Category Archives: People

Broadway Birthday: Brian Stokes Mitchell

Happy birthday to Tony-winning performer Brian Stokes Mitchell, born Oct. 31, 1957 in Seattle. Mitchell grew up in various military bases and began acting in school musicals while in San Diego. He was soon performing professionally and made his Broadway … Continue reading

Posted in People, Performers | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Broadway Birthday: Maury Yeston

Happy birthday to Tony-winning composer Maury Yeston, born Oct. 23, 1945, in Jersey City, NJ. After earning his bachelor’s in music at Yale and his master’s at Cambridge, he taught at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, before returning to Yale to … Continue reading

Posted in People, Writers | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Broadway Birthday: Marc Shaiman

Happy birthday to EGOT-nominee composer Marc Shaiman, who was born Oct. 22, 1959, in Newark, NJ. He grew up in Scotch Plains but left home at age 16 to work in New York, starting his career as a musical director … Continue reading

Posted in People, Writers | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Broadway Birthday: Aaron Tveit 

Happy birthday to 2020 Tony nominee Aaron Tveit, who was born Oct. 21, 1983. Raised in Middletown, NY, Tveit performed in all four of his high school’s theater productions, including West Side Story as Tony. He studied musical theater at … Continue reading

Posted in People, Performers | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

In Memoriam: Nick Cordero

Tony-nominated Broadway musical performer Nick Cordero died on Sunday from COVID-19 complications. Born and raised in Hamilton, Canada, Cordero attended Ryerson University in Toronto for two years before leaving to perform in the band Lovemethod. He made his New York … Continue reading

Posted in People, Performers | Tagged , | Leave a comment

In Memoriam: Barbara Cook

I haven’t kept up with this blog for a while, but I couldn’t ignore the passing of one of the American theater’s legendary performers: Barbara Cook. She made her Broadway debut in 1951 and was an important part of musical … Continue reading

Posted in People, Performers | Tagged | Comments Off on In Memoriam: Barbara Cook

Wicked Joins Smithsonian Collection

During “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” a special ceremony on Dec. 17, the award-winning musical Wicked joined Hello, Dolly!, Fiddler on the Roof, A Chorus Line, Cats, The Lion King, and Rent in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American … Continue reading

Posted in Designers, People | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Oklahoma’s Leading Ladies

Within the past month we have lost the two leading ladies from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s landmark musical Oklahoma! This Monday, Joan Roberts, who originated the role of Laurey, died in Stamford, Conn., at age 95. She made her Broadway debut … Continue reading

Posted in People, Performers | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

In Memoriam: Mark O’Donnell

Yesterday, musical theater lost another unique voice. On Monday, librettist Mark O’Donnell died after collapsing in the lobby of his New York apartment. With co-writer Tom Meehan, O’Donnell crafted the books for musical adaptations of two John Waters films. The first, … Continue reading

Posted in People, Writers | Tagged | Leave a comment

In Memoriam: Marvin Hamlisch

On Monday, composer Marvin Hamlisch died in Los Angeles, after a brief illness. A “singular sensation” himself, Hamlisch won three Oscars, four Emmys, four Grammys (including one as Best New Artist), one Tony, plus the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. (The … Continue reading

Posted in People, Writers | Tagged | Leave a comment