Steve On Broadway (SOB)

Getting Into Tony Mood: Ovation TV's Music Of The Night

Getting Into Tony Mood: Ovation TV's Music Of The Night

If you're looking to continue your Broadway fix, even from the comfort of your living room, you're in luck.

Aside from this coming Sunday's televised Tony Awards on CBS (the Tiffany network is also airing the hour-long 2009 Visa Signature Concert at various times across the country), cable's Ovation TV network deserves a hearty round of applause for its programming over the next couple weeks.

Kicking off its salute to Broadway musicals, Ovation TV will present "Mr. Prince" at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday, June 6. "Mr. Prince" is an original Ovation TV special honoring the Great White Way's greatest living impresario, Harold Prince. The special not only features the legendary director and producer himself, but also a starry line-up, including Carol Burnett, Michael Cerveris, Joel Grey, Dean Jones, Angela Lansbury, Arthur Laurents, Mandy Patinkin, Chita Rivera and Stephen Sondheim. Incredibly enough, this is billed as Hal Prince's "first-ever television profile."

As part of its Broadway musical salute, Ovation TV will also feature productions of many of the shows Prince helped create along with other Broadway classics as part of "The Music Of The Night," celebrating the Great White Way's darker side "where phantoms, murders and con men rule."

Programs include:
• "Cabaret"(1972)
Bob Fosse’s film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical centers on a Berlin cabaret in 1931, during the rise of Nazism. Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey won Oscars for their performances. This also ranks as one of my favorite movies of all time.

• "A Chorus Line" (1985)
Auditionees for a Broadway chorus line reveal their innermost thoughts and emotions in song and dance before a hard-boiled director. Based on the Tony Award-winning play, which also won the Pulitzer Prize. Starring Michael Douglas.

• "New York, New York" (1977)
Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese teams with Academy Award winners Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro in this splashy, flashy musical spectacle celebrating the glorious days of the Big Band Era in the Big Apple.

• "Victor/Victoria" (1995)
Filmed on the Broadway stage, this musical tells the story of out-of work singer Victoria who transforms into “Victor,” an overnight singing sensation in Paris. While I prefer the original Academy Award-nominated film from 1982, seeing Victor/Victoria on Broadway provided my only chance to see Julie Andrews perform live, along with my first opportunity to see current Tony nominee Gregory Jbara.

• "Music Man" (2002)
A fresh update on the classic story of a con man who tries to take advantage of a conservative Midwestern town. Starring Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth.

• "Annie: Life After Tomorrow" (2006)
A documentary about several of the woman who have played the acclaimed part of Annie and what became of their lives after such an important role. Featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, one star I'm still hoping to see live on stage someday, if not tomorrow.

To learn how to access Ovation TV in your area, click here. For Ovation TV's schedule, click here. Happy viewing!

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Labels: A Chorus Line, Annie, Broadway, Cabaret, Film, Hal Prince, Mr. Prince, Music Man, New York New York, Ovation TV, Television, Tony Awards, Victor/Victoria

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Monday, June 01, 2009