Second Stage News

Little Miss Sunshine herself, Hannah Nordberg, just viisted the show and posed with the hilarious MURDER FOR TWO duo (in cutout form). BroadwayWorld brings you an exclusive photo from backstage below!

A new production of Johann Strauss Jr.'s New Year's Eve classic, the comedic operetta Die Fledermaus, will open at the Met on December 31. Jeremy Sams, writer and creator of the Met's Baroque pastiche The Enchanted Island, makes his company debut as director with the new staging, which is set in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century. Sams also contributes new lyrics for Strauss's work, which will be performed entirely in English; Tony Award-nominated playwright Douglas Carter Beane makes his Met debut with new dialogue. Adam Fischer conducts a cast of rising opera stars and Broadway performers. The cast is led by Susanna Phillips and Christopher Maltman as the unhappily married Rosalinde and Eisenstein; Jane Archibald as Rosalinde's feisty maid, Adele; Anthony Roth Costanzo as Prince Orlofsky; Michael Fabiano as Rosalinde's former lover, Alfred; Paulo Szot as the bumbling Dr. Falke; and Patrick Carfizzi as the prison superintendent, Frank. Broadway stars Danny Burstein and Betsy Wolfe make Met debuts as the drunken jailer, Frosch, and Adele's sister, Ida. Robert Jones is set and costume designer for the production, with lighting design by Jennifer Schriever and choreography by Stephen Mear in their Met debuts.

Producers Jeffrey Richards, Stacey Mindich, and Jerry Frankel announced today that Tony Award nominee Hunter Foster (Little Shop of Horrors) will join the cast of The Bridges of Madison County, the new musical based on the best selling novel by Robert James Waller.

TheaterWorks will present the holiday World Premiere Christmas on the Rocks -- an offbeat collection of twisted holiday tales by multiple nationally known playwrights. These darkly humorous stories run tonight, December 3 through 22, 2013.

After beginning his career in 1993, longtime theatrical press agent MICHAEL HARTMAN, founder and CEO of one of the largest and most successful theatrical publicity firms in New York, will say goodbye to Broadway and close THE HARTMAN GROUP on Sunday, January 5, 2014, remaining fully operational until then.

2014 Winter/Spring Cleveland Theater Offerings

Primary Stages continues their 29th season with The Tribute Artist, a new world premiere comedy written by and starring Tony-nominee Charles Busch (The Divine Sister, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Olive and the Bitter Herbs). Directed by Busch's long-time collaborator Carl Andress (The Divine Sister, The Third Story), the cast will also feature Mary Bacon (Harrison, TX...; Giant), Cynthia Harris (Lost in Yonkers, 'Mad About You'), Julie Halston (Olive and the Bitter Herbs, Anything Goes) Keira Keeley (Angels in America, The Glass Menagerie), and Jonathan Walker (The Assembled Parties, The Divine Sister). The Tribute Artist runs January 21-March 16 at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters. Opening night is Sunday, February 9 at 6pm.

Tampa, FL

A slew of Broadway favorites will return to Broadway in the upcoming theatre season, including Will Swenson, who will will star as 'Javert' in Les Miserables (set to open at the Imperial Theatre on March 23, 2014).

'This is our dream come true,' said Carla and Jorge Suarez, owners of Agora Art Studios during the soft opening of the art gallery and art store in historic South Norfolk, Chesapeake, VA, that took place last week. In this first phase, Agora - which was a central spot in ancient Greece meaning 'gathering place' or 'assembly' - has created an inspiring venue where jewelry, ceramics, and paintings by artists from around the world are displayed and brought closer to the public in a distinct, different format. They will also be offering free live-demos of art restoration and painting process on an ongoing basis. Carla and Jorge Suarez left behind their successful professional IT careers in Europe for the world of art. To display in their art store they have selected, among others, unique pieces such as hand-crafted Spanish jewelry with ancient beads, Italian designer jewelry in silver and semi-precious stones, and Peruvian ceramics created using an ancient method from pre-Incan cultures that existed 2500 years ago. In addition, the gallery currently exhibits paintings by Jacek Stroinski, Marta Duran and gallery owner Jorge Suarez, who is not only an artist but also an antique art restorer. 'We are very excited with the idea of creating a unique and original venue solely dedicated to art, and appreciate the support of South Norfolk's businesses and the community,' stated Jorge Suarez. In a second stage, Agora Art Studios will open eighteen art studios for rent, with a vision to creating not only a cultural environment but an artistic community as well. In a third and final stage, the huge outdoor patio will be set up to organize art-related events such as open-air markets, fairs, etc.

Tony nominee, two time Drama Desk nominee, Theatre World Award and Obie winner Daniel Breaker, most recently seen in Shakespeare in the Park's Love's Labour's Lost, returns to Joe's Pub tonight, November 25th at 9:30pm.

It's Official! Sutton Foster is coming BACK to Broadway, as Roundabout Theatre Company has just announced that it will present two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster in a Broadway production of VIOLET (first seen as part of Encores! Off-Center concert series in 2013), directed by Leigh Silverman. Based on the short story 'The Ugliest Pilgrim' by Doris Betts, VIOLET features music by Jeanine Tesori and book & lyrics by Brian Crawley. VIOLET will be produced in association with Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, David Mirvish, Barry and Fran Weissler, Elizabeth Armstrong, and Mary Jo and Ted Shen.

Today we are talking to a terrifically talented and versatile stage and screen performer who has excelled in many arenas throughout her compellingly varied career - comedy, drama, stand-up, cabaret, jazz and beyond - the fiercely, fabulously idiosyncratic and ebulliently engaging Lea DeLaria. Espousing upon a wide range of topics and tracing her unique professional trajectory thus far, DeLaria sheds some light on a few of her most fondly remembered stage roles - revivals of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW and ON THE TOWN on Broadway, as well as Off-Broadway turns in LITTLE FISH and PROMETHEUS BOUND included - as well as recounts her experiences participating in a handful of feature films, new and old, as well - including the recent Hallmark original movie musical DEAR DUMB DIARY. Most importantly, DeLaria recounts her experiences starring on the Netflix mega-hit series ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK and offers a glimpse of the major impact that the pop culture lynchpin has had on her own life since its 2013 debut - while also preliminarily previewing what we can expect from Season Two, too. Plus, DeLaria reflects on her recording legacy, detailing the conception and production of some choice cuts from her many arresting albums - such as 'Broadway Baby', 'The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd', 'Puff' and 'Sleigh Ride' - as well as shares first news on her new album project, highlighting the music and lyrics of David Bowie. Additionally, DeLaria teases her upcoming scandalously titled series of holiday-themed shows at NYC cabaret hotspot 54 Below occurring in late December while also offering her candid perspective on favorite Christmas tunes and the season itself. All of that, FURTHER TALES OF THE CITY memories and much more in this engaging conversation with a true Broadway and Hollywood original.

The critically-acclaimed FURIOUS THEATRE COMPANY will present the second show of their 2013-2014 season, in association with, and direct from its critically-acclaimed run at the ARTISTS REPERTORY THEATRE in Portland, the rolling U.S. premiere of FOXFINDER written by Dawn King and directed by Damaso Rodriguez. FOXFINDER will feature Furious members, Sara Hennessey and Shawn Lee as well as Amanda Soden and Joshua Weinstein and will preview on Wednesday, January 8, Thursday, January 9 and Friday, January 10 at 8pm and will open on Saturday, January 11 at 8:00pm and run through Sunday, February 2 at the Pasadena Playhouse Carrie Hamilton Theatre, 39 S. El Molino Ave. in Pasadena.

Tony nominee, two time Drama Desk nominee, Theatre World Award and Obie winner Daniel Breaker, most recently seen in Shakespeare in the Park's Love's Labour's Lost, returns to Joe's Pub on November 25th at 9:30pm.

The Huntington Theatre Company presents a concert version of Jason Robert Brown's powerful contemporary musical The Last Five Years for three performances only this weekend, November 23 and 24.

The Lark Play Development Center in collaboration with Mexico's National Fund for Culture and Arts (FONCA) is pleased to announce the 2013 Mexico/ U.S. Playwright Exchange Program. For the eighth year the Lark will host playwrights from Mexico and pair them with bilingual U.S. playwrights, actors, and directors for a ten day cultural exploration that establishes ongoing channels of communication between artists in both countries.

Following a season of new accolades, renovating and pushing the limits of an intimate 67-seat venue, and an influx of new patrons, the curtain is ready to rise on Curtain Call Performing Arts' (CCPA) 2013/2014 fifth anniversary season. The milestone season features the most diverse offering of live performing arts entertainment ever for the coming-of-age non-profit theatre company, including comedy and improv nights, live concerts, opera, and renowned Broadway style musicals and stage plays.

PlayMakers Repertory Company has announced that it is exchanging the performance dates for its productions of 'Hold These Truths' and 'The Story of The Gun.'