Share:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Photo: PixabayALBANY – Governor Cuomo says there’s not enough testing being done in the state, especially in places that house a lot of people.The governor said today the state needs to bring testing to scale across the board. His main concern remains nursing homes.“Nursing homes are the single biggest fear in all of this – vulnerable people in one place. It is the feeding frenzy for this virus despite everything we can do in the best efforts of people working in those nursing homes who are doing just a fantastic job,” Governor Cuomo said.More than 2,600 nursing home residents across the state have died as a result of the coronavirus. read more

View Comments In addition to Day, Elliott, Fleeshman and Russell, the full cast of Urinetown will feature Chris Bennett, Alasdair Buchan, Karis Jack, Aaron Lee Lambert, Jeff Nicholson, Adam Pearce and Charlotte Scott, Katie Bernstein, Cory English, Madeleine Harland, Rosanna Hyland, Julie Jupp, Mark Meadows, Joel Montague, Jo Napthine, Matthew Seadon-Young and Jonathan Slinger. Urinetown is set in a futuristic city where a corporation owns all the toilets, so citizens must pay for their use. Aggravated by this arrangement, Bobby Strong (Fleeshman) organizes an uprising against Urine Good Company, a main holder of toilets, and its president Caldwell B. Cladwell (Day). When things intensify, Hope Cladwell (Russell), the boss’ daughter, must choose between Bobby and her father. Day appeared on Broadway as Victor in the 2011 production of Private Lives. His other stage credits include The Low Road, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, Entertaining Mr. Sloane, Timon of Athens, The Ugly One, Don’t Look Now, The 39 Steps, The Philanthropist, Cymbeline, Anything Goes, The Coast of Utopia, Hamlet, Candide, Troilus and Cressida and Oh! What A Lovely War. Day’s TV credits include Titanic, Sherlock and Doctor Who. Urinetown ran on Broadway from 2001 until 2004 and was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, winning for Best Book, Best Score and Best Direction. The London production will feature choreography by Ann Yee, set design by Soutra Gilmour, lighting design by Adam Silverman and sound design by Terry Jardine and Nick Lidster. West End favorite Simon Paisley Day is set to star in the U.K. premiere of Urinetown as Caldwell B. Cladwell. He joins the previously announced Marc Elliott (Eastenders), Richard Fleeshman (Ghost) and Tony nominee Jenna Russell (Sunday in the Park with George). The satirical musical by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis will begin performances on February 22  at London’s St. James Theatre, with opening night scheduled for March 11. Directed by Jamie Lloyd, the production will run through May 3. read more

View Comments Cooney’s notable works includes Move Over Mrs. Markham, Run for Your Wife, Out of Order, It Runs In the Family, Funny Money and Caught in the Net. A film adaptation of Run for Your Wife was released in 2013. Infidelity among the political elite? Surely not?! Ray Cooney’s classic 1984 farce on the subject, Two Into One, will begin performances at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory March 8 with opening night set for March 19. Directed by the playwright, the show will play a limited engagement through April 26. Two Into One will be designed by Paul Farnsworth, with lighting by Farnsworth and sound by Gregory Clarke. Casting will be announced in due course. Two Into One focuses on the infidelity of MP Richard Willey. It’s not a particularly good time to be a philandering Brit politician. Rupert Murdoch isn’t yet hacking phones and digging up dirt on members of the British government, but under famously prudish Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher her government has adopted a puritanical platform. On the eve before voting on a bill that would outlaw pornography, everyone in Parliament is on their best behavior—everyone except Willey. While his colleagues prepare to debate, Willey is attempting to bed the Leader of the Opposition’s secretary in a London hotel. All ministerial aide George Pidgen has to do is book a hotel room for Willey to meet his mistress. But the bumbling assistant makes a series of disastrous mistakes, and extreme complications ensue in two adjoining suites. read more

Two-time Olympic silver medalist and three-time world champion figure skater Elvis Stojko is making his Broadway debut as Billy Flynn on March 17. Stojko  will play the suave lawyer through March 23 before joining Chicago’s North American tour for its Toronto engagement at the Princess of Wales Theatre.  Related Shows View Comments Stojko is a seven-time Canadian figure skating champion and competed in four Olympics, winning silver medals in 1994 and 1998. He reigned as men’s world champion in 1994, 1995 and 1997. He has guest-starred as himself on The Simpsons, appeared in the film Ice Angel and choreographed and performed skating sequences in the film Death to Smoochy. Stojko released the solo CD, 100 Lifetimes, in 2010. The Broadway company of Chicago features Bianca Marroquin as Roxie Hart, Amra-Faye Wright as Velma Kelly, Christopher Fitzgerald as Amos Hart and Roz Ryan as Matron “Mama” Morton. Chicago from $49.50 read more

The cast of Pageant: The Musical includes John Bolton as the host, with Nick Cearley, Alex Ringler, Marty Thomas, Seth Tucker, Curtis Wiley and Nic Cory as the gaggle of tiara-crazed hopefuls. Conceived by Robert Longbottom, Pageant features contestants desperately vying for a glittering tiara. With swimsuit, talent and evening gown competitions, the show includes both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Unlike some (though possibly not all) beauty pageants you’ve seen before, the female contestants are all played by men and the audience gets to select the winner each night. The show is penned by two-time Tony nominee Bill Russell and Frank Kelly and features music by Albert Evans. Pageant: The Musical Show Closed This production ended its run on Oct. 26, 2014 Related Shows Pageant: The Musical opens off-Broadway at the Davenport Theatre on July 14. Directed by Matt Lenz, the dragtastic tuner will play a new performance schedule to that previously announced. Initially the show will play Sunday and Monday evenings. Beginning July 21, Pageant will play Monday, Saturday and Sunday evenings through September 1. View Comments read more

Constellations Tickets are now available to see Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal and Olivier winner Ruth Wilson in the American premiere of Constellations. Nick Payne’s new play will be directed by Michael Longhurst and begin performances on December 16 at MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Opening night is set for January 13, 2015. View Comments Constellations tells the story of one relationship with infinite possibilities. It explores the boundless potential of a first encounter, free will and friendship. The play opened at the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre Upstairs in 2012, directed by Longhurst, before transferring to the West End. The production will feature scenic and costume design by Tom Scutt, lighting design by Lee Curran, sound design by David McSeveney and movement direction by Lucy Cullingford. Show Closed This production ended its run on March 15, 2015 Related Shows read more

View Comments Is it too early to sing “Fahoo Fores, Dahoo Dores?” Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas will return to Madison Square Garden this winter for a limited holiday engagement from December 5 through December 28. Tony winner Shuler Hensley will take on the role of the infamous green grump with additional cast members to be announced. Matt August will direct the production, which features choreography by Bob Richard.A Tony winner for his performance as Jud in Oklahoma!, Hensley’s additional Broadway credits include No Man’s Land/Waiting for Godot, Young Frankenstein, Tarzan and Les Miserables. Off-Broadway, Hensley starred as Charlie in The Whale.Based on the classic Dr. Seuss tale of the same name and featuring the music of Mel Marvin and Timothy Mason, How the Grinch Stole Christmas tells the story of a green curmudgeon who lives on Mount Crumpit, just above Whoville. When the Grinch is disturbed by the loud Christmas celebrations going on in town, he tries to keep Christmas from happening by dressing as Santa Claus and stealing children’s gifts. The Grinch was originally conceived and directed by Jack O’Brien at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego before transferring to Broadway’s Hilton Theatre on November 8, 2006. The show played Madison Square Garden previously in 2012. read more

The much buzzed about new ABC fairytale musical comedy Galavant will premiere on January 4, 2015. As previously reported, the show comes from the minds of Alan Menken, Glenn Slater and Dan Fogelman. Check out a trailer below! Galavant is a single-camera comedy that follows a handsome prince who embarks on a quest for revenge on the king who stole his one true love. Menken, Slater and Fogelman teamed up previously for the Emmy-nominated musical episode of The Neighbors. Menken and Slater are long-term collaborators, having penned music and lyrics, respectively, for Broadway’s Leap of Faith, Sister Act and The Little Mermaid. Menken has won eight Oscars and was awarded a Tony for Newsies. View Comments read more

The Donmar Warehouse production of Kevin Elyot’s My Night with Reg will transfer to the West End next year. The Robert Hastie-directed production will begin performance on January 17, 2015 and open officially on January 23 at the Apollo Theatre. The full Donmar cast will reprise their performances: Julian Ovenden Matt Bardock as Benny, Jonathan Broadbent as Guy, Richard Cant as Bernie, Lewis Reeves as Eric and Geoffrey Streatfeild as Daniel. Set in the London gay community in the mid-1980s, My Night with Reg follows a group of friends at one of their London flats over a period of years, from a housewarming to a funeral. The play premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 1994. Ovenden’s London stage credits include Marguerite in the West End, Merrily We Roll Along, Grand Hotel and Annie Get Your Gun. The Downton Abbey star made his Broadway debut in Butley and starred in the New York Philharmonic concert production of Showboat. Bardock, perhaps best known for his performance as Jeff Collier in Casualty, appeared in the Donmar productions of The Dark and Frame 312. Broadbent’s stage credits include Grand Guignol, Ghost Stories and Chekhov in Hell. Cant has appeared on stage in War Horse, Salome and Cymbeline. Reeves’ recent stage credits include Our Boys and Muscle. Streatfeild has appeared on stage in Macbeth, Copenhagen, Children of the Sun and Earthquakes in London. View Comments read more

Broadway’s biggest night is around the corner (and from our offices, we mean that literally.) The 2015 Tony Awards, held on June 7 at Radio City Music Hall, will feature several live performances from this year’s nominated musicals and more. And if our Culturalist challenge is any proof, we suspect that many readers will be happy with this set list.Tony nominees Brian d’Arcy James and Brad Oscar will lead Something Rotten!’s “A Musical.” The cast of An American in Paris, including Tony nominees Leanne Cope, Robert Fairchild, Brandon Uranowitz and Max von Essen, will perform a medley of the title song, “’S Wonderful” and “I Got Rhythm.” Pint-sized Fun Home nominee Sydney Lucas will showcase her big number “Ring of Keys” alongside co-stars (and nominees) Michael Cerveris and Beth Malone. Chita Rivera and the cast of The Visit will perform a medley of “Love and Love Alone” and “I Would Never Leave You.”As for the revivals, Tony nominee (and host!) Kristin Chenoweth and her On the Twentieth Century co-stars will offer a medley of “Life is Like a Train,” “On the 20th Century,” “I’ve Got It All” and “Babette.” Kelli O’Hara, Ken Watanabe, Ruthie Ann Miles and the cast of The King and I will sing and dance their way through “Shall We Dance?” and “Getting to Know You.” Nominee Tony Yazbeck and his fellow sailors in On the Town will also perform a medley, featuring “ Lucky To Be Me,” “New York, New York” and “Times Square Ballet.”Additionally, Vanessa Hudgens, Corey Cott and nominee Victoria Clark lead a performance of “The Night They Invented Champagne” from Gigi, Matthew Morrison, Kelsey Grammer and a host of Finding Neverland pirates will perform “Stronger,” and It Shoulda Been You’s Tyne Daly, Lisa Howard and Adam Heller will perform “Jenny’s Blues.” In honor of Jersey Boys’ tenth anniversary, the current cast will perform “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night).” As previously reported Josh Groban will perform a medley of show tunes from his album Stages.Expect appearances from several starry presenters, including Neil Patrick Harris, The Way We Get By’s Amanda Seyfried, Tony nominee Bradley Cooper, Debra Messing and more. Chenoweth will co-host with Alan Cumming. View Comments read more