Ben Brantley News

Due to unforeseen changes in the tour schedule, the producers of Billy Elliot the Musical have decided to postpone their fall tour including an engagement at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center which was supposed to begin tonight through October 16.

Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions in association with Weinstein Live Entertainment announced today that the 2009 Tony Award-winning Best Musical, Billy Elliot the Musical, will play its final performance on Broadway on Sunday, January 8, 2012 at the Imperial Theatre (246 West 45th Street). The show that Time Magazine called 'the best musical of the decade,' Billy Elliot will have played 40 preview and 1,304 regular performances. The production recouped its $18 million investment in only 14 months over 492 performances and on Broadway, the show has been seen by 1,659,867 theatergoers to date. Featuring music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, choreographed by Peter Darling and directed by Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot began previews Wednesday, October 1 and opened to critical acclaim on November 13, 2008.

NETworks Presentations, Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions bring the 2009 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Billy Elliot the Musical to the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines June 12-17, 2012 as part of the Willis Broadway Series.

'Next Fall,' the 2010 Tony Award nominee for Best Play, looks deep inside a modern romance surrounded by faith - and the lack thereof - forgiveness - and the hope therein - and the nuances and influences of the people surrounding the relationship from Oct. 28 through Nov. 13 on Stage West at The Herberger Theater, 222 E. Monroe.

Mint Theater's productin of Temporal Powers will close on October 2nd at the Mint's home in the heart of the theater district, 311 West 43rd Street. Ben Brantley, in The New York Times Arts & Leisure (August 21st) hailed the Mint as the 'resurrectionist extraordinaire of forgotten plays.'

IN THE HEIGHTS, winner of four 2008 Tony Awards® and the 2008 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Show Album, is coming to the State Theatre in Easton, PA for one show only, Thursday, October 20 at 7:30 PM.

On her debut CD, ‘The Dimming of the Day,' acclaimed singer/actress Anastasia Barzee reimagines an eclectic range of Broadway, pop and jazz-infused songs, and showcases a diverse array of her favorite contemporary artists including Paul Simon, Rufus Wainwright, Randy Newman, Kate Bush, Andrew Lloyd Webber and many more.

Acclaimed Singer/Actress Anastasia Barzee Readies Sophisticated Debut CD: ‘The Dimming of the Day' is now available on Ghostlight Records

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble (BTE) will kick off their 25th Anniversary Season with Conor McPherson's 'Shining City' directed by BTE Ensemble member Brian Burke at the McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage, located at 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, Ill. Sept. 23 - Oct. 9. A preview will be held Thursday is Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. Press opening is Friday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. For more information visit www.AtTheMac.org.

In this examination of marginalized people battling to have their voices heard: a white teenager dreams of being a black gangsta rapper; a wheelchair-bound kid explains how his mother smoked crack during pregnancy; a pale-skinned Bronx street vendor enrages a policeman who can't figure out what race he is; and a young Puerto Rican man on crutches rhapsodizes about his dancing talent.

Lyric Stage will present GYPSY featuring a 39-piece orchestra. For tickets visit here or call the box office @ 972-252-2787

Abrons Arts Center and Barbara Busackino have set the opening night for the highly anticipated NYC return of Arias with a Twist for Sunday, September 18 at Abrons Arts Center (466 Grand Street).

Ten years ago, when New Yorkers were still adjusting to the shock of so many lives lost and a way of life gone forever, Mamma Mia!, just by being the right musical at the right time, had something to do with Broadway's own healing process.

McCarter Theatre Center will open its 2011/2012 season with John Doyle's Ten Cents A Dance: The Music of Rodgers and Hart Friday, September 16 and runs through Sunday, October 9. Ten Cent A Dance is a co-production with Williamstown Theatre Festival where it recently completed a successful run. The show previews Friday, September 9 through Thursday, September 15.

In this examination of marginalized people battling to have their voices heard: a white teenager dreams of being a black gangsta rapper; a wheelchair-bound kid explains how his mother smoked crack during pregnancy; a pale-skinned Bronx street vendor enrages a policeman who can't figure out what race he is; and a young Puerto Rican man on crutches rhapsodizes about his dancing talent.

Abrons Arts Center and Barbara Busackino have announced that the critical and popular hit Arias with a Twist will return for a limited encore engagement Wednesday, September 14 - Saturday, October 15. This bigger-than-life cabinet of curiosities was created by seductive songstress Joey Arias, who stars, and Basil Twist, who directs and designs.

Mint Theater today announced that Temporal Powers will extend one more week, through October 9th at the Mint's home in the heart of the theater district, 311 West 43rd Street.