Benj Pasek News

Wheelock Family Theatre (WFT) proudly announces three shows coming to the mainstage in our 2018-2019 season. With adaptations of novels by Lois Lowry, E.L. Doctorow, and Roald Dahl, WFT's upcoming season offers all the wonders of literature come to life. Characters give voice to their own stories and inspire others to, in the words of Coalhouse Walker, Jr., from Ragtime, 'Go out and tell our story. Let it echo far and wide.' Join us as we celebrate the power of the individual and collective voice.

Producer Stacey Mindich is pleased to announce that Dear Evan Hansen will continue its partnership with ArtsConnection, NYC's leading arts-in-education organization, for a second year, thanks to the funding of producer and owner of San Francisco's Curran theatre, Carole Shorenstein Hays. This ongoing initiative, named 'ART2ART - DEAR EVAN HANSEN,' has brought hundreds of NYC public high school students to see the Tony & Grammy Award-winning musical.

ASCAP, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, the world leader in performing rights and advocacy for music creators, announced record-high revenues and distributions in 2017. The organization, which today represents more than 660,000 members, collected approximately $1.144 billion in revenues last year and distributed for the first time more than $1.007 billion to its songwriter, composer and music publisher members. Total ASCAP revenues increased by 8 percent and distributions were up 10 percent year-over-year. 

Florida Rep Education is proud to present its 2018-2019 Season filled with classic stories brought to the stage, electrifying Broadway musicals, a world premiere, and brand new competitive programming adjudicated by the industry's leading professionals!

THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL, an 'electrifying' (Newsday) musical adaption of the New York Times best-selling novel written by Rick Riordan, will launch its national tour in Chicago in January 2019 before heading across the country, with engagements announced in Seattle, Detroit, Charlotte, San Antonio and more. Additional tour cities and casting will be announced at a later date.

The award-winning creative team of Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester and Aria Entertainment have revealed their 2018 autumn/winter shows. They are the moving new British musical, The Return of the Soldier - the World War One story being brought to the stage in this, the 100th anniversary of the end of the conflict. And the UK Premiere of A Christmas Story The Musical - the hit festive Broadway show from the writers of The Greatest Showman, La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen.

Broadway Kids Jam has released their new 'Sincerely, Me' cover from the Tony award winning musical, Dear Evan Hansen. This jam features Joshua Turchin (The Pill, TrevorLIVE LA, A Christmas Story the Musical and Paul Luke Bonenfant (School of Rock). Watch the Broadway Kids Jam video here: https://youtu.be/AMhdkhFqMbA

Second Stage Theater (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Casey Reitz, Executive Director) has announced additional casting for the New York Premiere of TRACY LETTS' acclaimed play, MARY PAGE MARLOWE.

Mike Faist's final performance in Dear Evan Hansen will be Sunday, May 13. Alex Boniello will join the company as Connor Murphy beginning Tuesday, May 15. Additionally, Will Roland will play his final performance as Jared Kleinman on Sunday, June 10. It has yet to be announced who will take over as Jared.

Grammy-nominated songwriter and music advocate Shelly Peiken will be the fourth master teacher for the 13th annual Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriters Project hosted by the Johnny Mercer Foundation and the American Music Theatre Project (AMTP) at Northwestern University.

Riverside Theatre for Kids, the educational arm of Riverside Theatre, presents the musical, James and the Giant Peach on April 27 & 28 and May 4 & 5, 2018.

Berkeley Playhouse continues their tenth anniversary season of professional theater for family audiences with the East Bay premiere of the newly enhanced theatrical telling of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, featuring new songs from the Oscar® and Tony Award-winning team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul(Broadway: Dear Evan Hansen, Film: The Greatest Showman, La La Land), and book by award-winning playwright Timothy Allen McDonald (Jim Henson's Emmet Otter, Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka, The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley).

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced programming for its 2018-2019 theater season. The upcoming season not only exemplifies the Kennedy Center as a home for the best theater productions from Broadway and around the world, but also reinvigorates the Center's commitment to self-producing world-class theatrical work at the nation's performing arts center.

The Bonnie and Terry Burman New Play Award, a national new play contest at Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, is accepting submissions through April 30, 2018. The Grand Prize winner will receive $25,000 from Barrington Stage Company.

Fundraising records and gender norms alike were smashed by stars of stage, screen and pop music on April 2, 2018, at this year's inclusive, dynamic and loving Broadway Backwards.

The Dramatists Guild Foundation (DGF) today announced that Tony Award-winning performers Ben Platt (DEAR EVAN HANSEN), Rachel Bay Jones (DEAR EVAN HANSEN) and Laura Benanti (GYPSY); Tony, Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer Alan Menken; multiple Grammy and Academy Award-winning songwriter Kristen Anderson-Lopez (FROZEN, COCO) and double E.G.O.T.-winning songwriter Robert Lopez (FROZEN, COCO, AVENUE Q, BOOK OF MORMON); along with acclaimed soprano Renee Fleming (currently appearing on Broadway in CAROUSEL), will take the stage at the Hudson Theatre to toast the life and work of one of American theatre's greatest living composers, Stephen Schwartz, on Monday, April 23, 2018 at 7pm EST. The star-filled concert, sponsored in part by the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) and the Hudson Theatre, will showcase and shine a spotlight on Schwartz's beloved songs, stories, and legacy in celebration of his 70th Birthday.

Of the many great parts of the Broadway community and the performing arts community at large, perhaps the greatest is its ability to come together and provide support for one another. BROADWAY BABY MAMAS, held at Feinstein's/54 Below on March 15 little more than a week after the unthinkable tragedy involving Ruthie Ann Miles, was an incredible example of just how deep that support runs.

As previously announced, 20th Century Fox film chairman-CEO Stacey Snider recently told The Hollywood Reporter that there are talks to create a stage adaptation of the Hugh Jackman-led musical film, following its box office success. For the first time, Jackman commented on this in an interview with Forbes.

Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero, directed by Trip Cullman and starring Michael Cera, Chris Evans, Brian Tyree Henry, and Bel Powley, officially opened last night, Monday, March 26, at the newly renovated Hayes Theater. BroadwayWorld is taking you on the red carpet as the cast and fellow actors arrived on opening night! Check out the photos below!

Directors David Roth (SHS '84) and Kerry Long (SHS '97) bring back one of their all-time favorite shows to the Staples stage: Stephen Sondheim's semi-autobiographical Merrily We Roll Along. With a brilliant 'Broadway-style' score and the deep insight one expects from any Sondheim endeavor, the musical is a spirited and moving cautionary tale for anyone who has ever pursued a dream.