Brian Yorkey News

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, April 15, 2012 - Sunday, April 15, 2012.

Today in 2009, Next to Normal opened at the Booth Theatre, where it ran for 733 performances. Next to Normal is a rock musical with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. Its story concerns a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effect that her illness has on her family. The musical also addresses such issues as grieving a loss, suicide, drug abuse, ethics in modern psychiatry, and suburban life. It was nominated for eleven 2009 Tony Awards and won three, Best Original Score, Best Orchestration and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Alice Ripley. It also won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, becoming just the eighth musical in history to receive the honor.

The Arkansas Repertory Theatre is scheduled to bring NEXT TO NORMAL and the Goodman household to Little Rock audiences this summer for a limited engagement. The rock musical will play from May 1st through the 27th. Tickets to NEXT TO NORMAL are availabe by calling The Rep's box office at (501) 378-0405, or online at https://tickets.therep.org/TheatreManager/1/login&event=0. For more information regarding the production in the future, visit http://www.stagestheatre.com/cms_current__season/nexttonormal.html.

Second Stage Theatre's Spring Gala celebration will honor Corporate Partner American Express, Artist Anna Deavere Smith, and Trustees Tavener Holmes Berry and Bambi Putnam for their extraordinary commitment to the arts and Second Stage on Monday, April 2, 2012 at Cipriani 42nd Street, 110 East 42nd Street.

Due to demand, SpeakEasy Stage Company is adding a seventh and final week of performances for its production of the groundbreaking musical NEXT TO NORMAL. The show will now play thru Sunday, April 22, after which it must close. Tickets for these new dates go on sale Wed., March 28 at 9am (online) and noon (phone and walk-up).

Midvale Main Street prides itself in staging unique-to-Utah musicals, and "Next to Normal" should not be missed.

SpeakEasy Stage Company of Boston mounts a stirring, if not completely satisfying, production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that explores an average family's attempts to deal with the shattering effects of mental illness

BroadwayWorld has learned that Sting's new stage musical, THE LAST SHIP, which has been on track to come to Broadway before making a transfer to the UK's West End, has been postponed. A staged reading, which was to be casted this week, was originally scheduled to take place April 9-21, with direction by Joe Mantello.

The Kauffman Theatre is scheduled to bring NEXT TO NORMAL and the Goodman household to Houston audiences this summer for a limited engagement. The rock musical will play the theater's main stage from June 5 to June 10. No further casting or creative details have been announced, but BroadwayWorld will keep you informed as the Goodman family takes shape.

NEXT TO NORMAL, written by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, plays the Everett Theatre in Middleton, DE through March 18th.

The New Jersey Premiere of NEXT TO NORMAL will be presented with The Premier Theatre starting March 23rd at The Premier Room at The Berkley Oceanfront Hotel in Asbury Park, NJ.

Today we are talking to one half of the supremely talented composing team responsible for ZOMBIE PROM, THE FIX, THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK, and, now, BROTHER RUSSIA, the lyricist of the formidable Dempsey/Rowe himself, John Dempsey. In this career-spanning conversation, Dempsey and I discuss major and minor details of his handful of skillfully written and entertaining shows written with the collaboration of composer Dana Rowe (who will also be highlighted in this column next week), in particular their affiliation with legendary producer Cameron Mackintosh and Signature Theater founder and director Eric Schaeffer, director of the US premieres of three of their musicals, including the most current one opening later this month - as well as touch on his work with Boublil & Shonberg on THE PIRATE QUEEN and his musical adaptation of the religious-themed film SAVED! As if all of that were not enough, Dempsey and I also dissect the finer points of the new Dempsey/Rowe show in previews in Washington, D.C., BROTHER RUSSIA, as he outlines its inspiration, purpose, style and the intriguing story of the new heavy metal fairy tale meta rock opera - all of that and much, much more.

Executive Artistic Director Kristianne Kurner and New Village Arts Theatre are proud to announce their twelfth season of award-winning, professional theatre in the Village of Carlsbad. The Twelfth Season focuses on some of the best American plays with San Diego's finest actors and singers and includes a return to the very popular Shakespeare in the Park.

The American Theatre Wing announced today that the recipients of the 2012 Jonathan Larson® Grant are Julianne Wick Davis (Composer) and Dan Collins (Book, Lyrics) for their work on Southern Comfort. The prestigious grant, totaling $10,000, will be presented on Tuesday, March 27 at a private event in New York City. The event will feature special performances from Southern Comfort.

NEXT TO NORMAL, written by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, will play the Everett Theatre in Middleton, DE from March 9th-18th.

Old Library Theatre presents a limited run of composer Tom Kitt, and book writer and lyricist Brian Yorkey's Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical, NEXT TO NORMAL (N2N), on March 9, 10, 16, 17, and 23 at 8 p.m.; and March 11, 18, and 25 at 2 p.m. at Fair Lawn Community Center (10-10 20th Street). In anticipation of its opening night, the production's cast members had recently sat down with Charlie Alterman, N2N on Broadway's musical director and conductor, for a music rehearsal and a vocal workshop.

Musical Theatre and Jazz Workshop members, friends and colleagues of Jean Banks, who managed BMI's jazz and musical theater department for more than a quarter century, will come together Thursday, March 8 at 5:30 PM at the Snapple Theater for a celebration of her life and her professional calling.

Beginning March 9, SpeakEasy Stage will present the Boston premiere of NEXT TO NORMAL. Get a first look at the production below!

NEXT TO NORMAL is set to return to the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati for a limited engagement after a successful run earlier in the season. The limited engagement will run from June 15th-July 1st.

Musical Theatre and Jazz Workshop members, friends and colleagues of Jean Banks, who managed BMI's jazz and musical theater department for more than a quarter century, will come together Thursday, March 8 at 5:30 PM at the Snapple Theater for a celebration of her life and her professional calling.