Mary Rodgers News

Starkville High School and International Thespian Troupe 1180 presents Freaky Friday, with special arrangement with Music Theatre International.

This year's Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals is going virtual! In what has become an annual ritual, a total of 20 established and emerging composers, lyricists and librettists representing 11 new musicals will gather in a unique virtual space April 18 – May 1, 2021.

Chiswick Playhouse will mark its reopening with a socially distanced festival of magic, musicals, comedy and more! There will be premieres, hilarious stand-up and dreamy music with artists including star of stage and screen, Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey; Lovejoy); comedy legend, Andy Parsons (Mock the Week); and comedian and TV personality, Judi Love (Loose Women).

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the 91 greatest Sondheim songs from stage, screen and beyond. See if your favorites made the cut! What's at #1?

Seton Hill University Department of Theatre & Dance presents The Goldrich & Heisler Cabarets, a special two-part series of streamed recorded performances featuring the music of Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler.  

THE SPOTLIGHT SERIES, a bi-monthly live streamed concert series created by A LITTLE NEW MUSIC will “spotlight” the music of composer/lyricist team Tim Rosser and Charlie Sohne on March 23rd. The evening will be co-hosted by ALNM co-producers Luke H. Klipp and Kila Packett.

The Dramatists Guild of America will welcome two new members to its Council, Ty Defoe and Rona Siddiqui. The Guild is governed by a board of directors (Council) elected from its membership. These writers, in various stages of their theatrical careers, meet monthly to decide policy for the Guild. 

FREAKY FRIDAY, presented by the SCERA’s nationally award-winning high school performing team, Acting Up!, is a cut above the average high school performance. It is a vivacious, thoroughly enjoyable production on any level.

The Alliance Theatre today announced updates to its 2020/21 season, including a new “Under The Tent” series to provide more socially-distanced performance options.  The “Under the Tent” series will include a concert staging of the Broadway hit WORKING: A MUSICAL, as well as concert-style performances of BEAUTIFUL BLACKBIRD LIVE and more.

Ars Nova, has announced its second slate of 2021 programming including six new events curated by composer Rona Siddiqui as part of the new Ars Nova Vision Residency program. All events will take place on Ars Nova Supra, a new streaming platform from Ars Nova that showcases some of New York City’s most promising emerging artists.

SCERA Center for the Arts is mounting Disney’s “Freaky Friday: The Musical” which will begin – of course – on a Friday. Playing February 5-20, the hilarious and surprisingly heartfelt show highlights a musical score by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, a duo that shares a Pulitzer Prize for their musical talents.

THE SPOTLIGHT SERIES, a bi-monthly live streamed concert series created by A LITTLE NEW MUSIC will “spotlight” the music of composer/lyricist, Rona Siddiqui on December 15th. 

92Y has announced Lyrics & Lyricists Preludes: THE THEME FROM…: SONGS WRITTEN FOR FILM, hosted by Tony- nominated actor Beth Malone, and featuring appearances from Nikki Renée Daniels, Brandon Victor Dixon, Kara Lindsay, Julia Murney, and more!

Tickets for each of the online events are available at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org. Links are available for viewing 72 hours after purchase.  Porchlight also announces the return of the popular series celebrating the 90th birthday of Stephen Sondheim, Sondheim@90 Roundtable with Michael Weber. The series returns Saturday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. CST with a discussion on Road Show with guests Deanna Dunagan, Chris Jones and Michael Mahler.

It is said that Jule Styne published over 1,500 songs in his lifetime, a staggering number that spans decades and includes some of the biggest hits in the history of popular song. His lyricists were such names as Frank Loesser ('I Don't Want To Walk Without You'), Sammy Cahn ('It's Magic'), Betty Comden & Adolph Green ('Just in Time'), and more.

The Hermitage Artist Retreat's popular beachfront series continues with 'Illuminating the Transcendent,' with composers Krists Auznieks and Robert Pound and poet Jason Schneiderman, Friday, December 4, 5 p.m.

In a loose song cycle format, this program will weave his work with the charming and witty creations of daughter Mary Rodgers (Once Upon a Mattress) and the complex and extraordinary palette of grandson Adam Guettel (The Light in the Piazza, Floyd Collins ), as we look toward the progression of musicals over the decades and into the future.

Recently, Laura Benanti released her delightful self-titled debut album on Sony Masterworks. The record springs to life with light jazz covers of cherished classic and contemporary pop hits.

Tony-nominee Brandon Victor Dixon has joined the ensemble of Lyrics & Lyricists Preludes - Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt: Simple Little Things at 92Y.

The Manhattan Association of Cabarets (MAC) has announced the 2020 winners of the Dottie Burman and John Wallowitch songwriting awards. Each recipient receives $500.