James Lapine News

A brief preview of the highly anticipated upcoming HBO documentary all about musical theatre's most acclaimed songwriter, Stephen Sondheim, titled SIX BY SONDHEIM, is now available to view as part of the new Fall 2013 HBO Documentaries preview spot.

In the video below, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE's Hannah Nordberg, Tony nominee Will Swenson and more give you an inside look at the show's journey to the stage. Check out the behind the scenes video below!

Little Miss Sunshine, anew musical is based on the film of the same name by Michael Arndt, is currently in previews at Second Stage Theatre. It was adapted for the stage by James Lapine, who wrote the book, and William Finn, who wrote the lyrics and music. Little Miss Sunshine will run until December 8. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the cast in action below!

Falsettos may be a show that challenges both performers and audience members due to its complexity and subject matter, but any audience member who is up to the challenge (and I hope you are) must see this show. Falsettos is funny, intelligent, entertaining, and an important piece of musical theater history, and Austin Theatre Project's production of it is superb.

The Old Globe today announced its 2014 Summer Season. Old Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein will make his Summer Shakespeare Festival directorial debut with Shakespeare's great tragedy Othello. Presented in the outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, the Festival will also include Shakespeare's comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona, directed by Globe alumnus and Tony Award nominee Mark Lamos (Compleat Female Stage Beauty, Pentecost, Resurrection Blues). The Summer Season will also feature Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Tony Award-winning musical Into the Woods, which made its World Premiere at The Old Globe in 1986, in an inventive reimagining by Fiasco Theater, directed by Noah Brody and Ben Steinfeld, in a production that originated at McCarter Theatre Center. Rounding out the season is Ronald Harwood's comedy Quartet, directed by Richard Seer. Into the Woods will run on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre and Quartet in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Tickets to the Globe's 2014 Summer Season are currently available by subscription only, and prices range from $92 to $332. Subscription packages may be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the box office.

ANNIE, Broadway's favorite musical for all ages, invites your family to celebrate Halloween at the Palace Theatre (Broadway at 47th Street) on Thursday, October 31st. Come in your Halloween costume and get a trick-or-treating surprise.

Late night cinema screenings of Maria Friedman's award-winning production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG have been added in NYC including the Union Square Regal and possibly more to follow. Go to www.fathomevents.com for tickets and most updated information. Early shows are completely sold out in NYC.

The Brown Paper Box Co. is excited to announce their upcoming production, A NEW BRAIN, with music and lyrics by William Finn and book by Finn and James Lapine. The show will run Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2:00 PM from February 21-March 9 at the Rivendell Theatre in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood (5779 N. Ridge Ave.). Audition information and more will be posted at www.brownpaperbox.org.

Following exclusive premieres in New York and London attended by the cast, creative team, and Stephen Sondheim himself, Maria Friedman's award-winning production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG screens in cinemas across the United States tomorrow, October 23, for one night only.

TONY and EMMY Award nominee Ron Raines returns to Broadway as Daddy Warbucks in the new Broadway production of ANNIE at the Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets). He will begin performances on Tuesday, December 10. Australian superstar Anthony Warlow will play his final performance as Daddy Warbucks on Sunday, December 8.

Playwrights Horizons presents its New York premiere production of Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, a new play by Anne Washburn, with music by Obie Award winner Michael Friedman. Directed by Steve Cosson, the Obie Award-winning Artistic Director of The Civilians, Mr. Burns is being presented as the first production of Playwrights Horizons' 2013/2014 Season.

Today we are spotlighting one of the most hotly anticipated theatrical happenings of 2013, the new musical event A BED AND A CHAIR: A NEW YORK LOVE AFFAIR, showcasing the spectacular songs of Stephen Sondheim in new arrangements by jazz great Wynton Marsalis, served up by some of Broadway's best - Bernadette Peters, Jeremy Jordan and Norm Lewis included.

CinemaLive and Digital Theatre are today delighted to announce the second production to be distributed as part of the West End Theatre Series - the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Noel Coward's Private Lives, directed by Jonathan Kent and starring Toby Stephens and Anna Chancellor.

Today we are talking to a three-time Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress who has made a major mark on the West End with her peerless string of richly varied performances - ranging from premiere UK productions of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE and PASSION to LADY IN THE DARK, RAGTIME and THE WOMAN IN WHITE, as well as her various solo engagements, who now also excels as a director of theatre and opera, as well - the gifted Maria Friedman. Discussing all aspects of the recent West End production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's anomalous musical experiment MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG - cited by the master himself as the best production of the show to date - and now the fantastic Fathom film presentation of it arriving in movie theaters nationwide (and around the world) on October 23. Detailing the finer points of the reverse-chronological tale of show business ambition and its effects on friendships and relationships, Friedman paints a vivid portrait of her process in bringing the emotionally bracing and musically thrilling stage show to the big screen byway of this passionately played, dramatically captivating and incredibly detailed film preservation. Additionally, Friedman also sheds some light on participating in the Haymarket Theatre production of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG herself as an actress nearly twenty years ago and the effect, if any, that experience has had on her perception of the dense and fiercely idiosyncratic musical now, as a director of the piece. Plus, Friedman also touches upon some of her most celebrated roles to date in other Sondheim shows as well as abundantly imparts her deeply held appreciation and affection for his work and personal friendship in her own life, citing his elemental influence on MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG as well as her career in general. All of that and much, much more awaits!

Second Stage begins previews for its production of Little Miss Sunshine tonight at 7pm. This new musical is based on the film of the same name by Michael Arndt. It was adapted for the stage by James Lapine, who wrote the book, and William Finn, who wrote the lyrics and music. Lapine and Finn also worked together on The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Falsettos. Little Miss Sunshine will run until Dec 8.

A preliminary peek at the mass of actual real-life trees and greenery that will act as the on location foundation for scenes depicting Little Red Riding Hood's interactions with the Wolf (played by Johnny Depp) and her Granny in the big screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's celebrated fairy tale-themed musical INTO THE WOODS has been revealed.

October is Adopt-a-Dog month, and ANNIE on Broadway is celebrating by showing support for those who adopt shelter dogs. From October 15 through 31, at participating shelters around the city, individuals who adopt a dog from a participating shelter will receive a voucher for two tickets to see ANNIE in November, while supplies last. ANNIE has partnered with a select number of shelters and rescue groups in NYC, all of which are members of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, to participate. Participating shelters include The Humane Society of NY, New York Animal Care & Control, Animal Haven, Sean Casey Animal Rescue and Louie's Legacy. More shelters will be announced via social media.

It was something of a perfect storm of talent that occurred inside the Short North Stage last night. Sarna Lapine, the niece of Tony-Award winning author/director James Lapine, is directing the Columbus premier of the Sondheim musical for which her uncle penned the book. She has combined forces with the 2013 Tony Award winning sound designer, Leon Rothenberg, Broadway veteran Laura Griffith (Dot), and local musical tour de force, Matt Clemens (George) to create a show that has so many "points of light" its artistic merit is brilliant as its Chromolume counterpart.

Craig Bierko, who began performances on September 17 in the role of Miss Trunchbull in Matilda The Musical, has temporarily exited the show due to an injury. A show representative told NYT: 'Due to a shoulder injury which delayed his start in 'Matilda the Musical' and which has been aggravated during performance, Craig Bierko will be taking a 12-week disability leave from the production. At this time, understudies Chris Hoch and Ben Thompson will be playing Miss Trunchbull.'