Our Broadway Babe, Randie Levine-Miller, has found some delightful online entertainment with some Broadway musical stars – all Tony Award winning performers including Ethel Merman, Bebe Neuwirth, and Katrina Lenk; as well as a documentary special about the 1996 opening on Broadway of Chicago, the longest running revival in Broadway history!

Opening Night of Chicago

From 1996, the opening night of “Chicago” on Broadway which has become the longest running musical revival in Broadway history. This Kander and Ebb musical, was originally directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse in 1975. The revival starred Ann Reinking (who also choreographed) and Bebe Neuwirth, along with Joel Grey and James Naughton. Walter Bobbie, did a superlative job directing the show. Prior to this, he was well known as a singer, dancer, actor on Broadway, having appeared in the original “Grease” as well as “Guys and Dolls”. The E channel covered opening night with this excellent documentary special which was hosted by Steve Kometko..You’ll see clips from the show as well as interviews with some of the attendees. The original 1975 stars,Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera attended, cheering for the new cast. Anybody who was anybody in New York at the time, attended this opening night.

Sidebar: my late dear friend, prolific Broadway producer Marty Richards, produced the original “Chicago” in 1975. It was up for the Tony Award but lost to “A Chorus Line”. Fran and Barry Weissler, who produced the revival, had much better luck with the show which proved to really have legs –  28 years and counting!

Ethel Merman Special Tony Award

A segment from the 1972 Tony Awards —Peter Ustinov introduces Theater legend Ethel Merman who receives a special Tony award and sings her biggest hits looking and sounding great. It’s a tribute to her long career. She sings some of her showstoppers (which were actually all showstoppers) from some of her shows: GIRL CRAZY; ANYTHING GOES; RED, HOT AND BLUE; DUBARRY WAS A LADY; PANAMA HATTIE; ANNIE GET YOUR GUN; CALL ME MADAM; and GYPSY, along with Broadway leading men Hal Linden and Larry Biden accompanying Merman singing and dancing. They were Broadway stars in their own right —and Hal Linden is still going strong, well into his 90s! There will never be another Ethel Merman, and this is a must-see for Merman fans.

Babe Neuwirth: My Life in the Theater

Playbill Video presents “My Life In the Theater” where Broadway favorites sit down at a desk with a Playbill binder containing every Broadway show that they’ve ever done and look back on their career.  “Bebe Neuwirth Walks Down Memory Lane” has the two time Tony Award winner sharing  stories about her life and times in the theater. She is so compelling, gracious and loving in her words about those that she’s worked with. She is a total pro — down to earth, authentic and delightful. She has always been a showstopper and unforgettable in every show she’s been in, including: A CHORUS LINE; CHICAGO; DAMN YANKEES; FOSSE; LITTLE ME; SWEET CHARITY and many more… No longer an ingenue, She is about to open as Fraulein Schneider in the highly anticipated Broadway revival of CABARET.

Tiny Desk Concerts

NPR Music presents “Tiny Desk Concerts” with the cast of the most recent revival of “Company” starring Katrina Lenk in a very casual and intimate setting. The big change in this production is that Bobby, the lead character is now played by a woman. When Stephen Sondheim was interviewed by Stephen Colbert about this revival, he confessed “I don’t usually tout my own stuff, but I urge everybody to see it. It’s really one of the most entertaining evenings I’ve ever had in the theater.” Songs included: “Company”; “Someone Is Waiting”; “Another Hundred People” and “You Could Drive a Person Crazy.” 15 delicious minutes of one of Sondheim‘s greatest and more popular shows!