Emily Rebholz News

OTSL has opened a delicious 'La boheme'.

Tony Award-winning Broadway star LaChanze (If/Then, The Color Purple) will join the national tour of IF/THEN when it plays a limited one-week engagement at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall June 7-12. LaChanze's addition to the touring cast reunites her with Jackie Burns and Anthony Rapp, who along with LaChanze, starred in the original Broadway production of IF/THEN.

Second Stage Theatre's critically acclaimed musical, DEAR EVAN HANSEN, is currently enjoying a sold out run that comes to an Off-Broadway end on Sunday, May 29th. The show has been rumored for a transfer since it opened to rave reviews, a move confirmed today by the show's lead producer Stacey Mindich, speaking today at a Syracuse University graduation ceremony. 

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) has just announced that Ghostlight Records (Kurt Deutsch, CoFounder & Album Producer; Lawrence Manchester, Album Co-Producer) will record the cast album of the critically acclaimed, Lortel Award-winning revival of The Robber Bridegroom on Wednesday, June 1, 2016. For more information and to sign-up for updates, visit sh-k-boom.com/robber-bridegroom. The Robber Bridegroom is currently playing a limited engagement through May 29, 2016 at the Laura Pels Theater.

Second Stage Theatre's critically acclaimed musical, DEAR EVAN HANSEN, will add one performance on Sunday, May 22 at 8pm to its completely sold out run.  Tickets for this special benefit performance are $500.  All proceeds will fund Second Stage Theatre's educational initiatives, including free student matinees and internships.  The limited run of DEAR EVAN HANSEN will conclude on Sunday, May 29th.

Benj Pasek & Justin Pau's new musical DEAR EVAN HANSEN will be sticking around the New York theatre scene for a bit longer.

Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Atlanta announced today that tickets for the National Tour of IF/THEN, which was named the "Best Musical of the Year" by New York Magazine, will go on sale Sunday, May 22. IF/THEN will perform a limited one week engagement from August 9-14 at Atlanta's Fox Theatre to close the 2015/2016 Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Atlanta Series.

As Charlie “Bird” Parker, the great jazz saxophonist, who is the central character in CHARLIE PARKER'S YARDBIRD--the opera that had its New York premiere last week at the famed Apollo Theatre in Harlem--Lawrence Brownlee wonderfully embraced the classical and bebop sides of the score.

Vineyard Theatre, in association with La Jolla Playhouse andYale Repertory Theatre will present the New York premiere of INDECENT, a new play with music, written by Paula Vogel, created by Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman, and directed by Rebecca Taichman, at The Vineyard (108 East 15th Street). Previews begin April 27 and opening night is set for May 17. The company just met the press and BroadwayWorld brings you photos from inside the big day below!

The National Tour of IF/THEN, which was named the 'Best Musical of the Year' by New York Magazine, will perform a limited engagement at Detroit's Fisher Theatre, March 29 - April 10, 2016.

Today, Second Stage Theatre announced its partnership with TodayTix, the free mobile app that provides on-demand access to the best last-minute theater tickets, to launch a rush ticketing platform offering $30 tickets for the new musical Dear Evan Hansen beginning on the production's first preview Saturday, March 26.

Vineyard Theatre, in association with La Jolla Playhouse and Yale Repertory Theatre, has announced that tickets are now on sale as of today, March 22 at noon for the New York premiere of INDECENT, a new play with music, written by Paula Vogel, created by Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman, and directed by Rebecca Taichman, at The Vineyard (108 East 15th Street). Previews begin April 27 and opening night is set for May 17. For more information, please call the box office at (212) 353-0303 or visit www.vineyardtheatre.org. Group sales should call 212-353-3366, ext. 214.

It's interesting to me that IF/THEN is billed as 'a new musical'. It's the use of the word 'new' that I find puzzling. The concept certainly isn't an original one, having been explored on the big screen in the films Blind Chance (1981) and its sort-of remake, Sliding Doors (1998). And, even though neither of those movies were musicals, they both featured the idea of having their lead traverse optional story lines, with Blind Chance even offering up three different scenarios for its protagonist to experience. But, this show is new in the sense that it explores contemporary trends, with the caveat that some audiences may not find much to identify with, and it features a wonderfully fresh and tuneful score (music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey). All of that just might be enough to make this show worth seeing. Because it does feature a talented cast who have the ability to pull off these roles and the memorable songs provided with considerable conviction. But, the trickery seems a bit cloying at times, and the show does seem to drag at over 2 ½ hours. I guess, like our heroine, Elizabeth, I'm straddling the fence too, at least when it comes to my opinion.

Second Stage Theatre, in association with Stacey Mindich Productions, will soon present the new musical, Dear Evan Hansen. The company will include several performers who appeared in the World Premiere production at Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage, featuring Ben Platt as the title character, Evan Hansen, in a performance that was called 'extraordinary, bordering on heroic' by Peter Marks in the Washington Post. Also reprising their performances from the 'splendid' (Marks, Washington Post) cast are Laura Dreyfuss as Zoe, Mike Faist as Connor, Rachel Bay Jones as Heidi, Will Roland as Jared, Jennifer Laura Thompson as Cynthia. New cast members John Dossett (Larry) and Kristolyn Lloyd (Alana) complete the company. The cast just met the press yesterday and you can check out complete coverage from the event below!

Second Stage Theatre, in association with Stacey Mindich Productions, will soon present the new musical, DEAR EVAN HANSEN. The company will include several performers who appeared in the World Premiere production at Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage, featuring Ben Platt as the title character, Evan Hansen, in a performance that was called 'extraordinary, bordering on heroic' by Peter Marks in the Washington Post. Also reprising their performances from the 'splendid' (Marks, Washington Post) cast are Laura Dreyfuss as Zoe, Mike Faist as Connor, Rachel Bay Jones as Heidi, Will Roland as Jared, Jennifer Laura Thompson as Cynthia. New cast members John Dossett (Larry) and Kristolyn Lloyd (Alana) complete the company. The cast just met the press today and you can check out a sneak peek from the special day below. Check back later for complete coverage!

Shakespeare Theatre Company proves once again their place as one of the nation's finest classical theatre companies with a new production of OTHELLO. A careful blend of grand spectacle and intimate relationships, William Shakespeare's mature tragedy leaps off of the stage with passion, wit, and pathos. Starring Pakistani-American Faran Tahir in the title role, this OTHELLO is filtered through the lens of Othello as a Muslim who has adopted Western dress and religion. The concept works and the tragedy still works as one of Shakespeare's best.

Roundabout Theatre Company, in association with Daryl Roth Productions, presents the first-ever New York revival of Alfred Uhry and Robert Waldman's musical comedy THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM. The production begins preview performances Off-Broadway tonight, February 18, 2016, and opens officially on March 13, 2016 at the Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (111 West 46th Street). This will be a limited engagement through May 29, 2016.

The National Tour of IF/THEN, which was named the 'Best Musical of the Year' by New York Magazine, will perform a limited engagement at Detroit's Fisher Theatre, March 29 - April 10, 2016.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director, Casey Reitz, Executive Director), in association with Stacey Mindich Productions, has announced complete casting and creative team for its upcoming production of the new musical, DEAR EVAN HANSEN.

Original Broadway Cast member Jackie Burns (If/Then, Wicked, Hair), Tamyra Gray (American Idol Season One Finalist, Rent), and Matthew Hydzik (Side Show, West Side Story, Grease), will join Original Broadway Cast member Anthony Rapp (Rent, Six Degrees of Separation, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown) and the rest of the previously announced cast in the National Tour of IF/THEN, playing at the Fabulous Fox Theatre March 15 - 27.