Stephen Schwartz News

Broadway favorite Christopher Sieber (Shrek, Spamalot) spent Saturday, December 12 mentoring the young talent of Broadway's future as they led the morning portion of a Shrek master class with Broadway Artists Alliance. Sieber (Lord Farquaad) answered questions and candidly spoke about his experiences with Shrek as well as other stage and screen credits to a group of eager and talented young performers ages 10 to 21. The group's morning Q & A was followed with a Song Interpretation class led by Sieber. The master class concluded with a Musical Theatre Audition Technique session by a representative from Tara Rubin casting.

Arena Stage presents Stick Fly, a thought-provoking comedy that explores the role of race and privilege in the African-American social aristocracy.

A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of orchestra seats will be held daily for WICKED, which will be performing from December 16, 2009 - January 10, 2010 at the Providence Performing Arts Center.

Broadway veteran Cara Kjellman (Billy Elliot, 42nd Street) spent Saturday, December 12 mentoring the young talent of Broadway's future as she led the morning portion of a Billy Elliot master class with Broadway Artists Alliance. Kjellman was joined by fellow cast members Ruby Rakos, Chelsea Galembo, and Danika Yarosh to answer questions and speak about their experiences with Billy Elliot as well as other stage credits to a group of eager and talented young performers ages 10 to 21.

Cleveland.com reports that the national tour of WICKED raked in an impressive $7 million in a four week span of what was the show's third Cleveland stop.

Before joining the WICKED family. Marybeth's other Broadway credits include: Cyrano de Bergerac, Sweet Charity, La Cage aux Folles, Sly Fox, Fosse, Les Misérables, Five Guys Named Moe. Off-Broadway she's worked on Under the Bridge, Adult Entertainment. Touring and regionally, she's worked on Cats, Guys and Dolls, The Best of Broadway. Pittsburgh CLO: four seasons.

On Tuesday, December 15, the Broadway smash WICKED will play its 2,535th performance, surpassing Avenue Q to become the 20th longest-running show in Broadway history.

New York Stage and Film (SAF) celebrates its 25th anniversary with its annual winter gala on December 13th at 7:00pm at The Plaza Hotel (770 Fifth Avenue). Julianna Margulies and Marc Platt will be honored for their extraordinary achievements in theater, film and television, as well as their ongoing commitment to live performance and support of New York Stage and Film.

A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of orchestra seats will be held daily for WICKED, which will be performing from November 18 - December 13 at the State Theatre at PlayhouseSquare.

Jubilee plays November 25 - December 13* at the company's home venue in San Francisco's Financial District/Embarcadero, The Eureka Theatre (215 Jackson Street) and is directed by "Moon" Founding Artistic Director Greg MacKellan, with Dave Dobrusky as Musical Director and Tom Segal as Choreographer. * Note: Opening / Press Night is Saturday, November 28, 6pm

BAA will continue their one-day master class series December 19th and 20th with master classes in the themes of 'West Side Story' and 'In the Heights'. 'West Side Story' master class students will learn original choreography from dance captain Marina Lazzaretto, and will partake in a "Song Interpretation" class with the hit revival's original Tony, Matt Canvenaugh. 'In the Heights' class participants will receive one-one-one feedback from star Andrea Burns, and will also have the opportunity to sing for Telsey & Co. Casting.

Two Brooklyn opera companies, AMERICAN OPERA PROJECTS (AOP) and OPERA ON TAP, will present the third installment of its Opera Grows in Brooklyn series called OGB: Stranger Than Fiction, an evening of three 30-minute opera scenes and songs from composers Raymond Lustig, Matt Schickele, and James Barry - all based on true stories.

The Ridgefield Theater Barn presents The Award-Winning Musical Godspell, Book by John-Michael Tebelak, Music and New Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, Directed by Rick Hodder, Musical Direction by Thomas J. Cuffari

Producer Ken Davenport tells Variety today that he's secured the rights and is aiming to bring Godspell back to Broadway during the 2010-2011 season. The last attempt to bring back to the show, in fall of 2008 with different producers failed to secure needed funding and fell through.

The Chelsea Symphony has announced its Fourth Annual Winter Concert on Friday, December 11 at 8 PM, at St. Paul's Church. The program will feature actor/playwright and drag legend Charles Busch in Aaron Dai's holiday favorite, the Night Before Christmas, following a tradition of celebrated guest narrators: Ana Gasteyer, David Hyde Pierce and Richard Kind. New York Times lauded flautist Jesse Schiffman will perform Mozart's First Flute Concerto and the program will be rounded out with the overture to the Marriage of Figaro and the Nutcracker Suite. The concert will be performed without intermission and will feature four conductors rotating from positions within the orchestra to the podium and back: Music Director Miguel Campos Neto, Ankush Kumar Bahl, Kyunghun Kim and Mark Seto.

A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of orchestra seats will be held daily for WICKED, which will be performing from December 16, 2009 - January 10, 2010 at the Providence Performing Arts Center.

Arena Stage presents Stick Fly, a thought-provoking comedy that explores the role of race and privilege in the African-American social aristocracy.

The 2nd National Tour of Wicked will welcome a new Boq and a new Wizard beginning December 9 in Schenectady, New York. Don Amendolia will step into the role of Wizard following Tom McGowan's exit, while Zach Hanna assumes the part of Boq from Ted Ely.

For a special New Year's Eve treat, the Metropolitan Room welcomes back the Tony nominated and Emmy-winning Liz Callaway in a one-night only encore of her hit show 'Passage of Time.'

Mesa Arts Center announces its Spring 2010 Performing Live Season with diverse acts that will excite patrons of all ages. For country fans, music legend Merle Haggard will perform his #1 chart topping songs. For classical music lovers, reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman is returning for an unforgettable performance.