Des McAnuff News

Over an online stream of the annual Broadway Launch Special this evening, Playhouse Square revealed the seven shows that will comprise the much-anticipated 2020-2021 KeyBank Broadway Series: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL, THE CHER SHOW, THE PROM, AIN'T TOO PROUD a?" THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS, MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL and HADESTOWN.

Donna Summer Musical is a show with book by Colman Domingo, Robert Cary, and Des McAnuff and music and lyrics by Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte, Paul Jabara, and others, based on the life of Donna Summer. The musical shows the Queen of Disco at three times of her life: Duckling Donna (Amanda Souza) is in her pre-teens, starting out in Boston; Disco Donna (Jeniffer Nascimento), in her late teens and 20s, has her initial success; and Diva Donna (Karin Hils) is in her 50s and at the top of her career. With direction by Miguel Falabella, the show opens at Teatro Santander on March 5.

The Novato Theater Company's fourth show of its 100th season is The Who's Tommy with music and lyrics by Pete Townsend, book by Pete Townshend & Des McAnuff with additional music & lyrics by John Entwistle & Keith Moon. The original album has sold 20 million copies and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

DPAC has 'Unconditional Lovea' for Donna Summer this week as the National Tour of DONNA: THE DONNA SUMMER MUSICAL is in town. The show uses classic hits of the disco queen like 'Love to Love You Baby' and 'Hot Stuff' to craft a 'concert of a lifetime.' Three women portray Donna at different periods of her life -- Duckling, Disco, and Diva -- to tell how she went from a young girl singing in church in Boston to a top creator of dance floor hits. The show is largely about the adversity that she faced throughout her career, a story that even those familiar with her music may not know.

On Wednesday, February 26's episode of The View, Motown songwriters Eddie and Brian Holland were joined by the cast of Broadway's a?oeAin't Too Prouda?? for a special collaboration of their hit songs.

Dates have been announced for the Waterbury return engagement of the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-winning hit musical JERSEY BOYS, the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. The musical will make its much-anticipated return to Waterbury to play the Palace Theater on March 17. Tickets may be purchased at the Palace Theater's Box Office, 100 East Main Street, Waterbury, on line at www.palacetheaterct.org  or by calling 203.346.2000.

Broadway in Portland is pleased to announce its 2020/21 Season with a schedule full of classics, brand-new productions, and hit musicals direct from Broadway.

The producers of Broadway's Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations announced today that they will welcome Hamilton alum Nik Walker and Detroit native Matt Manuel to the musical as Otis Williams and David Ruffin, respectively, beginning Friday, February 28, 2020. Derrick Baskin and Ephraim Sykes, the Tony Award® nominated original Temptations actors, will depart the production on Wednesday, February 26, 2020.

Center Theatre Group has announced its 54th season at the Ahmanson Theatre, which features Hadestown, Dear Evan Hansen, The Prom, To Kill a Mockingbird, and more!

Alison Clancy – an accomplished contemporary dancer fluent both in high-brow and downtown style – will be making her debut as a soloist at The Metropolitan Opera during the overture of Richard Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer. In this New York premiere, directed by François Girard and choreographed by Carolyn Choa, Clancy takes center stage at the venerable NYC institution in a dance prologue, created especially for this staging, in which she is a psycho-spiritual embodiment of Senta, the opera's leading lady.

The producers of the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award winning musical Jersey Boys have announced that Jonathan Cable will join the cast as Nick Massi beginning Monday, February 17 at New York City's New World Stages (340 West 50th Street) Stage 1.

While Donna Summer may be 'Hot Stuff' when it comes to iconic songwriting and singing, SUMMER: THE DONNA SUMMER MUSICAL is a lukewarm entry in the genre of biographical jukebox musicals. The musical features many of Donna Summer's notable hits-and this national touring cast has the talent to take them all on-but the storyline gave me whiplash. With a book by Colman Domingo and Robert Cary and direction from Des McAnuff, SUMMER careens between the major events of Donna Summer's life at an often breakneck pace.

Broadway in Detroit today announced that individual tickets for the Detroit premier of SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical at the Fisher Theatre, June 9 a?" 21, will go on sale Sunday, February 16. 

The 2020/2021 Premera Blue Cross Broadway at The Paramount season brings another year of extraordinary entertainment to The Paramount Theatre, with a schedule of shows back by popular demand, as well as classics, and brand-new hit musicals direct from Broadway. Subscription renewals go on sale February 4 at 10am and new subscriptions will be available in late March.

It's been only three months since the brilliant lyricist/director Gerard Alessandrini opened the latest edition of his Tony-honored satirical creation Forbidden Broadway at The Triad, but after a brief hiatus, the company has moved their antics east for a stint at The York.

Jersey Boys is currently at New York City's New World Stages.

The United States Artists (USA) announced today that dancer/ choreographer Dianne McIntyre is one of fifty recipients of their 2020 USA Fellow award. Each of the fifty recipients will receive a $50,000 cash award of unrestricted funds.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) presents the February Panel, Festivals: Working Hard to Give Your Show a Chance, on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at The Actors Temple Theatre, 339 W. 47th Street, NYC. Doors open at 7pm for networking and the panel starts at 7:30pm.

It's back! 'JERSEY BOYS,' the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, is back in residence at the Connor Palace in Playhouse Square for a short run.

Tickets are on sale now for the much-anticipated return engagement of the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-winning hit musical JERSEY BOYS, the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, playing in Seattle for one week only at The 5th Avenue Theatre from April 14 a?" 19, 2020.