George Furth News

Temple Theaters continues its 47th Season with Merrily We Roll Along, Directed by Brandon McShaffrey, with musical direction by Bryan DeSilva. Featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth, the show runs March 12-22. Based on a 1934 play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, in which a playwright sacrifices his principles for popularity, Merrily We Roll Along examines artistic integrity and ambition against the backdrop of the 60s and 70s. Staged simply in the intimate Randall Theater with two pianos, this production allows the Sondheim's moving score to take center stage.

Three musicals and two plays - along with the return of the 2nd OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN FESTIVAL for lyricists - will comprise the historic BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE's 76th anniversary season in New Hope, Pa. starting in April, it has been announced by the Playhouse's producing team of Tony Award-winning producers, Alexander Fraser, Robyn Goodman, Stephen Kocis and Josh Fiedler.

Amas Musical Theatre and The Amas Musical Theatre Lab will present staged readings for the New York premiere of I Am, I Will, I Do, a new musical with book, music and lyrics by Dan Manjovi. Directed by Christopher Scott with Musical Direction by Steven Gross, the readings will be held tonight, February 9th at 6pm and tomorrow, February 10th at 3pm & 7pm at Shetler Studios - Penthouse (244 West 54th Street - between Broadway & 8th Avenue).

Today we are celebrating the incredibly accomplished multi-award-winning performer, composer and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Sharon Playhouse, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Simpkins and Managing Director Justin Ball, announces the 2015 summer season of musicals and plays My Fair Lady, Merrily We Roll Along, Little Shop of Horrors, Georgie: The Life and Death of George Rose, Peter and the Starcatcher, and the new musical, True Love.

The Award-winning Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC), has announced that their 14th season spring musical will be Merrily We Roll Along, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth, based on the original play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, and directed by APAC's Artistic Director Dev Bondarin. The musical begins on Thursday, April 30, 2015 and continues through Saturday, May 23, 2015. APAC's performance venue is located at the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, 30-44 Crescent St (@ 30th Rd), in Astoria, Queens.

A noticeably long, drawn-out silence opens Cabrillo Music Theatre's production of COMPANY as 35-year old Robert (Alxander Jon) comes home to his empty New York bachelor pad. It is the final moment of solitude before the coordinated cacophony of voices begins in Nick DeGruccio's sleekly directed revival of Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics) and George Furth's (book) 1970 classic.

Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff, Artistic Producer) and The Amas Musical Theatre Lab will present staged readings for the New York premiere of I Am, I Will, I Do, a new musical with book, music and lyrics by Dan Manjovi. Directed byChristopher Scott with Musical Direction by Steven Gross, the readings will be held on Monday, February 9th at 6pm and Tuesday, February 10th at 3pm & 7pm at Shetler Studios - Penthouse.

The feature film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's beloved fairy tale musical INTO THE WOODS is coming to movie theaters nationwide on Christmas Day and BroadwayWorld celebrates the man behind the music with a new series highlighting the work of iconic composer and lyricist, continuing today with a look at his work in the 1970s and 1980s.

Today in 2006, Company opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, where it ran for 246 performances. Company is a musical comedy based on a book by George Furth with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The original production was nominated for a then-unheard-of and subsequent record-setting fourteen Tony Awards and won six. The plot revolves around Bobby (a single man unable to commit fully to a steady relationship, let alone marriage), the five married couples who are his best friends, and his three girlfriends. Unlike most book musicals, which follow a clearly delineated plot, Company is a concept musical composed of short vignettes, presented in no particular chronological order, linked by a celebration for Bobby's 35th birthday.

Today in 1981, Merrily We Roll Along closed at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre), where it ran for 16 performances. Merrily We Roll Along is a musical with a book by George Furth and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim. It is based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Furth and Sondheim retained the basic structure and overall theme of the play but updated it to encompass the period from 1957 to 1976. The story revolves around Franklin Shepard who, having once been a talented composer of Broadway musicals, has now abandoned his friends and his songwriting career to become a producer of Hollywood flicks. Like the play, the musical begins at the height of his Hollywood fame and moves backwards in time, showing snapshots of the most important moments in Frank's life that shaped the man that he is today.

To celebrate the publication of The Untold Stories of Broadway, Volume 2 on November 18 by Dress Circle Publishing, Jennifer Ashley Tepper will be sharing three short excerpts about each of the Broadway theaters featured in the book-countdown style! Today: The Criterion Center Stage Right

The curtains (and doors) will soon open in early 2015 at the new Queensbury Theatre performing arts center in Town & Country's west side of Houston, but not before Randal K. West, the new executive director, takes to the figurative stage.

The Office for the Arts at Harvard recently announced that its upcoming undergraduate production of the cult hit Bat Boy: The Musical will debut new scenes and songs by the show's original writers. Composer/lyricist (and Harvard alum) Laurence O'Keefe and bookwriters Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming have been holding writing sessions and workshops at Harvard, working directly with the undergraduate cast and crew to develop the new material. Bat Boy is the story of a feral half-bat/half-boy, originally invented by the Weekly World News supermarket tabloid. The musical comedy's premiere Off-Broadway in 2001 garnered rave reviews and the show has received hundreds of productions worldwide, but the three writers have nonetheless continued to work on the show. O'Keefe recently took the time to chat with BroadwayWorld about revisiting the project and his intentions for the show at Harvard and beyond. Check out the full interview below!

Bay City Players will present COMPANY, a musical, with Book by George Furth, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, today, October 9 - 12 & 16 - 19, 2014 at the Bay City Players, 1214 Columbus Avenue, in Bay City.

Bay City Players announces the cast for the musical comedy COMPANY, with Book by George Furth, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

The CSULB Theatre Arts Department's University Players open the 2014-2015 season with Merrily We Roll Along, with book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, running today, October 3rd through 12th in the Studio Theatre. Based on Kaufman and Hart's eponymous play, Merrily We Roll Along tells the story, in reverse chronological order, of the life of successful Hollywood mogul Franklin Shepard.

The Onyx Theatre presents Merrily We Roll Along. Performances are from September 26th to Octobor 11th. Tickets are $24 and can be bought here.

This season's revival of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's Pulitzer Prize-winning play YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU opens on Broadway tonight, and in honor of the playwriting pair's long list of contributions to the theatre, we've rounded up some of their most notable works. Scroll down to learn more about the duo's canon!

BroadwayWorld.com is very excited to kick off a brand new partnership with THE SONDHEIM REVIEW. Each month we'll be bringing you special, and exclusive archives from the quarterly magazine dedicated to the work of the musical theatre and Broadway's foremost composer and lyricist, Stephen Sondheim. Each issue contains news, interviews, features, reviews, historical information, upcoming productions in your area, puzzles, and more. Our correspondents in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, London, and all over the world bring you the latest, most accurate information and insights.