Stephen Schwartz News

Shuler Hensley, SILENCE! The Musical's newest Hannibal Lecter, took his first look at the show this past Saturday evening, May 19th and he visited his new friends afterward. Hensley is set to star in Off-Broadway's smash hit for four weeks only June 1st through the 24th. See the photos below!

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, May 20, 2012 - Sunday, May 20, 2012.

Today, May 20 and Monday, May 21, 2012 at 8pm American Opera Projects (AOP) will present COMPOSERS & THE VOICE: FIRST GLIMPSE 2012, the first public presentation of compositions developed during this season's Composers & the Voice program. Audiences will hear songs written by five emerging composers - Sidney Marquez Boquiren, Mikael Karlsson, Robert Paterson, Rachel Peters, and Ronnie Reshef - and one composer/librettist team, Zach Redler and Sara Cooper, who were chosen by AOP to spend a year creating new works focusing on the operatic voice. The performances will be held at South Oxford Space in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, the home of AOP. Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 for students/seniors and are available at www.operaprojects.org.

WICKED goes on sale to the public today, May 19 at 7 a.m.; tickets will be exclusively available at the box office from 7 to 10 a.m. on-site at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts at 361 Symphony Park Avenue in Las Vegas. Beginning at 10 a.m., any remaining tickets will be available for purchase online at www.TheSmithCenter.com or by phone at 702-749-2000. There is an 8-ticket limit per patron.

Academy Award winner Stephen Schwartz will be honored with Desert Ensemble Theatre Company's inaugural Melpomai Award at When You Believe: A Conversation With and Tribute To Stephen Schwartz tonight, May 19 in Palm Springs.

Desert Theatre Ensemble Company today announced that Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet has declared today, May 19 to be recognized as 'Stephen Schwartz Day'.

The company of the first North American tour of WICKED welcomes PJ Benjamin as The Wizard on Tuesday, May 8 and Nicole Parker as Elphaba on Friday, May 18 in Denver, CO.

The Sacramento engagement of WICKED begins performances May 23 and runs through June 17 at Community Center Theater, 1301 L Street. The Sacramento engagement of WICKED features Nicole Parker as Elphaba, Alli Mauzey as Glinda, Liz McCartney as Madame Morrible, PJ Benjamin as The Wizard and Justin Brill as Boq.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director William Russo just announced that the theatre will honor New York Theatre Workshop Board Chair Barbara Warner Howard and Disney Theatrical Group and its president Thomas Schumacher at its 2012 Spring Gala on Tuesday, May 22 at the Plaza Hotel.

Today, May 18, legendary American opera soprano Lauren Flanigan, known for creating memorable contemporary opera roles, stars in 'Lauren Flanigan's 4th Annual 50th Birthday Bash,' presented by American Opera Projects and Music and Mentoring House. The evening is a marathon concert of fifty-four (54) rarely-heard songs performed by Flanigan and friends. Harlem's historic Italian bistro Ristorante Settepani, 196 Lenox Ave. at 120th St., will serve a special menu of Lauren's favorite appetizers and entrees. Tickets are $54 ($39 tax-deductible) and must be purchased in advance at http://flaniganis50again.eventbrite.com or at www.operaprojects.org. Proceeds go towards American Opera Projects' Composers & the Voice program that commissions, develops, and presents contemporary opera.

The musical Pippin debuts at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre tonight, May 18 and tomorrow, May 19, 2012. Perfomed by students from the Theatre's Paul and Sandra Goldner Conservatory of Performing Arts, Pippin tells the story of the young prince Pippin and his quest for the secrets of true happiness and fulfillment. He seeks it in the glories of the battlefield, in temptation and the intrigues of political power - but in the end, he finds it in the simple pleasures of home and family.

WICKED will go on sale to the public on Saturday, May 19 at 7 a.m.; tickets will be exclusively available at the box office from 7 to 10 a.m. on-site at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts at 361 Symphony Park Avenue in Las Vegas. Beginning at 10 a.m., any remaining tickets will be available for purchase online at www.TheSmithCenter.com or by phone at 702-749-2000. There is an 8-ticket limit per patron.

blurbThe company of Broadway's first-ever revival of Stephen Schwartz's rock musical GODSPELL last month welcomed a new leading man - stage and screen star Corbin Bleu (Disney's 'High School Musical,' Broadway's In the Heights) - to the starring role of Jesus. This month, the show just passed 10,000 Facebook fans and star Julia Mattison wrote a song to celebate the ocassion. Check out the video below!

Happy Birthday, Judy Kuhn! Kuhn made her Broadway debut was in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. She then played Cosette in the 1987 multiple award winning Broadway production of Les Misérables brought her the first Tony Award nomination. The following year, Kuhn took on a transfer from London's West End, playing one of the main roles (Florence Vassy) in the Trevor Nunn-directed Chess, with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (formerly of ABBA) and lyrics by Tim Rice. Later in 1993, Kuhn played the role of Betty Schaefer in the U.S premier production of Sunset Boulevard at the Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles. Kuhn sang the title role in the 1995 Disney animated film, Pocahontas, the film included her rendition of the song Colors of the Wind, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for its composers Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. On October 23, 2007, Kuhn returned to the Broadway Production of Les Misérables after 20 years, but this time assuming the role of Fantine.

Academy Award winner Stephen Schwartz will be honored with Desert Ensemble Theatre Company's inaugural Melpomai Award at When You Believe: A Conversation With and Tribute To Stephen Schwartz May 19 in Palm Springs. The 8 PM event, which will be held in the Annenberg Theater at the Palm Springs Art Museum, will feature a conversation with Schwartz as well as performances of his stage and movie musical hits. Check out a preview of the event below!