The Grammy-nominated score of Cirque du Soleil’s Alegría soars as high as the aerialists — which is perhaps why it’s the best-selling Cirque du Soleil album to date. The music accompanies gorgeous visuals and dazzling acrobatics in the arena version of this renowned production, which creates the perfect marriage of art, abstraction and skill. Experience the magic for y...

Set your DVRs: On Wednesday, September 18 — tonight, as I type — Live From Lincoln Center on PBS will broadcast Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific live from the stage in New York City.This isn't the concert version that ran on PBS a few years ago. Nor is it the Glenn Close TV movie. It's the actual stage revival that won all the Tonys. Perhaps you saw the national tour of this ...

Finally, a video game for musical theater fans ... Dance on Broadway for the Nintendo Wii system invites you to participate in Broadway-style choreography. While the singers aren’t credited, their renditions of 20 familiar songs are true to the spirit of the original shows. Many decades of musical theater history are represented here, including tracks from Cabaret, Hair, 42nd Street, C...

If you’ve wondered what became of composer Frank Wildhorn’s Wonderland after its Alley Theatre premiere, wonder no more: The Alice-inspired musical will open on Broadway in April 2011, at a yet-undisclosed Nederlander Theatre. Alley artistic director Gregory Boyd — who co-wrote the musical’s book along with lyricist Jack Murphy — will again direct. First up, howe...

Planning a trip to Sydney, Australia, in the near future? Then be sure to schedule in a performance byAnthony Warlow (whom you might have heard as Enjolras in the Complete Symphonic Recording of Les Misérables or as the title roles on the full concept recording of Jekyll & Hyde). I’ve spoken of Warlow in this blog before. And while the renowned baritone’s ...

The nonprofit theater company Gente de Teatro brings one of the most successful Argentine plays of the last 20 years to town when it stages Made in Lanús at Rice University’s Hamman Hall Thursday through Sunday, September 9 through 12. The Spanish-language production, scripted by Argentine playwright Nelly Fernández Tiscornia and directed by Marcela Salas, explores the dilemm...

Just when I outfitted my Kindle 2 e-reader with a striking new M-Edge jacket and book light from Best Buy, what does Amazon do? The online innovators announce the release of brand-new models that are thinner, sleeker and — in the case of the Wi-Fi version — less expensive. In fact, Amazon is playing hardball with Barnes & Noble by pricing the entry-level Kindle $10 low...

The Alley Theatre’s 64th season mixes Picasso and Mozart with elves, fairies, Henry Higgins … even a severed hand or two. In the mood for a classic? Rediscover Pygmalion, Amadeus or Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (J.M. Barrie’s original). Prefer a world premiere? Explore art with two: A Weekend With Pablo Picasso and The Medusa Body. Wish you’d seen Todd ...

Here’s your chance to make a difference: For one night only (Saturday, July 31), Main Street Theater – Chelsea Market is staging Bald in the Land of Big Hair, a one-woman show presented by Pink Ribbons Project that’s based on the autobiography of cancer survivor Joni Rodgers. Actress Lisa Hamilton (Royal Shakespeare Company, Alley Theatre) stars, and the author herself will...

If you’ve ever attended The Phantom of the Opera, you’ve probably seen the original direction (Harold Prince), the original costumes (Maria Björnson) and the original choreography (Gillian Lynne). You’ve seen the chandelier fall, the candles rise and the gondola drift across that “vast glassy lake” of our shared imagination. But come spring … Who knows...