Everyday Rapture To Replace Lips Together Teeth Apart

Not even a week after the "postponement" (effectively a cancellation) of the Roundabout Theatre Company production of Terrence McNally's play Lips Together, Teeth Apart, Roundabout has announced that they will fill the hole in their season with Everyday Rapture. Starring and co-written by Broadway actress/singer Sherie Rene Scott (Aida, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Everyday Rapture recently had an acclaimed Off-Broadway run at Second Stage Theatre. Now Scott's unique, semi-autobiographical musical will have its Broadway debut at the American Airlines Theatre starting April 19 for a limited run ending July 11.

Stephen Sondheim To Have Broadway Theater Named After Him

Composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday may have been on Monday, March 22, but even before that day and since, the New York City theater crowd has been in full celebration mode, with concerts dedicated to the living musical theater legend and other tributes. One of the most lasting of these tributes was announced following the Monday night performance of the Roundabout Theatre Company's new production Sondheim on Sondheim, when it was revealed that Roundabout's recently renovated Henry Miller's Theatre is to be re-named the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. A small group of Sondheim's most dedicated (and presumably most wealthy) fans sponsored the re-dubbing of the theater by contributing to Roundabout's Musical Production Fund. The re-naming ceremony is expected to take place this summer when All About Me completes its run at the theater.

Present Laughter Closes On Broadway Today

The Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway revival of the classic Noel Coward comedy Present Laughter has its final performance at the American Airlines Theatre this afternoon. The play stars Victor Garber as vainglorious actor Garry Essendine, an aging leading man who, on the verge of taking a trip to Africa, finds his apartment overrun by a chaotic series of characters, including his estranged wife, a lovestruck young actress, an adulterous producer, and a maniacal playwright (played with hilarious hysteria by Brooks Ashmanskas). Harriet Harris (who has been in numerous Broadway shows, including Roundabout's production of The Man Who Came To Dinner) plays Essendine's long-suffering assistant. The limited run production began on January 2 and will have played almost 100 performances when it has its final Broadway bow today.

Broadway's Bye Bye Birdie Goes Bye-Bye

The Roundabout Theatre Company production of the musical Bye Bye Birdie, the first-ever Broadway revival of this regional and amateur theater mainstay, is closing at the newly refurbished Henry Miller's Theatre today. Starring John Stamos (Full House on TV, Cabaret on Broadway), Gina Gershon, and Bill Irwin, Bye Bye Birdie was disliked by the critics but managed to do good enough ticket sales early in the run to merit an extension. Initially, the production was selling tickets through to April, but, presumably due to low ticket sales or to a failure to get suitable replacements for Stamos and Gershon when their contracts expired, Roundabout moved up the show's closing date to January 24. The Dame Edna/Michael Feinstein show All About Me will take up residence at the Henry Miller's Theatre following Birdie's departure.

Bye Bye Birdie Begins Broadway Performances

There are a lot of firsts happening on West 43rd Street tonight. This evening will mark the first Broadway performance of the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of Bye Bye Birdie. It will also mark the first time that the classic 1960 musical about an Elvis-style rocker has had a Broadway revival, which is quite surprising given that Bye Bye Birdie has become such a mainstay at regional theaters and high schools everywhere. And then there's the theater itself. Tonight's show will be the first public performance given at the newly refurbished Henry Miller's Theatre, which hasn't been in use for many years. Furthermore, it will mark the opening of Roundabout's third Broadway home - up until now, Roundabout has merely had two Broadway theaters for its productions, the American Airlines Theatre and Studio 54. This production of Bye Bye Birdie stars John Stamos, Gina Gershon, Allie Trimm, and Bill Irwin, and is scheduled to run until January 10, 2010. The show's official Broadway opening at Henry Miller's Theatre will be on October 15.