Genevieve Rafter Keddy News

For two weekends only, beginning June 29 at 8pm, the music of Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz will be celebrated, cabaret-style, in DEFYING GRAVITY at the Roxy Regional Theatre.

The words, “Once upon a time…,” were followed by that familiar Sondheim vamp, and Danielle Ferland skipped onto the stage just as she had 25 years ago as the original Little Red Riding Hood in Into The Woods.  Sure enough, there was a wolf there to greet her, but instead of encountering Granny, The Baker's Wife and The Witch, Little Red found herself in a forest inhabited by a young French revolutionary, an elderly Holocaust survivor, a roller-skating duo and a former President of The United States.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: ONCE scores big at the Tonys, ROCK OF AGES hits the big screen, HARVEY returns to Broadway, and so much more!

The Town Hall 's Broadway By The Year's 12th season concluded with The Broadway Musicals of 1987 last night, June 11th. It was a year that brought us shows including Les Miserables, Starlight Express, Into the Woods, Stepping Out and Stardust. Produced By The Town Hall, The Broadway Musicals of 1987 was created, hosted and written for The Town Hall by Scott Siegel. BroadwayWorld was on hand and brings you photo coverage below!

Off-Broadway theater company Playwrights Horizons celebrated its annual Spring Gala yesterday evening, June 11th at the event space 583 Park Avenue. Titled "The Highest Standard", the evening celebrated its five Pulitzer Prize-winning productions and honor the creators of these memorable works for the theater. The honorees were James Lapine (Sunday in the Park with George), Bruce Norris (Clybourne Park), Stephen Sondheim (Sunday in the Park with George), Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy), Wendy Wasserstein (The Heidi Chronicles) and Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife). BroadwayWorld brings you photos from the festivities below!

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: KChen takes on City Center, POTTED POTTER comes to America, MAMMA MIA! gets new leads, and so much more!

The Sherman Brothers, Richard and Robert, the musical geniuses behind "Mary Poppins," "Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang" and "Winnie the Pooh" may have another theatrical success on the way. Prior to Robert's death in March of this year, the brothers composed the words and music for "MerryGoRound," a new Broadway musical which, originally scheduled for Spring 2011, is now anticipating its New York debut later this year.

World-renowned tenor Anthony Kearns was featured in a special presentation of Gioachino Rossini's masterpiece, Petite Messe Solennelle, at the St. Carthage's Cathedral in Lismore, Ireland on Sunday, June 3, 2012. Kearns' performance was his second with the Lismore Opera Festival.

Gingold Theatrical Group, known for its monthly Project Shaw performances, presented two events as part of its first SHAW NEW YORK festival. Check out photos from the events below!

More than 20 years after its premiere, Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens have re-invented their first musical with Tony-nominated director Thomas Kail (In the Heights, Lombardi, Magic/Bird), choreographer Bradley Rapier (So You Think You Can Dance, Jesus Christ Superstar) and new orchestrations by music director Lynne Shankel (Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Altar Boyz). Once On This Island just opened last night, June 3, and runs through Sunday, June 24, 2012.

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, along with the City of New York and the United States Navy, celebrates the 25th annual Fleet Week, now through May 28, 2012. Fleet Week is America's premier tribute and "thank you" to the men and women who serve in the armed forces. As part of the festivities, Peter and the Starcatcher's Teddy Bergman and Greg Hildrethof hosted a Fleet Week Broadway showcase, featuring performers from Anything Goes, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, Memphis, Ghost, Sister Act, Godspell, Chicago and Rock of Ages. BroadwayWorld was there and brings you photos from the event below!

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: GODSPELL sings Schwartz, Paper Mill preps ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, New Dramtists honor Bernadette, and so much more!

The cast and creative team of the first New York revival of the acclaimed Off-Broadway classic musical, Closer Than Ever, including multi Tony, Academy, and Grammy Award-winners Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire, 2012 Kleban Award-winner musical director, Andrew Gerle, and Broadway veterans Jenn Colella, George Dvorsky, Tony nominee Christiane Noll, and Sal Viviano, met the press yesterday, May 24. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the special meet and greet and brings you photo coverage below!

As previously announced, Bring It On: The Musical will open on Broadway on Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at The St. James Theatre, direct from a 13-city National Tour, for a 12-week limited engagement through Sunday, October 7, 2012. Previews are set to begin Thursday, July 12, 2012 at 8pm. The first signage of the marquee is up and BroadwayWorld brings you a first look below!

On May 21, Gingold Theatrical Group's PROJECT SHAW presented George Bernard Shaw's IN GOOD KING CHARLES'S GOLDEN DAYS - his outrageous comedy of royal manners - at The Players Club (16 Gramercy Park South) in Manhattan. David Staller produced and directed. BroadwayWorld brings you complete photo coverage of the performance below!

The admirable mission of Gigi Naglak and MeghAnn Williams, writer/performers of Chlamydia Dell'Arte: A Sex Ed Burlesque, is to remove some of the awkwardness in open discussions about human sexuality by treating intimate issues with humor.  Their modestly produced show, which just completed a week-long run at Los Kabayitos, is obviously built to travel, coming to Gotham via stints in Philly and DC, and the amiable pair pulls off their mission with endearing enthusiasm.

Academy Award winner Stephen Schwartz will be honored with Desert Ensemble Theatre Company's inaugural Melpomai Award at When You Believe: A Conversation With and Tribute To Stephen Schwartz tonight, May 19 in Palm Springs.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: SONS OF THE PROPHET wins big at DCC Awards, Town Hall celebrates 1975, THE NORMAL HEART cast preps for tour, and so much more!

The Town Hall's critically acclaimed Broadway by the Year's® 12th Season continued this week with The Broadway Musicals of 1975 on Monday, May 14th. 1975 was a year that brought us famous shows by musical theater icons including Marvin Hamlisch, (A Chorus Line), John Kander and Fred Ebb (Chicago), and Richard O'Brien (The Rocky Horror Show), among others. Produced by The Town Hall, The Broadway Musicals of 1975 was created, written and hosted by Scott Siegel. Casting for The Broadway Musicals of 1975 included Ashley Brown, Lari White, Bob Stillman, Maya Days, Scott Coulter, Carole J. Bufford, Patrick Page and more.