Andrew Lippa News

BroadwayWorld's 2010 Valentine's Day gift to you, the 5th Annual 'What's the Most Romantic Broadway Love Song Ever?' brings you over 500 stars, industry professionals, and personalities from across the globe, and this year Barbra Streisand, Susan Boyle, Bernadette Peters, Cameron Mackintosh, HAIR, GLEE and many, many more!

Two River Theater Co. will present Neil Simon's Tony nominated romantic comedy: BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, directed by Two River Founder and Executive Producer, Robert M. Rechnitz. Barefoot in the Park begins previews on Tuesday, February 9, opens Saturday, February 13, and runs through Sunday, February 28.

There may be actors who could give better performances as john and jen than Patrick Waller and Martha Wilkinson but they would have to be some sort of imaginary, dream-like apparitions to even come close to the stunningly brave and thoroughly focused interpretations given by these two exemplary Nashville artists. Consider it an ideal marriage of actors and characters, the perfect confluence of artists at their creative best coming together to breathe life and renewed vitality into their fictional counterparts, who are so richly drawn and evocatively written by Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald in their chamber musical now onstage at Chaffin's Backstage at the Barn in the debut production of Johnny Peppers' 3Ps Productions.

Broadway vet Leslie Becker will perform a host of Broadway classics and modern tunes in her cabaret, 'All I Do is Sing' at Don't Tell Mama. The performance will take place February 28th at 9:30pm. Becker will perform songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb, Andrew Lippa, Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, Maury Yeston, Irving Berlin, and more.

Take some of the greatest songs of the 1940s; add a healthy dose of comedy and romance; mix it all together with an award-winning cast and some of Southern California's finest creative staff, and what do you get?

No matter what anyone else may say, Johnny Peppers is definitely the hardest working man in Nashville theatre. Sure, there are those people who might give him a run for his money, but this week there's just no contest. Not only is he producing two shows opening on successive nights, he's playing the lead in one of them.

'Martha' is Martha Wilkinson, an actress who's been on the scene for more than 20 years, performing on stages all over town, racking up glowing notices other actresses would kill for, carting off nine - count 'em, nine! - First Night Awards, being named the Nashville Scene's best actress, ranking atop Nashville.BroadwayWorld.com's year-end review for 2009, and winning hearts every time she walks onstage.

Take some of the greatest songs of the 1940s; add a healthy dose of comedy and romance; mix it all together with an award-winning cast and some of Southern California's finest creative staff, and what do you get?

The American Theatre Wing has announced the recipients of the 2010 Jonathan Larson® Grants. The grants, given annually to honor emerging composers, lyricists and book writers, help to continue Tony Award®-winning composer Jonathan Larson's dream of infusing musical theatre with a contemporary, joyful, urban vitality. After considering 165 applications, Peter Lerman, Daniel Mate, and songwriting team Michael Kooman (music) and Christopher Dimond (book & lyrics) were selected to receive the prestigious grants, totaling $10,000. They will be honored at a presentation on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at Touch (240 W52 St.) in New York City.

Good naturedly, Waller takes the ribbing from Wilkinson and Fudge in stride, which is quite a good thing considering they are masters of the game. Longtime friends and professional collaborators, the worldly wise and experienced pair have welcomed Waller into their charmed inner circle with open arms - and the easy camaraderie among the three is by turns compelling, rollicking and, quite frankly, amazing. In conversation (particularly in an interview about their current project) , where one starts, another takes off and the third continues, with punch-lines abounding, self-deprecation the rule of the day and laughter at every turn. It's an easy give-and-take that promises a particularly entertaining production of the Andrew Lippa-Tom Greenwald chamber musical, john and jen.

Poor Tim Fudge! Could we all just join hands, figuratively speaking, and lift our voices in prayer (to whomever or whatever you feel like praying) for this multi-talented man who is faced with a most daunting task: He's the musical director for john & jen, the Andrew Lippa-Tom Greenwald musical being mounted by Johnny Peppers' 3Ps Productions and starring Martha Wilkinson and Patrick Waller, for a three week run at Backstage at the Barn.

MUSICAL THEATRE WEST kicks off the new year with the Stephen Sondheim masterpiece, Sweeney Todd. Previewing on January 29, 2010, Sweeney Todd opens January 30 and runs through February 14 at the spectacular Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler, is based on the 1973 play Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond.

Winner of the 2008/09 L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Award for its critically-acclaimed production of Kiss of the Spider Woman (Best Musical - Intimate Theatre), Havok Theatre Company is thrilled to announce its first production of 2010, the Broadway musical THE STORY OF MY LIFE with music and lyrics by Neil Bartram, book by Brian Hill, musical direction by Michael Paternostro and directed by Havok's Artistic Director and Ovation Award-winner Nick DeGruccio.

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director) and Barry Grove (Executive Producer) are pleased to announce that Tony Award nominee Brian d'Arcy James will join the cast of the New York premiere of Donald Margulies' TIME STANDS STILL at Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street).

Though the Broadway production of Rent closed on September 7, 2008 and the national tour based on the Broadway production gives its final performance this February, the show and its message live on. Minneapolis theatergoers will be able to see as much for themselves through the first local, professional production of Rent, which opens on February 3 and runs through February 21 at the Lab Theatre (formerly the Guthrie Lab), located in the Warehouse District near Acme Comedy Club and the former site of Theatre de la Jeune Lune.

It's the Roaring 1920's - the Jazz Age - and it looks like the good times will never end.

Julia Murney will replace previously announced host Stephanie J. Block at the January 25th Monday Nights, New Voices concert at the Duplex Cabaret Theatre.

Jim Caruso's Cast Party is proud to announce that Natalie Weiss will make her Birdland solo concert debut on Sunday, January 24 at 6pm. This concert is part of the long-running Broadway at Birdland concert series.

It's the Roaring 1920's - the Jazz Age - and it looks like the good times will never end.

Wild Party, Andrew Lippa's dazzling new musical set in the 1920's, at Town Hall Theater. Doug Anderson directs this stellar cast of Middlebury College students, with a swinging jazz band directed by Richard Forman.