Kathleen Marshall News

The producers of the first national touring production of the Tony Award nominated Broadway musical GREASE? are proud to announce that 'American Idol' winner, Taylor Hicks, will continue on with the tour during the 2009 ? 2010 season. Hicks made his Broadway debut in the role of 'Teen Angel' and has been on the road with GREASE? since the tour began in Providence on December 2, 2008. New cities and dates to be announced shortly.

The Fisher Theatre announced today that ?American Idol? winner, Taylor Hicks will appear in the first national touring production of the Tony Award nominated Broadway musical GREASE? when it comes to Detroit for a limited engagement

TAYLOR HICKS, star of the Broadway national tour of GREASE?, will appear on 'Live with Regis and Kelly' on Thursday, February 19 and Friday, February 20, 2009. The platinum selling singer and 'American Idol' winner will appear as part of Regis and Kelly's 'Dating with the Stars' segment. 'Live' airs in NYC at 9:00 a.m. on WABC Channel 7.

The brand new production of GREASE, stars American Idol winner Taylor Hicks alongside Eric Schneider as 'Danny' and Emily Padgett as 'Sandy.' Eric made his Broadway debut in Jersey Boys. His previous credits include Altar Boyz (Off-Broadway) and the national tours of Altar Boyz and The Full Monty.

Reading of a new adaptation of 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown', written by Dick Scanlan and directed by Kathleen Marshall, featured at the Colorado New Play Summit.

The Falcon Theatre presents the west coast premiere comedy Everybody Say 'Cheese!', the final production in its 2008-2009 'Bringin' the FUNNY' All-Comedy subscription season. Written by comedy icon and founder of the Falcon Theatre Garry Marshall, Everybody Say 'Cheese!' is directed by Steve Zuckerman and stars Joe Regalbuto (Murphy Brown) and DeeDee Rescher (King of Queens). Rounding out the cast are: Cyrus Alexander, John Capodice, Heather Corwin, Joel Johnstone and Roberta Valderrama.

The Denver Center Theatre Company has announced casting for the 2009 Colorado New Play Summit readings, which includes top talent from Denver and across the country. The Summit, which will gather theatre enthusiasts and industry professionals in Denver February 12-14, will feature the reading of a new adaptation of the classic musical THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN and readings of four new plays - EVENTIDE, WHEN TANG MET LAIKA, TAKE ME TO THE RIVER and FLOODED. For more information on these shows, please visit www.denvercenter.org.

Super Ensemble Saves the Day: True, it's not a great musical. True, they used a television show to pick the leads for Broadway. True, you've probably seen the 1978 movie and perhaps some incarnation of the musical somewhere since its debut in 1971. True, Taylor Hicks will not appear anymore in Baltimore. So...why see this production at the Hippodrome which runs through Sunday, Feb. 15?

Pittsburgh CLO, with the families of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, will proudly present the 12th Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theater to award-winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. The ceremony will be held at the 2009 CLO Guild's Pink Frolic Ball on May 9, 2009, at the Omni William Penn Hotel.

Pittsburgh CLO, with the families of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, will proudly present the 12th Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theater to award-winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. The ceremony will be held at the 2009 CLO Guild's Pink Frolic Ball on May 9, 2009, at the Omni William Penn Hotel. Established in 1988, the Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theater recognizes the lifetime contributions of outstanding talents in musical theater. Pittsburgh CLO has presented the Richard Rodgers Award 11 times in recent years to such luminaries as Mary Martin (1988), Dame Julie Andrews (1989), Harold Prince (1991), Sir Cameron Mackintosh (1992), Stephen Sondheim (1993), Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber (1996), Gwen Verdon (2000), Bernadette Peters (2002), Shirley Jones (2007), Kathleen Marshall (2008) and Rob Marshall (2008).

The Falcon Theatre presents the world premiere comedy Surviving Sex, the fourth production in its 2008-2009 'Bringin' the FUNNY' All-Comedy subscription season. Written by acclaimed comedy writer David Landsberg (author of last year's hit play An Act of Love at the Falcon Theatre), Surviving Sex stars an ensemble cast led by Jeff Marlow, a veteran of the Falcon stage (Where's Poppa?, Sheldon & Mrs. Levine) and directed by Susan Morgenstern (director of last year's Falcon comedy, Leap).

The New York Times has reported that Tony winner Rob Ashford will lend his talents to director Baz Luhrmann's staging for Hugh Jackman's opening number for the 81st Annual Academy Awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on December 12th, 2008, that Hugh Jackman will host this year's Oscar telecast. Previous hosts have usually been TV or film comedians including Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Martin, John Stewart, Chris Rock, Ellen DeGeneres and others

The Denver Center Theatre Company has announced casting for the 2009 Colorado New Play Summit readings, which includes top talent from Denver and across the country. The Summit, which will gather theatre enthusiasts and industry professionals in Denver February 12-14, will feature the reading of a new adaptation of the classic musical THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN and readings of four new plays - EVENTIDE, WHEN TANG MET LAIKA, TAKE ME TO THE RIVER and FLOODED. For more information on these shows, please visit www.denvercenter.org.

The veteran of 12 B'way shows looks back on hits, flops, L.A. and unforgettable choreographers.

Come hang out with the NYMF gang on Wednesday evening, January 28! Get all of your burning Next Link Project and Festival Submissions questions answered and also learn about other ways you can get involved with NYMF. A meet and greet to answer any questions from those interested in applying will be held Wednesday, January 28, 6-8pm at the Irish Rogue (356 West 44th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues. NYMF staff members will be on hand to answer questions about the Next Link Project submissions process and chat about other ways to get involved with the Festival. A cash bar with drink specials will be available, including $3 Domestic Bottles & Drafts and $4 Martinis & Cosmos. Drop by after work and say hi! The New York Musical Theater Festival is currently accepting open submissions for its Next Link Project for the sixth annual festival taking place September 28 - October 18, 2009. Any work that has not been produced professionally in New York City may be submitted by authors with or without industry representation, but scripts should be ready for developmental production and the widespread exposure NYMF provides. All entries undergo double-blind evaluations by several members of NYMF's reading team, with finalists referred to a grand jury of celebrated industry professionals. Previous jury members have included such Tony winning talents as Victoria Clark, Raul Esparza, Robyn Goodman, Margo Lion, Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx, Kathleen Marshall, Kevin McCollum, Tom Meehan, Phylicia Rashad and BD Wong.

Complete casting has been announced for the brand new production of GREASE, starring American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, playing the Golden Gate Theatre beginning Tuesday, March 24 through Sunday, April 19. Taylor Hicks made his debut on Broadway in the role of 'Teen Angel' this past summer. This brand new production of GREASE will feature songs from the smash hit 1978 motion picture performed for the first time ever in a Broadway production. GREASE is presented as a part of the 2008-2009 Citibank Best of Broadway series season under the direction of Carole Shorenstein Hays. Tickets on sale now. Taylor Hicks achieved widespread fame in 2006 as a contestant on the hugely successful FOX singing competition 'American Idol.' On May 24, 2006, Hicks was named the winner of the fifth season of 'Idol' with over 63.4 million votes in total. Winning the title over Katharine McPhee, the announcement was made during the live finale episode which aired to a worldwide audience of over 200 million viewers. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Taylor Hicks' passion for music began at an early age. He toured the Southeastern Unites States during his teenage years and released two independent albums. Known for his energetic performances with influences derived from classic soul, blues and R&B music, he quickly grew a large fan base among the millions of viewers and voters who tuned in to 'Idol' each week. His fans ultimately dubbed themselves the 'Soul Patrol.'

Come hang out with the NYMF gang on Wednesday evening, January 28! Get all of your burning Next Link Project and Festival Submissions questions answered and also learn about other ways you can get involved with NYMF. A meet and greet to answer any questions from those interested in applying will be held Wednesday, January 28, 6-8pm at the Irish Rogue (356 West 44th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues. NYMF staff members will be on hand to answer questions about the Next Link Project submissions process and chat about other ways to get involved with the Festival. A cash bar with drink specials will be available, including $3 Domestic Bottles & Drafts and $4 Martinis & Cosmos. Drop by after work and say hi! The New York Musical Theater Festival is currently accepting open submissions for its Next Link Project for the sixth annual festival taking place September 28 - October 18, 2009. Any work that has not been produced professionally in New York City may be submitted by authors with or without industry representation, but scripts should be ready for developmental production and the widespread exposure NYMF provides. All entries undergo double-blind evaluations by several members of NYMF's reading team, with finalists referred to a grand jury of celebrated industry professionals. Previous jury members have included such Tony winning talents as Victoria Clark, Raul Esparza, Robyn Goodman, Margo Lion, Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx, Kathleen Marshall, Kevin McCollum, Tom Meehan, Phylicia Rashad and BD Wong.

Jurors for The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) for the 2009 Next Link Project will include lyricist Susan Birkenhead, composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown, producer Robyn Goodman, and director Francesca Zambello. The New York Musical Theater Festival is currently accepting open submissions for its Next Link Project for the sixth annual festival taking place September 28 ? October 18, 2009. Twelve of the Festival?s full production slots are reserved for participants in The Next Link Project, NYMF?s primary writer service program. The Next Link Project empowers emerging musical theatre writing teams as both artists and entrepreneurs by providing the training and relationships needed to help them move their musicals from mere readings to fully-realized productions and to advance their careers by maximizing the exposure they receive in the Festival. A meet and greet to answer any questions from those interested in applying will be held Wednesday, January 28, 6-8pm at the Irish Rogue (356 West 44th Street, between 8th and 9th Ave). NYMF staff members will be on hand to answer questions about the Next Link Project submissions process and chat about other ways to get involved with the Festival.

The Denver Center Theatre Company's fourth annual Colorado New Play Summit continues its climb to the top tier of American new play festivals with the announcement of four readings of new American plays and a musical that will join the world premieres of Inana by Michele Lowe and Dusty and the Big Bad World by Cusi Cram at the February 2009 event.

Broadway In Chicago is proud to present GREASE, the classic musical that has made generations of audiences root for Sandy and Danny's lighting romance. Tickets are now available for Chicago audiences to bop and jive with the Pink Ladies and the T-Birds at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University during a limited engagement January 6 - 18, 2009. After spending a hopelessly devoted summer with Sandy Dumbrowski (Emily Padgett), the new girl in town, Danny Zuko's (Eric Schneider) world is thrown upside down when Sandy appears at Rydell High on the first day of school. What follows is a rock n' roll celebration of growin' up, cruisin' with friends and goin' steady.