Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestra's begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven- o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: The Mamma Mia! Dads in Concert; Kander and Ebb and All That Jazz; Sondheim Originals: Old Friends; Donna Vivino: The Friends and Family Plan; and Band Geeks in Concert.
Today January 9, 2015 in New York City, Obie Award winner David Drake will direct the inaugural reading of the new musical The Beachcomber Boys, with book and lyrics by Myra Slotnick and music by Grammy Award-winning composer Peter Stopschinski, whose contribution to Madeleine George's The Curious Case Of Dr. Watson was nominated for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Drama.
Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City's major resident Equity theatre, will present the world premiere of Kenneth Jones' dramaAlabama Story today, January 9-24, 2015, as part of its eight-title 2014-15 season. PTC Artistic Director Karen Azenberg will direct.
TACT/The Actors Company Theatre is pleased to announce the cast and creative team for Abundance, the 1990 play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley (Crimes of the Heart). An epic tale of friendship set against the backdrop of the sweeping American West, Abundance will be directed by TACT Co-Artistic Director Jenn Thompson, who directed last season's production of William Inge's Natural Affection. Performances begin at Theatre Row's Beckett Theatre (410 West 42nd Street - between 9th & 10th Avenues) on Tuesday, February 17, 2015. Opening night is set forSunday, March 1 at 6:00pm. Performances will continue through March 28, 2015.
The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University is pleased to announce that it has acquired the literary archive of dramatist Paula Vogel, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a celebrated teacher who has mentored a generation of playwrights. Vogel is the first American female playwright to have her archive included in the Yale Collection of American Literature, where she joins such luminaries as Eugene O'Neill, Thornton Wilder, A. R. Gurney, and John Guare.
Mariah MacCarthy (Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award, NYtheatre.com's 2012 'Person of the Year') reunites with director Leta Tremblay (The Foreplay Play) on their site-specific hit Mrs. Mayfield's Fifth-Grade Class of '93 20-Year Reunion, this time set in an East Village apartment.
How can composers Arnold Schoenberg, Piotr Tchaikovsky and Carlo Gesualdo balance the chaos of their creativity with their need for love? Playwright Tommy Smith and director Chris Fields (the team behind last season's Firemen, named one of the "Best Stage Plays of 2014" by Los Angeles Times theater critic Charles McNulty) trace three real-life love triangles in a passionate tale of intrigue, jealousy and music. The Echo Theater Company presents the world premiere of Fugue, opening on Feb. 14 (Valentines Day) at the Echo's Atwater Village Theatre home.
The Tony-winning musical BOOK OF MORMON said farewell to its most recent Elder Price and Elder Cuningham, Ben Platt and Nic Rouleau respectively, on January 4. Broadway favorite Gavin Creel, who has portrayed the role of Kevin Price on both the BOM national tour and in the London production, steps in as the egocentric missionary, beginning tonight, January 6th. Joining him as everyone's favorite sidekick will be Christopher John O'Neill.
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full company for August Wilson's classic drama King Hedley II. Set in the 1980s Hill District of Pittsburgh, the ninth installment of Pulitzer Prize winner Wilson's acclaimed play cycle examining Black America follows a scarred ex-convict who struggles to turn his life around and lock away his past. The drama is directed by Timothy Douglas, who worked with the late playwright on the world premiere of Radio Golf and has directed eight plays out of Wilson's 10-play cycle. King Hedley II runs February 6-March 8, 2015 in the Fichandler Stage.
The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre, the acclaimed comedy/variety show, will return to JOE'S PUB at The Public Theater on Sunday, January 18 at 9:30 PM to open the Winter/Spring 2015 Season. The Meeting* has been called 'delicious and delightfully droll' by The New York Post and 'hilarious and sardonic' by The Village Voice. A story for Slate.com called the evening 'so deliciously icy that it left me shivering with fear and delight.' The Fall 2014 shows sold out after a New York Times 'Arts & Leisure' piece ran in September. The January show will include a tribute to Broadway legend Ethel Merman, with special guests Klea Blackhurst, Erin Markey, Nora Mae Lyng, Molly Pope and Ben Rimalower. Tracy Stark serves as the show's Music Director.
Philadelphia Theatre Company's continues its 40th Anniversary season with the Tony Award-nominated play Mothers and Sons by Terrence McNally February 6-March 8. Directed by Wendy Goldberg, the cast features Hugh Kennedy, Emmy Award-winning actress Michael Learned, James Lloyd Reynolds, and Patrick Gibbons and Jacob D. Wilner in alternating performances.
54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Broadway favorites Ann Morrison ("Merrily We Roll Along"), Pamela Myers ("Company") & Chip Zien ("Into The Woods") in "SONDHEIM ORIGINALS - OLD FRIENDS" on January 16 & 17, 2015. These three original Sondheim cast members share songs and stories, recalling their experiences creating their roles in these landmark musicals on Broadway. The show is conceived and directed by Grammy and Emmy Award winner, John McDaniel, as part of his second season as artistic director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's Cabaret and Performance conference.
Casting has been completed for Red Tape Theatre's (RTT) upcoming Chicago Premiere of The Walk Across America for Mother Earth. (Full cast list below) Tickets are on sale now at www.steppenwolf.org and 312.335.1650. All performances will be held at the Steppenwolf Garage Theatre located at 1624 N Halsted St, as part of the sixth annual Garage Rep. General Admission tickets are $20, with a limited number of discounted student tickets for each performance and 'Pay What You Can' tickets for Wednesday performances only. A complete performance schedule of the 2015 Garage Rep can be found at www.steppenwolf.org.
On January 9, 2015 in New York City, Obie Award winner David Drake will direct the inaugural reading of the new musical The Beachcomber Boys, with book and lyrics by Myra Slotnick and music by Grammy Award-winning composer Peter Stopschinski, whose contribution to Madeleine George's The Curious Case Of Dr. Watson was nominated for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Drama.
