MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG Opening at Encores! Tomorrow Night

Stephen Sondheim's "flop" MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG will open in a concert form at NY City Encores! starring Colin Donnell (Anything Goes), Lin Manuel-Miranda (In the Heights), and Celia Keenan-Bolger (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee). The production will run from Feb. 8-19th and will hopefully show the strength of Sondheim's work after a few updates to the script and score have been made. Check out a rehearsal clip below.

The Voice Star with a Musical Theatre Past

Chris Mann, who appeared Sunday night on NBC's The Voice, has a past in musical theatre. He can be heard on new musical theatre composers Kooman & Dimond's album OUT OF OUR HEADS, singing "Drift." He's really good! He will be performing on the show with Christina Aguilera as his mentor. Check him out below!!

Singing Kooman & Dimond's DRIFT

On The Voice

Sutton Foster Pilot Picked Up by ABC Family

Sutton Foster (Anything Goes, Thoroughly Modern Millie), two time Tony Winner (and possible my favorite person ever), is going to star in a new drama BUNHEADS. The pilot has been picked up by ABC Family, Deadline reports.

BUNHEADS stars Sutton Foster as Michelle, a Las Vegas showgirl who impulsively marries a man and moves to his sleepy coastal town, and takes an uneasy role at her new mother-in-law’s dance school.


While I'm excited to see Sutton on TV, I hope this doesn't mean she won't be on Broadway in the near future.

SMASH Premieres!

So the new Broadway-themed musical drama SMASH premiered last night on NBC. While it has been available online for almost three weeks (I almost forget what happened it's been so long), it premiered to a solid 7.1/13 rating, falling just short of the ratings THE VOICE and TWO AND A HALF MEN received.

Personally, I think it was really well done on all levels with great singing, dancing, and acting. Both Megan Hilty and Katherine McPhee broke out and will most definitely become stars. The original songs (written by HAIRSPRAY's Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman) were catchy and showcased the stars' voices well and made me want Marilyn: The Musical to be a reality. I'm excited to hear and see more and hope the show keeps up the high quality.

Check out my favorite song of the show "Let Me Be Your Star" below!

REVIEW: La Cage Aux Folles National Tour

Last night, instead of watching the Super Bowl, I went to go see the National tour of La Cage Aux Folles at the Kennedy Center starring George Hamilton and Christopher Sieber. Overall, it did not blow me away but I had a very fun time.

From the minute a character in drag came out to entertain the crowd before the show started through the final curtain call, I was consistently impressed with the classiness but hilarity of the show's drag-centered plotline. I thought Christopher Sieber was AMAZING, but I think George Hamilton left a lot to be desired. I also had some trouble with the sound of the show, and could rarely hear the chorus over the orchestra.

The costumes and set were beautiful and elegant which suited the show very well. I thought the choreography was at times simple and at some times fantastic and elegant (including the now mandatory tap number).

Overall, I don't think I wasted time or money in seeing the tour of the 2010 Tony Best Revival winner.

Rating: 8/10

NBC Shows Perform BROTHERHOOD OF MAN

Last night during the Super Bowl, a new NBC commercial debuted that featured the casts of various NBC shows singing a version of How to Succeed's BROTHERHOOD OF MAN. It was hilarious and fantastic and was super creative! I thoroughly enjoyed it. It featured the likes of Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Megan Hilty, Katherine McPhee, Rainn Wilson, and more. Enjoy!!

New Jason Robert Brown Musical Headed to Broadway!

According to Broadwayworld, Jason Robert Brown's new musical HONEYMOON IN VEGAS is set to open on Broadway in Spring 2013 after a debut in Toronto. The musical is based off of the movie of the same name. I am so excited to hear a new JRB musical!!

"Based on the Castle Rock Entertainment Motion Picture of the same title, Honeymoon in Vegas features music and lyrics by Tony Award-winner Jason Robert Brown and a book by Andrew Bergman (director and screenwriter of the film). Gary Griffin (The Color Purple) will direct."

AUGUST: OSCAR WINNER?!?

Tracy Lett's Pulitzer-winning drama August: Osage County has gotten the greenlight from the Weinstein Company to beginning filming the feature film adaptation. The film will star Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts as the leads. It is sure to be a huge success and with these actresses, it is guaranteed to rock!

The film is looking to have a release date of Fall 2013, with filming to begin later this year. Anyone else excited?

LOVE NEVER DIES Is Coming to U.S. Theatres

Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, LOVE NEVER DIES is coming to U.S. movie theaters on Feb. 28th and March 7th. The Australian production was recently filmed, and this will be the version shown in theatres.

The Australian version is completely revised, has a new creative team, and has opened to much stronger reviews than the ill-fated London production.

I personally love some of the music from LND and am really excited to see it. Tickets can be purchased from Fathom Events.

Nick Pitera Does ONE MAN PHANTOM OF THE OPERA MEDLEY

This guy is great! His Disney medley was insane, but this is something else. It's very creative and really shows off his powerful, versatile voice. For any fans of Phantom, this is a must watch! Enjoy and let me know what you think!!!