Audra McDonald News

Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade, 13, The Last Five Years, Songs for a New World) and Tony Award-winning stage and screen star Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls) and The Caucasian Rhythm Kings begin a special three-night concert engagement tonight at the Henry Street Settlement - Abrons Arts Center (466 Grand at Pitt). The concerts will also be filmed for future broadcast on PBS.

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) announced that Norm Lewis, Audra McDonald, and David Alan Grier are joining the A.R.T. to play Porgy, Bess, and Sportin' Life in the A.R.T.'s new production of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess. Performances will begin August 17at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge. Further casting will be announced at a later date.

Night at the Pier, Family Equality Council's annual New York City event, brings together LGBT parents, friends and allies to celebrate the progress made as a community of loving families towards full equality. This year, Night at the Pier featured a cocktail reception, a seated dinner, live entertainment, a silent auction and the opportunity to mingle with old friends and meet new ones. Check out photos from the event below!

Family Equality Council, America's foremost national advocate for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) families, held the organization's annual New York City awards dinner last night, Monday, April 25, 2011 at Pier 60 in New York.

The 2011 theatre awards season is quickly approaching, and keeping track of all of the important dates for the many ceremonies and corresponding nominations is no easy feat. Stay up to date on all the need-to-know facts with BroadwayWorld's Awards Season Calendar below!

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), under the artistic direction of Diane Paulus, is pleased to announce the productions that will be part of the A.R.T.'s 2011/12 Season.

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), under the artistic direction of Diane Paulus, is pleased to announce the productions that will be part of the A.R.T.'s 2011/12 Season.

Last weekend marked the opening of his new vampire-centric horror film STAKE LAND, and you can catch him every week on FOX's hit series FRINGE, but Michael Cerveris is certainly best known for his series of stunning performances in some of the finest musical theatre productions of the 21st century - John Doyle's SWEENEY TODD and Joe Mantello's ASSASSINS chief among them - as well as for originating the title role in Pete Townshend's singular Broadway foray, The Who's TOMMY. With a captivating new double-disc concept album - NINE LIVES - out now, it seems that Cerveris has found a way to juggle it all. In this extensive two-part conversation, we take a look back at his experiences in the aforementioned Sondheim musicals, as well as his series of performances in Sondheim shows under the direction of Lonny Price at the Ravinia Festival co-starring Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone, and also touch upon his work in plays, such as his recent Kent in Kevin Kline's KING LEAR at The Public, HEDDA GABLER opposite Mary Louise Parker, and Sarah Ruhl's IN THE NEXT ROOM (OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY) with Laura Benanti. Additionally, he shares his Tony memories, singing SWEENEY TODD at the recent SONDHEIM! Celebration, HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH, TITANIC and much, much more in this compelling and comprehensive conversation - plus, first news on his upcoming TREME appearance and FRINGE renewal confirmation. His new feature film STAKE LAND is in selected cities now!

This weekend marks the opening of his new vampire-centric horror film STAKE LAND, and you can catch him every week on FOX's hit series FRINGE, but Michael Cerveris is certainly best known for his series of stunning performances in some of the finest musical theatre productions of the 21st century - John Doyle's SWEENEY TODD and Joe Mantello's ASSASSINS chief among them - as well as for originating the title role in Pete Townshend's singular Broadway foray, The Who's TOMMY. With a captivating new double-disc concept album - NINE LIVES - out now, it seems that Cerveris has found a way to juggle it all. In this extensive two-part conversation, we take a look back at his experiences in the aforementioned Sondheim musicals, as well as his series of performances in Sondheim shows under the direction of Lonny Price at the Ravinia Festival co-starring Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone, and also touch upon his work in plays, such as his recent Kent in Kevin Kline's KING LEAR at The Public, HEDDA GABLER opposite Mary Louise Parker, and Sarah Ruhl's IN THE NEXT ROOM (OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY). Additionally, he shares his Tony memories, singing SWEENEY TODD at the recent SONDHEIM! Celebration, HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH, TITANIC and much, much more in this compelling and comprehensive conversation. His new feature film STAKE LAND opens in selected cities this weekend and Part II arrives next week!

Transport Group Theatre Company, the winner of a special Drama Desk Award and two OBIE Awards, has announced casting and dates for the New York premiere of Lysistrata Jones, a new musical with a book by Douglas Carter Beane; music and lyrics by Lewis Flinn; directed and choreographed by Dan Knechtges.

Actress/Director Phylicia Rashad is set to make her Los Angeles directorial debut with the Ebony Repertory Theatre's production of Lorraine Hansberry's classic play A RAISIN IN THE SUN.

New Repertory Theatre, in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, is pleased to announce it will be producing Jason Robert Brown's award-winning musical The Last Five Years.

Broadway icon Patti LuPone and acclaimed mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe will co-host the sixth annual Opera News Awards, which will take place on April 17 at The Plaza in New York City.

The John W. Engeman Theater is proud to announce the creative team for their upcoming production of GUYS AND DOLLS.

The John W. Engeman Theater began previews for GUYS AND DOLLS last night, Thursday, April 14, 2011 and opene tomorrow, April 16, 2011. The production will run through June 19, 2011.

A.R.T. American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) will present The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, opening the A.R.T.'s 2011-2 season on August 117 at the Loeb Drama Center. The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, by George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin, is adapted by Suzan-Lori Parks and Diedre Murray, and directed by A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus.

Katori Hall's The Mountaintop will hit Broadway this fall, however, with only one of it's previously announced stars. Samuel L. Jackson will open the play as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his Broadway debut, however the team is in search of a new Camae, as Halle Berry has departed the piece due to child custody issues.'

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) announced that Norm Lewis, Audra McDonald, and David Alan Grier are joining the A.R.T. to play Porgy, Bess, and Sportin' Life in the A.R.T.'s new production of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess. Performances will begin August 17at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge. Further casting will be announced at a later date.

The John W. Engeman Theater is proud to announce the creative team for their upcoming production of GUYS AND DOLLS. Previews begin on Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 8:00 p.m., officially opening on April 16, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. and running through June 19, 2011.

The Nominations News Conference for the 56th Annual Drama Desk Awards has been moved to Friday, April 29, 2011, at 9:30 AM at the New York Friars Club, 57 East 55th Street, in Manhattan. A continental breakfast will be available at 8:45 AM. Drama Desk and Tony winners Audra McDonald and Liev Schreiber will announce the nominations in the various categories. In addition, there will be remarks by Drama Desk President Isa Goldberg, Drama Desk Awards Executive Producer Robert R. Blume, Nominating Committee Chairperson Barbara Siegel and Randie Levine-Miller, Drama Desk Director of Special Events, who has produced this event at the Friars Club for the past 15 years. The Official Nominees Cocktail Reception will now take place on Monday, May 2, from 3:00 to 6:00 PM at Bombay Palace Restaurant, 30 West 52nd St., between 5th and 6th Aves.