David M. Lutken News

The season will include the world premiere of The Rise and Fall of Holly Fudge by Trista Baldwin, a new concert of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway classics, the East Coast premiere of Best Summer Ever, and two productions that were postponed due to the pandemic.

Signature Theatre has announced a private reading of the new musical Big Country. The reading stars LaChanze (Broadway’s Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, The Color Purple) as Addie Moore and Terrence Mann (Broadway’s Tuck Everlasting, Pippin) as Louis Waters. The reading on June 11 is closed to the public.

Milwaukee Rep has announced the completion of the Donald & Donna Baumgartner and Elizabeth Quadracci Harned Family Double-Down for Artists Challenge which raised a total of $109,000 to support Milwaukee Rep's terrific and talented artists that have been severely impacted by COVID-19.

Frequent People's Light guest artist David M. Lutken is coming to a screen near you. The fan-favorite folk troubadour leads a stellar ensemble of musicians for two virtual hootenannies on Thursday, May 14 at 7:30pm and Sunday, May 17 at 2pm.

The Bret Adams and Paul Reisch Foundation has announced the recipients of their special COVID-19 response grants for playwrights, composers, lyricists and librettists who have had a full professional production cancelled, closed, or indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 closures.

Milwaukee Rep will present the world premiere event Hootenanny: The Musicale by celebrated musician David M. Lutken in the Stackner Cabaret March 27 - May 24, 2020. A John (Jack) D. Lewis New Play Development production, Hootenanny: The Musical is inspired by Lutken's storied music career and his own personal ancestry featuring songs like 'Shenandoah,' 'St. Louis Blues,' 'The Wabash Cannonball' and 'The Times They Are a-Changin'.' Audiences are invited to be a part of the four interconnected American musical journeys, filled with beauty, virtuosity, joy and the rough-and-tumble history of this country's unique family tree.

Milwaukee Rep will present the world premiere event Hootenanny: The Musicale by celebrated musician David M. Lutken in the Stackner Cabaret March 27 - May 24, 2020. A John (Jack) D. Lewis New Play Development production, Hootenanny: The Musical is inspired by Lutken's storied music career and his own personal ancestry featuring songs like 'Shenandoah,' 'St. Louis Blues,' 'The Wabash Cannonball' and 'The Times They Are a-Changin'.' Audiences are invited to be a part of the four interconnected American musical journeys, filled with beauty, virtuosity, joy and the rough-and-tumble history of this country's unique family tree.

A history lesson with music is the perfect way to describe 'Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie,' that is now playing at the Ivoryton Playhouse through November 10. There's no need for sepia toned distance as this work covers the ups and downs of Guthrie's journeys and songs. With a marvelous cast of four, led by co-creator David M. Lutken, Guthrie's legacy is given an immediacy and excitement that brings an audience into the heyday of protest music that grew out of what Ken Burns described as 'hillbilly music' in his recent documentary on the country genre.

People's Light wraps up summer with a music-infused production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town. Long after it won the 1938 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Wilder's masterwork remains one of the most popular plays of all time, reminding audiences across the country that there is beauty in the ordinary.

Artistic Director Mark Clements and Executive Director Chad Bauman have just announced Milwaukee Repertory Theater's 2019/20 Season, which celebrates the 10th Anniversary Season of Artistic Director Mark Clements with 15 productions across four venues in the Patty & Jay Baker Theater Complex.

Penguin Rep Theatre presents 'Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie,' for two performances only, Saturday, September 15 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, September 16 at 2 p.m., at SUNY Rockland Community College's 500-seat Cultural Arts Theatre in Suffern, New York.

Four wildly talented actor-musicians deliver a toe-tapping, hand-clapping, sing-along summer experience for all generations in Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie, back by popular demand at People's Light. Folk revolutionary Guthrie showed you can strum a revolution with joy. Current troubadour David M. Lutken and friends celebrate the fascinating, beautiful, and sometimes tragic life of the legend who inspired Dylan, Springsteen, DiFranco, and an entire songwriting tradition. Featuring 15 instruments, 25 songs, and comprised almost entirely of Guthrie's own words, Woody Sez runs August 1-26 on the Leonard C. Haas Stage in Malvern.

The Drama League (Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Artistic Director) today announced the 2018 Drama League Awards Nominees for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the much-coveted Distinguished Performance Award. The nominations were announced this morning by Tony® Award winners Harriet Harris, Julie White and Tony® Award nominee Christopher Sieber at the official announcement event at Sardi's Restaurant, which was streamed live online right here at BroadwayWorld.com.

Every once in a while, a person is born who is destined to influence the world in ways yet to be seen. Sometimes these men and women are born into a position of power, such as a king or queen, and other times they do whatever it takes to become great and powerful business or political leaders on the backs of others. But once in a blue moon there comes a man who gains fortune and fame for simply being someone who people connect with, who speaks the truth, and who does his best to make the world a better place than he left it. One such man is the sage from Oologah ,Oklahoma, William Penn Adair Rogers. As time passes, fewer and fewer people are alive who had first-hand experience reading Will Rogers' column, listening to him on the radio, or seeing his films. It is for that reason, that we are lucky a show like THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES exists, and even luckier that Goodspeed Musicals chose it for the opening production of its 2018 season. Telling his life story over the course of a Ziegfeld follies extravaganza (another thing that many today have no memory of), this dazzling, colorful, and heartwarming musical takes audiences on a journey from rags to riches with America's "Cowboy Philosopher".

Outer Critics Circle, the organization of writers and commentators for media covering New York theatre announced today its award winners for the 2017-18 season in 27 categories.

Outer Critics Circle, the organization of writers and commentators covering New York theater for out-of-town newspapers, national publications and other media beyond Broadway, announced today (April 24, 2018) its nominees for the 2017-18 season. Broadway's "Come From Away" starJenn Colella along with "The Band's Visit" sensation Katrina Lenk presided over the (11AM) announcement ceremony in the Oak Room at New York's renowned Algonquin Hotel (59 W 44th Street). 

BroadwayWorld has a first look at Goodspeed's THE Will Rogers FOLLIES! Telling the life story of humorist Will Rogers, the Tony-Award winning musical features a book by Peter Stone, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Cy Coleman.THE Will Rogers FOLLIES begins performances on April 13th and will run through June 21st.

The Drama League (Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Artistic Director) today announced the 2018 Drama League Awards Nominees for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the much-coveted Distinguished Performance Award. The nominations were announced this morning by Tony® Award winners Harriet Harris, Julie White and Tony® Award nominee Christopher Sieber at the official announcement event at Sardi's Restaurant, which was streamed live online right here at BroadwayWorld.com.

Goodspeed presents THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES! Telling the life story of humorist Will Rogers, the Tony-Award winning musical features a book by Peter Stone, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Cy Coleman.THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES begins performances on April 13th and will run through June 21st.

Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie, a summer '17 off-Broadway hit, is currently playing a limited engagement at Westport Country Playhouse, January 9 - 20. The joyful, touching, and tumultuous tale of 'America's greatest folk poet' is told using Guthrie's own words and over two dozen of his indelible songs, including 'This Land Is Your Land,' 'Union Maid,' 'Deportees,' and 'This Train Is Bound for Glory.'