Gerald Freedman, directorial assistant for the original 1957 production of West Side Story and co-director of the show's 1980 revival, directs the 50th anniversary production of the classic Jerome Robbins-Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim-Arthur Laurents musical at the North Carolina School of the Arts.

Gerald Freedman, directorial assistant for the original 1957 production of West Side Story and co-director of the show's 1980 revival, will direct a 50th anniversary production of the classic Jerome Robbins-Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim musical at the North Carolina School of the Arts.

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts' all-school production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, staged in early 2011 and using the original 1943 designs, dance and orchestrations, was captured on HD tape and will be broadcast locally 8-11 PM on UNC-TV, the public television service in North Carolina.

Faculty, guest professionals and design and performance students at University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) have merged to realize the classic American musical Oklahoma! as it was first envisioned in 1943. The revival recreates original Broadway sets, costumes and dances for an April 28-May 8 run.

Faculty, guest professionals and design and performance students at University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) will merge to realize the classic American musical Oklahoma! as it was first envisioned in 1943. The spring 2011 revival will recreate original Broadway sets, costumes and dances.

Earle Gister, who, as associate dean, chair of the Acting Department, and the first Lloyd Richards Professor of Acting during his two-decade tenure at the Yale School of Drama, was a highly influential figure in the acting world, died Jan. 22 in his sleep at his home in New Haven, his son Carey said. He was 77.

The Perry-Mansfield 2007 New Works Festival, nurturing dance and theatre at the respected, remote performing arts camp and school in Steamboat Springs, CO, begins June 6.

Triad Stage in Greensboro, North Carolina, kicks off its third season with N. Richard Nash's romantic comedy, The Rainmaker, directed by artistic director Preston Lane.

Triad Stage, the new professional resident theatre of Greensboro, NC, opens its first full season Sept. 6 with artistic director Preston Lane's adaptation of Carlo Goldoni's Mirandolina.

Led by Stephen Byrd, Alia Jones-Harvey, and Columbia University, the program helps develop emerging theatremakers.

It was a week of final performances, including that for the long-running international hit Les Misérables, which ended its 16-year-run.

It was the week of final performances. Not only did the stage version of Urban Cowboy play its second final performance, but the long-running international hit Les Misérables ended its 16-year-run and the much-in-the-news “American Idol” finally crowned a new star.

Laura Benanti, Christopher Gattelli, Gavin Creel and Celia Keenan-Bolger are among the artists who will take part in The Performing Arts Project Summer Intensive June 30-July 21 in North Carolina. New York City auditions for high school and college-aged students will take place Feb. 23.

BETTY BUCKLEY
Congratulations to Betty Buckley for receiving a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her work as Hesione in Triumph of Love. Buckley also received rave reviews for her recent concert work at the Proctor's Theatre in Schenectady. In her review for the Times Union, Michelle Solomon writes, "It would be hard to match the intensity performer Betty Buckley brings to the stage. During a two-and a-half-hour show Saturday night, the Tony Award winner and Broadway diva performed 23 songs ranging from her signature 'Memory' from Cats to Hank Williams' 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry.' . . . Backed by a highly stylized jazz quartet, 'An Evening with Betty Buckley' was one of the most exceptional musical evenings to pass through Proctor's this year . . . Highlights were her styling of Kurt Weill's 'September Song' . . . and 'With One Look,' in which she transformed herself into Sunset's Norma Desmond, the character she played on Broadway and in London . . .when Buckley was interpreting songs and bringing characters to life, it was the ultimate in musical perfection."

BETTY BUCKLEY
Congratulations to Betty Buckley for receiving a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her work as Hesione in Triumph of Love. Buckley also received rave reviews for her recent concert work at the Proctor's Theatre in Schenectady. In her review for the Times Union, Michelle Solomon writes, "It would be hard to match the intensity performer Betty Buckley brings to the stage. During a two-and a-half-hour show Saturday night, the Tony Award winner and Broadway diva performed 23 songs ranging from her signature 'Memory' from Cats to Hank Williams' 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry.' . . . Backed by a highly stylized jazz quartet, 'An Evening with Betty Buckley' was one of the most exceptional musical evenings to pass through Proctor's this year . . . Highlights were her styling of Kurt Weill's 'September Song' . . . and 'With One Look,' in which she transformed herself into Sunset's Norma Desmond, the character she played on Broadway and in London . . .when Buckley was interpreting songs and bringing characters to life, it was the ultimate in musical perfection."

A national tour of the record-breaking musical The Fantasticks — re-envisioned as a steampunk-inspired production — kicks off Jan. 17 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, SD.

A national tour of the record-breaking musical The Fantasticks — re-envisioned as a steampunk-inspired production — kicks off Jan. 17 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, SD.

A national tour of the record-breaking musical The Fantasticks — re-envisioned as a steampunk-inspired production — will kick off Jan. 17 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, SD.

News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.

News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.