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Neil Simon Theatre
The Neil Simon Theatre, originally the Alvin Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 250 West 52nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1927, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was built for Alex A. Aarons and Vinton Freedley. The original name was an amalgamation of Aarons's and Freedley's first names; the theater was renamed for playwright Neil Simon in 1983. The Neil Simon has 1,467 seats across two levels and is operated by the Nederlander Organization. Both the facade and the auditorium interior are New York City landmarks. The facade is divided into two sections: the six-story stage house to the west and the five-story auditorium to the east. The ground floor is clad with terracotta blocks and contains an entrance with a marquee. The upper stories of both sections are made of brick and terracotta; the auditorium facade has arched windows, niches, and a central pediment, while the stage house has a ...
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The Cher Show (musical)
''The Cher Show'' is a jukebox musical with a book by Rick Elice that tells the story of the life and career of Cher, using songs that she performed throughout her career. The part of Cher is played by three actresses: one portraying her in the 1950s and 60s (nicknamed "Babe"), one for the 1970s (nicknamed "Lady"), and one for the 1980s and 90s (nicknamed "Star"). The three interact with each other at various points. The musical had a workshop in the fall of 2017 in New York City, followed by its world premiere at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago, on June 12, 2018. The production opened on Broadway in December 2018. The original cast album was released on digital platforms on April 12, 2019, and on compact disc on May 10, 2019. ''The Cher Show'' played its final Broadway performance on August 18, 2019. A revised production launched at the Leicester Curve in April 2022, before embarking on a UK tour. Original Broadway production ''The Cher Show'' made its world premiere at the ...
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Pediment
Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In ancient architecture, a wide and low triangular pediment (the side angles 12.5° to 16°) typically formed the top element of the portico of a Greek temple, a style continued in Roman temples. But large pediments were rare on other types of building before Renaissance architecture. For symmetric designs, it provides a center point and is often used to add grandness to entrances. The cornice continues round the top of the pediment, as well as below it; the rising sides are often called the "raking cornice". The tympanum is the triangular area within the pediment, which is often decorated with a pedimental sculpture which may be freestanding or a relief sculpture. The tympanum may hold an inscription, or in modern times, a clock face. ...
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Hairspray (musical)
''Hairspray'' is an American musical with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, with a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on John Waters's 1988 film of the same name. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues. Set in 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, the production follows teenage Tracy Turnblad's dream to dance on ''The Corny Collins Show'', a local TV dance program based on the real-life '' Buddy Deane Show''. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, leading to social change as Tracy campaigns for the show's integration. The musical opened in Seattle in 2002 and moved to Broadway later that year. In 2003, ''Hairspray'' won eight Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical, out of 13 nominations. It ran for 2,642 performances, and closed on January 4, 2009. ''Hairspray'' has also had national tours, a West End production, and numerous foreign productions and was adapted as a ...
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Annie (musical)
''Annie'' is a musical with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and a book by Thomas Meehan. It is based on the 1924 comic strip ''Little Orphan Annie'' by Harold Gray (which in turn was inspired from the poem '' Little Orphant Annie'' by James Whitcomb Riley). The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years, setting a record for the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre). It spawned numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours, and won seven Tony Awards, including for Best Musical. The musical's songs " Tomorrow" and " It's the Hard Knock Life" are among its most popular musical numbers. Background Martin Charnin first approached Thomas Meehan to write the book of a musical about ''Little Orphan Annie'', in 1972. Meehan researched, by rereading prints of the comic strip, but he was unable to find any satisfactory material for a musical, other than the characters of Annie, Oliver Warbucks, and Sandy, s ...
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Shenandoah (musical)
''Shenandoah'' is a 1974 musical with music by Gary Geld, lyrics by Peter Udell, and book by Udell, Philip Rose, and James Lee Barrett. It is based on Barrett's original screenplay for the 1965 film ''Shenandoah''. Synopsis Charlie Anderson, a widower, lives with his large family in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, during the American Civil War. Anderson does not wish to be involved with the war because he doesn't consider it "his" war, but he is forced to take action when his youngest son Robert is taken prisoner by Union soldiers. In the course of searching for Robert, Charlie, his daughter Jenny, and some of his sons rescue Sam (Jenny's newlywed Confederate soldier husband) from a Yankee POW train. After enduring the tragedy of losing his eldest son Jacob (to a sniper) and his second eldest son James and James' wife Anne (to deserters), Charlie and the rest of the family return home, defeated. In his despair, Charlie is reminded to return to church, where he, at long l ...
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Company (musical)
''Company'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth. The original 1970 production was nominated for a record-setting 14 Tony Awards, winning six. ''Company'' was among the first book musicals to deal with contemporary dating, marriage, and divorce,''Broadway: the American musical'', episode 5: "Tradition (1947–1979)", 2004. and is a notable example of a concept musical lacking a linear plot. In a series of vignette (literature), vignettes, ''Company'' follows bachelor Bobby interacting with his married friends, who throw a party for his 35th birthday. Background George Furth wrote 11 one-act plays planned for Kim Stanley. Anthony Perkins was interested in directing and gave the material to Sondheim, who asked Harold Prince for his opinion. Prince said the plays could be a good basis for a musical about New York marriages with a central character to examine those marriages. Synopsis In the early 1990s, Furth and Sondheim ...
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The Great White Hope
''The Great White Hope'' is a 1967 play written by Howard Sackler, later adapted in 1970 for a film of the same title. The play was first produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., and debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre in October 1968, directed by Edwin Sherin with James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander in the lead roles. The play won the 1969 Tony Award for Best Play and the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, with the only singing role as Barbara Johnson Tucker. Subsequent touring companies of the play featured Brock Peters and Claudette Nevins in the lead roles. The play is based on the true story of Jack Johnson (fictionalized under the character name "Jack Jefferson") and his fight against Jim Jeffries, and also covers the controversy over his marriage to first wife, Etta Terry Duryea, and Duryea's death by suicide in 1912. Background While the play is often described as being thematically about racism, this is not how Sackler viewed his work. Though not denyi ...
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High Spirits (musical)
''High Spirits'' is a musical with a book, lyrics, and music by Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray, based on the play '' Blithe Spirit'' by Noël Coward, about a man coping with the ghost of his dead wife. Martin and Gray adhered closely to Coward's original text, while expanding the medium's character to the star role, initially calling the show ''Faster Than Sound''. The playwright was delighted with their adaptation and agreed to direct it himself. Productions The musical opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on April 7, 1964, and closed on February 27, 1965, after 375 performances and 14 previews. Gower Champion aided Coward in directing the musical. Mordden, Ethan, ''Open a New Window: The Broadway Musical of the 1960s'', Palgrave (2001), pages 38–40 () p. 39. Fred Werner was music director, scenic and costumes design were by Robert Fletcher, lighting design was by Jules Fisher, and Tammy Grimes' costume was by Valentina. The production was nominated for eight Tony Awar ...
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A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specifically '' Curculio'', '' Pseudolus'', '' Miles Gloriosus'', and '' Mostellaria'', the musical tells the bawdy story of a slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door. The plot displays many classic elements of farce, including puns, the slamming of doors, cases of mistaken identity (frequently involving characters disguising themselves as one another), and satirical comments on social class. The title derives from a line often used by vaudeville comedians to begin a story: "A funny thing happened on the way to the theater". The musical's original 1962 Broadway run won several Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Author (Musical). ''A Funny Thing'' has enjoyed several ...
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Something For The Boys
''Something for the Boys'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields. Produced by Mike Todd, the show opened on Broadway in 1943 and starred Ethel Merman in her fifth Cole Porter musical. Productions Out-of-town tryouts began on December 18, 1942, at the Shubert Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts."'Something for the Boys'"
sondheimguide.com, accessed January 10, 2011
The musical opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on January 7, 1943, and closed on January 8, 1944, after 422 performances. It starred (Blossom Hart),
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Lady In The Dark
''Lady in the Dark'' is a musical with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book and direction by Moss Hart. It was produced by Sam Harris. The protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy editor of a fashion magazine who is undergoing psychoanalysis. The musical ran on Broadway in 1941, and in the United Kingdom in 1981. A film version was released in 1944, and a live television special followed in 1954. Structure ''Lady in the Dark'' has an unusual structure for a work of musical theatre. The play is divided into dialogue scenes portraying the life of the protagonist, Liza Elliott, and dream sequences portraying her fantasies and nightmares. The musical score is confined to the dream sequences, each of which takes the form of a mini-operetta; unlike a typical book musical, no songs are performed during the real-life scenes. Story Liza Elliott finds herself constantly plagued by indecision in her professional and personal life. She is courted by two men, the already-m ...
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Anything Goes
''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, revised considerably by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London. Billy Crocker is a stowaway in love with heiress Hope Harcourt, who is engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Nightclub singer Reno Sweeney and Public Enemy Number 13, "Moonface" Martin, aid Billy in his quest to win Hope. Songs introduced that later became pop and jazz standards are " Anything Goes", " You're the Top", " All Through the Night", and " I Get a Kick Out of You". Since its 1934 debut at the Alvin Theatre (now known as the Neil Simon Theatre) on Broadway, the musical has been revived several times in the United States and Britain. It has been adapted for film three times (in 1936, 1956 and a filmed version of a stage production in 2021), and adapted for television al ...
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