Michael Colavolpe

If the thing you love about musical theatre is its ability to express a character's emotions and inner struggles in song, BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY is the show for you...

Jerry Herman's hit Broadway shows will sing and dance their way onto The Winter Park Playhouse Mainstage on March 18-19 and March 31-April 23. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2:00 p.m. and select Wednesday, Friday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m.  The preview performance is Thursday, March 17 at 7:30p.m.

Let's get this out of the way first, the 'hardbody' in the title is a truck, a Nissan pickup truck to be exact; and while the name of the musical, HANDS ON A HARDBODY, might sound a teensy bit risque, it is filled with encouraging messages and life-affirming themes set to a high energy modern score. Presented by TheatreWorks Florida, the musical runs through February 21st at the Garden Theatre, and features an extremely game and talented cast, who unfortunately is not used in a way that comes close to maximizing their immense collective talent. The musical by Doug Wright (book), Amanda Green (music and lyrics), and Trey Anastasio of the band Phish (music) is based on a 1997 documentary of the same name about a Texas contest in which the person who keeps his or her hand on a truck the longest, wins it. While the show's ensemble construction gives nearly every cast-member multiple moments to vocally shine, it seems like a substantial amount of them have been shoehorned into roles that don't exactly match up with their particular vocal ranges, resulting in fairly regular pitch issues. That not-so minor issue aside, the show is a joyous, toe-tapping celebration of all the things, good and bad, that make people special.

The Garden Theatre is proud to present TheatreWorks Florida's production of Hands on a Hardbody showing January 29 - February 21, 2016. Hands on a Hardbody is sponsored by Joe Worsham and Becky Worsham Farrant at Pacific Global Investment Management Company, Insight Credit Union and Toole's Ace Hardware.

The popularity of Jerry Herman's hit Broadway shows, along with the availability of a fabulous professional cast to perform his work, helped The Winter Park Playhouse decide to run Showtune! A Celebration of the Words and Music of Jerry Herman this spring, March 18 - April 23.

There's really no getting around it, BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL is weird, albeit wonderfully so. It's an audacious musical comedy ripped from the headlines of a supermarket tabloid. Inspired by the on-going Weekly World News articles that began with 1992's 'Bat Child Found in Cave!,' the musical tells the story of a half-bat/half-boy creature feared and tormented by close-minded townsfolk, despite the fact that all he wants to do is learn to be human and find a home. Musicals don't get much weirder than that. But, it is for this very reason that Gen Y Productions has become the most exciting theatre company in Orlando in less than a year of operation. Not only are they willing to do shows that are outside the scope of traditional companies, but they also do them extremely well. BAT BOY, a cult favorite since it debuted Off-Broadway in 2001, is far from a perfect show, but Gen Y's version, directed by Kenny Howard and running through Halloween at The Abbey, just might be as perfect of a production as possible.

Based off a Weekly World News story, the hilariously thrilling BAT BOY THE MUSICAL will be playing at the Abbey tonight, October 15, through October 31.

Based off a Weekly World News story, the hilariously thrilling BAT BOY THE MUSICAL will be playing at the Abbey October 15 - 31.

MAMMA MIA! is worth your time and money. Go see it.

It has no huge morally important message to deliver. It won't be stopping wars or fixing societal unrest. But what "Mamma Mia!", currently playing at the Paramount Theatre, does do and has always done is to be fun. A fluffy, bubblegum, rockin' good time and seriously that's enough.

The national tour of MAMMA MIA!, which played at Kingsbury Hall this past weekend, is a crowd-pleasing mix of enjoyable performances, appealing characters, and well-loved pop hits.

Growing up Father's Day must have been very confusing for Sophie Sheridan, the lead character for MAMMA MIA. The product of a brief love affair, Sophie never knew who her real father was. So on the weeks before her wedding, she sends out invitations to the three chief suspects in hopes of finding out how her real dad is.

Most musical theater ends with a simple curtain call with the audience expressing their appreciation for the performance they had attended. Mamma Mia, though, ends with and explosion of music, bringing the audience to it's feet for an encore where the cast invites the audience to sing and dance along. And, Friday Night at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, we certainly did.

Mamma Mia! Here we go again! The sensational Abba-inspired tour returned to the Gallo Center for the Arts Thursday evening with yet another sold-out run ahead. After more than ten years on Broadway and with numerous International and North America tours, the pop musical heads to Fresno for its next California stop. No doubt, audiences there, too, will find themselves unable to resist the beat and motion of the contagious pop musical. Thursday's audience, young and old, had no trouble dancing in their seats.

"Mamma Mia- here I go again" weren't just familiar song lyrics I was thinking of when I walked into Bass Concert Hall Tuesday night. No, it was also literal thinking going through my head. Why? The opening night of Broadway in Austin's Mamma Mia! was my fifth time seeing the production. From seeing the first national tour back in 2002, to the dragging my dad to the production in Las Vegas, to seeing it twice more through Broadway Across America Houston before sitting in the audience at Bass, here I go again may have been the understatement of the evening.

The one thing I love about theatre, especially musical theatre is that there is always something out there for everyone. There are musicals that can provoke tears or laughs depending on your mood, and there is always that one musical that makes you bounce in your seat. For many, this musical is "MAMMA MIA," which is running this week at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans as part of its Broadway New Orleans series. White wedding dresses and silver sequins more or less sum up the experience, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Mamma Mia! what a way to open a season. Mamma Mia! the feel-good musical that has over 5,000 performances on Broadway opened Tuesday October 7 at the Music Hall in Kansas City, MO. Phyllida Lloyd directs the Broadway Across America special engagement that runs through Sunday October 12. Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus wrote the music and lyrics with choreography by Anthony Van Laast.

The enchanting tale of love, friendship, and the quest to discover the identity of her father comes to the Music Hall in Kansas City when Mamma Mia! takes the stage. Based on the songs of ABBA and written by Catherine Johnson the musical, which debuted on Broadway in 2001, received five Tony Award nominations, two Drama Desk Award nominations, and won the Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut Stage Performance.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts welcomes the dynamic cast of Benny Andersson and Bjo?rn Ulvaeus' MAMMA MIA!, the smash hit musical based on the songs of ABBA, returning to Segerstrom Hall in Orange County from April 8 to the 13th, 2014. Yesterday, April 9, some cast members from the touring production of MAMMA MIA! visited Disneyland, and Alex Mendoza was kind enough to share some fun pics from his Instagram account. Check them out below!