 'Legally Blonde' To Open On Broadway On April 26, 2007 April 25, 2006 - by BWW News Desk Hal Luftig, Fox Theatricals and Dori Berinstein, in association with MGM Onstage, Darcie Denkert and Dean Stolber, are psyched to announce LEGALLY BLONDE, the musical, based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture. Previews begin on March 30, 2007 and opening night is set for April 26, 2007 at a Broadway theatre to be announced.LEGALLY BLONDE will play a world premiere, pre-Broadway engagement in San Francisco at The Orpheum Theatre January 2007. Leading the creative team of LEGALLY BLONDE is Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell, who makes his Broadway directorial debut and will also choreograph. Music and lyrics are by both Nell Benjamin and Laurence O'Keefe, and the book is by Heather Hach. The production features scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, sound design by ACME Sound Partners and musical direction by Alex Lacamoire. Sorority star Elle Woods doesn't take "no" for an answer. So when her boyfriend dumps her for someone more "serious," Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style. Casting will be announced shortly.
Musical Version of "The Princess Bride"
 Guettel to Premiere Princess Bride Suite at Hollywood Bowl April 25, 2006 - by BWW News Desk "Audiences at the Hollywood Bowl's upcoming "Fireworks Finale" concerts will be able to hear a suite from Adam Guettel's upcoming musical The Princess Bride. The concerts will take place on September 16th at 8:30 PM and September 17th at 7:30 PM. It was first confirmed in August of 2005 that Guettel, who won a Tony Award for his score to The Light in the Piazza, is working on a musical version of William Goldman's beloved novel The Princess Bride. Goldman has also joined Guettel as the librettist of the show, whose title is also famous through a popular 1987 film starring Robin Wright-Penn, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin and others. Blending romance and adventure with satire, The Princess Bride concerns lovely Princess Buttercup and the dashing Wesley, who must overcome many obstacles to find happiness together. Guettel's suite will be performed by the Hollywood Bowl orchestra, which is conducted by John Mauceri. Members of the Joffrey Ballet are also scheduled to perform, while Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog are also slated to make guest appearances. Guettel also penned music and lyrics to the Off-Broadway musical Floyd Collins and the song cycle Myths and Hymns. The Hollywood Bowl is located at 2301 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood, CA. Call (323) 850-2000 or visit www.hollywoodbowl.org for tickets." I've thought for years that "The Princess Bride" was just screaming to become a musical, so I'm so happy to see that it's finally going to happen.
Me vs Reba in South Pacific
 Don't you hate it when a bigger, flashier version of a show comes out right before or after you're own meager production? I'm glad I missed this on TV.
"High Fidelity" The Musical NEW YORK (AP) - April 25, 2006 - ""High Fidelity" started out as a book. Then, John Cusack starred as the love-lorn record store owner in the movie six years ago. Now, it's being turned into a Broadway musical. Unlike so many Broadway shows these days, one of the producers says "there won't be any stars, only star talent." The cast hasn't been announced yet. "High Fidelity" will play in Boston September 26th through October 22nd to see how it goes. Then, it'll come to Broadway." 'High Fidelity' musical to premiere in Boston By Catherine Foster, Globe Staff | April 25, 2006 The musical version of Nick Hornby's novel ''High Fidelity" and the Boston premiere of John Patrick Shanley's ''Doubt" are among the highlights of Broadway Across America's 2006-07 season in Boston. ''High Fidelity" makes its pre-Broadway world premiere at the Colonial Theatre in September, announced Drew Murphy, president of Broadway Across America-Boston, yesterday. The announcement, held in the balcony of the Opera House, was accompanied by a musical performance from ''High Fidelity" and an appearance by South Boston native David Lindsay-Abaire, who's writing the book for the musical. ''Boston is the only city 'High Fidelity' is trying out in," said Murphy. ''We're hoping to keep that tradition going and attract more in the future." Cherry Jones will reprise her role in the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning ''Doubt," and Doug Hughes, who helmed the Broadway production, will direct. ''High Fidelity," a romantic comedy about a record-store owner struggling back to life after being dumped yet again, comes to the Colonial Sept. 26-Oct. 22. The score is by Tom Kitt (music) and Amanda Green (lyrics). Well, I am encouraged by the fact that this new musical will be a vehicle for unknown talent, but will it do well? As a huge John Cusack fan, I would think that if the musical bears a large resemblance to the movie, people will probably be doing some comparisons.
Vintage Theatre T-shirts, Clothing, & Gifts
By Andrew Gans 05 Apr 2006 Two-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters will guest star on the May 11 episode of the Emmy-winning NBC series "Will & Grace." The next-to-last episode of the series will feature Peters as Karen's (Megan Mullally) sister, reports Zap2it.com. Josh Lucas will also guest on that episode of the series, which airs on NBC-TV Thursdays at 8 PM ET; check local listings. "Will & Grace" will end its lengthy run on NBC this season. In addition to Mullally, the comedy also stars Eric McCormack and Debra Messing in the title roles with Sean Hayes as Jack. Harry Connick, Jr., currently on Broadway in The Pajama Game, is also a recurring character. Bernadette Peters was last on Broadway in the acclaimed revival of Gypsy, for which she received a 2003 Tony Award nomination for her performance as Momma Rose in the Sam Mendes-directed production. She won her two Tonys for her performances in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song & Dance and Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun, and she has also starred on Broadway in Mack & Mabel, On the Town, Sunday in the Park with George, The Goodbye Girl and the original production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. Peters' newest recording, "Sondheim, Etc., Etc.—Bernadette Peters Live at Carnegie Hall (The Rest of It)," hit stores on the Angel Records label last summer. She will appear in concert at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall May 1. For more information visit www.nbc.com/Will_&_Grace.
 by Broadway.com Staff The Broadway musical The Light in the Piazza, scheduled to end its run at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre on July 2, will air on PBS as part of the Live From Lincoln Center series. The Thursday, June 15 performance will be the one broadcast live. The Light in the Piazza, based on the novella by Elizabeth Spencer, is set in the summer of 1953 and tells the story of a mother and daughter traveling through Italy, the daughter's romance with a handsome, high-spirited Florentine and the mother's determined efforts to keep the two apart. The musical features a book by Craig Lucas and a score by Adam Guettel.
New Clothing & Gifts for Dancers
 Female dancers will love this quote: "Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except backwards and in high heels." Whether a dance fan or dancer or a fan of the old musical movies, this makes a great gift.
Norbert Leo Butz to Star in a New Sitcom for CBS
November 9, 2005 - by BWW News Desk Norbert Leo Butz, whose comedic antics in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels helped to net him a Tony Award this year, will become a sitcom star. According to an article in The Hollywood Reporter, Butz has signed a development deal with Paramount Network Television, CBS and producer Joe Roth. The team is currently involved in meetings with prospective writers for the show. "I believe he's got something really special and will become a big television star...He's got charm and a (knack for) physical comedy like Jack Black, and he looks like a regular guy," stated Roth, who first saw Butz in Rent almost a decade ago. Roth was once again taken with Butz' comedic skills after seeing a preview of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in February; the producer had already snagged a comedy series deal with Paramount TV and CBS, and decided to mold it around Butz. Coincidentally, Butz had bumped into CBS head Les Moonves, who was seated in front of him, at the Tony Awards in June. In addition to a Tony Award for playing the endearingly scheming Freddy Benson in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Butz received a Tony nomination for his performance in Thou Shalt Not. Other Broadway credits include Wicked (in which he created the role of Fiyero) and Rent, in which he played Roger. He was also seen as the Emcee in the national tour of Cabaret, and created the role of Jamie in the original off-Broadway production of The Last Five Years.
 I had heard very good things about the 1999 London production of Oklahoma! but hadn't had a chance to see it on DVD yet. Well it turned up on PBS today, and this is undoubtably the best version (recorded or live) of Oklahoma I have ever seen. I would love to show this to anyone who has ever claimed that musical theatre characters are not well developed enough! I would also love to show this to young performers, as an example of what they should aspire to. This production is a testament to just how good Rodgers & Hammerstein were when they created this show. I have to say if I wasn't already a fan of Hugh Jackman I definitely would be after seeing this production. Curly is a great role, but he can easily come off as just an arrogant pretty-boy. Jackman, however, plays him with sincerity and a very natural confidence. He does not do any particularly difficult dancing in the show but what he does do is done very precisely and very naturally. I could go on and on, but I just love him! He can act, sing, dance... and he's a dreamboat! Shuler Hensley plays Jud with an absolutely showstopping voice and handles a difficult role well. While I usually find Jud to simply creep me out, I actually found myself feeling a little sorry for this Jud - just a little. I also enjoyed seeing Laurie played with a more earthy quality, and I was happy to see that Josefina Gabrielle did all her own dancing in the dream sequence. I hate seeing dance doubles, especially when there are so many great triple-threat performers capable of handling it. Maureen Lipman rules the roost as Aunt Eller. When she twirls that gun around on her finger she had me rolling on the floor. Jimmy Johnston as Will is a real heart-throb, especially in the hamper scene. Although it is true that Peter Polycarpou's accent for Ali Hakim is weak, he is certainly sincere and loveable. Vicki Simon's Ado Annie was fine, but I found she didn't quite live up to the magic of the rest of the cast. Every single role, even the small chorus one-liners, had polish and appeal. The farmer & the cowman scene, which has a very lengthy dance and can be an absolute staging nightmare, is handled BRILLIANTLY and doesn't once give your mind a chance to wander. I thoroughly enjoyed the choreography and the dancers were superb. I am not even going to start on the technical aspects of this show because they were just so perfect I don't know where to start. I found some of the lighting effects particularly stunning, and the barn raising is incredible. This is a DVD that abolutely has to be added to my collection.
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