Harry A. Jansen News

Based on the smash hit 2003 film of the same title, SCHOOL OF ROCK: THE MUSICAL, with music from the movie, as well as an original score by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Glenn Slater, a book by Julian Fellowes and direction by Laurence Connor, makes its World Premiere on Broadway tonight, December 6, at the Winter Garden Theatre. Scroll down to learn more about the cast, plus watch highlights of the company in action!

Alex Brightman gives a star-making performance in a a big, beautiful blast of musical comedy.

Based on the smash hit 2003 film, SCHOOL OF ROCK - THE MUSICAL follows Dewey Finn, a failed wannabe rock star who decides to earn a few extra bucks by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. Completely disinterested in academic work, Dewey decides to create his own curriculum, turning his class into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band. Check out photos from the new Broadway musical below!

This December, get excited for the biggest event of the season: the Maltz Jupiter Theatre's much-anticipated Florida regional premiere of BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL! Soaring now through December 20 at the award-winning not-for-profit theatre, the electrifying blockbuster follows the story of Billy, the youngest child of a blue-collar family who discovers his unlikely and extraordinary gift for ballet. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Voting has opened for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Chicago Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 27th. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31.

Based on the smash hit 2003 film, SCHOOL OF ROCK - THE MUSICAL follows Dewey Finn, a failed wannabe rock star who decides to earn a few extra bucks by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. Completely disinterested in academic work, Dewey decides to create his own curriculum, turning his class into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band. Check out photos from the new Broadway musical below!

Last night, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's holiday season at New York City Center kicked off with an Opening Night Gala Benefit. The one-night-only benefit performance and party honored BNY Mellon for its major support of the Ailey Organization since 2007, and Agnes & Gerald Hassell accepted on the institution's behalf.  Film star Chadwick Boseman and actress and Grammy-Award winning artist Brandy served as Honorary Chairs, and the event's co-chairs were Simin Allison, Kathryn & Kenneth Chenault, Debra L. Lee, Doris & Gilbert Meister, Daria L. & Eric J. Wallach and Joan & Sandy Weill. $2.5 million was raised in support of the creation of new works, scholarships to The Ailey School, and Ailey's extensive educational programs for young people.

Grammy winners Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, along with pianists Katia and Marielle Labéque, will release the world-premiere recording of Philip Glass' newest concert work, his Double Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra on Orange Mountain Music on December 11 exclusively on iTunes. The digital-only recording is also available for pre-order now.

Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art, the first major presentation of Delacroix's art in Britain for more than 50 years, surveys his dynamic career and then moves beyond it, to assess for the first time the influence he exerted for five decades following his death until the early years of the 20thcentury. 

This December, get excited for the biggest event of the season: the Maltz Jupiter Theatre's much-anticipated Florida regional premiere of Billy Elliot The Musical!

From Broadway to the silver screen, Renee Marino of Clint Eastwood's JERSEY BOYS film, will perform her solo show "I Am Me, Because of Three" at Rockwell Table & Stage on Monday, December 7, 2015 at 8 p.m.

Voting has opened for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Chicago Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 27th. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31.

This December, get excited for the biggest event of the season: the Maltz Jupiter Theatre's much-anticipated Florida regional premiere of Billy Elliot The Musical!

Cortland Repertory Theatre, one of New York State's longest running professional summer theatres, is announcing their 45th annual season for the summer of 2016. "We're absolutely thrilled to be bringing six CRT premieres in this coming season, including three regional debuts." Producing Artistic Director Kerby Thompson says. 

Joyful Noise: A Gospel Christmas featuring Salem Baptist Church returns to the Holland Performing Arts Center this December. Omaha Performing Arts in collaboration with Salem Baptist Church presents two performances of this holiday tradition on December 6 at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. in the acoustically-renowned Kiewit Concert Hall of the Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas St.

Appomattox is being presented as a world premiere of a revised version. For those unaware, the opera started out as an opera in 2007, was transformed into a play and now is an opera again. After Saturday night's opening, it would appear that more rewrites are needed.

WNO's season continues with the world premiere of the newly revised version of Appomattox, the first opera WNO has presented by the iconic American composer Philip Glass, with a libretto by the Academy Award-winning writer Christopher Hampton, November 14-22 in the Opera House. In the first act, we eavesdrop on history as the Civil War comes to its final resolution at the courthouse in Appomattox. Then, in the newly composed second act, we fast- forward 100 years to the time of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as the struggle for civil rights continues.  BroadwayWorld has a first look below!

Author Candi Sary announces the publication of her coming-of-age novel, 'Black Crow White Lie' (ISBN: 978-0-9967587-2-7), which will be re-released by Blue Mary Books November 11, 2015. The second edition comes in conjunction with the release of the short film based on the novel. 'Black Crow White Lie' was a winner of the 2012 Reader Views Literary Award, first place in the 2013 Dante Rossetti Awards, and first runner-up in the 2012 Eric Hoffer Book Award. In the semifinals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, Publishers Weekly said, 'This is a praiseworthy, poignant work.' Set amid the seedy motels of Hollywood, California, Black Crow White Lie tells the story of Carson Calley. He has a rare and magical gift of healing, a gift which both defines him and threatens to betray him. He lives a transient lifestyle with his alcoholic, fortune-telling mother, Juliette. She nurtures his gift, but her ways are deceptive. She feeds the boy fantastical stories to convince him of his greatness. At fourteen, Carson finally wises up to her lies and his identity is completely shattered. Juliette is too deep in her addiction to help him separate the facts from the fictions, so he looks for answers on the streets of Hollywood. There he finds Faris, a tattoo shop owner, and Casper, a cashier at a head shop. These two unlikely mentors help this troubled yet extraordinary boy find his way to the truth. Chanticleer Book Reviews said, 'Sary succeeds in portraying teen angst without melodrama, in depicting compassion without sentimentality, and in creating a world of characters on the margins of society whose depth and complexity outshine any Hollywood hero.' Foreword Reviews Magazine said, 'Few novelists can arrestingly channel the voice of a neglected fourteen-year-old boy, half street urchin, half spiritual shaman, and emerge with an engaging first-person narrative that doesn't drip with sentimentality or patronize teen culture. Candi Sary can...' Candi Sary graduated from the University of California, Irvine. Before receiving the aforementioned awards for 'Black Crow White Lie,' her previous writing made the finals of several writing competitions, including the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition, the Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Awards, and the Dahlonega Literary Festival Novel Contest. She lives in coastal Southern California with her husband and two children. For more information on Candi Sary or Black Crow White Lie, please visit the Blue Mary Books website.

BroadwayWorld has learned that Tony Award winning actress Laura Benanti will act as the emcee for the 16th Annual WINTER'S EVE at Lincoln Square, New York's largest outdoor holiday festival, which is set for Monday, November 30th.

It's the 2015 BroadwayWorld Chicago Award Nominations! [TITLE OF SHOW] and DIRECT FROM DEATH ROW... Lead the Field of 180 Nominees. 86 productions from 55 theaters receive nominations in 36 categories. Voting open through New Year's Eve!