by: Sandi Durell There's a new musical about to open in previews on June 25th, with an official opening night on July 21st - "Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story." The highly anticipated musical has been brewing for 15...
Interviews
Donna Lynne Champlin Talks About Her Directorial Debut “ValueVille”
Donna Lynne Champlin, Drama Desk and OBIE Award winner, has had a long and successful career as an actor - from "Working: A Musical," "The Dark At The Top of the Stairs," "The Dead," "By Jeeves," "Hollywood Arms," "Sweeney...
Raising the Roof – Sheldon Harnick & Folksbiene
The National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene celebrated 100 years with a series of celebrations - 50 years of Fiddler on the Roof and the 90th birthday of Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning lyricist Sheldon Harnick. Based upon the stories of...
Hal Linden to Make Café Carlyle Debut
By Sandi Durell Yes, Barney Miller sings and more! He got his first break in “Bells Are Ringing” on Broadway in 1958 and just kept on going from there, then cast in “Anything Goes” (Billy Crocker), and in 1975 landed the role...
Fyvush Finkel, World Class Entertainer & Sons Celebrate Purim
A Profile of Fyvush Finkel - World Class Entertainer By: Myra Chanin Four years ago, Fyvush Finkel once again proved himself a world class entertainer, when he celebrated his 88th and the National Yiddish Theater 96th birthdays with Fyvush Finkel,...
Sneak Preview: ‘Gigi’ – Interviews, Musical Numbers
by: Brian Scott Lipton Video and Photo Montage: Sandi Durell The night they invented champagne will be an extremely memorable one this winter, thanks to the talented cast and creators of “Gigi,” a re-imagined musical version of the classic Colette story, played...
All My Friends Are Demons: A Profile of Filmmaker Michael Stever (see videos)
by: Eric J. Grimm Few people understand the community of the horror film genre the way New York City based filmmaker Michael Stever does. Stever, a jack of all trades who directs, writes, films, and edits, does plenty of work filming sizzle reels...
Chatting with ‘Mr. Nostalgia’ Joe Franklin
by: Edie Stokes Joe Franklin was-and is still-called Mr. Nostalgia from his earlier days on radio and TV where he interviewed stage and screen personalities down 'Memory Lane'. When I spoke with the 'Master Interviewer' at his...
6 Questions for John Patrick Shanley
By Sherry Amatenstein He is undisputed theater royalty – the author of more than 25 plays including the Pulitzer and Tony-winning Doubt: A Parable. Shanley’s latest, Outside Mullingar, starring Debra Messing and Brian F. O’Byrne, is the first to focus...
Behind the Scenes: The Bridges of Madison County
Theater Pizzazz feature: The Bridges of Madison County By Peter Haas Start with a widely known romance that’s already been a novel and a movie – and has now been adapted for musical theater. How do you bring it to the stage when everyone already...
Len Cariou: Bringing the Gershwins Back to His Future
By Myra Chanin Len Cariou is Broadway Royalty. He was the successor to Alfred Drake, Broadway’s first Post-WWII Musical Comedy Superstar who between 1943 and 1953 starred in Oklahoma, Kismet and Kiss Me Kate, three upbeat musical...
6 Questions For J. Smith-Cameron (Interview)
By Sherry Amatenstein Our original plan of a doggie play date/interview was foiled when Manhattan was coated with a thin but persistent rain on the appointed Friday. Plan Two sans canines was a koffee klatch in J. Smith-Cameron’s favorite...
Six Questions for Brad Oscar
Brad graciously took time out for a cyber-sit down with www.theaterpizzazz.com By Sherry Amatenstein This season Brad Oscar can be found cavorting onstage at the Neil Simon Theatre delighting audiences as circus impresario Amos Calloway in the Susan Stroman-helmed...
Bridging Worlds – Ari Laura Kreith Directs “Pirira”
By Marcina Zaccaria On October 17, “Pirira” opened at The Chain Theatre in Long Island City, Queens. The play connects two simultaneous stories, one in Malawi, one in New York. It explores how our lives are inextricably linked across continents, language, and...
Interview with Chris Botti –Grammy Award Jazz Trumpet Player Coming to NY Pops
By: Sandi Durell When I spoke with Chris Botti on the phone, he wasn’t sure which event we were going to talk about, because he had just come back from China a day or two before. Chris Botti is acknowledged as one of the greatest trumpet...
World Peace Orchestra Accomplishes Goal with Kevin Spacey Hosting
130 students from over 50 countries across the globe performed in an inaugural classical music concert on September 10, 2013 at the Lincoln Center. The only truly global youth orchestra that combines both classical and ethnic instruments, WPO is a nonprofit...
New Songwriting Duo Lyons & Pakchar – Hashtag
By: Sandi Durell Creative juices flowed for Douglas Lyons and Ethan D. Pakchar while traveling with The Book of Mormon 1st National Tour, when they found they were both songwriters, sparking the creation of #LOVE – that’s HashtagLOVE! As they tell it, they...
Ann Morrison Merrily Rolls into 54 Below
Ann Morrison has been a theatre actress for 35+ years (and writer & director) and she’s got a lot of backstage gossip to dish when she appears at Broadway’s Nightclub 54 Below on September 2nd in “Now You Know: An Evening of Steve, Lenny - And Annie.” You may...
Tony Winner Brazilian Paulo Szot Comes to 54 Below – Video Interview
Paolo Szot is definitely a swoon factor as he prepares to debut at 54 Below. He is the Tony-winning star of South Pacific and will appear for a week-long engagement August 5 thru 11. In this brand new show, the Brazilian baritone opera star presents a...
WBGO Brazilian Jazz Series to Feature Maucha Adnet, Anat Cohen (Video)
MAUCHA ADNET, who sang with grand maestro Antonio Carlos Jobim for the last ten years of his storied life, brings her radiant vocal style to the stage with her long-time musical partner Helio Alves, the little giant of Brazilan jazz piano. Joining them...
It’s One Night Only for Tony Winner Alice Ripley – Video Interview
Alice Ripley Makes Her 54 Below Debut in "Ripley Reflects" Tony Winner Alice Ripley presents a brand new evening of your favorite music when she makes her official 54 Below debut in Ripley Reflects on Sunday August 3rd, 8:00 pm Expect a carefully crafted sampling of...
From the Ground Up: Composer Elaine Chelton & Lyricist/Playwright Erik Johnke Discuss “God’s Country”
By Marcina Zaccaria Composer/ Librettist teams are invited to the New York Musical Festival from many sides. In being chosen for the 2013 New York Musical Theater Festival, Playwright and Lyricist Erik Johnke explained, “They chose us. You apply to a lot of...
Andrew Rannells ‘Book of Mormon’ Star Talks Life, White Strips & Mucinex (See Video)
(from August 13, 2011) Nebraska born Andrew Rannells has taken Broadway by storm as Elder Price in the Tony Award winning musical “Book of Mormon.” The edgy, irreverent musical by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, of South Park fame, and Avenue Q’s Robert Lopez, won just...
67th Annual Tony Awards – Always Some Surprises (see video)
On the Red Carpet and in the Media Room with Sandi Durell Standing on the Red Carpet for 2 hours to catch nominees and presenters is a daunting task in itself (even in comfortable shoes). The flow at Radio City Music Hall was unstoppable as producers,...
Backstage in the Dressing Room with Robert Cuccioli at Spiderman:Turn Off the Dark
by:Sandi Durell Somebody up there must be watching - or at least like the idea of having an actor with a background playing dual roles successfully on Broadway. There’s only one person who’s a candidate – Robert Cuccioli - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde himself! It’s 13...
