City Center News

The Chicago Dancing Festival (CDF), co-produced by renowned choreographer and Chicago native Lar Lubovitch and highly esteemed Chicago dancer Jay Franke, returns for its 8th season of free dance performances and events, August 20 - 23, 2014, featuring top ballet, modern and hip-hop dancers from Chicago and across the country.

Sutton Foster gives her best Broadway performance in Leigh Silverman's superlative production.

Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Violet, starring Sutton Foster, Colin Donnell, Alexander Gemignani and Joshua Henry, officially opens tonight at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway (227 West 42nd Street). Check back for more photos, videos, opening night coverage and reviews and LOTS more!

Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Violet, starring Sutton Foster, Colin Donnell,Alexander Gemignani and Joshua Henry, is currently in previews and officially opens this Sunday, April 20, 2014 at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway (227 West 42nd Street). Click below to get a sneak peek at scenes from the show!

Opening night of Ballet Hispanico's 2014 spring season at the Joyce on April 15th once again featured the fascinating fusion of Latin themes with contemporary movement that has become Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro's trademark during his four years at the helm.

New York City Ballet announced today that its 2014 Spring Gala on Thursday, May 8 at 7pm will feature a special one-time-only program designed by NYCB's Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins to pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of the opening of the New York State Theater (now the David H. Koch Theater) at Lincoln Center, as well as celebrate its future with a World Premiere ballet by choreographer Justin Peck and composer Sufjan Stevens.

The region's premiere theatrical training organization, the WPPAC Conservatory Theatre, presents RENT School Edition on stage at the White Plains Performing Arts Center, April 25- 27. Based loosely on Puccini's La Boheme, RENT School Edition follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and createin New York's Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.

Disney's On the Record, a musical revue and theatrical celebration of 75 years of Disney music, will have its tri-state regional premiere on the White Plains Performing Arts Center's main stage June 20 - 29. This show-stopping musical from Disney is set in a contemporary recording studio that sparkles with 64 of the most beloved songs ever written, from some of the most popular films ever made over the past 75 years.

After playing a child, a Cagelle and a Shark, Yurel is now a denizen of Agrabah--and one of the 'hottest chorus boys' on Broadway.

Rubicon Theatre continues the company's 16th Not Your Typical Season with a special run of Love, Loss, and What I Wore -- a witty and wise celebration of womanhood adapted by Nora and Delia Ephron, creators of such hits as 'When Harry Met Sally,' 'Sleepless in Seattle,' 'You've Got Mail,' 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' and 'Silkwood.'

Ben Edquist, of Houston, won the $15,000 First Prize in the finals of the 2014 Lotte Lenya Competition, sponsored by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music and held on April 12, 2014, in Kilbourn Hall of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. Arlo Hill, of New York, won the Second Prize of $10,000, and the Third Prize of $7,500 was awarded to Natalie Ballenger, also of New York.

Beginning in May, The Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation will hold its 2nd annual International Arts Festival in New York City. The Festival's mission is to introduce and promote global cultural activity and exchange of ideas, aiming to enlighten and engage audiences through performing and visual arts, educational programs and events. Tickets for each of the festival's shows are available at venue ticket box offices and at www.cherryorchardfestival.org. Group tickets, student discounts, VIP tickets and festival subscription packages are available by calling Festival's office at 1.800.349.0021 or e-mailing info@cherryorchardfestival.org.

General Mischief Dance Theatre presents its spring performance, Rascals with Altitude. Performances will take place from April 25 - May 4 at The Connelly Theatre, 220 East 4th Street, NYC. Tickets are $20 in advance for general admission ($25 at the door, $15 for students and seniors, $10 for children ten and under) and are available at https://www.artful.ly/store/events/2754 or by calling (212) 714-4694. Performances are Friday, April 25 at 8pm; Saturday, April 26 at 8pm; Sunday, April 27 at 5pm; Friday, May 2 at 8pm; Saturday, May 3 at 3pm and 8pm; and Sunday, May 4 at 3pm. The performance is appropriate for ages 4 and up.

Ballet Hispanico, recognized as the nation's leading Latino dance organization since 1970, returns to The Joyce Theater from today, April 15-27, 2014 with 15 performances featuring four dynamic programs.

Actress and singer Vanessa Williams, accompanied by a 17-piece orchestra, performed the jazz standard "Stormy Weather" from the new Broadway show AFTER MIDNIGHT

The talented actress and singer stops by this morning's TODAY on NBC and tells hosts Kathie Lee and Hoda that she is thankful her music-teacher parents encouraged her to pursue the arts.

This spring, American Theater Group, New Jersey's newest professional theater, will present a new musical, Marry Harry, from April 23 - May 11th. Check out a hilarious clip of two of the actors here.

Roundabout Theatre Company's production of VIOLET, starring Sutton Foster, Colin Donnell,Alexander Gemignani and Joshua Henry, is currently in previews and officially opens on April 20, 2014 at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway (227 West 42nd Street). BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

-The Old Globe will host the 2014 Globe Gala on Saturday, July 26 in support of the theatre's education and artistic programs. The annual event will feature a one-night-only performance by Broadway veteran and Tony Award winner Laura Benanti (Gypsy, Into the Woods, NBC's The Sound of Music Live!, 'The Good Wife,' 'Go On'), based on her smash hit New York cabaret (and new CD) In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention. Nina Doede, Deni Jacobs, and Sheryl White serve as Co-Chairs of the 2014 Globe Gala.

Whether you've been living under a rock for the past week or you're just in the mood for a recap, BroadwayWorld's 'This Week in Pictures' is here to satisfy your end-of-the-week fix! Take a look below to catch up on the latest happenings from the Great White Way to The West End (and everywhere in between) with coverage of press events, rehearsals, opening nights and more. Highlights this week include a peek inside the closing night party for Encores! THE MOST HAPPY FELLA!, a look at the IF/THEN and ALADDIN casts in the recording studio, and a first look at A.R.T.'s THE TEMPEST!