American Repertory Theater News

The Hypocrites are thrilled to launch their 2015-16 season with the Chicago premiere of the smash Broadway musical AMERICAN IDIOT, featuring music by Grammy Award-winning punk rock band Green Day, book by Green Day frontman/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer and lyrics by Armstrong, direction by Steven Wilson, musical direction by Andra Velis Simon and choreography by Katie Spelman. AMERICAN IDIOT will play tonight, August 28 - October 25, 2015 at The Den Theatre's Heath Main Stage, 1329 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood.

WAITRESS, the promising new musical adaptation of the 2007 indie rom-com that starred Kerri Russell and Nathan Fillion, may need a bit more shaking and baking before it's ready to contend for Broadway's Blue Ribbon. However, singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, screenwriter-turned-librettist Jessie Nelson, director Diane Paulus and star Jessie Mueller have stirred enough tasty ingredients into their bittersweet concoction to whet the audience's appetite for a second serving.

ONCE, winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and winner of the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, will play the Broward Center for the Performing Arts for a limited engagement from October 6 - 18, 2015. Tickets for ONCE will be available on August 28, 2015 and can be purchased by visiting Browardcenter.org or by phone 954-462-0222. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the cast in action below!

Paper Mill Playhouse will open its 2015-2016 season with the world premiere musical The Bandstand. As previously announced, Tony Award nominee Laura Osnes (Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, Bonnie and Clyde), Corey Cott (Newsies, Gigi) and Tony Award winner Beth Leavel (The Drowsy Chaperone, 42nd Street) will star in The Bandstand.

The world premiere, Broadway-bound musicalWaitress, based on the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly, with a book by Jessie Nelson, music & lyrics by Sara Bareilles, direction by Diane Paulus, and choreography by Chase Brock, officially opened last night, August 20th, at American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University.

PIPPIN will play the Aronoff Center, October 13-18, 2015 as part of the 2015-2016 Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati Season presented by TriHealth. Tickets will be on sale today, August 21 at 9AM at the Aronoff Center Box Office downtown at 650 Walnut Street, online at CincinnatiArts.org or by phone at 513.621.ARTS.

Cast members Keala Settle and Drew Gehlig joke about what they may do if they see red lights in the audience.

The world premiere, Broadway-bound musical Waitress, based on the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly, with a book by Jessie Nelson, music & lyrics by Sara Bareilles, direction by Diane Paulus, and choreography by Chase Brock, officially opens tonight, August 20th, at American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University.

Theater for the New City's Dream Up Festival 2015 presents Daddy's Boy, a world premiere play written by Cristian Avila where the wrestling ring becomes a battleground sexuality, family and identity. Avila directs a cast of eight, including David Conrad Brouillard, Julia Gyory, Aya Esther Hayashi, Jonathan Palmiotti, Christopher Staley*, Kyle Stockburger, Rachel Wharton, and Nick Zale. Six performances will be staged at Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue (bet. 9th and 10th Streets), New York, NY 10003 from August 30-September 6, 2015. *Member, Actors' Equity Association. AEA Showcase.

Following the success of their FUN HOME/Ingrid Michaelson mashup, Melanie Brook, Anna Ty Bergman, and Kerri George have debuted a new video on YouTube - this time featuring two songs by Sara Bareilles, including one from the Broadway-bound musical WAITRESS!

How to Live on Earth is a haunting new play about our unrelenting obsession with the next frontier and the desire to give your life for something greater than yourself. Inspired in part by the Mars One project to colonize Mars by 2025 - this piece is a funny, wry, and deeply truthful portrait of the fears and hopes that drive us towards exploration and expansion. 

Lyric Unlimited presents the world premiere of Second Nature, a new opera for youth from the acclaimed composer/librettist Matthew Aucoin, at Café Brauer at Lincoln Park Zoo (2021 N. Stockton Dr., Chicago). Four world-premiere performances will take place today, August 19 at 10am and 12pm, and tomorrow, August 20 at 4pm and 6pm.

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Artistic Director Diane Paulus, presents the first offering of its 2015/16 OBERON Presents series - GHOST QUARTET, with Music, Lyrics, & Text by Dave Malloy, Developed & Arranged by Ghost Quartet, and Directed by Annie Tippe. Performances run September 9, 10, and 11 at 7:30PM, September 12 at 4PM and 7:30PM at OBERON, 2 Arrow Street, Cambridge.

The talented artist recently spoke with WBZ-TV's Liam Martin and Paula Ebben and shared her excitement over the new project.

Among them, the company can claim 18 Tony Awards, 4 Pulitzer Prizes, 6 Pulitzer finalist distinctions, 3 Emmy Awards, and 2 Academy Awards; to list all their honors would take several pages.

It's Saturday, and that means it's time for BroadwayWorld's 'Saturday Intermission Pics' roundup!

Shakespeare & Company presented the first full American production of Red Velvet, written by Lolita Chakrabarti, directed by Daniela Varon, and starring OBIE Award-winning actor John Douglas Thompson last night and Broadwayworld's Stephen Sorokoff was there. This powerful and emotional drama joins the Tina Packer Playhouse repertory and runs through September 13. Check out photos from the production below!

WAITRESS: THE MUSICAL is set for a total Twitter takeover!

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Artistic Director Diane Paulus presents the world premiere musical Waitress. Based on the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly the new musical has a book by Jessie Nelson, music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, direction by Diane Paulus, and choreography by Chase Brock. Check out the audience reactions to the show below, plus a few clips!

PIPPIN will play the Aronoff Center, October 13-18, 2015 as part of the 2015-2016 Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati Season presented by TriHealth. Tickets will be on sale Friday, August 21 at 9AM at the Aronoff Center Box Office downtown at 650 Walnut Street, online at CincinnatiArts.org or by phone at 513.621.ARTS. Group orders of ten or more may be placed by calling 513.369.4363.