Romeo & Juliet News

Suffolk County Community College is pleased to announce that The Long Island Shakespeare Festival will offer free public performances of an abridged version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet during summer 2013. The 13th season performances will be presented, rain or shine, at Suffolk County Community College's Ammerman Campus in Selden. The performances are free to the public and are funded by the Suffolk Community College Association - Ammerman Campus.

ABTKids Workshop Series, one-hour activity-based programs to introduce children to the ballet, will present a Romeo & Juliet Pre-Performance Workshop, suited for ages 10-16, on Saturday, June 15 at 11:00 AM and a Sylvia Pre-Performance Workshop, for children ages 6-12, on Saturday, June 29 at 11:00 AM in the rehearsal studios at the Metropolitan Opera House.

The new stage musical KING KONG began previews this weekend for an exclusive season at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, with an official opening night of June 13. As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the show is already casting its eye towards Broadway, with a hopeful launch as early as 2014. Below, check out Sarah McLachlan take to the piano to perform the song she wrote for the show, 'What's It Gonna Take!'

One of the best kept secrets in show business has finally been revealed - Creature Designer Sonny Tilders' incredible 6 metre, 1.1 tonne silverback King Kong made his public debut today (28 May) at Melbourne's Regent Theatre at his first preview performance 28 May.

One of the most anticipated stage debuts in recent Australian history has just been revealed as creature Designer Sonny Tilders' incredible 6 metre, 1.1 tonne silverback King Kong made his public debut today at Melbourne's Regent Theatre ahead of his first preview performance on 28 May. Check out two numbers below form the press preview, including 'Full Moon Lullaby' featuring Kong and Esther Hannaford as Ann Darrow Music by Marius de Vries and Lyrics by Michael Mitnick, and 'The Chase' featuring Kong with Music by Marius de Vries sampling Justice's 'Genesis'.

The new stage musical KING KONG begins previews tonight for an exclusive season at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, with an official opening night of June 13. As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the show is already casting its eye towards Broadway, with a hopeful launch as early as 2014. Below, check out a report from Australia's news program SUNDAY NIGHT, which features a behind-the-scenes look at the show's rehearsals!

King KongThe Age ran a video today of Leigh-Anne Vizer, stunt double for the new KING KONG musical, screaming in the clutches of the gorilla from the side of the Eureka Tower in Melbourne. The stunt took place to drum up publicity for the stage production. Go behind the scenes in the video below!

The Great Gatsby, the companion album to the Baz Luhrmann-directed movie of the same name, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart this week, selling 136,840 copies and becoming the best-selling movie soundtrack since The Hunger Games. This is the third soundtrack from a Baz Luhrmann film to reach the top three, following William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!

Producer Global Creatures have today released an 8-track preview of the score of KING KONG which features the work of some of the world's best contemporary artists, including 3D from Massive Attack, Sarah McLachlan, Justice, Guy Garvey from Elbow and The Avalanches. The music is being overseen by composer and arranger Marius de Vries, whose credits include the soundtracks for Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet. Click below to listen!

StageLight Entertainment will present A Musical Theater Master Class with Anthony Rapp (Broadway RENT, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown) at The BACCA Center, 149 Wellwood Ave, Lindenhurst NY, on Saturday May 18th at 7pm.

The new stage musical KING KONG, premieres 15 June 2013 for an exclusive season at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne, Australia. As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the show is already casting its eye towards Broadway, with a hopeful launch as early as 2014. CLICK HERE to watch a video of the Australian cast in action!

MCC Theater today announced a one-night only reading of Playwright-in-Residence Neil LaBute's acclaimed play, The Mercy Seat, on June 17, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC).

Tony Award-winning actor Brent Carver returns to Broadway this August, to play Friar Laurence in the new Broadway production of Shakespeare's timeless love story ROMEO AND JULIET, starring international film star Orlando Bloom and Tony Award nominee Condola Rashad as Shakespeare's titular star-crossed lovers. Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper also joins the cast, taking on the role of Lord Capulet, in place of the previously announced Joe Morton, who is unable to continue with the production due to scheduling conflicts with his recurring role on a television series.

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner, will present its annual Monday Night Open Rehearsal Series, this year featuring Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. On three Monday evenings - May 13, May 20 and June 3 - different actors and directors will explore the text of Romeo & Juliet, giving theater-goers the opportunity to become part of the discovery process, and experience different acting approaches and directorial interpretations of one of Shakespeare's most cherished plays. CSC will open its 2013/2014 season with a new production of Romeo & Juliet starring Elizabeth Olsen. Here is the line-up for this year's Open Rehearsal series.

The Jeff Awards Committee today announced 120 nominations in 25 categories of Non-Equity Jeff Awards for productions that opened between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2013. The Non-Equity Awards honor excellence in Chicago theatres not under a union contract. Jeff judges attended opening nights of 146 productions offered by 65 Non-Equity producing organizations. The judges recommended 54 of those shows, making them eligible for Non-Equity Jeff Award nominations. Thirty-three theatre companies received nominations.

TITAN Theatre Company continues to build its reputation for creating stripped down, muscular, and visceral productions of the Bard's works. Anticipating that Romeo & Juliet will be no different, this unique 'Two Hours Traffic' perspective will have audiences on the edge of their seats waiting to see how this well-known story ends.

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 15!

Deadline reports that Paul Sorvino has joined the cast of Elizabeth Allen's CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR. The actor will join previously announced cast members Nick Jonas, Isabel Lucas, Graham Rogers and Dermot Mulroney.