Arthur Laurents News

Audemars Piguet was the presenting sponsor of the 63rd Annual Tony Awards Telecast Red Carpet on June 7th at Radio City Music Hall. Audemars Piguet, considered one of the world's finest watch manufacturers, displayed eight solid aluminum clocks along this year's red carpet.

BroadwayWorld Congratulates Hair, 2009 Tony Award Winner, 'Best Revival of a Musical'

BroadwayWorld Congratulates Anthony Ward, 2009 Tony Award Winner, 'Best Costume Design of a Play'

The Tony Administration Committee revealed the names of a quartet of honorees who are to be recognized in the four non-competitive Tony categories. Composer/lyricist Jerry Herman, Virginia's Signature Theatre, and longtime press agent Shirley Herz will be honored at the 63rd annual Tony Awards ceremony on June 7. Actress/writer Phyllis Newman will receive the newest Tony Award for her volunteer work as an advocate for women's health.

On Thursday June 4th, Lin-Manuel Miranda had his very own Broadway Wall of Fame portrait unveiled at the popular theater district Italian eatery, Tony DiNapoli's. Tony DiNapoli's is located at 147 43rd Street.

The personal theatrical papers of Katharine Hepburn, which were acquired by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in 2007, will be on view for the first time in the new library exhibition, Katharine Hepburn: In Her Own Files, opening Wednesday, June 10. Her long and rich theater career is documented through typescripts (some, like the script for Coco, annotated in Hepburn?s hand), hundreds of photographs (publicity shots and formal portraits, as well as informal snapshots and rehearsal candids), scrapbooks, promotional ephemera, and sixty years of correspondence (fan mail, congratulatory notes, and general letters from such notable friends and admirers as Judy Garland, Richard Burton, John Ford, Vivien Leigh, Peter O?Toole, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, and Jeremy Irons, among scores of others. She saved telegrams from her friends and from stage crews and even the cards that come with flower bouquets, including many signed ?Pot,? Hepburn?s pet name for long-time companion Spencer Tracy). The exhibition continues through Saturday, October 10, 2009 in the Vincent Astor Gallery of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, located on the Lincoln Center campus at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza. Admission is free. For exhibition information, call 212.870.1630 or visit the Library?s website at www.nypl.org/lpa. In conjunction with this exhibition, a series of Hepburn films based on stage plays will be screened on Saturday afternoons in July and August at the Library.

Josefina Scaglione is starring as 'Maria' in the 2009 revival of West Side Story. The 21 year old Scaglione is a trained opera singer and has been in a production of Hairspray. She was set to portray Christine Daae in a production of The Phantom of the Opera in Argentina but had to give that lead up for her coveted casting in West Side Story. The story of how her YouTube video won her an audition and then the lead in Arthur Laurents's revival of West Side Story is already on its way to becoming Broadway legend.

Sony Masterworks proudly announces the upcoming release of the New Broadway Cast Recording of WEST SIDE STORY. The recording will be available nationwide on June 2, 2009. The official opening of WEST SIDE STORY, which took place at the Palace Theatre in New York City on Thursday, March 19, 2009, has been greeted with great critical acclaim and sold-out performances. The opening followed a pre-Broadway engagement at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., where the musical made its original world premiere in 1957.

Celebration Theatre is thrilled to announce that its critically-acclaimed (LA Times CRITICS' CHOICE; LA Weekly GO!; Backstage CRITIC'S PICK), smash-hit production of TRAFFICKING IN BROKEN HEARTS, written by Edwin Sanchez, produced by Larry Reitzer and directed by Efrain Schunior will be EXTENDING through SUNDAY, JUNE 28 at Celebration Theatre, 7051B Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood.

After a 48 year absence, Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) will present the first new Broadway production of Bye Bye Birdie as the inaugural production of the new Henry Miller's Theatre (124 West 43rd Street) beginning Thursday, September 10th, 2009 with an official opening on Thursday, October 15th, 2009. This will be a limited engagement through January 10th, 2010.

Renowned Theatrical Agent Peter Franklin has been let go from the William Morris Agency, according to Variety. Franklin, the head of the theater division at WMA, is among the 100+ employees fired as part of the ongoing William Morris-Endeavor merger.

The 75th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon took place on Friday, May 15, 2009 in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square (1535 Broadway at 46th Street).

Sony Masterworks proudly announces the upcoming release of the New Broadway Cast Recording of WEST SIDE STORY. The recording will be available nationwide on June 2, 2009. The official opening of WEST SIDE STORY, which took place at the Palace Theatre in New York City on Thursday, March 19, 2009, has been greeted with great critical acclaim and sold-out performances. The opening followed a pre-Broadway engagement at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., where the musical made its original world premiere in 1957.

Continuing the tradition of offering opportunities for more experienced youth to try out for shows that they would not normally have an opportunity to be a part of, The Un-Common Theatre Company's Young Adult group is excited to announce auditions for the legendary cult show 'Anyone Can Whistle'

The 75th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon took place on Friday, May 15, 2009 in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square (1535 Broadway at 46th Street). The event was co-hosted by Jeremy Irons (Impressionism) and Cynthia Nixon (Distracted).

The 75th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon took place today Friday, May 15, 2009 in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square (1535 Broadway at 46th Street). The event was co-hosted by Jeremy Irons (Impressionism) and Cynthia Nixon (Distracted).

The 75th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon took place today Friday, May 15, 2009 in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square (1535 Broadway at 46th Street). The event was co-hosted by Jeremy Irons (Impressionism) and Cynthia Nixon (Distracted).

Elton John (Billy Elliot: The Musical) will receive the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award, Arthur Laurents (West Side Story) will be honored with the Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing, and Angela Lansbury (Blithe Spirit) will receive the Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award. In addition, Broadway producer Herb Blodgett will receive The 75th Anniversary Leadership Award.

Broadway luminaries Jane Fonda, John Lithgow, Tyne Daly, Sutton Foster and Patick Wilson will appear as awards presenters at The 75th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon on Friday, May 15, 2009 (noon) in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square (1535 Broadway at 46th Street). The event will be co-hosted by Jeremy Irons (Impressionism) and Cynthia Nixon (Distracted).

West Side Story has returned to Broadway in a new production directed by its two-time Tony Award winning librettist Arthur Laurents. Laurents dicusses the musical with the Advocate, in the feature he reveals the evolution of the classic musical as it makes its return to Broadway.