Leo Burmester Dies at 63
Leo Burmester, a Broadway veteran who was most recently seen by audiences as Hucklebee in the Off-Broadway revival of The Fantasticks, succumed to leukemia yesterday, Thursday, June 28, 2007. Burmester was 63 years old when he died.
A talented performer who hailed from Louisville, Kentucky, Burmester appeared on Broadway in many shows including “Urban Cowboy,” “Thou Shalt Not,” “The Civil War,” “Ah Wilderness,” “Buried Child,” “Big River,” and “Lone Star and Pvt. Wars.” Additionally, Burmester originated the role of the money-grubbing innkeeper Thenardier in the original Broadway cast of “Les Miserables.”
Burmester also appeared in dozens of television and movie roles not least of which included “The Devil’s Advocate,” “The Last Temptation of Christ,” and “Lone Star,” and the actor had just finished filming a part in Spike Lee’s film “M.O.N.Y.”
Burmester will be sincerely missed on Broadway, but if you want a chance to see some of the roles that this theater veteran made famous, make sure you check out the shows playing all over the country at stubhub.com!
First Show of Manhattan Theater Club’s Season
The Manhattan Theater Club announced the full cast for its upcoming production of Mauritius on Broadway. The play, written by Theresa Rebeck, will come to life thanks to the talents of Academy Award-winner F. Murray Abraham, DYlan Baker and Katie Finneran among many others.
Past projects of these talented cast mates include hits as the film version of Amadeus, Triumph of Love, The Merchant of Venice and The Jew of Malta, for F. Murray Abraham, while Dylan Baker has had a turn in such shows as La Bete, Eastern Standard and has been in such films as Spider Man 3. For her part, TOny Award-winner Katie Finnernan has been seen in Pig Farm, Noises Off and Cabaret.
Mauritius will be the first show of the Manhattan Theater Club’s 2007-2008 season. If you want to catch some great theater at this incredible locale, make sure you get tickets at stubhub.com!
Spike Lee to Announce Theatrical Project
It has been announced that Spike Lee will be doing a theatrical project utilizing the Great White Way, but he will not reveal what this announced project is until a press conference to take place tomorrow, June 28, 2007. However, it has been stated by various publications in the know that the production will most likely involve the World War II comedy-drama “Stalag 17.”
If such is the case, then audiences will have a lot to enjoy from Lee, as this storyline exists as a mystery story told from the setting of a Prisoner of War camp during World War II. The tale centers on a sergeant who is suspected of being a Nazi spy, so you can imagine how the drama unfolds. “Stalag 17″ was written by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski, famously made into a filmby Billy Wilder in 1953, starring William Holden in an Oscar-winning performance.
The play “Stalag 17″ itself premiered on Broadway in 1951 and was helmed by director Jose Ferrer who won a TOnoy Award for his efforts. We will all be holding our breath with the outcome of this press conference, but in the meantime make sure you stay abreast of all the great shows from the Great White Way and beyond with stubhub.com!
Encores! Gypsy Starring Patti LuPone
New York City Center’s production of Gypsy which will star Patty LuPone as well as Boyd Gaines and Laura Benanti and which will be directed by Arthur Laurents, will be opening on July 14, 2007, it has been announced. This will be the first offering of the Encores! Summer Stars series which itself will begin on July 9 and continue through July 29, 2007.
For their parts Patti LuPone is the diva of Broadway herself, a person that most in the know of the musical theater world will be aware of. Within this production LuPone, whose credits range from Sweeney Todd to Evita, will be headlining as Mama Rose. Boyd Gaines wil be performing in the role of Herbie after stints in such shows as Journey’s End and Contact. Laura Benanti, whose past shows include The Wedding Singer and The Sound of Music, will be portraying Louise.
To catch this enthralling program for yourself, make sure you check out stubhub.com today!
Young Frankenstein Cast Announced!
The casting has been announced for Young Frankenstien, The Musical and the cast looks promising indeed. Being produced by Robert F.X. Sillerman and Mel Brooks, the show itslf will open on Broadway in November of 2007. With these two producers being the duo behind the smash hit THe PRoducers, you can imagine how much fun it is going to be to watch Young Frankenstien come alive onstage!
The production will star Roger Bart, Megan Mullally, Sutton Foster, Andrea Martin, SHuler Hensley and Christopher Fitzgerald, the cast of 27 wull also include the likes of Heather Ayres, Jim Corstenelmann, Paul Castree and many others. Make sure you get your tickets at stubhub.com and get ready to take in this amazing show!
Four of Broadway’s Best with Barbara!
Four of Broadway’s best boys are on tour with the great songbird herself, Barbara Streisand as she brings her vocal stylings and impressive being to Europe. The iconic singer’s European concert tour began on June 18, 2007 in Zurich and already the tour, and obviously the boys from the Great White Way, are getting rave reviews by fans both of Streisand herself and, undoubtedly, those who are up-to-date on the theater-scene in America enough to know the impressive line-up of the back-up singers with whom Streisand has been lucky enough to surround herself.
Made up of Michael Arden, Peter Lockyer, Sean McDermotta and Hugh Panaro, the four-man-strong backup vocalization team is an impressive array of the vast talent that Broadway offers, with each of these men possessing the chops and the personality to be able to hold their own alongside Streisand herself. Perfomring alongside a 58-piece orchestra which si conducted by Bill Ross, these four performers know the huge reputation of the woman who chose them to be her own personal and specialized background, an honor which none of them takes lightly.
For, just as Broadway performers and talent are a huge mountain of amazing to the regular folk who attend shows and know the names of the performers in the Tony Awards lists and the like, so is the bar raised ever-higher as talent and success are called into thought. For these four performers, Barbara Streisand has undoubtedly always had a certain charm, a certain shocking talent and un-reachable status. To be performing alongside her, then, can be nothing short of completely thrilling. To see this foursome prerform alongside the great Barbara Streisand, or to see the shows that show off the men’s skills in the first place, make sure you visit stubhub.com for tickets!
Jerry Hermans New Documentary!
It has been announced that the documentary that was screened on Monday, June 18, 20007 in Manhattan will be broadcast on PBS in January of 2008. This documentary is entitled “Words and Music by Jerry Herman” and was screened for members of the Paley Center for Media, which was previously known as the Museum of Television & Radio.
Detailng the establishment and end result of every one of Jerry Herman’s shows, from Hello, Dolly! and Dear World to Mame and Mack & Mabel, this documentary includes interviews with a slew of actors and actresses. Additionally, this production includes rare footage of seldom-seen shows and extended excerpts from original Broadway productions of shows.To see any of one of Herman’s great shows, make sure you visit stubhub.com today for tickets!
Second Stage Theater Company Announces New Season!
The Second Stage Theater today announced its upcoming 29th season, insisting that it will continue the company’s mission of producing new and bold plays and musicals as well as second stagings of the best of theater.
The 2007-2008 season will include the New York premiere of “Peter and Jerry” by Edward Albee as well as a musical called ”Next to Normal” among the rest of the season. This season promises to be special so do yourself a favor and get tickets at stubhub.com to see some shows!
Theater on Monday, June 18
There are plenty of things happening on Broadway and in the theater world in the coming week, starting today, Monday, June 18, 2007. “Into the Woods” opens today in the United Kingdom, bringing the fairy tale lore and gore to London audiences in a revival of the hit Stephen Sondheim musical. Additionally, “Badge” opens in New York today, preparing to wow audiences after its preview session began on June 15, 2007. Tom Kitt and Amanda Greene will perform at Birdland this evening of June 18, 2007 and you surely understand how excited fans are for these amazing vocalists to be together in one room!
Without a doubt, the world of Broadway and theater has never been more thriving than it is right now, and with so many events taking place, the hardest part of what to do today will be choosing which ones you have to forego seeing! Make sure you visit stubhub.com to get your tickets for these and future events!
Annette Bening Cast in “The Female of the Species”
It has been announced that Annette Bening will star in the Broadway production of “The Female of the Species.” The Broadway show is being produced by David Richenthal and Mary Beth O’Connor and was written by Joanna Murray-Smith while being directed by Michael Mayer, the 2007 Tony winner.
Performances will begin on Friday, April 11, 2008 as an as-of-yet unannounced theater, and this show promises to be amazing. Telling the story of a writer with writer’s block and the young fan who unravels the writer’s strange little world, you’re not going to want to miss this show so make sure you visit stubhub.com to keep yourself up-to-date on ticket availabilities!