Jack Viertel News

Casting has been announced for the upcoming National Tour of THE PROM. Kaden Kearney (they/them)  will star as Emma, Kalyn West as Alyssa Green, Courtney Balan as Dee Dee Allen, Patrick Wetzel as Barry Glickman, Emily Borromeo as Angie Dickinson, Bud Weber as Trent Oliver, Sinclair Mitchell as Mr. Hawkins Ashanti J'Aria as Mrs. Greene, and Shavey Brown as Sheldon Saperstein.

This past summer, I enjoyed the sunshine and warm weather with some theatre books. Some were plays, some were memoirs of actors and some were theory or history books. I wanted to share some of my favorites from the past couple of months as we move into the back-to-school spirit. 

Learn more about all of the additional archival footage added to the event, including Ariana Grande (at age 15 making her Broadway debut) and Brynn Williams in 13; Angela Lansbury in Blithe Spirit, Philip Seymour Hoffman in Death of a Salesman, Brian Stokes Mitchell in Ragtime, Sutton Foster in Thoroughly Modern Millie, and more!

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts announced today that Jason Robert Brown, Savion Glover, Priscilla López, Susan Stroman, Marisha Wallace, and Christopher Wheeldon have joined the growing list of Broadway stars participating in I'm Still Here: A Virtual Benefit for the Billy Rose Theatre Division, airing June 23, 2021 on Broadway On Demand at 8pm EST and 8pm PST. The fundraiser will help raise critical funds for the Library for the Performing Arts' beloved Theatre Division as it celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.

I'm Still Here, a new virtual benefit for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' Billy Rose Theatre Division, will stream on Broadway On Demand on June 23. The evening is a celebration of the division's 90th Anniversary, and the 50th  Anniversary of its beloved Theatre on Film and Tape Archive and will honor Harold Prince and George C. Wolfe. 

Signature Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for After Midnight, the fourth production in the Signature Features 2021 Season. Featuring a cast of 12, headlined by Christopher Jackson and Nova Y. Payton, After Midnight showcases 28 of the big band era’s most famous songs, all framed by the poetry of Langston Hughes. 

Today's top stories: streaming Broadway Backwards event announced, Once On This Island comes to limited edition orange vinyl, and more!

The third installment of Encores! Inside the Revival features director Victoria Clark, Encores! Music Director Rob Berman and Consulting Producer for Musical Theater, and previous Encores! Artistic Director Jack Viertel as they revisit, Love Life a year later and discuss their process of imagining Kurt Weill and Alan Jay Lerner’s rarely seen 1948 musical. 

Today (February 24) in live streaming: Stars in the House celebrates William Finn's Birthday, Laura Bell Bundy on Backstage Live, and more!

Signature Theatre has announced the full lineup for Signature Theatre’s 2021 Signature Features season, five fully-staged plays and musicals, made exclusively for the screen and professionally filmed in HD on set (multiple safety protocols were employed to ensure artists’ and crew’s safety).

If you ask any theatre kid about the Golden Age of Musical Theatre, the first two people who come to mind are none other than Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.

New York City Center President & CEO Arlene Shuler today announced the musical productions in development as part of the next chapter of the longstanding Tony-honored Encores! series, all of which will be explored in-depth as part of the 2020-2021 season in a new digital series Encores! Inside the Revival.

Ryan Murphy has revealed on Twitter that The Prom movie will officially be released on Netflix on December 11.

The Prom must go on! As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Ryan Murphy's upcoming Netflix adaptation of The Prom is still on track to be released later this year. Now he's sharing a photo from the set!

The film adaptation of the Broadway musical The Prom is starting up production again on Thursday at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood.

RWS Entertainment Group, Binder Casting in association with the Broadway Podcast Network, have announced .... Jay Binder... A Life In Casting, a 5-episode podcast exploring the life and career of the esteemed casting director.

The Prom must go on! According to a recent interview with Collider, Ryan Murphy thinks that the upcoming Netflix adaptation of The Prom might be released according to schedule.

Leon's True Colors Theatre Company and Jujamcyn Theaters have announced today that the 12th Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition will cancel its in-person ceremony (originally scheduled for Monday, May 4th) and shift to a virtual celebration in light of the ongoing health crisis.

One of my favorite activities is reading books and what better time to do that then right now when we're all stuck at home? Unfortunately, there are many theatre related activities we cannot participate in right now but one of the best ways we can learn more about our crafts and read about others in our fields is by reading about them. There are hundreds of Broadway related books, script writing and acting guides, memoirs by our favorite stars, and more! I thought I would share some of my favorites with you all to hopefully get you all back in the mindsets of creating art and learning about those who you look up to.

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, City Center cancelled the remainder of its season due to the current health crisis. One production that was cancelled, was Love Life, which was set to run March 18 - 22, starring Kate Baldwin and Brian Stokes Mitchell. However, Jack Viertel, Encores! Artistic Director, has some promising news.