Laurence Olivier News

In celebration of the 15th anniversary of "The Lion King" on Broadway, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," with Emmy Award-winning host Meredith Vieira, will host two principal actors from the hit musical as contestants on Monday, December 10. Chantel Riley (Nala) and Ben Jeffrey (Pumbaa) will play "Millionaire" as a two-person team and will donate their winnings to The Actors Fund, a national human services organization that helps professionals in performing arts and entertainment in times of need, crisis or transition. The duo is guaranteed to win a minimum of $10,000 for The Actors Fund.

'Live with Kelly and Michael's Michael Strahan just visited the show with his daughters and you can check out backstage photos below!

In celebration of the fifteenth anniversary of Broadway's landmark musical event The Lion King, cast members Alton Fitzgerald White, Chondra La-Tease Profit and Lindiwe Dlamini 'flipped the switch' and lit the world-famous Empire State Building's tower lights with the signature color of the production. The lights will shine yellow in honor of the anniversary today, December 4, 2012. Check out photos of the cast at the Empire State Building below!

JAMES CURTIS, a critically acclaimed author will appear as the Guest Speaker at the Westside Center for Independent Living's Associates' (WCIL's) Annual Literary Tea to be held on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at a private home in Beverly Hills, CA, at which time Curtis will talk about and sign copies of his latest critically acclaimed book, SPENCER TRACY, A Biography.

In celebration of the fifteenth anniversary of Broadway's landmark musical event The Lion King, cast members Alton Fitzgerald White, Chondra La-Tease Profit and Lindiwe Dlamini will 'flip the switch' and light the world-famous Empire State Building's tower lights with the signature color of the production. The lights will shine yellow in honor of the anniversary on Tuesday, December 4, 2012.

JAMES CURTIS, a critically acclaimed author will appear as the Guest Speaker at the Westside Center for Independent Living's Associates' (WCIL's) Annual Literary Tea to be held on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at a private home in Beverly Hills, CA, at which time Curtis will talk about and sign copies of his latest critically acclaimed book, SPENCER TRACY, A Biography.

David Hutchinson, Artistic Director of West End and Regional Touring Company Sell a Door Theatre is to direct their February 2013 London revival of Journey's End at the Greenwich Theatre.

HOBART BAROQUE is a brand new event celebrating the music of the 17th and 18th centuries. April 12 sees the inauguration of HOBART BAROQUE, nine days of exceptional performances by international and local musicians. To date, there has been no festival dedicated specifically to baroque music. That honour falls to Tasmania's capital, Hobart.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) collaborates with The Chicago Chamber Musicians (CCM) for the 11th annual family concert, presenting the Chicago premiere of LEAVE IT TO LUDWIG by Bruce Adolphe, Saturday, January 19 and Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 10 and 11:30 am at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier.

John Tiffany's production of Once, winner of eight 2012 Tony awards including Best New Musical, will open in the West End in Spring 2013. With book by award-winning Irish playwright and screenwriter Enda Walsh, the London production of Once will open at the Phoenix Theatre on 9 April, with previews from 16 March 2013. Currently booking to 30 November 2013, Once will be produced in the West End by Barbara Broccoli, John N. Hart Jr., Patrick Milling Smith, Frederick Zollo, Brian Carmody, Michael G. Wilson, Orin Wolf and Michael Rose Limited in association with New York Theatre Workshop. Prior to its West End opening Once will run at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin from 22 February - 9 March 2013.

As BroadwayWorld reported earlier today, producer Marty Richards passed away today after a long battle with cancer. He was 80 years old. We celebrate the life and career of the legend below

The North American tour of Disney's The Lion King broke the SHN Orpheum Theatre box office record (for the highest grossing week of a Broadway engagement), grossing $1,674,059 for eight performances the week ending November 25.

BroadwayWorld.com has confirmed the sad news that producer Marty Richards passed away today after a long battle with cancer. He was 80 years old.

'Inside The Lion King,' the first immersive, pop-up exhibit ever created for a Broadway show, arrives adjacent to Bryant Park, on 42nd Street and Avenue of the Americas, for a limited time to celebrate 15 years of The Lion King in New York City. More than 65 million people have experienced The Lion King, but never before like this. In this free exhibit, fans of all ages will experience and interact with 86 museum-quality artifacts including hand-made puppets, sculpted masks, elaborate artisan costumes and extraordinary sets that have appeared in productions from around the world.

Trevor Nunn directs the Old Vic and Chichester Festival Theatre's production of Kiss Me, Kate, with Music and lyrics by Cole Porter and Book by Sam and Bella Spewack, which is scheduled for London performances from 1 December followed by a Chichester premiere on 27 June 2012. Choreography is provided by Stephen Mear for a cast that includes Alex Bourne, David Burt, Adam Garcia, Clive Rowe and Hannah Waddingham. Get a first look at the cast onstage in the photos below!

Das 11-fach preisgekrönte Broadway-Musical NATÜRLICH BLOND (Originaltitel: LEGALLY BLONDE) feiert am 21. Februar 2013 seine deutschsprachige Erstaufführung im RONACHER. Intendant Christian Struppeck freut sich, die Besetzung der Hauptdarsteller für NATÜRLICH BLOND bekannt geben zu können. Aus über 1.200 Bewerbern haben sich 230 Künstlerinnen alleine für die Hauptrolle der „Elle Woods“ beworben.