Joe Allen News

The Tony-nominee stage veteran prepares to get behind the camera with a script about stage actors and their definitions of success

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) will celebrate its 22nd year as a not-for-profit service organization with a celebration of three extraordinary people at the annual TRU Love Benefit, Honoring Friendship, Remembering Friends. The 2013 TRU Spirit of Theater Award, presented to a member of the producing community who has demonstrated exceptional generosity, support and kindness to others in the business, will be posthumously awarded to producer Randall Wreghitt (Little Women, Beauty Queen of Leenane, Grey Gardens, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Golda's Balcony, As Bees in Honey Drown, The Food Chain) who died unexpectedly at the age of 55 in May 2011. The event will take place Sunday, November 17th at Caroline's on Broadway at 47th Street.

On Sunday, June 23, Joe Allen Restaurant will begin their newest tradition: the After Theater Cocktail Hour. Unlike other happy hours, though, this Broadway hangout's will begin at 9:30 p.m. and run until 11:30 p.m.- perfect timing for theater professionals just getting off work and theatergoers just leaving a show.

Tonight, June 9, Joe Allen Restaurant will be hosting an exclusive Tony Award viewing party for a limited number of guests. Several TVs will be displayed throughout the dining room for guests to enjoy the broadcast from any table. A Prix Fixe Menu, created by Executive Chef, Victor Flores, will be available for dinner for $65. The viewing party begins at 7:00 PM and reservations are required to attend.

On Sunday, June 9, Joe Allen Restaurant will be hosting an exclusive Tony Award viewing party for a limited number of guests. Several TVs will be displayed throughout the dining room for guests to enjoy the broadcast from any table. A Prix Fixe Menu, created by Executive Chef, Victor Flores, will be available for dinner for $65. The viewing party begins at 7:00 PM and reservations are required to attend.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, the highly anticipated West End musical starring Olivier and Tony Award winner Douglas Hodge as Willy Wonka, begins tonight, May 22, 2013. Opening night is set for June 25.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, the highly anticipated West End musical starring Olivier and Tony Award winner Douglas Hodge as Willy Wonka, has been postponed. The first two previews - scheduled for May 17 and 18, respectively - have been cancelled and performances will now begin May 22 instead of May 23.

Last night, April 23, Ted Baker's Flagship store on 5th Avenue hosted an evening of appetizers, cocktails, music and shopping in support of Zara Aina. The entire Ted Baker collection was 10% off for the evening with an additional 10% going to benefit Zara Aina. BroadwayWorld was there for the festivities and you can check out photo coverage below!

According to the Daily Mail, Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will begin previews on May 17 instead of May 18 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Opening night is still set for June 25. Directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will star Olivier and Tony Award-winning Douglas Hodge as Willy Wonka. Featuring ingenious stagecraft, the story is brought to life with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman (Grammy winners for Hairspray; Smash), with a book by award-winning playwright and adaptor David Greig (The Bacchae; Tintin In Tibet).

Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opens at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 25 June 2013. Directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will star Olivier and Tony Award-winning Douglas Hodge as Willy Wonka. Featuring ingenious stagecraft, the story is brought to life with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman (Grammy winners for Hairspray; Smash), with a book by award-winning playwright and adaptor David Greig (The Bacchae; Tintin In Tibet). Click below to watch the show's creative team talk about the writing process!

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Neal Street Productions and Kevin McCormick's production of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opens at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 25th June 2013, directed by Sam Mendes. In the videos below, Mendes introduces the show and takes you inside the set design for this whimsical production!

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Neal Street Productions and Kevin McCormick today announced further casting for Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which opens at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 25th June 2013, directed by Sam Mendes.

One of my favorite things in life was the Broadway musical, but I'd never actually seen one. I had seen school and community and regional productions of musicals with Broadway origins. I had seen Equity and non-Equity tours that replicated Broadway staging. I had even had the incredible opportunities to see the pre-Broadway tryouts of The Little Mermaid and Shrek the Musical with their original star-studded casts in Denver and Seattle, respectively. But not on Broadway.

Spiegelworld's Gazillionaire and his assistant Penny took a break in the midst of their hit run of Absinthe at Caesars Palace Las Vegas to come to The Big Apple, looking for the perfect spot in Times Square to pitch their spiegeltent for their all-new show, EMPIRE. Check out photos from their day in New York City below!

The Drama League's Spring Online Auction is now online at www.biddingforgood.com/thedramaleague, and will close on Friday, April 13 at 5:00pm. With over thirty theatrical items announced, some of the highlights include:

Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, the first New York City Center Encores! production of the season, opens tonight, February 8 at New York City Center, and features Colin Donnell, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Elizabeth Stanley, Betsy Wolfe and Adam Grupper. Merrily We Roll Along, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth, is directed by James Lapine with music direction by Rob Berman and musical staging by Dan Knechtges. Merrily just opened, and will play a two-week run through February 19, 2012.

The newly reworked and fully re-imagined production of Carrie, the musical, had its first preview last night, January 31, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. BroadwayWorld was on hand to capture the exciting evening - including a special delivery from Carrie alumna Betty Buckley! - and brings you complete photo coverage below!

If only for originating the title role in the longest-running and most successful musical in world history - THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA - which is merely one of the many impossibly impressive moments in a fifty-year career that truly defies description - Michael Crawford is known and loved the world over. From the Broadway and West End stage to the concert stage; the recording studio to the movie studio; performing everywhere imaginable - he has conquered it all. In a resume-spanning conversation that takes us from Broadway to Hollywood and to the stage of the London Palladium where he is now starring as the eponymous WIZARD OF OZ in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new theatrical adaptation of the classic film, Crawford and I take a look back at his many notable stage roles - among them, BILLY, BARNUM, DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES and, most recently, Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE WOMAN IN WHITE - and he also generously shares stories and recollections of the esteemed figures he has collaborated with over the years, including Barbra Streisand, John Lennon, Oliver Reed, David Foster, Stephen Sondheim, Hal Prince, Sarah Brightman and many more! Additionally, Crawford shares his insightful opinions on the state of theatre today and how it has changed over the course of his decades spent in show business, as well as looks ahead to returning to the concert stage following his departure from THE WIZARD OF OZ in the West End in February. So, catch Crawford while you can - and your little dog, too!