Marc Shaiman News

Based on the hit DreamWorks film and the incredible true story that inspired it, Catch Me If You Can debuts in Minnesota December 11-16, 2012 at Hennepin Theatre Trust's Orpheum Theatre. It is part of Hennepin Theatre Trust's 2012/13 Broadway Across America-Minneapolis Season. Watch a commercial for the show below!

As Sir Robin carols merrily to King Arthur in Monty Python's Spamalot, 'In any great adventure, if you don't want to lose...you won't succeed on Broadway if you don't have any Jews.'

Based on the hit DreamWorks film and the incredible true story that inspired it, the first national tour of the high-flying Broadway musical CATCH ME IF YOU CAN will land in Milwaukee at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts for a limited engagement on April 23-28, 2013.

As Sir Robin carols merrily to King Arthur in Monty Python's Spamalot, 'In any great adventure, if you don't want to lose…you won't succeed on Broadway if you don't have any Jews.' Eric Idle's cheeky lyric, which unfailingly generated knowing guffaws from Broadway audiences, proves to be more than a little grounded in truth, as BROADWAY MUSICALS: A JEWISH LEGACY convincingly attests.

"Smash" returns to the NBC lineup for a second season on Tuesday, February 5. Below, check out the just-released, extended first look at Season 2, featuring Jennifer Hudson as 'Veronica', Karen (Katharine McPhee)'s new love interest, played by Newsies' Jeremy Jordan, tensions growing between songwriting collaborators Julia (Debra Messing) and Tom (Christian Borle), glimpses of guest stars Sean Hayes and Bernadette Peters and much more!

Hudson, will make an appearance on NBC's 'The Voice' tonight, where she'll debut a special sneak peek of season 2. Tune in at 8pm to catch the first look!

"Smash" returns to the NBC lineup for a second season on Tuesday, February 5 (9-10 p.m. ET) and will continue in its regular time slot on Tuesday, February 12 (10-11 p.m. ET). Minnelli joins other notable guest stars that have been announced for the show's next season, including Jennifer Hudson, Jesse L. Martin and Sean Hayes. Check out a poster for the second season below!

On Saturday, December 8, Tony Award-winning songstress Debbie Gravitte returns to Pace Presents and The Michael Schimmel Center for a reprisal of last year's tremendously popular All-Star Holiday Show. Deemed 'one of the best voices on Broadway' by the Associated Press, Ms. Gravitte celebrates this winter holiday season with the support of a stellar team of Braodway veterans including academy Award-nominated, Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award-winning composer Marc Shaiman (Hairspray, NBC's 'Smash,' Sleepless in Seattle, First Wives Club) as well as Broadway star and Tony-nominee Norm Lewis (Porgy and Bess, The Little Mermaid, Les Miserables) for this all-ages evening of holiday fun.

Based on the hit DreamWorks film and the incredible true story that inspired it, the first national tour of the high-flying Broadway musical Catch Me If You Can will make a stop at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center for a limited engagement December 18-23.

Entertainment superstar Liza Minnelli - winner of an Oscar, two Golden Globes, a Grammy, an Emmy and multiple Tony Awards - will guest-star as herself in NBC's musical drama SMASH in the upcoming season, and will sing an original song with series star Christian Borle that was written by the show's celebrated composer and lyricists Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

Prepare for takeoff - the national touring company of Catch Me if You Can is currently playing at the NC Theatre, in the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium at the Progress Energy Center for Performing arts in downtown Raleigh. Despite a few minutes fixing a technical snafu during opening night, the show is off and running, and audiences are enjoying the upbeat tale of running from the law.

Today BroadwayWorld is particularly proud to present an exceptionally exciting exclusive byway of this career-spanning chat with two-time Tony Award-winning Broadway legend Bernadette Peters. In this all-encompassing conversation we discuss many aspects of her storied career, with a special focus on her upcoming feature film, COMING UP ROSES, which opens this Friday in NYC - a gritty and uncompromising independent feature offering Peters a searing central role as a struggling actress with a teenage daughter (Rachel Brosnahan) and their shared experiences cohabitating in 1980s era New York City. In what very well could be her finest dramatic performance of the new millennium, Peters does it all in COMING UP ROSES; she even gets to sing in it - the soundtrack features a familiar FIDDLER ON THE ROOF tune, a Kander & Ebb gem and even a stirring original song. Additionally, Miss Peters also sheds some light on her role in Season 2 of NBC's hit musical drama series SMASH. Over the course of the discussion we also look back at her exceptional career on stages and screens large and small, touching upon her theatre work with Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber and what roles of theirs she would consider in the future, as well as her experiences sharing the small screen with stars like Megan Hilty, Anjelica Huston and Carol Burnett and acting on the big screen for Woody Allen in ALICE. Plus, Bernadette gives us a tantalizing glimpse of what we can expect from her role in an upcoming animated feature film co-starring SMASH's Hilty and GLEE's Lea Michele, the highly anticipated DOROTHY OF OZ, and shares her satisfaction with her original, Bryan Adams-penned musical material for the forthcoming film. Yes, indeed, everything is definitely coming up roses today on BroadwayWorld and it's all thanks to the one and only Bernadette!

Family, friends, and colleagues will gather to celebrate the life and voice of Broadway librettist Mark O'Donnell on Monday, November 12 at 3pm at Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 West 47th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. Doors will open at 2:30pm and the event is open to the public.

According to Newsday, Tony Award nominee and Broadway star Brian d'Arcy James, who is currently starring in the world premiere of the musical Giant at The Public Theater through December 2, will return to NBC's 'Smash' in the premiere episode of season 2 as Debra Messing's husband 'Frank Houston'.

Catch Me If You Can, the high-flying, splashy new Broadway musical based on the hit DreamWorks film and the incredible true story that inspired it, makes its Minnesota debut at Hennepin Theatre Trust's Orpheum Theatre, December 11-16, 2012. This first national tour captures the astonishing life story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a world-class con artist who passed himself off as a doctor, a lawyer and a jet pilot-all before age 21. Single tickets are on sale now. Catch Me If You Can is presented by Hennepin Theatre Trust as part of its 2012/13 Broadway Across America-Minneapolis Season. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit HennepinTheatreTrust.org or call 1.800.982.2787.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU), now celebrating its 21st year as a not-for-profit service organization, has announced a lineup of Broadway stars performing at their annual TRU Love Benefit, Making the Impossible Possible!.

NBC today announced changes to its 2013 primetime mid-season schedule highlighted by the premieres of three new series, including comedy '1600 Penn,' from one of the architects of 'Modern Family'; an intriguing drama 'Deception' (formerly 'Infamous'); and producer Eva Longoria's big reality relationship show 'Ready for Love.' In addition, several of the network's biggest hits will return, including 'Smash' (February 5), which this season will feature The second season of SMASH will include a growing list of high-profile guest stars, including Nikki Blonsky, Jesse L. Martin, Jeremy Jordan, Sean Hayes and Jennifer Hudson.

Stars of David is a world premiere musical based on Abigail Pogrebin's book, Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish. Nancy is a journalist who doesn't feel a connection with her Jewish heritage and decides to embark on a book project to interview well-known figures about their cultural identity. The interviews result in words, videos and musical portrayals of Gloria Steinem, Leonard Nimoy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Joan Rivers, Aaron Sorkin, Tony Kushner, Fran Drescher and more.