Lindsay Mendez News

On Sunday, October 13th, Tony Award nominee Laura Osnes spent the day with a group of students at Broadway Artists Alliance, workshopping audition material and sharing stories about her experience on Broadway. Osnes was most recently seen on Broadway in the critically acclaimed production Bandstand, in which she originated the role of Julia Trojan and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. Osnes is also well known for her starring turns in Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (Ella, Tony Award Nomination), Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie, Tony Award Nomination), Anything Goes (Hope Harcourt), South Pacific (Nellie Forbush) and Grease (Sandy). Osnes took time out of her busy schedule to connect with the students and share her advice for navigating the theater industry.

With her latest appearance at Feinstein's / 54 Below Betsy Wolfe is poised for Broadway stardom.

This Month, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

Was justice served? CBS quizzed the cast of the new courthouse drama All Rise to see if they could identify which of these punishments were handed out by a real judge and which we just made up.

BroadwayWorld is saddened to learn that Broadway stage manager, Arthur Gaffin, has passed away.

Primal Productions presents Zoë Van Tieghem in Generation Z on September 14th, 2019. In her Duplex debut, Zoë Van Tieghem will perform musical theater songs sung by characters she will (probably) never play...and maybe a few she will. Zoë has performed at Feinstein's/54Below, Le Poisson Rouge, Naked Angels Tuesdays@9, Postmarked Cafe, and opened for Debbie Harry at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, NY. Zoë Van Tieghem in Generation Z plays The Duplex Cabaret Theatre (61 Christopher Street) on September 14th. There is a $15-$20 cover charge and a two beverage minimum.

On Thursday, July 25th, Tony® Award winner Beth Leavel stopped by Broadway Artists Alliance to share some words of wisdom before the students' highly anticipated industry showcase. Leavel has been starring as Dee Dee McAllen in the Broadway hit The Prom for the last year, a role for which she received a Tony® Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical. She is also well known for her Tony® Award win for The Drowsy Chaperone, and her other Broadway credits include Bandstand (June Adams), Elf (Emily), Baby It's You! (Florence Greenberg, Tony® Award nomination), Mamma Mia (Donna), 42nd Street (Annie, Dorothy Brock), Showboat (Ellie), and The Civil War (Mabel, Mrs. Bixby).  Leavel took time out of her busy show schedule to connect with the students and share her advice for navigating the theater industry. 

On Saturday August 10, singer/actor Derek Klena, now a popular leading man on Broadway, returned to his California roots to present his first live LA concert on the El Portal Mainstage. To say it clicked, is an understatement. I have seen Klena perform since 2009 when he came in a runnerup in LA's Next Great Stage Star. He is handsome, charming, a real promising performer who comes from a warm West Covina family. Maybe it's because of these roots, that he is as successful as he is right now. He adores his caring mother and father and two siblings Lauren and Dylan. Though married to his high chool sweetheart and living in NYC, he returns regularly to celebrate birthdays and holidays with the family or to see his brother Dylan perform on local stages.

The Paley Center for Media announced today that it will host its 13th annual PaleyFest Fall TV Previews September 5-15, 2019, at the Paley Center's Beverly Hills location. The ten-day festival celebrates the most anticipated new shows of the Fall 2019 television season as well as returning favorites from all five major broadcast networks, cable television, and premium streaming services. Each event includes screenings followed by star-studded discussions with the series cast and creatives.

This Month, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

Los Angeles native and Star of Broadway's Anastasia, Bridges of Madison County, Wicked and the upcoming Jagged Little Pill; DEREK KLENA returns home to the City of Angels for an intimate one night only engagement. Join Derek as he takes a look back on the roles, moments, and people that have shaped his life and career during his eight years in New York City. Audiences can expect stories from his childhood in West Covina, CA, from his early experiences on reality television, as well as backstage tales and songs from his star turns on Broadway.

On Thursday, July 18th, Tony® Award winner Santino Fontana surprised the students of Broadway Artists Alliance during their exciting week of master classes and rehearsals in the heart of New York City. It's been a little over a month since Fontana took home the 2019 Tony® award for playing Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels in Tootsie, but he is also well known for his roles in Cinderella, Hello, Dolly!, Billy Elliot, The Importance of Being Earnest, and for his various roles on screen in shows and movies like Frozen, Crazy-Ex Girlfriend and Fosse/Verdon. Fontana took time out of his busy show schedule to share some encouraging words with the young performers.

Victory Gardens Theater Artistic Director Chay Yew, Executive Director Erica Daniels and Director of New Play Development Skyler Gray announce the lineup for the 11th Anniversary IGNITION Festival of New Plays, including The Tasters by Meghan Brown; The Gradient by Steph Del Rosso; [hieroglyph] by Erika Dickerson-Despenza; #NEWSLAVES by Keelay Gipson; Reckoning: Furies from a New Queer Nation by Geraldine Inoa; and They Could Give No Name by Exal Iraheta. The 2019 Festival runs August 2 -4, 2019 at Victory Gardens Theater, located at 2433 N Lincoln Avenue.

Best in Shows, a star-studded cabaret evening benefiting the Humane Society of New York, will honor Broadway stars Andy Karl and Orfeh on Monday, October 14 , 2019 at 7 pm at Feinstein's/ 54 Below. Karl and Orfeh be awarded the Humane Society of New York's Sandy Fund Award in recognition of their deep concern and support of the needs of rescued animals.

While there is much to praise, the stand-out amongst the talented GUYS AND DOLLS cast is Kirsten Wyatt, making her debut at the Guthrie as Miss Adelaide. Read this 6 Questions & a Plug to learn more from Wyatt about what makes this Guthrie show special.

STAGE, a new streaming service for premium content devoted to the entire world of theatre, announces the addition of Session Two: Stephen Schwartz of the award-winning original series STUDIO SESSIONS to its diverse line up of programming.

Victory Gardens Theater Artistic Director Chay Yew, Executive Director Erica Daniels and Director of New Play Development Skyler Gray announce the lineup for the 2019 IGNITION Festival of New Plays, including The Tasters by Meghan Brown; The Gradient by Steph Del Rosso; [hieroglyph] by Erika Dickerson-Despenza; #NEWSLAVES by Keelay Gipson; Reckoning: Furies from a New Queer Nation by Geraldine Inoa; and They Could Give No Name by Exal Iraheta. The 2019 Festival runs August 2 -4, 2019 at Victory Gardens Theater, located at 2433 N Lincoln Avenue.

Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

We asked, and you answered! We're looking at what BroadwayWorld readers named as the top Tony Awards acceptance speeches, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Platt, Audra McDonald, and more! Check out all of the full videos!