Carolee Carmello, Kathie Lee Gifford, Liza Minnelli Have Faith in Broadway’s Scandalous on Opening Night

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Carolee Carmello drinks in the opening night applause with a large bouquet of flowers.
(© David Gordon)

Next to a single rose, Carolee Carmello bows down to the audience.
(© David Gordon)

Carolee Carmello feels the spirit of the post-curtain call grand finale on stage at the Neil Simon Theatre.
(© David Gordon)

Andrew Samonsky, George Hearn, Roz Ryan, Carolee Carmello, Candy Buckley, and Edward Watts take their opening night curtain call.
(© David Gordon)

The glamorous ladies of Scandalous: Roz Ryan, Kathie Lee Gifford, and Carolee Carmello.
(© David Gordon)

Leading lady Carolee Carmello brought along her trusty video camera so she could document the evening’s festivities.
(© David Gordon)

Tony Award-winner George Hearn plays Aimee’s father, James Kennedy, and chief rival, Brother Bob.
(© David Gordon)

Edward Watts, wearing far more clothing than he wears on stage, plays Aimee’s first husband, evangelist Robert Semple, and David Hutton, the actor who becomes Aimee’s third husband.
(© David Gordon)

The dashing Andrew Samonsky plays the dual roles of Aimee Semple’s second husband, Harold McPherson, and her business manager, Kenneth Ormiston.
(© David Gordon)

Book writer/lyricist Kathie Lee Gifford celebrates the evening with her Scandalous co-writers, David Friedman and David Pomeranz.
(© David Gordon)

Director David Armstrong and choreographer Lorin Latarro celebrate their opening night at the Copacabana.
(© David Gordon)

Kathie Lee Gifford smiles for a photo with her husband, football great Frank Gifford, and their children, Cassidy and Cody.
(© David Gordon)

Kathie Lee Gifford takes the arm of her former Live co-host, legendary TV personality Regis Philbin.
(© David Gordon)

Kathie Lee Gifford gets close at the swanky after-party with her Today Show co-anchor, Hoda Kotb.
(© David Gordon)

Football great Frank Gifford wouldn’t miss his wife Kathie Lee’s big Broadway opening.
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Life is a cabaret on the red carpet for Oscar and Tony Award winner Liza Minnelli, who reportedly gave Scandalous star Carolee Carmello a mid-show standing ovation.
(© David Gordon)

Liza joins her date for the evening, Today Show co-anchor Hoda Kotb, for a quick photo.
(© David Gordon)

Kris Jenner, in a stunning white suit (which would later be accidentally doused with red wine by talk show host Regis Philbin at the after-party), has been a friend of Scandalous co-writer Kathie Lee Gifford for over 35 years.
(© David Gordon)

This photo is sure to be legendary: Kathie Lee Gifford, Liza Minnelli, Hoda Kotb, and Kris Jenner give us a smile outside the Neil Simon Theatre.
(© David Gordon)

Today Show co-host Matt Lauer was part of the NBC contingent ready to cheer colleague’s Kathie Lee Gifford’s Broadway show.
(© David Gordon)

Savannah Guthrie, a co-anchor of NBC’s Today Show, was on hand to support her colleague, Kathie Lee Gifford.
(© David Gordon)

Today Show news anchor and NBC contributor Natalie Morales look stunning on the red carpet at the Neil Simon Theatre.
(© David Gordon)

Today Show weatherman Al Roker gets ready for a Scandalous night with his NBC colleagues Jill Martin and Bobbie Thomas.
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Eve Plumb (better known as TV’s Jan Brady) and cabaret favorite Jim Caruso get ready to cheer on their friends in Scandalous.
(© David Gordon)

Tony Award winner Lillias White (The Life) gets ready to see Broadway’s heavenly new musical.
(© David Gordon)

Broadway funny lady Jackie Hoffman was a hoot on the red carpet before cheering on her former Addams Family colleague, Carolee Carmello.
(© David Gordon)

Kathie Lee and Hoda’s web reporter “Sara Sage,” (aka Sara Haines) flashes her pearly whites outside the Neil Simon Theatre.
(© David Gordon)

Playwright Theresa Rebeck walks the red carpet in preparation for her latest Broadway opening, Dead Accounts, in just two weeks.
(© David Gordon)

Willie Geist, a co-anchor of the third hour of NBC’s Today Show, was part of the NBC family who attended the opening to support colleague Kathie Lee Gifford.
(© David Gordon)

Tony Award nominee Carolee Carmello, who plays Aimee Semple McPherson, makes her stunning arrival at the Copacabana following her Broadway opening in Scandalous.
(© David Gordon)

Broadway favorite Roz Ryan, unafraid to show some leg at the opening night after-party, plays Aimee’s assistant, Emma Jo Schaeffer.
(© David Gordon)

Billie Wildrick, Betsy Struxness, and Erica Dorfler are among the lovely ladies of the Scandalous ensemble.
(© David Gordon)

The gentlemen of the Scandalous ensemble, Carlos L. Encinias, Sam Strasfield, Jesse Nager, Nick Cartell and Corey Greenan, show off their opening night finery.
(© David Gordon)

The Broadway premiere of Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson celebrated its opening night on Thursday November 15 at the Neil Simon Theatre. Following the performance, the cast, which is led by two-time Tony nominee Carolee Carmello, and VIP guests headed to the Copacabana on 47th Street to celebrate.

Following the life of McPherson, an evangelist who became the world’s first media superstar, the work features a book and lyrics by Kathie Lee Gifford and music by David Pomeranz and David Friedman. David Armstrong directs the production, which features choreography by Lorin Latarro and musical direction/arrangements by Joel Fram.

The principal cast of Scandalous also includes Tony Award-winner George Hearn, Candy Buckley, Roz Ryan, Andrew Samonsky, and Edward Watts.

Featured in the ensemble are Nick Cartell, Joseph Dellger, Erica Dorfler, Carlos L. Encinias, Hannah Florence, Corey Greenan, Benjamin Howes, Karen Hyland, Elizabeth Ward Land, Alison Luff, Jesse Nager, Sam Strasfeld, Betsy Struxness, Billie Wildrick, Dan’yelle Williamson, and Matt Wolfe.

Guests at the performance included Gifford’s husband, football legend Frank Gifford, and their children Cassidy and Cody; Gifford’s Today Show cohorts Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie, Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, Sara Haines, Willie Geist, Jill Martin, and Bobbie Thomas; Tony and Oscar winner Liza Minnelli; legendary TV personality Regis Philbin, television personality Kris Jenner, playwright Theresa Rebeck, Tony Award-winner Lillias White, and stage favorites Eve Plumb, Jim Caruso, and Jackie Hoffman.

Click here for more information and tickets to Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson.

Click here for TheaterMania’s review of Scandalous.

Click here for TheaterMania’s interview with Kathie Lee Gifford.