Charles Randolph-Wright News

The world premiere of LOVE IN AFGHANISTAN runs October 11-November 17 at Arena Stage. Check out a sneak peek below!

The world premiere of LOVE IN AFGHANISTAN runs October 11-November 17 at Arena Stage. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production shots below!

Motown'Fox & Friends' television host Anna Kooiman went backstage on Broadway at the smash hit MOTOWN THE MUSICAL with Tony Award nominated stars Brandon Victor Dixon, Valisia LeKae and Charl Brown and Bryan Terrell Clark, Raymond Luke Jr. and Darius Kaleb for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour that aired this morning on the nationally syndicated morning show. Watch the segment below!

Tune in to the Fox News Channel tomorrow morning to go behind the scenes at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre with 'Fox & Friends' host Anna Kooiman and stars of the smash hit MOTOWN THE MUSICAL including Tony Award nominees Brandon Victor Dixon, Valisia LeKae, Charl Brown and Bryan Terrell Clark, Raymond Luke Jr. and Darius Kaleb.

Singer, songwriter, actress, author and philanthropist Nita Whitaker will grace Stage 72 (formerly the Triad) to perform a mix of popular music and original compositions in a one night only concert on Monday, October 28, 2013 at 7:00pm. Musical direction is by Eugene Gwozdz.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full company for Charles Randolph-Wright's world premiere drama Love in Afghanistan. Randolph-Wright, a Resident Playwright through Arena Stage's American Voices New Play Institute and director of Motown the Musical currently on Broadway, joins forces with director Lucie Tiberghien (MCC Theater's Don't Go Gentle) to bring to life the tale of two fantastically different people discovering love in the most unlikely of places: war-torn Afghanistan. One, an emerging hip-hop artist, the other, a high-level Afghan interpreter, both fight to navigate the pitfalls of romance, religious differences and political unrest. Love in Afghanistan runs tonight, October 11-November 17, 2013 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle.

Below, check out an open audition call for Broadway's Motown The Musical. Auditionees lined up in front of the historic Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City hoping for a chance to portray famous icons like Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson.

Tony Award nominee Valisia LeKae, who stars as Diana Ross in the smash hit Motown The Musical, will be honored by the National Action Network (NAN) at the 4th Annual Triumph Awards today, October 7 at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theatre. Hosted by the Reverend Al Sharpton, President and Founder of the National Action Network, the Triumph Awards honor those who have made a positive impact beyond their performance on stage, in the arts, in sports, and in the community. Other 2013 honorees include Queen Latifah, Vogue Magazine Contributing Editor Andre Leon Talley, and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.

Tony Award nominee Valisia LeKae, who stars as Diana Ross in the smash hit Motown The Musical, will be honored by the National Action Network (NAN) at the 4th Annual Triumph Awards on October 7 at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theatre. Hosted by the Reverend Al Sharpton, President and Founder of the National Action Network, the Triumph Awards honor those who have made a positive impact beyond their performance on stage, in the arts, in sports, and in the community. Other 2013 honorees include Queen Latifah, Vogue Magazine Contributing Editor Andre Leon Talley, and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.

Artistic Director Molly Smith announced today, playwright Lydia R. Diamond, whose impressive body of work includes Stick Fly, Voyeurs de Venus, The Bluest Eye and The Gift Horse, among others, will become a resident playwright as part of the American Voices New Play Institute at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Diamond's yearlong residency will begin Tuesday, October 1, 2013.

Celebrated radio personality Tom Joyner spoke with Motown founder Berry Gordy to discuss bringing the legend of Motown to the Broadway stage and theaters across America in an interview that aired nationwide on Tuesday, September 17 on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Listen to the complete interview below!

Broadway In Chicago is thrilled to announce the upcoming 2014 spring season line-up. Supporting Broadway In Chicago's commitment to Chicagoans seeing shows first, the season features four premieres. Coming to Chicago first is the World Premiere Pre-Broadway production of THE LAST SHIP, the U.S. Tour Premiere of MOTOWN THE MUSICAL and the North American Premiere ofHEARTBEAT OF HOME, as well as the U.S. Tour Premiere of BUYER AND CELLAR as an off-season special. Also included in the season is GHOST THE MUSICAL, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, PETER & THE STARCATCHERand THE WIZARD OF OZ. The 2014 spring off-season includes: ONCE UPON A DREAM STARRING THE RASCALS, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, ALTON BROWN LIVE!, CHICAGO, ROCK OF AGES, ERTH'S DINOSAUR ZOO and MAMMA MIA!.

Broadway actress and producer Dodie Pettit will return to the stage to perform her original compositions for one night only at Stage 72 (formerly the Triad Theatre) on Sunday, October 6, 2013 at 7:00pm as the first artist in Motown The Musical director Charles Randolph-Wright's 'Three Voices' concert series.

The new Broadway production of Shakespeare's timeless love story Romeo and Juliet starring international film star Orlando Bloom, making his Broadway debut opposite two-time Tony Award nominee Condola Rashad, officially opened last, Thursday, September 19, 2013 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. Check out photos below from the star-studded theatre arrivals!

With the official opening of Eric Coble's dangerous new play The Velocity of Autumn tonight, September 18 at 8:00 p.m. at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, the occasion marks Artistic Director Molly Smith's 25th project to direct for Arena Stage and is the first of three projects she will direct in the 2013/14 season, including Kathleen Turner in Mother Courage and Her Children and the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright's Camp David.Building on 15 years with the company, Smith is steadfast in her focus on American plays and artists.

"Fox 5 News" correspondent Jill Nicolini attended MOTOWN THE MUSICAL's nationwide open call casting search along with hundreds of excited hopefuls. Auditionees hoping to portray famous icons like Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson were dancing in the streets as Nicolini herself experienced the thrill of auditioning for casting directors Bernie Telsey and Bethany Knox in the historic Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Watch the segment below!

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL hosted a nationwide open call casting search inside the historic Lunt Fontanne Theatre for African American singers for both the flagship Broadway production and the upcoming national tour. NY1 anchor Cheryl Wills was on hand to capture the excitement as hopefuls lined up around the block to audition for the smash hit musical. In the segment below, Wills speaks with MOTOWN's own Broadway star Tony Award nominee Charl Brown, casting director Bernie Telsey, several auditionees, and even does a little singing of her own! Check out the segment below!

The world premiere of LOVE IN AFGHANISTAN began rehearsals at Arena Stage on Tuesday, September 10. Get a sneak peek at the cast in action below, along with Resident Playwright Charles Randolph-Wright and director Lucie Tiberghien!

The Orlando Repertory Theatre (The REP) is proud to announce a partnership with Theatre UCF to co-present Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963 by Christina Ham, as part of a national staged reading commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham Bombing. This reading is September 15th, 2013 at 6pm in Studio 1 of the UCF Performing Arts Center. It is FREEand open to the public (UCF Parking Policies apply).

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL was recently featured on "Culture List," the nationally syndicated weekly entertainment magazine show airing on BET's Centric TV. Host Erik Parker spent some time backstage at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre with stars Valisia LeKae, Brandon Victor Dixon and Charl Brown to get the inside scoop on performing for the real Diana Ross, collaborating on a new musical, and portraying the musical legends of MOTOWN on Broadway. Watch the segment below!