Ariela Morgenstern News

Prospect Theater Company is pleased to announce its 2015 annual gala, a Concert Evening Celebrating Women Making Musicals. This special one-night-only event will be held on Saturday, May 16 with an 8pm concert performance featuring Broadway and Prospect stars.

Fourteen exceptionally talented singer-actors from the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany have been selected as finalists in the 2015 Lotte Lenya Competition, held annually by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music. They will compete for top prizes of $15,000, $10,000 and $7,500 on Saturday, April 18, 2015, in Rochester, New York.

It's your last week to vote for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Baltimore Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 26th. Voting closes at the end of the year, in under one week!

Time is ticking on your last chance to vote for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Baltimore Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 19th. Voting closes at the end of the year!

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Baltimore Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 4th.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Baltimore Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 4th.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Baltimore Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 25th.

Or perhaps a better title for this review should be "pretty typical," i.e. typical for a modern American musical.

Center Stage presents the rock musical Next to Normal, the second show of its music-filled 2014-15 Season.

Director David Schweizer returns to Center Stage and directs a sublime musical.

Kim H. Kowalke, President of The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, announced today the launch of the 2015 Lotte Lenya Competition, a program of the Foundation. The Lotte Lenya Competition seeks exceptionally talented young singer/actors who excel in a wide range of musical theater styles for the 2015 contest. Contestants will compete for top prizes of $15,000, $10,000 and $7,500; total prizes awarded will exceed $50,000.

Center Stage announces casting for the rock musical Next to Normal, the second show of its music-filled 2014-15 Season.

Penn State Centre Stage will present the regional premiere of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey's powerful rock musical Next to Normal from June 4 - 14, 2014 in the Penn State Pavilion Theatre. Directed by Cary Libkin and starring Ariela Morgenstern, Asa Somers, Raymond Sage, Tommy Hart, Christina Kidd, and Gregory LaMontagne, Next To Normal tells the story of a mother struggling with worsening Bipolar Disorder and the dramatic effect that her illness has on her family. Previews at 7:30 p.m.: June 4 and 5; Evenings at 7:30 p.m.: June 10, 11, 12; Evenings at 8:00 p.m.: June 6, 7, 13, 14; Matinee at 2 p.m.: June 7. Evenings: $30; Preview/Matinee: $20; Opening Night Reception/Show: $60 (Includes pre-show hors d'ouevres, show, and post-show desserts) Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; show begins at 8:00 p.m. For additional show information, visit www.theatre.psu.edu. Tickets are available at Penn State Tickets Downtown, Eisenhower Box Office, Bryce Jordan Center, or by calling (814) 863-0255 or 1 (800) ARTS-TIX.

Today, May 3rd, Studio 42 will present the Unproducible works of Meghan Deans - winner of the '13 Unproducible Smackdown (Ashore), Eric Dufault (Year of the Rooster), Brett Epstein - Fan Slam winner (I Loved Sam Stone), Leah Nanako Winkler (Death for Sydney Black), and Lauren Yee (Ching Chong Chinaman). Direction by Liz Carlson (The Playwrights Realm's Lottie in the Late Afternoon), Matt Dickson (INTAR's The Lowest Form of Writing), John Giampietro (EST's Year of the Rooster), and Jesse Jou (Rising Circle Theater Collectives's Say You Heard My Echo). The plays of the Smackdown are produced by Alyssa Anderson, Ying Le, Greg Nobile, Meghan Pressman, and Lico Whitfield.

Ben Edquist, of Houston, won the $15,000 First Prize in the finals of the 2014 Lotte Lenya Competition, sponsored by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music and held on April 12, 2014, in Kilbourn Hall of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. Arlo Hill, of New York, won the Second Prize of $10,000, and the Third Prize of $7,500 was awarded to Natalie Ballenger, also of New York.

On May 3rd, Studio 42 will present the Unproducible works of Meghan Deans - winner of the '13 Unproducible Smackdown (Ashore), Eric Dufault (Year of the Rooster), Brett Epstein - Fan Slam winner (I Loved Sam Stone), Leah Nanako Winkler (Death for Sydney Black), and Lauren Yee (Ching Chong Chinaman). Direction by Liz Carlson (The Playwrights Realm's Lottie in the Late Afternoon), Matt Dickson (INTAR's The Lowest Form of Writing), John Giampietro (EST's Year of the Rooster), and Jesse Jou (Rising Circle Theater Collectives's Say You Heard My Echo). The plays of the Smackdown are produced by Alyssa Anderson, Ying Le, Greg Nobile, Meghan Pressman, and Lico Whitfield.

Fourteen exceptionally talented young singer-actors have been selected as finalists in the 2014 Lotte Lenya Competition. They will compete for top prizes of $15,000, $10,000 and $7,500 on Saturday, April 12, 2014, in Rochester, New York. Broadway conductor and Encores! music director Rob Berman, 2-time Tony Award winner Judy Kaye, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Artistic Director James Robinson will judge.

FLASHDANCE-THE MUSICAL, the stage adaptation of the 1983 hit film that defined a generation, will open at The Bushnell's Mortensen Hall on Tuesday, October 15. With electrifying dance at its core, FLASHDANCE-THE MUSICAL tells the inspiring and unforgettable story of Alex Owens, a Pittsburgh steel mill welder by day and a bar dancer by night with dreams of one day becoming a professional performer. When romance with her steel mill boss threatens to complicate her ambitions, Alex learns the meaning of love and its power to fuel the pursuit of her dream. FLASHDANCE-THE MUSICAL is part of the 2013-2014 Bushnell Broadway Series co-sponsored by Travelers and Webster Bank.

FLASHDANCE - THE MUSICAL, the stage adaptation of the 1983 hit film that defined a generation, will perform at Wharton Center on October 8-13 as part of the MSU Federal Credit Union Broadway at Wharton CenterSeries. Tickets are on sale now and are available online at whartoncenter.com, at the Auto-Owners Ticket Office at Wharton Center, or by calling 1-800-WHARTON.