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Remember, disabled does Not mean unable!

‪Kate Shindle Re-Elected President of Actors’ Equity http://www.playbill.com/article/kate-shindle-re-elected-president-of-actors-equity‬. @kateshindle @missamerica 1998 congratulations ��

more from playbill

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Teal Wicks to star in production of Knlghton/Wildhorn musical: Camille Claudel. https://twitter.com/sigtheatre/status/1232000713863172096?s=21

‪Broadway Revival of Beauty and the Beast in the Works More here!

How the Scarlet Pimpernel made Broadway History not once but twice for composer Frank Wildhorn, who at one time, had Pimpernel. Jekyll & Hyde as well as The Civil War all running simultaneously on Broadway!

‪Broadway Musical JEKYLL adaptation to film ! This is the Moment!



My dream comes true!
@LauraOsnes @Deborah_Cox @FrankWildhorn @JekyllMusical #JekyllAndHyde ‬

Read story here

More Frank Wildhorn news: New musical on the way! ‪Mallory Bechtel, Alice Ripley, Derek Klena Will Star in Reading of New Frank Wildhorn Musical The Song of Bernadette Read more here!

Here’s some rehearsals video From Scarlet Pimpernel at Lincoln Center

Tony Yazbeck, Laura Osnes, and More Offer a Peek at The Scarlet Pimpernel

via@YouTube


Watch Laura Osnes & More Gear Up for THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL at Lincoln Center
via @YouTube

Laura Osnes – “When I Look At You” from The Scarlet Pimpernel via @YouTube

‪Norm Lewis – “Falcon in the Dive” from The Scarlet Pimpernel via @YouTube‬

‪Tony Yazbeck – “Into the Fire” from The Scarlet Pimpernel via @YouTube ‬

One of My Favorite Broadway Musicals
Frank Wildhorn’s
Bonnie & Clyde
Interesting story here
read here!


This show starred Laura Osnes (Tony nominee)
Who will soon be seen in The Scarlet Pimpernel, information here
also by Frank Wildhorn, best known for Jekyll & Hyde.

Wish I could go!
I am here in California but I have fond memories of #TheScarletPimpernel in NYC! Someone record this please!
‪@LauraOsnes @FrankWildhorn some one please record #ScarletPimpernel! I knew Laura would be perfect!‬
‪Alex Newell and More Join THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL at Lincoln Center

Latest Update Here!
John jhbonline.net
#DisabledNotUnable
http://www.jhbonline.net/theatre/index.html

Here’s some clips for Wicked Halloween
For good @ Watch here!

Popular @
<“a href=“https://www.facebook.com/61583196359/posts/10155625208461360/“””>
Watch here!


At the 1,000 th performance of Waitress
At the Brooks Atkinson Theatre

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I know things must change and Miss America Organization 2.0 is coming....like it or not...
But let’s not forget all the 1.0 days brought us, even at the state level!

Look what I found! Thought you might enjoy! ‪Linda Eder - Talent Performance in 1980 Miss Minnesota Pageant - @MissAmericaOrg ‬

via @YouTube‬ right here!




Debby Boone
Classic albums
On cd for first time!
Click Here or check out
Amazon!

Aaron Tveit previews Moulin Rouge on Broadway this Summer! #ComeWhatMay

See here...

New Frank Wildhorn music on the way....
See here


The story behind Bonnie and Clyde one of my favorite #Broadway #Musicals and Speaking of Laura Osnes... She got a Tony nomination for this role!

Laird Mc Intosh
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aka "John Utterson"

Starring as “ The Phantom of the Opera,” Laird Mackintosh ..... Just read this ! Thrilled for you Buddy! Wish I could come! Everyone in #NYC See Phantom over Christmas week! It’ll be great! Details here Details here...

#MissAmerica #AEAPresident Kate Shindle on saving the #NEA Read More here...

Please if you believe in equality and LGBTQ rights read this

Click here...

NEW!!    I LOVE RETRO! NEW ALBUM WITH SONGS BY FRANK  WILDHORN!
GET IT AT  NOW!
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
ALSO AVAILABLE!
LINDA EDER LIVE ALBUM NOW AVAILABLE AT
http://LindaEder.com  IT'S GREAT!!!!

New Susan Egan album "Softly" available for pre order for Nov 11 delivery on iTunes:

Tour  website:

Clare Bowen & Sam Palladio of #Nashville sing Beauty and the Beast ! #Disney #ABC http://youtu.be/qApHXBDqJcA

#THEATRE #Musicals #FrankWildhorn #Jekyll Another Jekyll & Hyde National Tour - 2014-2015  https://www.facebook.com/JekyllandHydeNationalTour
  PLEASE COME TO CALI ... or Vegas...or Phoenix...Please...@Jekyll Jekyll & Hyde Fan Club  Jekyll & Hyde The Musical  Frank Wildhorn  :) John, jhbonline.net

C'mom Get Happy! A Partridge Family Musical? Oh yes, Please... I think I love (it!) ...........If you don't get it, your just too young... sorry! :) http://www.playbill.com/news/article/cmon-get-happy-musical-lines-up-aaron-tveit-annaleigh-ashford-wesley-taylor-telly-leung-christopher-sieber-332660 With Aaron Tveit and Christopher Sieber

Kristin Chenoweth at Miss OK '91 http://youtu.be/1GYSVO2WFjk #TBT #Pageants #BROADWAY Emmy Awards Winner Tony Awards Winner #MissAmerica

Here she competes again: http://youtu.be/GAdsZ2R6tGg

OK I love #figureskating & #Musicals but really... The 11 Most Insane Lyrics From the Tonya Harding Musical (Yes, There Is a Tonya Harding Musical) http://eonli.ne/UngfrH via @eonline

#pageants #figureskating #EVERYONE

Do people who post nasty/negative comments on social media really think they're being helpful? Don't get it. Don't need it. Don't want it. #NotHere

 Inspirational Quotes ‏@InspowerMinds  44m 
Before you assume,
learn.
Before you judge,
understand.
Before you hurt,
feel.
Before you say,
think.

Breaking News: NBC Sets PETER PAN as Next Live Musical; Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron! http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Breaking-News-NBC-Sets-PETER-PAN-as-Next-Live-Musical-Produced-by-Craig-Zadan-and-Neil-Meron-20140119

#Pageant -- a new musical !


Video from "Jekyll & Hyde" The Musical

Congrats "Jekyll & Hyde"  @JEKYLLMUSICAL on Winning "BEST TOURING PRODUCTION! 
 
2013 BroadwayWorld.com Award Results Are In with RECORD Number of Votes; MATILDA, KINKY BOOTS, PIPPIN, Bette Midler & More Win Big! http://broadwayworld.com/article/2013-BroadwayWorldcom-Award-Results-Are-In-with-RECORD-Number-of-Votes-MATILDA-KINKY-BOOTS-PIPPIN-Bette-Midler-More-Win-Big-20130604

  • From Laird Mackintosh on Facebook: Thank you, John, for your good wishes. We're all very sad to have to see the show end, but it has been a fantastic journey, and most great has been all the new friends we've made along the way - one of whom is you. Let's keep in touch. Best, Laird.
  • See @JekyllMusical on B'WAY 13 weeks only! :)
    JEKYLL & HYDE: Opens on Broadway:
    http://youtu.be/c1f1JHrkCQo via @youtube

     

    AP loves Jekyll & Hyde The Musical! So will you .... Congrats Frank Wildhorn Jeff Calhoun (choreographer) Deborah Cox Constantine Maroulis & especially my new friend, Laird Mackintosh ... Congrats you deserve it... Review: ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ revival a beautiful steampunk take that’s overwrought _ in a good way http://wapo.st/17tfPQM via @washingtonpost

    Jekyll & Hyde The Musical's Deborah Cox performs "Someone Like You" to simple guitar accompaniment in this NY Times video -- so beautiful: Video: In Performance: Deborah Cox http://nyti.ms/ZldW5c
     

    Linda Eder: "Bring On The Men" from "Jekyll & Hyde" Tampa '95. NOT MY VIDEO! http://youtu.be/Nf0qRnRsk_w

    Opening night playbill.com photos:

    Courtesy of Kim Ashton:

    @jhbonline  on Twitpic

    Jekyll & Hyde The Musical First Preview on Broadway tonight... Marquis Theatre! Break A Leg... and "Bring On The Men" Laird Mackintosh Frank Wildhorn Constantine Maroulis Deborah Cox & Jeff Calhoun (choreographer) etc...

    Courtesy of
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    Kim Ashton

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    FOR MORE "JEKYLL & HYDE," PLEASE SCROLL DOWN...

    Playbill.com article HERE!

    Jekyll & Hyde on Broadway begining April 5! 13 weeks ONLY! Ticket Info & More: http://createsend.com/t/r-346EF734959183142540EF23F30FEDED

    "Jekyll & Hyde" Pantages Theatre: Los Angeles
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    March 3, 2013

    Another with
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    the lovely Deborah Cox

    Deborah Cox
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    aka "Lucy Harris"

    See Susan Egan
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    in La Mirada, California

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    Audra Mc Donald & ME!

    Broadway stars Audra McDonald, Will Swenson wed - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/broadway-stars-audra-mcdonald-swenson-wed-163956758.html via @YahooNews

    Met Marvin Hamlisch once. He was very kind -- a musical genius! He will be missed! Oscar-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch dies at 68 - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/oscar-winning-composer-marvin-hamlisch-dies-68-150321924.html via @YahooNews

    RIP...Mr. Hamlisch from Linda Eder & ME...

    Join Linda's Fan List at

    LINDA EDER VALENTINES DAY SHOW REVIEW
    CITY NATIONAL GROVE OF ANAHEIM (CA)
    FEB 14, 2013
     
    BY JOHN H. BAKER, JHBONLINE. NET
     
    Fabulous Show and Great time last night! Linda Eder was incredibile as usual and The City National Grove Of Anaheim is a wonderful venue! The place is beautiful! The service is excellent! Recommend you go early for dinner!
    Thanks, Linda, for singing "A New Life," "Someone Like You," & "Man of La Mancha" and also adding "Mad Hatter" & "Stormy Weather!" Loved it all! Seen you many times! You're better than ever :) John Baker, JHBonline.net

    Congrats to @FrankWildhorn & Laura Osnes of @BonnieClydeBway "List of nominees for 2012 Tony Awards - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/list-nominees-2012-tony-awards-132015538.html
    *******************

    Bonnie & Clyde cast album to be released on 4/24! Pre-order on Amazon here:

    Also available on Itunes.com:

     BROADWAY.COM SHOUT OUT
    Bonnie & Clyde
     Although nicely staged with terrific performances, this folky bio-musical didn't wow us last fall. But looking back, it’s undoubtably one of the best-written musicals of the crop. Hopefully, Tony nominators will give it a shot...

    'Jekyll and Hyde' Musical May Become a Movie http://nyti.ms/VHNS4W

    @frankwildhorn @jekyllmusical @pantagesla Congrats!
     

    Hey LA, Coming to the  Pantages next month prior to Broadway run! Don't miss it: It’s Chemistry! Feel the Heat Between Constantine Maroulis and Deborah Cox in Jekyll & Hyde http://www.broadway.com/buzz/166799/its-chemistry-feel-the-heat-between-constantine-maroulis-and-deborah-cox-in-jekyll-hyde/

    SEE THE PRE-BROADWAY RUN OF "JEKYLL & HYDE: THE MUSICAL" AT THE PANTAGES THEATRE IN LA FEB 12-MAR 3
    *****************
    Hey Jekyll & Hyde Fan Club Jekyll & Hyde The Musical fans! This is for you! @JeyllMusical THE SCREENING ROOM: Robert Cuccioli, Robert Evan, Anthony Warlow and More Sing "This Is the Moment" (Video) - Playbill.com http://www.playbill.com/news/article/173720-THE-SCREENING-ROOM-Robert-Cuccioli-Robert-Evan-Anthony-Warlow-and-More-Sing-This-Is-the-Moment-Video#.UOs23CJTOhw.twitter
     
    JEKYLL & HYDE Moves from Richard Rodgers to Marquis Theatre on Broadway; to Run April 5 - June 30 http://shar.es/CfBwO via @sharethis
    **********

    “@JekyllMusical: Toronto Star calls Jekyll & Hyde a "must-see" event! More here...

    Why YOU have to see Jekyll & Hyde The Musical! http://broadwayworld.com/videoplay.php?colid=418973

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    With Composer Frank Wildhorn
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    La Mirada, CA (9-9-12)

    Karen & I
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    At Jekyll & Hyde La Mirada 9/12

    With My new buddy Karen, who sells great souvenirs on the 2012-13 "Jekyll & Hyde" Pre- Broadway tour!!!!!!!!!!!

    Jekyll & Hyde
    Loved the new production of Jekyll & Hyde The Musical! Frank Wildhorn's score is revitalized by updated technology in the sets, visual effects & costuming! Constantine Maroulis is a Superstar! Deborah Cox & Teal Wicks give strong performances as well. Of this being a "preview engagement," there are a few this that. Still need to gel. But there are 3 more weeks in La Mirada,  CA & 25 weeks on the road prior to Broadway. It's definately a "New Life" for this show.. . The best of the original with some interesting changes imagined by director, Jeff  Calhoun, that I'm sure will continue to evolve along the road to Broadway. A work in progress? Sure, as it should be at this stage... But off to an impressive start! Well worth the price of admission anywhere you can catch it! More at  http://jhbonline.net/theatre soon! ... And it was even better the second time....
    ************
    @ConstantineM This Is The Moment Indeed @JekyllMusical is awesome ... Album rocks... coming 4 seconds on Wed. @LaMiradaTheatre @Deborah_Cox

    An @JekyllMusical question was featured on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire ? with Meredith Vieira this morning 12-10-12!

    27 Sep
    Thanks @ConstantineM @Deborah_Cox for a. Great performance of @JekyllMusical @LaMiradaTheatre last night! @:)

    Deborah Cox
    @jhbonline thanks for coming!
    07:58 AM - 28 Sep 12

    Constantine Maroulis
    "@jhbonline: @Pantages Cant wait to see @Deborah_Cox @ConstantineM in @JekyllMusical by @FrankWildhorn" on way to Pant now for early press:)
    11:09 AM - 28 Sep 12

    JEKYLL & HYDE Concept Recording, Featuring Constantine Maroulis and Deborah Cox, Receives 9/21 Digital Release http://shar.es/uItY8 via @sharethis

    According to Amazon.com, the Jekyll & Hyde The Musical 2012 concept recording will be titled "Transformation"...see the track list here: http://www.amazon.com/Jekyll-Hyde-2012-Concept-Recording/dp/B008K8G530/ref=reg_hu-rd_add_1_dp 
    PRE-ORDER NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Listening to this right now! Go to Amazon or itunes now! Jekyll & Hyde The Musical 2012 Concept Album... See the pre-Broadway North American tour! Going to La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts for seconds this week... Constantine Maroulis Via Deborah Cox
    ‏@Deborah_Cox on twitter:
    " Wow!! #2 on Amazon?!! Now that's fabulous news to wake up to!! #jekyllandhyde @ConstantineM !! #justgettingstarted http://lockerz.com/s/246751736 "
     

    JekyllMusical
    Why you need to see "Jekyll & Hyde" North American Tour: http://broadwaysd.com/patronphotos.php

    Check out Laird's interview with San Diego Examiner!  

    BREAKING NEWS: Constantine Maroulis to Star in Broadway-Bound Jeff Calhoun Helmed JEKYLL & HYDE Tour: http://broadwayworld.com/article/BREAKING-NEWS-Constantine-Maroulis-to-Star-in-Broadway-Bound-JEKYLL-HYDE-Tour-Launches-Fall-2012-20120129#ixzz1lNWd81ea via @AddThis
    ****************
    *************************
    Jekyll &amp; Hyde musical set for pre-Broadway stop in Toronto http://soc.li/QYSJmFL
     
    *************************
    Breaking News: Broadway Records to Record New Concept Album of JEKYLL & HYDE; BWW to Host Liner Notes Essay Contest! http://shar.es/tZeAa
     via @sharethis

    follow @jekyllmusical & visit http://jekyllandhydemusical.com/
     today!

    BWW TV EXCLUSIVE: Constantine Maroulis & Deborah Cox Dish on the JEKYLL & HYDE 'Revisal,' Returning to Broadway & More http://sACAhar.es/7pCRt

    More from "Jekyll & Hyde"

    Spider-Man's Robert Cuccioli on Constantine Maroulis in Jekyll & Hyde: 'He's Going to Be Terrific' http://www.broadway.com/buzz/163442/spider-mans-robert-cuccioli-on-constantine-maroulis-in-jekyll-hyde-hes-going-to-be-terrific/

    Jhbonline.net is now on facebook at  http://www.facebook.com/jhbonlinenet

    Douglas Sills and Sara Gettelfinger Will Star in Addams Family National Tour - Playbill.com: http://bit.ly/noqj8S via @AddThis

    'Legally Blonde' scoops 3 Laurence Olivier Awards (British "Tonys") Incl. "BEST MUSICAL" - Yahoo! News http://yhoo.it/f92hIf

    With Frank Wildhorn
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    ...and Linda Eder

    Thanks to my friend Jimmy Steele ( @broadwayprofe ) for sending this just when I needed to be cheered most: Enjoy the incomparable Miss Linda Eder! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWP7l0OTXJI

    New Linda Eder Album ("NOW") Music by Frank Wildhorn -- March 1st! http://www.amazon.com/Now-Linda-Eder/dp/B004ISVH8Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1296490959&sr=1-1
     
    More from Frank Wildhorn:
    Frank's latest: "Bonnie &Clyde" ON BROADWAY NOW:
    Broadway's Bonnie & Clyde Ticket Sales End Dec. 30 - Playbill.com: http://bit.ly/sxvKDj via @AddThis Such a shame!
    Bonnie and Clyde: A NEW MUSICAL:
    Check out http://bcove.me/vxe2vh3g
    ***************
    Frank Wildhorn's "Wonderland" cast CD featuring Miss America 1998 @KateShindle http://t.co/569U9lu Also on itunes & amazon.com!
    *******************
    God I love "Dracula", by @FrankWildhorn w/ @KateShindle
    http://www.globalvisionrec​ords.com/dracula1.html

     #MissAmerica #Pageants 
    Still more @
    Preview the Entire Wonderland Cast Recording Before Its May 3 Release (Audio) W/ Kate Shindle fmr Miss America http://t.co/rJCDNkn @MAOLIVE

    Find JHBonline.net on these Social Networking Websites:
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    *************************************************************

    Check out a great young talent, TAMI FARRELL & BUY HER 1st Single, "BRUISED" :

    "Take Me As I Am" from Jekyll & Hyde as posted on youtube but not by me...I just love it, though:

    ALBUM INFO HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    OMG! LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL Wins 3 Touring Broadway Awards!

    LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL was named the winner of three 2009 Touring Broadway Awards at an award ceremony in New York City on May 4. Snaps! The show won awards for Best New Musical, Best Production Design and Best Choreography of a Touring Production.

    Director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell was on hand to accept the award for Best New Musical and Best Choreography of a Touring Production. Accepting the award for Best Production Design were David Rockwell, Gregg Barnes and Paul Miller. Thanks to all who voted for us!

     


     



    Road Trip! Road Trip!

    By all accounts, the tour has been a HUGE success so far! In fact, we're having such a good time that the tour is going out for a second year!

    Feel like a road trip? Check out some of our upcoming tour dates. We hope to see you there!

    Chicago, IL - May 12-June 7, 2009
    Pittsburgh, PA - June 9-14, 2009
    Dayton, OH - June 16-21, 2009
    Nashville, TN - June 23-28, 2009
    Kansas City, MO - June 30-July 5, 2009
    Fayetteville, AR - July 7-12, 2009
    Atlanta, GA - July 14-19, 2009
    Dallas, TX - July 21-August 2, 2009
    Ft. Worth, TX - August 4-9, 2009
    Los Angeles, CA - August 12-Sept. 6, 2009
    Costa Mesa, CA - Sept. 8-20 2009

    Cities in the 2009-2010 season include Tempe, AZ; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Worcester, MA; Wilmington, DE; Hershey, PA; Tulsa, OK; Oklahoma City, OK; Tucson, AZ; Portland, OR; Salt Lake City, UT; San Diego, CA; Milwaukee, WI; and Appleton, WI. More dates coming soon!

    For more information about upcoming tour dates go to: http://www.LegallyBlondeTheMusical.com

    Thanks Everyone...

    jhbonline.net
    An Entertainment Website: Proudly celebrating 10 years on the internet: Dec. 8, 1998-December 8, 2008! Thank you all for your support!!!
    "When the hand is open to give, it is open to receive..."

     

    *************

    Some tips for great Entertainment:

    Here is a link to my friend Nacho's (Ignaccio Serricchio) comedy video...(ADULTS ONLY PLEASE) -- check it out when you can:

    http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=44085843



     

    Take Care,
    John
    JHBONLINE.NET
    http://jhbonline.net
    webmaster@jhbonline.net

    Try the music of Tami Farrell, a great new artist, here:

    Listen to sound clips from my new album,
    The Other Side of Me!

    The Other Side of Me

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    With Broadway's Original "Belle, Susan Egan.
    PLAYBILL ON CLOSING NIGHT: Beauty and the Beast — A Roaring Success

    By Harry Haun
    31 Jul 2007

    A "tale as old as time" reached the end of the line July 29 when Beauty and the Beast gave its 5,464th — and final — Broadway performance and at last took its leave of the Lunt-Fontanne, secure in its slot as the sixth longest-running show in Main Stem history.

    No. 6 picked up stix, too, over the years becoming a northeastern Disney theme-park and catnip to susceptible tourists, setting house records at the Palace, where it opened in April of 1994, and the Lunt-Fontanne, where it closed — a spread of 13 years and some change.

    Michael Eisner, the former Disney chieftain who led his company's charge into this new and glitzy frontier of Broadway, was conspicuously present at the closing performance and at the relatively subdued whoop-up afterward at Cipriani's elegant eatery on 42nd St.

    Last in the long line of Beauty and the Beast leads (begun by Susan Egan and Terrence Mann) were Anneliese Van Der Pol and Steve Blanchard, and the latter, by virtue of being the longest-running Beast in captivity (11 years, counting his three years of road work), took the microphone after his fellow players had taken their bows and introduced to the crowd some of the Disney little-people behind the scenes who made it all happen.

    "Now, before we begin Act Three . . . ," Blanchard joshed (it landed well). "Thanks for spending the evening with us. You're the best closing-night audience we've ever had!"

    He singled out two cast members for special bows: Donny Osmond, who came back for one performance to go out as Gaston ("I am honored to be here at this extraordinary event, and I'm so honored to be on stage with all of you guys. I really appreciate being here") and Bill Nabel, the one remaining member of the original cast of the show (he has been a corkscrew and townsperson since the show's first rehearsal in 1993).

    Blanchard also saluted the show's two lyricists who were not present — Sir Tim Rice and the late Howard Ashman — and brought out for bows composer Alan Menken, book writer Linda Woolverton, director Robert Jesse Roth, choreographer Matt West, vocal arranger David Friedman, musical director-arranger-underscorer Michael Kosarin, scenic designer Stan Meyer, lighting designer Natasha Katz, hair designer David Lawrence and the show's lone Tony winner, costume designer Ann Hould-Ward.

    With the exception of associate producer Mark Rozzano, none of the unseen moneybags who backed this production paraded across the stage — not Eisner, not Thomas Schumacher (the current head of Disney Theatrical Productions) and not Ron Logan (its prexy when the show premiered and the first to see the property as a Broadway musical).

    The far-sighted Logan recognized that potential back when literally it was on the drawing boards. (It subsequently became the first animated feature ever to be nominated for Best Picture — and it won Menken two 1991 Oscars (for score and title tune) and two other nominations (for the songs, "Belle" and Disney's new signature ditty, "Be Our Guest").

    Eisner's deputy, Jeffrey Katzenberg, went to Florida before the film's release, showed it to Logan and asked, from a theme-park stand-point, what could be done with the product.

    "I was in charge of Entertainment at Disney World at the time," Logan recalled, "and I stood up and said, 'We should go to Broadway with that show' — at which point Jeffrey said, '‘No, that's not our thing. Critics will kill us.' But I bugged Eisner for about a year, sending him memos — and then Frank Rich wrote an article in The New York Times that said if Disney had done 'Beauty and the Beast' on Broadway that particular year, it would have won the musical Tony. So Michael called me at my house — by that time, I was in charge of Disney Entertainment worldwide — and said, 'All right, all right, what would you do? I want you to come to Aspen and talk about the characters. How about more music? How about magic? Come to Aspen. No money for presentation.' He always followed up with a card, written in red ink. I have that card still in my file, and last week I sent to him a reproduction of it in a red picture frame and I circled 'No money for presentation.'

    "The rest is history. I gave my ideas in Aspen. He loved them. He said, 'You got $10 million.' I didn't have to deal with backers or anything. I got the studio people together, became a team and started producing — and Michael let us do it. At one point, he said, 'You want to change the team?' I said, 'No. I don't know anything about Broadway.'" Except, evidently, what can run for light years (13, anyway) on The Great White Way.

    The Cipriani is only two blocks away from the site of the show's original opening-night party — The New York Public Library (Belle had a thing for books, you may recall) — and the closing-night party was affectionately sweetened with cast members over the years.

    The former Belles included Christy Carlson Romano and the current high-flying Mary Poppins, Ashley Brown. Among the ex-Lumieres were Avenue Q's Tony-nominated John Tartaglia and "All My Children" soap-star Jacob Young. The previous Gastons: Chris Hoch (bumped for Osmond's one-shot) and, late of LoveMusik, Graham Rowat.

    For Rowat, it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. He will, like another song, be home for Christmas — doing White Christmas on his Ontario home turf (it will play Toronto). "I'm the tallest Bing Crosby you've ever seen." His Rosemary Clooney will be Mrs. Rowat, the chronically employed Kate Baldwin. "She finishes up The Pajama Game tonight with Will Chase at Muny, and then she's going up to North Shore to do The Three Musketeers tomorrow.

    "This is going to be our third year of doing White Christmas together. We've done it in San Francisco, last year Detroit, now Toronto. When I left Toronto, I was an eggbeater in Beauty and the Beast. That was the show that brought me to New York. It closed in Toronto, and there was an opening here as Gaston/Beast understudy and the glamorous role of the spatula. I left Toronto a utensil, and now I get to go back a big shot."

    Tartaglia, who was also bumped from the final performance (David deVries, with more legitimate French roots, did Lumiere), confessed he had trouble containing himself as an audience member. "I was just flying in my seat," he said. "‘I wanna be up there. I wanna be up there. I miss it so much.' All the lines are still fresh in my head. I kept saying, 'Oh there's my cue.' But I feel very honored to have been part of the history of this show."

    This week he goes right into production with his second season of "Johnny and the Sprites" for The Disney Channel. "We shoot through December, then I might be doing some cabarets around the country. I'm just enjoying life right now." Which is nice, too.

    Young, whose three-month reign as Lumiere was amusingly remembered for a malfunctioning candelabra hand which would emit a startlingly large flame that seered the wigs around him, hopes to return to Broadway as a hyphenate: actor and co-producer.

    His producing partner and Beauty's associate producer, Rozzano, cited the property as Popcorn, a 1998 play by Ben Elton based on Elton's 1996 novel about an Oscar-winning director of violent films. "We hired Laurence Boswell, who directed our play in the West End where it won the Olivier for Best Comedy," said Rozzano. "We plan on a February rehearsal, and a March-April preview and opening — at a Shubert theatre to be announced."

    Osmond, who turns 50 in December, still has a very-vocal following. One closing-nighter (Janine Dudkiewicz) rushed up to him announcing, "I know every word of 'Puppy Love,'" instantly launching them both into "And they called it puppy lo-ove . . ."

    He credited his one-last-shot appearance as Gaston to Rozzano. "I told Mark that I would love to do the closing show, so he eventually called me up and said, 'Would you like to be part of the closing show — because you're used to closing shows?'" (Osmond's only other Broadway appearance was a rather fleeting one — in the 1982 revival of the George M. Cohan musical, Little Johnny Jones, which opened and closed on the same night.)

    A now 16-year-old Chip in the house was Nicolas King, who's speeding his way through high school, and then he'll return to the showbiz career that Beauty began: "It got me on 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,' and one of the guests was Tom Selleck, who asked me to do A Thousand Clowns on Broadway with him. Liza Minnelli came to the opening and got me to be her opening act last year."

    Mary Stout — who's both (merry and stout) and uses them to maximum comic effect as the 5x5 chest of drawers, Madame de la Grande Bouche — revealed a little musical footnote to the final performance. "Every night," she said, "I do my little aria, and tonight I sang in German a phrase which, in translation, comes down to: 'It's not over till the fat lady sings.' Then, when I came out at the end, I went — again in German — 'I sing.'"

    She won't be heading for the employment line right away: "I'm doing the Summer Play Festival this next week, and I'm in a really nice play called Not Waving. Also, I'm trying to branch out into plays. Then, I'm doing a couple of days on a film called 'Made for Each Other,' which I have a nice little part — four lines, but it's great. Then, in September, I'll do The [New York] Musical Theatre Festival. The Boy in the Bathroom, it's called. My son hasn't come out of the bathroom in over a year. Sounds pretty sad, but there's a lot of humor in it."

    The closing was emotionally rocky for her, she admitted. "It was a moving experience, I think, but it didn't really hit me until the end. Mostly, I was just having a great time."

    Also smiling-through-the-tears at the curtain call was the show's Mrs. Potts, Jeanne Lehman. "I was crying up there, among everybody else," Lehman said. "Really, it was a hard night tonight. I had to keep myself going because I knew it was a great audience. Normally, I'd be crying after every number. It was hard tonight to sing 'Beauty and the Beast.' I love it so much and knew it'd be the last time. It was an exciting, electric night."

    Joanne Worley, ever the Good Neighbor, came across 46th Street from The Drowsy Chaperone to see Beauty out and to cheer on her favorite Horace Vandergelder, Jamie Ross, who played Belle's dad. She was accompanied by Garland aficionado John Fricke.

    The one performer who has stayed with the show from start to finish, Nabel, has no moss growing under his feet. "I've written the book and lyrics for two shows in my dressing room upstairs at Beauty and the Beast during those 13 years," he confessed. "One is called Asylum, and it's about people applying for asylum to the United States —sort of a Chorus Line treatment of that. The other is a cryogenic love story called Love on Ice. It's a comedy, complete with Ted Williams and Walt Disney. Bob Christianson wrote the music for the first show, and Kevin O'Connors wrote the music for the second one."

    The evening's conductor, Michael Kosarin, also dates back to the show's first reading in 1993. "I'm one of the original creative people," he said. "I did the whole underscore of the show, and I supervised all the international companies. Disney has been fantastic in that they've let me go off and do other projects all through the years. I've been Alan Menken's musical director for everything he does these days. I've done all of his feature-animations and this Disney film, 'Enchanted,' that is a combination of action and animation. It's mostly live action. It stars Amy Adams and Susan Sarandon and will open later this year. We're in post-production right now. Stephen Schwartz wrote the lyrics. We also did Hunchback of Notre Dame, which tried out in Berlin. It's one of the best scores ever written that's not being seen. They're expanding it for the theatre."

    Kosarin's immediate Next — as it is for lighting designer Katz and fight captain Rick Sordelet — is The Little Mermaid, which is now in its first week of previews in Denver. Beyond that are two other movies Menken is turning into stage musicals for Broadway: Leap of Faith (to which Hugh Jackson is said to be attached) and Sister Act.

    Director Roth owned up to the bittersweetness of the occasion, but, he added quickly, "How many people get the opportunity to have a show play this long? I feel great — a little surprised but great. I'm seeing so many friends that I haven't seen in a long time, and actors who have been in the show, our stage management from before, and Michael Eisner came tonight so I'm feeling emotional about the whole thing but really positive.

    "It's just wonderful to be surrounded by all these great people who are my friends, and we've shared this great experience together. You can feel it here in the room and on the stage tonight. I thought how doubly lucky I was to find all of these talented people. They've all brought something unique to their parts. For me, over 13 years, the actors who come into a show bring such new life to it and keep the show alive. They've added their own personalities, had ideas that none of us have had. The show has evolved. As we did it around the world, we just discovered a lot of new things in all areas — the costume design changed a little bit, the set design changed some, the lighting design changed — and certainly my direction changed. When actors have good ideas, they have good ideas."

    In recent times, Roth has had a rock relapse: "I'm a big rock 'n' roll fan, and I directed my third Alice Cooper tour. It was designed by Beauty's designer, Stan Meyer."

    Roth's next stage vehicle will be The Opposite of Sex, which he and composer Douglas J. Cohen co-adapted from the 1998 film comedy of the same name. "Don Roos wrote a wonderful movie, and he's really pleased with our adaptation. It premiered last summer at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and — knock knock — it'll reach Off-Broadway this fall."

    Menken, too, was feeling the emotions of the evening. "I've seen the show I don't know how times over the past 14 years, but tonight brought me right back to Square One, right back to 'Oh, yeah, I remember creating that moment,'" he said more than a little wistfully. Inevitably, his thoughts went to Ashman, who died of AIDS at age 40. "Literally, we were at the Academy Awards, and he said, 'When we get back to New York, we have to talk.' That was on Sunday, and we met Tuesday or Wednesday. I was on pins and needles, and, for some reason — it must have been a mental block — I could not anticipate what he was going to say. Then I came into his living room, and he gave me the bad news. I kept thinking, 'Not Howard, not Howard, not Howard.' He passed away about a year later."

    On Dec. 6 — 16 years after that death, the new Alan Menken-Howard Ashman musical will hit Broadway. The Little Mermaid may keep the Lunt-Fontanne humming quite a while.

    Tony nominee SUSAN EGAN talks about my figure skating site:
     Kind of sad to see this era come to an end!
     
    John!!

    I LOVE your site(s) -- what an amazing set of stories about Kurt -- and oh (!) all the skaters you've met!

    I was thrilled back in 1996 when I did a skating special with Ekaterina Gordeeva -- she skated the role of Belle while I sang live ... sooo cool.  And as I told you at the concert --- meeting Robin Cousins was beyond wonderful -- I always adored his artistry.  A few years back Sarah Hughes did a TV special -- and i learned later that she sang to my recording of I'M FLYING in her Peter Pan segment!  That was such an honor, too -- being such a skating fan!

    Thanks so much for sending me the links. =)

    It was, as always, wonderful seeing you and your mom!! Have a great holiday, John!!

    xo,
    Sus
    Susan Egan, Tony-award nominated star of "Disney's Beauty & the Beast" on Broadway (Broadway star of "Cabaret" & "Throughly Modern Millie") ...also voice Megara in Disney's "Hercules" film... and a former skater!
    to see what she saw!
    ************

    Songs that span the entire holiday season — from Thanksgiving to Hanukkah and Christmas through New Year's Eve — are featured on Susan Egan's latest solo recording, "Winter Tracks." Due in stores Oct. 10 on the LML label, Egan's disc boasts tunes by Stephen Schwartz, Alan Menken, Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin, Cyndi Lauper, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, among others. Egan co-produced the recording with Christopher McGovern, who is represented on the CD with his song "The Turkey and the Stuffing." McGovern also orchestrated the recording's 13 tracks. "I really wanted to create an album that could both inspire festivity and also instill tranquility during a season that can be decidedly hectic," former Beauty and the Beast star Egan says in press notes. "I have always loved the holidays, but I especially treasure times spent preparing at home — wrapping gifts, cooking — with soothing music to accompany me. I hope this recording can provide those kinds of moments for people." Song titles include "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," "The Turkey and the Stuffing," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," "All Those Christmas Cliches," "Cold Enough to Snow," "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," "Little Colored Lights," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "We Are Lights"/"Shalom Alaychem," "Silent Night"/"Greensleeves," "At Christmas," "New Year's Baby (First Lullaby)" and "Peace on Earth"/"God Bless Us Everyone." For more information visit www.lmlmusic.com.

    or visit:

    http://www.susanegan.net

     

     

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    Borle, Orfeh, Blake, Rupert Shindle Snelson Confirmed for Broadway's Blonde

    By Kenneth Jones
    November 14, 2006

    Director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell has his cast for the new musical Legally Blonde, starring the previously announced Laura Belle Bundy as Elle.

    The complete company was announced Nov. 14. The world premiere pre-Broadway engagement begins Jan. 23, 2007, in San Francisco.

    Principal cast members for the musical comedy based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture are Christian Borle (Spamalot) as Emmett, Orfeh (Saturday Night Fever) as Paulette, Richard H. Blake (The Wedding Singer) as Warner, Kate Shindle (Cabaret) as Vivienne, Nikki Snelson (Off-Broadway's How to Save the World…) as Brooke and Tony Award winner Michael Rupert (Sweet Charity, The Happy Time, Ragtime) as Professor Callahan.

    Legally Blonde opens on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on April 29, 2007. Previews begin on April 3, 2007, following the Jan. 23-Feb. 24, 2007, run at San Francisco's Golden Gate Theatre.

    Also featured in the cast are Annaleigh Ashford, April Berry, Paul Canaan, Lindsay Chambers, Beth Curry, Tracy Jai Edwards, Amber Efe, Gaelen Gilliland, Jason Gillman, Becky Gulsvig, Rod Harrelson, Manuel Herrera, Andy Karl, Nick Kenkel, Michelle Kittrell, Leslie Kritzer, Dequina Moore, Rusty Mowery, Kevin Pariseau, Matthew Risch, Jason Patrick Sands, Noah Weisberg, Kate Wetherhead and Donna Vivino.

    In the show, "Sorority star Elle Woods doesn't take 'no' for an answer. So when her boyfriend dumps her for someone more 'serious,' Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style."

    Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell (La Cage aux Folles) makes his Broadway directorial debut here, and will also choreograph.

    Music and lyrics are by both Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and the book is by Heather Hach. James Sampliner serves as music director.

    The production features scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller and sound design by ACME Sound Partners.

    The show is produced on Broadway by Hal Luftig, Fox Theatricals and Dori Berinstein, in association with MGM Onstage, Darcie Denkert and Dean Stolber.

    Tickets for the Broadway run at the Palace Theatre go on sale to the public on Feb. 25, 2007, through Ticketmaster.com at (212) 307-4100.



     

     



    For me, nothing goes together quite like music & theatre from the time I appeared in a school production of "You're a good man, Charlie Brown" to the thrill of seeing my first Broadway production, "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers" starring Debby Boone, (who's fan club I was working with at the time)... until today, having had the recent privledge of seeing my current fave Linda Eder perform both in Jekyll & Hyde as well as in a concert/cabaret setting, I am continually mesmorized by this medium.



    Productions I have seen and enjoyed include (in no particular order):

    DISNEY'S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

    with Susan Egan, Terrence Mann & Gary Beach

    THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL
    with the incomparable Douglas Sills,
    also with Terrence Mann & Christine Andreas (once)
    with Rex Smith and Rachel York (twice)
    & with Amy Bodnar & William Paul Michals (twice)
    & with Ron Bohmer,Amy Bodnar & William Paul Michals (twice)

    JEKYLL & HYDE
    with Robert Cuccioli, Robert Evan, Linda Eder & Christianne Noll

    SHE LOVES ME
    with Pam Dawber, Joel Higgins & Gary Sandy.

    PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
    with Michael Crawford

    EVITA
    with Patti Lu Pone

    SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS*

    MEET ME IN ST LOUIS*
    *both with Debby Boone

    THE SOUND OF MUSIC
    with Marie Osmond

    THE CIVIL WAR: OUR STORY IN SONG
    with the Original Broadway Cast
    and with Larry Gatlin (twice)

    YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN!
    with the 1999 Broadway Revival Cast.

    CABARET
    with Miss America 1998, Kate Shindle & Jon Peterson.

    THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE


    I enjoy dramatic theater, too -- mostly the works of William Shakespeare and Henrik Ibsen.

     

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