Roald Dahl News

Today we are talking to a terrifically talented twosome who are being touted as the next songwriting duo to take New York by storm - and, with DOGFIGHT appearing Off-Broadway at Second Stage last year and A CHRISTMAS STORY setting Broadway alight for a limited run this past holiday season, they are certainly on the fast-track to success - Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Revealing their reaction to last week's 2013 Tony Award nominations for their stupendous score for the screen-to-stage adaptation of A CHRISTMAS STORY as well as all about the creation and ultimate execution of the show itself, Pasek & Paul open up about their creative process and illustrate what makes their music work so well in a theatrical milieu. Most importantly, the songwriters discuss DOGFIGHT - the inspiration for it, writing of it, the recent Off-Broadway production directed by Joe Mantello, and, now, the absolutely spectacular cast album now available on Ghost light - to say nothing of next week's concert celebrating the album release. Additionally, Pasek & Paul share stories of the songs that make up their popular and frequently-produced EDGES, new and old, as well as their plans for future shows. Plus, all about the new material recently written by the duo for NBC's musical drama series SMASH, details about their stage adaptation of Roald Dahl's seminal children's book JAMES & THE GIANT PEACH as well as opinions on fellow songwriting teams and other influential musical theatre icons, as well as much, much more!

Tony Award nominees Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin, respectively the book writer and composer of MATILDA THE MUSICAL, can be heard this weekend and next week on 'Broadway Names with Julie James,' On Broadway SIRIUSXM 72 tonight, May 11 at 8 PM, Sun May 12 at 12 PM, and Thu May 16 at 9 PM ET and On Demand at SiriusXm.com/ondemand.

This weekend, WABC-7 airs a half-hour special covering highlights of the spring season on Broadway, including ANNIE, THE ASSEMBLED PARTIES, I'LL EAT YOU LAST, JERSEY BOYS, LUCKY GUY, MATILDA THE MUSICAL, MOTOWN THE MUSICAL, PIPPIN, and more. 'Broadway Backstage: Spring Preview' airs on Saturday, May 18 from 7:00-7:30PM.

Earlier today, the cast of MATILDA THE MUSICAL got the chance to speak live with an astronaut on the International Space Station via satellite hook-up provided by NASA. During the event, Astronaut Tom Marshburn (brother-in-law of cast member John Sanders) got to chat with some of the kids and adults from the Tony nominated show. BroadwayWorld was there for the festivities and you can check out full coverage below!

Beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, May 7, MATILDA THE MUSICAL will hold a daily lottery for $27 tickets. Please note that student rush tickets will be discontinued once the lottery begins.

BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was thrilled to sit down and speak with nearly all of this year's Tony Award nominees at the official Tonys Meet & Greet on May 1, 2013, and we will be bringing you special coverage on all of them throughout the awards season. Today we bring you Gabriel Ebert, a nominee for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for Matilda. Check out what he had to say below!

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, written by Christopher Durang, today won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award (NYDCC) for Best Play of the 2012-2013 season. Matilda received the award for Best Musical. The selections were made at the 78th annual voting meeting of the organization today at the offices of Time Out New York in Manhattan.

If you haven't had the chance to catch up on your theater news, look no further than today's recap of all things theater - exclusive features, interviews, reviews and more! - around the Broadway World for the week of April 29!

MATILDA THE MUSICAL had its first national TV appearance on yesterday's 'Good Morning America'. The cast performed the galvanizing 'Revolting Children' and iconic 'Naughty.' Watch the exciting performance below!

I woke up early to watch the Tony nominations. The categories & nominees were announced so fast I could barely register the names, much less process a reaction or live tweet my thoughts! Now that I've had a couple of days to consider the list, here are my very preliminary thoughts about each of the main categories. (Part 1 of 2!)

MATILDA THE MUSICAL will make its first national TV appearance tomorrow Thursday May 2 on "Good Morning America" between 8:30 - 9 AM on ABC (Channel 7 in New York). See the cast perform the galvanizing "Revolting Children" and iconic "Naughty." MATILDA THE MUSICAL opened to rapturous reviews last month and this week received 12 Tony Award nominations including one for Best Musical.

Three contributors to Broadway's newest smash Matilda - composer-lyricist Tim Minchin, librettist Dennis Kelly and actor Bertie Carvel ("Miss Trunchbull"), are the guests on THEATER TALK this week. The program premieres Friday, May 3, 2013 at 1 AM (Saturday morning) on Thirteen/PBS, and repeats in New York City on CUNY TV* Saturday at 8:30 PM, Sunday at 12:30 PM, and Monday at 7:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 7:30 PM.

Kids today face a different world-and a different set of challenges-than did the children of even 15 years ago. Young actors need a highly diversified selection of monologues to choose from when studying, practicing, or auditioning for theatre.

The Theatre By The Sea (TBTS) box office will open Sunday, May 5 for the eagerly awaited 80th Anniversary Season produced by owner Bill Hanney. All tickets will go on sale at 10am by phone (401-782-8587), online (www.theatrebythesea.com) or in person at 364 Cards Pond Road in Matunuck, RI. Patrons who visit the box office in person on May 5 are encouraged to bring their family to enjoy complimentary light snacks and explore the beautiful seaside grounds.

Lauded musical theatre composing duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul will join special guests for a one-night-only concert event at Joe's Pub on May 15 in support of the release of the Ghostlight recording of their new original cast album for DOGFIGHT.

The Royal Shakespeare Company's world premiere production of Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical has captured the imagination of young and old alike and continues to play to packed houses at London's Cambridge Theatre. It swept the board at last year's Laurence Olivier Awards, winning a record-breaking seven awards.

Heather has grown up on Broadway, going from Baby June to Little Who to Ballet Girl to a partly adult role now.