Charles Strouse News

A human ball of silver glitter hanging from a cord is lowered above what looks like a bungalow-sized muffin top.  (It's supposed to represent a turtle shell.)  Before the glitter ball makes its landing the cover is removed to reveal what looks like a tribe of humanish amphibians bouncing on trampolines and twirling on the muffin/turtle's frame.  Shortly after, a sleazy-looking clown in a tropical shirt tosses a condom to a woman in the front row and says, 'Call me!'  Yes, dear readers, Cirque du Soleil is back in town.

Bethe Austin (Broadway's Sly Fox, Onward Victoria!) will join the Beautiful Soup Theater tonight, March 23rd, 2013 as they celebrate the songbook of Charles Strouse (Rags, Annie, Applause, Bye, Bye, Birdie!). All proceeds from this one-night-only concert will be Beautiful Soup's revival of the Strouse, Schwartz and Stein musical Rags.

Superman will return to the stage in the upcoming New York City Center Encores! production of It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman. The production will feature Edward Watts in the title role with Jenny Powers as Lois Lane and David Pittu as the evil Dr. Sedgwick, along with Adam Monley, Alli Mauzey, James Saito and Will Swenson. Superman will play at City Center for seven performances, March 20 - 24, and will be directed by John Rando with choreography by Joshua Bergasse and music direction by Rob Berman. BroadwayWorld brings you just-released highlights from the production below!

Superman finds his Lois Lane! Joining Edward Watts (Superman) in the New York City Center Encores! production of It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman will be Jenny Powers as Lois Lane and David Pittu as the evil Dr. Sedgwick, along with Erich Bergen, Alli Mauzey, James Saito and Will Swenson. Superman will play at City Center for seven performances, tonight, March 20 - 24, and will be directed by John Rando with choreography by Joshua Bergasse and music direction by Rob Berman.

Justin Timberlake may soon be putting on his suit and tie and heading to a mansion on New York's Fifth Avenue. According to the New York Post, the singer is being considered for the lead role of Daddy Warbucks in Sony Pictures' upcoming film adaptation of ANNIE.

On Sunday, April 14, 2013 at 7:00 PM, Randie Levine-Miller will present Broadway Showstopper Divas --'A Swell Party' at the Metropolitan Room (34 West 22nd Street) as an Actors Fund Benefit.*

The Beautiful Soup Theater, whose revival of Moose Murders recently played The Connelly Theatre, will return to that venue in May with a production of the short-lived musical RAGS. The musical, which closed on Broadway after only four performances in 1986, features a masterful score by Charles Strouse (Annie, Applause, Bye, Bye, Birdie!), lyrics by two-time Academy Award winner Stephen Schwartz and a libretto by Joseph Stein. The musical has undergone extensive revisions over the years, and this version will reflect material from both the well-received 1994 American Jewish Theatre production and the 2011 Lyric Stage production.

Dallas Theater Center presents Neil Simon's classic American comedy, The Odd Couple, directed by DTC Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty. When two men with struggling relationships, neat and particular Felix Ungar and disheveled and rough-edged Oscar Madison, decide to live together, the results are funny and poignant. The Odd Couple opens with previews tonight, March 15 and runs through Sunday, April 14 at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in the AT&T Performing Arts Center.

Superman finds his Lois Lane! Joining Edward Watts (Superman) in the New York City Center Encores! production of It's a Bird…It's a Plane…It's Superman will be Jenny Powers as Lois Lane and David Pittu as the evil Dr. Sedgwick, along with , Alli Mauzey, Adam Monley, James Saito and Will Swenson. Superman will play at City Center for seven performances, March 20 - 24, and will be directed by John Rando with choreography by Joshua Bergasse and music direction by Rob Berman.

The cast and creative team met the press earlier today, and BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was there to chat with them about the show. Check out what they had to say and catch a performance preview below!

Cabrillo Music Theatre celebrates its 20th Anniversary in the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza by proudly announcing its 2013-2014 Season of shows, produced exclusively in the Kavli Theatre, at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. The 2013-2014 Season, entitled 'Moving Forward, Looking Back,' is Cabrillo's most sizzling season ever. With a combination of classic and contemporary musicals, premieres and returning favorites, every show is gonna burn up the Kavli stage in a season that is just TOO DARN HOT! All of Cabrillo's productions are locally produced, auditioned and rehearsed in Southern California, and performed exclusively in the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.

Shout! Factory, and its Broadway cast imprint Shout! Broadway, has just announced that it will release and distribute the New Broadway Cast Recording for the critically- acclaimed production of the classic Broadway musical, Annie.

Bethe Austin (Broadway's Sly Fox, Onward Victoria!) will join the Beautiful Soup Theater on March 23rd, 2013 as they celebrate the songbook of Charles Strouse (Rags, Annie, Applause, Bye, Bye, Birdie!). All proceeds from this one-night-only concert will be Beautiful Soup's revival of the Strouse, Schwartz and Stein musical Rags.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced today that it will continue its collaboration with Dallas Theater Center to co-produce the new musical THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE in 2014. Following the success of the musical Giant, THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, based upon the bestselling novel by Jonathan Lethem, will premiere at Dallas Theater Center in March and continue in New York as part of The Public's 2014-15 Season at Astor Place.

Cast as Maria in the Franklin Performing Arts Company's upcoming presentation of The Sound of Music, Franklin's Erica Glenn says her life has mirrored pages from the script.

Dallas Theater Center announced today the upcoming production of Neil Simon's classic American comedy, The Odd Couple, directed by DTC Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty. When two men with struggling relationships, neat and particular Felix Ungar and disheveled and rough-edged Oscar Madison, decide to live together, the results are funny and poignant. The Odd Couple opens with previews on Friday, March 15 and runs through Sunday, April 14 at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in the AT&T Performing Arts Center.

Now in its 15th season, Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook celebrates the best in American singing and songwriting with a new chapter in the Songbook story: 'American Songbook in the Penthouse,' a series of weekend-only performances by performers and composers presented in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, an intimate yet elegant venue that brings artists closer to the audience in a cabaret-style setting. The second weekend of Kaplan Penthouse performances, the sixth week of American Songbook 2013, runs April 5-6, 2013. April 5th belongs to Cristin Milioti, who was nominated for a Tony Award in 2012 for her lead role in the musical Once.