Something to sing about: Broadway vocal coach Joan Lader receives a special Tony honor next month. She discusses how she went from performing and voiceover work (“I did one for toilet paper”) to teaching for the past 34 years. Lader helped Madonna prepare for "Evita" and worked with Hugh Jackman, who had role in the teacher's special Tony prize. In…

Three-timeTony nominee Martha Plimpton discusses her role in the BroadwayActs for Women benefit at Feinstein’s/54 Below on Sunday, “TheUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” star Titus Burgess’s wine line (sheloves it), and what’s up with her ABC sitcom “The RealO’Neals.” Follow Joehere: @TheJoeDShow Produced by: JoeDziemianowicz Edited by: FrankPosillico Get …

How did the “Hamilton” poster end up being black and gold? Who came up with the tagline “spread the word” for “The Vagina Monologues” advertising campaign? Drew Hodges, founder of the ad agency SpotCo and author of the new book “On Broadway: From ‘Rent’ to Revolution,” shares stories from the past two decades. Follow Joe here: @TheJoeDShow Produced…

The Queen of the Nile is having a major moment. Ask Charles Busch, author and star of the play, "Cleopatra," now in a sold-out run at Theater for the New City though April 17. "Cleopatra seems to be reinvented every decade or so" in pop culture, says Busch, who's famous for his stylish and hilarious takes on Hollywood icons and heroines. Cleopatra …

Is there a “Doctor” in the house? David Tennant, of “Doctor Who” fame, stars in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s “Richard II,” now at Brooklyn Academy of Music. The royal drama is part of the RSC four-play “King and Country” cycle that includes “Henry IV, Parts I and II” and “Henry V.” The series runs through May 1. It arrives fresh from London, whe…

Darron Cardosa a.k.a. 'The Bitchy Waiter' sits with Joe Dziemianowicz to talk about his blog and new book 'The Bitchy Waiter' based on his life as a waiter in New York City. Follow Joe here: @TheJoeDShow Follow Darron here: @bitchywaiter Produced by: Joe Dziemianowicz Edited by: Frank Posillico Follow Joe on Twitter and get more from the Daily News…

Jazz Age star Florence Mills has been called “the Beyonce of that time.” Gertrude Saunders, her peer, was Bessie Smith’s husband’s mistress, which led to a public brawl. Actress Adrienne Warren plays both stars in “Shuffle Along, Or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed,” which begins previews on Tuesday at the Music Bo…

Kerry Butler (“Hairspray”) and Rachel York (“City of Angels”) share a dressing room and the stage at the Nederlander Theatre, where the musical comedy “Disaster!” is now in previews and opens March 8. The costars talk Broadway, disco, (the spoof’s jukebox score features ‘70s hits like “Hot Stuff” and “I Will Survive”), Playbill cruising and whether…

“White Rabbit Red Rabbit” is its own Off-Broadway species. For this solo play by Iranian writer Nassim Soleimanpour, there’s no rehearsal, director or set. The performer gets the script as he or she steps on stage. Scary? You bet. Irresistible? Yes. Ask producers Tom Kirdahy and Devlin Elliott, of Maberry Theatricals, who tell how they discovered t…

New York actor and author Colman Domingo has a lot on this plate. His new play “Dot,” about family grappling with Alzheimer’s, is at the Vineyard. He’s filming his juicy role in the zombie-infested “Fear the Walking Dead” in Mexico. And he’s still marveling about “The Birth of a Nation,” a new film about slavery that led to a $17.5 million bidding …

Dominic West’s plummy voice is its own theatrical special effect. You don’t have to trek to London to get a taste of West and Janet McTeer acting up as manipulative former lovers in “Les Liaisons Dangereuses.” You can hear them in character as Vicomte de Valmont and Marquise de Merteuil, along with the rest of the Donmar Warehouse cast, in an audib…

Stephen Karam’s family drama “The Humans” was supposed to start previews on Saturday, but got hijacked by winter storm Jonas. “It’s an understatement to say that it was a bit of a crazy event to have your Broadway debut completely snowed out,” he says. But the play is now in previews and he’s taking it in stride. Karam, author of “Speech & Debate,”…

It’s beginning to look — and sound — a lot like Christmas. Michael Feinstein’s show of seasonal classics and evergreen standards runs Sunday to Dec. 30 Feinstein’s/54 Below. Stephanie J. Block joins Brian d’Arcy James and Essential Voices USA for a program of holiday favorites with Steven Reineke and the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall on Dec. 18 an…

What’s it like working with your spouse? For daredevils Jonathan and Katy Goodwin of “The Illusionists: Live on Broadway,” which will be featured in an NBC special on Dec. 9, it’s about shooting sharp pointy arrows in each other’s direction. For Megan McGinnis and Adam Halpin, married costars of the musical “Daddy Long Legs” running Off-Broadway an…

Don’t speak! When actress Melissa Errico broke a small blood vessel in her throat in 2013 that became her reality — for 106 days. “I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t whisper,” she says. “In an instant I was swept to a place where I couldn’t communicate.” But Errico (“My Fair Lady,” “Amore”) could take inventory — of herself and her family history. She and…

“The Joe D Show” welcomes actor John Benjamin Hickey, who’s in “Dada Papa Woof Hot,” and Bruce Jordan, director of“ Shear Madness.” Peter Parnell’s “Woof” concerns the joys and jolts of having children, says Hickey, and “the existential ache ... of letting go of yourself before you were a parent.” Paul Portner's “Shear Madness,” making its Off-Broa…

British star Mark Strong plays Brooklyn longshoreman Eddie Carbone in Ivo van Hove’s Olivier Award-winning production of “A View from the Bridge,” now in previews at the Lyceum Theatre. Arthur Miller’s 1955 family tragedy marks the Broadway debut for Strong and van Hove, a Belgian director known for bold, stripped-back, emotionally charged takes on…

Four months after winning a Tony for “You Can’t Take It With You,” Annaleigh Ashford is back on Broadway playing the titular pooch in “Sylvia.” Sylvia’s breed is unspecified in A.R. Gurney’s 1995 play, but Ashford has been inspired by Labradoodles (she wears a fluffy brown sweater in the play) and her own toy Australian Shepherd, Gracie. If Sylvia …

Broadway baby Ana Villafane begins her starring role as Gloria Estefan in the biomusical “On Your Feet!” on Oct. 5 at the Marquis Theatre. Villafane, who went to the same high school in Miami as the pop superstar she’s portraying, isn’t going for an impersonation. Still, the young actress acknowledges that there are key components — “Gloriaisms,” a…

On TV and Broadway, rising-star actor Conrad Ricamora faces rocky romance. “Pat Benatar had it right, love is a battlefield,” he says. “And that’s why there are so many stories of people wanting to be together but facing obstacles.” In the Tony-winning revival of “The King and I,” Ricamora plays Lun Tha, a lovestruck scholar who pays dearly for his…

Camryn Manheim, known for her Emmy-winning role on “The Practice” and the solo show she wrote and starred in, “Wake Up, I’m Fat,” joins the podcast to talk about her Broadway debut in “Spring Awakening.” The Deaf West revival of Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater’s musical features hearing and non-hearing actors. Manheim is fluent in American Sign Langu…

Up-and-coming actress Whitney Bashor celebrates “songstresses of the 1960s and 1970s” at on Sept. 15 at 9:30 p.m. at 54 Below. Songs by Joni Mitchell anchor a set list that includes Joan Baez, Laura Nyro and Judy Collins. “Joni’s lyrics take you on such a journey that is so specific you feel like you’re right there with her,” says Bashor, whose per…

Different spokes for different folks. The Bay Area-based Agile Rascal Traveling Bike Theatre pulled into New York on Thursday with more than 4,000 miles behind it. They perform “Sunlight on the Brink,” written in collaboration, on Friday at Alchemical Theatre Laboratory on Saturday at Our Lady of Refuge Church in Brooklyn. Allison Fenner and John P…

This job is murder! Bryce Pinkham is back in his role as the homicidal social climber in the 2014 Best Musical Tony winner “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder.” Turns out homicide on Broadway is like riding a bike. “My muscles knew where to go before I remembered,” he tells the Joe D Show. Produced by: Joe Dziemianowicz Music by: Jerry Korman Edi…

Fringe binge, anyone? The 19th annual New York International Fringe Festival launches its 16-day, 200-show theaterpalooza on Aug. 14. As always, it’s a eclectic buffet of theater. Think: serious dramas like “Lincoln’s Blood,” noir-y backstage farces like “Reading Between the Lines,” climate-change works like “An Inconvenient Poop” and monster music…

Opera in the city? In the summer? Well, yes. Ask Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz, artistic director of a scrappy new company. Apotheosis Opera company launches with its production Richard Wagner’s “Tannhauser.” “There are a lot of start-up opera companies out there. We wanted to launch with something grand,” Jaroszewicz tells “The Joe D Show. “Go big o…

If you wanna bump it, bump it with a trumpet. Blair Underwood does that — in a way — in “Paradise Blue” at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, where he makes his debut on Wednesday. Underwood, known for “L.A. Law” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” on Broadway, plays an embattled trumpet player in the drama by Dominique Morisseau (“Detroit ’67”). The sh…

James Lecesne joins the podcast this week to discuss “The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey,” the poignant one-man show he wrote and stars in. The play, seen earlier this year at Dixon Place and based on his young adult novel, concerns a polarizing teenager who goes tragically missing. Tony winner Duncan Sheik has written incidental music for t…

In celebration of Independence Day, the Joe D Show welcomes two Broadway actresses who’ve gone solo ... in their new albums. Chilina Kennedy, now starring as Carole King in “Beautiful,” discusses inspirations for her folk-inflected collection of songs called “What You Find in a Bottle.” Judy Kuhn, who plays the mother in “Fun Home,” has just releas…

Joining “The Joe D Show” this week is the cast of Douglas Carter Beane’s play about his theater roots, “Shows for Days,” opening June 29 at Lincoln Center. The six-actor ensemble looks back at their early stage experiences and shares tales of first kisses, reformed snobbery and backyard belting. Up first Michael Urie, then Zoe Winters (11:40), Jord…

Guests for this week’s "The Joe D Show" podcast are Jonathan Groff and Aaron Lazar, stars of “A New Brain” at New York City Center June 24-27. Groff (“Spring Awakening,” “Looking”) knows the 1998 autobiographical musical by William Finn like the back of his hand. He learned to play piano for it — and you can hear him tickle the keys. Lazar (“The La…

Are you ready to be “hypnoticized”? Alex Brightman is ready to do that in “School of Rock — the Musical,” in which he stars as Dewey Finn, a substitute teacher who turns uptight private-school kids into rockers. The show hits Broadway in November. California-rasied Brightman, 28, is no stranger to Broadway. His credits include “Big Fish” and “Matil…

Odd-couple co-hosts Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming are up for anything when they host the Tonys on Sunday. So whose ideas have been wackier? “It was Alan at the start,” says Dave Boone, who’s writing the script for the CBS telecast. “But now they’re neck-and-neck.” But they won’t be joined at the hip like the conjoined twins of “Side Show,” whi…

On Episode 12 of “The Joe D Show” Betty Buckley talks about her new new show, “Dark Blue-Eyed Blues,” running through Sunday at Joe’s Pub. A Texas gal at heart, she also chats about cutting horses and her upcoming role as Big Edie Beale in “Grey Gardens” in Sag Harbor in August. Listen in, too, to hear her sing “This Nearly Was Mine” from “South Pa…

What actress was drawn by Al Hirschfeld more than any other? Hint: She was immortalized 45 times. Find out on Episode 11 of “The Joe D Show” from David Leopold, curator of the retrospective “The Hirschfeld Century: The Art of Al Hirschfeld.” The exhibit, which runs May 22 to Oct. 12 at the New York Historical Society (170 Central Park West), celebr…

Joe sits with Broadway Publicist Rick Miramontez to chat about the Tony Awards and what shows are doing to get noticed. Produced by: Joe Dziemianowicz The Joe D Show theme by Jerome Korman Edited by: Frank Posillico Follow Joe on Twitter and get more from the Daily News on Facebook, YouTube and Tumblr…

Joe sits down the the people behind the upcoming play revival 'The Flick' Join writer Annie Baker, director Sam Gold and cast member Matthew Maher to chat about the upcoming play. Produced by: Joe Dziemianowicz The Joe D Show theme by Jerome Korman Edited by: Frank Posillico Follow Joe on Twitter and get more from the Daily News on Facebook, YouTub…

Joe sits this week with Tony Nominees just as they heard about their nomination. Jeanine Tesori, Lisa Kron, Sting, Alex Sharp, Michael Cerveris, Robert Fairchild, Kelli O'Hara, Alessandro Nivola, Micah Stock, Annaleigh Ashford, Christian Borle, Judy Kuhn, and Sydney Lucas. Also here music from the nominees for best musical An American in Paris, Fun…

Megan Hilty joins Joe to talk about her career as a theater actress, new shows and her role in the TV show Smash. Produced by: Joe Dziemianowicz Edited by: Frank Posillico Follow Joe on Twitter and get more from the Daily News on Facebook, YouTube and Tumblr

Legendary composer John Kander talks about his lifes work his favorite songs and his collaberations with lyricist Fred Ebb and his new Broadway show The Vist. Produced by: Joe Dziemianowicz Edited by: Frank Posillico Follow Joe on Twitter and get more from the Daily News on Facebook, YouTube and Tumblr…

Joe sits with Robert Askins who has written the new play 'Hand to God' a satirical dark comedy featuring a fouo-talking puppet. Produced by: Joe Dziemianowicz Edited by: Frank Posillico Follow Joe on Twitter and get more from the Daily News on Facebook, YouTube and Tumblr

This week Joe sits at the piano with composer Jeanine Tesori. Produced by: Joe Dziemianowicz Edited by: Frank Posillico Follow Joe on Twitter and get more from the Daily News on Facebook, YouTube and Tumblr

Joe is joined this week by Christian Borle and Brian d'Arcy James from the new Broadway musical Somethig Rotten! Produced by: Joe Dziemianowicz Edited by: Frank Posillico Follow Joe on Twitter and get more from the Daily News on Facebook, YouTube and Tumblr

Episode 2 of “The Joe D Show” -- Andy Propst, author of the new Cy Coleman bio “You Fascinate Me So” discusses his book and the revival of Coleman’s 1978 musical “On the Twentieth Century” and its star Kristin Chenoweth. Plus, why Meryl Streep unsuccessful audition for “20th Century” in ’78. Produced by: Joe Dziemianowicz Music Courtesy of: Roundab…

Joe Dziemianowicz talks to Bill Heck who pays Cliff Bradshaw in Cabaret. He talks working with Emma Stone, Alan Cumming, Sienna Miller and Michelle Williams in the show. Produced by: Joe Dziemianowicz Music Courtesy of: Roundabout Theatre Company Edited by: Frank Posillico Follow Joe on Twitter and get more from the Daily News on Facebook, YouTube …