Tim Rice News

WICKED, the record-breaking hit West End musical that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, proudly welcomes Willemijn Verkaik to the role of 'Elphaba' from Monday 18 November 2013.

The North American Tour of SISTER ACT will come to the Music Hall at Fair Park, presented by Dallas Summer Musicals, June 4-16. Single tickets, priced from $15-$85, are on sale now at The Box Office, 5959 Preston Royal Shopping Center in Dallas, or any Ticketmaster location; or online at www.ticketmaster.com. For groups of 10 or more, call 214-426-GROUP (4768).

The story is from the Old Testament, but the vision of the production team at The Rose Theater is definitely 21st centurY. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, will be presented as the summer musical at The Rose Theater in Omaha, tonight, May 31 - June 16.

Yangtze Repertory Theatre's 20th anniversary production is 'The Empress Dowager,' a three-act epic examining 40 years of the reign of the Manchu empress who ruled China from behind the throne. It recounts the perilous journey of an ancient kingdom seeking a place in the modern world. The play is written and directed by Joanna Chan, Artistic Director, and will be performed by a cast of 25 in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles. Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave., will present the piece tonight, May 31 to June 23.

The Australian leg of the 2012-2013 JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR international tour kicks off next week, featuring the same leading players as the super-successful UK tour and recent DVD/Blu-ray.

Disney Theatrical Productions confirmed in January that Aladdin, a new musical based on the Academy Award winning animated film, will play its pre-Broadway engagement at Toronto's Ed Mirvish Theatre(formerly the Canon) November 13, 2013 to January 12, 2014 and will open at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre in 2014. The show will feature music by Alan Menken; lyrics by the late Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin with a book by Beguelin. Casey Nicholaw will direct and choreograph. The first teaser trailer for the Broadway-bound show has just debuted - check it out below!

High school seniors of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) got the graduation ceremony of their dreams on Saturday, May 18, when Disney Theatrical Group President Thomas Schumacher delivered their commencement address, and the diplomas were presented by 'Mary Poppins' herself: UNCSA alumna Rachel Wallace. A 2009 college graduate, Wallace just completed a run in the national tour and the New Zealand company of the popular Disney show. Scroll down for photos from the ceremony!

Sherie Rene Scott returns to 54 Below for the highly-anticipated reprise of her acclaimed show 'Piece Of Meat' for a limited two-week engagement. 'Piece Of Meat' is an exhilarating evening about human desires - carnal, culinary and otherwise. Ms. Scott explores her singular storytelling and musical abilities with songs by Joni Mitchell, Paul McCartney, Talking Heads, Pete Townshend, Annie Lennox, Dire Straits, Buddy Holly, Kate Bush and Noah & The Whale, along with original compositions by music directorTodd Almond. The show features musical staging by Michele Lynch and direction by Lear Debessonett.

Hennepin Theatre Trust today announced the new spring 2013 honorees from Minnesota high schools recognizing musical theatre accomplishments by school and category for the 2012-13 SpotLight Musical Theatre Program. Now in its eighth successful year, SpotLight is Hennepin Theatre Trust's flagship educational initiative which honors and supports Minnesota high school musical theatre students and programs. This year, 56 schools, including nine from greater Minnesota, are presenting musicals made possible by the collaboration of almost 5,000 students and annually seen by an estimated 105,000 audience members.

Straight from Las Vegas comes the award winning tribute show, The Rat Pack is Back, live on The Ogunquit Playhouse stage tonight, May 22 to June 8.

East West Players (EWP), the nation's largest producing organization of Asian American artistic work and the longest-running professional theatre of color in the country, has extended the run of CHESS, now through June 23rd, 2013. All performances are staged at the David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center for the Arts at 120 Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. Performances are Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at2pm.

Deborah Boily is preparing for her cabaret performance of DEBORAH BOILY - ONE NIGHT ONLY.

Theater Latte Da announced yesterday that a season of four adventures in musical storytelling and the continuation of a major new work development program will comprise its 16th Season. Slated for production are Steerage Song at The Lab Theater (September 25 - October 20, 2013), All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 at the Pantages Theatre (December 19-22, 2013), Cabaret at the Pantages Theatre (January 15 - February 9, 2014), and Our Town at The Lab Theater (March 12 - April 6, 2014). In spring 2014, the company will bring back NEXT: New Musicals in the Making, their program to develop new works for the musical theater canon.

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 Miserables 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 Bjorn 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 Miserables after 20 years, but this time assuming the role of Fantine.

A crash of drums, a flash of light! And The Strand stage explodes with Atlanta Lyric Theatre's spectacular staging ofJOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT! This international audience hit plays The Earl Smith Strand Theatre (117 N. Park Square, Marietta) June 7 - 23, 2013. For reservations visit www.AtlantaLyricTheatre.com or call 404-377-9948.

Producer and President of Disney Theatrical Productions, Thomas Schumacher and Stage Entertainment France, today announced that they will continue their ongoing producing partnership with the premiere of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, which will make its debut in Paris, France on October 24th, 2013 at the Mogador Theatre, marking the first time the production will be performed in French.