Kara DioGuardi is one of America’s top songwriters and record producers, having worked with such superstars as Carrie Underwood, Pink, Gwen Stefani, and Britney Spears, and she is currently an Executive Vice President with Warner Brothers Records and co-owner of Arthouse Entertainment. She is best known for her role as a judge of FOX’s
American Idol and recently released her autobiography,
A Helluva High Note: Surviving Life, Love and American Idol. Now, she’s making her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in the Tony Award-winning musical
Chicago through October 30. TheaterMania recently chatted with DioGuardi about her Broadway debut, life on
American Idol, and her multi-faceted career.
THEATERMANIA: This is your Broadway debut.… Read the rest
Ron Raines is well-known to theater audiences in New York and around the country, having starred in such shows as Teddy & Alice, Show Boat, Chicago, and A Little Night Music, while television audiences remember him as the manipulative Alan Spaulding on the popular CBS daytime series, Guiding Light, which earned him three Emmy Award nominations.
Raines is now back on Broadway as the wealthy, unhappily married Benjamin Stone in James Goldman and Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award-winning musical Follies, which is now at the Marquis Theater, having debuted earlier this year at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. TheaterMania recently spoke to him about the show.
THEATERMANIA: How did you become involved with this production?… Read the rest
One of the greatest challenges facing any actor is playing the same role in the same show, eight shows a week. So think about what it’s like to perform the same role in the same show for years and years! TheaterMania recently spoke to four such veteran performers: Hugh Panaro, who has starred in The Phantom of the Opera in both the title role (his current assignment) and as Raoul; Judy McLane, who is about to begin her seventh year as Tanya in Mamma Mia!; Alton Fitzgerald White, who has played Mufasa in The Lion King on Broadway and throughout the country for a decade; and Jersey Boys‘ Peter Gregus, who has played Bob Crewe since the show began its run at the LaJolla Playhouse in 2004.… Read the rest
Tony nominee Josh Gad made his Broadway debut as William Barfee inThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in 2006. He has since transitioned into television and film roles in 21, The Rocker, Love and Other Drugs, Back to You, and Californication.
Gad returned to Broadway earlier this year, creating the role of Elder Cunningham in the hit musical, The Book of Mormon, which won nine Tony Awards including Best Musical.
Gad also keeps busy as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, voicing the lead character in David Gordon Green’s upcoming animated MTV series, Good Vibes, and starring in his own web series,Gigi,on MyDamnChannel.com.
… Read the rest
Much like everything else in New York, theater tickets are quite expensive, retailing for over $100 each.
Luckily, there are many great sources for discount tickets, allowing you to see Broadway and off-Broadway shows at a fraction of the retail price.
Here is your guide for cheap seats.
The best-known way to purchase discounted theater tickets is to visit a TKTS Discount Booth for same-day Broadway and off-Broadway tickets at up to 50% off. TKTS has three locations in NYC:
- TKTS Times Square – Broadway and 47th StreetAt this location, you can only purchase tickets for same-day performances, and during matinee hours, you can only purchase tickets for the matinee shows.
… Read the rest
Steel Burkhardt and Paris Remillard began as understudies in the Tony Award-winning revival of
Hair, and have worked their way up to the lead roles of Berger and Claude in the show’s national tour, which is now playing Broadway’s St. James Theatre for a 10-week run. TheaterMania spoke with Burkhardt and Remillard about their experiences with the show.
THEATERMANIA: This production has played a lot of places over the past few years. Are you still amazed by some of the audience reactions?
STEEL BURKHARDT: In a couple of cities, people stay the first act, see us get naked, and when we come back for Act II, we see empty seats.… Read the rest
Elizabeth Rodriguez is currently making her Broadway debut as the not-recovering drug addict Veronica in the world premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis’
The Motherf**ker with the Hat, for which she has received the 2011 Outer Critics Award and a 2011 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. TheaterMania recently spoke with Rodriguez about the show and her career.
THEATERMANIA: This is some way to make your Broadway debut. Has all this acclaim been a bit surreal?
ELIZABETH RODRIGUEZ: I keep asking myself that same question. People come up to me all of the time and say, “You must be excited.” It feels really good that my hard work is acknowledged.… Read the rest
Marla Mindelle has delighted musical audiences around the country in such shows as
The 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee, and now she is raising her voice on Broadway as Sister Mary Robert in the new musical
Sister Act, opposite Patina Miller and Victoria Clark. TheaterMania recently spoke with Mindelle about this exciting opportunity.
THEATERMANIA: Your Broadway debut was in the ensemble of South Pacific two years ago, and now you have a major featured role in Sister Act. How did you get the part?
MARLA MINDELLE: By auditioning! Sister Act was my favorite movie as a child. I saw it in theaters four times and it was the first cassette tape I bought.… Read the rest
Academy Award-winning actress and Broadway veteran Estelle Parsons is back on Broadway in David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. She most recently starred on Broadway inAugust: Osage County, and then went on to tour with the production. Parsons has received multiple Tony nominations for her work inThe Seven Descents of Myrtle,And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little,Miss Margarida’s Way, and Mornings at Seven.
BroadwayWorld reporter Nick Orlando spoke with Parsons about the play and her career.
Congratulations on the success of the show.
Thank you! It is really nice to be in a hit.
You are 83 years old. How do you still have the energy to perform eight shows per week?… Read the rest
Each month, BroadwayWorld shines the spotlight on stage actors making their Broadway debut as part of our “Debut of the Month” series.
This month, BroadwayWorld is showcasing 25-year-old actress Sheila Vand, who is making her Broadway debut, reprising her roles as Hadia and the Iraqi Teenager in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, starring Robin Williams.
Vand is a recent graduate from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film & TV. Her previous stage credits include Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo at the Mark Taper Forum and Kirk DouglasTheatre, Sneaky Nietzsche, Portrait of the Architect in Ruins, and Medea.
BroadwayWorld reporter Nick Orlando spoke with Vand about her Broadway debut.
Are you ready to take on Broadway?… Read the rest
