James Patterson News

Oprah Winfrey has topped Forbes' list of the highest-paid celebrities in 2012. The media mogel earned $165 million between May 2011 and May 2012. While the earnings mark a decline of $125 million from last year, Winfrey continues to hold on to the top spot due to the final season of her long-running talk show, as well as earnings from her magazine, her new network OWN, her spin off shows, including Rachel Ray and Dr. Oz, and a radio deal with Sirius.

Surflight Theatre will present the New Jersey premiere of an all-new and entirely original musical comedy Once Upon A Time in New Jersey (described as "The Sopranos" meets "Happy Days") from August 28 through September 15.

Watch the video below for the inside story of how Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman dreamed up the lyrics for 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' in Disney's classic film, Mary Poppins. For the theatre, George Stiles and Anthony Drewe expanded the song to make it 'a stage excursion for the whole cast.' Check out the interview, featuring lots of great footage from the touring production, below!

The award-winning musical "Mary Poppins", which opened Friday, August 10th at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles has once again been declared a spectacular hit with Los Angeles audiences. BWW TV's Los Angeles correspondent Michael Sterling and JLE Media Producer Jerry Evans spent the day and evening with the stars of the North American National touring company... Rachel Wallace (Mary Poppins) and Nicholas Dromard (Bert), an original Broadway company member. Check out the interview below!

Center Theatre Group, Disney Theatrical Productions and Cameron Mackintosh present the award-winning musical "Mary Poppins" at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. "Mary Poppins" opened on Friday, August 10. Check out photos from the opening night arrivals, curtain call and after-party below!

Rockwell: Table & Stage continues their "BROADWAY BARRE" monthly event where LA's vibrant musical theater community comes together to enjoy each other's company as well as perform familiar showtunes. Guided by the skilled hands of musicdirector, Christopher Lloyd Bratten, and hosted by Broadway's talented and funny Kate Pazakis this night is sure to be a fun and entertaining evening for every musical theater lover in LA. For the month of August, the event will include special guest co-host Barrett Foa (Broadway's Avenue Q and CBS's "NCIS:LA"). The evening is produced by Rockwell: Table & Stage Artistic Director Shane Scheel and Program Manager Ben Caron.

Center Theatre Group and producers Thomas Schumacher of Disney Theatrical Productions and Cameron Mackintosh are pleased to announce full casting for the award-winning musical "Mary Poppins" at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. "Mary Poppins" begins performances August 9 and continues through September 2, 2012, as a bonus option to the 2011-2012 Ahmanson season. Press Opening Night is set for Friday, August 10 at 7:30 p.m.

ALEX CROSS is coming to theaters on October 26th 2012 from Summit Entertainment. The drama, thriller was written by James Patterson, Kerry Williamson and Marc Moss and directed by Rob Cohen. The all-star cast includes Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox and Edward Burns. Get a first look below!

Sonar Entertainment and James Patterson Entertainment will produce Patterson's New York Times best-selling book series PRIVATE as a 13x60 original series for television.

The Providence premiere of MARY POPPINS opens tonight, Thursday, February 9 at the Providence Performing Arts Center for a limited engagement of 2 weeks through Sunday, February 19. MARY POPPINS plays Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7PM, Thursday and Friday evenings at 7PM, Saturday evenings at 8PM, Sunday evenings at 6:30PM, and Saturday matinees at 2PM and Sunday matinees at 1PM with an additional performance on Thursday, February 16 at 2PM.

VITAL THEATRE COMPANY, the award-winning theatre company and producer of the long running family show PINKALICIOUS, THE MUSICAL, and HIT Entertainment, a leading provider of quality children's entertainment, are pleased to present ANGELINA BALLERINATM THE VERY MERRY HOLIDAY MUSICAL with book and lyrics by Susan DiLallo, music by Ben Morss and directed and choreographed by Sam Viverito, based on the famous dancing mouseling and her friends created by Katharine Holabird and illustrated by Helen Craig.

THE BIG BANK, which had its New York premiere at NYMF earlier this year, is looking to put on another production of the musical, inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Prospect Theater Company's critically-acclaimed Off Broadway production of Iron Curtain, originally scheduled to run through November 27, 2011, will instead play through December 4. A post-performance talkback with members of the creative team and cast will be held at the theater following the Wednesday, November 30 matinee.

Prospect Theater Company's critically-acclaimed Off Broadway production of Iron Curtain, originally scheduled to run through November 27, 2011, will instead play through December 4. A post-performance talkback with members of the creative team and cast will be held at the theater following the Wednesday, November 30 matinee.

Known primarily for their excellent work with the Prospect Theatre Company (of which she is Producing Artistic Director and he is Resident Writer), the husband and wife team of director/bookwriter Cara Reichel and composer/lyricist/bookwriter Peter Mills are responsible for some of the most exciting and innovative musical theatre New York has seen since the company was founded in 1998.  And I daresay that with Iron Curtain, they and their inspired cohorts fully succeed in presenting one of their most difficult and risk-taking concepts yet; a fast, loud and funny 1950s-style musical comedy.

Just like Pope Paul VI figured when The Vatican told followers to go ahead and celebrate mass in the vernacular, John-Michael Tebelak figured that if the musical he penned with Stephen Schwartz, based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew, was going to connect with young people, it had to be done in their language.  So when Godspell premiered Off-Broadway forty years ago, the son of God and his disciples were depicted as soft pop and folk singing flower children who were too busy learning how to spread love to be bothered with sex, drugs and burning their draft cards.  Arriving on Broadway after Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar, it was the first major rock musical that didn't scare the hell out of parents.

VITAL THEATRE COMPANY, the award-winning theatre company and producer of the long running family show PINKALICIOUS, THE MUSICAL, and HIT Entertainment, a leading provider of quality children's entertainment, are pleased to announce two additional performances of ANGELINA BALLERINATM THE VERY MERRY HOLIDAY MUSICAL Saturday, November 19th and Sunday, November 20th at 3:30 pm.

Prospect Theater Company will present by special arrangement with Fireboat Productions a new Off Broadway production of the 2006 hit musical Iron Curtain, winner of the Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical.

Todd Alan Johnson, whose credits include Broadway's Aida, Off Broadway's NEWSical and the national tour of Les Miserables, will join the cast of Prospect Theater Company's upcoming Off Broadway production of Iron Curtain. He replaces Marcus Neville, who has withdrawn from the production due to a scheduling conflict.