Christopher Ashley News

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, April 22, 2012 - Sunday, April 22, 2012.

Today we are kicking off BroadwayWorld's exclusive multi-part InDepth InterView series focusing on the New York Pops 29th Birthday Gala concert celebrating the music and musicals of Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty, JOURNEY ON, that will take place at Carnegie Hall on April 30 at 7 PM by taking to the lyricist half of the lauded Tony Award-winning songwriting team herself, the thoughtful and candid Lynn Ahrens. In a wide-ranging conversation covering many of her theatrical collaborations with Stephen Flaherty from their first musical, LUCKY STIFF, in the 1980s, to their Tony-winning success with RAGTIME in the 1990s, to their astounding slate of shows since - SEUSSICAL: THE MUSICAL, DESSA ROSE and THE GLORIOUS ONES included - all the way up to 2012 and their new musical in pre-production in Germany, ROCKY, based on the iconic 1975 Oscar-winning Sylvester Stallone-starring boxing film. Ahrens also shares firsthand news on the new Ahrens & Flaherty musical based on the art and life of Degas and the upcoming feature film version of LUCKY STIFF, directed by Christopher Ashley, as well as reflects on her work for the stage, page and screen outside of her work with Flaherty - songs for SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK and songs for the hit indie musical film CAMP among them. Plus, Ahrens shares her enthusiasm for her many collaborators and the performers famous for interpreting her work as well as relates her excitement for the star-studded JOURNEY ON concert spectacular at Carnegie Hall. All of that and much, much more!

Performances for LEAP OF FAITH began on Tuesday, April 3, at The St. James Theatre. Four-time Tony nominee Raúl Esparza leads the company along with Jessica Phillips, Kendra Kassebaum, Kecia Lewis-Evans, Leslie Odom, Jr., Krystal Joy Brown and Talon Ackerman. Opening night is Thursday, April 26. Production photos have just been released and BroadwayWorld brings you a look at the onstage action below!

Jessica Phillips, star of Broadway's Leap of Faith, sat down with ABC News 10's What's the Buzz to talk about the show. Watch the video below!

Previews began Tuesday, April 3 for Broadway's LEAP OF FAITH starring four-time Tony nominee Raúl Esparza as Jonas Nightingale, in anticipation of an official opening on April 26, 2012 at the St. James Theatre. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you a recording of the title track 'Leap of Faith' performed by Kecia Lewis-Evans, Leslie Odom, Jr., Krystal Joy Brown and the cast of Leap of Faith.

The Princess Grace Foundation-USA has announced a special benefit dinner followed by a preview performance of LEAP OF FAITH on Tuesday, April 24, 2012. Princess Grace Award winners - Director Christopher Ashley and actor Leslie Odom Jr. - will join guests for a reception and dinner at Ca Va Brasserie.

Performances for LEAP OF FAITH began on Tuesday, April 3, at The St. James Theatre. Four-time Tony nominee Raúl Esparza leads the company along with Jessica Phillips, Kendra Kassebaum, Kecia Lewis-Evans, Leslie Odom, Jr., Krystal Joy Brown and Talon Ackerman. Opening night is Thursday, April 26. Check out this exclusive video below, in which the first audience members react to the show's first preview performance!

LEAP OF FAITH, the new musical based on the motion picture "Leap of Faith," produced by Paramount Pictures Corporation and written by Janus Cercone, begins previews today at the St. James Theatre (246 West 44th Street).

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts is proud to announce its Broadway Las Vegas series as part of the premiere season for this long-awaited performing arts center.

PNC Broadway Across America - Pittsburgh, presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh Symphony and Broadway Across America, proudly announces the 2011/2012 season. PNC Broadway Across America - Pittsburgh, one of the city's premier entertainment series, is sponsored by The PNC Foundation. This season presents an exceptional array of live entertainment on the Cultural District's world-class stages.

The Buell Theater is set to welcome the national tour of the Broadway hit MEMPHIS, for a limited engagement. The tour will perform for Denver audiences in October, from the 10th through the 21st. More information on the national tour of Memphis can be found at www.memphisthemusical.com. For tickets to the tour's stop in Denver, www.denvercenter.org.

MEMPHIS, the 2010 Tony® Award Winner for Best Musical, opens at the Fabulous Fox Theatre on May 1 for a limited engagement.

MEMPHIS, the 2010 Tony Award winner for Best Musical will be presented by the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts for two weeks, through March 25, as part of the Ordway's 2011-2012 Theater Season.

South Florida theater fans are in for an array of Broadway hits as the awesomely cool, ROCK OF AGES, opens the all musical Broadway in Miami 2012 - 2013 season at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami Dade County. Scheduled to launch the season with a bang, from October 9-14, ROCK OF AGES will be followed by the high-stepping Broadway Musical for the entire family, MARY POPPINS, set to bring in the New Year, January 1-6; the return of the world's greatest musical, LES MISÉRABLES, in a brand new 25th anniversary production, February 26 - March 3; the outlandishly colorful PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT will keep audiences on their feet with its parade of dance-floor favorites, April 2-7; and Best Musical Tony Winner of 2010 MEMPHIS will make its triumphant Miami debut with its explosive dancing and powerhouse songs, May 7-12.

Today in 2005, All Shook Up opened at the Palace Theatre, where it ran for 213 performances.All Shook Up is a jukebox musical with Elvis Presley music, with a book by Joe DiPietro. The story is based on William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Directed by Christopher Ashley, with choreography by Ken Roberson, the original Broadway cast included Cheyenne Jackson (Chad), Jenn Gambatese (Natalie Haller/'Ed'), and Jonathan Hadary (Jim Haller).

Hockadoo! The 2010 Tony Award winning Best Musical MEMPHIS just celebrated 1,000 performances on Broadway yesterday, March 14th at the 2pm matinee performance. Memphis stars Montego Glover, Chad Kimball, Adam Pascal, Derrick Baskin, James Monroe Iglehart and John Jellison were in attendance, as well as Memphis book and music writers Joe DiPietro and David Bryan, Memphis choreographer Sergio Trujillo, and Rent's Anthony Rapp. BroadwayWorld has your coverage of the event with interviews with past and present stars of Memphis. Watch the video below!