Alfred Uhry News

Philly audiences are treated to the magic of this classic before it rides off on a National Tour.

Today in 1931, Broadway veteran James Earl Jones was born. He has won Tony awards in 1969 for The Great White Hope and in 1987 for Fences. He has acted in many Shakespearean roles: Othello, King Lear, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Abhorson in Measure for Measure, and Claudius in Hamlet. On April 7, 2005, James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams headed the cast in an African-American Broadway revival version of On Golden Pond, directed by Leonard Foglia and produced by Jeffrey Finn. In February 2008, he starred on Broadway as Big Daddy in a limited-run, all-African-American production of Tennessee Williams's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, directed by Debbie Allen and mounted at the Broadhurst Theatre. In October 2010, Jones returned to the Broadway stage in Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy along with Vanessa Redgrave at the Golden Theatre. In November 2011, Jones starred in Driving Miss Daisy in London's West End, and on November 12 Jones received his honorary Oscar in front of the audience at the Wyndham's Theatre, which was presented to him by Ben Kingsley.

BoHo Theatre continues its milestone 10th season with AMADEUS, Peter Shaffer's masterpiece about genius, jealousy, and the lies we tell to preserve a legacy. Amadeus represents the Bohemian Pillar of Truth in BoHo's 2013/2014 Season.

After conducting a thorough national search, the Alliance Theatre has announced that Mike Schleifer has been chosen as the new General Manager of the Alliance Theatre, beginning March 3, 2014. Schleifer steps into the position left vacant by Max Leventhal, who served the Alliance for 10 seasons before transitioning to the role of Owners' Representative to the Woodruff Arts Center in September, 2013. Schleifer brings to his new role 19 years of theatre management experience in a variety of company leadership and stage management positions.

Now celebrating its 10th anniversary season, the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition continues to spotlight the best emerging playwrights with a full production for the competition winner and staged readings for four competition finalists. IN LOVE AND WARCRAFT, the 10th competition winner, will premiere on the Hertz Stage January 31 - February 23, 2014. Opening night is February 5, 2014. IN LOVE AND WARCRAFT is written by Madhuri Shekar, a recent graduate of the MFA program at the University of South California, and will be directed by Laura Kepley, Artistic Director of the Cleveland Play House.

Today in 1998, Parade opened at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, where it ran for 85 performances. Parade is a musical with a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. The production was directed by Harold Prince and starred Brent Carver as Leo Frank, Carolee Carmello as Lucille Frank, and Christy Carlson Romano as Mary Phagan. The musical won Tony Awards for best book and best score (out of nine nominations) and six Drama Desk Awards. The show has enjoyed a U.S. national tour and numerous professional and amateur productions in both the U.S. and abroad.

Signature Theatre presents the World Premiere of CHERI, conceived, directed and choreographed byMartha Clarke, now playing a limited six-week run through Sunday, December 29. The production began preview performances on November 19 and opening was last night, December 8 in The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). BroadwayWorld was there for the special night and you can check out photos below!

The Jungle Theater announces that it has added six performances of DRIVING MISS DAISY, extending the run of the popular production through December 29, 2013. Directed by Artistic Director Bain Boehlke, and starring Ivey Award-winning Wendy Lehr as Atlanta matriarch Daisy Werthan, and James Craven as her compassionate chauffeur, the production has received extensive praise from both audiences and critics alike.

La Jolla Playhouse will bring back its acclaimed new play development initiative, the DNA New Work Series, a two-week run of workshops and readings of new works, taking place February 17 - March 2, 2014.

The Huntington Theatre Company presents a concert version of Jason Robert Brown's powerful contemporary musical The Last Five Years for three performances only this weekend, November 23 and 24.

It's December 1939 in Atlanta, Georgia. Gone with the Wind is having its world premiere, and Hitler is invading Poland, but many of Atlanta's German Jews are much more concerned with who is going to Ballyhoo, the social event of the season. The Last Night of Ballyhoo centers around Atlanta's Freitag family - and as events take various unexpected turns, the family is pulled apart and then mended together with plenty of romance, revelations, and comedy along the way.

Playwrights Horizons has announced initial casting for the New York premiere production of STAGE KISS, a new play marking the eagerly-awaited return of two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl(Dead Man's Cell Phone at PH; The Clean House, In the Next Room...) to the theater company. Directed by Rebecca Taichman (Milk Like Sugar at PH; the current Marie Antoinette, Orlando, The Scene, Luck of the Irish), the production will begin previews Friday evening, February 7 at 8PM with an Opening Night set for Sunday, March 2 at 7PM. The limited engagement will play through Sunday evening, March 23 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

Recently, TheatreWorks announced its 2014 line-up of theatrical performances at a party hosted by Spruce Home & Garden, a retailer of upper-end home products and accessories, on Bank Street in New Milford. Over 100 subscribers, donors, and special guests, along with the Board of Directors of TheatreWorks, gathered for a few hours to mingle and dine on appetizers from New Milford's Ristorante Lucia, which then hosted a post-event party at the restaurant.

Today we are talking to a Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist celebrated for his many impressive musical theatre scores since his astonishing debut in the 1990s with SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD and PARADE, the one and only Jason Robert Brown. Discussing the finer points of the vastly different scores for his two new stage musicals premiering this year, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY and HONEYMOON IN VEGAS, Brown paints a vivid portrait of his composing process in creating both the serious romantic drama and bubbly musical comedy, respectively. Additionally, Brown outlines his experiences collaborating with theatre legends Harold Prince and Alfred Uhry on his first big Broadway musical, PARADE, and also reflects on the subsequent successful national tour which he himself conducted. Most importantly, Brown sheds some light on the sparkling new cast recording of his recent self-directed revival of his two-character cult mainstay THE LAST FIVE YEARS and how the last ten years have shaded his perspective on the piece, particularly as anticipation builds for the release of the highly anticipated feature film adaptation starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan, directed by Richard LaGravenese and set for release next year, which Brown confirms he has completed his scoring duties on this month and offers an enticing endorsement of the indie movie musical. All of that, a discussion of his solo album and specialty material penned over the years, astute observations on his sporadic collaborations with wife, songwriter and fellow InDepth InterView participant Georgia Stitt as well as much, much more in this quick catch-up chat with one of Broadway's busiest musical craftsmen.

This past Monday night, October 28th, the Bucks County Playhouse honored Angela Lansbury as their inaugural inductee to their Alumni Hall of Fame. This honors theatrical luminaries who have graced the New Hope stage. Below, check out a look back at the evening!

Angela Lansbury was first the first inductee into Bucks County Playhouse Hall of Fame in New Hope, Pennsylvania, where she first appeared on an American stage.

It's December 1939 in Atlanta, Georgia. Gone with the Wind is having its world premiere, and Hitler is invading Poland, but many of Atlanta's German Jews are much more concerned with who is going to Ballyhoo, the social event of the season. The Last Night of Ballyhoo centers around Atlanta's Freitag family - and as events take various unexpected turns, the family is pulled apart and then mended together with plenty of romance, revelations, and comedy along the way.

The New York City theatre scene is the biggest in the world- not limited to the bright lights of Broadway nor the smaller downtown venues off Broadway. As a part of our 10th Anniversary season, BroadwayWorld continues to grow, now extending our coverage into NYC's outer boroughs. BroadwayWorld welcomes three new Brooklyn critics who will join our New York team, led by Michael Dale, to provide coverage that is even more comprehensive.

Nathan Lane, Harold Prince, Angela Lansbury, Laura Osnes,Harriet Harris, Kate Burton, Kristine Nielsen, Alfred Uhry saluted actress Dana Ivey and arts patron Barbara Fleischmanat The Acting Company's Gala on last night, October 21 at Capitale. Ms. Ivey received the John Houseman Award recognizing her profound commitment to the development of American actors and a national audience for the theater. Ms. Fleischman was presented the Warburg Humanitarian Award for her outstanding philanthropic endeavor and support of the arts. BroadwyWorld was there for the special event and you can check out photos below!

Playwrights Horizons presents its New York premiere production of Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, a new play by Anne Washburn, with music by Obie Award winner Michael Friedman. Directed by Steve Cosson, the Obie Award-winning Artistic Director of The Civilians, Mr. Burns is being presented as the first production of Playwrights Horizons' 2013/2014 Season.