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NOTE: This is an archived version of this newsletter. Not all shows and offers still apply. Some links may no longer be accessible. |
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| Invite Your Friends | ||||
We are happy to announce a very special Broadway Fan Club "Invite-a-Friend" contest! The five Fan Club members who refer the most friends to join the Club between now and September 10th will each receive a Broadway Visa Gift Card® worth $225. This is your chance to share with your friends all the exciting Fan Club features including exclusive star interviews, show information for New York and the road, event invitations, special advanced information about Kids' Night on Broadway and other programs, and much more! Click here to invite your friends and family members to join The Broadway Fan Club. You will be asked to enter the e-mail addresses separated by commas, as well as the e-mail address at which you receive your Fan Club communications in order to properly receive credit for the referrals. You may return to the Invite-a-Friend page using the link above at any time during the next month to invite more friends. Click here for Official Rules. Please note: there is a limit of one Broadway Fan Club membership per individual. Individuals enrolling mulitple times under multiple e-mail addresses will be disqualified. |
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| Two Legends Re-unite | |||||
Joan Collins and Linda Evans, who appeared as bitter rivals Alexis Carrington and Krystle Carrington on ABC-TV's "Dynasty" for 9 years, are re-uniting on stage in a new touring Broadway production. They star in James Kirkwood's Legends!, a comedy about two fading |
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movie stars, Sylvia and Leatrice, who have hated each other for decades and are now being courted to star together in a new Broadway show. The original touring production of Legends! with Carol Channing and Mary Martin spurred the playwright to pen his famous backstage rant, “Diary of a Mad Playwright.” Legends! begins a 30-week national tour in Toronto on September 12. Our correspondent Ben Pesner caught up with Linda Evans by phone from Washington and Joan Collins by e-mail from France to ask them about the show and about touring together. |
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Ben Pesner: How did it come about that the two of you are working together again on 'Legends!'? Joan Collins: Legends! is a brilliant play, terribly funny and of the moment too, and I always love doing comedy. I suggested Linda Evans to Ben Sprecher, our producer, as I thought that our chemistry on "Dynasty" was so good together. Linda Evans: John Bowab, the director, called me and told me he was sending over a play and would I read it. I never thought I would do a play, as over the years I have been offered them many times and always declined. But out of respect I said I would read this play, thinking there was no way I was going to do it. About halfway through, I stopped and thought, “This is so wonderful. I am going to do it.” I called my agent and he almost fainted. I just fell in love with the play. Have either of you read Kirkwood's "Diary of a Mad Playwright?" Linda Evans: I got it and I started to read it, but it was so depressing. I closed it because it's not my reality. We are new people, and this is a new production. Joan Collins: I didn't read the book but I may write an account of our tour myself! |
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Tell us about your characters. Joan Collins: Sylvia is quite over the top and camp and it's a fun role. Of course she's different from me in many ways but there are some similarities, such as in our characters' feelings toward our children. Linda Evans: What I like about Leatrice is she's got a lot of qualities that Krystle Carrington had. She's a good girl and loves people and wants to do right. You don't rise to the top and become one of the major movie stars in the '40s and the '50s without having a strong ego and a strong sense of yourself. There is a sort of naughty wickedness about her that I am really enjoying. She has a really dry sense of humor. People say that being on the road is particularly exciting because every week in a new city is like another opening night. Can you talk about some of the rewards and challenges of touring? Linda Evans: I've heard it's the most rewarding experience of your life as an actor. There is a living connection with the audience. So, I am very excited about doing something live, both on the Road and then coming to New York. Joan Collins: The biggest challenge is to get through a 30-week tour without looking or feeling stale. Mostly I love the excitement of the change of cities and audiences. What I love least is the boredom of sometimes being in a strange city without friends. How do you feel about the possibility of the show coming to Broadway in New York? Linda Evans: That's the big, big moment. It doesn't get any bigger than Broadway. It's exciting and thrilling. Click here for ticket information and the Legends! touring schedule. Don't miss an exclusive in-depth interview with Joan Collins and Linda Evans on CNN's Larry King Live, Thursday August 10 at 9pm EST. Check your local listings. |
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| Fame Becomes Them | ||||
| In Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, now playing on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, the legendary comedian and a cast of acclaimed Broadway performers sing, dance, and impersonate their way through a made-up musical memoir of Short's life and career. Mary Birdsong, Capathia Jenkins, and Nicole Parker play 3 of Short's "Comedy All Stars," portraying many different and colorful characters throughout the imagined biography. In the spirit of the show, we asked each of the ladies to tell us what made-up story their OWN musical memoir would tell. | ||||
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Mary Birdsong: My show would tell the story of a shy, awkward, unattractive child who eventually grew into a woman, embraced sensitivity, married her invalid cousin, and was devoted to him until he become the ruler of our great nation. Oh no, I'm sorry, that's Eleanor Roosevelt. If it really told the story of me, it would be about a chick from New Jersey who came to New York 20 years ago because she wanted to be in Les Miz, and then got sidetracked by doing stand-up comedy and improv. Now, 20 years later, I get to do both! Years ago, I actually did do a show that was a mock autobiography called “The Very Mary Birdsong Show.” I pitched that as a title for Marty's show but he didn't bite. I think that's a mistake. | |||
| Capathia Jenkins: My show would tell how I was so shy in college that I got a job as a mascot; I was the Temple Owl. Since I had this singing thing going, I started a film career as a major singer. I was in dozens of movies, mostly in scenes that took place in nightclubs. You probably never saw any of them, however, because I always got left on the cutting room floor. In fact, I got edited out of every single major film in the last two decades. Fame Becomes Me is my fourth Broadway show; I was nominated for Tonys for each of my last 3 roles but I was robbed! |  |
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Nicole Parker: My show would tell how I used to entertain my family when I was a kid by throwing anything in my underwear drawer on my head and running around dancing. The fact that I'm parading around now in a 32-DD bra on a Broadway stage shows that I've come full circle. Then there would be the whole period where I was a Parisian nightclub singer with lots of really good-looking Frenchmen in tuxes that would dance with me. That's a good hour of the show. The 2nd act would feature a character called “Lady with No Boyfriend” which is a really great character that's based on, well, me. I invite really attractive men to come up for an interview, and at the end of the interview I ask them out on a date. The rest of the second act is the date that we go on. I've actually been working on this character for about 5 years now. I don't even need make-up or prosthetics - I just click right in to her. | |||
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| The Richard Rodgers Theatre and Gallery | ||||
| By Lindsay Kilgore and Neal Freeman | ||||
The Richard Rodgers Theatre was built in 1926 by immigrant brothers Irwin and Henry Chanin and was then known as Chanin's 46th Street Theatre. It was the first of six theatres built by the brothers, and included an innovative “democratic” auditorium entrance that allowed everyone to enter from the same level instead of funneling the holders of cheaper mezzanine and balcony seats through a separate door as was a standard practice of the time. (source) |
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The theatre changed hands several times throughout the middle of the 20th century, and was eventually purchased by the Nederlander Organization in 1982. In 1990 the company renamed the theatre for composer Richard Rodgers, one half of the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein song-writing duo responsible for such iconic musicals as Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music. The re-christened theatre opened with a gallery devoted to the venerable composer's life and career and was the first Broadway theatre to host an exhibit honoring its namesake. |
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In May 2006, the Richard Rodgers Theatre underwent a renovation that helped recapture some of its original splendor. A box-like marquee, installed sometime in the middle part of the 20th century, was removed to once again feature the original, stylish, curving marquee. Interior renovations include improvements to the ladies restroom (no more long lines!) as well as an elaborately painted ceilings and walls decorated with clouds and angels. Perhaps the most historically significant element of the renovation was the overhaul of the Richard Rodgers Gallery, which now resides in a lavish special lobby parallel to the main lobby. |
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The Richard Rodgers Gallery pays tribute to the legendary composer and his career that spanned seven decades. Twelve multi-dimensional panels convey the breadth of Rodgers' work, spotlighting his partnership with Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein II, and his late-career milestones as well. Hanging in a place of honor at the far end of the main lobby is a portrait -- filled with various momentos and clues relating to Rodgers' life and work -- by artist Kim Beaty, who also happens to be the composer's granddaughter.The Rodgers portrait and the Richard Rodgers Gallery are free and open for viewing by ticket holders to productions at the Rodgers Theatre during normal theatre hours. |
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Click here for a list of shows and additional photographs from the Richard Rodgers Theatre. |
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| The Leagues Welcomes Charlotte St. Martin | ||
Last month the League welcomed Charlotte St. Martin to the post of Executive Director, replacing Jed Bernstein as head of Broadway's national trade association. A native of Dallas, Texas, Ms. St. Martin was one of the highest-ranking executives in the hospitality industry, most recently as Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Loews Hotels. We asked her to tell us a bit about herself and her thoughts about her new role. A dream come true: Broadway has been my passion for 30 years, and to be able to contribute to it is so exciting that I may have to pinch myself to make sure that this isn't a dream! I have no doubt that this position will have me working with people who are passionate about their work, and I do so look forward to that. |
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About living in the Big Apple: I love the variety of things to do, from Central Park to the great restaurants, the incredible variety of museums, the energy on the streets, and the beauty of the whole tri-state area. Her animals: I am blessed with a 9-month-old Labradoodle from Australia named Nicole, and 3 cats. I have a new Russian Blue kitten named Mischka who I got for Nicole so they can grow up together, and 2 older Siamese cats named Piwacket and Snickers. Making a difference: Personally, Broadway has been my favorite form of entertainment since the first time I sat in a Broadway theatre, when I saw Lauren Bacall in Applause in the early 1970s. It is a marvelous distraction from the stresses of the day and a source of great fun and joy. It is my privilege to be a part of this dynamic and vibrant industry. I hope to make a difference in a community whose members are so passionate about their craft. |
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| Quick Bits | ||||
| -Don't miss Broadway on Broadway® 2006! On Sunday, September 10th at 11:30am, join 50,000 fans for a free concert in Times Square where you can catch live performances from all of your favorite shows including sneak peaks of the fall season! Broadway on Broadway is co-produced with the Times Square Alliance and is presented by Sprint and Continental Airlines. The New York Times is an official sponsor. Check out next month's newsletter for updates about participating shows and more! -Broadway celebs were on hand at the Continental Airlines / US Open Celebrity Pro-Am, which was held at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, NY on August 7. Pictured below are composer Stephen Schwartz (Wicked) and performer Liz Callaway (Cats, Baby) getting their swing on. Continental Airlines is the Official Airline of Live Broadway. Photos by Randy Cresci.
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-Not a tennis player yourself? That's okay! We're looking for pictures of our Fan Club members standing in front of a Broadway theatre in New York or anywhere across North America! Click here to access the Broadway Fan Club photo upload page to send us your (non-tennis) photos. |
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| © The League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc. 2006, All Rights Reserved 226 West 47th Street, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10036 |