Archive for June, 2007
Photo Tease: For Summer, A New Spring Poster
June 27, 2007 2:58 pmFor a sexy new summer campaign, the cast of Spring Awakening turned up the attitude and did their best impression of the cast of Rent! The results, which are sure to have fans buzzing, are below.
Oh, I’m sorry. You can’t see your favorite star good enough? How’s this:
Do I know my readers or do I know my readers? 
All below photos by Bruce Glikas for Broadway.com
Here, the cast poses in front of their new billboard, which can be seen in front of the Eugene O’Neill Theatre.
Stars Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele and John Gallagher Jr. smile for Broadway.com as they sign the poster.
Yow! Do these two ever give it a rest?
Photo Tease: Liev’s Turn at Sardi’s
12:04 pmDad-to-be Liev Schreiber had his Sardi’s moment yesterday afternoon, earning an illustrated spot on the walls of the fabled restaurant. The gracious drama god was all smiles for the big event, which was attended by many of his cohorts from the recent run of Talk Radio. Broadway.com was also there, bringing you these exclusive photos by Bruce Glikas.
Liev live and Liev in ink.
Liev and the boys from Talk Radio celebrate his milestone.
Talk Radio’s Peter Hermann turned shutterbug for the event.
How does a Tony winner jet from his Sardi’s moment? On two wheels, of course! (Yes, he had a helmet!)
Since Fran Drescher rose to fame as the wise-cracking heroine of TV’s The Nanny, it seemed only appropriate for her to check out Broadway’s own super-nanny, Mary Poppins. That’s exactly what she did last night, as these shots with leading man Gavin Lee prove! Photos by Bruce Glikas for Broadway.com
Photo Tease: Stars in the Park
June 21, 2007 10:18 amA flurry of stars headed to the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park on Tuesday evening, only to get rained on during the opening night performance of Romeo and Juliet. Here’s how they looked dry. Photos by Bruce Glikas for Broadway.com
Original Rent-ers Idina Menzel and Daphne Rubin-Vega caught up.
Hollywood mom Meg Ryan with Lion King director Julie Taymor, whose controversial new Beatles movie musical Across the Universe opens in September.
Shakespeare in the Park vet Zach Braff, last seen whooping it up with the Spring Awakening kids on Tony night.
Debra Messing, TV’s Starter Wife, with Public Theater honcho Mara Manus.
Kirsten Johnston, another Delacorte vet, with Allison Janney, soon to be seen as Prudy Pingleton in the big screen Hairspray.
Photo Tease: Mr. & Mrs. Hamlin Take a Bow
June 20, 2007 9:53 amTwo new stars swept into Chicago last night: Harry Hamlin and wife Lisa Rinna, who both showed their moves on TV’s Dancing with the Stars in recent years. He’s Billy Flynn and she’s Roxie Hart and we’re thrilled to have these exclusive photos from their first performance last night. Photos by Bruce Glikas for Broadway.com
The stage sweethearts hug during their bows.
Lisa and Harry backstage immediately following the curtain call.
Lisa and Brenda Braxton, her Velma Kelly, smile for a snap.
Photo Tease: Broadway Gets Nekkid
June 18, 2007 8:56 pmHey all. Sorry I’ve been out of touch. I needed a little self-imposed blog hiatus post-Tonys, but I’m back. And back with what you’re all really looking for: some semi-nudie photos of your favorite stars from Broadway Bares! There are plenty more photos to come in our Photo Op section, but here’s a start… Photos by Bruce Glikas for Broadway.com
The view from the stage during the finale: a sea of bodies.
Jersey Boys star Daniel Reichard: “I want you… to watch the Broadway.com backstage video that I hosted before getting into this get-up!”
Harvey Fierstein gets grande while David Hyde Pierce (Curtains) cops a feel.
A Disney trio: Kissy Simmons (The Lion King), Josh Strickland (Tarzan) and Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins).
Divas Daphne Rubin-Vega and Capathia Jenkins.
Laura Bell Bundy of Legally Blonde went platinum for the first performance of Bares. Then she had to take off for Philly for a group sales event, handing off the wig to Blonde understudy Annaleigh Ashford (who also plays kooky sorority chick Margot) for the late show!
Brown, Ashford and Deidre Goodwin of A Chorus Line make a delicious trio.
Broadway Bares founder Jerry Mitchell with director Denis Jones.
Two boys from Legally Blonde, Paul Canaan and Nick Kenkel, did their part for the cause.
Another Legally Blonde star bares for Bares: Matthew Risch.
You never know when you’ll witness a Frasier reunion! Bebe Neuwirth and Pierce.
Aww… Fierstein and Mitchell have a moment.
Photo Tease: Welcome to the World, Newbies!
June 6, 2007 10:55 amThe annual Theatre World Awards were held yesterday at New World Stages. Winners of the unique prize, which honors the freshest faces on the scene, are toasted at the podium by a elder colleague (or fan, in the case of hip Broadway legend Barbara Cook’s gushing for The Color Purple’s Fantasia!). Broadway.com photographer Bruce Glikas was there for all the fun.
Two of Broadway’s most exciting new talents: Fantasia and Jonathan Groff of Spring Awakening.
Winner Stark Sands (right) poses with Journey’s End castmate Boyd Gaines.
Raul Esparza (Company) and winner Lin-Manuel Miranda of Broadway-bound In the Heights.
Mary Poppins Tony nominee Gavin Lee shows off his Theatre World trophy.
Grey Gardens’ Erin Davie (another beaming winner) and her onstage grandpapa John McMartin.
Acting legend Estelle Parsons toasted Johnny Galecki, remembered for his work in the Broadway comedy The Little Dog Laughed.
Clinton Visits Broadway’s Most Democratic Musical
June 5, 2007 2:51 pmIsn’t it always nice to see former President Bill Clinton? That’s exactly what the cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was thinking last Friday when the former President brought daughter Chelsea and mother-in-law Dorothy to see the Broadway hit musical comedy on the occasion of Dorothy’s 88th birthday! Here’s an exclusive backstage photo of the prez and Chelsea backstage with the cast (and bearded composer William Finn!):
Photo courtesy of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”
Barlow-Harman, the press office for the show, passed along the following tidbits from the very special performance:
Since the show allows for an element of improvisation, the cast, lead by humorist Mo Rocca, couldn’t help but pay tribute to their special guests with a few Clinton-inspired jokes.1) One of the audience volunteer spellers was asked to spell the following word and was given its definition and sentence to help with the spelling:Word: VERMEIL
Definition: gold-plated or gilded silver, often used in formal table settings.
Sentence: Had he known that his official duties would include selecting a china pattern to match the vermeil tableware, Billy never would have supported his wife’s candidacy.
2) Later in the show, the character Logainne Schwartzandgrubineirre, she of the two gay dads and easily the most liberal of the characters, launched into her nightly diatribe:
“This bee is almost as unruly as President Bush! Just yesterday, he suggested that we all reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and then proceeded to let out a whole bunch of hot air into the atmosphere! This morning, while my dads were reading me the NY Times over a glass of wheat grass, I got inspired to write this limerick:
There once was a President named Bush -
He spoke from the depths of his tush -
He leaked information,
He spied on his nation,
And his English was barely a mush!
My dads think I should send that into the New Yorker, but I’d rather just wait for President Bush to wiretap my phone so I can recite it for him personally!!”
3) And finally, in the show’s epilogue, Logainne says “she grows up to become the Secretary of Education under President Chelsea Clinton,” which got a huge round of applause.
Bill Clinton and Mo Rocca backstage after the show.
Photo Tease: Idol Pow-Wow at Purple
June 4, 2007 1:56 pm
Fresh off her American Idol win, Jordin Sparks (right) came to New York as part of a whirlwind publicity tour. But endless TV and radio appearances don’t mean she didn’t have time for Broadway! On Friday, Sparks caught fellow Idol winner Fantasia (center) in her acclaimed turn as Celie in The Color Purple…and even brought along friend and Idol finalist Melinda Doolittle (center), who came in third this season. Hey ladies, any chance we can convince one of you to spend some time in our hood? Exclusive photos by Bruce Glikas for Broadway.com
Idol chatter or idle chatter? The gals catch up backstage.
Photo Tease: Stars Come Out for Audience Awards
June 1, 2007 1:37 pmA roomful of Broadway’s best toasted the winners of Broadway.com’s 8th Annual Audience Awards last night in the penthouse of new Times Square hotspot Spotlight Live. We’ll have lots more photos to come, but here’s a peek at some of the talents who helped make the event a smashing success. Photos by Bruce Glikas for Broadway.com
The trophies! (Yes, the first three were all for Jonathan Groff of Spring Awakening!)
Big winners! Here’s Groff (Favorite Leading Actor in a Broadway Musical, Favorite Breakthrough Performance and Favorite Onstage Pair) with co-stars Lea Michele (Favorite Breakthrough Performance and Favorite Onstage Pair) and John Gallagher Jr. (Favorite Featured Actor in a Broadway Musical). They also were all honored for being part of our readers’ Favorite Ensemble!
Orfeh, who won Favorite Featured Actress in a Broadway Musical for her hilarious work in Legally Blonde, with Wicked star Julia Murney, happily accepting her show’s prize for Favorite Long-Running Broadway Show.
Two drama winners! Tonya Pinkins of Radio Golf (Favorite Featured Actress in a Broadway Play) and Talk Radio’s much-honored Liev Schreiber (Favorite Leading Actor in a Broadway Play).
Word! Original Altar Boyz star and current Legally Blonde star Andy Karl (onhand to support wife Orfeh) poses with the current cast, celebrating a win for Favorite Long-Running Off-Broadway Show.
Company’s Raul Esparza (who won two Audience Awards in 2002 for tick, tick…BOOM! and Cabaret) with Max Crumm and Laura Osnes, stars of the upcoming Broadway revival of Grease.
Michael Cerveris of LoveMusik picked up trophies for 2006 wins for his work in Sweeney Todd.
Another winner from 2006, Breakthrough Performance champ John Lloyd Young of Jersey Boys.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, who won a trophy for writing the music and lyrics of Favorite New Off-Broadway Musical winner In the Heights, with Favorite New Broadway song composers Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin (who won for “Omigod You Guys” from Legally Blonde).
Talk Radio playwright Eric Bogosian celebrated his show’s win for Favorite Broadway Play Revival.
Your Favorite Ensemble Cast! Spring Awakening stars Groff, Michele, Skylar Astin, Remy Zaken, Brian Charles Johnson and Gallagher.
Stage Notes
