Lucille Lortel News

Gerard Alessandrini's Forbidden Broadway returned to New York in February at the newly refurbished Davenport Theatre (354 W. 45th Street, Between 8th and 9th Avenues) with Forbidden Broadway: Alive and STILL Kicking. As BroadwayWorld previously reported, over the course of the spring, Alessandrini had planned on adding new material to reflect the season's openings. Now, the time as come to unveil the new edition, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY COMES OUT SWINGING! According to The New York Times, this version will begin performances March 17.

The Old Globe today announced it will present two Shakespeare-themed events. On Monday, April 28 at 7:00 p.m., Tony Award winner Roger Rees will return to the Globe for a one-night-only engagement of What You Will, his hysterical (and somewhat historical) 90-minute gallop through the world of Shakespeare. On Saturday, May 3 at 11:00 a.m., Old Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein will offer an encore of Thinking Shakespeare Live!, his 90-minute exploration of the language of Shakespeare. This fast-paced, funny, and altogether fascinating program based on Edelstein's book, Thinking Shakespeare: A How-To Guide for Student Actors, Directors, and Anyone Else Who Wants to Feel More Comfortable with the Bard, reveals a performer's approach to Shakespearean language so audiences may easily understand the poetry of the Bard.

Cast members from the Tony and Grammy Award-winning Best Musical Once will perform at 54 BELOW this Sunday, March 16 at 254 West 54th Street at 11:30pm. The multi-talented cast, including Paul Nolan, Joanna Christie, Adam Wesley Brown, David Patrick Kelly, Katrina Lenk, Brandon McGibbon, Anne L. Nathan, Andy Taylor, Erikka Walsh, Paul Whitty, J. Michael Zygo, Joanne Borts, Brandon Ellis, Elisabeth Evans, Jessie Fisher, Ben Hope, Don Noble, Ari McKay Wilford and more, celebrate St. Patty's a tad early with an evening of their favorite songs as they again bring their myriad of instruments and skills to the 54 Below stage. Cover charge is $20 ($3 extra at the door), with a $20 food and beverage minimum. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 468-7619.

The world premiere of 17 Orchard Point, a new play starring Tony Award-winner Michele Pawk, will begin performances on Friday, April 25 for a limited four-week Off-Broadway run at The Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues) through May 24. Written by Anton Dudley (Substitution, Getting Home) & Stephanie DiMaggio, and directed by Stella Powell-Jones, 17 Orchard Point will have its official opening night on Sunday, May 4 at 7pm. Tickets for 17 Orchard Point are $45 and can be arranged online at www.telecharge.com or 212.239.6200 or at the Theatre Row Box Office located at 410 West 42nd Street. For more information, please visit www.17OrchardPoint.com.

After the critical success of its most recent Off-Broadway production, the Lucille Lortel Award winning All the Rage by Martin Moran (produced with piece by piece productions and The Barrow Group), acclaimed company Rising Phoenix Repertory returns to its longtime downtown home with the world premiere of Barn by Charlotte Miller, directed by Michael Padden. The play will be staged for eleven performances only at the Seventh Street Small Stage, where the company has produced new plays site-specifically for eight years in addition to more than 25 fully produced new plays in its lauded Cino Nights series. The production will run from March 23 - April 10, 2014, and features Brian Miskell, Laura Ramadei, and Sanford Wilson.

Two-time Tony Award-winning Broadway superstar Sutton Foster joins with Broadway favorite Colin Donnell in a new production of the cult musical VIOLET later this season and a look at the actors in rehearsal is now available to view via social media.

The world premiere production of the brand new musical comedy Bullets Over Broadway, written by Woody Allen and based on the screenplay by Allen and Douglas McGrath for the 1994 film, will begin preview performances tomorrow, March 11 and officially open Thursday, April 10, 2014 at The St. James Theatre (246 West 44th Street). The new musical will be directed and choreographed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman. Scroll down to learn more about the Bullets Over Broadway company, and watch interviews with the cast!

Theatre Exile closes its 17th season with the Philadelphia premiere of Annapurna, a moving and explosive new play by critically acclaimed, emerging Broadway playwright Sharr White. Driven by the emotionally charged relationship between a husband and wife, Exile's production stars Barrymore Award-winning actors Pearce Bunting (Exile's A Behanding in Spokane, HBO's Boardwalk Empire) and Catharine Slusar (Iron, Any Given Monday) as Ulysses and Emma. Performances run April 17 - May 11 in Theatre Exile's South Philadelphia Studio X.

ONCE, winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and winner of the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, will play the Benedum Center for a limited engagement from today, March 11 through Sunday, March 16, 2014. ONCE is part of the PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh series, presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Broadway Across America and Pittsburgh Symphony.

Screen Actors Guild Foundation and BroadwayWorld have partnered for an inaugural filmed Conversations Q&A series to recognize and celebrate the vibrant theatre community in New York City and the union actors who aspire to have a career on the stage and screen. The next Career Conversations will feature Kathleen Chalfant on March 19 (2PM)- currently starring in Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of David Grimm's Tales From Red Vienna - and moderated by Broadway World's Richard Ridge of 'Backstage with Richard Ridge!' The event will take place at the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway (1871 Broadway - between 61st and 62nd).

The cast of the Tony and Grammy Award-winning Best musical ONCE will celebrate St. Patrick's Day all week from Tuesday, March 11 through Sunday, March 16.

Two-time Tony Award-winner Sutton Foster returns to Roundabout in the highly anticipated Broadway debut of the musical Violet, following the acclaimed concert performance at City Center Encores! Off-Center. The production just released a new TV spot featuring Foster, Colin Donnell and Joshua Henry, and you can check it out below!

The cast and creative team of the hit Off-Broadway musical Murder For Two are teaming up with some of New York's brightest up and coming composers and BroadwayWorld.com every Monday night for their spring concert series, Murderous Musical Mondays. Composer Ryan Scott Oliver will launch the series on Monday, March 24th, 2014, immediately following the 7pm performance of Murder For Two at New World Stages (Stage 5 - 340 West 50th Street).

This just in! New York City Center's acclaimed Encores! Off-Center series, under the artistic direction of Jeanine Tesori, will return this summer for a second season of landmark Off-Broadway musicals. The season opens with Jonathan Larson's tick, tick… BOOM!, June 25 - 28, starring Lin-Manuel Miranda and Karen Olivo, directed by Oliver Butler, and continues with a one-night only performance of Randy Newman'sFaust: The Concert, with Randy Newman as the Devil, directed by Thomas Kail, on July 1. Pump Boys and Dinettes, withbook, music and lyrics by John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel and Jim Wann , directed by Lear deBessonet and choreographed by Danny Mefford, wraps up the season, running July 16 - 19. Chris Fenwick is the Encores! Off-Center music director.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for Alan Ayckbourn's science fiction comedy Communicating Doors. Eleven plays penned by Alan Ayckbourn have been produced by the Alley, including the American premiere of Henceforward, directed by Ayckbourn, in 1987 and House & Garden in 2002. Alan Ayckbourn has been inducted into the American Theatre's Hall of Fame, received the 2010 Critics' Circle Award for Services to the Arts, became the first British playwright to receive both Olivier and Tony Special Lifetime Achievement Awards and was knighted in 1997 for services to the theatre.

Main Street Theater takes on the work of by Donald Margulies for the first time with its production of Time Stands Still, the latest by the Pulitzer Prize winning playwright. With previews March 22, 23, and 26, Time Stands Still opens March 27 and runs through April 19 at Main Street Theater - Rice Village, 2540 Times Blvd. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Two-time Tony Award-winner Sutton Foster returns to Roundabout in the highly anticipated Broadway debut of the musical Violet, following the acclaimed concert performance at City Center Encores! Off-Center. The production just released a new TV spot, and you can check it out below!

Previews begin tomorrow night, Saturday, March 8, for the return to Broadway of Tony Award-winner and two-time Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington, starring as Walter Lee Younger in Lorraine Hansberry's A RAISIN IN THE SUN. This new production begins previews nearly 55 years to the day that A RAISIN IN THE SUN had its Broadway premiere (March 11, 1959) at the same theatre, the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street). Scroll down to learn more about the cast!

Broadway stars might boast the biggest fan-bases, but without their directors, the vehicle driving their talents could easily swerve off the tracks. Keeping the runaway train at bay are season's bold Broadway 'conductors'. Scroll down to learn more about this season's intrepid and imaginative leaders!

The new musical Rocky is currently in previews at Broadway's historic Winter Garden Theatre ahead of an official bow on March 13. ROCKY brings to life the iconic and inspiring story of struggling small time Philly boxer, Rocky Balboa, who gets a once-in-a-lifetime shot to go the distance against heavyweight champ Apollo Creed. The production is directed by Alex Timbers, and features choreography by Steven Hoggett and Kelly Devine. BroadwayWorld was with the trio as they were hanging out in Times Square and you can check out photos from the special photo shoot below!