Ivory McKay

Join Playhouse on Park for Encore! A Playhouse on Park VIRTUAL Fundraiser - 'Opening Our Doors' on Saturday, June 27th from 7:00pm - 8:00pm. Help them ensure that they are able to open their doors once we are all able to gather again.

A $4675 grant to Playhouse on Park awarded by Connecticut Humanities is enabling the non-profit professional theater to hold talkbacks after each performance of their final show of Season Ten: Kander and Ebb's The Scottsboro Boys.

Live theatre creates a connection with the audience in a way unlike any other medium. Sometimes this connection builds excitement, sometimes it sparks compassion, and on other occasions, it forces you to confront something uncomfortable or difficult to create greater awareness and understanding. The creative team of John Kander and Fred Ebb did this with many of their musicals over their career together. In CABARET they illustrated the rise of Nazi Germany, and in CHICAGO brought attention to the role the media plays in sensationalizing criminals. But in one of their last collaborations together, THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, Kander and Ebb not only approached a difficult subject matter (9 young African-American men in Alabama falsely accused of rape in the 1930's), but they did so using one of the most distasteful artforms in American history, the minstrel show. So, it is a bold move for West Hartford's Playhouse on Park to offer this difficult production as the final performance in its tenth season.

Playhouse on Park has the honor of being able to share a piece of history with the Greater Hartford community (and beyond!) as we present our summer musical THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, running June 26-August 4. Our Main Stage seasons always end with shows that are a tour de force, and this is no exception.

Broadway veteran, Susan Haefner, and featured actor in Playhouse on Park's The Scottsboro Boys, Ivory McKay, are slated to be the special guest teaching artists for the Musical Theatre Preparatory Program.

Playhouse on Park's education department, Playhouse Theatre Academy, not only offers classes for young actors this summer, but also for adults ages 16 and up who have a vested interest in the performing arts. Thinking of majoring in theater as you finish up your final years in high school? Home for summer break and want to stay sharp before you head back for classes? Passionate about performing and want to continue sharpening your skills? Then Playhouse on Park's Summer Adult Master Class Series is definitely for you!

Playhouse on Park's education department, Playhouse Theatre Academy, is thrilled to welcome Ivory McKay for a Master Class on Monday, July 22 from 6:30-8:30pm at The 224 Ecospace!

JAILBIRDS ON BROADWAY by Tony Nominated writers Cheri & Bill Steinkellner (Sister Act), with music by Jeff Rizzo will receive an invitation-only industry developmental reading in NYC on Monday, March 25 at 4pm.  Directed by Glenn Casale, with Musical Direction by Andrew Bourgoin.

The 67th Music Circus season continues with the feel-good musical comedy Sister Act, featuring an infectious score by Tony and Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken. Based on the hit 1992 film, this musical will fill the round stage with saintly sisters for the first time in Music Circus history. Performances of Sister Act are Tuesday, August 22 through Sunday, August 27 at the Wells Fargo Pavilion.

BroadwayWorld is excited to bring you highlights from the show below!

Just last night, Transport Group presented a benefit concert of the classic 1954 Comden & Green/Charlap & Leigh musical, Peter Pan. The evening, which was hosted by drag legend, Tony-nominated playwright, and Golden Age aficionado Charles Busch (The Divine Sister, The Tale of The Allergist's Wife), featured a cast that includes three-time Tony nominee Carolee Carmello (Finding Neverland), Drama Desk nominee Rachel Bay Jones (Dear Evan Hansen), Hannah Elless (Bright Star), Ann Harada (Cinderella), three-time Tony nominee Marc Kudisch (Hand to God), Tony nominee Tony Sheldon (Pricilla, Queen of the Desert), Paul Slade Smith (Finding Neverland), Drama Desk nominee Elizabeth Stanley (On the Town), Betsy Morgan(First Daughter Suite), Alexandra Silber (Fiddler on the Roof), D.C. Anderson (Queen of the Mist), OBIE Winner David Greenspan (The Patsy, The Royal Family), Ivory McKay, Doug Shapiro (Once Upon a Mattress), Tim Dolan (Altar Boyz), Patrick Boll (Mamma Mia), Richard Costa (Once Upon a Mattress), Ruthie Ann Miles (The King and I, Here Lies Love) and Tony nominee Mary Testa (First Daughter Suite, Xanadu). 

The full cast has been announced for B-Side Productions' return of Michael John LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe's 2000 Broadway musical The Wild Party that will begin performances September 6th at the TBG Theatre for a run through September 17th.

More exciting casting has been announced for Transport Group's benefit concert celebrating the classic 1954 musical, Peter Pan.

The Spring season is officially underway with the start of Memphis at the John W. Engeman Theatre of Northport, Long Island. The multi Tony award winner, directed excellently by Igor Goldin, runs at the gorgeous venue through May 8th and I cannot say enough about this brilliant production. The cast, the passion, the creative team… everything is just top-notch.

The John W. Engeman Theater began performances of MEMPHIS on Thursday, March 24 at 8:00pm and will run through May 8, 2016. Check out BroadwayWorld's coverage of the production below!

Inspired by true events from the underground dance clubs of 1950s Memphis, Tennessee, MEMPHIS follows the fame and forbidden love of a radio DJ who wants to change the world and a club singer who is ready for her big break. Winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, MEMPHIS is filled with laughter, emotion and roof-raising rock 'n' roll, and features a Tony-winning book by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change) and a Tony-winning score with music by Bon Jovi founding member David Bryan.

The 65th Music Circus season continues with the dynamic musical Big River, Mark Twain's masterwork 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' brought to toe-tapping musical life by the genius behind 'King of the Road,' Roger Miller. Performances are tonight, June 23 through Sunday, June 28.

The 65th Music Circus season continues with the dynamic musical Big River, Mark Twain's masterwork "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" brought to toe-tapping musical life by the genius behind "King of the Road," Roger Miller. Performances are Tuesday, June 23 through Sunday, June 28.

The musical theater masterpiece My Fair Lady, with music by Frederick Loewe and book/lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, kicks off the 2015 Music Circus season at Wells Fargo Pavilion, the 65th season for the venerable Sacramento institution. Performances are tonight, June 9 through Sunday, June 14, kicking off the season two weeks earlier than usual. The stellar cast includes a number of Broadway veterans and Music Circus audience favorites.

The musical theater masterpiece My Fair Lady, with music by Frederick Loewe and book/lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, kicks off the 2015 Music Circus season at Wells Fargo Pavilion, the 65th season for the venerable Sacramento institution. Performances are Tuesday, June 9 through Sunday, June 14, kicking off the season two weeks earlier than usual. The stellar cast includes a number of Broadway veterans and Music Circus audience favorites.