The Scottsboro Boys Sets Broadway Dates
The Scottsboro Boys, the new John Kander-Fred Ebb-David Thompson musical based on the infamous Scottsboro case in the 1930s, will open on Broadway at the Lyceum theatre on 31st October 2010, following a preview period that begins October 7th. Looks like this might be the best Hallowe’en ever!
The Company of THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS
Trav’lin’ Reading
The next reading in The York Theatre Company’s Developmental Reading Series will be the musical Trav’lin’. Ben West directs a cast including Pilin Anice, Jonathan Burke, Randy Donaldson, Darryl Rueben Hall, Jannie Jones, Vanessa A. Jones and John Kurzynowski in the show, which showcases the work of obscure 1920s songwriter J.C. Johnson, whose musical collaborators included Fats Waller, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters and Ella Fitzgerald. The show, which also incorporates additional music by Gary Holmes and Alvin Shapiro, tells tell following tale according to the press release:
This warm-hearted musical follows the romantic travails of three couples in 1930’s Harlem. The story centers on George, an older gentleman and a self-proclaimed expert on love, who meets his match when he befriends a down-on-her-luck stranger only to find she is not the person she seems to be.
The reading will take place tonight at 19:00. Entrance is free, but reservations are required. For further information, visit the York Theatre Company’s website.
Awards for Frank Wildhorn and Bobby Steggert
Tommy Award Winner Frank Wildhorn
Frank Wildhorn will receive a Tommy Award in June this year. The awards acknowledge the achievements of alumni of the University of Southern California. Wildhorn is the composer of Broadway musicals like Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Civil War. Well, I suppose if one can’t score a Tony, a Tommy will have to do…
Bobby Steggert has been awarded the Dorothy Loudon Starbaby Award for a Broadway or Off-Broadway performance for his performances in Ragtime and Yank! The award will be presented to him on 8th June.
On the CD Rack
Something else to keep an eye out for – potentially – is the forthcoming cover version of “Over the Rainbow” which will be recorded by the winner of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Over the Rainbow starsearch competition that will cast the lead role of Dorothy in his new revised stage adaptation of the classic 1937 film. Proceeds will benefit Prostate UK and The BBC Performing Arts Fund. The cover will be available to download from 23rd May and in a rather more 3-dimensional form from May 31st. Lloyd Webber has made it clear that he is looking for a ‘modern Dorothy, who can take the role much further’ – whatever that means – and so chances are that the release might be a modern take on the song too. But who knows? We’ll just have to wait and see…
For the DVD Shelf
The complete first season of Glee, the television series that’s part-musical, part-comedy and all fabulous, will hit the streets in September this year. Known for its energetic performances of songs from both musical theatre and popular music, the DVD set is likely to please fans of the show and as yet uninitiated musical theatre fans alike. The first half of the season is already available on DVD.
Musical Cyberspace 