Stephen Sondheim News

Tenor Russell Thomas will replace Brandon Jovanovich, who has withdrawn due to illness, in the New York Philharmonic performances of the Verdi Requiem, conducted by Music Director Alan Gilbert. The performances will also feature soprano Angela Meade (in her Philharmonic debut), mezzo-soprano Lilli Paasikivi, bass-baritone Eric Owens, and the New York Choral Artists, directed by Joseph Flummerfelt, Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, January 16 at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, January 17 at 8:00 p.m.

“Witch Fulfillment” – that's what next Saturday night's benefit concert of “Into the Woods” (ITW) is for artistic director Christopher Wilson. He adores the beloved Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine fairytale musical and his excitement mounts with each passing day.

Lyrics & Lyricists gets going on the opening show of its 45th season with 'A Good Thing Going: The Stephen Sondheimand Harold Prince Collaboration' continuing tonight, January 12. Artistic director David Loud, himself a frequent Sondheim collaborator, explores the 1970-1981 partnership behind the groundbreaking musicals Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd and Merrily We Roll Along - with cast members Kate Baldwin, Heidi Blickenstaff, Liz Callaway, James Clow, Jason Danieley, and Jeremy Jordan. Check out photos from the special concert event below!

Producers Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group announced today a new leading man for the Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber'sTHE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, directed by Harold Prince. The longest-running show in Broadway history, and one of the most successful stage productions of all-time, PHANTOM will welcome Broadway star James Barbour when he takes over the title role beginning Monday, February 9, 2015.

Fresh off of their critically-acclaimed production of 'The Producers' at Tempe Center for the Arts, Scottsdale Musical Theater Company has plans for another stellar year of Broadway's finest musicals at one of the Valley's most state-of-the art venues:

Stephen Sondheim displays his work of whimsy and intellectual legerdemain on Into The Woods, and Masterworks Broadway has just pulled new photos from the MWB vault featuring Bernadette Peters, Chip Zien, Joanna Gleason and others from the original Broadway cast recording session. Click here to check out the collection!

NiCori Studios and Productions in association with the Oakeside Bloomfield Cultural Center announces a new installment of the monthly concert series, Music at the Mansion, on Sunday, January 25, at 3pm. Performers include Daryl Glenn, Gas Lamp Players and Marieann Meringolo.

HAM: A Musical Memoir, a new theatrical event based on Sam Harris' book, HAM: Slices of a Life (a collection of stories and essays published by Simon & Schuster) is an innovative and exciting hybrid theatrical concept and the culmination of Harris' successful 30 year career as actor, vocalist and, now, author. HAM: A Musical Memoir will play a limited engagement, with an opening night set for tonight, January 12, 2015 at Theater 511 at Ars Nova.

California Musical Theatre announced a varied lineup of musicals for the 2015 season of Sacramento Music Circus at the Wells Fargo Pavilion, the 65th season for what has become a Northern California summer tradition. The summer lineup will include two classics that are Music Circus audience favorites, Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady and Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim's West Side Story, as well as the Mississippi adventure Big River, the musical comedy Bye Bye Birdie, the magical journey Peter Pan, and a sixth show that will be offered as an option for season subscribers, the generation-defining Hair.

Below, check out the rundown of Broadway stars and theater-related nominees hoping to receive one of Hollywood's most distinguished awards this evening. Who will you be rooting for?

Following rumors earlier today that Jennifer Hudson would be making her Broadway debut in a revival of THE COLOR PURPLE, producers have now confirmed that the Oscar winner will indeed head to the Great White Way. Beginning next fall, John Doyle's critically acclaimed Menier Chocolate Factory production of The Color Purple, the landmark musical will come to Broadway with the Grammy, Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award winner in the role of Shug Avery, despite earlier reports that she'd be taking on the role of Celie.

Lyrics & Lyricists gets going on the opening show of its 45th season with 'A Good Thing Going: The Stephen Sondheim and Harold Prince Collaboration' beginning tonight, January 10, and continuing January 11 and 12.

Which of the wishes made in Stephen Sondheim's INTO THE WOODS best describes you? Find out in this week's quiz!

Orange County, Calif.—Jan. 9, 2015—Composer, conductor and teacher Leonard Bernstein, one of the undeniable giants of 20th-century music, and the first American-born conductor to become a major star, becomes the focal point of Pacific Symphony's second “Music Unwound” concert this season, “For the Love of Bernstein.” In 1985, a young Carl St.Clair met Bernstein as a conducting fellow at Tanglewood Music Center. A few years later in 1990, St.Clair stepped in for the ailing Maestro and conducted his “Arias and Barcarolles” during what turned out to be Bernstein's last concert. St.Clair would soon be named music director of Pacific Symphony, but the impact of Bernstein's mentoring to St.Clair has remained to this day.

The Dramatists Guild of America has announced the recipients of their annual awards, which will be presented at an awards ceremony hosted by David Henry Hwang on Monday, February 23, 2015, at The Harvard Club in New York.

Reserved For Rondee will rock NYC tonight!

Tickets are now on sale! 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club will present Danielle Hope in her American debut on Friday, February 13, 2015 at 9:30 PM. After a well received and successful solo debut in London's West End and additional concerts through the UK, Danielle brings her cabaret to New York City to make her debut just steps away from the heart of Broadway. The evening will feature a celebration of music including performances of songs from shows that have shaped her career so far, West End favorites and some very special new material - and, some very special Broadway guests.

Today in 1976, Pacific Overtures opened at the Winter Garden Theatre, where it ran for 193 performances. With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a libretto by John Weidman, and additional material by Hugh Wheeler, the musical is set in 1853 Japan and follows the difficult Westernization of Japan, through the lives of two friends caught in the change. The original Broadway production of Pacific Overtures in 1976 was presented in Kabuki style, with men playing women's parts and set changes made in full view of the audience by people dressed in black. A Broadway revival ran at Studio 54 from December 2, 2004 to January 30, 2005, directed by Amon Miyamoto and starring B.D. Wong as the Narrator and several members of the original cast.