Edward Hightower News

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a dash of Monty Python and you have San Jose Stage Company's production of The 39 Steps, a high-speed, hilarious spoof of the silver-screen classic in what the New York Times says is "Theatre at its finest! ... Absurdly enjoyable!"  

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Boston, Long Island, St. Louis and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN with Audra McDonald and Will Swenson in Boston, Bay Street's GREY GARDENS starring Betty Buckley and Rachel York, and The Muny's OKLAHOMA!, just to name a few.

Woodminster Summer Musicals celebrated opening night of The Producers, the hit Broadway musical based on the 1968 Mel Brooks film of the same name. With a Book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan and Score by Brooks, The Producers won 12 out of its 15 Tony nominations in 2001. It tells the story of a down-on-his-luck Broadway producer and his nervous accountant, who together come up with a scheme to make a million dollars (each) by producing the worst flop in Broadway history. They embark on a search to find the worst script, the worst director, the worst designers, and the worst actors. The scheme backfires, with many comic consequences, when their gloriously offensive Springtime for Hitler turns out to be a huge hit. Running now through August 16 at Woodminster Amphitheater in Oakland's Joaquin Miller Park, The Producers is one show you won't want to miss.

Broadway comes to Main Street as The Napa Valley Broadway Playhouse opens its 2012 debut season with the Kander & Ebb masterpiece Cabaret. The show stars Broadway performer Nikki Snelson along with a strong cast of professional actors and dancers and local talent. BroadwayWorld has the production photos below.

He just might be the most famous dog in America, thanks to his role on the hit Animal Planet series 'Pit Boss.'

This year's Critics Circle Awards, sponsored by Actor's Equity Association, today announced is nominees for excellence in San Francisco Bay area theater. Berkeley Rep's production of American Idiot, which played in the fall of 2009, leads with 12 nominations and will open on Broadway this spring.

Custom Made brings Harry Chapin's ('Taxi', 'Cat's in the Cradle') 'Cotton Patch Gospel' to the Next Stage (attached to the historic Trinity Church). 'Cotton Patch' is a progressive and musically joyous look at the Jesus story through a very modern lens. Using 26 songs, one amazing actor, three gorgeous singers, and a bluegrass band, 'Cotton Patch Gospel' is for everyone who wonders if the peace and love promised by the gospels is still possible in our modern world.

Custom Made brings Harry Chapin's ('Taxi', 'Cat's in the Cradle') 'Cotton Patch Gospel' to the Next Stage (attached to the historic Trinity Church). 'Cotton Patch' is a progressive and musically joyous look at the Jesus story through a very modern lens. Using 26 songs, one amazing actor, three gorgeous singers, and a bluegrass band, 'Cotton Patch Gospel' is for everyone who wonders if the peace and love promised by the gospels is still possible in our modern world.

Custom Made brings Harry Chapin's ('Taxi', 'Cat's in the Cradle') 'Cotton Patch Gospel' to the Next Stage (attached to the historic Trinity Church). 'Cotton Patch' is a progressive and musically joyous look at the Jesus story through a very modern lens. Using 26 songs, one amazing actor, three gorgeous singers, and a bluegrass band, 'Cotton Patch Gospel' is for everyone who wonders if the peace and love promised by the gospels is still possible in our modern world.

Bay Area residents have eight opportunities to feel the rejuvenating effects of Fountain of Youth, the refreshing new musical comedy by Bay Area librettist RC Staab and Boston composer Jeff Pflaumbaum. Fountain of Youth runs at the historic Hoover Theatre in San Jose in an expanded workshop production.