Aisha Jackson News

Not in NYC to enjoy the performances? Stuck in the office for your lunch break? Fear not! BroadwayWorld was there to stream the whole presentation this afternoon. Check back here or follow us on Facebook to tune in every Thursday this summer!

This week's performances will feature the casts of WAITRESS (Shoshana Bean, Brandon Kalm, Charity Angel Dawson, Dayna Dantzler, Jessie Hooker-Bailey, Max Kumangai, Tyrone Davis Jr.); CHICAGO (Lana Gordon, Desi Oakley, Eddie Bennett, Gary Cooper, Jessica Ernest, Dan Gutierrez, Mary Claire King, Barrett Martin, Pilar Millhollen, Drew Nellessen, Beth Nicely, Rachel Schur, Colt Weiss); BEETLEJUICE (Alex Brightman, Sophia Anne Caruso, Natalie Charle Ellis, Sean Montgomery); COME FROM AWAY (Josh Breckenridge, Petrina Bromley, Holly Ann Butler, De'Lon Grant, John Jellison, Tony LePage, Julie Reiber, Pearl Sun, Astrid Van Wieren, Jim Walton); JERSEY BOYS (Austin Colby, Aaron de Jesus, Mark Edwards, John Gardiner, Dianna Barger, Amanda Dela Cruz, Olivia Valli).

On Monday night, 16 Broadway stars were featured in Broadway Sings Ariana Grande, the latest concert in the Broadway Sings concert series at Sony Hall. The tribute concerts take the music of well-known music icons and create new, unique arrangements and orchestrations by twisting the style to fit the strength of the performer. On July 29, the series will continue with its spinoff concert, Unplugged, in which Alanis Morissette will be honored at The Green Room 42.

The cold never bothered Broadway anyway! Frozen is now playing at the historic St. James Theatre, where it opened on Thursday, March 22, 2018 and has been in the top 10 best-selling shows every week, establishing itself as the biggest musical hit of its season. Having grossed more than any new Broadway musical since Hamilton and set four St. James Theatre house records in less than a year, Frozen has been seen by nearly 1M people since its Denver pre-Broadway engagement. As the summer days heat up, we're cooling down by getting to know the current 2019 cast!

Broadway talents including Desi Oakley (Chicago), Ryann Redmond (Frozen), and Krysta Rodriguez (Spring Awakening) complete the lineup for the next installment of the acclaimed Broadway Sings concert series, honoring the pop superstar Ariana Grande. Cast members from Broadway shows including Moulin Rouge, Head Over Heels, and Summer will sing completely new arrangements of the hits of the Grammy Award winning singer, accompanied by a 14-piece orchestra playing original orchestrations of her music.

The acclaimed Broadway Sings concert series will continue on July 1 at 8pm, honoring pop superstar Ariana Grande with a bombshell cast of Broadway stars including Isaac Cole Powell (Once on This Island), Carrie St. Louis (Kinky Boots), and Ciara Renee (Pippin). The one-night-only concert will feature completely new arrangements of the hits of the award-winning artist, accompanied by a 14-piece orchestra playing original orchestrations of her music.

Over 400 guests including current and past New York City high school students and their mentors who have participated in the TDF Wendy Wasserstein Project, the theatre arts mentoring program, (formerly called "Open Doors"), that TDF founded in 1998 with playwright Wendy Wasserstein, will attend this year's graduation ceremony at 5:30pm on Monday, June 3at The Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College (524 West 59th Street, NYC). The graduation ceremony will open with a performance by Aisha Jackson who covers the role of Anna in Disney's Frozen.

This year's Stars in the Alley concert was held on May 10. Hosted by Alex Brightman, the celebration included performances and appearances by 2019 Tony Award-nominated performers including: Caitlin Kinnunen (The Prom), Sarah Stiles (Tootsie), as well as performances from 2019 Tony Award-nominated musicals including: Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations; Beetlejuice; Hadestown; Kiss Me, Kate; Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!; The Prom; and Tootsie.

This year's Stars in the Alley concert was held on May 10. Hosted by Alex Brightman, the celebration included performances and appearances by 2019 Tony Award-nominated performers including: Caitlin Kinnunen (The Prom), Sarah Stiles (Tootsie), as well as performances from 2019 Tony Award-nominated musicals including: Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations; Beetlejuice; Hadestown; Kiss Me, Kate; Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!; The Prom; and Tootsie.

STARS IN THE ALLEY, presented by United Airlines, has announced the performers for the concert that will take place on Friday, May 10th at 1pm in Shubert Alley, between Broadway and 8th Avenue and 44th and 45th Streets.

This week, the hit musical Waitress is celebrating three sweet years since opening up at Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre! To celebrate, we're throwing it back to the show's opening night with its original stars Jessie Mueller, Drew Gehling, Keala Settle, and more. It only takes a taste to know that Waitress is special, so check out all the footage below to see why!

What good is sitting alone in your room this week? If you don't already have plans to see a Broadway show, come out to see your favorite Broadway stars in a cabaret act instead. After Broadway orchestras begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Highlights this week include Amanda Jane Cooper, Katie Ladner, Nick Cordero and many more!

Darius de Haas (Shuffle Along, Rent, Children of Eden) is looking very animated lately, especially as presented in a new cartoonified recording session video of "Real Thing," released today, Friday, March 29, as a single from the album "All the Possibilities: Broadway Sings Wartofsky" on Yellow Sound Label.

Broadway Advocacy Coalition? announces its first quarterly Community Gathering, to be held on April 1st, 2019 at 7:00pm in the lobby of Signature Theater.

Just yesterday, the company of Frozen celebrated its first anniversary with a party at The Stinger cocktail bar in The Intercontinental. On hand for the festivities were original stars Caissie Levy (Elsa) and Patti Murin (Anna) and new principal cast members Joe Carroll as Hans, Noah J. Ricketts as Kristoff, and, as Olaf, Ryann Redmond. Check out photos from the celebration below!

'Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations' opened last night, March 21, at Broadway's legendary Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street). Checkout photos from the red carpet below!

Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

In 2018, the idea for #ComeTogether was sparked. Much of the inspiration for this project stems from an incomplete American Songbook-many voices are missing and stories are unheard. In lieu of our current political climate, we are deeply struck by the hostility aimed at dividing our country and turning Americans against one another. Art is and always has been a uniting force. NASO's weapons of choice: word and melody.

Stephen DeAngelis continues his ongoing salute to Broadway and Off-Broadway Standbys, Understudies and Alternates with its next edition of AT THIS PERFORMANCE... to be held on Monday, March 4th at The Green Room 42.

What good is sitting alone in your room this week? If you don't already have plans to see a Broadway show, come out to see your favorite Broadway stars in a cabaret act instead. After Broadway orchestras begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Highlights this week include Eva Noblezada, Joanna Gleason, Frances Ruffelle and many more!