Lucille Lortel News

The Muny announced principal casting for the second show of its fantastic 95th Season, Dreamworks Shrek The Musical, directed by John Tartaglia and choreographed by Vince Pesce. Shrek is sponsored by US Bank.

Due to strong demand, The Public Theater has announced a four week extension for the critically acclaimed world premiere musical HERE LIES LOVE, with concept and lyrics by David Byrne, music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, additional music by Tom Gandey and J Pardo, and choreography by Annie-B Parson. Directed by Alex Timbers, HERE LIES LOVE officially opened on Tuesday, April 23 and has been extended for a third time to Sunday, June 30. A new block of tickets is on sale now and can be purchased at (212) 967-7555, www.publictheater.org, or in person at The Public Theater box office at 425 Lafayette Street.

Primary Stages has announced the fourth production of their upcoming 29th Season: A new production of their 1995 Obie Award-winning THE MODEL APARTMENT by Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies.

Tony nominee Neil LaBute's world premiere adaptation of August Strindberg's Miss Julie, starring Tony nominee Lily Rabe (American Horror Story, Merchant of Venice), Broadway actress Laura Heisler (Lucille Lortel and Drama League nominee) and Logan Marshall-Green (Julie Taymor's Across the Universe) opens in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse on May 1 and runs through June 2, 2013. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

MCC Theater today announced a one-night only reading of Playwright-in-Residence Neil LaBute's acclaimed play, The Mercy Seat, on June 17, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC).

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner, will present its annual Monday Night Open Rehearsal Series, this year featuring Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. On three Monday evenings - May 13, May 20 and June 3 - different actors and directors will explore the text of Romeo & Juliet, giving theater-goers the opportunity to become part of the discovery process, and experience different acting approaches and directorial interpretations of one of Shakespeare's most cherished plays. CSC will open its 2013/2014 season with a new production of Romeo & Juliet starring Elizabeth Olsen. Here is the line-up for this year's Open Rehearsal series.

The Irish Repertory Theatre (132 West 22nd Street) continues its seventh season of the Irish Rep Reading Series, with a free reading of Nate Rufus Edelman's THE BELLE OF BELFAST on Friday, April 26 at 3:00 p.m. at the Irish Repertory Theatre (132 West 22nd Street).

There are only a few more performances to catch for Gerard Alessandrini's FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: ALIVE AND KICKING! at the 47th Street Theatre (304 West 47th Street). The smash musical, which received unanimous raves from critics and audiences alike, broke all box-office records at the 47th Street Theatre and won spots on the Top Ten Lists of Time Magazine and the Associated Press, will begin its hiatus on Sunday, April 28, in order to make room for The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre's own season, as required by the show's lease agreement with the theatre.

Portland Center Stage (PCS) is pleased to announce that Broadway's Andrew Samonskywill now star in the upcoming world-premiere production of the new musical Somewhere in Time, based on the novel by renowned authorRichard Matheson (I Am Legend, What Dreams May Come) and the subsequent hit film starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour and Christopher Plummer.

Susanna Salk, author of "A Privileged Life: Celebrating WASP Style," will speak at "Books Worth Talking About," on Tuesday, May 7, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the Lucille Lortel White Barn Center at Westport Country Playhouse. David Smith, of Cablevision, will moderate.

Profiles Theatre Artistic Directors Darrell W. Cox and Joe Jahraus announce the 25th Anniversary Season featuring a full slate of new and challenging works premiering at the Profiles Theatre Complex on North Broadway. The upcoming season features six productions including the Midwest premieres of Wrecks by Neil LaBute, the award-winning play Cock by Mike Bartlett, Hunter Gatherers by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, In God's Hat by Rhett Rossi and Gidion's Knot by Johnna Adams. Additionally, Profiles acclaimed production of Hellcab by Will Kern, one of Chicago theatre's longest running hits, returns for the holiday season. These six productions alternate between Profiles' two venues, The Main Stage at 4139 N. Broadway and The Alley Stage at 4147 N. Broadway.

Thirty years after directing and choreographing the Odyssey Theatre's award-winning West Coast premiere, and following a wildly successful Off Broadway revival at the York Theatre last season, Bill Castellino reunites with musical directorGerald Sternbach to charm audiences with a revitalized, updated version of Ionescopade at theOdyssey Theatre beginning May 31.

The National Symphony Orchestra Pops will present three performances of The Wizard and I: The Musical Journey of Stephen Schwartz May 16-18 in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Led by Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke, the performances feature performances by Jeremy Jordan, Norm Lewis, Julia Murney, Jennifer Laura Thompson, and The Washington Chorus. The performances celebrate Stephen Schwartz's 65th birthday as well as the 10th anniversary of the perennially "popular" Wicked.

Roundabout is racking up the nominations! Check back to see updates throughout the awards season.

Yellow Sound Label's world premiere recording of MURDER BALLAD, the critically acclaimed new musical by Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash, directed by Trip Cullman, will be released on Tuesday, May 28. The album, Produced by Michael Croiter, will be available on Amazon, iTunes, and elsewhere music is sold. For additional information and to pre-order the world premiere cast recording, visit: www.yellowsoundlabel.com

Arthur Darvill and Joanna Christie will make their Broadway debuts starring in the 8-time Tony Award-winning Best Musical ONCE at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre beginning Tuesday, April 23rd. The actors will take over from the temporary leads Ben Hope and Laura Dreyfuss, who, as planned and scheduled, will resume being standbys for 'Guy' and 'Girl.'