Benj Pasek News

Second Stage Theatre will present the world premiere of Sofia Alvarez's FRIEND ART, directed by Portia Krieger, and the New York premiere of Lucy Teitler's ENGAGEMENTS as part of the company's fourteenth annual SECOND STAGE THEATRE UPTOWN SERIES this summer.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents singer Katie Welsh and pianist Emily Whitaker in Women in the World of Sondheim on Friday, June 10, 2016 at 9:30 PM.

Goodman Theatre announces Broadway stars John Dossett and Douglas Sills will join the cast of War Paint, a new musical starring two-time Tony Award winners Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole as Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden, respectively. Dossett will portray Tommy Lewis, Miss Arden's husband and chief marketing officer, and Sills will portray the ambitious Harry Fleming, Madame Rubinstein's clubby confidante and faithful ally.

Second Stage Theatre's critically acclaimed musical, DEAR EVAN HANSEN, is currently enjoying a sold out run that comes to an Off-Broadway end on Sunday, May 29th. The show has been rumored for a transfer since it opened to rave reviews, a move confirmed today by the show's lead producer Stacey Mindich, speaking today at a Syracuse University graduation ceremony. 

Last week, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, the musical opened in NYC for a sold out run at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in NYC. James and the Giant Peach was produced by the Broadway Workshop and Project Broadway as their 2016 Junior Main Stage production. Scroll down for photos of the cast in action!

Today's big news: DO I HEAR A WALTZ? begins at Encores!, NC Stage's BRAVE NEW WORLD musical with Justin Matthew Sargent starts tonight, and HAMILTON gets honored with the 2016 Brendan Gill Prize!

Second Stage Theatre's critically acclaimed musical, DEAR EVAN HANSEN, will add one performance on Sunday, May 22 at 8pm to its completely sold out run.  Tickets for this special benefit performance are $500.  All proceeds will fund Second Stage Theatre's educational initiatives, including free student matinees and internships.  The limited run of DEAR EVAN HANSEN will conclude on Sunday, May 29th.

Maize & Blue on Broadway is a one-night-only benefit concert on May 16, 2016 at 7PM at Broadway's August Wilson Theatre (245 West 52nd Street) to celebrate the University of Michigan and its renowned Musical Theatre Department, as well as honor its longtime chair, Brent Wagner, who is retiring in May after 32 years of being the department's heart and soul.  

From tonight, May 7, through June 4, 2016, SpeakEasy Stage Company will proudly present the Boston Professional Premiere of DOGFIGHT, a powerful new musical about unexpected love, loss, and brotherhood, based on the 1991 film starring River Phoenix and Lili Taylor.

Roald Dahl's beloved classic takes the stage in a new musical!  One boy, two awful aunts, five larger-than-life insects, and a giant peach!  What happens when magic crystals cause a withered old tree to create the largest and most magnificent peach ever seen?  Luckily, a boy named James and a handful of bugs just happen to be nearby when the peach finally snaps free of its stem, and it sweeps them along on a marvelous adventure.

Benj Pasek & Justin Pau's new musical DEAR EVAN HANSEN will be sticking around the New York theatre scene for a bit longer.

Second Stage Theatre, in association with Stacey MindichProductions, just last night opened the new musical, Dear Evan Hansen, featuring Ben Platt as the title character. Also reprising their performances from the 'splendid (Marks, Washington Post) DC cast are Laura Dreyfuss as Zoe, Mike Faist as Connor, Rachel Bay Jones as Heidi, Will Roland as Jared, Jennifer Laura Thompson as Cynthia. New cast members John Dossett (Larry) and Kristolyn Lloyd (Alana) complete the company.

Second Stage Theatre, in association with Stacey MindichProductions, just last night opened the new musical, Dear Evan Hansen, featuring Ben Platt as the title character. Also reprising their performances from the 'splendid (Marks, Washington Post) DC cast are Laura Dreyfuss as Zoe, Mike Faist as Connor, Rachel Bay Jones as Heidi, Will Roland as Jared, Jennifer Laura Thompson as Cynthia. New cast members John Dossett (Larry) and Kristolyn Lloyd (Alana) complete the company.

Composer/lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and bookwriter Steven Levenson's tale of social anxiety and social media.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Drama Desk, Tony®, and Emmy® Award nominee and Theater World Award and NAACP Image Award winner Vanessa Williams (Into The Woods, The Trip to Bountiful, 'Ugly Betty') and Drama Desk, Tony®, Emmy, Golden Globe, and Drama League Award Nominee and SAG & TV Land Award winner Matthew Morrison (Finding Neverland, Hairspray, The Light in the Piazza, 'Glee') just announced the nominations for the 61st Annual Drama Desk Awards.

Artistic Director Allen MacInnis and Executive Director Nancy Webster are pleased to announce the 2016/17 Season at Young People's Theatre (YPT), a year that marks the return of two of YPT's most popular musicals, both based on children's literature classics: SeussicalTM and Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach.

How many of these great songs do you know from underappreciated musicals?

The 2016 Drama League Award Nominees for Outstanding Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the much-coveted Distinguished Performance Award were just announced this morning at Sardi's, by Aladdin stars Adam Jacobs, Courtney Reed and James Monroe Iglehart. Check out the full list of nominees below!

like many breakout television stars, Tituss Burgess was a Broadway favorite before the rest of the country discovered him.