Jessica Lewis - Page 6

As BroadwayWorld reported yesterday, Audra McDonald, the five-time Tony winning star of PORGY & BESS, will indeed be returning to the show today following a 2-week doctor-mandated hiatus.

On Friday night, June 29th, Brian d'Arcy James (Shrek The Musical, Next to Normal, NBC's 'Smash') got a birthday surprise on the stage of 54 Below where his show, 'Under the Influence,' just closed to rave reviews on Saturday, June 30.

The West Coast premiere of The National Theatre production of War Horse opens tonight, June 29 at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre. Previews began June 14, and performances for the powerful drama will continue through July 29, 2012 before embarking on a national tour that will hit 30 U.S. cities during the 2012-2013 season. The winner of five 2011 Tony® Awards, War Horse has been seen by over 2 million people worldwide and is currently playing at New York's Lincoln Center Theater, in London's West End, and at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre. Future productions of War Horse are planned for Australia, Berlin and South Africa, as well as a UK Tour. Want to go behind the scenes of the stunning production? Click below!

Williamstown Theatre Festival Artistic Director Jenny Gersten announced today the full cast and creative team for The Elephant Man, which will be presented on the Nikos Stage from July 25 through August 5 (opening July 26).

Broadway and MEMPHIS star Adam Pascal stopped by Good Day New York this morning to treat audiences to a live performance of 'Memphis Lives in Me,' one of the show's most iconic numbers. Check out the performance and photos of Pascal's visit below!

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Reid Carolin, screenwriter for the upcoming film MAGIC MIKE, is currently working on a 'spin-off' of the movie, which he plans to bring to Broadway as a new musical. Deadline.com has since noted that the musical is gunning for the Great White Way in the summer of 2013. The show will reportedly be produced by Tatum alongside Carolin under the banner of their production company, Iron Horse Entertainment, alongside the film's director Steven Soderbergh, Gregory Jacobs, and Nick Wechsler. For more on the project from

As previously announced, Jeremy Kushnier (Jesus Christ Superstar, Footloose), Eden Espinosa (Wicked, Brooklyn), Rachel York (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Victor/Victoria) and Jack Noseworthy (A Chorus Line, Sweet Smell of Success) lead the cast of New York Musical Theater Festival's 'Stealing Time,' the latest work of writers/composers Tor Hyams and Lisa Neubauer. 'Stealing Time' will play as a special event in the 2012 New York Musical Theater Festival at the PTC Performance Space. 'Stealing Time' is the second NYMF project for Hyams coming off the success of 'Greenwood' starring Andrea McArdle in the 2011 New York Musical Theater Festival. Yesterday, the company previewed the show in a special concert. Click below to hear Kushnier in action and stay tuned for more following the official NYMF preview next week!

Jennifer Hudson recently teamed up with Pampers for a new initiative, creating her interpretaion of Brahms' 'Lullaby and Goodnight' classic in tribute to moms. On June 27, Hudson and Pampers hosted a Pampers Lullaby Listening Party at Espace in New York City, where Hudson debuted her version of the famous tune.

Since 2006 The Tony Randall Theatrical Fund has distributed over $1Million to more than 50 companies. This year the Fund has announced that it will award general operating support grants to nine exceptional theater companies with a proven track record of artistic excellence and ambitious, mission-driven theater-making. Special consideration this year was given to companies committed to the development of new audiences and the production of relevant work with a social conscience.

Today, the Supreme Court declared the constitutionality of President Obama's individual mandate insurance law that requires individuals to get insurance or pay a tax in 'penalty' beginning in 2014. The Actors Fund's President & CEO Joseph P. Benincasa reacts response to today's Supreme Court decision and explains why it is good for Artists.

The Hurly Burly Show will open at the Duchess Theatre on Monday 2 July for a strictly limited 12-week season. Want a sneak peek at the scandalous show? Click below for performance highlights.

Victoria Clark, Harriet Harris, Ann Harada and Peter Bartlett will join Laura Osnes as Cinderella and Santino Fontana as the Prince in a workshop of the new production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's CINDERELLA August 2nd and 3rd in New York, it has been announced by the musical's producer Center Theatre Group in association with Robyn Goodman, Stephen Kocis and Jill Furman.

Union Square, the Nancy Savoca film that premiered to critical acclaim at the 2011 Toronto film festival, will get a limited release in New York City, Los Angeles and Toronto beginning July 13, 2012 and later open in select theaters in Westhampton NY, San Diego, Palm Springs, Hartford, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Santa Fe, and Boca Raton throughout the summer.

Tony Award-nominee Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde, Les Miserables), Helen Hayes Award-winner Natascia Diaz (Man of La Mancha, Seussical, The Capeman, Carnival) and Drew Sarich (Les Miserables, Lestat, starring in the upcoming Broadway-bound production of Rocky the Musical in Europe) will star in the July 30th 7:30pm benefit concert of the Benny Andersson, Tim Rice and Bjorn Ulvaeus musical CHESS for The Actor's Fund. This special CHESS "In Concept" Concert will take place at LaGuardia Arts at Lincoln Center (100 Amsterdam Avenue). This stripped down all through-sung concert-version will focus on the music, lyrics and characters, emulating the original 1984 concept album and incorporating virtually all of the original London score.

Though hot and sunny outside, theaters across the country already are thinking towards the holidays. As previously announced, NETWorks Presentations will present a non-Equity tour of Elf The Musical, which will launch at the Providence Performing Arts Center from November 4 through November 10. Engagements will follow at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton from November 13 through November 18, Tampa's Straz Center for the Performing Arts from November 20 through November 25, and the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall from November 27 through December 2 in Fort Myers. The tour will end in St. Paul at the Ordway Theatre, playing from December 5 through December 30.

As previously announced, Broadway veteran and GLEE star Jonathan Groff will star opposite original cast member Alfred Molina in the Los Angeles premiere of RED at the Mark Taper Forum. Groff will play Ken (orignally played by Tony winner Eddie Redmayne) in the play, alongside Molina who reprises his Tony-nominated role as Mark Rothko. The production will run August 1- September 9. Michael Grandage directs.

Trevor Nunn is to direct a cast including Rob Brydon, Nigel Harman and Ashley Jensen in Alan Ayckbourn's A Chorus of Disapproval opening at the Harold Pinter Theatre later this year. Joining the trio on stage will be Teresa Banham, Daisy Beaumont, Georgia Brown, Rob Compton, Matthew Cottle and Steven Edis, who is also the show's Musical Director. The production runs September 17, 2012 - January 5, 2013, with an opening night scheduled for September 27, 2012.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company closes the 2011/12 season with Three Sisters, Anton Chekhov's humorous and affecting tale of longing for a better life, adapted by Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning ensemble member Tracy Letts, directed by Tony Award-winning ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro. Letts and Shapiro continue their celebrated collaboration following their acclaimed world-premiere production of August: Osage County (2007), bringing fresh insight to this classic story of a privileged family's changing fortunes. Check out photos from the cast and creative team in rehearsal below!

Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience - A Parody by Dan and Jeff (All Seven Harry Potter Books in 70 Hilarious Minutes) has played to sold-out houses in Toronto, London, Edinburgh, Australia and New Zealand, and made its US debut on May 19, 2012 at the Little Shubert Theatre. The limited engagement opened on June 3, 2012 and runs through August 12, 2012. Production highlights have been released and below, BroadwayWorld takes you inside the Little Shubert to Hogwarts and beyond.

As BroadwayWorld reported yesterday, producers Danielle Tarento and Bronia Buchanan will present a new production of Boy George's Taboo at Brixton Club House following last month's launch of the VIP Gold Room, marking the multi-purpose venue's first foray into theatre. Today, it has been revealed that the show will star one of its original leading men, Paul Baker, as the club's promoter Philip Sallon. Baker won an Olivier award for the role in 2003. He is additionally known for his performances in the West End productions of Chicago (Amos), Napoleon (Napoleon), the original cast of The Lion King (Zazu, Timon) and Starlight Express (Rusty).