Eric Schaeffer News

The Fred Ebb Foundation (Mitchell Bernard, Trustee) in association with the Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) will present the fifth annual Fred Ebb Award for aspiring musical theatre songwriters to Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich. The award, named in honor of the late award-winning lyricist Fred Ebb, will be presented by Eric Schaeffer of the Signature Theatre on Monday, November 30th from 6-8pm at a by-invitation-only ceremony in the Penthouse Lobby of The American Airlines Theater.

The fall temperatures may be getting colder, but the DC area theatre scene is heating up with many musicals, including a new "intimate" production of a 1927 American classic, a Tony-Award Winning family saga, and so many choices - well - take a look for yourself at what this diverse theatre community has to offer in November. This is a great time to celebrate the upcoming holidays with your family, so bring the kids, grandparents, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles and cousins to see that Orphan girl and her dog, a Disney heroine, and enjoy an early Christmas, and many more shows to bring in the cheer and joy of the holiday season. We have so much to be thankful for this month, so come to our nation's capital and celebrate the joy of theatre with us!

Eric Schaeffer, artistic director of the Tony Award®-winning Signature Theatre, today announced tha stage, screen, and television actress Angela Lansbury will receive the company's Stephen Sondheim Award. The award, established in honor of America's most influential contemporary musical theater writer and composer, will be presented to Ms. Lansbury on Monday, April 26, 2010, at a black-tie gala dinner in Washington, DC. The Sondheim Award Gala will benefit Signature Theatre's artistic, education, and community outreach programs.

Million Dollar Quartet, which recently announced its spring plans for a Broadway production, proudly announces its one-year anniversary in Chicago. Million Dollar Quartet will host a month-long anniversary celebration, beginning with a free lunchtime concert in the Courtyard of Willis Towers on October 8, 2009, and culminating with a celebratory press performance on Thursday, November 5, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.

Million Dollar Quartet, which recently announced its spring plans for a Broadway production, proudly announces its one year anniversary in Chicago. Million Dollar Quartet will host a celebratory press performance on Thursday, November 5, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.

The Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre continues the celebration of its 20th anniversary season with a series of cabaret evenings November 17 - 22 spotlighting the exciting Helen Hayes Award-winning actress/singer Natascia Diaz and the acclaimed Scottish singer Euan Morton, whose performances have been called 'sensational' by The New York Times.

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, the new musical inspired by the famed 1956 recording session that brought together four of the most legendary figures in the history of rock 'n' roll - Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley - will open at Broadway's Nederlander Theatre, 208 West 41st Street, in April, 2010. Previews will begin March 13, 2010.

The Signature Theatre, nationally renowned for its innovation in musical theater, will reinvent the 1927 classic American musical, Show Boat, in a brand new production playing November 10, 2009 through January 17, 2010.

Million Dollar Quartet, which recently announced its spring plans for a Broadway production, proudly announces its one-year anniversary in Chicago. Million Dollar Quartet will host a month-long anniversary celebration, beginning with a free lunchtime concert in the Courtyard of Willis Towers on October 8, 2009, and culminating with a celebratory press performance on Thursday, November 5, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.

Million Dollar Quartet, which recently announced its spring plans for a Broadway production, proudly announces its one-year anniversary in Chicago. Million Dollar Quartet will host a month-long anniversary celebration, beginning with a free lunchtime concert in the Courtyard of Willis Towers on October 8, 2009, and culminating with a celebratory press performance on Thursday, November 5, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.

The Signature Theatre, nationally renowned for its innovation in musical theater, will reinvent the 1927 classic American musical, Show Boat, in a brand new production playing November 10, 2009 through January 17, 2010.

Signature Theatre, winner of the 2009 Regional Theatre Tony Award®, continues its 20th anniversary season in October and November with the two types of musical productions for which the company has become renowned: musical theater and cabaret performances. November 10, 2009 through January 17, 2010, Signature reinvents the 1927 classic American musical, Show Boat, with Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer creating an intimate new staging in the 300-seat MAX Theatre, complete with a special new approved script and new orchestrations. Cabaret shows take over Signature?s other house, the 120-seat ARK Theatre, when Signature begins a year-long ?best of? salute to its 20 years of musicals. From October 13 through 18, the cabaret offering Signature Sings: 1989-1994 will feature music from Company, Wings, Assassins, and Into the Woods. Cabaret performances will again return from November 17 through 22 with Signature Sings: 1995-1999, featuring select songs from First Lady Suite, Cabaret, A Grand Night for Singing, Passion, The Rink, Sunday in the Park With George, Working, The Fix, A Little Night Music, Over and Over, and Tell Me on a Sunday.

Million Dollar Quartet has recently been extended and tickets are currently on sale through January 3, 2010. The smash hit musical, inspired by the famed 1956 recording session that brought together legendary rock ?n' roll icons Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley, plays at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago.

This fall, from September 10 ? 27, Signature Theatre will continue its exploration of the music of the great songwriting team of John Kander and Fred Ebb with a new concert performance of some of the illustrious duo?s most popular songs. Following up Signature?s highly praised 2008 Kander & Ebb Celebration, ?First You Dream? The Kander & Ebb Concert will highlight the breadth of their songbook?from their early musical Flora, the Red Menace through hits like Cabaret and Chicago to their most recent show, The Visit, one of Signature?s recent hits. The Kander & Ebb Concert will feature some of Signature and Broadway?s favorite singers accompanied by Broadway-sized 18-piece onstage orchestra in The Max Theatre.

Eric Schaeffer, Artistic Director of the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre, today announced casting for the world premiere theater event 'First You Dream': The Kander & Ebb Concert, September 10 through 27, 2009.

The 2009 Regional Theatre Tony Award winning-Signature Theatre presents the world premiere theater event First You Dream': The Music of Kander & Ebb, September 10 through 27, 2009. A tribute to Broadway's most celebrated songwriting partnership - from Cabaret to Chicago to Curtains - Signature pulls out the stops with Broadway's Heidi Blickenstaff, James Clow, Norm Lewis, Julia Murney, Matthew Scott, and Eleasha Gamble and a 19-piece orchestra, plus staging and set design by Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer and choreography by Karma Camp.

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, the new musical inspired by the famed 1956 recording session that brought together four of the most legendary figures in the history of rock 'n' roll - Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley - will open on Broadway in the Spring of 2010 in a theatre to be announced.

Bill Weeden, the veteran songwriter-comedian whose tunes were the basis for 2006's long-running musical revue Into the Weeds, closes this weekend in the American premiere of Richard Foreman's George Bataille's Bathrobe at The Brick, the Williamsburg theater known for its adventurousness and edge. The production was much-praised and so was Weeden's performance in the leading role. BWW caught up with Bill this week via e-mail to ask him about Foreman, the production, and his career.

The 2009 Regional Theatre Tony Award winning-Signature Theatre presents the world premiere theater event First You Dream': The Music of Kander & Ebb, September 10 through 27, 2009. A tribute to Broadway's most celebrated songwriting partnership - from Cabaret to Chicago to Curtains - Signature pulls out the stops with Broadway's Heidi Blickenstaff, James Clow, Norm Lewis, Julia Murney, Matthew Scott, and Eleasha Gamble and a 19-piece orchestra, plus staging and set design by Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer and choreography by Karma Camp.

Signature Theatre, recipient of the 2009 Regional Theater Tony Award®, opens its 20th anniversary season on August 11 with the Broadway hit Dirty Blonde, a comedy with music about the notorious film legend Mae West.