Broadway Journal

Grande. But her star is on the rise, and 2013 was an especially stellar year for the 20-year-old singer, actress, and songwriter. Grande began her ascent into the spotlight in 2008, when she performed the role of Charlotte in the musical 13 on Broadway. She received a National Youth Theatre Association Award for her performance. In 2010, Grande stepped into the role of Cat in Nickelodeon’s popular show Victorious. She also stars as Cat in the Nickelodeon spinoff show Sam and Cat. In March…

The hills are alive again -- revitalized “Sound of Music” production comes to Louisville Measuring up to the exacting standards set by Rodgers and Hammerstein’s iconic musical “Sound of Music” is no small feat. After its Tony-winning introduction in 1959 followed by the 1965 movie production starring Julie Andrews, “Sound of Music” quickly grew to be one of the most widely recognized shows of all time. However, decades later, esteemed director Jack O’Brien still managed to give the production a…

The Australian singer and songwriter - Sia and the American singer, songwriter, musician and actor - Patrick Stump, will contribute their talents in music to 'Charming' - an animated musical comedy concerning three princesses who discover they all have formally agreed to marry the same Prince Charming. Sia, who started her career as a singer in the local Adelaide acid jazz band Crisp, has written two tracks for the flick, one of which is the song "Balladino," that she will perform herself. The…

created the act Shuffle Along. Shuffle along was a huge success both colored and the white audiences made sure to follow the sensational show. The work of Blake and Sissle inspired a lot of the new black musicals and revues that were coming into Broadway. 9. George Gershwin is a very hardworking energetic and talented composer. In 1919 Gershwin got the chance to work for George White, White…

Adam Richard Sandler, was born on September 9, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of five, Sandler and his family moved to New Hampshire where he and his siblings would grow up in a middle class neighborhood (McDonald, 2016). Sandler, who discovered his humorous talents at a young age, quickly became the class clown of his school. However, it was in middle school that Sandler began to develop his iconic sense of “wacky schoolboy humor” (McDonald, 2016). When Sandler was seventeen, he began…

In late 2017, I had the wonderful opportunity to go see Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Watching this large scale production made me increadibly envious of their amaxzing props, sets and stage, as well as their incredible orchestra. I didn’t know back then but the things I gathered from watching this production, and inferences I had as to how they did certain effects, scene changes and other things, would be very valuable when I took on the task of director for The Addams Family Musical.…

Almost my entire life I have wanted to have something in common with my dad. He always watched football with my sister and they had little inside jokes, but we never really had anything in common, until I joined Lake Howell Theater Company. My dad was always in theater when he was my age, so whenever I’m in a play we always have something to talk about. One of the main reasons I want to become a thespian is so that my dad and I can have that in common. A thespian is someone who is in a part of a…

Lack of Access to Broadway Broadway shows have never been very accessible to a large number of the population. Ticket prices are high and continue to climb, there is a limited amount of touring shows, and a severe lack of officially recorded content. As we move into a more technology-reliant era, a few of these issues are beginning to get resolved, but there is still more that can be done in order for more people to enjoy Broadway. One of the biggest issues consumers of musical theater have, is…

1930’s Broadway musicals became incredibly popular amongst the American people. Although a number of these musicals were not known historically, numerous songs produced were later made memorable by famous singers. For example, the song “I Get a Kick Out of You,” was written by songwriter Cole Porter in 1931. It wasn’t till 1938 that the song became memorable by the Broadway musical Anything Goes performed by Ethel Merman (Sewell, Lesson 6). Originally Porter had written the song for the…

In the twentieth century, theatrical representations of A Midsummer Nights Dream (The Dream) underwent a revolution. Leading the breakthrough was Peter Brook’s 1970 production, a challenge to traditional interpretations of Shakespeare’s work. Directors like Robert Lepage (1992) and Tim Supple (2006) followed Peter Brook’s success and explored their own interpretations of The Dream with famous and influential productions. Each of these directors accentuated the contrasts between the play’s…