J. Robert Spencer News

The Awards Gala The 25th Anniversary Helen Hayes Awards will be held on Monday, April 13, 2009 at the Warner Theatre and JW Marriott Hotel.

Ghostlight Records is proud to announce that it will record the Cast Album of the critically acclaimed new musical NEXT TO NORMAL. Recording dates are set for February 11th and 12th in New York City, with a release date this spring to be announced soon. Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records President Kurt Deutsch and Grammy Award-winner Joel Moss will produce the album. NEXT TO NORMAL has been described as a contemporary musical that explores how one suburban household copes with crisis. With provocative lyrics and an electrifying score of more than 30 original songs, NEXT TO NORMAL shows how far two parents will go to keep themselves sane and their family's world intact.

Tom Kitt (composer) and Brian Yorkey's (Book writer and lyricist) rock musical Next to Normal closed on January 18th at Arena Stage in Washington, DC but, the show's fans have reason to rejoice with the news that Sh-K-Boom Records will be recording the cast this February for release on CD. Kitt and Yorkey's musical which focuses on a family in crisis follows a high-profile Off-Broadway run at Second Stage Theatre. The collaborators include Kitt, Yorkey, director Michael Grief, and choreographer Sergio A.Trujillo. Next to Normal chronicles the story of a mentally unstable mother and the waves she creates in the lives of her husband and daughter and stars Tony Award nominee Alice Ripley (Side Show), who returns to the project as mom Diana.

A musical about depression? Yes. You'll not only enjoy it, you may even learn something.

A musical about depression? Yes. You'll not only enjoy it, you may even learn something.

Students! Come join Arena Stage for a special performance event of Next to Normal on December 22, 2008. Enjoy watching the show with others your age and meeting the cast afterwards!

Tom Kitt (composer) and Brian Yorkey's (Book writer and lyricist) rock musical Next To Normal opened December 10th at Arena Stage in Washington, DC. BroadwayWorld took in a preview performance to bring you exclusive photos of the Arena Stage run!

News from Broadway and theater in the Baltimore/Washington area

Students! Come join Arena Stage for a special performance event of Next to Normal on December 22, 2008. Enjoy watching the show with others your age and meeting the cast afterwards!

Theater news from Broadway and the Baltimore/Washington area.

Monsters, Witches and Ogres... OH MY! What better place to celebrate the spooks and creeps of HALLOWEEN than The Great Fright Way? In the spirit of good fun and festivities, BroadwayWorld asked some of New York's finest Broadway and Off-Broadway actors to share their craziest MEMORIES of Halloween... with PHOTOS!

The previously announced Alice Ripley and J. Robert Spencer will be joined by Adam Chanler-Berat, Jennifer Damiano, Louis Hobson and Aaron Tveit for the upcoming hit musical Next to Normal.

J. Robert Spencer is best known for his riveting work in the Tony Award winning Broadway Musical Jersey Boys. On Sunday, September 14th 2008, he will play his last performance as Nick Massi, a role he created and has essayed since the hit musical's very first moments. He took some time out of his busy final week schedule to sit down with me and just sort of 'talk shop', about theater, film and the power of creative inspiration, a subject we're very passionate about here at BroadwayWorld.com.

Matt Bogart will join the Broadway cast of JERSEY BOYS, the Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning smash hit musical, in the role of Nick Massi on Tuesday, September 30. J. Robert Spencer, who originated the role at La Jolla Playhouse and on Broadway, will play his final performance on Sunday, September 14. In the interim, the role of Nick Massi will be played by John Leone.

The USTA today announced that the Opening Night Ceremony of the 2008 US Open on Monday, August 25, will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the founding of tennis' Open Era with a parade of more than twenty-five former US Open singles champions. The on-court ceremony will be hosted by the Oscar-winning actor/director Forest Whitaker and will feature special musical performances by Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Earth, Wind & Fire and the Tony® Award winning Jersey Boys.

The USTA today announced that the Opening Night Ceremony of the 2008 US Open on Monday, August 25, will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the founding of tennis' Open Era with a parade of more than twenty-five former US Open singles champions. The on-court ceremony will be hosted by the Oscar-winning actor/director Forest Whitaker and will feature special musical performances by Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Earth, Wind & Fire and the Tony® Award winning Jersey Boys.

'Jersey Boys' stars Sebastian Arcelus, J. Robert Spencer, and Michael Longoria will be featured on Sirius Satellite Radio's 'Broadway's Guest.'

The American Theatre Wing's annual Spring Gala honoring legendary composer/lyricist Jerry Herman and corporate partner, Visa Inc., for their innovative and artistic accomplishments to the theatre took place on May 19.

Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons - Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi, and how this group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sound and sold 175 million records worldwide - all before they were 30.

Today's the day the Teddy Bears had their picnic! And they brought along all their Broadway-loving friends for another successful and entertaining Broadway Bears auction, presented by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS! To the thrill of bear and fan-boy alike, the 11th Annual event raised over $127,000! Top winners were 'Cyrano de Bergerac,' 'The Lion King' and 'Spamalot.'