Ben Harney News

As BroadwayWorld reported just two days ago, GLEE and THE WIZ LIVE! star Amber Riley will take on the role of 'Effie' when DREAMGIRLS makes its UK debut at London's Savoy Theatre this winter. And Riley is no stranger to the musical's challenging anthems.

Big news in the DREAMGIRLS world tonight! The Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye just revealed the news that GLEE and THE WIZ LIVE! star Amber Riley will play 'Effie' when the musical makes its UK debut at London's Savoy Theatre this winter.

Year 2015 is the sweet 16th year for the MITF. Prolific producer John Chatterton's brainchild, The Midtown International Theatre Festival - presenting powerful plays and musicals from around the world - is steadily marching toward 20 years as one of the best reasons to come to New York in the summer. This year, the diverse Midtown International will present quality live theater PLUS a series of cutting-edge short works, children's theater, dance productions, one-person shows, cabaret, vaudeville & burlesque style entertainment.

In honor of this week's big casting coup coming in the form of original Dorothy Stephanie Mills joining the cast of NBC's live musical presentation of THE WIZ later this year, titled THE WIZ LIVE!, today we are posing some possible casting suggestions that line up with the thoughtful and affectionate choice of Mills as Auntie Em by taking a look at some of the other original leads and stars associated with the property who could be perfect fits for the live telecast as well as some familiar faces who would be ideally cast in the Oz-centric musical spectacular. Tony Award-winning Broadway divas to Hollywood superstars and beyond, this list has more potential than munchkins in Oz!

The Daily Mail writes that SOMETHING ROTTEN! director Casey Nicholaw will officially be directing DREAMGIRLS in its UK debut.

BROADWAY LEGACY is a photographic and editorial exhibition that boldly celebrates African American achievement in the Broadway industry. The beautiful showcase of talented black men was directed by one of the same, Broadway actor Christian Dante White. Scroll down for a peek at the exhibition's stunning portraits, featuring Chuck Cooper, Darius de Haas, Charl Brown, Kyle Taylor Parker and more!

Power. Lust. Friendship. Legacy. What matters in a human life? Gilgamesh, the larger-than-life King, travels to the end of the world to find out. Based on the epic from Mesopotamia, one of the oldest pieces of literature known to us today, GILGAMESH - A MUSICAL EPIC is a coming of age story depicting Man's breakthrough into Consciousness, told in the form of an original epic musical experience with a live band.

DREAMGIRLS is headed to the West End! According to the Daily Mail, producer Sonia Friedman has the rights to tackle a full West End production, with BOOK OF MORMON and ALADDIN helmer Casey Nicholaw in talks for the director's chair.

Today we continue the 2014 edition of our annual BroadwayWorld feature series spotlighting the very best Tony Awards-related moments of all time with a special focus on one of the biggest battles for Best Musical with NINE versus DREAMGIRLS.

Amidst a stellar lineup of established Broadway legends and stars such as Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Sutton Foster, Christine Ebersole, and Chita Rivera; The Art House in Provincetown will shine its spotlight on a Cape Cod born-and-bred talent Brandon Cordeiro who will appear on Aug. 19th at 9:30 in For One Night Only.

Today we are continuing BroadwayWorld's 2013 Tony Awards Clip Countdown with a special spotlight focused on two of the most memorable musicals of the 1980s, DREAMGIRLS & NINE!

Yesterday, October 21, Grammy Award-winning, Tony Award-winning actress Audra McDonald was honored with a Pipe Night at THE PLAYERS. McDonald is the 100th recipient (since 1901) of such a night and the first since 2010 (Sir Roger Moore).

Yesterday in the 2012 Tony Awards Clip Countdown - a look at the finest moments in theatre history as shown on the Tony Awards telecasts over the last sixty years - we focused on the 1982 Best Musical winner, NINE. While Tommy Tune's Fellini-inspired fever dream won the big prize, Michael Bennett's innovative and visionary R&B pop opera DREAMGIRLS won many of the night's most significant awards and has certainly firmly established itself as a firmament of the history of the modern musical in the intervening years. Among the prizes won by the DREAMGIRLS cast and creative team: Best Actress for Jennifer Holliday, as well as wins in the Featured Actor In A Musical category, Best Book for Tom Eyen and wins in the technical categories for the unprecedented, hi-tech design.

30 years ago today, Dreamgirls premiered on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre. The production was directed by Michael Bennett, produced by Bennett, Bob Avian, Geffen Records, and The Shubert Organization, and choreographed by Bennett and Michael Peters. It starred Sheryl Lee Ralph as Deena Jones, Jennifer Holliday as Effie White, Loretta Devine as Lorrell Robinson, Ben Harney as Curtis Taylor, Jr., Cleavant Derricks as James 'Thunder' Early, and Obba Babatundé as C. C. White. Dreamgirls proved to be a star-making vehicle for several of its performers, particularly Holliday, whose performance as Effie received significant praise.

The Midtown International Theatre Festival presents Children of GOD, The Musical, a modern musical mash-up of inspiration for the next generation written by Charles B. Murray, IV.

The Midtown International Theatre Festival presents Children of GOD, The Musical, a modern musical mash-up of inspiration for the next generation written by Charles B. Murray, IV.

The City of Cleveland Heights and Cain Park Theater Artistic Director Russ Borski announce that DREAMGIRLS will open Cain Park's 2011 season in the Alma Theater June 10-26 (preview June 9).

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) has announced additional casting and Songwriters Showcase line-up for its 22nd Annual Festival of New Musicals taking place on Thursday, October 21 and Friday, October 22, 2010 at New World Stages in New York City. The Industry-only two-day event features 8 new musicals in 45-minute staged readings.