tamara Tunie (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Broadway veteran Chuck Cooper, singer-songwriter Johnny Rodgers and, on May 16 only, James Naughton (The Devil Wears Prada) that illustrates Coleman’s profound jazz influence on contemporary Broadway.

For more information about this series, visit www.jalc.org/jazzandpopularsong.

Next up: Sweet & Low Down: How Popular Standards Became Jazz Classics
The show plays at The Allen Room at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th Street, New York, NY. Ticket prices for this series, except for the family concert, are $75 for mezzanine concert seating, $95-120 for cabaret seating. Tickets for the family matinee are $25.

Tickets can be purchased through jalc.org or CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, open daily from 10am to 9pm. Tickets can also be purchased at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, located on Broadway at 60th Street, ground floor. Box Office hours: Monday-Saturday from 10am to 6pm (or 30 minutes past curtain) and Sunday from noon to 6pm (or 30 minutes past curtain). Limited subscriptions for the 2011-12 Jazz and Popular Song series are available. Visit jalc.org/subs for more information.

Video interview with Johnny Rodgers

Excuse me while I repeat myself;

Hello. My name is Elli, and I am a Johnny Rodgers-aholic.

Mr. Rodgers first appeared on my radar at the 2010 Nightlife Awards where I wrote,

“Act II brought out a new star that I had not had the pleasure of seeing perform, the fabulous Johnny Rodgers. Mr. Rodgers and his band brought down the house with an on-fire rendition of “The Birth of the Blues.” His rapid-fire piano skills, coupled with his great vocals, reminded me of a young Jerry Lee Lewis at work.”

Internationally known and always performing, I finally got the chance to sit down and have a chat with Johnny just before they called “Places” for his appearance in “Michael Feinstein’s Bringing Jazz to Broadway: Cy Coleman”. After you watch the interview, be sure to check out the rehearsal video below and look for the review of the evening elsewhere on this site.

The Johnny Rodgers Band will be performing in NYC on June 5th, 2010 at Iridium Jazz Club 1650 Broadway, NYC. Get your tickets before it sells out!
(P.S. It’s his birthday so make sure you don’t miss this!!!)

For more information, and to follow their International travels, check out the JRB website.

A gifted songwriter, Mr. Rodgers won ASCAP’s Jamie deRoy & Friends Foundation Award in 2009, The New York Sheet Music Society’s Gerald Marks Award and the Songwriters Hall of Fame Abe Oldman Award. Other honors include the Nitelife Outstanding Cabaret Vocalist Award 2010, Backstage Magazine’s Bistro Award and the MAC Award. Mr. Rodgers recently made his Broadway debut co-starring in the Tony Award winning “Liza’s At The Palace” with Oscar, Emmy and Tony Award winning superstar Liza Minnelli. JRB’s recently released CD, “Box of Photographs” (PS Classics) has won acclaim from critics and radio stations across the country.

PLAYBILL EXCLUSIVE:
In Rehearsal With Michael Feinstein and his Cy Coleman Tribute

Video Interview with Peggy Herman (& Alex Rybeck)

I got to sit down and chat with the amazing Peggy Herman about her CD release party on Sunday May 7th 2012 at Feinstein’s at the Regency in NYC.
I hope you enjoy it!

(Click picture to make reservations)

540 Park Avenue (at 61st Street)
New York, NY 10021
212-339-4095

Doors open 5:30 for Dinner
Show at 7:30pm

Special prix fix dinner
Use code RSPH2012 when booking for
special discount of cover charge – $40.00 plus One drink minimum.

 Each guest will receive Peggy’s CD

Jackets required. Reservations a must!

Peggy Herman releases a brand new recording of her critically acclaimed show, “Herman on Herman,” her tribute to Broadway legend Jerry Herman, at Feinstein’s at the Loews Regency, 540 Park Avenue, on Sunday May 6 at 7:30pm. The one-night-only concert features many of the songs from the show’s premiere in May of last year, plus additional material that was added to the project in the intervening months.

With arrangements by the renowned music director Alex Rybeck, “Herman on Herman (with a Touch of Merman)” gives the Jerry Herman songbook a whole new spin, lending a fresh take on these classic Broadway show tunes. Backing Herman on Herman – and blending a range of popular styles, including folk-pop, smooth jazz, Brazillian and Broadway — are Rybeck on piano, Jered Egan on bass and Rex Benincasa on drums and percussion. The same threesome play on the album, augmented by strings, brass, winds, and guitarist Sean Harkness.

Like the show’s premiere at the Metropolitan Room, the CD release concert is directed by Peter Glebo, and the nine-time Tony Award winner Tommy Tune. The performer and show business chronicler Richard Skipper co-hosts the event with Feinstein’s, which is offering a special “It’s Today” dinner-and-show package (premium seats $50, general seating $30, plus a $25 food and beverage minimum). All of the evening’s attendees will receive a complimentary signed copy of the new album.

“Herman on Herman… Peggy Sings Jerry” (the CD’s title) features exciting new arrangements of songs from “Hello Dolly!” “Mame,” “La Cage aux Folles,” “Mack & Mabel,” and other Herman hits. In the studio, Herman and Rybeck added new songs, including “The Best of Times is Now,” “Before the Parade Passes By,” and “If He Walked Into My Life.”

Born in Philadelphia, and raised in Miami Beach, Herman has appeared in such musicals as “Nunsense” (Mother Superior), “South Pacific” (Bloody Mary) and “Grand Hotel” (Raffaela Ottanio).

Her solo CD debut, “Mercer and More…” (Original Cast Records), was hailed as “a lush album” by John Hoglund in Back Stage, where he added, “she’s got a big voice that serves a big talent.”

For more info on Peggy Herman: Facebook       Website

For more info on Alex Rybeck: Facebook 

Brought to you by the NEW www.broadwaykingdom.com

For more info on Elli – The King of Broadway www.thekingofbroadway.com

For more interviews & reviews go to www.broadwaykingdom.com

Special thanks to Marc Baron for his videography!

Video Interview with Terese Genecco (without her Her Little Big Band)

I got a rare chance to sit down and chat with Terese  (without her Her Little Big Band) the night after her amazing 3rd Anniversary party and CD release for a sweet one on one. I hope you enjoy it!

For more info on Terese: Facebook       Twitter       Website      The Iridium

ScoBar Entertainment presents: Terese Genecco & Her Little Big Band
at The Iridium, NYC – the 3rd or 4th Tuesday of every month – 8:00 & 10:00 pm

NEW! If you can’t get to the Iridium you can still see many shows LIVE at: http://theiridium.com/iridiumlive/

The Iridium is located at: 1650 Broadway (51st) New York, NY 10019. For reservations (212) 582-2121. www.theiridium.com

Brought to you by the NEW www.broadwaykingdom.com

For more info on Elli – The King of Broadway www.thekingofbroadway.com

For more interviews & reviews go to www.broadwaykingdom.com

PRESS RELEASE: TERESE GENECCO CELEBRATES 3 YEARS AT THE IRIDIUM TUESDAY MARCH 20

HUGE CELEBRATION WITH SPECIAL RELEASE OF 
“LIVE FROM THE IRIDIUM NYC!” CD

[haiku url=”http://www.thekingofbroadway.com/downloads/Music/09_Washington_Square.mp3″ title=”Terese’s Washington Square from the new album while you read:”]

The fun-loving and hard-charging singer and bandleader Terese Genecco celebrates both the release of her new CD, “Live from the Iridium NYC,” and the 3rd anniversary of her long-run at the Iridium NYC, 1650 Broadway, in back-to-back shows on Tuesday March 20, at 8pm and 10pm.

Since March of ’09, Genecco and her eight-piece Little Big Band have performed without let-up, clocking over 70 consecutive performances. Produced by ScoBar Entertainment, it’s the longest-running nightclub act on Broadway. The monthly gigs, on the third or fourth Tuesday of the month, are scheduled to continue through the end of 2012.

Joining Genecco for the celebration will be guest vocalist Robert Hicks and a number of surprise special guests. Genecco’s Little Big Band consists of Barry Levitt (piano), Sean Harkness (guitar), Tom Hubbard (bass), Ray Marchica (drums), Mayra Casales (percussion), Kenny Lavender (trumpet), Mark Miller (trombone), and Cliff Lyons (sax).

The Wall Street Journal’s Will Friedwald has written that Genecco “and her three horns and five rhythm put on an unstoppable juggernaut of a set.” Indeed, the bandleader’s retro take on the rat-packing 60’s is completely right for the moment, churning up an electricity that gives today’s L.E.D.-soaked Times Square a rich, cocktail incandescence.

A Bistro Award and two-time MAC Award winner (for Best Recording in 2008, and Best Female Vocalist in 2009), Genecco was also a 2010 MAC Award nominee in the Major Artist category. She just received 2012 MAC Award nominations for Major Artist and for Show of the Year. Her acclaimed tribute to nightclub entertainer Frances Faye, “Drunk With Love” was a Time Out NY Top Ten pick of the year, as was its sequel.

The music charge is $25 with a $10 food and drink minimum. For reservations call 212/582-2121. For more information or to order online visit www.theiridium.com For more about the artist visit www.TereseGeneccoLive.com

Brought to you by the NEW www.broadwaykingdom.com

For more info on Elli – The King of Broadway
www.thekingofbroadway.com

For more interviews & reviews go to
www.broadwaykingdom.com

Video Interview with Chester Gregory (Sister Act on B’way)

With an impressive list of Broadway roles under his belt – Sister Act as Eddie, Dreamgirls as James “Thunder” Early (National Tour), Hairspray as Seaweed, Tarzan as Terk, The Jackie Wilson Story as Jackie Wilson, Cry Baby as Dupree, Shrek the Musical as Donkey (Seattle tryout, Pre-Broadway), Train is Comin’ as Isaac, Chicago’s Gold Soul, Otis Redding Story – and his new iPhone game UnWord, Chester took on an impressive evening of song, “Chester Gregory & Friends” at the Triad Theater.
Tired as he was, after pouring his amazing energy out to the audience,
we got a chance to chat after the show.

For more information about Chester:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Gregory
www.chestergregory.com
twitter.com/chestergregory
http://unwordgame.com/

Brought to you by the NEW www.broadwaykingdom.com

For more info on Elli – The King of Broadway
www.thekingofbroadway.com

For more interviews & reviews go to
www.broadwaykingdom.com