Alan Menken News

Disney's The Little Mermaid, the hit Broadway musical based on the popular animated film, opened July 10 at Wells Fargo Pavilion for a two-week run through July 22. This Disney family favorite, part of the 2012 Music Circus season, features the popular songs "Part of Your World," "Under the Sea," and "Kiss the Girl." Tickets start at $30 for all performances, with specially-priced children's tickets available in any seating section.

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Diane Paulus' upcoming production of Pippin might be heading to Broadway after it plays Cambridge's American Repertory Theater in December. Now the New York Times is reporting that Broadway favorites Patina Miller, Terrence Mann, and Charlotte d'Amboise are in talks to star in the production as 'Leading Player,' 'King Charles,' and 'Fastrada' respectively. Additionally, Damon Daunno, who recenty starred in Broadway's Brief Encounter is in talks to play the leading role.

Olney Theatre Center has announced the opening of the musical, Little Shop of Horrors. Little Shop of Horrors will run on the Olney Theatre Center's Mainstage from August 1 to August 26, 2012.

On the same night that Jon Favreau came to see NEWSIES on Broadway, Joe Torre took his family to the Tony Award-winning production. Jeremy Jordan, a huge fan of Torre's and of baseball in general, was honored to try on Torre's World Series ring. Check out a photo of Jordan and Torre below!

Disney's The Little Mermaid, the hit Broadway musical based on the popular animated film, will have its West Coast premiere at Wells Fargo Pavilion for a two-week run from tonight, July 10 - 22. This Disney family favorite, part of the 2012 Music Circus season, features the popular songs "Part of Your World," "Under the Sea," and "Kiss the Girl." Tickets start at $30 for all performances, with specially-priced children's tickets available in any seating section.

It's 'A Whole New World' as The Muny presents the third show of its 94th season, Disney's Aladdin, which runs through July 13, directed by Gary Griffin and choreographed by Alex Sanchez. Check out the video below as Director, Gary Griffin, gives us some insight into the process behind creating this stage extravaganza!

Today we are talking to a terrifically talented triple-threat who has graced the silver screen in CHICAGO, as well as in the TV productions of THE MUSIC MAN, ONCE UPON A MATTRESS and in many stunt and dance double roles in his career thus far who has since become the protegee of dance extraordinaire Kenny Ortega and broken out on his own with a string of striking and memorable sequences in entities as diverse as TV's HELLCATS and the recent feature films THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, SUCKER PUNCH, MIRROR, MIRROR and TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN PART 1 - gifted dancer/choreographer/director Paul Becker. Talking about many of his most memorable past projects and filling us in on his many current and future ones - TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN PART 2, a Ben Vereen documentary, an original movie musical titled STAGE FRIGHT, a James Gray film featuring Jeremy Renner and Marion Cotillard, a Lifetime movie musical with Karen Olivo and even more - Becker brings us into his unique and idiosyncratic world and gives us a glimpse into how he achieves consistent excellence in all of his many endeavors as he attempts to define his anomalous career for us. Additionally, Becker takes a look back at acting onscreen in the Oscar-winning Best Picture CHICAGO, choreographing the ultimate vampire wedding, judging SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE? Canada, producing CANADA'S GOT TALENT, giving two hundred dancers movement for a Michael Buble music video and he also shares some hopes and wishes for what he would like to take on in his blindingly bright future in show business - directing a feature film, perhaps? What about a Broadway show when time permits? The possibilities are multitude and seemingly endless and Becker is one of the most brightly shining behind-the-scenes talents on the rise, as is clear to qualify by all of the exquisitely exciting entities he is involved with on the horizon, both near and far. Plus, Becker shares his experiences choreographing various THE MUPPETS movies, working with Ortega on the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus concert tours, directing the first YouTube feature film, dancing with death in MASTERS OF HORROR, giving moves to monsters in THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, staging the spectacular finale of MIRROR, MIRROR showcasing Julia Roberts, choreographing the fairy tale characters of ONCE UPON A TIME, and he also offers opinions on GLEE and SMASH, reveals his early influences, favorite stars, formative films - and much, much more!

Heidi Klum took in one of Broadway's hottest shows, NEWSIES, on Saturday, July 7th. After the matinee performance, she visited with the cast backstage, talking about Katie Holmes' recent taping of "Project Runway" while her children explored the 3-story set. Check out photos of Klum with Jeremy Jordan and Kara Lindsay below!

The Broadway company of Newsies features Jeremy Jordan as Jack Kelly, John Dossett as Joseph Pulitzer, Kara Lindsay as Katherine Plumber, Capathia Jenkins as Medda Larkin, Ben Fankhauser as Davey, Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Crutchie, and Lewis Grosso, and Matthew Schechter alternating the role of Les. Garrett Hawe plays Albert - meet him in the video below!

It's 'A Whole New World' as The Muny presents the third show of its 94th season, Disney's Aladdin, which runs through July 13, directed by Gary Griffin and choreographed by Alex Sanchez. Check out the video below for highlights from the show's opening night!

It's 'A Whole New World' as The Muny presents the third show of its 94th season, Disney's Aladdin, which opened through July 13, directed by Gary Griffin, and choreographed by Alex Sanchez. BWW is excited to present a first look at photos from the production and the cast on opening night!

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) presents Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the Theater's annual summer family musical, directed by Rachel Rockwell with Music Direction by Doug Peck, featuring Emily Rohm as Belle and William Travis Taylor as the Prince turned into a Beast by an enchantress's spell. This Tony Award-winning musical is filled with lovable characters, beautiful sets and costumes, and dazzling production numbers, including 'Be Our Guest' and the beloved title song. BroadwayWorld has the production photos below.

The Muny presents the third show of its 94th season, Disney's Aladdin, opening tonight through July 13, directed by Gary Griffin, and choreographed by Alex Sanchez.

A giant, man-eating plant from outer space will invade the Whitefish Performing Arts Center when Alpine Theatre Project presents Little Shop of Horrors tonight, July 5 through July 21 at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center in downtown Whitefish. The musical comedy runs Tuesdays - Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 6pm with a special Family Matinee at 2pm on July 21.

Disney's The Little Mermaid, the hit Broadway musical based on the popular animated film, will have its West Coast premiere at Wells Fargo Pavilion for a two-week run from July 10 - 22. This Disney family favorite, part of the 2012 Music Circus season, features the popular songs 'Part of Your World,' 'Under the Sea,' and 'Kiss the Girl.' Tickets start at $30 for all performances, with specially-priced children's tickets available in any seating section.

The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop is now accepting applications for its first year composer/lyricist class. The August 1, 2012 deadline is quickly approaching and applicants are asked to send in the requested materials as soon as possible. The Workshop begins September 17, 2012, and runs through June 2013. A recipient of the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre Award, the Lehman Engel Musical Workshop consists of approximately 250 composers, lyricists and book writers who are actively writing new works for the musical theatre.

Today we are taking a look at four sparkling new Blu-ray editions of well-regarded films from the Disney vault by focusing on three titles that are also currently running on Broadway in screen-to-stage adaptations at this very moment - EVITA, NEWSIES and SISTER ACT. The current trend of adapting hit films into musicals for the stage has sporadically proven that some stage adaptations can even be more entertaining onstage, while some recent movie musicals have one-upped their stage roots in a way a few Golden Age adaptations also managed to do. Such is the case with EVITA, NEWSIES, SISTER ACT and SISTER ACT 2 (the latter two both acting as inspiration for the Broadway SISTER ACT musical) - all available for the first time on Blu-ray and each certainly justifying consideration for inclusion in your library if only because each is regarded as a modern-day classic - of sorts - in its own unique and special way. And, without these films, we would never have the current versions of the shows now running on Broadway based upon them (even in the case of a classic like EVITA, whose stage version may have come first, but, as seen and heard in the hit Elena Roger/Ricky Martin/Michael Cerveris revival, now includes the film addition, "You Must Love Me"). Whatever the medium, all of these winning entities offer an entertaining way to beat the heat and celebrate the start of summer in style - with some tunes, old and new, you are not soon to forget.

A devout theater fan knows no holiday, and thankfully, many of Broadway's most beloved shows and performers nationwide don't either. So what's a theater enthusiast to do on this Independence Day? Check out a sampling of this year's most exciting 4th of July offerings and click below to revisit some of your favorites saluting our nation in song!