Jacob Heimer

“Voices for Volunteers of Fairfield County – An Appreciation Performance” will celebrate community volunteers with a concert by musical theater talents, many originally from the local area, on Wednesday, January 24, at 7:30 p.m., at Westport Country Playhouse. 

Ephie Aardema, Talia Suskauer and Leenya Rideout will lead an industry reading of AND YOU SHALL BE A BLESSING, a new play, with music, exploring the life of trailblazing singer-songwriter Debbie Friedman.

Staples High School alumni and current members of Staples Players will be part of Westport Country Playhouse's one-night-only benefit concert, “An Evening with Justin Paul & Friends with Kelli O'Hara and James Naughton,” on Saturday, September 9, at 8 p.m.

More guest artists have been added to the lineup for Westport Country Playhouse’s one-night-only benefit concert, “An Evening with Justin Paul & Friends with Kelli O’Hara and James Naughton,” on Saturday, September 9, at 8 p.m.

Music Theatre of Connecticut, Fairfield County's professional award-winning theatre company celebrates the conclusion of its 35th Season with This Is The Moment: MTC's 35th Anniversary Gala. This celebratory night will feature performances by actors seen on the MTC stage, singing audience-favorite songs.

Music Theatre of Connecticut award-winning theatre company begins a brand new reading series entitled, New Voices. Featuring five new plays by contemporary playwrights, this series will begin on October 11th at 7pm with the play i by Jeff Talbott. All following plays will also occur on select Monday nights at 7pm.

Music Theatre of Connecticut MainStage in partnership with Westport Pride, have announced a fundraiser event, Dolls and Guys: A Gender-Bending Broadway Evening, in honor of Pride Month, where half of all proceeds will be donated to Westport Pride!

The Jewish Plays Project has announced the acting company of the 10th Annual Jewish Playwriting Contest. The ten works feature acclaimed actors including Clea Alsip (M. Butterfly, Nantucket Sleigh Ride), Gus Birney (Dickinson, The Mist), Twinkle Burke (Gotham, Bull), Grantham Coleman (The Great Society, Much Ado About Nothing), and more.

The Jewish Plays Project has announced its second annual digital contest as part of the 10th Annual Jewish Playwriting Contest. The contest opens on April 15th.

Palm Beach Dramaworks has announced Contemporary Voices, a live online series featuring readings and discussions of plays by some of the finest playwrights working in theatre today, representing a cross-section of America. PBD will dedicate a month to each playwright, presenting three of his or her plays on three consecutive Monday evenings, followed each Wednesday with a discussion of the work by theatre professionals and community leaders.

The York Theatre Company, as part of its acclaimed NEO Reading Series, will present a staged reading of the new musical Borders, with book, music, and lyrics by 2019 NEO writers Janine McGuire and Arri Lawton Simon, based on the film The Bubble by Eytan Fox and Gal Uchovsky, for ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY on Monday, February 24, 2020 at 2:30 p.m. at the York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (619 Lexington Avenue, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). Admission to the presentation is by invitation only.

Sarah Bockel and Cory Jeacoma will assume the roles of Carole King and Gerry Goffin in Beautiful a?" The Carole King Musical as the smash-hit musical begins the final nine weeks of its record-breaking run at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre

Jukebox musicals have become a too dominant form both on Broadway and for its touring cousins. The music is familiar and audiences flock to relive old favorites. "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" playing this week at Starlight Theatre is one of the best of this form. It is very entertaining and works very well on KC's huge, outdoor, crown venue.

As BEAUTIFUL returns to Dallas, it is immediately clear that the musical has lost none of its freshness, remaining just as much of a rousing hit as it was when it first toured in the area several years ago.

BWW Review: Beautiful:The Carole King Musical

Albuquerque will be feeling the 'earth move' under their feet as Beautiful The Carole King Musical will play at Popejoy Hall June 12-16.

Centered around Carole King's life and biography, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is an appropriate cap to The American Theatre Guild's 2018-2019 season. This first national tour is filled with well-rounded, talented performers from all over the United States, including members who have been a part of the company for three years or more. Though the script itself for this pseudo jukebox musical may be a bit lacking compared to favored classics such as Cinderella, seen earlier in the season, the individual vocal and acting abilities are worth paying full ticket price.

Beautiful was the first show I saw on my own on Broadway.  Carole King's music has become part of my soundtrack of my life as I've grown older.  I remember my seventh grade art teacher would always play You've Got a Friend at the end of every class-which kind of drove me crazy, but as time has gone on I recognize how beautiful, simple, and poignant that song can be.  Carole King forged a path for female songwriters in America. If I hadn't seen this show, I wouldn't have known! I knew I had to bring my family to see the touring production at Durham Performing Arts Center for Mother's Day.

n the realm of jukebox bio-musicals, BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL is probably better than most. And a lot of that has to do with King's rich repertoire of music, not to mention the fact that her story runs parallel to the story of the songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. Their collective mark on pop music is undeniable. King began her songwriting career at the age of 16 in the hallowed halls of an office building located at 1650 Broadway, a music warehouse of sorts located just blocks away from the infamous Brill Building. In 2013, Weil told The New Yorker that the rents were cheaper at 1650 Broadway than in the Brill Building and newer publishers, like Aldon Music, had their offices there. Weil describes the Aldon Music office as having four cubicles wherein she and her writing/life partner Mann, along with King and her writing partner and husband at the time Jerry Goffin, all worked. The foursome became friends and even vacationed together. But in 1968, King moved from New York to Los Angeles, divorced Goffin, and began her solo career. Her solo album Tapestry sold over 25-million copies worldwide, won four Grammy Awards, and has been hailed as one of top albums of all time. Shortly after Tapestry was released in 1971, King played Carnegie Hall, which is where the musical BEAUTIFUL begins and ends.

BEAUTIFUL rolls out of town, but USC and Trustus raise the curtain on their next shows!