Niko Tsakalakos

As BroadwayWorld first reported in September, The Heart of Rock and Roll is coming to Broadway! Producers Hunter Arnold, Tyler Mitchell and Kayla Greenspan announced that the new musical inspired by the iconic songs of Huey Lewis and The News, will open on Broadway at The James Earl Jones Theatre.

Today, Studio (formerly known as Monthly), the online creative learning platform where students build skills in hands-on classes, announced the launch of two new musical theatre focused classes taught by in-demand songwriter Zack Zadek and Broadway music director Brian Usifer.

MCC Theater will produce a four-week development workshop of a new musical, Hearts Beat Loud, to be presented on February 9 & 10, 2023. Hearts Beat Loud is based on the inspiring 2018 indie film set in Red Hook (starring Nick Offerman and Toni Collette).

The Green Room 42 has announced their March line-up for in-person performances. Located inside YOTEL Times Square (570 Tenth Avenue, Fourth Floor), The Green Room 42 is Broadway's newest and most spacious cabaret club.

MacDowell, the nation’s first artist residency program, awarded Fellowships to 139* artists from 25 U.S. states and seven countries. The incoming Fellows reflect multiple artistic disciplines and will arrive from places such as Brazil, Portugal, Jamaica, and the UK, as well as Hawaii, Minnesota, Texas, and Washington.

Barrington Stage Company has announced the first round of Spark Grants of $2,500 each to 11 artists with whom Barrington Stage Company has either collaborated with on past work or looks forward to collaborating with in the future. Recipients were awarded the grant under the single condition that the money be used to spark the artist’s creativity.

One should plant their tongue firmly in cheek for this one. It is over-the-top, exaggerated, and farcical in the way of Urinetown, The Book of Mormon, and Something Rotten. The original music is quite good and rather entertaining. The content seems to be split between two camps some directed at the a?oeadult generationa?? of baby boomers, and some at their a?oemillenniala?? offspring. Not that the two can't or don't overlap. Several common stereotypes and clichés are targeted as the butt of many jokes so there is pretty much something that works for just about everyone. There are some fun moments that require thinking: a?oethat Greek figure of a daughter of yoursa??, a?oelet's light a match behind this cowa??; and some that are just plain in your face: a?oemaybe the earth doesn't like an enemaa??. Some, I really just did not understand: a?oejust because you have the same feet doesn't mean you have the same legsa??, nor why it is supposed to be funny. That's when I realized it was best to simply let go and enjoy the silliness that abounds.

Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in downtown Pittsfield under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, is proud to present the world premiere musical Fall Springs. Previews begin August 9, with an official Opening Night on August 14, with performances through August 31 on the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage (30 Union Street).

Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in downtown Pittsfield under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, is presenting the world premiere musical Fall Springs.

Barrington Stage Company announced today casting for its 25th Anniversary season. Casting will include Elijah Alexander, Mara Davi, Carson Elrod, Joel de la Fuente, Mykal Kilgore, Alyse Alan Louis, Kate MacCluggage, Jeff McCarthy, Julia Murney, Jonathan Raviv, Debra Jo Rupp and more. Full casting for the 25th Anniversary season is below.

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) announces 11 awards granted from their Frank Young Fund for New Musicals(formerly known as the National Fund for New Musicals), and six awards granted from their Innovation & Exploration Fund.

Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in the Berkshires (Pittsfield, MA) under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, announced today its 25th Anniversary season, which will feature four world premieres, including the new musical from BSC's Musical Theatre Lab, Fall Springs by Niko Tsakalakos and Peter Sinn Nachtrieb; America v. 2.1: The Sad Demise & Eventual Extinction of The American Negro by Stacey Rose; American Underground by Brent Askari; and Ragtag Theatre's Hansel and Gretel, commissioned by BSC.

La Vie Productions in association with Playwrights Horizons will present a private industry reading of Into the Wild, a new musical featuring a book and lyrics by Janet Allard and music and lyrics by Niko Tsakalakos, today, Friday, February 8, 2019 in NYC. Inspired by the book "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer and the photographic history of Chris McCandless' journey as shown in The McCandless Foundation's published work "Back to the Wild," the industry presentation will be directed by Lila Neugebauer with musical supervision/ arrangements by Brian Usifer.

In what has become an annual ritual, a total of 34 established and emerging composers, lyricists, and librettists will converge on the Goodspeed campus from mid-January through mid-February 2019 to participate in the Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals. The writing teams, representing 21 new musicals, will populate the campus, creating a truly exciting environment for discovery and inspiration.

Over the past hundred years the theater community has celebrated some of the most notable events in Broadway's history at the Friars Club.   Last night the Barrington Stage Co. the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, Ma. under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd held their New York City Benefit in the legendary building where so many legends of the theater community have socialized and entertained each other.   John Rando the famed director was celebrated for his extraordinary talent and his contributions to BSC.  John has directed two of the most popular musicals in BSC history, The Pirates of Penzance and On the Town, which transferred to Broadway and received four Tony Award nominations, including Best Director.  At BSC John also directed The Royal Family of Broadway and Guys and Dolls and on Broadway, he won a Tony Award for his direction of Urinetown, The Musical.  

Barrington Stage Company today announced the first three productions for its upcoming 25th season.

Barrington Stage Company's Musical Theatre Lab (MTL), under the leadership of MTL Artistic Producer William Finn and Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, will present a reading of the new musical, Fall Springs, with music and lyrics by Niko Tsakalakos (Pool Boy, Into the Wild) and book and lyrics by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb (Boom), on August 30 and 31 at the St. Germain Stage.

Admission to individual SPARK events April 6-8 is now available online at pittsburghCLO.org/SPARK. For a small donation to Pittsburgh CLO's Audience Development and Education programs, members of the public are invited to peek behind the scenes of a musical in the making as 10 writing teams from across the country converge in Pittsburgh to showcase their work through a series of public presentations featuring local and national actors. Performances will take place at venues throughout the Cultural District.

Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, announced today the addition of four special events during their upcoming 2018 season. Tickets for the 2018 Season, as well as all four special events, are on sale now by calling (413) 236-8888 or online at www.barringtonstageco.org.

PITTSBURGH CLO is pleased to welcome a collection of writing teams from across the country to Pittsburgh for the inaugural SPARK festival in March. These teams were chosen from a highly-selective submissions process and will have the opportunity to rehearse and revise their work in residencies ranging from two days to three weeks. SPARK will provide dramaturgy and production resources to 10 new musicals at all stages of development, in addition to the world premiere of UP AND AWAY. As a part of the development period, eight of the musicals will receive public presentations through which the writing teams can gather audience insights and focus their intentions for the next phase of development. A major initiative of Pittsburgh CLO's recently completed Next Generation Capital Campaign, SPARK is designed to cultivate new and innovative work from emerging and established musical theater artists.