Jonathan Larson News

Craving a show after the show? 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, is expanding its popular late-night series with fresh faces and hot new performances to keep the party buzzing into the wee hours. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551. 54 BELOW welcomes you to loosen your tie and embrace the night at its upcoming events:

Straight from New York is bringing Adam Pascal to a city near you for a Master's Class this fall. As of now, master's classes are booked in Charlotte, NC (Sept. 16 - 17), Oklahoma City, OK (Sept. 18-19) and Austin, TX (Sept. 20). Straight from New York provides educational opportunities for performing arts students to work with top Broadway artists in cities around the country. www.straightfromnewyork.com Adam Pascal is an actor, singer, and musician known for his portrayal of Roger Davis in the original cast of Jonathan Larson's musical RENT as well as the movie version. He is also known for originating the role of Radames in the Elton John/Tim Rice Aida. He was also in the revival of Cabaret as well as Huey Calhoun in the Broadway Company of Memphis. When you work with students, what is your approach to teaching? A: I approach students from an existential place. I don't have any formal training. My training is practical from all my experience. I listen to what students are doing and offer them practical instructions on how to make it better. Tyce Green, the artistic director of Straight from New York, brings the technical experience. Together it is a great combination. Where did you go to school? What did you study? Where I grew up, everyone went to college. In my family, you just did it. I attended the University of South Florida for my freshman year. I then transferred to the NY Institute of Technology and got a degree in communications. I didn't necessarily want to go into that field but I knew I needed a degree. What is your favorite role you've played? Emcee in Cabaret Have you ever done any classical Musical Theatre roles and are there any roles in classical Musical Theatre you'd like to tackle? I would love to play roles from classical musical theatre but have not had the opportunity. I find many of the roles to be outside the box what people are used to seeing me play. These roles are out of my comfort zone but I look forward to the challenge. I think I'd like to play the role of Curly in Oklahoma! How did you feel taking over the role in Memphis and how was it taking over from the man who originated the role (Chad Kimball) They always allowed me to play the character and develop him on my own. I was never asked to play it like anyone else. They wanted me to bring my own personality to the role. What is your favorite musical you've never done? Les Miserables, Hedwig and the Angry Itch, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeny Todd For the young performer who wants to pursue musical theatre as a career, what advice would you give them? 1. There is no other reason to do musical theatre other than the love of it. Don't do this to be a star! Pursue this because you love it. 2. Have something else in your life that brings you happiness. The majority of this business is not getting the job. If you are only happy getting the role, then you will live perpetually unhappy. As a teacher, it's frustrating to hear kids say, 'my life is RENT.' As well all know there could not be anything further from the truth. When you teach your seminars, how do you convey there is more to Musical Theatre than RENT and Les Miserables? I tell kids to have a career in theatre, you have to be as versatile as you can be. If you sell yourself as only one thing, you will be handicapped in this business. To have a long career you need to be able to sing and do anything. It goes for people who are classically trained as well. You must know all aspects of this business and learn to do as many as you can. What is the focus of your seminars? We focus on the audition process. We want our students to learn to be comfortable performing under pressure in any situation. There is no other situation with as much pressure as an audition. We focus on technique, relaxation methods, choices in an audition, what to wear, and what to expect in any audition situation. We are extremely honest with addressing the pros and cons of choices made by students who attend our seminar. We try to bring each student as much practical information as we can. Why should someone take your seminar? Only take this seminar if you interested in learning honest information on the world of performing. This seminar will be full of information and advice you can't get anywhere else. To sign up for Adam Pascal's master class in your city, visit: www.straightfromnewyork.com

Award-winning songwriter Hyeyoung Kim (SUNFISH, CAFE-IN) will present a one-night only concert of original material Thursday, August 21st, 2014, 8pm at the Indian Road Cafe, 600 W. 218th Street, New York, NY. There is no cover or food/drink minimum.

Hands on a Hardbody is a new rock musical about 10 Texans whose new lease on life is so close they can touch it. Under a scorching sun for days on end and armed with nothing but hope and ambition, they'll fight to keep at least one hand on a brand-new truck in order to win it. In this hard-fought contest, only one winner can drive away with the American dream.

Dogfight, Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Book by Peter Duchan, based on the Warner Bros film and screenplay by Bob Comfort, is produced by Danielle Tarento, the award-winning producer of Titanic, Parade and Mack & Mabel, and directed by Matt Ryan, in The Large at Southwark Playhouse for a six-week season through Saturday 13 September.

American Opera Projects and LivelyWorks present Two Premieres and a Reunion, a special evening of music by composer Conrad Cummings Wednesday September 10th, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. at The National Opera Center, 330 Seventh Avenue, Manhattan.

Dare to Defy Productions is thrilled to present the full stage version of Jonathan Larson's hit musical, RENT. The production hits the stage at 8 pm September 5 and at 2 pm and 8 pm on September 6, 2014 at the beautiful Victoria Theatre 126 N Main St Dayton, OH 45402.Tickets range from $50 to $25. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.

Berkeley Rep opens its 47th season this September with An Audience with Meow Meow, a musical play of gargantuan proportions starring international superstar Meow Meow.

Dogfight, Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Book by Peter Duchan, based on the Warner Bros film and screenplay by Bob Comfort, is produced by Danielle Tarento, the award-winning producer of Titanic, Parade and Mack & Mabel, and directed by Matt Ryan, in The Large at Southwark Playhouse for a six-week season through Saturday 13 September.

First workshopped as a reading through Boomerang Theatre and then at an award winning staged reading at 2013's Planet Connections Festivity, BOHEMIAN VALENTINE makes its World Premiere fully staged premiere at the 2014 New York Fringe Festival. It will be performed at 'Teatro LATEA at the Clemente (107 Suffolk Street).' Performance dates are TODAY, AUGUST 9th - 1pm, TUESDAY AUGUST 12th - 2pm, MONDAY AUGUST 18th - 8:45pm, WEDNESDAY AUGUST 20th - 8:45pm, and THURSDAY AUGUST 21st - 4:45pm. Running time is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.

Things I Left on Long Island by 2014 Jonathan Larson recipient playwright Sara Cooper makes its world premiere in the 2014 New York International Fringe Festival, and will open Saturday August 9th.

ReVision Theatre, Asbury Park's professional regional theatre company devoted to producing fresh theatre with new perspective, will present the 90's rock musical Tick, Tick..Boom!, with lyrics and music by Jonathan Larson, the late creator of the Tony and Pulitzer-prize winning RENT, at Theatre Bar (610 Bangs Avenue) from tonight, August 8th thru August 24th.

'Rent' tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York City's Lower East Side in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.

Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced details for the third season of the American Opera Initiative, its comprehensive commissioning program that brings contemporary American stories to the stage while fostering the talents of rising American composers and librettists. Three teams of new opera composers and librettists—John Liberatore and Niloufar Talebi, Jake Runestad and David Johnston, and Rene Orth and Jason Kim—will premiere new 20-minute operas, each based on a contemporary American story, in a semi-staged concert performance on November 21, 2014 in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater.

Camille A. Brown & Dancers (CAB&D), recognized for its visceral movement and unflinching approach to comedic and controversial themes, announces Black Girl Spectrum, a multi-faceted community engagement initiative. The new yearlong initiative, lead by Bessie-nominated choreographer Camille A. Brown, uses dance as a means to address civic, educational, and economic struggle through cultural and creative empowerment. Aimed to explore the spectrum of identities among African American females, the initiative will also serve as participatory research to mold and inform Brown's new work-in-progress, Black Girl (working title), which is slated to premiere in September 2015.

Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced details for the third season of the American Opera Initiative, its comprehensive commissioning program that brings contemporary American stories to the stage while fostering the talents of rising American composers and librettists. Three teams of new opera composers and librettists—John Liberatore and Niloufar Talebi, Jake Runestad and David Johnston, and Rene Orth and Jason Kim—will premiere new 20-minute operas, each based on a contemporary American story, in a semi-staged concert performance on November 21, 2014 in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater.

At the beginning of this year, a new theatre-centric podcast debuted, and has been supplying extremely insightful and heartfelt stories ever since. One of the show's charms is the amount of love and appreciation that host Patrick Hinds shows each guest. For their most recent episode, Hinds interviewed Tony-winner Karen Olivo, and what resulted was a moving hour of conversation. Olivo has been one of Broadway's most talented stars for over a decade, but in 2013, she decide to 'retire' and leave New York City.

SecondStory Repertory has announced its MainStage Series for Season 16.

Samuel French previously announced a talented roster of judges for the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival (OOB Festival), the nation's premiere short play competition, running from today, August 5th-10th at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre.