All stories by Matthew Blank on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

PHOTO CALL: Dionne Warwick, Smokey Robinson, Burt Bacharach Celebrate Hal David's 90th Birthday by Matthew Blank

Hal David, who penned the lyrics to Broadway's Promises, Promises, was honored with a musical tribute, in celebration of his 90th birthday, Oct. 17 at the Music Center of Los Angeles Cou…

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:13AM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: Samuel L. Jackson Offers TimesTalks Event by Matthew Blank

Mountaintop star Samuel L. Jackson participated in the New York Times' TimesTalks series Oct. 24, engaging in a discussion with David Carr.

SOURCE: Playbill at 10:47AM[SHARE]

PLAYBILL.COM'S CUE & A: Follies' Terri White by Matthew Blank

Follies cast member Terri White, currently stopping the show nightly with her rendition of "Who's That Woman?" at the Marquis Theatre, fills out Playbill.com's questionnair…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:01AM[SHARE]
Monday, October 24, 2011

PHOTO CALL: Angela Bassett at 92nd Street Y With Jordan Roth by Matthew Blank

Jordan Roth, President of Jujamcyn Theaters, and Golden Globe Award-winning stage and screen star Angela Bassett were on hand at the 92nd Street Y Oct. 23 to discuss Bassett's career and cur…

SOURCE: Playbill at 03:47PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: Avenue Q Celebrates 2nd Anniversary at New World Stages by Matthew Blank

The Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q celebrated its second anniversary at New World Stages on Oct. 21. After a six-year run on Broadway, the show moved to New World Stages in 2009.

SOURCE: Playbill at 03:04PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: Cathy Rigby, as Peter Pan, Reads to Garden Of Dreams Children at MSG by Matthew Blank

Tony nominee Cathy Rigby, as Peter Pan, greeted local children from the Garden of Dreams Foundation Oct. 24 at Madison Square Garden where she read an excerpt of J.M. Barrie's beloved novel.

SOURCE: Playbill at 02:17PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: Bring It On Holds L.A. Pep Rally With Cast, Creators and Local Cheer Squads by Matthew Blank

Cast members from Bring It On, the new musical about competitive cheerleading, joined Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda to offer fans a special performance Oct. 22 at Universal CityWalk i…

SOURCE: Playbill at 01:19PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: Bring It On: The Musical Holds L.A. Pep Rally With Cast, Creators and Local Cheer Squads by Matthew Blank

Cast members from Bring It On: The Musical, the new musical about competitive cheerleading, joined Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda to offer fans a special performance Oct. 22 at Univers…

SOURCE: Playbill at 01:19PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: Other Desert Cities, With Stockard Channing, Stacy Keach, Judith Light, on Broadway by Matthew Blank

Jon Robin Baitz's Other Desert Cities, the acclaimed drama about a wealthy Republican family dogged by its past that played a sold-out run Off-Broadway at Lincoln Center Theater last win…

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:30AM[SHARE]
Friday, October 21, 2011

PHOTO CALL: Memphis Offers Sneak Peek at Adam Pascal as "Huey Calhoun" by Matthew Blank

Tony Award nominee Adam Pascal, who made his Broadway debut in the rock musical Rent, will find his soul as radio DJ Huey Calhoun in the Tony-winning musical Memphis beginning Oct. 25 at the…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:13PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: Relatively Speaking Opens on Broadway; Arrivals, Curtain Call and Party by Matthew Blank

Relatively Speaking — one-act comedies by Ethan Coen, Elaine May and Woody Allen, who are all writing about family ties — officially opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre Oct. 20…

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:29AM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 20, 2011

PHOTO CALL: Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark Hosts Kids from the Orphaned Starfish Foundation by Matthew Blank

Kids from the Orphaned Starfish Foundation, which serves orphanages and homes for impoverished children throughout Latin America, were invited to the Oct. 19 performance of Spider-Man Turn O…

SOURCE: Playbill at 04:52PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: Producer Alicia Keys and Cast of Stick Fly Meet the Press by Matthew Blank

The Broadway cast of Lydia R. Diamond's Stick Fly, produced by Alicia Keys, greeted the press with an Oct. 20 photo op.

SOURCE: Playbill at 03:42PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: Memphis Celebrates Two Years on Broadway by Matthew Blank

The Tony Award-winning rock musical Memphis, authored by Tony winners Joe DiPietro and David Bryan, celebrated its second anniversary on Broadway Oct. 19 at the Shubert Theatre.

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:34AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 19, 2011

PHOTO CALL: Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway Greets the Press by Matthew Blank

Hugh Jackman, who won a Tony Award for his Broadway debut in The Boy from Oz and was later seen opposite Daniel Craig in A Steady Rain, will return to The Great White Way in his solo show,&n…

SOURCE: Playbill at 05:52PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: Death Takes a Holiday Cast Performs at Barnes and Noble by Matthew Blank

The cast of Death Takes a Holiday joined Tony Award-winning writers Maury Yeston and Thomas Meehan Oct. 18 to celebrate the release of the PS Classics original cast album of the lushly-score…

SOURCE: Playbill at 05:17PM[SHARE]

PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Two-Show Day at Broadway's Follies With Christian Delcroix by Matthew Blank

Ever wonder about the routine of a Broadway actor on one of those grueling two-performance days? Christian Delcroix, currently appearing as Young Buddy in the revival of Follies, offers Pla…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:05PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: Mamma Mia! Stars Light the Empire State Building by Matthew Blank

In honor of the 10th Anniversary of Mamma Mia! on Broadway, the Empire State Building was lit blue, pink and white during an Oct. 18 lighting ceremony.

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:04AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 18, 2011

PHOTO CALL: Asuncion, With Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Bartha, Plays Off-Broadway by Matthew Blank

Academy Award-nominated "Social Network" actor Jesse Eisenberg co-stars in the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater production of his world-premiere comedy Asuncion, which plays Off-Bro…

SOURCE: Playbill at 01:40PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Allison Case, Aaron Lazar, Janet Dacal Are Living For Today by Matthew Blank

The fourth annual Living For Today concert, entitled First Name Basis and hosted by Chris Blisset, was held Oct. 17 at Joe's Pub. Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Aaron Lazar, Janet Dacal and mo…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:31PM[SHARE]

PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: Behind the Scenes at Elevator Repair Service's The Select (The Sun Also Rises) by Matthew Blank

Vin Knight offers an exclusive backstage look at Elevator Repair Service's The Select (The Sun Also Rises), a dramatic adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's post-war work.

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:13AM[SHARE]

PLAYBILL.COM'S CUE & A: Man and Boy's Francesca Faridany by Matthew Blank

Francesca Faridany, currently playing Countess Antonescu in Roundabout's Broadway revival of Man and Boy, fills out Playbill.com's questionnaire with random facts, backstage trivia a…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:01AM[SHARE]
Monday, October 17, 2011

PHOTO CALL: Ashley Brown, James T. Lane, Hugh Panaro and More Perform Irving Berlin With the NY Pops by Matthew Blank

The New York Pops kicked off its 29th season with an Oct. 14 Carnegie Hall performance celebrating the music of Irving Berlin.

SOURCE: Playbill at 02:34PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: Ethan Coen, Elaine May and Woody Allen's Relatively Speaking on Broadway by Matthew Blank

Relatively Speaking — three one-act comedies by the writing trio of Ethan Coen, Elaine May and Woody Allen — plays the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00PM[SHARE]
Friday, October 14, 2011

PHOTO CALL: A First Look at Godspell on Broadway by Matthew Blank

The first Broadway revival of Stephen Schwartz's Godspell, the rock musical that relates parables of Jesus, began previews Oct. 13 at the Circle in the Square Theatre, with an offic…

SOURCE: Playbill at 05:08PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: The Mountaintop Opens on Broadway; Arrivals, Curtain Call and Party by Matthew Blank

Katori Hall's Olivier Award-winning drama The Mountaintop, directed by Tony Award nominee Kenny Leon (Fences, A Raisin in the Sun), officially opened at the Bernard B. Jacobs Oct. 13.

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:16AM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 13, 2011

PHOTO CALL: Any Given Monday Opens Off-Broadway by Matthew Blank

The company of Bruce Graham's Any Given Monday celebrated their opening night performance Oct. 12 at Bistro 60. The production plays 59E59 Theaters.

SOURCE: Playbill at 03:49PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: More From Chicago Shakespeare's Follies by Matthew Blank

Brent Barrett, Caroline O'Connor, Susan Moniz and Robert Petkoff star in Chicago Shakespeare Theater's production of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's Follies.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:51PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Maggie Gyllenhaal and More at We Live Here Opening Night by Matthew Blank

Manhattan Theatre Club's world-premiere production of Zoe Kazan's We Live Here, a play about a family's buried secrets, desires and grief, directed by Sam Gold, opened …

SOURCE: Playbill at 10:45AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 12, 2011

PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: "Hot Patootie!" Backstage at the Old Globe's Rocky Horror Show With Sydney James Harcourt by Matthew Blank

Sydney James Harcourt, who takes on the role of Rocky in The Rocky Horror Show at the Old Globe, takes Playbill.com on a backstage tour of the San Diego theatre.

SOURCE: Playbill at 02:29PM[SHARE]

PHOTO CALL: Broadway Welcomes New Mary Poppins, Steffanie Leigh by Matthew Blank

Broadway got a new nanny beginning on Oct. 11 when Steffanie Leigh flew into the New Amsterdam Theatre to play Mary Poppins. Coming in from the North American tour, she is making her Broadwa…

SOURCE: Playbill at 01:02PM[SHARE]

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