Ira Gershwin News

Boston based WGBH presented an in-depth look at the much talked about new adaptation of PORGY AND BESS, complete with interviews from the stars. Get a look at the first part below; the second part airing tonight!

STAGES ST. LOUIS today announced its 26th season! The season is a journey into the luminous sounds of the American composer. The season begins with the Tony Award-winning Best Musical, Ain't Misbehavin', The Fats Waller Musical, which explores the ground-breaking time of the Harlem cultural renaissance in the 1930s and 1940s.

Music Theatre of Connecticut MainStage, Fairfield County's Professional Theatre Company, is pleased to announce the 25th Anniversary MainStage Season. Between November 2011 and May 2012, MTC MainStage will present three fully-staged professional productions, each running for three weeks: 'Cabaret,' 'Almost, Maine' and 'I Left My Heart: A Salute to the Music of Tony Bennett.' Performances will take place in the one-of-a-kind Off-Broadway-style 50-seat studio, providing the audience with an intimate theatregoing experience. MTC MainStage is located at 246 Post Road East in Colonial Green (Lower Level) in Westport, CT.

On August 31, American Repertory Theatre opened The Gershwins' PORGY AND BESS. Written by Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, the A.R.T. production features an adaptation by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks and Obie Award-winning composer Diedre L. Murray. It is directed by A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus, with choreography by Ronald K. Brown. The show began previews on August 17 and is planning a Broadway transfer this winter. The production is scheduled to begin previews at the Richard Rogers Theatre on December 17, 2011 in anticipation of a January 12, 2012 Broadway opening. The first footage of the show has been released in a new commercial spot and BroadwayWorld brings you a first look below!

The Marriott Theatre, Chicago's longest running musical theatre announces its 2012 season. Kicking off the season will be what TIME MAGAZINE raves as 'One ELLE of a good show', LEGALLY BLONDE, previewing January 18th, opening January 25th, running through April 1st; the swashbuckling comedic opera THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, previewing April 4th, opening April 11th, running through June 10th; the World Premiere of HERO, a quirky new musical by Aaron Thielen and Michael Mahler, previews June 20th, opens June 27th, runs through August 19th; the show stopping, Six time Tony Award-winning DREAMGIRLS previewing August 22nd, opening August 29th, and running through November 4th, and closing out the year with the Tap Spectacular, MY ONE AND ONLY, previewing November 7th, opening November 14th, and running through January 13, 2013.

Michael Feinstein releases his new CD through Concord Records on October 25, 2011.

The Music Division of the Library of Congress will receive an extensive collection of Broadway and personal memorabilia from the estate of Broadway giant John Raitt, who originated the role of Billy Bigelow in the Rodgers and Hammerstein show 'Carousel' and also starred in 'The Pajama Game,' 'Oklahoma!' and other top musicals from the 1940s to the 1960s.

The Regent's Park Open Air Theatre Gershwin musical CRAZY FOR YOU will transfer to London's West End, opening at the Novello Theatre on Friday 7 October.

East Lynne Theater Company presents a screwball comedy, Dulcy. 'This is probably the first weekend party on record that ended on Friday night,' says Dulcy's brother William to his brother-in-law Gordon.

Broadway Playhouse brings Broadway's greatest shows to the youngest generation of musical theater fans with mini-musicals, medleys, sing-alongs and games in which audience members participate.

Whether you've been living under a rock for the past week, or you're just in the mood for a recap of everything theatre, BroadwayWorld's feature, 'This Week in Pictures' is here to satisfy your end of the week fix. Take a look below to catch up on the latest happenings from the Great White Way to the West End (and everywhere in between) with coverage of press events, rehearsals, opening nights and more!

A.R.T.'s soaring pre-Broadway revision of 'The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess' offers many grace notes and an exquisite cast

A.R.T. American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) opens its 2011-12 season with The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, by George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin tonight, August 31. The adaptation by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks and Obie Award-winning composer Diedre L. Murray, directed by A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus, with choreography by Ronald K. Brown, began previews on August 17. The production will begin previews at the Richard Rogers Theatre on December 17, 2011 in anticipation of a January 12, 2012 Broadway opening.

A.R.T. American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) will present The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, opening the A.R.T.'s 2011-2 season tonight, August 17 at the Loeb Drama Center. The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, by George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin, is adapted by Suzan-Lori Parks and Diedre Murray, and directed by A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus. Check out the first production shots below!

Three-time Tony Award nominee Kelli O'Hara (South Pacific, The Pajama Game and The Light in the Piazza) will star opposite two-time Tony Award-winner Matthew Broderick (The Producers, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Brighton Beach Memoirs) in the new musical comedy NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT directed and choreographed by three-time Tony Award-winner Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes, The Pajama Game, Wonderful Town), opening on Broadway this April.

A.R.T. American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) will present The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, opening the A.R.T.'s 2011-2 season tonight, August 17 at the Loeb Drama Center. The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, by George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin, is adapted by Suzan-Lori Parks and Diedre Murray, and directed by A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus. Check out the first production shots below!

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) has scheduled two American Sign Language (ASL) interpreted performances and two audio described performances of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess during the month of September.

According to the Daily Mail, the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre production of Crazy For You, starring Clare Foster and Sean Palmer, will transfer to the West End's Novello Theatre- taking the place of Betty Blue Eyes.