Phylicia Rashad News

"Immediate Family," a biting new comedy written by Paul Oakley Stovall and directed by Phylicia Rashad, opens at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum on Sunday, May 3 at 7 p.m. Performances continue through June 7, 2015. (Previews began April 22.) BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: Broadway gets a new HEDWIG, Audra lights up Carnegie Hall and more!

In the fall of 2013, The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC & WQXR undertook a historic undertaking: to record -- for the first time -- all 10 plays from August Wilson's lauded American Century Cycle. Those audio recordings, along with exclusive video excerpts and photographs from the readings, are now being made available for online streaming on a time-limited basis here until August 26, 2015.

Jujamcyn Theaters and True Colors Theatre Company have announced the judges for the 7th Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition on Monday, May 4th at 7:00 p.m. at the August Wilson Theatre (245 West 52nd Street). The event, which is free and open to the public, features high school students from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, Portland and Seattle performing monologues by the late, legendary American playwright.

Giovedi 2 aprile e finalmente uscito in Italia il film 'INTO THE WOODS'. Dopo anni di attesa (la produzione del film e stata annunciata nel 2012), resa ancor piu insostenibile dallo spostamento della data d'uscita dal 25 dicembre (come negli Stati Uniti) al 2 aprile, anche noi poveri e sconsolati italiani possiamo godere di questo spettacolo. Per chi ancora non lo sapesse, 'Into The Woods' e un musical di Stephen Sondheim (musiche e testi) e James Lapine (libretto), che ha debuttato a San Diego nel 1986, per poi aprire a Broadway l'anno successivo. Vincitore complessivamente di 5 Tony Awards (tra il cast originale e il revival), 8 Drama Desks e, per le produzioni inglesi, 4 Olivier Awards, il musical s'ispira ai personaggi delle fiabe, tra cui Cappuccetto Rosso, Raperonzolo, Cenerentola e Jack (di Jack e il fagiolo magico). Le strade dei vari personaggi che animano questo mondo fiabesco s'intrecciano all'interno del bosco, simbolo della vita stessa, dove ognuno insegue il proprio desiderio.

Rehearsals are underway for the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum production of Paul Oakley Stovall's biting new comedy 'Immediate Family,' directed by Phylicia Rashad. Previews begin April 22, with opening set for May 3. Performances will continue through June 7, 2015. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the cast in rehearsal below!

Masterworks Theater Company is proud to announce the cast for the first show of their season: The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. Directed by Christopher Scott, The Glass Menagerie will feature Saundra Santiago ("The Sopranos"), Richard Prioleau (HBO's "A Normal Heart") as Tom, Olivia Washington (Lee Daniels' The Butler), as Laura, and Doug Harris (The Found Dog Ribbon Dance) as Jim. The play will begin May 8 and Open on Thursday, May 14 running through May 30 at the 47th Street Theatre (304 West 47th Street).

Jujamcyn Theaters and True Colors Theatre Company have announced the 7th Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition will take place on Monday, May 4th at 7:00 p.m. at the August Wilson Theatre (245 West 52nd Street). The event, which is free and open to the public, features high school students from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, Porland and Seattle performing monologues by the late, legendary American playwright.

Olivier Award-winning playwright Katori Hall returns to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater with the world premiere of her most personal project to date-the fierce comedy-drama The Blood Quilt. Hall is an inaugural resident playwright of Arena Stage's American Voices New Play Institute, and The Blood Quilt is one of three plays from Hall receiving world premieres around the country this season. Hall reunites with director and Howard University alumna Kamilah Forbes (artistic director of the Hip-Hop Theater Festival) following their Broadway collaboration on The Mountaintop. The Blood Quilt runs April 24-June 7, 2015 in the Kreeger Theater.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad will join Event Chair and Arena Stage Board member Shawna Watley (Senior Policy Advisor with Holland & Knight) as the Honorary Chair for The Blood Quilt World Premiere Celebration on Thursday, May 7, 2015. The new play by Katori Hall (The Mountaintop, Our Lady of Kibeho) is directed by Kamilah Forbes and runs April 24-June 7, 2015 in the Kreeger Theater.

Due to the incredible demand for subscriptions to the 2015/2016 season, La Jolla Playhouse announces a week-long extension for its first two season productions: Come from Away, a world-premiere musical written and composed by David Hein and Irene Sankoff, directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley, as well as for Up Here, a world-premiere musical comedy directed by Alex Timbers (Playhouse's Peter and the Starcatchers), featuring book, music and lyrics by the husband-and-wife team of Robert Lopez (The Book of Mormon, Avenue Q) and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who took home the Academy and Grammy Awards for Best Song with their mega-hit "Let It Go" from the Disney animated film Frozen. Come from Away will now run May 29 - July 5 in the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre, and Up Here will now run July 28 - September 6 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre.

The unique performing arts intensive will take place at the Dallas Convention Center (600 South Griffin Street, Dallas, TX) tonight, March 10 - Saturday, March 14, 2015. The five-day intensive will culminate in a unique Broadway-style concert event featuring performances by Dallas' brightest rising stars on Friday, March 13, 2015 at 8 p.m.

The Alliance Theatre has announced its upcoming production of Blues for an Alabama Sky, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the production's world premiere at the Alliance in 1995. Written by beloved Atlanta author and playwright, Pearl Cleage (What I Learned in Paris, The Nacirema Society…) and directed by Alliance Theatre Jennings Hertz Artistic Director Susan V. Booth, Blues for an Alabama Sky is a timeless look at hopeful dreams in the hopeless days of the waning Harlem Renaissance. Opening night is Wednesday, April 22, 2015.

Ten Chimneys Foundation has announced Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad will serve as the Master Teacher for the 2015 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program, a national program to serve the future of American theatre.

Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose (A Raisin in the Sun) has signed on for the lead role in the CBS civil rights crime drama drama pilot FOR JUSTICE.

The cast is set for the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum production of "Immediate Family" by Paul Oakley Stovall. As the second show in the 48th season at the Mark Taper Forum, the play will begin on April 22 and continues through June 7, 2015, with the opening taking place on May 3.

Variety reports that Phylicia Rashad has signed on to be a series regular in the CBS' drama series FOR JUSTICE.

The DVD is available today, February 24, from PBS Distribution. The documentary is now available to view online.

It's that time of year again! Hollywood heavyweights are flocking to the Dolby Theatre this afternoon to attend the 87th Annual Academy Awards. Like the Golden Globes, presented earlier this year, the roster of nominees are primarily made up of film stars (well, duh!) more so than stage actors, but no fear - there are a considerable amount of this year's candidates with strong theatrical credits.