- Comic talent wasted in Tallulah Bankhead play
(Reuters)
Reuters - Considering her scant film career and that her last stage appearance was more than half a century ago, actress Tallulah Bankhead has proven a surprisingly irresistible subject for stage biographies.
- "Love Never Dies" a brilliant sequel to "Phantom"
(Reuters)
Reuters - Unlike lightning, Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom" does strike twice.
- 'Tenor' Troupers Learn the Rules of Farce - Or Else
(Playbill)
Playbill - Rule No. 1 of rehearsing a farce? According to Broadway's Lend Me a Tenor screwball comedians, get on your feet as soon as possible.
- PLAYBILL ON OPENING NIGHT: 'Next Fall' - Having Faith in the Broadway Play
(Playbill)
Playbill - Meet the stars who celebrated the Broadway life of Geoffrey Nauffts' new play Next Fall.
- PLAYBILL.COM'S THEATRE WEEK IN REVIEW: Divided Love for 'Love'
(Playbill)
Playbill - Love Never Dies, the long-awaited and much-gossiped-about sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, finally opened in London on March 9. But the drama is far from over.
- 'Lend Me a Tenor', with LaPaglia, Shalhoub, Bartha and Maxwell, Returns to Broadway
(Playbill)
Playbill - A starry revival of Lend Me a Tenor, Ken Ludwig's galloping farce about a missing opera star, begins performances March 12 at the Music Box Theatre under the direction of Stanley Tucci.
- Attic Theatre's 'Side by Side by Sondheim' Begins Limited Run
(Playbill)
Playbill - Prior to the Broadway arrival of Sondheim on Sondheim, the Attic Theatre in California presents the earlier Sondheim revue, Side by Side by Sondheim, beginning March 12.
- Williams & Walker Back in Spotlight in Alabama World Premiere of 'Nobody'
(Playbill)
Playbill - Alabama Shakespeare Festival launches the world-premiere production of Richard Aellen's musical play, Nobody, about black vaudeville stars Williams and Walker, March 12 in Montgomery, AL.
- Young pianist plays key role in Chopin celebration
(Reuters)
Reuters - To celebrate the 200th birthday of Frederic Chopin, Decca Records and Deutsche Grammophon are putting 21st-century marketing to work.
- U.S. theater stars sing "Happy Birthday" to Sondheim
(Reuters)
Reuters - The leading lights of U.S. musical theater will sing "Happy Birthday" to the great Broadway composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim on his 80th birthday in two New York Philharmonic concerts next week.
- Vargas Llosa's real "Aunt Julia" dies in Bolivia
(Reuters)
Reuters - The Bolivian woman who inspired Mario Vargas Llosa's 1977 novel "Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter," and married Peru's best-known writer when he was 19, has died at age 84.
- Deeply moving "Next Fall" deserves Broadway shot
(Reuters)
Reuters - In these recessionary times, it might take more than the imprimatur of celebrity presenters Elton John and David Furnish to make "Next Fall" viable for a Broadway run.
- Da Vinci -- painter, inventor and now action hero
(Reuters)
Reuters - Warner Bros. is turning Leonardo into an action-adventure hero. No, not DiCaprio, but Da Vinci.
- Shakespeare, Ruhl, Ayckbourn and Rebeck Will Find Home at Philly's Wilma in 2010-11
(Playbill)
Playbill - The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia announced three Philly premieres and a season-opener of Macbeth for its 2010-11 season.
- Art dealer Edelman sued over loans
(Reuters)
Reuters - Asher Edelman, a former corporate raider who became an art dealer, has been sued by Emigrant Bank for more than $3.1 million after allegedly defaulting on some loans, including one to buy a sculpture by Alberto Giacometti.
- LaBute Pens New Prologue for Chicago 'Taming of the Shrew'
(Playbill)
Playbill - Chicago Shakespeare Theater's new production of The Taming of the Shrew, directed by Josie Rourke for an April 7-June 6 run, will include the addition of a new prologue written by award-winning playwright Neil LaBute.
- Jonathan Pryce triumphs in classic Pinter revival
(Reuters)
Reuters - Harold Pinter's masterpiece "The Caretaker" mirrors life in that it's not entirely clear what's going on. But the joy, pain and despair are real.
- 'Unchain My Heart, the Ray Charles Musical' to Open on Broadway in November
(Playbill)
Playbill - Sheldon Epps, artistic director of the Pasadena Playhouse, will direct Unchain My Heart, the Ray Charles Musical, on Broadway. It will begin previews Oct. 8 at a Shubert theatre to be announced with an official opening scheduled for Nov. 7.
- Congo hopes new museum can heal nation's scars
(Reuters)
Reuters - In a macabre echo of the punishments Belgian colonials once meted out to their Congolese laborers, a faded bronze statue of the explorer who carved out the country is missing two of his limbs.
- Steven Sater Working on 'Chitty' Remake, Musical With Bacharach, 'Spring Awakening' Film and More
(Playbill)
Playbill - Tony Award-winning lyricist-librettist Steven Sater told Playbill.com that the film version of Spring Awakening, his Tony-honored musical with composer Duncan Sheik, could begin production in Europe as early as this fall. The picture is one of many projects on Sater's plate at the moment.