Barney Martin News

Urban Stages Founding Artistic Director Frances Hill and producer Peter Napolitano present the World Premiere of Character Man as part of its 30th Anniversary season. Jim Brochu's new musical memoir begins an Off-Broadway run at Urban Stages Theatre (259 West 30th Street) February 28th, with opening night set for Wednesday March 5th. This limited run will continue through March 30th only. Robert Bartley directs, with musical direction by Carl Haan. Character Man will have scenic & video design by Patrick Brennan, lighting design by Meghan Santelli and sound design by Sean Hagerty.

About halfway through Jim Brochu's Saturday, June 29 performance at the Metropolitan Room of his new show Character Man, I realized I was witnessing what was probably the best cabaret show I'd seen this year, and perhaps was one of the best in my almost three years of reviewing cabaret. By the time the show ended, I had changed my mind. Not because the show fell apart in the second half, but because what Jim Brochu had created (and is opening tonight at the Broward Stage Door Theatre in Coral Springs, Florida, where it will be performed until August 11) was more than a cabaret show. Character Man is a delightful, extremely well-crafted Off-Broadway theater piece that is destined for a run that might rival his critically-acclaimed one-man Zero Mostel tribute show, Zero Hour, which played throughout the country between 2006-2012 and earned Brochu 2010 Drama Desk and Helen Hayes Awards.

Drama Desk and Helen Hayes Award winner Jim Brochu ('Zero Hour,' 'The Big Voice: God or Merman?') just debuted his new solo show 'Character Man' at the Metropolitan Room. Check out photos from the concert below!

Today in 1975, Chicago opened at the 46th Street Theatre (now the Richard Rogers Theatre), where it ran for 936 performances. Chicago is a musical set in Prohibition-era Chicago, with music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the 'celebrity criminal'. The original cast starred Chita Rivera as Velma Kelly, Gwen Verdon as Roxie Hart, Jerry Orbach as Billy Flynn and Barney Martin as Amos Hart.

Drama Desk and Helen Hayes Award winner Jim Brochu ("Zero Hour," "The Big Voice: God or Merman?") will debut his new solo show "Character Man" at the Triad Theatre on Monday, October 1st at 9pm.

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, June 3, 2012 - Sunday, June 3, 2012.

Today in 1975, Chicago opened at the 46th Street Theatre (now the Richard Rogers Theatre), where it ran for 936 performances. Chicago is a musical set in Prohibition-era Chicago, with music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the 'celebrity criminal'. The original cast starred Chita Rivera as Velma Kelly, Gwen Verdon as Roxie Hart, Jerry Orbach as Billy Flynn and Barney Martin as Amos Hart.

On Saturday afternoon, August 27th, that revival will chalk up its 6,138th performance, surpassing A Chorus Line as Broadway's longest running American musical. Sure, there are three Broadway productions higher on the list of total performances - Les Miserables, Cats and the still-running Phantom of the Opera - but the distinction of Chicago being an American musical is a significant one.

Lucie Arnaz, Robert Klein, Victor Garber, Donna Murphy and more...all under the same roof for one night with Marvin Hamlisch...a theatregoers dream which will come to fruition on October 4th. It's all part of Six Degrees of Marvin Hamlisch - An All Star Celebration, to be presented on Monday, October 4 at 7:30pm at Symphony Space. Murphy Cross and Paul Kreppel will direct the event, which will have musical direction by Ron Abel and serve as a benefit for The Actors Fund.

Two new CDs from Masterworks Broadway and PLAYBILL Editors' Choice feature two dozen star turns from performers who were little known on opening night... Click in for the review and for never-before-seen photographs of some of the stars exclusively on BroadwayWorld.com.

Masterworks Broadway, a label born out of the SONY/BMG merger, has gathered together collection of these 'sleeper' hits sung by some of the theater's most talented performers in its new release, 'Broadway Scene Stealers,' featuring songs sung by supporting characters in musicals.