Akron Watson

Nicole Vanessa Ortiz, Akron Watson, Jennifer Allen, and More Will Lead SISTER ACT at Paper Mill Playhouse; Full Cast Announced!

The cast will feature Nicole Vanessa Ortiz (Paper Mill Debut, Smokey Joe's Cafe Off-Broadway) as Deloris Van Cartier, Akron Watson (Paper Mill Debut, The Color Purple on Broadway) as Curtis, Jennifer Allen (Carnival at Paper Mill, The Bridges of Madison County on Broadway) as Mother Superior, and more!

AT THIS PERFORMANCE… to Return to The Green Room 42

Stephen DeAngelis will continue his ongoing salute to Broadway and Off-Broadway Standbys, Understudies and Alternates with the next edition of AT THIS PERFORMANCE…™ to be held on Monday, April 18th  at The Green Room 42, Green Fig, Fourth Floor, Yotel NYC, 570 Tenth Avenue (at 42nd Street), New York, NY 10036 at 7 PM. 

Wake Up With BWW 2/17: Lana Gordon Joins HADESTOWN, and More!

Today's top stories include the casting of Lana Gordon in the role of Persephone in Hadestown beginning Tuesday, February 22 at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre. Plus, watch the premiere of the new web series, The Aging Ingenue! In today's episode: Claire gives a killer audition! ... but for which role? Starring Sara Jean Ford, Vishal Vaidya, Ashley Blanchet, and Will Reynolds.

Photos: Go Inside Opening Night of The New Group's BLACK NO MORE

The New Group's just celebrated opening night of Black No More, featuring Leanne Antonio, Rhaamell Burke-Missouri, Elijah A. Carter, Jennifer Damiano, Brandon Victor Dixon, Ryan Fitzgerald, Gaelen Gilliland, Polanco Jones Jr., Zachary Daniel Jones, Tamika Lawrence, Sarah Meahl, Howard McGillin, Mary Page Nance, Oneika Phillips, Nicholas Ranauro, Malaiyka Reid, Mars Rucker, Angela M. Sauers, Tracy Shayne, Theo Stockman, Ephraim Sykes, Tariq 'Black Thought' Trotter, Akron Watson, Nyla Watson, Edward Watts and Lillias White.

Photos: First Look at Tariq Trotter, Brandon Victor Dixon & More in BLACK NO MORE

The New Group's Black No More is set to officially open on Tuesday, February 15. The complete cast features Leanne Antonio, Rhaamell Burke-Missouri, Elijah A. Carter, Jennifer Damiano, Brandon Victor Dixon, Ryan Fitzgerald, and more.

VIDEO: Tariq Trotter Talks BLACK NO MORE Off-Broadway on FALLON

Tariq TrotterTariq Trotter returned to the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last night to discuss the new Off-Broadway adaption of Black No More, which he stars in and wrote the music and lyrics for with the Roots. The cast also features Brandon Victor Dixon, Jennifer Damiano, Tamika Lawrence, Ephraim Sykes, Lillias White, and more.

BLACK NO MORE Announces New Preview and Opening Night Dates

The New Group has announced that the new musical Black No More will begin previews January 18, in advance of an Official Opening Night now set for Tuesday, February 15, a schedule update due to Covid-19.  Previews were previously slated to begin January 11.

Complete Casting Announced for BLACK NO MORE World Premiere Production

The New Group has announced complete casting for the world premiere production of Black No More.  This new musical features Book by John Ridley, Music and Lyrics by Tariq Trotter, Music Supervision, Orchestrations and Vocal Arrangements by Daryl Waters, Choreography by Bill T. Jones and Direction by Scott Elliott. 

BWW Review: NEXT TO NORMAL Captivates at JAG Productions' Theater on the Hill

JAG Productions' concert staging of the Tony award-winning musical, Next to Normal, delivered a story that was nuanced and powerful.

Soara-Joye Ross, Akron Watson, and Nick Rashad Burroughs Will Star In First Ever All-Black Production Of NEXT TO NORMAL: IN CONCERT

As part of the unique concert staging, actors will be seated in a “grieving circle.” Some audience members will be up on stage as part of the group and the circle will extend out into the house seated in the round, making one big unified circle.

VIDEO: Tariq Trotter Talks BLACK NO MORE Off-Broadway on FALLON

Tariq TrotterTariq Trotter returned to the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last night to discuss the new Off-Broadway adaption of Black No More, which he stars in and wrote the music and lyrics for with the Roots. The cast also features Brandon Victor Dixon, Jennifer Damiano, Tamika Lawrence, Ephraim Sykes, Lillias White, and more.

VIDEO: Go Behind The Scenes of THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG on BWW's Instagram

BroadwayWorld took our readers behind the scenes of THE PLAT THAT GOES WRONG on Broadway this past weekend on our Instagram!

Just last night, The Public Theater celebrated its Annual Gala, HAIR TO HAMILTON, 50 Years of Revolutionary Musicals, at the Delacorte Theater. Directed by Daniel Sullivan, with musical direction by Rob Fisher and Nadia DiGiallonardo, the 90-minute concert featured songs from The Public's most beloved and groundbreaking musicals performed by some of the most celebrated voices in theater. Below, check out highlights from the show, which featured tunes from Hamilton, HAIR, A Chorus Line, Fun Home, Runaways, The Pirates of Penzance, Caroline, or Change, Here Lies Love and more!

Broadway's biggest hit said goodbye to some of it's biggest hitters this week. Hamilton bid adieu to Tony-winning star and writer Lin Manuel Miranda, Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr, Tony nominee Phillipa Soo and 'The Bullet' herself, Ariana DeBose. That's a big change for the blockbuster and has, doubtless, left several Hamilton devotees heartbroken. We figured it'd be fitting to take a look back at some Sessions performances from the Tony-winning score that has wiggled its way into our heads and playlists and won't let go (nor do we want it to). Featuring The Color Purple's Akron Watson, Elf's Paul Ianiello, Avenue Q's Imari Hardon, country-fried acoustic trio Siren, new comer Ellis Dawson and Hamilton's own Angelia standby- Alysha Deslorieux.

In attendance today was the cast of The Color Purple (Antoine L. Smith, Rema Webb, Phoenix Best, Akron Watson, Carrie Compere, Adrianna Hicks, Patrice Covington, Lawrence Clayton) who performed three songs from the show: 'Push Da Button,' 'Any Little Thing,' and 'The Color Purple.' Check out highlights below!

Cast members from the Tony-nominated revival of The Color Purple made their way to The Laurie Beechman Theatre on Thursday evening for Broadway Sessions. It became clear pretty darn quick that we were no longer in a theater- we were at CHURCH! These cats can sing like nobody's business. And that's just what they did. They SANG!!! Cast members Rema Webb, Antoine L. Smith, J. Daughtry, Adrianna Hicks, Bre Jackson, Phoenix Best, Akron Watson and Carla R. Stewart were greeted with standing ovation after standing ovation. The cast also shared insights into their audition experiences, told us their favorite 'audience reactions', played a round of 'The Color Purple Pyramid' and joined their voices together for an unforgettable group performance of the show's 11 o'clock number, 'I'm Here.'

Danielle Brooks stopped by last night's LATE NIGHT and explained how her Broadway musical inspired her to pursue acting.

A first look at the new Broadway revival of THE COLOR PURPLE, now in previews at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 W 45th Street), has just been released. Check out highlights of the cast in action below!

On last night's LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT, Jennifer Hudson and the cast of Broadway's THE COLOR PURPLE performed the number 'Push Da Button'.

On this morning's GMA, THE COLOR PURPLE's Jennifer Hudson and Cynthia Erivo took to the stage with a powerful performance of the title song. Later, the actors discuss the stage adaptation of the classsic novel.