Broadway

CHICAGO – In 1973, director Norman Jewison fashioned a radical film version of the rock opera/Broadway show “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and the cinematic innovations plus stellar cast equaled a timeless movie musical classic. Josh Mostel portrayed King Herod and Barry Dennen was Pontius Pilate in the iconic film.

CHICAGO – How does one man rediscover and revive an art form? This question is answered in the magnificent “Bathtubs Over Broadway,” a 2018 documentary about the quest of comedy writer Steve Young, as he saves the legacy of the “industrial musical,” a form of American corporate entertainment from the 1950s through the ‘70s. Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com will host a screening of the film on Monday, May 13th, 2019 (7:30pm), and facilitate a discussion afterward, at the Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove, Ill. To purchase tickets, click here.

CHICAGO – Carol Channing was always, seemingly, full of sunshine. With her unique voice and “back row” Broadway singing chops, the eternal ingenue sparkled through a remarkable seven decade show business career. Ms. Channing died on January 15th, 2019, at the age of 97, at her home in Rancho Mirage, California.

CHICAGO – There are cultural heroes, and then there is comedy writer Steve Young. Through sheer happenstance, he began a journey that ended up with a rediscovery of an art form that without Young’s intervention would have died. The U.S. corporation Broadway-style “industrial musical,” which highlighted products or sales meetings in a song and dance presentation, were at its peak popularity from the 1950s through the ‘70s. “Bathtubs Over Broadway” is Young’s documentary of appreciation for those shows and and his intervention to revive them.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA – He was the heart throb-iest of the teen heart throbs when he came onto the scene in the early 1970s. David Cassidy was the driving force of the manufactured-for-TV pop act The Partridge Family, which provided a soundtrack for their era. Cassidy died in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at the age of 67, on November 21st, 2017.

NEW YORK CITY – HollywoodChicago.com is New York City bound, as Writer and Editorial Coordinator Patrick McDonald reports on the first week of the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival from April 20th through April 25th. For a Festival overview, click here.

CHICAGO – HollywoodChicago.com presents our video coverage of the pre-Broadway premiere of the new musical “On Your Feet!” from Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan on June 17, 2015 at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago.

NEW YORK – She had it all. Just like Bogie and, well, her. Lauren “Betty” Bacall accidentally became a movie actress, but that accident led to stardom, two marriages to famous actors and a long life of award winning performances. The 89-year-old star died of a stroke in New York City on August 12th.

CHICAGO – Debbie Gibson was the youngest recording artist – at 17 years old – to write, produce and perform a number one hit (“Foolish Beat” in 1988), and her songs were the soundtrack to that era’s teen generation. HollywoodChicago.com caught up with the candid Ms. Gibson at the “Hollywood Show” Chicago.

CHICAGO – Director Clint Eastwood’s “Jersey Boys” suffers from the same inherent fundamental flaw in all of these so-called Jukebox Musicals – their stories are mere afterthoughts. You come for the songs, and suffer through the story.