Jonathan Rayson News

Yesterday, the Kleban Foundation presented the 23rd annual Kleban Prize for the most promising musical theatre lyricist to Daniel Mate and the 23rd annual Kleban Prize for the most promising musical theatre librettist to Alan Gordon. Check out photos from the special ceremony below!

Drama Desk nominee Nancy Anderson (Far From Heaven, Wonderful Town), Jannie Jones (The Full Monty), Tony Award nominee Isabel Keating (The Boy From Oz, Hairspray), Drama Desk nominee Garrett Long (South Pacific, Bonnie and Clyde) and Jonathan Rayson (The Fig Leaves Are Falling, Legally Blonde) joined host and two-time Tony Award nominee Tom Wopat (Catch Me If You Can, The Trip to Bountiful, A Catered Affair), as well as Rachel de Benedet (Catch Me If You Can) and Christine Pedi (Chicago, Forbidden Broadway) for UnsungMusicalsCo.'s Unsung Jimmy Van Heusen concert last night, June 17 at The Cutting Room. Scroll below for photos!

Shakespeare & Company Artistic Director Tony Simotes announces a special one-night-only Benefit Performance of BROADWAY IN THE BERKSHIRES Monday, July 8th at The Tina Packer Playhouse, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA. Proceeds from the event will benefit Shakespeare & Company's internationally-acclaimed Education and Training Programs.

ScoBar Entertainment will present A Cabaret Full of Cahn Artists, a tribute to the great Sammy Cahn on his 100th birthday. Produced by writer Rob Lester, the evening, which consists of two different shows (8 & 10 pm) will benefit Cabaret Scenes Magazine, with all proceeds donated to Cabaret Scenes Magazine, the only print publication of its kind, its website, www.cabaretscenes.org and the non-profit Cabaret Foundation. Associate producer is Stevie Phillips. According to producer Rob Lester, this Centennial 'Cahn-cert' includes special 'Cahn-versations' about Sammy and a 'Cahn-Test' with prizes and a raffle.

ScoBar Entertainment will present A Cabaret Full of Cahn Artists, a tribute to the great Sammy Cahn on his 100th birthday. Produced by writer Rob Lester, the evening, which consists of two different shows (8 & 10 pm) will benefit Cabaret Scenes Magazine, with all proceeds donated to Cabaret Scenes Magazine, the only print publication of its kind, its website, www.cabaretscenes.org and the non-profit Cabaret Foundation. Associate producer is Stevie Phillips. According to producer Rob Lester, this Centennial 'Cahn-cert' includes special 'Cahn-versations' about Sammy and a 'Cahn-Test' with prizes and a raffle.

UnsungMusicalsCo. (UMC), in a collaboration with the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, will record three songs from the little-known 1947 musical comedy Barefoot Boy With Cheek featuring performances by Jenn Colella (Chaplin, Closer Than Ever), Max von Essen(Evita, Death Takes a Holiday) and Robert Lenzi (South Pacific, Hello Again). UMC's recordings will be released for free digital download on the New York Public Library's website as part of its Musical of the Month blog series, which recently featured UMC's reconstruction of the Barefoot Boy libretto. The musical has never received a cast album.

Drama Desk nominee Nancy Anderson (Far From Heaven, Wonderful Town), Jannie Jones (The Full Monty), Tony Award nominee Isabel Keating (The Boy From Oz, Hairspray), Drama Desk nominee Garrett Long (South Pacific, Bonnie and Clyde) and Jonathan Rayson (The Fig Leaves Are Falling, Legally Blonde) have joined the lineup of acclaimed artists forUnsungMusicalsCo.'s Unsung Jimmy Van Heusen concert on Monday, June 17 at 8pm at The Cutting Room.

Coming up at 54 BELOW, the performance venue located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. 54 Below also launched its series of late night events. Joining Tuesday nights' popular "Backstage" with Susie Mosher is the "54 Piano Bar," a new vocal competition - 'The Callback," and more, including: stage and television star Laura Benanti, High Fidelity in Concert, WGBO Jazz Series: Karrin Allyson Quartet, Tony winner Frances Ruffelle, Charlie Rosen's Broadway Big Band, Sondheim Unplugged and Simply Streisand.

For those craving a show after the show, stop by 54 BELOW, the performance venue located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street.

Shakespeare & Company Artistic Director Tony Simotes announces the benefit performance of Broadway in the Berkshires that will take place on Monday, July 8th at The Tina Packer Playhouse, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA.

UnsungMusicalsCo. (UMC) presents The Fig Leaves Are Falling, now playing at the Connelly Theatre. Natalie Venetia Belcon (Avenue Q, The Glorious Ones), Jonathan Rayson (Legally Blonde, Adrift in Macao), Matt Walton ("One Life to Live", Burn After Reading) and Morgan Weed (Rent, Next to Normal, Saved) lead the cast of the 1969 musical comedy which also features Karen Hyland (Ghost The Musical), Nathan Keen (West Side Story), Antuan Raimone (In The Heights), and Morgan Rose (Shrek The Musical). Get a first look at the cast onstage below!

The musical THE FIG LEAVES ARE FALLING had a notoriously short run on Broadway the first time around. It is now being presented at Off Broadway's Connelly Theater and its star Jonathan Rayson chats about it and his career.

UnsungMusicalsCo. (UMC) has announced casting for its upcoming production of The Fig Leaves Are Falling beginning performances tonight, January 10, 2013 at the Connelly Theatre. Natalie Venetia Belcon (Avenue Q, The Glorious Ones), Jonathan Rayson (Legally Blonde, Adrift in Macao), Matt Walton ('One Life to Live', Burn After Reading) and Morgan Weed (Rent, Next to Normal, Saved) lead the cast of the 1969 musical comedy which also features Karen Hyland (Ghost The Musical), Nathan Keen (West Side Story), Antuan Raimone (In The Heights), and Morgan Rose (Shrek The Musical).

UnsungMusicalsCo. (UMC) presents The Fig Leaves Are Falling, with performances beginning January 10, 2013 at the Connelly Theatre. Natalie Venetia Belcon (Avenue Q, The Glorious Ones), Jonathan Rayson (Legally Blonde, Adrift in Macao), Matt Walton ("One Life to Live", Burn After Reading) and Morgan Weed (Rent, Next to Normal, Saved) lead the cast of the 1969 musical comedy which also features Karen Hyland (Ghost The Musical), Nathan Keen (West Side Story), Antuan Raimone (In The Heights), and Morgan Rose (Shrek The Musical).

UnsungMusicalsCo. (UMC) has announced casting for its upcoming production of The Fig Leaves Are Falling beginning performances January 10, 2013 at the Connelly Theatre. Natalie Venetia Belcon (Avenue Q, The Glorious Ones), Jonathan Rayson (Legally Blonde, Adrift in Macao), Matt Walton ('One Life to Live', Burn After Reading) and Morgan Weed (Rent, Next to Normal, Saved) lead the cast of the 1969 musical comedy which also features Karen Hyland (Ghost The Musical), Nathan Keen (West Side Story), Antuan Raimone (In The Heights), and Morgan Rose (Shrek The Musical).

Director Rob Ruggierio's production of the classic, like the ups and downs experienced while riding a carousel horse (the carousel is wonderfully recreated for the prologue on the restrictive Goodspeed stage), has moments of delight and some disappointments.

Goodspeed Musicals presents Carousel to the main stage, now playing through September 23 at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn. Carousel and will celebrate an official opening night on August 1, 2012. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the dress and dance rehearsals below.

Goodspeed Musicals presents Carousel to the main stage, now playing through September 23 at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn. Carousel and will celebrate an official opening night on August 1, 2012. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production photos below.