My Fair Lady is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on the 1938 film adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play Pygmalion, concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phonetician, so that she may pass as a lady. Despite his cynical nature and difficulty understanding women, Higgins grows attached to her.
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and the conflict on and off-stage between Fred Graham, the show's director, producer, and star, and his leading lady, his ex-wife Lilli Vanessi. A secondary romance concerns Lois Lane, the actress playing Bianca, and her gambler boyfriend, Bill, who runs afoul of some gangsters. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.
Seussical, sometimes Seussical the Musical, is a musical comedy by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, based on the many children's stories of Dr. Seuss, with most of its plot being based on Horton Hears a Who!, Gertrude McFuzz, and Horton Hatches the Egg while incorporating many other stories. The musical's name is a portmanteau of "Seuss" and the word "musical". Following its Broadway debut in 2000, the show was widely panned by critics, and closed in 2001 with huge financial losses. It has spawned two US national tours and a West End production, and has become a frequent production for schools and regional theaters.
Cy Coleman was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.
Avenue Q is a musical comedy featuring puppets and human actors with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and book by Jeff Whitty. It won Best Musical, Book, and Score at the 2004 Tony Awards. The show's format is a parody of Sesame Street, but its content involves adult-oriented themes. It has been praised for its approach to themes of racism, homosexuality and internet pornography.
On the Twentieth Century is a musical with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Cy Coleman. Based partly on the 1932 play Twentieth Century and its 1934 film adaptation, the musical is part operetta, part farce and part screwball comedy. The story involves the behind-the-scenes relationship between Lily, a temperamental actress and Oscar, a bankrupt theatre producer. On a luxury train traveling from Chicago to New York in the early 1930s, Oscar tries to cajole the glamorous Hollywood star into playing the lead in his new, but not-yet-written drama, and perhaps to rekindle their romance.
Shoshana E. Bean is a Tony-nominated American singer, songwriter, and stage actress. She has appeared in numerous musicals, performing in major Off-Broadway and Broadway theatres, including in the original production of Hairspray.
Contact is a musical "dance play" that was developed by Susan Stroman and John Weidman, with its "book" by Weidman and both choreography and direction by Stroman. It ran both off-Broadway and on Broadway in 1999–2002. It consists of three separate one-act dance plays.
Laura Michelle Kelly is an English actress and singer, best known for originating the roles of Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins in the West End, for which she received the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies in Finding Neverland on Broadway.
Mary Poppins is a musical with music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman and additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, and a book by Julian Fellowes. The musical is based on the similarly titled Mary Poppins children's books by P. L. Travers and the 1964 Disney film, and is a fusion of various elements from the two, including songs from the film.
Nola Fairbanks was an American actress. She was also the aunt of actor Matthew Modine.
Michael Howell Blakemore AO OBE was an Australian actor, writer and theatre director who also made a handful of films. A former Associate Director of the National Theatre, in 2000 he became the only individual to win Tony Awards for Best Director of a Play and Musical in the same year for Copenhagen and Kiss Me, Kate.
Lillias White is an American actress and singer. She is particularly known for her performances in Broadway musicals. In 1989 she won an Obie Award for her performance in the Off-Broadway musical Romance in Hard Times. In 1997 she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for portraying Sonja in Cy Coleman's The Life. She was nominated for a Tony Award again in 2010 for her work as Funmilayo in Fela Kuti's Fela!.
Illya Darling is a musical with a book by Jules Dassin, music by Manos Hadjidakis, and lyrics by Joe Darion, based on Dassin's 1960 film Never on Sunday.
Too Many Girls is a Broadway musical comedy which was adapted for a 1940 film version starring Lucille Ball. The original Broadway production is noteworthy for advancing the career of musician Desi Arnaz. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers, the lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and the book was by George Marion, Jr.
Chuck Cooper is an American actor. He won the 1997 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as the pimp Memphis in The Life.
Desperate Measures is an American musical comedy with music by David Friedman and book and lyrics by Peter Kellogg. The show won acclaim with Drama Desk Awards for Best Music and Best Lyrics, and Outer Critics Circle and Off-Broadway Alliance Awards for Best Musical from its run at the York Theatre in New York City in 2017.
Sergio Trujillo is a Colombian theater director, choreographer, dancer, and actor. Born in Colombia and raised in Toronto, Canada, he is an American citizen and resides in New York City. Trujillo was the recipient of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Choreography for Ain't Too Proud and the 2015 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for Memphis. He is the first ever Hispanic recipient of the Tony Award for Best Choreography.
Fun Home is a musical theatre adaptation of Alison Bechdel's 2006 graphic memoir of the same name, with music by Jeanine Tesori, and book and lyrics by Lisa Kron. The story concerns Bechdel's discovery of her own lesbian sexuality, her relationship with her closeted gay father, and her attempts to unlock the mysteries surrounding his life. It is told in a series of non-linear vignettes connected by narration provided by the adult Alison character.
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical is a jukebox musical featuring the music of Tina Turner and depicting her life from her humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee, to her transformation into a rock 'n roll superstar. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd with a book by Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, and Kees Prins, the musical had its world premiere on 17 April 2018 at the Aldwych Theatre in London. The Broadway production opened on 7 November 2019.
