Martyn Axe News

BWW Review: THANKFUL: A BENEFIT ALBUM FOR JERAD BORTZ Provides Broadway inspiration on Rock-It Science Records

Jerad Bortz and Steven Skeels are launching THE THANKFUL PROJECT, a weekly chat series in partnership with BroadwayWorld.

Jerad Bortz and Steven Skeels today announced that THANKFUL: A Benefit Album for Jerad Bortz will be available for pre-order beginning Friday, October 23 on iTunes. The album will officially be released on Friday, November 27. The featured vocalists on THANKFUL include Annaleigh Ashford, Shoshana Bean, Stephanie J. Block, and more.

SCHOOL OF ROCK - THE MUSICAL is bursting with kids, all of them bursting with talent. Based on the 2003 movie starring Jack Black, the stage version is the brainchild of Andrew Lloyd Webber, a guy who knows a thing or two about creating successful musicals. Nominated for four 2016 Tony Awards, the show ran for more than three years on Broadway, a little over a year in London, and the national tour has been on the road since September, 2017. It's a feel good musical with a happy ending, something to lighten up the winter doldrums.

Make no mistake about it: School of Rock isn't your mum's - nor your nan's - Andrew Lloyd Webber musical extravaganza. There are no massive chandeliers to come crashing into the orchestra, no fascist dictators to fear, no silent screen divas yearning for a comeback, nor are there are any human-sized felines staring at you across the footlights. Nope, Sir Andrew (as he's known across the pond) has crafted an energetic rock musical that's based on a movie that starred Jack Black and it will rock your freakin' socks off!

When it comes to seeing a fresh new show with low or even non-existent expectations, nothing is more pleasurable and satisfying than walking out at the end of it with a huge, beaming smile on your face. That was the giddy communal feeling that I and an ecstatic audience experienced recently during the highly enjoyable Orange County opening night performance of SCHOOL OF ROCK - The Musical, the charming 2015 Broadway musical now continuing its national tour stop at Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center for the Arts for two weeks through August 5. While certainly not a groundbreaking, game-changing musical by any means, the nonetheless engaging SCHOOL OF ROCK is a definite crowdpleaser worth checking out. The kids in the show? Spectacular!

Rocking performances by super kids and Rob Colletti make the National Tour of SCHOOL OF ROCK a riproaring good time. Now at ASU Gammage through June 24th.

Over time, we have come to a point where the musical theater genre is as identifiable as any other genre. In today's age, we have come full circle in that the line between musical theater and other genres is thinner than ever. Lin Manuel's Hamilton is a perfect example of the next generation of musical theater, as is DCPA's latest touring production, School of Rock

Dance at the Voelker Orth Museum and Garden presents Valerie Green/Dance Entropy in Impermanent Landscape on Sunday, August 20th at 2pm at Voelker Orth Museum, 149-19 38th Avenue, Flushing, NY 11354.

Valerie Green/Dance Entropy presents Impermanent Landscape, an outdoor performance set against the striking backdrop of the Manhattan skyline, June 28th at 7pm.

Valerie Green/Dance Entropy presents Impermanent Landscape, an evening length performance in the round at Danspace Project, June 1-3 at 8pm. Admission: Advance tickets: $22 General / $15 Members. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $25 (cash or check only), pending availability. Box Office: (866) 811-4111, www.DanspaceProject.org

Join Treehouse Shakers, an award-winning dance and theater company, with their newest dance-play, Under the Tangle. Under the Tangle takes family audiences on a theatrical journey that is filled with surprise, wonder and discovery.

In celebration of Green Space's 10-year anniversary Valerie Green/Dance Entropy presents Impermanent Landscape, an evening length performance in the round. Green Space, March 17-19 at 8pm and 20 at 5pm. Admission: Pre sale tickets $20 available on-line at www.DanceEntropy.org. Tickets at the door $25.

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Rachelle Rak in Sas with one 'S' Sunday, January 4, 2015 and Thursday, January 29, 2015. In her world premiere show, Sas with One S , Broadway's Rachelle Rak is going to share her strength, her passion, and her Sas with you.

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Rachelle Rak in Sas with one 'S' Sunday, January 4, 2015 and Thursday, January 29, 2015. In her world premiere show, Sas with One S , Broadway's Rachelle Rak is going to share her strength, her passion, and her Sas with you.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) and Mount Elise Entertainment, in association with Kim Vasquez / Gray Lady Entertainment, present the American premiere of DEPLOYED the musical. With a book, music and lyrics by Jessy Brouillard, music direction by Martyn Axe, and direction by Mindy Cooper, DEPLOYED begins its limited engagement in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 W. 42nd Street) on Wednesday, July 16th, 2014. Featuring Natalie Toro, (Les Miserables, A Tale of Two Cities), Janice Landry, Nina Negron and Bryant Martin, BroadwayWorld brings you a first look of the DEPLOYED cast suited up and in action below!

Recently the NYMF production of DEPLOYED the musical gave fans a sneak peek into their rehearsal process. With a soaring pop rock score and set against the epic backdrop of a military base in Baghdad, DEPLOYED follows Emily's emotional journey. Our heroine develops an unlikely friendship with her interpreter, Laila, as she trains Iraqi women. Laila teaches Emily to appreciate others' suffering and to realize the enemy she's fighting is herself. When Emily finally lets go of her inner demons, a secret from the past comes back to wreak its revenge. They cannot forget...but can they forgive?

The hysterical new musical Academia Nuts has been selected to kick off the first week of the celebrated New York Musical Theatre Festival with performances from July 9-13, 2014 at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street). Academia Nuts has book and lyrics by Becca Anderson & Dan Marshall, and music by Julian Blackmore, with direction by Thomas Caruso, musical direction by Martyn Axe, and choreography by Ryan Kasprzak. It is produced by Charissa Bertels in association with CAP21 Theatre Company. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the cast in rehearsal!

THE NEW YORK MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL (NYMF) and Mount Elise Entertainment, in association with Kim Vasquez / Gray Lady Entertainment, are pleased to announce the American premiere of DEPLOYED the musical. With a book, music and lyrics by Jessy Brouillard, music direction by Martyn Axe, and direction by Mindy Cooper, DEPLOYED begins its limited engagement in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 W. 42nd Street) on Wednesday, July 16th, 2014.

The hysterical new musical Academia Nuts has been selected to kick off the first week of the celebrated New York Musical Theatre Festival with performances from July 9-13, 2014 at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street). Academia Nuts has book and lyrics by Becca Anderson & Dan Marshall, and music by Julian Blackmore, with direction by Thomas Caruso, musical direction by Martyn Axe, and choreography by Ryan Kasprzak. It is produced by Charissa Bertels in association with CAP21 Theatre Company.