James Lapine News

The La Jolla Playhouse is presenting a world premiere musical based on the 2006 Academy Award winning film "Little Miss Sunshine". And while the show had its shining moments and a cast that matched the subtlety and charm of the original sleeper hit, on the whole it needs a bit of a jump start if it's going to make it down the road to Broadway.

New Village Arts, Carlsbad's award-winning, professional theatre is very proud to announce its Tenth Season. This will be NVA's biggest season ever, with eight full productions, NVA's first musical and two local premieres. Over the past nine seasons, NVA has established itself as one of the most important mid-sized theatres in San Diego, producing over 40 highly acclaimed productions, including a world-premiere holiday show, multiple regional and local premieres, unforgettable American and world classics, the intense work of Sam Shepard and the popular FREE Shakespeare in the Park. New Village Arts honors that history in Season 10 and introduces some exciting new traditions for North County, by selecting shows that honor the history of the company, recognize the amazing current growth and give an intriguing glimpse into the future. All of the plays take us on an adventure - into growing up, learning about love and loss and celebrating the power of the human soul.

Playwrights Horizons, under the leadership of Artistic Director Tim Sanford and Managing Director Leslie Marcus, is proud to announce the first five productions of its 2011/2012 Season. The World Premiere and four New York premieres will be presented at the theater company's home at 416 West 42nd Street. The five plays will be (in Season order):

Opening the week, Red Branch Theatre Company, the professional theatre company in residence at Drama Learning Center, is pleased to present their first show of the 2011 season.

Red Branch Theatre Company, the professional theatre company in residence at Drama Learning Center, is pleased to present their first show of the 2011 season. Into the Woods will run March 25-April 9. Tickets will go on sale February 15th.

BoHo Theatre presents Claudia Shear's Dirty Blonde, a multilayered exploration of American entertainment icon Mae West as seen through the eyes of a pair of disaffected present-day fans, running April 1 through May 1, 2011 at Theater Wit, 1229 W Belmont Avenue. Dirty Blonde is directed by BoHo Artistic Advisor Stephen Genovese.

Opening the week, Red Branch Theatre Company, the professional theatre company in residence at Drama Learning Center, is pleased to present their first show of the 2011 season.

Digital Theatre today (21 March 2011) announces the sell out West End production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons is now available for pre-order from www.digitaltheatre.com, and will be released on Thursday 14 April 2011 at 10am.

The Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) World Premiere production of KIN, a new play by Bathsheba Doran (Living Room in Africa, her adaptation of Great Expectations at The Lortel) will officially open On March 21.

Earlier today I spoke to one of America's most beloved comedians - screen, stand-up or otherwise - the Emmy-winning Wanda Sykes about her upcoming appearance headlining Monday's GayFest Spring At Last! Gala to benefit The Harvey Milk School and she shared with me her message of hope to the next generation, what she wishes for in the equal rights movement in the near future, as well as personal stories of herself being bullied and how she remained resilient in the face of adversity. Additionally, she clues us in on what her character arc will involve this season on HBO's CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM - hint: it involves Cheyenne Jackson - when it makes its highly-awaited return in the Summer; plus, we take a look back at her TV specials, various series and film roles and she offers up a glimpse of what we can expect from her in 2011 and beyond. All of this is, of course, in addition to a thorough discussion of her recent essaying of the role of Miss Hannigan in ANNIE in Philadelphia and if she would consider taking on the role in the upcoming James Lapine-directed revival aimed at Broadway. Plus, news about the forthcoming big-screen MUPPET MOVIE - and much more!

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep) is proud to announce its 2011-2012 season of performances on the Mainstage, as well as the three productions to be performed by its Imaginary Theatre Company (ITC).

Veteran Production Stage Manager Beverley Randolph died Tuesday, March 15 at her home in Bloomingdale, NJ, surrounded by family and friends. The cause was cancer. The highly-respected Randolph, 59, stage managed more than 20 Broadway productions over the course of a 30-plus year career. At the time of her death and since 2009, she was Production Supervisor for the musical The Addams Family. Her credits include the Kander & Ebb musical Curtains, the musical Little Women, the 2002 revival of Into the Woods, the 1998 revival of The Sound of Music, Stephen Sondheim's Tony Award-winning best musical Passion, Kander & Ebb's The Kiss of the Spider Woman, William Finn's Falsettos, the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Follies in Concert at Avery Fisher Hall, the 1987 revival of Kander & Ebb's Cabaret and Neil Simon's Chapter Two. In the 1980's, she stage managed eight Broadway productions for legendary producer/director Hal Prince.

Barrington Stage Company, under the leadership of Julianne Boyd, Artistic Director, and Tristan Wilson, Managing Director, announced today the complete Stage 2 season- the Musical Theatre Lab premiere of Mormons, Mothers and Monsters, two cabarets Surviving the Avalanche and Hell Raisers, and the Berkshire premiere of Chaim Potok's My Name is Asher Lev-as well as the previously announced productions of Zero Hour and Going to St. Ives.

Barrington Stage Company, under the leadership of Julianne Boyd, Artistic Director, and Tristan Wilson, Managing Director, announced today the complete Stage 2 season- the Musical Theatre Lab premiere of Mormons, Mothers and Monsters, two cabarets Surviving the Avalanche and Hell Raisers, and the Berkshire premiere of Chaim Potok's My Name is Asher Lev-as well as the previously announced productions of Zero Hour and Going to St. Ives.

According to Variety, stage veteran Logan Marshall-Green is set to join Ridley Scott's newest project Prometheus. Production for the film begins this spring. Also set to star in the movie are Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender and Charlize Theron.

Playwrights Horizons (Artistic Director, Tim Sanford; Managing Director, Leslie Marcus) and New York Theatre Workshop (Artistic Director, James C. Nicola; Managing Director, William Russo) have announced complete casting and creative team for THE SHAGGS: PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD, a new musical with book by Joy Gregory; music by Gunnar Madsen; lyrics by Ms. Gregory and Mr. Madsen; and story by Ms. Gregory, Mr. Madsen and John Langs.

Digital Theatre today (14 March 2011) announces the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into The Woods, which yesterday won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival, is now available for pre-order at www.digitaltheatre.com, for release on Thursday 31 March at 10am.

With the Olivier Awards just around the corner, the Daily Mail is reporting that composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim will receive a special award recognizing his unique and lasting mark on London theatre.

Rich has now written his farewell column for the New York Times, in which he looks back on his career at the paper as first the theatre critic and until now as an op-ed columnist. In it, he notes that 'Of all the things I've done at The Times, there may be none I'm prouder of than, in my critic's days, championing 'Sunday in the Park with George,' Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine's 1984 musical about two artists in two different eras restless to create something new. For a quarter-century now, the show's climactic song has inspired countless people in all walks of life when the time has come to take a leap. 'Stop worrying where you're going,' the Sondheim lyric goes. 'Move on.'

The 2006 movie dramedy Little Miss Sunshine was and still remains such a low-key charmer that to attempt to simulate it on stage with music is at once challenging, courageous and perplexing. Why? Why retell a story that is so perfect on film unless you can achieve a brand new and interesting take on it? I guess Spider-Man and other films being translated to the stage is the rage these days, especially when there's a dearth of original musicals. All this aside, the production values, the cast and the very artistic endeavor of the stage musical Little Miss Sunshine, now at the Mandell Weiss Theatre of La Jolla Playhouse through March 27, should be lauded and appreciated.