Joe Leonardo

BoogieManja's 10th Season Ends with Best of Wicket Triplet and Cliff Hanger - Sketch comedy collective BoogieManja concludes their tenth season with a hilarious hour of live sketch comedy from teams Wicked Triplet and Cliff Hanger at the Peoples Improv Theater. Tickets available online and at the door.

Sketch comedy collective BoogieManja will continue its extended season at the PIT with Cliff Hanger and Wicked Triplet, featuring an hour of original comedy. Tickets available now.

Actress Alison Janes will reprise her role as Marilyn Monroe in the critically acclaimed play "Marilyn, Madness and Me" when it opens at 7 p.m. Friday for a two-night run on March 9 and 10 at Indian Wells Theatre.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. An amazing weekend, with 'Tommy,' L5Y, Lippa and 'The Wild Party,' 'First Date' and 'Pride And Prejudice.' Now we have 'First Wives Club' and 'Let It Be,' plus our top ongoing shows: 'Sondheim On Sondheim,' 'WSS,' 'La Cage' and 'The Addams Family!' So much going on!!!

Chicagoland's longest running musical theatre, The Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, IL, kicks off their 40th anniversary 2015 season with one of Broadway's all-time biggest hits, La Cage aux Folles.

Chicagoland's longest running musical theatre, The Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, IL, kicks off their 40th anniversary 2015 season with one of Broadway's all-time biggest hits, La Cage aux Folles. The 11-time Tony Award-winning musical, the first to win Best Musical three times, opens tonight, February 4, and runs through March 22, 2015. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Chicagoland's longest running musical theatre, The Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, IL, kicks off their 40th anniversary 2015 season with one of Broadway's all-time biggest hits, La Cage aux Folles. The 11-time Tony Award-winning musical, the first to win Best Musical three times, is currently in previews and opens February 4, running through March 22, 2015. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. The Paramount's 'Tommy,' Drury Lane's 'West Side' and the Marriott's 'La Cage.' Plus 'Stomp' puts its foot down, 'Gent's Guide' books the fall, new shows in development and rewrite, plus 'Louis And Keely' at the Royal George, 'Titanic' at Northwestern and 'Grease' on FOX!

Chicagoland's longest running musical theatre, The Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, IL, kicks off their 40th anniversary 2015 season with one of Broadway's all-time biggest hits, La Cage aux Folles. The 11-time Tony Award-winning musical, the first to win Best Musical three times, previews January 28, opens February 4, and runs through March 22.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Five different musicalized adaptations of 'A Christmas Carol' will put holiday cheer into your playgoing! Also 'Plaid Tidings,' a new 'Hansel And Gretel,' our first touch of 'Hands On A Hardbody,' the cast of the upcoming 'La Cage Aux Folles' at the Marriott, and Idina Menzel schedules an appearance in the Loop!

The FESTIVAL OF NEW AMERICAN MUSICALS kicks off its 7th year with a staged reading of GOING HOLLYWOOD tonight and Thursday, January 22 and 23, 7:30pm at the Barnsdall Gallery Theater in HOLLYWOOD. The Festival is offering free admission to the reading as a gift to the community.

The FESTIVAL OF NEW AMERICAN MUSICALS kicks off its 7th year with a staged reading of GOING HOLLYWOOD on Wednesday and Thursday, January 22 and 23, 7:30pm at the Barnsdall Gallery Theater in HOLLYWOOD.

The writer who gave television some of its favorite moments in entertainment with 'Flamingo Road,' 'Dallas,' 'Falcon Crest,' 'The Colbys,' 'General Hospital,' and 'Dynasty,' Frank V. Furino, has brought Marilyn Monroe back to life ... on stage in 'Marylin ... MADNESS & Me,' which is based on an original concept by Didier Bloch, under the direction of Joe Leonardo. Opening in the Monroe Forum at the El Portal Theatre on Sept 26th for a limited run, the overwhelming response from the public and press alike, has resulted in the production's extension through October 20th, 2013, at which point the destiny of the show, with an eye on Broadway's Great White Way, will be determined. Scroll down for photos from the show!

Frank V. Furino's world premiere play Marilyn MADNESS & Me, like the film My Week with Marilyn, puts a lesser known character in the lead and Marilyn is seen through his eyes, eyes filled with more than just lust and obsession...with real love for Norma Jean. Now at the El Portal Monroe Forum, the play, although still in the rough stages, presents an engrossing slant on the human side of Norma Jean, how she affected one average human being, as well as presenting a panorama of historical events of the 60s, woven together by a curiously fictional thread.

Among the guests attending the opening night gala for the West Coast theatrical premiere of 'Marylin ... MADNESS & Me' were those who worked with the plays subject matter, Marilyn Monroe, such as Dawn Wells who appeared as an extra in Monroe's last film, 'The Misfits' and Oscar winner George Chakiris, who danced with Monroe in 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.' Other noted guests in attendance for the celebration included Judy Tenuta, Ilene Graff, Jerry Mathers, Florence Henderson, Michael Learned, Geri Jewell, Erin Murphy, Kate Linder, Jane Kean, Mrs. Dick 'Cari' Clark and more. Scroll down for photos from the production and the festivities!

'Marilyn ... MADNESS & Me', a new one and a half person play by Frank V. Furino from an original concept by Didier Bloch will be directed by Joe Leonardo at the Monroe Forum at the El Portal Theatre, tonight, September 19 through October 20, 2013.

'Marilyn … MADNESS & Me', a new one and a half person play by Frank V. Furino from an original concept by Didier Bloch will be directed by Joe Leonardo at the Monroe Forum at the El Portal Theatre, September 19 through October 20, 2013.

He met Marilyn Monroe. He became obsessed with Norma Jean Baker. And that changed everything. The El Portal Theatre will present a poignant, compelling, and shocking tale of unrequited love, centered around the last month's of Marilyn Monroe's life as told in first-person by the man who lived it, and confirmed by excerpts from Marilyn's diary. Frank V. Furino's 'Marylin ... MADNESS & Me,' starring Trevor Peterson and introducing Bonnie Gilgallon, who brings the essence of Marilyn to life, puts a revealing spotlight on a career that has mesmerized the world for generations.

After the success of its first professional improvisation course, 'Physicalization and Character Work,' Sea Tea Improv will launch 'The Scene.' This class, taught by Joe Leonardo, will run from January 8th - February 26th in 2012.