Brian Yorkey News

Just in - NEXT TO NORMAL has one the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama! As per the official Pulitzer's web site: For a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source and dealing with American life, Ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

Samples from the upcoming AMERICAN IDIOT Original Broadway Cast Recording are now available online via Amazon.com. The CD is currently available for pre-order and will be released April 19th.

The New York Times confirms today that former President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, their daughter, Chelsea, her fiancé, Marc Mezvinsky, attended the matinee of NEXT TO NORMAL on Saturday afternoon at the Booth Theater, along with a few secret service agents.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) has announced the two plays which will be presented as part of the company's eighth annual Second Stage Theatre Uptown Series this summer: the New York premiere of Michael Golamco's Year Zero, directed by Will Frears, and the world premiere of Leslye Headland's Bachelorette, directed by Trip Cullman.

The Producers of Broadway's most acclaimed new musical, Next to Normal, announced today that a National Tour will launch in Los Angeles in November 2010. Performances at the Center Theatre GroupAhmanson Theatre will begin November 23 and run through January 2. Winner of three Tony Awards - Best Score, Best Actress in a Musical, and Best Orchestrations - Next to Normal features music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, and direction by Michael Greif.

Monday's New York Times is reporting that Broadway's Next to Normal has joined the 25-30 percent of Broadway shows that have earned back the show's initial investment. The show marked it's one-year anniversary last night (Saturday) as it it prepares for a national tour that begins in November, producers announced that the show has earned back it's full $4 million in capitalization.

Neil Simon's LOST IN YONKERS will close at the Everett Performing Arts Center on March 28th, 2010.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) has announced that USMAN ALLY, TERENCE ARCHIE, DESMIN BORGES, CHRISTIAN LITKE, and MICHAEL T. WEISS (NBC's 'The Pretender') will star in the New York premiere of THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY, a new play written by Kristoffer Diaz and directed by Edward Torres.

Stephen Sondheim turned 80 on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 and he celebrated this landmark event with Roundabout Theatre Company at a special performance of Sondheim on Sondheim and star-studded tribute at Roundabout's 2010 Spring Gala: Sondheim 80.

Kyle Dean Massey, currently starring in the hit Broadway musical Next to Normal, recently did a fashion photo shoot in Out Magazine, showing off spring's latest trends. Click here to see the shots! Massey came to Next to Normal directly from the Broadway company of Wicked. He has also appeared on Broadway in Xanadu and off-Broadway in Altar Boyz. He has toured with Wicked and 42nd Street and has appeared on TV in the series 'Cupid.'

Stephen Sondheim turns 80 on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 and he will celebrate this landmark event with Roundabout Theatre Company at a special performance of Sondheim on Sondheim and star-studded tribute at Roundabout's 2010 Spring Gala: Sondheim 80.

Carlsbad High School's Sound Express show choir performed a medley of the Broadway sensation 'Next to Normal'. See the video of their performance below!

Stephen Sondheim turns 80 on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 and he will celebrate this landmark event with Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) at a special performance of Sondheim on Sondheim and star-studded tribute at Roundabout's 2010 Spring Gala: Sondheim 80.

The American Theatre Wing Presented the 2010 Jonathan Larson® Grants on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at the American Airlines Theatre in New York City. This year, Peter Lerman, Daniel Maté, and songwriting team Michael Kooman (music) and Christopher Dimond (book & lyrics) were selected to receive the prestigious grants, totaling $10,000. The evening included special performances of the recipients' work by Brian d'Arcy James and Kerry Butler. Brad Bass, John Eric Parker, and Ephraim Sykes from Memphis performed a rarely heard Jonathan Larson song. BroadwayWorld was there for the ceremony.

Stephen Sondheim turns 80 on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 and he will celebrate this landmark event with Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) at a special performance of Sondheim on Sondheim and star-studded tribute at Roundabout's 2010 Spring Gala: Sondheim 80.

The 5th Avenue has announced the seven productions that make up its 2010-2011 Season, which includes a mix of premieres of new works, the hottest shows direct from Broadway and Golden Age classics featuring Seattle's favorite performers and artists.

The American Theatre Wing announced today that the 2010 Jonathan Larson® Grants will be presented on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at the American Airlines Theatre (227 W 42nd Street, 5th Floor) in New York City. This year, Peter Lerman, Daniel Mate, and songwriting team Michael Kooman (music) and Christopher Dimond (book & lyrics) were selected to receive the prestigious grants, totaling $10,000. The evening will include special performances of the recipients' work by Brian d'Arcy James, Kerry Butler and Brad Bass, John Eric Parker, and Ephraim Sykes from Memphis will perform a rarely heard Jonathan Larson song.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced its 2010-2011 theater programming. The season will feature: a Center-produced revival of Stephen Sondheim's Follies; ON THE FRINGE: Eye on Edinburgh featuring new work by artists emerging from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; 11 and 12, directed by Peter Brook; Chekhov International Theatre Festival's Three Sisters and Twelfth Night; DRUID's The Cripple of Inishmaan; and Penumbra Theatre Company's new production I Wish You Love, as part of the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays. Barbara Cook's Spotlight will bring six theater cabaret performers in its fourth season, and audiences will delight in touring productions of Hair, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific, Wicked, and Next to Normal. The 2010-2011 season is as follows:

Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre will be collaborating with other local theatre companies to present a production of the new musical Vanities as well as the tour of the Tony Award winning Next to Normal.

Exciting collaborations are underway as The 5th Avenue and ACT Theatre join resources to co-produce a regional premiere, and The 5th also teams up with Village Theatre, Broadway Across America and Seattle Theatre Group to bring a Broadway hit to Seattle and offer special ticketing prices to their subscribers in the upcoming 2010-2011 Season.