Stephen Schwartz News

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and legendary Broadway star Betty Buckley, currently co-starring in the Dallas Theatre Center's production of Arsenic and Old Lace, present three benefit concerts featuring her recent Song Interpretation Workshop participants. The concerts are set for March 28, 30 and 31 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth at 7:30pm.

Discover the thrilling creative output from many infrequently heard works of musical theater at the cabaret evening Nobody's Side: Broadway's Cult Classics, performed at Davenport's Piano Bar & Cabaret for the last time on March 28, 2011. Reservations can be placed at www.davenportspianobar.com.

As we come to the beginning of April here on the California Central Coast, I trust your plans include availing yourself of at least a couple of the several theatrical offerings that are being presented for your viewing pleasure (or shortly will be) at any number of the live theatre and performance venues here on the Central Coast!

Christian Youth Theater Kansas City North Presents GODSPELL

Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One - born with emerald green skin - is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

Beginning performances on Tuesday, March 29, RICHARD H. BLAKE will assume the role of Fiyero in the Broadway company of WICKED. He joins a cast which includes Teal Wicks as Elphaba, Katie Rose Clarke as Glinda, Kathy Fitzgerald as Madame Morrible, P.J. Benjamin as The Wizard, Etai BenShlomo as Boq, Jenny Fellner as Nessarose, and Tom Flynn as Dr. Dillamond. Kyle Dean Massey, who is currently playing the role of Fiyero, will play his final performance on Sunday, March 27.

Rep Stage, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), closes its 18th season with Stephen Karam's 'Speech & Debate,' directed by Eve Muson and featuring Parker Drown, the 2010 recipient of the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical.

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and legendary Broadway star Betty Buckley present three benefit concerts featuring her recent Song Interpretation Workshop participants. The concerts are set for March 28, 30 and 31 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth at 7:30pm.

Reprise Theatre Company presents Barry Manilow in Concert for one performance only on Tuesday, March 22 at 8:00 pm, at UCLA's Royce Hall. This special event is presented by Reprise Theatre Company as its Annual Gala Performance. Ticket sales from Barry Manilow in Concert support Reprise's mission to produce musical theatre of the highest artistic quality and to make this art form accessible to new audiences through education and outreach programs.

WICKED, the most anticipated musical production of the 2010 - 2011 season will go on sale to the public on Saturday, April 2nd. From 7am - 10am, tickets will be exclusively available at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Box Office, 11455 87 Avenue Northwest. Beginning at 10 a.m., any remaining tickets will be available for purchase through all Ticketmaster outlets, through all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.ca or call 1.855.985.5000. There is an 8-ticket limit per patron.

New York City Opera General Manager and Artistic Director George Steel today announced the company's 2010-2011 season, which spotlights American composers and 20th-century works within a mix of world premieres, New York premieres and new productions. Offering audiences the opportunity to experience new and rarely performed operas as well as modern interpretations of traditional repertoire, the 2010-2011 season will also feature the launch of a concert series showcasing the non-operatic works of several of the composers of this season's operas. Taking advantage of the possibilities offered by the recent renovation of the company's home, the David H. Koch Theater, the concert series expands the repertoire and programming of City Opera and casts new light on the season's productions.

Pull-Tight's long-running 'Prelude' series continues its sixth season on Sunday, March 20, 2011, when Professor Jim Lovensheimer will speak on 'Godspell and the Musicals of Stephen Schwartz.' The 2:00 PM Prelude, which will be held at the Theatre, is free and open to the public. Those who attend the Prelude will be eligible to win a Door Prize.

Pull-Tight's long-running 'Prelude' series continues its sixth season on Sunday, March 20, 2011, when Professor Jim Lovensheimer will speak on 'Godspell and the Musicals of Stephen Schwartz.' The 2:00 PM Prelude, which will be held at the Theatre, is free and open to the public. Those who attend the Prelude will be eligible to win a Door Prize.

Discover the thrilling creative output from many infrequently heard works of musical theater at the cabaret evening Nobody's Side: Broadway's Cult Classics, performed at Davenport's Piano Bar & Cabaret from March 14 - 28, 2011.

Having received unanimous rave reviews and nightly accolades from delighted audiences, through The Chicago Tribune's Chris Jones calls WORKING, 'REMARKABLE! Moving and fresh! Knock out young performers! A rich and accomplished ensemble paying homage to Chicago workers.' Chicago Sun?Times' Hedy Weiss raves, 'Highly recommended! Superb! Ingenious! Winningly re-imagined!' Comcast Network host Paul Lisnek exclaims, 'WORKING will make you proud to be a Chicagoan; the show has heart, warmth and depth!'

Having received unanimous rave reviews and nightly accolades from delighted audiences, Broadway In Chicago and the producers of WORKING are thrilled to announce a four-week extension through June 5, 2011 at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago)

With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, Academy Award-winner for Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt) and book by Winnie Holzman ('My So Called Life,' 'Once And Again' and 'thirtysomething'), WICKED, the untold story of the witches of Oz, is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Vagina Monologues) and features musical staging by Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento (Aida, The Who's Tommy, How To Succeed...).

The most exciting line-up to arrive in Theatreland made up of only the best of the West End, will take to the stage at The Charing Cross theatre on Sunday 20th March to sing the songs of Steven Luke Walker. Performers include Gina Beck, Ramin Karimloo, Summer Strallen, Samantha Barks and Rebecca Lock.

Tony Winner Sutton Foster's triumphant sold-out run at New York's famed Cafe Carlyle comes home to listeners on March 15th, as Ghostlight Records proudly releases her 20-song tour de force ‘An Evening With Sutton Foster - Live at the Café Carlyle'. In an interview with THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, Foster emphasizes that ‘it's a concert, not cabaret, but adds that whatever you call it, 'it's definitely quirky and weird -- and very much me.'

Arguably the biggest blockbuster stage musical of this fresh century, WICKED has returned to Orange County for an almost month-long engagement at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts through April 3. The stage musical -- a consistent box-office hit since its Broadway debut seven years ago -- has ballooned into a worldwide phenomenon. A visual and aural splendor from start to finish, WICKED is a near-perfect combination of imaginative story, complex characters, memorable music, fantastic sets and costumes, and even universally-applaudable messages of tolerance and individual self-expression.