Arthur Laurents News

 'You know this is the first time I ever heard of NOT sleeping with the author to get the part,' cracked a profoundly p.o.-ed Phyllis Newman at the fourth of five auditions she had to endure in order to land a big, star-making role on Broadway.

What do Jay-Z, Kobe Bryant, Archie Bunker, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ed Koch, Bart Simpson, Bruce Campbell, Bonnie and Clyde, and J-Lo have in common?  The answer: Charles Strouse (and his hit songs)!

The Maltz Jupiter Theatre is seeking young performers for Disney Beauty and the Beast and West Side Story!

RATTLESTICK PLAYWRIGHTS THEATER (Daniella Topol, Artistic Director; Annie Middleton, Managing Director) is proud to announce its 2018/19 season. In Fall 2018, MacArthur Genius Grant Winner Samuel D. Hunter (The Whale, Bright New Boise, The Few) will team up with long-term collaborator Davis McCallum with the plays Lewiston and Clarkston, to be performed on a double bill for the first time. In Spring 2019, Rattlestick will present the World Premiere of Lockdown by Cori Thomas (When January Feels Like Summer), and directed by Kent Gash (Barbeque), commissioned by Rattlestick with support from The Toulmin Foundation.

American Lyric Theater presents The Living Libretto: Opera in Eden on March 18, 2018 at 3pm at The National Opera Center, 330 Seventh Avenue, NYC. Tickets are $20.

The San Diego Symphony has announced the lineup for its popular Bayside Summer Nights including 'godmother of soul' Patti LaBelle; Tony-nominated singer and actress Megan Hilty; rock music icon Rick Springfield; country mega-star Clint Black; perennial Broadway classic Chicago The Musical; Motown icons The Four Tops and The Temptations; and films accompanied by live orchestra, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert and Academy Award-winning West Side Story. At the heart of every Bayside Summer Nights season is the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.  

The San Diego Symphony has announced the lineup for its popular Bayside Summer Nights including 'godmother of soul' Patti LaBelle; Tony-nominated singer and actress Megan Hilty; rock music icon Rick Springfield; country mega-star Clint Black; perennial Broadway classic Chicago The Musical; Motown icons The Four Tops and The Temptations; and films accompanied by live orchestra, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert and Academy Award-winning West Side Story. At the heart of every Bayside Summer Nights season is the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.

Michael Weber, artistic director of Porchlight Music Theatre, is proud to announce Porchlight Music Theatre's 24th season that includes the 2018 - 2019 Mainstage, Porchlight Revisits and New Faces Sing Broadway seasons. Porchlight's Mainstage and Porchlight Revisits return to the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street.

The McCallum Theatre presents WEST SIDE STORY: IN CONCERT for five performances Friday, March 9 through Sunday, March 11. This classic musical is being exclusively produced by the McCallum Theatre as part of its Leonard Bernstein Centennial Celebration.  The March 9 performance of West Side Story: In Concert is presented through the generosity of Annette Bloch.  The March 10 performance is presented through the generosity of Richard and Julia Heyman.  The March 11 performance is presented through the generosity of Edeltraud and Patrick M. McCarthy. With a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and conception and choreography by Jerome Robbins, West Side Story is one of the most beloved and celebrated musicals in Broadway history.  The original 1957 Broadway production ran for 732 performances and was nominated for six Tony Awards including Best Musical, winning for Best Choreography and Best Scenic Design.  The 1961 musical film, directed by Robert Wise and Robbins, won ten Academy Awards including Best Picture.

Are subways really for sleeping? The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Evans Haile, Executive Director), dedicated to the development of new musicals and the preservation of musical gems from the past, has announced the cast of the 1961 Broadway musical Subways Are for Sleeping with music by Jule Styne and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, the final show in the Winter 2018 Musicals in Mufti Series celebrating the work of the legendary composer Jule Styne. Performances are set to begin Saturday afternoon, February 24, 2018 for 11 performances only through Sunday, March 4, 2018 at the York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). Opening Night is Sunday evening, February 25, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.

Tony Award-winner, Laura Benanti, revealed on Instagram that she will be teaming with account @betches for a weekly advice series titled, Adulting with Laura Benanti.

It has been announced that Chicago Theatre Workshop will hold its Spring benefit on March 18, headlined by Tony Award-winner, Laura Benanti. The benefit will include two special performances by Benanti on March 18, 2018 at 5:00 and 8:00 pm.

A season filled with unforgettable music, thrilling singers from around the world, and stirring new productions goes on sale via subscription Wednesday, February 7 at 10am.  Seven new and new-to-Chicago productions, including four Lyric premieres, will engage and entertain audiences from October 2018 through June 2019. 

Audiences and critics alike swooned over relatively unknown Leslie Uggams when she made her Broadway debut starring in Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Arthur Laurents and Jule Styne's progressively-minded 1967 Broadway musical HALLELUJAH, BABY!

Riverside Theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director/CEO Allen D. Cornell and Managing Director/COO Jon R. Moses, presents one of Broadway's greatest musicals, Gypsy. Presenting sponsor for Gypsy is Bobbie Olson with additional support from Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers' Group. Gypsy plays the Stark Stage at Riverside Theatre from March 6 - 25, 2018.

The Jule Styne Celebration Continues! The York Theatre Company has announced the cast of the rarely-seen musical Bar Mitzvah Boy, with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Tony and Oscar winner Don Black (Sunset Boulevard), and book by Jack Rosenthal (Yentl), as adapted by David Thompson (The Scottsboro Boys).

Ghostlight Records celebrates Hal Prince's historic 90th Birthday today with the announcement that the label will release PRINCE OF BROADWAY Original Broadway Cast Recording in physical, digital and streaming formats on Friday, April 20.

Come spend a moment in the woods with one of Broadway's finest artists, Joanna Gleason, who not only won a Tony Award for her magnificent portrayal of The Baker's Wife in INTO THE WOODS, but also starred in such Broadway hits as I LOVE MY WIFE, SOCIAL SECURITY, and DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS.

It's a Jule Styne Celebration! The York Theatre Company presents the 1968 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, Hallelujah, Baby!, with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and book by Arthur Laurents, the first of three shows in the Winter 2018 Musicals in Mufti Series celebrating the work of composer Jule Styne.

It's a Jule Styne Celebration! The York Theatre Company presents the 1968 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, Hallelujah, Baby!, with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and book by Arthur Laurents, the first of three shows in the Winter 2018 Musicals in Mufti Series celebrating the work of composer Jule Styne.