Category: Broadway

It was a Jolly Holiday of a Tuesday on July 21 when supercalifragilistic tunes could be heard ringing through the Starlight campus. The talented Mary Poppins orchestra musicians arrived early and began their five-hour practice of the whimsical score for this show-stopping production. The Mary Poppins cast will have the privilege of singing along to the beautiful instrumentals of … Continued

Rehearsals began Monday, July 13, for Starlight Theatre’s upcoming production of Disney and Cameron Macintosh’s Mary Poppins. The cast features 34 actors, including 16 who are either Kansas City natives or who now call Kansas City home. In addition, several out-of-town professionals are returning to the Starlight stage after performing here in the past. The … Continued

When Starlight Theatre welcomes the high-flying, Tony Award®-winning production of PIPPIN to its stage beginning June 30, one cast member is likely to have plenty of hometown fan support in the audience. Lisa Karlin, one of the Players in touring musical, is an Overland Park native with deep family roots in the community. In advance of her … Continued

The dog days of summer are here at Starlight Theatre as the 2015 Broadway season is in full swing! Annie, a brand-new incarnation of one of the best-loved Broadway musicals, will grace the Starlight stage June 19-21. Did you know the cherished K9 companion who plays Sandy was specifically trained to perform theatre? Annie producers … Continued

Fun Home was the big winner at the 2015 Tony Awards, receiving the trophy for Best Musical and four others, including Best Score and Best Leading Actor for Michael Cerveris. The new musical, based on Alison Bechdel’s memoir of the same name, was nominated for a total of 12 awards (including three featured actresses in the … Continued

This year’s Tony Award nominees for best musical include, Something Rotten!, The Visit, Fun Home and An American in Paris. Who do you think will take home the Tony? Something Rotten! Opened at the St. James Theatre on April 22. The musical is set in London in the 1590’s and tells the story of two brothers who set … Continued

The 2015 Tony Awards are just around the corner, and if you’re like us, you’ve been rocking out to Broadway cast recordings nonstop for the last few weeks. As the countdown to Sunday’s show continues, Starlight Theatre is bringing you a Tony Award playlists, available to stream and share for free on Spotify. We’ve created … Continued

There’ll be a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on this Memorial Day weekend as Starlight Theatre opens its 65th Broadway season with the Tony Award®-winning musical Million Dollar Quartet. One of two weekend special engagements scheduled during Starlight’s 2015 season, Million Dollar Quartet is now in its fourth year of touring nationally. Kansas City is among more than 60 … Continued

Look for the Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri to be out in force at several Broadway shows this summer. Starlight Theatre is again partnering on a fundraising effort that, in 2014, returned more than $4,500 from ticket sales to the regional Girl Scouts organization. With the volume of attendees it attracts, the … Continued

An American in Paris and Fun Home topped the nominations for the 69th annual Tony Awards on April 28, earning 12 nods each, including Best Musical. Other standouts included a nomination for Sting for Best Score for The Last Ship, which closed on the Great White Way in January, and On the Twentieth Century’s Kristin Chenoweth, who will also co-host … Continued

Roses are red, violets are blue, we made these Valentine’s cards, just for you! Whether you’re five or fifty, sending valentines to the people you love is a fun thing to do. So, why not do it in style with our free printables? We think it’s worth it alone to avoid the trip to the … Continued

The new and highly acclaimed national touring production of PIPPIN was the subject of an action-packed feature Jan. 4 on “CBS Sunday Morning.” The video segment took viewers behind the scenes of the production as cast members rehearsed in preparation for the tour’s opening in Denver last September. Sure to be a highlight of the 2015 Broadway … Continued

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear and NBC will be spreading lots of cheer on Tuesday, Dec. 16. The network is bringing in the holiday spirit with the stop-motion hour-long animated special Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas. Based on the popular film Elf and the hit Broadway musical Elf: The Musical, the … Continued

In celebration of Disney Theatrical Productions’ 20 years on Broadway, ABC will air “Backstage with Disney on Broadway: Celebrating 20 Years,” this Sunday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. The one-hour special, hosted by Jesse Tyler Ferguson of “Modern Family” and Darren Criss of “Glee” will explore the making of Disney’s eight Broadway ventures. Viewers will … Continued

Looking for some outings over the holiday break? Let us suggest a couple of Broadway blockbusters coming soon to the silver screen. Opening December 19: The newest film rendition of Annie opens in theatres the Friday before Christmas. Columbia Pictures puts a contemporary, comedic spin on the Broadway classic that has delighted audiences for generations. Starring as Annie … Continued

The nation’s most beloved spectacle, the Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, returns for the 88th year of magic on Thursday, Nov. 27. A full broadcast of the parade will air on NBC, with “Today” hosts Matt Lauer, Al Roker and Savannah Guthrie. Portions of the parade hosted by Kevin Frazier, “Entertainment Tonight” and Thea Andrews, … Continued

Broadway fans, especially those who refuse to grow up, will want to mark their calendars for Thursday night, Dec. 4. That night NBC will debut Peter Pan LIVE! Following in the footsteps of the success of 2013’s The Sound of Music LIVE!,which starred Carrie Underwood and drew more than 18 million viewers, the network’s newest live musical … Continued

NBC announced last week the addition of two new faces to its cast of Peter Pan Live! Broadway’s Taylor Louderman will join the production as Wendy Darling. Louderman previously played a lead role on Broadway in Bring It On: The Musical, and she also starred as Ariel Moore in Starlight Theatre’s 2013 production of Footloose. Meanwhile, actress … Continued

It’s a homecoming this week for Steven Wendt, who stars as a Blue Man in the North American tour of Blue Man Group. After growing up near the Country Club Plaza and attending Shawnee Mission North High School, Steven went on to earn his acting degree at California Institute of the Arts. He trained to be … Continued

Starting one week from tonight, Starlight Theatre will be basking in blue as the theatrical production of Blue Man Group kicks off the newest leg of its North American tour on our Cohen Community Stage. Through at least next April, the Blue Men and their supporting instrumentalists will be traveling cross-country to 49 U.S. cities and one … Continued

Be sure to set your DVRs for Lifetime’s morning show, “The Balancing Act.” The talk show has teamed up with touring Broadway for a series of six TV segments that will highlight musicals that are currently on the road or will launch within the year. The new series, called “Broadway Balances America,” will showcase behind-the-scenes … Continued

The final show in Starlight’s 2014 Broadway season is the worldwide smash-hit Blue Man Group, which takes the stage for six performances Sept. 9-14. All shows start at 8 p.m. More than 25 million people around the world have been wowed by a Blue Man Group performance since the early 1990s. The North American theatrical … Continued

Tony Lorino from 99.7 The Point sat down with Analisa Leaming (Maria Rainer) and Tom Galantich (Captain von Trapp) from the cast of The Sound Of Music. Tony tested the stars’ knowledge of The Sound of Music and discussed the unusually short rehearsal time. The Sound of Music runs through July 31. Click here for more information and … Continued

‘The Sound of Music’ has the hills alive in Kansas City. Stars, Delilah Rose Pellow (Gretl), Josephine Pellow (Marta), and Claire Charland (Liesl) stopped by KC Live to detail this classic production and what makes their performance at Starlight Theatre unique to other productions of “The Sound of Music.” The Sound of Music will take … Continued

Nice performances and a considerable amount of charm enliven Starlight Theatre’s quickly rehearsed production of “The Sound of Music,” the outdoor theater’s only self-produced show of the season. Director Phil McKinley, who chose good actors and terrific singers, assembles the show with workmanlike precision, achieving a surprising degree of emotional resonance in a show that … Continued

With The Sound of Music rehearsals under way, Starlight Theatre decided to speak with a few of the actors to discover a few of their favorite things. The show’s star, Analisa Leaming, sings about her favorite things in the performance, but here are her favorite things were when she is out of character: Favorite TV show Orphan … Continued

ANALISA LEAMING (Maria Rainer) is honored to be making her KC Starlight debut. Off-Broadway: The Fartiste (Downstairs Sophia’s), Where’s Charley? (Encores!) and Pipe Dream (Encores!) Tours: Annie (Grace Farrell), The Sound of Music (Maria u/s). Regional: Pirates! (Mabel) at The Muny, The Music Man (Marian Paroo) at the Geva Theatre, Hello, Dolly! (Irene Molloy) at NSMT, Arlington (Sara Jane) world premiere at Magic Theatre, She Loves Me (Amalia) at the Infinity Theatre, The Game (Emilie) … Continued

Looking for a fun craft? Feel free to download our Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Sound of Music or Blue Man Group inspired paper toys.   Download Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Toy – Downlaod Download The Sound of Music Toy – Downlaod Download Blue Man Group Toy – Downlaod The toys are designed similar to paper crafts … Continued

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s classic musical of biblical proportions, is performing live at Starlight Theatre this week. Starring in Joseph are real-life married couple and “American Idol” alums Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young. While in town, the two stopped by the “KC Live” set at KSHB-TV to talk … Continued

The hills of Kansas City will come alive when The Sound of Music opens at Starlight July 25-31. The classic show, often billed as “the loveliest musical ever written,” is the fourth production of Starlight’s 64th Broadway season. The final collaboration of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, The Sound of Music tells the story of how the stern … Continued