Claybourne Elder

Company’s Claybourne Elder Celebrates Young Trailblazers at Live Out Loud Gala

By: Iris Wiener

May 19, 2022: Claybourne Elder will provide good “company” for a number of generous sponsors, donors and exceptional high school students when he emcees Live Out Loud’s 21^st Annual Young Trailblazers gala on May 23^rd. Live Out Loud is an organization dedicated to serving LGBTQ+ youth by providing role models, resources, and opportunities to discover their voices and become leaders of change. As host, Elder will also help present $5,000 scholarships to outstanding high school seniors. The actor is known for his scene-stealing turn as the oddball flight attendant in the Tony-nominated revival of Company, as well as his recurring spot on HBO’s The Gilded Age. In addition to his incredible talent, he is lauded for his kindness, integrity and work as an activist. He spoke with Theaterlife about the importance of Live Out Loud and the Young Trailblazers gala, as well as how the organization’s mission aligns with his morals and the values behind his current projects.

James Monroe Iglehart

James Monroe Iglehart Shares His New Cabaret Show Ahead of a Performance at NJPAC

By: Iris Wiener

April 21,2022: Due to his remarkable, distinct talent, James Monroe Iglehart steals every show in which he is cast. His head-turning, Tony Award winning performance in Aladdin and his breakout spot in Memphis were only the beginning of an illustrious career which now spans stage and screen. Not many entertainers can boast performing in two Broadway shows running simultaneously (see last year’s Freestyle Love Supreme and Hamilton), nor can they say they worked on Disney movies and guest roles throughout the pandemic (see Disenchanted and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, respectively). However, despite a laundry list of credits that demonstrate his versatility, what truly sets Iglehart apart from the rest is his enormous heart. He takes center stage in his new concert, The JMI Show, premiering at the NJPAC on April 22^nd as part of the American Songbook series. He spoke with Theaterlife about returning to cabaret, sharing a bill with Jim Dale, and his latest guest-star turn with the ladies of Girls5Eva.

Judy Kaye

Diana’s Judy Kaye: Celebrating Six Decades in Show Business

By: Ellis Nassour

November 12, 2021: Judy Kaye has had a storied career over six decades in opera, operetta, symphony concerts, TV and Soaps, voice work in animated features, records, and theater. Her path led to two Tony Awards for Featured Actress in Musicals, The Phantom of the Opera (the diva Carlotta, opposite Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman): and Nice Work If You Can Get It (the madcap Duchess Estonia Dulworth, opposite Matthew Broderick and Kelli O’Hara).

Paul Huntley

A Notable Death: Broadway’s Veteran Hair Magician Paul Huntley, 88

By: Ellis Nassour

July 15, 2021 — Paul Huntley, 88, Broadway’s trendsetting go-to wig designer, passed on Friday. Liz Carboni, his longtime friend, confirmed his death in London from complications from a lung infection. He was honored in 2003 with a Tony Honor for Excellence in Theater. He also was the recipient of several lifetime achievement awards.

John Lloyd Young

By: Sandi Durell

June 17, 2021: In a live interview, via Zoom, with John Lloyd Young in California and TheaterPizzazz in New York City, a unique experience unfolded getting to know this Tony Award Winner known to audiences worldwide as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys original Broadway production.

Welcome Back to Theater

A Door Opens to Off Broadway: Blindness

By: Ellis Nassour

April 16, 2021: The acclaimed Donmar Warehouse production of Blindness, adapted from Nobel Prize-winning José Saramago’s dystopian novel by Tony winner Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), has opened at the Daryl Roth Theatre (101 East 15th Street at Union Square East). The production is the first to cut the ribbon of the commercial return of much-missed performing arts.

John Lloyd Young

Tony/Grammy Winner John Lloyd Young Celebrates the Season
Friday with Vegas Holiday

By: Ellis Nassour

December 1, 2020: Tony and Grammy Award-winner John Lloyd Young, forever famous to fans of Jersey Boys, will live stream his new 75-minute pay-per-view concert act Vegas Holiday from Mark Shunook’s The Space this Friday, December 4, at 6 P.M. Pacific [9 P.M. Eastern]. This concert will be much more than just songs.

Michael Riedel

Michael Riedel’s Segue from Rabid Newspaper Columnist to Congenial Early Morning Radio Co-host

By: Ellis Nassour

Monday, November 30, 2020 –Once rabid theater critic/arts reporter Michael Riedel has segued to radio, joining Len Berman, WNBC-TV’s former longtime sports anchor, as sidekick on Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning. Rise and shine at 6 A.M. weekdays to 710 WOR-AM Radio for their freewheeling four-hour conversationathon about anything and everything. Be prepared for quite a bit of mutual razzing.

Live at the Lortel

By: Paulanne Simmons

October 15, 2020: A few years ago, Eric Ostrow inaugurated The Lucille Lortel Theatre’s series “Live at the Lortel,” which was inspired by the chatty atmosphere of the The Dick Cavett Show. In the midst of a pandemic, the series has been revived as a virtual experience.

Conrad Ricamora

Conrad Ricamora Reflects on a Season That Said Good-Bye to Power and Murder

By: Iris Wiener

The Public Theater’s Soft Power closed in 2019, but David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori’s story left such an impact on its audiences that it has now been nominated for eleven Drama Desk Awards. Conrad Ricamora, a beloved performer known for his award-winning turn as Aquino in Here Lies Love and his ground-breaking, heartfelt work as Oliver on ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder, nagged one of the Drama Desk’s nods for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. As Soft Power’sChinese movie producer Xūe Xíng, Ricamora’s talent was on full display; he sang, danced, and even charmed Hilary Clinton in the farcical yet poignant “play in a musical.” On the eve of How to Get Away with Murder’s final episode, Ricamora spoke with Theaterlife about saying goodbye to the show that made him a television star, and Soft Power’s continued resonance and emotional impact.

David Alan Grier

David Alan Grier Dishes on His Drama Desk Nod for A Soldier’s Play

By: Iris Wiener

May 7, 2020: David Alan Grier prides himself on variety; he has left no genre or medium untouched, ranging from theater (both plays and musicals) to television and film (comedy, drama, and everything in between), to stand-up comedy and improv. His long career has even afforded him three opportunities to work on A Soldier’s Play, which is currently nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Best Revival of a Play.

Jennie Garth

Tori Spelling, Jennie Garth

Jennie Garth Previews New Tour and Chats All Things 90210

By: Iris Wiener

November 14, 2019: Jennie Garth & Tori Spelling Live: A Night to Remember promises to live up to its title. On November 19^th, the ladies of 90210 will make a stop at Long Island’s Theatre at Westbury as part of a multi-city tour to share an evening filled with laughs and memories. Garth spoke with Theaterlife about her latest venture, reflected on the Beverly Hills 90210 reboot, BH90210, and contemplated taking a try at Broadway.

Tiffany Mills

Nikolas Owens

By: Paulanne Simmons

October 31, 2019: Being an anchor partner at The Flea Theater has many advantages, says Tiffany Mills, choreographer and artistic director of the New York City-based Tiffany Mills Company. It means rehearsal space, assistance with marketing and development, and a performance venue. This season The Tiffany Mills Company will present Not then, not yet, an evening-length work that explores states of transition and transformation.

Derek McLane

Moulin Rouge! Set Designer Derek McLane Knows How to Make Theatergoers Gasp

By: Ellis Nassour

August 2, 2019: One thing that the Hirschfeld Theatre ushers can always count on at Moulin Rouge! when they open the orchestra doors a volley of gasps and exclamations as ticketholders first grasp the set. Smart Phones are out as they roam the aisles capturing snaps of the colorful stage with its depth of heart-shaped portals, the 14.6’ replica of the windmill that sits atop the Moulin Rouge in Paris and that’s mounted in the box at the left, and the 18’ high blue elephant in the box at right.

Rita Rudner

Comedy Icon Rita Rudner Returns
to the Boards in New Musical, Two’s a Crowd

By: Ellis Nassour

July 19, 2019 — Dancer, singer, actress, New York Times best-selling author, Vegas top-draw headliner, TV and film star, playwright, and, above all else, one of our top comedy icon Rita Rudner returns to the New York stage after a much-too-long absence (40 years) in the new musical comedy Two’s a Crowd, which she co-wrote with husband Martin Bergman, who’s directs.