Jonathan Larson News

Singer Lynn Henderson will return to the Metropolitan Room on June 3rd at 7pm with a new show titled "I TRAVEL ALONE." This is her second engagement at the popular club; in 2012 Lynn performed her successful show, "TRY TO REMEMBER" - a joy-filled, tasteful romp through a life well lived.

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul will celebrate the new Ghostlight Records cast recording of Dogfight with a special concert at Joe's Pub at The Public on Wednesday, May 15 at 9:30 PM which will features performances by the original cast of the Second Stage Theatre production and other special guests. Tickets are $25 and on sale now at JoesPub.com. Pasek and Paul - along with Lindsay Mendez, Derek Klena and other original cast members - will also appear at an in-store performance and CD signing at Barnes & Noble on the Upper East Side (150 East 86th Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues) on Thursday, May 23 at 7:00 PM. Please call (212) 369-2180 for details.

Bay Area Cabaret will conclude its 2012-2013 season by honoring the memory and legendary career of composer Marvin Hamlisch. Selections from his work (A Chorus Line, The Way We Were, They're Playing Our Song) will be performed by special guests including Broadway stars Lisa Vroman (The Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd) and Karen Mason (Mamma Mia!, Sunset Boulevard), Grammy Award winner Billy Stritch, 2012 Bay Area Teen Idol winner Bobby Conte Thornton, Academy Award-winning songwriters Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and other guest artists to be announced. Having performed with Bay Area Cabaret for the grand re-opening of the Venetian Room in 2010, Mr. Hamlisch will always hold a special place in Bay Area Cabaret's history. This tribute to his legacy will take place on the late composer's 69th birthday, Sunday, June 2, 2013, at 8pm in the historic Venetian Room of the Fairmont San Francisco (950 Mason Street). Tickets ($75 - $100) are available at www.bayareacabaret.org or by phone at City Box Office (415) 392-4400.

Ghostlight Records will present the Original Cast Recording of the musical DOGFIGHT with a digital release today, April 30 and the CD in stores on May 21. The show - which debuted Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre last year - features music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (A Christmas Story), a book by Peter Duchan (IFC Films' Breaking Upwards) and directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Wicked, Glengarry Glen Ross). DOGFIGHT is based on the Warner Bros. film and screenplay by Bob Comfort.

Today in 1996, Rent opened at the Nederlander Theatre, where it ran for 5123 performances. Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La boheme. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.On Broadway, Rent gained critical acclaim and won a Tony Award for Best Musical among other awards. The Broadway production closed on September 7, 2008 after a 12-year run.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director William Russo previously announced that the 4th Street Bar Association (4SBA), NYTW's young patron group, will hold a Casino Night, hosted by Nick Westrate (THE LITTLE FOXES, TRIBES), tonight, April 29 at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4 Street.

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director), Barry Grove (Executive Producer), and Mandy Greenfield (Artistic Producer) have announced full casting for the world premiere of THE EXPLORERS CLUB, the new play by Tony Award nominee Nell Benjamin, directed by Marc Bruni.

There are certain things one can expect from any given production of RENT: the Mark will always wear a scarf, the cast will always try to get a bit of a clap-along going in 'Seasons Of Love' and the Benny will do his best with what is a thankless, nothingy role. While it's sometimes refreshing to see new takes on well-known shows, there's a certain pleasure to be had from seeing Jonathan Larson's groundbreaking rock opera play out exactly as you expect, cringe-worthy 'white light' ending and all.

The Tony Awards Administration Committee has announced this year's recipients of 2013 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre. This year's receipients will be longtime agents William Craver and Peter Lawrence, the non-profit Career Transition for Dancers and North Carolina's long-running drama THE LOST COLONY.

Our featured composer this week is Ryan Scott Oliver. Here is his song "Halfway" sung by Morgan Karr (Spring Awakening) and Jay Armstrong Johnson (Hands on a Hardbody) at our Cutting-Edge Composers concert at the Canal Room. We asked Ryan where he got the inspiration for the song and this was his reply:

Yellow Sound Label's world premiere recording of MURDER BALLAD, the critically acclaimed new musical by Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash, directed by Trip Cullman, will be released on Tuesday, May 28. The album, Produced by Michael Croiter, will be available on Amazon, iTunes, and elsewhere music is sold. For additional information and to pre-order the world premiere cast recording, visit: www.yellowsoundlabel.com

Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA, under the leadership Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Managing Director Tristan Wilson, has announced it has received a $10,000 National Fund grant from the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT), for its Musical Theatre Lab world premiere production of the musical, Southern Comfort, July 19 - August 10.

Pioneer Theatre Company presents the epic musical Les Miserables. Due to popular demand, the production's run has been extended by two weeks. Performances take place May 3 through June 1, 2013.

4@15: Four New Fifteen-Minute Musicals, performed in conjunction with University of California, Irvine, will commence performances Friday, April 19 and Saturday, April 20, for three performances only at the Playroom Theater. Tammy Holder serves as Music Director; Brian Blythe directs.

TriArts Sharon Playhouse (Sharon, CT), under the leadership of Alice Bemand Executive Director and John Simpkins Artistic Director, is pleased to announce the 2013 Season. The area premiere of Spamalot runs June 26 - July 7 and will be directed and choreographed by Jennifer Werner (Broadway's The Book of Mormon and Spamalot). Music Direction is by Eric Kang (TriArts' The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas).

The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity presents Walden, a story-theatre style musical adaptation of Thoreau's best seller, featuring his work on the underground railroad and his star-crossed romance. Six performances for Walden will be held at the Robert Moss Theatre, 440 Lafayette Street, NYC from May 29-June 15 as part of The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. The Festivity will take place May 29th through June 23rd at Gene Frankel and Robert Moss Theatres in New York City.

This spring, Libra Theater Company presents the world premiere of The Thirteenth Commandment, a new play by Joshua H. Cohen.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director William Russo have announced that the 4th Street Bar Association (4SBA), NYTW's young patron group, will hold a Casino Night, hosted by Nick Westrate (THE LITTLE FOXES, TRIBES), on Monday, April 29 at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4 Street.

Ghostlight Records has announced the digital release of THE JOE ICONIS ROCK AND ROLL JAMBOREE today, April 16, 2013. The new album is a collection of songs performed by Joe and his merry band of musical theater misfits. Epic theater ballads, simple folk songs, heavy rock rave-ups and bar room sing-alongs coexist in this eclectic, borderline-insane line up of tunes. The album will be available through all digital music outlets.