TWITTER WATCH: MEMPHIS - 'Memphis lives in me, does Memphis live in you?'
BroadwayWorld.com presents it's newest column, Twitter Watch, which will bring you only the best and most interesting reports straight from the mouths of Broadway stars, shows and more on the hot social networking service - Twitter!
Today on Twitter Watch we rock and roll by the page for the upcoming Broadway musical MEMPHIS.
MEMPHIS opens Monday, October 19, 2009 at the Shubert Theatre (225 W. 44th Street) following critically-acclaimed and sold-out engagements atLa Jolla Playhouse and Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre. Previews begin on Wednesday, September 23, 2009.
MemphisBroadway
via @mymemphismusic Today in Memphis Music History: 1956 Only 19, Jerry Lee Lewis came to Memphis to record for the first time @sunrecords
about 2 hours ago from webMemphis lives in me, does Memphis live in you?
about 2 hours ago from webThe cast of Memphis will be performing as part of Broadway on Broadway, Sunday, September 13th at 11:30am in Times Square!
about 5 hours ago from FacebookPhoto Coverage: Bryan, DiPietro And The MEMPHIS Cast Celebrate Shubert Theatre Box Office Opening http://bit.ly/ab1xe
11:49 AM Aug 27th from FacebookOur box office is now open! Come get your tickets! The Shubert Theatre box office is located at 255 West 44th St, NYC
7:26 AM Aug 24th from webMEMPHIS features a brand new score with music by Bon Jovi's founding member/keyboardist David Bryan and lyrics by Bryan and Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change), who also pens the musical's book. Bryan and DiPietro also collaborated on the current award-winning off-Broadway hit, The Toxic Avenger. MEMPHIS is based on a concept by the lateGeorge W. George (producer of the Tony nominated Bedroom Farce and the film My Dinner With Andre), with direction by Tony nominee Christopher Ashley (Xanadu) and choreography bySergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys).
Tickets range from $41.50 to $126.50 (including a $1.50 facility fee). The performance schedule is as follows: Tuesday - Saturday evenings at 8pm, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2pm, and Sundays at 3pm. Beginning October 26th, Tuesday evening curtains will be at 7pm. There will be special performance times during previews and holiday weeks. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.Telecharge.com or call 212.239.6200. The Shubert Theatre Box Office will be open beginning August 24th.
MEMPHIS played a limited, sold-out engagement at La Jolla Playhouse from August 19 - September 28, 2008 and received San Diego's Craig Noel Awards for Excellence in Theatre for both Outstanding New Musical of 2008 and for its star Chad Kimball, in the role of DJ Huey Calhoun. The show then played another critically-acclaimed, extremely successful engagement at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre from January 27 - February 15, 2009. This production was co-produced by La Jolla Playhouse (Christopher Ashley, Artistic Director) and 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle, WA, (David Armstrong, Producing Artistic Director/ Marilynn Sheldon, Managing Director). The world premiere of MEMPHIS in 2003-2004 was co-produced by North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, MA and TheatreWorks in Silicon Valley, CA.
Scenic Design for MEMPHIS is by Tony Award winner David Gallo (The Drowsy Chaperone, Reasons to Be Pretty), Costume Design is by Tony nominee Paul Tazewell (In The Heights), Lighting Design is by Tony Award winner Howell Binkley (Jersey Boys) and Sound Design is byKen Travis (The Threepenny Opera).
MEMPHIS will be produced on Broadway by Junkyard Dog Productions, Barbara and Buddy Freitag and Kenny and Marleen Alhadeff with Jim and Susan Blair, Demos Bizar Entertainment, David Copley, Dancap Productions Inc., Latitude Link and Tony Ponturo in association withBroadway Across America, Lauren Doll, Linda and Bill Potter, Chase Mishkin and Patty Baker/ShadowCatcher Entertainment.
For more information visit www.memphisthemusical.com.
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September 3, 2009
OH, THIS IS GONNA BE GOOD: TWITTER WATCH: MEMPHIS - 'Memphis lives in me, does Memphis live in you?'
THIS ONE HAS MORE LINKS THAN JIMMY DEAN '9 To 5: THE MUSICAL' Celebrates At Barnes and Noble - The Performance!
Photo Coverage: '9 To 5: THE MUSICAL' Celebrates At Barnes and Noble - The Performance!Dolly Parton's Tony Award-nominated score for 9 To 5: The Musical was released on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 by DOLLY RECORDS. The cast celebrated the big day with a performance and CD signing at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Center, New York City. July 14, 2009 and BroadwayWorld.com was there!
The Original Broadway Cast Recording of 9 to 5: The Musical was recorded Sunday, May 3, and Monday, May 4, 2009, at Legacy Recording Studios in New York.
Iconic singer, songwriter, musician and actress Dolly Parton debuted her new label, DOLLY RECORDS, with the release of "Better Get To Livin'" in September 2007, the first single from 2008's critically acclaimed top 10 CD Backwoods Barbie. The album's current hit single and video is "Backwoods Barbie." The Original Broadway Cast Recording of 9 To 5: The Musical is the label's second release and is produced by Stephen Oremus and Dolly Parton. Alex Lacamoire (music director and co-orchestrator for the Lacamoire (music director and co-orchestrator for the Grammy winning original cast recording of In The Heights) is co-producer, and the album was recorded and mixed by Frank Filipetti.
Multiple Drama Desk and Tony Award nominated 9 To 5: The Musical stars four-time Emmy Award winner and two-time Tony Award nominee and recent Drama Desk winner Allison Janney, along with Stephanie J. Block, Megan Hilty, and three-time Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch. It opened Thursday, April 30, 2009, at the Marriott Marquis Theatre (1535 Broadway). 9 To 5: The Musical marks the Broadway debut of seven-time Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter and musician Dolly Parton as composer and lyricist. With direction by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello and choreography by Tony Award winner Andy Blankenbuehler, 9 To 5: The Musical has a book by Patricia Resnick, based on her original story and screenplay for the smash 1980 film comedy. 9 To 5: The Musical is produced by Green State Productions, Richard Levi, John McColgan/Moya Doherty/Edgar Dobie, James L. Nederlander/Terry Allen Kramer,Independent Presenters Network, Jam Theatricals, Bud Martin, Michael Watt, The Weinstein Co/Sonia Friedman/Dede Harris, Center Theatre Group, Norton Herrick/Matthew C Blank/Joan Stein, Toni Dowgiallo, and GFour Productions.
The production features scenic design by two-time Tony Award winner Scott Pask, costume design by five-time Tony Award winner William Ivey Long, lighting design by Tony Award winners Jules Fisher and Kenneth Posner, sound design by John Shivers, imaging by Peter Nigrini and Peggy Eisenhauer, with music direction by Stephen Oremus.
The 30 member cast of 9 To 5: The Musical features Kathy Fitzgerald, Andy Karl, Ioana Alfonso,Timothy George Anderson, Jennifer Balagna, Justin Bohon, Paul Castree, Daniel Cooney, Jeremy Davis, Gaelen Gilliland, Autumn Guzzardi, Ann Harada, Neil Haskell, Lisa Howard, Van Hughes,Michael X. Martin, Michael Mindlin, Karen Murphy, Mark Myars (Dance captain), Justin Patterson,Jessica Lea Patty, Charlie Pollock, Tory Ross, Wayne Schroder, Maia Nkenge Wilson and Brandi Wooten.
The Original Broadway Cast Recording of 9 to 5: The Musical is available at the Marquis Theatre in New York City, on all digital formats, in retail outlets and via www.dollypartonmusic.net.
For more information on 9 To 5: The Musical visit www.9to5themusical.com
Seymour Herald :To keep abreast of Dolly's comings: news : This week with Dolly
Seymour Herald :: news : This week with Dollythis week with dolly
Seymour Herald/Library PhotoDolly speaks to the crowd at a recent event.published: July 14 2009 11:35 AM updated:: July 14 2009 12:25 PMBy Duane Gordon
Dolly Parton has recorded a solo version of one of the songs from her Tony-nominated score to "9 To 5: The Musical" which will soon be released as her next single, she announced last week in a video diary released via YouTube.
In the video, she said she has cut the track "Change It" and will sell it as an iTunes download and in the online store at her official record label website, Dolly Parton Music.net. The single comes as the show's cast album sees early release this week at the Marquis Theatre in New York, select Barnes & Noble stores and online at Dolly's site and the show's website in advance of its national retail release to other stores on July 28.
The show's cast is set to perform Tuesday at New York's Lincoln Triangle Barnes & Noble, where they are also expected to sign copies of the CD.
In less desirable news, the holiday week was not kind to the show, as it continued to decline in the grosses, according to the report for the week of June 29-July 5 that came out last week. Attendance, 9,671 audience members, was down more than 2 percent compared to the previous week, with the percentage of seats filled falling to 75 percent. The overall gross, $675,135, was 14 percent lower than the week before because the per-ticket average also fell, down more than 11 percent to $69.81. The show remained steady for the week at No. 15 for biggest Broadway gross but dipped one to No. 13 for audience size. Since opening for previews, the show has grossed $9.2 million and been seen by 138,272 people.
Dolly's "Backwoods Barbie" dropped two more places to No. 63 in its 49th week on the country albums chart last week. Up north, "The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1" fell back off of the top 50 Canadian country albums list, down from No. 50 the previous week, but Down Under the collection re-enters the top 20 Australian country albums tally at No. 15. In the U.S., Steve Martin's "The Crow - New Songs for the 5-String Banjo," with his Dolly guest appearance, remained steady at No. 1 bluegrass in its 20th week and rose 15 to No. 170 pop in its sixth week there.
Dollywood was in the news on opposite sides of the Atlantic last week with positive mentions in two different publications. A writer for The Chicago Tribune on Thursday proclaimed the Pigeon Forge area the best "place to spend quality time with the kids" and declared that Dollywood is one of the best theme parks in the world. In London, England, The Financial Times extended Dolly a quite lengthy and comprehensive profile last week that focused on her most recent visit to the park and concluded: "Liberal or conservative, gay or straight, Parton's fans are moved by her tale of poverty and survival. As visitors stand in line in the punishing southern heat to peer into Dollywood's replica of the tiny cabin in which she spent her dirt-poor childhood, it feels almost as if they are communing with the American dream."
TLC has announced that the two-episode vacation that the Duggar Family took to Pigeon Forge will air over the next two weeks. The first episode, "Duggars In Dixie," airing at 9 p.m. Tuesday with an 11 p.m. repeat, will feature their experience at Dolly's Dixie Stampede dinner theatre. The second episode, "Duggars Meet Dolly," airing at 9 p.m. July 21 with an 11 p.m. repeat, will include their actual meeting with Dolly herself.
Dolly's Imagination Library literacy program recently saw its first book delivery to the most remote inhabited place on the planet, according to Britain's Royal Mail. The 13 children under the age of 5 who live on the island Tristan da Cunha, a British territory in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean about halfway between South America and South Africa, are the program's newest additions. To get there, the books take a 6,000-mile flight to South Africa, followed by a week-long fishing boat trip to the island.
To keep abreast of Dolly's comings and goings, be sure to check out the nightly news updates on Dollymania.net: The Online Dolly Parton Newsmagazine!
“9 to 5’s” Stephanie J. Block on What She Does “5 to 9″ - Speakeasy - WSJ
“9 to 5’s” Stephanie J. Block on What She Does “5 to 9″ - Speakeasy - WSJBy Michelle Kung
- AP
- Block with co-stars Allison Janney and Kathy Fitzgerald
Stage actress Stephanie J. Block made her Broadway debut as Liza Minnelli (opposite Hugh Jackman’s Peter Allen) in “The Boy From Oz,” which she quickly followed with leading roles in the national tour of “Wicked” and the short-lived “The Pirate Queen.” Ms. Block can currently be seen as the nervous new employee Judy Bernly in the Tony Award-nominated musical adaptation “9 to 5.” Like many soaring voices of the Great White Way, she released a solo album entitled “This Place I Know” last month. But unlike most Broadway recording artists, she asked the composer of each her selected songs to perform with her, including “Wicked” composer Stephen Schwartz and, of course, “9 to 5″ song writer Dolly Parton. We recently spoke to Ms. Block about the evolution of her debut album, from which she’ll be singing several selections when she performs at Manhattan’s Birdland nightclub Monday evening.
The Wall Street Journal: The concept behind your album is that you’ve asked each song’s composer to join you in performing each selection. How did you decide on that idea?
I first started planning my album several couple years ago, when I was doing this little evening of music that I’d put together. Specifically, I knew I wanted to get the composer Stephen Schwartz to record a song called “Making Good” with me; [the song] was originally a part of “Wicked,” but then got replaced with “The Wizard and I.” He was very open to it, so in 2006, we laid down that first track. After doing that first song, I realized this was the concept I wanted to thread together my album with and started reaching out to other composers.
How many composers did you reach out to?
Probably 14 or 15. 12 to 13 actually said yes, but with everyone’s different schedules, not all of them made it onto the album.
That must have taken a ton of coordination.
Yes. In addition to arranging their schedules, each composer really wanted their own specific arrangements and musicians. Usually when you record an album, you have studio musicians that will sit there for 2 days. This was different, because each composer wanted different musicians, so in the studio, we’d do sound tests with one group, and then they would leave and another group of musicians would come and you’d need to reset the entire studio for a whole new instrumentation and arrangement. It became a lot more complicated than I was expecting and took a lot of extra time and care. But it was worth the two years in the making and the emptying of my bank account.
Yikes. Was the music licensing very expensive?
Well, we had to license the music, but I also wanted to produce this myself — I wanted to make sure that the final say on every decision came down to me, and that takes a producer credit, and that takes money.
You sing one of Dolly’s most iconic songs — “I Will Always Love You” — on the album. Was that intimidating?
It was actually her idea — I think, in humor and humility, she said, I wrote this song and Whitney Houston has recorded it [for the movie "The Bodyguard"], but I think your voice would sound great with it and we can do something completely different, so there is no sort of people reminiscing about other recordings. I thought about it and said, “Let’s really focus on the lyrics, and make it almost the most simple track on the CD — almost like lullaby.” The lyrics really are heart breaking. When you listen to the Whitney version, it’s all about the vocal tricks and sounds very produced. I mean, Whitney can do amazing things, but I wanted to focus on the lyrics.
What can audiences expect to hear at Birdland on the 13th?
Half of the set will be from the album, and the other half will be some of the tunes I fell in love with, but didn’t quite make it onto the album. Not that they’re sub-quality; they just didn’t work with the flow and cohesiveness of the album.
The first time I played Birdland was in 2004 and I was nervous as all get-out, because it was truly the first time I was going to step on stage in New York as myself — it’s very different playing a character and singing music that was written for a character and services the play. When you’re standing up there for yourself, there’s really a vulnerability and a feeling of being naked. I love it now, but with every set date, it gets to be a little nerve-wracking because you hope that you’re giving the audience the same experience that you first got at your first show.
