Hot Spot 1963

This time, the reader question was: What is the history of theatre actors who later wrote musicals as well? 

The 36th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Program will be held Thursday, Jan. 11, at 6 p.m. at the Casino Live Hotel Ballroom in Hanover, Md. Dignitaries attending will include Maryland Governor Wes Moore, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, Congressman John Sarbanes, County Executive Steuart Pittman, and Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley. The keynote speaker will be Congressman Jonathan Jackson, the youngest son of Rev. Jesse Jackson and godson to Dr. King. Governor Moore will also provide comments at the event.

ASCAP Unwraps Top 10 New Classic Holiday Songs Chart featuring Kelly Clarkson, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Meghan Trainor, Jimmy Fallon, and more. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers, both the Top 10 ASCAP New Classic Holiday Songs.

How do you tell a real princess from a wannabe?  You’ll have a grand time finding out, as Stage West, in a co-production with Theatre TCU, presents the charming, classic fairytale musical Once Upon a Mattress, which begins a 3-week run on Thursday, October 19.  Learn more about the production here!

I’m a Believer, featuring rock & roll icon, Micky Dolenz, the latest single from the new Rockers On Broadway: Live  (Volume 1), has been releeased! Rockers On Broadway: Live  (Volume 1) is an album of the best live performances from Rockers On Broadway concerts over the past 28 years. Listen here!

Two illustrious alumnae who have made tremendous strides both behind the scenes and on the stage and screen will speak at the 56th commencement ceremonies of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), Chancellor Brian Cole has announced.

When you think 'haunted houses' you probably don't picture the inside of a theatre. But with an over 100 year history, many of Broadway's most famous houses are positively teeming with reports of the supernatural.

We've rounded up some of the top productions on stage this summer! Find something near you to see using our comprehensive guide below!

Broadway is coming back to New Mexico when Popejoy Hall reopens this fall! Popejoy Presents announced the 2021-2022 season featuring the long-awaited Broadway national tour of HAMILTON, now scheduled for 24 performances over three weeks, from January 25 through February 13, 2022. Season tickets are now available.

Broadway is coming back to New Mexico when Popejoy Hall reopens this fall! Popejoy Presents has announced the 2021-2022 season featuring the long-awaited Broadway national tour of HAMILTON, now scheduled for 24 performances over three weeks, from January 25 through February 13, 2022.

With holiday music taking over the radio waves earlier than ever, ASCAP, a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers, announces the Top 25 ASCAP Holiday Songs of 2020 – a soundtrack to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year.

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the 101 greatest protest songs from 1939-2020. See if your favorite songs or artists made the list!

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the 101 greatest scenes in cinema from 1901 to 2020. See if your favorite movie moments made the list!

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the 101 greatest Beatles songs, including some of the fab four's solo works. They're all here: 'Twist and Shout,' 'In My Life,' 'Helter Skelter,' 'Imagine,' 'Something,' 'Maybe I'm Amazed,' 'Let It Be.' See if your favorites made the grade!

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best musical theatre characters from 1940-2020; see if your favorites are on our list of the best characters from Broadway musicals.

The wait is over! Popejoy Hall announces the 2020-2021 season headlined by HAMILTON.

How do we make a list of the 101 greatest show tunes from the past 100 years? Well, we did the near-impossible task.  Check out our full list here! 

On March 20, 2020, Sybarite5, the first string quintet ever to win the Concert Artists Guild International Competition, celebrates the release of its fourth album, Live from New York, It's Sybarite5 [BTSC-0131/1 CD], a recording featuring live performances from Chelsea's The Cell, a performance space the innovative string quintet has called its New York home for more than a decade. The quintet's second album on the Bright Shiny Things label features newly commissioned world premiere works by Brandon Ridenour, Ehsan Matoori, Steven Snowden, and Michael Dellaira; and string quintet premieres of works by William Brittelle, Marc Mellits, Aleksandra Vrebalov, and John Coltrane. Guest artists for the album include co-artistic director of Silkroad, Grammy® winning percussionist Shane Shanahan; renowned santoor player Ehsan Matoori; and acclaimed mezzo-soprano Blythe Gaissert. In addition to CD format, the album will be available as a high-resolution download (96kHz 24-bit FLAC), and in limited edition vinyl.

Go inside the creation and 63-year evolution of the musical theatre masterpiece, West Side Story.

Musical legends Mariah Carey, Annie Lennox / Dave Stewart p/k/a Eurythmics, Ernie Isley / Marvin Isley / O'Kelly Isley / Ronald Isley / Rudolph Isley / Chris Jasper p/k/a The Isley Brothers, Steve Miller, Chad Hugo / Pharrell Williams p/k/a The Neptunes, Rick Nowels and William “Mickey” Stevenson will become the latest inductees of the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the organization's 51st Annual Induction and Awards Dinner. These legendary songwriters wrote mega-hits such as, 'Vision of Love,”  “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” “Shout,” “The Joker,” “Hollaback Girl,” “Heaven is a Place on Earth,” and “Dancing In The Street.” The star-studded induction event is slated for Thursday, June 11th at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Additional special award honorees will be announced soon.

The Broadway community mourns the loss of Writer, Composer, Lyricist, Director, and Performer Martin Charnin, who passed away on July 6, 2019 at age 84. To commemorate his life and work, the Committee of Theatre Owners will dim the lights of the Neil Simon Theatre in New York, where his legendary musical Annie first opened, for one minute on Friday, July 12 at exactly 7:45pm.

Camelback Lodge & Aquatopia Indoor Waterpark the Poconos' premier adventure destination, was named the Best Indoor Waterpark in the country by USA Today.

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report the passing of Martin Charnin, Broadway lyricist and director. The news was reported on Facebook, by Charnin's daughter, Sasha. Charnin was 84.

Chicago Children's Theatre (chicagochildrenstheatre.org), the largest professional theater company devoted exclusively to families in Chicago, has announced its 2018-19 season.

One of the country's most vibrant eras in music, in general and especially for women, was the 1960s, filled to the brim with girl groups like The Chantels and The Supremes, folk pioneers like Joan Baez, and songwriters so influential that, decades later, that musical written about them keeps filling its Broadway house to capacity for close to four years (Carole King, of course). In the midst of political and public unrest, in a male-dominated world and industry, these women made space and carved out their own spots in music history. Who better to spotlight these singers and songwriters than Carole J. Bufford, who has carved out her own spot within the New York cabaret scene as an enthusiastic and rich interpreter of the Jazz Age songbook, and returned to the circuit with something a little different: YOU DON'T OWN ME: THE FEARLESS FEMALES OF THE 1960S, a celebration of the 'bold and daring women [who] planted their flags and ensured their voices were heard.' And as it turns out, it's not only Bufford's most fearless show, but also one of her best.