Judy Lisi

Judy Lisi to Retire as CEO of the Straz Center

Judy Lisi has announced that she is retiring from her role as CEO of the Straz Center in Tampa, Florida.

HAMILTON, DEAR EVAN HANSEN, and More Included in Straz Center For The Performing Arts Upcoming Season

The Straz Center for the Performing Arts is proud to announce the Broadway musical, Hamilton will play its premiere Tampa engagement, Feb. 12-March 10, 2019, and anchor the 2018-2019 Bank of America Broadway at The Straz season. The Broadway series is also headlined by the 2017 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Dear Evan Hansen.

The 2017-2018 Opera Tampa season engages the senses with powerhouse operas designed to thrill opera lovers and our growing fanbase of newcomers to the form. The glorious series, featuring the work of Rossini, Mozart and Verdi, promises big plans, bold choices and bloody consequences.

 March 21, 2017 marks the 100th birthday of Maestro Anton Coppola, the conductor and composer whose career has spanned from singing in the Metropolitan Opera Children's Chorus for the American premiere of Puccini's Turandot at age 9 to - 91 years later - conducting his own an alternate ending for Puccini's unfinished masterpiece, one of two new works to be premiered on March 25th at Coppola Conducts: 100 Years Young. This concert will be presented by Opera Tampa, the company for which Coppola was the founding Artistic Director.

Jobsite Theater, resident theater company of the Straz Center, completes the pitch-black Irish comedy trilogy set in rural west Ireland just in time for St. Patrick's Day this year with Martin McDonagh's A Skull in Connemara, which runs Mar. 17 - Apr. 9, 2017, in the Straz's Shimberg Playhouse.

Jobsite Theater, resident theater company of the Straz Center, completes the pitch-black Irish comedy trilogy set in rural Ireland just in time for St. Patrick's Day this year with Martin McDonagh's A Skull in Connemara, which runs Mar. 17 - Apr. 9, 2017, in the Straz's Shimberg Playhouse.

Disney's THE LION KING continues to reign across North America with a sold-out engagement in Tampa, which concluded on Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. The triumphant four-week return grossed more than $5.6 million at the box office and entertained nearly 75,000 patrons during 32 performances.  

Tampa, Fla. ? The 2015-2016 Florida Opera Festival presented by Opera Tampa is certain to exhilarate every opera buff and fascinate any curious opera novice. It promises to be a magnificent festival of love, lust and loss featuring the work of Mozart and Verdi.

Celebrating the 20th season of grand opera at its grandest, the 2014-2015 Florida Opera Festival presented byOpera Tampa is certain to exhilarate every opera buff and fascinate any curious opera novice. Composers Puccini and Verdi,among others, will be showcased in the magnificent festival that will also feature the Opera Tampa New Voices in Concert and a major opera soloist to be announced at a later date.

The 2013-2014 Florida Opera Festival presented by Opera Tampa is certain to exhilarate every opera buff and fascinate any curious opera novice. Composers Bizet and Mozart, among others, will be showcased in a magnificent season of passion, intrigue and magic. The season also features L'amour Toujours, a Popera! Concert and options to attend the 2012 Tony Award-winning Best Revival of a Musical The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess and a concert by international superstar Andrea Bocelli.

Wonderland, the new musical that reinvents 'Alice in Wonderland' for the 21st century, opened on Broadway April 17 following previews from March 21 at the Marquis Theatre. Janet Dacal, of In the Heights, plays a modern-day Manhattan mom named Alice, who sings a score by Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy. The the following video, take a behind-the-scenes look at the recording sesssion for the cast album!

DanceOn, a YouTube partnership channel exclusive to dance, released their exclusive look at the new Broadway musical Wonderland. Three time Emmy Award winning choreographer Marguerite Derricks delves into how she got involved with the new take on Alice in Wonderland, and what audiences can expect from her versatile choreography. Marguerite was just nominated for a 2011 Astaire Award for her choreography in Wonderland.

Frank Wildhorn's WONDERLAND opened last night and Broadway Beat was there to cover the post-celebration!

WONDERLAND. A New Alice. A New Musical stars Janet Dacal (In The Heights) as Alice, Darren Ritchie (Little Shop of Horrors, Thoroughly Modern Millie) as Jack the White Knight, E. Clayton Cornelious (The Scottsboro Boys, A Chorus Line) as Caterpillar, Jose Llana (Spelling Bee, Flower Drum Song) as El Gato, Karen Mason (Hairspray, Mamma Mia!) as The Queen of Hearts, Kate Shindle (Legally Blonde, Cabaret, Jekyll and Hyde) as The Mad Hatter, Carly Rose Sonenclar (Les Miserables, Little House on the Prairie) as Chloe, Edward Staudenmayer (Spamalot, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me) as The White Rabbit and Danny Stiles (Regional productions of Guys and Dolls and Sister Act: The Musical) as Morris the March Hare. With a book by Gregory Boyd and Jack Murphy, lyrics by Jack Murphy, music by Frank Wildhorn, choreography by Marguerite Derricks and direction by Gregory Boyd, WONDERLAND will open at Broadway's Marquis Theatre (1535 Broadway between 45th & 46th Streets) on Sunday, April 17, 2011, and performances began Monday, March 21.

WONDERLAND. A New Alice. A New Musical stars Janet Dacal (In The Heights) as Alice, Darren Ritchie (Little Shop of Horrors, Thoroughly Modern Millie) as Jack the White Knight, E. Clayton Cornelious (The Scottsboro Boys, A Chorus Line) as Caterpillar, Jose Llana (Spelling Bee, Flower Drum Song) as El Gato, Karen Mason (Hairspray, Mamma Mia!) as The Queen of Hearts, Kate Shindle (Legally Blonde, Cabaret, Jekyll and Hyde) as The Mad Hatter, Carly Rose Sonenclar (Les Miserables, Little House on the Prairie) as Chloe, Edward Staudenmayer (Spamalot, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me) as The White Rabbit and Danny Stiles (Regional productions of Guys and Dolls and Sister Act: The Musical) as Morris the March Hare. With a book by Gregory Boyd and Jack Murphy, lyrics by Jack Murphy, music by Frank Wildhorn, choreography by Marguerite Derricks and direction by Gregory Boyd, WONDERLAND will open at Broadway's Marquis Theatre (1535 Broadway between 45th & 46th Streets) on Sunday, April 17, 2011. Click below for a complete sneak peek of the production onstage!

A New Alice. A New Musical stars Janet Dacal (In The Heights) as Alice, Darren Ritchie (Little Shop of Horrors, Thoroughly Modern Millie) as Jack the White Knight, E. Clayton Cornelious (The Scottsboro Boys, A Chorus Line) as Caterpillar, Jose Llana (Spelling Bee, Flower Drum Song) as El Gato, Karen Mason (Hairspray, Mamma Mia!) as The Queen of Hearts, Kate Shindle (Legally Blonde, Cabaret, Jekyll and Hyde) as The Mad Hatter, Carly Rose Sonenclar (Les Miserables, Little House on the Prairie) as Chloe, Edward Staudenmayer (Spamalot, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me) as The White Rabbit and Danny Stiles (Regional productions of Guys and Dolls and Sister Act: The Musical) as Morris the March Hare. With a book by Gregory Boyd and Jack Murphy, lyrics by Jack Murphy, music by Frank Wildhorn, choreography by Marguerite Derricks and direction by Gregory Boyd, WONDERLAND will open at Broadway's Marquis Theatre (1535 Broadway between 45th & 46th Streets) on Sunday, April 17, 2011, and performances began Monday, March 21.

Carly Rose Sonenclar, who stars as Chloe in WONDERLAND - A New Alice. A New Musical on Broadway, talks about her role in the upcoming musical on the WPIX-TV Morning News and on ABC News Now's 'What's the Buzz.'

Hold on to your hats! The box office for Broadway's WONDERLAND - A New Alice.

WONDERLAND - A New Alice just finished playing at The David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts (Judy Lisi, President and CEO) in Tampa, Florida. WONDERLAND will open on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre (1535 Broadway between 45th & 46th Streets) April 17; previews begin March 21. Here, choreographer Marguerite Derricks and cast member Edward Staudenmayer talk about the show!

We've got a first look a video 'sizzle reel' from WONDERLAND - A New Alice. A New Musical from the show's January run in Tampa. Next stop, Broadway!