John Lee News

You think you know three-time Tony Award Nominee Marin Mazzie from her corseted characters in RAGTIME and PASSION or maybe from the scene-chewing screwballs of KISS ME KATE and SPAMALOT or possibly you thought you gained a glimpse of her as the valium-induced bipolar star of NEXT TO NORMAL (heaven help us if that is really her in the guise of Margaret in CARRIE!). Come see and hear the real Marin Mazzie as she steps back into her formative years with an evening of fun and fantasy as we get inside the head of a Midwest girl and the music she loved. Mazzie will play 54 Below through September 8. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from the special event below!

Tony Award nominee Marin Mazzie (Kiss Me Kate, Ragtime, Passion, Carrie), platinum Award winner and Tony Award nominee Ann Hampton Calloway (Swing), legendary jazz vocalist, pianist and composer Barbara Carroll, andcelebrated piano-vocalist Tony DeSare (Our Sinatra, Talk Show Confidential) gave a special press preview from some of the upcoming engagements at 54 Below earlier today. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from the special event below!

Manhattan Theatre Club's new Broadway production of Henrik Ibsen's AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, directed by Tony Award winner Doug Hughes begins previews tonight in preparation for a Thursday, September 27 opening night at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street).

It was a starry week at 54 BELOW with performances from Faith Prince and Jason Graae, Maurice Hines and Tonya Pinkins. Among the celebrities who came out for their opening night performances were Elaine Stritch, S. Epatha Merkerson, La Chanze, Liiliane Montevecchi, Donna McKechnie, Ron Raines, Nona Hendryx, Andre de Shields, Adriane Lenox, Jeanine Tesori, Phillip Boykin, Jeff Calhoun, Mary Rodgers, George C. Wolfe, George Faison, Billy Porter, Brenda Braxton, Adrian Bailey, Mark Nadler, Stanley Wayne Mathis, Charles Randolph-Wright and Julie Budd. Check out photos from the events below!

Jason Robert Brown will bring his show to NYC's newest theatrical hot spot, 54 Below, Broadway's Nightclub, for seven performances. To celebrate his first time at the new club, he's bringing Shoshana Bean, and featuring music from Honeymoon In Vegas and The Bridges of Madison County as well as his forthcoming solo album (in addition to the usual favorites).

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Gary Clark Jr. will release his long-anticipated full-length debut album for Warner Bros. Records on October 23rd. The album, for which the title and track-listing will be announced soon, was produced by Gary Clark Jr. and Mike Elizondo, who is known for his work with Mastodon, Fiona Apple, Dr. Dre, and many others.

Five-time Grammy award winning legend and Blues Hall of Fame Inductee Robert Cray will release a brand new studio album "Nothin But Love" today, August 27th, his UK tour kicked off on June 26th with a date at the Shepherds Bush Empire (as part of London Blues Fest).

Tony Award-winner Faith Prince (Guys & Dolls, A Catered Affair) and Jason Graae (Falsettos, Ragtime, Forever Plaid), Tony Award-winner Tonya Pinkins (Caroline or Change, Jelly's Last Jam, The Wild Party), Tituss Burgess (Disney's The Little Mermaid, Guys & Dolls), and Eden Espinoza Wicked, Rent, Brooklyn) gave a special press preview from some of the upcoming engagements at 54 Below earlier today. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from the special event below!

The stars were out this week at 54 Below. Stars ranging from Hollywood's Bradley Cooper and Academy Award nominee Amy Irving to Tony Award winners Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, David Hyde Pierce, Betty Buckley, John Benjamin Hickey, Ron Rifkin, John Kander, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman were in attendance for Victor Garber's final performance at the venue on August 20. Sarah RIce, who co-starred opposite Garber' as Johanna in the original Broadway cast of Sweeney Todd, also stopped backstage for a reunion. Earlier in the week, Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson and vocalist Tom Postilio came out for Hilary Kole's opening night.

When Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's moralistic take on traditional European fairy tales, mostly penned by The Brothers Grimm, last hit town in a major production, it was April of 2002.  The city was still very much rattled by the events of the past September, but a positive spirit was growing from our observances of acts of heroism surrounding us.

THE BLUES SUMMIT, featuring The Taj Mahal Trio, with special guests James Montgomery and Duke Robillard. The event happens tonight, August 17, 8:00pm, at the Capitol Center for the Arts, Concord, and is the second installment of Child and Family Services' 2012 Concerts for the Cause season.

The Public Theater's production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's INTO THE WOODS, part of The Public's 50th Anniversary season at the Delacorte opened last week, August 9th to mixed reveiews from critics. Now according to the New York Times, the show is still 'pursuing a possible Broadway transfer.' Producer Joey Parnes is currently working to bring the show to Broadway in late winter or spring of 2013.

The Public Theater's production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's INTO THE WOODS, part of The Public's 50th Anniversary season at the Delacorte opened last night, August 9th. BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was there on opening night to interview the cast! Check out what they had to say below!

Check out photos of the show's opening night guests on the red carpet!

Check out photos of the cast and creative team at the production's opening night party!

The Public Theater's production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's INTO THE WOODS, part of The Public's 50th Anniversary season at the Delacorte opened last night, August 9th. BroadwayWorld.com was there to capture all the excitement of the evening. Check out photos of the cast taking their opening night bows below!

The Public Theater's production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's beloved musical INTO THE WOODS, part of The Public's 50th Anniversary season at the Delacorte, officially opened tonight, August 9. Let's see what the critics had to say...