California Musical Theatre News

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment present the fifth and final production in its 2013-1014 season of shows with the Los Angeles regional theatre premiere of one of the most beloved musicals of all time, based on the novel by Victor Hugo, the Tony award-winning, LES MISERABLES, music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, book by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer, with musical direction by John Glaudini, choreography by Dana Solimando and directed by Brian Kite.

The Broadway Gala, California Musical Theatre's annual fund raising dinner, takes place on Saturday, May 3, starting at 6:00 p.m., at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, 1515 J Street in Sacramento. Memorial Auditorium will be elegantly decorated for the evening with a New York Broadway theme.

California Musical Theatre announced the 2014-15 Broadway Sacramento season at Community Center Theater, a varied lineup featuring the Sacramento premiere of three hit musicals, two blockbusters brought back due to popular demand and a classic musical that has been produced at Music Circus but never before part of the Broadway Sacramento season.

California Music Circus, renowned by theater professionals and fans across the country, has announced its summer 2014 season, including A CHORUS LINE, SOUTH PACIFIC, and more. Each summer the Music Circus series features new productions of classic musicals with some of the most talented professional actors available, Tony-winning Broadway veterans and stars of touring Broadway, film and TV. The theatre-in-the-round setting puts audiences so close to the action that they feel lke part of the show.

Aurora Theatre Company presents the Bay Area Premiere of WITTENBERG, David Davalos' audacious comedy about reason versus faith. Josh Costello (San Francisco Playhouse, Marin Theatre Company, Impact Theatre) directs this smarty-pants celebration of history, language, academia, and religion, featuring Dan Hiatt (The Arsonists), Elizabeth Carter (Trouble in Mind), Jeremy Kahn, and Michael Stevenson. WITTENBERG plays April 4 through May 4 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets ($32-60) and information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

After breaking box office records and selling out in record time in 2012, Wicked, Broadway's biggest blockbuster, will return to Sacramento Community Center Theater from May 28 through June 15 as part of the Broadway Sacramento series. Tickets for the return engagement go on sale today, February 15.

Flashdance - The Musical, the stage adaptation of the 1983 hit film that defined a generation, will run at the Community Center Theater from tonight, February 4 - 9, 2014.

After breaking box office records and selling out in record time in 2012, WICKED, Broadway's biggest blockbuster, will return to Sacramento Community Center Theater from May 28 through June 15 as part of the Broadway Sacramento series. Tickets for the return engagement go on sale February 15.

Flashdance - The Musical, the stage adaptation of the 1983 hit film that defined a generation, will run at the Community Center Theater from February 4 - 9, 2014, as part of California Musical Theatre's Broadway Sacramento series. With electrifying dance at its core, Flashdance - The Musical tells the inspiring and unforgettable story of Alex Owens, a Pittsburgh steel mill welder by day and a bar dancer by night with dreams of one day becoming a professional performer. When romance with her steel mill boss threatens to complicate her ambitions, Alex learns the meaning of love and its power to fuel the pursuit of her dream.

California Musical Theatre announced a varied lineup of musicals for the 2014 season of Sacramento Music Circus at the Wells Fargo Pavilion, the 64th season for what has become a Northern California summer tradition. The five-show season will include the Music Circus premiere of the beloved Disney classic Mary Poppins, as well as other Tony Award-winning shows including the singular sensation A Chorus Line, Rodgers and Hammerstein's lush South Pacific, Lerner and Loewe's mystical Brigadoon, and Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein's hilarious La Cage Aux Folles.

Flashdance - The Musical, the stage adaptation of the 1983 hit film that defined a generation, will run at the Community Center Theater from February 4 - 9, 2014, as part of California Musical Theatre's Broadway Sacramento series. With electrifying dance at its core, Flashdance - The Musical tells the inspiring and unforgettable story of Alex Owens, a Pittsburgh steel mill welder by day and a bar dancer by night with dreams of one day becoming a professional performer. When romance with her steel mill boss threatens to complicate her ambitions, Alex learns the meaning of love and its power to fuel the pursuit of her dream.

For the first time, due to a program established by California Musical Theatre (CMT), Music Circus and Broadway Sacramento patrons who are blind or visually impaired will be better able to enjoy the musicals they attend at Wells Fargo Pavilion and Community Center Theater, according to Richard Lewis, CMT President & CEO. Select Saturday matinee performances of each Broadway Sacramento and Music Circus production will feature audio description. Patrons with visual impairments will be able to listen to live descriptions of the visual elements of the shows-including sets, costumes and physical action-using ear pieces provided at the theater.

California Musical Theatre announces the 2013-14 Broadway Sacramento season at Community Center Theater, a varied lineup featuring five Sacramento premieres and a Broadway blockbuster brought back due to popular demand after a record-breaking run in the 2011-12 Broadway Sacramento season.

Its first time ever at Music Circus, the sizzling, sexy Kander and Ebb smash hit Chicago is the final show of the 2013 Music Circus season, with an extended run at the Wells Fargo Pavilion from August 20 - 29. The 1996 revival of this hit musical, one of the cornerstones of the choreographic Broadway legacy of Bob Fosse, won 6 Tony Awards and is still running on Broadway. With a plot centered on murderesses Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, on death row together fighting for the fame that may keep them from the gallows, the show features a number of popular songs including 'All That Jazz,' 'Razzle Dazzle' and 'Cell Block Tango.' BroadwayWorld has a first look at highlights of the production below!

The Music Circus production of the musical 'Chicago' at the Wells Fargo Pavilion runs now through August 29, 2013. Directed by Ron Kellum, choreographed by Randy Slovacek, the show features Brenda Braxton (Velma Kelly), Lindsay Roginski (Roxie Hart), Tom Hewitt (Billy Flynn), Roz Ryan (Matron 'Mama' Morton) and Ric Stoneback (Amos Hart). Click below to watch highlights from the show!

Closing the summer season with its first production of the Kander and Ebb classic, 'Chicago,' Music Circus gives Sacramento the 'old razzle dazzle them' this week at the Wells Fargo Pavilion. The production features Fosse's well-known jazz hands, which influenced so much of musical theatre, and it glitters under Randy Slovacek's choreography and David Neville's dramatic lighting. A flexible cast shows off its muscles with amazing flips and twists of the body, while the story unfolds in vaudeville-style, complete with sensual black costumes designed by Mark Koss.

Its first time ever at Music Circus, the sizzling, sexy Kander and Ebb smash hit Chicago is the final show of the 2013 Music Circus season, with an extended run at the Wells Fargo Pavilion from August 20 - 29. The 1996 revival of this hit musical, one of the cornerstones of the choreographic Broadway legacy of Bob Fosse, won 6 Tony Awards and is still running on Broadway. With a plot centered on murderesses Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, on death row together fighting for the fame that may keep them from the gallows, the show features a number of popular songs including 'All That Jazz,' 'Razzle Dazzle' and 'Cell Block Tango.' BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production below!

Its first time ever at Music Circus, the sizzling, sexy Kander and Ebb smash hit Chicago is the final show of the 2013 Music Circus season, with an extended run at the Wells Fargo Pavilion from August 20 - 29. The 1996 revival of this hit musical, one of the cornerstones of the choreographic Broadway legacy of Bob Fosse, won 6 Tony Awards and is still running on Broadway. With a plot centered on murderesses Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, on death row together fighting for the fame that may keep them from the gallows, the show features a number of popular songs including "All That Jazz," "Razzle Dazzle" and "Cell Block Tango." BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek of the production below!

BroadwayWorld.com, the largest theatre site on the Internet, is excited to announce a new feature to its comprehensive regional coverage - the Featured Regional Theater of the Week! Each week, BWW will introduce its readers to a regional theater located in one of our (over 130!) coverage cities. By exploring these different venues, their history and showcasing the production seasons, BWW continues its commitment to expand our presence in communities and cities across the United States. This Week's Featured Regional Theater: California Musical Theatre in Sacramento, CA

The King and I, one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's most treasured musicals, is the next show in the 2013 Music Circus season, at the Wells Fargo Pavilion from August 6 - 11. With book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and music by Richard Rodgers, the show features the classic songs 'Shall We Dance?,' 'Getting to Know You' and 'Something Wonderful.' BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production below.