Beth Leavel News

The Muny announced principal casting for the seventh and final show of its 96th season, Hello, Dolly!, directed by Rob Ruggiero, choreographed by Ralph Perkins, with music direction by Brad Haak. Hello, Dolly! is sponsored by Ameren.

The Old Globe presents the World Premiere of Dog and Pony, a new musical with book by Rick Elice and music and lyrics by Michael Patrick Walker. From the award-winning talents behind Jersey Boys, Peter and the Starcatcher, and Altar Boyz, Dog and Pony is a romantic musical comedy that follows Mags and Andy, a successful screenwriting team, as their professional relationship evolves into something more. Scroll down to meet the company!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: Atlantic Theater Company's OUR NEW GIRL opens off-Broadway tonight, and BAKERSFIELD MIST, starring Kathleen Turner, kicks off in the West End!

There is always something exciting happening in Houston's theatre scene, and one of our latest additions is promising to promote education in the arts while offering exhilarating cabaret concerts as well. Recently, I caught up with locally based actor and producer Tyce Green at Empire Cafe on Westheimer Road to discuss his exciting, new Straight From New York Workshop and Concert series.

A month has passed, 'Jeremy's Fort' has opened to critical acclaim at Threshold Arts, and Penny (Kate Wetherhead) is still reeling from having Serena (Donna Vivino) find out about her tortured 'relationship' with Aaron (Santino Fontana). Despite their best efforts, not even Tim (Colin Hanlon) or her parents (Beth Leavel and Rick Elice) can lift her out of her funk. Meanwhile, Steven (Stephen Bienskie) and Cameron (Max von Essen) make slow but steady progress in planning an engagement party, and Vincent Savio (Nehal Joshi) is brought face to face with the 'nobodies' promised by Gail (Lindsay Nicole Chmabers) in the first round of auditions for the 'Light Me Up' workshop. Guest stars include Laura Osnes, John Conlee, Maddie Corman, Jenn Harris, Lucas Papaelias, Jenn Colella, Sadie Sink, David Saint and Executive Producer Kevin McCollum!

'Submissions Only,' Broadway's favorite webseries, will air its newest episode on BroadwayWorld.com on Monday, May 26 at 12:00 a.m., its new air time! Episode 7 of Submissions Only will then be available to view on demand at any time throughout the day on Monday.

Just last night, 'Submissions Only' co-creators Kate Wetherhead and Andrew Keenan-Bolger celebrated the songs of their hit web series at 54 Below. Under the music direction of Michael Croiter, the Submissions Only House Band, along with a number of exciting guest stars, performed a selection of music from all three seasons of the show, including original songs like 'Two Cents,' 'Wrong Spot' and 'Nobody Does Mean Like Me.'

The Straight From New York series is bringing Tony-Award Nominee Adam Pascal, Tony Award winner Beth Leavel, and SMASH and Broadway star Wesley Taylor to Houston this summer to lead masterclasses for young performing hopefuls.

Producers of the Tony Award winning musical Rodgers + Hammerstein's CINDERELLA, Robyn Goodman, Jill Furman and Stephen Kocis, have announced that Paige Faure, now appearing in Bullets Over Broadway, will be Broadway's new CINDERELLA starting June 13. Faure will also lead the national tour of the hit, Tony Award-winning musical when it begins performances October 10 in Providence, RI. Ms. Faure assumes the role following the 4-month limited engagement of Carly Rae Jepsen, which concludes June 8.

'Submissions Only,' Broadway's favorite webseries, is back with a new episode in just a few days! Episode 7 of Submissions Only's new third season will air at 12:00 a.m. on Monday, May 26, and be available to view on demand at any time throughout the day on Monday. Check out a trailer below!

Stellar vocalists and instrumentalists deliver a fine and worthy tribute to John Kander and Fred Ebb.

John Schreiber, NJPAC's President and CEO, and David Rodriguez, Executive Producer of the Arts Center, announced today a 2014-15 season packed with new, NJPAC- created, season-long series', collaborations with renowned artists and companies, an expansion of diverse programming, further integration of NJPAC's arts education programs within mainstage performances, and a continuation of the Arts Center's 17-year tradition of presenting world-class artists. With over 100 performances and special events announced for the acoustically superb 2,800- seat Prudential Hall, intimate 514-seat Victoria Theater, 250-seat Chase Room, and outdoors in Theater Square, by artists ranging from Patti LaBelle to The Metropolitan Opera Rising Stars; from Chris Botti to Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience; from Golda's Balcony with Tovah Feldshuh to the Brick City Jazz Orchestra; from Bela Fleck to Lula Washington Dance Theatre; from Beres Hammond to Audra McDonald; and from The Second City to Dinosaur Train Live!, NJPAC's new season has something for everyone.

If you are even a semi-regular reader of this column of reviews, you know that about every three or four months, I post a compilation of observations of shows from the previous quarter of the year. This cabaret critiquing mash up happens for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I admittedly see too many cabaret shows for the amount of time I have to promptly review them (and then, of course, the usual writer's procrastination sets in). So I have to prioritize the timeliness of the reviews based on the prestige of the performer, the length of a show run, the strength (or lack thereof) of the performance, etc. The quality of the shows in these compilations—which can range from a half dozen to a dozen reviews in one shot—are usually a mixed bag of outright raves, qualified positives, and constructive pans (I'm not a fan of the word “negative” in the reviewer lexicon). With that in mind here are a collection of cabaret show reviews going back to the start of a very harsh winter.

Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly will lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and an incredible cast of singers and dancers in a production of works by the award-winning, four-decade songwriting duo John Kander and Fred Ebb on Thursday, May 15 at 8 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore, Friday, May 16 at 8 p.m., Saturday, May 17 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, May 18 at 3 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The evening will include a series of showstoppers, from Cabaret, Chicago, New York, New York, Kiss of the Spider Woman and more.

Whether you've been living under a rock for the past week or you're just in the mood for a recap, BroadwayWorld's 'This Week in Pictures' is here to satisfy your end-of-the-week fix! Take a look below to catch up on the latest happenings from the Great White Way to The West End (and everywhere in between) with coverage of press events, rehearsals, opening nights and more. Highlights this week include a look at this year's Tony nominees, the casts of VIOLET on Broadway and the UK's ROCK OF AGES tour, and a peek into CABARET's gypsy robe ceremony!

The Old Globe yesterday announced the cast of the World Premiere of Dog and Pony, a new musical with book by Rick Elice and music and lyrics by Michael Patrick Walker. From the award-winning talents behind Jersey Boys, Peter and the Starcatcher, and Altar Boyz, Dog and Pony is a romantic musical comedy that follows Mags and Andy, a successful screenwriting team, as their professional relationship evolves into something more. Scroll down to meet the company!

'Submissions Only,' Broadway's favorite webseries, is back on Monday, May 26, with episode 7! Can't wait until Monday? Below, get your Submissions Only fix with a behind the scenes conversation with Kate Wetherhead (Penny), Colin Hanlon (Tim), Stephen Bienskie (Steven), Max von Essen (Cameron) and Lindsay Nicole Chambers (Gail)!

In an unprecedented initiative in Brazil, SESI-SP produces The Drowsy Chaperone, part of SESI-SP Educational Project Musical Theatre (that includes the show and vocational training in music theater), and (this is amazing) free tickets.

STAGE17, a new digital platform that specializes in original and curated entertainment for the Internet, recently held its launch party at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you an inside look at the evening with Kate Baldwin, George Brescia and more!

Broadway's best filled a sold-out Al Hirschfeld Theatre with laughter, tears and cheers during the unforgettable ninth annual edition of Broadway Backwards on Monday, March 24, 2014, raising a record-breaking $423,182 to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. In the video below, go backstage with BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge as he chats with some of the evening's participants, including: Norm Lewis, Julie White, Kyle Dean Massey, and more!