Des McAnuff News

On July 3, the Broadway company of JERSEY BOYS welcomed back John Lloyd Young, who created the role of Frankie Valli in the original Broadway company and on the Grammy-winning, platinum cast album. for his performance, Mr. Young won Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award for Leading Actor in a Musical and a Theatre World Award. BroadwayWorld was there on Tuesday night, July 10th to bring you video coverage of Young and the rest of the cast celebrating at the show's curtain call! Don't forget to check back later this month for a special Backstage with Richard Ridge, as he chats with Young about his return to the show!

BroadwayWorld was there on Tuesday night, July 10th to bring you special coverage of Young and the rest of the cast celebrating at the show's curtain call! Stay tuned for video coverage!

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival continues to mark its 60th season this week with the world premieres of three Canadian plays and the opening of Artistic Director Des McAnuff's production of Henry V.

On Sunday July 8th, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR's Chilina Kennedy will bring 'What You Find In A Bottle' to the Metropolitan Room at 7pm. Special guest stars will include Paul Nolan and Josh Young, with Rick Fox, Michele Fox, Kevin Ramessar and Jaz Sealey playing in the band.

Lucy Peacock's cabaret series Late Night with Lucy has been so popular with patrons that it is officially sold out. The first performance of the eight-night summer series begins at the Festival's new Studio Theatre Annex space tonight at 11:30 p.m.

Actor, director, and playwright Lee Siegel, who made his Broadway debut as Simon Zealotes in Des McAnuff's recently closed revival of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, has created a slideshow chronicling the production's first few months in New York City; the photo set - his gift to the cast - includes rehearsal sessions; meet and greet with the press; intimate concert for fans at "The Crypt" at the Church of the Intercession; and Broadway previews, among others.

Tony nominee Josh Young (Judas Iscariot), who brought the closing audience of "Jesus Christ Superstar" (JCS) to its feet, seconds after his strong 11 o'clock number, "Jesus Christ Superstar," yesterday afternoon at Neil Simon Theatre, signed everyone's playbill at the stage door, and showed off to the crowd his pooch, Keppy, who was wearing a replica of Young's character's royal blue sequined top, designed by Paul Tazewell ("In the Heights," "The Color Purple") for the show.

Tomorrow, July 3, the Broadway company of JERSEY BOYS will welcome back John Lloyd Young, who created the role of Frankie Valli in the original Broadway company and on the Grammy-winning, platinum cast album. for his performance, Mr. Young won Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award for Leading Actor in a Musical and a Theatre World Award.

Following celebrated runs at the Toronto Stratford Shakespeare Festival, the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, and on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR takes its final Broadway bow tonight, July 1. Upon closing, the show will have played 116 regular performances and 24 preview performances. One of Andrew Lloyd Webber's most famous shows, the Stratford production undeniably had a great run and introduced some exciting new stars to the Great White Way, including Tony nominee Josh Young, Jesus himself Paul Nolan, and Chilina Kennedy. Below, BroadwayWorld revisits the journey of SUPERSTAR!

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival has announced that Artistic Director Des McAnuff has been appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada.

On Sunday July 8th, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR's Chilina Kennedy will bring 'What You Find In A Bottle' to the Metropolitan Room at 7pm. Special guest stars will include Paul Nolan and Josh Young, with Rick Fox, Michele Fox, Kevin Ramessar and Jaz Sealey playing in the band.

Josh Young, the Tony Award nominated actor who made his Broadway debut as 'Judas' in 2012 revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, has announced the release of his new CD, Still Dreaming Of Paradise.

A celebration of the life of John Neville will be held in Stratford next month. Mr. Neville, who was Artistic Director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival from 1986 to 1989, died on November 19. He was 86.

Today we are talking to a Tony Award-winning legend famous for his performances starring in the original Broadway productions of PIPPIN and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, as well as his celebrated turns in stage and screen projects as diverse as ALL THAT JAZZ, SWEET CHARITY, CHICAGO, FOSSE, WICKED, GRIND, ROOTS, I'M NOT RAPPAPORT, GOLDEN BOY, IDLEWILD, FUNNY LADY, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and many more - the simply incredible Ben Vereen. Discussing many of his most fondly remembered roles and recounting his experiences working with many legendary directors and collaborators - Bob Fosse, Hal Prince, Tom O'Horgan, Herbert Ross, Ann Reinking, Dan Sullivan, Sammy Davis, Jr., Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and many more among them - Vereen paints a vivid picture of a bygone Broadway and reminisces about many of the most significant theatrical creators of the past fifty years and his roles in their stage and film projects. Additionally, Vereen fills us in on what we can expect from his upcoming solo spotlight show - a career retrospective - that will be kicking off at 54 Below on July 10 for a two-week engagement before an even larger, Broadway-bound mounting later this year at Princeton. Also, Vereen elaborates on the causes closest to his heart, shares thoughts on GLEE and SMASH, future plans and much, much more!

Acclaimed Canadian dramatist Daniel MacIvor's new play BEST BROTHERS is a hilariously touching and emotionally compelling piece about a pair of brothers grieving the loss of their mother. The world premiere, which is directed by Associate Artistic Director Dean Gabourie, begins previews at the Studio Theatre tonight, June 26.

The Festival welcomes avant-garde Toronto theatre company VideoCabaret's spectacular production The War of 1812 (The History of the Village of the Small Huts: 1812-1815) as part of its 60th season. The show, which has been programmed to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the War of 1812, begins previews at the Studio Theatre Annex performance space on June 26.

Hirsch, a powerful new one-man show about the life of Canadian theatre legend and former Festival Artistic Director John Hirsch, begins previews at the Studio Theatre on June 20.

The poems of Robert Service, the famous "Bard of the Yukon," are set to music and used as inspiration in the world premiere of the new musical Wanderlust. A Festival commission, which is written and directed by Morris Panych with music and orchestration by Marek Norman, Wanderlust started previews on June 20 at the Tom Patterson Theatre.

30,000 new tickets will be released for sale from 9.00am Monday 25 June for JERSEY BOYS - The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons opening at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) on Friday 13 July 2012.

Today we are talking to a supremely gifted performer who can be seen eight times a week on Broadway in the currently running Des McAnuff revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, Jeremy Kushnier. Tracing his Broadway trajectory from his memorable debut in FOOTLOOSE back in the late 1990s to his impressive regional theatre and concert work - CHESS to The Dream Engine to BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY and beyond - to his success touring in AIDA, RENT and others, up to his most recent gig in JERSEY BOYS, Kushnier opens up about his diverse career thus far and what we can expect from him in the future, near and far. Plus, Kushnier analyzes the five roles he has essayed in the current production of SUPERSTAR so far, since he was first brought into the production as a standby and understudy, after all - Jesus, Judas, Pilate and two different priests - and shares his enthusiasm for the dazzling, Tony Award-nominated production - all of this as he prepares for his long-awaited upcoming solo spotlight concert at Birdland on June 18! Additionally, Kushnier shares plans and wishes for a forthcoming solo album, as well as offers his thoughts on GLEE, SMASH and much, much more!