Denzel Washington, Hugh Jackman, Blair Underwood, Julia Roberts, Al Pacino, and Nicole Kidman. These are just a few of the names that have made the leap from the Silver Screen to the Great White Way, and done so very successfully. But what is the secret?

It’s a combination that works well for both sides. Broadway and the arts community receives some of the biggest names, which are the biggest draws to the theaters. Irene Gandy, who’s closely entwined in the theater industry on Broadway, told CNN, “I would say that we go after the names to get people in the seats and help the box office.”

She also says that the industry itself is changing, and that while audiences may have once shunned the idea of big-name stars tramping onto their prestigious Broadway stage, this is no longer the case. “Theater has changed,” she said. “Audiences like to go see people that they’ve never seen live before and that they are familiar with.”

The stars on the other hand are often tired of appearing in the same old Hollywood movies; and are happy to perform for a crowd that they can feed off of every night. Corbin Bleu has made the leap himself first playing in “High School Musical” and then filling the role of Jesus in the revival of the 70s Broadway hit Godspell. When talking about why it works so well on the actor’s side of things he said, “It’s very strengthening to be able to stand in front of the entire audience and get that automatic feedback and have that living, breathing thing in your hand. It’s a beautiful thing there.”

With Broadway recording profits in their books this year, and more Silver Screen stars taking the stage than ever before, it’s a formula that clearly works. And maybe audiences don’t even need to know why. They can just enjoy the show.

Jim Dale might be best known for writing his Academy award-winning song “Georgy Girl,” but he’s also appeared on television, in film, and has come to be known as “the voice of Harry Potter,” after recording all seven books onto audio. All of this and more and now, he’ll tell of it all in his one-man show, Just Jim Dale, that’s now debuting in New Haven, Connecticut.

The entire show is only 90 minutes long; not a lot of time to cover a career that has spanned 60 years. And while it’s taken a year to create, the last thing Jim Dale says he wants is “to be up there too long.” He says he also “didn’t want to do one of those “and then I did” shows,” and audiences are guaranteed to be enraptured by every minute.

Not only because it’s an up close and personal look at one of the most iconic figures in show business; but also because he’ll be performing two or three songs from “Barnum,” one of his most popular works yet that was originally done in the 80s and has never been revived. And, Dale is sure to bring his best once again to this performance. Not only because his heart now belongs to Broadway, but also because he says, “I want people to say, ‘I’ve never seen anything I didn’t like him in.'”

Certainly this will be one of the many to add to the list that audiences will love. The show began on June 14 and runs for two weeks at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven.

Joel Grey fans will be delighted to see the Academy Award winning star once again gracing Broadway stages in the newest production of “Anything Goes“.  This musical revival is also starring the talented Stephanie J.  Block, Robert Petkoff, Julie Halston, and Erin Mackey.  If that isn’t enough to get your attention, then know this classic musical has music and lyrics by Cole Porter.  This is one show worth seeing this year, even if it is a long time favorite or you are seeing it for the very first time

The story sets out innocently enough on an ocean liner ship that is leaving New York and heading to London.  Aboard the S.S. America, we soon meet a cast of zany characters including a nightclub singer, a wealthy Lord, a lovesick stowaway, a public enemy and a bevy of sailors who love to tap dance.  The heart of the story, like any good story worth telling, is about love.  There are plenty of gags and jokes to keep you in stitches, as well as some of the best tunes in a musical today.  This is classical musical theater at its best.

You may well know some of this show’s best hits already including “I Get a Kick Out of You”, “It’s De-Lovely”, “You’re the Top”, and of course the famous tune “Anything Goes”.  If you’ve never seen the show, but the songs sound familiar it could be because they have been referenced in some major movies.  Barbara Streisand herself sings “You’re The Top” in the film What’s Up, Doc?  The younger audience today may well know the title song, as it was performed on the popular show Glee.

The show can currently be seen at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in New York, New York.  If you live in the area or are planning a visit, be sure to get your tickets early.  For the rest of the US, there is good news!  A U.S. tour is scheduled to start in October 2012.  This means cities all across the United States will get to enjoy this top tapping musical, right in their hometown!  Be sure to keep a lookout as ticket dates and cities have yet to be announced.

Come out and see Joel Grey and the fabulous cast of “Anything Goes”, where anything really does go!

The Broadway production of Death of a Salesman sounded like a lot of ho-hum to many when it was first announced that it was coming to the Great White Way. It’s a play that’s been done a million times by millions of different people and frankly, there are only so many ways to tell the story. Add to that the fact that it’s not a musical — the bread and butter of Broadway — and people start to get nervous. But the cast led by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and the impeccable direction of Mike Nichols has turned this same-old play into the hottest ticket on Broadway.

With four Tony nominations, a cast that includes not only Hoffman but Linda Edmond, John Glover, and Andrew Garfield (to name just a few,) no one needed to be told that this was one brilliant production. But the Broadway League just confirmed it with the announcement that the play grossed just over $1 million in earnings last week. That’s a record for the Barrymore Theatre where the play is showing — and that’s while running only seven plays a week instead of the typical eight that shows usually see.

The theatre does charge appropriately for what audiences get in return — the average for one of last week’s ticket was $140.68 — something that has allowed investors in the show to already start to see a return on their $3.1 million investment. But the figures certainly back up the brilliance of the show, and those who have seen the show will tell you that every second is worth every penny.

Rebecca is a story that is timeless and haunting. It was first dreamt up and offered as a novel by Daphne du Maurier in 1938. While many have read the novel, most will be more familiar with the 1940 Academy Award winning movie version directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. Those in love with the gothic tale will be thrilled to hear about yet another way to enjoy this classic with “Rebecca: The Musical” coming to a Broadway stage soon.

The first musical version of this play was done in Germany, with German lyrics by Michael Kunze and music by Sylvester Levay. A U.S. version is now in the works, breathing life once again into the roles of Maxim DeWinter, his charming new wife, and housekeeper Mrs. Danvers. This English version of the musical has a book and lyrics by Christopher Hampton, with Kunze also helping with the English lyrics. The best news is that you don’t have to wait long, the Broadway version of this musical is scheduled for this fall!

Previews for this new play start on October 30th 2012, a fitting time for a ghostly revue.  The opening is scheduled for November 18th at the Broadhurst Theatre. This opening date has some nervous as the two main lead roles are still sitting uncast. It was to originally to star Tam Mutu and Sierra Boggess, but due to financial issues the play was pushed back and the stars found leading parts in other musicals. Who will play the millionaire and his wife? There is plenty of speculation but no solid announcements to date. So far the other roles already cast include Karen Mason, James Barbour and Howard McGillin. Songs in this musical version of the play will include “Last Night I Dreamt of Manderley”, “Rebecca” and “I’m Mrs. De Winter” among many others.

Will the ghost of Rebecca haunt the stage, and will the madness of obsession show its face in this musical version of the novel? The only way to find out is to book your Rebecca musical tickets and see for yourself! Who knew the entertainment industry would drag Hitchcock out of his slumber and onto the stage?

Illogical. Nonsensical. Comedic and charming. These are all words that can easily be used to describe the show running on Broadway known as Nice Work if You Can Get It. But one word sums them, and its main star Matthew Broderick, better than any others: brilliant.

Nice Work is set in Long Island in the 1920s, at the height of Prohibition. About to be married for the fourth time, Jimmy Winter (Broderick) is entertaining his soon-to-be parents-in-law at his mansion at the same time that he falls in love with a bootlegger named Billie, played by Kathleen Marshall. Quickly joining Billie in her bootlegging adventures, Jimmy must conduct all activity in strict secretiveness, for his in-laws are Prohibitionists.

The silly plot is accentuated by even sillier songs including “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “I’ve Got a Crush on You,” and “Someone to Watch Over Me,” along with 12 other numbers that will have audiences laughing, dancing, and making memories of a magical night at the theater.

Broderick’s charm shines through with every step he takes on the stage, and you can tell that it’s where he’s meant to be, as his voice projects the jaunty, witty lyrics of each song. Those who loved him in The Producers and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, a performance which won him a Tony Award, will love him equally so in Nice Work.

Kelli O’Hara is the perfect complement to Broderick, playing the role of Billie, and bringing her own Tony-nominated presence to the stage (for South Pacific.) Another Tony winner, Joe DiPietro, wrote the book; while Kathleen Marhsall, who’s won a Tony for Anything Goes, both directed and choreographed the show.

If you’d like to see Broadway’s latest piece of Nice Work, get your tickets now; the show is running until November 2012.

It was refreshing to hear during Tuesday’s Tony Award nominations that the Nominations Committee had not only looked at the biggest acts on Broadway, but also some of the lesser-known. And from the nominations list this year, there are no clear frontrunners. Here’s the full list of this year’s Tony Awards nominees:

Best Play: Clybourne Park, Other Desert Cities, Peter and the Starcatcher, Venus if Fur

Best Musical: Leap of Faith, Newsies, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Once

Best Book of a Musical: Lysistrata Jones, Newsies, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Once

Best Original Score Written for the Theatre: Bonnie & Clyde, Newsies, One Man, Two Guvnors, Peter and the Starcatcher

Best Revival of a Play: Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, Master Class, Wit

Best Revival of a Musical: Evita, Follies, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, Jesus Christ Superstar

Best Performance by an Actor in Leading Role in a Play: James Corden for One Man, Two Guvnors; Philip Seymour Hoffman for Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman; James Earl Joes for Gore Vidal’s The Best Man; Frank Langella for Man and Boy; John Lithgow for The Columnist

Best Performance by an Actress in Leading Role in a Play: Nina Arianda for Venus in Fur; Tracie Bennett for End of the Rainbow; Stockard Channing for Other Desert Cities; Linda Lavin for The Lyons; Cynthia Nixon for Wit

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Danny Burnstein for Follies; Jeremy Jordan for Newsies; Steve Kazee for Once; Norm Lewis for The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess; Ron Raines for Follies.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Jan Maxwell for Follies; Audra McDonald for The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess; Cristin Milioti for Once; Kelli O’Hara for Nice Work If You Can Get It; Laura Osnes for Bonnie & Clyde

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Christian Borle for Peter and the Starcatcher; Michael Cumpsty for End of the Rainbow; Tom Edden for One Man, Two Guvnors; Andrew Garfield for Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman; Jeremy Shamos for Clybourne Park

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Linda Emond for Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman; Spencer Kayden for Don’t Dress for Dinner; Celia Keenan-Bolger for Peter and the Starcatcher; Judith Light for Other Desert Cities; Condola Rashad for Stick Fly

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Phillip Boykin for The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess; Michael Cerveris for Evita; David Alan Grier for The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess; Michael McGrath for Nice Work If You Can Get It; Josh Young for Jesus Christ Superstar

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Elizabeth A. Davis for Once; Jayne Houdyshell for Follies; Judy Kaye for Nice Work If You Can Get It; Jessie Mueller for On a Clear Day You Can See Forever; Da’Vine Joy Randolph for Ghost the Musical

The 66^th Annual Tony Awards will be held on Sunday June 10, 2012 and a live telecast will be presented both on the East and West coasts so make sure to watch to see who wins!

Sunday’s matinee of Mary Poppins usually sees an audience filled with children, but this past Sunday was one of the most special audiences of them all. Autistic children, filling all ranges of the extremely wide spectrum that the disorder encompasses, filled the New Amsterdam Theatre to watch the afternoon performance, make all the noise they wanted, and even wander off to special areas set aside for them. The tweaks made for the audience, some say, made the show even better and the performances put on by the cast and crew were never more heartfelt as they put everything they had into this very special showing.

The show was the second to be put on by The Theatre Development Fund, an organization that’s dedicated to ensuring arts, drama, and music are available to all children, even those who may not be physically unable to sit quietly through an entire production. During the show children are free to chirp, moan, shout out, and in short, just be themselves while they enjoy one of the most beloved children’s stories of all time.

Aside from the play, there are all sorts of things for kids to do including coloring books, small toys that need something to keep their hands busy, assorted games, and different puzzles. For those who are feeling a bit more rambunctious, activity areas were set up where kids could let off some steam; and for those who had had enough for a little while, there were calming corners. Theatre staff members stood on each corner of the stage and held up green glow sticks when a particularly loud portion of the play was coming up, although some sounds and lights during the performance were dimmed to accommodate the patrons. All of it was to ensure that everyone created memories to last a lifetime of their afternoon on Broadway, and no one left disappointed.

Each autistic-friendly show that The Theatre Development Fund puts on brings another opportunity for them to see ways they can improve it and make it even better for this unique audience. The first time they tried the concept was for a showing of The Lion King in October, and that also saw wild success. The next autism-friendly showing will also be of The Lion King, planned for this coming September.

Do you believe in love?  It’s hard to believe that 22 years have passed since Ghost was released in the theater to much critical acclaim, several Oscar nods (and two wins) and cinema history.  The film was a financial success and helped established Patrick Swayze, Whoopi Goldberg and Demi Moore as not only big movie stars, but also icons of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

While you might think such inspirational, and Christian devotional filmmaking would be outdated in the cynical 2012 era, Sam says ditto to you!  In fact, retro is very in today and fans and newcomers alike can experience the miracle all over again.  Ghost The Musical is coming to New York after a successful run at the Manchester Opera House in the U.K.

The New York show will star its original cast including Richard Fleeshman as Sam, Caissie Levy as Molly and Sharon D. Clarke as Oda Mae Brown.  The presentation will debut at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and it’s all starting in March 2012!

While most people remember Ghost as a crushing drama, you might be intrigued to know that this new version of Ghost is actually a musical.  The book is by Bruce Joel Rubin and the music and lyrics by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard.  While the production is based on the 1990 film, this is an entirely new production with original songs.  Some of the most memorable numbers include “Here Right Now”, “Three Little Words” and “Life Turns on a Dime.”  And in case you’re an old softie, yes, you will be relieved to know that “Unchained Melody” (the classic song that characterized the original film) returns to the stage.

The plot itself sticks to the source material, and centers on Sam and Molly.  When Sam dies, he becomes caught between the real world and the Hereafter.  With the help of medium Oda Mae Brown, Sam and Molly find some closure.

Perhaps it’s a fitting tribute that Ghost is having a revival and many new fans are discovering the influence of the late Patrick Swayze, who did so much to create the role of Sam in the original film.  We can just visualize a glowing, heaven-bound Swayze looking on in approval as his favorite movie lives on for a new generation.

If you loved the original Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar back in 1971, or any of the many other stage and film versions that have followed, you may love the one now playing at the Neil Simon Theater just as much. Or, it could have you running for the doors. It will all depend on your own perspective, and whether or not you can appreciate the now-modernized, yet gruesome play that unfolds before you.

The show, just like the original, comes to New York from the Stratford Shakespeare Festival held in Stratford, Canada every year, and its brought much of its cast and crew with it. Most notably, Josh Young reprises the role of Judas, the ultimate betrayer and Paul Nolan continues on in the role of Jesus. Mary Magdalene is played by Chilina Kennedy and Paul Nolan plays out the role of Jesus, while Bruce Dow plays the part of Herod, the king who is out to destroy him.

While the show does mainly keep true to the original rock musical written by Tim Rice and Andrew Llyod Webber, it’s punctuated with elements that can only come from a more modern era. Women in miniskirts, men with nothing but leather and chains strapped across their body, and all of them dancing in between metallic stairways and other highly modern-looking parts of the set. But, it might not be the contemporary spin on this performance that leaves some audience members disappointed. That comes at the end of the play, with the climax of the crucifixion.

You have to know going in that it’s not going to be a pretty sight, but this is Broadway gore at its finest. Between the crown of thorns, the flogging and other forms of torture administered to Jesus by the kings’ men, and the lashings that depicted with garishly red slash marks across a big screen, all make this a show for adults only.

For those that don’t mind a bit of dramatic punch added here and there, no matter how bloody; and who like to see new spins put on old stories (this one’s perhaps the oldest of them all!) get your tickets today. It opened last night at the Neil Simon Theater and will be running all the way through to September!