Christopher Ashley News

See the four-time Tony Award winner and you won't miss a beat.

Making its West Coast premiere, Blood and Gifts tells the story of the secret spy war behind the official Soviet-Afghan War of the 1980s. Spanning a decade and playing out in Washington DC, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the play offers up a slice of historical fiction laced with dark humor, as it follows the character of CIA operative Jim Warnock and his struggles to stop the Soviet Army's destruction of Afghanistan.

LEAP OF FAITH might have taken its final bow back in May, but sources in the cast tell us that an album is in the works. The cast will gather tomorrow, June 13 to record the original cast album. A release date has not yet been announced.

Making its West Coast premiere, Blood and Gifts tells the story of the secret spy war behind the official Soviet-Afghan War of the 1980s. Spanning a decade and playing out in Washington DC, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the play offers up a slice of historical fiction laced with dark humor, as it follows the character of CIA operative Jim Warnock and his struggles to stop the Soviet Army's destruction of Afghanistan.

MEMPHIS the 2010 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical, opens at the San Diego Civic Theatre on July 24 for a limited engagement and will play through July 29th.

Charlie Hofheimer is set to join the cast of Nicky Silver's new comedy THE LYONS on Broadway at the Cort Theatre (138 W. 48 St.) starting tomorrow, June 12. Mr. Hofheimer assumes the role of Curtis Lyons, joining the cast of THE LYONS which stars 2012 Best Actress Tony nominee Linda Lavin, Dick Latessa, Kate Jennings Grant, Brenda Pressley and Gregory Wooddell. Mr. Hofheimer takes over the role of Curtis from Michael Esper.

Charlie Hofheimer is set to join the cast of Nicky Silver's new comedy THE LYONS on Broadway at the Cort Theatre (138 W. 48 St.) starting tonight, June 12. Mr. Hofheimer assumes the role of Curtis Lyons, joining the cast of THE LYONS which stars 2012 Best Actress Tony nominee Linda Lavin, Dick Latessa, Kate Jennings Grant, Brenda Pressley and Gregory Wooddell.

The Kennedy Center presents Memphis in the Opera House from tonight, June 12 to July 1, 2012.

Charlie Hofheimer is set to join the cast of Nicky Silver's new comedy THE LYONS on Broadway at the Cort Theatre (138 W. 48 St.) starting Tuesday, June 12. Mr. Hofheimer assumes the role of Curtis Lyons, joining the cast of THE LYONS which stars 2012 Best Actress Tony nominee Linda Lavin, Dick Latessa, Kate Jennings Grant, Brenda Pressley and Gregory Wooddell.

Yesterday, June 3, The 57th Annual Drama Desk Awards were held at The Town Hall, celebrating this year's big winners. The festivities were presided over by star of stage and screen Brooke Shields and Broadway favorite - and previous Drama Desk winner - Brian d'Arcy James. BroadwayWorld was on the red carpet for the starry arrivals and brings you Part 2 of the photo coverage below! CLICK HERE for a complete list of the evening's honorees and winners!

Nominations for the 57th Annual Drama Desk Awards were announced at a news conference this morning by Drama Desk winners Donna Murphy and Brian d'Arcy James. The 57th Annual Drama Desk Awards took place tonight, Sunday, June 3, 2012 at 8:00 PM at The Town Hall in Manhattan.

Nominations for the 57th Annual Drama Desk Awards were announced at a news conference on April 27 by Drama Desk winners Donna Murphy and Brian d'Arcy James. After weeks of anticipation, the ceremony is tonight, June 3, at The Town Hall and BroadwayWorld will be bringing you the full spectrum of coverage, of course!

Today we are talking to a two-time Tony Award winning lyricist and book writer who was responsible for the 2010 Best Musical winner, MEMPHIS, and who has since written the libretto of the Gershwin revue NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET and received a well-earned Tony nomination for his efforts; one of the show's ten nods - Joe DiPietro. Discussing the finer points of his many musicals with a special focus on the two currently running on Broadway - MEMPHIS and NICE WORK - DiPietro eloquently elaborates on the process of creating both shows and the challenges new musicals these days face on their developmental road to Broadway. Additionally, we discuss Montego Glover, Chad Kimball, Matthew Broderick, Kelli O'Hara, Judy Kaye, Adam Pascal and the many other talented individuals onstage and off who have participated in the two hit productions treading the boards eight times a week. Besides the complete 411 on MEMPHIS in Part I and NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT in Part II, DiPietro also opens up about his new musical endeavor with Bon Jovi and MEMPHIS composer David Bryan, THE TOXIC AVENGER, and its star, Constantine Maroulis - and don't miss my exclusive interview with Constantine all about the most recent Alley Theater iteration of the show, available here. Plus, DiPietro shares fond remembrances of shows past - I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE, F*CKING MEN and ALLEGRO - and future - CHASING THE DREAM - and expresses his infectious enthusiasm for the theatrical arts in general by revealing his early theatre memories, favorite scores and general love for the art form. All of that and much, much more! In Part I, DiPietro and I analyze MEMPHIS and take a step-by-step look at its creation and the development of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical. Additionally, DiPietro shares his theatrical influences and the shows and scores that meant the most to him growing up. Plus, he shares his thoughts on GLEE, SMASH and the new movie musical era.

Producers Broadway Across America (John Gore, Thomas B. McGrath, Beth Williams), Rich Entertainment Group (Bob and Mindy Rich), Barbara Whitman, Latitude Link, Dede Harris, Sharon Karmazin, and Howard and Janet Kagan just announced that the La Jolla Playhouse production of the new American musical HANDS ON A HARDBODY will bow on Broadway in the 2012-2013 season.

MEMPHIS, the 2010 Tony® Award-winner for Best Musical, opens at the Ohio Theatre on May 29 for a limited engagement.

Alan Menken has taken to his twitter just now to announce that LEAP OF FAITH will be recording a Broadway cast album sometime soon. No details regarding a label, recording or anticipated release date have been confirmed at present.