James Lapine News

Winner of the 2012 Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Musical, SILENCE! The Musical the unauthorized parody of The Silence of the Lambs, with book by Hunter Bell, music & lyrics by Jon and Al Kaplan, and direction & choreography by Christopher Gattelli, will open a Los Angeles company with performances beginning August 31, at the Hayworth Theatre. This engagement marks the West Coast Premiere of the Off-Broadway hit. The press opening is scheduled for Saturday, September 8, 2012. SILENCE! The Musical is produced by Theater Mogul.

Off-Broadway's SILENCE! The Musical will celebrate its 300th performance tonight, August 1st at the brand new Elektra Theatre in the heart of Times Square, 669 Eighth Avenue (at 42nd St.). Winner of the 2012 Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Musical, SILENCE! The Musical is the unauthorized parody of The Silence of the Lambs, with book by Hunter Bell, music & lyrics by Jon and Al Kaplan, and direction & choreography by Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli. After opening at Theatre 80 on July 9, 2011, the show became a sold-out phenomenon and was selected by Time Magazine as one of the year's Top 5 Musicals.

The brand new Elektra Theatre officially opened in Times Square this past Wednesday, July 25th. The first tenant at the Elektra Theatre is the transfer of the award-winning smash Off-Broadway hit, SILENCE! The Musical. Check out photos from the opening celebration below!

The Public Theater announced today that there will be a special family-friendly matinee of the free Shakespeare in the Park production of INTO THE WOODS on Wednesday, August 22 at 3 p.m. at the Delacorte Theater. This matinee is designed to engage younger audiences and to serve families unable to attend evening performances. The 95-minute production will comprise act one only of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's beloved musical INTO THE WOODS. There will still be an 8 p.m. evening performance of INTO THE WOODS on August 22. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the production with a photo preview of the cast in action below!

Casting is now complete for the world premiere of TAIL! SPIN!, a 'hilarious and heartbreaking verbatim reenactment of the preposterous sex scandals that brought down Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, Former U.S. Congressman Anthony Wiener of New York, Former U.S. Congressman Mark Foley of Florida, and Former U.S. Senator Larry Craig of Idaho.'

Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's beloved musical INTO THE WOODS, the second show of The Public's 50th Anniversary season at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, began previews this week and will run for five weeks through Saturday, August 25. Featuring an all-star cast including Donna Murphy, Amy Adams, Denis O'Hare, and Jessie Mueller, there is already lots of buzz about a potential transfer to Broadway. INTO THE WOODS is not the first musical that has played the Delacorte Theatre- in fact there is a long history of musicals that have played Central Park. This brings us to this week's poll: which past musical was your favorite?

Is the Public's Shakespeare in the Park production of INTO THE WOODS headed for 45th Street? The New York Post's Michael Riedel says today that the show is raising money and looking toward the Hirschfeld Theatre, which currently houses a limited return run of FELA!; the Fela Kuti-inspired musical closes August 4 and no other show is lined up as of yet.

INTO THE WOODS will be in the Wilson Mainstage Auditorium at South Bend Civic Theatre at 403 N. Main Street from tonight, July 27 through Sunday August 12.

South Bend Civic Theatre presents INTO THE WOODS, directed by Stephanie and Stephen Salisbury, and starring Amy Barker, Thomas Eiser, Barbara Garland, Dawn Hagerty, Justin Hissey, Kara Kane, Sean Leyes, Kelly Loughlin, Natalie MacRae, Jennifer Medich, Jacob Medich, Caitlin O'Brien, Rachel Raska, Margaret Rhein, Kristen Riggs, Joe Roman, Andrew Ross, Steven Russell, and Alexandria Sadowski. INTO THE WOODS opens tomorrow, July 27 and runs through August 12. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production below.

The brand new Elektra Theatre officially opens in Times Square tomorrow evening, July 25th. The first tenant at the Elektra Theatre is the transfer of the award-winning smash Off-Broadway hit, SILENCE! The Musical. The festivities will begin with a 6 PM cocktail hour, attended by Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Kara Lindsay and the cast of Broadway's NEWSIES. There will be an 8:30 after party immediately following the 7 PM performance of SILENCE! The Musical.

Westport Country Playhouse announces that due to ticket demand for its current production of Moliere's timeless comedy, "Tartuffe," an extra performance has been added on Sunday, August 5, at 3 p.m.

John L. Locke, Ph.D., author of books on gossip, eavesdropping, and other aspects of human communication, will speak at "Books Worth Talking About," tonight, July 24, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the Lucille Lortel White Barn Center at Westport Country Playhouse, followed by an 8 p.m. performance of Moliere's timeless comedy, "Tartuffe."

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Patrick Willingham) announced today that the first preview of INTO THE WOODS at the Delacorte Theater on Monday, July 23, has been postponed due to weather delays. The first preview will now take place on Tuesday, July 24 at 8:00p.m.

According to its website, the Vineyard Arts Project just held two 'in-progress' readings on July 18 and 20 of Moss Hart's Act One, adapted for the stage by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and director James Lapine and commissioned by the Lincoln Center Theater. The readings starred Tony Shalhoub ('Monk', Lend Me a Tenor), Debra Monk (Steel Pier, Redwood Curtain), Chuck Cooper (The Life, Caroline, or Change) and David Turner (On A Clear Day You Can See Forever).

Bloomington Theatre and Art Center (BTAC) has announced Bloomington Civic Theatre's production of Stephen Sondheim's Sunday In The Park With George, running October 19 through November 17, 2012. This musical will be directed by Karen Weber, with associate director Rob Goudy, music director Anita Ruth, and featuring Jennifer Eckes as 'Dot' and Joey Clark as 'Georges Seurat'. BCT's production of Sunday In The Park With George is sponsored by BMO Harris Bank.

Get a first look behind the scenes in the clips below!

Berkeley Playhouse presents its next TeenStage production, INTO THE WOODS, August 3-5, 2012, and its next YouthStage production, INTO THE WOODS JR., August 10-12, 2012, both with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.

Renowned animal trainer William Berloni will announce the dog that will play the role of Sandy in Broadway's new production of ANNIE on NBC'S 'Today Show' today, July 19 in the 9:00 AM hour (ET).