Christopher Ashley News

Voting is now underway for the Los Angeles Awards and continues until December 31, 2012. Winners will be announced in early January. Check out the live standings below.

Today we are talking to a Tony Award-winning Broadway and Hollywood notable all about his terrifically theatrical background - having appeared in musicals ranging from his debut in the ill-fated MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG to his Tony Award-winning work in JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY to most recent role as the artistic director of LA's lauded Reprise! Theatre Company - the one and only Jason Alexander. Expounding upon his big Broadway break in Stephen Sondheim & Harold Prince's MERRILY and what it was like to witness the two titans as they developed the piece, Alexander shares his insights into the art of Broadway and also casts a glance back at his roles in Kander & Ebb's THE RINK, Mel Brooks's THE PRODUCERS and directing Sondheim‘s musicals himself (such as SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE with frequent InDepth InterView participant Kelli O‘Hara). Alexander also opens up about some of his most celebrated dramatic and comedic work to date - to say nothing of the iconic TV dynasty of SEINFELD, we also touch upon the TV movie musicals adaptation of A CHRISTMAS CAROL (with a score by Alan Menken & Lynn Ahrens), co-starring Kelsey Grammer, and Rodgers & Hammerstein's CINDERELLA, (with fellow InDepth InterView participant Bernadette Peters), as well as his recent appearance on HARRY'S LAW and more. Plus, Alexander outlines his featured role in the forthcoming Christopher Ashley feature film adaptation of the Ahrens & Flaherty musical comedy LUCKY STIFF, the future for a revival of the Richard Rodgers/Martin Charnin Bible-based Moses musical TWO BY TWO (co-starring SMASH's Megan Hilty once again, perhaps?) - and much, much more!

La Jolla Playhouse announces two additional productions for its 2013/2014 season. Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley (Glengarry Glen Ross, Memphis) will direct His Girl Friday, John Guare's (Six Degrees of Separation, The House of Blue Leaves) acclaimed adaptation of the Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur play The Front Page and the Howard Hawks film His Girl Friday, with screenplay by Charles Lederer, produced by Columbia Pictures. The production will kick off the season in June/July in the Mandell Weiss Theatre.

Voting is now underway for the Los Angeles Awards and continues until December 31, 2012. Winners will be announced in early January. Check out the live standings below.

La Jolla Playhouse announces a new play development initiative, the DNA New Work Series, entailing a six-week period of workshop productions and public readings of new plays and musicals, taking place January 24 through March 3, 2013. The focus of the DNA New Work Series is to allow playwrights and directors the opportunity to develop a script by providing rehearsal time, space and resources, culminating in a workshop production or public reading.

MEMPHIS, the 2010 Tony Award Winner for Best Musical, comes to the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) tonight, December 4 through Sunday, December 9, 2012 for a limited engagement.

According to an Equity casting notice, Christopher Ashley will direct CHASING THE SONG at La Jolla Playhouse, running January 7- 27. The musical features a book & lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music & lyrics by David Bryan.

Voting is now underway for the Los Angeles Awards and continues until December 31, 2012. Winners will be announced in early January. Check out the live standings below

The Drama League (Gabriel Shanks, Executive Director; Roger T. Danforth, Artistic Director) has announced full casting for the 29th Annual DirectorFest, a festival of one-act plays staged by the Fall Directing Fellows of The Drama League Directors Project, beginning December 6 - 9 at The Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex, 312 West 36th street (at 8th Avenue).

Academy Award-winner Whoopi Goldberg guest stars as Maris Elder and Broadway's Raul Esparza guest stars as Phillip Perez on tonight's December 2nd episode of the new ABC drama series 666 PARK AVENUE.

MEMPHIS, the 2010 Tony® Award Winner for Best Musical, and the show that's currently blowing the roof off Broadway, opens at Marcus Center for the Performing Arts on January 8-13, 2013 for a limited engagement.

Voting is now underway for the Los Angeles Awards and continues until December 31, 2012. Winners will be announced in early January. Check out the live standings below!

Ghostlight Records will release the Original Broadway Cast Recording of the Tony®-nominated musical, LEAP OF FAITH, featuring a roof-raising new score by Oscar® and Tony®- winning composer Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors) and Grammy®-winning lyricist Glenn Slater (Tangled), to digital outlets on December 4, 2012 and in stores on December 18, 2012. CD pre-orders are now on sale at http://sh-k-boom.com/leapoffaith.shtml.

Voting is now underway for the Los Angeles Awards and continues until December 31, 2012. Winners will be announced in early January. Check out the live standings below!

As first reported on TVLine.com, Broadway vet Raul Esparza will join the cast of NBC's upcoming drama HANNIBAL, based on characters from Thomas Harris' novel 'Red Dragon.' The actor will portray Lechter's jailer 'Dr. Chilton,'

MEMPHIS, the 2010 Tony Award Winner for Best Musical, comes to the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) Tuesday, December 4 through Sunday, December 9, 2012 for a limited engagement.

Academy Award-winner Whoopi Goldberg guest stars as Maris Elder and Broadway's Raul Esparza guest stars as Phillip Perez on the December 2nd episode of the new ABC drama series 666 PARK AVENUE.

Last night MEMPHIS opened Segerstrom Center for the Arts' 2012-13 Broadway Series, and during the finale, local Orange County high school students surprised the cast and audience with a flash mob. Watch their performance below!