Natasha Katz News

It's magnifique! AN AMERICAN IN PARIS will stage a reunion with its original leading duo in the West End.

As BroadwayWorld reported earlier this morning, stage favorite Betsy Wolfe, known for her star-making turns in Off-Broadway's THE LAST FIVE YEARS and Woody Allen's BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, is attached to play the lead role of Elsa in Disney's stage adaptation of FROZEN. In honor of the big news, BWW brings you a look back at some of Wolfe's top performances!

Betsy Wolfe has nabbed the lead role of Princess Elsa in Disney's upcoming stage adaptation of FROZEN!

Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, the award-winning worldwide smash hit Broadway musical, returns to Cincinnati as a season special for Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati presented by TriHealth. Produced by NETworks Presentations, the elaborate theatrical production comes to life on stage at the Aronoff Center beginning today, April 20. The show will continue through April 24, 2016.

?Inspired by Belle's generous heart and love of books in Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Broadway in Cincinnati is collecting children's books to help further the good work of the inspiring local non-profit Adopt a Book.

Just this morning, Something Rotten and Spotlight star Brian d'Arcy James along with this season's break-out and genuflecting sensation Jennifer Simard from Broadway's Disaster announced the The Outer Critics Circle nominees for the 2015-16 season from New York's legendary Algonquin Hotel (59 W 44th Street.)  Outer Critics Circle nominations are the first major Broadway/Off-Broadway award nominees of the New York theater season.

This week, a high-energy combination of the Motor City and the Great White Way burst into Louisville with the current Broadway Series production, Motown: the Musical, at the Kentucky Center.

Roundabout Theatre Company, in association with Ryan Murphy, presents Eugene O'Neill's LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, starring Academy and Emmy Award winner Jessica Lange as 'Mary Tyrone,' Golden Globe winner and Tony Award nominee Gabriel Byrneas 'James Tyrone,' Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon as 'James Tyrone, Jr.,' Tony Award winner John Gallagher Jr. as 'Edmund Tyrone,' and Colby Minifie as 'Cathleen.' BroadwayWorld has a first look at the stars onstage below!

The Tony Award-winning hit musical AN AMERICAN IN PARIS celebrates its first year on Broadway tonight, Tuesday, April 12. Since it opened on April 12, 2015 at the Palace Theatre, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS has played 416 regular performances and 29 previews and has been seen by over 650,000 people. Following the performance on April 12, the cast will be treated to a special anniversary cake provided by Carlo's Bakery.

Producers Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris and Berry Gordy just announced complete casting for the Broadway return of Motown The Musical, beginning performances Tuesday, July 12 at The Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41Street) for a strictly limited 18-week-only engagement through Sunday, November 13, 2016.

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS moved to Broadway following its world premiere in December, 2014 at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. It is directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, making his Broadway directing debut. Featuring music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and a book by Tony and Pulitzer Prize nominee Craig Lucas, the creative team also includes Tony Award winners Bob Crowley (sets and costumes), Natasha Katz (lighting) and Jon Weston (sound) with a musical score adapted and supervised by Rob Fisher. Bartlett Sher is creative consultant. Based on the Academy Award winning film inspired by the 1928 orchestral composition by George Gershwin, An American in Paris brings this classic tale to Broadway for the first time.

The National Touring Production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, directed by three-time Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien, breathes new life into the venerable hills and introduces a star-in-the-making. Vivacious and talented Kerstin Anderson captivates us from the opening strains of the title song, and her passion and energy propel the show forward. More than five decades after its Broadway premiere, the powerful message of the story and the superb Rodgers and Hammerstein score still resonate.

Disney's Aladdin, the hit Broadway musical, will convert its in-person lottery into a digital lottery for a limited number of $30 tickets to every performance via AladdinTheMusical.com/lottery.

Single tickets to Lincoln Center Festival shows-highlights this year include legendary stars of Japan's all-female musical troupe, Takarazuka, in Takarazuka CHICAGO; Jonathan Pryce as Shylock in Shakespeare'sGlobe production of The Merchant of Venice; Balkan superstar Goran Bregovic and his raucous Wedding and Funeral Orchestra; and the National Ballet of Canada performances of Christopher Wheeldon's The Winter's Tale-will go on sale to Friends of Lincoln Center on April 1 and to the general public on April 11. The festival runs from Wednesday, July 13 through Sunday, July 31, 2016, with 49 performances by artists and ensembles from seven countries taking place in seven venues on and off the Lincoln Center campus.

Broadway In Chicago has announced that individual tickets for THE SOUND OF MUSIC, directed by three-time Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien, go on sale to the public on Tuesday, April 5. THE SOUND OF MUSIC will play the Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W Randolph) for a limited two-week engagement, June 7-19.

AMERICAN HORROR STORY's Angela Bassett, who has appeared on Broadway herself in THE MOUNTAINTOP and JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE, attended last night's performance of Aladdin and stopped backstage to pose for a photo with 'Genie' James Monroe Iglehart. Check it out below!

Broadway In Chicago has announced that individual tickets for the return engagement Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the award-winning worldwide smash hit Broadway musical, will go on sale on Friday, March 25. Produced by NETworks Presentations, this elaborate theatrical production will come to life on stage at the Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W Randolph) for a limited one-week engagement, May 24-29, 2016. For information on the production, visit www.BeautyAndTheBeastOnTour.com. In 2015, Disney's Beauty and the Beast played Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre for a sold-out limited one-week engagement.

Disney's Aladdin, the hit Broadway musical, celebrates its second anniversary this Sunday, March 20th, 2016 at The New Amsterdam Theatre (214 W 42nd Street).

Frozen might not arrive on Broadway until 2018, but preparations for the stage musical are already beginning. According to an Equity casting notice, a developmental lab will be held this spring, with rehearsals running April 30 through May 13. Auditions commence for the roles of Anna (late teens to 20s) and Elsa (20s to early 30s) later this month. Auditions for the Denver and Broadway productions will not begin until summer 2016.

No doubt one of the greatest classic Disney films of all time, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has launched a new NETworks tour, which reunites original Broadway director, Rob Roth, choreographer, Matt West, along with the original design team, including Ann Hould-Ward (costume designer), Natasha Katz (Lighting Designer), Stanley A. Meyer (Scenic Designer), John Petrafesa Jr. (Sound Designer) and Music Supervision by Michael Kosarin.