09/02/03
KIM CRISWELL IN TWO NEW CDS!!

02/10/03
KIM CRISWELL CHATS ABOUT HER HOLLYWOOD PARTY AT COVENT GARDEN

Kim Criswell is starring with the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Feb. 13. Theatrenow met her at the Covent Garden Hotel.

Can you tell us something about Hollywood Party at the Queen Elizabeth Hall? "It's an evening of songs from the movie musicals, hence the title, and it'll be presented by Malcolm Laycock, who also presents BBC2's Big Band program, with me as the singer and the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra as the band. Ruth Leon is directing it."

Is this a change of direction for you? You're mainly thought of as a musicals star yourself, given your roles in Cats, Annie Get Your Gun, Dames at Sea, Side By Side By Sondheim... "I've been in a lot of musicals, certainly, but I've actually done a lot of concerts in recent years. It's something I enjoy very much, and in the ten years or so that I've lived in London, I've done a fair amount of them."

Are you going to wear a "period" outfit? "The songs and the styles that we cover range over several decades, focussed on the 20's, 30's and 40's, so I'll have something that looks fairly period in the sense of pre-war, without being too specific. It certainly won't be the sort of slinky number you'd wear for a cabaret evening, though."

Speaking of cabaret, how do you find London as a cabaret city? "It isn't really! There's only Pizza on the Park. But that isn't a criticism of London, as such. I think there's really only one cabaret city, and that's New York. With cabaret, you need tables, you need champagne, you need to be able to eat as well. That sort of venue is hard to find, whereas with a concert, like Hollywood Party, you need a theatre or a concert hall, a band, and you're away!"

Do you have to use different vocal techniques to sing songs from different decades? "The change in music from, say, 20's to 30's to 40's and on is really one of orchestration. Different times had different styles, which is why period songs are often done differently from the way they were originally intended to be performed. So it's not really a question of changing my voice. After all, Fred Astaire had the same singing voice through his career — it was the orchestration that changed. If I want to get a song right, then I listen to records from the time when they were first written and performed, and that gives me the key to how they should be sung."

Hollywood Party is a one-off event. Have you any longer-term projects lined up? A musical, for example? "Yes, there's something in the pipeline, in which — speaking of Fred Astaire — I'd appear alongside a very well-known dancer. And a sexier one than Fred! But I can't really say any more about that at the moment; other than that, he would be dancing and I would be singing — that's how our respective characters would communicate."

Can you give us a clue as to the songs you'll sing in Hollywood Party? "That should be a surprise, too! But "Lullaby of Broadway," "They Can't Take That Away From Me" and "Let's Face the Music and Dance" will be there among the other classics. Book a ticket and see!"

Theatre: Queen Elizabeth Hall South Bank Centre, Waterloo SE1
Dates: 13/02/2003 ONE NIGHT ONLY
Times: Feb 13 at 7.30pm
Prices: Phone Box Office For Details 020 7960 4242
The Plot: West End guest star vocalist Kim Criswell will join the 12-piece orchestra for a non-stop swell party that will include Happy Feet, Puttin' On The Ritz, Making Whoopee, My Baby Just Cares For Me, Lullaby Of Broadway, Let's Face The Music And Dance,They Can't Take That Away From Me, Chattanooga Choo Choo and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
-Paul Webb, www.theatrenow.com

02/01/03
DEBORAH GIBSON TO RETURN TO BROADWAY AS NEXT SALLY BOWLES IN CABARET

Deborah Gibson as Sally Bowles / and as Louise in Gypsy. Photo by Ken Zane

Deborah Gibson will assume the role of Sally Bowles in the current Broadway revival of Cabaret, a spokesperson confirmed.

Though no dates have ben set as of yet, the singer-actress is expected to begin in February. Heather Laws, who currently plays the lead role, is scheduled to end Feb. 9.

Gibson joins a long line of Sally replacements which include Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary McCormack, Susan Egan, Joely Fisher, Lea Thompson, Katie Finneran, Gina Gershon, Kate Shindle, Brooke Shields, Jane Leeves and Molly Ringwald. The role was originated in this Broadway run by Natasha Richardson.

Neil Patrick Harris (Proof) currently stars as the Emcee, Tom Bosley ("Happy Days") as Herr Schultz and Carole Shelley as Fraulein Schneider (through Feb. 16.)

The Roundabout Theatre Company production of Cabaret is lodged at Studio 54. Also in the current cast also are Rick Holmes as Clifford Bradshaw, Candy Buckley as Fraulein Kost and Peter Benson as Ernst Ludwig.

Harris may find himself at Studio 54 again later in 2003. Cabaret will play one more year at the space and then close to make way for Assassins, Roundabout Theatre Company artistic director Todd Haimes has said. Harris was cast in the Sondheim revival when the mounting was postponed in the days following Sept. 11, 2001. Harris' spokesperson said, "He's still attached to the project. The earliest it would happen is fall 2003."

The Sam Mendes/Rob Marshall-helmed Broadway revival of the musical plays at Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street. For tickets, call (212) 239-6200
-By Ernio Hernandez of playbill.com

01/16/03
CHECK OUT THE ACTION AT THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF MUSIC

The inaugural International Festival of Musical Theatre in Cardiff, Wales - known as "Europe's Youngest Capital" - is mapping out to be where the action is Oct. 14 - Nov. 3. The Festival will be the world's first-ever major international event to celebrate one of our most popular live art forms, presenting the best of musical theatre, old and new, large and small.

The event will boast the European concert performance of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens' Ragtime The Musical accompanied by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, a concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel with the BBC Concert Orchestra and a gala performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Also featured will be the United Kingdom premiere of the children's performance of Les Miserables and nine new musical theatre works that are being selected from 186 submissions from 16 different countries.

Each Festival will feature a particular composer or lyricist. For this first Festival Richard Rodgers, whose centenary it is this year, is spotlighted. Some of the productions and events which feature his music including a concert version of Carousel at St David's Hall and National Youth Music Theatre's Oklahoma! The festival's new musical revue, Ten Cents A Dance by John Doyle's award winning company, features the music of Rodgers and Hart, who also wrote the festival's main musical - a new production of Babes in Arms.

Artists confirmed include: Tracie Bennett , Graham Bickley, Zoe Curlett, Anita Dobson, RUTHIE HENSHALL, Peter Karrie, Laura Michelle Kelly, Ria Jones, Barbara King, Jessica Martin, JEROME PRADON, Clive Rowe, Claire Sweeney and Gary Wilmot.

Other composers' works are also spotlighted. Stephen Sondheim's Anyone Can Whistle, considered the bravest show Stephen Sondheim wrote, at least until Assassins. It was also a spectacular flop when it first hit Broadway in 1964, running only nine performances before closing. It opened April 4, 1964 at the Majestic Theatre and closed April 11, 1964. The stars included Angela Lansbury, Lee Remick, and Harry Guardino.

Also featured in the festival is the Tony Award-winning show Ragtime the Musical, and Cole Porter's Jubilee, as well as international productions, such as Joan of Arc, the current hit musical from Prague.

Coleman, the legendary writer of great Broadway shows including Sweet Charity, Seesaw, City of Angels and Little Me, will host an evening of songs from his own award-winning shows.

Artists participating include; Tracie Bennett, KIM CRISWELL, Janie Dee, Barbara Dickson, Anita Dobson, Kathryn Evans, Maria Friedman, Patricia Hodge, Ria Jones, Dillie Keane, Laura Michelle Kelly, Jane McDonald, Jessica Martin, Grania Renihan, Frances Rufelle, Claire Sweeney, Leigh Zimmerman, Graham Bickley, David Burt, Brian Conley, Jim Dale, Daniel Evans, Tim Flavin Jerome Flynn, Henry Goodman, Peter Joback, Aled Jones, Keith Michell, Petr Muk, Jerome Pradon, Clarke Peters, Nigel Planer, Philip Quast, Denis Quilley, Ian Richardson and Clive Rowe

The festival is being presented with support firstly from BBC in Wales and the City of Cardiff as well as from the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, the Cole Porter Trusts, the Gershwin family, Music Theatre International and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. Among the festivals patrons are Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber and Michael Grandage.

12/09/02
KIM CRISWELL TO PERFORM IN PAL JOEY & ON YOUR TOES ON BBC RADIO
Kim Criswell will take part in BBC Radio 3's performances of 'Pal Joey' and 'On Your Toes' - Rodgers and Hart Thursday, Decmeber 26th, at 7.30pm. Those participating in the concert event will be: Honor Blackman, Kim Criswell, Bonnie Langford, Adam Cooper, Sophie-Louise Dann, Tim Flavin, Maida Vale Singers, Robert Ziegler (conductor)

10/29/02
DON't MISS CHICAGO STARRING DEBORAH GIBSON

“Sin never looked so good, moved so well or sounded so fine!*”

80’s pop star turned Broadway actress, Deborah Gibson goes from songbird to jailbird in the award-winning North Shore Music Theatre (NSMT) original production of CHICAGO, opening Tuesday, October 29 and playing through Sunday, November 24. Press night is scheduled for Thursday, October 31 at 8:00 p.m.

Anywhere else murder would be a crime, but in CHICAGO, it is the quickest route to fame. In this acclaimed Bob Fosse musical, murderesses Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart compete for not just headlines, but, with the help of their slick lawyer Billy Flynn, a lasting moment in the spotlight.

Based on Maureen Dallas Watkins’ 1927 play of the same name, the musical CHICAGO opened on Broadway in 1975, and starred Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera. Overshadowed by the runaway success of A Chorus Line, which opened the same year, CHICAGO closed on Broadway after 898 performances. The 1996 revival of CHICAGO opened to rave reviews, won 6 Tony Awards, and, still running today, is the longest running revival in Broadway History. CHICAGO features such hit songs as “All That Jazz,” “Mr Cellophane” and “Razzle Dazzle.”

Velma will be played by Deborah Gibson, who exploded on the pop music scene in 1986 at the age of sixteen. She became the youngest person ever to write, produce and perform a 1 single (“Foolish Beat”), a record which she still proudly holds to this day. Her career has garnered her Billboard hits, Platinum albums, ASCAP Songwriter of the Year honors and sold out world tours. She received rave reviews for her starring roles on Broadway in Beauty and the Beast and Les Miserables. In London’s West End she broke box office records in Grease, and she starred with Betty Buckley in Paper Mill Playhouse’s acclaimed production of Gypsy. Deborah has also headlined in national tours of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Funny Girl, and Cinderella.

Broadway and Fosse veteran Kim Morgan Greene will star opposite Deborah, playing the role of Roxie Hart. Kim had the honor of working with Bob Fosse on the Broadway revival of Sweet Charity. She was recently featured in the 1999 Tony Award- winning musical, Fosse. Kim is best known to audiences for her roles on “The Colbys” (Channing Colby) and “Another World” (Nicole Love). She can be seen in the feature films The Gardner with Malcolm McDowell and P.U.N.K.S.

Billy Flynn will be played by William Michals. Michals has enjoyed playing many shady characters on stage, starring on Broadway as both Gaston and the Beast in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and the dark Chauvelin in the national tour of The Scarlet Pimpernel. He has also appeared nationally and internationally in Les Misérables, The Music Man, Man of La Mancha, Phantom, and Camelot. His television credits include “Law and Order,” “All My Children,” and “Guiding Light.”

Featured in CHICAGO are Eleanor Glockner (“Mamma” Morton), from Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast, Guys and Dolls and City of Angels, Mark Manley (Amos Hart), who has been seen on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof, The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public and Legs Diamond and Daniel Levine (Mary Sunshine), who has appeared on Broadway in Mamma Mia and Jesus Christ Superstar.

The CHICAGO ensemble includes Eddie Bennett, Bill Burns Michelle Bruckner, Deanna Dys, Hillary Elliott, David Glaspie, Mindy Haywood, Eric Hoisington, Nick Kenkel, Jennifer Elle Lewis, Kathy Meyer, Brian O’Brien and Stephen Wenslawski.

CHICAGO is written by Bob Fosse and Fred Ebb who also wrote the lyrics, with music provided by longtime writing partner John Kander (Cabaret, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Zorba). CHICAGO will be directed and choreographed in the style of Bob Fosse by Barry Ivan, who has directed a number of musicals at NSMT, including Dracula: A Chamber Musical, Footloose, Miss Saigon, Sweet Charity and A Little Night Music. This show features Music Direction by Keith Thompson (Letter from ‘Nam, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Fiddler on the Roof, Hair), Scenic Design by Howard Jones(Footloose, Carousel, A Christmas Carol), Lighting Designed by John McLain (Dracula: A Chamber Musical, Miss Saigon, Hair) and Costume Design by Thomas Marquez (Sweet Charity).

Tickets for CHICAGO are priced from $24 to $62. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00p.m. (except November 5, at 7p.m.); matinees Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2p.m. ASL interpreted performance on Saturday Aug. 2nd at 2p.m. There will be an ASL interpreted performance of on November 16 at 2pm. CHICAGO is sponsored by Kings Grant. CHICAGO contains mature themes and may not be appropriate for children.

Tickets can be purchase by calling the North Shore Music Theatre Box Office at (978) 232-7200, via the website at www.nsmt.org or in person at 62 Dunham Road (Route 128, exit 19), Beverly, MA. Personal listening devices, large print and Braille programs available.
* -Sister Mary Ann Walsh, THE CATHOLIC STANDARD

10/09/02
KIM CRISWELL TAKING PART IN NEW YEARS MUSICAL CELEBRATION!
New Years Eve Concert with Sir Simon Rattle, KIM CRISWELL, Audra McDonald, Thomas Hampson, Brent Barrett, Karl Daymond, Timothy Robinson, Michael Dore, and Simone Sauphanor. They will sing the music of Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Kurt Weill and more!
No final info on where the concert will take place.

07/01/02
TV TIME WARP:
FOX TO PRODUCE ROCKY HORROR SHOW FOR SMALL SCREEN
It's been a hit stage musical. It's been a cult film. Now, it's set for a TV production. The Rocky Horror Show will come to Fox TV under the tentative title "Rocky Horror Birthday Show."

Coinciding with the show's 30th anniversary — it debuted on the London stage in 1973 — Fox network and Fox TV plan to produce a new TV adaptation of the acclaimed work. Variety reports that Lou Adler, who produced the original Broadway mounting, will executive produce the TV version, which is aiming for a Feb. 2003 premiere.

Stephan Elliott — of "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" fame — will write and direct, and Richard O'Brien, who penned the musical's music, lyrics and book, will serve as a consultant and will also write ONE NEW TUNE for the Fox version. O'Brien, who starred as Riff Raff in the Jim Sharman directed film, will have a cameo role in the TV film as will other former cast members. Casting for the TV version has not been announced.

David Madden, who heads Fox TV Pictures, had this to say to Variety about the TV "Rocky Horror": "The reason to do this is to bring it to a generation who hasn't seen it and wouldn't necessarily go to the midnight shows at the Nuart. It's going to be revived by casting people who are contemporary and rearranging the music so it's contemporary. We're dressing the piece in clothes that will make it more entertaining and more accessible to a 2003 audience."

The Rocky Horror Show bowed in London in 1973. It played Broadway's Belasco Theatre from March 10, 1975 through April 5, 1975, with a cast led by Tim Curry, Jamie Donnelly and Meat Loaf. The 1975 film also cast Curry as Frank-N-Furter opposite Susan Sarandon's Janet Weiss and Barry Bostwick's Brad Majors. The recent, Tony-nominated revival at New York's Circle in the Square Theatre boasted a cast that comprised Dick Cavett, Lea DeLaria, Jarrod Emick, Tom Hewitt, Joan Jett, Alice Ripley, Daphne Rubin Vega, Raúl Esparza, Sebastian LaCause and Kevin Cahoon.

—By Andrew Gans of playbill.com

05/24/02
ALICE RIPLEY EARNES GREAT REVIEWS FOR COMPANY!!
Quotable Quote: I was happy to read this quote — from Nelson Pressley's Washington Post review — about our Side Show gal, ALICE RIPLEY, who is currently starring in the Kennedy Center's production of Company: "As Amy, the bride who has a nervous breakdown the morning of her wedding, Alice Ripley BRINGS DOWN THE HOUSE with a STUNNINGLY CLEAR and funny rendition of 'Getting Married Today,' a patter song that easily exceeds the legal limit of syllables per second. Ripley is LETTER-PERFECT and brightly melodic, too; she's a KOOKY DELIGHT."
-playbill.com

04/23/02
KIM CRISWELL PERFORMS IN GALA FUNDRAISING EVENT!!
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO!

3/03/02
PATTI LuPONE BRINGS DOWN THE HOUSE WITH ENCORE OF "BLOW GABRIEL BLOW" DURING ANYTHING GOES BENEFIT!
CLICK HERE FOR INFO!

03/02/02

RUTHIE HENSHALL, COLM WILKINSON, DONNY OSMOND AMONG THE MANY DIVAS THAT CELEBRATE TIM RICE!
Click here for info!

02/09/02
Click here for DIVA NOTHING LIKE A DAME BENEFIT NEWS!

02/05/02
HISTORIC DIVA NEWS!!
DIVA ELAINE PAIGE SINGS FOR OLYMPICS FEB. 15-16, MAKES LOS ANGELES CONCERT DEBUT FEB. 20-21!!
The original voice of Grizabella the Cat, ELAINE PAIGE is the West End's best known musical theatre DIVA. Besides Cats, she led London's Evita, Chess, Sunset Boulevard and the recent revival of The King and I.

Feb. 20-21, she makes her Los Angeles concert debut at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, again with Utah Symphony under the direction of Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart. She will sing "Memory", "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", "I Know Him So Well", "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" and more.

Tickets in Salt Lake City are $26-$50. For reservations, call (801) 355 ARTS (2787). Tickets in Los Angeles are available by calling (213) 365 3500 or (715) 740-2000.

— By Christine Ehren

01/16/02
URINETOWN! TO HAVE NATIONAL TOUR
If Americans living outside New York City are wondering what a show called Urinetown! could be about and how such a title has managed to be a such a hit on Broadway, they won't have to wonder for long. The satiric, ribald musical comedy will have a national tour!

"They've asked me [to do it]," said choreographer John Carrafa. Specific cities and dates have not been established, but "the tour is definite. They're talking about everything, because the show's such a big hit." Carrafa added that productions in Sydney, Australia, and London are also being discussed.

Urinetown, the Musical celebrated its 100th performance at The Henry Miller at the Dec. 16 matinee. Business has been hot for the unlikely, darkly comic musical about a future where use of toilets is controlled by a corporation, and the people are fed up with having to pay for "the privilege to pee." The week ending Dec. 9, the show played 84.65 percent of capacity.

The musical satire by the heretofore unknown writing team of Greg Kotis (book and lyrics) and Mark Hollmann (music and lyrics) concerns a futuristic, drought-stricken city where water usage and toilets are controlled by an evil corporation, led by Tony Award-winner John Cullum, playing dapper Caldwell B. Cladwell. The citizens rebel — and dance! — and comedy ensues.

Previews began Aug. 27 at the newly refurbished Henry Miller (formerly Henry Miller's Theatre). Opening was originally scheduled for Sept. 13, but producers bumped the official bow to Sept. 20 for reasons related to the national tragedy, and because press had not been able to see the show prior to that opening date.

The company includes Cullum, Foster, Spencer Kayden as Little Sally, Jeff McCarthy as Officer Lockstock, Nancy Opel as Penelope Pennywise and Jennifer Laura Thompson as Hope Cladwell. The production also features David Beach, Jennifer Cody, Rachel Coloff, Rick Crom, John Deyle, Victor W. Hawks, Erin Hill, Ken Jennings, Peter Reardon, Don Richard, Lawrence Street and Kay Walbye.

Designers are Scott Pask (scenic), Jonathan Bixby and Gregory Gale (costumes), Brian MacDevitt (lighting), Jeff Curtis (sound). Musical direction is by Edward Strauss. Orchestrations are by Bruce Coughlin. A cast album was released by RCA Victor in August 2001.

Urinetown was the winner of two 2001 Obie Awards — a special citation for book (Greg Kotis) and lyrics (Greg Kotis, Mark Hollmann) and an award for musical staging (John Carrafa). Spencer Kayden, who plays the role of Little Sally, also received the Clarence Derwent Award for her performance. town was also nominated for nine Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical.

Urinetown previously played at the little-known American Theatre of Actors, a 120-seat space at 314 W. 54th Street. The show became the first new Broadway musical of the 2001-02 season. The work began life at the Present Company Theatorium on the Lower East Side as part of the 1999 New York International Fringe Festival. The show opened at the ATA on May 3, 2001, after a month of previews. The show retains all of its Off-Broadway players for the Broadway mounting, but only Kayden remains from the Fringe staging.

—By Robert Simonson and Kenneth Jones of playbill.com

11/01/01
INTERESTING INFO, REVIEWS AND INTERVIEWS!

ANDREW LIPPA INTERVIEW, TALKS OF WILD PARTY AND UPCOMING WIZ TELEVISION PRODUCTION!

INTERVIEW WITH RAUL ESPARZA ON TICK, TICK...BOOM! AND MORE!! SEPT 9

-Info from playbill.com

DREAMGIRLS ROCKED THE HOUSE! CLICK HERE!!
AND CLICK HERE FOR SOME MORE INFO AND PICS OF THE CONCERT!!

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DIVAS ON CD, VIDEO & DVD

UPCOMING DIVA CD & DVD RELEASES!!
I did some research for new cd and dvd releases and came upon this website www.talkingbroadway.com
It's amazing and has all the information we need! Check it out!

For Musical Theatre related info on cd, video and dvd releases click here!

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