CAROUSEL
Roger's & Hammerstein's Carousel
Certain that Richard Rodgers could never top the 1943 masterpiece Oklahoma!, Samuel Goldwyn advised the composer to shoot himself. But with 1945’s Carousel,Rodgers and librettist partner Oscar Hammerstein II surpassed even their own ambitious expectations. Rodgers later reflected that Carousel, his favorite show, “came very close to opera.”
Now, exactly 73 years after the musical’s debut, producers Scott Rudin and Roy Furman, with director Jack O’Brien, have revived the epic classic. And, making good on Rodgers’s lofty estimation of Carousel—the saga of the doomed love between Julie, a millworker, and Billy, a carnival barker—they have cast the revered lyric soprano Renée Fleming in the role of Julie’s cousin, Nettie. Of her maiden foray into Broadway musical theater, Fleming says, “It’s a luxury for me to be able to focus on one thing for such a long period of time.” Accustomed to projecting her voice “over the orchestra” and “in a foreign language,” she says, Fleming will instead perform with a theatre sound system—and in a Maine accent. “I’ve had to rethink how I sing,” she notes. So affecting are Carousel’s celebrated tunes, they “give me goosebumps,” says Jessie Mueller, who plays Julie. “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s music is satisfying to sing,” she observes, “because it is so rich melodically.”
Among the many other enchantments of Carousel is its extended ballet sequence—“a huge moment, in terms of dance storytelling,” says choreographer Justin Peck. Collaborating on the production, Peck remarks, has been “super-exciting, inspiring, and intimidating—there is so much talent in the room!”
Todd & Elizabeth Donovan are investors in both the Broadway stage show and the cast album.
NOW PLAYING AT BROADWAY'S IMPERIAL THEATRE
OPENED APRIL 12, 2018 - FIRST PREVEW - FEBRUARY 28, 2018
THE GREAT COMET
Natasha, Pierre & THE GREAT COMET of 1812
The Most Tony-nominated Production of the Season, Winner of 2
Nominated in TWELVE (of only thirteen eligible Tony categories), The Great Comet stars multi-platinum recording artist Josh Groban (Tony Nominee Best Actor in a Musical), Denée Benton (Tony Nominee Best Actress in a Musical), and nearly two dozen cast and creatives in their Broadway debuts.
Author/Composer Dave Malloy (3-time Tony Nominee for Comet's Book, Lyrics, Orchestrations) was inspired by a 70-page slice of War and Peace, this "vibrant, thrillingly imagined new musical" (The New York Times) is "stunning and blazingly original" (Entertainment Weekly) and brings us just inches from Tolstoy’s brash young lovers as they light up Moscow in “the most innovative and the best new musical to open on Broadway since Hamilton." (The New York Times)
Todd & Elizabeth Donovan are founding partners with Megan Kingery and Cori Silberman & Michael Dovid of Backdrop Partners, Co-Producers of "The Great Comet". Todd & Elizabeth additionally are partners in the Original Broadway Cast Album released on May 19, 2017.
NATASHA IS YOUNG, ANATOLE IS HOT, AND ANDREY ISN'T HERE… BUT WHAT ABOUT PIERRE?
Natasha is a beautiful ingénue visiting Moscow while she waits for her beloved fiancé Andrey to return from the war. In a moment of indiscretion, she is seduced by the dashing (but already married) Anatole and her position in society is ruined. Her only hope lies with Pierre (Groban), the lonely outsider whose love and compassion for Natasha may be the key to her redemption… and to the renewal of his own soul.
"One of the decade's best musicals" (Time Out New York), THE GREAT COMET has "rousing music and ravishing performances" (Daily News) with a groundbreaking score that mixes rock, pop, soul, folk and electronic dance music with classic Broadway. Its Tony-nominated renowned creative team has reimagined the Imperial Theatre as an opulent Russian salon, where every seat provides a unique perspective and an unforgettable experience which is “thrilling, a feast for the senses" (Associated Press) and "inventive, ravishing and full-on romantic" (New York Post).
OPENED NOVEMBER 14, 2016 - CLOSED SEPTEMBER 3, 2017 - 336 Performances
FIRST PREVIEW OCTOBER 18, 2016 - 32 Preview Performances
THE FLOOR ABOVE ME by Tony Yazbeck
Tony Award-nominee Tony Yazbeck releases his first studio solo CD, “The Floor Above Me” (PS Classics). Triple-threat Tony Yazbeck sets his sights on reinventing the solo album with his new studio recording, “The Floor Above Me,” adapted and expanded from his one-man show from live tour-de-force performances at 54 Below and Birdland. Blending song, dance and personal narrative, Yazbeck breathes new life into not only the time-honored tale of the Broadway dreamer but the solo album as well, with ecstatic tap dancing and a moving story that deepens the emotional impact of Yazbeck's carefully curated program.
Comprising an eclectic mix of songs ranging from the classic tunes of Irving Berlin ("Let Yourself Go," "Cheek to Cheek") and the Gershwins ("Fascinating Rhythm," "Slap That Bass") to the more modern pop of Coldplay, Jamie Cullum and Martin Sexton, and featuring guest appearances by Clyde Alves (Yazbeck's co-star in On the Town), Melinda Sullivan (So You Think You Can Dance), and Katie Huff, “The FloorAbove Me” gives audiences the chance to join Yazbeck on his journey toBroadway.
The Floor Above Me was written and directed by Howard Emanuel and Tony Yazbeck, with musical direction and arrangements by Jerome Korman.
Todd & Elizabeth Donovan are executive producers of the solo album.
ON THE TOWN
In the most successful revival of this 1944 ground-breaking Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden-Adolph Green classic - The Bronx is up, the Battery's down, and three sailors are hoping to get just a little bit lucky on their one day of leave in the Big Apple. From the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Coney Island to Times Square and Carnegie Hall, "On the Town" zigzags through New York City as the sailors and the three high-spirited young women they meet chase love, dreams, and each other during an unforgettable day in the city that never sleeps. The classic score features the standards “New York, New York,” “I Can Cook Too,” “Lonely Town,” and “Some Other Time” played with their original orchestrations by the largest orchestra on Broadway. Nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival.
Todd & Elizabeth Donovan were investors in both the Broadway stage show and the cast album.
Opened October 16, 2014 - Closed September 6, 2015 - 368 Performances
First Preview September 20, 2014 - 28 Previews
PROJECTS
Proud to Be Part of #DareToDream