Hall of Fame

Roger was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame on Monday night in New York. Rick Elice spoke on his behalf during the ceremony.

Pilgrims

Roger stars as William Bradford in "The Pilgrims", a drama documentary broadcast by PBS this Thanksgiving week. The first part will be shown on 24 November at 8 pm.

More information at: PBS.

A short preview in which Roger appears is at A quote from William Bradford.

Hall of Fame

The 2015 Theater Hall of Fame Ceremony is held tonight, November 16, at 7:30 PM at Broadway's Gershwin Theatre. Roger will be one of the inductees. Rick Elice is listed as one of the presenters.

Details at Playbill.

Theater Hall of Fame

It was announced yesterday that Roger will be posthumously inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame on 16 November. Fellow inductees will be playwright Tony Kushner, songwriting partners Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, director Julie Taymor, director Robert Falls, actor Stacy Keach, lighting designer Ken Billington, Broadway publicist Merle Debuskey -

See more at: Playbill.

The Memorial Service

Several reports on the service have appeared:


From Variety:

"The crowd of attendees filled the orchestra and extended up to the first and second balcony of the New Amsterdam. During the event, an emotional McNally, who wrote the book for “The Visit,” remembered the impact of watching Rees deliver his character’s climactic line from the end of the show. “‘I’m ready.’ It was only a line from a script,” McNally remembered. “But I think Roger was ready. We were the ones who weren’t ready.”"

Full story at Variety.


Jeremy Gerard, Deadline Hollywood:

"McNally was followed by Chita Rivera, Rees’ co-star in The Visit, who lamented coming into his circle later than the others and who sang “Love And Alone” — stunningly — from that show."

Full story at Trove.


From Reel Life With Jane, written by Melanie Votaw:

"Finty Williams, the daughter of Judi Dench, spoke on behalf of both herself and her mother, saying that when Williams was four years old, she asked Rees to marry her."

Full story on Reel Life With Jane.


Playbill also has a full report:

"Bebe Neuwirth, a frequent Rees collaborator/co-star, took to the stage next and performed a powerhouse rendition of "The Bilbao Song" by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, from a show Rees had conceived and directed for her at the now-defunct Zipper Theatre, Here Lies Jenny. "This is for Roger, as directed by Roger," she said."

Full story at Playbill.

Memorial

The memorial for Roger takes place today at 1 PM at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York. I wish I could be there, but I am in "old" Amsterdam. My thoughts will be there.

I first met Roger just a few years ago at the stage door of the Apollo Theatre in London, a meeting I will never forget. I was in London when I heard he had passed away and went back to that stage door. When I was in London last week I went back again, for my own little memorial.

Memorial in New York

A memorial for Roger will be held September 21 at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre. The hour-long memorial, celebrating his life, will begin at 1 PM.

See more at: Playbill.

Alex Timbers Remembers Roger

Alex Timbers, who directed "Peter and the Starcatcher" with Roger wrote this lovely tribute for American Theatre Magazine.

Broadway Lights

Yesterday Broadway dimmed its lights to honour Roger. Michael Patrick Walker posted a short film on   Twitter

Dimming the Broadway Lights

Broadway theatres will dim their lights for a minute to honour Roger on July 15 at 7.45 pm. 

See broadway.com

Tributes

Many tributes are being paid to Roger. A lovely one was published on The Shakespeare Blog.

The obituary in The Guardian.

And some reactions from other friends and colleagues  The Guardian.

A piece from the New York Daily News.

To Remember

Sadly, Roger passed away last Friday. Only 71 years old. I loved his work, have been a great fan for over 30 years. When you are a fan like that meeting the person you admire can be a disappointment, but I am so happy to have met him a few times in recent years, to have been able to speak to him, and to find out that he was a generous, loving, gracious, kind man, with a quick mind, a big heart and a huge enthusiasm for his work. I remember all the work, and I remember a lovely, lovely man. I am so glad over the past day or so to have been reading so many people remembering him just this way.

When I first approached him in London and explained I had created a website for him, he immediately knew who I was, invited me into his dressing room and made me feel special. He always did when I met him again. I feel like I've lost a friend because he made me feel I was his friend.

Drama League Awards

Yesterday Roger attended the 81st Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon. Some pictures at: Zimbio.

Happy Birthday, Roger!

Recording Pictures

Both Theatermania and Broadway World have posted pictures of yesterdays recording session.

David Gordon's group picture for Theatermania:

Walter McBride's picture of Roger with Chita Rivera and John Kander for Broadway World:

Full stories and more pictures at: Theatermania and Broadway World.

Tony Nominations

"The Visit" was nominated for best musical, best book, best score, best lighting design, and Chita Rivera was nominated for best actress in a musical!

Cast Album

Today the cast album of "The Visit" was recorded!

Roger Rees recording "I Know Claire"! Other than @TheVisitMusical what is your favorite Roger Rees performance? pic.twitter.com/8zSJZp5hSD

— Broadway Records (@BwayRecords) April 27, 2015

@Chita_Rivera and Roger Rees on a short break while #recording @TheVisitMusical #playbill #legends pic.twitter.com/SYisU0b5lx

— Broadway Records (@BwayRecords) April 27, 2015

Curtain Call

The #VisitOpening curtain call. pic.twitter.com/5SaudgOoXn

— The Visit - Musical (@TheVisitMusical) April 24, 2015

As tweeted by "The Visit"!

Opening Night Pictures

Theater Mania and Broadway.com have picture galleries of "The Visit"s opening night!

Squigs

Broadway.com resident artist Justin “Squigs” Robertson has created his portrait of the cast of "The Visit":

For the original story see Broadway.com.

Drama Desk

"The Visit" has been nominated for 7 Drama Desk Awards.

The list is:
Outstanding Musical
Outstanding Actress in a Musical - Chita Rivera
Outstanding Director of a Musical
Outstanding Music
Outstanding Lyrics
Outstanding Book of a Musical
Outstanding Set Design

Cast Album "The Visit"

On the day of its Broadway opening a cast album for "The Visit" has been announced. The album will be released on June 26.

For more information see Broadway.com.

Almost Visiting Time

Jason Danieley Blog

"The Visit" cast member Jason Danieley, who plays Frederich Kuhn, regularly tweets and writes about The production.

.@GloriaEstefan & @EmilioEstefanJr get on their feet to visit @Chita_Rivera & our killer cast: http://t.co/XZDWsYG2Rk pic.twitter.com/ARkZC9GmdL

— The Visit - Musical (@TheVisitMusical) April 13, 2015

He posts lovely picture on Instagram too:

Our dashing and indomitable star Roger Rees. @TheVisitMusical #photoshoot

Een foto die is geplaatst door Jason Danieley (@jdanieley) op 16 Apr 2015 om 12:16 PDT

His blog is at: Jason Danieley.

Award Nominations

Today Roger was nominated for a Drama League Award for his portrayal of Anton Schell in "The Visit", two days before the production opens on Broadway. "The Visit" itself was nominated as well, as was Chita Rivera.

Earlier the production received 5 nominations for Outer Critics Circle Awards, including a nomination for Chita Rivera and for the production.

The Visit Website

More information on "The Visit" and booking tickets through the official website at The Visit Musical.

On the website there are links to the show's Facebook Page and Twitter Account.

Previews "The Visit"

Previews of "The Visit" have started at the Lyceum Theater. One of the early visitors was Harvey Fierstein. Read the report at Broadway.com.

"The Visit" Starts Previews!

Tomorrow "The Visit" starts previews at the Lyceum Theater. Broadway World has a photogallery on their website.

Special Breakfast

Roger and co-star Chita Rivera had breakfast with the Swiss ambassador André Schaller, and his wife, Brigitte, to celebrate the upcoming transfer of "The Visit" to Broadway. A report is at Theater Mania.

A second report is at: Broadway.com.

And a third one at the Wall Street Journal.

Visit Trailer

The first trailer for "The Visit" is at Theater Mania.

Visit New York

The Williamstown production of "The Visit" is to transfer to Broadway. Previews start on 26 March, the production opens on 23 April. Roger will star alongside Chita Rivera.

For more information see New York Theatre Guide.