Joan Marcus News

The Broadway blockbuster WICKED will play its 4,093rd performance on Wednesday evening, September 4th, surpassing MISS SAIGON to become the 11th longest-running show in Broadway history.

Writers Theatre opens its 2013-14 season with the Midwest Premiere of The Old Man and The Old Moon, a new play with music by PigPen Theatre Co., directed by Associate Artistic Director Stuart Carden and PigPen Theatre Co, and presented by Writers Theatre and TOMATOM LLC. The show runs tonight, September 3 - November 10, 2013, at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. The Press Opening is September 12, 2013 at 7:30pm.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: Chenoweth takes over LA, Shakespeare is back on Broadway, VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA ANS SPIKE takes a final bow, and so much more!

The producers of the Broadway hit PIPPIN are pleased to congratulate two-time Tony Award winner Andrea Martin who will depart the production following the Sunday, September 22nd performance to lead the cast of the new Global TV series 'Working the Engels,' which will film in Toronto. A replacement for the role of 'Berthe' in PIPPIN will be announced soon. The show is currently playing at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street).

Signature Theatre presents the world premiere of stop. reset., running August 20 through September 29, 2013 with a September 8 opening night in The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). Written and directed by Regina Taylor, the play features cast members Michi Barall(Signature's Queens Boulevard, An Oresteia) as Deb, Teagle Bougere (Wings, A Raisin in the Sun) as Chris, Ismael Cruz Cordova ('The Good Wife') as J., LaTanya Richardson Jackson (The Fighting Temptations) as Jan, Carl Lumbly (Jitney, 'Alias') as Alex Ames and Donald Sage MacKay ('Scrubs') as Tim. Check out a first look at the cast in action below!

Houston, it is a new theatre season and Theatre Under the Stars is kicking off theirs with the fabulously fun PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL. This heartwarming musical follows a trio of friends as they embark on a life-changing journey to the Australian outback, and it incorporates genuine themes of self-acceptance, belonging, community, camaraderie, and family. Comprised of popular hit songs from the 60's to the 90's, PRISCILLA is one glitzy party from beginning to end with a little something for everyone. Playing Tick/Mitzi, Wade McCollum took time out of his busy schedule to talk PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL and to let Houston audiences know what they can expect when the party comes to town.

Horton Foote's THE OLD FRIENDS, directed by Michael Wilson runs now through October 6, 2013 with a September 12 opening night in The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

A new season rich with laughter and compelling drama was announced today for the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum by Michael Ritchie, CTG Artistic Director.

As of the performance last Friday, August 23rd, the Tony, Olivier and Grammy Award-winning Best Musical JERSEY BOYS surpassed Life with Father with 3,225 performances, becoming the 16th longest-running show in Broadway history.

Beneath the rollicking good time (not to mention the sequined glitz and flashy feathers) of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the Musical, is a story about the difficulties of living an authentic life when you don't fit into the social norm. In this case that norm is the hetero world of 1990s Australia where two gay men and one trans woman, drag queens all, team up to take a trip through the outback in order to perform at a casino owned by, of all people, the wife of one of the queens. Enter 'Priscilla' a dilapidated bus that's a traveling dressing room and bar for the trio of performers. Road trip! Playing now through August 31 at the Orpheum Theatre, Priscilla Queen of the Desert is boy-sterous, outrageous, campy fun, but it also heartwarming and touching.

Principal cast changes have been announced for the Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, the longest-running show in Broadway history. Produced by Cameron Mackintosh/Really Useful Group, Inc. and directed by Harold Prince, the musical phenomenon this year celebrated an unprecedented 25 Years in New York, where it plays at The Majestic Theatre (247 West 44th Street). The following principal cast updates take effect today.

TUTS Underground announces the final show that will steam up its 2013-2014 season. Murder Ballad, the sultry story of passion's dark side, is set to run in Hobby Center's 500-seat Zilkha Hallfrom April 15 - 27, 2014.

There's an old show business adage that if you give the audience a strong ending, they'll forgive most anything that came before. And it's a good thing that still holds true for "Sister Act" currently playing at the Paramount Theatre as the top of the show was filled with painfully forced dialog and exposition but the show managed to break that habit (pun intended) and end on a much stronger note. Not brilliant but stronger.

SISTER ACT, the family friendly, over the top spectacle with nuns that rock, opens at The Paramount Theatre tonight, August 20th for a limited engagement!

Producers Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris and Berry Gordy have announced 'Makin' It Motown,' a nationwide open call casting search for African American singers for both the flagship Broadway production of MOTOWN THE MUSICAL and the upcoming national tour, with a rare opportunity to audition on stage at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre, home of the smash hit musical, on Friday, September 13.

Principal cast changes have been announced for the Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, the longest-running show in Broadway history. Produced by Cameron Mackintosh/Really Useful Group, Inc. and directed by Harold Prince, the musical phenomenon this year celebrated an unprecedented 25 Years in New York, where it plays at The Majestic Theatre (247 West 44th Street). The following cast changes (some previously-announced, some new) will all take place the week of August 26.

The Marsh presents the World Premiere of THE JEWELRY BOX: A GENUINE CHRISTMAS STORY, a new family friendly holiday show by award-winning performer Brian Copeland (Not a Genuine Black Man, The Waiting Period, The Scion). In this hilariously heartwarming story, a prequel to Copeland's hit solo show Not a Genuine Black Man, a young Brian heads to the 'mean streets' of Oakland to buy his mom a Christmas present. Presented as a workshop production to San Francisco audiences in December 2012, the show was an instant success, drawing larger audiences with each performance despite its under-the-radar profile.

For several weeks now, Southern California has been basking in the soulful glow of talented actress Ta'Rea Campbell who plays diva-turned-nun-on-the-run Deloris Van Cartier in the first national tour of SISTER ACT - THE MUSICAL, the fun and hilarious stage adaptation of the hit 1992 motion picture of the same name. After successful runs in Hollywood and in San Diego, the tour is about to conclude its two-week swing through Orange County, playing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through August 18. While on the road, Campbell agreed to answer a few silly rapid-fire questions from BroadwayWorld.

The producers of the Tony Award-winning MATILDA THE MUSICAL announced today that the original Broadway cast recording will be produced by Michael Croiter and Christopher Nightingale for Broadway Records/Yellow Sound Label and will be released digitally and be available at the Shubert Theatre beginning Friday, September 27, 2013. The CD will be available in stores on Tuesday, October 22, 2013. The album can be pre-ordered at www.BroadwayRecords.com. Amazon.com pre-order coming very soon.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) production of The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin will conclude its limited engagement on Sunday, August 25, 2013 at 2:00PM. The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin, by Steven Levenson, features Christopher Denham, Lisa Emery, Sarah Goldberg, David Morse, Rich Sommer, and is directed by Scott Ellis.