George Hearn News

Virginia's Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre is embracing the spirit of the holiday season by hosting "Pentagon Night" on Wednesday, December 22nd.

Executive Producer Lou Spisto today announced the complete cast and creative team for Jane Austen's Emma - A Musical Romantic Comedy. The musical, with book, music and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Paul Gordon and direction by Tony Award nominee Jeff Calhoun, will run in the Old Globe Theatre Jan. 15 - Feb. 27. Preview performances run Jan. 15 - Jan. 22. Opening night is Jan. 23 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.

Stephen Sondheim to Jerry Herman to Andrew Lloyd Webber, Michael John LaChiusa to Kander & Ebb to Dempsey & Rowe, PUTTING IT TOGETHER to MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET on Broadway - the phenomenally gifted co-founder of the Signature Theater is one of the brightest lights in directing today - whether in regional theatre or on Broadway or the West End - and a mere glance at his resume reveals many of the reasons why. Discussing the current production of SUNSET BOULEVARD opening later this month at the Signature, plus a complete rundown of the upcoming Kennedy Center production of FOLLIES, in this, his most comprehensive interview to date, Eric Schaeffer bares all and reveals what makes his productions shine so bright on Broadway and beyond.

The Fred Ebb Foundation (Mitchell Bernard, Trustee) has announced that its 2010 donation to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS will total $1 million dollars, marking the largest single donation in BC/EFA history. The foundation, which is funded by royalties from the late award-winning lyricist Fred Ebb's vast catalogue of work, makes an annual donation to BC/EFA.

Thora Birch has been released from the cast of the revival of Bram Stoker's DRACULA. Previews begin Tuesday, December 14 at the Little Shubert Theatre (422 West 42nd Street) in Manhattan. Official opening is set for January 5, 2011. Emily Bridges, Ms. Birch's understudy, steps into the role of Lucy. Ms. Bridges is the co-author of a stage adaptation of Acting: The First Six Lessons, which she wrote and performed with her father, Beau Bridges. A student at the London Dramatic Academy and Moscow Art Theatre School, she has appeared on stage in Gaslight, The Princess and the Frog, and Happy Hour and the movies Voyage of the Unicorn and The Uninvited.

Count Dracula, the world's most famous vampire, returns to the New York stage in DRACULA by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, based on the eponymous novel by Bram Stoker, set to begin previews December 14, prior to its official press opening January 5 at the Little Shubert Theatre (442 West 42nd Street). Paul Alexander to direct.

Count Dracula, the world's most famous vampire, returns to the New York stage in DRACULA by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, based on the eponymous novel by Bram Stoker is set to begin previews December 14, prior to its official press opening January 5 at the Little Shubert Theatre (442 West 42nd Street). Paul Alexander to direct. BroadwayWorld.com got an exclusive first peak at the cast in rehearsal at the theatre!

Count Dracula, the world's most famous vampire, returns to the New York stage in DRACULA by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, based on the eponymous novel by Bram Stoker is set to begin previews December 14, prior to its official press opening January 5 at the Little Shubert Theatre (442 West 42nd Street). Paul Alexander to direct. BroadwayWorld.com got an exclusive first peak at the show's set while the cast is in rehearsal at the theatre!

Count Dracula, the world's most famous vampire, returns to the New York stage in DRACULA by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, based on the eponymous novel by Bram Stoker is set to begin previews December 14, prior to its official press opening January 5 at the Little Shubert Theatre (442 West 42nd Street). Paul Alexander to direct. BroadwayWorld.com got an exclusive first peak at the cast in rehearsal at the theatre!

The New York Philharmonic will present Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking Company, with an all-star cast led by Neil Patrick Harris, star of the hit television series, How I Met Your Mother, on April 7-9, 2011. The award-winning musical will be produced and directed by Lonny Price, who directed and co-produced last season's SONDHEIM: The Birthday Concert!, and will be conducted by Sondheim specialist Paul Gemignani, with the original orchestrations for a 35-piece orchestra by Jonathan Tunick. More details will be announced at a later date.

LeftField Productions presents the annual All-Star Broadway Holiday Concert on Sunday, December 5th, 7:30PM, at The Irvington Town Hall Theater in Irvington, New York.

Happy Holidays everyone! Come visit our Nation's Capital during the holiday season. It's such a beautiful time of the year here, with so many lights shimmering on the monuments, The Mall, and on The White House. As we await the first snow flakes, DC area theatres are chocked full of productions for the whole family filled with elves, reindeers, Santas, and Scrooges.

Cole Escola, acclaimed for his inspired musical performances in Joe's Pub's recurring smash Our Hit Parade and Casserole Live, the live performance component of his hit television series, Jeffery & Cole Casserole, makes his eagerly anticipated solo debut. With Cole's broad showmanship and sweetheart charm, his act will hearken back to a time when the great ladies of stage and screen dazzled the crowds in smoky rooms all over town. An exciting bill of standards, showtunes, Motown and original material brought to life by Cole's decidedly fresh perspective and raw energy under the direction of Ben Rimalower (Leslie Kritzer is Patti LuPone at Les Mouches) and featuring a band led by Bistro Award-winner Ray Fellman. Cole Escola premieres at Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street) on Friday and Saturday, January 28th and 29th at 11:30 PM.

LeftField Productions presents the annual All-Star Broadway Holiday Concert on Sunday, December 5th, 7:30PM, at The Irvington Town Hall Theater in Irvington, New York.

In a year chock full of star-studded 80th birthday tributes to legendary Broadway composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, the March 15-16 gala evenings with the New York Philharmonic at New York's Lincoln Center stood tall.

Count Dracula, the world's most famous vampire, returns to the New York stage in DRACULA by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, based on the eponymous novel by Bram Stoker, set to begin previews December 14, prior to its official press opening January 5 at the Little Shubert Theatre (442 West 42nd Street). Paul Alexander to direct.

The Harbor Lights Theater Company presents I HATE HAMLET By Paul Rudnick, Starring Mandy Bruno, Joy Franz, Jay Montgomery, Caralyn Kozlowski, Howard Kaye, and Paul Wyatt. November 12th -21st, 2010

Today we are taking a look at one of the most exciting DVD/Blu-Ray releases of the year - perhaps ever, at least as far as Broadway connoisseurs are concerned. Taped back in mid-March of this year, a week before the actual central celebratory event itself occurred, comes SONDHEIM! The Birthday Concert, which will also be shown next Wednesday on PBS as part of this season's sensational series of GREAT PERFORMANCES at 9 PM on WNET in New York and across the country. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event that has been ever-so-lovingly rendered on disc in high definition preserving a heavenly host of the very best Broadway talent one could ever possibly ask to be assembled. SONDHEIM! has it all.

Image Entertainment is proud to share a celebration of the life and wondrous work of one of Broadway's greatest legends - the incomparable Stephen Sondheim. For the master composer and lyricist's 80th birthday, scores of the musical theater's brightest stars gathered to perform more than two dozen sensational numbers from Sondheim's unsurpassed canon. Many of these enduring songs are rarely heard and several are performed by the original Broadway cast members. David Hyde Pierce hosts this magical event with Sondheim's longtime collaborator Paul Gemignani conducting the New York Philharmonic. Directed for the stage and television by Lonny Price and filmed live March 15-16, 2010 at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City, this is a must-have addition for every musical theatre aficionado. SONDHEIM! The Birthday Concert is available today, November 16, at an SRP of $24.98 for the DVD and $29.98 for the Blu-ray; the concert is also be available via digital download. Click below for some preview clips!

The Fred Ebb Foundation (Mitchell Bernard, Trustee) in association with the Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) will present the sixth annual Fred Ebb Award for aspiring musical theatre songwriters to Douglas J. Cohen.