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Betty Jane Watson
Elizabeth Jane Watson (December 28, 1921 – February 21, 2016) was an American actress and singer known for her roles in musical theatre, especially Laurey in ''Oklahoma!'', creating the role in the London premiere. She also performed in nightclubs and on television, including as co-host of the game show '' Winner Take All''. Early life and marriages Watson was born and raised in Le Roy, Illinois, near Bloomington,"Elizabeth Jane (Betty) Watson" '' Sun-Sentinel'', February 25, 2016 the daughter of James R. Watson and his wife Elizabeth Jane, ''née'' Stapleton. She attended Lincoln Junior High School in [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musical Theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like opera and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply, musicals. Although music has been a part of dramatic presentations since ancient times, modern Western musical theatre emerged during the 19th century, with many structural elements established by the works of Gilbert and Sullivan in Britain and those of Harrigan and Hart in America. These were followed by the numerous Edwardian musical comedies and the musical theatre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
As The Girls Go
''As the Girls Go'' is a musical with music by Jimmy McHugh, lyrics by Harold Adamson and a book by William Roos. After an out-of-town tryout at the Opera House in Boston in October 1948, the original Broadway production of ''As the Girls Go'' opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on November 13, 1948, transferred to The Broadway Theatre and ran for a total of 420 performances. The production was directed by Howard Bay, choreographed by Hermes Pan and produced by Michael Todd. It starred Bobby Clark and Irene Rich and featured Hobart Cavanaugh, Betty Jane Watson (replaced by Fran Warren), June Kirby, Jo Sullivan, and Pauline Hahn. A teenaged Abbe Lane, billed as Abbe Marshall, was in the ensemble. The production's musical director, Max Meth won a Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Morey Amsterdam Show
''The Morey Amsterdam Show'' is an American sitcom which ran from 1948 to 1949 on CBS Television (13 episodes) and 1949–50 on the DuMont Television Network (58 episodes), for a total of 71 episodes. Synopsis The show began on CBS Radio with Morey Amsterdam playing himself as the emcee at a fictional New York City nightclub, the "Golden Goose Cafe". He introduced musical and comedy acts, and performed songs and monologues himself. Art Carney played Charlie the Doorman and Jacqueline Susann was Lola the Cigarette Girl. After six months on the radio, the show moved to CBS Television with the same characters, actors, and plot. The CBS version premiered December 17, 1948, and ended March 7, 1949, after 13 episodes. The show was picked up by the DuMont Television Network and began broadcasting on April 21, 1949, with a few minor changes. The name of the nightclub was changed to the "Silver Swan Cafe". Art Carney's character changed to Newton the Waiter, Susann continued as Lol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night Movie''. In 2002, ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' was ranked No. 15 on ''TV Guide''s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2013, the series finished No. 31 in ''TV Guide'' Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time. History From 1948 until its cancellation in 1971, the show ran on CBS every Sunday night from 8–9 p.m. Eastern Time, and it is one of the few entertainment shows to have run in the same weekly time slot on the same network for more than two decades (during its first season, it ran from 9 to 10 p.m. ET). Virtually every type of entertainment appeared on the show; classical musicians, opera singers, popular recording artists, songwriters, comedians, ballet dancers, dramatic actors performing monologues from plays, and circus acts we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television personality, impresario, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the ''New York Daily News'' and the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate. He was the creator and host of the television variety program ''The Toast of the Town'', which in 1955 was renamed ''The Ed Sullivan Show''. Broadcast from 1948 to 1971, it set a record as the longest-running variety show in US broadcast history. "It was, by almost any measure, the last great American TV show," said television critic David Hinckley. "It's one of our fondest, dearest pop culture memories." Sullivan was a broadcasting pioneer during the early years of American television. As critic David Bianculli wrote, "Before MTV, Sullivan presented rock acts. Before Bravo, he presented jazz and classical music and theater. Before the Comedy Channel, even before there was ''The Tonight Show'', Sullivan discovered, ano ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, it is one of the most prestigious venues in the world for both classical music and popular music. Carnegie Hall has its own artistic programming, development, and marketing departments and presents about 250 performances each season. It is also rented out to performing groups. Carnegie Hall has 3,671 seats, divided among three auditoriums. The largest one is the Stern Auditorium, a five-story auditorium with 2,804 seats. Also part of the complex are the 599-seat Zankel Hall on Seventh Avenue, as well as the 268-seat Joan and Sanford I. Weill Recital Hall on 57th Street. Besides the auditoriums, Carnegie Hall contains offices on its top stories. Carnegie Hall, originally the Music Hall, was constructed be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Pajama Game
''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. and dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his choreography debut. The story deals with labor troubles and romance in a pajama factory. The original Broadway production opened on May 13, 1954, at the St. James Theatre, and ran for 1,063 performances, with a brief stop at the Shubert Theatre at the end of the run. It was revived in 1973, and again in 2006 by The Roundabout Theatre Company. The original production, produced by Frederick Brisson, Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince, won a Tony Award for Best Musical. The 2006 Broadway revival won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. The musical is a popular choice for community and school group productions. The original West End production opened at the London Coliseum on October 13, 1955, where it ran for 588 performan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Pacific (musical)
''South Pacific'' is a musical theatre, musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and Book (musical theatre), book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The work premiered in 1949 on Broadway theatre, Broadway and was an immediate hit, running for 1,925 performances. The plot is based on James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Pulitzer Prize–winning 1947 book ''Tales of the South Pacific'' and combines elements of several of those stories. Rodgers and Hammerstein believed they could write a musical based on Michener's work that would be financially successful and, at the same time, send a strong progressive message on racism. The plot centers on an American nurse stationed on a South Pacific island during World War II, who falls in love with a middle-aged expatriate French plantation owner but struggles to accept his mixed-race children. A secondary romance, between a U.S. Marine lieutenant and a young Tonkinese woman, explores his fears of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sail Away (musical)
''Sail Away'' is a musical with a book, music and lyrics by Noël Coward. The show was the last musical for which Coward wrote both the book and music, although he wrote the music for one last "book" musical in 1963. The story centres on brash, bold American divorcee Mimi Paragon, working as a hostess on a British cruise ship. The musical ran on Broadway (1961) and in the West End (1962) and has been revived since. Background Elaine Stritch started in the show in a "relatively minor role and was only promoted over the title and given virtually all the best songs when it was reckoned that the leading lady...although excellent, was rather too operatic for a musical comedy." During out-of-town tryouts in Boston, Coward was "unsure about the dramatic talents" of one of the leads, opera singer Jean Fenn. "They were, after all, engaged for their voices and...it is madness to expect two singers to play subtle 'Noel Coward' love scenes with the right values and sing at the same time. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wildcat (musical)
''Wildcat'' is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, and music by Cy Coleman. The original production opened on Broadway in 1960, starring a 49-year-old Lucille Ball in her only Broadway show. The show introduced the song " Hey, Look Me Over", which was subsequently performed as a cover version by several musicians. Background and production Nash had envisioned the main character of Wildy as a woman in her late 20s, and was forced to rewrite the role when Lucille Ball expressed interest not only in playing it but financing the project as well. Desilu, the company owned by Ball and her soon-to-be ex-husband Desi Arnaz, ultimately invested $360,000 in the show in exchange for 36% of the net profits, the rights to the original cast recording (ultimately released by RCA Victor), and television rights for musical numbers to be included in a special titled ''Lucy Goes to Broadway'', a project that eventually was scrapped. Ball also was permitted to ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She earned many honors, including the Women in Film Crystal Award, an induction into the Television Hall of Fame, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors, and the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Ball's career began in 1929 when she landed work as a model. Shortly thereafter, she began her performing career on Broadway using the stage name Diane (or Dianne) Belmont. She later appeared in films in the 1930s and 1940s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures, being cast as a chorus girl or in similar roles, with lead roles in B-pictures and supporting roles in A-pictures. During this time, she met Cuban ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annie Get Your Gun (musical)
''Annie Get Your Gun'' is a musical with lyrics and music by Irving Berlin and a book by Dorothy Fields and her brother Herbert Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley (1860–1926), a sharpshooter who starred in ''Buffalo Bill's Wild West'', and her romance with sharpshooter Frank E. Butler (1847–1926). The 1946 Broadway production was a hit, and the musical had long runs in both New York (1,147 performances) and London, spawning revivals, a 1950 film version and television versions. Songs that became hits include " There's No Business Like Show Business", " Doin' What Comes Natur'lly", "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun", "They Say It's Wonderful", and "Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)". History and background Dorothy Fields had the idea for a musical about Annie Oakley, to star her friend, Ethel Merman. Producer Mike Todd turned the project down, so Fields approached a new producing team, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
