Berger News

What do you get when you cross a Danish Orthodox Jew and a simple Israeli girl from a kibbutz? You get Charlotte Cohn, who at nineteen was already a Commander in the Israeli Army, but had her sights on a different path. Join her in this eclectic evening of music ranging from Puccini to The Beatles and hear the real stories that brought her from Ben Yehuda Street to Broadway.

After seven years of writing, re-writing, fine tuning, and revelatory readings, Alexander DeJong's opulent Liberace musical, "ALL THAT GLITTERS" will be presented in its Pre-Broadway workshop from Tuesday, May 8 through Friday, May 11 at the Baryshnikov Arts Center (450 West 37 Street - between Ninth and Tenth Avenues).

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' will close its 21st season May31-June 23, 2012, with HIGH FIDELITY, the funny, rowdy, emotional rock musical that garnered positive reviews in New Line's 2008 production, the first production of the show after its Broadway run.

Kids today. You're lucky if you can pry their attention away from the television, computer, tablet or phone. It would take a miracle to get them to sit through a musical, let alone a show where spoken words are scarce and the real delights are visuals, tricks and physicality. If you want to show your child (or your own inner child) the wonders beyond digital screens, then Do Jump!'s new show Ahhh HA! at the New Victory Theatre is the ticket to old-fashioned physical comedy, vaudevillian acts and circus entertainment with 21st century style and whimsical design.

According to the Associated Press, a stuntman from Broadway's SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK is considering suing the production over injuries suffered in 2010-11. Richard Kobak (Joshua Kobak according to cast lists for the show), claims not only that he suffered knee injuries while filling in for another cast member in 2010, but that 'a computer program controlling one of his jumps from a balcony sent him flying into a wall on April 5, 2011.'

Landless Theatre Company presents the DC Premiere of Spidermusical, written by Timothy Michael Drucker and Randy Blair (creators of Perez Hilton Saves The Universe and Fat Camp), with music by Matt Roi Berger. The production is directed by Melissa Baughman, with music direction by Charles Johnson.

Ars Nova (Jason Eagan, Artistic Director; Jeremy Blocker, Managing Director) will present the premiere of Justin Sayre Is Alive and Well... Writing, an evening of short plays by the acclaimed comedian and writer Justin Sayre, directed by Ben Rimalower.

Anticipation is building for Show Hope's third annual presentation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic musical Cinderella, Enchanted Edition, which takes to the Schermerhorn Symphony stage on Thursday, April 12, with Jessica Grove taking over the role of Cinderella previously played by Ally Mausey and Ryan Silverman as her Prince (the role played the first two years by Anthony Fedorov).

The Muriel Kauffman Theatre, a subsect of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, is set to welcome the national tour of the original rock musical, HAIR. HAIR is slated to perform from February 5th through the 10th, 2013. For tickets to HAIR's Kansas City stop, visit www.kauffmancenter.org.

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) announces its 38th season, with the theme of "Rebels: Pushing Against the Boundaries." The 2012-2013 season will feature five productions performed at the Broadway Theatre Center.

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts continues this season's Programs for Young Audiences series when American Family Theater brings the timeless story of Cinderella to life on stage in a sparkling production that features a terrific cast, new unforgettable songs and special effects, plus lots of audience participation. This enchanting musical is recommended for audiences ages 4 and up. Performances are Sunday, April 1, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Lookingglass Theatre, Frontera Grill and Silverguy Entertainment announce additional performances of Rick Bayless in Cascabel: Dinner - Daring - Desire, a theatrical adventure featuring a feast, circus acts, and a love story starring celebrity chef Rick Bayless. The culinary and theatrical experience has been extended an additional week, through April 29, 2012, at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works.

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' will continue its 21st season of rock theatre March 1-24, 2012 with the American regional premiere of the Broadway rock musical CRY-BABY.

The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Charles Dillingham, interim Executive Director) announced today that the "best party in Pasadena" annual fundraiser entitled PREMIERE GALA: DESTINATION will be held at the private home of Playhouse Board member Stephen Bennett and his wife Chantal Bennett in San Marino on Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. This year's event will honor two "jewels" - Playhouse Board Chair Michele Dedeaux Engemann and The Pasadena Playhouse. Gala Chair Sheila Grether-Marion and The Playhouse Board of Directors will be spearheading this gala event which will include cocktails, a seated dinner catered by The Kitchen For Exploring Foods, dancing and live entertainment provided by Wayne Foster.

When the Rain Stops Falling is a heartbreaking story of a journey across time where the acts of the past prove devastating to the next generation. Spanning 1959 to 2039 and featuring four generations of a family, the play was named Time Magazine's Best New Play of 2010, Circle stages the Chicago Premiere of When the Rain Stops Falling.

Julie Taymor's SPIDER-MAN legal battle continues to press on, as producers 8 Legged Productions, LLC have filed a dismissal of her lawsuit, which claims that much of her work was used unrightfully by the new team. According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter, Taymor has responded by filing a dismissal of this dismissal.

Continuing a season marked by two major national awards and ongoing performances throughout the U.S., in Europe and Asia, the sold-out March 12 Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC) Gala at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, has turned out to be the most successful in the chorus's history. Check out the photos from the gala below!

Producers Carl Levin, Michael Minarik and The Dodgers announced today that the 2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival's Outstanding Musical winner FAT CAMP will begin performances off Broadway on April 12, 2012 at the American Theatre of Actors. FAT CAMP features a book by Randy Blair (Perez Hilton Saves the Universe) and Tim Drucker (Perez Hilton Saves the Universe), music by Matthew roi Berger (NY Neo-Classical Ensemble's 12th Night), lyrics by Randy Blair, choreography by Kelly Devine (Rock of Ages) and direction by Casey Hushion (In the Heights, Drowsy Chaperone and Elf - as Associate Director).

Landless Theatre Company presents the DC Premiere of Spidermusical, written by Timothy Michael Drucker and Randy Blair (creators of Perez Hilton Saves The Universe and Fat Camp), with music by Matt Roi Berger. The production is directed by Melissa Baughman, with music direction by Charles Johnson.

With its funny, sexy and sentimental book by master craftsman George Abbott and a catchy and clever score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, Damn Yankees is a textbook example of the kind of big and brassy musicals that made Broadway's Golden Age glitter.  Paper Mill's terrific new production is packed with boisterous comic performances and, as the song says, miles and miles and miles of heart.